Bear Grylls Posts go here!

So contact him and invite him here to chat. The contact info is in the site linked above.
 
GibsonFan said:
I'm a little dismayed at some of the cynicism I'm seeing here.
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No kidding. At least the Discovery channel is trying with shows like this and "I shouldn't be alive". More than I can say for TLC. That used to be a decent channel. Now its all home makeover and fashion crap.

Even if was completely staged, it gives plenty of food for thought.
 
The problem Gibson is comments like yours. Neither of theses guys are fakes and that is a problem for all the mall ninjas, armchair commandos, and couch potatoes. OF COURSE they do have to make their TV shows interesting to the viewers and sponsors. Neither show purports to be a hard core suvival how-to, both present some info, and both are made for ENTERTAINMENT. Maybe you hang on every word but I don't. I take in everything but I only keep what I want and need to.

Gibson I've read many good posts by you but I think you are wrong here. Follow the link I posted, read what is there and then tell me Bear is a fake.

My son is in 8th grade so he is studying US history/government. Some of what his teacher has told him is flat wrong. We researched together the right info so his overall view of history isn't skewed. I have even, gently, corrected his teacher regarding constitutional amendments and the Bill of Rights. Correct the mistakes you feel these two guys made, when the time comes. Just don't kill the mesenger in the mean time.
 
2dogs said:
Gibson I've read many good posts by you but I think you are wrong here. Follow the link I posted, read what is there and then tell me Bear is a fake.
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My post was unclear, sorry :o I did check your link, 2dogs, and no, I don't think Grylls or Stroud is a fake. I just meant, even if it was just hype (which I don't think it is) it's still good entertainment and often pretty useful. This may sound dumb, but these are some of the very few shows my whole family watches together.

2dogs, after re-reading your posts, I think we agree after all :)
 
So what he was Special Forces, he climbed Everest, big deal, he's a better motivational speaker than Matt Foley and he doesn't live in a van down by the river, I could care less. I don't see where any of this is pertinent in a discussion about his show, bottom line, his show is somewhat silly with very little substance. Chris
 
I would submit theese types of shows could be so much more, but, sadly put into the hands of "TV people" I think both Les and Bear suffer from production problems.

Film technology has gotten so cheap, that any film industry drop-out can produce a Tv show. Just look at what's on 90% of the channels.

I say no more.
 
When a person elects to make their living as a public personality, they tout their credentials and promote themselves in interviews, print media, and via the internet and also by the networks handling their shows. Thus they invite scrutiny of their credentials, no different than Joey Chitwood, Bobby Kinevel, or a politician. The validity of their credentials is indeed a valid discussion directly related to the discussion of their performance. Claims of expertise in their chosen field are open to examination.

That said, though I have not watched Bear, Les, or any of the "survival expert shows", I know they are presented only for entertainment. I do have a probem when they are also promoted as educational, but a strictly education based survival show would have a very narrow viewing audience, translating into few dollars for any network foolish enough to back it. Since they are all "for profit" corporations, I can't blame them one bit. They show what sells, and paying sponsors flock to popular shows.

Why don't I watch them? I am not a TV/Movie oriented person. My family is. There are four of us and six TVs.

Codger
 
Codger,

Of course if yor are ex SF you are going to have more clout than if you are ex stock broker. My point was regardless of his beckground his show is sensational and hollywood, which, again, you already pointed out it has to be in order to make money. His show is what it is and of very little real survival value, but is fairly entertaining, I do watch it.

I think a much better show for real content is "I shouldn't be alive" that show does a very good job of showing you what not to do and is a good learning tool by analyzing the mistakes of others. Chris
 
I find it funny when people think they're more skilled and better trained than an ex-commando that could kill them and their entire family before they even knew what was going on.

Bear Grylls has more survival experience and training than this entire forum combined.
 
Hesir said:
I find it funny when people think they're more skilled and better trained than an ex-commando that could kill them and their entire family before they even knew what was going on.

Bear Grylls has more survival experience and training than this entire forum combined.
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Really?????
Come on up to Fort Bragg and I will introduce you to some folks.

I didn't see or read anyones post that said Bear was not trained or skilled, or that they were better than he is, we were talking about his show, which frankly I am not impressed with. Chris
 
I find it funny when people think they're more skilled and better trained than an ex-commando that could kill them and their entire family before they even knew what was going on.

Bear Grylls has more survival experience and training than this entire forum combined.
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I am not a Bear basher and I find the above statements patently ridiculous.

First of all, being a commando has precious little bearing on what Grylls is, or is not capable of, in the wilderness. All it shows is that even if people think he is a nutty poseur, he has some mettle underneath the showmanship. IOW, you can buy your way up Mt. Everest to a certain point, but nothing and no one guarantees you return alive. Dude has also crossed the Artic Ocean and has an honorary commission in the Royal Navy. I don't think commando training has anything to do with that. He might just be as nuts as he appears to be on his show.

Secondly, killing people has little bearing on reality, as there is not much civilian world call for such a talent. Besides, most, if not all, paratroopers are soldiers who act within units, not solo death dealers.

Third, I would readily bet that Grylls does not have more survival skills or experience than this entire forum combined. It wouldn't take very many members aggregated to come up with more backwoods time than Mr. Grylls has been alive. Also, in case you hadn't noted it before, watch the credits at the end of any episode of Man v. Wild and you will read that Mr. Grylls has a credited "survival expert" at his and the show's disposal. If he were all that and a bag of chips, such an expense would be unnecessary.

Besides, how much of an expert is one after he drinks untreated water in a jungle, claiming it was okay because it was swift moving and fish were living in it, only to have him puking on camera later that night?

That, and every shelter he has built against actual weather has leaked like a sieve.

I enjoy Bear because I know better than to take him as anything more than the "media personality" that he is. It seems that among the non-billionaire set, only the English can get away with being the dilettantes known broadly as Adventurers. The country has a very rich tradition of such self-selected madmen.

Only mad dogs and Englishmen would suck on elephant crap.:p
 
Bear's show is entertaining, but it is cool that there are survival style shows on the tube. I am a big Survivorman fan, and really like most of his episodes. Les is coming out with a whole new season of Survivorman in late February 2007. I can't wait to see them!!!

AC
 
Survivorman got me interested in survival shows. It is a really good show. Even if you don't like Les for some reason, you have to respect the fact that he has to produce the show on his own while at the same time trying to survive for a week with almost no gear! Can you imagine how tied you would get trying to run several cameras while you got shots of yourself climbing down a cayon? Until someone else does a show all by themselves, Les Stroud is still king!

Bear is a cool guy and I think he is a really tough guy. I heard he was gay but that doesn't mean he is any less of a man. He does things that we all wish we could do.

Think of how many people have gone camping or hiking just because they started watching survival shows. Maybe some of them have started testing themselves against nature and are out doing something when they would have just been hanging around the house eating and slowly dying. I think these shows are a good thing.

I don't people are more apt to try and get themselves into a dangerous situation just because they saw Les or Bear do something. Most people are really not that stupid. The fact is, most people get into dangerous situations because they didn't know what the dangers were in the first place. At least these survival shows clue people in on what can happen if you think you can face nature without being prepared.

I will still go camping and hiking but I will be more careful then I was in the past. I admit that in the past, I did some things that were silly and dangerous. I think I know enough to at least not get myself into a situation that will kill me now. Lets face it, most of us are just regular guys looking for some kicks. We don't spend our life outdoors and we are not experts at much of anything. Sometimes we get in over out heads.
 
I have only one thing of note to add to this discussion at this point, Bear is listed as the "presenter" with another person listed as the "survival expert" now surely most of you have noticed this, however my question is... is the camera guy the survival expert? that would be interesting to find out.


And again, I like both Bear and Les.

Edit : i was going to contact him and ask if he'd post here for us nutcases to question but his contact information is coming back invalid address.
 
Gay? Ok I'll ask again, why don't you guys spend a few minutes looking up "facts" before you post such a dumdshit comment. Go to Bear's website and you'll see his very attractive wife (and her book), and you will even learn about his kids. BTW Les Stroud also contacts survival experts, plural, before leaving to film. I would do the same thing. Does that make me gay or prove I have no outdoor skills? Does posting questions here do the same? How about reading books on the subject. You guys need to get outside more.
 
You need to put your shotgun away 2Dogs. Many of the critiques in this thread have been misinformed or pretty tame in comparison to the mallninjas over at ar-15.com. If you are listening for the sound of guns aimed at Bear, I'd suggest you head on over to where he is really being shot at.
 
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