All the "reality" shows on TV are utterly fake in my opinion.
But I have a particular dislike for Survivorman (a TV
series). *I* personally consider it all fake. The first episode (years ago),
Survivorman made a big deal out of how he was completely alone. Then, in
that episode, he walked down a path through the woods AND THE CAMERA FOLLOWED
HIM! Think about that...
I was in a human prehistory discussion group at the
time. Another early episode had him "desperate" to make a hole
in 6" ice (to catch a fish for food) but unsuccessful. We
immediately came up with 6 different ways to do that. And then suddenly a
new person joined the discussion, defending Survivorman against every example
of apparent falseness. After a couple days, the site administrator posted
that he had tracked the new member's IP address and (wait for it), it was
Survivorman's address!!!
I only mention that to say this... After some
(14?) years of Survivorman, the reality there is no greater. I saw the teaser ad for the new season and I laughed my ass off. I actually had to pay attention to it several times to be sure.
The teaser ad shows Survivorman cutting a sapling trunk into a sharp spear point. Then you see him standing in the water (with a VERY FIERCE expression) waiting to stab a fish for his dinner. That's OK so far as it goes. If you spear a fish with a good upwards movement, the fish will stay on the spear.
Except... The point of his wooden spear looks bent over! Seriously, it looks like he pounded the point on the ground a few times OR it was deliberately bent to look like a barb. But it won't work either way. Essentially, Survivorman is standing in the water threatening to jab a fish with the eraser end of a pencil, LOL! The fishes scales will block THAT everytime.
If you want to see actual sensible survivor skills without hyped drama, try http://aloneinthewilderness.com/. It's about a guy who simply lived in remote Alaska for some time and succeded in the daily tasks required to get by.
THAT guy was real.
Its available in several versions at Amazon. Just don't accidentally order the Survivorman title of a similar name. Its not the one I'm recommending.
2 comments:
The good news - I think - is that I've never even heard of Survivorman, let alone watched an episode. It's certainly not shown on free-to-air television in Australia. I don't have cable, so I don't know whether it's ever been screened there.
Megan
Sydney, Australia
I watched and loved that alone in the wilderness show, I've seen it many times on PBS. He really worked hard to stay out there in the wilderness in Alaska. His cabin is protected now. It would be cool to see, but I wouldnt go into the frigid wilderness just for a peek!
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