Survivor 44 Discussion Thread

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Well that was a quicker watch through than I expected. Only took a week, and I finished Thailand. What can I say? I didn't have much going on this week.

Overall, it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting. I honestly probably enjoyed it more than Marquesas, but I still appreciate the evolution Marquesas took us on. So I'll keep Marquesas ranked higher.

While the cast wasn't overly likable, they had some interesting personalities. Brian was the first player to really think of every interaction and decision as a game move. As he said over and over... it was business. It was a game. Rich had the same mindset in season one, but it was all knew to him. I think Brian developed Rich's ideas and playing style, and took them to a new level.

Helen was an interesting character, too. Again, not overly likable, but just a different pace from the rest of the cast.

The Ted and Ghandia situation was almost joked about in the reunion, and Ghandia ended up apologizing for it. It didn't sit well with me, and it shows how far we've come since then.

I was also turned off by Clay and Brian multiple times. They both made multiple disparaging comments about women. Brian always mentioned how "the good old days" were when women were cooking and cleaning. Clay was always looking at women as objects and made comments about their bodies. Again, it shows how far we've come since then.

Shii-Ann definitely got screwed by the fake merge, and I wish we could have just seen what would have played out had she been allowed to flip on Sook Jai. If it would have been a regular merge, it may have led to something other than a pagonging.

Overall, the season lacks many interesting moments. The biggest moment was a stain on the game. Outside of that, nothing notable happened. The season doesn't have a huge lasting impact on how future seasons would be played. The biggest would probably be Brian modeling how to separate gameplay from emotions.

My updated season rankings:

1. Borneo (1)
2. Africa (2)
3. Marquesas (4)
4. The Australian Outback (3)
5. Thailand (5)

And my updated winner rankings:

1. Richard Hatch (1)
2. Brian Heidik (5)
3. Ethan Zohn (3)
4. Vecepia (4)
5. Tina Wesson (2)

Now onto The Amazon!

 

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I finished The Amazon. It was good, but not as good as I remembered it to be. I think the merge is the best of the first six seasons. Almost every vote was interesting. Rob was really a gift to us. He was the first player to really utilize the flip flop strategy, but he also had the social skills to recover after he betrayed people. Obviously he's made one heck of a career out of his social skills and strategic brain.

Heidi and Jenna were also perfect to cast together. I think Heidi would have been interesting on her own, but she and Jenna are almost like one character combined this season. Jenna had a strong social game, and she did turn on her intensity in the last couple episodes. Once Heidi left, I think it stopped becoming a fun adventure and started becoming a game.

Christy was also great casting. A really fun character. The entire season was full of fun supporting characters like Deena and Alex.

It's the best mix of strategy, gameplay, and casting out of the first six seasons. And it had some interesting camp moments, like Matthew with the machete, the camp burning, etc.

My updated season rankings:

1. The Amazon (6)
2. Borneo (1)
3. Africa (2)
4. Marquesas (4)
5. The Australian Outback (3)
6. Thailand (5)

And my updated winner rankings:

1. Richard Hatch (1)
2. Brian Heidik (5)
3. Ethan Zohn (3)
4. Vecepia Towery (4)
5. Jenna Morasca (6)
6. Tina Wesson (2)

Nothing again Tina... I think she's a good player. But based on just their winning seasons, I don't feel like Tina really did too much to put herself in a winning position. At that point in time, there just wasn't the developed strategy.

Now on to Pearl Islands! I'm excited to rewatch this one. Everyone seems to have it ranked in the top 5, but it's always been overrated for me. I'm looking forward to seeing if my opinion changes.

 

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The Survivor 45 preseason has begun! Therefore I started a new thread. Hope to see you all there!

Survivor 45 Discussion Thread

It's time for another season of Survivor! Survivor 45 premiere with a 90 minute episode on September 27th. The preseason has begun as CBS has officially released the cast. You can read the player profiles by clicking the link below. https://ew.com/tv/survivor-45-cast-photos-bios-revealed/...

forums.wdwmagic.com

 

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I know I created a new Survivor thread, but this is my wrap up post for my Pearl Islands rewatch. And I wanted to keep the start of that thread focused on Survivor 45. Without further ado... here are my Pearl Islands thoughts.

I have always been underwhelmed by Pearl Islands. It's consistently listed as a top ten season, but I always had it lower. After this rewatch, I'm much higher on it. This is the first season where everybody is trying to position themselves to get to the end. Everyone is playing the game. Not like we see in today's game obviously, but everyone was seemingly aware of where they were at in the tribe, and they wanted to do something about it. It led to a lot of backstabs and strategic moves.

Rupert is such a fun character in his first season. His ego gets inflated in future seasons, but a pure Rupert is gold. He's an all-time Survivor character. He's a hero, but he does a lot of villainous things, too.

This is also the first time I've watched Pearl Islands and truly noticed how good Sandra's game was. She was making social and strategic moves. Even when they didn't work out, she positioned herself as the anti-Fairplay/Burton. It's very similar to HvV, actually. She presents herself as the alternative to the people everybody hates. It's a very effective strategy. She's seemingly trying to be the hero each step of the way and help the people on the bottom go farther (granted, to ultimately help herself), but with a villainous delivery. And, she's just so much fun to watch.

Fairplay was one who actually took a dip in my opinion of his game. He obviously has a terrible social game. Everybody hates him. But he is pretty fun to watch.

Lil is a fun character, who adds a lot to the uncertainty of the season. If she would have owned up to playing a devious, lying game, maybe she would be seen as a more capable player in the fans' eyes.

Christa is also a pretty fun secondary character.

I really liked the creativity in challenges. The pirate theme really helps out.

The Outcasts twist has been numbed down over the years. I'm sure it was just as infuriating back in the day as Chris Underwood was in 38, but now it's just part of history. And honestly, Burton and Lil returning may have made Pearl Islands great. Otherwise, Fairplay wouldn't have had anyone to work with.

Here are my updated rankings of seasons and winners, including only the seasons I've seen on this most recent rewatch.

1. Richard Hatch (1)
2. Brian Heidik (5)
3. Sandra Diaz-Twine (7)
4. Ethan Zohn (3)
5. Vecepia Towery (4)
6. Jenna Morasca (6)
7. Tina Wesson (2)

1. Pearl Islands (7)
2. The Amazon (6)
3. Borneo (1)
4. Africa (2)
5. Marquesas (4)
6. The Australian Outback (3)
7. Thailand (5)

 

[JPPT1974]

Despite the actors and in the writers strikes disrupting the fall season, having this show on really helps. Since Survivor never does reruns except on Paramount Plus among those streaming channels.

 

[Jedijax719]

I know I created a new Survivor thread, but this is my wrap up post for my Pearl Islands rewatch. And I wanted to keep the start of that thread focused on Survivor 45. Without further ado... here are my Pearl Islands thoughts.

I have always been underwhelmed by Pearl Islands. It's consistently listed as a top ten season, but I always had it lower. After this rewatch, I'm much higher on it. This is the first season where everybody is trying to position themselves to get to the end. Everyone is playing the game. Not like we see in today's game obviously, but everyone was seemingly aware of where they were at in the tribe, and they wanted to do something about it. It led to a lot of backstabs and strategic moves.

Rupert is such a fun character in his first season. His ego gets inflated in future seasons, but a pure Rupert is gold. He's an all-time Survivor character. He's a hero, but he does a lot of villainous things, too.

This is also the first time I've watched Pearl Islands and truly noticed how good Sandra's game was. She was making social and strategic moves. Even when they didn't work out, she positioned herself as the anti-Fairplay/Burton. It's very similar to HvV, actually. She presents herself as the alternative to the people everybody hates. It's a very effective strategy. She's seemingly trying to be the hero each step of the way and help the people on the bottom go farther (granted, to ultimately help herself), but with a villainous delivery. And, she's just so much fun to watch.

Fairplay was one who actually took a dip in my opinion of his game. He obviously has a terrible social game. Everybody hates him. But he is pretty fun to watch.

Lil is a fun character, who adds a lot to the uncertainty of the season. If she would have owned up to playing a devious, lying game, maybe she would be seen as a more capable player in the fans' eyes.

Christa is also a pretty fun secondary character.

I really liked the creativity in challenges. The pirate theme really helps out.

The Outcasts twist has been numbed down over the years. I'm sure it was just as infuriating back in the day as Chris Underwood was in 38, but now it's just part of history. And honestly, Burton and Lil returning may have made Pearl Islands great. Otherwise, Fairplay wouldn't have had anyone to work with.

Here are my updated rankings of seasons and winners, including only the seasons I've seen on this most recent rewatch.

1. Richard Hatch (1)
2. Brian Heidik (5)
3. Sandra Diaz-Twine (7)
4. Ethan Zohn (3)
5. Vecepia Towery (4)
6. Jenna Morasca (6)
7. Tina Wesson (2)

1. Pearl Islands (7)
2. The Amazon (6)
3. Borneo (1)
4. Africa (2)
5. Marquesas (4)
6. The Australian Outback (3)
7. Thailand (5)

Wait, Vecepia and Jenna? I have them as two of the worst winners ever. And as much as Ethan is one of my favorite people to ever have played, he is one of the weaker winners IMHO.

Tony is by far the best player ever.

 

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Wait, Vecepia and Jenna? I have them as two of the worst winners ever. And as much as Ethan is one of my favorite people to ever have played, he is one of the weaker winners IMHO.

Tony is by far the best player ever.

Remember, it's only including the seven seasons I've completed on this rewatch. This is not my rankings for all 44 seasons. The first seven seasons did not produce many great winners.

I love Tony and think he's a top 10 player at worst. But his Cagayan game had some flaws. If Trish or Woo weren't on that season, there's no way Tony wins. Trish cleaned everything up for Tony, and Woo was a naive player, who didn't know the game. That being said, I still think he played a great and worthy game.

His WaW game was much stronger, and arguably the most well-rounded game anyone has ever played. It was magnificent, but also aided by Sarah being a good friend outside the game.

His Game Changers appearance was horrendous.

My top five players of all-time are...

1. Parvati - IMO, she should be the two-time winner instead of Sandra. I think she played a better, more aggressive game. The only reason she lost was because she was aligned with Russell, and she really had no other option after being one of the first targets in HvV.
2. Tony - I've already discussed my thought above.
3. Cirie - Cirie is amazing. She is the best social player of all time, IMO.
4. Kim - Kim is one of the most charming and likable players we've ever seen. Yes, you can say her level of competition in One World is weak, but I think it's actually stronger than people think. Sabrina was no slouch. And it's not like she didn't have anybody gunning for her.
5. Sandra - Even though I think Parvati played the better game in HvV, there's no denying that Sandra is a two-time winner. She successfully found the villains in each of her winning seasons, and positioned herself as the opponent of theirs, causing the jury to favor her over her peers. Game Changers was her most impressive strategic showing. She had no business lasting as long as she did, and she ultimately got swap screwed. She had control of her tribe before.

Boston Rob just missed out on the top five.