Bear Grylls- Urban Survivor

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darrenh

Member
Apr 20, 2010
31
0
new forest
Did anyone watch Bear on tv last night? am i the only one who sits there in utter dismay at his "antics" and thinking Bear if your struggling to do this and telling us how dangerous it is then how is the poor cameraman getting buy,keeping up with his running across the roof in harmony and backflipping for the camera every chance he gets before eating his delicious cuisine giving him less energy than he burned up doing it the "extreme" way...... OH and did anyone notice the safety line on the crane swing?
 

Peter_t

Native
Oct 13, 2007
1,353
2
East Sussex
personally i think 'urban survival' is a loads of BS :pokenest:

i didn't watch it but from the adverts i get the idea that he wanted to make it out to be something glamorous, a form of free running??
in reality isn't urban survival just being homeless, living on the streets? do you see homeless people running about on rooftops? no. or maby they could learn a thing or two from bear?

don't get it

pete
 

SimonM

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Apr 7, 2007
4,015
6
East Lancashire
www.wood-sage.co.uk
My 12 year old daughter sat with me picking holes in the "action".

  • She saw the safety line on the crane swing,
  • questoned whether or not potassium permanganate would be in a factory FAK
  • ...and why the brand new FAK had been dirtied up with a bit of spray paint!
  • Said that his dead fall trap needed more weight on it
  • questioned why he climbed down the lift shaft...where were the stairs?

Which all brings to mind a T shirt that Andywink made for me, with the logo

Bear Grylls




Cameraman rocks!

Simon
 

darrenh

Member
Apr 20, 2010
31
0
new forest
My 12 year old daughter sat with me picking holes in the "action

Fantastic ....

it does make you wonder and worry that people might try this for real....... and those t.shirts would sell if mainstreamed imo
 

Bushwhacker

Banned
Jun 26, 2008
3,882
8
Dorset
Why watch something you don't like?
It's like complaining that a pint of beer is off only after drinking most of it.

I stupidly sat through a whole episode of Wallyoaks once and regretted it forever.
 

ChrisW

Member
Aug 19, 2008
47
0
Bristol
I wasn't too impressed with last nights Urban episode. I think it'll be interesting to compare it to the Worst Case Scenario series he's done, if that ever gets shown in the UK.

On the whole though I have to say I enjoy his shows thoroughly. They're entertainment and are great if viewed as such. I do wonder why people have such strong feelings against him.
 

Peter_t

Native
Oct 13, 2007
1,353
2
East Sussex
I do wonder why people have such strong feelings against him.

its because people associate us with him because of the survival connection and many people (including me) see him as a complete fool.

I don’t have a strong hate of him but it is annoying that I have to keep explaining that, no, im not trying to be like him.


pete
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,109
2,843
66
Pembrokeshire
I do not watch soaps...
I do not watch "reality TV" shows like "I am a big talent get me a house" or whatever they are called
I do not watch (much) Cbeebies" (though "Horrid Histories" is cool...oh and "Sean the Sheep" is great!)
I do not watch BearGrills.
Reasons?
I find the plots, the characters, the acting and often the concept of the shows to be so mind numbingly infantile as to be insulting to the average adult.
I work as a Relief Support Worker for Mencap and one of my tenants is addicted to soaps and reality shows...but I have not yet seen him watch BG yet...that says it all for me! :)
I prefer to watch more fact based TV - or get outside...or even see what folk here have been up to!
 

ChrisW

Member
Aug 19, 2008
47
0
Bristol
us is just anyone who practices bushcraft and survival.

pete

But "bushcraft and survival" are fairly niche areas of interest with, arguably, just two public faces in the UK, so is it not inevitable to be compared to one of the well known practitioners of a subject you've an interest in?

Each have very different approaches to entertaining people with their abilities and interests. And boy do they seem to polarise opinion.
I'm not here to start a personality war, but try and understand what I see as a deep running vein of resentment towards one person.
Cards on table time, I like Bear and find myself increasingly ambivalent towards Ray, as far as their public personalities go - and that's all I have to go off as I know neither personally.

One thing I genuinely don't get is why Bear's antics are ever mistaken as "bushcraft" by people who are interested in the subject (and it seems to be the enthusiasts that seem to get the most upset) and are seen as giving the subject a bad name.
 

Peter_t

Native
Oct 13, 2007
1,353
2
East Sussex
One thing I genuinely don't get is why Bear's antics are ever mistaken as "bushcraft" by people who are interested in the subject (and it seems to be the enthusiasts that seem to get the most upset) and are seen as giving the subject a bad name.

i don't think bear is 'bushcrafting' but bears 'getting out alive' is a big part of survival. bushcraft and survival are very similar even though they do have their different aproaches but to your average joe they are the same thing. many of the skills such as making fires and traping game come under both names.

say people start copying bears antics and someone gets in trouble for eating a live fish and the news papers get hold of it people would look down on both bushcraft and survival as they know no different.



pete
 

ChrisW

Member
Aug 19, 2008
47
0
Bristol
i don't think bear is 'bushcrafting' but bears 'getting out alive' is a big part of survival. bushcraft and survival are very similar even though they do have their different aproaches but to your average joe they are the same thing. many of the skills such as making fires and traping game come under both names.

say people start copying bears antics and someone gets in trouble for eating a live fish and the news papers get hold of it people would look down on both bushcraft and survival as they know no different.

pete

But you could say that of anything anyone does. Say someone gets in trouble with the Forestry Commission for starting a small fire on their land and they say they're doing Bushcraft like Ray Mears and the papers get hold of it? They only difference is that sentences like that always contain Bear's name, not Ray's. Yet the argument could be applied to a lot of what both of them do.

I think that's what I don't understand, why Bear's name is used in negative context and Ray in a positive one.

To me it seems as if they're both positive role models for those outside of the bushcraft and survival niche, but only one is inside.
 
Last edited:

Basha72

Tenderfoot
Jul 13, 2006
58
0
51
Torbay
Bear is Bear

Ray is Ray

Les is Les

Lofty is Lofty

And so on and so on they all do things differently, wether it's percieved public perseption of what we want to see or not. I don't like opera, so I dont watch it or listen to it simple.

Don't waste time energy or sleep worrying about bear or anyone else just do what you want to do when out an about.

Basha out
 

_scorpio_

Need to contact Admin...
Dec 22, 2009
947
0
east sussex UK
i like ray because he doesn't run anywhere and is a bit on the round side like me :D bear is too energetic and has to be harnessed or he would be running wild through the streets. i couldn't/wouldn't do what bear does in a survival situation but probably could do what ray does. some people are the opposite, who cares? just get on with whatever you want to do and stop trying to change others.

i vote for an instant block on all threads like this because the ray - bear dispute got old 100 threads ago.
 

badgeringtim

Nomad
May 26, 2008
480
0
cambridge
To me the above is very clear - i have never seen Ray advocate anything that is actually very dangerouse and decrease the chances of your survival, nor take pleasure in the killing of protected species (unnesesairily) equaly i have never see Bear emphasise before doing some small foraging that they have requested and been granted permission for thisl activity by the relevent authorities and that it shouldnt be taken forgranted that you can do this.

Despite this i am not a 'Rayophile' i think he does some good stuff but bears programms should come with a huge disclamer explaining that they are striktly entertainment and people should not try most of the ideas even, in fact especially, in survival scenarios.
 

ChrisW

Member
Aug 19, 2008
47
0
Bristol
am i the only one who sits there in utter dismay at his "antics"

So, in answer to one of your original questions - it would appear not then.

What I've read is disappointing. People don't seem to be willing to discuss, but they are willing to ram opinions down throats forcefully in the absence of discussion.
 

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