On an Island of One: Unpopular Opinions of Survivor

[Bryce Lynch]

On 12/20/2019 at 7:08 PM, Eolivet said:

AHAHAHAHAHAHA, I crack myself up.

Anyway, at the risk of willing this into existence, as I apparently willed Survivor 40 into existence ... I don't want to see a single person from season 39 back on another season. Not Janet, not Elaine, not Jamal, not Kellee, not anybody else. They are all fruit of the poisonous tree that is this tainted season and I have no desire to see any of them ever again.

I would love to see Janet and Elaine back.  I'd be OK with Kellee.  Noura might be fun as a goof.  I wouldn't mind Molly getting a 2nd chance, though I don't really care.  Other than that, they can all stay off my TV screen forever.  

[Nashville]

58 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Noura might be fun as a goof.

Not meaning to be rude, but PLEASE shut the hell up - the Universe might hear you, and it already hates me enough as it is.  😳

[Bryce Lynch]

1 hour ago, Nashville said:

Not meaning to be rude, but PLEASE shut the hell up - the Universe might hear you, and it already hates me enough as it is.  😳

LOL.  I honestly think, in a season where most of the castaways weren't sociopaths or douchebags, Noura could provide great comic relief.  She could have played Angelina's role in DvG.

[Special K]

I worry that the fact that they showed Lauren saying "I'd love to play again" in her exit remarks is a bad omen.  I definitely would prefer that she fade into Surivor obscurity.

 

[LadyChatts]

9 hours ago, Special K said:

I worry that the fact that they showed Lauren saying "I'd love to play again" in her exit remarks is a bad omen.  I definitely would prefer that she fade into Surivor obscurity.

 

I agree with you, but I get the impression Probst really liked her.  So if he has it his way, she’ll be back.  And of course, all the tears she shed because her life was over because she wasn’t getting carried anymore in the game would be a nice touch.

Actually, I’d kind of like to see Dean back.  And I never thought I’d say those words.  Noura is one of those whose like a one hit wonder, but they did bring Debbie and Philip and Coach back, so there’s that.  

[Maverick]

 I think Noura will be back. I'd be ok with that.  She was a nut but she didn't do anything heinous.  The worst thing she did was the second hand embarrassment she made me feel when she started falling for Dean...and thought he was into her.   He such a smarmy jerk.

 UO: I don't care if Lauren comes back (or doesn't). 

[BK1978]

3 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Actually, I’d kind of like to see Dean back.  And I never thought I’d say those words.  Noura is one of those whose like a one hit wonder, but they did bring Debbie and Philip and Coach back, so there’s that.  

Sadly Coach became more normal after his first season so I guess he should be considered a one hit wonder.  Though Philip kept on bringing the craziness.  I honestly cannot remember how Debbie was her second time.

I would love to see a season that was packed with just crazy and delusional players.  You could have Philip, Debbie, Jimmy T., Abi Maria, Shane Powers, Noura.  It would be my dream cast.

 

[fishcakes]

I would only like to see Lauren come back if she gets voted off first.

[TVFan1]

I'd like to see Chelsea come back for a second chance.

[jsm1125]

2 hours ago, TVFan1 said:

I'd like to see Chelsea come back for a second chance.

I'd add Jason to this list as well.

[Ellee]

I watch Survivor every season but once it’s over I tend to forget it. Don’t know if this is a UO or not but if there are returning players I currently am of the view that it should be the first few that are voted out of the season.  Mainly because we have no idea who they are or what they will do.  

Now to read what everybody says. Lol yes I did it backwards. Lol yes I’m somewhat conflicted because there are many that made it further along that I really like and ‘wouldn’t qualify’ and yes, it is a good thing that I’m not involved in creating any part of the show. 

😁😁🙄

[amazingracefan]

Elaine was a fan favourite so I can see her getting another chance if she wants it, and she was involved in the game.  Not sure if Dean will get another chance when you look at his edit, though he only just fell short at the end so he deserves it probably more than anyone. 

I know some will bring up Kellee's name, but unless it's a season of people who made the very worst moves ever she shouldn't come back.  Most people wouldn't want a season like that, you want good gameplayers.

[limecoke]

I stopped watching Survivor a few seasons ago and have been catching up on the ones I missed while watching the current series.  So here's my (probably) unpopular opinion: exactly when did everyone start running around in their underpants??  They always ended up looking sketchy by the end of the 39 days but the bra/panties and tight boxers seems to be the norm in all the recent seasons.  Gotta tell you, it's not working for me.  That's it.

[treeofdreams]

2 hours ago, limecoke said:

I stopped watching Survivor a few seasons ago and have been catching up on the ones I missed while watching the current series.  So here's my (probably) unpopular opinion: exactly when did everyone start running around in their underpants??  They always ended up looking sketchy by the end of the 39 days but the bra/panties and tight boxers seems to be the norm in all the recent seasons.  Gotta tell you, it's not working for me.  That's it.

I am in the process of re-watching Heroes v Villains, and one thing I noticed was not only did they all have regular clothing, they each had several changes of clothing.

[LadyChatts]

2 hours ago, limecoke said:

I stopped watching Survivor a few seasons ago and have been catching up on the ones I missed while watching the current series.  So here's my (probably) unpopular opinion: exactly when did everyone start running around in their underpants??  They always ended up looking sketchy by the end of the 39 days but the bra/panties and tight boxers seems to be the norm in all the recent seasons.  Gotta tell you, it's not working for me.  That's it.

Not exactly sure.  I know for S30, they wore bathing suits and had clothes.  Some of them ran around in their underwear for S31.  I think starting after that maybe?

[fishcakes]

I don't know when underwear instead of swimsuits became a regular thing but Amanda often wore just a bra and panties in Micronesia and that was more than 10 years ago. I think she was the only one that season (so it probably would have been her idea and and not the producers), but I don't really remember.

[Eolivet]

I want to say this is more recent than that ... S36 or S37. Before that, it seemed to be "underwear for the first half of the game, then they got bathing suits." (I remember this acutely in S35, when Ryan went from unfortunate red boxer briefs to pink trunks). Did they get bathing suits on Ghost Island? I have a vague recollection of Wendell in some kind of blue boxer briefs for the entirety of the show ... maybe? But I feel like some of the women had bikinis?

I'm pretty sure they didn't have bathing suits in S37, because I believe Alec was the first dude to have the "loud patterned boxer briefs" the entire time (that they brought back for Gavin in S38, and now every guy this past season), and he was a post-merge boot.

I would say somewhere between S36 and S37, they stopped giving them bathing suits and I have no idea why. Did someone get some kind of infection? I'm not sure I want to know. But I thought "underwear until merge, bathing suits after merge" was a good compromise.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 12/27/2019 at 7:43 PM, treeofdreams said:

I am in the process of re-watching Heroes v Villains, and one thing I noticed was not only did they all have regular clothing, they each had several changes of clothing.

I know for sure that Parvati had a yellow bikini in that season because the image has been posted again and again.  I don't recall bathing suits being given to the Survivors anymore in recent years, or were they?

This looks like Wendell is wearing swim trunks!  But everyone else is wearing their underwear.

I think there are a bunch of us who are extremely pro bathing suit.

Edited December 30, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[fishcakes]

48 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I know for sure that Parvati had a yellow bikini in that season because the image has been posted again and again.  I don't recall bathing suits being given to the Survivors anymore in recent years, or were they?

I think in returning player seasons, they don't force them to be in their underwear. Even Special Agent Phil Shepard, he of the hot pink banana hammock, had swim trunks in his second season. Maybe I'm making this up.

50 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I think there are a bunch of us who are extremely pro bathing suit.

Lord, yes. And depending on the player, I am pro long pants and long sleeves.

[OutOfTheQuestion]

In another example of production treating the players like interchangeable TV characters instead of actual people, a decision was made a few years ago (don't remember the specific season) that each player had to have a uniform look throughout the entire season.  Apparently the switch of their "marooned" costumes to normal beachwear was too confusing to some of the dumber audience members who had trouble keeping the faces and names straight.

If you're wondering why the players weren't then allowed to just begin the game in beachwear or at least more practical outdoorsy t-shirts and shorts --- it's because someone in production really has a particular love of portraying the players as people who just happened to be stranded on this island, like it's Lost or something.  Every though they know and we know they're voluntarily playing a game.  Which is why a lawyer or someone who has some other sort of corporate job is invariably dressed in a suit jacket, as in "wow, I was flying to a big court case and suddenly ended up in Fiji, WTF?"

It's actually unfair from a gameplay standpoint as well, since the players sent out there in a long-sleeved shirt or jacket have an advantage in keeping protected against the rain and cold, whereas the players sent out there with fewer layers (usually the younger women promoted as this season's "hot girl") end up suffering.  The most prominent example of this is Kelly Shinn in Nicaragua, who quit after four weeks in the rough elements because she was given so little to wear, and the show then punished her by virtually editing her out of the entire season.

[peachmangosteen]

14 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Fucking hell, Wendell was so fine. Hell, so was Dom. 

I think maybe that's the biggest reason the most reason season sucked so hard; none of the guys really got that island hotness.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Wendell is beautiful!

Nick who won his season was also really pretty.  Chris who won the Edge of Extinction season was like…. disgustingly hot.  I know for a *fact* he always wore underwear.  LOL.  

[LadyChatts]

Might be an unpopular opinion, but I thought Dean was pretty good looking from this past season.  He just had a face that you wanted to punch every time he opened his mouth.  And Aaron...yeah.

I don't know why they don't go back to letting them have at least a change of clothes or that everyone has a jacket or sweatshirt like they did in the early seasons (even if we would have been robbed of Angelina asking Natalie for her jacket during DvsG). 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Yeah Aaron was beautiful too

[simplyme]

I like the new jury format. I hated having to sit through some of the dumb questions or comments from jurors, especially the whole "Pick a number between..." thing. Nine (or seven or whatever) people asking questions took a lot longer to show, too, than the current edited discussion.

[treeofdreams]

Just thought i would revive this topic to say - for reasons I mentioned in the episode thread, I do like this version of the EOE island.  It makes the game harder to play, which I think is how it should be for an all winners season.

[fishcakes]

3 minutes ago, treeofdreams said:

Just thought i would revive this topic to say - for reasons I mentioned in the episode thread, I do like this version of the EOE island.  It makes the game harder to play, which I think is how it should be for an all winners season.

I don't mind it this season either, just because there are people I've wanted to see return for years (okay, maybe just Yul), and if they were out early, it would be a letdown. In a newbie season, EoE is terrible, but for this group, I like it.

[RescueMom]

I just read something I agreed with that I think will be an unpopular opinion around here: the real winners last night were the cast of Redemption Island. Watching Boston Rob play Jedi mind tricks so effectively on other winners  maybe gives some credence to the idea that the RI cast wasn't just a bunch of dummies and sheep.

[fishcakes]

3 minutes ago, RescueMom said:

Watching Boston Rob play Jedi mind tricks so effectively on other winners  maybe gives some credence to the idea that the RI cast wasn't just a bunch of dummies and sheep.

Honestly, that's such a bad take and always has been. Everyone on his tribe except for Grant and Natalie were gunning for him at some point. The idea that everyone just laid down for him is pure fiction. I don't think it's even that widespread, but the people that do think so say it incessantly. He's shown over and over again how good he is at this game, and just because he didn't win his first time means nothing. I mean, Ben won his first time, Adam won his first time, Chris won his first time. That doesn't make them better players than Rob.

[RescueMom]

1 minute ago, fishcakes said:

Honestly, that's such a bad take and always has been. Everyone on his tribe except for Grant and Natalie were gunning for him at some point. The idea that everyone just laid down for him is pure fiction. I don't think it's even that widespread, but the people that do think so say it incessantly. He's shown over and over again how good he is at this game, and just because he didn't win his first time means nothing. I mean, Ben won his first time, Adam won his first time, Chris won his first time. That doesn't make them better players than Rob.

I agree with you 100% - I must have written my post poorly. I have always Just thought he got rid of and/or neutralized the threats before they could get him.  

[fishcakes]

2 minutes ago, RescueMom said:

I agree with you 100% - I must have written my post poorly. I have always Just thought he got rid of and/or neutralized the threats before they could get him.  

Heh, no I agreed with you 100%. I must have written my post poorly. 🤪

[FormerMod-a1]

29 minutes ago, treeofdreams said:

Just thought i would revive this topic to say - for reasons I mentioned in the episode thread, I do like this version of the EOE island.  It makes the game harder to play, which I think is how it should be for an all winners season.

I'll go one further and say I don't mind it in a regular season either.  Do I love it and want it every season or something?  No, but I don't hate it either.  It's fine.  

23 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I don't mind it this season either, just because there are people I've wanted to see return for years (okay, maybe just Yul), and if they were out early, it would be a letdown. In a newbie season, EoE is terrible, but for this group, I like it.

And given this an all winners season, I agree with this, too.  That I like it here for this reason.

[violet and green]

Super unpopular opinion: I was rather pleased when Ben won his season.

I do wish they'd gracefully dropped the fire-making after a season or so, though; let it just float off into the past as an idea they'd tried.

And hoping the new additions to this season do not become similarly embedded. Fire tokens... shudder.

[amazingracefan]

3 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I don't mind it this season either, just because there are people I've wanted to see return for years (okay, maybe just Yul), and if they were out early, it would be a letdown. In a newbie season, EoE is terrible, but for this group, I like it.

You won't get much Edge of Extinction footage though, they don't have time for it in the number of episodes they do.

Calling it 'extinction' still sounds ridiculously over the top.

[Josh371982]

On 6/14/2017 at 3:17 PM, ProfCrash said:

I don't believe in bitter juries. Jury management is an important part of the game and everyone knows it. Russell was a bully. You saw it in how he acted, spoke to people, and treated people. According to people who played with him, we didn't see the worst of Russell's behavior. So if what we saw was that bad, I don't even want to know how awful he really was. You cannot bully people and treat them like crap and expect to win.

I hate the Russell's of the show. I don't like the Debbie's, Philip's and Coaches. The people who are out there to play a character and are less focused on winning then getting as much screen time as possible drive me crazy. I don't think they are fun to watch. THey ruin the show for me. I would rather watch a season of people playing a good strategic game, like Kim or Earl or Yul, then assholes like Russell.

Agreed

[Matteo]

On 2/13/2020 at 4:47 PM, fishcakes said:

Honestly, that's such a bad take and always has been. Everyone on his tribe except for Grant and Natalie were gunning for him at some point. The idea that everyone just laid down for him is pure fiction.

My boyfriend is watching this for the first time with me, and immediately is charmed by and loves Rob...... it's super annoying, but he is just charismatic I guess. That's like the best Survivor quality to have.

[fishcakes]

4 hours ago, Matteo said:

My boyfriend is watching this for the first time with me, and immediately is charmed by and loves Rob...... it's super annoying, but he is just charismatic I guess. That's like the best Survivor quality to have.

He and Parvati are both so charismatic, it's insane. And there's something almost a little menacing about it for both of them. Someone here once said Parvati's charm was not so much flirtation but that she exudes this sense that's she's having fun and if you're with her, you can have fun too. And I think that's right, but there's also the unspoken threat of the Queen Bee that if you're not with her, it will mean social death for you. Rob, who everyone mockingly referred to as The Rahbfather for years, showed this episode that he really is the Godfather. Ben tried to curry favor with him by telling him his name was being floated but tried to hedge by not saying who. Then as soon as he realized that he'd be on Rob's shitlist if he didn't tell all, he immediately caved, so Rob was like, "oh okay, now you are under my protection," and Ben was practically giddy. Danni handled it better, but she still got played. She owned up to targeting him, he said that since she was honest they could work together, and she's like, "great! Now I'm with Rob!" Parvati and Rob are both such dangerous players and yet so many people want to be in with them and think that they'll be the one person that Rob/Parv will be loyal to. I'm really curious to see how they work together because you know they're each holding long daggers behind their backs meant for the other, and if someone else doesn't vote them out beforehand, it will be fun to see how and when those get pulled out.

Edited February 15, 2020 by fishcakes

[loki567]

Rob and Parvati have played the game NINE times and that's not counting Rob's stint on EoE. Parvati use to host the aftershow. They're celebrities in the way a lot of these former players, even former winners, aren't. 

That being said, the jedi mind tricks aren't going to last forever. I think Rob and Parvati might already been in trouble if their tribe goes back to TC as it seemed like it was a wake-up call to Jeremy, Ben, and Michele. 

[SVNBob]

10 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Someone here once said Parvati's charm was not so much flirtation but that she exudes this sense that's she's having fun and if you're with her, you can have fun too.

The phrase I've heard is that it's not that she makes you want to like her, she makes you want her to like you.  The other thing I've heard is that people who know in advance about this power she has will still fall prey to it when they meet her.

[KimberStormer]

HvV Episode 3, "That Girl Is Like a Virus" (which is a Jerri quote re: Parv) is one of my favorite episodes of all time, in fact the first episode where I finally admitted I liked Survivor and wanted to watch more, and that episode is edited entirely around Parvati, presenting her almost as more of a force of nature, some impersonal pagan goddess, than a mere player, like she was the very idol on Jeff's stand, or a typhoon roaring through Fiji; and it contains this amazing Coach confessional about her:

"Parvati is the most dangerous player on our tribe....She's got the charm, she's got the smile. For some reason when she pays attention to you, you feel like you light up. It's not that people don't see it, it's just that they're allured by her charm. They're taken by it. They're smitten by it. It's unbelievable."

[simplyme]

I'm really enjoying this season, minus the awkward Michele-Wendell scenes. I still hate EoE. I could do with less Rob. I probably just made it onto like 6 people's ignore lists. 🤦‍♀️

[Guest]

3 hours ago, simplyme said:

I'm really enjoying this season, minus the awkward Michele-Wendell scenes. I still hate EoE. I could do with less Rob. I probably just made it onto like 6 people's ignore lists. 🤦‍♀️

I can't imagine someone ignoring you over mild statements like this. I haven't ignored people who've said a lot worse than "I could do with less Rob" XD

And I'm enjoying the season too! Also minus the Michele-Wendell weirdness.

Edited March 26, 2020 by tracyscott76

[JudyObscure]

I like Rob and  I like Amber, but the two of them together make me queasy. First  Rob's teary eyed confessionals about how he can't help but feel she got voted out because of him (duh, Rob) and now that they're together on EoE it's like a bad Hallmark movie. 

Rob just had to keep on getting coconuts for no reason (cue close up of elbow blood) and Amber says with a voice full of reverence and awe that Rob has to do it, "to prove he's not a quitter." 

You're not a quitter if you stop when the challenge is over!  He's just show boating and Amber encourages it with her idol worship.  I thought the way she looked at him during their first season was sweet, they were falling in love, but they're an old married couple now and it's getting embarrassing.

[Hera]

@JudyObscure, I join you in disliking Rob's insistence on "finishing the challenge" even though it was over and he lost. To me, it came across as a ploy to get attention and feed into his own myth. Mind you, I'm in the camp that doesn't really like Boston Rob and think he's wildly overrated, especially by himself.

[Eolivet]

I don't know if my tastes have changed, or I'm not very nostalgic, because I think the idol-less seasons are like pulling teeth to watch. Especially after an immunity challenge. I can count the number of times on one hand in the seasons I've rewatched where there was a true #blindside, or the show didn't telegraph who was going home. As much as I hate the fire-making at final 4, idol-less seasons had the same effect -- more or less a foregone conclusion after a certain point, with rare exceptions.

I could live without advantages, and maybe there should be a cap on the number of idols, but I would never, ever want to return to idol-less seasons. A hidden immunity idol adds a sense of danger to the deliberations, even if no one's found it. It's out there, what will it do? It's the great unknown variable that can shake up the game. So, you can't plan your perfect boot without taking it into effect. It's raised the level of strategy.

I also feel like trivia challenges are viewed through rose-colored glasses, because they are interminable, and there are few lead changes once someone gets out front. I'm fine ending every challenge with a puzzle, because it is an equalizer, and enables a higher level of competition.

And I don't want to see players starving again (or starving as much as they used to) because that also leads to lack of strategy. Hunger reinforces "stick to the plan," because who wants to orchestrate blindsides when their stomach is about to fall out?

In other words: I think there are some things they could dial back on (advantages, whispering, enough idols/immunity to make it so five people are safe at a tribal council), but the idea of a "back to basics" season is almost as odious to me. I don't want to see people starving, I don't want predictable tribal councils and I don't want tons of lopsided challenges.

For the most part, I believe the changes the show has made have added suspense, intrigue, strategy, and unpredictability to the game, and I fail to see what's wrong with that. Is there a such thing as too much of a good thing? Yes. But it doesn't mean overcorrecting is the answer either.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Eolivet

[peachmangosteen]

Your right, no idols/advantages would make the show even more predictable than it is now and it's plenty predictable lol. They just need to make some tweaks like not having 200 idols/advantages every season and making them a bit harder to find.

I also think there needs to be more variety in the challenges. Every single one being either obstacle course and then puzzle or some variation of the same type of endurance is boring as hell. I fast forward almost every challenge now. They're just not interesting to watch. And maybe none of the old challenges are either but at least if it wasn't just the same fucking challenge every week then that alone could be a bit more interesting.

I certainly don't want starving people and I never have. I don't care about the survival aspect of the game and imo it was always about the social aspects anyway.

I also think they absolutely need to get rid of the F4 fire-making challenge but I don't believe there's any chance they will.

[AncientNewbie]

My UO is that I'm okay with quitters. I'm not wild about it, but if you're playing Survivor and your game/body/life is tanking, walk away.

It's always presented as some great moral failure or an abandonment of their duty to fans/production, but...they wanted to be on a show, they tried it and something went wrong. It's not quitting Little League because the other kid gets more playing time.  It's not forfeiting in the third quarter because the other team is going to win...it's either been physical or mental health that caused people to walk.

I see it as more of a failure on casting's end--they put someone on the show who wasn't ready/prepared/capable, quite often because they knew they weren't capable and thought it would make good tv.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, AncientNewbie said:

I see it as more of a failure on casting's end--they put someone on the show who wasn't ready/prepared/capable, quite often because they knew they weren't capable and thought it would make good tv.

This might be true in some cases (Brandon's second go-round, for example, or FvF Kathy) but then there are cases like Osten, where I'm not sure there was much to indicate pre-game that he would fold before the merge - I can't really blame them for that one.

And even when there were signs, it's a double-edged sword because you have those like Cirie or GenX David, who gave some initial signs of not being prepared or capable, but ended up thriving. I imagine it's a fine line for casting to determine if someone's lack of readiness is a true sign of trouble or just something they can overcome, and you'd be depriving the players themselves the opportunity to do so.

But agreed that if someone wants to leave, they have every right. Do what feels right to you, whether it's for your physical health, your mental health, or because you know the Edge of Extinction is a giant crock of s#!@ lol

[violet and green]

Given that Sandra quit this season, I think Sandra is a quitter.

Even the "Sandra sit-out bench" is a quit sign, in my view.

I hope all quitters, in future, call out 'The Queen stays queen" as they exit.

[LadyChatts]

It's not that I mind idols, I just think they take away the strategy part of the game.  As I mentioned, back in the day there was more of a strategy to use the idol.  During Cook Islands, Yul used it to get Jonathan on his side.  During Fiji, Earl and Yau-Man worked together on the clues to find their respective idols.  Mookie gave Alex his idol since they thought he was being targeted, and if the plan worked, would have put his alliance in control (thankfully it didn't, as the 4 Horsemen alliance that season was obnoxious, and it would have deprived us of one of the best blindsides ever).  And the strategy to change the vote to Edgardo wasn't just a 'split the vote in case someone plays the idol.'   I just don't like when someone who wasn't even voted for ends up leaving by default because everyone else is immune.  It was better back in the day when idols were harder to find, and not raining from the sky.   I also don't think they make the game any less predictable.

Also, I like the contestants starving and having to struggle.  I watch Big Brother for those to sit pool side and eat good and sleep comfortably.