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

heresay1 said:
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.
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Very interesting. Do you think he was just nervous? Maybe he was told to be more colorful?

Will
 
Greykilt said:
I'm always just a little puzzled what a survival show is actually supposed to exhibit anyways.
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The only thing its supposed to do is generate ad revenue for the Discovery Channel.

We get sucked into this notion that Dual Survival about actually about survival, but its a scripted show with (bad) actors and fake survival scenarios. Why walk around a vertical rock face when you can pretend like its the only way off the mountain, and fashion rappelling gear from the downed hot air balloon you just happen to find? A guy wearing shorts and no shoes in sub zero weather, and the show is supposedly about survival?

I like the original DS cast, as well as Joe and the bearded effeminate guy, but this new cast is just snoozeville for me.

DS has provided some good entertainment, and has distracted me from the reality that I will never be an astronaut or date ESPN's Jaymee Sire, but it has almost nothing to do with actual survival.

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I also attended the Tracker School standard course in 2002 and Bill McConnell was the lead instructor. Part of the reason I am watching this season is to see how he is portrayed since I know him. When I went to the course, he was the man hands down. His knowledge base and experience were top notch then and he was very down to Earth, passionate about the wild but very approachable. He did not stand off on some pedestal away from the students, he was very interactive. What we see is what the channel wishes to portray, did anyone else notice that sweet obsidian bladed knife that was used to open the lithium battery ? I wish they would have showed Bill making it vs portraying him as some cocky hippy which he is not.
 
DrPenguin said:
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.
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Old Horace Kephart points this out in his book. Stick to the ridge lines and pay attention to ridges forking off.

Interesting about Bill McConnell. One show is not sufficient to judge and what the directors choose to show is important. The obsidium blade would have been cool to see him make it.
 
DrPenguin said:
Very interesting. Do you think he was just nervous? Maybe he was told to be more colorful?

Will
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I'm guessing both. Editors and producers telling him what to do. Bill McConnell has an impressive skill set. I wish Discovery would let us see it.
 
heresay1 and Mtn Crow: Well that is encouraging. I'll keep my fingers crossed that more of his easy going personality comes through. Heaven knows a stranger to the camera could get nervous on a TV show like this easily enough. I know I would.

22-rimfire: I've never read Kephart though I have most certainly heard of him. But I grew up running the hills of southern WV and still hunt there every fall. Even a knobhead like me learned long ago to stay away from the laurel patches, sidehills, rock bars, and marshes if you want to get somewhere fast. :)

Will
 
Remember guys, discovery has nothing to do with how a show gets made. there are a dozen layers between them and the "talent" that are all doing their best to hit a demographic that advertisers will want to sell to. They probably shoot four or five takes of a given "event" then "B" roll and background, and then voice-over. Also keep in mind these guys are not TV people, so they are going to be trying to give the producer and director what they want, rather than tell the story they would if you were there listening. The director might know a thing or two, or might not, and really what you are getting is a survival show by a guy who likely gets his ideas from other survival shows.

I really wish these guys could team up with some good technical people, and just do youtube stuff. A high production value show with any of these guys would hit a million subscribers in a heartbeat, but I don't know it they would have the personal funds to be able to do that.

Apparently the shows Bear Grylls does in China are something totally different, full on insanity.

And just like the denizens of BF are not typical knife owners, they are generally not typical TV watchers either. TV is an outdated medium, unfortunately it's the only platform some of these guys know.
 
DrPenguin said:
22-rimfire: I've never read Kephart though I have most certainly heard of him. But I grew up running the hills of southern WV and still hunt there every fall. Even a knobhead like me learned long ago to stay away from the laurel patches, sidehills, rock bars, and marshes if you want to get somewhere fast. :)
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Yep.... I run on those same ridges except in KY and TN now. You see, if I say it, it is just my opinion, but if Kephart says it, it must be fact. :D His book is full of common sense things. He even has a mountain named after him for his role in supporting the formation of the Smoky Mt NP.
 
Another idea would be a generalist who's a better presenter, and then a local specialist. Something that would really show some of the techniques that require advanced skills, but are more "local" gets the military guys out of the way, and you would meet more local guys.
 
Me and my daughter were channel surfing last weekend and happened upon Cody and Dave and I was reminded of how much funnier the show was with those two. The show has not been able to re-capture that chemistry IMO.
 
Maybe have the show along the lines of "speed dating"...change the partners every 10 minutes each show! Now THAT would be entertaining!!!!!:eek::D:thumbup:

Just my $0.02 worth of insanity!

Regards,
Ron
 
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