The trout guide I used to use lived next door to Tom. He told us that the show was originally pitched as a DIY woods craft show where Tom could show his crafting skills. But it morphed into the current "reality" show thing that is totally faked. The episode where Tom "must find a deer to survive the winter" was filmed from a roadway with a general store/cafe a hundred yards away. And where the cast ate right after "Cut!" and after which, Tom flew to Florida for a short fishing vacation. Tom makes a pretty penny from it, though. Enough to quell his disappointment in what it has become, apparently.
