Review of Bear Grylls: Born Survivor - Panama

Introduction

The Republic of Panama, probably most famous to most of us of a certain age for being invaded by America in 1989 in order to oust Noriega. Apart from that, it`s a very picturesque place, with a big mountain range running down the middle, and lots of jungle areas.

It`s also another place where "Bear Grylls" has been and survived. "Bear" is a survival expert, who has been there and done it, but in TV terms he is rather a poor relation to the real TV survival expert of our age, Ray Mears (or Uncle Ray as he`s known in our house). He has made several TV series which are loosely classed as "documentaries" although they aren`t really that (cf. the media frenzy briefly whipped up when it was proved that he was staying in hotels whilst filming the series).

In the US the show is called "Man vs. Wild", across Europe it is "Ultimate Survival" and Channel 4 shows it here in the UK as "Born Survivor: Bear Grylls". The premise is simple - "Bear" is "left" in some of the most inhospitable places on earth, and uses his skills to show how to survive in such places.

Born Survivor Panama features "Bear" surviving his way across Panama, and meeting some natives along the way.

Video

A 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, which looks just like the broadcast version.

Audio

A DD2.0 stereo soundtrack, again as broadcast.

Conclusion

If you`ve read my review of the Bear Grylls Patagonia DVD, you`ll know what`s coming next...

There`s just far too much hype in this show. Like the recently aired "Extreme Dreams" with Ben Fogle, every tiny little hazard is whipped up until it is utterly life threatening and EVEN LOOKING AT THIS SNAKE MIGHT CAUSE YOUR HEAD TO EXPLODE AND FALL DOWN A HOLE. This programme could have been interesting - a chance to find out things about a far away land, and a look at important survival techniques, but any interesting bits are immediately punctured with sentences like THIS TWO THOUSAND FEET FALL IS DEADLY. ONE SLIP AND MY SPINE WILL SNAP LIKE A TWIG BEING SNAPPED BY SOMETHING WITH FAR MORE STRENGTH THAN THAT WHICH IS ACTUALLY REQUIRED TO SNAP A TWIG...

If you want to watch interesting programmes about survival, watch a Ray Mears DVD instead since Ray`s programmes are much better and devoid of the sensationalist garbage that is all-pervading here. Ray knows how to survive too, and he has more respect for his surroundings while he`s at it. If you want to find out more about the flora and fauna of the area in question, watch a BBC wildlife documentary instead.

Hats off to Mr Grylls for his skills and for coming back from some serious adversity in order to be in this position today, but I just don`t like his style of TV show.