Bear Grylls

[David]

What are your opinions on this guy - some love, some hate. Take a look at this page for example:
http://www.aolvideoblog.com/2007/08/16/man-vs-wild-is-a-phony/
Personally, I don't care if he wants to use a life jacket or not; the second clip is informative and he has a wife kids - why would he take unnecessary risks anyway? The first video seems a bit more pointless to me though; he states that you have to be extremely careful of using lava bridges - then bulldozers across! I don't see what he is teaching except 'I am as hard as nails'.

Does his style annoy you? Is it awsome? Is his 'tough man' theme just flavouring the program, and no more annoying that Ray Mears preaching about respecting ancient customs and nature to the viewer?

[MariaD]

Hate, hate, hate. His programs are idiotic, his 'tips' are often completely useless, and his claim to be "ex-SAS" is misleading to say the least. He was in the Territorial Army SAS, and there's a big difference!

The claims he makes for himself are often worded so as to deliberately mislead people. He claimed to have flown "over Everest" in a petrol powered paraglider, only changing it to "above Everest" when people pointed out that he'd been nowhere near the mountain when he made the flight. It all just smacks of dishonesty.

I have no problem with him limiting the risks of what he does (as you say, he does have a wife & kids), but this should be made explicit to the viewers, and it's not. Instead, it's just faked: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2241720.ece

Did I mention I hate him? ;)

If I want to watch a program like that, I'd choose Ray Mears every time.