Seul face à la nature

The basic plot is Bear parachutes himself into a secluded wildlife area and is there until he gets himself out. The camera crew is along for the ride so he is not as secluded as he could be but he is out in the middle of no where with only his wits, a canteen and a flint to get him through.

Behind the scenes, a ton of research is completed on the area of challenge and Bear is the beneficiary. He can speak smartly about the area and gives wonderful bits of information that he works into his commentary.

All in all, a very good show, very enjoyable, some humor, good bits of information.

At times the continuity of this show is subject, but overall it is much more satisfying than similar shows like "Survivorman." Bear is informative and provides a very clear and informative narration, and the geography presented in the episodes is daunting and entertaining. The only problem is the obvious presence of the cameraman, diffusing any real stress in the situations Bear faces. I nearly cut my finger off on a serrated Gerber knife earlier and my typing is slightly sub-par this evening because of it. What would Bear do? Probably wrap the wound in tree bark and keep the wound out of still water until it clotted, then build a shelter out of leaves and beaver pelts and raft down the river on conch shells and a hippo skeleton.

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!

I watched and enjoyed Survivorman well before Man vs. Wild came along, and expected a similar type of show. The producers apparently anticipated the same reaction from their audience, and decided the show needed to be spiced up a bit.

So we have the host, Bear Grylls, performing all sorts of highly adventurous activities, like swimming upstream, climbing cliffs and trees, eating live animals/insects, and so forth. This makes for great entertainment, but much of what Bear engages in is impractical and even dangerous at best in a survival situation.

Now granted, it would also be impractical to assume that this show should be construed as a survival guide. Bear does, however, give a great deal of information and good advice mixed in with the thrills. I find him to be mostly level-headed and good natured, even when faced with very difficult situations. Despite his hardships, I don't believe I've ever heard him complain once. And that really is as important to survival as anything - having a positive attitude and making the best of one's situation.

His credibility does suffer a bit with the admission that he tends to sleep in hotel rooms or base camps as opposed to in the wild. That certainly keeps him fresh and ready to face new challenges, but perhaps most importantly to speak with authority and excitement in order to keep the audience interested.

It's difficult to sort through the good and bad advice, since the show is as concerned with entertainment as it is with developing survival skills. I suppose one must do whatever it takes to survive, but some things can make one even worse off. In one instance, Bear drinks his own urine without much second though, but in another case he is very careful about determining the source of potential drinking water. And a parasitic infection from frequent consumption of live animals might make hunger seem nothing but a dull ache in comparison.

In all, Man vs. Wild is a good show. It is more of a show about personal challenge for Bear than it is for survival education. "The Bear Grylls Challenge" might have been a better name. At any rate, despite the liberally sprinkled good advice, this show is primarily for entertainment purposes. If you want to learn about more practical, albeit less exciting, application of survival technique, then watch "Survivorman."

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.