July 24, 2007
Man VS. Wild CHEATS
We've caught a few episodes of Discovery Channel's survival show "Man VS. Wild" starring Bear Grylls. The show does a good job of grabbing you. Bear parachutes into a remote and hostile location, like deep in a rain forest, or on top of a giant mountain, or even simply out in the middle of a desert.
The show follows him from the point he jumps out of a plane, all the way until he finds a local road or highway of some sort where he can catch a ride back to civilization. The premise is, we follow him as he uses his wits and the few pieces of equipment he has on him to survive these situations.
Only this show cheats. And they got caught.
The show is British, and originally broadcast on BBC's Channel 4, the complaints about authenticity have sparked an investigation. The evidence is pretty damaging, for instance the BBC article has this to say:
American survival consultant Mark Weinert, who was recruited by Diverse Productions, told the paper Grylls claimed to be stranded on a desert island on one occasion.
However, he was actually in Hawaii and spent some of his time there in a motel, Mr Weinert alleged.
Wha?!?
also:
And in a further episode, supposedly "wild" horses rounded up by Grylls had come from a local trekking facility, he claimed.
When you watch the show, you can tell something is fishy. Bear will often scale down the side of a shear rock face while the camera crew sits at the top filming him. When he gets to the bottom, suddenly the camera is there to catch him setting foot on solid ground... How?
It's a real shame because Bear Grylls is charming and smart, and really does know his shit. Why do they need to trick us? How can a show that is entirely about being smart treat it's audience like we're stupid. Man VS. Wild... You Blew It.
Alternatively, The Science Channel has a show called "Survivorman." This show follows Les Stroud, and really seems to be what it advertises.
No food, no shelter, no fresh water, no tools... no camera crew. One man - alone in the wild for seven days with only his wits and stamina to sustain him.
When Les Stroud films a scene where he walks away from the camera and off into the desert sunset, you know he had to set up his own camera and film the scene. Then he had to walk all the way back and get his camera. He basically has to do things twice so we get to see them.
I can't be the only one who read "Man Vs. Wild Cheats" and immediately hoped for a post about a battle royale between humanity and cute little yellow speckly guys from Homestar Runner..
Posted by: Rob at July 24, 2007 12:18 PMI tried watching MvW a few times, but the cameraman thing really got on my nerves. So obviously fake that the premise is just insulting. Drop the premise, and I'll watch a guy suck spinal fluid out of a fish all afternoon.
Posted by: ape at July 24, 2007 3:48 PMSurvivorman is should be called "Campman" because he basically just camps out and waits to be rescued. At least MvW makes an attempt (admittedly a staged, predetermined one) at escaping his situation. Kinda like Cash Cab - there's really no cash and most of the contestants are prescreened. But it's fun to watch if you can get over the fact that the premise is a bit stretched.
Posted by: Christian Cox at July 25, 2007 12:49 PMFair enough...
We haven't seen enough Survivorman to really defend it, it could be more boring than I realize.
It's the sheer audacity of Bear's cheating that gets us worked up. I mean... The "wild" horse thing is just too much. We saw that episode, he makes a HUGE deal about how skittish wild horses are, and he really should have taken "all day" to get to know this wild horse before attempting to ride it. What a jerk.
Cash Cab doesn't betray it's audience with that level of omission. With so much good television being made these days, and audiences being more open to thinking as opposed to having things spelled out for us, there is no room for a show that straight up lies.
Posted by: clunkyrobot at July 25, 2007 1:01 PMClunky,
I agree. As I was reading this I wanted to say - Hey, what about Survivorman! But then you got to it at the bottom. MvW is just a higher production value, hollywoodized version of Survivorman. I'm sure some executive somewhere was watching Survivorman and said something like, "This could be so much better. We just have to control everything and remove anything educational or real from it." But I will agree that watching Survivorman is like watching PBS. But I like PBS.
gotta stick up for bear grylls. dude pulls off some really great 'stunts' and risks it all. sure the cameraman is always there. doesn't bother me at all. it's meant to be educational. he takes some risks that he doesn't have to take at all, often showing how to do some perilous climbing/swimming/hunting IF a person were to find themselves in that situation. unabashedly staged, if you ask me.
survivorman is a puss. he basically sits around complaining about the conditions he's put himself in. i saw him one time even getting nervous when his monitor crew becomes out of radio range. he was in a life boat completely decked out with everything he'd need, plus an extra lifeboat for his camera equipment. he said he was isolated in a vast ocean. he was off the coast of guatemala in the gulf of mexico, a major artery for cruise lines and fisherman he had to avoid for fear of being 'rescued' before his 5-days expired.
feh. bear grylls is charming and badass. gotta give him that. i hardly call him a cheat.
But does he really "risk it all" while staying in a hotel in Hawaii?
I understand it's television, and the producers are trying to make what they think is "good television." They think by creating a "narrative" and cutting out the extra bits they are doing us a favor.
The show just doesn't do a good enough job of being up front about the fucking crazy survivial stuff Bears CAN do. I don't need to be tricked. We're too smart for that right now... as a television watching audience.
Come on dude... WILD HORSES.
But don't take my word for it. The BBC is still investigating the claims. Maybe it is all being blown out of proportion. I want to like Bears, he's a bad ass.
Posted by: clunky at July 27, 2007 8:41 AMI really hope the show goes on. who's to say they dont spend a week out in the wilderness, and stay in a hotel before or after the shoot.
Most people dont understand that filming all of this may require a few extra days for the best possible conditions, scenery, animal encounters, etc. If it requires a stay in a motel to put together a great show who cares? If I had other people with me, your god damn right id make them help me build a 5 foot wide bamboo raft. wouldnt you?
Survivorman? please im not gonna watch some moron try and float on a single log, or throw rocks at fish, and bitch about how he hates where he is. Its boring, he doesnt take risks, and id rather have a crew to make a better show.
I watch it for the scenery, the wierd edibles, the dangerous stunts not to mention the SICK climbing he does. Survivorman's got nothin on Bear
-Jason
Thanks for the comment Jason, but I think you're missing my point.
It wouldn't be an issue if they were up front about everything. The fact that they think they can trick us is insulting, no matter how great Bear is.
WILD HORSES dude.
Posted by: clunky at August 3, 2007 2:11 PMSurvivorman sucks, the guy i an absolute idiot. Without the camera crew, all he does is complain about his camera. Sacrifice the stupid shot and survive!
Posted by: Drake at August 10, 2007 7:06 PMthis is a pretty funny follow-up to the Hawaii episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UpSlpvb1is
Posted by: christian cox at August 17, 2007 4:44 PMI think that all you haters of bear grylls should shut up, because he as more Balls than any of you could even imagine!
Posted by: at November 16, 2007 12:31 PMI think that all you haters of bear grylls should shut up, because he as more Balls than any of you could even imagine!
Says the very brave and ballsy anonymous commenter...
We actually think Bear is a total badass, which is what makes his cheating so disappointing.
Also, how many Balls can you imagine?
Posted by: clunky at November 16, 2007 2:11 PMI can consistently imagine only about 47 balls before I lose track. Is that enough to be able to criticize fake reality TV, or should I keep working on it?
Posted by: Rob at November 17, 2007 4:28 PMBear eats balls for breakfast. He is a bad ass.
Posted by: at November 26, 2007 10:11 PMSurvival skills? If you are ever in a survival situation and take advise from the MvW show you will end up being scraped up off a canyon floor somewhere.
Posted by: HighRoad at November 28, 2007 12:27 PMu r not blive but many many peopil say is a not cheat
Posted by: gajendraa at July 16, 2008 3:46 PM
