Chris Ryan

[Jamie]

Just in case you hadnt seen and might be interested, the SAS bloke Chris Ryan has a new program starting tonight on BBC1 'Hunting Chris Ryan' at 9pm.

(the BBC's blurb on the proggie 'SAS veteran Chris Ryan is pushed to the limit in this new real-life adventure series. Using only his survival skills, can he cope with the heat and humidity of the Honduran jungle and avoid being captured by former special forces soldiers?'

All the best

Jamie

 

[Viking]

Looks like a very intersting program too bad I don´t have BBC

Is it coming on DVD?

 

[Jamie]

I would imagine so...eventually!
Can record it on VHS for you if you would like? dont know if our system works over in Sweden though.....

Jamie

 

[johnboy]

I think it's on over the course of the next few weeks.

Mr Ryan gets persued through different climates.

This week its Jungle, so that leaves Arctic (snow), Temperate and Desert, over the course of the next few weeks.

Go chris go!!

john

 

[Viking]

I would imagine so...eventually!
Can record it on VHS for you if you would like? dont know if our system works over in Sweden though.....

Jamie

We use the PAL system here and I think you use the same. It would just be super great i f you could record it for me. Of course i will pay for all your costs.

 

[Jamie]

Hi Viking

No problem! As johnboy said, its a series of programmes so will record them for you and will contact you once they are done.....hows that?

Jamie

 

[Viking]

Hi Viking

No problem! As johnboy said, its a series of programmes so will record them for you and will contact you once they are done.....hows that?

Jamie

It couldn´t get any better, a big thank you :-D

 

[bigjackbrass]

First thoughts on the new show:

Very disappointing from a bushcraft point of view, but then it's not really about that. The speed with which Mr Ryan has to travel and the nature of the scenario means that all we got were brief comments about trench foot, using a rucksack as a floatation device and a few interesting tips on tracking.

After ten minutes I couldn't see how they were planning to stretch the show for an hour, much less do the same thing next week. If the only changes are environment and scenario then I can't see this sustaining interest. Ray Mears interacts with different environments, whereas in "Hunting..." they are essentially the enemy, an obstacle to be overcome and endured until the game is over.

Did anyone else find the sight of four men wandering through villages in the jungle whilst carrying assault rifles to a soundtrack of "The Doors" a little disturbing? And really, I could have lived without the MTV/videogame camera and editing effects.

Now, all of that might sound rather damning, but overall I didn't think it was bad, as a one-off. Certainly one has to admire Mr Ryan's skills and endurance, but I think we have to file this series on the entertainment shelf only, as we're not really going to learn anything from it. Except perhaps to avoid the Mosquito Coast.

 

[Tony]

Good points BJB :biggthump for entertainment and example of physical endurance that I found impressive and :rolmao: for bushcraft educational value. I will have a look at the book tomorrow although if it is based on the TV Prog, it will be male entertainment value that makes it interesting!

Ard men though
:super:

 

[Martyn]

I found it very entertaining and enjoyable. True, there was little of bushcraft value there, also little advice on needlepoint, but as niether had anything to do with the programme, I surely cant be a fair criticism?

The main entertainment value was watching some of the ardest men around, scrambling through the harshest environment trying to evade/capture one another. Jolly good romp I thought.

 

[Tony]

Your right as usual :sword:

 

[Martyn]

It was obviously a bit staged though, didn't ya think? I mean I know it had to be, for TV's sake, but the controler guy kept tipping off the hunters. It was a bit hard on the guy, he takes a 5 mile detour to scramble his tracks, the hunters loose him as a result, so the controler intervenes and relocates them via helicopter a 100yds away from his location. Chris Ryan must've been uttering B*****d, under his breath a few times. :-D :-D

 

[johnboy]

Next week it's Siberia!!!

Did you notice how one of the guys 'Hunting Chris Ryan' had a pair of swim fins in his rucksack.

 

[Nod]

I was going to watch it, but then someone showed me the Chris Ryan SAS Diet in the Sun newspaper yesterday. Even had the winged dagger with "Who Dares Slims" on it, along side pictures of Chris with some water filled pop bottles as dumb bells wearing a pair of combat trousers and a vest.........but then I suppose he has a mortgage to pay like everyone else does.

 

[bigjackbrass]

True, there was little of bushcraft value there, also little advice on needlepoint, but as niether had anything to do with the programme, I surely cant be a fair criticism?

Hardly the same thing, Martyn. A programme showing someone using survival and evasion techniques in adverse environments is bound, even incidentally, to touch on elements of bushcraft, but I was not criticising the programme for not being another "Extreme Survival," and I did say "...it's not really about that." This is a very different show, and "show" is indeed a good description of it. In my opinion there could have been just a touch more information about methods and skills than was included, and that is why I wonder about the longer term interest of the programme. Watching Chris Ryan beat the crap out of himself in evading his pursuers is entertaining, and it's a damned impressive display however much of a game it is, but to my mind the how and why of what he was doing is where the real fascination lies. Some of the comments by the pursuing force were especially interesting because they explained what was going on and what they were looking for. Viewers could see precisely sod all, but those guys were looking at bruised plants and disturbed soil and making judgements based on their observations. In fact, I think that Mr Ryan did a respectable job of providing a commentary as he was forced to move rapidly and quietly.

Basically, I felt that the balance of the show was a little off, leaning too much towards flashy graphics and running through the jungle, and for me that reduced the interest level. Still, it's clear that many other people enjoyed it, which is fine. I mean, after all, if everyone liked the same thing then television would probably be dominated by soaps and hospital dramas...

 

[clcuckow]

Had a quick flick through the book at ASDA (£9.98) and it looks to me like a reprint of Loffties SAS Survival Handbook with a few photos of Ryan butchering a deer etc. Also some of the pics look like they have been lifted straight off the Internet as they are pixelated to hell.

Re: the swim fins, the guy was ex Navy SEAL maybe he could not stand to be without them or he expected to do more river crossing rather than flagging down a boat at every opportunity.

Christopher

 

[Martyn]

True, there was little of bushcraft value there, also little advice on needlepoint, but as niether had anything to do with the programme, I surely cant be a fair criticism?

Hardly the same thing, Martyn. A programme showing someone using survival and evasion techniques in adverse environments is bound, even incidentally, to touch on elements of bushcraft, but I was not criticising the programme for not being another "Extreme Survival," and I did say "...it's not really about that." This is a very different show, and "show" is indeed a good description of it.

Sorry Jack, I didn't mean to sound critical of your criticisms, I just re-read my post and It does come accross a little like that.

It's just that I think the remit for the programme was more mainstream general entertainment, rather than and kind of education. As far as general entertainment, I thought it was pretty good. I do share your frustrations though, as the men involved were clearly very competant and there was much potential for education which was set aside in favour of appealing to the mass audience.

 

[bigjackbrass]

Thanks for the response, Martyn. No offence taken, and anyway I can take criticism as well as the next man (assuming that the next man is an ill-tempered psychopath with a history of violence. And a toothache).

You're entirely right, the show is about entertainment pure and simple and I am not attempting to suggest that it should have been inherently educational, but for me it was a bit too lightweight even by its own remit. Nonetheless, I expect I'll try to, uh, catch it next week, and it's perfectly possible that future shows may have a bit more to them.

As for the flippers, my theory is that each week one of the pursuit team is forced to carry an item chosen by the cameraman. Just a theory, of course.

 

[johnboy]

Yep Next week is siberia,

Chris is sent in to rescue a downed satelite........

One of the pursuing team has to carry a complete set of Chris's novels in his Bergen in an attempt to get into chris's 'head space' and thereby bring about his capture.

 

[giancarlo]

just a reminder incase anyone wants to know,
Next part is on tonight

Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (1 hour long).
When: Thursday 30th October on BBC 1

Survival challenge series. SAS hero Chris Ryan takes on a mission to locate a spy satellite that has crashed inside the Arctic Circle and finds himself seriously challenged by the extreme weather conditions in Siberia.
(Widescreen, Second of three programmes, Subtitles)