Kentucky Fried Turtle

"Call of the Wildman" is a crazy and entertaining TV series aired on Animal Planet. Quintessential hillbilly Ernie Brown a.k.a. Turtleman roams backwoods Kentucky in response to nuisance calls from concerned citizens. No situation is bizarre enough for our hero: snakes in the costume room of a theatre, a renegade raccoon in a car wreck, skunks in the outhouse, an aggressive turkey in a corn field, groundhogs attacking mules (!), and turtles attacking cows (!!). I always suspected the United States had a varmint problem, but this...

Turtleman makes a point of always catching the annoying critters with his bare hands, and frequently dives semi-nude in pretty disgusting pond water. The excellent camera angles, perfect light conditions and the fact that all snakes he handles are harmless give the game away, however. Of course "Call of the Wildman" is scripted. The acting is pretty bad, too. Brown is convincing as a cross between himself and an insane cowboy, but his friends won't win any Academy awards...

But sure, I admit that Turtleman & Co appeals to the 12-year old boy inside of me. Apparently, "Call of the Wildman" is the most popular show on Animal Planet. By the way, we have some pretty nasty critters over here in Sweden, too. I would love to see this guy wrestle with a wolverine or a capercaillie! :D

Recommended. Well, sort of.