Survivor Man vs. Man vs. Wild

A while back I happened to catch the show on Discovery Channel called Man vs. Wild with Bear Grylls.  I think my Tivo might have picked it up as a suggestion and boy was I glad it did.  I was totally captivated by it.  After a few episodes I put up a post in my clan forums about what a great show this was and recommending it to any who hadn't seen it yet.  Right away a debate raged on about how Les Stroud of Survivorman is better.  Ok maybe it wasn't a raging debate but it was a fun discussion none-the-less.  I hadn't seen Survivorman at that point so I couldn't say much about it.  A couple of weeks ago new episodes of Survivorman finally started.  I've had a chance to see a couple of new ones and a few repeats and I have to say, Wow!  Bear could totally kick Les' ass!!

All right, all right.  I'm not sure who'd win in a fight (ok, I do know Bear would win since he has military training) but Man vs. Wild is a far more entertaining show then Survivorman.  Those on the Survivorman side of the fence usually like to point out that Les has to do his own camera work and has no one with him to help if he's in danger.  While Bear has a 3 man camera crew who can step in right away should he need it.  I've seen roughly 6 episodes of Survivorman now and in 3 of them Les had to quit early or get helicoptered out.  Bear has always found his way home, at least in the shows I've seen.  Les basically puts himself in a remote location and lives there for a week.   Sure that's surviving but if I'm stranded in the middle of nowhere in tough conditions, I don't want to learn how to start my new life of desolation, I want to learn how to get the f outta there!  Bear usually starts with 3 items; a knife, a canteen, and a flint.  By comparison, I've seen Les left with vehicles, 22 gallons of water, a complete snow sled with survival gear, sleeping bags, tarp, a bike, even a .22 ca gun once.

I know that both men are facing grueling conditions that I would never want to find myself in.  But I just don't see how people would find Survivorman to be a better show.  And this is where I think Man vs. Wild really shines.  Forget all the differences in approach and gear and background.  Man vs. Wild is simply more entertaining.  Maybe that's because he does use a 3 man TV crew.  Quite frankly I don't care how many people film it as long as they aren't interfering with the conditions, who cares?  I know there's been some allegations to that but I choose to believe that it's not true until proven.   In Man vs. Wild there is always the quest to find civilization that pushes the show along.  Survivorman will often just sit in the desert for hours on end and film himself.  Where's the entertainment in that?  Both guys do a great job of passing along information and tips for you to use if you should find yourself in such conditions (assuming you can remember them).  But, for my money Man vs. Wild wins by a long shot.