Man vs. Wild

Man vs. Wild
File:Man vs. Wild title screen.jpg Man vs. Wild title screen
Starring	Bear Grylls
Country of origin	UK
No. of episodes	15 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time	45 Minutes (without commercials)
Original release
Network	Discovery Channel
Release	October 27 2006 – Present

Man vs. Wild, also called Born Survivor: Bear Grylls, is a survival television series hosted by Bear Grylls, on the Discovery Channel in the United States and Australia, and on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.

In the show, Grylls both demonstrates and narrates techniques for wilderness survival. Throughout each episode, Bear also tells about successful and failed survivals in the area he is in. The program has shown him eating raw meat and live fish, staving off hypothermia after intentionally jumping in a frozen lake, and drinking the fluids of elephant feces and his own urine for hydration. In advertisements for Season Two of Man vs. Wild, the screen has shown a disgusted Grylls eating an enormous grub while the announcer stated, "Does Bear Grylls really need to do these things? Probably not. But you might."

The series is produced by British television production company Diverse Bristol. The show premiered on November 10 2006 after airing a pilot episode titled The Rockies on October 27 2006.

After a series of exposés by the Daily Mail, the show was put on hiatus while Discovery reviewed claims that it deceived viewers. The show resumed on September 24, 2007, with a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode, scenes removed, and altered voiceover indicating where situations were staged. The decision to rebroadcast the show on Channel 4 is yet undecided.

Episodes

File:Bear grylls.jpg

Bear Grylls on Mt. Everest

Season One

1. Rocky Mountains - Pilot - (October 27, 2006):
   Bear gets dropped in the middle of the Rocky Mountain ranges and must find his way to civilization. On his way out, he must evade the danger of grizzly bears, jump 30 feet into a river, and abseil down a cliff.
2. Moab Desert – (November 10 2006):
   Bear Grylls demonstrates how to survive a situation like that of someone who got lost in the desert. He is left in the harsh Moab Desert in Utah, in 110 degree temperatures, and goes about finding food, water, shelter and shows how to use the flow of rivers as tools to find civilization.
3. Costa Rican Rain Forest – (November 17, 2006)::
   Bear parachutes into the Osa Peninsula to demonstrate how someone lost in the jungle can make it to civilization. He encounters snakes, mosquitoes and dangerous river currents, while searching for food and water and setting up camp.
4. Chugach Mountains – Alaska (November 24 2006):
   Grylls is dropped in the Chugach mountains in Alaska, with skis and his usual gear. He demonstrates glissading as he traverses snow and glaciers, and climbs down a 200 ft. waterfall. He catches a salmon, which he eats raw, and appropriates a skiff from an abandoned lodge. The skiff sinks, but he reaches the shore and is spotted by a ship.
5. Mount Kilauea - Hawaii (December 1 2006):
   Made up of a bleak expanse of solidified lava which stretches for 33,000 acres, this environment is one of the world's most inhospitable. One tourist a week is rescued from its lava fields. Bear Grylls deliberately puts himself in the position of one of those lost tourists, putting his survival skills to the ultimate test.
6. Sierra Nevada – (December 8 2006):
   Of the millions of hikers that visit the Sierra Nevada mountain range, hundreds become stranded there each year. Equipped with a knife and a canteen Bear Grylls shows people how to survive and escape from this beautiful yet deadly area. Bear travels through the alpine, woodland and chaparral areas of the mountains looking for food and water. He also becomes friendly with a wild horse.
7. African Savanna – (December 15 2006):
   Bear skydives into North Kenya to face the dangerous landscape of African brushland. He encounters lions, elephants, rhinoceros and hyenas on his trek to find civilization.
8. European Alps – France (December 22 2006):
   Armed with just a knife, water bottle, cup and a flint to make fire, Bear Grylls parachutes into this mountain range. From a radical new technique that could help save lives in crevasse zones, to building a snow shelter to survive alpine storms, to demonstrating how to escape from a fall into a frozen lake, Grylls puts his skills to the test.
9. Deserted Island – (December 29 2006):
   Bear emulates what it would be like to be stranded on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean. He demonstrates how to make shelter, find food, get hydrated and ultimately, after resources run out, to make a raft and try to be rescued on the high seas. On his raft he encountered a tiger shark.

Season Two

1. Everglades - (June 15 2007):
   Bear Grylls gets stranded in the swamps of the Florida Everglades, where each year at least 60 tourists need to be rescued. With more than a million alligators, thousands of snakes and even black bears roaming these waterlogged lands, the area has more than its share of hazards. Bear demonstrates how to keep alligators at bay, and deal with vicious razor-sharp grass, and shows viewers how to cook a turtle Seminole-style.
2. Iceland - (June 22 2007):
   Adventurer Bear Grylls demonstrates how to make a snow cave, find water in deep tunnels, and avoid frostbite in this subarctic environment. Because finding food is a problem in this climate, Bear is forced to eat a sheep's eyeball and catch a ptarmigan. He also has to deal with blizzards and 50 mph winds as he attempts to reach safety.
3. Mexico (June 29 2007):
   Bear Grylls demonstrates how to build a simple compass and climb sheer cliffs safely in Copper Canyon. For shelter, he uses ancient caves and makes fire with a traditional "fire saw." Bear also offers important techniques for finding scorpions or grubs and fishing without a rod or line.
4. Kimberley, Australia - (July 6 2007)
   Bear travels to Australia’s Kimberly region, which is roughly the size of California and a mixture of huge scrub deserts, dry riverbeds and red sandstone cliffs full of deep gorges. Bear puts himself in the position of a lost tourist to demonstrate how to prevent sunstroke, find bush tucker and explain why drinking your own urine could save your life. He also identifies what you can eat in the outback. During his journey, Bear builds a shelter in the middle of a lightning storm and confronts Australia's deadly saltwater crocodiles.
5. Ecuador - (July 13 2007)
   Bear paraglides onto the edge of the Andes and follows rivers into the jungle -— bringing him face to face with huge colonies of spear-nosed bats, giant weevil grubs and vicious piranhas. Bear builds a bamboo bridge and a bow and arrow to successfully catch fish, but it doesn't always go his way and he's forced to ride the rapids of the Amazon on a single tree trunk.
6. Scotland - (July 20 2007)
   Bear Grylls shows how to navigate the Cairngorms region using ice formations and moss growth, and tests snow slopes for avalanche potential. He uses moss to purify water and skins a red deer for shelter. For food, instead of trapping a rabbit and cooking it, new narration says he "didn't catch a rabbit" but will show us how to prepare a rabbit, "if you catch one". Also, in new narration, Bear briefly admits that he won't be sleeping in the shelter he is about to build. Bear crosses deep marshes that can swallow a person and uses fallen trees to cross ravines.

Season Three

1. The Sahara Desert: Part 1 - (November 9 2007):
   In the vastness of the Sahara desert and the terrifying beauty of towering sand dunes, Bear Grylls tackles extreme survival challenges as he shows you just what it takes to get out alive even when it means eating one of the world's deadliest scorpions.
2. The Sahara Desert: Part 2 - (November 16 2007):
   In the hottest place on earth, Bear Grylls shows you how to get out alive as he tackles his biggest challenge yet - skinning and disembowelling a dead camel for water, food and shelter for a night under the stars.
3. Panama: Part 1 - (November 23 2007):
   In the lethal mangroves and infamous viper pits of Panama, Bear Grylls tackles some extreme survival challenges and some grisly eats to show you how to get out alive.
4. Panama: Part 2 - (November 30 2007):
   In the lethal jungle of Panama, Bear Grylls tackles some extreme survival challenges and some grisly eats to show you how to get out alive.
5. Patagonia: Part 1 - (December 7 2007):
   In the icy wilderness of Patagonia, Bear Grylls tackles some extreme survival challenges and wild weather eating bugs and worms to show you how to stay alive.
6. Patagonia: Part 2 - (December 14 2007):
   In the icy wilderness of Patagonia, Bear Grylls tackles extreme survival challenges on a deadly glacier pushing himself to the limit to show you how to stay alive.

Criticism

Sleeping Rough

One of the allegations is that while Grylls claimed to be sleeping outdoors, he was allegedly sleeping in hotels. Before the accusations surfaced, Bear stated on Jimmy Kimmel Live that only the cameramen were flown out at night. British television's Channel 4 has acknowledged that in at least two instances Bear has stayed in hotels during filming.

Use of crew and simulations of danger

Grylls has stated numerous times on camera that he is not to receive any assistance unless his life is in danger. However, in July 2007 it was reported in the mainstream media that at least portions of some episodes were staged and that Bear did not always survive without help. The Discovery Channel said that future airings would be edited to reflect such things. Other reported instances of outside influence or staged situations include the following:

• Grylls admitted sneaking over to the base camp and having a five course meal with the camera crew.
• Grylls admitted wearing a flotation device in the pilot episode to ride down a river in a staged shot, citing safety reasons. He claimed that he was displeased with the decision, which came from Discovery producers, and has since been able to avoid the use of such devices.
• The director of the Desert Island episode, Graham Strong, noted that a diver was at hand who checked for sharks while Bear was adrift (he did not spot the tigers, only reef sharks), and that "we" beat on the raft to scare the tiger sharks away.
• In the Copper Canyon, Mexico episode, director Scott Tankard says that the local Indian tribe, the Rarámuri Indians, acted as their guides.
• According to the survival consultant for the show's Sierra Nevada and Desert Island episodes, Mark Wienart of Lifesong Adventures, the "wild" horses in the Sierra Nevada episode were shipped in for a choreographed feature.
• The Desert Island raft was not made by Bear; it was made with the help of crew members.
• Crew members simulated molten lava by using smoke machines and hot coals. The smoke machines were used to simulate poisonous sulphur dioxide, though Grylls was not in fact facing real danger.

According to a C4 executive, "If what has been alleged is proven to be true, I think the channel would have to think very seriously about its future relationship with him."

On August 3 of 2007, Grylls posted on his blog that the "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."

Survival advice

The show has also garnered criticism concerning the quality of its survival advice. On March 13 2006, the show's first survival consultant, Ron Hood, posted on his Web site:

"I want to remind everyone that Bear is very capable and highly skilled in survival skills. We both objected to portions of the show when we filmed but thought we knew that my narration would enlighten the viewers about the hows, whys and wherefores of what look like dangerous activities. When that narration was removed it left Bear looking like he was clueless. He is not clueless. He is clever, courageous and capable. If anyone can save this show it is Bear. As I posted when we started this project months ago, the show was supposed to be a new format that was drama driven with an educational and adventure component. The script I have looks nothing like the final show."

"I think Discovery did the viewing public a serious disservice by excluding the educational narration and concentrating on travel. Someone WILL attempt river travel as shown and there will be problems. Others will run from camp because they hear noises... Someone will attempt a rappel with paracord. People are like that. Discovery holds a huge credibility advantage and that alone will act as an endorsement of the actions seen in the show. Keep in mind that a LOT of people saw the show and a few of them are ignorant enough to attempt what they saw. Disclaimers aside, the presentation looks feasible. The fact that some folks overlooked the errors just proves the point."

Editing of episodes in response to criticism

Man vs. Wild was re-edited in response to the criticisms, with an opening disclaimer, altered voiceover, and removed footage. A few of the edits made in response to the criticism of the show are:

• In the Everglades episode, Bear admits that the crew helped him build his shelter.
• In the Iceland episode, Bear admits that the dead sheep was left by a local farmer so that he could use it for a demonstration.
• In the Mexico episode, Bear admits that he used climbing equipment during a climb, and that the trout he caught was placed there by the crew.
• In the Ecuador episode, Bear admits that the crew helped him build the ladder, and that he slept indoors.
• In the Scotland episode, Bear admits that the rabbit was placed there by the crew, and Bear was close to civilization.
• In the Sierra Nevada episode, Bear admits that the crew helped him build a raft.
• In the Alaska episode, Bear admits that a crewman caught the salmon he ate.
• In the Australia episode, Bear says that he did not spend the night out in the thunderstorm.

See also

• Survivorman, hosted by Les Stroud
• Ray Mears (author)
• Tom Brown (naturalist)
• Les Hiddins, the Bush tucker man
• Dick Proenneke, survivalist, author of One_Man's_Wilderness

External links

• Man vs. Wild official site
• Man vs. Wild at IMDb
• Bear Grylls official website
• Bear Grylls personal blog
• Man vs. Wild Season 3 promo
• Man vs. Wild scandals