Survivor megathread

[Progressive Pessimist]

Thinking about who was left out of season 40 and why is pretty intriguing. Though overall I wasn't too surprised by who they ended up picking. I think only Aras, JT, and Tina were the biggest winners to not be included, for whatever reason, since they have played before and might linger better in the memories of the show's fans; as well as Cochran who is a fairly notable recent winner. Everyone else I can understand being left out either due to not being popular enough like Natalie White, too controversial like Richard Hatch (let's also not forget that he was arrested for tax evasion awhile back too. Also I never heard about Biran killing a puppy before, that's f***ed up!), or too old like Bob or Tom.

The cast we ended up with was pretty satisfactory to me, though perhaps Danni could have swapped out for someone else. Of everyone who played this season, she seemed to add the least to the game. Hell, I actually forgot who she was; she was the only former winner I had to look up after watching the premiere episode.

[7,052,770]

Here would be my casting for some often-discussed themes for future returnee seasons, keeping in mind that production would favor some more recent people for some of these (don't personally agree with every characterization)

Winners vs. Final 3 losers

Winners not on WAW

• Vecepia, Todd, Natalie W., Mike, Chris U., Tommy

People they beat

• Neleh, Amanda, Russell, Carolyn, Gavin, Noura

WAW Contestants who also won another game or lost in the F3

• Tony, Michelle, Sandra, Parvati

People they beat

• Woo, Aubry, Jonny Fairplay, Cirie

This is similar to a "legends"-type cast, and you have extra layers, since in addition to all of the pairs, Tony also beat Michelle, Sandra also beat Parvati and Russell, and Parvati also beat Amanda.

Possible alternates could include Tina/Colby and Aras/Terry.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Here would be my casting for some often-discussed themes for future returnee seasons, keeping in mind that production would favor some more recent people for some of these (don't personally agree with every characterization)

Winners vs. Final 3 losers

Winners not on WAW

• Vecepia, Todd, Natalie W., Mike, Chris U., Tommy

People they beat

• Neleh, Amanda, Russell, Carolyn, Gavin, Noura

WAW Contestants who also won another game or lost in the F3

• Tony, Michelle, Sandra, Parvati

People they beat

• Woo, Aubry, Jonny Fairplay, Cirie

This is similar to a "legends"-type cast, and you have extra layers, since in addition to all of the pairs, Tony also beat Michelle, Sandra also beat Parvati and Russell, and Parvati also beat Amanda.

Possible alternates could include Tina/Colby and Aras/Terry.

I like that cast, but Fairplay technically wasn't a finalist on Pearl Islands.  He came in 3rd, but it was a Final 2.  Still, that could be worth it to get him back.

EDIT: Same with Cirie in Micronesia, but you may be referring to any 2nd or 3rd placer, regardless of if it was a Final 2 or Final 3.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Here would be my casting for some often-discussed themes for future returnee seasons, keeping in mind that production would favor some more recent people for some of these (don't personally agree with every characterization)

Winners vs. Final 3 losers

Winners not on WAW

• Vecepia, Todd, Natalie W., Mike, Chris U., Tommy

People they beat

• Neleh, Amanda, Russell, Carolyn, Gavin, Noura

WAW Contestants who also won another game or lost in the F3

• Tony, Michelle, Sandra, Parvati

People they beat

• Woo, Aubry, Jonny Fairplay, Cirie

This is similar to a "legends"-type cast, and you have extra layers, since in addition to all of the pairs, Tony also beat Michelle, Sandra also beat Parvati and Russell, and Parvati also beat Amanda.

Possible alternates could include Tina/Colby and Aras/Terry.

That's not a bad idea, but even a season that just consists of runners-up probably could be entertaining too. We won't be seeing Russell Hantz among those contestants though. To my knowledge that bridge was burned since his psycho nephew made his appearances on the show.

[7,052,770]

That's not a bad idea, but even a season that just consists of runners-up probably could be entertaining too. We won't be seeing Russell Hantz among those contestants though. To my knowledge that bridge was burned since his psycho nephew made his appearances on the show.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised, but I'd love to see him play one more time. I think he's an obvious early boot though.

Another idea would be a combo of Fans vs. Favorites and Blood vs. Water

• The Culpeppers
• Laura & Ciera (though she better not vote off her mom this time)
• Russell & Brandon (if allowed back)
• Any of the Survivor couples, such as Sebastian & Jenna from Ghost Island, or Jon & Jaclyn, or Alex (S6) and Kim (S3), etc.
• 4-5 pairs of new contestants

[Progressive Pessimist]

That's not a bad idea, but even a season that just consists of runners-up probably could be entertaining too. We won't be seeing Russell Hantz among those contestants though. To my knowledge that bridge was burned since his psycho nephew made his appearances on the show.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised, but I'd love to see him play one more time. I think he's an obvious early boot though.

Another idea would be a combo of Fans vs. Favorites and Blood vs. Water

• The Culpeppers
• Laura & Ciera (though she better not vote off her mom this time)
• Russell & Brandon (if allowed back)
• Any of the Survivor couples, such as Sebastian & Jenna from Ghost Island, or Jon & Jaclyn, or Alex (S6) and Kim (S3), etc.
• 4-5 pairs of new contestants

I wouldn't mind seeing Rusell come back, but Brandon is up there with Colton and the Dan/Rodney/Will alliance as among the least likable contestants ever.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

That's not a bad idea, but even a season that just consists of runners-up probably could be entertaining too. We won't be seeing Russell Hantz among those contestants though. To my knowledge that bridge was burned since his psycho nephew made his appearances on the show.

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised, but I'd love to see him play one more time. I think he's an obvious early boot though.

Another idea would be a combo of Fans vs. Favorites and Blood vs. Water

• The Culpeppers
• Laura & Ciera (though she better not vote off her mom this time)
• Russell & Brandon (if allowed back)
• Any of the Survivor couples, such as Sebastian & Jenna from Ghost Island, or Jon & Jaclyn, or Alex (S6) and Kim (S3), etc.
• 4-5 pairs of new contestants

I wouldn't mind seeing Rusell come back, but Brandon is up there with Colton and the Dan/Rodney/Will alliance as among the least likable contestants ever.

The crazy thing is Brandon may very well have won South Pacific if he hadn't given up individual immunity.  I've heard that jurors said in interviews that he probably would have won if he got to Final Tribal Council.

[morgankingsley]

Here would be my casting for some often-discussed themes for future returnee seasons, keeping in mind that production would favor some more recent people for some of these (don't personally agree with every characterization)

Winners vs. Final 3 losers

Winners not on WAW

• Vecepia, Todd, Natalie W., Mike, Chris U., Tommy

People they beat

• Neleh, Amanda, Russell, Carolyn, Gavin, Noura

WAW Contestants who also won another game or lost in the F3

• Tony, Michelle, Sandra, Parvati

People they beat

• Woo, Aubry, Jonny Fairplay, Cirie

This is similar to a "legends"-type cast, and you have extra layers, since in addition to all of the pairs, Tony also beat Michelle, Sandra also beat Parvati and Russell, and Parvati also beat Amanda.

Possible alternates could include Tina/Colby and Aras/Terry.

That's not a bad idea, but even a season that just consists of runners-up probably could be entertaining too. We won't be seeing Russell Hantz among those contestants though. To my knowledge that bridge was burned since his psycho nephew made his appearances on the show.

What's really funny to me is that if you watch South Pacific and Samoa only (Brandon and Russesll's first seasons) Brandon actually seems like a much better person than Russell in almost every way, but when you look at videos of them in real life on youtube and such, it's like totally the opposite. Russell's actually a really nice guy believe it or not, albeit bitter about his losses more than ten years on, while Brandon doesn't seem bitter, but is almost totally out there

[Progressive Pessimist]

Here would be my casting for some often-discussed themes for future returnee seasons, keeping in mind that production would favor some more recent people for some of these (don't personally agree with every characterization)

Winners vs. Final 3 losers

Winners not on WAW

• Vecepia, Todd, Natalie W., Mike, Chris U., Tommy

People they beat

• Neleh, Amanda, Russell, Carolyn, Gavin, Noura

WAW Contestants who also won another game or lost in the F3

• Tony, Michelle, Sandra, Parvati

People they beat

• Woo, Aubry, Jonny Fairplay, Cirie

This is similar to a "legends"-type cast, and you have extra layers, since in addition to all of the pairs, Tony also beat Michelle, Sandra also beat Parvati and Russell, and Parvati also beat Amanda.

Possible alternates could include Tina/Colby and Aras/Terry.

That's not a bad idea, but even a season that just consists of runners-up probably could be entertaining too. We won't be seeing Russell Hantz among those contestants though. To my knowledge that bridge was burned since his psycho nephew made his appearances on the show.

What's really funny to me is that if you watch South Pacific and Samoa only (Brandon and Russesll's first seasons) Brandon actually seems like a much better person than Russell in almost every way, but when you look at videos of them in real life on youtube and such, it's like totally the opposite. Russell's actually a really nice guy believe it or not, albeit bitter about his losses more than ten years on, while Brandon doesn't seem bitter, but is almost totally out there

I never really got that impression. I found him very off-putting when he sought to vote out Mikaela due to feeling "tempted" or whatever in the face of his newfound Born-Again Christian faith. And whatever creepiness and instability I got a hint of from that season came out in full-force in his next season, so much so that his own tribe voted him out at the show's only impromptu tribal council.

I always liked Russell better, even when he was at his most cutthroat.

[7,052,770]

Thanks to the mods for merging these threads so that we can have general Survivor discussion organized in a single thread.

Off the top of my head

Great seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 20, 28
Good seasons: 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 29, 30, 33, 37, 40
Meh seasons: 11, 12, 17, 22, 25, 27, 31, 32, 34, 36, 38
Bad seasons: 5, 8, 21, 23, 24, 26, 35, 39

I did consider adding WAW into the top tier, but the Edge of Extinction was terrible and almost ruined the game again, there were still too many idols/advantages, and the editing was a bit confusing -- like, from the viewer's perspective Nick just joined the majority alliance at the final 10 without any explanation, but even though he was working with Michelle, she wasn't a part of it?

Still though, it was a very entertaining season and everybody came to play hard. I think I would rank it 3rd in the current "second half" of Survivor (seasons 21-40) behind 28 and 37.

Has anyone watched any of the English-speaking international seasons (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa)?

[100% pro-life no matter what]

My updated quartiles list.  I haven't seen All-Stars, Vanuatu, or Fiji and am partway through Borneo, so I'll leave those out (All-Stars will be my next one to watch).

Great: 7, 15, 16, 18, 20, 28, 31, 37, 40 (I always refer to 15-20 as the Golden Age)
Good: 6, 10, 12, 17, 19, 25, 27, 33, 38 (hot take on the last one although I didn't like the ending)
OK: 2, 3, 4, 11, 13, 29, 30, 32, 35
Bad: 5, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 34, 36, 39

I find the first four seasons very hard to rank, as their so fascinating, but are fundamentally so different than everything else that follows.  I find that even more true for Borneo.  Also, the only seasons I'd truly call bad are Thailand, Nicaragua, and Island of the Idols.  I might have previously included One World in that, but I recently rewatched it and thought it was actually decent but only if strictly viewed to laugh at the contestants (and appreciate Kim's dominant game).  I suspect the same might be true for Nicaragua if I ever get around to watching that again.

Thanks to the mods for merging these threads so that we can have general Survivor discussion organized in a single thread.

Off the top of my head

Great seasons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 20, 28
Good seasons: 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 29, 30, 33, 37, 40
Meh seasons: 11, 12, 17, 22, 25, 27, 31, 32, 34, 36, 38
Bad seasons: 5, 8, 21, 23, 24, 26, 35, 39

I did consider adding WAW into the top tier, but the Edge of Extinction was terrible and almost ruined the game again, there were still too many idols/advantages, and the editing was a bit confusing -- like, from the viewer's perspective Nick just joined the majority alliance at the final 10 without any explanation, but even though he was working with Michelle, she wasn't a part of it?

Still though, it was a very entertaining season and everybody came to play hard. I think I would rank it 3rd in the current "second half" of Survivor (seasons 21-40) behind 28 and 37.

Has anyone watched any of the English-speaking international seasons (Australia, New Zealand, South Africa)?

I haven't, but I've heard good things about the Australian version.

[morgankingsley]

Season 21 is waifu season by default because of double quit scene which is comedy platinum

[morgankingsley]

While I know people are not big fans if returning players, I think a good gimmick could be "final chances". The rules would be you have to had played at least three times, you have to have lost every single time, and this is the last time you will ever play. If they really want to do a way to let them back, maybe they can do something like a pre merge challenge, and let back in the top two finishers, one per tribe and give both a one week immunity, like in pearl islands. And do a final two this season, as long as its common knowledge right away, to guarantee there is no tie.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't using this as a gimmick to give Russell and coach, my two favorites, one last shot

[tmthforu94]

I need to sit down and rank the seasons, but I also wouldn't consider 40 a great season - the show has just gotten a bit overcomplicated in my opinion, they need to go back to the basics again. People overthink it so much, it'd almost be fun if they have a season with no immunity idols in advantages - people wouldn't know what to do!!! I know that won't happen, just wishful thinking...

Season 39 goes down as one of the worst with the Dan controversy - you'd think with after how that season went, a woman would have won, but nope, the only woman who made the family was totally out there and had no shot. Also Dean should have won, but I digress. I also wasn't a fan of Redemption Island - everyone was excited for Rob and Russell to battle it out, then Rob got voted out, played the twist, and then he just embarrassed all of the players. In general, I'm just not a fan of people being able to come back after being voted out.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I need to sit down and rank the seasons, but I also wouldn't consider 40 a great season - the show has just gotten a bit overcomplicated in my opinion, they need to go back to the basics again. People overthink it so much, it'd almost be fun if they have a season with no immunity idols in advantages - people wouldn't know what to do!!! I know that won't happen, just wishful thinking...

Season 39 goes down as one of the worst with the Dan controversy - you'd think with after how that season went, a woman would have won, but nope, the only woman who made the family was totally out there and had no shot. Also Dean should have won, but I digress. I also wasn't a fan of Redemption Island - everyone was excited for Rob and Russell to battle it out, then Rob got voted out, played the twist, and then he just embarrassed all of the players. In general, I'm just not a fan of people being able to come back after being voted out.

Rob never got out in Redemption Island.

[tmthforu94]

I need to sit down and rank the seasons, but I also wouldn't consider 40 a great season - the show has just gotten a bit overcomplicated in my opinion, they need to go back to the basics again. People overthink it so much, it'd almost be fun if they have a season with no immunity idols in advantages - people wouldn't know what to do!!! I know that won't happen, just wishful thinking...

Season 39 goes down as one of the worst with the Dan controversy - you'd think with after how that season went, a woman would have won, but nope, the only woman who made the family was totally out there and had no shot. Also Dean should have won, but I digress. I also wasn't a fan of Redemption Island - everyone was excited for Rob and Russell to battle it out, then Rob got voted out, played the twist, and then he just embarrassed all of the players. In general, I'm just not a fan of people being able to come back after being voted out.

Rob never got out in Redemption Island.

Sorry, I'm getting my seasons confused. It was Russell who got out right away, then. I just remember them hyping up those two and then one got voted out right away!! Nevertheless, it was a bit pathetic seeing Rob completely steamroll everyone. I was slightly worried that would happen at WoW when they split into 3 camps, but luckily Ben and Adam wised up.

[7,052,770]

I like immunity idols fine, but only with caveats

• They should only be found with clues. I don't like how people just stumble upon them nowadays. It's too random and feels too easy to quasi-rig. Like Ben finding all those idols, just too lucky. I like the ones that are either hidden in plain sight so that it's risky to grab it, or buried somewhere that you would have to have clues to get to them.
• Stop rehiding them after they're played. We don't need an idol in play every time. Imagine having a hidden immunity idol at each beach at the start, only findable with clues that are given out as a reward. And once they're played, they're played. Ultimately, "idols" shouldn't be someone's main strategy to win.

[VirginiaAaron]

Okay so I'm so happy I found this...like ecstatic.

So I thought I'd start my first post on here with how I would've voted to win at each final two/three on each season of Survivor. This is purely based on game, not personal actions. Here we go...

(Obviously, there will be SPOILERS ahead...)
Italics are for when I disagreed with the jury's vote

Borneo: Richard Hatch
Australia: Colby Donaldson
Africa: Ethan Zohn
Marquesas: Vecepia Towery
Thailand: Brian Heidik
Amazon: Jenna Morasca
Pearl Islands: Sandra Diaz-Twine
All-Stars: Rob Mariano
Vanuatu: Chris Daugherty
Palau: Tom Westman
Guatemala: Danni Boatwright
Panama: Aras Baskauskas
Cook Islands: Yul Kwon
Fiji: Earl Cole
China: Todd Herzog
Micronesia: Parvati Shallow
Gabon: Susie Smith
Tocantins: JT Thomas
Samoa: Russell Hantz
Heroes vs. Villains: Parvati Shallow
Nicaragua: Chase Rice
Redemption Island: Rob Mariano
South Pacific: Coach Wade
One World: Kim Spradlin
Philippines: Denise Stapley
Caramoan: John Cochran
Blood vs. Water: Tyson Apostol
Cagayan: Tony Vlachos
San Juan del Sur: Natalie Anderson
Worlds Apart: Mike Holloway
Cambodia: Jeremy Collins
Kaôh Rōng: Aubry Bracco
Millenials vs. Gen X: Adam Klein
Game Changers: Sarah Lacina
Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: Ben Driebergen
Ghost Island: Domenick Abbate
David vs. Goliath: Nick Wilson
Edge of Extinction: Gavin Whitson
Island of the Idols: Dean Kowalski
Winners at War: Tony Vlachos

[100% pro-life no matter what]

The Fijian government has given Survivor approval to return to film Season 41, following a two-week quarantine period.  I'd expect that we will get a fall season, maybe delayed to October.

https://insidesurvivor.com/survivor-looks-set-to-resume-production-in-fiji-soon-44539

[SnowLabrador]

That's good news. I got Yara and Koru buffs for my recent birthday, and those are really beautiful in person.

[7,052,770]

After some more consideration, I've divided the seasons into more tiers. The main way I did this was by how interested I'd be in rewatching.

The Absolute Best: 1, 20
The Best: 2, 4, 7, 20, 28
Great: 3, 13, 14, 18, 19, 30, 33, 37, 40
Good: 6, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 31, 32
Decent: 11, 12, 25, 27, 29, 34, 36
Fair: 22, 23, 35, 38
Poor: 5, 8, 21, 24, 26, 39

[7,052,770]

I have over the last month found the Australian seasons and been watching my way through them. The current Australian series started in 2016 and has had 1 season per year, meaning the 5th (All Stars) aired earlier this year. However, most online sources consider these to be season 3-7, as there were seasons in 2002 and 2006 on other networks. These are my thoughts on the seasons I've watched, with significant spoilers marked.

• Australian season 1 from 2002 is OK. It's painfully low-budget, and the challenges are super simple. Being so early, many of the players don't even think alliances are ethical.
  Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

  Show

  
  

  The players who did come to play unsurprisingly go far, and the winner Rob is likable and strategic. It's really sad knowing that he, along with his son that he talks about on the show, died several years later in a car accident, putting a damper on the whole season.
  
  
• Australian season 2 from 2006 is pretty bad. It's a "celebrity" season, though I'd never heard of any of them. It includes among others some sports stars, a politician, and several women who'd been in the Australian version of Playboy.
  Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

  Show

  
  

  It plays out like you'd expect, with little strategy, although no one is ethically opposed to it. Then, in a really dumb twist, two players who'd been voted out returned to the game at the final 3, now final 5, and make it to the final 2, where one wins. I think Guy is a worse winner than Chris U., as at least Chris played hard after his return.
  
  
• Now we're on to the current run of the show. Australian season 3 from 2016 is great. I liked pretty much all of the contestants. The production values of the show are equal or higher than the American version, but the main difference is how much longer the seasons of the current run are. Starting with 2016, seasons have 26 episodes, and many of them last longer than an hour even without ads, meaning it takes over twice as long to watch a modern Australian season than a US season. Seasons have 24 contestants, so it's kinda disorienting at the start until you start learning who everyone is.
  Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

  Show

  
  

  I found almost the entire cast to be likable, and the longer run of the show gives time to develop pre-merge boots like Andrew, Craig, Phoebe pretty well. From what I understand, the Brooke/Flick/El alliance wasn't popular with the fanbase, but I liked all of them fine. I was rooting for Nick, and to some extent Jennah-Louise, but I was fine with the way it turned out. I actually didn't particularly like Kristie through the run of the show, but after her FTC performance, I was as shocked as the jury members to realize she deserved the win.
  
  
• Australian season 4 from 2017 was also great. I didn't love it as much as the Survivor reddit community, but still highly entertaining.
  Spoiler alert! Click Show to show the content.

  Show

  
  

  Both this season and AU3 had a tribal council where 2 people were voted out but then surprise! they go to the other tribe rather than out of the game. I didn't mind it in AU3, but I didn't like the way it went down here. One thing I really loved in this season was how an alliance of 6 set up a 3-3-3 split just in case an idol was played, but then one of those 6 grabbed another member of his alliance and one from the minority to turn it into a 3-2-2-2 on another member of his alliance. That's even cooler than Tony's move against Sophie in WaW. The winner was fine. Played a good game, likable enough, but nothing special.
  
  

Overall, I think I liked AU3 a little better than most people and AU4 a little less. My opinions of the seasons from long ago are probably typical, but nobody really talks about those.

The Absolute Best: 1, 20
The Best: 2, 4, 7, 20, 28
Great: 3, 13, 14, 18, 19, 30, 33, 37, 40, AU3, AU4
Good: 6, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 31, 32
Decent: 11, 12, 25, 27, 29, 34, 36
Fair: 22, 23, 35, 38, AU1
Poor: 5, 8, 21, 24, 26, 39, AU2

Next up is season 5, Champions vs. Contenders. I know that Russell Hantz (!) is one of the contestants, and I know approximately how well he does from watching his YouTube videos.

[tmthforu94]

Island of the Idols: Dean Kowalski

Hey...we are pretty much in agreement on all of these! Wanted to give a special shoutout on Season 39...as awful as the season was, I totally agree with you that Dean should have won! I'm still bitter about that.

[morgankingsley]

The only runner up that still genuinely pisses me off is that Coach lost by only two votes. He was so close to winning a perfect season

[100% pro-life no matter what]

The only runner up that still genuinely pisses me off is that Coach lost by only two votes. He was so close to winning a perfect season

Imagine Coach on Winners at War...