[The Truth about this show] Man vs Wild - the Wikipedia article
First I want to say: I like Bear Grylls and I like this show. I just now finished all 7 seasons and then read the wikipedia article on his show which I avoided doing because I knew I'd probably read things that would make me enjoy the show less. Now that I finished the show, there's no reason not to read the wikipedia article.
Most people in this forum already know about this, but in case you did not, here's the wikipedia article.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_vs._Wild#Criticism_and_response
Criticismshare
In 2006, a Born Survivor crew member admitted that some scenes in episodes were misleading, indicating to viewers that Grylls was stranded in the wild alone when he was not.[16] The issue of scenes being manipulated was also raised by Mark Weinert, a U.S. survival consultant. One example he gave was of a raft allegedly being put together by team members before being taken apart so Grylls could be filmed building it. Other scenes that have been criticised include:
Grylls was shown trying to lasso "wild" mustang in the Sierra Nevada that were in fact tame and had been hired from a trekking station nearby.[17]
A scene filmed for another show in which a crew member wore a bear suit to simulate a bear attack due to inability finding a tame bear.[18]
A scene where Grylls was purported to have escaped from an active volcano by leaping across lava, avoiding poisonous sulphur dioxide gas, was actually enhanced with special effects, using hot coal and smoke machines.[19][20]
Similarly, another episode gave viewers the impression that Grylls "was a 'real life Robinson Crusoe' stuck on a desert island," while in reality he was on an outlying part of the Hawaiian archipelago and retired to a motel at night.[17][21]
Show's response to criticism with changes
In response to these early criticisms, Discovery and Channel 4 aired re-edited versions of some episodes, removing elements that were too planned, with a fresh voice-over and a preceding announcement pointing out that some situations are "presented to Bear to show the viewer how to survive". However, five of the most controversial Season 1 episodes were never re-released after editing and are no longer available on DVD from Discovery. These are The Rockies, Moab Desert, Costa Rican Rain Forest, Mount Kilauea (Hawaii) and Desert Island (Hawaii).[22]
Following criticism in the media in July 2007 about elements of the show's first season, British Channel 4 temporarily suspended the show's second season for a few weeks, promising clarification and transparency in the production and editing of the show.[23] The channel responded to criticism of the show by pointing out that Grylls conducted all of his own stunts, many of which put him in dangerous conditions, and that the show was not a documentary, but a "how-to" guide to "basic survival techniques in extreme environments."[17] The channel issued a statement saying that:
The programme explicitly does not claim that presenter Bear Grylls' experience is one of unaided solo survival. For example, he often directly addresses the production team, including the cameraman, making it clear he is receiving an element of back-up.[24]
The Discovery Channel also responded to the criticism by announcing that future airings would be edited (including a disclaimer at the beginning of each episode) so as not to imply to viewers that Grylls was left alone to survive during production of the show. Since then, Grylls has stated on camera when he has received assistance in order to demonstrate survival tactics or when he is exiting the setting for a period of time due to safety concerns. Grylls also tells the cameras filming behind the scenes footage how the film crew sometimes assists him in filming certain sequences.[25][26][27][28] The Discovery Channel in the UK has also edited out certain scenes of Grylls killing animals that he has captured for food. The Discovery Channel also released behind the scenes footage showing how sequences of Man Vs. Wild are filmed. In the footage, while setting up a scene, each production crew member is introduced and their role is briefly explained, including a safety consultant who served in the Royal Marines. During the scenes, Grylls tells how each crew members' role ensures his safety while he explains survival tactics. The footage includes open discussion over safety and other precautions.
On August 3, 2007, Grylls posted on his blog that the "press accusations of motels and stagings in the show that have been doing the rounds, all I can say is they don't always tell the full story, but that's life and part of being in the public eye I guess."[29] In response to allegations of spending nights in local hotels as opposed to staying in the shelters built during filming, Grylls clarifies in an article in the December 3 issue of People magazine that:
Episodes take about ten days to tape, explains Grylls: 'The night stuff [shown on camera] is all done for real. But when I’m not filming I stay with the crew in some sort of base camp.' Episodes now clarify when Grylls gets support from his crew and when situations are staged, 'We should have done that from the start,' he says. 'The more you see, the more real it feels.'[30]
The new shows and DVDs contain a notice stating that Grylls will receive help from the camera crew on occasion, that he will in certain situations use provided safety equipment to minimize risks, and that he will sometimes deliberately put himself in perilous situations to demonstrate survival techniques. Grylls is specifically credited as "Presenter" to highlight his role in presenting survival techniques to the viewer. In March 2012, Discovery channel terminated relationship with 'Man vs. Wild' star Bear Grylls. “Due to a continuing contractual dispute with Bear Grylls, Discovery has terminated all current productions with him,” a network spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. A representative for Grylls confirmed that the Man Vs. Wild star has parted ways with Discovery.[10]