Survival Man

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Television broadcast
German title Survival Man - Wilderness Adventure
Original title Survivorman / Survivorman 10 Days
Country of production Canada
original language English
Year (s) 2004–
length 41 minutes
Episodes 41+ 9 specials in 6 seasons ( list )
genre Adventure , reality TV
music Les Stroud
First broadcast April 6, 2005 on OLN
German-language
first broadcast		 August 8, 2010 on DMAX , RTL Living

Survival Man - Adventure Wilderness (original title: Survivorman ) is a survival documentary series of Canadian production, broadcast in Canada on the Outdoor Life Network OLN, in Germany on the DMAX and RTL Living channels (from 2015) and internationally on the Discovery Channel . So far, five seasons have been broadcast in Germany. A parallel series on British television is Adventure Survival with Bear Grylls .

action

In each episode, Les Stroud puts himself in a special survival situation. The aim is to demonstrate how one can survive alone in different areas of the world with minimal equipment and food for several days until one's rescue. Stroud simulates situations that tourists or stray hikers can get into and that are not prepared for a survival situation at the given time. Building a shelter, finding food and water, and lighting a fire without the usual tools such as a lighter are central elements of each episode.

According to the series' official website, the programs also specifically show mistakes and failures on the part of Les Strouds, such as incorrect assessments of the weather situation, failures in making a fire or looking for food, to make it clear that nothing goes perfectly in a real survival situation. Stroud also reports openly in front of the camera about his displeasure with his current situation, but always remains calm, which is another important point in survival under extreme conditions, as he himself emphasizes.

Apart from the physical stress, Stroud is confronted with the psychological stress such as the failures mentioned above, but also isolation, loneliness, injuries and exhaustion. He usually comments on this with a close-up of himself in the episodes and occasionally makes jokes or gives survival tips based on his situation. Stroud also often misappropriates the things in his environment such as flashlights, a bicycle, a snowmobile or an airplane wreck in order to derive a practical benefit for him.

Before he travels, Stroud often seeks advice from local survival experts in order to be able to survive in extreme areas such as the Arctic or the African desert. In this way he gains information about the flora and fauna of the region and how he can find food sources there. Stroud conveys this knowledge in the episodes and shows which things are edible and how they can be prepared. Stroud warns against using these tricks only in real survival situations in order to preserve nature. He often complains about the garbage that can be found around the world or emphasizes that he is reluctant to use living animals as a source of food, but that this is essential in some situations.

According to reports, Les Stroud's survival tips have already helped many people in real survival situations.

background

The title of the show refers to Les Stroud, the Canadian protagonist of the series. Stroud is a survival expert who uses his knowledge in the series to survive in various locations around the world for seven days alone, with no camera crew and only minimal equipment, his only permanent pieces of equipment being a harmonica and a multi-function tool . Stroud alone carries the 25 kg camera equipment required for filming and shoots all the scenes himself. This type of filming distinguishes the series from other survival programs, in which a production team always accompanies the survival experts. In order to be able to reach his team in an emergency, Stroud has a satellite phone with him. According to Stroud, however, there were numerous episodes in which the devices did not work and he was completely on his own. It has also happened that he and his rescue team were cut off from an escape route and had to be picked up by a helicopter.

Stroud stopped filming after the third season was over because filming and filming alone was too much physical strain. On its official website, however, a series of one-hour specials was announced in which Stroud now spends ten days in the wild instead of a week. The first edition aired on June 30, 2012 on OLN.

Recordings

Apart from the recordings when he was suspended and the photos taken by a rescue team, Les Stroud films all the scenes himself and without a camera team. He uses numerous DV cameras (later HDV cameras) that he carries himself. The strain that Stroud is exposed to while setting up, turning, dismantling and taking the camera with him for each scene represents an additional difficulty for the respective survival situation, which causes him to occasionally leave cameras behind, which are later used by the film team to be picked up again. The camera luggage usually weighs around 25 kilograms and is heavy with its heavy weight. During a “behind-the-scenes” episode, Stroud explained that setting up and collecting the cameras takes up about 65 percent of his time.

Episode list

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Survivor: No food, no shelter, no fresh water, no tools ... no camera crew. One man - alone in the wilderness. from lesstroud.ca, accessed on May 9, 2015.
  2. ↑ Filmmaker, Outdoor Adventurer, Singer-Songwriter, Performer (English) at lesstroud.ca, accessed on May 9, 2015.