YMMV / Call of the Wildman

• Adored by the Network: Was this for quite some time, and still has some shades of this, but not as much as when the series first premiered and was going strong. Thankfully, it was considered one of the better shows at the time, albeit not as much as River Monsters, as it did attempt to include a lot of facts about the animals Turtleman catches, and the people on the show do treat the animals they catch with a lot of respect and don't attempt to demonize them like some of the other shows at the time. Also helps that cast, despite their redneck nature, are quite likeable and entertaining to watch.
• Crazy Is Cool: Turtleman. Catches most of his targets (which can include coyotes and snakes) with his bare hands, armed with nothing but a stick, a bucket, and his trusty knife Thunder.
• Fridge Brilliance: In the poachers episode why didn't Turtleman and the camera crew hang around and catch the poachers in the act and have them arrested? For starters Turtleman had been in the cold water for hours and needed to get warmed up, and second poachers tend to come armed and the turtle crew wasn't prepared for a firefight that might result from their presence. Plus the poachers might notice them and simply come back another night.
• Moment of Awesome: The episode where Turtleman had to dive under the water and lift an entire log up and off the pond floor in order to rescue a turtle, all without coming up for air until he'd succeeded.
• Nausea Fuel: Turtleman once got sprayed in the mouth by an angry skunk.
• Tear Jerker: One episode ended with a small funeral being held for Sir Lancelot, a rat snake that lived by Turtleman's home and was used as a natural means to get rid of mice. Even though he was a wild snake, Turtleman still treated him like family.
  • It's hard to watch the show now knowing Neil James, Ernie's lifelong friend, died on February 1, 2019 at age 55 from natural causes.

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