Les Stroud - Survivorman

Survivorman is a Canadian TV program by survival specialist Les Stroud. With a total of 23 episodes and 3 seasons, in 2004, 2007, and 2008, Survivorman takes Stroud to various remote environments all over the world, from the Amazon jungle to the cold Arctic, where he is left to survive all by himself. While not as popular as similar survival-themed shows, like Bear Grylls’ “Man vs. Wild”, Survivorman is by far the most realistic and truly educational program on survival.

Every episode, Les Stroud is dropped off in a remote area of the world, and left to survive by himself for roughly a week, at the end of which he meets up with his rescue crew. Using his survival skills and knowledge, Les has to create shelters, build fires, find food, and stay clear of any dangers of a specific environment. While he is provided with a small amount of food, water, or equipment, like a candy bar or a match, these are used to simulate the items you may have in a real accident. As such, the major focus of the show lies in the fact that Stroud is truly all by himself for 7 days, and has to film everything he does by himself as well. This is often regarded as the toughest part of doing the show by Stroud, who decided to stop after the 3^rd season, due to the physical toll the filming was taking on him.

One Man, One Location, Seven Days

As noted above, the most unique and realistic element of Survivorman is that Les Stroud does not have the help of a production crew, or the luxury of normal food and comfortable sleep, as most other survival-based TV programs. Instead, he brings his multi-tool, harmonica, and 2 cameras for filming in every episode, in addition to whatever items are given to him to suit the theme of a specific episode. In the Costa Rica episode, for instance, Stroud was given a pair of pants, swimming goggles and 3 pens, to simulate him being stranded on a jungle beach after losing his kayak.

Stroud is also given a satellite phone and a radio strictly for safety purposes, which he can use to contact his rescue crew, who are located within rescue range. These were never truly used, as in every episode Stroud managed to survive the full 6-7 days before making his way towards the rescue crew.

Physical And Psychological Toll

The second realistic element of Survivorman is the physical and psychological toll of solo survival on Les Stroud. Les has to build shelters from material he finds around his location, start fires via different and often difficult methods, find food in realistic and often unrewarding attempts, and sleep in a very rough and exposed environment for 7 days.

In addition to all of this, he has to carry, place, and retrieve a total of 23 kilograms of video and audio equipment, which he uses to film everything that he does in his week of survival. This adds on a huge burden that even a person in a real survival situation doesn’t have to worry about. This is best explained by Stroud’s own words: “setting up or tearing down all of my camera gear takes about 65% of my time”.

The psychological burden, on the other hand, manifests itself as the lonesome, and often fearful state of mind that Les finds himself in, much like a person in a real accident would. In one episode, for instance, Les is stalked by a jaguar, and has to flee very quickly back to safety of a nearby aboriginal village, where his rescue crew awaits.

Other times, he finds himself playing on his harmonica to raise his spirits and pass time, and talking about how to stay positive and calm. Although both the viewer and Stroud himself know that he can be rescued in case of any real danger, the psychological toll of being alone for 7 days in a hostile environment is still very real, and as such is very educational.

Failure is Real

The third and last important element of realism in Survivorman is, quite simply, failure. Les Stroud is not afraid to show himself failing to catch an animal for food, being able to start a fire, or having a hard time battling a cold or hot environment, or simply not doing things as he planned. Much like in a real situation, not everything happens according to plan, and this is once again a very important educational lesson for survival.

Season One (2004)

01 "Canadian Boreal Forest”

Stroud is stranded after a canoe accident in a Northern Ontario Forest.

02 "Arizona Desert"

Stroud has to survive in the Sonoran Desert after his dirt bike breaks down.

03 "Costa Rica"

Stranded on Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, Stroud has to survive on a beach and then in a dense jungle.

04 "Georgia Swamp"

Stroud is stranded in the swamplands near Georgia’s Altamaha River.

05 "Canadian Arctic"

Les is stranded in the Canadian Arctic, near Pond Inlet.

06 "Mountain"

Simulating being lost after a hiking trip, Les is stranded in the Canadian Rockies.

07 "Canyonlands"

Les is stranded in the Utah canyons after a broken bycicle.

08 "Plane Crash"

Simulating a plane crash in the winter in the Canadian province of Ontario, Les also has to pretend he has a broken arm.

09 "Lost at Sea"

Les survives in a raft off the coast of Belize, and then on a tropical island.

10 "Behind the Scenes"

Les shows and explains clips and outtakes from the previous nine survival episodes.

Season Two (2007)

11 "Kalahari"

Les’ jeep breaks down in the Kalahari desert, and he has to survive in the extreme heat.

12 "Amazon"

Les survives in the Amazon rainforest.

13 "Labrador"

Les survives in the harsh, cold environment of Labrador, aided by a team of sled dogs.

14 "African Plains"

Les simulates being stranded in the Northern part of South Africa, after his air balloon malfunctions.

15 "Alaska"

Les survives in a remote Alaskan bay.

16 "South Pacific"

Les survives on a small island in the Cook Islands.

17 "Behind the Scenes"

Les gives a behind the scenes look on season 2, much like he did in season 1.

Season Three (2008)

18 "Sierra Nevada"

Les simulates being stranded in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains.

19 "Colorado Rockies"

Les survives in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, along with 2 horses.

20 "Arctic Tundra"

Les survives on Baffin island in the cold arctic.

21 "Temagami Hunting (Deep Woods)"

Les and a friend simulate being stranded in the woods of Temagami, Ontario.

22 "Australian Outback"

Les simulates being stranded in the Australian Outback.

23 "Papua New Guinea"

In the last episode of Survivorman, Les Stroud is stranded in Papua New Guinea, one of the most remote tropical locations in the world.