The Last Man Standing

8:30pm – Friday, April 20 on ABC2

The athletes are crossing the Indian Ocean to their next destination – the Indonesian island of Sumbawa.

There, in Pemlong village, they face their toughest challenge yet, the insane sport of water buffalo racing. They must drive their team across a paddy field, over a jump and towards a target of a sacred magical doll.

With ground to make up, Jarvis wants to get stuck in, and amazingly, after just a morning’s primer, trainer Jamek lets him take a heart-pumping ride through the paddy field.

Ed’s pentathlete skill with horses gives him confidence with the buffalo, while Joey inadvertently picks two of the livelier beasts. Murray gets a couple of crazy animals and Wole is feeling nervous around the wild beasts.

8:30pm – Friday, May 4 on ABC2

In this their final challenge, the athletes will be tested more than ever as they struggle to stay afloat in the open Pacific.

They are heading for two tiny islands just off the south coast of Manus Island, 320km north of Papua New Guinea. Here they will stay with an intense water tribe called the Titans.

They must master outrigger canoes and survive an epic race that will take them around a 40km course over two days, through shark-infested waters. And they must sleep on crocodile-inhabited islands.

8:30pm – Friday, April 27 on ABC2

The Indian city of Kolhapur is the setting for the six Western athletes’ penultimate challenge – Kushti mud wrestling.

It will be a dirty fight and the aim is simple – to get your opponent flat on his back. The lads are entering into a major competition, in which each of them will fight a single bout.

Usually for the various challenges, the athletes stay with a family in the village. This time they are in boot camp and the regime is tough; rising before the sun and living in a very basic training room with the other trainees.

It is almost more than Joey can endure, but it’s Murray who leaves first – for the sake of his damaged knee, which took a battering in Kamchatka and the Philippines.

8:30pm – Friday, April 13 on ABC2

Taking on the world’s most difficult physical challenges, the athletes are in the Philippines for a Sikaran kickfighting competition. They have just one week to perfect the techniques and earn membership of the brotherhood of Sikaran fighters before taking on the black belts at a tournament of masters.

Each athlete must fight two black belts who have covered their feet in cow dung. To be successful, they have to avoid getting the dung on their body.

First up is JJ, fighting Eddie, one of Master Jimmy’s best.

Then come Murray and Ed. The last time these two fought, they were wielding sticks in Ethiopia. Now they get to kick each other instead.

8:30pm – Friday, April 6 on ABC2

The six Western athletes are dropped by helicopter into the frozen wilderness of Siberia, to live with half a dozen Koryak herders at a reindeer camp.

They are there to take part in the Koryak’s spring festival race, which is a 16km run over hills, through woods and across unstable terrain.

Temperatures can fall to minus 30 and the runners have to contend with deep drifts, compacted snow and frozen rivers.

Jarvis plunges through the ice into freezing water and JJ twists his ankle badly in the snow.

Other aspects of Koryak life are equally gruelling. The boys must coral more than 1000 reindeer for the annual castration.

8:30pm – Friday, March 30 on ABC2

The fearless contestants are in Bhutan, preparing for a huge archery grudge match, so fierce that it has not been repeated for 40 years. The boys are split into two teams and housed 3.5km apart in villages either side of a steep valley.

Bhutanese archery involves the use of bamboo bows and firing at a target 140m away.

The boys’ lacklustre arrow skills fail to impress the trainer, Passang, so their nerves are settled with a bit of local betel nut and by invoking the wisdom of the local astrologer.

During the match, the local girls try to distract the athletes with some taunting dance routines and Jarvis joins in with some trash talk.

8:45pm – Friday, March 23 on ABC2

The six Western athletes head into the heart of Brazil to live with the Wauja tribe and compete in a gruelling canoe race along the piranhainfested Batavi River.

All the tribe turn out to welcome them. Then they are led to the chief’s hut to be painted for the Parrot Dance, part of the official Wauja goodwill welcome.

The 16km race breaks down into four gruelling stages which test the musclemen’s endurance to the limit.

Yanahin has been appointed coach for their preparation. The locals find paddling as natural as walking, but for the athletes, there are many pitfalls. Jarvis travels about five metres before sinking and Ed finds turning in circles a lot easier than turning where he needs to go.

Yanahin has serious doubts about their making it through the course.

8:35pm – Friday, March 16 on ABC2

The six young Western warriors testing their strength and skills against the world’s remote indigenous tribes, are climbing 3300m into the Himalayas for a back-breaking 12km mountain race that will push their minds and bodies to the limit.

They are to live the Sherpa life while they train for the event, which is run to a height of 4300m. It also entails carrying a 25kg Buddhist stone in a basket hung by a strap from the forehead.

A 40-year-old trainer, Pulba, takes them in hand to turn them into mountain men.

Murray shines in the early part of the race, but Ed and Wole present a late surprise. The gruelling race costs them dearly and several of the athletes come close to breaking point.

8:30pm – Friday, March 9 on ABC2

The six Western athletes out to test their strength, stamina and skills against indigenous tribes all over the world, arrive in Nyon, deep in the heart of Burkina Faso, West Africa at harvest time. It is home to about 300 Samo tribesmen reknowned for their brutal wrestling contests.

In six days, the harvest festival will climax with the biggest wrestling competition of the season. It’s a highly physical and energy-sapping ordeal. One wrong step means being smashed to the ground.

Nyon’s trainer is former wrestling champion Francois. Wole and Jarvis impress in the initial training bout.

He has special plans for Joey and Jarvis – an ancient Samo ritual involving some sacred crocodiles. Joey proves a surprise package.

8:30pm – Friday, March 2 on ABC2

A new cast of six fit young Western athletes prepare to test themselves against the strength, skill and stamina of 10 indigenous tribes around the world.

A Florida wrestler and traffic cop, a surfer, London fireman, pro rugby player, soccer player and modern pentathlete gather for a year-long journey to compete in ancient and dangerous tribal sporting festivals and their associated rites and rituals.

They know they will emerge from each programme cut, battered, bruised and possibly broken. These are not mere games. They are up against real tribes with real dangers.

Their first challenge is brutal Suri stick-fighting in Ethiopia. They are the first Westerners to ever visit the village of Benchagi, where a hostile gun-toting welcome gives them a start.

Then they are trained to use the 2.3m ‘dongas’ or sticks. It’s an incredibly dangerous procedure, where two opponents try to knock each other down, draw blood or make the other give up.

After rigorous training, Ed, Murray and Wole are selected to progress to the Sagine. But they first face a local ritual; tribal scarring.