Running Wild with Bear Grylls

This is by far my favourite reality TV show. It's wonderful to see celebrities being so down to earth and such greats sports! (with the exception of Ben Stiller who whined the whole time ). Bear is probably the most charismatic host you can find anywhere and is just so likeable, apart from having super human survival skills. It's great to see how comfortable he makes people feel and the way he gets his guests to share their vulnerabilities. The show itself is edited beautifully. I particularly enjoyed the episodes with Zac Effron, Armie Hammer and Channing Tatum because they were so damn enthusiastic and sporting about everything. Kate Winslet was great. So authentic and just herself. In fact everyone on the show were really genuine, authentic and cool. I can't wait to see which celebrities are going to be on season 6. Please God, let Chris Hemsworth be one of them !

Celebrity survivalist Bear Grylls takes various celebrities on a survival adventure. They climb a lot. They hike a lot. They dig around dead animals and they eat gross stuff. They do an overnight in the wild. Bear interviews them. Sometimes he gets a bit deeper than the usual talk show material. This show relies on the celebrity on their lack of comfort with the situation. It's not real survival, but nobody is asking for the Hollywood set to do that. From episode to episode, this show needs an engaging celebrity to sell it. It's best if they're grossed out by the meal. It's great when they have fun and also have a good cry. Bear is an engaging guy and a good host. He pushes these Hollywood types into difficult positions, and he does it with a smile. He's always supportive. He doesn't berate them. It's generally a good show as long as the celebrity guest is good.

I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful sceneries and watching the celebrities navigate outside their comfort zones.

Also, this show isn't trying to fool anyone as some have claimed. Of course there's going to be safety nets and the occasional equipment pre set up- it's to keep the show moving for both the viewers and the celebrity counterpart and to ramp up the entertainment.

I was truly skeptic when I saw the trailer for this show. "Get Out Alive with Bear Grylls" was forced. But "Running Wild with Bear Grylls" was toned down and felt much more relaxed. The survival techniques and stunts used felt like something a normal mortal person have any chance to use.

The episode with Ben Stiller was genuinely funny. The 4 celebrities I've seen so far have all been interesting and all different. It also helps that Bear Grylls seem to be a sympathetic person.

This show has managed to renew the somewhat fatigued survival genre. It's nice to be positively surprised sometimes!

Technically / visually it's almost its equal (photography / camerawork are still spectacular), and in terms of character it's more intimate and introspective. But it's also much slower-paced: if Bear alone faced, say, 10 challenges per episode, with a celebrity guest they face, say, 4. There is also one more problem: too much rappelling. It's thrilling to watch the first few times, but when every single episode has it (though I have missed a couple), it gets very repetitive. My favorite episode is probably the one with Vanessa Hudgens - she is extremely likable, and the "screen running" at the end makes for an exciting change-of-pace. Oustanding later episodes include those with the super-fit Keri Russell and Brie Larson. But the show seems to be heading in the wrong direction mid-season 5 (Bautista? Channing Tatum (again)? A professional rock climber???). For this concept at its freshest, see the "Man Vs. Wild" specials "Fan Vs. Wild" and the one with Jake Gyllenhaal. *** out of 4.