Everything about Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary, eh?

Survivorman star injured in car accident

Best wishes go out to Survivorman star Les Stroud, who was injured in a car accident in Mongolia recently.

The news broke Tuesday afternoon on OLN’s Facebook page, detailing the veteran survivalist was filming new footage for Survivorman when the incident occurred.

“After being out in the field for a few weeks, shooting new footage for Survivorman featuring Les Stroud, he headed out to Mongolia where he got into a car accident,” the post read. “He is back home now, recovering from a dislocated shoulder, a couple broken ribs, and a collapsed lung. Get well soon, Les!”

Well-wishers were quick to lend their support to the writer, producer, author, TV host and singer/songwriter in the comments section on the post.

Stroud’s most recent series for the network, Survivorman: Bigfoot, found him traveling the world over the course of six episodes seeking out the mythical, mystical Sasquatch.

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Preview: The Weapon Hunter blows history away

The best history lessons are those delivered with enthusiasm, excitement and, hopefully, without textbooks. That’s certainly the case of The Weapon Hunter, T+E’s latest series starring rock promoter/actor/military enthusiast Paul Shull, who traverses the globe on the hunt for the weapons and munitions that shaped the world.

Debuting Tuesday, the six-part series from Cream Productions (Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan) tracks Shull into the hills of B.C., where he meets friend Brook, who is in the final stages of completing a 1940s Achilles Tank Destroyer. After logging thousands of hours on rebuilding the rare piece, Brook needs a brake pad so the beast can roll in a Veteran’s Day parade.

Enter Shull, whose journey takes him to a Vancouver basement to pick through 40 years of collecting by a man named George; his collection of Second World War items includes helmets, uniforms and a rare Liberator gun that was dropped by the Allies into France to arm the Resistance. Then it’s on to Los Angeles to a seven-acre military outpost called Tankland. Still without a brake pad for Brook, Shull jets to Big Sandy, Arizona, for a machine gun shoot where he tries out a Browning machine gun and Pak 40 German anti-tank gun. The latter, a monstrous affair that shakes the hillside when it goes off, nets the following comment from our host:

“It’s like someone inserted a firecracker into my sinus cavity.” And it’s exactly that kind of remark that makes The Weapon Hunter such entertaining TV.

The program is a fascinating and immersive history lesson blending old war footage, choppy animation and Shull’s charm. The man with unique facial hair has a curiosity that comes through the screen; he loves this stuff and asks all the right questions to get interesting stories and tales out of his interview subjects.

Shull finds that elusive tank part for Brook, and discovers a lot of other cool stuff along the way.

The Weapon Hunter airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on T+E.

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T+E to bow original series The Weapon Hunter

From a media release:

T+E, a Blue Ant Media network, announced today the world premiere of The Weapon Hunter, a Blue Ant Media six-part, original series, produced in association with Cream Productions. Launching July 7, 2015 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, The Weapon Hunter follows the adventures of history buff and restoration expert, Paul Shull, as he embarks on a coast-to-coast quest to get his hands on and help resurrect some of the world’s rarest and most remarkable pieces of military history.

The series follows Shull and his lifelong obsession with military history and technology and he’s on a one-man mission to find and fire the weapons that helped shape the modern world.  To achieve his goal, Shull enlists the aid of a loosely-knit network of history obsessed collectors.  They’ve spent decades – and small fortunes – amassing military collections that rival those found in any museum.  Now, they’re opening their doors to allow Shull the once-in-a-lifetime chance to come face to face with the past.

The Weapon Hunter is produced by Cream Productions with David Brady and Kate Harrison as Executive Producers. Matthew Booi is the Series Producer.

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Mighty Ships sets sail for Season 8

From a media release:

MIGHTY SHIPS is set to shove off for its epic eighth season, delivering an unparalleled stem-to-stern journey alongside the world’s most sophisticated vessels, premiering Sunday, July 19 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT exclusively on Discovery. The long-running Canadian mega-hit series, produced by Bell Media’s Exploration Production Inc. (EPI) in association with Discovery and seen in more than 150 territories around the world, uses stunning cinematography to capture the spectacular scale and innovation behind everything from luxurious cruise ships and cargo haulers to warships and oil drilling rigs, along with the navigational challenges of stormy seas and extreme weather.

Season 8 kicks off with twice the might, featuring all-new back-to-back episodes showcasing “Quantum of the Seas” – the world’s most deluxe cruise ship, boasting extreme sports facilities and an observation pod that takes guests to staggering, skyscraper heights. And battening down the hatches for the second episode of the evening, “Hawk” takes viewers aboard one of the world’s most powerful semi-submersible transports – a vessel that must actually sink before she swims.

Episode highlights from MIGHTY SHIPS – Season 8 include:

Quantum of the Seas
Sunday, July 19 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
Quantum of the Seas is the world’s most innovative cruise ship. Filled with big toys, guests can fly a trapeze, surf, or even skydive without ever leaving the ship. With an observation pod reaching 90 metres high, Quantum offers a bird’s eye view of herself. For the crew, this first full-length cruise is no time to play. Quantum’s indoor facilities get a workout during early winter weather off New Jersey. Later, her captain battles strong winds in the tight confines of Caribbean ports. Finally, a computer glitch undermines the big show in the most technologically advanced theatre at sea.

Hawk
Sunday, July 19 at 8 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT
To transport one of the world’s largest oil drilling rigs halfway around the world, Hawk has to sink before she swims. To load, she sinks down in the water, submerging her expansive deck. Then, Hawk slips under the rig, expels her ballast and rises up – lifting  her towering cargo like a champion. From there, she embarks on a 25,000-kilometre voyage, beginning with the notorious traffic in Singapore, continuing through stormy seas off Western Africa, and finishing up with an unexpected drift in Norway that puts the ship and her cargo in jeopardy.

Happy Star
Sunday, July 26 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
Happy Star is brand new and ready to lift and transport the world’s heaviest industrial equipment around the world. Her first major job takes her from China to Eastern Canada, carrying the massive components for a crane-and-conveyor system. Along the way, Happy Star’s crew faces a baffling engine problem that sets them adrift for 24 hours. Then through day and night, they crash their way through daunting ice. Arriving at port, the crew sets the mighty ship’s towering cranes to assemble the entire system, creating a new iron ore loading facility. But frigid temperatures threaten to bring the entire operation to a halt.

Algoma Equinox
Sunday, August 2 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
Algoma Equinox is built to haul more cargo faster, using less fuel than any other Laker.  On this voyage, her crew scrambles to load and transport grain from one end of the world’s largest inland waterway to the other –  passing through four Great Lakes, as well as the mammoth locks and tight canals that comprise the St. Lawrence Seaway. Equinox and her crew battle the fierce ice and winds, encountering sudden and enormous shifts in water depth. And after offloading the grain, she takes on a load of iron ore heavy enough to bend the hull of the ship!

HDMS Peter Willemoes
Sunday, August 9 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
HDMS Peter Willemoes is the pride of the Royal Danish Navy. One of three in a new class of frigate, she’s built to protect an entire battle group. On this voyage, Willemoes and her crew undertake the most intense battle training exercise ever seen on MIGHTY SHIPS. They engage every weapon aboard – from machine gun, to cannons to a Harpoon sea-to-sea missile – and undertake rapid evasive maneuvers. But Willemoes’ crew must do all of this while sustaining multiple simulated damages. If they prove they can fight while wounded, this warship and her crew will be cleared for active deployment.

Maersk Interceptor
Sunday, August 16 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
The Maersk Interceptor is the largest rig of her kind. Purpose-built to drill for oil in the harshest seas on the planet, she plants her 207-metre long legs into the seafloor, then lifts her platform high above the raging seas, drilling as deep as three kilometres down. The biggest challenge comes at the start: towing the rig 170 kilometres off shore, positioning her, and readying her massive derrick for drilling. On this – her first-ever job – Interceptor’s crew is challenged by high stakes and the tough decisions required to survive the biggest storm to hit the North Sea in two decades.

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Food Network and Tricon start production on The Incredible Food Race

From a media release:

Family, food, and fun are racing to Food Network Canada’s Fall schedule as production begins on the new Canadian original series, The Incredible Food Race. Hosted by Rick Campanelli (Entertainment Tonight Canada), each episode of The Incredible Food Race features two families battling it out in a super-charged race full of fun food challenges and a main event: the family versus family cook-off of a kid-approved meal.

Food Network Canada’s Chef Corbin Tomaszeski (Restaurant Takeover, Dinner Party Wars) joins the series as chef mentor and commentator for each episode’s main cook-off event. In each episode, the competing families will battle for the grand prize of a year’s supply of free groceries, courtesy of series sponsor, Walmart Canada.

The Incredible Food Race shoots its six episodes across Toronto and the GTA this summer, with stops at some of the city’s most buzzed about food events. Production gets underway this weekend at Toronto Ribfest 2015. The Incredible Food Race will premiere on Food Network Canada in Fall 2015 – broadcast details to be announced at a later date.

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