Martyn said:
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...