Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge
Alone
It used to be the first sign of insanity to talk to yourself. Now it just means you’re shooting a reality TV show.
Benedict Cumberbatch, in Running Wild With Bear Grylls: The Challenge (National Geographic), tried to pretend he wasn’t surrounded by safety advisers but was alone and preparing to rappel down a Scottish cliff.
“I want to learn more about resilience,” Ben stammered, “so I can teach that to those I know and love.” I think that’s what Bear is about.’ He later corrected himself: “Exceptional courage under the pressure of survival is what Bear is.”
The actor kept breaking down the fight for survival to tell us how emotional that trip was as he zigzagged along the North Sea coast in the freezing cold rain. Cold, wet, crawling around on a rocky beach – if that’s extraordinary bravery then half the country deserves a medal as it looked no different than the beach holiday so many families have enjoyed this miserable summer.
In fact, Ben and Bear had it easier. You weren’t stuck in traffic on the M5 for three hours. Instead, they drove to their first cliff by holding on to the outside of a helicopter. This confirmed my suspicions about Bear: he’s really about striking a macho pose at every opportunity.
Ben and Bear drove to their first cliff by holding on to the outside of a helicopter
Benedict Cumberbatch tried to pretend he wasn’t surrounded by security advisers but was on his own
After more cliff descents and more water back and forth, the two men paddled a kayak out of a cove to be met by the Royal Marines in a fast patrol boat
Ben made up a large part of the family legends about his grandfather Henry, a submarine commander in World War II. This led to an impressive climax of what had been a boring and monotonous hour.
After more cliff descents and more water back and forth, the two men paddled a kayak out of a cove to be met by the Royal Marines in a fast patrol boat. They then sighted a nuclear submarine and were welcomed aboard, which must have required some organization – the location of these submarines is generally a national secret.
But the cameras were allowed to do little more than catch a glimpse of the giant boat’s gray skin before it slid beneath the surface of the water. We go to Ben who is now on land and still talking to himself. He said nothing about his experience on the submarine, which only strengthened the impression that this was a rather pointless adventure.
For the eight remaining contestants fighting hunger in the Canadian wilderness in Alone (Chapter 4), the adventure isn’t pointless – there’s a £100,000 prize for whoever endures the longest.
But there’s more stilted on-camera talk, as the format is already set in the show’s title: Everyone’s in the know. This might work well in a novel where we can read the minds of the characters, but it makes television awkward and frustrating.
Woodland manager Alan, 48, even took the time to perform a scene from Mel Gibson’s Braveheart for us
The producers must have taught the contestants the need to keep chatting because they provide incessant commentary.
When a bear roams the camp at night or a fishing trip snatches the first food in days, the apprentice pioneers never forget to grab a GoPro and tell us what happens. Woodland manager Alan, 48, even took the time to perform a scene from Mel Gibson’s Braveheart for us.
They also tearfully recite the details of past trials. One suffered from panic attacks for years, another could no longer walk after a bicycle accident.
But as they’re all affected by the unrelenting loneliness, these solo chats seem increasingly weird and awkward.
The show might work better if the survivors were paired up and got to know each other long and intimately around the campfire while viewers listened. But that’s too close to real life to make good reality TV out of it.