New Dual Survival--two new hosts...meh...And Survivorman...been better.

BOSS1

BOSS1

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Greetings,

So I think it premiered last night, the new season of 'Dual Survival' with the two new hosts...

I usually enjoy watching the show if there's not much else on...I didn't make it more than a few minutes into this new version. The SF guy, former Green Beret (hopefully completely vetted this time around), seemed tolerable. The other guy...ugh, after a few minutes of his whining, for lack of a better term, enough...*click*...disappointing...

It was interesting that they preceded the brand new episode with the very first Dual Survival, hailing all the way back to Cody & Dave. Perhaps Dave has redeemed himself a bit??? I dunno.

Even the New Survivorman (I usually enjoy Les quite a bit...seems one of the more legit guys around other than the BigFoot adventures) was a bit of turn off. Now he has a newbie with him he's instructing...and man, I don't think this guy has ever been more than 50 ft. away from a Starbucks and a Wifi connection. And Les seemed a bit full of himself...lots of 'All of my experience I take for granted' stuff/comments...ummm, hope that action stops as well.

In any event...if they don't make some improvements, not seeing either of these lasting too much longer in these formats...

YMMV, $.02 worth,
BOSS
 
BOSS1 said:
Greetings,

So I think it premiered last night, the new season of 'Dual Survival' with the two new hosts...

I usually enjoy watching the show if there's not much else on...I didn't make it more than a few minutes into this new version. The SF guy, former Green Beret (hopefully completely vetted this time around), seemed tolerable. The other guy...ugh, after a few minutes of his whining, for lack of a better term, enough...*click*...disappointing...

It was interesting that they preceded the brand new episode with the very first Dual Survival, hailing all the way back to Cody & Dave. Perhaps Dave has redeemed himself a bit??? I dunno.

Even the New Survivorman (I usually enjoy Les quite a bit...seems one of the more legit guys around other than the BigFoot adventures) was a bit of turn off. Now he has a newbie with him he's instructing...and man, I don't think this guy has ever been more than 50 ft. away from a Starbucks and a Wifi connection. And Les seemed a bit full of himself...lots of 'All of my experience I take for granted' stuff/comments...ummm, hope that action stops as well.

In any event...if they don't make some improvements, not seeing either of these lasting too much longer in these formats...

YMMV, $.02 worth,
BOSS
Click to expand...

I completely agree. Also, Les Stroud seems to be sales pitching his survival kits on the show during his new season. Not as enjoyable to watch as it used to be.
 
Still like les but yeah the new ones are not as good. Havnt seen the new DS yet. I was over Joe so kinda glad he is off. I did like Matt and he seemed very smart too.
 
Man it has been a long wild ride for both Dual Survival and those of us who have followed the show hasn't it? I loved the original cast. Hated to see either or both of them go.

I agree with your observation about the new hippy "Bill". Maybe they felt the need to have the obnoxious one be the back to nature guy instead of the military guy. After Teti's run on the show that would be understandable. :)

Grady should be vetted pretty solidly by now. He was on Ultimate Survival Alaska for its last 2 seasons. Seems like a really down to earth and low key man to be honest. Never really saw him lose his cool or freak out on that show and there were plenty of opportunities to vent during his tenure. He doesn't do a lot of bragging about what he used to do or some of the situations he was in. If they didn't tell you about his background you'd never know.

Dave seems to be doing very well. He had to get back to basics after the mess he made. Seemed to sit back and take stock for a while. Concentrated on his school and his knowledge base. He did the first season of Dirty Rotten Survival and seemed to have a good time with the other 2 fellows. It was good to see TBH. I liked him and never felt his military background was important to what he knew or had to offer.

I really like the show. I'm more than a bit jealous of the places they get to trod. And so I hope the show does well.... but Bill will take some getting used to. Even if a man is pretty good at something he doesn't need to blab about it so much. I always thought it better to be competent but quiet. Never was one to trash talk. Maybe I am getting old lol.

Will
 
Keep in mind, its all in the story the editor tells later. One could be the blabber-mouth and you'd never hear him, and only hear every rare word from the other. Maybe they have the one guy answering questions with him not realizing that's what will go to air. I could take a few hours of footage of almost anyone and do a reel that looked like Mr. Bean, and one that looked like John Rambo.
 
I guarantee I can start a fire. False! I got sick of his being a bit full of himself. I still like Dave and Cody best even if Cody was a bit full of himself.

I can't say that I have the least bit of interest in being subjected to what they were in the first new Dual Survival show.

Wasn't impressed with Survivorman. But they have to change things up a bit to keep it interesting.
 
I'm always just a little puzzled what a survival show is actually supposed to exhibit anyways. The viewer has to immediately ignore the fact that there's a film crew "along for the ride." And, Yes, there will always be the fact in Mr. Stroud's case that Les films himself which I smile to myself as the camera records him walking off into the horizon or boarding a selfmade watercraft as he paddles off into the great blue. (I guess he paddles back to get it after the shot otherwise how would we ever see it :D ). One man against the odds, be it real or "Presented" , it's obviously a very popular genre', almost as popular as the Alaska themed shows. But it gets a wee stale after season 5 episode 23.
Survive in the arctic. Done that.
Survive in the desert. Done that.
Survive on an island. Done that.
Survive in an abandoned car. Done that
Wait, what about TWO? They'd watch that wouldn't they?
But not just ANY two....
DS took it another step further with the Soldier vs Hippie theme. And we can only imagine how much of the chemistry (or lack of it) between the characters was evident or acted out. And it's never just a Soldier, oh no, as if an infantry man can not make fire from steel wool and a 'D' battery unless he spent his MOS at Ft Bragg, but an uber soldier, Black Ops, Special forces, Airborne Ranger, SAS, type.
And then
Enter the all natural, fully sustainable, wholly organic, gluten free, never wears shoes, never cuts hair, only 100% beeswax ever touches these lips, 'whatever the "GRID is I aint on it, brother', Side kick
each representing polar ends of the survival spectrum. But alas, dominant personalities are never compatible for long and in short order the show becomes more about the personal differences between Sgt York and Moonpuppy rather than the presented scenario they have to overcome. But even this grows old and after so many seasons the producers have to reinvent the show.
And yet, don't we love it? I watched every episode of Cody and Canterbury.

We didn't call it "Bushcraft" or "Survival" or" Off the Grid" in my childhood, and because of these shows those terms are now recognised by even school age kids. And many of the skills presented in the shows some viewers have never seen or experienced, so there's certainly that. That's the beauty of Creek Stuart's show. People out of shape with no woodslore get a crash course in Now and then we get to see if they learned anything. For some its life changing. But for me the real joy is the winner gets a knife.

I watched both the shows back to back and like the replies above I felt I've seen better from both production teams. Les came off as being very preachy and quite honestly when Cody left the show, Dual lost its magic for me long ago. I didn't see anything in this edition that brought it back.
These days the need to constantly build the drama up before the commercial breaks is overkill.
I've not only got my life but I've got (insert name) life in my hands too. If I don't get this (fire started, shelter built, boat hole patched, cordage finished) we could die!!!)
Once the necessary anticipation had been initiated, roll the new car commercial.
 
So I am writing a new series. The participants of each installment are indigenous people. They seldom speak but when they do it is in their native language. So we use some closed caption translations and sparsely. Each show involves indigenous skills seldom seen. And awesome landscapes. Would you watch it?
 
That would be a cheap show too. You'd just have to give the people some rolling tobacco and bouillon cubes and they'd be happy.
 
Codger_64 said:
So I am writing a new series. The participants of each installment are indigenous people. They seldom speak but when they do it is in their native language. So we use some closed caption translations and sparsely. Each show involves indigenous skills seldom seen. And awesome landscapes. Would you watch it?
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I think I would, Codger... :D
 
Is there someplace online to watch the new Dual Survival season/episodes? I'm not expecting much, but will at least grind out the first few minutes to see where it goes. I enjoyed some of the episodes with Dave/Cody, but as all the drama, hype, and artificial danger yada, yada, yada got injected, I just couldn't take it anymore.

I think I saw about 5 minutes of the Teti ones and couldn't stand it. I don't watch much TV anyway, but these shows are at least in the woods/wilderness of some sort. That being said, I haven't watched much of it, and don't really think it will ever improve much. Maybe a few exceptions, I just don't think there are really that many people (relatively speaking) that want to watch real skills and learning type shows. The drama sells, unfortunately.
 
If I could customize Dual Survival (mix and match the characters) I would pick Dave and Matt Graham as my co-stars combination. Neither one naturally dramatic, and both knowledgeable woodsmen in their own styles.
 
Codger_64 said:
So I am writing a new series. The participants of each installment are indigenous people. They seldom speak but when they do it is in their native language. So we use some closed caption translations and sparsely. Each show involves indigenous skills seldom seen. And awesome landscapes. Would you watch it?
Click to expand...

We could call it Tarzan Jad Guru, and then when the inevitable disappointment sets in, we could translate the title into English: Tarzan the Terrible.
 
Codger_64 said:
So I am writing a new series. The participants of each installment are indigenous people. They seldom speak but when they do it is in their native language. So we use some closed caption translations and sparsely. Each show involves indigenous skills seldom seen. And awesome landscapes. Would you watch it?
Click to expand...

We have APTN up here, aboriginal peoples television network. So I catch your scenario now and then, except that English is a predominant language up here with most native groups. What I took away from living in a northern community was...practicality. If you could start a fire instantly by slopping on some snowmobile gas, do it. If you can cut up wood quicker with a chain saw, use it. That type of thing, it wasn't some secret traditional knowledge passed down from Yoda. So yes......, I also get your point. It has to be entertainment AND something like a Joe Lazyboy (myself), can identify with. The documentary type material with subtitles is like watching rocks turn to dust.
 
Greykilt said:
These days the need to constantly build the drama up before the commercial breaks is overkill. I've not only got my life but I've got (insert name) life in my hands too. If I don't get this (fire started, shelter built, boat hole patched, cordage finished) we could die!!!)
Once the necessary anticipation had been initiated, roll the new car commercial.
Click to expand...

True. And one of the things that drives me crazy about Mountain Men and the rest of these shows. BUT... well I have to admit that in spite of all of its flaws and campy drama insertions I really like the show(s).

As a matter of fact I think the drama and personal conflict is much more important in giving real live survival lessons than 90% of the skills they exhibit. I just think that the directors are completely wrong in the way they show it and/or even encourage it. The simple fact is that in a highly stressful outdoors scenario, true survival or otherwise, working well with others, keeping each other emotionally stable, and helping to get the most out of each other would, I think, trump most other considerations. And I know that even being aware of this truism doesn't mean you are immune to doing it wrong. In a really stressful situation other people can drive you crazy. Little things they do can aggravate you to no end. Don't they know if they would just shut up and do what you tell them that they'd much better off? :)

For instance: A certain smarmy, know it all military survival dude was on a show where he was placed in the Appalachians (please pronounce it app-uh-latch-un) with a non military, hippy type survival dude. It was early autumn and they needed to traverse along, not across, a pretty well organized mountain range to their supposed rescue destination. This lunkhead was walking along a pretty nice ridgeline and pointed in exactly the right direction as far as I could tell when he decided to descend to the bottom of the valley. Given that creek bottoms in this area tend to be overgrown and/or rocky and/or with very steep sidehills most of the time, it is usually a good call when you have to make a lot of distance to stay on the ridgelines. Mistake #2. When he did guide them down he didn't wait to follow a finger ridge down into the rougher going. No he decided that it was best to scale down a 100' clift risking heaven knows what accidents. Mistake #3.

Mistake #1? That was way back at the beginning of the show when this guy stumbled across a bear track and decided that making a stick spear and sleeping in a very questionable decrepit old tree stand was a prudent thing to do.... BEARS!!!! These woods are infested with black bears! We can't be sleeping on the ground with all of these bears running around! We have to maintain a defense perimeter!

Now in a real survival situation, knowing myself pretty well, I'd have either lost my cool with this idiocy or else simply split up and left him to his own devices. OR I'd have had to deal with his personal lunacy and try to cope. This is where the real meat and potatoes is at, not whether you know how to boil water in a birchbark bowl or can tell a silverthorn from an autumn olive.

I wish that these shows made more of the way that people deal with each other. It doesn't have to be all about arguments and posturing either. As a matter of fact if these guys are real professionals it should be about how to work around the irritants of not getting your way all the time but still getting through the ordeal. It's a thought anyway.

Will
 
Greykilt said:
Yes, there will always be the fact in Mr. Stroud's case that Les films himself which I smile to myself as the camera records him walking off into the horizon or boarding a selfmade watercraft as he paddles off into the great blue. (I guess he paddles back to get it after the shot otherwise how would we ever see it :D ).
Click to expand...


That's what he does. In fact he often shows himself trudging back to get his gear and makes mention of it as well. It was especially tough in the early days when he had to haul around over 50 pounds of camera gear and batteries.

Chad
 
I took a class at the Tracker School in 2005. Bill McConnell was the lead instructor. He knew his stuff and was an awesome teacher. That stated I was shocked when I tuned in and watched the show. That's not the person I remember talking to during breaks. He was funny, easy going, and not egotistical.

I'll continue watching though. I'm hoping it gets better.
 
The military guy seems cool enough, though his man-bun was a bit much. The primitive guy though... I really miss Cody.
 
Here is my idea of a survival show involving contestants competing for a prize. Let's say five participants are selected from all entries, they will be issued the same kit. The only thing they'll get to choose is the clothes on their backs. The location will be in a warmer latitude just to be fair to everybody, and maximize the availability of wild edibles. A tropical island (south pacific to keep it exotic) with very small indigenous population if any, with an interior large enough to have a freshwater river system and rain forest. Just picture any of the countless islands in the Philippine or Malaysian achipielagos. The one rule being not to interact with each other, or the indigenous personnel. The kit will consist of a military pistol belt ( the old school one that clipped to the LBE before they started using molle assault vests). On this web belt, attached with ALICE clips will be: an 18 inch machete in a sheath, 2 USGI canteens with cover and one containing a canteen cup, and a butt pack; which contains 150 ft of 550 cord, a fire steel, a quality multitool, and a spool of 20 lb test fishing line with assorted hooks, sinkers, and a few leaders. That's it. Nada más. On the day the show premieres, the host will introduce the contestants inside the helicopter in route to the island. Once the chopper lands, the host will shake hands with each contestant, and wish them good luck. Afterwards, he will board the bird and take off leaving the participants behind. The host will return again in 6 months, and whomever is not a skeleton wins the prize. End of season 1:D
 
Watched the Survivorman bigfoot season, and I liked it. I think he did a good job of really looking at it seriously, I like how he was more aggressive with Todd and his antics. Also I like his filming style so I don't mind it being more documentary style.

Watched the episode with the rookie, and the guy fully admits off the top that he is in over his head. But I thought that was cool. As far as how Les talks, try teaching someone who knows almost nothing. Its interesting to start to see how much info you don't realize is in your brain. Its that change in mentality, Les started with "this is survival" where as buddy boy had to go from "This is going to be a nice walk and some hang out time" to "i'm on my own" before he started thinking, and by then it was too late. If you have been out there and have done it, then hearing Les say it might seem self-important, but I've worked with a lot of people who have so much experience they are almost useless as teachers because they don't know how to start at the basics. The fact that Les gave a poor explanation of the firesteel was because he didn't realize how little the other guy understood.

I also watch the shows without commercials which helps, and probably watch them a bit differently than others. I guess I'll see how the rest of the season goes.
 
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