Survivor megathread

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Not sure if there's any interest in this or if there are any Survivor fans here, but season 38 premieres tomorrow night.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Actually, 'Survivor' is a guilty pleasure of mine still. I'm looking forward to the new season but I don't really understand this season's gimmick. Honestly, a lot of their gimmicks, especially the ones where they arbitrarily classify people, seem to be falling short of engrossing me lately.

I'd agree with that, but David vs. Goliath was the best season in years.  After numerous years as a fan, I had lost interest and didn't watch seasons 35 or 36.  I got back into it big-time last season and have even been binge watching old seasons, both re-watches of ones from when I was a kid and a few of the ones I missed because I was really young.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Since this is a political forum, here are my guesses of the politics of the castaways:

MOST CONSERVATIVE:
Gavin
Lauren
Chris
Rick
Joe
Wardog
Wentworth
Ron
Reem (although I think she could be either extreme)
David
Eric
Keith
Julie
Julia
Aubry
Victoria
Wendy
Aurora
MOST LIBERAL

[100% pro-life no matter what]

This gimmick is a shameless attempt to keep returning players in the game longer (much like Redemption Island for Boston Rob, Russell, Coach, and Ozzy back in the day).

I'm never a fan of mixing returning players and new players. Looking forward to see Joe, Kelley, David, and Aubry run the game

Although RI did little for any of them (except Ozzy).  Russell was eliminated in his first duel and Rob and Coach never were sent to RI.  With this twist, my worry is that there will be the whole cast still technically in the game in the finale, making the jury and jury management really weird.

I thought the premiere was very good though.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Given that they are filming in Fiji and having to make new twists (since they can't differentiate seasons on location anymore), do y'all think a Republicans vs. Democrats season could work?

[100% pro-life no matter what]

So the season has concluded, and I didn't really like it that much. I'm hesitant to say that anyone was robbed, since getting the jury to vote for you is the bread and butter of Survivor, but it was as close to a "wrong" decision as I think there has ever been..

It's the least satisfied I have been in the ending in many years (since being angry that Russell lost HvV, but that may have had something to do with being 14 back then).  Gavin would not have been an elite winner by any means, but he (while under-edited) actually did play a solid game and should have beaten Chris.

I actually thought this was a pretty solid season until the finale.  The finale was really exciting, but rendered much of the rest of the season irrelevant, especially since they barely showed Chris both during his time on EoE and in the first three episodes before he was voted out.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Someone who got voted out shouldn't win. Terrible outcome.

I'm not sure if I agree 100%, but Chris had a month on the "Edge of Extinction" to bond with the jury outside of the context of the game. It's no surprise that the few votes he didn't get were from people voted out relatively late and didn't have as much time with him there.

I wouldn't particularly object to a Redemption Island/Edge of Extinction that just happened once, at the merge and then no more (kinda like the Outcasts twist from way back in the day), but the idea that a guy can get voted out on Day 8, sit around for a month hanging out with the jury, and then jump back in and win is crazy.

Also, does anyone actually like the mandatory firemaking challenge at F4? Surely not, right?

Not a huge fan of the firemaking, but it wouldn't be as bad if they made the last chance to play an idol at F6 so you couldn't count on idoling your way to making fire to a jury vote.  I would have voted for Gavin at FTC out of principle, but I understand why the jury was wanting to give it to Chris (to validate their EoE experience of sorts).  I also wouldn't have had a problem with someone like Devens winning after playing the whole post-merge, but it's just different for someone like Chris who didn't play from the end of the third episode to the beginning of the finale.

David vs. Goliath was a good season, and EoE was really fun until the finale, but it still feels like the producers need to find what works.  Just like China finally figured out the proper formula after experimental seasons like Cook Islands and Fiji (sparking the "Golden Age" of seasons 15-20) and the show returned to form in Philippines after the "Dark Ages" of Nicaragua-One World, Survivor needs to figure out what works.  Given the season 40 twist confirmed by Inside Survivor, I'm hopeful that it can act as a reset (and be an absolutely epic season in its own right).

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I started a thread for Edge of Extinction, so I figured I'd do it again in advance of tomorrow's premiere of the 39th edition of the greatest game of social politics there is!

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I didn't like this season both because it was ugly but also because there was no one I truly loved in the cast.

Here would me my tiers (there are a few early seasons I haven't watched):

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

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Several factors making recent seasons worse:

• The firemaking at final 4 challenge is awful. It makes Survivor a totally different game at the very end. It single-handedly ruined H/H/H since they didn't even tell the contestants about it until right beforehand. I would been fine with Ben getting himself into the final 3 and then winning, but firemaking surprise makes him the second worst winner of alltime IMO. Even in the later seasons where the contestants knew ahead of time, it's silly -- does anyone actually like it?
• Chris getting voted off on day 8, coming back into the game on day 36 and then winning on day 39 was also a joke. And he did play well in his 3 days back in the game, but it probably didn't mean much - he spent weeks hanging out with the jury on the Edge of Extinction, so of course they were inclined to vote for him. I can't believe they're actually bringing this back for Winners at War.

• Honestly I wouldn't mind this if it were pre-merge only. The Outcasts twist in Pearl Islands was great. Had Lil won season 7, or Rick Devens won in season 38, I would have been fine with it since they was only out for a few days. But no one should be able to step back in at the very end at be able to win. Season 23 would probably be the worst of all-time had Ozzy not gotten upset in the final immunity challenge and therefore won after getting voted out twice. (Thank God they didn't have the firemaking f4 back then or he probably would've anyway!)

• Way, way too many immunity idols these days. I didn't mind having one hidden at Exile Island, and I have thought the ones hidden at challenges to be kinda clever, but it just gets kinda ridiculous when they rehide a new one every time one is played. It's way too luck-based to just happen to find one. Russell finding 2 without any clues back in season 19 should have clued in the producers to this, but I think they learned the opposite lesson.
• And idols should be the extent of it. No more "steal a vote," "block an idol," "extra votes," etc. If you don't want to get voted off, convince people not to vote you off. I don't like all these lucky random elements getting thrown into it.

I agree with all of that, especially the fire-making part. I remember when that was introduced, it seemed like a way to give Ben a lifeline in that season and help him win, because he was going to be voted out otherwise. It really upended the game in a big way that didn't seem fair as a surprise.

I also wish they would just go back to having a final two, they still do that sometimes, but the third person in the finale so rarely ever even gets votes, that I don't see the purpose of keeping it most of the time.

That also goes for a lot of the arbitrary classifications of the contestants as we've seen in some recent seasons. They just get tribe-swapped after nine or so days anyway, so what's the point? To make some sort of statement as to what kind of demographic is superior?

I would love to see a season that gets rid of all the gimmicks and returns to its basic roots. Hell that could even be the gimmick: 'Survivor: Back to Basics!' No hidden immunity idols!

when did they stop with the final two on a regular basis

Season 13 was the first to have a final 3, although 16 and 28 had a final 2 as a surprise twist, which was also lame. It should be declared ahead of time.

18 also had a Final 2, which seemed to be expected by most during the season.  Now, season 18 (Tocantins), was kind of a "back to the basics" sort of season with a 16 person cast and no tribe swaps (plus no idols that impacted the game).

This is still a thing?

Somehow yes

Season 40 is going to be 20 former winners all returning, so if you have any interest, I'd check it out this spring!

[100% pro-life no matter what]

The season that Survivor fans have talked about for over a decade is finally here!  Tomorrow night, we'll begin to watch 20 former winners try to claim another title (and $2 million this time).

The winners range from Ethan, who won season 3 (Africa) in 2001, to Nick, who won season 37 (David vs. Goliath) in 2018.  Sandra is the only two-time winner coming into the season, having won both season 7 (Pearl Islands) and season 20 (Heroes vs. Villains).

The top tier of threats on the island would have to be considered Sandra, Boston Rob, Parvati, and Tony, but the other players will likely recognize their threat level and want to get them out.  I might add Kim to that list too since many consider her game in One World to have been the best single game ever, but she's only played once and isn't as big of a name.

Conversely, the big threats might want to try to stick together to take out former winners that are being overlooked.

I'm just excited to see how this goes down.  Over 40 seasons, we've had a handful of all-star seasons.  The last full returnee season (Game Changers in 2017) is regarded as a disappointment, so just a regular returnee season might not have gotten fans so excited.  This is the one theme that will stick out like all-stars did for All Stars in 2004 or Heroes vs. Villains in 2010.

As Survivor is currently CBS's highest-rated non-news/sports show, obviously there will be more seasons.  And, I won't complain to have more versions of this game to watch, but I would almost be OK if this were the final season.  I've heard speculation about maybe doing "Legends" for season 50 if Jeff Probst is ready to move on in 5 years, but that's probably just fan speak.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

This is the most excited I have been for a 'Survivor' premiere in quite some time.

Same, I hope this season is good

I have to admit I haven't watch survivor since Game Changers 3 years ago. I need to catch up on the seasons since 2014. I didn't watch San Juan Del Sur, Cambodia, Kaoh Rong, Millenials vs Gen X, HHH, Ghost Island, and David vs Goliath. Not interested in watching EOE and Island of the Idols especially because of the Dan Incident.  

David vs. Goliath is the best season of those (the Survivor Reddit ranked it #1 of all-time in its 2019 "What Season Would You Watch" countdown), but several of them are decent (HHH is controversial and GI is predictable, but the others are pretty good).

Although, I don't think any of them live up to Heroes vs. Villains and Cagayan, which are probably my two favorites.

Also, Gabon is a classic (your sig)!  It was the season that got me into Survivor!

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Won't spoil anything because the West Coast hasn't seen it yet, but I thought it was a very good premiere, though I hope that EoE doesn't take up too much of the airtime.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

This season is so good, even with the three biggest legends having just gone back-to-back-to-back!  I sense that we will have some new legends in a couple months (I hope they are able to do some sort of reunion, even if there's no live audience).

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Let me just say that my fantasy team is dominating my friends' teams right now since Tyson came back from the Edge.  I went from tied for first before the merge to 9 points up now!

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Adam was playing way too aggressive again and he paid the price for it. He should of kept his mouth shut...  Lmao thinking the Fleur-de-lis attached to Jeff’s podium was a HII.

That was right up their with Billy confessing his love for Candice (who he'd never met) in the rankings of the funniest moments on Survivor.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Tony set an all-time record on tonight's episode by having 18 confessionals in a single episode.

It was a really legendary single episode performance, considering that he:

-Found an idol in the dark
-Positioned himself as the swing vote
-Overcame a disadvantage by convincing his tribemates (from 2 different alliances) to give him their fire tokens
-Won the immunity challenge
-Led a blindside of a real threat to win the game

Thinking back to his season in Cagayan, I'm surprised that Tony doesn't get more love as the Survivor GOAT.  He's like Russell Hantz if Russell knew how to not make his tribemates hate him.

In terms of the greatest players of all time, I would go with Tony, Kim, Parvati, and Rob.  The latter two get the recognition they deserve, but the former two really don't.  Yul is probably on that list too, although his win in Cook Islands was really helped by twists.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Does anyone else here have a buff collection? I've been collecting them for four years now and have 44 different designs.

You got a Johnny Fairplay one? I see him out drinking/ in court a lot when there is no coronavirus.

I met Jonny Fairplay last year.  He was doing a watch party up in Nashville for the Edge of Extinction episode where Wardog got voted out.  He then recorded his podcast with all of us as live audience.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

They're supposed to start filming season 41 this month in Fiji. Jeff also has doubts the series will last to Season 50.

https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/survivor-jeff-probst-50-seasons-show-ending.html/

The full quote seems to be more along the lines of Jeff wanting to take it one year (2 seasons) at a time, rather than a thought that the show will end.  Now, Jeff will want to retire at some point (50 may be a milestone that brings it about), but I think that they will at least try to carry on the show without him.

I have doubts that they will be able to go to Fiji in 2 weeks to start filming, but I hold out hope that the fall season will be able to air as normal.  I have no inside knowledge, but I also think they might have to film 41 (and 42) in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or something, instead of Fiji.

Prediction: Boston Rob gets back into the game on the finale, based on the amount of screentime he's still getting and the fact that he tends to be good at challenges.

I will be incredibly disappointed if he makes the F3 and gets a jury vote other than Amber's.

Like I said earlier, Edge of Extinction would be fine if it were pre-merge only. It's really dumb to have it again at the end. How could the producers not have known there would be a huge backlash to someone spending almost the whole season on EoE and then coming back in to win?

I don't see it with his injury and the fact that his focus has (except for the episode where he found the hidden fire tokens) been more on his Survivor journey and career than on his continued game since he was voted out.  I think the late game returnee will be Natalie, Parvati, or a post-merge vote out.

As for who will win the game, they seem to be building up Tony as this massive figure that's hard to beat.  What isn't clear to me is whether they are doing it to make the win of someone who took him down look better (like what they did with Devens and Chris in season 38) or if they are doing it to make him the GOAT and remove all doubt (kind of like the dominant wins by Rob and Kim).

[100% pro-life no matter what]

So I think Sandra is the only one who isn't going to be in the jury, right?

Correct.  On Edge of Extinction, everyone but Keith and Wendy were on the jury.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Bump for finale night.

I'm pulling for Tony- he's played a really good game.  At the beginning of the season, I said he was one of four who had no shot due to their high threat level.  If he somehow wins it (and he's in a good spot right now), it would be a major accomplishment.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Tony is the GOAT, no questions asked.

I did see an interesting point that Sarah probably cost herself the game by taking out Ben instead of Michele.  If Michele goes and Natalie still wins the Final Immunity Challenge, Natalie probably takes Sarah and lets Ben make fire (because he won the fire-making in his season and would have had a good shot of beating Tony).  If Ben wins that, Sarah would have likely gotten a bunch of Tony's voters (though a couple might have gone to Ben too).  I think Sarah probably wins that Final 3 scenario.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

I narrowly won my Fantasy league.  If Natalie had defeated Tony, I would have only tied for 1st.  The person who had Tony actually came in 4th place out of 5 people because his other three were Danni, Ethan, and Amber- who just so happened to be the bottom three finishers.  My team was Nick, Michele, Tyson, and Ben.  The 2nd place team was Jeremy, Natalie, Sophie, and Denise.  The only reason that I won was that I cleaned up in the "voting correctly" category, with a 11 point edge there, versus my overall 5 point margin of victory.

The prize: A season 40 commemorative buff

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Seems like we usually speculate on contestants' politics on these threads, so I'll give it a stab. Note that I haven't scoured through anyone's Facebook or Twitter pages, so I could be totally wrong about some of these.

In order from right to left:

• Danni - Definitely gives off a conservative vibe. From Kansas.
• Kim - Also get a conservative vibe from her. And IIRC she is pretty religious. From Texas.
• Tony - No smoking gun, but a white male cop from New Jersey seems like a Republican.
• Sarah - She described herself as conservative in Game Changers during the Zeke outing controversy, although she did support him and use his preferred pronouns. Police officer from Iowa. The speech she gave to the jury at F6 was pretty feminist, so who knows. She may be a Trump-Biden voter, she may not see her speech as un-conservative, or she may have been playing to a mostly liberal jury.
• Ben - A veteran with PTSD issues. From Idaho. Son of a gay father. Wouldn't be shocked if he generally didn't vote, but if he does and I had to predict, I would guess Republican. Also could be libertarian or drawn to Trump's non-interventionism.
• Nick - Not really sure on him - no obvious vibe. He's white and comes from an >80% Trump county in rural Kentucky. But he is a public defender, which seems like a liberal career choice.
• Tyson - A faithful Mormon family man originally from Utah, but sure doesn't give off a Republican vibe.
• Rob & Amber - I remember them endorsing Kerry back in 2004, but aside from that they don't give off strong vibes either way. Plausibly Obama-Trumpers.
• Denise - No smoking gun, but a sex therapist seems like a Democrat.
• Parvati - No smoking gun, but a female yoga teacher from California seems like a Democrat.
• Sandra - No smoking gun, but Puerto Rican woman vote mostly Democratic.
• Michelle - Could be misreading, but I think she gives off a liberal vibe, as urban millennial woman from New Jersey with a black ex-casual boyfriend.
• Adam - Gives off a strongly liberal vibe. Urban millennial from California.
• Sophie - Also gives off a strongly liberal vibe. Seemed uncomfortable with her tribe's religiosity in her first season. From California.
• Wendell - No obvious evidence, but assuming an urban millennial black man is probably on the Left unless there's evidence otherwise
• Jeremy - Black man from Massachusetts. Recognized and disliked John Rocker for his racist and homophobic comments.
• Ethan, Yul, Natalie - Come from Democratic minority groups and spoke about their liberal politics during their original seasons.

I saw someone say that Nick is a big Trump supporter.  I could see Tony as less conservative than you might guess though.  Parvati is definitely quite liberal now, though it wouldn't surprise me if she was somewhat more conservative when she played her first time.  I could easily see the Marianos as Obama-Trump voters.  Ben seems conservative to me, but I thought I read someone saying he said on a podcast he voted for Hillary (but even then, I would think he could be a Republican in non-Trump elections).

The only ones that I'm pretty sure are Republicans are Nick, Kim, Danni, and Sarah.  Rob, Amber, Ben, Tyson, and Tony are probably pretty moderate or could go either way.  The rest are likely Democrats, though I get the sense that Jeremy, Yul, and maybe Ethan are probably not as liberal as you are guessing they are.

[100% pro-life no matter what]

Real-life politics also sometimes do play a role on the show, but it is rarely shown as such.

An example of this is that Brad Culpepper is (surprisingly?) very liberal and said that there were several outspoken conservatives on the post-merge Game Changers (Sarah, Sierra, and perhaps others), and he would have to forcibly remove himself from conversations to prevent himself from getting into arguments and potentially making enemies.

Another example that Victoria from Edge of Extinction hinted at on an AMA on Reddit was that she and Ron had a lot of friction with Lauren.  She wouldn't go into a lot of detail about it, but basically said that it wasn't personal but they couldn't relate to Lauren because of vastly different backgrounds, including Lauren being very religious and them not.  While she never explicitly mentioned politics, she said that "there is nothing wrong with either viewpoint", which sounded like they had some friction over religious views that could have spilled over into politics and values.  She also said that it was hard for her because the religious people in the game talked about their faith a lot.