Bear Grylls- TV programme
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xylaria
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I have watched both episodes now, and every time I see him run down ankle breakingly steep slopes I think 'where is the cheese!!' as the only place I have seen anyone think I was good idea to run down slopes that steep they have been chasing a round cheese. 
The trout had the kids running out of the room. The guts squirting out the gills, when bopping the poor thing on the head takes such little effort.
The trout had the kids running out of the room. The guts squirting out the gills, when bopping the poor thing on the head takes such little effort.
People should just watch it as a piece of entertaining television, in many ways as they do a Ray Mears program. Information is there, but you will have to do a bit of homework for it to be of any use to. you.[/QUOTE]
QDanT said:
I think people should be free to criticise television, or anything fed to them as entertainment through that box we all pay a licence fee for ...in any way they like.
I like the honesty of Ray Mears delivery, this guy is too "set up" with a bit too much dare-devil, hard man-theatrics for my taste.
But I agree, it's definitely more theatre than anything else.
Watch this again...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63O-XqB4YgY
A camera crew will follow him? Lucky there was one waiting at the DZ then to film his landing.
Why was he out of breath? Parachuting isn't tiring.
No equipment? Are his camera crew going to suffer like he is? Or will they be kitted out for a full mountain expedition?
Is he really trecking fast? If so, how are his fully laden camera crew keeping up?
Does he leap blindly into a crevace with only knotted rigging lines for a belay?
Look how abruptly his decent is arrested? Is that from a knotted line biting into the snow? Or is it from a hard belay? He falls about 2 feet - that knotted line does work well doesnt it?
Why doesnt the camera show the knots biting into the snow? Or the other end of the line? Maybe it's realy belayed of a dozen ice axes?
Blind crevace? Deep? Lucky there was a camera crew in there filming his fall.
As he pulls himself out, the line is 6 inches off the snow. Are the knots in the line biting into the snow?
Altitude sickness? Hearing dogs? I wonder if his camera crew are fairing any better? Or perhaps 50 sherpas parachuted in with them to carry the breathing aparatus?
I actualy enjoyed the Alps episode, it's amazing what you can do with a crusader mug, a knife and an equity card
twisted firestarter said:I actualy enjoyed the Alps episode, it's amazing what you can do with a crusader mug, a knife and an equity card
sounds like a plan for a "minimalist-moot"
much better than the only fifteen items idea 
you do sort of wonder if it perhaps would actually be better if itwas a little more credible. i don't doubt for a minute that bear would be a handy bloke to have around with a big wenger swiss army knife and a stainless steel mug, it's just a shame that the producers/directors feel the need for the drama. i sometimes wonder about what hugh mcmanners thinks of those really embarrassingly bad pics in his commando survival handbook. if the guys know the stuff, why do they let their names be attached to the crepe. is it really as simple as, just for the money?
cheers, and.
All this talk of not doing things properly, ie., jumping into a cravass without a belay, climbing down a vine without a safety line.
Surely you don't seroiusly expect someone to actually risk killing themselves just for your Saturday evening entertainment?
Then you'd all say " I can't beleive he wasn't wearing a harness in this day and age of health and safety, setting a bad example to our children".
Do you expect him to leap into the air down a cravass and kill himself?
I bet if you were ever in the Alps and lost, you'd tow your equipment behind you in that manner.
To demonstrate the technique of abseiling, for example, you only need to use a wall 5 feet high, not go off the Empire State!
He may well have been genuinely climbing down but the vine but he thought he might use a safety just in case.
As for the cash factor, he's surely making money, but who doesn't want money? Don't forget how much Ray Mears charges for his courses.
Surely you don't seroiusly expect someone to actually risk killing themselves just for your Saturday evening entertainment?
Then you'd all say " I can't beleive he wasn't wearing a harness in this day and age of health and safety, setting a bad example to our children".
Do you expect him to leap into the air down a cravass and kill himself?
I bet if you were ever in the Alps and lost, you'd tow your equipment behind you in that manner.
To demonstrate the technique of abseiling, for example, you only need to use a wall 5 feet high, not go off the Empire State!
He may well have been genuinely climbing down but the vine but he thought he might use a safety just in case.
As for the cash factor, he's surely making money, but who doesn't want money? Don't forget how much Ray Mears charges for his courses.
Jjv110 said:
I went to uni and studied social anthropology and environmental archaeology and if you did that you will know where they got their knowledge (some of it) and how you can access it too all for free...
well er apart from the ten grande student loans to pay off. Listen guys if you want to donate ten p for the student loan pay off fund for that piece of knowledge... 
Jjv,
No, the last thing we want is for him to do unsafe things. The second to last thing we want is for him to pretend he is doing things that he is clearly not doing because they are damned unsafe! Why does he have to be a twonk and tell lies about what he's doing? If he needs a safety line because its dodgy, why can't he be man enough to admit it rather than making things that are dangerouse seem safe? He appears to endorse a practice he himself is too scared to do (oh -btw - I'm too scared to do it too - scared = alive). I have no problem with him being safe - its great! Its the pretending to do things he clearly doesn't do that ticks me right off. Either you are safe and cautious - or "radical and harcore man". Its the out and out fakery and pretension thats irritating. Why does he fell the need to pretend to do things hes either scared to do or not allowed to do?
Red
No, the last thing we want is for him to do unsafe things. The second to last thing we want is for him to pretend he is doing things that he is clearly not doing because they are damned unsafe! Why does he have to be a twonk and tell lies about what he's doing? If he needs a safety line because its dodgy, why can't he be man enough to admit it rather than making things that are dangerouse seem safe? He appears to endorse a practice he himself is too scared to do (oh -btw - I'm too scared to do it too - scared = alive). I have no problem with him being safe - its great! Its the pretending to do things he clearly doesn't do that ticks me right off. Either you are safe and cautious - or "radical and harcore man". Its the out and out fakery and pretension thats irritating. Why does he fell the need to pretend to do things hes either scared to do or not allowed to do?
Red
So how many people know anyone who has parachuted into the middle of the alps in winter for fun?
If people are out there and get lost or hurt I personally believe it would be becuase they are out walking, skiing, snow shoeing or climbing certainly not by parachuting out of an aeroplane!
Did anyone notice the convenient carabina that he tried to hide after using that rope crossing, I'm sure he didn't have that when he set off. I'm sure he said that all he had was a knife, a litre of water and his parachute oh! and the clothes he was wearing. He never mentioned a carabina!
And why is it in every program he does, he always seems to conveniently wake up in the early hours of the morning and proclaim that he is so uncomfortable and freezing! or something is going on outside his shelter.
And why was he chasing that fox?? I know he said he was after a rabbit that the fox might catch but when he spooked it and the fox bolted why did he chase it?As if he would catch it!
These programs are just too bizarre for me, he is like some one else mentioned in an earlier post 'Ray Mears on steroids!!!'
What a waste of talent that could have been put to better use, he should have made these programs along the same lines as 'Survivorman' by Les Stroud.
Then maybe he wouldn't be getting such a slating off the likes of us.
By the way I'm not sure who it was that said the TA SAS selection isn't as hard as the Regular SAS, but I say this to you, could you give up every w/end for 2 yrs plus attend 2 training nights a week in only 1 of 2 training establishments in the UK, which means you have to have the dedication to travel from where ever you live and back and then go and do your normal daily job in between which will probably mean you would have very little or no social life, and then hand yourself over to the JSSF Training Wing for final jungle, E&E and RTI Training to pass out as a special forces soldier.
The training doesn't stop there either you will be expected to be available at very short notice to go away for sometimes months at a time and not be able to tell anybody about it.
I certainly couldn't do it.
The TA SAS are every bit as good as the regulars and deserve all the respect that their counterparts get!
So if Mr Grylls was indeed TA SAS then my hat goes off to him because the training regime is alot harder than what a regular soldier would have to go through purely for the fact that he would have to try and get on with his civilian life after the training which I reckon would be pretty solid!
End of rant!!
If people are out there and get lost or hurt I personally believe it would be becuase they are out walking, skiing, snow shoeing or climbing certainly not by parachuting out of an aeroplane!
Did anyone notice the convenient carabina that he tried to hide after using that rope crossing, I'm sure he didn't have that when he set off. I'm sure he said that all he had was a knife, a litre of water and his parachute oh! and the clothes he was wearing. He never mentioned a carabina!
And why is it in every program he does, he always seems to conveniently wake up in the early hours of the morning and proclaim that he is so uncomfortable and freezing! or something is going on outside his shelter.
And why was he chasing that fox?? I know he said he was after a rabbit that the fox might catch but when he spooked it and the fox bolted why did he chase it?As if he would catch it!
These programs are just too bizarre for me, he is like some one else mentioned in an earlier post 'Ray Mears on steroids!!!'
What a waste of talent that could have been put to better use, he should have made these programs along the same lines as 'Survivorman' by Les Stroud.
Then maybe he wouldn't be getting such a slating off the likes of us.
By the way I'm not sure who it was that said the TA SAS selection isn't as hard as the Regular SAS, but I say this to you, could you give up every w/end for 2 yrs plus attend 2 training nights a week in only 1 of 2 training establishments in the UK, which means you have to have the dedication to travel from where ever you live and back and then go and do your normal daily job in between which will probably mean you would have very little or no social life, and then hand yourself over to the JSSF Training Wing for final jungle, E&E and RTI Training to pass out as a special forces soldier.
The training doesn't stop there either you will be expected to be available at very short notice to go away for sometimes months at a time and not be able to tell anybody about it.
I certainly couldn't do it.
The TA SAS are every bit as good as the regulars and deserve all the respect that their counterparts get!
So if Mr Grylls was indeed TA SAS then my hat goes off to him because the training regime is alot harder than what a regular soldier would have to go through purely for the fact that he would have to try and get on with his civilian life after the training which I reckon would be pretty solid!
End of rant!!
Jjv110 said:
jjv, I dont doubt this fella's credentials for a second. I'm sure he's as tough as a nut, he's definitely up for it, clearly fit as a fiddle, obviously knows his skills - I have no issues with any of that. What I object to, is just as Red, that this theatrical wilderness soap opera is being fed to me as real world, factual, actually doing it for real, heroics - when he obviously isnt. I am being fed a big pork pie and it irritates me.
It's the theatrics of it, that is just way OTT. Right from crossing himself before lobbing out of the plane, to landing gasping for breath. It's patronising and just done to over-state the danger and impress the weak minded. I dont like television programs that patronise me and work on the premise that the viewers are gullible buffoons.
Martyn said:
The problem is there are alot of gullible buffoons out there who believe this is all real!
My main concern with the programmes are that he is always in a rush, he tells the watchers to S.T.O.P then sort of explains a bit about what 'stop' means, before rushing headlong down an ankle/neck breaking slope, covered in debris/snow. He is rushing so much he hasnt got twenty minutes to wait to cook a fish, or boil some water, but he has time to spend hours puking and retching.Martyn said:
Ok in the forces E&E is/maybe the order of the day, but should some weekend skier watching the programme, think that they have to rush off the slopes, they are going to end up breaking something and dying slowly rather than taking time to eat, drink, build a shelter light a fire.
As for being fit and good enough to survive the worse of the life can throw at him. he is gung-ho enough to get himself killed in what would be a survival situation. Worse than that anyone who copies him is likely to die apeing him.
Come on chaps, this overanalysis is ridiculous! Of course he has a camera crew with him, who will be equipped to the hilt. Of course he will be obliged (probably by the TV company insurance people) to take reasonable measures to protect himself. Of course he has probably had to take several takes to get the right shot for the TV camera, so you are not necessarily seeing it "as it happens". That is not fakery, it's TV. He is trying to show techniques that can be used in survival situations, and demonstrate how he would use them, whilst being entertaining.
Are we saying that the notted paracord protection against crevasses is a bad idea? Would the programme have been better if he had told us and then not demonstrated? Would you rather he had pretended not to have got the squits from drinking bad water? Would it be better TV if he had wrapped the fish in reindeer moss stuffed with juniper berries and roasted slowly over the "right kind of fire", instead of ramming it down his throat and moving on?
You can't have it both ways. He is being accused of "being patronising by overstating danger", and at the same time being reckless and encouraging dangerous practices.
And why is someone cutting their finger whilst making a snowshoe funny? I have been handling knives for thirty years and have cut myself plenty in that time, as have most on this forum, I suspect! But of course, the conspiracy theorists among you will think that the blood was ketchup anyway...
Roll on the next episode!
PS Maybe a fourway fight between Bear, Ray, Survivorman and Lofty? Now that would be television!
Are we saying that the notted paracord protection against crevasses is a bad idea? Would the programme have been better if he had told us and then not demonstrated? Would you rather he had pretended not to have got the squits from drinking bad water? Would it be better TV if he had wrapped the fish in reindeer moss stuffed with juniper berries and roasted slowly over the "right kind of fire", instead of ramming it down his throat and moving on?
You can't have it both ways. He is being accused of "being patronising by overstating danger", and at the same time being reckless and encouraging dangerous practices.
And why is someone cutting their finger whilst making a snowshoe funny? I have been handling knives for thirty years and have cut myself plenty in that time, as have most on this forum, I suspect! But of course, the conspiracy theorists among you will think that the blood was ketchup anyway...
Roll on the next episode!
PS Maybe a fourway fight between Bear, Ray, Survivorman and Lofty? Now that would be television!
How about a wrestling tag match between Ray, Bear, survivorman (Les Stroud) John 'lofty' Wiseman, Les Hiddins (bush tucker man) and Mors Kochanski or better still stick them all on an island and give them daily tasks now that would be reality tv worth watching.
No quibbles - the man is tough, fit and brave. I don't like the over-dramatic bullshine and all the badly-hidden fakery but the programmes are entertainment and there are plenty just as bad outside our area of interest - heck, half the so-called news is barely real .
But what I find hard to forgive is that this outdoor soap opera ego-trip is presented as factual, how-to-survive advice. Most of the people reading this will know better than to copy his antics, but there are plenty of impressionable youngsters out there who will be influenced by him. Imagine some young soldiers out in the wild on an expedition or exercise getting into trouble because they copied his frenzied style - it's not too much to say that p[eople could get hurt, even die, because of this nonsense.
End of sermon!
but the programmes are entertainment and there are plenty just as bad outside our area of interest - heck, half the so-called news is barely real . But what I find hard to forgive is that this outdoor soap opera ego-trip is presented as factual, how-to-survive advice. Most of the people reading this will know better than to copy his antics, but there are plenty of impressionable youngsters out there who will be influenced by him. Imagine some young soldiers out in the wild on an expedition or exercise getting into trouble because they copied his frenzied style - it's not too much to say that p[eople could get hurt, even die, because of this nonsense.
End of sermon!
Martyn said:
I think the main point here is that because of his dramas and melodramatics, combined with blatant recklessness etc, mean yours left doubting those credentials. He has in effect put himself on the same path as "Andy Mcsellout" If he demonstrated correct knowledge then you might belive the guy. But as an example, the guy has a knife with him yet cant spend 3 seconds to take it out and cut a fish's backbone, instead he bits into it, risking who knows what if the fish had diseases that would have been spotted but cutting it open. Theres just too many silly things like that that then cause me to laugh and look for jeremy beadle when he says he was SAS this and superhuman that.
Lofy is believeable as he just makes a few books etc about real survival and doesnt try and do it with his blue spandex and red pants. Personally because of the rubbish bear says I'd find him hard to believe if he told me my flies were undone. Which I think is the real problem here, we don't want to see needless risks for others to follow sure, but at the same time at least be totaly honest about what your doing or nothing you say has any credence.
I guess one could rightly say from all the posts on this subject that Bear is not into Bushcraft.
the guy is blatantly trying to make a name for himself, and fair play - i like the bloke, but what he does is kind of ridiculous and almost dangerous if he is saying "you should do this if you're lost on a mountain"...
no i shouldnt, but thanks!
i think he's got a good career in jackass bushcraft. i wonder when the midget shooting him with a taser gun episode is on?
hillarious stuff.
the demo of how much balls he's got when he jumped into the frozen lake said it all....nowt after that tho i'd expect!
he should have put the 'Borat' style huge blacked out mark over the ol' fella graphics just to top it all off.
bravo! (which is where the show belongs...)
saw a couple of ep's of the canadian fella 'survivorman' - much much better, but cant help thinking Ray's dad could beat up Survivormans dad...
no i shouldnt, but thanks!
i think he's got a good career in jackass bushcraft. i wonder when the midget shooting him with a taser gun episode is on?
hillarious stuff.
the demo of how much balls he's got when he jumped into the frozen lake said it all....nowt after that tho i'd expect!
he should have put the 'Borat' style huge blacked out mark over the ol' fella graphics just to top it all off.
bravo! (which is where the show belongs...)
saw a couple of ep's of the canadian fella 'survivorman' - much much better, but cant help thinking Ray's dad could beat up Survivormans dad...
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