ok, so here's my 2 cents worth - after having seen ONLY about 35 minutes of the show - not realizing it was the subject of this thread - and NOT having read most of the previous posts since seeing a few minutes of the show.

a journey to everest as a producer / cameraman with a large group of support staff doing almost everything for you in no way prepares you to go out in the pristine wilderness by yourself.

they are two vastly different challenges and experiences. in this regard, he was doomed from the start.

i wondered how this would end as the show began - the man was almost tearful as the plane flew away after dropping him off. again, i had serious doubts this would end well.

i believe it's extremely difficult to focus on the necessary elements of survival if one is continually setting up camera shots and talking to the camera as if it were a real person. of course it's used to great effect, but i sense it really drives home the total isolation they experience.

i did say they. i've observed les stroud exhibit a similar type of behaviour on his show. at best, he's not exactly cheerful. that may be his personality, but at worse he seems to me to be truly depressed. lack of sleep, lack of food, lack of human contact, constant situational awareness, and constant camera setting and dialogue appear to affect him greatly.

nevermind other feelings about him, i don't see that type of behaviour in bear g. could it be the group of people supporting him, not having to set up the cameras - only to mug for them - etc. could have that much affect? no isolation here, folks.

i do believe that isolation is the key aspect of ed's shortened adventure. i do believe that if cameras weren't involved, a person could better focus on the necessary tasks at hand and survive.

boy, that was too long.