Survivorman is the grandfather to almost all other survival programs, and certainly all shown on Discovery or the Science channel. I watched this show as much as I could when I was a teenager, and even now years later it's still just as enjoyable. The thing that really separates this show from others is the true reality of it. There are no scripted interactions (Dual Survival), minimal or contextual setups with things left for the host (Man Vs Wild), and brilliant camera work for the entire program (Ed Stafford). Les Stroud gives an air of "if i can do it, so can you", compared to most other survival programs (the 3 I named above, for example) being hosted by former military men. Les Stroud is in his 40's, not the most physically fit person on earth, and only has survival techniques which anyone can do if properly instructed. Stroud has a safety net usually about 5 hour's walk away, which is helpful if he's mobile, but if he's attacked by a wild animal then it's game over. Compare that to Bear Grylls and his film crew of 2/3 people watching him do back-flips over waterfalls, ready to call for a helicopter if he gets hurt. Les Stroud does twice the work shown on camera because of his DIY film technique.
Review of Survivorman
