I Don't Have to Speak, She Defends Me

There are some moments that have shaken the United States to its very core, among them the Civil War, JFK's assassination, and Watergate. Now, our nation is faced with another traumatic crisis that threatens to bring us to our collective knees.

Am I talking about the fact that Tim Donaghy just plead guilty to being a pawn in the hands of the mob? Or, am I referring to Michael Vick's cruel and inhumane treatment of canines across America? No, ladies and gentlemen, I'm referring to the fact that the one and only Bear Grylles if the Discovery Channel show "Man vs. Wild" has apparently been exposed as a wilderness sham. In a growing grassroots campaign across YouTube and other internet media outlets, the former member of the British special forces is portrayed as a svengali of the savannah.

In the first video, the jaded viewer takes issue with Grylles' claim that he will safely run a frigid mountain river with the assistance of his backpack, rainjacket, and the hair on his chinny-chin-chin.


In the second video, a disgruntled viewer named "VolcanoChaser" attempts to expose Grylles' apparently treacherous journey across a Hawaiian lava-field.


I'm not going to say that I think Grylles' is a complete and utter fraud, although that claim has been made by some, but it seems that if your reputation is built on purportedly living far, far off the beaten path, you probably need to be a bit more careful in the filming of the show. As someone who obviously enjoys the myriad benefits and occasional dangers of the outdoors, I can certainly understand that there is a certain cachet in a show that purports to place a very capable individual in a seemingly life-threatening situation and follows that person as they work out of the situation through accumulated experience and their personal determination.

Here's the problem: If the show's central appeal lies in the sense of danger that is created through Grylles' encounters with the wilderness, Grylles' and the show's producers have to be more careful in cultivating that sense of danger. When the viewing public is as cynical and eagle-eyed as the current edition is, it would seem that the show's producers would have been much more diligent in the editing and shooting of Grylles' travels than they were. The current backlash against Grylles' perceived hypocrisy may not be enough to sink the show, but it's probably going to less pleasant to deal with than the urine-soaked shorts that Bear once wrapped around his head to stave off the desert heat.