DVD Review: Man vs. Wild Season 4 (2010)

Man vs. Wild presents something of a problem, it seems, for many viewers. While the series clearly wants to be taken seriously as a survival guide for beginners, at the same time it wants to be more simple, visceral entertainment. That means the show alternates, almost at random, between "showing the device" and hiding it in favor of narrative immersion. What you get isn't quite "reality," even though it has all kinds of "authenticity" going for it. Many say the show is "fake," and I don't blame them for coming to this conclusion, even though that conclusion is built upon faulty groundwork. At the start of the show, for instance, a block of text explains that certain safety regulations have been followed and that, indeed, some of the situations host Bear Grylls finds himself in have been set up. Even in the introduction to an episode, Bear explains that he must undergo an entire week of challenges. This becomes problematic because the episodes are invariably structured into the narrative of a single day. Bear's day (or sometimes two) goes like this: he drops in to the hostile and photogenic environs (usually in spectacular fashion), gets his bearings (pun certainly intended), treks through the dangerous terrain, finds and eats (generally disgusting) food, builds a shelter, builds a fire, sleeps, wakes up and finds breakfast, and finally, finds extraction (again, usually in spectacular fashion). Yes, Man vs. Wild is contrived, but finding fault with its "fakeness" is akin to hating on The Blair Witch Project simply because it's not a real documentary. Besides, Man vs. Wild makes greater strides than most "reality" shows to reveal its conceit. And if you put aside reservations about its supposed veracity, Season 4 of Man vs. Wild is quite engaging. Bear is physically gifted, and though not terribly witty, humorous enough situationally, especially in his obscure references and veddy British slang (he often talks of his "John Thomas") and his penchant for pronouncing words in unique ways (my personal favorite is "glacier," a version which eludes even phonetic spelling). Highlights of this particular season include an fetid water enema at sea and a whole episode dedicated to "urban survival." For my money, this is the most interesting and varied season of Man vs. Wild. If you can go beyond the trap of "realism" in entertainment, this might be a good place to start with Bear.