Man vs Wild /Real or Real Fake?

I use to be a fan of the show until I read this this.

On another occasion in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains where he was filmed biting off the head of a snake for breakfast and struggling for survival “with just a water bottle, a cup and a flint for making fire”, he actually slept some nights with the crew in a lodge fitted with television and internet access. The Pines Resort at Bass Lake is advertised as “a cosy getaway for families” with blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

I will now never watch that show again.

I kindof dont care whether its fake or not. I've seen every episode and i am always entertained, and i cant say that for 99% of shows on TV right now.

Originally posted by hikix
I kindof dont care whether its fake or not. I've seen every episode and i am always entertained, and i cant say that for 99% of shows on TV right now.

I will give you that it is entertaining. Watching someone drink his own urine never gets old.

If anyone really thought that Bear was actually in all these predicaments then maybe you shouldn't be watching in the first place.

I thought everyone knew that the show was for entertainment purposes as well as to teach survival techniques, not to see if he could survive X number of days and get out.

Many of the shots were obviously set up to give us an idea of what to do. For example, he jumps into ice water deliberately. Plus the fact that there is a full film crew there all the time. Do you really think the film crew is going to endure days of real life survival? As I mentioned before, I still sympathize with the film crew for some of the shots they must suffer to get.

Lighten up! It's a decent depiction and quite a good learning tool. If you want reality, watch Survivorman which is quite real but not so exciting. I like both shows for what they are.

I watch both shows, and agree Survivor Man is much better. When Bear has to 'find' food, does he have to find enough for the whole camera crew or did they bring their own beef jerky to chew while Bear eats maggots?

I saw an advertisment for a new survival show on the Military Channel. The concept is that one man is dropped of in a remote locale and has to survive. At the same time a crew of 3 or 4 other guys are dropped off too. The group of guys have to track the lone man down, and the lone man has to try not to get caught. Not only does this show offer survivor info but also will show how to evade/track other people. Like I said I've only seen an ad but it looks damn intresting.

Ok! The next Survivor Man season is coming soon (hopefully this time it's true )

The 2nd season premeire starts on Fri, Aug. 10, at 9 (est) where Les will be in Kalahari.

In other episodes he will be surviving the Amazon, Labrador, and the African Plains.

Should be pretty good, and no crazy # like on Man V Wild

This show seems pretty fake to me, mostly for entertainment. Don't get
me wrong though, there are people who can be thrown in the middle of the
rain forest and come out on top. Some of the military actually teach you
how to survive in forests.

I've watched Survivorman from the beginning, and have only missed a couple of episodes. Les Stroud is calm, and collective no matter what he gets himself into. Like the Utah one, where he is on a constant search for water, and finally finds some in a frozen puddle. There's no crew there, no food, water, etc. You can see it in him when he gets weak and thirsty, and he does a great job at teaching you how to make clean water, fires, shelters, etc.

I watch Man vs. Wild too, just because this guy does some idiotic things, thats fun to watch, but definately not a survivalist show. Plus you notice he is all cleaned up and freshly shaven, even after he camps out in an ice cave.

Edit to add: What about when he jumps into that bog, and decides to clean himself off with bog moss. That looked like it worked well! LOL Nothing stuck in his hair or anything in the next scene.

[edit on 25-7-2007 by Quasar]

On his worst day Bear could hang with Les. I have yet to hear Bear give bad advice and his climbing skills are top notch. I used to be overcritical about if he was really going through what his show depicts but now I just watch his show purely for educational purposes.

I have no doubt that Bear could make it out of any of the situations in his show and if I had to choose between him or Les I would chose Les because I could not hang with Bear in a climbing situation and would probably get left behind.

All in all I think its obvious at this point that his show is not as reality based as Survivorman but his survival techniques are very real and interesting.

As far as the crazy things that Bear does like eating snakes and grubs.
I think his point is if your determined and willing to do whatever it takes to make it, the opportunities are out there you just have to take them.

[edit on 25-7-2007 by Digital_Reality]

I have heard that the show is fake, that he stays in hotels

Originally posted by Digital_Reality

As far as the crazy things that Bear does like eating snakes and grubs.
I think his point is if your determined and willing to do whatever it takes to make it, the opportunities are out there you just have to take them.

The problem is if you ended up in a survival situation you wouldn't be doing what Bear does, he eats raw snake and jumps into bogs because he has been trained to get out of enemy territory as fast as possible.

I think if he wanted to he could make a decent survival show however he doesn't, whether that was his decision or the producers if you don't know whats the right thing to do and what isnt you could die taking his advice.

ray mears puts them both to shame, give this guy a knife in the wilderness go away for 6 months come back and a swear there will be a log cabin with running hot water, the guy is a survival genius its upto an hour of just enthralling tv, i have watched him make boats, kitchen utensils find water in the desert, if i could take 3 things to a desert island it would be 1) jessica biel 2)michelle marsh 3)ray mears

The thing I like about Survivorman is that he doesn't always "make it".

The Kalahari Desert and the Labrador coast episodes he cut short, couldn't find enough water and the rain turned the snow to 4 feet of slush. Just goes to show you that even a trained expert can't make it or knows when to call it a day.

Bear always seems to survive, I'm sure some of that is not as it seems.

Bear makes too many mistakes, If your in a survival situation you don't want to get wet, this guy gets wet every chance he gets. Some of the things hes shows is good, and might help you out, but if your feet are wet for too long, your going to be in serious trouble.

The dumbest thing I saw him do was climb back up a waterfall backtracking to get to a vine and to drink the liquid in it to ease his upset stomach, this was just stupid.

It is funny that he is as clean and clean shavin when he starts his show as when he finishes it.

clean shaven what he normally has a small beard when he starts and 7 days (the longest he will stay out) my not even grow stubble for him

as for getting wet your not paying much attention to where he is are you getting wet is only a problem if it is cold and even then it is some times necessary and bear dose it to show what you should do IF you get wet in cold climates

and for it being faked there is no proof any where (if there is please post a direct link to the video or photo not some news article that has the word "allegedly" in the first paragraph, and it would only be proof if it has a date stamp because I'm sure he stays in hotels before and after each trip) if you think that every thing in the show is 100% him well your just plan stupid

""Discovery Communications has learned that isolated elements of the 'Man vs. Wild' show in some episodes were not natural to the environment, and that for health and safety concerns the crew and host received some survival assistance while in the field," the network stated." (www.abcnews.go.com...)

"Channel 4 confirmed that Grylls had spent the night indoors on at least two occasions when the series had led viewers to believe he was spending the night in the wild." (www.abcnews.go.com...)

what dose that prove some of the episodes end with him still having a long way to travel yet, and if the aren't gowning to film it then why should he stay out there, more episodes have footage of him 24/7 then cutting from evening to morning even more channel 4 is not the producer of the show so how would they know if what took place on location

and most important is that he and several others say it is not true
"Re: the recent press accusations of motels and stagings in the show that have been doing the rounds, all I can say is they don't always tell the full story, but that’s life and part of being in the public eye I guess.

The upshot is we’re determined to make all new shows more inclusive of the crew and their role. Discovery and Channel 4 will also include a disclaimer at the start of the show so there's no confusion."
(beargrylls.blogspot.com...)

so unless you can do it better shut up let the man go he is not nearly as fake (there are far to many location that are two remote to be fakes) as mr. all I have is an axe and a water bottle and a flint and a rope and a tent and a car and a survival book and a... (insert really absurder item that you would never have in that situation) oh and a camera but not a crew I put it up walk several miles in the other direction then walk back past it several miles then go back and get it (also the camera can follow me as i pass it) B.S. that is fake as I have ever seen

Bear Grylls is really out in the wild like he says and even if he couldn't make it and stayed in a hotel a couple of time its way more realistic then Les Stroud who is a canadian musician, film maker, and survival enthusiast not a SAS trained solider

so ether go do it yourself, find proof he stayed in a hotel during the time he was supposed to in the wild (on every location if you want to call him fake), or shut up

and stop comparing him to survivorman it isn't even close even if Les Stroud dose every thing he says it is still shot and edited to be theatrical not realistic and every thing he dose comes straight out of survival books some times word for word which make it obvious that he really doesn't do any thing beside what he planned before he left Bear might have a expert with him to help and tell him things but at least he doesn't plan out his entire trip and cry and give up when it gets too hard

oh and by the way if this crap makes Bear fake then Les Stroud is even faker in the episode where he is lost at sea he is picked up by his survival team (which i thought he didn't have) and towed to the island they even show the boat coming to get him

[edit on 11-10-2007 by reloaded689]

As I understand it, Man vs Wild isnt a true survivalist show but more of an educational show.
There are a few statements made by crew (or former crew) that claim he has stayed in rooms, while supposed to be in the wild and in one episode where he was "stranded" on an island, he claimed to have made a raft from scratch but it was actually a kit that was constructed out of a box lol..
Even the discovery channel admits that scenarios are "presented" to him so he can show how to survive the situation Dicovery.com..

Bear Grylls and the crew receive support when they are in potentially life threatening situations, as required by health and safety regulations.

On some occasions, situations are presented to Bear so he can demonstrate survival techniques.

Discovery channel did NOT have that disclaimer until these stories surfaced..
I dont know what youd consider fake but thats about all of the evidence that I need.
Les Stroud of survivor man, to me, demonstrates true survivalist situations, theres only a few times that I've seen him resort to going "home" to his safety crew..
But whatever, to each his own. I suppose it is a matter of preference..

Check this google search for some videos and statements of alleged fake videos..

so unless you can do it better shut up let the man go

so ether go do it yourself, find proof he stayed in a hotel during the time he was supposed to in the wild (on every location if you want to call him fake), or shut up

By the way reloaded689, you need to grow up and stop being a total ass to people that happen to disagree with you, what are you, about 13? You wont last long here with that piss poor attitude..



[edit on 10/11/2007 by Kr0n0s]

Originally posted by reloaded689

as for getting wet your not paying much attention to where he is are you getting wet is only a problem if it is cold and even then it is some times necessary and bear dose it to show what you should do IF you get wet in cold climates

Good luck to you then, you dont want to get wet no matter where you are, getting cold is only one side effect of being wet. You have no idea what could be in the water, if you get wet in the jungle your never going to get dry and it can get pretty cold at night no matter where you are especially in the desert. Then theres the psychological problems of being wet

Just watched an episode where he is on an Icelandic glacier with minus 10F temps and he went into the water TWICE, the second time in a 40+mph Gale. To me that would be insane, and on top of it there was no shelter or fire for him to warm up and dry off on. The next scene they show him dry with no explanation of how! While the show is entertaining, following his example will get people in more trouble than they are currently would be in a survival situation.

Ask any WWII or Vietnam vet or about Trench Foot

Trench foot occurs when feet are cold and damp while wearing constricting footwear. Unlike frostbite, trench foot does not require freezing temperatures and can occur in temperatures up to 60° Fahrenheit (about 16° Celsius). Trench foot can occur with only twelve hours of exposure. When affected by trench foot, the feet become numb, followed by a change in color to red or blue. As the condition worsens, the feet may swell. Advanced trench foot often involves blisters and open sores, which lead to fungal infections. In such cases trench foot is also known as "jungle rot". If left untreated, trench foot usually results in gangrene and then requires amputation. If treated properly and quickly, complete recovery is normal, but recovery is marked by severe short-term pain as feeling returns.

There is also a fungus affecting gulf war vets but I haven't found a link, its similar to trench foot but there is no cure, a Dude I work with, a Iraqi war vet has it, I'll get more info when I see him.

that video still doesn't make it fake as i state before if you believe everything on tv to be exactly what they say well... you guy on here a saying that he is a fake when there is no proof of that so what if there was a highway several miles in the other direction it would have been shut down during the filming, he still went out in to Kilauea to survive and show you the best way out so if he got lucky and found a road right a way then there wouldn't be much of a show and you would learn nothing of how to survive and for the raft what skill dose it take to make two big bundle of logs and tie more in between thats all it was a kit would include a pile of logs and some vines so what if the crew out it together to test it first i don't think they would let him on it if they didn't

I'm 20 and tired of seeing good people crucified for thing that are out of there control if you couldn't tell that he had help then well...

i think I'm fairly knowledgeable when it comes to being out in the wild i do it a lot and the one thing you learn is that being wet in a cold climate is bad which is why he shows you what to do if you get wet, in a warm or hot climate being wet is not that bad unless you out there for a month or two and in hot climates it can save you from dehydration or heat stroke

rule one of survival is to keep moving which is why i like bear better les sits around two much even wondering around lost is better then siting still waiting for a rescue that may not come can lead to degradation of the muscles and even depression when waiting for long periods of time moving keeps muscles healthy and the mind focused i believe that les even said at one point that he had to choose to stay or to go and choose to go and since the beginning of time the easiest way to find human habitation is to follow a water way down stream and some times that means geting in the water

sorry if i sounded/sound like an ass but this thread seems a little one sided over this, praising Les Stroud who I see as more of a fake then Bear Grylls even if the whole show was filmed in a studio you cant tell me that he has all that stuff with him all the time and has no crew yet the cameras follow him as he walks and he films the walk by and then goes back and gets the camera hes a film maker, wanabe survivalist and hes not even a good film maker