Instant Favorite.

Good idea lost in the noise

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Up until the 2016 season I watched every episode. Often multiple times. Along with anything Les Stroud this has been a great source of information. Yea, sometimes there were kind of obvious setups over the years but those were typically done with a teaching purpose. Overall it didn't involve stupid stunts for no reason that would, in reality get you killed like Bear Grylls.This season is an entirely different beast for this show. Grady is fine and believable. Bill is absolutely terrible and basically unwatchable. You would never see any of the prior Dual Survival guys or Les Stroud cry because they couldn't start a fire nor would you see them obviously hamming it up for the camera. Even Bear Grylls wouldn't cry if he couldn't start a fire. He would just come back and shoot it again the next day with some dry stuff from the hotel.

I haven't given a ranking, because I have no way of judging how accurate the survival information presented is. Which is what the program is supposed to be about. But it's actually about personal conflict. (More about that later.)As human beings have become increasingly effete (the word means weak, not effeminate), programs about "survival in the wild" have become increasingly popular. Discovery has three or four shows about "making it" in Alaska alone.I find it "quaint" that viewers actually believe the participants are in real danger. Only in "Naked and Afraid" do they seem to run any real risk, mostly because they're dumped in areas where there's little or no fresh water or food. Accidents can occur and mistakes made, but the producers aren't stupid enough to take chances. Serious injury or death could result in embarrassing lawsuits, regardless of how cleverly written the contracts are.The underlying purpose of these shows is to create conflict -- people arguing with each other. The survivalists aren't chosen solely for their varying perspectives on survival skills, but (as when making a fire) how much "heat" can be generated by friction between them.This was obvious from the start. Cody Lundin and Dave Canterbury made an irritating odd couple. This viewer found Lundin especially annoying. Though obviously heterosexual, there was something unmanly -- castrato-like -- about the guy. If I were a woman, I wouldn't let him within 10m (33') of me. Canterbury probably felt the same way.Joe Teti and Matt Graham were the opposite. It's hard to believe Graham isn't homosexual (his offer to make Teti a suede loin cloth was charmingly hilarious). Though they argued (especially about Graham's proclivity to hang out and soak up the environment), Graham was often amiable about accepting Teti's way of doing things. It was this general lack of friction (it's surprising they haven't announced their engagement!) that likely explains the short run of their partnership.The current pair comprises Bill McConnell and Grady Powell. They're probably the closest to what the producers had in mind from the start. Powell thinks McConnell is a braggart, but forgives him when he can't start a fire in an impossibly damp environment. (How much of this is real and how much dictated by the producers isn't clear.)Which brings me to what provoked this series review (and the Summary line). McConnell and Powell are forced to spend the night without fire in a cold, damp cave. And get this -- they sleep apart.Who's kidding whom? Are these guys so homophobic they won't lie together to keep warm? Or are the producers afraid of offending viewers?Cowboys spread their bed rolls right next to each other. (Wanna see a photo?) It was mostly to conserve heat, as cloudless nights on the plain got very cold.If you're trying to show people how to avoid freezing to death, you don't reject the simplest and most-obvious solution.

I really love this show, you get to know a lot of useful information that can help you not only in a "survival" situation, but also in everyday situations (camping in the woods, hiking etc.). What makes this show awesome, is that you don't have only one person showing you how to survive in different environments, but two experts - one, that has military training and most people can relate to (at least in his way of thinking) and second, who is a minimalist, has experience in primitive survival techniques and is walking around almost half naked (in shorts and barefoot, no matter of the environment), which most people with me along, can't / couldn't understand. With this combination you can see how each of them manages different situations, different techniques of surviving etc. and who knows, one day even someone among us could find him self in a "survival" situation half naked.Also I really like that they don't always agree or have different views of situations and that makes them special. You can see how each of them deals with a different situation and also how they help each other.So if you like survival shows, like Man vs. Wild with B.G., you will definitely like this show!

I'm slightly surprised to be the first reviewer for what I consider one of the better reality shows on the air, but I am glad that I caught this show by accident. Dual Survivior is basically about a military guy(Dave Canterbury)and an ex hippie who used to live in a commune(Cody Lundin)who are placed in situations where their expertise in survival is required. Dave does more of the physical stuff like hunt, while Cody, who walks barefoot mostly, uses his knowledge of the land to create current remedies for the situation at hand. It's an interesting combination of brawn vs. brains, even though Dave is also very wise when facing survival and is a great hunter. He and Cody sometimes have differing opinions on how to best gauge their predicament, but it all works out in the end. I'm normally not a fan of reality shows, but Dual Survivor works for me because of the characters and their surroundings.