I am saddened to pass on this news as I, like many others, have spent a few episodes
stupefied as the Man vs. Wild star Bear Grylls portrays crazy survival stunts such as jumping into an ice covered lake or drinking water straight from an elephant dropping all in the name of survival. But it looks like their may be some tarnish on the Man vs. Wild / Born Survivor show now in its second season. BBC news is reporting that some of the keynote scenes in last years seasons were fudged! The two mentioned are: Grylls building a raft, which is stated to have been put together and tested then disassembled (which I am guessing comes from the Deserted Island episode) and supposedly the wild horse in the Sierra Nevada episode came from a local hiking outfit company so it was not a wild horse as portrayed.
Now with all this said, I am am still not going to abandon one of the few TV show I watch. I think anyone who thinks everything done on this show could be done with out any planning or forth sight. In the episode criticized where Grylls supposedly creates an ocean raft, then tested it and rebuilt it on set. Just seeing this thing you would immediately understand this is not a raft built quickly by someone with no experience. They took this raft clearly on the open ocean, and comic bookness aside were surrounded by several curious and hungry sharks that were making goes at the raft. If this raft would have collapsed during this filming their is no doubt someone would have been seriously hurt if not killed.
As for the horse, I make no excuses other then the show with out these area specific scenes would get very boring. No matter where the show takes place after six episodes they are very much alike. While I would rather not have fake content, if I was bored I would not be watching. If you have watched the show many of Bear’s crazy tactics can not be faked such as bug eating, peeing on his shirt to make a cool head in face wrap in the desert, or even his extreme equipment free climbing. Hopefully this all gets sorted up honestly and Grylls and the Man vs. Wild crew clean up their act.
Survival show faces ‘fake’ claim @ BBC News (via Digg)
Bear Grylls @ Wikiapedia
Man vs Wild @ Discovery
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thomas Says:
July 25th, 2007 at 11:07 pmVisit thomas
I knew soon after watching the program that is was embellished. Some of the things he did were WAY over the top, such as climbing a 75 ft high tree in the jungle just to get a look at the forest or peeing in his canteen and drinking it, a mere minutes after landing from the helicopter.
Let’s be for real guys. The s*** was made up. THERE IS NO WAY IN H*** YOU ARE GOING TO LOOK FRESH AND RELAXED DAYS AFTER BEING STRANDED WITHOUT A DECENT MEAL OR SLEEP.
But you sure in the h*** would if you spent the night in a Holiday Inn Express. Unbelievable. Unf***ing believable.
There is just no integrity anymore, especially not from Hollywood. Everything is so fake, made-up, staged, put on for show, contrived. At this point, I wouldn’t believe ‘em if they said rain was wet.
Campman.com » Bear Grylls a faker? Says:
August 9th, 2007 at 10:27 pmVisit Campman.com » Bear Grylls a faker?
[…] it wasn’t so, but I found a blog stating that some of the stunts were staged. Here is the Simple Hiker article as well as the BBC News Article. Apparently he had some help and didn’t even spend […]
WinterWarlock Says:
October 10th, 2007 at 11:47 amVisit WinterWarlock
I’d like to add a comment about Bear - yes, I have suspected and figured all along that much of the show is staged. Of course it is - anyone who is shocked at it being otherwise is a bit too naive, I think. BUT - this show has done something nothing else has been able to, and that is it has gotten my children interested in camping, hiking and the outdoors in general. For that, I think Bear is fantastic, and watch the show religiously with my children. While I may not learn Navy SEAL level survival skills, it’s entertaining and it has given our family an activity I could have never convinced them to try.
FFL Says:
December 28th, 2007 at 7:25 pmVisit FFL
Good comment WinterWarlock. This is one of those shows that brings family’s together and actually gives you some content worth listening to.
The thought of the show being “all real” is absurd. Anyone who actually believed that is a fool.