In the wake of confirmed suspicions regarding the “reality” of the unscripted program Man vs. Wild, the Discovery Channel has re-edited their episodes to include a voice-over by Bear Grylls. They’ve also removed some of the more dubious footage and added a disclaimer to the beginning of their episodes. The disclaimer, according to The Hollywood Reporter, reads as follows:
Bear Grylls is trained in extreme survival techniques. He and the crew receive support when they are in potentially life-threatening situations, as required by health and safety regulations. Professional advice should be always be sought before entering any dangerous environment.
Although the series claims that Grylls braves the great outdoors, there have been several confirmed instances where Grylls either spent nights in a motel when he was depicted as sleeping outside or received off-camera assistance in constructing rafts or bridges he is shown crafting alone.
One example of how the voice-over changes things is that in one episode, Bear claims to have caught a rabbit in his trap and he eats it. But the voice-over reveals that the crew caught it for him. Bear says in the new voice-over, “My trap didn’t catch anything overnight, but I’ve been brought a rabbit to tell you what to do if you’re luckier than me.”
Needless to say, this is a sad day in the history of reality TV. If this is fake, think about all the other shows that could be lying to us! Beauty and the Geek? Flavor of Love? The mind boggles.
I hate that guy. I watched a but the other night and he didn’t catch a rabbit in his traps. He they grabbed a dead rabbit off the ground and said. this is how you would kill it and cook it…then the fucker ate the rabbit.
well you have to think though, how interesting would a reality show be without a slightly scripted plot? When you watch a movie or tv show you just accept that whats happening has almost no chance of happening in the real world yet its still entertaining.
Reality TV should be renamed to Pseudo-Reality Mockery for it’s gross attempt to fool the viewing public (sheeple) into thinking it’s real for ratings.
Most of TV is complete drivel anyhoo except Discovery channel, how-to and cooking shows. The cable companies should offer a basic cable package that consists of only PBS, Discovery, The Weather Channel, Food Network and HGTV…or better yet, let you choose exactly what channels you want for like $1 a month on top of a basic subscription fee. Then I’d consider getting it.
im pretty sure that iron chef america is scripted. some of the things they do with food are impossible in one hour especially if they have no idea of the main ingredient until they begin.
On July 16, 2007, Stroud and a support crew of four in the safety camp were cited by the National Park Service for commercial filming without a permit at Taroka Arm, a seldom-visited area at Kenai Fjords National Park in Alaska. Investigators found a driftwood shelter surrounded by multiple cameras on the beach. The support crew was camped nearby near a sensitive archaeological site. Stroud paid the required application, location and monitoring fees, totaling approximately $2,800.[2] This incident was not mentioned during the respective episode.
besides, Stroud had one of the best quotes of all time
“A lot of viewers want me to have been raised by wolves. But in 1978 I was stoned, drunk, listening to Styx, and eating peanut butter sandwiches.” -Les Stroud
I do like the show, but I agree that there’s some things that may take longer than the supposed hour. But I do think these guys and gals know the recipies for many things and their sous chefs are on the ball too…so it’s possible they know the dishes off by heart or else they can improvise with great skill. It is very entertaining nevertheless and I gather that most of the items are less than an hour to prep & cook with the help of a sous.
