View Full Version : Ray Mears - whats the alternative?
Suburban Bushwacker
29-11-2007, 04:10
I've been watching a fair bit of RM on 'dave' over the last few days, and while i'm a huge fan, i've started to wonder about where the publics current interest in outdoors TV is going next.
Bear Grylls - all a bit put on for the cameras, but in fairness he captured my eight year olds imagination like no one else.
Wild Gourmets - awful presentation, ineffectual content, but to give the show its due it has provoked some interest in game/wild food and that can only be a good thing.
Bill Oddie - i cringe in shame to think that as a lad i though he was the funny one on the Goodies. Pompous, condescending, need i go on?
Nature Watch - i thought i hated Alan Titmarsh but his enthusiasm and the stunning photography have won me over, i was transfixed.
What's next?
I have also seen most of what it is to see. But the best I have seen so far i Lars Monsen series. Sadly his series are only in Norweigan. But seeing crossing Canada on canoe and dogsledding, probably one of the best hings I have seen.
But on the other hand, I dont have a tv anymore and spend most of my time outdoors instead and there are always the hunter/ranger tv to watch wen out there =)
survivor
29-11-2007, 10:08
have u watched les stroud survivorman.u can watch his episodes on u tube,although they are split into 1of5 2 of 5.and so on but ive seen quite a few of them he also comes on discovery channel with the same episodes but i dont have it so i watch em on u tube.He also did 1 called 'off the grid' in which him and his family converted an old building putting solar panels up and that kindo thing.
Survivorman is a good series, I enjoyed it a lot as you can really see his sense of isolation - you actually see him making mistakes due to tiredness, frustration or just inexperience with that particular skill. This is something you will never see with Ray Mears and the like. Genuine, honest programming is what I would like to see more of, particuarly stuff set in a more applicable environment.
Suburban Bushwacker
30-11-2007, 07:47
Scott
I agree with you that it's the mistakes that make the show realistic, in Michael's bushcraft.se video the bit where he points out the piece of quartz he dropped and and how in his dehydrated state he convinced himself he had left it at home not only made him much more authentic as a presenter, but really drove the point he was making about dehydration home to me.
does anyone else remember the lad from Blue Peter (kids TV show in the UK) and Lofty Wiseman doing a survival special in the early 80s?
Lofty really pushed the lad a long way making the acts of survival seem challenging but achievable.
TV at the moment seems to be 'experts' and 'losers' - either RM and BG or Fat Men Cant Hunt.
If Michael from bushcraft.se can get it across on film with his limited resources it can be done.
you mean "duncan dares" with Peter Duncan:
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=7938831557747916757&q=survival+lofty
enjoy!!
hunterman
03-12-2007, 17:53
spot on that mark
he looks absolutely knackered fancy not being able to sleep because of the noise of nature LOL
Suburban Bushwacker
03-12-2007, 18:04
Duncan dares! nice one i knew someone would remember!
SBW
Dana Hawkeye
14-10-2008, 20:38
If i can remember rightly, Lofty Wiseman did several 'specials' a few years ago, one with Joanna Lumley and one with Lenny Henry. He also featured in a series about the RM Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre.
Incidently, he has just released a 2hr DVD.
IMO, he is still 'The God of UK Survivalists'.
Survivorman is a good series, I enjoyed it a lot as you can really see his sense of isolation - you actually see him making mistakes due to tiredness, frustration or just inexperience with that particular skill. This is something you will never see with Ray Mears and the like. Genuine, honest programming is what I would like to see more of, particuarly stuff set in a more applicable environment.
Hi Scott,
You enjoy seeing the mistakes made? Well than I am your man, I make a couple of them every now and than\\:D/.
When Do I fly over to sign the contract and say "see ya" to Ray?
Does there need to be an alternative? Did people not go out into the woods and enjoy shrafting before TV, before Ray Mears ??
Or is this thread (no offence to anyone) just a typical example of what bushcraft has become? Is bushcraft now as much part of the celebraty (not spelt wrong \\:D/) culture and anything else - can we not go out discover new skills, new ways of doing things ect ect for ourselves without being lead, hand in fluffy wuffy mittened hand by the latest guru on TV? And lets remember that even they need researchers and fixers and local experts to guide them .......................so whose the expert? The tv face or the guy whose telling him what to eat or do??
:finga:
Just a thought ...............:icon_hang
Dana Hawkeye
15-10-2008, 17:18
Its like most things, its always the 'hidden guys' that are the real experts in their field. I would wager, for every RM or BG there are a thousand unseen experts around the world that are just as good or better.
The TV experts in whatever field they are in were just better/quicker off the mark in getting TV recognition thus making them 'famous'.
If you take Bruce Parry's program 'Tribe' for instance, the tribesmen he lives with would knock the spots off of most 'survival experts' operating in the same location as them.
Best telly ever was.
Why don't you turn of the television set and go and do something less boring instead!
Hint Hint.....
Same goes for computers too LMAO:finga:
I'll get me coat....
Best telly ever was.
Why don't you turn of the television set and go and do something less boring instead!
I could not get my head around that programme.. They started the show by telling you to turn off the telly. Then they do a telly show...:confused:
Showing your age now guys - why dont you and the summer holidays - happy days!
i was a why don't you fan, I even used to send off for their fact sheets on how to do stuff.
at least it was telly which showed you lots of good outdoors stuff to do and make. I wrecked half of my mum's kitchen thanks to why don't you
Does anyone remember HOW!! with Fred Dinage and Jack Hargreaves. I loved it.
Andy
Dana Hawkeye
17-10-2008, 09:45
Does anyone remember HOW!! with Fred Dinage and Jack Hargreaves. I loved it.
Andy
Now that was a TV program and a half. If there ever was a program that needed bringing back, then 'How!' would be one of my first choices, especially considering there is no program like it around at the moment - A real 'boys own' programme.
On a slightly different vein, have any of you read, the dangerous book for boys, i bought it for both of my boys a couple of christmases ago and they both love it, its a proper old school compendium annual type book top drawer stuff!!!
Dana Hawkeye
17-10-2008, 13:07
On a slightly different vein, have any of you read, the dangerous book for boys, i bought it for both of my boys a couple of christmases ago and they both love it, its a proper old school compendium annual type book top drawer stuff!!!
Yes I have. I bought this book for my nephew and my grandson, they love it ....... still toying with the idea of one for my own library.
Squidders
17-10-2008, 16:42
I'm actually quite a fan of Les Stroud... I like his honest style... he seems knowledgable enough and isn't afraid to puke on camera or show the honest mistakes people make.
Other than that there was a program I remember ages ago called alone in the woods or something... basically dealing with out one item of kit each day until you're left with what you need... wish I could remember its name.
Squidders
17-10-2008, 16:47
Does there need to be an alternative? Did people not go out into the woods and enjoy shrafting before TV, before Ray Mears ??
Or is this thread (no offence to anyone) just a typical example of what bushcraft has become? Is bushcraft now as much part of the celebraty (not spelt wrong \\:D/) culture and anything else - can we not go out discover new skills, new ways of doing things ect ect for ourselves without being lead, hand in fluffy wuffy mittened hand by the latest guru on TV? And lets remember that even they need researchers and fixers and local experts to guide them .......................so whose the expert? The tv face or the guy whose telling him what to eat or do??
:finga:
Just a thought ...............:icon_hang
I take offence... just because I enjoy "doing" bushcraft or camping or wilderness living crafts or whatever it's called this minute doesn't mean I want to do it 24/7.
I'm pretty modern and like to put my feet up in front of the telly as much as the next human.
When I do put my feet up and fancy something shrafty on the box, it's nice to know the alternatives. can't be How it's made all the time :biggrin:
alone in the woods or something... basically dealing with out one item of kit each dayOther than that there was a program I remember ages ago called until you're left with what you need... wish I could remember its name.[/quote]
I remember lost in the woods with brummie stokes, one of the SAS blokes that climbed Everest, it was on one of the 10000 sky channels! it was pretty good showing eel bags and other useful stuff in a practical way
Squidders
18-10-2008, 20:22
That was it... making butt ugly feather sticks, eel traps with his jumper... no fuss, no arsing about but a good practical outlook.
Saying that I admire people ray for moving beyond the practical and aspiring to make everything "just right" and the filming in his shows are about the best, never missing the right angle to view something well.
Im with you mate, i lost my leg in march and if id not had my Ray DVDs, books, and an XBox 360 i would have used my skills to tie a usefull knot from the rafters if you get my meaning...
There are some factual, biographical films I watched when I lived in Canada, about an amazing guy called **** Proenneke. He went to a place called Twin Lakes in Alaska to retire and carve out a life in the wilderness.
The first of the films is called Alone in the Wilderness, and is also available as a book. Just google his name and it'll direct you to a site where you can buy the DVD. Unfortunately for us europeans, I think they only do North American Region 1 DVDs, so you'll need a PC or a multi-region player.
But it really is great stuff. The wildlife, the fishing, the solo construction of his log cabin, canoeing, etc. I've never enjoyed watching anything more. I hope and think a lot of folks on this forum would enjoy it.:)
Squidders
23-10-2008, 20:29
I've had a copy of that for a while... amazing film... you don't get a feel for how much of a craftsman he is from the book but the work he put in to his cabin was amazing... My personal favorites were the funky door hinges and the HUGE burl me made a bowl from.
I just watched and boy, it's great !!
Like they say; a dream for many, but he did it, Respect !!
Those hinges are amazing... For anyone who has not seen any of it, you can see some here.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsfB6oJ55wM
An amazing man but I can't help feeling sorry for him. Not because of what he achieved, far from it, but were things so terrible for him that he turned his back on family, friends, and real life, to live the life of a recluse, isolated from mankind. What he did would be for most of us an incredible adventure, for a while but not for the rest of your life. Very sad I think.
saddle_tramp
30-10-2008, 03:17
but were things so terrible for him that he turned his back on family, friends, and real life, to live the life of a recluse, isolated from mankind. What he did would be for most of us an incredible adventure, for a while but not for the rest of your life. Very sad I think.
I think you can be far more lonely or disassociated living in society, and far richer and content than many realise, if you ever manage to escape it
You're probably right ST in fact I'm sure you are for a few it can. I would find it fine for a while, a few months possibly but after that I would crave the company of others, and I'm considered a loner by some and indeed I prefer to work alone but cutting yourself off completely I just could'nt hack it I don't think.
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