The first episode, which generally sets the stage for a series, pits a professional tracker against everyday people who just want to test themselves. In contrast to other wilderness series' that engage professionals on both sides of a challenge, this makes the show less entertaining than it could be with someone who sincerely offers a challenge. I was disappointed to see one of the prey was an out of shape person who clearly had not only failed to test his physical limits beforehand but was so lacking in basic knowledge to have left behind his jacket. He ruined the chances of the more fit co-prey who I would have preferred to see on his own.
I watched a few more because the venue and videography is good, and the tracking is interesting when they bother to explain what's being looked at. But Mantracker either isn't being displayed correctly or he's a little boring compared to other trackers that I've seen.
While episode two is a little more interesting because the two gals seem to have some fitness and some experience, and I think one had been in the army, episode 3 was even a little bit better with two young men who really did everything right. But episode 4 was where I really stopped and said to myself, this has to be staged; no one is that stupid. The woman never stops talking and is so overly dramatic that you just want to turn it off. You can hardly believe that somebody would really act like that. In particular, they stay overnight in a cabin in the middle of a clearing. So that's why I think that some of this is staged.
I also feel like the man tracker and his guide - because he needs a guide each time he goes into a new area - are not in good communication all the time. And the producers seem to think that it's more entertaining to just show the horses get stuck in the mud rather than see anybody get off their horse and check out broken sticks or false leads, etc.
Also would have preferred to hear the rules beforehand because the tracker was within feet of the prey numerous times with eyes on but they weren't considered captured; yet during the actual capture there wasn't any clear differences, in my opinion.
Still a solid 5 for first few episodes.
