Man Vs Bear - General Discussion

[Quilt Fairy]

When I first saw this title in the channel guide, I thought it was a new Bear Grylls show of some kind.  I was kind of surprised to see that instead it involves actual bears.  From the Discovery Channel:

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From the dawn of mankind, bears have been the one beast you don’t want to see while out for a stroll, but this fall you might just fall in love with one. The first show of its kind, watch each week as four brave souls will take on bears in physical competitions. Contestants will run, swim and climb in an effort to take on one of the greatest apex predators on four legs, but we certainly know the bears are the star of the show. Meet Bart (the strongest), Honeybump (the fastest) and Tank (the smartest), who will put our men and women through the ringer. There’s only one species on earth overconfident enough to challenge a bear.

A few weeks ago I started a thread for a show called Kings of Pain, where two guys go around the world to get stung by bugs, snakes, poisonous fish, etc.  On camera.  For science, of course.  There is a debate as to whether it was the stupidest show ever on TV.  I thought it was.  Until I saw Man vs Bear.  O. M. G.

But I can't put it any better than Stuart Heritage of The Guardian : https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/02/man-vs-bear-discovery-channel-weirdest-tv-show 

The beginning of that hysterical review:
 

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An MMA fighter stands on top of a platform, hopping up and down as he prepares for a game of tug-of-war. “Come on baby, get some of this,” he shouts down at his opponent, attempting to psyche him out. Except he can’t psych his opponent out, because his opponent is a 1,400lb grizzly bear who unthinkingly yanks him screaming from the platform in about 10 seconds. A commentator intones: “I’ve seen just about everything in sports, but this tops it all.”

Welcome to Man vs Bear. It is a television programme about some men who want to beat a bear in a fight. It is a real television programme that really exists. Donald Trump is president of America.

In round two of Man vs Bear, the men try to push a 2,000lb barrel across a patch of land faster than a bear can. They all fail, because the bear is eight and a half feet tall, and also a bear. In round three they have to eat a giant mound of bear food faster than a bear can. Again, they all fail because the bear is a bear, and it has both the jaw size and dental structure to accommodate the food, and it weighs between six to 10 times more than the men, and the men are not bears. To reiterate, this is a real television programme that someone went to the trouble and expense of making, and Donald Trump is the leader of the free world.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show as stupid as Man vs Bear. ....

 

 

[EAG46]

The only way to watch this show is to root for the bears. 

[raven]

This show is so dumb. 

Contestant "I've been training and can stand my ground blah blah blah"

Huge bear drags contestant off cliff in about 10 seconds with no effort.

Contestant "Damn Bart is strong I have such a respect blah blah blah".

LOL.   The two commentators taking it seriously is also funny.

The bears are gorgeous, though if I saw one out in the wild I would probably pass out from fear.

[CoderLady]

I just watched the first three episodes of this and enjoyed the hell out of it.

It's obvious that the bear will always win overall, but how long the human manages to last in each trial is the game. Also, a cricket-eating contest with a bear is always going to be funny. I'm in.

[Quilt Fairy]

10 hours ago, EAG46 said:

The only way to watch this show is to root for the bears. 

I actually feel sorry for the bears, because they've obviously been trained and domesticated like circus animals.