The Island - Bear Grylls Series 3 tonight Ch4 @ 9pm
Discussion
bmw535i said:
Exactly 
i would have quite liked the luxury of a beach when I did it though
I've had similar training in the uk and in Norway. The main difference with this show would be the fact you have to feed, hydrate and shelter everyone else too not just yourself and maybe a small team of similarly trained and motivated people. I've been on courses with sailors, RAF and Army ranks who had no prior experience of operating in those conditions or even carrying much kit. Having to carry them though the course degrades you mentally and physically like you wouldn't believe.i would have quite liked the luxury of a beach when I did it though
Plus I bet the DS gave you a sly chicken, rabbit or mars bars ect to help you out!
Which brings me to my next point: cooking meat. Currently they cook it using a grill on the fire but why don't they just boil it? Granted boiled chicken tastes and smells disgusting but a lot more of the nutrients would stay in the water to be drank like a soup. Plus you wouldn't run the risk of eating undercooked meat.
I was thinking last night that it would have been more interesting if the men and women's groups were kept separate, that way we could compare their approaches. I'd also like to see the teams given more survival training as watching a large group of utterly clueless people struggling to even find drinkable water is getting a little boring.
I'd feel a little bit disappointed if I'd signed up for this and then spent 4 weeks aimlessly scratching around on a beach. They really haven't achieved very much. I know the point of the show is to see how joe bloggs can get by on an island but IMO it would be a bit more compelling if they were given a bit more help to actually thrive rather than merely survive.
I'd feel a little bit disappointed if I'd signed up for this and then spent 4 weeks aimlessly scratching around on a beach. They really haven't achieved very much. I know the point of the show is to see how joe bloggs can get by on an island but IMO it would be a bit more compelling if they were given a bit more help to actually thrive rather than merely survive.
I don't understand why they didn't explore early on in the show, whilst they still had some energy to expend. Possible food sources, possible water sources, better camp site, maybe somewhere with fewer midges and sand flies. They just hung around and talked for a few days IIRC - by then strength and mental energy had sapped in the humidity.
I did notice that they now have a rainwater collection system. About time.
Much has been made about the "impenetrable" jungle and the way it slows down any expeditions. Unless we're not being shown everything, it didn't look too bad to me. More like an overgrown copse. Certainly not Amazonian.
I did notice that they now have a rainwater collection system. About time.
Much has been made about the "impenetrable" jungle and the way it slows down any expeditions. Unless we're not being shown everything, it didn't look too bad to me. More like an overgrown copse. Certainly not Amazonian.
It's difficult to really get a sense of how well they are really doing because of the heavy editing. It looks like the production team are taking clips from all over the place, chronologically speaking, and then judiciously editing them together to create a narrative.
It certainly looks like they didn't bother doing much exploring for resources until they were almost too weak to explore but for all we know the actual exploring that we saw onscreen was done within the first week and not after weeks. Sometimes they look starved, then the next scene they look reasonably OK again, then they are starved again.
You can also bet that selective editing will be going on to alter the viewers impressions of the various participants as the public want heroes and villains to cheer/boo.
I thought that the first series of this was actually one of the better 'reality survival' shows with seemingly minimal staging but with last year and now this one, it's pretty clear that it's manipulated to the max.
It certainly looks like they didn't bother doing much exploring for resources until they were almost too weak to explore but for all we know the actual exploring that we saw onscreen was done within the first week and not after weeks. Sometimes they look starved, then the next scene they look reasonably OK again, then they are starved again.
You can also bet that selective editing will be going on to alter the viewers impressions of the various participants as the public want heroes and villains to cheer/boo.
I thought that the first series of this was actually one of the better 'reality survival' shows with seemingly minimal staging but with last year and now this one, it's pretty clear that it's manipulated to the max.
otolith said:
24lemons said:
I was thinking last night that it would have been more interesting if the men and women's groups were kept separate, that way we could compare their approaches.
That's what they did in previous series, this is a new experiment.There are some great continuity errors with Tilly the Barmaid - hair down, hair plaited, face full of awful sandfly bites then all gone! I'm an editor and I must admit, I would hate to put this together. It's hard enough cutting some conference material if you weren't there but this must be a nightmare with hours of material every day. Trying to juggle that along with a bit of contrived story telling is a big job.
The helo rescue was odd - I think they put him on a boat, whizzed around to the next bay and sorted it all there, hence chopper on the ground and the boat just creeping into the bottom of shot.
We all think we could do better but the bites and dehydration would do me in by the first evening, let alone the hunger as I can't make it to lunchtime with out breaking into my sarnies! They do seem to be making a better camp if you look carefully - knowing you are doing this, why aren't they all reading the SAS survival handbook on the plane on the way over and taking at least one copy in their minimal kit...?
The helo rescue was odd - I think they put him on a boat, whizzed around to the next bay and sorted it all there, hence chopper on the ground and the boat just creeping into the bottom of shot.
We all think we could do better but the bites and dehydration would do me in by the first evening, let alone the hunger as I can't make it to lunchtime with out breaking into my sarnies! They do seem to be making a better camp if you look carefully - knowing you are doing this, why aren't they all reading the SAS survival handbook on the plane on the way over and taking at least one copy in their minimal kit...?
I doubt if they'd be allowed to keep the SAS book when their bags are no doubt searched for contraband. The wimmin were allowed to keep personal sanitary products which they liked to sniff (!) but I reckon they're not allowed to take much of any use.
However, I cannot believe that, for safety purposes alone, they are not given some sort of crash course on how to create drinking water, how to light a fire, how to make a simple fishing rod etc.. There's no way this programme could be made without any of that, otherwise it's a recipe for a fatality. Which asks the question - how did they all forget what they'd been taught?
However, I cannot believe that, for safety purposes alone, they are not given some sort of crash course on how to create drinking water, how to light a fire, how to make a simple fishing rod etc.. There's no way this programme could be made without any of that, otherwise it's a recipe for a fatality. Which asks the question - how did they all forget what they'd been taught?
I think they did mention the fact that they are give some basic survival tips but when the bloody doctor tells you the stagnant water is safe to drink you are off to a bad start!
I would be interested to see what someone who knows their stuff can achieve in the same place and the same amount of time. Maybe next time stick bear grylls himself on a secret beach round the corner!
I would be interested to see what someone who knows their stuff can achieve in the same place and the same amount of time. Maybe next time stick bear grylls himself on a secret beach round the corner!
24lemons said:
I think they did mention the fact that they are give some basic survival tips but when the bloody doctor tells you the stagnant water is safe to drink you are off to a bad start!
I would be interested to see what someone who knows their stuff can achieve in the same place and the same amount of time. Maybe next time stick bear grylls himself on a secret beach round the corner!
Ed Stafford has done it. He has a new series starting soon.I would be interested to see what someone who knows their stuff can achieve in the same place and the same amount of time. Maybe next time stick bear grylls himself on a secret beach round the corner!
There's another survival series called "Naked and Afraid", where they dump a couple of people in some hell-hole without even the clothes they were standing up in. I suppose it would be prurient if they didn't blur out all the T&A. I've seen a couple, they don't tend to do very well...
otolith said:
There's another survival series called "Naked and Afraid", where they dump a couple of people in some hell-hole without even the clothes they were standing up in. I suppose it would be prurient if they didn't blur out all the T&A. I've seen a couple, they don't tend to do very well...
Naked and Afraid usually features 'survivalists' though.
Has a anyone watched the American series? It's also on demand. First episode is amazingly funny, won't go into detail but it's full of too many American stereotypes.
RE: UK series
They are given a basic survival course, the women probably get given sanitary products through a drop-box system, the same that they use to exchange samples of fruit with the crew to teat they are not likely to poison themselves.
RE: UK series
They are given a basic survival course, the women probably get given sanitary products through a drop-box system, the same that they use to exchange samples of fruit with the crew to teat they are not likely to poison themselves.
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