When Survivor first aired in 2000, I watched it every time I wasn’t working a shift at Burger King. As a 16 12 months outdated who aspired to hitch the navy, I favored seeing the previous Navy SEAL and Vietnam vet in a survival scenario. And I additionally had a crush on Jenna. In addition to these two issues, I bear in mind the present being sort of contentious, because the mannequin for actuality TV was to get individuals who behave poorly collectively. After that first season, I didn’t really feel compelled to maintain watching it. I didn’t have something in opposition to it. I suppose the novelty wore off and nothing else intrinsically drew me to the present.
Bounce forward 23 years, and I’m tasked with writing about motion pictures and actuality TV for Open air.com. I’m assigned to recap episodes of the forty fifth season of Survivor. As knowledgeable journalist, I dismissed what I believed I knew concerning the present and commenced the venture with an open thoughts. And that is what I realized.
Though an estimated 6.59 million folks watched the season finale of Survivor 45, within the weeks that I watched it, I by no means met a single fan of the present. Whereas I perceive that I’m only one individual and that I’ve a small and remoted social community, I solely met two individuals who mentioned they knew somebody who watched it.
Conversely, the marketplace for Survivor media is huge. There are devoted blogs, vlogs, boards, and even a wiki website documenting each element of each episode of all 45 seasons. Amid all the competitors, Leisure Weekly is a dominant drive in Survivor protection. They get unbelievable entry to the forged and scoops. A lot so it looks like some sort of settlement is in place.
I’m not saying the connection between Survivor and EW is unethical. In actual fact, I respect that each are attempting to maximise their attain. I’m simply saying all my requests for interviews had been denied or went unanswered, so I couldn’t absolutely discover a few of the questions I had concerning the present. Nonetheless, I thank the handfuls of people that learn my work every week.
Watching the present, I used to be dissatisfied with the primary few episodes. Main as much as the premiere, producers instructed EW that they screened some 25,000 folks for the very best 26 contestants. However then, the primary individual off the present stop after which the second individual off was absurdly dangerous. So dangerous, actually, I simply felt sorry for the man. It left me questioning why the contestants had been so dangerous and the way a lot of the efficiency was manufacturing.
As I continued watching, I noticed that the folks on the present had been additionally the individuals who watched the present. Each contestant sooner or later recalled particulars about previous gamers and seasons when devising a method for gameplay. They had been additionally well-versed with the principles of the sport, which weren’t obvious in the event you simply began watching the present. Guidelines like a “shot at nighttime” and the immunity treasures.
Within the recreation, the gamers compete for a $1 million prize. Nevertheless, I didn’t significantly assume any of the competitions or puzzles had been attention-grabbing primarily as a result of the principles had been at all times overly complicated. Whereas they sounded intellectually demanding, the winner was at all times the individual with the very best bodily conditioning for the actual problem. But, I at all times discovered it humorous how Jeff Probst, the present’s host and government producer, offered commentary in real-time prefer it was a baseball recreation.
What engaged me probably the most was additionally the least memorable, and that was watching the gamers debate and negotiate who to vote out. These discussions made up a lot of the 64-minute episodes. I favored the planning and I favored the scheming, however on the finish of the day, I retained virtually nothing. I didn’t care how the sausage was made and it didn’t matter. All that mattered was who they voted out.
And what I appreciated about Survivor 45 was how the contestants by no means took something personally. They had been all regular folks, albeit ones who agreed to be filmed for 26 days straight and instructed one another “I really like you” inside hours of assembly. Whereas they appeared to deal with one another amicably, additionally they appeared to know that they had been taking part in a recreation.
The 2 finalists of Survivor 45, Jake O’Kane and Austin Li Coon in addition to winner Dee Valladares all appear to exemplify what I’m describing. Whereas strategic of their decision-making, they had been additionally loyal to the folks they bonded with all through the season. What’s extra, the panel that decided the winner judged them based mostly on their social and strategic gameplay.
The massive query that I feel I ought to reply is: will I maintain watching Survivor? Perhaps I’ll flip it on as background noise or if I’m caught within the hospital. Past killing time, I simply don’t see the purpose in watching Survivor. Nothing in opposition to anybody who does. It’s simply not my factor.
