Inside TV and Pop Culture with Liane Bonin Starr

Quick Look: NatGeo Wildâ€™s â€˜Shane Untamedâ€™

Why Shane-O isn't what you might think

By Liane Bonin Starr Tuesday, Jun 14, 2011 5:16 PM

Shane O Reynolds of "Shane Untamed"

Credit: NGT/Ramona Robbins

Who the heck is Shane Reynolds? Or should I say, Shane O? That nickname, along with the gonzo show title, almost made me click past NatGeo Wildâ€™s â€œShane Untamed.â€ The last thing I wanted to watch was some thrill seeing yahoo jet skiing through the Everglades, flipping off alligators and trying to use a manatee as a boogie board.

But thankfully NatGeo Wild (which debuted in the U.S. last year) is not MTV, so I stuck around for a while. Itâ€™s a good thing I did, because this guy with a nickname that makes him sound like a reject from a â€œJackassâ€ movie has made a pretty good hour-long show.

This isnâ€™t to say that Reynolds, a â€œone man bandâ€ producer, shooter and host, doesnâ€™t add some MTV-worthy attitude to his show. He is, after all, seeking adventure, not a rare bird find. In the premiere, he wants to face his fear of snakes and alligators while visiting the Florida Everglades, which means plenty of close encounters of the slithery kind and some bleeped expletives. He drives an air boat, tries to fish (unsuccessfully) like a Miccosukee Indian and takes pictures of gators at an uncomfortably close range. If we have any doubt that heâ€™s a fun guy and not a boring research scientist, he has creative facial hair and says things like â€œGet out of town, Charlie Brown,â€ and â€œGator road pie for breakfast, anyone?â€ and â€œThis is a diverse and ever changing topography.â€ Okay, that last part wasnâ€™t particularly fun, but it brings us to another point.

This is National Geographic, Wild or not, and the mission to educate viewers about the natural world seems pretty clear. Hand it to Reynolds for finding the balance between hammering us over the head with facts and just taking us on a ride. Yes, there are plenty of animated maps, pop up factoid bubbles (Did you know Floridaâ€™s state tree is the cabbage palm? Hope not) and learning opportunities during the show, but then Reynolds asks the question weâ€™d probably ask (yes, people have tried to grow pot in the Everglades) and weâ€™re back on the entertainment track.

Reynolds, who describes himself as an â€œexpert enthusiast,â€ wisely hands off the heavy lifting to actual experts when it comes to things like manatees and wildlife, but throws in a nutjob or two to make things interesting. In the premiere he finds the local â€œexpertâ€ on the skunk ape (basically Floridaâ€™s answer to Bigfoot). Reynolds resists rolling his eyes, though we wouldnâ€™t blame him if he did.

Reynolds is an affable, often funny host, and to his credit he resists the urge to take center stage away from the setting. He also knows there are things you donâ€™t joke around about. Reynolds points out the propeller scars on the manatees he sees and is careful not to bug them after being informed itâ€™s a no-no by the manatee specialist.

The Nat Geo Wild website says Reynolds will be hitting Guyana, Alaska and Madagascar in future episodes. This show may actually be good for me , but Iâ€™ll just have to live with it.

Liane Bonin Starr
Sr. Editor

Liane Bonin Starr is an author, screenwriter and former writer for EW.com. Her byline has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Variety and a lot of other places. Her last book was called "a scandalously catty, guilty pleasure" by Jane magazine. Expect the same from Starr Raving.

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