How has ‘Survivor’ continued to survive?

[Qanisqineq]

I found this article and, being a huge Survivor fan, decided to post it here.

How has ‘Survivor’ continued to survive?
Maybe because it's smartest reality show around

<snip>

Smartest reality show?
Add it all up throughout "Survivor"'s history, and that's well over 100 hours of people standing on a beach and talking. Yet four years after jump-starting the most recent network prime-time reality TV juggernaut, this formulaic presentation is currently the number-one reality series in the country. And it's also the smartest.

According to the Nielsen ratings system, "Survivor" regularly finds itself among the top 10 shows, while "The Apprentice" usually lands in the teens. Although it may have lost its status as the topic of Friday morning conversations in office building elevators, and although it may not be obsessively worshipped in the media as it once was, "Survivor" remains the nation's favorite reality television show, at least when "American Idol" isn't on the air. (And let's be honest: The two shows are dissimilar and difficult to compare; the "Idol" talent search has no real peers, while "Survivor" clones fill hours of television each week.)

<snip>

In "Survivor," we find a microcosm of our society, and it's intensely interesting to watch, like an ant colony on steroids that has a mirror as its backdrop. Last week's power-play reversal gave us plenty of opportunities for reflection. A dominant alliance, led by barista Ami, was actually outnumbered by players who'd essentially agreed to let themselves be taken for a ride and then get picked off one by one. As we watched to see if the powerless would band together and destroy that alliance, we also played out the possibilities in our minds, moving pieces around an invisible game board.

<snip>

Incredibly, "Survivor" is both the most cerebral of all reality television shows and the most popular. This doesn't support the "reality TV is dumb" thesis that percolates throughout our societal consciousness, so it is routinely ignored. After all, it's much easier to castigate an entire genre of programming based upon a show where the contestants eat horse rectums, rather than give props to a show that could accidentally cause us to think.

[kaitykaity]

1. Posting link.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6640567/

I'm a huge fan too. I love to argue about it
with people who love it as much as I do.

:hi:

[lazarus]

2. that would be me!

:D

Damned good article, too.

[kaitykaity]

3. Yes, it would.

:evilgrin:

[Qanisqineq]

5. thanks! I didn't realize I had forgotten it!

OOPS!

[kaitykaity]

6. UR Welcome.

No biggie. It was an easy one to get.

:hi:

[AmandaRuth]

4. i love survivor, it is my guilty pleasure

Although I have calmed down a bit from the days when i even kept track of what clothing people brought, because then I could see who was trading clothing with whom, and where the hidden alliances are.

Survivor is the only reality show I watch ( well almost, have fallen for my big fax obnoxious boss lately). I try not to watch that much tv, but find that real people are incredibly more interesting than scripted tv.

[mourningdove92]

7. Survivor fan checking in!

I love that show. Its the only reality show I watch, but I so totally enjoy it. Thanks to TIVO, I didn't miss one minute this season.

[Phentex]

8. I think they try harder to keep it fresh...

they work hard at mixing things up when it looks like people are going to get picked off one by one.

They also figured out that it's no fun to watch a group of people lie around and conserve energy because they are starving. This time they gave them water and food and even coffee!

I think part of the appeal is figuring out what rules will be changed. I also think people like the idea that the average Joe/Jane can come out on top. :)

[mandyky]

9. I was a late comer to Survivor

I had been boycotting CBS on Thursdays, because they dropped Promised Land which used to have that time slot. I started watching Survivor Outback about 1/2 way through, and lived to hate jerri Mathis. LOL

Survivor Africa was my favorite and most riveting. I loved the "castaways".

I think what is intriging is the people and the mixture of them - age, race, gender, sexual preference, and work ethic.

I liked this season because there were more REAL people on than usual. I loved Big Tom (for instance) on Survivor Africa. This season many of the older folks were a tad overweight.

I think Survivor will survive a long time, because they do find ways to shake things up, plus they make it easy for fans to get together, and then there are other websites that do the same.

[lazarus]

10. I think

that in addition to the reasons listed in the article, they've made a very important decision:

When a season ends, they conceptually reset back to the original concept, and then twist from there.

That way, they don't drift too far from the original successful formula.

[skippysmom]

11. It survives for many reasons

not the least of which is that a boring season is still better than most of the dreck on TV. They do it through good twists, generally good casting (though not always), and a simple concept that reflects the reality of the workplace where you deal with many different people.

OT, but was there a food challenge this season? If not, I didn't really miss it.

[lazarus]

12. no food challenge

I think they figured out that people were looking forward to it, unless they totally grossed it up with fafaru (marquesas) or boiled tarantula (Thailand).

I didn't miss it, to be honest.