Man Vs. Wild "Red Rock Country" Review

According to Discovery, Man Vs. Wild began a new season tonight. The show went on hiatus for two weeks because of Shark Week. Discovery moved the series to Fridays, so "Red Rock Country" didn't air on Monday night. I hardly consider "Iceland Fire and Ice" a season finale or the three episode run a season. But what the hell do I know? I'm only a blogger denied access by network PR departments for simple photographs.

Anywho, Bear Grylls ventured into the Colorado Plateu, specifically Red Rock Country, for his last survival adventure. The plateau covers four states. The terrain of the land's the wildest in the country and, indeed, the entire world. Bear nearly plunges 100 feet into a cavern. He'll eat a boiled snake. The man will freak the cameraman out when he describes the horrors of a flash food whilst deep in the canyons. Just another episode of Man Vs. Wild?

Shall we? The highlights;

--Bear and his crew always figure out the most dangerous way to throw him into the wild. In red rock country, Bear cannot sky-dive from the plane to begin the series of challenges because the area's too dangerous with the unpredictable wind and the layout of the terrain. If Bear jumped, he'd take the chance of being carried away and possibly killed by a collision with a red rock. Instead, the plane finds flat lane and lands. Well, the word 'land' implies that Bear simply walked out of a landed and stalled plane. He didn't. Bear attached a piece of something (wasn't rope and I missed the name) to the plane so that he could hold onto it as the plane continued to move. Yes, Bear left the plane as it continued to move. The plane drags him for several yards as he carefully positions himself to safely let go of the plane. And he's unscathed, though his jacket took a beating from being dragged. Soon, he's off and running for the rock-faces and caverns of red rock country.

--The average person would never survive in the wild if they imitated Bear Grylls because he's Wayne Gretzky or Pele or Michael Jordan of the survival world. His hardest challenges in the episode involve steep descents. Sometimes, he's descending sand that's mixed with mud. Other times, he's descending a cliff with a piece of wood as his anchor. In both instances, I'd fall trying to position myself for the descent. In the first instance, he compares the technique of the descent to a technique one would use on an icy surface. Bear grabbed a stick and used it as his anchor. Bear basically runs and drags the stick to keep his balance. As he successfully descends, he narrates how the technique requires plenty of practice. In other words: don't try it at home, kids.

In the other instance, the one with the piece of wood and the forty foot descent, the positioning to use the rope seems as dangerous as the descent itself. The wood-as-anchor's nothing new in Man Vs. Wild. It will always work as long as the Earth continues to rotate. As long as the friction of the rope's downwards, the anchor will hold regardless of how large or small the anchor is. The distance between Bear and the ground's around 150 feet. The rock he uses for his anchor's more of a boulder. As Bear climbs over, I felt nervous because I pictured myself in that position and had no doubts that I'd plunge before I could handle the rope. The rope might not reach where Bear's destination is (40 feet below the boulder). Bear begins his descent. Throughout the descent, the camera man focuses on the anchor point. Bear's safe. Simon and the editing bay just wanted to increase the tension of the descent. Bear, naturally, succeeds without incident then quickly descends the rest of the rock-face where he finds a river.

--The sequence in the Canyons has a nice claustrophobic feel to it. It helps that Bear travels deeper and deeper into the canyons where the walls become narrower. Bear imagines what it'd be like if a sudden downpour created flash floods, trapping he and his crew into the canyons where their fate would be death by drowning. The camera man, Simon, quickly checks the sky. It's a quick and wonderful moment in the episode. Bear went into the canyons for water. Well, the man finds water--small, intense waterfalls that complicate his trek out of the canyons. When he emerges from the depths of the canyons, he quips that he found water.

--Bear finds camp in an abandoned and broken down cabin, presumably built by Mormon settlers in the mid-19th century. The wood of the cabin has marks from the axes used to cut the wood. Naturally, I wondered about the people who built the cabin, their lives, their travels and how their settlement treated them. The cabin's near water. Bear caught a fish and snake. In the cabin, he built a raised bed. Later, Bear talks about the days when Utah was outlaw country. Suddenly, I thought about how cool a show set in 19th century Utah with Mormon travelers and outlaws would be. Carlton Cuse would executive produce it. AMC would air it.

--The raging Colorado rapids are Bear's last challenge. He successfully travels to where he wants to without drowning. The river did indeed rage. On land, he tracks footprints. He notes that tracking's been used throughout history. Of course, I knew the importance of tracking because I watched six seasons of LOST. He finds a man atop a horse--rescue.

Overall, “Red Rock Country” is a thoroughly enjoyable episode of the series. There were little touches throughout the episode that made it better, like Simon pointing the camera at the sky as Bear describes flash floods in canyons or Bear's description of the taste of snake meat (if snake tastes like chicken, he has no idea what kind of chicken people eat who compare the two tastes). Good times.

THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK