Survivorman, sorry...

All us folk in Canada can cheer (I think) OLN will start carrying Ray Mears starting Jan 4. OLN is the Outdoor Network.... Get you cable or Satelitte dishes ready!
 
I hear good things about Ray but never seen him or read his books. I look forward to not hearing the whining.:D

Skam
 
Cliff Stamp said:
That would be a good way to start a fight locally. I live in a small fishing community (well it used to be anyway), no post office, no police station, fire department, no school, one small general store, etc. . If you ship something to me by Fed-Ex they can't even find the house and I have to drive an hour or so to pick it up.

-Cliff
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I figured you were in St Johns at MUN I have a couple of friends still on the rock but most ar Baymen.

A.
 
Jim Craig said:
I just read through the last Survivorman thred, then when I got to the end, I was pretty spooled up, only to find that it was locked. Also, about two-thirds of the way through I began skimming, so if there is a reason it was locked that should prevent me from starting this up, I apologize.

A couple of things that need to be said regarding this show and Mr. STROUD.
1. First of all, I live well above the Arctic Circle, and it is a VERY small community up here. I have it on authority that his trip in the arctic was done alone. No way out, no help around the corner or behind the camera.
2. To counter what some say about it being a set time limit with a crew waiting. Well that is wonderful if he does not get lost, which is very simple to do, especially up here with few landmarks. STill, 7 days in the arctic is a lot without the proper equipment, many would die.
3. Each episode is a different survival scenario. Sure, he could carry more appropriate gear, but when he lost his canoe & packs down a river in Ontario, it was gone and he had to make do. He did not try to fix his bike because the scenerio was a broken down bike. Or snow mobile, or whatever. The point is make do and improvise with what you have.
4. In the desert, he was thirsty, which is why he drank the water. Die of thirst, or MAYBE get sick? Simple answer. Simple point.
5. How many shows has he made? Ten? Probably more. That's at least seventy days in the bush, desert, swamp, snow, mountains, jungle, etc., with squat for equipment that most of us, including the naysayers will NEVER do. That is not including the year with his wife. What kind of qualifications do you need?
6. It is a show. And a damn good one. There are mistakes because people make mistakes when they are cold, tired, thirsty, injured, scared, or unfamiliar with their environment.

You know, before I moved north ten years ago, I thought, man, am I going to be warm (yet look cool) in my puffy down Mountain Hardware jacket and my Supergoretexdryskinprimaloftbib pants, and my Patagonia expedition weight long underwear. It had to be the best stuff, it cost $1800. I didn't need to ask the locals... Two months later I had to drop another $500 on a proper, low tech Snow Goose parka, and some Sorels, and pack the high tech stuff I "knew" would work, away until it warmed up in spring. Everything we learn by reading in books, magazines and on the internet is great. If it works. The only way to know for sure, is do it. Which is what the Les STROUD's and Ron HOOD's of the world are doing. Some of us are just bitching from our computer tables.
Now, go outside.
:p
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I also have spent a few years in the arctic, about as far north as you can go, and have undergone a little jungle survival school. Your defence of Stroud is curious. He's getting paid well for his shows. He is supposed to show folks how to survive, but, instead, his shows are full of foolish and dangerous mistakes - which uninformed viewers pick up. I've only seen most of three programs. They are full of dangerous, stupid, life-threatening misinformation, and lacking even basic survival info. He doesn't explain anything well.

His not knowing to use a bow instead of his hands (which were blistered as a result) to make fire; not knowing it's suicide to deliberately emerse yourself (and all your gear) in frigid water for the thrill of traveling "12 miles" down stream; not knowing not to smear grease on his face in the arctic (read frostbite); not knowing not to jump into streams from a cliff; not knowing not to leave his shelter and wonder aimlessly in the dark after hearing some animal outside; the list goes on. But, most of all - not knowing WHAT TO DO, what to teach the uninformed, is seriously unethical.

The show should be honestly promoted as either fun and games, or a true survival show. Mixing-up these descriptions is dangerous, irresoonsibie propaganda - to make a few quick bucks.

Drocko
 
Wow
I don't know how people get so worked up on this, from the very first show I thought it was obvious that this was not a how to series. I think more then once on the programs he has explained why he doesn't stay put for rescue like you would normally do.
I've seen him say on the show he is trying something new that he hasn't done before.
I think it does well when he shows when he has failed at something, when he could have easily edited it out.
I don't agree with some of the things he does but I have always thought he was honest about the purpose of the show.
I think Ray Mears may be more of a how to the survivoman.
I think some people on this site are over anylising the show.
 
Do as I say not as I do? Interesting technique.

I liked his drinking untreated water and eating a fungus he could not identify. Perhaps he coaches the Darwin Awards eco team.
 
coyotebc said:
...it was obvious that this was not a how to series.
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Even with a moderate amount of experience this is very obvious, it is to the ignorant/naive that there is concern. Les often looks right at the camera and gives direction and at many times lectures on general principles. He also notes he is a survival expert and has professionally taught people wilderness survival. Of course there is also responsibility on the part of the viewer to educate themselves which unfortunately people don't do. But it sure doesn't help when you have someone who puts themselves in a position of authority and acts as Stroud does. This show will often follow Mears on the same network and gets the same general promotion.

-Cliff
 
Sorry Cliff I just don't see it the way you do.
I think it is clearly not a how to series, perhaps I give more credit to the viewers then you do.
No big deal just a difference of opinion
 
For many years I was in the restaurant business. During that period I could never enjoy a meal in another restaurant. I was always to busy critisizing the operation. Picking apart every detail. The service is terrible, why don't they use real ice tea, I hate the color of the table cloths, that sort of thing. Meanwhile I was missing the point. To enjoy the time sharing a meal with my friends and family.

It took many years to get over that.

I think the survivorman show is great television. Its an interesting premise and Les is an engaging guy. Although he isn't always accurate I think some of you are missing the point. The guy is trying to entertain his audiance. I think he does an excellent job of it.

Like Steve Irwin, Rest in peace, You don't watch him to learn how to capture a crocodile with your bare hands. You watch because its cool to watch.

Try not to be so critical. Enjoy the show. Life is too short.
 
I think you are being a bit too generous, these are comments about Survivor man from viewers :

"If a plane crash is what puts you in a survival situation, you will be remembering the "Survivorman" using plane fuel to start a fire, and you'll be looking at every part of that plane for useful items. If your boat sinks and you are on an isolated island trying to survive, you'll think about how Stroud used plastic containers from washed-up beach debris to hold water, and you'll look at all the debris with a eye towards using it in some way to help yourself."

"It's interesting to see how to survive by keeping your wits about you, using your brain, and using absolutely everything at your disposal."

"...as long as you can find water and build some shelter, you can usually last long enough to be rescued."

"For those of you who haven't seen Survivorman, the producers drop a Canadian survival expert in the middle of nowhere, alone. He only gets extremely minimal supplies, and has to lug around fifty pounds of camera gear (two cameras, batteries, and tapes) which he sets up himself. He has to survive for a week."

"It is fascinating to watch him find drinking water, eat scorpions, escape from bears and peel a snake before eating it. You can learn a lot about survival watching Survivorman."

The last one is the most obvious which shows the problem directly. The show is however the biggest success for OLN as it basically is Mears meets Survivor.

-Cliff
 
Tballetta said:
For many years I was in the restaurant business. During that period I could never enjoy a meal in another restaurant. I was always to busy critisizing the operation. Picking apart every detail. The service is terrible, why don't they use real ice tea, I hate the color of the table cloths, that sort of thing. Meanwhile I was missing the point. To enjoy the time sharing a meal with my friends and family.

It took many years to get over that.

I think the survivorman show is great television. Its an interesting premise and Les is an engaging guy. Although he isn't always accurate I think some of you are missing the point. The guy is trying to entertain his audiance. I think he does an excellent job of it.

Like Steve Irwin, Rest in peace, You don't watch him to learn how to capture a crocodile with your bare hands. You watch because its cool to watch.

Try not to be so critical. Enjoy the show. Life is too short.
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Well said.
 
Ok, try this.

You have a forum called "1911 Forum."

You have a TV show called "Shooting the 1911Man."
On the show, the "star" - an "expert in shooting the 1911" - demonstrates shooting the 1911 by holding it sideways. He then demonstrates shooting the 1911 with the barrel pointed at the shooter ("I haven't tried this before. Just be sure to miss your head.").

Someone on the "1911 Forum" criticises the TV show.

Surprise?
 
I thought his show was more of an example of what not to do in the woods/jungle/arctic when stranded? lol.
 
I , also do not believe, nor never believed, it was intended as a step-by-step or 'how to' show.
Others are quoted as saying things like "you will learn from it", but, I haven't seen anything to suggest it is a "How to plant a garden" type of show.

The style of filming this particular show is to convey, in the first person, what a particular person does, throughout his 7 day ordeal.

Is the glass half empty or half full? Les Stroud "DOES" cover a lot of topics and does give CORRECT information throughout each episode. To read some of your psots, you make it sound like he is one of the three stooges, steppig on rakes and having his eyes poked out. :eek:

Not one of his shows goes by that i don't think to myself, I would have done that differently. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, he is also being just a bit provocative? I do. It's part of the TV game.

I have seen as many episodes where he DOES, in fact, boil his water, as where he does NOT. I have seen him explain WHY it is important to boil the water.
He used a Conch shell as a heating vessel, because it showed how to improvise, and that drinking "raw" water in the tropics is not a particularly good idea! I got the point, and I suspect so did millions of others.

I was surprised he drank raw water "on camera" while in the sonoran desert, however, in the context of dying of dehydration in the desert, I think any of us would eventually do the same. At some point you must weigh the risk of dying or becoming incapacitated vs. getting some water into your system.
I got it, I'm guess millions of others did too.

And yes, I have drank "raw" water, out of necessity and need for fluids.
With each gulp I thought about "little critters" in my gut, but, at the time,
we were showing signs of dehydration, so we had to do what we had to do.

Sometimes he uses a Bow and drill, other times his hands on the drill. In the Sonoran desert he used his hands specifically to mimic how locals had done centuries before, not to show the BEST way to do it, but to show how others did it, right there, long long ago.
I got that point too. I'm sure many others did as well.

if you are looking for Stroud to execute each thing he does, flawlessly, then you are in the wrong pew. Frankly, if that were the case, we could say "Well, that's fine for him and those profesional survivalists, but, regular people will never be able to do that!"

When Stroud cut himself while trying to cut the watervine, in Costa Rica, he said it was stupid, he wasn't thinknig, and then went further to discuss just how serious an infection can become in the tropics. He could have easily edited that part right out and we would never have known it.
The fact that he doesn't "Edit for Perfection" says something. As a photo-journalist it tells a truer story. The Good, the bad, and the ugly.
Had he then stopped and given a lesson on proper "vine cuttery" with a blade, then it would seem too hokey. The lesson was this: don't cut yourself doing something stupid when you are in the tropics. I got it.

Now, about this mushroom he ate. Stroud appears to have a dry sense of humor. Add to it he has been sleeping on the ground for days, has been cold, wet, hot, dehydrated. He quips "Hope I didn't eat the wrong one" (or something to that effect). To me, it was obviously an injection of a little levity, nothing more. He had already discussed, as he has show after show, about what to eat and what not to eat, and even how to test it on your mucous membranes first, etc etc. To take his attempt at a quick self-deprecating joke and turn it into being irresponsible and a crime against all viewers may be just a bit critical, it was a joke!

I saw a Survival show , a year or two ago, about some dayhikers who supposedly get lost, they had their '"resident" survival dude/instructor with them who doubled as a narrator. They were in Maine or New Brunswick, I forget exactly where.
When it came to water, they had found a stream, but, the survival dude/instructor gave his 2 minute talk about water and sanitation, then LO and BEHOLD, he walked over and found a metal can, looked to be about a quart can, not rusted through either, and he said "Humans are everywhere, and you just might find something useful they left behind". He proceeded to boil a quart at a time to keep his weary travellers hydrated.

I thought to myself, "wow, what would they do if they didn't have that can?" He didn't addrress that. Well, they would end up doing what Mr. Stroud did in the Sonoran Desert, they would go over to the pristine looking stream and they would drink, eventually.
I don't see why we should be horrified by this. Would we drink water out of a city storm drain? probably not, but, from a mountain stream with no evident civilization up stream, given enough thirst, yes, sure we would.

If Mr. Stroud were allowed to carry a Steri-straw, a machete, Bic lighter, a backpack full of gear, then, all we would have is a show about a well equipped backpacker/hiker. Heck, millions of them hit the wilderness each year.

Now, all at once, everyone take your leatherman tool, your clothes on your back, and few salvaged hardware items, and go show us how it should be done? don't forget your 50 lbs. of camera gear.

if you really want to cut to brass tacks, Stroud is physically fit enough, and knows enough about orienteering, that as soon as he is dropped, he can make it back to somewhere by nightfall, if not by the next day! But then we wouldn't have a show of his ordeal? What he does is uses the first several days showing the audience the various scenarios that can be encountered. Some are staged, others are impromptu.

I think his most difficult task is moving those cameras around, what a pain in the butt that must be when you are thirsty, hot/cold, tired or whatever.

Mr. Stroud doesn't need me to defend his actions, and that is not my intention. More so, I'm just trying to state that it is a TV Show, first and foremost, they really do have to balance enterntainment value, sponsors, and everything else in order to produce a show that millions of people will tune in to see.

To me, it's mostly a show for Couch-potatoes, so they can live their wilderness adventures vicariously through Mr. Stroud. They can sympathize with his situation , and even imagine themselves in that spot.

It's just a TV show.
 
Hmm. Desert. Sand. Clothing item. Filter. :thumbup:

Harder to filter water with a TV, but perhaps it can be done. :D

(Did you like the shot where the shadow of the cameraman appears in the shot? :D :D :D )
 
SkunkWerx,

VERY WELL SAID! I agree with you 100%. In fact, you pointed out a couple of things I didn't think about. I have been in other forums where people take great delight in slagging Les. Wish I had a copy of your post to offer. Maybe some of you can find legitimate cause to take him to task for this or that, but maybe, you're missing the point.

doc
 
I like the show and honestly I think a layman is better off watching the show then not. The only thing I feel he's "teaching" is to keep thinking. Sure he may make mistakes but point is he HAS survived his ordeals. I can't say I could survive in the desert or in the arctic with gear he had. The way some of you guys talk, he should have been dead the first day of the first event.
 
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