Animal Planet Special

Here you can discuss anything relating to the movie Into The Wild
fredmerlin
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:12 am

Animal Planet Special

Postby fredmerlin » Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:23 am

Just 'heard' the Animal Planet Special on Back To The Wild is on Friday, Dec 7th @ 10pm.

fredmerlin
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:12 am

Re: Animal Planet Special

Postby fredmerlin » Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:26 am

That's EST...so check your local Animal Planet Channel.

mk_Diesel
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 07, 2012 12:26 am

Re: Animal Planet Special

Postby mk_Diesel » Fri Dec 07, 2012 12:31 am

Here's a link to a preview i stumbled across on twitter

http://www.rivegauchetelevision.com/program/back-to-the-wild-1

admin
Site Admin
Posts: 80
Joined: Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:32 am

Re: Animal Planet Special

Postby admin » Sat Dec 08, 2012 7:29 pm

Hi All,

Did you get to see it? Thoughts?
I didnt unfortunately...

Cheers,
Adam

Anewanddifferentsun
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:57 am

Re: Animal Planet Special

Postby Anewanddifferentsun » Sat Dec 08, 2012 10:57 pm

I watched it. For the most part, nothing new was disclosed, although Jan Burress had a couple interesting comments. The first was she thought "Alex" was one of the laziest hitchhikers she had ever seen (sitting down with a half-hearted thumb out while he read and ate berries). The second was very interesting in that after she read Chris's postcard from Alaska she wondered if he had gone there TO die. This kind of suggested he was suicidal. If that was the case he obviously had a change of heart because we know he did try to leave, or he had accomplished what he set out to do, as in symbolically "killing the false being within."
Beyond that, the production's budget limitation's did not allow them to shoot any scenes in spring or summer weather (every scene was snow covered), and there were some factual errors. It indicated McCandless's car was destroyed in the flash flood when he got to Arizona, and that Jan and Bob (or "Bobcat" as Burress referred to him) brought him to Slab City.
Some things were pretty decent. A survival expert detailed what one would need in terms of food and calories to survive in the Alaska wilderness, particularly in an area not known for high animal and edible plant density. This leaves no question as to why Chris starved to death. There was no mention of poisonous wild potato plants or seeds, or even moldy seeds. All of which reminds me of the Ron Lamothe film's research on the topic.
One other tidbit from an interview with one of the Alaskan state troopers who inspected the bus indicated they found a wallet with at least one piece of identification for "Chris McCandless." Still, they had nothing else and weren't sure if that was the dead man's name. Seems kind of dubious. And isn't it odd they didn't take the backpack with them?
Keep in mind that at some point after the troopers removed the body, cabin owner Will Forsberg found Chris's backpack and another wallet with several pieces of ID in it, all in the name of Chris McCandless. Jon Krakauer's emphasis that Chris concealed his true identity for most of those two years he was missing was the product of this missing information. Why Forsberg didn't disclose that he had the backpack and wallet when Krakauer interviewed him is interesting, but it's possible he discovered it after the interview.
The production discloses some photos not publicly released before (Chris with his parents, or with his mom; Chris striking a pensive pose while sitting on a log while hiking in Alaska; Chris on the road). It also suggests he TWICE took a plunge in the Teklanika - once when he fell through ice on his way to the bus, and a second time in trying to get out.
Last edited by Anewanddifferentsun on Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

erikhalfacre
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Re: Animal Planet Special

Postby erikhalfacre » Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:40 pm

I was personally disappointed by the production in general. It's not that it was that bad, it's just that with such compelling material, it could have been so much better (even within the confines of a 60min documentary.) I guess it's firmly on a par with any other show produced to air at 10pm or later on any of the Discovery Channel family, but I thought there were a lot of things that were pretty 'phoned in' feeling.

The first and biggest issue I had with production was what anewanddifferentsun pointed out, all of the Alaska shots were in the snow. They could have easily flown Matt Cannon back to AK for a few days in June and shot all of the scenes they needed for the cost of chartering a helicopter or a large 4x4, and hired a local camera operator to reduce costs. Discovery does that all the time on all of their various Alaska themed TV programs. You might think I'm just nitpicking but I can explain. In addition to being sloppy/careless looking it paints an unrealistic picture of the challenges Chris faced. I already got an email from someone asking if it's true that there is still snow at the bus in July.

This show, being a documentary, should be held to a higher standard of accuracy than the film Into the Wild, which was an artistic representation of Chris' story. Instead, the documentary team seemed to take even MORE creative license. I just found that odd.

Matt Cannon did a good job portraying his character, and I did enjoy the interviews with some of the people who were close to Chris and met him along his journey. That said though, the glaring elephant in the room is the obvious (and presumably willful) exclusion of Chris' siblings, but in particular Carine. Also, I seem to recall hearing that Tracy Tatro was interviewed for the show, but never saw her make an appearance. I wonder why that was? For anyone reading this that was involved in the production, I'm not trying to be facetious, I really am curious why her interview was not included.

The revelation that the Troopers had a wallet with Chris' ID in it at the time they discovered his body, if factual, seems like a huge omission from the story as it has been told up to this point. I'm not calling BS, but I would love to see some kind of documentation. Then again, maybe the fact that some of his stuff had the name alex on it, and some had the name Chris, could have caused the confusion.
Erik Halfacre - Moderator
info@pathfinderalaska.com
http://www.stampedetrail.info

Anewanddifferentsun
Posts: 64
Joined: Fri Jan 07, 2011 4:57 am

Re: Animal Planet Special

Postby Anewanddifferentsun » Sun Dec 09, 2012 7:54 am

cjm
Last edited by Anewanddifferentsun on Thu Feb 27, 2014 12:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

jimeytrimble
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 3:50 pm

Re: Animal Planet Special

Postby jimeytrimble » Mon Dec 10, 2012 2:48 pm

i really wanted to see this but i live in the uk and it was not on animal planet over here. Anybody know if you can watch it online anywhere?

supertramp-superlady
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:53 pm

Re: Animal Planet Special

Postby supertramp-superlady » Tue Dec 11, 2012 9:24 pm

I MISSED IT!!!! Anyone know where i can watch it online maybe??? =) THANKS!!

WonderCouncil
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Re: Animal Planet Special

Postby WonderCouncil » Sat Mar 30, 2013 8:12 am

I'd be curious to see it to. Unfortunately missed it when it first aired.
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