Mountain Men: Season 1

In the vein of other reality-TV franchises such as Swamp People and Survival Man, this History Channel-aired series doesn't exactly blaze new trails. The narrative crosscuts between three rugged individuals living off the land in the American hinterlands. Eustace Conway has spent 35 years in the wilds of the Blue Ridge Mountains, NC, rarely leaving a place he calls "Turtle Island," where he sells fire logs and mentors likeminded pupils in woodcraft. Retired rodeo cowboy Tom Oar dwells and hunts in the wilds of Montana with wife Nancy, despite the rigors of advancing age. Family-man Marty Meierotto is an Alaska bush-plane pilot and modern fur trapper. Regrettably, the show ignores the long view of what the developing North America owed to the "mountain men" who were early settlers, explorers, voyagers, and prospectors. Instead, we witness numerous examples of the fact that hardscrabble life is...hard. Marty's pelts don't bring the expected largesse; Tom harbors fears of his homestead being besieged by bear and wolves; and poor Eustace suffers the most, plagued by nearby industrial forest-clearcutting, a poacher, a disgruntled apprentice—and a tax lien from the nearest “big city” town that supposedly threatens his residency on Turtle Island. A disclaimer up front warns viewers about intense scenes (mainly, the killing and field-dressing of deer). Compiling all eight episodes from the 2012 first season, DVD extras include additional footage. An optional purchase. (C. Cassady)