Man Vs Wild

[Aniketos]

I just got done watching the Costa Rican rainforest episode. The host parchuted into the middle of the rainforest with just a knife and a canteen or water then had to find his way out. After watching it got an immediate season pass. This is how survivor should be.

[lml55]

I watched the desert episode and was underwhelmed. It seems like a cheap ripoff of Surviorman, which IMO, is a better show. Of course this is after one episode, so maybe it gets better.

[drpr]

Yeah, I saw the desert episode as well and had to laugh because the commercials for the show are more menacing than the conditions I saw in the show. I was kinda bored, in fact. I think his delivery is part of the problem; he is very matter-of-fact and kinda "dry," removing all suspense. I never once thought he might be in real danger.

[Aniketos]

I never saw Survivorman, but from what's been said I'd probably like it more than this show. There's some odd parts I question on this show, but overall a decent hour for me, worth the price of admission.

[WhiskeyTango]

Surviroman is much better IMO--one man and his camera. In the desert episode of M vs W they used the same scenes a few times throughout the episode (i.e. him jumping down the big boulders) and the same in the rainforest with him sliding down the hill. Can they not get enough footage to fill an episode? I'm sure what he's doing is difficult but how hard can it be if a guy carrying a camera has to do the same stuff while filming (crossing the river). Not a bad show but after watching Survivorman, I was disappointed with M vs W.

[gchance]

This is the 2nd episode. The first one, Bear Grrlz (however he spells his last name) was dropped into the desert. Where in this one he whined and whined about the rain, in the first one he didn't whine at all.

Yeah, Survivorman is better. In this, he has a camera crew, but Les Stroud does his own camera work.

Isn't Survivorman a limited series? I think he only did like 12 episodes. I don't know what the run for Man vs. Wild is supposed to be, but I get the impression it has more.

Either way, both shows are fun to watch.

Greg

[phodg]

I enjoy it, although I prefer Survivorman. Grylls is a tough guy though ....

Served 4 years in the British SAS (also broke his back in 3 places parachuting)
Climbed Ama Dablam and Everest (youngest Brit to do both)
Circumnavigated the UK on a jetski
Crossed the North Atlantic in a rigid inflatable boat (world record)

[Wilhite]

This is the 2nd episode. The first one, Bear Grrlz (however he spells his last name) was dropped into the desert. Where in this one he whined and whined about the rain, in the first one he didn't whine at all.

Yeah, Survivorman is better. In this, he has a camera crew, but Les Stroud does his own camera work.

Isn't Survivorman a limited series? I think he only did like 12 episodes. I don't know what the run for Man vs. Wild is supposed to be, but I get the impression it has more.

Either way, both shows are fun to watch.

Greg

I mentioned it in another thread about Man Vs. Wild, but I thought I would repeat it here...

According to a newsletter I got a week or so ago from Les Stroud, Survivorman 2 is in the works.


Survivorman back in action! Les leaves for Ecuador to film the first show of the new season; Watch in late February 2007 for the fist (sic) show to air on the Discovery Channel and OLN networks.

http://www.lesstroudonline.com/

[Raimi]

I stuck around for the episode only because I'm going to Costa Rica for a couple weeks next month. I kind of lost interest about 1/2 way in. Might try giving another episode a chance.

[danterner]

I've been enjoying both shows, and I'd be very pleased to have either one of these two men by my side in the event I were stranded somewhere inhospitable following a plane crash. Then again, if I ever board a plane and see either one of them already seated, I think I'd take that as my cue to opt for a different flight. :-)

[battleaxe]

I think you'll see that the series gets better over time. As mentioned in another thread, I'm working with Discovery, so I've had a chance to view the first few episodes already. I think you'll be pleased by the Alaskan Mountain range episode that's coming up.

I've just seen a few Survivorman episodes, but I've enjoyed it.

[bobsbizzy]

[QUOTE=Raimi]I stuck around for the episode only because I'm going to Costa Rica for a couple weeks next month. [QUOTE]

Don't parachute into the rain forest. :D

[Raimi]

I stuck around for the episode only because I'm going to Costa Rica for a couple weeks next month.

Don't parachute into the rain forest. :DIt won't happen intentionally. :D

[battleaxe]

Well if you want to give the show another shot...tonight Bear is at Mt. Kilauea. My step grandmother actually lives about 10 min from the volcano. We once took a helicopter tour over the volcano, which was cool.

[kbohip]

I still like the fact that Les on Survivorman was always completely by himself, even doing his own camera work. Man vs. Wild is not a bad show, but the fact that Bear has a cameraman along with him sort of takes away from the shows premise. It does allow Bear to do some really crazy stuff like jump into frozen lakes and chasms to show us what to do to get out of those situations.

He's also more aggressive when it comes to eating. I've never seen Les take a bite out of the back of a live fish. I don't miss Les's lectures about how he'll only hunt or trap for his own survival either. :rolleyes: No kidding Les, we know already.

The last episode of Man vs. Wild that was set in Alaska was spectacular imo, if nothing else than for the awesome scenery. This is where Bear's cameraman has the advantage, getting some amazing shots.

Let me put it this way though. If I were ever in a "Lost" type plane crash, I'd be really hoping someone like Les or Bear was onboard. :D

[danterner]

I'm still enjoying both shows. I get a kick out of how Survivorman almost always begins with a 'viewer discretion' warning, but then immediately thereafter shows the rating as being "G" Seems a bit inconsistent. I've got to give props to Les for how much he contributes to the show - according to the show credits, he even writes music for it!

Les and Bear are both top-notch survivalists. I'm not sure whether one is better than the other. I think I might give the edge to Bear, only because I can't quite imagine Les doing some of the more purely physical things Bear does (like chimney climbs or pulling himself up from a knotted rope dangling over a glacial crevasse).

Here I am, a sedentary office drone, and after watching these two guys I'm ready to put a "multi-tool" and a flint on my Christmas wish list. Just in case.

[kbohip]

Here I am, a sedentary office drone, and after watching these two guys I'm ready to put a "multi-tool" and a flint on my Christmas wish list. Just in case.

I think this is what I like best about these shows. They take you back to a time before the internet, cars, planes, phones, fast food, etc. They give you a glimpse of what life was probably like for our earliest ancestors. A time when instead of worrying about being first in line for a Playstation 3, they were worried about where they were going to get their next drink of water from. I'm not saying I'd ever want to live in a time like that, but it's interesting to see how much has changed since then, and how quickly it's changed.

These shows are the true "Survivors". There are no tribes or challenges (except for life or death challenges) immunity idols or anything else thats not a part of the simple act of surviving. As someone who's lived in a city my whole life, I find it almost amazing that there are still places in this world as wild, untouched and desolate as the places Les and Bear visit. What's even more surprising is that these places can be where I'd least expect them to be. Last night's Hawaii episode of Man vs. Wild was proof of that.

[Havana Brown]

I caught this show by accident and really, really like. I enjoy it more than Survivorman. It doesn't hurt that the host is pretty hawt too. :D

The kid and I get grossed out by the stuff Bear eats.

[pmyers]

...The kid and I get grossed out by the stuff Bear eats.

oh just wait...it's gets much "better" in later episodes.

spoiler just in case you haven't watched this episode:

In 2 different episodes he bites a chunk out of a fish's back that he just caught

[gchance]

In 2 different episodes he bites a chunk out of a fish's back that he just caught

All for show, that's not necessary. My favorite is when he bites the head off the bat.

Oh wait, that was Ozzy.

Greg

[Donbadabon]

I enjoy it. I have to ignore some of the fake suspense to get through it though.

And it is kind of silly how he will talk about how he has to get down this impossible waterfall, while at the same time the cameraman is already at the bottom filming him making his descent.

But it is entertaining, so I keep watching.

[Havana Brown]

Maybe Michael Auberry (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17701966/) should have his own show on Discovery Kids.

[numb and number]

Man Versus Wild wears Survivorman pajamas.

[gchance]

How about Bear vs. Survivorman?

- Put Bear Grylls into the same situation as Les Stroud... no camera crew, no pre-setup stuff, make him do his own camera work.

- Put Les into Bear's situation and give him the luxuries Bear gives himself.

My money's on Les.

Greg

[laststarfighter]

I would really love one tribe of survivalists like these two face off against another tribe of Joe Schmoes on Survivor.

At any rate, I do find Surviorman more hardcore but Man v. Wild does have its moments. Like the time he pissed on his head wrap to get cooler. Or the time he squeezed elephant dung over his mouth to get a little water.

But I also think he takes more risks knowing that he's got a camera crew around to back him up. Like on the Pacific Ocean episode where he decided to build a raft and see if he could get lucky by finding a boat. No way would he do something like that if he were out on his own with help hours/days away. (But those sharks sizing him up was an intense scene.)

[thurston608]

i'm bumping this thread because i just found out that new episodes are beginning june 15th. loved bear in the first season so i am pretty pumped for this -- looks like the first episode is in the everglades. i cant imagine getting lost there. and personally i like man vs. wild because bear is such an adventurer and does such extreme stuff. it is great to watch.