Steve Irwin? [Archive] - sSNAKESs : Reptile Forum

JasonBrennan

01-09-03, 10:40 AM

I prefer Steve Irwin to any of them, but I agree he focuses alot on mammals. I liked his shows better when they were all about reptiles. Maybe he should change the name of the show from Croc Hunter to "Any and Every Animal Hunter"???

Corwin is just annoying. I am sorry, but he gets on my nerves. Plus, his show just seems "staged" (lift a log and wow!!! a perfect specimen!)

O'Shea is cool. Hard to understand sometimes (he sounds drunk sometimes, which is funny). It is just his accent, I know.

So, that is my vote.

reverendsterlin

01-09-03, 11:47 AM

O'Shea is pretty good. I like Erwin but think that some of his handling practices are a bad example for young herpers.

Big Mike

01-09-03, 11:57 AM

I agree with most...I like Steve but I've seen all the shows and I only want to watch the reptile reruns.

I like Corwin's show for the animals but I'm not a big fan of Jeff himself.

I have never seen O'Shea...what's the name of the show he is on? What network? Time etc?

Matt

01-09-03, 12:08 PM

RRRRR, dont get me started....too late i guess (I'll keep it short)
cant stand Irwin
rev, i agree, his handling practices with venomous are attrocious, he is so careless.
He treats the animals like toys

I worked with a couple people from National Geographic that worked on his show and they said he was very rude and disrespectful (obviously its second hand info, i cant verify that), but i feel like he comes off with such an attitude in the show......just my opinion

Doesnt he claim to have never been envenomated as well?
I know at one point he said this....which is not true.
I talked to a doctor in the states that worked on him once when he was envenomated

Kyle Barker

01-09-03, 12:22 PM

Just remember when he said that it was quite a few years ago, they just keep replaying that episode. He has been "envenimated" (cobra spit) on the show.

Kyle

Dom

01-09-03, 02:01 PM

I used to liek the croc hunter but now it really gets on my nerve .. smae shows and same info .. I find he never ever gives out new info but alwasy the excact same things!

As for the corwin.. I saw only one show and I was entertained .. and O'shea .. never seen it!

zouleous

01-09-03, 02:03 PM

I like all the shows from Steve Irwin, to Bradie Barr on National Geographic, Jeff Corwin, O'Shea, etc...I'm not picky. If it's about snakes I'm so there!

Z

sparkon16

01-09-03, 02:17 PM

The fact is he has done so much for Austrailian wildlife, by doing these shows he has helped many people realize what people are really doing to the earth. I don't really have anytime to get evidence or anything of that sort but I know that he has help Austrailian and the worlds wildlife tremendously by doing these educational shows. But thats just my thought, I think the guy is cool, he puts on a great show!

Deuce

tai_pan1

01-09-03, 02:28 PM

I've never seen O'shea, but I watch the other two. Jeff Corwin is really one WEIRD dude, which in turn makes him very entertaining. The Cric Files need some new episodes. It is getting dull watching the same croc get rescued from the concrete pit over and over again.

Animal planet is quickly becoming my second favorite channel.

Kat

01-09-03, 03:32 PM

Steve Irwin is NUTS!! I like him, but he's nuts! If he didn't do what he did, I wouldn't get too see any of those animals!!

Quakezombie

01-09-03, 03:43 PM

"O'shea's Big Adverture"

I watched this guy handle all sorts of HOT hots including an episode with a "sea snake hunt" LOL
Of course i have also seen two episodes of him after being envenomated,one involved an air rescue !

Now Corwin is a ham ! ..and has amazing luck (or really good editing) hehe.
However i agree, he tends to stay with the herps so i like the show

XxRachxX

01-09-03, 05:26 PM

I absolutely love O'shea! partially cuz hes just great! and partially cuz hes a local man :)a midlander! :)oh yeaah! we rule!
irwin is great too. i guess its just cuz hes so crazy! theres probably nothing he wont do! crazy crazy man...he also got me started on loving the fierce and scaly!
i cant stand jeff corwin!!! jebus christ! i just wanna slap him round the face with a wet cod on a pointy stick with tinsel wrapped round!

Lisa

01-09-03, 05:27 PM

Steve stages his "finds" too.

BoidKeeper

01-09-03, 06:34 PM

I too think that a lot of Steve’s shows are staged and I don't always agree with his methods. There is no denying however that he has done almost more than anyone else to raise awareness about reptiles.
Cheers,
Trevor

katev17

01-09-03, 07:18 PM

I remember an article in the Ottawa Citizen questioning whether or not Steve was a phony or whatever... It really annoyed me at one point because the writer said that Steve only ever does a noble thing once in a while like relocating a croc once in a blue moon... A lot of people don't know what Steve is up to while not on the air, he has an entire program for Australian wildlife. While I love watching the shows where he's got the reptiles on, I really respect how he loves and respects every animal, no matter how big or small. His enthusiasm always keeps me interested and I think that people need to realize that the show isn't his whole life. I've talked to a girl who used live in Beerwah and she said that whenever he was out and about, he was always so lively and cheerful, saying hi to everyone and anyone. She said that the locals grew tired of his cheeriness... Of course, as someone else said that was just third person info, but as you can see there's a lot of contrasting opinions.

As for Jeff Corwin, I can't stand the guy... I know somebody said that Steve treats the snakes like they're toys, but at least, unlike Jeff, he doesn't hold all of the snakes he catches by the head, letting the rest of the body dangle... (I've seen this on 3 different occassions...)

Well that's just my opinion, of course I might be biased seeing as I'm going to Australia to work at Steve's zoo next year :p Lol, oh well, I think it's going to be an experience and a half, even if Steve IS fake or whatever.

Have a great day, guys
Kate

katev17

01-09-03, 07:21 PM

PS - Omigod I forgot to mention how much I can't stand Terri! Haha she annoys me to several levels... She should stick with her wildcats, which is about the only thing she actually knows about.

Lisa

01-09-03, 07:44 PM

He showed on his behind the scenes show that he stages his "finds"

Dom

01-09-03, 07:46 PM

lol Terri . man oh man .. she does annoy me as well .. and she aint the pretiest thing that ever walked the eartha s well lol

Jaylyn

01-09-03, 09:04 PM

I've heard "rumors" about Steven Irwin cooling some snakes considerably before handling them. If its true - puts me right off.

And Jeff Corwin is much easier on the eyes.
;) Gives alot more information, too - though not all of it is gospel.

Jaylyn

Ryan

01-09-03, 09:16 PM

Irwin is at least entertaining, Corwin is an idiot I can't watch that guy. I really want to see O'shea but I have never been able to find his show anywhere, does anyone know what channel it is on?

I can't see Irwin cooling snakes before he handles them, I honestly believe he loves the animals even if he is pretty stupid with the venemous sometimes.

jason h

01-09-03, 09:21 PM

lisa accually that behind the scense show was the behind the scense of the making of his movie where he did stage the catches for multiple takes as well as he had more than one of each animal so as not to put to much stress on them and he did have a cooling truck for the snakes and monitors as he had to have them out in the open for extended periods of time(ecspecially the monitors that he was chaseing in the beginning of the movie)as this took many different angles and takes to get just right while running the entire time.so the cooling trucks gave the reptiles a brake from the mid day heat.

Andy_G

01-09-03, 09:41 PM

Steve Irwin seems like a fool to me, but I like watching anything about snakes, so when he has snakes of any type on his show I watch it.

Jeff Corwin seems to be a little rough with some of the animals he finds. His show also at times seems to be rigged.

O'shea I have never seen.

Edwin

01-09-03, 10:03 PM

I have only seen O'Shea on those ads in Reptiles magazine.

I really liked Steve Irwin for the first couple shows, but then his idiosyncrasies started to grate on my nerves. Also, he does not always show herps.

Jeff Corwin's shows are pretty good to watch, rigged or not. Personally, I would prefer to watch rigged shows than shows where catch absolutely nothing.

paul_le_snake

01-09-03, 10:32 PM

u tell em rach, i met mark once and he sounded very drunk, but wasn't. he has a great love for reptiles so that goes a long way in my book. steve is ok, but getting boring he does do some wacky stuff with crocs but as said b4 his snake handling leaves a little to the imagination.
cheers
paul

JeffT

01-09-03, 11:34 PM

He's great, if people pay more attention to HIS facts on reptiles more than the news they might be more understanding of these critters.

paul_le_snake

01-09-03, 11:38 PM

trouble is, is that his on screen antics detract from his vast knowledge. ppl see him tail all these deadly snakes and could make then think it is that simple
cheers
paul

JasonBrennan

01-10-03, 12:05 AM

Well, let's at least be a little fair here. Sure, he handles the snakes in a manner that makes it appear "easy" to the general public. However, he DOES say, over and over agian, that no one should ever attempt to handle a venomous snake, or any snake for that matter. There is only so much a person can do on a show about animals (besides giving the warnings that it is very dangerous). I think he also gets very......what is the word I am looking for.....enthusiastic (sp?) about what he does. But, that is a large part of what has made his show a success (after all, you DO have to sell the show to advertisers to get the funding to make the shows.....who wants to advertise on a boring show that no one will watch???)

I would jump at a chance to go work at Steve Irwins zoo in Australia. I would sell my house and move there in a New York minute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, just try to keep in mind that most of the people that are watching these shows are not really "into" herps like we all are (here and on similar sites), but rather are the people that just like to see unusual things. Hell, we like to watch Cops too (some of us do!), but we don't want to hear a long lecture on the laws that are being enforced. We just want to see the action. Only the people that are paticularly "into" herps care that much about the real information about the specific animals.

This is just my opinion, so take it for what it is.

JasonBrennan

01-10-03, 12:09 AM

OH, and as far as Mark O'Shea goes, I don't see any of his shows on very often. He seems to have more specials than a regular show. I usually see him (when I do see him) on either Animal Planet or on Discovery Channel. Like I said before, I like him, but his shows are very often just alot of him looking for the animals, and really only a few minutes of actual animal footage. The shows seem to be more about the "hunt" than the "find".

Nanashi04

01-10-03, 11:48 AM

Wow... I didn't expect a reaction like this... o.o;

I've never een O'Shea either... I don't watch that much TV, really.
I definatly don't care for Corwin... he's just too cheery, If that's reason to be bugged by him. I'd have to say my favorite Animal Planet show - even though it's not really herp-centered at all - is The Most Extreme...

V.aw

01-10-03, 12:21 PM

Who cares if steve stages his finds? His show is entertaining, and he has alot of passion for animals. All i can see her is jealousy going overboard. give the guy a break.

katev17

01-10-03, 05:29 PM

OOH My other favourite Animal Planet show is MONKEY BUSINESS! Oh man, it's actually so hilarious, plus the zoo directors of "Monkey World" (the zoo that the monkeys live in) travel to different parts of the world to save monkeys that are being sold/traded illegally... I remember seeing one where he was searching for a little monkey girl "coco" or something like that, and within a few days he actually found her climbing on the top of a boat (a big boat) and was so close to falling in the water... When the owner came out he started hitting the monkey and the second that the owner turned away, the monkey ran straight towards the guy from the zoo (sorry if that made no sense, I'm getting sick lol) ... unfortunately he couldn't just run away with the monkey, and no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't buy the monkey cuz he'd just be contributing to the entire illegal trade problem... what a dilemma! Anyway I think it's an awesome show even if it's not about herps, it's amazing to see some of the things chimps can do...

Make sure you check it out!

PS - Most Extreme is great too, I don't remember the last time I saw it though... hmm.....

eyespy

01-11-03, 03:59 PM

Friends of mine who live in Arizona and have seen Corwin, Irwin and O'Shea all film shows there say all 3 stage their finds. It makes sense, paying a crew by the hour is very expensive. Herpers sometimes get very lucky and find all sorts of critters one day, another time they find nothing! Who could afford to pay a crew to follow him around to find stuff.

I also prefer O'Shea's shows but admire the Irwins greatly for how well they put out the conservation message and how they get children so interested in herps. Also, they were very supportive to the Philadelphia Zoo when they rebuilt their reptile house and even more so when a devastating fire on a Christmas Eve burned down the primate house and killed many beloved animals.

They do a lot of work within the zoo community which is not on the show but very valuable indeed.

katev17

01-11-03, 04:28 PM

I'm glad to see that someone finally acknowledges them for their non-TV work... even if he does stage his finds he's still sending such an important message and awareness... not only about herps. I think they've made such an important contribution (yes, even Terri... [but only cuz she tags along]) and I commend them for it, even if it has nothing to do with the show.

Swampwalker

01-11-03, 04:44 PM

Yes, he definately stages a lot of his scenes, but so does National Geographic and many of the other nature programs. Staging is part of the business and sometimes the only way to get a lot of the shots. The ethical line for staging is blurry as to how much interference is acceptable and what isn't.

Dom

01-11-03, 04:54 PM

He anoys me but he is by far the best thing that ever happenned to the herping community..

eyespy

01-12-03, 05:23 AM

Terri contributes a lot more than merely tagging along. She is very well versed in veterinary medicine for a non-vet and works quite hard on studies to prevent health problems, and also on diagnoses/necropsies of difficult diseases. She is also a contributor on genetic databases that help zoo breeding programs worldwide.

When the primate house burned down in Philadelphia, most of the animals died of smoke inhalation and she worked hard with other folks on figuring out safer building materials for the new house so that if the worst should happen there would be less toxic smoke created.

V.aw

01-12-03, 11:40 AM

Getting distraught because he stages his finds is stupid. It should be about his knowledge of the animal, and its origin. I dont think he stages all of the finds, espeacially the komodo dragon episode, You dont magically pick up 20 komodos and throw them in one area :)

Mustangrde1

01-12-03, 12:52 PM

I think ill keep my personal thoughts of Steve polite.

Yes he has made a high awareness for reptile conservation. Yes the Irwins do attempt to Help the wildlife community in a whole.

But come on He needs to stop freehandling hot snakes. At very least use the proper tools there are kids watching. No matter how good he is someday he will get bit or more to the point some kid will get bit trying to be like him. I personally removed a coral out of two kids hands that said they were playing Croc Hunter. Yes the parents deffinately need to pay more attention to the kids, I know these kids parents will be thanks to a local PD officer who was there as well and had some choice comments to the parents. But we dont need someone showing them how to freegrab a hot snake on tv.

All the good you may do for conservation is not wourth the life of one person that attempts to be like you and dies.

cobraman

01-12-03, 04:56 PM

Ok, I will be cautious in my posting here, as many of you already know of my reputation and my handling practices (shut up, Scott). However, What I do, I would not do on tv for millions to admire and aspire to duplicate. On the other hand, I recognize it for what it is (strictly entertainment) and I insist that there are far more damageing things on tv, that well meaning people who will damn the actions of a Steve Erwin, Bill Haast, or even myself, will buy on vhs or dvd for their children. So the bottom line (in my own opinion) is that Steve does some things that I would not be willing to do on a regular basis (but then I don't make 2 million dollors a year to do these things). But in defence of Steve, he does use some tricks of the trade that increases his safety (such as cooling and druging).
Ok, so there is my 2 cents. Change please!
Blessings all,
Ray Hunter

hip

01-12-03, 05:57 PM

Ray is right i have heard too that irwin cools hots and that would explain an agressive hot becoming more calm and managable .Dont forget the magic of editing to go with the slight of hand . my 10 cents which here in canada after taxes is 2 cents

peace hip

katev17

01-12-03, 07:03 PM

Firstly, about Terri, I know she contributes more, she just annoys me so I was being stupid, don't worry..

Also, his documentaries were not actually recognized until only a few years ago (His first was actually in the early-mid 80's) so I harrrrdly doubt he makes 2 million dollars a year... with the exception of his movie I guess.

Anyway, I don't think anybody here has met him (yet heehee) so I really think we're not in any place to judge... any of our stories have been 2nd hand and we haven't been there when he's been filming a show. Until I've actually met him myself or met someone who hasn't just heard rumours/speculations and has actually experienced any of these things face to face with Steve, I'm going to keep my opinion on him that he's an enthusiastic, passionate herpetologist.

Kate

cobraman

01-13-03, 10:40 AM

Actually, Kate, I do know Steve (only from phone conversations. He called when I was working at Miami Serpentarium about filming a special on Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes), and his sallery is just above $2mill/year right now. He said that when Discovery was paying him, he was only making $200,000 a year,and now his sallery has multiplied by 10.

V.aw

01-13-03, 11:07 AM

I agree with alot of people on the fact that he shouldn't be free handling hots on television. However he does say this is something that should NOT be done by anyone that hasn't had the proper training. But i guess a kid would think he/she is capable of anything, and are immune to anything and would probably do it anyways.

The reason why I initially argued this is because of where iam from. Its quite difficult to locate hots to purchase, none the less to find them in the wild. I think the closest hot to me is the massassauga which is about 3-4 hours away, even if they are found!
very interesting posts, its nice to see some educated opinions other than "hes annoying, and i hate his wife!!" heheh

Tim_Cranwill

01-13-03, 11:10 AM

I'd like to see any one of you who judge him for staging his finds to make a one hour tv show and stay on budget. A few points I'd like to make...

1. If he didn't need to stage his finds, HE WOULDN'T. I've seen "selected" home movies of his where he is in the wild with his sister manning the camera and he acts NO differently.

2. His show is not only an education show, he also needs to be entertaining as well. Remember those old boring science films... I don't think they'd last 7 or 8 years on the air. So, his antics either suit your taste or not, but he's lasted longer than 99.9% of tv shows out there. That must mean something.

3. If there's any show out there that should curb their dangerous displays for the sake of children, It's the WWF (or WWE or what ever...). Think of the ration of kids who would try to free handle a hot vs the number who would try to suplex their little brother. My guess is it's like 10'000 to 1!!! You can only do so much before you have to trust that people are smart enough to judge for their selves.

And 4. I like him and if you don't, then fair enough. I hate Creed and their pathetic videos but that's just me. To each his own..

Have a nice day!!!:):):)

Big Mike

01-13-03, 02:01 PM

I recently saw an episode of "The Croc. Hunter" that I had never seen before. It was sort of a "best-of" show with old clips from over the years. A lot of personal stuff with him & Terry. He was talking in an interview setting about why he is so enthusiastic and has to "get right in there" and up-close with the animals.

His message was pretty good IMO. He explained that he wants to show people the animals close up...to get us into their world. He says he wants to spread awareness of the animals and that the ultimate goal is conservation. He wants his passion and enthusiasm to be remembered by the conservation of the habitats and animals that he is so passionate about.

Also, his show is more entertaining than 95% of the crap on TV anyway so good for him.

tHeGiNo

01-13-03, 03:28 PM

LOL alright I just had to respond to this thread. I read it, and decided I would stay out, but as more people began to slander him I had to step in :). I feel, and this is MY opinion, that Steve is a REALLY great man. First of all, I really don't think his shows are staged, maybe he just knows where to look? Second, a lot of people stated he was irresponsible in the way he handled hots, and that he is displaying a bad example for herpers. Well honestly, if your stupid enough to even THINK about trying what he does, without his experience, well your stupid lol and should not even be NEAR such animals. Once I said this to my friend, she made a good point in stating little kids may try to do this. Again, if the parent is stupid enough NOT to tell their kids the danger in going near/touching these snakes, well what can I say. She (my friend) then said the kid may rebel and just really want to be like Steve, and ok I understand this. But in saying this, wouldn't that make it ok for a kid to shoot someone because he just loves the show Suprano's and wants to be JUST like big Tony? Or that it is perfectly safe to ride on the back of a bull because he wants to be JUST like the people in rodeos? I don't mean to start any conflict or anything of the sort, just stating my point :) *edited this part as I forgot to add it* Also, you have to realize he probably does such activities to grab the audiences attention, everything he does he has good intentions in them. Also as far as people saying he is "rude," somehow I REALLY REALLY doubt this. I mean I cannot see who someone who puts his life on the line get his point out, and who spends his whole life saving other creatures lives, could have a mean bone in their body. I just cant see it...

OttawaChris

01-13-03, 06:17 PM

I am a total croc hunter junkie!

I try and watch every day (I wish he would get some new episodes made though)

Thats one man I would love to take a trip through the bush with!

marisa

01-13-03, 06:59 PM

Who gives a crap if he stages things? Do people care about him actually finding it or the snake/reptile? I personally want to hear, and hope others hear, about the actual snake reptile and most people could care less how he got it. I like it even more because it is mostly staged. That way at least we know a whole film crew + Steve isn't tramping through the bushes trying to find one little snake for a 5 minute spot on the show.

At least people are interested now! People *LIKE* watching about corcs and snakes, people want to turn it on and stay there, people know that its possible for these animals to have a real place on this earth...I think Steve does these things, so I watch.

And I hardly doubt the number of venomous snake bites has gone skyrocketing because he free-hands, it hasn't. And personally, I have yet to hear a story "I picked up that rattler mommy because Steve did"

Marisa

JasonBrennan

01-13-03, 07:37 PM

By the way, I wanted to say for the record, that I used to like Terri as well, but stopped liking her so much when she started to imitate Steve's mannerisms. I hate that. That is the only new thing I have thought of to say....so later!

Nanashi04

01-14-03, 10:24 AM

Does anyone notice that if you watch the eppys in order, Terri gets progressivly larger? I always thought it odd... o.o;

Alicewave

01-14-03, 10:51 AM

I personally find Steve kindof annoying, but only because I watched him way too much when I was supposed to be studying and I got kinda sick of him. I totally agree with marissa that his message about reptiles is great and it's awesome to see people taking an interest in them. I prefer Jeff Corwin to the others however because I find him to be more informative than some and he has shows on all kinds of wildlife, not just reptiles. I like the variety. Steve seems to be mostly about crocs, and that's fine but I can only watch so many episodes on them before I get bored. To sum up, I like them all.

Quakezombie

01-16-03, 12:20 AM

O'shea update
I am watching a show on Animal Planet with him in Florida dealing with alligators.
So look for him on that network :D

Tom P

01-16-03, 09:27 PM

The only thing that I don't like about The Croc Hunter is that i saw an episode where they covered the birth of their baby!!! And then they named her after his favorite CROC!!!!

I personally like Corwin, he's pretty entertaining and he doesn't say " BY CRIKEY!!" every 5 minutes.

Tom P

BIG SCOTT

01-16-03, 09:50 PM

Personally I love the guy I think he is very entertaining but I also think he does some very stupid and unprofessional things. He aslo gives out incorrect or false information from time to time. I would love to see the statistics of how many people have been bit by venomous snakes because of his show. I don't like the fact that he is branching out into movies now, I view him as somewhat of a SELL OUT now. The thing that bothers me the most about him is the fact that he tails every venomous snake he sees which I would consider very unsafe, granted he knows the strike range of each snake and how far he can grab it on the tail before he is to close but he has had some very close calls. I prefer the pinning method when i work with venomous snakes and prefer to see people on t.v. do it the same way. I prefer O'shea to all of the t.v. herpetologist b/c he seems to be the most knowledgable and takes everything more seriously that the others he also only looks for the more uncommon or hard to find species of reptiles