Survivor 44 Discussion Thread

Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
PUSH said:
In a recent RHAP recap podcast, one of the guests said production will ask you for videos after the season has filmed. So it's more likely that upon editing the show, production asked Carson for a video of him solving the puzzle. I wish I could remember which former contestant was on the podcast.

It still doesn't make it entertaining, but it's just something to keep in mind when thinking about interference.
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Fair enough, but it also doesn't change the fact that re-using puzzles means some players will have the answer key ahead of time whether or not specific players say so in an audition.

PUSH said:
According to Martin Holmes, Survivor 45 could extend to 90 minute episodes. That'd be great.

insidesurvivor.com

Rumor: Survivor Expanding to 90-Minute Episodes For Season 45 - Inside Survivor

Inside Survivor sources suggest Survivor 45 will feature 90-minute episodes.
insidesurvivor.com insidesurvivor.com
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So 30 more minutes = an additional two idols per episode?

I generally support this idea but do wonder what they'd be willing to add. US Survivor favours showing less info for the surprise factor, and the current state of the game means tribal councils reveal nothing because everyone is tight lipped, so they can't really extend those.

Longer episodes have worked for Survivor AU because they still give players time to play with 47 day seasons, and their tribals are actually interesting. The famous one this season was practically an episode on it's own.

I also wonder if this would coincide with a returnee season, which we're overdue for.
 
PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wendy Pleakley said:
So 30 more minutes = an additional two idols per episode?

I generally support this idea but do wonder what they'd be willing to add. US Survivor favours showing less info for the surprise factor, and the current state of the game means tribal councils reveal nothing because everyone is tight lipped, so they can't really extend those.

Longer episodes have worked for Survivor AU because they still give players time to play with 47 day seasons, and their tribals are actually interesting. The famous one this season was practically an episode on it's own.

I also wonder if this would coincide with a returnee season, which we're overdue for.
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I agree with you. I'm in support of longer episodes, if they're used to show more camp life, social dynamics, and strategy. If they're used for extra advantage hunts and Shipwheel Islands, it's not worth it.

The thing missing right now is the social relationships. We have no idea who is connecting with whom because we are always so busy with advantages, challenges, and tribal council. That's the major reason why we are always so confused about the vote. We have no way of knowing who has linked up until post-season or exit interviews.
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
Jedijax719 said:
Are Americans just wimps? ( well I know I am lol) Oz has them out there for 47 days and the US 26.
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USA reduced the number of days due to time needed for COVID quarantines. Since it saves money they'll probably never go back.

Past players have said that having free days, if they weren't going to tribal, were brutal.

It does feel constraining. The players need time to talk and stragegize.

Survivor AU also has more episodes so they do more days and still need multiple non-elimination episodes to fill that quota.
 
PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Tonight's episode... yikes.

Survivor has been gimmicky over the past handful of seasons, but tonight was a new level. Every decision production made was just downright awful. They forced a boring vote because they don't trust the cast. Matt and Yam Yam could do nothing. They could only sit and wait. Frannie's win became a liability. And to think we would have had a very interesting Ratu versus Soka storyline without the twist.

I've been critical of the show, but this feels like a breaking point for me. It didn't even feel like Survivor. It felt like the game of Life or Monopoly. Absolutely, unnecessary, awful twists that legitimately ruined the episode. I really can't think of anything I enjoyed about the episode. Maybe Frannie's win, but that was tainted because it became a negative for her.

I'm just really disappointed in production. I don't even want to do my rankings, because there's no guarantee that any player can even use their relationships and strategy to further themselves in the game. It has become so luck-based.
 
PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I listened to the first couple minutes of the Jeff Probst podcast this week... Jeff loved this episode. He said he loves small tribes because there's nowhere to hide. He said it makes it random, and you might not be with your alliance.

This doesn't make me feel better. Everything he said was wrong. So disappointing.
 
TheOriginalTiki

TheOriginalTiki

Well-Known Member
I completely agree with you @PUSH. I'm absolutely floored at how much tunnel vision Probst has for this nonsense. I thought 42 was a genuinely great season because of the really balanced editing and season-long character arcs. I thought 43 started slow but ended up really enjoying it in the end in large part because it felt like a throwback to the more dark toned seasons and people weren't afraid to actually make moves and burn bridges. The Cody blindsight was an all time great one for me, with Jesse's fall in the finale becoming one of my all time most emotional vote outs.

This season though...it feels like they took everything that DIDN'T work about 41 and have just completely double downed on it, from the game-breaking amount of twists to the totally imbalanced editing. will say as bad as last night was, at least folks like Heidi and Laura actually got to talk and Carson/Carolyn actually had cooldowns. As entertaining as Carolyn is I never like when one person is SO out in front as the main character. I was worried about that with Cody last season but they did a really good job toning him down after the first couple episodes.

I really haven't been crazy about the showmance, but I do relate to Matt probably more than anyone in the cast because of his social anxiety. Because of that, I REALLY felt the sting of the situation he was in. It was genuinely hard for me to even keep it together when the votes started coming in. There was very literally not a single thing he could do. This should NEVER be the case in any vote, but apparently that's how Probst wants to run things. The thing I can't stand the most about all of this is that it absolutely makes the "Earn the Merge" thing (a dumb premise in the first place) a complete sham. If they wanted to pull this they should have just waited until final 11 to merge and do a second tribe swap ala Gabon. The "Event" nature of the merge and it being a turning point in the game has just completely eroded.

And yea, this episode ruined a really good natural build-up of post merge dynamics with Matt catching on to Danny. It was nice when Survivor would...you know...let the players actually play Survivor.
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
Survivor has officially jumped the shark with what has to be the worst season by far. I don't think it can be saved.

It's particularly glaring coming off of two seasons (SA and AU) that were universally loved, with great characters and restraint in terms of twists.

Let the players play. The episode started promising with two potential plans and lots of room to move and lots of consequences to consider. The show works just fine when they adhere to the basic premise. Is this appealing to a more casual audience? What are we missing?

I agree they should have just done another swap instead of this nonsense.

Having said that, the scenario the show created was interesting. Had Frannie won that advantage she could have given Matt/Yam-Yam three votes against someone else. However, while there are things about this twist that are interesting it should never have happened.

Jeff likes the small tribes? But, but, but, this is the merge. It's supposed to be a new phase of the game. I admit I understand why they start with three tribes for this reason. The pre-merge isn't always super interesting or impactful so they want to make the votes exciting. Now they what, want it to follow this same format straight through? They're producing a show that is barely Survivor anymore.

And then Matt can't even play his shot in the dark or an idol because he, reasonably, expected to return to his beach between the challenge and tribal. He was put at a disadvantage by something that couldn't be reasonably predicted.

Ugh.
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
Jedijax719 said:
So Jeff likes Survivor to be random? Or did I misunderstand?
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It seems he wants every episode to be a blindside and exciting and dramatic and NEVER EVER AGAIN a pagonging sequence.

Idols and swaps generally kept the game interesting, but he does seem to be going waaay too far where instead of letting players generate those big moments, the show is just dictating terms.

Swaps that leave only 4 players vulnerable DURING A MERGE. Then, as if that wasn't enough including a random advantage that is assigned via luck, that could have controlled the outcome. Real looking fake idols complete with notes for players to use.

His words on the show certainly indicate he doesn't want players to know what is coming. A game isn't interesting if the rules are random.

It's just Calvinball at this point.
 
PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Jedijax719 said:
So Jeff likes Survivor to be random? Or did I misunderstand?
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He is thinking unpredictability will lead to more blindsides. He doesn't want the viewer to have any inkling of what might happen. But the thing is... most fans want to understand what's happening. They want to Monday morning quarterback the situation and try to figure out what they would have done. Now, we have no idea what actually took place and the reasons for it, so there's nothing to digest. We just sit down, watch what happened, then try to guess why it happened.
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
Listening to RHAP today they pointed out some things that don't bode well for the show as well as the disconnect between production and those fans who watch for the strategy element.

When things like do or die and the advantage steal didn't work in previous seasons, fans were relieved because it allowed for interesting votes and dynamics to take place (also known as the core element of the show). Producers were not happy. They wanted those things to hit. So, they doubled down and just said screw it, we're going to put fake idols in. We're going to do a swap with idols so someone will play one and we'll have that big moment. It's so clear they want a scripted show and what the players do does not matter.

It's a bad sign when a TV show needs for every episode to be a big event, or big moment. When every episode is "special", none are. Yeah, there can be slow stretches but that's what makes a moment like Jesse's big move last season really pop.

Also, there are ways they could have made the key hunt interesting. As is, it was basically random. It always comes down to, let players make choices and see what happens. The note could have been read up front and said that you can stop eating on an individual basis whenever you want and start looking for the key. Let players potentially choose to forgo their PB&J in favour of finding an advantage. Choices. Strategy. Things that were simply not present.
 
Wendy Pleakley

Wendy Pleakley

Well-Known Member
And in today's episode of other shows Survivor fans might enjoy - Outlast on Netflix.

It's similar to the TV show Alone about surviving in the wilderness, but adds competition and strategy elements. Teams compete for advantages, form alliances, engage in sabotage, etc. No voting, players choose to leave when they can't handle it, but changing groups is used as a way to squeeze others out.
 
PUSH

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
With Survivor 45 currently filming, it has been reported by Martin Holmes that Bruce is returning to play on next season. Nothing else has been spoiled yet, but it sounds like it's a newbie season.
 
DryerLintFan

DryerLintFan

Premium Member

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