Ultimate Survivor is fake
One of my favorite shows on the Discovery Channel is called Ultimate Survivor (Man Vs Wild in the States). The show follows a guy called Bear Grylls who gets dropped into the middle of no where and is expected to survive and find his way out. One episode it could be the Rain Forrest, another he could be dropped in the middle of the ocean etc..
So anyway I was researching Bear Grylls and found out there is actually a controversy. It seems the show is not what it appears to be. As a viewer we are led to believe that Bear Grylls is surviving with no help and in the middle of no where but some videos have popped up on YouTube showing otherwise. Even though he really does eat maggots and other absurd things, I can no longer watch the show. It just feels too much like fake wrestling (WWE). So if you’re also a fan of the show and Bear Grylls, sorry I am ruining this for you but its a fake. There is another show on Discovery called Survivorman which I’ve started watching and this one seems to be real and I haven’t found anything online that says otherwise.
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42 Comments, add your own...
1. teach | January 2nd, 2009 at 1:55 pm
I read this story in The Daily Mail last year- he stays in a htel nearby and there are peole within a stone’s throw of him in case he needs help in the junggle. He justifies it by saying that it shows what jungle life COULD be like…….
2. Lucky_Boy | January 2nd, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Bear Grylls shows is indeed fake, he apologized for misleading viewers on BBC channel 4 last year:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7304617.stm
3. Famously Anonymous | January 2nd, 2009 at 2:38 pm
BOTH OF THEM ARE FAKE!! It’s no rocket science! So obvious no one can service alone out there, it’s all show biz!!!!!
4. MYK | January 2nd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
WRESTLING IS NOT FAKE !!!
J/K :p
5. AbdulKareem | January 2nd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
First picture of him eating raw Zebra meat makes me queasy.
6. wi-fi | January 2nd, 2009 at 4:17 pm
My question is who is the producer of the program ? is it discovery channel? coz if it is then the whole channel will become fake to me .. !
servivorman is really intersting show .. but my favourite one is timewrap .
7. J | January 2nd, 2009 at 4:26 pm
I always think about the camera crew and all the people that are behind the camera and scenes while shows like these go on, it kinda ruins the illusion of the whole thing if you know what I mean. If you watched The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou you’ll know what I mean.
8. Mark | January 2nd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Well Survivorman is different since the guy carries around 9 cameras himself, no crew. They drop him off and then pick him up like a week later or something.
9. i don't think it's requierd | January 2nd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
OMG
i used to believe it
i didn’t thought that discovery will cheat
shame on them
10. teach | January 2nd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
”My question is who is the producer of the program ? is it discovery channel? coz if it is then the whole channel will become fake to me .. !
servivorman is really intersting show .. but my favourite one is timewrap .”
Well we HAVE discovered something, haven’t we? That it is all fake!
11. wi-fi | January 2nd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
For who is wondering about the show (timewrap) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0-TbUUXDtM
12. Mark | January 2nd, 2009 at 4:56 pm
you call this news? is People magazine your source of world news?
13. Mark | January 2nd, 2009 at 6:40 pm
well when i check cnn and bbc i dont check the entertainment section, more interested in the news thats why i am there. so if i post entertainment news on my blog thats a year old deal with it
14. Spooner | January 2nd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Yeah survivorman is quite really, I liked that show, shame its over, unless they make another session. What session are they showing on Discovery, anyone ?
15. Spooner | January 2nd, 2009 at 7:58 pm
I have no idea what’s going on, I meant; season*. Quite real**
Slow morning, last day of the week.
16. kman | January 2nd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
i knew it was ake when i saw it. first of all how can the camera man follow him without even trying to help him. second of all some episodes proved to be wrong.
17. BoBader | January 3rd, 2009 at 2:31 am
I really don’t believe anything on TV anyways. However, I only watch the show because they do give good information about what to do in case you are in the similar situation. I don’t mean like being stranded in the Rain Forest I mean more like forgetting something on a camping.
18. DJ Hams | January 3rd, 2009 at 3:19 am
lol yeah Mark ..relax. Stop getting defensive. We still like your articles. chill!!
19. DJ Hams | January 3rd, 2009 at 4:52 am
I noticed that most of the media mentioned was American. So I guess we do make the world go round! :)
20. Frostwolf | January 3rd, 2009 at 8:14 am
Survivor man is real..(if your talking about the british guy),the guy practically has to set up cameras and shit himself…
21. Bburn | January 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Oh like Discovery will care what 24am and its readers think if it’s fake or not lolol :D
22. A.f | January 3rd, 2009 at 10:22 pm
First picture…*vomit*
23. A.f | January 3rd, 2009 at 10:23 pm
Id rather die than eat raw ZEBRA meat
24. Tendergooch | January 11th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
I don’t think the point is for him to be doing this stuff without help. he’s supposed to be teaching other people what to do if they are stuck in a survival situation.
25. kaito | February 19th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
He only shows how can we survive far away from the civilization. Of course there are many poeple behind Bear Grylls they are look out his ass :)!
26. ran | April 15th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
i realy liked it.
i think i am going to wachit any way.
but it is realy disapointing
27. migmar | April 25th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
It is too obvious that he has at least 5 people or so looking after him… when he gets into a river with falls, there is at the same scene 3 different angle shots (whose cameras don’t seem to find having a good shot as hard as he finds just surviving) and even a helicopter take. So yes, It’s a TV show, which doesnt neccesarily means that the program is crap, is very informative (If what he says is true)
28. Dejan | April 29th, 2009 at 10:14 am
This show… this educational program, is to provide people with suitable number of information on the topic “Lost” or “Stranded” if you will. Not to make the instructor (Bear Grylls) hurt him self or even worse. I really enjoy watching this show, and THANK YOU BEAR !!
Showing the ways one can make it out in the not so hospitable environment it’s a gift! An survivor course for free!!
So what if some one is there to help him!?
Regards to all the people working on this show !!
29. mito | May 6th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
S H A M E ! ! !
its fake. shame on Discovery channel.
i really liked that show
shame
30. Richard | June 4th, 2009 at 8:44 am
It’s unfortunate that this blog comes up first on the search for “Ultimate Survivor” since you clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. The show has never alluded to Bear being alone and in fact he regularly speaks to and helps one of the cameramen. There’s obviously an entire team behind him, and in fact, the show explicitly states that Bear is assisted in life-threatening situations by the crew.
Yes, it’s a TV show and so by default it is over-dramatized. However, all that you see is real and in many cases where the crew assists him, no effort is made to hide the fact.
As for Ultimate Survivor vs Survivorman, while views may differ on this one, but I feel utterly disappointed by Survivorman. Having grown up in South Africa on a farm, I can assure you that his “skills” (or rather the lack thereof) are substandard by a long shot. While some may regard his reasoning of attempting different “real-life possibility” survival situations, he almost always takes the easy route out when it comes to things like making fire – come on, a flare and petroleum? Hardly a feat by any measure. Most disappointingly, he seemingly always fails at catching any live food. Although it might look rigged, the frequency at which Bear Grylls catches live food is a far more realistic interpretation of survival, provided you’re not a total moron.
Anyhow, I digress. Fact of the matter is, Ultimate Survival is a TV show meant to entertain its audiences, which clearly it does, based on its sheer volume of viewers. What transpires behind the scenes is not some black magic and trickery, and for those who are curious about his feats, there are ample behine-the-scenes videos available on the web.
31. Klint | July 7th, 2009 at 12:35 am
It’s still real to me dammit!
32. Marcin | July 11th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
I’m very surprised to all this rumour. It’s so obvious there is a crew all the time with Bear that I haven’t even thought that anyone would be misleaded that he pretends to be alone. It’s obvious to me that there are people to help him. It’s a show, he shows us things but he don’t want to die while making movie. I’m wathing it with pleasure.
33. luke | August 19th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
this program is maybe a fake but in this Ultimate Survival there is write that program only shows how you can survive in the dangerous situation in live like this. they didn’t ever say it’s for real. They only shows how peple could survive in this forests and deserts etc.And the other way all TV-Shows have some fake in itself. If you like watch programs like this, you just watch it and enjoy it.
34. DOH | August 28th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Let’s see… It’s just educational. I think one of the first rules in surviving is not to get into danger on purpose. The show’s use is to teach you what you should do if you ever get on those situations… I guess you would appreciate the info when you are lost somewhere and knowing that eating yourself it’s not an option…
The point of the show isn’t not wether is fake or real.. Skill reduces chances to die, but the danger is still there, Bear Grylls knows that.
35. mascat_kry | August 31st, 2009 at 7:33 pm
if you imagine that someone would risk his own life just to show others how not to, you’re wrong. everything on TV is fake. every show has a director, a producer etc. every show must be profitable.
I heard that he filmed one show in the mountains of Romania – CARPATHIANS MOUNTAINS – where every year several tourists get killed by bears. you wonder why? Because in Romania alone are many more bears than in the whole europe togheter. this is some adresses to watch (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxZdTappe-E&feature=fvsr http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLMh7O5pJk0&feature=fvsr ) . also you must know that a beart kills with single strike; it doesn’t give you a second chance. Now think of all oher countries with all their dangerous places and how risky is it to live in the wild. and again: don’t think that other shows are not faked.
36. INET Survivor | September 3rd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
How could anyone believe that a TV show such as this would be 100% real?
No TV show will ever be 100% real, and even less, one like this, Bear is only showing you ways to survive if you faced the extreme conditions that his programme shows you.
You can’t honestly expect him to seriously put his life at risk, that is not what the programme is for for christs sake, it is only a documentary, like many others. It is a good, educational, and entertaining programme, nothing more, and nothing less. Bear hasn’t cheated on the audience, in any case, he has simply done his job.
Thanks for a great prog Bear Grylls, keep up the good work!.
37. Ivan | September 6th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I really love the show and I want to work there.
Remember the show just show you how to survive in case you’ll be in a situation like that.
The problem is the super information we have every body wants to know everything like how was it made (making off) I don’t care about that. I just enjoy the show and all the places and all the landscapes.
Thanks to Discovery, thanks to Bear Grylls and thaks to all the crew.
If you need a strong guy to work with you just contact me.
Keep’n going
38. SuperSang | September 26th, 2009 at 11:36 am
it is indeed a fake, which is also explained on the Discovery WEBSITE!!! All this serie does (like explained before) is explain what COULD happen in a bad situation and give some tips on what to do, should you end up in a situation like that!
And indeed, TV is never 100% real -_-
39. EdE | October 22nd, 2009 at 9:19 am
But the show is made to show you how should you act if find your self in simulare situation..so it is important to know..all those plants, animals, and shelters. It is not based to make him suffer, but to learn you do the same thing ;)
40. Randall | October 23rd, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Ultimate survivor is the best show on discovery channel.They in no way state that he is alone.I mean who must hold the camera when he is doing a stunt.They state clearly that there is help for him when needed.I mean they cant have a man dieing on the show.
Survivorman is a load of crap.He lights a fire with a flare or maybe a box of matches or a zippo.Then he opens up a tent he brought with. he shows you no survival techniques whatsoever.It’s a joke
41. Macedon | October 27th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
I think that he only showing how to survive but not actualy suviving every time.
42. Martin | November 14th, 2009 at 1:03 am
the last movie is okey… sometimes in the start of the program it stand… Bear G… bla bla bla….. sometimes he need to get help/asistant—> bad English sorry.
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