Man vs. Wild: Discovery Channel

A friend of mine told me about this program, "It's kind of ridiculous, but the guy is pretty nice to look at, so I don't mind watching it." As the name would imply, Man vs. Wild is a show about the dashing British host, Bear Grylls, being dropped into the wilderness and showcasing his survival techniques. He explains his water-collecting techniques and fire-building strategies thoroughly, like he expects you to be filing this information away for the next time you find yourself falling out of a helicopter into the Sierra Nevada mountains.

What I think my friend meant when she said it was a little ridiculous is that he's obviously traveling with a pretty extensive camera and support crew. Right before the commercial break he tells us that he's going to try to get a rabbit and when we return, the rabbit is caught, skinned, and being skewered on a roasting spit. That's a little unfair. I mean, Man vs. Wild sounds like he's going it alone, right?

All in all, it was a really enjoyable show. Bear ate a live snake, doled out some interesting plant facts, and even found an all-natural toothbrush. But when he made an elaborate flotation device to swim across a lake instead of simply walking around the edge of it, it felt like he was just showing off.