Survivorman/Man vs. Wild.

[FVR]

Tell ya a little bit about snakes, I've eaten my fare share of them.

You cut their heads off, and they wriggle back and forth, for hours.

We would catch a rattler, cut it's head off and hang it from a tree branch, could not skin it until it stopped moving.

To eat a snake right after you bite it's head off, yeh okay, you would need t chew it up real good. Nasty. Snakes, all snakes stink really bad when you gut and skin them. To be chewing on a raw snake, guts and skin, ewwwww.

[blewgrass]

NO WAY... He told OPRAH it's all real!! He kept filling the water bottle with pee!

[Sarge47]

Bottom line here folks; proper preparation PRIOR to going into the wilds keeps you from having to eat & drink all that nasty stuff. I wish we'd see more shows on people being instructed in survival training, building their own survival kits, field testing them, and then they get put into a "situation". I bet the ratings would go through the roof.

[SOE digital]

NO WAY... He told OPRAH it's all real!! He kept filling the water bottle with pee!

Don't care what he tells anyone. I'm telling you, from first hand experience, that this show is staged.
Sure, the guy is definately a tough nut and does some crazy stunts...but the whole survival situation is a mock up.

Heck, he even says it's too dangerous to land in the desert by chopper because of the thermal upwinds; so he has to repel What a load of bollocks. Anyone with any experience in the army, aviation (I've been involved in both) etc will know that it isn't true. It's simply for the added shock value.

Long story short, I work in the Australian film industry as well as doing work with Australian wildlife and conservation. I've spoken to the people who make this TV show. I know, for a fact, that the show is entirely staged. Yes, he may get sick every now and then and yes I'm sure he's a bit hungry...but at the end of the day he has a support crew that looks after him and are there to give him food and water if and when he wants it.

Sorry to go on a bit of a rant, but it just amazes me that people deny the obvious fact that they show is staged. Sure as hell dosn't mean you can't enjoy it.

[gringo]

Bottom line here folks; proper preparation PRIOR to going into the wilds keeps you from having to eat & drink all that nasty stuff. I wish we'd see more shows on people being instructed in survival training, building their own survival kits, field testing them, and then they get put into a "situation". I bet the ratings would go through the roof.

I couldn't agree more Sarge. That's one of the reasons I like Ray Mears. He even teaches what knots to use to set up camp. Not as entertaining but much more useful information.

SOE Digital is right. It is completely staged. Like when he was looking for the aloe vera plant. He just happened upon one when he "needed" it. Pretty doubtful in my opinion.

[Chris]

You can tell it's staged just by watching closely. The environment changes to such a degree in such patterns that you know he is being ferried around to predetermined locations. For instance in the Kimberly Australia one he starts in the badlands, goes to the flatlands by the coast, then suddenly is back in the badlands.

Also, he is way too lucky in what he finds. A non-native grapefruit tree in the everglades? Fruit trees in almost every episode, and oh look... here is a fresh water spring, how lucky.

In the credit's he isn't even the show's "survival expert."

Some of the information is good, some isn't, but don't believe it is real.

If you want to see a real show like that get Survivorman DVDs. You'll notice in reality its hard to find food, hard to find water, and most of survival is walking and waiting.

[Sarge47]

I couldn't agree more Sarge. That's one of the reasons I like Ray Mears. He even teaches what knots to use to set up camp. Not as entertaining but much more useful information.

SOE Digital is right. It is completely staged. Like when he was looking for the aloe vera plant. He just happened upon one when he "needed" it. Pretty doubtful in my opinion.

Okay, I plead ignorance, who is Ray Mears?

[Tony uk]

Hes a person who teaches survival somewhere i think, hes done a few TV shows on survival and wilderness

[Sarge47]

Hes a person who teaches survival somewhere i think, hes done a few TV shows on survival and wilderness

Does anyone know if he's on T.V. now? If so, what network?

[Tony uk]

Hes on UKTV Documentary and on the Discovery channels

[Atlanta Randy]

I have had a little expereince in helping produce some of the North American shows for the discovery channel.

Bear really does go through the scenerios by himself. The camera crew has never helped him in any way (Other than unwittingly providing light during a night time run from a bear.)

The 5 day trip has obviously got to be edited down to 1 hour. So what you don't see is his hours if not days of walking to find the plants, springs, streams, trees and animals he encounters along the way.

You may even notice that some of the scenes are edited out of sequence. If Bear finds a fruit tree, a snake and a spring all in one day, the editors will edit these scenes in over the course of the hour long show.

In order to be entertaining, the editing may be out of wack but the trek is all too real for Bear.

The show is in no way "fake" or "staged"....just edited for television. And to answer the questions about what he eats and why the premise is not of an intentional camper but a lost tourist with almost no equipment having to use the most extreme measures, evidenced in the fact that even though he knows he'll need shelter he leaves his parachute behind.

Randy

[Tony uk]

Cool, thanks for the info

What shows have you done ?

Welcome Here

[gringo]

Ray Mears is really the forerunner of Survivorman and Man vs Wild. He's done several shows. I've seen World of Survival, Extreme Survival, Country Tracks, Bushcraft and Wild Food and all of them are good.

He is heavily involved in studying primitive cultures and their technologies. Very interesting stuff.

What I like about him the most is that he takes the time to teach basic wilderness skills along the way.

I've been fortunate enough that a lot of his programs have been aired here in Brazil.

I doubt any of these shows have been shown in the US. You can purchase DVDs on his website (www.raymears.com) but they are probably PAL and won't play on a US dvd player. You could watch them on your laptop with the right codecs.

If you are not against downloading, a lot of his shows are available on bit torrent.

[Tony uk]

Im glad we live in Europe sometimes

gringo, do you know when the new series of Ray Mears bushcraft is comming out ?

[gringo]

I heard he was filming something but I haven't gotten any info on it.

His website says he is touring throughout the UK teaching about bushcraft. I'd love to be at one of those.

[Tony uk]

Really, i would like to meet him, i'll try to find out where hes going and hopefully get down there myself

[gringo]

I guess I hadn't really thought about the editing and not everything being in order. I've never doubted that he isn't going through everything that's shown. I just appears at times that some of the things he does have been set up in advance.

[Tony uk]

This is where he is going to be


September 29th 7:30pm TELFORD, Oakengates 01952 382382 www.theplacetelford.com
September 30th 7:30pm NEWCASTLE, The Journal Tyne Theatre 0870 145 1200 www.thejournaltynetheatre.co.uk
October 2nd 7:30pm NORTHAMPTON, Royal & Derngate 01604 624811 www.royalandderngate.co.uk
October 5th 7:30pm STAFFORD, Gatehouse Theatre 01785 254653
October 6th 7:30pm KING'S LYNN, Corn Exchange 01553 764864 www.kingslynncornexchange.co.uk
October 7th 7:30pm DUNSTABLE, Grove Theatre 01582 602080 www.grovetheatre.co.uk
October 8th 7:30pm EASTBOURNE, Congress Theatre 01323 412000 www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk
October 9th 7:30pm ABERYSTWYTH, Canolfan y Celfyddydau Aberystwyth Arts Centre 01970 623232 www.aber.ac.uk/artscentre
October 10th 7:30pm LEAMINGTON SPA, Royal Spa Centre 01926 334418 www.royal-spa-centre.co.uk
October 11th 7:30pm MALVERN, Malvern Theatres 01684 892277 www.malvern-theatres.co.uk
October 13th 8:00pm BUXTON, Opera House 0845 127 2190 www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk
October 15th 7:30pm LLANDUDNO, Venue Cymru 01492 872000 www.venuecymru.co.uk
October 16th 7:30pm DERBY, Assembly Rooms 01332 255800 www.assemblyrooms-derby.co.uk
October 17th 7:30pm CHELTENHAM, Town Hall 01242 227979 www.cheltenhamtownhall.org.uk
October 19th 7:30pm COLCHESTER, Charter Hall 01206 282020 www.charter-hall.co.uk
October 20th 7:45pm ALDERSHOT, Princes Hall 01252 329155 www.princeshall.com
October 21st 7:30pm BIRMINGHAM, Town Hall 0121 780 3333
October 22nd 8:00pm HIGH WYCOMBE, Wycombe Swan 01494 512000 www.wycombeswan.co.uk
October 25th 7:30pm WORTHING, Pavilion 01903 206206 www.worthingtheatres.gov.uk
October 26th 7:30pm POOLE, Lighthouse 08700 668701 www.lighthousepoole.co.uk
October 29th 7:30pm LEEDS, Grand Theatre 0870 122 2815 www.leedsgrandtheatre.com

[Atlanta Randy]

I've worked with both BOSS out of Colorado and Mountain Sheperd school in VA.
I worked on both the everglades episode and the Copper Canyon show in Mexico.
I have been a survival and backpacking instructor for the Boy Scouts since 1983.
I do a lot of ultralight backpacking now with a few "survival treks" each year. My wife thinks I'm nuts and NEVER goes with me.
I've been working on and presenting an ultralight backpacking stove called the "Atlanta stove" and working on a program and small survival packs for scouting.
basically it's 3 small energy candies a space blanket, whistle and 2 small chem lights in a small waterproof package that clips to a belt or fanny pack. and a short DVD teaching younger scouts to stay put and what to do if seperated from their group or leaders.
Most of the young hikers that get lost are found miles away from thier original location wandering all over looking for help.

As far as man vs. wild. What I have seen is hours of unused video footage of Bear walking and talking to the camera men about what he's looking for. They only use the footage of him once he's found it. That's why you'll see the shot suddenly jump into action. There might be 3 hours of bear walking, looking in rocks for a snake then they use only the last few minutes of him finding and killing one.

Usually the camera guys camp a few hundred yards from him so that he can catch the "night life" around him undisturbed with his hand cam.

Some people point to the "survival consultants" in the credits as proof that Bear's a fake but that doesn't stand to reason.
Although Bear is trained in survival by the SAS and has made a living as an adventurer, I can't imagine him knowing ahead of time that there are no poisonous frogs in the everglades.
The producers and bear consult with experts in that area for information. I'm sure that after a few years on this show Bear will have information and advice for survival in every country on the planet but I can't see any sane person just jumping into that kind of environment without doing a bit of research first.

[Atlanta Randy]

Why do you think that?

I don't think that, I know that.
Like I've said in a previous thread; I got a call from the producers of the show asking permission to use a dead kangaroo in the show to make it look like he had killed it himself. It's all staged.
Isn't it obvious, by the way its filmed?
One second there's a cameraman on his raft floating down the river. Next minute there isn't. It's all set up mate. No doubt about it.

Still a fun show though.

They edit scenes like that. They take footage with a camera on the raft then footage from the banks then footage from Bear's hand cam and edit it to be entertaining. Not staged, just edited. He made the whole trip, just not always with a cameraman on board.

The producers are a bit put off about Bear killing and eating "cute" mammals, which is why he usually only eats fish and reptiles on the show. Imagine the PETA uproar if he ate a Joey on TV.

I've seen the Aussie episode. He never ate a kangaroo.