Fix The Show

[cherrypj]

They have had the pros come in and build at least part of a camp before. I think they got a bathroom in Palau. And of course there was the "haves" tribe in Fiji

No, Koror got a whole shelter. They built the bathroom, and the shelter was the reward. It was huge.

[NutMeg]

I think that's maybe worse, though?  People playing for fourth is the worst thing on Survivor.

then again, many strong players didn't go further than 4 because other good players recognized they had to be taken out. And most of those were definitely not playing for fourth.

[Nashville]

I am going to say I was busy on a top secret project, as I watched, so missed it.   It was not the Scotch.   

 

Same here.  Which brand?

[RedheadZombie]

I'd like to see a pecking-order challenge every season.

Those are always very telling. I just can't believe that everything isn't discussed beforehand and agreed upon. Your closest need to be told they will be left behind to help prevent the bottom of your alliance being lured away. I think Kim did this to a certain degree. I remember her leaving behind Sab and Chelsea quite a bit. Of course, you explain that you will stay behind if/when they win. And didn't Kim throw an endurance challenge to Chelsea one time?

I think revealing pecking order is crucial, and hate that that component has been eliminated from Big Brother - those fools always spelled it out top to bottom.

[legaleagle53]

An all-female season?  Fine, as long as the season after that is all-male for us gay men and those women who aren't into other women.  No offense, ladies, but I'd sit out an all-female season simply because there'd be no eye candy for me.  As it was, my interest started to wane a bit this season once Dietz left and Savage was voted off.  Say what you will about Savage's personality, but he was physically exactly the kind of man who turns me on, and I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating Oreos -- as long as he didn't try to speak or think whenever his mouth wasn't busy doing other things to me, if you get my drift.  ;-)

Edited December 20, 2015 by legaleagle53

[Nashville]

An all-female season?  Fine, as long as the season after that is all-male for us gay men and those women who aren't into other women.  No offense, ladies, but I'd sit out an all-female season simply because there'd be no eye candy for me.  As it was, my interest started to wane a bit this season once Dietz left and Savage was voted off.  Say what you will about Savage's personality, but he was physically exactly the kind of man who turns me on, and I wouldn't kick him out of bed for eating Oreos -- as long as he didn't try to speak or think whenever his mouth wasn't busy doing other things to me, if you get my drift.  ;-)

 

I doubt TPTB would ever seriously entertain the notion of a single-sex season for more than a few minutes.

Male OR female, doesn't matter - by default they're neglecting approximately 50% of their target demographic.

[ByaNose]

I like the pecking order challenge. It's very telling. Also, the who is the best/worst/least quiz is also a good one. Personally, I want the car challenge back. It will never happen but a person can dream, right?

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'd like to see a pecking-order challenge every season.

 

You are making me think of the challenge where some set designer/ prop master makes weird voodoo dolls of the cast and the challenge is to answer questions correctly, then use a large hammer to smash the faces of your competitors until there's one man/woman standing :)

[Wings]

Same here.  Which brand?

 

Johnny Walker Red.  

I like the pecking order challenge. It's very telling. Also, the who is the best/worst/least quiz is also a good one. Personally, I want the car challenge back. It will never happen but a person can dream, right?

 

 

Please refresh my memory; what is the pecking order challenge?   

[LadyChatts]

Johnny Walker Red.  

 

 

Please refresh my memory; what is the pecking order challenge?   

 

The pecking order challenge is where people otherwise eliminate each other from the challenge, but do so stupidly enough that they make their ties in the game obvious and may give a heads up to those on the outs and where they stand-including those who didn't realize they were so far down the totem pole.  A good example was the coconut chopping challenge during Marquesas.  The Rotu 4 of John/Tammy/Zoe/Robert made sure everyone was out of that challenge and they were the last 4 standing before turning on each other (there were still 9 people left in that game at the point).  To Neleh/Paschal, who thought they were part of the that group, that made them realize that they were, in fact, on the bottom of that alliance.  Luckily for them, they had the numbers still in the game to turn it around for them (Kathy/Vee/Sean Rector).  Sean was supposed to be going home that night, but instead John was voted off, and the Rotu 4 was picked off.

[pennben]

The problem with the pecking order challenge is that now players realize what a hazard the challenge is.  If I recall, the last time they tried was in the San Juan season and essentially the remaining alliance members got together to agree how to play out the challenge so that no feelings were hurt.  Finally, I think Probst called the challenge and let them agree amongst themselves who got to win.

[Wings]

Thanks LadyChats.  It all came flooding back when you mentioned coconut chopping challenge. 

Edited December 21, 2015 by wings707

[Nashville]

Johnny Walker Red. 

 

Laphroaig when it's in stock, Glenfiddich when it isn't.

 

 

ETA: typo

Edited December 21, 2015 by Nashville

[Wings]

Laphroaig when it's in stock, Glenfidditch when it isn'ti

 

I am familiar with Glenfiddich and have never heard of the other.  I am not crazy about single malt Scotch. My sons call me names because of this taste bud affliction.  I speak to them of the years I made them chicken nuggets and made sure their food did not touch on the plate.  They say, "we moved on from that."  You cannot have the last word with those little smart asses.    

Edited December 21, 2015 by wings707

[Lantern7]

While I'm thinking about it . . . no more ten-person juries. Nobody should have to spend more of the game on the bench and at Ponderosa than in the game itself. Jeremy was impressive scoring the 10-0-0 win. Let's hope he's the last person to pitch a perfect game with ten people.

 

(Yeah, I'm resigned to S32 having that, because a ten-person jury is a mistake that Burnett would like to repeat, like he did with S31)

[NutMeg]

I have nothing about a 10 person-jury, or any other number as long as they all made the merge.

 

Now, regarding the time they each get for for their question at FTC, there I may have a problem :)

[phlebas]

The 10-person thing was presented as a by-product of an early merge, kicked off to throw a curve to the veterans. While there's nothing that says the jury has to begin with the merge, I bet TPTB wanted to keep as many of these players on screen as much as they could.  It must have been a bonus when they got Kass and her middle finger and then Savage together in Ponderosa.

 

It may show up in S32, but I wouldn't bet on it.  S32 was in the can first.  

 

I wish they would just fly around with Eliza and put her on all the juries.  Don't let her talk, just let her react.

[ByaNose]

Yeah, I agree the 10 person jury was throw off the "All-Stars". I'm sure when they voted out Kass they didn't think she'd be on the jury. I think they also wanted Kass for a possible good jury question. That said, the jury questions were all pretty boring & tame so it wasn't any better than the the normal 7 or 9 jury in the past.

[Nashville]

I expect the reasoning behind the ten-person jury was much more pragmatic.

It guarantees you can't have a 3-3-3 tie jury vote between three finalists.

[SnideAsides]

Apparently Probst "forgot" to do the "...and the first member of the jury" speech and they had to tell players (and Kass herself) after the fact and edit in a reaction shot, so we may be in luck. I mean, they filmed S32 first and if they'd done it there, surely Probst would remember?

[phlebas]

I expect the reasoning behind the ten-person jury was much more pragmatic.

It guarantees you can't have a 3-3-3 tie jury vote between three finalists.

That would be a bonus as well, but Survivor hasn't cared much about that before. Once they started using a Final Three model, they normally had nine-person juries up through One World, then they went to 8. 

 

I'd love to see it happen.  Any tie at FTC would be fun, whether it's 3-3-3 or 4-4-0. 

 

Then once it happened, I'd love to see them just go back to a final two with an odd number of jurors and stay there. Since the final three started, the third-place Survivor has never received more than one vote anyway. YMMV

[Hanahope]

If the show stays on the air long enough, I think they should do a season entirely with children of former players.  Then those that make the "loved ones" episode get to see their parents/former players.

[LadyChatts]

1 hour ago, Hanahope said:

If the show stays on the air long enough, I think they should do a season entirely with children of former players.  Then those that make the "loved ones" episode get to see their parents/former players.

Now there's a theme I never thought of!  And they would have to cast Gervase's son Gunnar (middle name Tiga, after Pulau Tiga where the first season was filmed).  He was born while Gervase was filming that season, so he'd be eligible in a couple of years.  And Jenna's twins would be old enough now.  Gretchen and her daughter were considered for BvsW, and she was disappointed they weren't picked because she thought her daughter would have kicked ass playing the game.  So throw Gretchen's daughter in there.

And we know Jeff loves Ciera Estin, so any excuse to bring her back, and she'll probably be there, too.

Edited July 18, 2016 by LadyChatts

[Hanahope]

Maybe in a few years, Rob and Amber's oldest could participate too.  You know Burnett and Peachy would love that.

[SVNBob]

What's probably more likely to happen is a Blood vs Water situation.  One tribe former contestants, the other their children.  Using the examples above, Gervase, Jenna Lewis, Gretchen, and Boston Rob one one tribe.  And Gunnar Tiga, one of the Lewis twins, Gretchen's daughter, and the oldest Mariano girl on the other.

[KimberStormer]

Sounds like Nicaragua all over again to me!

[Bryce Lynch]

How about idols that allow a contestant to shake up the tribes:

1) A "drop your buffs idol" -This would allow the holder to call for a total tribe shakeup, with the new tribes chosen randomly by drawing buffs or rocks.

2) An idol that would allow a player to move to another tribe.

3) An idol that would allow a player to send a player from his/her tribe to the other.

4) One that would give the player the power to trade one tribe member for a member of the other tribe.

[KimberStormer]

I like the idea of a non-TC idol power, and I like the idea of one person having the heavy burden of affecting the tribal swaps on their shoulders, but I think it would be tricky to balance.  The thing about these proposed idols is they are only good till the merge, and it would take a bold player indeed to so thoroughly upend the game; it's quite likely to alienate everybody on the beach.  So this idol would have to fall into the hands of someone so on the outs, and so sure of being on the outs, that they are willing to throw caution completely to the wind, before the merge, which seems like quite an unlikely event to me.  (I'm also pretty sure any single player who got moved or swapped would go the way of poor Aaron in China, and a complete drop-your-buffs swap seems like something they have to plan for?)  But I like this bold thinking!  Better than Adam's ridiculous curse "advantage", that's for sure.

[LadyChatts]

I like the idea of idols maybe having pros and cons attached to it.  So maybe giving the idol power, but there's a catch to it (so both the pro and con would have to be equal). Any of these twists though would be better than the stupid super idol or Tyler Perry idols.

[hincandenza]

I really like the idea of a non-tribal idol, but then that's what Adam has and it seems to be too poisoned to have much use; any non-tribal idol could just be a ticket to go home in the next vote simply for shaking things up.  However, if it were purely a bonus thing- like, you could arbitrarily give yourself and possibly your team a reward even when you lose, or call for a feast- it could be an interesting twist.

I'm pretty sure it's been mentioned at some point in this very thread but it'd be kind of neat if they earned extra stuff by completing separate camp challenges.  For example, your tribe can try to start a fire from scratch in 10 minutes that will burn a rope, or attempt to solve a puzzle, or have a time-limited scavenger hunt, etc; you can make one attempt per round (the day after a vote and before the next reward challenge), but if you succeed you earn/unlock a piece of gear and are told of a new challenge, almost like video game tech trees.  You could even make it so the tribes have a choice of tech tracks to build upon, and each new milestone/accomplishment/reward win unlocks something greater in that track.  So the "shelter" track would earn you a waterproof tarp, then at the next level unlock bedding and similar comforts, maybe the next level would include a sun shower and some kind of bamboo-crafted portapotty; on the "food" track you get basic fishing gear and cookware, then spices and flavorings, then maybe a treat like daily coffee service left by the TreeMail; a "fun" track might include things to ease the drudgery with items like decks of playing cards, a solar-powered music player, etc.  You could even add a wrinkle that a tribe that wins a reward challenge could instead choose to unlock their next tech tree item and thus forfeit the reward to the other team- but the catch is they wouldn't know what they had won before they choose (it'd always be at least okay, like grilled cheese sandwiches, but sometimes might be epic, like a barbecue and massage getaway).  The merged tribe could still compete for these things after every vote, but the reward challenge would have the same twist: the person that won could either give up a reward and earn the tribe something nice, or pick a really nice reward they could share with only a couple of people.

 

On 11/28/2016 at 10:36 PM, LadyChatts said:

I like the idea of idols maybe having pros and cons attached to it.  So maybe giving the idol power, but there's a catch to it (so both the pro and con would have to be equal). Any of these twists though would be better than the stupid super idol or Tyler Perry idols.

Or- given the recent episode with Jessica- how about a P.R.O.D. Idol, found and usable only once in the game?  It looks like a regular idol, but it doesn't grant immunity.  Instead, the note tells you that you can play it after the vote has been cast, and Jeff will then announce "The vote has now been nullified.  All players- including those who have immunity- must now draw a rock".  Best played if you think you or your closest ally are going home anyway; there's a 1/n chance you draw it yourself, and an (a-1)/n chance that you just took out a member of your own alliance.  But if you play it when you are on the weak side of a 4 against 6 mismatch (or worse), it would be a gamechanger.

[simplyme]

A lot of these sound way too powerful to me, honestly. Yikes.

I'd prefer to see something like an HII that must be played for someone else (can't be given away and can't be played for the finder). 

[Bryce Lynch]

What about a confidential HII.  Instead of it being playes after Probst asking if anyone wants to play one, it would be placed in the vote jar, when the player is voting.  They would write their name on it, or the name of another person they want to play it for.

This would keep everyone guessing about who played it.  Players could falsely claim they saved someone (of course this would blow up in their face if the user played it on him/herself) or deny playing it, which could help hide a secret alliance.

[SVNBob]

4 minutes ago, enlightenedbum said:

Or go the opposite extreme and everyone gets an idol at the start.  Make everyone bluff at all times.

This idea was suggested (somewhat jokingly? )in the Spoiler thread, but I think it sounds like an interesting concept that we could have fun discussing.  I thought something similar had been brought up before, but that must have been on the TWoP version of this thread.

First off, does production tell anyone/everyone that everyone has an idol?  I lean toward no.  That allows for some people that think they're slick to try to form an alliance by "secretly" telling people that they have an idol, and the actually slick people hearing that and coming to the conclusion that everyone else has an idol too.

Second, do they still hide idols if they give give everyone an idol to start?  I say yes.  For two reasons.  Someone's bound to burn their idol unnecessarily, so hiding idols still gives those players a chance.   Second, the hidden idol could be coupled with the "starter" idol, ala the SuperIdol from Kaoh Rong, to allow the idol(s) to be played after the votes are read.  And by spelling that clause out in the note with the hidden idol, the finder should be able to figure out that all players had an idol to start and not just themselves.

And as I recall from the old discussion, what about a cash bonus for getting to Day 39 with your "starter" idol still in your possession?  Nothing too extravagant...say $50K.  A decent reward for not playing an Idol, but not enough to make people not want to play the idol at all.

[loki567]

Well, the obvious question is what happens if there's a TC where everybody plays an idol? 

[Oholibamah]

23 minutes ago, loki567 said:

Well, the obvious question is what happens if there's a TC where everybody plays an idol? 

Rocks!

[azshadowwalker]

I don't get why someone would believe they alone were given this extremely important advantage without even doing anything to get it. Frankly, I just see a lot of vote splitting going on while the idols are in play. I just want idols to go away, and people to have to work on the social game. They already have a chance to save themselves at the IC. 

[KimberStormer]

6 hours ago, Oholibamah said:

Rocks!

But they've all used idols!  They don't draw rocks!  Like Kelley and Jeremy.

[LadyChatts]

1 hour ago, KimberStormer said:

But they've all used idols!  They don't draw rocks!  Like Kelley and Jeremy.

I think that'd be an amazing twist though.  Everyone thinking they are safe and Jeff saying "someone's gotta go tonight so you either decide who, here and now in the open forum, or we go to rocks."

Of course Probst would probably die of excitement of what great TV he thinks that would all make.

Edited April 3, 2017 by LadyChatts

[Oholibamah]

5 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

I don't get why someone would believe they alone were given this extremely important advantage without even doing anything to get it. Frankly, I just see a lot of vote splitting going on while the idols are in play. I just want idols to go away, and people to have to work on the social game. They already have a chance to save themselves at the IC. 

They could do a Day 0 type twist where everyone gets a super easy clue to a location which would seem random, but any idiot would figure out. Which would make it even better if somebody still didn't find it!

4 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

But they've all used idols!  They don't draw rocks!  Like Kelley and Jeremy.

Yeah but TBH I've always kind of felt that idols shouldn't prevent one from drawing rocks. But I've never said so because I <3 Wentworth and Jeremy. 

[cooksdelight]

I don't think any of these people can keep their mouths shut about having an idol, LOL!! But I like the idea.

[kikaha]

14 hours ago, loki567 said:

Well, the obvious question is what happens if there's a TC where everybody plays an idol? 

Probst goes home. 

[Lantern7]

2 hours ago, kikaha said:

Probst goes home. 

On jetski?

[Sugar]

I love the idea of everyone having an idol, but not being told about it - I think it would be hilarious. And also interesting, if they could combine with another player's to form a super idol. I picture a giant strategy shit show.

I'm an old school fan, so I am sick of idols altogether, but I'd enjoy the heck out of this twist.

Or, what someone suggested upthread - you play an idol, and there's a consequence. Like maybe something is taken away (food/comfort), or you have to go to exhile (if that's ever a thing again), sit out a reward, etc.

 

[NurseGiGi]

I'm just so sick of the playing of the idol and then going out the next day and just picking one off the idol tree.  I say you start off with one idol per camp and when those are played they aren't reburied.  And please make them more difficult to find, even with one per camp.  Actually, I would prefer no idols at all but that will never happen.

[peachmangosteen]

I played a mini version of Survivor online once where everyone was given idols at the beginning of the game but no one knew everyone else had one. I got voted out first and didn't play my idol lol. And then I didn't follow it so I don't know how it went.

I'm for any idea that changes up idols. I don't think they're going to get rid of them, so I just want them to try something different. 

ETA: And like for real different, not like the Tyler Perry idol which was literally just what the original idol was.

Edited April 4, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[LadyChatts]

I don't know if I'd want something that makes the idol more powerful, but I'm all for limits or consequences on them.  I'd just like to see there be some weighing pros and cons of playing it for anyone, anytime, knowing all will be well and you can just go re-find it that night.  If that wasn't an option, idol plays may actually get creative again.  I'd really love for their to be a rule that you can't tell anybody about it or conference who it should be used for.  I don't expect idols to go away, either, but I wish they'd get rid of the advantages. 

Edited April 4, 2017 by LadyChatts

[KimberStormer]

9 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I played a mini version of Survivor online once where everyone was given idols at the beginning of the game but no one knew everyone else had one. I got voted out first and didn't play my idol lol.

OMG this is my literal nightmare, like I've had actual nightmares about something like this.

[MissEwa]

I feel like unless they single-handedly lost your tribe the challenge AND yelled at everyone else at camp AND were told outright they were being voted out, most people would hesitate to play an idol at the first FTC. Especially the kind of people who are usually the first boots. The only people who would would be those kind of paranoid players that usually get further than they think they will. 

But still - ouch.

[Lamb18]

I'd like no idols. I'm watching the early idol-less season and I think the strategizing and social aspect is so much more interesting. I'm in season 4 right now and the post-merge blindside was pretty good--changed the game entirely.

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

OMG this is my literal nightmare, like I've had actual nightmares about something like this.

I've had actual nightmares about it myself lol!