Ed Stafford: First Man Out

Just really really disappointed. Great idea for a show, just really poorly, fakely executed. So many ways this could have been done better.

Ed was always the guy which didn't fake it to me but it is embarrassing how staged this show is.

I am no survivalist expert but this looks like a guide on what not to do if you find yourself in one of these situations, even if you are racing.

Why Ed?

The series is fun. Ed "battles" another survivor expert with a different set of skills and a different personality each time. One of the other reviewers has got it wrong by saying that Ed wins every time - he doesn't.

If you take it with a pinch of salt, have fun watching with someone else and betting who will win, you will enjoy it. If you are unrealistically expecting an unedited life or death survivor experience, of course you will be disappointed.

Having said that, it is always unclear exactly what is going on, how many days the two competitors took to get out, how far each competitor really is from each other and the speed with which they travel as they supposedly race "neck and neck" for the finish line. Some "wins" seem strange - especially episode two when the person way ahead somehow manages to lose. This isn't really explained and as we have no clue as to the real distances and times, we just think, "Huh!"

There are some daft things as others say: both seem to travel for almost two days across a desert without water; I'm not sure that I believed that certain animals were actually caught; someone was sunburnt on day two but not day three; I didn't believe all the supposed crocodiles lurking everywhere and they only seem to sleep two or three times in this "less than a week" they are expected to take to reach the finish.

I guess, if it suffers it is because there are not enough survivor skills/bushcraft shown to be interesting and not enough of real racing to be the focus either.

Stumbled across 'Ed Stafford: First Man Out' and have binge watched all of his shows since - that's how much this show entertained me.

Ed is a survival expert pitted against an opponent with their own set of survival skills, in a race that lasts days across various landscapes including; deserts, mangroves, jungles, mountains and more.

As these are survival races made for TV, expect some very close finishes for our entertainment.

Adding a race element to a survival documentary is an interesting spin on this genre.

It's well worth a watch, even if it's to take a break from Ed's more serious survival shows.

Ed is great, the guest survivalists are great, but boy oh boy does this show push a new low in the survival genre thanks to an overdose artificial drama and unnecessary scripting.

Each episode sees Ed up against a different guest survival expert in a week-long race to a finish line set by a bloke named Woody. Sounds decent enough. Unfortunately what follows is an hour-long avalanche of contrived garbage. Bummer.

On the positive, some appropriate skills for the race at hand do sneak their way in from time to time. Thanks to what can only have been a oversight in editing we are treated to Matt Graham making a really practical improvised water container by splitting, carving, and then sealing some wood to help him across a desert. But as usual the rest of the editing is on point and we are shown no further useful skills. Ahh yes, there is Ed suckling from the teat of a dead marmot he's hollowed out and filled with water. Nice one Ed. I'll keep that one handy in case I ever want to spend a month on my toilet.

With that little ray of positivity aside this really is just an awkward, forced mix of bushcraft/survival and a very tedious race. It fails entirely at being a race because every bloody episode they try to convince us that the week-long ordeal came down to a sprint for the line, and it fails at showcasing survival skills because the skills are either practical and get skimmed over, or are overly elaborate, inappropriate, ill advised or useless.

By far the hardest part of First Man Out to watch is the decision-making from our trusty survivalists. The production folks are obviously in there meddling away to create drama, but it just falls flat and the result is pretty well a manual on what not to do. Terrible decisions of note:

• Running across the desert in the midday sun with no water.
• Getting completely soaked while fully clothed. Repeatedly.
• Descending into a dark, bat-filled cave to find a shortcut.
• Drinking unsterilized water. Also repeatedly.

Of course with each terrible decision we cut over to an equally terrible justification, either from Ed & Co or old mate Woody who definitely isn't getting paid enough for the thought gymnastics he's doing.

If you're into bushcraft give it a miss. If you're into action and adventure races give it a miss. Come to think of it I can't think of anyone who shouldn't give it a miss.

The current season is by far the best but overall it isn't a bad watch. It isn't worth the 10 stars but it's way better than a 1 or 2 so I had to balance it out.

It's more dramatised than Ed Stafford's previous series but it isn't as soap opera as what the reviews are banging on about. When you watch Bear Grills, you know you're getting fakeness and scripted productions. But Ed Stafford always seems genuine.

. I don't really know what people expect from survival tv shows as if it is something or somewhere that is genuinely dangerous, then they aren't going to completely risk their lives for views.