Comparing Survival TV Shows
If you are a Discovery channel fan, you have likely seen one or both of the newest survival tv shows Man Vs. Wild and Survivorman. These two tv shows have the same basic concept—they each have only one host that is stranded in deserted areas all over the world and they are challenged to survive. However, there are many differences to the shows, and it can be difficult to decide for yourself which show is best. Here, you can compare the differences and similarities between these two shows and decide for yourself.
Similarities of the TV Sows Man Vs. Wild and Survivorman
The show’s purpose—this is the same for both tv shows: to educate the audience on survival techniques if they were ever to be stranded in one of the areas or elements covered by the show.
The knowledge learned by the shows—while each show offers its own stories and different lessons will be learned, there are is a lot of good information to be found from both shows. These lessons can include how to start a fire, why coconut is so important on a desert island, how to gather rainwater to drink, which plants and animals are safe to eat, and more.
Both hosts are very knowledgeable—whichever host you like best, and many people do have their preference, they both have a lot of knowledge and understanding of their surroundings and share this information with those who watch the shows.
Differences of Survivorman and Man Vs. Wild
The way the show is filmed—this is one of the biggest differences between Les Stroud and Bear Grylls. On Survivorman, Les totes his own cameras everywhere he goes. This means that he is lugging around a lot of extra weight that Bear Grylls doesn’t have to contend with on Man Vs. Wild. This is one of the much-argued points about the differences between the two shows and leaves a lot of people favoring Survivorman and respecting Les more than Bear, as Bear has a camera crew with him on his expeditions.
The strategy of the shows—one of the main details of the shows that sets them apart from one another is that Survivorman is based on surviving for a specified period of time, while Bear Grylls has a goal of getting out as fast as he can. This allows each show to cover areas that the other cannot. Recently, the Survivorman took on the format of 7 days in the wild, so his goal is to survive for this long on his own. On Man Vs. Wild, Bear is trying to show you what to look for in order to find your way out. This means that you typically learn more about how to tell your directions, mark your paths, read the stars, etc. on Man Vs. Wild. On Survivorman, you learn a lot more about how to continue surviving for extended periods of time. Another difference in strategy is that Bear usually only has a water bottle and a flint on Man Vs. Wild, but Survivorman tries to show you how to utilize items you may have with you if you get stranded (these vary from show to show depending on the location and the type of travelers that may be stranded, such as mountain climbers).
The men—while both men are very knowledgeable, they approach their surroundings differently and speak differently. The backgrounds of the men is different, which means Bear’s accent often has him using English slang that isn’t used by Americans. They do, however, share a lot of the same views of the wilderness and share with viewers the importance of keeping spirits up any time you are stranded.
As you can see, the two shows have the same basic concept, and both can be very informative in their own right. However, there are enough differences that many people will have a preference of one over the other. Most of the time, though, this preference isn’t enough to keep them from watching the other one as well, since they are both such good shows. Typically, if you like one, you will like the other.
