It certainly doesn't have a punitive ring to it, which sounds good. There aren't any buzzwords such as "troubled youth needing direction" or any such thing. It doesn't promise anything outside the experience itself. i.e. go on an expedition, it will be hard, but rewarding. (as opposed to "children spend time out in the woods to get in touch with their feelings".) The target audience certainly doesnt seem to be any sort of troubled parent.
I used to like man vs. wild until I started watching survivorman.
Grylls gives the illusion of giving you survival skills, yeah, if you are an ex-green beret and in perfect health, maybe, but the guy on survivorman actually gives practical advice that anyone stranded can use, AND he exhibits a fuck of a lot more common sense. (Especially since he doesn't have a camera crew following him around, helping him up cliffs and feeding him sandwiches. He really is honestly on his own.)
Shit you not, I saw that once. Grylls was struggling up a cliff, and you see the hand of one of the crew jut out and help him up.
Which is fine, glad they helped him, but seriously, if you are out on your own in the wilderness, you are not going to be taking any risks that deplete your energy/calories/life expectancy like being Mr. stud man, navigating canyon walls. He seems to be a bit of a whore, actually. (Specially now that he's doing commercials.) Let's give the camera a show. He really doesn't strike me as a survival expert of any kind. More like an extreme sportsman.
I do enjoy watching him complain about food, though. That shot of him vomiting after eating camel-hump fat was quite amusing. Squeezing elephant shit onto his face was equally funny.
survivorman is actually smart enough to cook his food, because he's not constantly on the move like its a freakin marathon. According to him, roasted scorpions are quite tasty. Bear didnt figure that out until the most recent season, because he's always eaten them raw. Limey git.
Not sure if Grylls is just sponsoring this thing or if he'll be directly involved, but if he's as careless as he is on the show, there are certainly gonna be some dead kids.
