Current Events > I haven't watched Survivor ever since season 40 pissed me off.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://youtu.be/2xLAXA1ViIo

but damn I'd watch any season with Colby.

50 seasons of that show? How? I don't see the appeal to be honest.

Dang, I remember when Sweden was the only country crazy enough to do it.

JadeBaby posted...

50 seasons of that show? How? I don't see the appeal to be honest.

The first 20 seasons are really good, especially the first 8.
Seasons 21 - 39 range from terrible to not being too bad (most are meh)
Season 40 had a great premise but "new school" players defeated the "old school" players early on and I lost all interest.

The new era/41-48 is a bit of a mixed bag. There are some incredibly solid seasons in there, a few REALLY bad ones, and some interesting ideas that kind of drove themselves into the ground by being overused.

This most recent season was easily one of the worst though.

JadeBaby posted...

50 seasons of that show? How? I don't see the appeal to be honest.

That was my first thought. Think I tapped out after the first all star season. Just didn't like how it seemed the show was putting such an emphasis on the politciking that it felt like they just glossed over the challenges and competitions. I know they always did, but instead of it being like a 60-40 split, it was now a 90-10.

I can't believe Survivor has been on for 40 years.

Ivynn posted...

I can't believe Survivor has been on for 40 years.

survivor turns 25 years old on the 31st, the first episode was on May 31st 2000

ConfusedTorchic posted...

survivor turns 25 years old on the 31st, the first episode was on May 31st 2000

.....was it not obvious it was a joke? >_>

I stopped probably sometime in the 20s. I can still distinctly separate seasons 1-8 in my mind, after that they started to all run together. Id remember particular players but not seasons for the most part. Eventually watching the same thing for 2 seasons a year just became a chore and I found I had things. Id rather be watching. My once obsessive interest in Big Brother fell off soon after. Just too much of a time sink.

loafy013 posted...

That was my first thought. Think I tapped out after the first all star season. Just didn't like how it seemed the show was putting such an emphasis on the politciking that it felt like they just glossed over the challenges and competitions. I know they always did, but instead of it being like a 60-40 split, it was now a 90-10.

I mean the entire show is about the politicking. The challenges are always a back seat the conversations/alliances. The show would just be The Challenge if it didn't rely heavily on the politicking/betraying/backstabbing.

As someone who has just finished season 35 and is in the middle of a watchthrough of the whole series for the past 2 years or so, there is some great television, mixed with some boring predictable seasons. I have no idea what's in store for the next 15 seasons I'm about to watch, but even at its absolute worst it's never really felt like a chore or a slog.

I haven't watched since season 1, lol. I can't believe there that many seasons of that show.

I used to love those early reality shows. Mainly Survivor and Big Brother. I remember getting sick of them when the concept of "reality stars" became a thing. Then I realized they're all actors without a script and there isn't much "real" to it at all.

dotsdfe posted...

This most recent season was easily one of the worst though.

Why did you think it was bad? I enjoyed it

SomeLikeItHoth posted...

https://youtu.be/2xLAXA1ViIo

but damn I'd watch any season with Colby.

Disappointed that there are so few early players and so many from the last few years

Derwood posted...

Why did you think it was bad? I enjoyed it

I just found it extremely dry. Most of the biggest personalities left pretty early and I didn't really care for most of the endgamers.

Basically I just found it kind of obvious that the silly integrity alliance would stomp, they were very smug about it and pretty unlikable as a result, and by the time Star & Mary were out, I flat out didn't care about anyone left in. I also found Kyle to be very unremarkable as a winner, no idea why they rushed him back out to do S50 when he's just a fairly generic nice dude without standing out too much. I feel like Yam Yam is a lot more interesting as a male new era winner if they had to have one of those.

I'm sure a lot of these players were not their first choices. Pretty clearly got told "no" by a lot of people before resorting to a run on the last 5 seasons

Was in 1-4, then quit..
Watched big seasons during COVID including Winners at War, which was very good.
New era is good tv for me because bridges summer to Christmas with Oct debut .. & again bridges winter to summer with Feb debut.
Tyson's podcast is fun chatter.

Mary Ann, Sai, & Rome sorely missing for 50, though could've had life priorities.
Carolyn no go cuz Jeff won't highlight players going on other reality shows.

dotsdfe posted...

There are some incredibly solid seasons in there

What would you consider the solid ones?

Derwood posted...

Disappointed that there are so few early players and so many from the last few years

A lot of them got old so it's understandable. Although with newer seasons it seems like they suffer less, which is unfortunate. I prefer the survival aspect to the show. Much prefer it to the immunity idol and "make big moves" BS that took over.

SomeLikeItHoth posted...

What would you consider the solid ones?

46 is one of my all time favorite seasons, it has a super entertaining cast. 45 and 47 were quite good too. I remember some stuff about 41-44 but they were just okay for the most part. Quite a few had some pretty dumb twists IMO.

Like smashing the hourglass

So you dwell on nonsense from that long ago?

Seriously....let it go.

I was the complete opposite I loved season 40. It cemented Tony as a GOAT player. I loved that player on their previous season with the Spy shack they created. And they were GOAT in the confessionals/narration too.

SomeLikeItHoth posted...

What would you consider the solid ones?

Just to run through the entire New Era...

41 is fun and novel with a few really big characters and an interesting winner.
42 is kind of 41, but a bit more tuned up and less rough around the edges. Also has a great winner.
43 is kind of awful, very bland season without much character.
44 is decent but a little bit predictable after a bit. The central characters are fun, but the less important players are kind of nothing.
45 is alright. Not much to say either way, it's alright.
46 is a blast. It has some really huge characters and the game takes some really interesting directions. It may just be my favorite NE season.
47 is very solid. I think after a bit, you can kind of figure out how things are going to go, but it has a really exciting journey for the winner and a lot of very solid characters otherwise.
48 is just dull, IMO. Almost nobody in the later parts of the game is very entertaining and way too many episodes make the boot way too obvious, to the point where even a lot of the really big blindsides were very obvious.

I think that all of the NE seasons are at least vaguely worth watching aside from 43/48, which I found pretty boring.

I have never watched a single episode or can name anyone from the show except I think the winner from season 1 was named Richard? I can see his face. They played commercials advertising that ALL THE TIME back then.

All I know is my dad for some reason was absolutely hooked on that show like the first 15 seasons or so. I never pictured him as the type to enjoy any type of reality tv and 99% of the time he doesn't but he watched that show religiously for years and was on it from day 1. I think he still watches it but that first like 15 seasons he would like openly talk about it and look forward to each episode and like make plans to watch his recording of it on a certain night and not do other things because he was going to watch Survivor that night. Dude was way into it.

I can't talk too much shit. I'm not a big reality tv guy but I was one of the original first wave of fans that started the popularity of the whole genre because I watched the first 3 years of The Real World on MTV in the early 90's when I was in high school. I stopped after season 3 because I went in the military and was in the Navy and out to sea so much that from 1994 to 1999 in an entertainment void in my history except for movies at the theatre. I barely watched tv in those 5 years.

But yeah, I really liked that first few years of The Real World before they knew what they were doing and before they started restricting what they could do and before they made them work and do projects. It was pretty funny at times.

And while I mostly ignore reality tv, I admit to being a 90 day fiance junkie. I love that shit on TLC. So yeah I like me some lowest common denominator tv.

Every show you just named is nothing like Survivor. Survivor is a game show, not a reality show

Derwood posted...

Every show you just named is nothing like Survivor. Survivor is a game show, not a reality show

I knew they were nothing like Survivor but i was under the impression it was generally accepted that Survivor was under the "reality" umbrella. Is it not called reality competition? That is still reality tv and is described as a reality show in virtually every description I have ever seen.

But it isn't a hill I will die on and argue about online.

Yes, it's "reality competition." I just get irked when people compare garbage like 90 day fiance with Survivor and Amazing Race

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eck1AGLiZi8

I never really got the appeal of the concept, except when in cartoon format (i.e. Total Drama Island) where they can actually exaggerate stuff out the wazoo and do things more dangerous than a real show could get away with.

Seems they wanted no old school winners - who were all just recently on S40.

I think Dee is overrated - such a sore winner - cries when someone pokes her, blows fire on someone when she gets her way. It'll be interesting how long/short she lasts.
Kyle is too recent & will be targeted by newbies.

While obviously a play to have ppl watch S49, having 2 'mystery' players from 49 is cool actually - none of the roster will know anything at all whatsoever about them. Seems this RizzGod idiot will be there, though he might be gone earlier than most S49 who knows.

Sucks for the White Lotus guy. He is famous and rich. So he has potential to be a first boot if people feel he doesnt need the money.