Ray mears :(

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fiskman6666

Guest
as has been said before ,the series is called survival as in the ancient wildlife series from anglia tv ,nothing to do with dear old ray and survival techniques ,more to do with the survival of animals and as such it aint half bad in my opinion.
Dave
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
as has been said before ,the series is called survival as in the ancient wildlife series from anglia tv ,nothing to do with dear old ray and survival techniques ,more to do with the survival of animals and as such it aint half bad in my opinion.
Dave

Some of my favourite programs.:)
 

helixpteron

Native
Mar 16, 2008
1,469
0
UK
The series is called 'Survival' and involves Ray Mears traveling in a helicopter for a brief amount of time.

The actual objective of the series is to illustrate to BG that it really is possible to make an outdoor based series without relying on bedding down in a luxury hotel... Hence the title 'Survival'!

Apparently...
 

Laurentius

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 13, 2009
2,422
614
Knowhere
I think you are taking the term "survival" out of context. Survival does not refer to Ray Mears' skills so much as the survival of the animals in there natural habitat. But then Ray is surviving none the less, he hasn't been eaten yet.
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
I think you are taking the term "survival" out of context. Survival does not refer to Ray Mears' skills so much as the survival of the animals in there natural habitat. But then Ray is surviving none the less, he hasn't been eaten yet.

Lot of grub for a hungry animal is Ray:lmao:
 

Wayne

Mod
Mod
Dec 7, 2003
3,750
642
51
West Sussex
www.forestknights.co.uk
I have yet to see any of the series. No television.

I welcome a wildlife program devoted to tracking. I see tracking and a good understanding of nature as a foundation skill of Bushcraft and survival.

Ray is a great ambassador for Bushcraft and his shows help normalise knife use without being sensational.
 

Neumo

Full Member
Jul 16, 2009
1,675
0
West Sussex
I saw about half of the one on bears and it was pretty good, with great photography. As for the title, you have to remember that this is Television and the producers/production company will usually put the word 'Survival' next to anything that good old Ray does; either in the title or in the blurb that goes out to the TV stations. Survival is the category of programming that Ray's excellent TV programs fall into along with Bush Tucker Man etc.. which seems to be the universal TV name for programs of this type & is how Discovery etc.. sell their programming. At the end of the day it's just a title.

Some people think that anything that Ray does on TV has to be a step by step guide on how to make a fire, buld a shelter, etc...; All that stuf is all covered in his excellent DVDs, as opposed to his TV shows, which are some of the best training videos around on the basics. I think he performs a better role than that in that he gets people interesetd in getting out in the countryside, promotes bushcraft in general, promotes a knife as a tool not a weapon etc.. How may of us, when asked what we do when say we do bushcraft, have ended up saying something along the lines of 'It is what Ray Mears does on the TV...'?

I like the idea of seeing animals from a bushcraft/survival perspective & I think Ray did a good job. It makes a nice change to see a wildlife documentry from a new angle. Just my 2 cents....
 
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Bootstrap Bob

Full Member
Jun 21, 2006
407
9
51
Oxfordshire
isnt it called survival as its the 'survival' of the animal rather than ray?

I agree.
'Survival' used to be an ITV programme some time ago (long before RM appeared on our TV) and was all about how animals survive in the wild.
I think this series is the resurrection of that and it just happens that RM is the presenter. His name in the title I guess is just to get people to watch it. ITV's attempt to rival the BBC's excellent work with David Attenborough I suppose.

Got to say I'm enjoying it for what it is. If I want to see Ray light fires or show me some 'Human' survival techniques I just dig out a DVD or go to youtube. I really enjoyed his last series in Canada too, an improvement on the previous couple.
 

Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
374
60
Gloucestershire
I suppose that Ray's branding as a survival expert is now so strong that it's next to impossible to separate him from it. so, with his new series, a goodly number of folk will be disappointed because it's the animals who are having to survive and not the Bushcraft King.

I saw a bit of one of them and it strikes me that he is making noises a bit like David Attenborough. Will Ray be the new voice of 'Life on Earth' and other big budget nature masterpieces?
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
24
69
south wales
I saw about half of the one on bears and it was pretty good, with great photography. As for the title, you have to remember that this is Television and the producers/production company will usually put the word 'Survival' next to anything that good old Ray does; either in the title or in the blurb that goes out to the TV stations. Survival is the category of programming that Ray's excellent TV programs fall into along with Bush Tucker Man etc.. which seems to be the universal TV name for programs of this type & is how Discovery etc.. sell their programming. At the end of the day it's just a title.

Some people think that anything that Ray does on TV has to be a step by step guide on how to make a fire, buld a shelter, etc...; All that stuf is all covered in his excellent DVDs, as opposed to his TV shows, which are some of the best training videos around on the basics. I think he performs a better role than that in that he gets people interesetd in getting out in the countryside, promotes bushcraft in general, promotes a knife as a tool not a weapon etc.. How may of us, when asked what we do when say we do bushcraft, have ended up saying something along the lines of 'It is what Ray Mears does on the TV...'?

I like the idea of seeing animals from a bushcraft/survival perspective & I think Ray did a good job. It makes a nice change to see a wildlife documentry from a new angle. Just my 2 cents....

Good post, well written. To be honest I'm sick to death of all the Ray bashers who come out with the same old drivel about Ray, the man has moved on in his life so perhaps the moaners should try and move on with theirs :rolleyes:

Perhaps someone should organise a petition telling Ray he has sold out and 'proper' bushcrafters now think he is a sell out; I'm sure he'll turn off his new path and go back to rubbing sticks together to keep a few people happy.
 

red dreads

Member
Nov 14, 2009
47
0
Eilean a Cheo
I managed to see all three today on itv player,(no tv set) Genuinely enjoyed them and thought Ray done good mentioning the plight of the Salmon river wolf pack in Idaho and the insane decision to allow these once protected creatures to be hunted .
 

Ph34r

Settler
Feb 2, 2010
642
1
34
Oxfordshire, England
Im not bashing Ray, I actually think he is a well established man. I was just a bit disappointed that he does not play a huge role in 'survival' at all. At least in the original, they tracked hte animals themselves, and told you all the background - whilst filling you in on additional details. In this series with Ray, he seems to be flown around in a helicopter all of the time, with fairly high tech kit, and manages to go a whole episode without telling you more than 5 things about the animal. He barely manages to describe the habitat (survival) of the animals like they used to.
 

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