Survivorman!!
Posted: September 4th, 2007, 2:45 pm
Has anyone else enjoyed the fairly pointless but amusing testosterone fest called Survivorman? It's generally shown on The Science Channel, or sometimes on The Discovery Channel. They seem to like to run these in marathons, showing the lone figure of Les Stroud, who is a Canadian wildlife guide, loping across some wasteland. That is, when he's not pursuing his other career as a blues harmonica player. No, I'm not making this up.
Each show begins with ol' Les being plunked down in some godforsaken desert, winter wasteland, swamp, jungle, forest or even in a dinghy at sea with a bare minimum of supplies. He is also armed with a considerable fund of knowledge about his immediate habitat and the understanding that he'll be found 7 days from his being dropped off by his production company.
Les then proceeds to stumble around the habitat of the week, letting us in on some neato keen ways to use what we may have if we ever find ourselves in such a dreadful predicament. What makes it interesting is that initially Les doesn't see his state as dreadful, but challenging. What a sap, you say?
With boy scout guile and a very willing spirit, he goes about setting up some kind of shelter and usually enthusiastically shares his eagerness to sample just about any bug, root or crustacean for nutrition while warning us about some pitfalls. This is when he is at his most happy-go-lucky. Some of his more memorable warnings if stranded are 1.) to avoid standing under an abandoned weaver bird nest while giving it a shake next time you're lost in the Kalahari, (it might contain a kind of cobra), 2.) even in an Arctic environment, if you get sweaty, unbutton and unzip all your clothes and let them flap in the wind as you travel to allow the air to dry your skin, ( to avoid hypothermia) and 3.) next time you're bedding down for the night in a swamp full of crocs, snakes and bugs, you might want to burn the ground that you hope to sleep on first, (to get rid of some really nasty, near invisible critters).
Okay, you say, why would anyone subject themselves to all these discomforts? I dunno either.
Sometimes I'm not sure that Stroud knows why either. As each week goes on, he gets more overtired, dehydrated and just plain irritable, until he gradually metamorphosizes from a "man with the bark on" into Mr. CrankyPants by the end of the week, whining about his self-imposed condition, his frustrations, and making this viewer wonder why the clown doesn't pick up that cell phone he must have secreted away and call for a pizza delivery. There does seem to be a masochistic element to it, but it is kind of fascinating. A friend has told me that Mr. Stroud has been accused of taking his kit and heading for the nearest Motel 6 when the camera goes dark, but I'm a believer. At least I was until the desert segment when Stroud found a "unique" way to generate some water to drink. If you ever suffered through a few minutes of the movie Waterworld this info may not be too new to you.
Opinions, pro or con, about the edifying spectacle that is Survivorman, anyone?
Each show begins with ol' Les being plunked down in some godforsaken desert, winter wasteland, swamp, jungle, forest or even in a dinghy at sea with a bare minimum of supplies. He is also armed with a considerable fund of knowledge about his immediate habitat and the understanding that he'll be found 7 days from his being dropped off by his production company.
Les then proceeds to stumble around the habitat of the week, letting us in on some neato keen ways to use what we may have if we ever find ourselves in such a dreadful predicament. What makes it interesting is that initially Les doesn't see his state as dreadful, but challenging. What a sap, you say?
With boy scout guile and a very willing spirit, he goes about setting up some kind of shelter and usually enthusiastically shares his eagerness to sample just about any bug, root or crustacean for nutrition while warning us about some pitfalls. This is when he is at his most happy-go-lucky. Some of his more memorable warnings if stranded are 1.) to avoid standing under an abandoned weaver bird nest while giving it a shake next time you're lost in the Kalahari, (it might contain a kind of cobra), 2.) even in an Arctic environment, if you get sweaty, unbutton and unzip all your clothes and let them flap in the wind as you travel to allow the air to dry your skin, ( to avoid hypothermia) and 3.) next time you're bedding down for the night in a swamp full of crocs, snakes and bugs, you might want to burn the ground that you hope to sleep on first, (to get rid of some really nasty, near invisible critters).
Okay, you say, why would anyone subject themselves to all these discomforts? I dunno either.
Sometimes I'm not sure that Stroud knows why either. As each week goes on, he gets more overtired, dehydrated and just plain irritable, until he gradually metamorphosizes from a "man with the bark on" into Mr. CrankyPants by the end of the week, whining about his self-imposed condition, his frustrations, and making this viewer wonder why the clown doesn't pick up that cell phone he must have secreted away and call for a pizza delivery. There does seem to be a masochistic element to it, but it is kind of fascinating. A friend has told me that Mr. Stroud has been accused of taking his kit and heading for the nearest Motel 6 when the camera goes dark, but I'm a believer. At least I was until the desert segment when Stroud found a "unique" way to generate some water to drink. If you ever suffered through a few minutes of the movie Waterworld this info may not be too new to you.
Opinions, pro or con, about the edifying spectacle that is Survivorman, anyone?