All Seasons

Season 1

  • S01E01 Jungle Survival

    • June 6, 1999
    • BBC Two

    Ray visits the jungles of Costa Rica, where threats to his survival include heat exhaustion, dehydration and poisonous snakes

  • S01E02 Arctic Survival

    • June 6, 1999
    • BBC Two

    Ray travels to northern Sweden in midwinter, an Arctic terrain colder than a household freezer, where he finds shelter under a snow-laden tree and receives survival tips from a military training instructor. Meanwhile, Bob Thomson describes his experience of being trapped in the wreckage of a plane crash near the North Pole

  • S01E03 Psychology of Survival

    • June 6, 1999
    • BBC Two

    How a positive mental attitude is vital to survival, as demonstrated by a pair of teenagers lost for two weeks after their boat was wrecked, whose unshakeable belief that help would come kept them alive in extreme conditions.

  • S01E04 Sea Survival

    • June 6, 1999
    • BBC Two

    The story of shipwreck victim Steve Callaghan, who spent 76 days adrift in a life raft, enduring some of the most extreme conditions known to humankind and surviving only by spearing fish and sucking moisture from their bodies

  • S01E05 The Arizona Desert

    • June 6, 1999
    • BBC Two

    Ray journeys through the Arizona desert in the footsteps of the famous Apache warrior chief Geronimo, and learns a host of survival skills, including how to find food and water in the arid environment

  • S01E06 Arnhem Land

    • June 6, 1999
    • BBC Two

    The intrepid explorer braves the hostile environment of Arnhem Land to find some of the world's deadliest snakes. He also reconstructs the story of how three airmen overcame starvation, thirst and the fearsome creatures of the wilderness when they crashed in its swamplands

Season 2

  • S02E01 The Sahara Desert

    • February 2, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Ray examines the extreme surroundings of the Sahara Desert. He also tells the inspirational tale of the wartime RAF pilot who survived for 18 days in the desert by drinking radiator fluid from wrecked tanks and vehicles, only to be captured one mile from British lines.

  • S02E02 The Rocky Mountains

    • February 2, 2000
    • BBC Two

    The intrepid survival expert visits America's Rocky Mountains, ignoring tales of wild bear attacks and hypothermia to venture into the unspoilt wilderness. Despite the natural beauty of the area, few hikers dare attempt to cross the perilous paths

  • S02E03 Australian Outback

    • February 2, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Outdoor survival expert Ray Mears tests his skills in some of the toughest conditions in the world. He treks deep into the Australian outback and tells a cautionary tale about two foolhardy Austrian tourists who lacked respect for this harsh, unforgiving landscape.

  • S02E04 Military Survival

    • February 2, 2000
    • BBC Two

    The intrepid globetrotter takes a slightly different look at survival in this episode - instead of launching himself into some isolated hell-hole, he follows 20 RAF recruits as they endure a gruelling survival training course.

  • S02E05 Mountains

    • February 2, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Ray Mears tests his mettle by trekking through the toughest terrains on the planet and telling us exactly how to survive in harsh conditions. This edition looks at treacherous mountain ranges, and features the incredible story of the US Air Force pilot who managed to keep himself and his son alive in a freezing blizzard for ten days before they were finally rescued.

  • S02E06 Desert Island Survival

    • February 2, 2000
    • BBC Two

    Another dose of improvisation from survival expert Ray Mears. Marooned on a desert island in the Philippines, where coconuts supply liquid to drink and fish can be cooked in a hot-rock oven, Mears finds that many WWII airmen who baled out over the jungle islands were not so fortunate - and died through lack of survival training.

Season 3

  • S03E01 Belarus

    • June 8, 2002
    • BBC Two

    Ray explores the ancient forests of Belarus, a last reminder of how the whole of northern Europe once looked. In this vast wilderness of natural woodland he tracks wolves and a herd of native bison as well as raiding ants' nests for nutritious larvae, and explains he is not the first to live off this land

  • S03E02 Rogers's Rangers

    • June 8, 2002
    • BBC Two

    The action man follows in the footsteps of childhood hero Robert Rogers, who achieved fame for a feat of wilderness survival during the Seven Years War against the French in New England and Canada. Racing against the onset of winter, the pioneer used his knowledge of the forest to keep his men alive as they struggled back to safety from a raid in enemy territory

  • S03E03 Alaska

    • June 8, 2002
    • BBC Two

    The intrepid expert visits Alaska and tells extraordinary tales of survival in the frozen wilderness, including that of beachcomber Mike Legler who crashed his plane in a remote lake and battled to stay alive for 10 days before being rescued - long after the official search had been abandoned. Plus, the saga of the Farallon, a ship which ran aground on a desolate shore in the winter of 1910

  • S03E04 Namibia

    • June 8, 2002
    • BBC Two

    In this edition, Ray demonstrates how to survive on Namibia's Skeleton Coast, where it hardly ever rains and the temperature regularly tops 50 Celsius. He also recalls the shipwreck of the Dunedin Star in 1942, whose survivors were kept alive by airdrops while a land convoy struggled to cover 600 miles of uncharted desert to reach them.

  • S03E05 Thailand

    • June 8, 2002
    • BBC Two

    Ray travels into the jungle of north east Thailand to learn survival techniques with a group of Vietnam veterans, including Colonel George Day, Captain Chuck Klusmann and survival instructor Sergeant Tom Lutyens

  • S03E06 New Zealand

    • June 8, 2002
    • BBC Two

    In this edition, Ray learns of the treacherous weather conditions in New Zealand and hears the story of a father and son found freezing to death on an exposed mountain ridge. Plus the perils of a flooded river, and traditional firefighting techniques learned by Maori communities.