Tuesday, December 16, 2003
Survivor
I watched every episode of the most recent Survivor series, I'm half-ashamed to say. I'm not ashamed that I like reality TV (not all of it!), because I think that it's entertaining and revealing of human nature in a way that most TV fiction is not. I think that most people who "hate" reality TV are being unnecessarily snobby about something that they haven't really evaluated.
Certainly Survivor has some things going for it. It is consistently surprising, even to the most jaded viewer; and it explores human interaction, albeit in a controlled and edited context, in a way that proves endlessly interesting to someone like me, who likes to study human nature and personality.
But it is running into problems. The contestants are far too aware, from watching the previous series, of what they are supposed to do to win. What they never seem to realize is that there is absolutely no formula for winning this game, as the winners consistently prove. What we see most of the time is strategy, which is not nearly as interesting as relationships and human failings.
Another problem is that the contestants get less and less likeable with each series. With the exception of Rupert, a shining jewel among stones, just about everybody on this series was thoroughly horrible or stupid. The final four were all so boring and terrible, you couldn't want any of them to win. In the final two, the "nice" one was so dumb and lacking in undertanding that you wanted to shake her and tell her to go home, and the other was thoroughly venal, vindictive and vengeful, not to mention incapable of any physical or mental feats of "strength".
My advice to Mark Burnett, Survivor's producer? Find people who will bring a moral quotient into the game, who believe in friendship and honour and doing what's right (note: a Boy Scout uniform is no guarantee of this). Some really intelligent, educated, even wise, people might help. (note: Computer Programmer does not equal intelligent. Sorry) Is it possible to find such people among those who would abase themselves on Television for a slim chance of money? Hmmm...maybe not.
I can't wait for the next series of Amazing Race!
I watched every episode of the most recent Survivor series, I'm half-ashamed to say. I'm not ashamed that I like reality TV (not all of it!), because I think that it's entertaining and revealing of human nature in a way that most TV fiction is not. I think that most people who "hate" reality TV are being unnecessarily snobby about something that they haven't really evaluated.
Certainly Survivor has some things going for it. It is consistently surprising, even to the most jaded viewer; and it explores human interaction, albeit in a controlled and edited context, in a way that proves endlessly interesting to someone like me, who likes to study human nature and personality.
But it is running into problems. The contestants are far too aware, from watching the previous series, of what they are supposed to do to win. What they never seem to realize is that there is absolutely no formula for winning this game, as the winners consistently prove. What we see most of the time is strategy, which is not nearly as interesting as relationships and human failings.
Another problem is that the contestants get less and less likeable with each series. With the exception of Rupert, a shining jewel among stones, just about everybody on this series was thoroughly horrible or stupid. The final four were all so boring and terrible, you couldn't want any of them to win. In the final two, the "nice" one was so dumb and lacking in undertanding that you wanted to shake her and tell her to go home, and the other was thoroughly venal, vindictive and vengeful, not to mention incapable of any physical or mental feats of "strength".
My advice to Mark Burnett, Survivor's producer? Find people who will bring a moral quotient into the game, who believe in friendship and honour and doing what's right (note: a Boy Scout uniform is no guarantee of this). Some really intelligent, educated, even wise, people might help. (note: Computer Programmer does not equal intelligent. Sorry) Is it possible to find such people among those who would abase themselves on Television for a slim chance of money? Hmmm...maybe not.
I can't wait for the next series of Amazing Race!
# posted by becca : 8:49 AM
