TV progress report – Dual Survival, three episodes in
Well guys, after that first episode I have to admit, I wasn't overly enthusiastic. With all the nonsense going on and obvious attempts of producers to create some TV worthy drama, I had some reservations as to whether this would be a train wreck or not. Now I've finished watching episodes two and three and I am happy again. It seems like the producers understand that there must be an element of bush walkers in the viewership, so they add little tidbits here and there that keep you hanging on.
For instance this past week Dave and Cody were in the jungles of Belize. It was great to see Dave speak of foraging through washed up trash once they got to the ocean. They didn't even make him get eco-preachy when he said "trash can be found anywhere on this planet". I like that they're not turning this into a platform for the green agenda. What I do not like is that every episode has two minutes of explanations as to why Cody does not wear shoes. In a show with roughly 44 minutes of actual TV time this is not necessary. We got it the first time, Discovery: Cody Lundin is a nutjob, roger that.
Cody is not all bad, though. In the second episode he explains how he catches an eel with some improvised cordage and a sock. A sock for cryin' out loud! That was impressive. You'll have to watch the episode for the explanation, I'm not gonna spoil it for you guys that haven't seen.
They are slowly building towards an eventual altercation where I'd assume Dave starts ripping into Cody for being a "bush hippie" and endangering their survival due to his ideologies on clothing and footwear. I hope that when this happens Discovery doesn't paint Dave into a box as he does at times come off as arrogant on the show. Hey, what do you expect from ex-mil guys that are as Dave puts it, "all go, no quit".
In short - Discovery Channel has reeled me back in for maybe three so-so episodes. At that point I'll report again.