Survivor in Other Countries

[Kromm]

So apparently a full decade after they last tried (when they had two fairly badly received seasons, one of them being a CELEBRITY one), Australia has taken another shot at Survivor.

If you can locate the videos (you're on your own with that folks!) discuss Australian Survivor here.

[Kromm]

Okay, just saw Episode 1 and based on it I'm going to recommend people seek this out.

It's a really interesting mix of really old school Survivor and new.  New because as well as the 2 not-so-successful seasons of Australian Survivor to air in Oz, EVERY single US season has aired there. So many of these contestants have seen and know Survivor. And old, because... some of them haven't.  Also, some of them have but haven't really processed it the same as US audiences. As a result you see a few people trying to Mastermind their way through the game... but there's also what seems like a higher percentage of "goers" than you typically get in modern US Survivor. People who are mainly there for the experience and who I think only later are going to be forced to go strategic. Also there are what I'd call some really classic tribe dichotomies going on. There's the Conflict Tribe, where you can already tell where the cracks are going to form.  There's the peace and love and play tribe, where they seem kind of hapless but profess all kinds of love for each other.  And there's the Tribe Most Likely To Pagong The Others (it's 24 players in 3 tribes though, so take that into account). 

Because it's Australia, there was never a chance this wasn't going to suck a bit on the Diversity Front. There's just less of it in the first place. That said, the host tells us right up front that 15,000 people applied for the show, so that does introduce back being disappointed in the lack of diversity, because.... that's a lot of applications. There's only one obvious person of color.  In terms of straight demographics for Australia that's not really out of line, but the flip side of that is that it should be about more than simply percentages and instead about illustrating different points of view. And that one guy... well... this show would make you think (so far at least) that he has no tongue.  We literally don't hear a peep from him. Not a syllable, in a 2hr. long premiere. There's also one girl who looks like she might be slightly mixed race (perhaps an Aboriginal grandparent), but it's not a sure thing. We do have an openly gay guy though.  What's really missing are Asians. Australia has a decent number of them. But apparently none on Australian Survivor. 

The photography, music/sound, and editing are very good by the way. Fully up to US show standards.  And the non-Probst host is actually pretty good. He doesn't blather as much as Probst, and seems to be clear and reasonably clever when he does talk. And I kept saying to myself... damnit. I don't know THAT many Australians.  So where do I know this guy from? And finally it hit me. He's not nobody. It was freaking Jonathan LaPaglia. And then I REALLY started to enjoy his hosting.  By the end of the episode I found myself wishing he'd take over for Probst.

The challenges--well the small sample of them we get here--are decent for a first episode. 

The choice of environment turned out interesting. Samoa, which I don't think most of us would say is one of the most difficult Survivor settings, but during a time of year when the days are humid but the nights apparently pretty cold. Which made for interesting viewing, since I don't think any of them were suspecting they might be cold on a "Tropical Island". 

And this brings another good effect of this being a season from a nation that's only seen Survivor from afar... there's a LOT of camp setting up chaos. A pretty hilarious (yet tragic) amount. I was very entertained on that front.  Sadly, due to either challenge reward or tribal council, everyone had fire by the end of episode 1, and they all eventually worked out shelter too.

The boot was kind of obvious here, but there was little they could do about that. We did get a nice Surivor Tribal classic though--the rained on Tribal Council. Those are always fun.

Again... recommended.

[Whimsy]

This is the topic to talk about Survivor in other countries if you are able to see them.  

[elizacat]

Ok so i've watched both episodes and have to say I really didn't mind it. Far better than the first attempt. I have a vague recollection from the first time of challenges having to be called off due to weather conditions and the contestants being disappointed in the prize money not being what they thought it would be.

Jonathan LaPaglia I thought was ok - a little bit formulaic person but hopefully we will grow into the role. 

Anyway for now it fills a nice gap until US Survivor is back on.

[cherrypj]

Inside Survivor (https://www.facebook.com/insidesurvivor/) has posted links for international viewers to watch Australian Survivor.

The posted links don't have captions. I'm hoping Australia Channel Ten has them.

Edited August 23, 2016 by cherrypj
Removed links, which will likely get pulled

[Kromm]

3 hours ago, elizacat said:

Jonathan LaPaglia I thought was ok - a little bit formulaic person but hopefully we will grow into the role. 

If you actually Google News search his name, there have been all kinds of articles about and interview with him about this job. He talks in one of them I read about how much Probst talks during the recent Survivor seasons (vs. the early ones) and how tough that was to emulate. But I think his "lack" (in not talking as much as Probst) turned out a better result, not a worse one. I've been firmly in the "Shut Up, Probst!" train for years, and LaPaglia gears back (even if not intentionally) just enough that we still know what's going on but without someone's damn voice droning every single second during the challenges. I will admit he wasn't quite as sharp as Probst probably would have been at the Tribal Council (the single one we've seen), that's definitely Probst's strongest point, but LaPaglia did at least a decent job there if not a superior one. 

Interesting to find, looking at the media around the show, that aside from the Australian market being okay with only three-quarters of a million people viewing it (and it was an expensive production--the photography alone must have cost a bundle), that I was dead on with my own impression that even for Australia they went too white. That's what most of the complaints are about.  Again, I find myself wondering why the one obviously diverse person seemingly had his mike pack turned off, or every sound he made edited out (not to mention no Talking Heads, but admittedly with a cast of 24 a lot of people didn't get Talking Heads). 

[Nozycat]

I am an Aussie and loving it so far (never too much Survivor afaic, I just hope this doesn't mean we don't get the new US one) except I would have liked the one obviously diverse person, Barry, to not be completely non speaking in the first ep.  He did speak a little in the second. But apart from that I like how they are keeping close to the original despite more contestants and a longer period.

[SnideAsides]

Marquesas has still never aired in Australia; it was replaced with the first local season. (You think All-Stars was rough? Imagine watching it with no idea who Rob and Kathy are.) It's also worth noting that while everything else has at least aired it's been thrown all over the schedule (at various points, it's been on at 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30 Tuesday, 7:30, 8:30, 9:30, and 10:30 Wednesday, 7:30 and 8:30 Thursday, and as late-night schedule filler on Saturdays, and has aired both on the main Nine Network and on one of its digital multichannels, with Gabon and Tocantins also being delayed for months for no discernable reason; this is still far better treatment than Channel Seven has afforded The Amazing Race though), and at this point it's really only hardcore fans who are watching, with the current same-day-broadcast setup a concession to avoid everyone downloading it. And it's never been released on DVD or streaming here (in fact, no reality show has, aside from a highlight-compilation VHS from the first season of Big Brother AU), so this cast hasn't (legally) had the chance to rewatch other seasons to prepare.

I think the thing with 'goers' vs. strategists is that Australia generally doesn't have the winner-take-all attitude that the US does. It can be both good (The Amazing Race Australia is almost certainly the best version of the show, with the 'bad' season still about equal to a mid-to-high-quality TAR US) and bad (even with a different format, I feel like I can just say the words "Big Brother" and you'll know what I mean), but for Australia, it generally works. Notably, this latest attempt has the same producers who run Masterchef Australia, which (1) suggests it's in reasonably good hands, although they do tend to be overly formulaic, and (2) makes the #SurvivorSoWhite casting doubly bizarre, especially when both of them are on the same freaking channel (as opposed to this airing on Channel Seven, which seems to cast the exact same "bitchy nail salon girls" Asian stereotype for the teams on its cooking show and which thinks having Grant Bowler host both TAR Australia and the race-baiting Border Security is neither a mixed message nor a conflict of interest).

Jonathan LaPaglia still needs to grow on me - he somehow manages to be a little too gruff and a little too whiny for this role - but I agree he's better than Probst. And he's a damn sight better than any of the other names that were rumoured. Like, the other names on the shortlist were apparently Oprah's former gardening guy Jamie Durie (who turned down both of the previous versions despite working on the relevant channels at the time) and a bunch of stand-up comedians, including real-life-Probst-BFF Rove McManus. We really dodged a bullet with him. Time will tell if he ends up being legitimately good or if it's just relief that makes him seem okay right now. My gut's leaning towards the latter, especially since he apparently met with Probst when he got the gig.

I think Samoa is a safe, boring choice for a location - it was heavily reported that they were considering the original island near Borneo - but at the same time it's better than Nicaragua or the Philippines, and with the season lasting 55 days (!) because of the typical Australian TV bloating that's also led to the humongous cast, I think they kind of needed a safe location and an excuse to give everyone fire early. A 55-day season in Cambodia or Panama would have led to multiple deaths.

The two things to note about Australian TV ratings are that targets are set kind of low because we're basically the world's biggest internet pirates and that the figures only consider audiences in the five mainland state capitals (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide) because regional and Tasmanian broadcasts are, essentially, syndicated. That said, 734k viewers for Episode 2 is a little rough, but in context - Ten is third in the ratings anyway, Nine scheduled the first two episodes of its flagship show's latest season against it, and Ten's basically had no traction for the last two weeks because everyone was watching the Olympics on Seven (like, the closing ceremony got 614k viewers at 9am on a Monday morning) and being subjected to ads for their show in the timeslot in literally (literally-literally, not metaphorically-literally) every single commercial break for the last two weeks - I think it's fine. Especially with Seven's show being pilloried on social media, audience numbers should bounce back up next week. We should worry if it gets down to about 650k though.

[SnideAsides]

The above post's already too long, so just a heads up: Three episodes a week from next week. Assuming there's no Redemption Island or anything like that that'd result in more episodes than strictly necessary, that'd either mean there's six more weeks with a five-player finale and probable final-three on the last Tuesday, or (more likely, given the way Australian TV works) six more weeks plus a four-player finale and probable final-two on the following Sunday.

[BK1978]

I have not watched it yet but I am going to try and do so.  I love watching the International versions of the different reality shows. 

It is a little weird for me that the host is a sort of known actor granted Jonathan LaPaglia is not as famous as his brother but still I knew exactly who he was.  I also found it odd to see Grant Bowler as the host of the Aussie TAR.  I remember the fist time I saw Grant on there I was shocked because I was a Defiance fan and I had no clue that Grant was Australian.  I remember thinking, "Why is Nolan hosting TAR?"

[KimberStormer]

55 days?  3 episodes a week?  Bananas!  I'll be curious to hear (in this thread) how it goes.

[elizacat]

On 23 August 2016 at 0:43 AM, Kromm said:

If you actually Google News search his name, there have been all kinds of articles about and interview with him about this job. He talks in one of them I read about how much Probst talks during the recent Survivor seasons (vs. the early ones) and how tough that was to emulate. But I think his "lack" (in not talking as much as Probst) turned out a better result, not a worse one. I've been firmly in the "Shut Up, Probst!" train for years, and LaPaglia gears back (even if not intentionally) just enough that we still know what's going on but without someone's damn voice droning every single second during the challenges. I will admit he wasn't quite as sharp as Probst probably would have been at the Tribal Council (the single one we've seen), that's definitely Probst's strongest point, but LaPaglia did at least a decent job there if not a superior one. 

Yeah I didn't mind his hosting and not talking as much. I did find some of his talking to the contestants a bit formulaic - meaning that he seemed to use the same sentence several times - e.g.. Walk me through it.

I have to admit I actually like Jeff and yep he talks to much but I think he's as much a part of Survivor as the challenges and theme tune are. That said I think LaPaglia will grow into the role and am sure will expand his repertoire. 

[Kromm]

On 8/23/2016 at 8:09 AM, Nozycat said:

I am an Aussie and loving it so far (never too much Survivor afaic, I just hope this doesn't mean we don't get the new US one) except I would have liked the one obviously diverse person, Barry, to not be completely non speaking in the first ep.  He did speak a little in the second. But apart from that I like how they are keeping close to the original despite more contestants and a longer period.

Do you mean the Tribal Council episode for the first boot?  I have to say I didn't hear him.  He was in group shots, but the audio level on his mike was always turned down every single time. He wasn't asked anything at the council that I recall, which would have been fine I suppose, if we'd even heard a single noise from him at any other point.

I may have to rewatch that 2nd ep. if you sure there was something. I swear my memory was not even in the background, that peep.

EDIT - Okay, I now suspect you mean the actual 2nd episode, the one which aired a day later. Apparently the first episode was divided into two parts (the bulk of the episode, and a second part mainly made up of the Tribal Council) to calculate ratings, so all of the media reports I read on it had been calling it Episode 1 and 2.  I haven't seen that actual 2nd episode yet (I plan to watch tonight), so it will be neat to see the guy actually gain a tongue (even if only slightly). 

9 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

55 days?  3 episodes a week?  Bananas!  I'll be curious to hear (in this thread) how it goes.

The 3 episodes per week seems to be an Aussie reality show standard. Its the only way they justify the cost of big reality show productions, and ALL of their major reality shows seem to do it.  They seem to be adjusted to the ratings settling around that pattern (and simply cancel shows if they go below even their modest standards for ratings).

The 55 days is nutso. It's because they insisted on 24 contestants rather than 18 or 21 (or 20 if they'd gone with two tribes instead of three). 

19 hours ago, BK1978 said:

I have not watched it yet but I am going to try and do so.  I love watching the International versions of the different reality shows. 

It is a little weird for me that the host is a sort of known actor granted Jonathan LaPaglia is not as famous as his brother but still I knew exactly who he was.  I also found it odd to see Grant Bowler as the host of the Aussie TAR.  I remember the fist time I saw Grant on there I was shocked because I was a Defiance fan and I had no clue that Grant was Australian.  I remember thinking, "Why is Nolan hosting TAR?"

I actually think J. Pags has done more US work than his brother, so yeah... he's not just a local Oz star.  Great US accent on the guy too (when he was on 7 Days I never even knew he was Aussie, although I did know by the time he did The District). Same situation as Bowler I guess, but maybe even moreso. 

Edited August 25, 2016 by Kromm

[SnideAsides]

Australian TV networks legally have to show a certain amount of local content each year ("local" defined as either entirely from Australia or New Zealand, or a part-Australian co-production; for Channel Ten, they need 55% of the year's 6am-midnight shows to be local). Bloviated reality shows aren't just a way to squeeze every drop of entertainment out of their money, they're also an easy way of reaching the quotas. The downside is it's very difficult to sell something like a 60-episode season of Masterchef AU internationally the way you could sell shows like Please Like Me or Cleverman (which were both made by the state-funded public broadcaster).

[Kromm]

1 hour ago, SnideAsides said:

Australian TV networks legally have to show a certain amount of local content each year ("local" defined as either entirely from Australia or New Zealand, or a part-Australian co-production; for Channel Ten, they need 55% of the year's 6am-midnight shows to be local). Bloviated reality shows aren't just a way to squeeze every drop of entertainment out of their money, they're also an easy way of reaching the quotas. The downside is it's very difficult to sell something like a 60-episode season of Masterchef AU internationally the way you could sell shows like Please Like Me or Cleverman (which were both made by the state-funded public broadcaster).

Well it also hurts the quality. I mean I've given up on virtually every Aus Biggest Loser and Aus Block because of that.

That said, while 24 Survivors is a large cast FOR Survivor, it's still not SO large that with 3 boots per week (because so far we seem to be getting that) that this show will go on endlessly like most Aus reality shows.

[SnideAsides]

To be fair, both of those shows are shitty at the best of times.

Jonathan stated in an interview that this season is going to be 26 episodes (so, basically, another eight weeks), which suggests there's probably going to be some padding like non-elimination episodes or a Redemption Island style twist or something.

[Nashville]

I *love* local content requirements!  If it wasn't for Canadian content law, the world would have never known the splendor and majesty which is Bob and Doug McKenzie in the Great White North .  :D

[simplyme]

1 hour ago, Nashville said:

I *love* local content requirements!  If it wasn't for Canadian content law, the world would have never known the splendor and majesty which is Bob and Doug McKenzie in the Great White North .  :D

Take off, you hoser.

[Nozycat]

9 hours ago, Kromm said:

 

On 8/23/2016 at 10:09 PM, Nozycat said:

I am an Aussie and loving it so far (never too much Survivor afaic, I just hope this doesn't mean we don't get the new US one) except I would have liked the one obviously diverse person, Barry, to not be completely non speaking in the first ep.  He did speak a little in the second. But apart from that I like how they are keeping close to the original despite more contestants and a longer period.

Do you mean the Tribal Council episode for the first boot?  I have to say I didn't hear him.  He was in group shots, but the audio level on his mike was always turned down every single time. He wasn't asked anything at the council that I recall, which would have been fine I suppose, if we'd even heard a single noise from him at any other point.

I may have to rewatch that 2nd ep. if you sure there was something. I swear my memory was not even in the background, that peep.

EDIT - Okay, I now suspect you mean the actual 2nd episode, the one which aired a day later. Apparently the first episode was divided into two parts (the bulk of the episode, and a second part mainly made up of the Tribal Council) to calculate ratings, so all of the media reports I read on it had been calling it Episode 1 and 2.  I haven't seen that actual 2nd episode yet (I plan to watch tonight), so it will be neat to see the guy actually gain a tongue (even if only slightly). 

 

Ah ok here we got an extended premiere in one go, yes I was talking about the ep with the second boot.

[Kromm]

1 hour ago, Nozycat said:

Ah ok here we got an extended premiere in one go, yes I was talking about the ep with the second boot.

Yeah I've seen it now and tried to pay attention to how much this Barry Lea guy said. I heard one line.  Maybe I missed another, but if so it wasn't much more.

Looking the credits again, I think I was right in my earlier observation that their kind-of/sort-of minor bit of almost more diversity (but not quite) is a single clearly mixed-race person, Brooke Jowett. 

Well her, Barry and the gay guy are it.  And I suppose someone could make an argument for Nick Iadanza. Who is (gasp!) probably ITALIAN. Which I suppose is about as "ethnic" as some of the more Bogan-y parts of Australia want to allow. 

[Nashville]

9 hours ago, simplyme said:

Take off, you hoser.

How's it going, eh?

[Save Yourself]

On 22 August 2016 at 6:04 PM, Kromm said:

Okay, just saw Episode 1 and based on it I'm going to recommend people seek this out.

It's a really interesting mix of really old school Survivor and new.  New because as well as the 2 not-so-successful seasons of Australian Survivor to air in Oz, EVERY single US season has aired there. So many of these contestants have seen and know Survivor. And old, because... some of them haven't.  Also, some of them have but haven't really processed it the same as US audiences. As a result you see a few people trying to Mastermind their way through the game... but there's also what seems like a higher percentage of "goers" than you typically get in modern US Survivor. People who are mainly there for the experience and who I think only later are going to be forced to go strategic. Also there are what I'd call some really classic tribe dichotomies going on. There's the Conflict Tribe, where you can already tell where the cracks are going to form.  There's the peace and love and play tribe, where they seem kind of hapless but profess all kinds of love for each other.  And there's the Tribe Most Likely To Pagong The Others (it's 24 players in 3 tribes though, so take that into account). 

Because it's Australia, there was never a chance this wasn't going to suck a bit on the Diversity Front. There's just less of it in the first place. That said, the host tells us right up front that 15,000 people applied for the show, so that does introduce back being disappointed in the lack of diversity, because.... that's a lot of applications. There's only one obvious person of color.  In terms of straight demographics for Australia that's not really out of line, but the flip side of that is that it should be about more than simply percentages and instead about illustrating different points of view. And that one guy... well... this show would make you think (so far at least) that he has no tongue.  We literally don't hear a peep from him. Not a syllable, in a 2hr. long premiere. There's also one girl who looks like she might be slightly mixed race (perhaps an Aboriginal grandparent), but it's not a sure thing. We do have an openly gay guy though.  What's really missing are Asians. Australia has a decent number of them. But apparently none on Australian Survivor. 

The photography, music/sound, and editing are very good by the way. Fully up to US show standards.  And the non-Probst host is actually pretty good. He doesn't blather as much as Probst, and seems to be clear and reasonably clever when he does talk. And I kept saying to myself... damnit. I don't know THAT many Australians.  So where do I know this guy from? And finally it hit me. He's not nobody. It was freaking Jonathan LaPaglia. And then I REALLY started to enjoy his hosting.  By the end of the episode I found myself wishing he'd take over for Probst.

The challenges--well the small sample of them we get here--are decent for a first episode. 

The choice of environment turned out interesting. Samoa, which I don't think most of us would say is one of the most difficult Survivor settings, but during a time of year when the days are humid but the nights apparently pretty cold. Which made for interesting viewing, since I don't think any of them were suspecting they might be cold on a "Tropical Island". 

And this brings another good effect of this being a season from a nation that's only seen Survivor from afar... there's a LOT of camp setting up chaos. A pretty hilarious (yet tragic) amount. I was very entertained on that front.  Sadly, due to either challenge reward or tribal council, everyone had fire by the end of episode 1, and they all eventually worked out shelter too.

The boot was kind of obvious here, but there was little they could do about that. We did get a nice Surivor Tribal classic though--the rained on Tribal Council. Those are always fun.

Again... recommended.

Australian here - the lack of diversity pisses a lot of us off as well, especially considering we have SO many different ethnicities here and plenty of those people go back second or third generation Australian, so that is disappointing. Apparently the reason Barry (Aboriginal man) has been silent is because he was swearing a lot, along with one of the girls in his tribe, so they couldn't use most of their footage (as a whole we really don't care about swearing but it's marketed as a family friendly show and is in a PG slot). Barry said they had a talking to by producers so hopefully we will hear more from those players soon! And to be fair there are 24 contestants so a lot of them have barely had any screen time yet, it's still early days. It's had great reviews here and there's loads of buzz about it on social media, everyone is impressed with the quality and that it is keeping in line with the US show - the last attempt at doing an Aus version was abysmal! So cheap and too many changes from the original version. Glad to read you think Jonathon LaPaglia is doing a great job, I think he's a perfect choice for it and he's pretty easy on the eye ?.

[Kromm]

11 hours ago, Save Yourself said:

Australian here - the lack of diversity pisses a lot of us off as well, especially considering we have SO many different ethnicities here and plenty of those people go back second or third generation Australian, so that is disappointing. Apparently the reason Barry (Aboriginal man) has been silent is because he was swearing a lot, along with one of the girls in his tribe, so they couldn't use most of their footage (as a whole we really don't care about swearing but it's marketed as a family friendly show and is in a PG slot). Barry said they had a talking to by producers so hopefully we will hear more from those players soon! And to be fair there are 24 contestants so a lot of them have barely had any screen time yet, it's still early days. It's had great reviews here and there's loads of buzz about it on social media, everyone is impressed with the quality and that it is keeping in line with the US show - the last attempt at doing an Aus version was abysmal! So cheap and too many changes from the original version. Glad to read you think Jonathon LaPaglia is doing a great job, I think he's a perfect choice for it and he's pretty easy on the eye ?.

Do they have an excuse why the girl (the one who really appears to be mixed race) ALSO didn't get any "coverage" until Episode 3 (and then only because she's the one who read the Tree Mail)?  Are we supposed to conclude she's a Swearer too?

But yes, the production is great, even if the number of contestants and episodes seems a bit excessive following the classic show formula (I do know why they've done it as we've discussed elsewhere). And the social media buzz is great to know about but man those viewer numbers look so scary to my non-Oz eyes. I mean for a typical reality show even America (so many times bigger in audience) doesn't post much better viewership, but the big expensive shows like Survivor and Amazing Race HAVE TO or they won't get made.  So a show made looking JUST as good and we even LONGER on the Island and more people?  I gotta wonder how how much they need to think it's paid for itself.

On another subject entirely, what they one guy did, going back and looking at the quest area the others were sent to, seems to me like it's probably against show rules. I think the expectation is that everyone else is obligated to stay away until the production staff cleans the area up.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Kromm

[Nozycat]

28 minutes ago, Kromm said:

On another subject entirely, what they one guy did, going back and looking at the quest area the others were sent to, seems to me like it's probably against show rules. I think the expectation is that everyone else is obligated to stay away until the production staff cleans the area up.

Yeah I was wondering about that too and assumed they would have cleaned it up straight away but left the clue because it slipped out of the guy's (name?) pants so up for grabs.

[Kromm]

24 minutes ago, Nozycat said:

Yeah I was wondering about that too and assumed they would have cleaned it up straight away but left the clue because it slipped out of the guy's (name?) pants so up for grabs.

Yes, after seeing more of the episode, it is clear you are correct.  It was left by production because the moment the clue is claimed it belongs to the contestant and not production.  This is probably the first time anyone was dumb enough to lose a clue IN THE QUEST/CHALLENGE area (leading to a question of access), but I'm pretty sure clues have been lost before. 

Edited August 29, 2016 by Kromm

[Kromm]

And you know... this two bags thing was taken straight out of a US season. One I'd bet aired in Australia (I know now only a few didn't). So that more than anything else should have been the giveaway when someone comes back with a teeny little bag of something.

Someone cooking up a fake clue is a new thing though. Then again part of the reason they were likely immediately suspicious is that they all KNOW these clues are written down and people get the clues on parchment.

Oh by the end of this episode? It definitely becomes clear that Australian Survivor has really been hit hard by the "never allow yourself to be assigned the puzzle" rule (as well as the classic "never be the overt leader" rule). Even though other factors picked the actual boot, it still told you a lot about the pecking order to see who got assigned Puzzle duty.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Kromm

[azshadowwalker]

Enjoying it so far. And I am embarrassed to say that I just learned that the LaPaglias are Australian. It's not just that Anthony has a perfectly passable American accent. He also lacks the nasal tones of his brother that I hear in a lot of Australian voices. Other than that, I like Jonathan as a host quite a bit. 

[Nozycat]

On 8/29/2016 at 2:20 PM, Kromm said:

And you know... this two bags thing was taken straight out of a US season. One I'd bet aired in Australia (I know now only a few didn't). So that more than anything else should have been the giveaway when someone comes back with a teeny little bag of something.

Yeah I thought this too, should have been obvious to any Survivor fan.

Quote

Enjoying it so far. And I am embarrassed to say that I just learned that the LaPaglias are Australian. It's not just that Anthony has a perfectly passable American accent. He also lacks the nasal tones of his brother that I hear in a lot of Australian voices. Other than that, I like Jonathan as a host quite a bit. 

I am liking Jonathan too and have always been a fan of him as an actor.  I thought he was outstanding in Underbelly:Badness.

Edited August 30, 2016 by Nozycat

[SnideAsides]

Worlds Apart (where the twist was taken from) got a same-day airing in Australia. While I'd bet that the suspicion everyone had was because they knew about that twist, it doesn't surprise me that nobody thought it would be an exact copy. Aussie reality shows are notorious for stealing ideas (and challenges, as you may have noticed) from international versions with minor tweaks to make them feel 'new'.

[Kromm]

So now we see the effects of having to fill a certain amount of time with the show no matter what. They canceled a boot because someone else (on another tribe) voluntarily left.  Certainly that doesn't happen on the US Survivor (where they'd just adjust the number of episodes and not sweat it). 

[SnideAsides]

I think the issue isn't so much that they have to fill a certain amount of time as it is they don't have any extra people to spare. Survivor US usually starts with an oversized cast and plans for a double-boot episode late in the season, then changes the first immunity challenge of the double-boot episode (or the first challenge in the finale if it's too late) into a reward challenge when something unexpected happens. But since

Spoiler

the double boot episode is apparently happening before the tribe-swap, with only one tribe winning immunity and both losing tribes voting people out

that's not possible this time around.

[Kromm]

2 hours ago, SnideAsides said:

I think the issue isn't so much that they have to fill a certain amount of time as it is they don't have any extra people to spare. Survivor US usually starts with an oversized cast and plans for a double-boot episode late in the season, then changes the first immunity challenge of the double-boot episode (or the first challenge in the finale if it's too late) into a reward challenge when something unexpected happens.

Well... no US season has ever had more than 20 players, for 3 tribe seasons, and 16 or 18 are what the 2 person tribe seasons have been, so to see if that's really true we have to look at the number of days as well.  But I do think you are right, if we look at relative (not absolute) numbers.

The US show is 39 days.  Now final tribal has also bounced between 2 or 3 people, so that has to be taken into account too, but if we go with the general belief that there's supposed to be a boot every 3 days, then you can see the extra people pretty easily. ASSUMING 3 person Final Tribals (because that's what's been done for every version in the past 7 or 8 years), then... (20-3) x 3 = 51. (18-3) x 3 = 45. (16-3) x 3 = 39. So clearly the original (and still occasionally used) number of 16 is the only one designed to be 39 days (although note that originally since there were 2 at Final Tribal the math would have been (16-2) x 3 = 42...). So yeah. Some double boots definitely fit into the formula these days or the filming schedule is impossible.  Seems like for a 20 person cast for example, you need a whopping 4 of them.  20-3 (at final tribal) - 4 extra people gone via 4 double boots = 13 boots x 3 days each = 39 days.  Only way the math works.  If not for the quitters and med evacuations, that's what you'd always need for a 20 person season in 39 days. So the number of quitters and evacuations controls that.

Looking at Australian Survivor... Well we don't know if the Final Tribal is going to be 2 or 3 people, so lets look at both. (24-2) x 3 = 66. (24-3) x 3 = 63. That's either an 11 or 8 day surplus needed over their schedule. You need precisely 18 and one third people (weird number there) with boots every 3 days to make 55 days. So there are still some planned double boots and/or allowances for quits and med evacs there.  Lets go with 3 and assume the larger (3 person) Final Tribal. (24-6) x 3 = 54 (so one day short of the schedule--but that's EASY to fix because then you just give them a bonus rest day ONCE and it fixes everything.

Sheesh. I didn't expect this many numbers when I started thinking on this. In a nutshell it says to me that they figured that with 24 people that they'll be at risk of more than 3 quitters or evacs.  And they figured that the first of these on Day 10 (the Tribal being on Day 11) was too darn soon. 

[Nozycat]

Boo to people like Peter and Barry.  I reckon if you don't come prepared to play give others a chance who would love to.  Jmo.

Yes to the extended episodes we are getting.  We get to see more of the tribe dynamics than in the more rushed US eps.

ROARING CHICKEN, lol.

[Save Yourself]

I think it was probably better for Barry when we didn't hear from him, totally pissed me off that he's going to let chance decide who to vote off, I don't think that's any great moral choice or whatever other spin he's putting on it, it's just a way to not make a choice AND to potentially send someone home who really doesn't 'deserve' it. That's fine if you don't break your word to people, not be in alliances, etc but you can avoid doing that and still make a decision. 

With Peter, I just call bullshit on having a gastro bug for that length of time. Surely he would have had sought some medical treatment in the 2 days prior that he claimed to have contracted it? And he was never shown once looking ill or weak the way that you would if you were only eating 50kjs a day and also doing physical work, he would have collapsed a long time before Day 12. If anything he looked quite vibrant and happy at the same time as saying how sick he was. I haven't watched Survivor for a long time but I'm sure they have medics on hand? They do have a duty of care to their cast - and their crew. I thought I remembered contestants having to get treatment before, wasn't someone helicoptered out and brought back one time? And Probst stepped in before if they were worried about the health of a contestant? I don't know, maybe I'm completely making stuff up! Please let me know guys!

That tribal council was awesome, I have to watch the ep again!

[azshadowwalker]

Once you are out of the US game, you're out. The only time quitters or medevacs have been brought back are for jury, not to play the game itself. 

[Save Yourself]

1 minute ago, azshadowwalker said:

Once you are out of the US game, you're out. The only time quitters or medevacs have been brought back are for jury, not to play the game itself. 

Yep understand that's it if you quit but have they had people get medical attention on set before then continue playing? It's bugging me that I can't trust my memory! I'm 7 months preg ATM and I swear to god she's a full Romero zombie, she's eating my brains so I'm getting progressively dumber everyday!

[Save Yourself]

Maybe I was thinking of this guy who was in the first Aus series all that ago: Michael Skupin, he fell into the fire and was badly burnt so was choppered out but they let come back for the Phillipines season. Forgot I'd watched any of the original Aus version!

[Save Yourself]

Was just reading the Survivor Wikia and it says this about the medics:

Medical Team

"The Survivor medical team are always on hand 24 hours a day to assist, diagnose, and support the castaways in the event of injuries or serious illnesses. If at any point medical attention is required, either a castaway in need or the host calls the medics for help. The team consists of three doctors, three paramedics and two nurses who stay at a clinic at base camp. They cover tribe camps, challenge sites and Ponderosa. They also tend to the production team's health concerns.[2] The medical team also has the authority to remove contestants from the game if the situation calls for it and send them to a hospital for further treatment.  

Dr. Ramona Salins is the most recognizable member of the Medical Department on Survivor. A New Zealand native, she is usually present whenever a castaway's health is compromised."

And then in the Evacuation section it says most of the people who ended up being airlifted out were first helped by the medics in the hope that they could stay in the game. The medics then made them leave if the treatment didn't work work and it was not safe for the contestant to continue. 

 

So I don't understand that with all this medical support available (it would have to be the same for our one as the US show) that Peter didn't try to get help OR that the medics didn't make the call themselves that he was too unwell to be there. 

[azshadowwalker]

They do a little bit of medical evaluation on the set, but it's rarely shown. Last season was a bit different in that they showed the bandages and such that medical gave them, because the injuries and medevacs were part of the story. Still, though, the people removed from the game weren't allowed to come back to play, although two of them served on the jury. It's considered an unfair advantage to be removed, fed and rehydrated, then returned to play against those who have been overheated and underfed for the entire time. 

[Save Yourself]

14 minutes ago, azshadowwalker said:

They do a little bit of medical evaluation on the set, but it's rarely shown. Last season was a bit different in that they showed the bandages and such that medical gave them, because the injuries and medevacs were part of the story. Still, though, the people removed from the game weren't allowed to come back to play, although two of them served on the jury. It's considered an unfair advantage to be removed, fed and rehydrated, then returned to play against those who have been overheated and underfed for the entire time. 

Oh for sure if you're removed you shouldn't be allowed to come back, being all nicely rested and fed would be too great advantage. But if you're treated onsite for something you can stay if the medics determine it's safe for you to do so. My issue here with Peter is he has been saying in the press that he was stranded on a deserted island (with a full crew and 25 cast mates - scary!) without any access to medical care. I just don't believe it, I'm sure it's not against the rules to give him something for the gastro. And he had 2 days prior! He could have seen a doctor then and got some meds. Or as I said, if he was as deathly ill as he said he was (in an interview he said he would have been carried out in a box if he'd stayed in the game!) surely the medics or JLap would have approached him earlier to give him a physical or just flat out make the assessment he's too sick to be there. His comments don't ring true with me. 

Edited August 30, 2016 by Save Yourself

[Kromm]

Gastrointestinal problems would not rate any kind of special help. They all get it to some extent. 

If there was truth to his statement that he was eating nothing, that would rate I think. As much as the core premise of the show is that they often starve, they know to look for signs of when it actually affects people.

He was evacuated on Day 11. He claimed 15 days without food. Assuming for the moment honesty about that, then that means he was 4 days without food when they released them into the game. The flight to Samoa and prep before they dropped them off on the Island was probably a few days too, I suppose. But it still means he left home sick, then presumably had some medical check when he arrived, and yet they chose not to go to one of the alternates? And yes I'm sure they had alternates there and ready. There's no chance they didn't. They don't put any in the game after it actually starts, but they have a few on standbye, at least if they really ARE following the US model, where they got burned once (Survivor: Fiji back in 2007) and had to start a season with 19 people because of a last second dropout. With 24 bodies to account for, they'd have to be fools not to have alternates, and so this guy claiming to go in already sick is a little suspicious. 

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, Save Yourself said:

 My issue here with Peter is he has been saying in the press that he was stranded on a deserted island (with a full crew and 25 cast mates - scary!) without any access to medical care.

I call bullshit - or a wildly radical exaggeration, at the very least.  If the past 17 years of Survivor USA served as ANY kind of model for this version of the show, then:

1. TPTB have at least two physicians at the Production campsite: a primary doc + a squad of 2-3 assistants (paramedics at least), and a duplicate redundant arrangement to provide coverage in case the primary + crew have to accompany a seriously ill contestant off-site for medical treatment.
2. The support medical squad on deck is on hand for every competition.
3. The squad is also never more than a radio call away at camp, either.

Are the medical staff chasing the contestants around with with stethoscopes and BP cuffs, making sure the contestants don't hurt themselves?  Of course not - it's not their job to interfere unless a serious peril to individual or group health is perceived.  But they're almost certainly never much more than a shout away, either.

 

58 minutes ago, Kromm said:

Gastrointestinal problems would not rate any kind of special help. They all get it to some extent. 

If there was truth to his statement that he was eating nothing, that would rate I think. As much as the core premise of the show is that they often starve, they know to look for signs of when it actually affects people.

He was evacuated on Day 11. He claimed 15 days without food. Assuming for the moment honesty about that, then that means he was 4 days without food when they released them into the game. The flight to Samoa and prep before they dropped them off on the Island was probably a few days too, I suppose. But it still means he left home sick, then presumably had some medical check when he arrived, and yet they chose not to go to one of the alternates? And yes I'm sure they had alternates there and ready. There's no chance they didn't. They don't put any in the game after it actually starts, but they have a few on standbye, at least if they really ARE following the US model, where they got burned once (Survivor: Fiji back in 2007) and had to start a season with 19 people because of a last second dropout. With 24 bodies to account for, they'd have to be fools not to have alternates, and so this guy claiming to go in already sick is a little suspicious. 

Suspicious?  He just broke the needle on my Bullshit-O-Meter.

[Vicky8675309]

I'm really liking Survivor Australia and am thrilled that I found it on my usual streaming site since it isn't being shown in the USA. Do online views help? I'd love to help the ratings and if it would help, I could use google chrome & Hola to watch it on the Australian website (channel ten, right?)? Should I do that (would it help their ratings)?

It's strange having a different host but he is doing a good job. His veiny arms are distracting...lol.

[Vicky8675309]

I'm loving the super-sized episodes three times a week!

[Nozycat]

Yeah I'm in Survivor heaven right now, lol.  My friend thinks I'm nuts.

[TVbitch]

Wow. Last tribal was bananacakes. Never seen the likes of that on the US version. I dug it. 

[Kromm]

3 hours ago, Vicky8675309 said:

I'm loving the super-sized episodes three times a week!

Stupid Stephen Fischbach was whining about it being 'too much' on the Rob Has A Podcast episode I just saw (they decided to cover the show). I usually don't have much tolerance for him or that show, but listened just because I wanted to see how those idiots react to the Oz cast and show.  Mostly they liked it, apart from apparently not getting the memo about why there's so much content produced for the show (they didn't have an Aussies around to ask I guess).

[Pollock]

5 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Wow. Last tribal was bananacakes. Never seen the likes of that on the US version. I dug it. 

Yeah, that was awesome. The first "shit hits the fan" tribal and it was glorious. 

I didn't see all original Survivor seasons, the last twist was new or did it already happen in the US? I really liked it but isn't that double council excluding Aganoa, who won, unfair though? There was so much informations that they don't know now despite their win, why would the two losing teams get those and not the winning one?

Edited August 31, 2016 by Pollock

[Save Yourself]

13 hours ago, Kromm said:

Gastrointestinal problems would not rate any kind of special help. They all get it to some extent. 

If there was truth to his statement that he was eating nothing, that would rate I think. As much as the core premise of the show is that they often starve, they know to look for signs of when it actually affects people.

He was evacuated on Day 11. He claimed 15 days without food. Assuming for the moment honesty about that, then that means he was 4 days without food when they released them into the game. The flight to Samoa and prep before they dropped them off on the Island was probably a few days too, I suppose. But it still means he left home sick, then presumably had some medical check when he arrived, and yet they chose not to go to one of the alternates? And yes I'm sure they had alternates there and ready. There's no chance they didn't. They don't put any in the game after it actually starts, but they have a few on standbye, at least if they really ARE following the US model, where they got burned once (Survivor: Fiji back in 2007) and had to start a season with 19 people because of a last second dropout. With 24 bodies to account for, they'd have to be fools not to have alternates, and so this guy claiming to go in already sick is a little suspicious. 

 

12 hours ago, Nashville said:

I call bullshit - or a wildly radical exaggeration, at the very least.  If the past 17 years of Survivor USA served as ANY kind of model for this version of the show, then:

1. TPTB have at least two physicians at the Production campsite: a primary doc + a squad of 2-3 assistants (paramedics at least), and a duplicate redundant arrangement to provide coverage in case the primary + crew have to accompany a seriously ill contestant off-site for medical treatment.
2. The support medical squad on deck is on hand for every competition.
3. The squad is also never more than a radio call away at camp, either.

Are the medical staff chasing the contestants around with with stethoscopes and BP cuffs, making sure the contestants don't hurt themselves?  Of course not - it's not their job to interfere unless a serious peril to individual or group health is perceived.  But they're almost certainly never much more than a shout away, either.

 

Suspicious?  He just broke the needle on my Bullshit-O-Meter.

 

Thanks guys for that info, that helps clear things up a bit! Wish someone would actually grill Pete in an interview on his claims but no such luck. Can't find any good recap/discussion threads in Aus about the show, it's so frustrating not being able to delve into it like I do with other shows - I recognise you from TWD @Nashville, would be good to have so many people to bounce off here like we do there!

[Save Yourself]

Why did Matt say Kylie wearing the Immunity Idol to the TC was the dumbest thing he'd ever seen? She clearly felt vulnerable so I'm guessing was going to play it, she'd have to reveal it prior to voting anyway so I didn't understand what he was on about?