Survivorman is a reality television program broadcast in Canada on the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), and in the United States on The Discovery Channel and The Science Channel. Host Les Stroud must survive for seven days in various remote locales with little or no food, water or equipment. He is dropped off with only his clothes, a pair of cases for his camera equipment, his trusty harmonica (if only to keep his morale up), and a multi-tool. He also carries a satellite phone for use in an emergency.[1] He is typically given minimal supplies (such as one energy bar, a pack of gum, a credit card, etc.) to emulate a real-life survival scenario.
Survivorman is similar to Stranded, a five part mini series that was shown on the Canadian version of the Discovery Channel, which also starred Stroud.
Survival situations
In each episode Stroud places himself in a unique survival situation. The show is meant to demonstrate how one might survive alone in a remote location with minimal supplies until being rescued. Finding food, water, and materials to make fire and shelter pose the main challenges of each episode.
Part of the tension of Survivorman is in watching Stroud deal with the aftermath of unsuccessful or inappropriate survival techniques and decisions. The reasons for these errors can include time limitations, being unfamiliar with a technique, and misjudging weather conditions - all frequently encountered by people in survival situations. Stroud allows these predicaments to occur for the benefit of the TV audience, rather than simply sitting and waiting to be rescued. While acknowledging the errors and the negative effect on his emotional state that they can create, Stroud remains calm throughout, providing a model of behaviour vital to successful survival.
In addition to the physical challenges posed by each survival situation, Stroud confronts the psychological effects of isolation, physical injury, and exhaustion. Stroud is never without his harmonica, which when played, creates an atmosphere in strong contrast to the often dismal nature of the survival experience, and has a noticeable positive effect on the host. Stroud also narrates to the camera, commenting on his physical and psychological state, providing survival tips, or making jokes (such as his parody of an iconic scene in The Blair Witch Project), effectively employing the future television audience as a companion. Stroud also often dismantles available equipment (e.g. bike, snowmobile, airplane) and puts it to another practical use.
Les Stroud's knowledge of the unique flora and fauna of each location is perhaps his most basic yet powerful skill. In every episode he shows the audience how to find viable sources of nourishment, avoid dangerous or unhealthy ones, and utilize them appropriately and efficiently. Stroud frequently explains that gathering food in this manner should be reserved for true survival situations in order to preserve the environment.
Filming
Except for footage of him arriving at his new setting, the content of each episode is taped entirely by Stroud himself using several video cameras that he must carry with him everywhere that he goes. The burden of having to carry, place, and retrieve the camera equipment for each shot adds to the challenge and difficulty of each survival situation. His camera and audio gear typically weigh about 50 pounds (22.7 kg) in total. Stroud also is not permitted to use any of this for the purpose of survival stating in one episode "Camera gear is camera gear nothing else". During the "Behind the Scenes" episode, Stroud explains that "setting up or tearing down all of my camera gear takes about 65% of my time," making survival more challenging. He later records a voice-over commentary in the studio, where he explains his decision-making process and details of how he accomplished various tasks.
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