It has come to my attention that some people believe that Bear Grylls is an imposture, a fake, bogus and you know what, that really grinds my gears. For those that don’t believe (this is Coldplay, wait, no), Bear Grylls is the host of “Man vs. Wild”, a program that runs on Discovery Communication’s Discovery Channel. The show launched in November of 2006 and was set to take the world by storm.
But before the show even came to fruition there was the man. Bear Grylls, born Edward Michael Grylls, a man that led an exciting life from growing up summiting the local hills in jolly-old-England to eventually joining the military.
He joined the British Army’s Special Forces and was later forced to end his career with the group when he was involved in a parachuting accident that left him sidelined for 18 months. It was during those 18 months that Grylls made the choice to attempt the impossibe, accomplish his childhood dream of summiting the highest mountain top in the world, Mount Everest.
At just 23-years-old, Grylls became the youngest U.K. born climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest (a record that has since been broken).
Grylls has paramotored over Angel Falls in Venezuela, he has circumnavigated the U.K on a personal watercraft and he has held a dinner party, tuxedo and all, at 25,000 feet hanging from a hot air balloon. All amazing feats that the common man would struggle to perform.
Back to the show – “Man vs. Wild” is a show hosted by Grylls that focuses on learning how to survive in different situations with limited supplies. Now keep in mind this is a television show. It is created and meant for entertainment. So when Grylls is dropped in to the middle of the Sahara Desert or the deep wilderness of the Florida Swamps why do we, the viewer, care what happens at the end of the night?
For those that do not know, Grylls was heavily criticized by the media when it was revealed that while filming an episode of “Man vs. Wild” the conditions became to harsh for a man lost in the wilderness to endure and so Grylls was airlifted to a local hotel for the night.
Yes, the idea of the show is to survive, but people, look at Grylls’ history. Do you think that if he really was out there all night he could have survived, of course he could of. But this is television, he is on this show to entertain the viewer.
Since this discovery the producers and Grylls have been forced to change the set-up of the show. Now Grylls is dropped into remote locations where he is met with a person that is familiar with the area and knows a great deal of information about the do’s and don’ts of that specific region. Why I ask? Why?
This show was fantastic, so fantastic that four college students would wait until nine o’clock on a Friday night to start their weekend festivities just so they could see what “Bear” was up to and where he was at in the world. No more though, you people (yeah, I said “you people”) have ruined “Man vs. Wild.”
What the public needs to understand is that television is around for ENTERTAINMENT! Grylls use to be extremely entertaining, lately I have found it hard to watch the show because of the over-acknowledgments that are made of Grylls surroundings and every little detail to what he has done to “survive” just to please you nay-sayers. You people make me sick – and don’t you dare compare Bear Grylls to Survivorman. I don’t buy that for one second, so you stick your sorrys in a sack because I don’t want to hear it.
Come back Bear, we miss you (Hell, I need you. I'm a mess without you. I miss you so damn much. I miss being with you, I miss being near you. I miss your laugh. I miss your scent; I miss your musk. When this all gets sorted out, I think you and me should get an apartment together..)
- Tim Keating
P.S. I'll always remember what you taught me about glaciers and vitamins.
