Seul face à la nature

Out of all the survival shows being made today, this one is by far the least realistic. Many scenes are often staged (as mentioned in the disclaimer before each episode) and the the survival techniques are suspect. Additionally, some things are done purely for the shock value, such as the way he eats live insects, reptiles, fish, etc with his mouth open and so close to the camera. This is NOT a show to watch to learn survival skills. If you go out and do what you've seen here, you will most likely die a painful and embarrassing death. Your obituary will read like that of a teenage kid who died imitating something he saw on Jackass.

However, with that understood, there is something to be said for the entertainment value, provided that you almost watch it as if it were a fictional TV series. The scenery is amazing and Bear Grylls is fun to follow through the different locations. He's got a great personality and can even be amusing at times. And there may even be a good survival tip in there now and again, but you have to be able to distinguish it from the rest of the stuff and realize that it will almost never be as easy as he makes it out to be. Plus I gotta admit, the concept of always taking a knife, a canteen with a pot and a fire starter of some sort as a minimum of equipment for any trip in the wilds seems to be good advice.

Like it or not this is reality TV hence this show should be taken for what it is: a man applying survival techniques in a moderately safe (but usually horrible) environment. I am not a fan of reality TV but I can't help but to sympathize with Bear in each episode -a truly charismatic and intelligent man-. He will show ultimate survival techniques for different parts of the world, some of them helpful some of them a little too weird but ALL of them fun to watch. The episodes are filled with excellent trivia about the different places and hilarious situations (from a viewer perspective there is nothing funnier than watching a dude eat bugs). I won't deny that this show is not for everyone but I find it hard to believe that any person remotely adventurous won't enjoy watching this fine piece of entertainment.

I've only seen the show a few times, but it totally has me hooked. I just can't believe some of the thing's he'll do. My favorite part was Bear wandering about the Amazon when he decides he's hungry. So he makes a bow from branches and vines, whittles a few arrows and shoots a couple of piranhas for dinner! This man is the Macgyver of reality television.

Yeah, the survival advice may not come in handy the next time I take a drive to the supermarket- but it's seriously entertaining to watch what the man can do with only a flint, knife, canteen and a whole lot of research.

When i first saw the advertisement for this show i knew that i was going to love it, then 2 years later, I'm watching it every Wensday. Bear is a really good adviser, even though some of the stuff is presented to him, its amazing how he can handle himself out there. I like nature and things like that so its a real treat to see him in other countries and what not. I forget allot of the things that he says that will help, but if i was lost, i think i could manage to live for a while, ha probably not. What a good show. 10 out of 10, this show is a discovery channel original.

If you haven't seen this, SEE IT, it is amazing, good classic discovery TV.

First of all, Bear Grylls is a fantastic charismatic person. Besides that he can rely on his experience in the British SAS.

Now, some of you might not realize how hard it is to even come into the SAS. There is a selection process that has no equal in the world. For Example, you have to go to a mountain and they drop you at the beginning and you will have to figure out where the finish is. It will be a mountain that has paths and you will have to walk instead of climbing...but still it is a very tough route. You got a rucksack full of heavy bricks to carry on your back. And you are supposed to reach the 'finish' in a short time frame. And this isn't even the hard part of the selection. There are even tougher things you gotta do. But i will not talk about it, because i want to say a few things about the show now.

The show has got me hooked since i saw the first episode. It isn't fake like some other reviewer dared to say. The only 'fake' thing is that he is accompanied by a camera crew so he is never in real danger. But i don't mind. This way the show is much more professional and how are you supposed to film yourself while you're trying to climb a mountain?

In every episode you will see Bear eat disgusting things. It's like Fear Factor in the wild. And the faces Bear makes while he eats the revolting things, it's great while you're sitting home watching the show with a back of crisps available to you. Bear is funny in his own original way, and it makes the show complete.

EnjoY the show!