Surviving the Stoneage Channel 4

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Just a heads up of a TV show starting this saturday (7th November) on channel 4
Surviving the Stoneage
it has a the following primitive living skill practioners :-
Matt Graham
Lynx Vilden
Manse Ahmed
Theresa Kamper
Nicole Apelion
Dan Walmsley,
Naomi Walmsley,
Casparo Brown,



some names I am sure the members on here are familiar with.

i believe it's going to be an interesting series to watch and not like other "reality" shows that have been run before.

the credentials are definately pretty good.

its on at 19:00hrs Saturday 7th November
 

zornt

Nomad
Apr 6, 2014
273
128
70
Ohio, USA
Sounds like it would be very interesting Unfortunately I"m on the wrong side of the pond to see it...
BOOOOOOO
 

Herman30

Native
Aug 30, 2015
1,351
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Finland
I´m on the right side of the pond but can´t see it either. I´m in the wrong country. Would love to see it.
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
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www.mont-hmg.co.uk
I'm going to reserve judgement TBH. I've watch 12 year olds catch fish in smaller shoals with throw nets in Malaysia so I suspect there was 'entertainment' scene selection when you consider the combined experience of the guys and girls on the show (or maybe they are constrained by legal fishing techniques).
 

bobnewboy

Native
Jul 2, 2014
1,293
847
West Somerset
I’m with Broch. I will see the other episodes before I come to a conclusion. Having said that it wasn’t as good as I was hoping for. Perhaps the camera crew are carrying more stores than expected, or the experts aren’t really that hungry yet........
 

Buckshot

Mod
Mod
Jan 19, 2004
6,466
349
Oxford
I'm going to reserve judgement TBH. I've watch 12 year olds catch fish in smaller shoals with throw nets in Malaysia so I suspect there was 'entertainment' scene selection when you consider the combined experience of the guys and girls on the show (or maybe they are constrained by legal fishing techniques).
Did you have a go with the net?
Have you made one of the nets? I assume its different to a standard Gill net.

We each know our area.
One thing they said is going into another area creates different challenges .

Fishing wasn't working for them so they tried another tack.
We didn't see all the people in the first episode. Perhaps Theresa will be featured more next week.
Mark
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,983
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Did you have a go with the net?
Have you made one of the nets? I assume its different to a standard Gill net.

No and no :) - I'll try and find a photo I took but it was about 18 years ago. The nets I saw being used were much finer than gill nets. I've also witnessed people spear fishing but never tried it either.

The reality of this is that, although a new area creates new challenges, the Mesolithic people had tens of thousands of years of skills being passed down and by the time they reached the age of the team on the show would have had many years of practice. They wouldn't have just been dropped in cold to an alien environment either but slowly moved from one area to another as seasons changed or resources diminished. However, I am sure there would have been times when food was extremely difficult to find and starvation followed.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising either the show or the team but I suspect there's an 'entertainment' reason they spent days next to a river full of life and didn't catch any - I mean, what would the rest of the series show if they had everything they needed at their first camp? :)
 
by the age of most the participants they would of been considered elders...




(hoping Theresa doesn't read this cause i'll get a clip round the ear)



I suspect as Matt said they would of sent scouts out to recce routes and locations worthy of travelling the entire tribe to.

interesting seeing the different clothing made from the same materials,the different methods of carrying their equipment, the expediant boat manse made

i think it'll definately be worth watching the other 2 episodes.

beats most saturday tv
 

Tank

Full Member
Aug 10, 2009
2,015
278
Witney, Oxfordshire
I think the biggest issue the experts dealt with is time restraints dealing with production executives/team, it's a lot of work to get ready for for the show! The time needed to process the hides for a start, let alone making their own clothing. Then there is ever other bit of kit they would have needed to source through contact or make.

I would say stoneage man would have had multiple fishing methods/equipment, but modern day man is using theory and adapting known methods and using them in a primitive setting. I am not surprised they struggled with fishing tbh.

I bet with more time they would have started pulling them in, especially with time to set up weirs.Its subject matter they could have spent months on in itself.

Look at modern day fishing how specialised it is now, it would have been the same back then when you start looking at hooks, lines, sinkers, lures, floats, trolling, lake fishing, river fishing, sea fishing, spears, harpoons, hand nets, drag nets, gill nets, weir traps, basket traps, stone traps. Yes I just flicked through Indian Fishing by Hilary Stewart to reference the techniques and methods :)

its a shame they have to worked with a time schedule, but that's What you get when working for TV.
 

paulds

Full Member
Sep 28, 2016
134
45
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Manchester
I enjoyed the show thoroughly but as Broch said, I'm reserving judgement to a certain degree. I'm giving the participants the benefit of the doubt for now because I believe that issues on the show may relate to interference from the production crew. Having heard the nonsense the Dual Survival crew got up to and knowing someone who appeared on the abomination that is Towie I know what goes on. Pretty sure they were trying to manufacture some tension when the guy stayed out hunting on his own. That's what ruins these shows.

It would be interesting to see when this was filmed because I remember Theresa was making water skins for a TV show at the last Bushmoot. @John Fenna was there at the time so he may remember. I'm betting this was the show.
 
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crosslandkelly

A somewhat settled
Jun 9, 2009
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I didn't really enjoy the programme. I have the utmost respect for the cast and their skill sets. But like all of these reality type shows, trying to condense a months worth of mostly tedious, humdrum, day to day footage, into three 45minute episodes, and then introduce some non existent drama, ruins it for me.
 
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paulds

Full Member
Sep 28, 2016
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Manchester
I mean that's the reality of it isn't it. The majority of it will be tedious and because they've got actual experts in their field rather than attention seeking z list celebs or members of the public who want to make a name for themselves there won't be the usual drama. The team work and respect for each other came through for me. Knowing what channel 4 are like they were probably desperate for some disagreements. I expect the next episode we'll have some drama because they'll take people to one side and **** stir.
 
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