LAST EDITED ON 02-08-15 AT 02:54 PM (EST)

>Survivor was not the first Reality
>Show to hit mainstream TV.
>That distinction belongs to MTV
>“The Real World.” It was
>dubbed a social experiment about
>half a decade before Burnett
>had his brainchild we all
>know as “Survivor.” Thus
>it is not surprising in
>episode one of its inaugural
>season or on Burnett’s “first
>page” they focus on “social
>experiment” to assess a theme.

It was more than just a sales pitch. Often in his book Burnett comes back to state that the winner will not be the one that wins more challenges or provides more for his tribe but the one that handles the social aspect best.
One of his first quotes about the show was: "Survivor is 2 parts adventure contest and 8 parts surviving the peer group." Or, again, later: "Survivor is...about Machiavellian politics at their most primal. Human dynamics mean everything."

>But it is the physicality, i.e.
>starvation, dehydration, challenges, etc. that
>sets Survivor apart from all
>the other reality shows.
>It’s also why I will
>always regard Survivor as my
>favorite Reality TV show.
>These physical factors are FAR
>more than just mere “catalysts.”
>Without this physicality Survivor would
>have fallen by the wayside
>much like many other reality
>shows.

I know you watch Big Brother, a show whose very existence contradicts this statement. Like you, I appreciate Survivor a hell of a lot more than Big Brother in part because of its deserted island aspect but BB hasn't fallen by the wayside. For me, Survivor is simply a better game because it depends less on challenges than Big Brother.

>Anyone who has followed
>Survivor from its beginnings has
>to admit castaways do not
>starve like they used to…do
>not dehydrate like they used
>to…and do not wear down
>like they used. THAT is
>what I refer to when
>I note the “sad progression.”

Really? Then explain this:

Do you think as many people would have quit in later seasons if they had been given parkas? Bikinis are simply better for ratings than parkas. And what about Swan who nearly died out there in Samoa? Starvation and dehydration are still big problems. What's funniest is that the water from the wells never needed to be boiled but no one ever tells the players!

>Although I do see your point
>when you question “villainous” during
>the early seasons. Personally I
>will always regard liars as
>“sorry sacks of sh!t.” But
>do I necessarily label them
>“villains?” No; Hatch is more
>of a “sorry sack of
>sh!t” than a villain in
>my book. Do I consider
>Jerri a villain because she
>is a self-centered B!tch?” No;
>she’s just…well…a self-centered B!tch.

Besides telling Jeff Probe that there wasn't a Tagi 4 alliance, what lie did Hatch tell? I'll admit that Jerri was self centered but what bitchy thing did she do? Kel's beef jerky? Everyone was in on that, not just Jerri and they had all decided during the trek that Kel, the lone wolf, would be first to go.

>This whole villain shock value came
>to the forefront with Hantz.

I'd give the credit to Fairplay myself. That was the biggest shock in unscripted Drama TV. I still have a hard time understanding why you give so much credit to that @sshole Hantz. Leave that to the newbies who discovered the show during his season.

>From that point on Production decided
>they would ride that shock
>wave and part of its
>casting would be devoted to
>selecting worthless pieces of trash
>or pathetically inept losers with
>a mean or bad streak.
>But when they are unable
>to own the game the
>way Hantz did, I agree
>with your assessment that those
>“intended villains” prove harmless and
>the season runs the risk
>of falling flat.

I agree but it started much earlier and it wasn't only because of what happened on Survivor. Society in general is much darker than it was 15 years ago. What shocked in 2000 is harmless today thus the ante has to be raised. Watch All-Stars again and look how they villainized Lex. Then look at the next seasons where the editors turned Ami into a villain, Probe harped on Twila's swearing on her children during the Vanuatu reunion, the casting of Shane in full nicotine withdrawal and Judd in full sportsmanship withdrawal, etc...
It's been a continuous curve. Phillip is merely Rory with more Reality TV experience. His acting got him a reinvitation and an opportunity to sell his book while who remembers Rory today besides us nuts?

The new trend is all about "Big Moves" and listen to the castaways introduction videos to know that they have learned the lesson. Probst has dwelled on it so much that people will do big moves at the expense of their own game like Ciera and the tie vote or Natalie and her needless risks.