Are you like me? Have you been taken in by the Bear this summer? Summer TV is weak at the best of times, and Discovery Channel’s Man vs. Wild has filled a welcome void in my viewing schedule. Bear Grylls, host of Man vs. Wild is portrayed as the know-it-all ultimate survivor and that’s why I was shocked to read a headline in this morning’s NY Post (someone else’s, not mine) that Mr. Grylls reclines in the lap of luxury while supposedly “surviving” in the wild.

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.

The Pines Resort at Bass Lake is advertised as “a cozy getaway for families” and is a luxurious hotel with its own spa on a lake.

In another instance, where Grylls was supposed to be surviving on a desert island, he was actually in Hawaii and spent nights at a motel, Weinert said.

The same episode had Grylls building a Polynesian-style raft using only materials around him, including bamboo, hibiscus twine and palm leaves for a sail. Weinert said he actually led a team of builders to construct the raft.

It was then taken apart so that Grylls could be shown building it on camera.

In another episode, viewers watched as Grylls tried to coax what seemed like a wild mustang into a lasso in the Sierra Nevada.
…
In fact, Weinert said, the horses were not wild but were brought in by trailer. [NYPost.com]