Survivorman!!

[moira finnie]

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?

[jdb1]

I look in on it once in a while, just to see what situation he's gotten himself into. Sometimes it's just too icky to watch. However, the information he gives is of the "you never know" variety, and I find it comforting to know that someone (even me) might be able to survive in some really nasty conditions. The show he did last year about surviving in flood conditions (he was in a house) was quite valuable, I thought.

I'm not an outdoor person, though, and I constantly wonder why anyone would want to do such things if he didn't have to.

[sandykaypax]

My husband LOVES this show. I've watched it a few times with him, but it's not really my cup of tea. I agree with Judith--why in the world would you do this if you didn't have to? Maybe it's a guy thing...

I gotta admire the guy's moxie, though.

Sandy K

[Erebus]

I really like both "Survivorman" and "Man vs. Wild". Almost makes me want to go out and get lost somewhere (I live in Nevada). Both the general lessons and the specific techniques have made me a little more confident that I could pull it off if the car broke down in the middle of nowhere, and in Nevada there really is a lot of nowhere to break down in. I like the general advice such as stay calm, take stock of your resources (remembering that anything from string to a tube to a paper clip could prove valuable), and have a plan. Think before acting. Start preparing where you're going to spend the night before the sun goes down. And always be mindful of the ever present concern of how to find water.

As a person who loves the American West and has traveled all over it visiting National Parks, I also enjoy the settings, from the Moab area to the Rockies and the Sierras to the Arizona desert. Watching stuff like this takes me out of the box I call my home. Thanks for creating this topic.

[moira finnie]

Thanks, Erebus. You're right, some of the areas where Survivorman travels are remarkably beautiful, including the Moab, the Kalahari, the Canadian woods in Ontario just as Autumn fades, the desert island and others.

In my pursuit of the more humorous aspects describing the program's premise, I deliberately overlooked the majesty of the natural settings where he demonstrates some practical ideas about hanging in there.

In the real world, since every single blessed time that I've been camping or staying in a cabin, skeeters, no-seeums, spiders and every other bug in each and every back country setting visited seeks me out like a heat-seeking missile (and no, I don't eat sugar or use highly perfumed soaps or shampoos during these visits and most bug sprays irritate the heck out of my skin), the prospect of being stuck in the wilderness alone is something I avoid like the plague. But, you never know...I'll probably keep watching Les too.

Hey Sandy, high five for incorporating the word "moxie" into your post! Good one, Ms. KayPax, haven't heard that phrase in "a month of sundays."

[sandykaypax]

Thanks, Moira!

I was in a production of Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers several years ago and the word moxie is used in a funny scene. Since then, I've gotten hooked on using it! I like using old slang; it's fun! Slang today is unappealing to me--everything has the words: crap, ass, hot--ugh.

Sandy K