Saw Survivorman last night

bulgron

bulgron

Joined
May 19, 2005
Messages
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I've never seen this show before. I know a lot of ink has been spilled on this site about shows like this, but I just want to shout out a big complaint to you all. As a result of the time I've spent on this forum, I simply couldn't sit back and enjoy watching Les wander about the Rockies.

Couldn't get past the idea that you'd have to be a raging idiot to be in the position that Les put himself into. Basically, he had a helicopter drop him off at the top of a mountain and he had to get down. At one point he says that this "simulates heliohiking gone bad."

He had no way to make a fire and no emergency shelter on him. But he DID have a backpack, a video camera that he beat up for the lense so as to make fire, and quite a lot of cold weather clothing. Oh, and a multitool.

Uhhh.... Dude.

Let me see if I've got this straight; there's people out there who allow themselves to be dropped off on the top of a mountain without:

- A couple of ways to make a fire.
- Emergency shelter. (Siltarps cost ~$60, and an 8' x 6' section weighs all of 7 oz
- Some high energy snacks (cliffbars, etc)
- No compass or GPS
- No maps.
- No ropes.
- At least a neck knife or a small fixed blade.
- A first aid kit
- A tin in which to boil water.

Let me see, in order to be minimally prepared, you'd have to spend maybe $100 and add what? 2lbs to your load? If that?

Um, right.

My biggest complaint with these shows is they don't say, "Look, I'm doing this just for entertainment purposes. This is what you really SHOULD be carrying if you ever let a helicopter drop you off on top of a mountain."

Before reading this forum, I never would have allowed myself to go into the wilderness without the minimal gear anyway. But after spending time around here, shows like survivorman just look dumber and dumber to me.

I try to suspend my sense of disbelief and simply enjoy them for what they are. But I can't shake this nagging feeling that there's a city boy with more money than sense somewhere eating this stuff up.

I really think Les (and Bear) need to stop from time to time and say, "Look, really, this is sheer lunacy. You really want to carry a few more things than this when you head out into the wilderness."

I mean, where is the episode where they build the PSK that you hang around your neck and off of your belt and put in your pockets?
 
You're way off. The show is simulating someone that who is not prepared getting lost/stranded/etc.
What fun would it be if he pulled out a tent, lighter, stove, etc. and sat there in luxury. He shows that there are ways to get everything done even if you don't have all of the proper equipment. You have to remember that there are a lot of people out there who would take off for a day without any survival essentials, and Les shoes you what it would take to survive.
 
abiggs said:
You're way off. The show is simulating someone that who is not prepared getting lost/stranded/etc.
What fun would it be if he pulled out a tent, lighter, stove, etc. and sat there in luxury. He shows that there are ways to get everything done even if you don't have all of the proper equipment. You have to remember that there are a lot of people out there who would take off for a day without any survival essentials, and Les shoes you what it would take to survive.
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Thats just it, hes doing the show as if you were, below bare minuim of equipment.
 
Have you ever read an account of someone getting themslves screwed up in the woods and they had a good selection of survival gear? I'm sure it's happened, but I've never come across it. Every story I've read told of people going without any of the essentials and making one error after another-- no map, no compass, no fire making gear, wrong clothes, no shelter or tools to make one, no one knew where they were headed or due back, etc, etc, etc.

I agree-- it would be nice to see a show that centered on prevention, proper equipment, and then gave the improvised alternatives-- and didn't show climbing down waterfalls as a technique for shortcuts.
 
I think you're right about Bear Grills he's a little cheesy (actually really cheesy). But Les is no joke, he actually lived in the Yukon with one other person for over a year. What if you lost your equipment and only had a few things to help you, it's nice to see there is a way to survive in most situations. Plus the show is called "Survivor Man" not "Lets walk in the woods with a bunch of modern equipment Man." Bottom line if you dont like the show don't watch, but don't bash a man who is putting something on T.V much more worth watching then the normal reality filth.
 
Bulgron, I think you're spot on about this. These shows are extremely misleading when it comes to survival - they present a person with extensive survival skills but who fails to implement the most basic rules of survival, including taking the right gear with them, telling people where you're going and when you'll be back and not taking further risks once lost (like climbing down fast flowing waterfalls with a vine or wandering around the scorching desert in the middle of the day).

Then again, Joe and Jane Average probably dont want to know about the intricacies of building survival kits or the relative merits of petroleum jelly dipped cotton wool vs. inner tube vs. dryer lint as tinder in a survival situation. And the marketing folks sure as shit aren't going to be forcing it on them.
 
C'mon guys, I want a series like "This Old PSK." :D

And now Norm is going to show us how to skin a rabbit with a 24" machete..... [whack, whack, whack, rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrip]
 
don't bash a man who is putting something on T.V much more worth watching then the normal reality filth.
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I agree completely. Not the 100% best show I've ever seen, but heads and shoulders above most of the other garbage.
 
abiggs said:
You're way off. The show is simulating someone that who is not prepared getting lost/stranded/etc.
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I don't think I'm way off.

Discovery channel also has a show called Myth Busters in which they start every show with the warning, "We're professionals with years of experience. This means we know how to do this stuff safely. Don't YOU try this stuff yourself."

Both Les and Bear should be making similar disclaimers.

If someone really doesn't know about wilderness skills, then they turn on Discovery channel to see Bear bouncing down a cliff or Les wandering about a Boreal Forest with no firemaking equipment, that sends a really bad message, IMO.

Why is it such a big deal to wish that they'd start each show with a disclaimer, and maybe every once in a while talk about the minimal things they could be carrying that would make tasks (like starting fires) oh so much easier?
 
bulgron said:
Why is it such a big deal to wish that they'd start each show with a disclaimer, and maybe every once in a while talk about the minimal things they could be carrying that would make tasks (like starting fires) oh so much easier?
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That is a fair statment. I dont see why they dont do the same.
 
DaleW said:
C'mon guys, I want a series like "This Old PSK." :D
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Heck yeah!

I watch and enjoy both shows for what they are, but I would enjoy a show like you all are talking about a lot more. I've read great reviews of Ron Hood's videos, any of you guys seen them?

BTW coming to these forums has ruined a lot of MythBusters episodes for me... like the one about heating a sword to dull red and dunking it in oil to "add carbon" :jerkit:

I saw a thing on Discovery today about how ancient Chinese swords and armor have survived this long without corroding, becasue waaaaayyy back then they figured out how to add chromium to the bronze alloy! I thought that was pretty darn cool.... sorry about getting off-topic :o
 
Actually, both Les and Bear say something to the effect of "don't try this at home" several times throughout the show. Just because you are a survival "expert", you can't assume that everyone is. These guys show you how to get out of a sticky situation. They're not saying, "Everyone go out this weekend and try this!" Take it for what it's worth for chist's sake.
 
I guess the one positive of these shows (apart from the throwaway entertainment value) is that the presenters encourage a healthy 'never give up' type attitude. I guess that someone who had watched these shows and then found themselves in a survival situation might think "well, Bear and Les managed to get through some bad shit, so if I just use some common sense and resourcefulness I might get through it too". Its a longshot, but still...
 
bulgron said:
I don't think I'm way off.

Discovery channel also has a show called Myth Busters in which they start every show with the warning, "We're professionals with years of experience. This means we know how to do this stuff safely. Don't YOU try this stuff yourself."

Both Les and Bear should be making similar disclaimers.

If someone really doesn't know about wilderness skills, then they turn on Discovery channel to see Bear bouncing down a cliff or Les wandering about a Boreal Forest with no firemaking equipment, that sends a really bad message, IMO.

Why is it such a big deal to wish that they'd start each show with a disclaimer, and maybe every once in a while talk about the minimal things they could be carrying that would make tasks (like starting fires) oh so much easier?
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Isn't there a disclaimer at the begining of the show. Hey Les can usually make fire with what he's got and that's pretty impressive. It's a show and now a training film. If someone is stupid enough to do some of the crazy things that Bear does then it's natural selection i guess.

Les could use a lesson on tinder fungus though.
 
I don't think many of us would put ourselves in a situation where we didn't have the minimum essentials. I for one really like the Survivorman shows. If anything, it goes to show that you can actually survive with little to nothing for a whole week:D Seriously, I find his shows entertaining and I use it as an educational tool for my kids as to why you carry certain essential items and how they can make "survival" much less stressfull. My kids have their own little Camelback pack with basic essentials, and they will say "hey dad, I have a little wire, fishing kit or Vaseline/cotton balls for tinder...". The real important thing about Les' shows is the simple ingenuity of using bicycle tire spokes, break cable, the inner tube, the camera lense, etc. Understand that it is TV and entertainment...Les is a pretty smart and talented guy...unfortunately, there's a lot of real idiots out there that should be paying attention.

ROCK6
 
In light of these shows (which I enjoy as they are extremely entertaining) I realized that the people who go out in to situations like this unprepared are not going to have the knowledge and tricks to pull off the things that these guys do...I thought of (just a thought) maybe coming up with my on webcast where as a relatively prepared guy I endeavor to do specific things on an episodic level show 1 making a fire...show 2 making various shelters show 3 ways of obtainig drinkable water etc...etc...If I ever do it I'll let you know and than everyone can make fun of me too LOL...seriously though i think the shows are enetertaining and I have learned a few tricks from them...but the things they do in large are definintely not the things I would do...
 
Odd, I watched the same show for the first time and thought it was well done. Yes, he did do a series of actions that would be stupid for a complete novice to do, but if you listened, each time he gave an explanation for it. He brought a few items like the spare video camera, back pack , ski pole and a couple other things to demonstrate field expediency, and showed how they could be useful in an emergency. I do not think the show is directly targeted at people with zero experience, but it can be useful to the widest experience levels possible. It is a TV show after all. I do agree it would be nice to have at least one episode dedicated to the basics, such as putting together small survival kits. Overall it is a much better show than I anticipated, not so much for being an exact "copy me and you will live" but as giving possibilities to think about.
 
as an addendum to my last post if I ever endeavored to partake in such a project (in the interest of time the majority of environments would be semicontroled (I will not be being dropped off by helicopter in the middle of the swiss alps) just thought I'd put that ou there but if not for any other reason I think it'd be fun project.
 
I have learned a few thing from Les's show. How about the prision match. He does tend to make a few mistakes like the swamp episode when he didn't sharpen the "fish hooks" etc..

Hey at least he doesn't try to capture a horse like Bear :jerkit:
 
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