Discovery Channel Has the Best New Shows on TV

The best new shows on Television have just been aired. They are Discovery Channel's "Man vs. Wild" and "Everest: Beyond the Limit". Both are captivating, educational, and inspiring.

"Man vs. Wild"
Airs Friday evenings at 9/8 central

The "man" is Bear Grylls. The perfect name for someone who chooses to strand himself in potentially fatal environments. The show is part of Discovery Channel's "Survivor Friday", and in my opinion is the best part.

The premise: Host Bear Grylls is a former Special Air Service member (a unit of the British Special Forces). He authored the book The Kid Who Climbed Everest", documenting his successful climb of the mountain. He has also led various other record-breaking expeditions, and is a popular TV guest and host in his native United Kingdom. In his latest series, Grylls is dumped in the middle of nowhere.

With nothing but a canteen, Grylls shows viewers each week hot to un-strand themselves when lost in popular wilderness destinations. These destinations include Utah's Moab Desert, Costa Rican Jungles, and the European Alps. Despite what some may think, every locale featured is frequented by tourists. And every year countless tourists find themselves lost, dehydrated, or worse.

With now two episodes having aired, it is safe to say that each week will be different but equally educational. Not educational in that boring, high school science sort of way, but in the way that only reality or the Discovery and National Geographic Channels seem to make it- FUN. Each week Grylls faces starvation, dehydration, drowning, heat exposure, poisonous creatures, and more all so that if viewers ever stray off a path, they will remain at the top of the food chain.

After the first episode I was addicted, and after the second I was even more so. I hope that this show will be around for seasons to come.

"Everest: Beyond the Limit"
Airs Tuesday evenings at 10/9 central

Technically this is a mini-series so it will not even be in the running for sweeps, cancellations, or partial/full seasons. And as a mini-series, there is not going to be a second season- all the more reason to watch it now!

The premise: The show focuses on six climbers who, in April and May of 2006, attempted to climb the summit of Mount Everest. They were led by Russell Brice, a well-known and highly respected guide known to the Sherpas as "King of the Mountain". New Zealander Russell Brice has led more people up the Summit than any other guide. And has never had a casualty, at least until this expedition.

The climbers entrusting Brice with their lives are: Mark Inglis, Maz Chaya, Mogens Jensen, Brett Merrel, Terry O' Connor, and Tim Medvetz. These climbers include asthmatics, amputees, a former Hell's Angel, an ER doc, and a guy with more metal in his body than what makes up his beloved motorcycle. They come from all over the world: the United States, Denmark, New Zealand, and Lebanon. With such a diverse team, things are bound to get interesting.

The series came about when filmmaker Dick Colthurst wanted to understand why people risk their lives attempting to climb the infamous and life-taking Summit of Mount Everest.

On his quest for answers, he spent almost two months in the Himalayas. Quality, and unflinching footage was captured with high-altitude footage and cameras attached to the helmets of Sherpas. Sherpas are an ethnic group who live in the eastern Himalayas. They are employed by starry-eyed climbers to carry their gear up the mountain. Coupled with these camera-bearing Sherpas is a seventeen-member production team.

Colthurst is the executive producer for Tigress Productions, based in London. His documentary attempts to show the public the mental and physical determination needed to even attempt the Summit. And the mental and physical strength needed to step foot even at base camp, let alone to reach the top of Everest. Personally, however, Colthurst has admitted that despite his many weeks alongside Brice and his team, and the hours of footage he has sifted through and edited, he has come no closer to answering the question that began his exploration. He is still no closer to understanding why people give their body parts, their lives to stand on top of the world.

Despite what he may see as a personal failure, the series is nothing less than addictive. With only the first episode having premiered, it is not certain how graphic or intense things will get. But from the controversy surrounding the series' filming, things should get intense, if not graphic.

Like all Discovery Channel programs, the viewer is sucked into a world many find intriguing, but could or would never venture into. Mt. Everest stands tall not only literally but figuratively to all. It's reputation and lore looms over all of us, and it is that reputation on which this series will capitalize.