Survivor - Samoa (2 Viewers)

[Hanson]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon ">[/url]

Come to think of it, didn't a contestant end up dying during the filming of a foreign version of Survivor several months ago?

[/QUOTE]That happened in

 

[mattCR]

I admit, I'm enjoying this season start far more then most. I get that people think Russel is a gimick or whatever. I beleive that he had this plan all along to be a complete asshole and see how far it takes him. And after this many seasons, I figured someone had to come up with a new take on a strategy to win. I have no problem with it.

And, it's makes me laugh. His strategy of hunting for the immunity idol without clues is something I advocated about two seasons ago. You've seen the game, you know the ins and outs, why not take every short cut you can imagine?

 

[Mike Frezon]

I think my wife has the most cogent view of Russell yet:

Russell isn't fun to watch because he looks bad in his underwear.

'Nuff said.

And after this many seasons, I figured someone had to come up with a new take on a strategy to win. I have no problem with it.

But, Matt. Didn't he say he doesn't care about winning? For him it seems to be all about simply stirring the pot and causing trouble. I don't find that entertaining--definitely not without the motivation of trying to win the game. Maybe I don't remember correctly. I know he said he doesn't care about the money.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I haven't been around this show long enough to spot
phoniness. To me, I am always suspicious about reality
shows like SURVIVOR because what you are seeing may
not be actually what happened. I think the producers look
for reactions and I would bet many of them are cleverly
cut into situations that may not necessarily be tied to the
actions. The idea here is to take as many hours of footage
as possible and cut it down to the point where an interesting
story is being told.

So, with that in mind, I tend to agree with mattCR. I am
really enjoying this season for the fact that we have someone
like Russell who is taking on a completely new strategy to
win.

Coach was annoying for me because all he did was tell
these Indiana Jones stories about himself. Russell, on
the other hand, is at least up front that he's full of shit.
Though I don't agree with his tactics of gameplay, I can
certainly see why he's a goldmine for the show. Will he
actually be able to win the show based on deception or will
he be caught in some act? Quite frankly, I am on the edge
of my seat to find that out.

...and give the guy credit for finding the hidden idol
without any clues. However, as I think someone pointed
out here, they didn't do a very good job hiding it. After
all these seasons it tends to become obvious the places
one needs to look.
[COLOR= rgb(128, 0, 128)]"Yasmin is pretty close to being a hooker."[/COLOR]

Let's call that one "line of the day."

It will be a while until her own tribe realizes what
they have on their hands, but I can't wait to see
this girl gone.


Finally, a salute to Mike. I was actually choking
up when they took him out of camp. I also agree
that the play here was a little too rough -- certainly
the most pounding competition I have witnessed
since watching the show three years ago.

Good choice on voting Betsey out. I have no
problem with Ben. At least he's honest.

 

[KevA]

Russell did say he does not care about the money (he is a multi-millionaire); he did say he wants to win the game, however.


I thought the second episode was quite good. Russell appeared more "normal"; he didn't really cause any chaos this time.


I also agree that a "narrative" is created by the Survivor producers and editors, but "scripted" isn't quite the right term for it. For those who have watched the show more than a few times, you will constantly see this in the drama leading up to the tribal council vote. The Survivor producers will skillfully edit together the pre-tribal-council discussions to make it appear as if there are (say) two people who are being considered to be voted out. In the end, you'll see practically everybody vote for one person. (Last night was a rare exception in this regard: Betsy was so much a unanimous choice, they couldn't edit things to create uncertainty there!) If you want to call this "scripted," I agree with that for sure; I'd call it manipulative editing, or something like that.
I always liked what the Survivor team comes up with in terms of the challenges, but I agree with the comments made here about the physical nature of these challenges being excessive. Since the early days of Survivor, it's been obvious that's it unfair to put younger people up against older people in these things; and men against women as well, in some cases. And yet they continue to do it. They should create more "intellectual" challenges; or, if they need sensationalistic television, some more bug-eating challenges, etc.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Ronald Epstein

To me, I am always suspicious about reality
shows like SURVIVOR because what you are seeing may
not be actually what happened. I think the producers look
for reactions and I would bet many of them are cleverly
cut into situations that may not necessarily be tied to the
actions.

That reminds me. I was wondering if the shot of Russell's hand going up to grab the wrapped idol inside the tree was fabricated...

Obviously, it would have been a tight fit for the cameraman to get inside that stump with Russell AND his stomach. And it would have been mighty dark in there. And, he got away from the stump without anyone seeing that he had the idol.

I figure they must've either reenacted it later when no one was around...or it was the hand of a crew member and they created the shot when the cast was off at a challenge (or in rehearsal). I'm sure they do that a lot...this particular example just seemed very obvious.

I'm not a big fan of editing to create a false illusion. They do it a lot on The Biggest Loser. During the weigh-ins and the revelas they'll have someone step on the scale abd the host announce "and your current weight is..." They'll then cut to a reaction shot of other contestants gsping with widened eyes (or something similar) before cutting to a commercial.

After you come back from commercial, they complete the weigh-in and it turns out it wasn't all that dramatic and the cut-away must've come from some other moment. Lame.

I understand the need to create a well-told tale...but I kinda hate being misled at the same time. I know others disagree with this hang-up of mine. I think, for me, it's got something to do with the word 'reality."

 

[MarkMel]

I did read that they use psychologists when selecting the contestants. And that they look for different personality traits and how they will react with each other.

I think this season they went and reviewed their cast options and looked for the box checked "crazy" on the evaluations.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

That reminds me. I was wondering if the shot of Russell's hand going up to grab the wrapped idol inside the tree was fabricated...

Damn, Mike, what a great observation.

Had to be re-enacted. I mean, Russell went up that
tree and hid the idol in his pants without anyone seeing
it. Now if a cameraman had gone in there with him
there would be a great deal of emphasis put on what
was done.

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

I could not agree more with what's being said here, last night's ep was a disgrace.

Even before Jeff said "You came THAT close to it getting ugly." I thought it was already ugly!

People slamming each other to the ground, getting each other in choke holds and ramming each other like bulls made me turn away and wince more than a few times.

And that's all before we had to endure Ben (just an awe-inspiringly colossal prick) and Russell (or as I call him the little evil troll who lives under a bridge).

Coming off from watching season one last week and seeing how simple the game was, how straight forward and honest with no clear villains or heroes was great, it's in stark contrast to this.

 

[KevA]

Yes, they probably re-enacted that (grabbing the idol inside the tree). No big deal. Makes perfect sense and doesn't harm any reality aspect of the show whatsoever.

 

[Paul D G]

That reminds me. I was wondering if the shot of Russell's hand going up to grab the wrapped idol inside the tree was fabricated...

It most likely was. The end credits for shows like this often include a disclaimer that scenes not affecting the outcome may be... reshot or something. I take this to mean shots like Russel's hand reaching up the tree may have been filmed while everyone was at the challenge.

Also, I have to wonder if the game wound up being more violent than they planned. It's not the first time they had a challenge that involved physical interaction with another player. Probst wrote in his blog that this is a game that the crew created in their downtime. It's played with whatever balls they have around and two garbage cans. It had become so popular they decided to reformulate it into a challenge. I don't believe it was intended to be an aggressive game, I think the players took it there. Like the football game at the company picnic, you can play to have fun, or you can really take it out on the Sales Department.

 

[AnthonyC]

It was definitely intended intended to be aggressive--maybe not to that degree but they amped up the game the crew created to make it a totally physical brawl. In almost every season since Palau (season 10), there's at least one all-out no-holds-barred challenge of this sort in the first three episodes and they seem to get more intense every time. Before season 10 we only had three instances...and they all used the beloved Attack Zone.

 

[Hanson]

This garden gnome helps your plants by pouring canteens of water in the middle of the night:

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Hee-Hee, Hanson!

The Evil Midget is a Garden Gnome after all.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Wha? Puppet Master didn't get his way?

 

[Mike Frezon]

It is just stunning how little we are seeing of the Galu tribe.

We finally got to their camp at the ten minute mark of tonight's episode, watched about a minute of the yoga and then--right back to Russell and Co. (that IS the name of their tribe, isn't it?)!

We know nothing about those other folks, while Russell & Co. have already lost four members.

 

[Paul D G]

So Russell, what's your plan for the game?

I'm going to form alliances with all the dumb ass girls, then each one of them voted off.

And when it's just you and the guys left, then what?

um...

What's annoying me about Evil Russell is that he doesn't care at all for the game, he just wants something to have control over like a spoiled brat. He can't see past manipulating the tribe on who to get rid of. Characters like Coach and Fairplay were fun to love/hate but Russell has nothing fun to watch. He doesn't like the way someone wears their hair so he works at getting that person kicked off, then he gloats to the camera. There's nothing else going for him.

Oh, yeah, and super dumb move going for pillows and blankets over a tarp.

 

[ChristopherG]

Oh, yeah, and super dumb move going for pillows and blankets over a tarp.

Yeah, black Russell did not endear himself to the men in the tribe with that move.

 

[MarkMel]

Anyone think Ben and the others got a talking to prior to the challenge? He didn't seem as gung ho going after people in the water.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Loved how Jaison shut up evil Russell when it came time for evil Russell to defend Ben's ineffectiveness in challenges.