Board 8 > Survivor Off-Season Discussion Topic: Survivor is Big Brother Now

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BlueCrystalTear posted...

Shii-Ann was necessary because they wanted someone from Thailand and felt that it should go to who was the most screwed person ever at that point in time.

I thought they said Shii Ann was there because they wanted an Asian and their choices from the first seven seasons were literally her versus Dan Lue. I remember hearing something like that on the DVD bonus features.

kateee posted...

also would anybody here ever go on one of these shows if they had the opportunity? definitely not for Survivor for me. i would die so fast.

I have sent in tapes for Survivor in the past and plan on doing so again soon.
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Peridiam posted...

my biggest issue with TAR is how indistinguishable each season is. maybe its just me but all of it blends together and very rarely does anything stick out.

This is exactly why I don't really care much about TAR anymore. Every season feels the exact same. There aren't very many cool new places they go to and teams don't have the same level of story they once did. Unless there's a unique eccentric team that's a lot of fun, it's usually redundant archetypes like "the bickering dating couple" and "the Barbies" and "the gay guys" that make each season blend together even further. Like I couldn't tell you the difference between most of the "Barbies" pairs. None of them compare well to Dustin & Kandice from seasons 10 & 11 anyway.

Underleveled posted...

Kateee watch San Juan then skip Worlds Apart to Cambodia. There will only be two people in Cambodia you won't know from having skipped WA and you can easily be caught up on who they are and what they did.

I agree that Worlds Apart is not worth watching. There are a couple of great moments but they're drowned out by all of the bad ones. You'll quickly learn who the returnees are in Cambodia and Game Changers.

Underleveled posted...

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Shii-Ann was necessary because they wanted someone from Thailand and felt that it should go to who was the most screwed person ever at that point in time.

I thought they said Shii Ann was there because they wanted an Asian and their choices from the first seven seasons were literally her versus Dan Lue. I remember hearing something like that on the DVD bonus features.

kateee posted...

also would anybody here ever go on one of these shows if they had the opportunity? definitely not for Survivor for me. i would die so fast.

I have sent in tapes for Survivor in the past and plan on doing so again soon.

Hmm, didn't go through that part of the bonus features. Mostly because I don't love that season enough to dig that deep. That reason makes sense too.

I plan to apply for Survivor also. I think I'm in the best shape of my life so the timing feels right to start to get my name out there. I already know a few things I'm going to say. Like "I'm such a superfan that when I got eaten alive by bedbugs I was like hey, this is good prep for Survivor!" They love that stuff,
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I have applied for Survivor and I feel like if I applied again I could get something going because I think I have an idea if what they are looking for. (Or at least that's what I am telling myself lol) BUT I'm not in the point in my life where it would be a good idea. I have a 1 year old, another on the way, and my wife stays at home while I work and coach. Hopefully the show stays on the air long enough for me to be in a better place to apply.
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San Juan is definitely essential viewing for Cambodia though.
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Underleveled posted...

San Juan is definitely essential viewing for Cambodia though.

This.
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eaedwards6400 posted...

I have applied for Survivor and I feel like if I applied again I could get something going because I think I have an idea if what they are looking for. (Or at least that's what I am telling myself) BUT I'm not in the point in my life where it would be a good idea. I have a 1 year old, another on the way, and my wife stays at home while I work and coach. Hopefully the show stays on the air long enough for me to be in a better place to apply.

Survivor has at least another three or four years left in the tank. It still consistently wins its timeslot and is usually finishes in top 20 for the week. I also once read somewhere that even if it gets pulled off the air the producers plan to continue the show in some capacity, a la CBS All-Access.
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Underleveled posted...

I thought they said Shii Ann was there because they wanted an Asian and their choices from the first seven seasons were literally her versus Dan Lue. I remember hearing something like that on the DVD bonus features.

Alicia was the only black person in All Stars so there was another reason for her i guess too since they had made sure to stick to their 1 black man/1 black woman formula every season until then (-Amazon)

and yeah iirc until Cook Islands the only Asians on the show were Daniel Lue, Shii Ann and Bruce.

oh Caramoan is the Fans vs. Favorites mentioned earlier

yeah i don't care about this one

skipping ahead to SAN JUAN

wait what

this is Blood vs. Water 2? i'm uninterested. this better be good guys.

kateee posted...

wait what

this is Blood vs. Water 2? i'm uninterested. this better be good guys.

With everyone on an even playing field (ie. not another veterans vs. newbies blowout), SJDS is a really fascinating use of the format.
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yeah San Juan Del Sur is very good. It's definitely more of a slow burn than Cagayan but by the finale you'll be just as invested if not more.
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There is also no Redemption Island which is always a plus.
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When SJDS was first announced as a Blood vs. Water with all newbies, I knew immediately they weren't going to pass up the opportunity to cross-cast an Amazing Race team. I was just wrong about who I thought it would be. I expected Jet and Cord.
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Underleveled posted...

There is also no Redemption Island which is always a plus.

this is true.

Ep 1 beated

An initial thought that came to mind when I found out it was Blood v. Water 2 was that I just don't think the concept is as interesting as a "regular" season. I think the "strangers" part is one of the better aspects about Survivor since you do have to adapt and figure out what kind of people are on your tribe without prior information or connections. And yeah I know "adapting" and the BvW concept are not mutually exclusive. On paper, the main storylines that seem possible coming out of a BvW concept just seem...binary? Like either the pair is going to team up when possible and strengthen their relationship because of the adversity they faced together or one of them has to turn on the other and it tests their relationship (I know that girl from before voted out her mom okay). The relationships that the pairs have with each other are just full of moments that they can talk about to inform the audience but all things that have occurred outside of the context of the game so it doesn't really register as strongly. Also some of the pairings/relationship are just inherently less interesting than others and hard for me to care about if that is the only information to go out. Like am I supposed to get as invested in a pair that is "dating" than the married/family pairs?

I pretty much know who the big names are: Jeremy, Kelley and Keith since i saw they all came back for another season. I know Jeremy is a winner although whether that's this season or the other one I'm not 100% on. I don't know if knowing this will kill a good amount of my interest in this but in theory it shouldn't.

Anyway, on to the episode. All the pairs are introduced and I can't say I'm initially intrigued by any of them on the basis of their relationship. Moving on to the challenge.

Nadiya(?)'s reaction at missing the buff when Jeff passes them out lol. And wow the color coordination for the blue team. This is rigged!

Jeremy's emotion upon winning the challenge and sending his wife to Exile was actually an incredibly touching moment. The response of almost silence when Jeff asks how he feels made me feel something. So I feel a little awkward when he's talking about how good he usually is with women and then it shows him making an alliance with 2? 3? other women?

Over at Exile...the two pick urns. "Mine was blank. Story of my life." Footage is of Keith missing putting back the parchment into the urn. LOL.

Amusing how every time of one of these ex-pro athletes show up there's always like just one person in the tribe who knows who they are despite them always trying to hide it.

When Keith comes back to the tribe, Jeremy takes him aside and says he owes him. I wonder if we get a Boston Rob All-Stars type situation here and that's part of why the two get popular. He seems like the guy everyone likes right now so I doubt it but wouldn't be surprised if they set it up so they could flip it later. I also do wonder how much Keith really "took care" of Val at Exile like Jeremy's assuming(?) (maybe it's just the figure of speech) since we didn't see much footage. Also...TWO FIREFIGHTERS? Two KINDS of firefighters? Here we go again.

Nadiya's assertion that Josh is one of the girls is annoying. She also seemingly repeats this point at Tribal without being asked (wouldn't know if it's just editing). And there's this shot while the votes are being read where Dale is reaching for his bag like he's ready to go? So at that point you know Nadiya is going. First one out. BYEE. Would be funny if her sister ended up winning. I don't seem to remember her name coming up among some of the spoilers I saw but maybe I just forgot. I would actually call rigged or something if that happened because waat how did that happen.

Anyway, I know who to look out for. on to E2.

I didnt like SJDS when it aired live but very much enjoyed it upon rewatch.
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I'm in the middle of my Survivor Samoa Rewatch. Erik just went home. I walk away liking Erik the a lot and wouldn't mind seeing him again. Good confessional, not a horrible player. Underrated character.

Also, Russell isn't that overbearing in this season. He's a dick but he's not that bad. Also, Natalie White has to be the one with the least confessionals for a winner right? Her or Danni?
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Natalie is definitely the least visible. Only 13 confessionals.
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Erik gave one of the best jury speeches in history, too.

fun fact: russell got 108 confessionals in Samoa, almost 30% of the total confessionals of the season. the person with the next most has 39. if that's not overbearing then they can get away with anything.
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Russell in Samoa proper isn't horrible, but how he responded to losing and what he did to the next several years of the show retroactively make him shitty.
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Also Erik C either won the Save My for Samoa or came in second to Russell, so that's pretty cool. He's always been one of the board's niche favorites.
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Going into Australia finale, Elisabeth is my season favorite no question. Tina or Colby would have to do something utterly amazing in the next two hours to claim the spot.
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When I say not overbearing I don't find him horrible. I find him almost rootable considering his odds.

But yeah, I really like Erik Cardona.
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Which of these thumbnails should I use?




Talking about the worst twists in Survivor.
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What's Coach there for?
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And I must be the only person in the world who thinks that Pearls was improved by the outcast twist.
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Underleveled posted...

What's Coach there for?

The first thing he says in Tocantins is how he wants to "change the game". It's a humorous nod.

Outcasts twist did improve PI but I think the twist still sucks. I thought of using Savage at the last second given his history of twists.

My wife thinks I should use Coach.
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The Outcast twist made Pearl Islands much more interesting, but it was not fair. It was wholly unannounced and therefore the players did not pay any mind to how they voted people out .Savage wasn't screwed by stupidity since he voted out Lill thinking he'd never see her in-game again. Many players before and after him managed pre-jurors poorly and it didn't matter. Lill wasn't going to be on the jury, so he didn't have to keep his word to her to gain a jury vote. Savage's second go... he was screwed by the laziness and stupidity of his entire alliance, of which Kelley Wentworth took full advantage. And that event is still one of the most awe-inspiring things in Survivor.

I like Savage based on that but Coach works too because he's just as ridiculous as some of the twists. Truly a larger than life character.
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i went with coach
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Oh shit I'm missing Amazing Race right now :(
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yeah there's a new twist at the pit stop that seems pretty... different
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Is it the one that was teased in last week's promo? swapping partners?
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Underleveled posted...

Is it the one that was teased in last week's promo? swapping partners?

nope! it's called the "head-to-head"

there's a challenge right before the pit stop that requires a race using a dolly. one team vs. another team (only 1 racer per team though). if a team wins then they check in at the pit stop, if they lose they have to challenge another team and beat them.

the team that can't beat another team is eliminated.
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oh my god genius season 1 episode 8 they're playing dixit
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thats probably the worst death match in the entire series
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It definitely was
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yayyy genius

i just downloaded a few eps of season 1 to have in the event i ever wanna make a video about it
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Immunity is a very different type of challenge. Survivor i feel is more real time strategy where genius is more of a turn based strat. You strategize. You make your move. You move closer to the immunity. You have time to think of your next move.
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Can't say I'm a fan of that TAR twist. Much like Survivor's new F4 format, it seems designed to give a team that fucked up one last all-or-nothing shot, but heavily favors stronger teams. I think this week's results won't matter much, since the team that got saved seems destined to be an early-mid season boot, but the fatigue factor could easily fuck over a team. We saw what happened to Henry/Evan. Now imagine a weak team gets there first and goes all the way first -> last on that thing? Even worse, it's not like a regular challenge where they can try as many times as they want. So if some other team is bumblefucking through a roadblock late into the night, they have to just sit and twiddle their thumbs hours after all these other teams that got there after them have checked in.
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I haven't seen TAR, but I like that they're at least trying something different to rejuvenate a stale formula. Of course, the first team to get to the Pit Stop should bypass the task entirely. Or maybe they should do this right when the teams are LEAVING a Pit Stop and it's set up so most of the teams get on one plane but the losers get on a flight arriving 20 minutes later or something. That would make a versus format still bring the new allure while being more fair.
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GTM how do you like the genius s1
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I enjoy the genius very much, but of course, I knew I was going to enjoy it coming in. It's close enough to survivor! Also a lot of fun personalities and interactions, which I do enjoy and don't think happens enough on survivor nowadays, seeing people mix it up and talk to people they don't usually do.

Could do without the "One Hour Later" stuff though.
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Mario just let out a little spoiler about a high-ranking entry on the Funny 115. It's one that I unfortunately expected but still makes me wanna puke.

The Dan Foley character entry is top 5.
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By the way....



16. Keith - While he wasn't absolutely detestable in each and every episode, he was absolutely the biggest drain on the season. If he wasn't being negative he was dragging others down by having them just bitch about how much they disliked him.

15. Kimmi - Always disliked her, a surprisingly strong episode 1 made me think I'd made a mistake all these years, but that just made me more disappointed when I still found her constant complaining unpleasant.

14. Kel - I feel bad he got attacked but he probably brought it on himself and he seemed like a boring douche anyway.

13. Mitchell - Boring.

12. Amber - I've already spake my peace on her.

11. Debb - I feel bad for how she got scrutinized so badly but she was annoying.

10. Nick - Mostly boring and sometimes even negative but every now and then he would have a small moment that was very funny.

9. Jeff - Kinda funny and clever but at the same time it seemed like he was trying to hard.

8. Alicia - Kinda funny and will ALWAYS wave her finger in your face.

7. Tina - Really positive, good winner. A bit boring but not so bad.

6. Maralyn - Really fun early boot

5. Rodger - Super positive without being overly preachy or anything, loved the relationship between him and Elisabeth, just seemed like a really nice fatherly guy to have around.

4. Michael - Ignoring his real-life actions, he brought so much life and energy to the first half of the season it was impossible not to love him.

3. Jerri - Great villainess but just a little toned down from what I remember.

2. Colby - Great hero to play opposite Jerri. A lot of funny moments and it's kinda fascinating how his honor ultimately cost him.

1. Elisabeth - Total sweetheart, surprisingly funny, added so much personality to the season I couldn't help but smile whenever she was on screen.
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I just finished Survivor Samoa. Um, didn't love the players that I believe the internet community loves in Monica and Dave. Both had strong personalities but I didn't really enjoy them. Something about them just made me feel 'eh'. I found myself drawn a little more to Jaison and Mick and while they are nothing players I don't know if I can explain it but there was something about them I like. Russel in Samoa while he has a death grip on the confessionals he is fun in this one and definetly the kind if guy you "love to hate."

I walk away from the season wanting to see more Erik Cardona. I know he probably won't play again but I enjoy his confessionals and he is a fantastic juror.

Finally, Natalie, she did well enough in front of that jury to sway them that Russell is terrible is goos enough for me plus the Erik Cardona move is a great one. While it is only one move but then knowing that Russell was a horrivle person is also good enough for me. I know that Natalie White has gone MIA but I think she would be great casting for that all winners season. She is a cutie and she's going to be so underestimated I would bet money she made it far unless she ends up on a tribe that gets dominated but even then I would be she's just a solid number for some alliance.
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Russell was fine while Samoa was airing. Hell at the end of the finale proper I was ready to rank him in my top 5 for the season but then his reunion and postgame shenanigans happened which totally soured him as a character, plus that one-two punch with 19 and 20 completely OD'd me on him to the point where I honestly don't think I can go back and appreciate him. We'll see later this year though.

I will say this - if he did what he did in episode 1 and got booted and he was never heard from again, he would probably be my favorite first boot of all time.

I don't think we'll ever see anymore returnees from Samoa than what we've seen except for a super slim chance that Natalie is on All Winners.
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Yeah, as much as I may hate Russell now for what he turned Survivor into...at the time, he was extremely compelling television. We'd never really seen someone command the edit like that before. Sure, Sugar kinda took over Gabon and Coach kinda took over Tocantins...but Russell just NEVER had a moment where he sat back and made a boring decision. Then he became awful at the reunion and fans began bitching about him getting robbed, and he proved himself an unbearable person.
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Survivor probably saves Russell from himself on the season and he just couldn't help himself off of it.
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the panel is fucking stupid
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Underleveled posted...

that one-two punch with 19 and 20 completely OD'd me on him to the point where I honestly don't think I can go back and appreciate him. We'll see later this year though.

This is exactly how I feel. I'll probably feel the same way after my rewatches, too. Two straight seasons of that awful man just makes me sick.

I enjoyed him at first because of how ridiculous of a character he was, even if I didn't like him. But now, I look back upon him as a bully who had no idea how to play Survivor. Natalie White defeating him is ultimately satisfying because of how nasty he was. He was not "robbed." Should a jury really give a million dollars to someone saying "I'm better than you" to them? No. This is a social game first. I've been of that mindset since Samoa aired. Russell burned the jury, then boasted his ego at the end and expected them to reward him. Being human, they didn't.

I'd love to see Natalie White return. There's the possibility of Fincher if they do Blood vs. Water All-Stars, because that's one of the only scenarios under which Parvati would ever return and they'd LOVE that. I'm not sure who else they'd invite back from Samoa, though. Shambo has taken herself out of all future consideration and everybody else who hasn't returned either sucks or isn't the kind of person they look for in a returnee (Erik Cardona in particular would be nice).
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