Survivor: Ghost Island

faceless nameless cast for sure, i usually remember the names by now, but not his time.

really need another all-stars or heroes vs. villains to spice things up a bit.

i would still love for them to have an all-winners seasons, make the prize 5 million, they will all play.

 

So far I've generally enjoyed this season, however, that was one of the most boring tribal counsel's in recent memory. Asking the three to say why they think they should stay in the game made me almost change the channel to see what else was on.

Also, the Ghost Island thing is a pointless waste of time that adds nothing to the game.

 

The casting seems to be getting less and less diverse. Everyone basically the same age, same looks, same personality.

I still remember players from the first season. Will I remember any of these folks? It's doubtful.

 

i have to agree, i just don't get the point of ghost island at all.

 

I feel like these are the sort of comments we see every single season...next season will kick off and it'll be more of the same. It's always the worst/most unlikable/most boring group/etc. ever. I have to disagree; I've been loving this season so far. They're going overboard on the sob stories but overall it's a strong cast. But I'm cautious; I loved last season at first but the last couple episodes, especially the finale, were awful.

We just had an absolutely disastrous returning players season last year. I'm sure they'll do something big to commemorate season 40 but I'm really content to stick with newbies for a while.

Ethan (and possibly Chris and Tom and Todd) wouldn't be medically cleared. Probst is on record as disliking some of the early winners, and it's unlikely he would allow Vecepia and Brian to return. Jenna was recently arrested for drug possession. It would be unlikely and unfair to have Rob and Amber play together, and both have said they have no interest in returning (although I'm sure Rob could be persuaded). Aras won't clarify but he says he will only play again if the producers agree to a certain condition. Parvati is pregnant and Kim said she wouldn't play again until her kids are older. A few others have said they wouldn't play again, but people change their minds. Plus, Richard and Tina are both pushing 60. I feel like the window hasn't closed on all-winners but it would be significantly less exciting than if they had done it around season 25.

Although it would be great to see Sandra again, and since she won twice she should have to get voted out twice to be out of the game.

I feel like the last few years have kind of ruined Survivor in the sense that we now expect every week to be an epic blindside or idol play. In the early seasons, you could go a month where every episode was really predictable and obvious with one alliance picking off another, but it was still enjoyable since the characters were the focus more than the game. Then things shifted to strategy taking over, which makes for exciting moments, but there's a huge problem: good gameplay makes for terrible TV. Seriously. If you look at the people widely considered to be the best players of all time, they all consistently maintained control and were subtle in their approaches.

I really appreciated that this episode didn't manufacture any drama from an idol discovery or make it seem like people in the majority might switch sides when that was never going to happen. It may have been slower but it felt more honest and compelling. It was also kind of neat to see a perspective we rarely see; that you can want it so badly but sometimes Survivor just doesn't work out for you.

Yeah, it's basically just Exile Island at this point. I'm glad it's not just showering people with advantages, but it does feel like the whole conceit of the season is centered around something we've already seen before. (Which is not a bad thing; it just shows that they should be comfortable doing a season without any convoluted tribe divisions or game-changing twists.)

 

Anthontherun said: It may have been slower but it felt more honest and compelling. [/QUOTE]

It may have been more honest but it certainly wasn't more compelling.

 

Would you have preferred they construct some narrative to make it seem like Sebastian or Chelsea might switch sides even though it was obviously not going to happen?

Again--good gameplay is boring gameplay. This was absolutely a scenario for the majority alliance to stick together. We've just gotten accustomed to every single week being a blindside and power shift when that really doesn't make sense for 99% of players 99% of the time.

 

Just a side question and has nothing to do with this season, but does anyone else find the challenges to be the least interesting part of Survivor? Half the time I find myself contemplating the fast forward button just to get back to the scheming, etc.

 

Couldn't agree more. Occasionally they can be pretty cool, but in recent years they all follow the same formula (epic obstacle course + puzzle for team challenges; endurance for individual) and they take up so much of the episodes. I almost always zone out when Jeff Probst explains the instructions.

 

I understand what you're saying and don't disagree. A "true" representation of the Survivor experience is probably all but impossible to present in a television show format. While viewing, I'm fully aware that I'm being manipulated. Through editing they skillfully construct narratives that feature and favor some contestants at the expense of others.

When watching a documentary of actual events that are of interest, I want the resulting (edited) film to convey as true a representation of of events as possible.

However, I watch Survivor for something different -- entertainment.

And that last tribal counsel almost committed the cardinal sin of entertainment -- more authentic to events or not -- it almost made me change the channel.

 

we are still a few weeks away from the merge...........right now, things are way too predictable.

 

And Probst is asking questions about the social game after competitions. I don't know if Jeff Probst and his co-executive producers analyze this show to death in an effort to make it better, but some things are better left alone. Probst has realized that this show is his bread and butter the rest of his life, so I'm sure he wants the best version of it possible. It is possible to overthink it. As mentioned above, these shows are entertainment. Stop putting too much effort into making it "better."

 

Another boring episode, the majority in the tribe vote off the minority,again, ho hum. Going to be boring till there's only one original tribe left, and many of the best players will be gone by then.

 

At least it was reiterated that Chris is a dick - and, btw, Brad is still a dick too.

 

I zoned out halfway thru, one of the most boring seasons in a long time

 

And Ghost Island was conveniently nonexistent last night after being a non-event for the past several weeks.

 

those two guys are really full of themselves. Chris is the kind of guy that always has to one up you. 'oh yeah, i play volleyball too...we actually won our city tournament...'

i like the way this season is going. not a lot of fireworks lately but there's potential. and most of the good stuff usually happens after the merge.

 

Really wish they'd stop changing up the tribes. Trying to remember who's aligned with who is a pain in the neck.

 

Sure glad that jack-hole is gone.

 

He said he was aware that he was a dick and still couldn't help himself. One down, one to go.

 

They've switched up the tribes so much that I don't recall who was in what original tribe.

 

buh bye Bradley. not gonna miss ya.

 

Yeah, the guy who was a jerk during the 3 days was Mr. Civilized Guy at tribal. He won’t be remembered long.

 

this is, by far, the least interested i have ever been in any season of survivor. i don't know why either.

 

I honestly can't remember the names of the people this season. I know there are still a lot of people left (I couldn't believe when Probst said. "14 Survivors still in the hunt." I just watch and hope a person that I don't like gets evicted.