Survivor 41 Discussion Thread

[PUSH]

I haven't seen if it is the same amount of episodes or not, I assume so. The game will be a lot quicker so not as much down time or time to strategize. I am just looking forward to Survivor being back but I am worried with all the talk from Jeff and lower amount of days it is going to end up being a lot different.

I'm happy it's coming back, too, but I agreed I am worried about what Jeff has said. It makes me nervous when he says "it's a whole new game!" None of the fans have been clamoring for a whole new game. And I think most fans would agree that Jeff's choices haven't been great over the past 5 or 6 seasons. I'm hoping this is just Jeff hyping up a new season, but I still am nervous.

I've said it before, but I think seasons 41 and 42 could be crucial to the future of Survivor. It is coming off a season that felt like a bookend to Survivor in some ways with Winners at War, and we've now had over a years layoff from the show. If seasons 41 and 42 are bad, that might be significant. Or they could be good seasons and push us towards a whole new era of Survivor, which keeps the show on for another 5 years. Lots at stake here.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I doubt Survivor is in any danger of going away. The ratings are good and it has to be pretty consistent in terms of what it costs to make.

The prize money is the same. The only big increase is probably Jeff Probst's salary.

The international versions are still going strong as well.

I do wonder whether or not The Amazing Race will ever return though.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

 

[PUSH]

I saw that yesterday. It made me laugh.

 

[PUSH]

The Survivor preseason is back! Meet the cast of Survivor 41!

Meet the cast of 'Survivor 41'

The Survivor 41 cast photos and bios are here! Meet the folks who will be competing for a million dollars.

ew.com

 

[PUSH]

I'm even more nervous after hearing Jeff here... it just sounds like even more twists that we're going to hate.

 

[PUSH]

Survivor shouldn't be so complicated with twists that we need Jeff to explain things to us.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

A twist can be complicated enough to require an explanation, and still be a good twist.

The concept this season on Survivor South Africa is Immunity Island. How it works is every episode a player is sent there. They then have a choice between give up and go, or stay and play.

If they stay and play, they have immunity at the next tribal council but they cannot vote. They then do a challenge with a reward or a consequence depending on whether they win or lose.

If they give up and go they do not have personal immunity at tribal council, they can still vote, and they have to grant immunity to someone else.

It's a complicated concept that wasn't fully or properly explained to the audience at first, so it was confusing. I can see why they would want to include a description when implementing a complex twist.

While it is complicated, it's not a crazy or overpowered twist that breaks the game. It puts players in a situation where they have to make a strategic decision and doesn't generally change the balance of power dramatically, in my opinion.

Australian Survivor on the other hand, is pure lunacy with game breaking twists.

 

[PUSH]

A twist can be complicated enough to require an explanation, and still be a good twist.

The concept this season on Survivor South Africa is Immunity Island. How it works is every episode a player is sent there. They then have a choice between give up and go, or stay and play.

If they stay and play, they have immunity at the next tribal council but they cannot vote. They then do a challenge with a reward or a consequence depending on whether they win or lose.

If they give up and go they do not have personal immunity at tribal council, they can still vote, and they have to grant immunity to someone else.

It's a complicated concept that wasn't fully or properly explained to the audience at first, so it was confusing. I can see why they would want to include a description when implementing a complex twist.

While it is complicated, it's not a crazy or overpowered twist that breaks the game. It puts players in a situation where they have to make a strategic decision and doesn't generally change the balance of power dramatically, in my opinion.

Australian Survivor on the other hand, is pure lunacy with game breaking twists.

I just don't really trust Jeff's judgement at this point. He's made a lot of foolish mistakes over the past 3 or 4 years, so until he proves otherwise, I'm going to be skeptical. I'm also skeptical about the Game within the Game. It sounds like a minigame for kids.

I am excited for the cast, though. I like the diversity. Naseer's backstory is really interesting.

 

[PUSH]

This is a quote from Mike Bloom's interview with Jeff on parade.com. It sounds similar to what you were talking about @Wendy Pleakley.

“The tribes are not given any daily food staple, and Reward Challenges are scarce,” Probst says. “This had a tremendous impact immediately as their mental and physical energy is instantly challenged. And votes are often at risk, which means you can’t ever rely on how many votes your alliance will have at any Tribal Council. And advantages now often come with massive risks. In order to earn an advantage, you have to successfully navigate something risky. This is a new version of Survivor. There is no way to compare past seasons.”

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

This is a quote from Mike Bloom's interview with Jeff on parade.com. It sounds similar to what you were talking about @Wendy Pleakley.

“The tribes are not given any daily food staple, and Reward Challenges are scarce,” Probst says. “This had a tremendous impact immediately as their mental and physical energy is instantly challenged. And votes are often at risk, which means you can’t ever rely on how many votes your alliance will have at any Tribal Council. And advantages now often come with massive risks. In order to earn an advantage, you have to successfully navigate something risky. This is a new version of Survivor. There is no way to compare past seasons.”

Sounds promising. I think they're always looking for ways to shake up the familiar mindset where a majority forms and votes predictably several weeks in a row, with things shaking up infrequently.

Fun fact: Mike Bloom is a credited consultant on Survivor South Africa and contributed to the development of the Immunity Island concept.

 

[PUSH]

Individual cast videos are being posted on Survivor's Instagram page. So far I'm excited about the cast. Out of the videos they have our right now, I really like Ricard. But everything changes once they actually start the game.

 

[PUSH]

I've gotten through the pre-merge of my Winners at War rewatch. One thing I am noticing is how much fire tokens really undid some players. Specifically Sandra and Yul. At least from what we're shown on TV, both of them went out because they thought fire tokens were going to have a bigger role in the game. Sandra gave up her idol for two fire tokens. Yul got voted out because he was trying to get Wendell's fire tokens. It's disappointing that they left due to rules and gameplay that really had no impact on the main game. It's a large flaw that I don't think anybody really caught during the original airing of the season, since we didn't know how they would impact the game, either.

 

[PUSH]

The other thing I don't like Jeff trying to push is that the old school players can't keep up. Really? They seem to be keeping up just fine to me. The problem is they've had so many more years to build their legend status, so everyone wants them out. If you take Rob, Ethan, Parvati, Sandra, or Yul to the end... they win against any of the new school players except for maybe Tony. Someone like Ben, Denise, or Michele don't have the same status to their name that warrants an early target.

 

[PUSH]

Your first look at Survivor 41. Some glimpses of new twists, and a look at a few of the castaways.

 

[PUSH]

According to Martin Holmes, we can thank David vs Goliath runner-up Mike White for fire tokens going away. Apparently Probst called Mike to run some ideas by him to get his story-telling view of it (for those who don't remember, Mike White is a famous Hollywood writer/actor best known for School of Rock that he wrote and starred in). Mike said it was interesting, but was it fun? And that's all Probst needed to scrap the idea.

Mike White was also the reason we didn't get Redemption Island in San Juan del Sur. Jeff told Mike about it at a dinner, and Mike said, "Oh. You're doing Redemption Island again." And that's what tipped Jeff to scrap the idea from the season.

In summary: Jeff listens to Mike White, but does not listen to the fans.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

According to Martin Holmes, we can thank David vs Goliath runner-up Mike White for fire tokens going away. Apparently Probst called Mike to run some ideas by him to get his story-telling view of it (for those who don't remember, Mike White is a famous Hollywood writer/actor best known for School of Rock that he wrote and starred in). Mike said it was interesting, but was it fun? And that's all Probst needed to scrap the idea.

Mike White was also the reason we didn't get Redemption Island in San Juan del Sur. Jeff told Mike about it at a dinner, and Mike said, "Oh. You're doing Redemption Island again." And that's what tipped Jeff to scrap the idea from the season.

In summary: Jeff listens to Mike White, but does not listen to the fans.

Maybe Mike White could tell Jeff to let the cast wear proper bathing suits again, instead of walking around in grungy underwear.

 

[PUSH]

Maybe Mike White could tell Jeff to let the cast wear proper bathing suits again, instead of walking around in grungy underwear.

I honestly don't even notice it.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I honestly don't even notice it.

Maybe it's because it's still the norm on the international shows, that it stands out for me.

At least some contestants are cast based on physical appeal, so it's odd that the show doesn't want to include the sex appeal element.

 

[PUSH]

Maybe it's because it's still the norm on the international shows, that it stands out for me.

At least some contestants are cast based on physical appeal, so it's odd that the show doesn't want to include the sex appeal element.

Casting in US Survivor has really gone away from casting pretty people in bikinis. That was the casting methodology for a while. Unsurprisingly, that style produced some of the worst casts. The casting department has gone through an overhaul over the past couple of years. It seems like they've been wanting to cast more fans who know how to play the game, rather than mactors and models. I don't think they really get cast unless they have something else to offer to the game.