Parents' Guide to

Beyond Survival with Les Stroud

By Will Wade, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Survival expert's visits to ancient tribes offer family fun.

TV Discovery Channel Reality TV 2010
Beyond Survival with Les Stroud Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

Community Reviews

See all
age 10+

Based on 1 parent review

Plague
Plague Parent
September 3, 2010
age 10+

Beyond Survival with Les Stroud

This show is great for the family due to Les's undying respect to everyone he meets. Plus his determination to live by the tribe's customs will not go unnoticed. He is a great role model for younger kids, and teaches them that everyone has a place in this world and should be treated equally, no matter how different the culture.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Veteran outdoorsman Les Stroud has made a career out of demonstrating how to live in the wild; in BEYOND SURVIVAL WITH LES STROUD, he visits some of the world's most remote places to meet indigenous tribes that have perfected those skills over centuries ... and certainly have a few things to teach him. But, despite its name, this is less a show about survival tips and more a look at vanishing cultures. These tribes -- in Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, the Kalahari desert, and other isolated locations -- live and hunt using ancient techniques and are often threatened by the encroaching developing world. The show's focus is how these tribes survive in their remote (and often hostile) environments -- how they find food, brave the elements, and fend off dangerous predators -- but the subtext is whether these cultures can survive in the modern world.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Stroud is at his best when explaining survival skills like hunting, fishing, and trapping. This is his realm, and though he may not know the tribes' specific techniques, he can discuss how they work and what makes them effective in specific situations. It's also fun to watch him participate in rarely seen tribal rituals, especially when they require him to use some of the local intoxicants. He's game for anything, and when he gets dizzy, he lets us know.

But Stroud is a survivalist, not an anthropologist. His descriptions of primitive hunting techniques are interesting and informative, but at other times he does little more than offer play-by-play commentary of what he's seeing -- which adds little value, since its the same thing the viewers are seeing. His earlier show, Survivorman, focused on his strength: outdoor skills. By focusing on rarely seen tribes, Beyond Survival moves away from Stroud's strength. The indigenous tribes are fascinating, but Stroud's anthropological analyses aren't always that enlightening.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about indigenous cultures. Do you think these hunter-gather societies live a "purer" lifestyle than our harried, wired lives? Or do you think they would welcome some of the modern conveniences that we take for granted?

  • Would you want to visit these tribes, even for a brief period, to experience a hunter-gatherer life? How do you think they would react if they visited a modern city?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended tv lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate