Amidst all the controversy, Man vs. Wild returns to the airwaves on November 9th with all new episodes. A move that is sure to strike a whole new round of Bear vs. Les debates.
Hosted by Bear Grylls, Man vs. Wild is a show, not unlike Survivorman, in which we the viewers watch the host try to survive in extreme conditions somewhere on the planet each week. The show sparked controversy this past Summer however, when word got out that host Bear Grylls wasn’t always fully upfront with his activities in the field. Some of his methods were called into question, and we even learned that he may have spent some of his nights in a warm hotel room with his crew rather than “surviving” out in the wild.
Since that time, the show is said to have refocused, with more of an emphasis on staying true to it’s roots. Grylls, a charismatic and entertaining guy, took a lot of heat for his purported antics, as did the BBC and Discovery Channel which co-produce and broadcast his show.
This season, the show will spend two episodes in the chosen environment as opposed to one episode in the past. When the new episodes start on Nov. 9th we’ll kick things of in the Sahara desert and that will continue on the Nov. 16th episode as well. From there, we’ll get two episodes in the jungles of Panama, followed by two episodes in Patagonia.
At some point this fall we should also see Bear’s Mission Everest which will follow his attempt to fly a paraglider over Mount Everest this past Spring. That event is also steeped in controversy as to whether or not he actually made it. Bear claims he did, but there is little independent proof of the fact. The video should shed a lot of light on the subject. No word as to when that special will air however.
So, let a new battle of Bear vs. Les begin. Take it to the comments section, and lets be civil people! 😉
Update: Azzfan, who is clearly much better than I am at searching the Discovery Channel website, posted a comment earlier today that Bear’s Mission Everest will air right after the Season 2 debut on Nov. 9th. So, you’ll get an episode of Man vs. Wild, in the Sahara no less, followed by the Mission Everest special. Bear fans can get their fix in a two hour block that night.
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Les complains too much for me.
In addition, he always speaks in terms of his own survival where as Bear takes you there and gives you a sense that you are in the driver’s seat.
Bear’s challenges are tough – Tyrolean traverse, cold water dips, white water swimming, etc. All of which I’ve done and all of which are extremely challenging.
Les finally got into a kayak – but his paddle wasn’t set up ideally. His hand and arm were getting wet from the drip.
And in reality Bear actually eats more than Les. Les has a hard time with a chipmunk. And it always seems as if he only has 2 cashews and a piece of beef jerky. 😀
It’s no contest, Bear takes the prize.
They both have a different approach to what they do, that’s for sure.
I like them both and admire them for different reasons. You have to hand it to Les, being out there all his own, no crew, and having to run the cameras himself. On the other hand, I think Bear is a bit more entertaining and fun to watch.
Yeah, I think “Survivorman” is by far the better show. It’s not as flashy, but being marooned in the wilderness isn’t flashy — it’s a pain in the ass. Les keeps it real.
Besides, any lost hiker who starts thinking, “What would Bear do?” is in for a rough time. Bear always ends up jumping into freezing water or rappelling down a cliff with some vines — ridiculous decisions if you’re truly alone in the wilderness. Those of us who don’t travel with a camera crew & support team can’t afford to take him seriously.
Bear always seeks out the drama, which I’m sure his producers love. But I’ve always had much more respect for the Survivorman approach — even before I found out about Bear’s tendency to mislead the public.
That sums it up pretty well T-Fly.
I like both shows for different reasons, but I’d be more apt to follow Les’ survival advice as it’s more grounded in reality. Bear does some pretty dramatic and amazing things that most of wouldn’t, and shouldn’t attempt on our own. Not if we want to live anyway.
Just wanted to let you know that I saw a commercial during a repeat of “Survivorman” last night and Bear’s Mission Everest is supposed to be on on Nov 9th after the premiere of “Man vs. Wild.” It also shows up in the listings in a search on Discovery’s site.
Hmm… why do I have such a hard time finding some of this stuff on the Discovery website? Glad you’re around to point these things out to me Azzfan! 🙂
I’ll update the original story!
Bears often says “those that go to extreme measures survive”.
If I followed Les’ MO I’d become depressed and die. : D
LOL! At the above comment. There are times when Les seems like he’s ready to pack it all in. But then again, at that point he’s probably backtracked for the 8th time to retrieve a camera to see if he got a shot just right. 🙂
I’m glad to the 2nd season starting up soon. It’s at least entertaining albeit a bit “hollywoodtized”. It’ll be interesting to see how much more they’ll show in the 2-hour long episodes to try and combat the “Bear is Fake” controversy.
Also as an FYI, the Man vs. Wild Season 1 comes out on DVD on Dec 10th!
I agree. Bear is entertaining, if nothing else. The commercials for the new season look pretty intense to say the least.
I also caught a commercial for the Bear’s Mission Everest special, and it looked pretty interesting as well. Perhaps we can put an end to the paragliding controversy while we’re at it too.
The DVD’s come out just in time for Christmas!
Hey did you get a chance to watch Mission Everest? I thought it was interesting but I’m not really sure that it ended any controversy. It was really more just assumptions at the end.
Yeah, I caught it. It was a decent show, but I agree, it really didn’t prove anything to me or put an end to the controversy either. A bit of speculation with out any real evidence.