if you made a W&SS TV series......

[Bushman5]

if you made a WS&S TV series......how would you do it? what would you demonstrate? would you do it yourself or have a crew?

 

[Fonly]

I dont think I would do the survivorman thing, but more of a daily, half hour show.

 

[jca21]

i would do it ray mears style. informative as possible

 

[Skimo]

I think the one thing that limits many people is the regional issue, I don't know much about desert survival, but I do know what it takes in the part of Alaska I grew up in.

The same goes for jungle survival.

I'd rather see series on survival with different guest hosts that accompany the main host and talk/show what's important to know, like local plants, fish and game. wind patterns, seasonal tidbits.

Example:

Main host goes to a coastal area and talks to people there to learn about what fish are there, if they're migratory. What game is there, any specific things to look for, talk about signaling ships that sail around the area.

this way the show can be more of a tool than entertainment, the show should also produce a website that covers, in detail, information about that area, again making it more of an entertaining tool than just mindless entertainment.

 

[flnder]

Wilderness(bushcraft) definitely Ray Mears style, with the whole crew,land rovers,cast iron kitchenware. Survival skills and mind set "the starvingman" Les Stroud does it better. Ray Mears' stuff is like an expedition,Les' stuff is what if everyman got dropped off by accident.

 

[longbow50]

I have a colleague, that is an award winning producer of documentaries and he is willing to offer me his expertise as consultant and co-producer of the series. Other crew would be in editing. Filming, lighting and sound would all be handled by us.

He and I talked about who we would get as our face man/woman/instructor and we settled on a mutual friend who does commercial modeling, is very good looking and quite the outdoors woman. There would also be people invited in to work with the host of the show, giving the folks at home, the guests specifics on his/her expertise in the outdoors.

We would shoot in the surrounding forests, river, lake and ocean areas. Each episode woud include safety, wilderness & survival skills and in some instances, we talked about using re-enactment, ie: an early settler freezing to death after breaking a leg while out hunting and then showing what the modern wilderness enthusiast can do to avert such disaster when in the wilderness. Shelter can cover several episodes, and primitive skills would be a big part, as would the modern gear section, because I see this as appealing to a wide variety of outdoors people.

We would concentrate on getting the videos shot and ready for market and the episodes would be a part of the video, but each video would actually go into more detail. So you could say that the show, would be the commercial for the video, lol.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on it. Marketing the show would be of prime importance and figure that we have enough influence and experience between us, that we can set up several sponsors for the pilot and the ball would start rolling from there.

 

[Chinpo]

I'd like to see episodes focus on one particular aspect of survival/bushcrafting.
Episode 1: Firemaking, 2: Shelter building etc. Each show would start with basics and then build on them until finally we learned more advanced skills.
As much as I love Ray and Les, and the techniques they show, I'd like more detail and expansion on each skill. Plus, it would make it easier to re-watch and practice. With Ray and Les style of shows, the skills and practice are scattered through the episodes. I have to jot down time codes/chapters so that I can fast forward to the demonstration when I want to practice.

 

[Joezilla]

I have a colleague, that is an award winning producer of documentaries and he is willing to offer me his expertise as consultant and co-producer of the series. Other crew would be in editing. Filming, lighting and sound would all be handled by us.

He and I talked about who we would get as our face man/woman/instructor and we settled on a mutual friend who does commercial modeling, is very good looking and quite the outdoors woman. There would also be people invited in to work with the host of the show, giving the folks at home, the guests specifics on his/her expertise in the outdoors.

We would shoot in the surrounding forests, river, lake and ocean areas. Each episode woud include safety, wilderness & survival skills and in some instances, we talked about using re-enactment, ie: an early settler freezing to death after breaking a leg while out hunting and then showing what the modern wilderness enthusiast can do to avert such disaster when in the wilderness. Shelter can cover several episodes, and primitive skills would be a big part, as would the modern gear section, because I see this as appealing to a wide variety of outdoors people.

We would concentrate on getting the videos shot and ready for market and the episodes would be a part of the video, but each video would actually go into more detail. So you could say that the show, would be the commercial for the video, lol.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on it. Marketing the show would be of prime importance and figure that we have enough influence and experience between us, that we can set up several sponsors for the pilot and the ball would start rolling from there.

OO! Let me know when you want to do a bug eating only episode!

 

[ROCK6]

Given the regional diversity, I would like to see each "location" broken down into sections...the first show on the area and working with a local guide to learn about the flora and fauna; the different techniques to make a fire, find/build shelter, obtain, purify water, etc. Second episode could be some re-enactments about some local survival stories. Third episode could be of the host going out doing the Les Stroud thing...with or without a camera crew, that's not a big hang-up for me. Last episode could be going over the host's survival gear, making of that particular show and of course some bloopers thrown in.

It could be a single host, two or three. It would be nice to have a few working the episode...a good bushcrafter, a good entomologist / botanist type and another that's good at trapping and snaring/hunting. Absolutely none of the typical drama needed!

Using local guides or survival school instructors is another good angle. It gives them good advertisement and you get excellent local survival techniques.

Personalities are what make a show, not necessarily the content (for the big audience). Although Bear Grylls is an idiot at times, he's an entertaining personality. Balancing that personality with an educational and entertaining show is a tough act, but Les Stroud and Ray Mears have done quite well with it.

I like the ingenuity of Les Stroud...that's way to produce a show is to introduce a scenario with limited resources or resources typically carried and getting through a few days of a bad situation. If it was group, you could have an episode of hikers helping an injured friend with the basic field craft and first aid skills needed to keep them alive and comfortable while awaiting rescue, etc.

You could even do historical enactments, such as downed aircraft pilot in Viet Nam or Alaska; even a missionary expedition gone bad...

Good topic for discussion as I think this a niche that will always draw a decent audience.

ROCK6

 

[shangchi108]

I like the idea of historical reenactments of survival situations, to discuss what they did right, what they did wrong, and how the situation could have been improved, and how it could have been avoided altogether.

I recently visited Donner Pass and purchased the PBS DVD on the Donner Party. Very moving. I know the whole situation could have been avoided if they hadn't taken Hasting's Cutoff, but I'd like to know what experts would have done differently once they got into the mess they were in. I find it interesting that they knew there were fish in the lake but didn't know how to get them. That's one thing that they could have done differently that might have allowed them to survive without resorting to cannibalism.

I'd like to see an outdoor/primitive living/survival series done by Cody Lundin. I really like his books, I hear the courses he offers are good.

 

[Jeff Venture]

All really good ideas here. Keeping the production transparent ( ie. full disclosure of re enactments and demos) would be good. If the host or hostess has a little outdoors experience that would be great. Show how they develope and grow as a 'woods person' would be an interesting journey to follow as well.

 

[Kismet]

I've never seen a realistic portrayal of someone in Wilderness in REAL pain. Enacted disabling injury does not show crippling effect of ANY effort.

A truly realistic enactment would take the scenario to an entirely different level.

 

[kgd]

The problem with current survival/bushcraft shows is that it inevitably starts wrapping around the main character rather than the methods and instruction. This happened to both Bear and Les, for different reasons, but the end product is stagnation of the show. Les was trapped by the formula of his show and all he could do was switch locations. Bear is trapped by the formula of his and I'm not sure he really ever intended to provide an educational experience.

If I were in charge of designing a show than it would be episodes with a host who isn't necessarily the all knowing expert in every detail rather it is a host that has enough knowledge to ask good questions. I would set up the show almost like a talk show, but launch into vignettes of survival dramatizations and discuss different aspects.

I wouldn't limit the format to survival in wilderness. I'd extend it to first responder/first aid, automobile crashes, urban disasters (flooding, fires etc) as well as wilderness lost situations. Each show would focus on a theme and explore aspects of that theme. Preparedness for the situation before hand, the dramatization of what happens when the emergency happens, perhaps some expert panel commentary of the responses of the actors/drama scene analyzing what they did right and what they could have done differently. After this, the show goes onto detailing the types of training programs available for this particular situation, where more information can be found out. A gadget/gear segment that talks about cool-ass shit that will save your butt when needed. Finally wrap up things up again with the essential survival kit, how can the items in your PSK/FAK/bug out bag help you avoid the situation, what are the skills you need to stay ahead of the turmoil?

Oh yeah - gotta have a catch phrase....I think a really 'Now that's an S-H-T-F (pronounce the letters, not meaning) situation if I ever did see one!'....

Guest hosts the list is endless. Book review segments. Making fun of Bear (only referred to as the Misconceptions segment). We should also have a little comic relief. Re-occurring characters like the 'Mall Ninja', Tactical Tommy and Sheeple Shannon can come out to make funny stereotype, bonheaded comments that are laughed at and also brought at as misconceptions.

 

[Mentor]

Personally, I think that the ideal W&SS show would just be footage from one of those eagle nest cams with the posts from our weekly W&SS chats running across the screen in CNN ticker fashion.

 

[x39]

I'll try not to repeat many of the excellent suggestions already given. I would enjoy seeing visits to various survival schools (both military and civilian) including following along on their courses, gear reviews, visits with makers of said gear, interviews with adventurers, wilderness travelers, and folks who have been in far flung places. There is the potential for an immensely interesting program.

 

[baldtaco-II]

I think a two part thing with a guest panel in a studio and doozers in the field at whatever locations.

Those in the studio would shadow with props what a doozer is doing in the field. The doozer in the field makes a water filter with sand, moss, charcoal, and whatever and those back at the studio demonstrate with a big plexiglass model. If they all accord great. If the panel in the studio have a seemingly better solution they build their model and feedback to Bloggs in the field to try that instead. Simulations in the studio could be used to take measurements of water quality using different ingredients and proportions.

I think this would be useful not only it terms of what works and what doesn't, but what could be improved upon. Models maximize transparency, and also demonstrating “working better” still shows that some stuff works and doesn't reduce everything to a pass / fail works /doesn't work. Obvious things would be regional variations in fire lighting methods or shelter building. A steep pitch shelter in a freezing forest in Norway might be great for shedding snow and getting warmth from the fire in but a much better alternative atop a windswept moor in the swirling drizzle would be to pitch as low profile as possible, that sort of thing. At what point does it pay to sacrifice materials to make a double skin roof to keep cool vs a simple roof and bedding to get you off the floor. These things could be run in the studio and measured as well as getting feedback measurements from the field doozer. And so on.

 

[Masteroffajitas]

I think I'd get a bunch of washed up 'celebrities' and have them led by an ex-special forces guy. At the end of the week, one of the celebrities will be eliminated. This is all leading up to a $100,000 prize. They'd have to hunt for food, lay traps, build fires. I think I could hook something up with VH1.

 

[WolfTracker]

I would do it with Panavision.

 

[udtjim]

What I personally have against many of the survival shows is that they cover so much stuff that will never pertain to most people. Very few people will have to survive in a Jungle or the arctic or most, even in a dessert. If they do, in most cases they would then get checked out on that area. General survival like fire starting and shelter building is ok. Also meal prep and cooking on things other that a stove.

 

[Calebklyne]

i think survivorman does a pretty good job but it would be nice to see maybe some more practical things, and maybe even a series on different parts of the world rather than just having one show