Ultimate Survival (known in the USA as Man vs. Wild and in the UK as Born Survivor: Bear Grylls), is a British reality television series produced by Diverse Bristol in which survival expert Bear Grylls demonstrates and narrates techniques for wilderness survival in regions around the globe.
The series premiered in the USA on the Discovery channel on 10 November, 2006. There are four seasons to date.
Ultimate Survival premiered in South Africa on DStv's Discovery channel on Saturday 16 June 2007, at 21h00. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 4 premiered on Discovery on Monday 9 November 2009, at 22h00. There are 13 episodes in the fourth season, although only eight will air due to a hiatus in the USA.
Season 1
British mountaineer and adventurist Bear Grylls travels the globe, revealing fundamental survival skills needed to endure some of the most extreme places on Earth, from the European Alps to Utah's Mohab Desert.
After serving in the British Army Special Forces unit, Bear became the youngest British man to climb Mount Ama Dablan and Mount Everest.
Ultimate Survival sees Bear putting himself through conditions unimaginable to the average man, risking his health and often coming face to face with death.
The series sees him parachute into the Costa Rican rainforest to demonstrate how to stay alive and find civilisation when lost deep in the heart of the jungle.
From South America to Alaska, Bear heads to the Chugach Mountains where he shows how to survive extreme mountain slopes and treacherous ice flows.
Bear demonstrates how to survive the Pacific Ocean, encountering rip currents and relentless surf, whilst coming face to face with sharks.
Season 2
Daredevil Bear Grylls returns for a second season of seeking out extreme survival challenges in some of the most inhospitable places on Earth.
He'll experience hair-raising drops into the infamous Viper Pits on the Camino Reale in Panama, disembowelling a dead camel to seek food and shelter in the Sahara, attempting to survive the extreme cold of Siberia and even facing his biggest fears as he fights his way out of crevasses in Patagonia.
Along the way there are plenty of gut-wrenching moments as he snacks on everything from a scorpion to a vine snake.
Bear builds on his survival knowledge as he encounters indigenous experts from the Berbers in the Sahara to tribesmen with an encyclopaedic knowledge of just what it takes to survive in such harsh environments.
Season 3
Adventurer Bear Grylls uses his military training and daring spirit to demonstrate survival skills in extreme terrain and weather conditions in a third season of Ultimate Survival.
His travels this season take him through the Baja Peninsula located in the desert of Mexico, Louisiana's hurricane-ravaged swamps, sea cliffs on the west coast of Ireland, the Black Hills, the Great Plains and the inhospitable Badlands of South Dakota.
Throughout his adventures Bear braves alligator-infested swamps, scales thousand-foot high mountains and scavenges for raw insects, rodents and deadly snakes.
He is accompanied by his camera crew, who risk their lives to capture every moment of his exploits on camera.
Season 4
Bear Grylls returns for more adventures which use his military training and daring spirit to demonstrate a variety of survival strategies.
Facing extreme and dangerous conditions, Bear leads viewers through remote locations, including the Arctic Circle, Alabama, the jungles of Vietnam, Alaska and the deserts of south-western Texas.
Bear begins the new season of Ultimate Survival in the woods of Alabama.
Dropped by a helicopter at the top of a 700ft canyon, he climbs down an enormous tree to reach a white-water river. Building a raft out of flood debris, he travels down the rapids before capsizing at the top of a perilous waterfall.
In the woods, he comes face-to-face with a vicious wild boar, braves a raging forest fire and gets trapped without light deep in the heart of an enormous limestone cave.
Further episodes show Bear heading for the Arctic Circle, tackling frozen waterfalls, hunting wild reindeer and battling against some of the coldest conditions on the planet.
This season also includes a special episode featuring American actor and comedian Will Ferrell. Bear takes Will on an adventure into the Swedish wilderness and shows him what it takes to stay alive in the ice-bound mountains and glacier ranges, armed with the most basic survival equipment.
This season is the most action-packed yet as Bear shows us how to survive in the most extreme environments on Earth.
Seasons
Season 1 (15 episodes)
Premiere: 16 June 2007 | Finale: 22 September 2007 | Saturdays, 21h00
Season 2 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 16 June 2008 | Finale: 8 September 2008 | Mondays, 21h00
Season 3 (12 episodes)
Premiere: 30 March 2009 | Finale: 15 June 2009 | Mondays, 21h00
Season 4 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 9 November 2009 | Finale: 28 December 2009 | Mondays, 22h00