Surviorman, Season 2: Thoughts on the whole season

M

MG_Saldivar

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It seems the (very short) Season 2 of Survivorman ended Friday night with a 'behind the scenes' ep (it's being rebroadcast Saturday, 9/22 at 11p Eastern if you missed it).

Some thoughts about the season as a whole:

1. "Alaska" and "Cook Islands" were superior to the earlier eps in the season - either one would be my fave of S2.

2. "South Africa" was a low point -- I just can't get over how unexciting it was given he was in, um, SOUTH AFRICA.

3. Whichever one of you guys coined "Starvingman" should trademark it. :D

4. The Starvingman aspects were a real downer in "Labrador" and "Ecuador," as was Les' constant and perplexing casualness about drinking some of the foulest water on the planet. :eek:

5. I was initially dismissive of "Lots-of-gearman" but I've come around to thinking it was nice to see Les with more than a multitool and some cashews.

6. It felt SO GOOD to see him destroy that harmonica in "Cook Islands..." I like harmonica music, and Les is obviously a talented musician, but the harmonica interludes were *ahem* uncalled for. :p

7. Despite my criticisms, I still respect Les for his "working man" approach to survival (in contrast to the "gentlemanly" survival of a certain "commando"/mountain "climber"/man-about-town from the UK...)
 
I especially liked the final 'behind the scenes' episode that aired last night. I find that interesting that Les was working on putting that together long before the Bear Grylls scandal hit.
 
I love the show. Not because it's perfect. (it certainly isn't), but it's the only genuine enough thing on that is closest to the kind of fun I like to have. Even though Bear is a douche and his conditions are total BS, I still like to watch the show simply because there isn't anything else on tv but this and Les that are like it. I just keep telling myself while I watch Bear "this is supposed to be a sitcom and he's just a bad actor" Kinda helps it be more fun for me. Les is the man though. His show might be a little bit nancy from time to time, but most of the time I don't think it's because he's afraid to go into Lion country, he just gets lucky and not too many bad things happen in a period of 7 days. No biggie. I know if the fit hit the shan he's one less person I'd have to babysit.
 
MG_Saldivar said:
It seems the (very short) Season 2 of Survivorman ended Friday night with a 'behind the scenes' ep (it's being rebroadcast Saturday, 9/22 at 11p Eastern if you missed it).

Some thoughts about the season as a whole:

1. "Alaska" and "Cook Islands" were superior to the earlier eps in the season - either one would be my fave of S2.

2. "South Africa" was a low point -- I just can't get over how unexciting it was given he was in, um, SOUTH AFRICA.

3. Whichever one of you guys coined "Starvingman" should trademark it. :D

4. The Starvingman aspects were a real downer in "Labrador" and "Ecuador," as was Les' constant and perplexing casualness about drinking some of the foulest water on the planet. :eek:

5. I was initially dismissive of "Lots-of-gearman" but I've come around to thinking it was nice to see Les with more than a multitool and some cashews.

6. It felt SO GOOD to see him destroy that harmonica in "Cook Islands..." I like harmonica music, and Les is obviously a talented musician, but the harmonica interludes were *ahem* uncalled for. :p

7. Despite my criticisms, I still respect Les for his "working man" approach to survival (in contrast to the "gentlemanly" survival of a certain "commando"/mountain "climber"/man-about-town from the UK...)
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I agree with just about everything you mentioned above. All except for the harmonica. I was a little sad;):):D

For the most part I thought season II was very good, and enjoy Les's approach to the show. I do hope there is a season III.
 
I agree that it's a bit more enjoyable with more than just his Wave and a piece of a energy bar. I'd rather see him with whatever a normal hiker might have on his pack, and that sort of thing. Though I do like that he does use what would be with him, as when he harvested parts off the truck in the desert, etc.

Good show! That'd be hard work to do over and over. I was especially jealous when he was on the island.... hard to call that 'surviving'...
 
A "normal" hiker wouldn't have anything. When I did SAR we would always come across day hikers carrying nothing but a 16oz. bottle of water. In Tucson. In the summer.

I agree, he should go out with the "10 essentials" and show how helpful they are and how to use them. Like we saw in the making of episode, he wouldn't be able to show how to use signalling devices, he might get rescued!

Chad
 
A third season would be great! (this one seemed pretty short.) Survivorman is a lot better than most of the other TV out there. The alaska episode he had ***gasp*** a fixed blade knife, a buck 119. A staple of hunters and outdoorsman everywhere because it is reasonably priced and widely available.

The cook islands and alaska episodes were really good, I agree that the South Africa episode was boring, but hopefully none of us will ever find ourselves in south africa...as survival seems really tough there.

every TV show has its flaws but this is one of the better shows out there. Les just needs to become a better fisherman, and then I think he would be less of a "starvingman."
 
i wish he just wasnt in such a rush to get out , but show you can get comfortable with your surroundings , and he really does just starve for a week .. here in Alaska folks are commonly found 2 and 3 weeks later after a bad hunting /flying trip .. after a week with no food your done .
 
I kike the show, my boys and I watch it and talk about it all week. Always learn something new. Important point made last night is to always use local knowledge before you go out. It isn't perfect but it is evolving. Better than "Survivor"
 
Short. Also I liked seeing Les in "Behind the Scenes" learning from the local survival experts/guides the locally known skills to survive (eg, don't sleep here because this is where the Cape Cobra will pass). IMO he could expand his behind the scenes out-takes and maybe put them out on DVD if it doesn't work on Discovery Channel. Might be more educational than the show.

I loved the luxury accommodations, a thatch type roof and a fire to minimize the flying insects.
 
From what I understand season three will be decided, it seems Stroud and Discovery
are on the outs because Survivorman wants more $$$ for his tapes.
 
wayne37 said:
From what I understand season three will be decided, it seems Stroud and Discovery
are on the outs because Survivorman wants more $$$ for his tapes.
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I hope they can come to an agreement but in my opinion he's earned it! The Man vs. wild tapes were overpriced as is and selling for at least 2-3 times the amount of Les' and had less episodes per disc even after the scandal. I'd hate to see Les not get a fair shake considering the work he personally puts in it.
 
Murdok72605 said:
I'd hate to see Les not get a fair shake considering the work he personally puts in it.
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Moreover, Les seems to own or at least have a stake in the production company, given that he's all over the credits -- principal photography, editing, SOUNDTRACK, etc. etc.

Eddie Grylls is an employee of Channel 4 or whatever it is in the UK. A high-priced contractor, no doubt, but I wonder what kind of 'back end' deal Eddie receives in terms of royalties from DVDs, etc.

(Of course, given his fame [infamy?] he might well have a sweet Tom Hanks-style share of profits from the show on top of his salary.)
 
wayne_l said:
i wish he just wasnt in such a rush to get out , but show you can get comfortable with your surroundings , and he really does just starve for a week .. here in Alaska folks are commonly found 2 and 3 weeks later after a bad hunting /flying trip .. after a week with no food your done .
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I don't agree with this...you can go a LOT longer than a week. In fact you can go longer than 2-3 weeks.

I am not saying that you should, or that you shouldn't get comfortable with your surroundings, but it's entirely possible that the people they find after 2-3 weeks have eaten nothing the entire time.
 
if conditions were good like being summer time , good dry weather and good water, sure you might make it 2-3 weeks with no food .

but in my area, i have all 4 seasons of weather in 1 day , wich burns alot of energy . just this past week while hunting birds in 4 hours it was 70 degrees and sunny , turned to hard rain and then sleet and high winds by the time im back at the truck .

some of these deep valleys get really nasty cold and wet in southern alaska .

but its also really hard to starve in summer and early fall here . worlds best blue berries and black berries , mushrooms ,salmon ,trout and grayling ..kind of have to be blind not to find food .

but in the winter its alot like a dessert for folks who have never been in alaska woods . and to fight the cold after a week you wouldnt be able to have enough energy to fight it .
 
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