S33.E01: May The Best Generation Win

[LadyChatts]

56 minutes ago, LanceM said:

Yes. The advantage has to be used on Day 36.  If Jessica gets voted out she has to "will" it to another player.  Three questions immediately come to mind:

1. Does the "willing" out the advantage have to be done publically at TC?  

2. If the person who gets "willed" the adavntage gets voted out before day 36 does he/she then have to will it out to another tribe member?

3. Is this process repeated over and over again so it is guaranteed that that the advantage will be played on day 336?

I don't know how she has to will it, but I believe it just repeats the cycle.  She passes it on, if whoever gets it passes it on, until it makes it to day 36.  I'm hoping she wills in in secrecy, because if people figure out what it is and how it works (and lets be real, nothing is a secret on here), they may try to use it to their own advantage to be given it.

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As a creaky boomer, those millennials struck me as giggly and generally inept. Especially deciding to party on the beach instead of building a shelter. However, they got a cyclone save, and a outdoorsman from Brooklyn emerged...and made fire. I really couldn't tell much difference between the two generations...except the Xers did manage a shelter of sorts. Nobody made much of an impression yet, except David, who declared he is scared of dying. And loud noises. And bugs. Perfect.

The tribe divides this year are nothing we haven't seen before.  Tagi and Pagong from season 1 were the original GenX and Millennial tribes before millennial was even a word.  We saw tribal divides within tribes during Africa (Sambrats vs Samburu Elders).  Even during WA, there was the divide on the BC about the shelter building and camp chores.  Nice try show.

I question if David thought he was applying for Big Brother, and somehow got on the wrong plane and wound up in Fiji, but was too scared to admit his mistake.

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I liked Zeke, Mari, and Hannah more than I expected to. 

Me too!  Not that it's hard to come across as likable on that tribe, but I was not expecting to like those 3 at all.  And they wound up being my favorites tonight.

[Lamima]

I second the post upthread that said 'beware the church girl'. She's a snake in the grass!!

[azshadowwalker]

What an unimpressive season premier. Not one positive thing about it.  David getting to stay around despite being a weasel? Zeke already getting on my nerves? The girl playing at being weird and an outcast? Get over your fucking high school baggage. The Millennial tribe is one big group of try hards. I ended up muting large chunks of the show, because I was so annoyed. Not a good omen. 

Edited September 22, 2016 by azshadowwalker

[Negritude]

What's all this talk about Gen X being "hard workers" who "don't quit?" I thought we (born in '79 here) were slackers lol. Haven't these people seen "Reality Bites" or..."Slacker?". Ugh, bring on the merge, it's gonna be a long one. 

[ForeverAlone]

Overall I liked this episode. While I like people from both tribes, I can't say I prefer one tribe over the other (as long as the people I like stick around for a while). I enjoyed the balance between character building and strategy, though the reasons for the CeCe votes were a bit of mystery (I'm guessing because they decided to split between Rachel and CeCe as insurance against an idol play). I think it's been a while since we have seen four people get votes in one tribal council, so it highlighted the Gen X tribe divisions in interesting ways. I'm looking forward to seeing how the season unfolds and the personalities and game strategy emerge. 

[pfk505]

Every season I watch Survivor and every season I hate the early game even more. I'm late GenX but these generational stereotypes are beyond ridiculous and will be utterly forgotten after about 4 episodes if history is anything to go by. Late game is what people remember and by then its about the personalities and the interpersonal dynamics, not about the stupid gimmick.

I can't believe the GenX tribe didn't get rid of Dave. Can you imagine having to deal with this guy for 39 days? I'm reasonably certain he offers nothing beyond a reliable "anyone but me" vote if you're in the majority, which is useful, I guess, but he's going to annoy the shit out of me if he lasts. The only thing worse would be if they shoveled a "transformation" arc for him down our throats. I'd have pushed to keep Rachel over him but editing is a funny thing.

Millennial tribe is a train wreck bar the moustachio'd aging hipster who made fire. Can't imagine any of them would have survived a second night in that "shelter." Also calling shenanigans on them miraculously building something sustainable after the evac.

Interesting so far: Michelle, Bret, Ken

[LanceM]

1 hour ago, Negritude said:

What's all this talk about Gen X being "hard workers" who "don't quit?" I thought we (born in '79 here) were slackers lol. Haven't these people seen "Reality Bites" or..."Slacker?". Ugh, bring on the merge, it's gonna be a long one. 

Funny how that works. Tune into Survivor Season 74 in about 15 years and listen to the hard working Millennials talk about how the Generation Z tribe is a bunch of slackers who have never had to work a full days in their spoiled lives.

[ForeverAlone]

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

I post on another reality board in addition to PTV.  Over there, someone said that the tribes were kept in two separate empty rooms and a crew member was stationed there to make sure they didn't even talk to each other (no time for strategizing/alliance building).  I've done a bit of online searching and cannot verify this.  But from the looks of them, they all got to take showers and dry out their clothes!

During his live tweeting tonight, Jeff Probst said that when the teams were evacuated, they were segregated into separate rooms and weren't allowed to eat, have a bed or talk to each other. 

[GaT]

I hope Jessica is getting some medical treatment for her eyes because they are seriously creeping me out.

Zeke makes me think of Zoolander & I don't know why. He also makes think of Sally Field "you like me, right now, you like me!"

[Wandering Snark]

Wow, I'd rather have been in the driving rain than sit in a room and stare at the walls banned from talking.

[simplyme]

but I think the guys are going to stick together.  The other ladies probably just don't know it yet.

The above is a @LadyChatts quote I stole from the Rachel Ako thread.

I don't know yet if it's really a guy thing. Bret and Chris seemed tight, and possibly Paul (though we didn't truly see that). We saw Bret talking more strategy to Jessica than to Paul, in fact. 

I definitely got the vibe that Bret did not take to Ken. I don't know if it was an age thing, a model vs policeman thing, if Bret felt his alphaness threatened when Ken offered that he'd lived off the grid in Maui when they were planning stuff, or what.

Or maybe I just didn't take to Bret and am projecting. :P

I also think any guylliance plans could be limited not only by not including Ken, but by David being scared of everything and the upcoming events mentioned in the "next week..." segment.

[LadyChatts]

8 minutes ago, simplyme said:

The above is a @LadyChatts quote I stole from the Rachel Ako thread.

I don't know yet if it's really a guy thing. Bret and Chris seemed tight, and possibly Paul (though we didn't truly see that). We saw Bret talking more strategy to Jessica than to Paul, in fact. 

I definitely got the vibe that Bret did not take to Ken. I don't know if it was an age thing, a model vs policeman thing, if Bret felt his alphaness threatened when Ken offered that he'd lived off the grid in Maui when they were planning stuff, or what.

Or maybe I just didn't take to Bret and am projecting. :P

I also think any guylliance plans could be limited not only by not including Ken, but by David being scared of everything and the upcoming events mentioned in the "next week..." segment.

Very true.  I guess I should have added to that post.  I don't believe Rachel was targeted simply for being a woman, and I'm pretty sure CiCi was just a pawn.  If they wanted David to trust them and align with them, go after someone else and make him feel safe.  Still, I don't find David to be very bright, and I can picture him begging Jeff not to talk to him because he might accidentally spill the beans.  Since he doesn't have anyone else and is a nervous wreck, he might make a good ally that does whatever you tell him.  However, I just get this vibe that they may want to stick together as the guys.  Maybe/hopefully I'm wrong.  I actually forgot all about Ken.  They really needed to focus more on GenX tonight!  I don't like Chris for no real reason, but I kind of like Bret.  We'll see what next week brings.  CiCi didn't look very happy at seeing her name pop up, so I hope she doesn't go off on them back at camp and really dig herself into a hole.

[princelina]

4 hours ago, TexasChic said:

I haven't watched Survivor in years, but I thought I'd give this one a shot because Gen Xers vs Millennials sounded interesting. What was I thinking??? All I've heard is a bunch of contrived, inaccurate, down right idiotic stereotypes. I'll have to see if I can get past this and stick around. 

Welcome back and let me catch you up!  Nowadays they have "themes" which they beat until long after the horses have died and the kids using the glue have graduated from college.  See blue collar/white collar, beauty/brains, and the most agonizing of all - blood vs. water.  (How does it FEEL to vote out your LOVED ONE?  No, we're not killing them, but how does it FEEL TO PRETEND THAT WE ARE?)

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

 

My son was born in 1997 and just graduated high school.  We would be on opposite tribes! Although if he were to go on Survivor I would absolutely be the family member everyone hates because when I saw him I would act like it had been years, not days.  He's my punkin'!

No matter if I hate everyone or find someone to root for, I am so glad to have this show on.

Case in point above.  (I say it with love, Mojoween, and I too am thrilled that it's back on :)

i thought I would hate Zeke (millennial in old man's body, right?) but am enjoying him the most at this point!

[DancingD]

When Jeff got to the GenX beach, things weren't bad yet. By the time they left, the storm was ramping up. So they must have made them wait around while they rigged up cameras to get the storm footage. Nice.

I like the Geeks group, it has potential. Had a good laugh at David sticking his fingers in his ears. Way to blend in.

[loki567]

They need to figure something out with their locations during storm seasons. The last couple seasons people are just getting blasted with storms continually. It's miserable to live through and watch.  

Pretty boring start overall. I hate when Survivor feels the need to keep beating us over the head with the theme. 

[Daisy]

So there's no one born in 83? like. Jeff specifically said 
Gen X is from the old guy to 82
Millennials are from 84-97. 

so it's like they removed a birth year.

I was talking to my best friend saying they should have two 83s and have them on each tribe and see what they do.
Like most twists it's gonna irritate me until they merge. I am always so disgumused how they amp up the differences and you're like. "you know you're just like them LOL) 

Also. I would have killed David. so i have no idea why he's still there. 

[sassykattt]

I hate this theme.  I hate that they chose a bunch of cliches to be in the cast.  I don't think I'm going to make it through this edition. It's just sad

[SVNBob]

3 hours ago, LanceM said:

3.  Is this process repeated over and over again so it is guaranteed that that the advantage will be played on day 36?

I would assume so.  I can already picture the montage in the intro of the final episode that will trace the path of the Legacy (symbolized by the envelope, with CG flashes on it as it passes) from person to person to the one holding it on Night 35.

And it was a nice touch on the part of the prop department of putting fabric of both colors on the envelope to indicate that it was up for grabs for both tribes, meaning there's only the one Legacy in play.

3 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

And they decided to take two shortcuts? 

Given the sheer girth of two or three of the GenX guys, I don't blame them for taking the first shortcut.  The Millennials were all stick figures (except for Zeke, but he was still smaller than the guys in question on GenX), so they could afford to skip that shortcut.  The balance beam was the questionable one.  Well, the bigger question really is "could they try to do an obstacle on hard mode, then decide to do the shortcut after if it was too hard?"  If they could have, GenX should have tried the beam on hard first.  That might have made all the difference.

The voting puzzled me too at first, since we never even heard CeCe's name come up.  I thought about it before we were shown everything with Rachel's final words, and I came to the conclusion that Rachel and CeCe must have been the odd ones out and voted for David and Sunday in some combination, which turned out to be correct.  I did note that all the guys voted Rachel, so either the main block told David who to vote for (half of his "test") or he concluded that Rachel was the target on his own.  And since Ken was apparently outside the main alliance, he must have decided on Rachel on his own.

So the split between Rachel and CeCe had to be covering one of those two women having the HII and possibly passing it to the other.  But we only saw David going out on idol hunts, so he should have been one side of the split.  It doesn't make a lot of sense.

[Trick Question]

Kind of a weird first episode, though probably one that couldn't help but be weird given the extreme weather situation.  It's interesting to think of how being removed from the wild so early could impact the game itself....if a weather evac happens later on, it seems like that would be a great 'refresh' for players who are really struggling after several days.  Even the early evac may have helped some players who may have had a quick case of the anxiety, like Aubry last season or Holly in S21.

This generation vs. generation thing may be the lamest twist yet.  It honestly feels like they did their usual casting, realized they needed some kind of gimmick for the season (since god forbid they just run a regular Survivor series) and decided on age 33 as their arbitrary generational cutoff point.  And am I crazy, or isn't it Generation X generally people born in the late 60's through the 70's, then Generation Y is the 80's to mid'90's, while Millennials are 1995-on?  I swear I read somewhere that the internet's explosion into mainstream use (which happened in roughly 1995) was used the cutoff point between Gen-Y and the Millennial generation, since it went Gen-X grew up without an internet, Millennials have always had the internet and Gen-Y had both?

It seems to me that if you're playing that challenge and the other team is advantage-ing their past way an obstacle, you absolutely should do so as well to save valuable minutes.  I'd say the difference in time between 10 people struggling through that rope maze is greater than the extra time it would take for 10 extra pieces in a puzzle.

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Bret isn't that good at math. Six people splitting the vote and not including the other four can backfire on you if the other four work together. I think he's too cocky to make it to the end.

Yeah, this also struck me as pretty weird.  If I recall correctly, it was...
Aligned: Bret/Chris/Jessica/Lucy
Not aligned: David, CeCe, Rachel

I forget where Sunday, Ken and Paul fell in the mix, though I vaguely think it was Paul and Sunday in the alliance and Ken was on the outs.  Everyone voted for either CeCe or Rachel (except for CeCe voting for David and Rachel for Sunday) which could've been a sign that the alliance had opened up a bit to include the full eight.  This definitely makes sense in a first vote when you seemingly have two targets and can then do an easy 4-4 split to ensure an idol won't work.

[green]

5 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Dave sure has a lot of hang ups and issues. That said, he'll probably go far. Winners edit. LOL!!!

I don't know if I'd say winners edit but he is definitely one of the early "narrators" and the only real one on Gen-X to stand out ... for all the wrong reasons.  And yes, Dave, you were born to die.  Get used to it.

I guess Hawaiian-shirt dude and the homeless shelter guy are the early narrators on the other tribe. 

4 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

Ah, okay, that makes a lot more sense. And I like that idea, because I always wanted someone who got voted out with an idol to be able to give it to someone. Apparently they weren't allowed and this is suppose to switch that up. 

This was about the Legacy Advantage.  If an idol was passed off at least that person would have had protection for one tribal council because of same.  But if this thing is passed off -- and since people usually don't know they are being voted off until it happens at TC -- then it would be done in public so would basically be the kiss of death to the person who receives it.  They would immediately become the #1 target because no one wants to go into the finals with someone who has that advantage. 

Even if they don't know that part of the "advantage" they would know the other person had gotten something that makes them more powerful somehow.  The original person, since they can keep this hidden, has the only real advantage to posses it from my pov.  After that it becomes poison to it's owner.  So I basically see this "advantage" as more a tool for revenge against the person the former owner of it dislikes the most.

2 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

Wow, I'd rather have been in the driving rain than sit in a room and stare at the walls banned from talking.

The other person meant they were prevented from talking to members of the OTHER tribe; not their own.  And no one wants to sit all night in driving rain to the point of uncontrollable shaking from the cold and skin turned into mush over sitting inside under any condition.

[TexasTiffany]

4 hours ago, Maya said:

I can't believe they can all keep saying "Figgy" with a straight face. 

I kept waiting for someone on the tribe to ask if Figgy is short for "F*cking Twiggy".

So far, the most interesting player was the weather. I'm glad Burnett and Probst decided to evacuate the players AND the chickens. 

I'm already over the Gen-X and Millenials descriptions. I had never heard the term Gen-X until mid 90's and I thought it was to categorize those born in the mid 80s to 90s. I heard the term Millenials implying those born from 2000 and on. I don't agree with Mark Burnett's years, but I don't really care for an explanation. Whatever. It's not worth arguing over. 

I watched every season faithfully except the last 2 years. I may or may not continue this season. At least there isn't a returning survivor player and everyone kissing their rump. 

[PhoneCop]

Add me to the list of people who are instantly over the dumb and overly forced theme. So twentysomethings tend to have a looser work ethic and like a beach party, thirty- and fortysomethings tend to take a more grounded, pragmatic approach and prioritize building a shelter. That's not Survivor: Generations, it's Survivor: Life Stages.

[KimberStormer]

Well, now that this episode is over, I'm going to sit down and listen to Nirvana's famous album "Hard Work Is Its Own Reward" and watch Richard Linklater's seminal film, "A Good Honest Living".

3 hours ago, Negritude said:

What's all this talk about Gen X being "hard workers" who "don't quit?" I thought we (born in '79 here) were slackers lol. Haven't these people seen "Reality Bites" or..."Slacker?". Ugh, bring on the merge, it's gonna be a long one. 

Damn you for beating me to it.  I made my joke anyway.

It's always a pleasure to get back to this board and feel I am the most serene and untroubled of television viewers.  Yes, the endless harping on the ludicrous theme was annoying, but, as I've said before, it's completely irrelevant and we will all have completely forgotten it by the merge (if not the swap!), including Probst.  So just forget it, who cares.  Soon enough these will be people and not paper dolls on Jeff's fingers, dutifully repeating their lines about participation trophies and like my generation just wants to party dude, Twitter Google YOLO!  You just have to wait long enough for the producers to get this nonsense out of their system and it will be a season like any season, a game being played.  It takes a special effort for me to remember Nicaragua as the "old vs young" season, it was over so quickly.

Anyway.  I can't remember names yet.  My impressions of the neo-Vanuatu meathead alliance on the Gen-X team is not great.  I guess Neo-LJ is not really part of that crew?  I must agree with everyone about Dave, extremely annoying so far.  But, you know, Cirie was afraid at first too.  Maybe he'll grow into it.  (Though I have to say I sort of hope not, I don't think it would be very compelling.)  Other than the lady with the advantage and the eye infections I'm afraid I didn't get much of a sense of the women on that tribe.

On the Millenial tribe, we have the editors' favorite scenario, Pretty People Can't Count.  I am hoping the pretty girls don't pay the price while the pretty bros bumble their way to wholly undeserved late jury positions, like happened with Hope and Allie and Reynold and Eddie in Caramoan.  But these bros seem similar to Reynold and Eddie in another way, in that they may be dumb but they don't seem mean, and I hope will at least be good-natured dopes rather than horrible soul-crushing jerks like we got last season and in Worlds Apart.  I do get a good feeling about our Bible missionary girl, though, she seems to get an important part of the game when she says if people feel you really care about them they'll trust you.  Manipulative empathy, and no angst about it?  I'm in.  If they're gonna keep casting Bible thumpers, I would personally love to see one of them kick ass at the game, and she looks like a good candidate for it to me.  Bite that apple, girlfriend.  I admit I'm a little bored by Neo-Aubry and Mari's umpteenth version of the Misfit Toys Alliance, but I do like them, so I will keep an open mind about it.

51 minutes ago, green said:

I don't know if I'd say winners edit but he is definitely one of the early "narrators" and the only real one on Gen-X to stand out ... for all the wrong reasons.  And yes, Dave, you were born to die.  Get used to it.

I guess Hawaiian-shirt dude and the homeless shelter guy are the early narrators on the other tribe. 

I thought Mari.  Homeless shelter guy is so bland I barely noticed him speaking, though I guess when I think about it he did.

I do agree, people who worry endlessly about dying are pretty annoying.  I definitely would have gotten rid of him over Rachel, he seems like a terrible person to keep to me: useless early, dangerous later when he will, inevitably, start to get used to the conditions.  He came to be a gamer, that is obvious, that is written all over him, even if he didn't say it to the other players like he did to the confessional camera.  While it's true he may just suck so bad that he can't game despite wanting to, the longer you give him to try the more likely it becomes, and the more trouble he can make.  And in the meantime, he fucks up your tribe at challenges, makes life miserable at camp with his whining, stokes paranoia by painfully obvious idol-hunting, and could do some dumb shit like quit or be medevac'd.  No!  Get rid of him!  Rachel is eminently controllable!  Bad decision all around.

Anyway.  I'll leave you with my favorite illustration of that famous Generation X work ethic.

Edited September 22, 2016 by KimberStormer

[candall]

Okay, I'm going to swim against the tide and say that I like the Mils vs. X theme.  Wait, wait!  Here's why:

Every year one of the most entertaining characters is the prototype surfer dude with the blond semi-dreads, who makes macramé for a living.  We take an interest in seeing how the laid-back guy is going to gel with the drill sergeant, the pro athlete, the business major and the pageant winner. 

I think it's clever and amusing to recruit a whole squad of that particular flavor of Namaste, and throw them all in together.

Edited September 22, 2016 by candall

[RescueMom]

3 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

But these bros seem similar to Reynold and Eddie in another way, in that they may be dumb but they don't seem mean, and I hope will at least be good-natured dopes rather than horrible soul-crushing jerks like we got last season and in Worlds Apart.  I do get a good feeling about our Bible missionary girl, though, she seems to get an important part of the game when she says if people feel you really care about them they'll trust you.  Manipulative empathy, and no angst about it?  I'm in.  If they're gonna keep casting Bible thumpers, I would personally love to see one of them kick ass at the game, and she looks like a good candidate for it to me.  Bite that apple, girlfriend.  I admit I'm a little bored by Neo-Aubry and Mari's umpteenth version of the Misfit Toys Alliance, but I do like them, so I will keep an open mind about it.

They reminded me of Reynold and Eddie as well, and you phrased it perfectly - good-natured dopes rather than soul-crushing jerks.  (Reynold is someone I'd actually like to see play again.)  I hope these two keep that vibe going, because while I'm unlikely to start rooting for either to win, right now they aren't unpleasant to watch.

I also really liked Michelle, which surprised me - right now she's on my short-list of potential favorite players for this season.  So much can change as the weeks go on, but she seems smart and savvy and ready to play the game without us having to watch her ostensibly grapple with a huge moral/spiritual dilemma while doing so.

[Haleth]

10 hours ago, ElleryAnne said:

The real survivor was that little bat in the tree.

I'm rooting for the bat.

I came in 20 mins late (forgot it was on, bad sign!) so I missed the intros and the legacy thing.  When I tuned in they were showing the pretty millennials bonding so I immediately developed a dislike for them.  Not too many people stood out in this first episode, except David (why is he playing?), Zeke (good job with the fire), Hannah (geeks unite!), and Rachel who got the boot.  The rest are pretty much standard Survivor casting.  The forced theme of "generations" of people only a handful of years apart is silly.

Yeah, I'll stick with the bat.  Go, bat!

[ghoulina]

I actually don't mind the theme, but I tend to like themes in general, and get annoyed when they toss it away before the merge. I want to see how it will really play out! Of course, if one tribe is getting completely decimated, that's no fun. 

You know what else is no fun? A season of torrential rain and freezing contestants. Why would they pick this location right in the middle of cyclone season? Is this just an unprecedented bad year for weather, or were they just stupid? I mean, pick somewhere else. If you have your heart set on Fiji, do it at a different time. I don't know, but it just seemed like a really stupid move. Crazy that they had to actually evacuate everyone. (And it appears they rescued the Millennials first. I guess the Gen X'ers are already closer to death?) I wonder, was it just one night? It was all bright and sunny the next day. Crazy. 

So one reason I like themes is because I like the little choices they give them that might play to their various strengths. I like seeing which group picks what. At drop-off, I actually didn't think picking chickens was a horrible idea. I don't see that as "short term". Sure, if you butcher and eat them right away. But they also lay eggs, and that's a no effort food source. Whereas, how many times have we seen these people totally suck at fishing? 

But I really really like when they incorporate the choices in the challenges. They did it a few times before with BBB, and then it always seems to fizzle out. I hope they keep doing it. I think it makes these re-hashed challenges a lot more interesting. The Gen X'ers probably really did need those advantages, but it didn't end up helping them much. I don't know if it would have mattered if they had a 50 piece puzzle vs. 70. It didn't seem like the original puzzle workers were getting ANYWHERE. 

I think my favorite part of the challenge, though, was when the one guy (I am not set on all the names yet. Chris?) blocked the millennials from getting the last of their clubs until all of his team was on the mat. THAT was smart. Keep that guy around. 

I'm not sure the Legacy Advantage is a new twist I really care for, though. We'll see. 

As for the various tribes, not strongly rooting for one or the other yet. 

On the Millennial tribe, I like Zeke. I thought it was super cool that he led the shelter building and started a fire with NO prior experience. THAT'S what Survivor is about - embracing the experience and pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. Very cool. (Plus, I cracked up quite a bit at his self deprecating commentary.)

I want to throw up on "The Triforce". Taylor and Jay are total "bros" and I already cannot stand them. Figgy is annoying as well. Just no. I hope Mari's plotting against them works out, and doesn't come back to bit her in the but. 

Not sure about Gen X, but I think Jessica seems like a contender. Poor David, he's already coming out strong with the paranoia. Look, I don't get why people get so flustered when you look for Idols. It's going to happen at some point. What? You expect everyone to just let them sit there? No. But, if you've ever watched this show, you KNOW it's going to inevitably put a target on your back. So you need to be more stealth about it. David was so super obvious. 

But I was glad to see they sent Rachel home first. Mainly because she said, "feel a certain way", and after an entire summer of Big Brother, I don't think I want to hear that phrase ever again. But, also, homegirl has no self awareness. At least David KNOWS he's a hot mess (seriously, who has to cover their ears when wood is being chopped??? I mean, besides my 5-year-old with sensory issues.); I think there's more of a chance of him adapting and working well with others. 

I was surprised CeeCee had as many votes as she did, because I don't really recall anyone back at camp discussing her. Did I miss something? Or did the editors just leave that out? 

Overall, excited for a new season, as always. Don't disappoint me, Survivor! 

[Superpole2000]

I laughed at all of the, "S/he is so good looking!" comments. That Tri-force group looked especially dirty to me. They were young, yes, but I can probably name a hundred of past Survivors better looking than all of them. The bruh-language they used was enough to turn off anyone with a brain anyway.

I enjoyed watching these goofuses get pelted with rain. I appreciate the editors giving us enough scenes of these fools to influence us to cheer for the weather.

Captain Paranoia was annoying, and yet I kind of wish the best for him. He has a genuine problem.

The challenge was cleverly designed and well-balanced, but I still think watching someone solve a puzzle is one of the most boring things one can do. I've never called up my mom to ask when I can come over and watch her do her crosswords.

[fountain]

Because the producers chose people that spanned the whole generation there is no difference really between the youngest x-er and oldest millennial.  I was thinking they were going to pick people who would have had more similar life experiences such as all around 45 year olds for x-ers and all around 25 year olds for millennials.  This group is the same old survivor group just split by birth dates.  Only difference is one really really young guy and no 70 year old.

I hope that eye clears up soon as it is gross to watch.  It is bacterial pinkeye really and I hope it doesn't spread to the whole group.

ETA I found the stereotypes both annoying and interesting.  I guess especially with regard to some of the dream following stuff that one guy was blabbing about.  With poorer economic times in many areas I guess I had expected the much younger millennials would start to become more jaded away from that and more like my boomer parents who were all "just get some kind of degree that gets work, have dreams on weekends" due to the economic realities they had faced in the 80s when middle management was being eliminated, my dad took a bunch of pay cuts to keep staff, etc.  It is interesting to me that follow your dreams sentiment still remains.

Edited September 22, 2016 by fountain

[Lamb18]

I'm a tail-end Baby Boomer and my memories of the Generation X stuff when it first came out was that they were kind of a lost generation - I believe the first generation to have fewer opportunities than the previous, the world not left in better shape, also (my own thought) probably the first generation of children in which divorced parents became common. This is the generation of punk rock and grunge, black leather, mohawks, beginning of tattoos and piercings. To me, the biggest difference for Millennials is having more regimented childhoods - day care, school, day care, activity - everything being on a schedule. Plus parents wanting less to be parents and more friends/equals with childrens and many unconsciously expecting children to meet their emotional needs (instead of the other way around). This is also the generation suing for "low self-esteem".

But as the show progresses (as you all have said above) the people will stop being generation stereotypes and become individuals. There are hard workers in both generations and lazy people, nice people and mean. I'll end up liking and hating some from each tribe.

I slightly like GenX more although David is irritating and I don't like Bret - he's the heavy Boston guy, right? He seemed smug, thinking he's the big guy who's going to call the shots for his tribe and I got an icky Jason/Scot vibe from him. I want to like Sunday Breakfast since she lives close by but her voice!

[TaraS1]

When David said in the beginning that he was afraid of bugs and didn't like the sun, ocean or outdoors, I felt like (credit Roberta Flack) he was singing my life with his words.  I hate all that stuff too - hence why I would never go on Survivor.  So good luck with allll that, Dave.

[ghoulina]

13 minutes ago, fountain said:

I hope that eye clears up soon as it is gross to watch.  It is bacterial pinkeye really and I hope it doesn't spread to the whole group.

Ugh, that was my thought as well. I have little kids at home, and I know how easily pink eye spreads and how hard it can be to get rid of. What a nightmare. 

 

2 minutes ago, TaraS1 said:

When David said in the beginning that he was afraid of bugs and didn't like the sun, ocean or outdoors, I felt like (credit Roberta Flack) he was singing my life with his words.  I hate all that stuff too - hence why I would never go on Survivor.  So good luck with allll that, Dave.

Yea, I love to camp and I'm great with the outdoors, but what I don't do is rain and being cold and having no warm bed to get into. Fuck that. I would never go on Survivor unless it was some dry, hot wasteland....like in Africa. I will battle dehydration any day over shivering in the rain. 

[Eolivet]

5 hours ago, TexasTiffany said:

I kept waiting for someone on the tribe to ask if Figgy is short for "F*cking Twiggy".

And my immediate thought was I would never go to an island locale, with a group of people in a scenario designed to eliminate others with a name containing "___iggy." Lest someone find a conch shell.

(...Do they even teach that book anymore?)

[Primetimer]

Will the battle between the Millennials and the GenXers be a washout, or will viewers be flooded with generational angst?

View the full article

[ProfCrash]

A good start to the season. I hate the generational differences and people actually pretending like those stereotypes are real. Then again, they cast people to make the stereotypes real so there you have it. The Cyclone was nasty and the damage it did was impressive. I don't know enough about the folks to make any real judgements yet but I do want David to go.

The cool kids club on the Millennial tribe is going to be annoying. I would be thrilled to see them gone as well.

I would say fishing gear is more valuable then chickens. The chickens will lay an egg every few days so you are splitting an egg or two among 10 people. If there is someone on your tribe who can fish you are splitting a fish or two, maybe more, and that is a good deal more food then you will get from the chicken.

Quote

How off the grid can you be in Maui, of all places, for five years?  I call bullshit.

There is an entire show called Buying Hawaii and they regularly have people looking for homes that are off grid. It is actually pretty common given the various remote places you can lives, especially when you are not on O'ahu. People were looking for homes that had established plants, water, and places for solar panels and wind power. So I have no problem buying that he was living off grid. Just because there are a lot of tourists who visit there does not mean that there are not folks living outside those areas where it is hard to get services.

[Jersey Guy 87]

11 hours ago, LanceM said:

The MIllennials tribe is actually "Vanua".  The Generation X tribe is "Takali".  Not that  you will ever hear these names unless we have a swap.

I thought at first the tribal sign said "Vanilla" which would be a good description, actually.

10 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I post on another reality board in addition to PTV.  Over there, someone said that the tribes were kept in two separate empty rooms and a crew member was stationed there to make sure they didn't even talk to each other (no time for strategizing/alliance building).  I've done a bit of online searching and cannot verify this.  But from the looks of them, they all got to take showers and dry out their clothes!

Yeah, that makes sense.  Keep the two tribes apart, don't give them any comforts other than a shower, some small amount of food.  I assume the day spent in the hotel essentially doesn't count - they'll have 39 days on the island.

Dave should have been voted out.  And it's way too early to get into complicated vote-splitting plans with people you don't know yet.

[Lamb18]

I thought it said Vanilla, too. I wish there weren't pictures of icky toenails at the bottom of this page (ad).

[ElleryAnne]

At least the theme spared us from the "old folks are useless, so let's vote them out first" nonsense.  

Edited September 22, 2016 by ElleryAnne

[AZChristian]

6 hours ago, green said:

The other person meant they were prevented from talking to members of the OTHER tribe; not their own.  

 

[laurakaye]

1 hour ago, ghoulina said:

But I was glad to see they sent Rachel home first. Mainly because she said, "feel a certain way", and after an entire summer of Big Brother, I don't think I want to hear that phrase ever again. But, also, homegirl has no self awareness. At least David KNOWS he's a hot mess (seriously, who has to cover their ears when wood is being chopped??? I mean, besides my 5-year-old with sensory issues.); I think there's more of a chance of him adapting and working well with others. 

Overall, excited for a new season, as always. Don't disappoint me, Survivor! 

I loved your entire post, but AMEN to the bolded line.  And I'd better not hear the word "friendship" uttered either, in any sentence, in any context, ever.

I know that one of the Survivor stereotypes is the person who doesn't camp, thinks bugs are icky, hates the water, the sand, the sun, the moon...but David kind of takes that to an extreme.  If he somehow gets a miraculous redemption arc, that's cool - but why sign up for a reality show that is literally composed of all the things you hate?  Hopefully he calms down a bit and picks up some skills, like Cirie did.

I'm okay with the theme this year, mainly because of the Hawaiian Shirt Guy who started the fire...didn't he say something about being on a tribe with the Millennials but identifying with Gen X?  That's the kind of thing that could get interesting.

WELCOME BACK, SURVIVOR.  I missed you.

Edited September 22, 2016 by laurakaye

[Negritude]

5 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

Well, now that this episode is over, I'm going to sit down and listen to Nirvana's famous album "Hard Work Is Its Own Reward" and watch Richard Linklater's seminal film, "A Good Honest Living".

Damn you for beating me to it.  I made my joke anyway.

Anyway.  I'll leave you with my favorite illustration of that famous Generation X work ethic.

Hard Work Is Its Own Reward Ha! (I was shocked nobody else said it before me.) Yes, yes, yes to all this. I'm thinking since Probst & Co are probably mostly Gen X'ers they're trying to reshape the narrative. Ah yes, Gen X, the greatest generation <teardrop>

[pfk505]

2 hours ago, candall said:

I think it's clever and amusing to recruit a whole squad of that particular flavor of Namaste, and throw them all in together.

They already did this though. It was called the "no collar" tribe.

[SlackerInc]

13 hours ago, mojoween said:

The best part of the entire premiere was the constant and inaccurate generalizing about what each generation can and cannot do.  I hope that continues on for the whole season!

Yeah, that was really something (more on that below).

10 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

I agree we should have at least gotten a glimpse of them raiding the vending machines at the hotel and playing charades or something like that at their cyclone safe spot. I'm really interested in what that was like. Were they allowed to shower and/or parade about in big fluffy robes? How much vodka were they allowed to take from the minibar? So many questions.

This was apparently answered downthread, but for a few minutes I was in love with the mental picture you created!  I agree they should have shown us their evacuation spot (or else just pretend they weren't evacuated at all).

9 hours ago, Negritude said:

What's all this talk about Gen X being "hard workers" who "don't quit?" I thought we (born in '79 here) were slackers lol. Haven't these people seen "Reality Bites" or..."Slacker?".

Right?  I doubt it will shock anyone to hear that I am GenX.  I latched on to that "Slacker" meme in my teens and have never let go.  So to hear all this talk about how GenX is the industrious generation, I just don't recognize it at all.  Dan Fienberg at the Hollywood Reporter had a great riff on this:

Quote

It's Generation X that has now become the hard-working generation, the generation that earned its darned trophies, the generation that values climbing the ladder and committing to jobs, while Millennials are flighty, free-spirited, raised on the internet and able to jump from job to job, convinced that they're entitled to more and more professional clout and responsibility that they don't want. If you went and showed the characters on Reality Bites how Jeff Probst was pretending Generation X was forged and developed, they would probably laugh and laugh and laugh and then Winona Ryder's character would hate-date Probst for a while.

9 hours ago, ForeverAlone said:

During his live tweeting tonight, Jeff Probst said that when the teams were evacuated, they were segregated into separate rooms and weren't allowed to eat, have a bed or talk to each other. 

This seems a little harsh, especially the not eating.  They had food back at camp!  They should have given them some fruit, maybe some rice and beans.

6 hours ago, Trick Question said:

And am I crazy, or isn't it Generation X generally people born in the late 60's through the 70's, then Generation Y is the 80's to mid'90's, while Millennials are 1995-on?  I swear I read somewhere that the internet's explosion into mainstream use (which happened in roughly 1995) was used the cutoff point between Gen-Y and the Millennial generation, since it went Gen-X grew up without an internet, Millennials have always had the internet and Gen-Y had both?

No, but you're not the only person I've seen with this confusion.  GenY was a kind of placeholder name for the generation after GenX, that was ultimately called Millennials.  There's a plausible explanation for the confusion here:

Quote

 

I do remember when Generation Y was beginning to get used in the media. I'd say that it felt like there was broad cultural agreement that "Generation Y" was just a placeholder name until a proper reading could be made of what the generation's defining influences would be. Basically, media found a need to begin referring to this generation and panicked at not having a term, so they just went with Generation X +1.

Going by sense memory, not research, I feel like there was at least a five year stretch when people were unenthusiastically throwing around the term Generation Y before the term Millennial really took hold (does anyone else recall about a three month stretch when some were trying to get the term "The DIY Generation" to gain footing?). If a person graduated highschool while the term Generation Y was being floated around and then graduated college before Millennial came to be in use, I can imagine that person holding onto the term Generation Y while resisting the term Millennial.

 

But your Millennial birthdates of 1995 and later are definitely way too late.  I met my wife (b. 1984) in 2007, and I remember distinctly our being together and reading articles and seeing a 60 Minutes story about Millennials entering the workforce (as in, after graduating college).  Aha, some quick Googling, and I actually found that story, from November 2007, with both video and a transcript.  Here's the opening, which is kind of funny but instructive:
 

Quote

 

It's graduation time and once again we say "Stand back all bosses!" A new breed of American worker is about to attack everything you hold sacred: from giving orders, to your starched white shirt and tie. They are called, among other things, "millennials." There are about 80 million of them, born between 1980 and 1995, and they're rapidly taking over from the baby boomers who are now pushing 60.

They were raised by doting parents who told them they are special, played in little leagues with no winners or losers, or all winners. They are laden with trophies just for participating and they think your business-as-usual ethic is for the birds. And if you persist in the belief you can, take your job and shove it.

As correspondent Morley Safer first reported last November, corporate America is so unnerved by all this that companies like Merrill Lynch, Ernst & Young, and scores of others are hiring consultants to teach them how to deal with this generation that only takes "yes" for an answer.

The workplace has become a psychological battlefield and the millennials have the upper hand, because they are tech savvy, with every gadget imaginable almost becoming an extension of their bodies. They multitask, talk, walk, listen and type, and text. And their priorities are simple: they come first.

 

Edited September 22, 2016 by SlackerInc
Added bolding for emphasis

[fishcakes]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

12 hours ago, ElleryAnne said:

The real survivor was that little bat in the tree.

I'm rooting for the bat.

I am also Team Bat.

Everyone else: eh.

[marys1000]

So they don't want the advantage going home in someone's pocket like has happened in the past. Who was the guy that took his advantage home instead of giving it to his female alliance member? The ice cream guy? I don't usually knee jerk to sexism/genderism/ageism etc. but WTF? Useless irritating Dave is still there and all the votes went to a black woman and an Asian woman? I realize that Rachael was irritating and didn't do well in the challgence but she was no more useless or irritating than Dave. Definitely a boys club running things there. Hated that vote. I would not trade my eyes for a change at a million. Just saying. A scar yes, my sight no. Is it that we are just so used to seeing mega fans and returnees that make all these people so inept? Both at surviving and strategy. No favorites yet except maybe the oldest guy on the young team. Strike anyone else that the Genx'er on the young team is now the leader? I do think the millenials will beat the gen'xers generally. Youth usually trumps age. That bit about wisdom is just wishful thinking. That said, having watched Unreal I'm wondering if Probst purposefully picked a bunch of Gen X losers since he is such a fan of millenials. Last - at 8:53 in the show when the three beauties were on the beach did anyone else notice the two perfectly cut and tied bamboo rafts that would be perfect for a shelter floor? I'm thinking they are shown struggling then its like magic, they have a sturdy shelter floor. Getting more help than a tarp.

[Wouldofshouldof]

11 hours ago, LanceM said:

Is this process repeated over and over again so it is guaranteed that that the advantage will be played on day 336?

And we thought the Big Brother season was long, LOL!

[simplyme]

Here's an article that susses out the generations and general dates for them. They're somewhat debatable:

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/03/here-is-when-each-generation-begins-and-ends-according-to-facts/359589/

Gen X is 1965 to 1984.

Gen Y is an old term.

Millennial is 1982 to 2004.

And I'm pretty sure Probst was attempting to say that the birth years on the tribes ran from 63 to 82 for Gen X and 84 to 97 for Millennials, not that those were the defined years for the generations because they aren't. 

[needschocolate]

Either I wasn't paying as much attention as I thought I was or the editing was bad this episode.  Did they give any rational as to why Cici was the back-up vote?  I can easily convince myself that it was because she is an older female (that sort of targeting happens early on quite often), but did we ever hear anyone speak of voting for Cici? And why did they split the vote? I know they thought Dave might have found an idol, but I don't remember anyone being concerned that Rachel had found one. (Hope I am getting these names right).  

8 hours ago, princelina said:

Welcome back and let me catch you up!  Nowadays they have "themes" which they beat until long after the horses have died and the kids using the glue have graduated from college.  See blue collar/white collar, beauty/brains, and the most agonizing of all - blood vs. water.  (How does it FEEL to vote out your LOVED ONE?  No, we're not killing them, but how does it FEEL TO PRETEND THAT WE ARE?)

I suppose that, since they don't change the location every season anymore, they have to come up with some way to identify the season. But this theme seems more contrived than others and didn't we already do this generation thing before?  I guess they are running out of ideas - Survivor: Lefties vs Righties or Survivor: Carnivores vs Vegans don't seem very interesting.  

Using locations in the title didn't help me remember which season was which, but using the themes has helped a little bit.  Still, I would be fine with doing away with the naming of the season, if they just called it Survivor without the theme/location, then my DVR would automatically record it and I wouldn't have to set up a new recording every season (first world problem).

7 hours ago, SVNBob said:

And it was a nice touch on the part of the prop department of putting fabric of both colors on the envelope to indicate that it was up for grabs for both tribes, meaning there's only the one Legacy in play.

I hadn't thought about there only being one until you mentioned it, but it does make sense to only have one, because the advantage doesn't happen until day 36, long after the merge and there are only a handful of people left.

[peachmangosteen]

48 minutes ago, ElleryAnne said:

At least the theme spared us from the "old folks are useless, so let's vote them out first" nonsense.  

But, of course, we weren't spared from "Women should go first, obviously." 

I liked the premiere. I mean some of it was irritating as hell, but that's Survivor.

So far I like Zeke, Makayla (sp?), Hannah, and Mari. I also like Michelle and think she's got tons of potential, much more than the other 3 in the cool kids alliance.

I am Dave, so I do find him endearing and I kinda wanna root for him. I also like Cece. I like Ken, but I feel like he might become annoying eventually. I basically already hate everyone in the 6 people alliance. Except maybe the ginger with the beard. He might be OK. I definitely hate Mike from WA's twin and the white bearded guy. And I don't like pink eye lady or Sunday. Lucy might be OK; I have no idea since she got literally no screentime.

I liked the shortcuts with consequences in the challenge. It reminded me of when they could pick from the three different types of puzzles in that one season. I hope that unlike that time they keep having that twist in challenges and don't just drop it.

Edited September 22, 2016 by peachmangosteen

[marys1000]

Somewhat shamefully pasting this from another bulletin board. I am typing in this tiny tiny little box and my paragraphs don't work so if the paste is all dorked up sorry. So I was curious and did some calculations. It looks like the cutoff between Millennials and Gen-X (on this season of Survivor) is 32-years-old. The oldest Millennial is 31 and the youngest Gen-Xer is 33. So it got me thinking, who is most likely to win based simply on past performance of generations? We've had 32 winners (counting Sandra twice because she obviously aged between Season 7 and Season 20). Of 32 winners: 46.9% (15 of them) were in their 20s. 43.8% (14 of them) were in their 30s. 6.3% (2 of them) were in their 40s. and 3.1% (1 of them) were in their 50s. That means that 53.1% of winners have been 30-years-old or older. However, if we divide the number of winners between those younger than 32-years-old (Millennials) and those older than 32-years-old (Gen-X), and this works because there has never been a 32-year-old winner, then 53.1% of winners have been Millennials while 46.9% have been Gen-X. Lately, though, 5 of the last 8 seasons have been won by someone that would be on the Gen-X tribe. I'd be very interested to see how this stacks up to the average ages of contestants. If 46.9% of winners are in their 20s, are around 46-47% of all contestants in their 20s? I didn't have time to go through and get the ages of almost 800 contestants plus the 80 or so that have returned once or twice or three times. Interesting tidbits: Bob Crowley (Gabon) is the oldest winner at 57-years-old. The next oldest is Denise Shapley at 41. Bob also won during a streak of young winners with the two seasons before and two seasons after all being won by people 26-years-old or younger. Jud "Fabio" Birza (Nicaragua) is the youngest winner at 21-years-old, 4-months younger than Amazon winner Jenna Morasca.