eMarkLee

There have been 2 shows that I have just caught up on on my Tivo and I must say these shows have been highly intriguing. These are reality shows done right.

1. Everest – 6 episode series of a set of people making it up Everest. This has to be one of the top shows of the year…even better than SuperNanny and How I Met Your Mother. It shows you through the entire journey, from acclimation at each of the camps, all the way to the top and back. Along the way are deaths, illnesses, and all kinds of drama. Production for the series has a high cheese level like a chant of “ever..ever…ever…rest…rest…rest” every time it hits a commercial break, and a constant repeat of similar stories. Ultimately, the motley crew including a guy with both legs amputated to a LAFD guy, make this show one of the most compelling I’ve seen since Temptation Island.

2. Man vs Wild – Bear, a ex-special forces guy that looks kind of like Batman, sans the body armor and mask, goes on survival trips with other Batman cameramen and does crazy stunts and survival gimmicks. He does stuff like eating meat from a freshly killed zebra in Africa to jumping into a frozen lake in Alaska. Many will draw comparisons between this show and Survivorman but Man vs Wild is at such a larger scale that it is not a good comparison. Survivorman is almost elementary compared to Man vs Wild, although one may question the authenticity of Man vs Wild. Regardless, when you see this guy squeeze the liquid from elephant dung into his mouth to prevent dehydration, you will be intrigued.