Is Discovery’s Man vs. Wild a Hoax?

by Justin Glow on

Just the other day, my girlfriend and I were watching Bear Grylls on the Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild and commenting on how crazy he was — eating spiders, sleeping with snakes, and climbing up and down waterfalls while battling a massive case of diarrhea. Maybe he’s not so crazy?

The New York Post is running an article that questions the reality of Man vs. Wild, saying, “On the program, Grylls appears to camp out in quickly-built shelters deep in the wilderness while battling hypothermia and dehydration. But when the cameras stop rolling, Grylls has actually moved to luxurious hotels.”

Mark Weinert, “an Oregon-based survival consultant,” is claiming that producers for the show hired him as a consultant. “According to Weinert, while filming in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains – an episode in which Grylls, 33, is seen biting off the head of a snake for breakfast – Grylls actually spent some nights with the show’s crew in a lodge outfitted with television, stone fireplaces, hot tubs and Internet access.”

I don’t doubt Grylls’ ability to sever the head of a snake with his teeth for a quick snack — that stuff seems true enough — but what goes on behind the scenes is anyone’s guess. Here’s what Discovery had to say:

“Discovery Communications has learned that isolated elements of the ‘Man vs. Wild’ show in some episodes were not natural to the environment, and that for health and safety concerns the crew and host received some survival assistance while in the field.”

Previously: Gadling writer Erik questions the reality of the show almost a year ago.

Sad really. [via]

Jesus’ Bones Tour

by Iva Skoch on

If you missed the press conference at the New York Public Library, where filmmaker James Cameron announced his new Discovery Channel movie, you might want to read up and do a little digging yourself.

If you hadn’t heard the hype, Cameron’s movie The Lost Tomb of Jesus, airs this Sunday. In it, he apparently argues that a couple of caskets, ossuaries actually, once contained the bones of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Not only that, but, ala Dan Brown, he suggests they were a family…with children. The ossuaries made the trip for the press conference (hopefully not on JetBlue), as did a few experts.

Now, the discovery of the ossuaries is not new. They were found in 1980 in a Jerusalem ‘suburb’ of Talpiot. And, forgetting the multiple controversies that surround the whole thing (including the assertion by the lead archaeologist that the movie’s claims are baloney), you can visit the town yourself.

The modern town is pure 20th century, and includes a vibrant club culture (where you can shake your own bones), but there’s also more distant culture and history. For example, walk along the Haas Promenade for sweeping views of the old city.