Dual Survival

I haven't given a ranking, because I have no way of judging how accurate the survival information presented is. Which is what the program is supposed to be about. But it's actually about personal conflict. (More about that later.)

As human beings have become increasingly effete (the word means weak, not effeminate), programs about "survival in the wild" have become increasingly popular. Discovery has three or four shows about "making it" in Alaska alone.

I find it "quaint" that viewers actually believe the participants are in real danger. Only in "Naked and Afraid" do they seem to run any real risk, mostly because they're dumped in areas where there's little or no fresh water or food. Accidents can occur and mistakes made, but the producers aren't stupid enough to take chances. Serious injury or death could result in embarrassing lawsuits, regardless of how cleverly written the contracts are.

The underlying purpose of these shows is to create conflict -- people arguing with each other. The survivalists aren't chosen solely for their varying perspectives on survival skills, but (as when making a fire) how much "heat" can be generated by friction between them.

This was obvious from the start. Cody Lundin and Dave Canterbury made an irritating odd couple. This viewer found Lundin especially annoying. Though obviously heterosexual, there was something unmanly -- castrato-like -- about the guy. If I were a woman, I wouldn't let him within 10m (33') of me. Canterbury probably felt the same way.

Joe Teti and Matt Graham were the opposite. It's hard to believe Graham isn't homosexual (his offer to make Teti a suede loin cloth was charmingly hilarious). Though they argued (especially about Graham's proclivity to hang out and soak up the environment), Graham was often amiable about accepting Teti's way of doing things. It was this general lack of friction (it's surprising they haven't announced their engagement!) that likely explains the short run of their partnership.

The current pair comprises Bill McConnell and Grady Powell. They're probably the closest to what the producers had in mind from the start. Powell thinks McConnell is a braggart, but forgives him when he can't start a fire in an impossibly damp environment. (How much of this is real and how much dictated by the producers isn't clear.)

Which brings me to what provoked this series review (and the Summary line). McConnell and Powell are forced to spend the night without fire in a cold, damp cave. And get this -- they sleep apart.

Who's kidding whom? Are these guys so homophobic they won't lie together to keep warm? Or are the producers afraid of offending viewers?

Cowboys spread their bed rolls right next to each other. (Wanna see a photo?) It was mostly to conserve heat, as cloudless nights on the plain got very cold.

If you're trying to show people how to avoid freezing to death, you don't reject the simplest and most-obvious solution.

I watch all survival shows, and gain helpful insight into best practices when toughing it in the worst situations.

But lets get real. I just watched the episode where EJ and Jeff are spear fishing for fish in a fresh water situation. Lets say for kicks and giggles that this was the only episode I ever had the opportunity to watch. What I watched these idiots do was, upon their well earned catch was Jeff screaming, "Yeah baby!!!", like he was Austin Powers on steriods, effectively scaring any potential animal food sources to areas as far away as possible from the loud scary humans. You can tell this show is supported because a real hunter in a life and death survival situation would most certainly never do that. Secondly and most importantly, bearing in mind that I am a random viewer seeing the show for the first time, these two morons after catching their fish proceeded to eat that fish raw, both of them taking a bite from it, EJ saying something about sushi?? Ask any expert, do fresh water fish have the potential of carring major parasites..YES, THEY MOST CERTAINLY DO!! No different than telling high school kids that if you pull out, the girl won't get pregnant. With possible major consequences for some poor sap who only saw this one show and thinks its OK to eat FW fish raw. Shame on you guys.

The show is very entertaining, and has tons of good tips and tricks, but this episode just left me shaking my head.

I'm slightly surprised to be the first reviewer for what I consider one of the better reality shows on the air, but I am glad that I caught this show by accident. Dual Survivior is basically about a military guy(Dave Canterbury)and an ex hippie who used to live in a commune(Cody Lundin)who are placed in situations where their expertise in survival is required. Dave does more of the physical stuff like hunt, while Cody, who walks barefoot mostly, uses his knowledge of the land to create current remedies for the situation at hand. It's an interesting combination of brawn vs. brains, even though Dave is also very wise when facing survival and is a great hunter. He and Cody sometimes have differing opinions on how to best gauge their predicament, but it all works out in the end. I'm normally not a fan of reality shows, but Dual Survivor works for me because of the characters and their surroundings.

I really love this show, you get to know a lot of useful information that can help you not only in a "survival" situation, but also in everyday situations (camping in the woods, hiking etc.).

What makes this show awesome, is that you don't have only one person showing you how to survive in different environments, but two experts - one, that has military training and most people can relate to (at least in his way of thinking) and second, who is a minimalist, has experience in primitive survival techniques and is walking around almost half naked (in shorts and barefoot, no matter of the environment), which most people with me along, can't / couldn't understand. With this combination you can see how each of them manages different situations, different techniques of surviving etc. and who knows, one day even someone among us could find him self in a "survival" situation half naked.

Also I really like that they don't always agree or have different views of situations and that makes them special. You can see how each of them deals with a different situation and also how they help each other.

So if you like survival shows, like Man vs. Wild with B.G., you will definitely like this show!

This is a great show with a lot of significant information. Because of this TV show I have researched and thought about survival issues. The so-called experts that dig on this show are a joke. Of course there are cameramen shooting...it's a TV show! Did you think you can have a satellite camera overhead in the great sky above? One reviewer was upset over some bamboo in Hawaii. Really dude? How much endangered bamboo did Joe actually use? He killed a pig...great TV and something you do to survive. It isn't like there is a community inhabiting the sacred island killing pigs daily.

One clown said Matt must be gay because he was too laid back or passive. This is the attitude of ignorance we get from the tough, macho survival real men out there. A man has a sensitivity and intelligence that threatens or is different than you and you judge and condemn? Matt was brilliant and demonstrated self-control and a way to think outside of the military box. Guess what...there are many levels of intelligences! This would mean a viewer has to learn and be the very person they criticize--someone who can adapt, think, and God-forbid, have cognitive skills not possessed from how you problem-solve.

This TV show offers a great template for survival skills. You want to go deeper, than Google and research or read a book. Do you have to "overlook" a few things? Of course...so what. Producers have to edit for entertainment or there is no show. Don't blame the "actors" for the editing...it's called TV and you have about 42 minutes to tell a story per episode.

The real morons of this show are Discovery. Cody shares they did NO vetting of his background ever. The show was more concerned with personalities than skills. His mission was to present expertise in a survival experience. The show itself needs drama. For example, the premise is based on a three day survival. The need for food is not a core priority so killing animals was against the grain of Cody's mindset.

A military guy does not think that way. Discovery screwed up with Dave and Joe's credible background checks. That is on the producers of the show! Cody was by far the most skilled of them all. The show was built around his knowledge the first season until it strayed to more drama-based episodes.

All of the hosts are good, Dave blew it by skewing his background (ego issues) but was a solid character and knew his stuff--good guy who made a mistake. Joe seemed to try too hard, but was also good at what he did. If you want contrast (and all these shows do) then pairing up the naturalist (per se) with the military guy gives you this entertainment factor. But I will add, who has been on an "adventure" be it planned or unscheduled that has not had contrast of opinion to the "what" or "how"? Some might call this marriage! This show demonstrates there are different methods to solving problems and making crucial decisions and that compromise is always part of the journey to success.

My advise to the producers is to bring back Cody and Dave for a few reunion shows IF they will come back. Evidently, there was some bad blood for Cody.