Just found a show on the Discovery channel called "I shouldn't be alive" http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/alive/about/about.html Looked pretty interesting. The episode I watched has Les Stroud recreating a couples journey through the snow. I set the DVR to record a few more episodes, anybody else see this show?
After watching a few episodes of Les Stroud, I can certainly agree that if he was ever placed in a real survival situation, he shouldn't or rather, probably wouldn't be alive. Case in point was the desert island episode where he makes that pitiful crooked little spear and can't get a fish to save his life. You'd think there wasn't a piece of bamboo or a single straight piece of wood on the island? I saw another episode where he made a sling-shot out of some strings that would throw a pebble almost fast enough to startle a mouse but certainly not enough velocity to kill one (mouse). His typical show is seven days and nights of starvation while he demonstrates how to be a total klutz about actually capturing anything to eat except for a rotten fish abandoned by an eagle and some seaweed.
mention Stroud and invariably someone will start saying "at least he films his own stuff and doesn't stage it" I don't get the connection? I did not realize this was a comparison of TV survivor gurus. Both of them are fun to watch but I wouldn't put too much faith in either of them as "experts".
I agree that both the major "survival men" shows do some pretty odd ball stuff. But the way I look at it is that it's a) entertainment for the masses, b) even if I get one thing new to try I've learned something, and c) it's entertainment and has to be "dumbed down" so the masses could understand it. Don't worry about derailments, we always seem to get back on track, somehow.
after a dinner of roasted skunk and honey-comb (with bee stings) Bear is about to piss in a snake hide and drink it. Now that's showmanship!