# Survival > General Survival Discussion >  Best Survival TV show?

## Doyle

Whats the best tv show in your opinion that has to do with survival, or anything related;
my opinion Dual Survival with Dave Canterbury and Cody Lundin seems to be interesting

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## Stairman

I agree Dual Survival gets my vote. That barefooted hippy is nuts!

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## Old GI

I wasn't sure before I found this guy (thanks to forum members here):

Richard Louis "Dick" Proenneke (born May 4, 1916 – April 20, 2003)

His short subject films about his years in Alaska are great!

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## hunter63

I like the original "Survivor" the best....39 days for a million bucks....hot babe, intrigue, back stabbing, looneys...what not to like?

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## socom2173

> I like the original "Survivor" the best....39 days for a million bucks....hot babe, intrigue, back stabbing, looneys...what not to like?


sounds a little like Dual Survival, minus the "hot babe" and "million bucks"

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## Kortoso

There was a show with Les Stroud where he showed how to survive specific situations, rather that getting lost with a camera strapped to his chin.  :Wink: 
"Survive This!"
Better signal to noise ratio, more information and less hype.

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## finallyME

> I like the original "Survivor" the best....39 days for a million bucks....hot babe, intrigue, back stabbing, looneys...what not to like?


Thinking out loud here, but a great show idea would be to take a survival guy and stick him in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of supplies and a bunch of hot chicks.  Not only does he have to survive, but he has to make sure all the girls survive as well.  Even better would be to mix the group with a bunch of tough guys that have never been camping before, ever.

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## hunter63

> Thinking out loud here, but a great show idea would be to take a survival guy and stick him in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of supplies and a bunch of hot chicks.  Not only does he have to survive, but he has to make sure all the girls survive as well.  Even better would be to mix the group with a bunch of tough guys that have never been camping before, ever.


I you have ever watched the show, that has happened a couple of times where the guy with the knowledge, was a gal as well, as head and shoulders above the rest with skills needed for survival, but was voted off as a "threat".....showing human nature and greed, along with group dynamics.
One young lady did use her glasses to get fire........

Not only do you have to be able to survive making fire, food, safe water,....leadership skills and just plain smarts comes in handy.

Lot of people blow it off as complete fluff, but in a way it is more of a long term exerise of a group of people of different back grounds, in a situation, with minimal resources.

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## Rick

I generally blow it off as a bunch of fluff.......er....what I mean is........


Let me guess, Finallyme, you are volunteering to be the one guy with the chicks, probably on a deserted island, Right? Plot twist, all the women are over three hundred pounds and you have to gather enough food daily to satisfy their hunger.

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## SemperFi

I think the bigfoot series is the most accurate followed by the loch ness monster!

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## Wildthang

Fear Factor!

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## postman

Gilligan's Island wins hands down!!! LOL.

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## finallyME

> I generally blow it off as a bunch of fluff.......er....what I mean is........
> 
> 
> Let me guess, Finallyme, you are volunteering to be the one guy with the chicks, probably on a deserted island, Right? Plot twist, all the women are over three hundred pounds and you have to gather enough food daily to satisfy their hunger.


Actually, I would think that the survivalist would be the most frustrating position.  I doubt he/she would last through the show.  And, no, I wasn't volunteering.  Torturing myself isn't something that I would want to do.

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## letslearntogether47

I like Man,Woman,Wild.
Ruth is easy on the eyes and Mykel Hawke is a pretty clever guy.
But,what makes the show is when they sometimes argue and fight.
Just like a real couple would in some of those situations.
Love it when Ruth tells Myke"PI$$ off!".lol

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## hunter63

There was a show here a while back where a group of people were "surviving" and the most experienced guy did bail out, mostly because he couldn't stand the group not wanting to do anything for them selves.

Just remember these are "TV shows" the be enjoyed or made fun of, with some useful information, some not, .....but there for yourr entertainment no matter how you get it.

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## Sarge47

> I like Man,Woman,Wild.
> Ruth is easy on the eyes and Mykel Hawke is a pretty clever guy.
> But,what makes the show is when they sometimes argue and fight.
> Just like a real couple would in some of those situations.
> Love it when Ruth tells Myke"PI$$ off!".lol


Both my wife and I hate that show!  Me personally when Mykel insisted that Ruth drink his urine.  She got ill later and the back-up crew had to be called in!  Shame on Mykel, who does he think he is, Bear Grylls?      :Thumbdown:

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## hunter63

Have I mentioned that Ruth was Hot.......

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## letslearntogether47

> Both my wife and I hate that show!  Me personally when Mykel insisted that Ruth drink his urine.  She got ill later and the back-up crew had to be called in!  Shame on Mykel, who does he think he is, Bear Grylls?


Yeah,I didn't like that episode either.The enema in the boat was over the top also.




> Have I mentioned that Ruth was Hot.......


I knew this was coming from you hunter.lol

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## Sarge47

> Have I mentioned that Ruth was Hot.......


Yeah, I noticed that she DID sweat a lot!    :Nod:   :2:

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## hunter63

.....yeah and we have to watch for Mykel grinning at the camera with the "Yeah, I hit that" look......LOL

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## postman

Survivorman is my choice as the best tv show. Too bad Les isn't doing it anymore, though I think he's coming out with some specials in the near future.

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## Sarge47

> Survivorman is my choice as the best tv show. Too bad Les isn't doing it anymore, though I think he's coming out with some specials in the near future.


This Christmas I ordered Dual Survival; Season 1.(season 2 is not out on DVD yet.)  I also bought all three season's of Survivorman, and am watching the episodes in between reading and posting here.  I could have bought the "Man vs. Wild" DVD's from our local supermarket's video area for about $13 each, but who wants 'em?  Not me!  And yes, Postman, Les is doing some more specials where he will be out in the boonies for 10 days at a time:    http://lesstroud.ca/news/survivorman-returns  :Cool2:

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## billdawg

> I generally blow it off as a bunch of fluff.......er....what I mean is........
> 
> 
> Let me guess, Finallyme, you are volunteering to be the one guy with the chicks, probably on a deserted island, Right? Plot twist, all the women are over three hundred pounds and you have to gather enough food daily to satisfy their hunger.


or they eat you...and not in the good way, lol

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## B-urban83

I watched both seasons of "The Colony" on youtube and they were fairly interesting.
The first season was a pretty safe bet for survival because of the varying and educated backgrounds they had invited to do the show.
The second season they seemed to back off a bit and invited more of the everyday type people.

Dual Survival is good and I've watched every episode, but you have 2 great minds when it comes to survival and it's nice to see them use their knowledge and superior knowledge when it comes to the environments.  However, again, unrealistic that 2 people with this much knowledge would end up together in a survival situation.  It could happen, but seems very far fetched.  I guess it's the fact that they seem to have different mentalities to survival so people are able to connect with at least one of them when watching.

Survivorman is good, and he does brave the elements alone, but when that happens, why is he 100feet away from the camera and trekking the snowy mountains?  Does the camera crew get notified to pick the camera up or does he then have to go get the camera?

I'd like to see Les and 1 cameraman going out into these survival scenarios, that way things can be better filmed as they happen.  The cameraman cannot be skilled in survival and it's just the two of them.  Then, we might also be able to see a solar powered camera put to use (if there is such a thing).

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## Rick

Remember that Les can film several treks away from and toward the camera in few hours and edit them into the show where they want. Move the camera a few feet and point in a different direction and you have a completely different scene. If you do that on the edge of a tree line near a lake or stream you have an infinite number of scenes you can construct in a relatively short time because of the different environments.

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## hunter63

Les did mention in one episode where he was on horseback, that the horses were getting up set with him as he was stopping and going back for filming reasons, instead of just riding on.

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## Rick

That's not good. Never pizz off a horse......... you'll get your boots wet, Ha! I slay myself!!!

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## jerry

I'd like to see a 40 day series of "M$ Survivor" except with a cast of shonuff ex military trained survivalist represented from the various branches and units such as a few Navy Seals, Army Rangers, etc.  
Maybe the Brits Special Op, and others around the world, in the mix.  The wuss games and contest they devise now would surely need to be replaced with better challenges.

Albeit the real deal tough guys in a million $ game might destroy the "Survivor" series we're use to but one series of pros would be a nice change of pace imo.

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## RockyRaccoon

Survivorman is the way to go. 

And i do recall in one episode Les filmed himself hiking out of a canyon in some desert, was too dehydrated to go back, and had his crew go get the camera.

But you gotta admit its pretty impressive that not only does he survive, but films himself, captures multiple camera angles of what he does, and the most impressive is that he lugs around all that camera gear with him everywhere he goes. That can't be easy when you're struggling for calories.

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## RandyRhoads

> Gilligan's Island wins hands down!!! LOL.



Agreed. Did you know you can make engines and radios out of coconuts? As well as fasten bamboo together to use as an air supply for diving? I sure didn't...

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## SemperFi

yep theres a survival show on discovery from time to time ,where they take a group of people and they must find certain places using a compass or the stars , they are given certain items that might be useful, although they dont have to take them its up to the people , there packs are usually the same type as the locals would have ,which means they arent really fun to carry but are functional , they do have an emergency beacon they can push the button and its over for them ,A helicopter will come and get them , they do travel far like 50 -100 miles , and they have to forage for food (they are given a prep survival course prior to going out on there own , the local guides show them whats available to eat ) ,however by the looks of most of these people by the end of the trek they have lost on average 25 pounds or more . I remember watching the last show they were in south america , they had this girl who was a park ranger and she "knew it all" or so she thought , she actually drank some water unboiled and got sick as a dog , it was funny because everyone told her dont do it , its a weekly show and last for about 6-8 episodes , its pretty cool ,I cant remember the name but I cant wait for the next one!

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## tsitenha

As fay as "survival skills" to be learnt, I really like Ray Mears, good explanation of subject, step by step demos. If you ever get to see his behind camera episodes of the editing and set up of sequences until he gets it right for the audience to understand what he wants them to see, you'll appreciate his dedication to details.

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## rednakel

> yep theres a survival show on discovery from time to time ,where they take a group of people and they must find certain places using a compass or the stars , they are given certain items that might be useful, although they dont have to take them its up to the people , there packs are usually the same type as the locals would have ,which means they arent really fun to carry but are functional , they do have an emergency beacon they can push the button and its over for them ,A helicopter will come and get them , they do travel far like 50 -100 miles , and they have to forage for food (they are given a prep survival course prior to going out on there own , the local guides show them whats available to eat ) ,however by the looks of most of these people by the end of the trek they have lost on average 25 pounds or more . I remember watching the last show they were in south america , they had this girl who was a park ranger and she "knew it all" or so she thought , she actually drank some water unboiled and got sick as a dog , it was funny because everyone told her dont do it , its a weekly show and last for about 6-8 episodes , its pretty cool ,I cant remember the name but I cant wait for the next one!


I think you are talking about Out of the Wild. I watched the Alaskan episodes but missed out on the Venezuelan episodes.

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## Canuckette

I liked an episode of the Smurfs when one Smurf
Wandered away from the smurf village and had to
be rescued by PapaSmurf. But seriously I really like
the Les Stroud shows. The "Living Off The Grid" one
I thought was too over the top though. I mean 
honestly, he hired a helicopter! Yikes!

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## Delta 5168

I'm with Hunter...Ruth is hot!...and her husband is a SF survival INSTRUCTOR, for cryin' out loud!  Mike probably had to survive in the dog house for a while after that p.. drinking episode though!  I rely upon Bear to show me how NOT to do things.  I would't follow him to the kitchen for a beer!  I watch him because I love to see him in PAIN!

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## sergeibn

In my opinion, the most realistic "survival" show is survivorman. He goes on all alone with no camera crew and nobody else to survive for 7 days. Now, that guy has guts to do something like that. He makes it real and there is no one to support him if anything happens or if anything goes south. 

Every other survival shows are good but they are more for entertainment purpose then real survival. I am talking about man vs wild, man woman wild, dual survival, and other shows. Maybe there is the "The Colony", a 2 season series of how to survive the post appocalyspe world. But everything is staged just like the other show. The most realistic is survivorman. It might be boring for some, but real survival is always boring.

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## Timber Hawk

Either Survivorman or Dual Survival because in Survivorman this guy is alone and films it himself and on dual survival they use tools that someone in the situation would have

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## Mischief

The Road Runner cartoon is the best

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## Bushape

Survivorman is the best. Bear Grylls is by far the worst, hey lets get naked and jump into the icy river, duh. Mykel Hawk is 100 times better than Bear ****.

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