[Headie]

So I finished watching all the BBUSA seasons a couple days ago and I really enjoyed them, and then I was thinking of what else I could watch that I hadn't already seen and then I remember Survivor! Each season is only like 14 episodes long so it's quick to get through, and I don't know anything about it or any winners or any placings or anything like that, so please don't post spoilers in this thread about future seasons that I haven't seen yet.

So I decided to start in chronological order as I've heard there are a lot of players that return for future seasons and it would make sense to watch each season in order so I know who everyone is.

So, here's my season 1 review (if you plan on watching Survivor seasons then don't read this are there'll be spoilers about elminations & the winner):

Spoiler:

So as soon as I had watched the first episode I was immediately hooked on it. The whole format seems so amazing, and the first season was brilliant - especially for a show produced in 2000. I love the concept of it all and the cast dynamic was really good too.

Now, on to the actual outcomes. I wish that Sonja had stayed longer, she seemed like such a fun and lovely person, but at least she holds the record for the first ever eliminee. Also, when I was watching it, it was a few days after BB had died, so atching his elimination was pretty sad knowing that he's not living anymore But I wasn't too fussed that he went so early, he didn't seem like someone who would've contributed much to the series. Stacey was just boring, I literally had no idea who she was until her elimination episode when everyone started getting tired of her, for reasons I don't even know why. Ramona seemed like a good character, I wished she had stayed longer, but she didn't seem like someone that would've gone very far post-merge. Dirk was pretty dull and I barely remember him, so I wasn't too disappointed at his elimination. Same can be said for Joel, except I found it hilaious how we eliminated over something Gervase said that had no relevance to Joel whatsoever

Now, on to the Rattana mergers I loved the fact that the Tagi tribe all had a voting alliance (even though I preferred the Pagong tribe members more pre-merge). But WTF @ Sean's "alphabetical voting"??! Like, that's one of the weirdest things in reality tv that I've ever seen. Anyway, I originally liked Gretchen but then she started to become really boring and useless and I questioned the reason why she was even there, she literally just pointed out the obvious during all her confessionals and that's about it really. I thought Greg was really cool throughout the show and I liked him, but in his elimination episode he started to go cray and his reaction to his elimination was hilarious but odd at the same time. Now on to Jenna, I really really liked her, and she was probably my favourite female left at the time but I felt so sorry for her when she didn't get a video from home At least she got a letter though. Gervase was probably my favourite male of the season purely because he was the only one that wasn't talking about the game 24/7 and actually liked to do fun stuff too. I wished he'd stayed a bit longer, but I know he comes back in one of the recent seasons (the current one right? don't tell me where he placs plz). Colleen was another irrelevant dud until merge and I only started to warm to her once Greg was eliminated, but she was wiped out by the Tagi voters <333

Moving on to that, I loved how the Tagi tribe all stuck together and block voted everyone out 1 by 1 until they were the top 5 I am not sure whether I liked Sean or not, at times he was really good, but at other times he seemed a bit boring. His voting methods guaranteed him some airtime though. Sue was just such a bitch but that's what I loved about her. And in the finale when she was acting really bitter and was like "I hope my vote is the decider" and in the end it was Anyway, she came out with some great lines and was the star of the show IMO. Rudy was great too, can't believe he was 72 and managed to outlast all the younger ones! He was pretty funny at times and I thought he had the best character development throughout the show. Now, at first I thought Kelly was a bore (getting beat by Gervase in a water challenge when she was a sailing instructor or something ) but then when she started winning all those immunity idols and all her alliance turned on her because of it, I was rooting for her from F6 onwards But, the she lost to the deserving winner, which was Richard. He played a great social game and, although he didn't win so many comps, he knew exactly what he was doing and definitely deserved the win. Catching all the fish was the main reason they kept him around IMO.

I have no idea who returns for All Stars (try and not tell me if you can resist, I want to be surprised when I watch it), but I hope Sue, Kelly, Gervase, Rudy and maybe Sonja (just to see how she really is) come back and play again.

So those were my (very long) thoughts of the first ever Survivor season, and I can't wait to watch the show progress and develop into a better, more current show as the seasons go by. I'm starting Season 2 tomorrow (maybe tonight if I get time) and I'm hoping it's as good as the first season, and I hope the cast is good too. Again, no spoilers plz about the next season.

[reece(:]

For the ones you think are boring, a lot of the time it's down to editing. On later seasons loads of contestants don't break out on airtime until their boot episodes to favour other more "over edited" contestants which is a shame... one thing that is better about the earlier seasons is the much more balanced editing. One of those you listed does actually return in All-Stars ...they can't have that many from one season to return due to the possibility of pre game alliances and to give other seasons a meaty amount of contestants, since All-Stars contains players from S1-7.

[lostalex]

Season 1 is a lot of fun, it's amazing how long ago it seems though, it's very dated. I'm surprised you didn't mention Susan more, I thought Sue was HILARIOUS, and her interactions with Richard were always hilarious because he's so much the stereotype of a gay man, and she's so much the stereotype of a lesbian, watching them together was like watching some parallel universe.


You won't be disappointed by Season 2.

[Black Dagger]

Season 2 is my favourite of the seasons I've seen so far, I don't know, their is just something about it, that made me feel warm. Australia

[Headie]

Originally Posted by reece(:

For the ones you think are boring, a lot of the time it's down to editing. On later seasons loads of contestants don't break out on airtime until their boot episodes to favour other more "over edited" contestants which is a shame... one thing that is better about the earlier seasons is the much more balanced editing. One of those you listed does actually return in All-Stars ...they can't have that many from one season to return due to the possibility of pre game alliances and to give other seasons a meaty amount of contestants, since All-Stars contains players from S1-7.

Yeah, that's the only thing that I think is a negative when watching the seasons... they just introduce each contestant for like 5 seconds at the beggining and then just expect you to learn all 16 castaways names in the first episode And sometimes I get some contestants mixed up because they look similar-ish. But other than that it's ok I guess, just the editing makes some of them seem boring (as you just said) but then again, if they didn't do anything worthy enough of airtime then it's much better to let the Sues, Richards etc all get main airtime.

Originally Posted by lostalex

Season 1 is a lot of fun, it's amazing how long ago it seems though, it's very dated. I'm surprised you didn't mention Susan more, I thought Sue was HILARIOUS, and her interactions with Richard were always hilarious because he's so much the stereotype of a gay man, and she's so much the stereotype of a lesbian, watching them together was like watching some parallel universe.


You won't be disappointed by Season 2.

Yes, I was gonna write more about Sue beause she was one of my favourites but I figured I'd wrote too much already She was pretty much the life and soul of the second half of the season. She was so bitchy and moody at times but that's what made her great. She definitely makes great TV.

I've watched 2 episode of Season 2 and I can already see the improvement and transition from the first season. It seems more tactical but also more fun in a way and the challenges seem better. Hopefully it continues to be great and doesn't go downhill (the first elimination was tragic though, they would've brought so much drama if they had stayed).

[Headie]

Ok, just finished Season 2, I'm going to start season 3 later tonight, but here's my thoughts on Survivor: Australia (again, contains spoilers, don't read if you haven't seen it yet) and I'll try and make them shorter than last time

Spoiler:

Ok, so for the second season of Survivor I felt that I got into it earlier than I did with Borneo. The challenges seemed better, the cast seemed pretty decent and it just had an overall better vibe to it IMO. There were so many great characters and the drama was entertaining too! "I will ALWAYS wave my finger in your face!"

To start with, I was kinda annoyed that Debb went out first. She definitely seemed like she was cast to bring drama and she would've no doubt brought it if she had stayed longer. The next few eliminations were fine for me. I wasn't a big fan of the Ogakor tribe, so seeing Kel, Maralyn and Mitchell all leave consecutively was fine by me. Then we move on to Kimmi. Now, I understand that Kimmi wanted the Survivor experience and 1million dollars, but if she was so strongly against killing animals, eating them etc, then surely Big Brother or The Amazing Race would be a better show for you to go on than Survivor. Well, at least she brought the drama during her argument with Alicia And finally Michael. He was my favourite pre-merge castaway and I loved how he was fearless when hunting for animals and was the sole food source for the Kucha tribe. When he got medically evacuated, I was so sad I think if he hadn't had that freak accident then he probably would've won the game.

Now on to the Barramundi mergers. I was kinda annoyed that the Ogakor tribe were basically given the advantage when the Kucha tribe lost their strongest player. As soon as Jeff was voted out, I knew that none of the Kucha tribe would win, which was annoying because I really liked everyone in the Kucha tribe. Jeff seemed like a good guy, but a bit irrelevant and didn't make much of an impact on the show. ALICIA!!!! She was one of my favourites of the whole series (I can't help but love the feisty black women, they're the heart and soul of Reality TV ) She produced one of my favourite arguments ever with the whole "I will ALWAYS wave my finger in your face" fiasco. She didn't seem like a very good competitor in challenges, but she definitely made up for that in entertainment value. Now, I'm undecided about Jerri. She was the person I loved to hate and at the same time hate to love her. She stirred up the pot in so many situations and I think this season would've lacked something if she hadn't been cast, so I'm glad she lasted till merge and I kinda hope she comes back in a future season, just for drama. Next was Nick, who I thought was a cool guy, but he was a victim of airtime. Instead of using the word 'boring', I'll just say 'invisible' for all the characters that don't make much of an impact from now on. I was rooting for him, but I wasn't too disappointed at his elimination. Then it was Amber. Who? Oh yeah, the one that only got shown during her last 2 episodes She was another 'invisible' castaway and I literally couldn't care less about her. It was funny how they all randomly turned on her for no reason though.

Out of the top 5, I was rooting for Elisabeth and Rodger, and I was basically thinking 'anyone but Colby' because he would've been the most obvious winner ever. Also, I had a strange feeling that he was gonna win, so I wanted a surprise element to come into play... and it definiely did! But first, I really liked Rodger but I thought Elisabeth was even better, she was probably my favourite castaway out of the 16 castaways this season. She just seemed so nice and sweet, and yet didn't bore me to death like Amber or Nick. I wish she would've won, but at least she managed 4th place. Hopefully she comes back too. The finale was quite exciting to watch, because the outcome was totally unexpected (at least for me anyway). I didn't really care much for the final 3, but I wanted Tina to win and Colby to get 3rd. But when Keith got 3rd, I thought 'oh god Colby is gonna win it's so obvious' and I was pleasantly surprised when Tina won, even though Colby deserved it more (lol I'm contradicting myself but idc). Idk what it was about Colby, but I just couldn't warm to him. I was so shocked when he didn't win though, especially after his immunity idol win streak and how everyone pretty much liked him. I'm glad Tina won though, but I would've much preferred it if a Kucha member had won. Oh well, it was still a great season and the winner was decent-ish. She was kinda like the one that people would be happy for is she won, but wouldn;t care if she lost. That's how I felt anyway.

I am hoping Alicia, Elisabeth, Michael and maybe Rodger return, but I want Michael back especially after his accident.

So, now that Season 2 is done and dusted, I can move on to Season 3! I look forward to it, hopefully it isn't bad. Without saying spoilers, would you say S3 is good or bad or somewhere in the middle? I don't want to be disappointed, especially after the high standards that Borneo and Australia have been.

[reece(:]

I'd put S3 in the middle, much better than S4 atleast which is quite dire. You'll definitely be pleased with who may/may not return in future seasons.

[GypsyGoth]

I still have to get around to watching the first few series.

[Marc]

Remember, watch them all in order

[Headie]

I honestly can't believe how good this show is! No wonder there's like 27 seasons of it. It definitely is more enjoyable when I don't know any winners or placings, and watching them in order too

[reece(:]

I always think Thailand is 4 but it's Marquesas.. I think you'll enjoy that one but not Thailand (S5).

[Marc]

There are some poo seasons/winners but if you love the show enough you'd watch all the seasons and in order!

[SoBig]

The first 3 seasons are really bad, but they get a lot better starting at season 4.

[Macie Lightfoot]

Um... no.

[Marc]

Oh and avoid Troy on all matters regarding Survivor lol

[Headie]

^

I've nearly finished Africa already. I have like 2 or 3 episodes left, since I've been watching them practically all day. Out of the 3 I've seen it's probably my least favourite, because I only started to get into it after the merge, whereas with the other 2 I got into it almost immediately.

[rk3388]

Wait til Pearl Islands <3
China <3
Gabon <3

[Headie]

Ok, I finished S3 late last night, it was probably my least fave of the first 3 season tbh. So expect a really short write-up review

Season 3 Africa review:

Spoiler:

Ok so I was non-stop watching this season all Friday night & all of Saturday too, but I just couldn't get into it as quick as I did with the other two. It felt kinda boring to me, but I liked the winner.

Ok so I wasn't fussed seeing Diane leave, she was so useless and idk why she was even there tbh. Poor Clarence trying to help her and then everyone turned on him I wasn't bothered that Jessie left either, she seemed like another filler to me. I liked her accent though. On to Carl, I liked him and the alliance he was in. I definitely preferred the Old alliance over the Young alliance, but unfortunately he got screwed over by Silas. Same for Linda too. I wish she'd made merge, because she seemed like a crazy woman always referring to "Mother Africa" I really didn't like Silas. He was just a snake IMO and it was so funny when the Old alliance all gave him their votes and he flipped out on them all for not voting Lindsey (which wouldn't have benefited them at all). I kinda liked Lindsey but she was a bit invisible to me and seemed like another filler.

Then on to the mergers. I was only really rooting for Ethan after the merge, because everyone else seemed either annoying or invisible, except Lex. I wasn't bothered Clarence left before jury, but it would've been nice for him to stay a little longer. I liked Kelly, but she only started to make an impact on the show during her last few episodes. I loved her jury speech though, where she thanked Kim J for getting Lex out Brandon, ugh, I couldn't stand him. He was another rat/snake and I was so happy to see him get eliminated. Frank, meh, I'm undecided on him, I didn't hate him, but I didn't love him either. He was someone I ended up rooting for because there weren't many other good people left to root for. Now, whoever decided it was a good idea to have 2 people with the same names on the same season needs to be fired, because it got so confusing whenever they referred to 'Kim' and I didn't know who they were talking about. It made it harder to learn names too. I wasn't a fan of Kim P, she was another neutral one too. Same can be said for Teresa, however I liked her but she didn't do anything to warrant making it as far as she did, other than being a mystery vote when voting for Lex @ f10.

I didn't like Tommy, but I could tolerate him in his last few episodes. At the start he seemed really annoying though, especially when he had a go at Clarence for opening beans and was just being so hostile to him. I'm undecided on Lex, because at times I liked him and at times I hated him. He definitely made the season more interesting, but I hate that he got Kelly out when she didn't even vote for him. I liked Kim J and I was rooting for her but she didn't deserve to win and I'm kinda glad she didn't. I'm really happy that Ethan won. To me, he was the only one worth watching this season (other than Lex, who I'm unsure on) so when he won I was glad. He played a good strategic game too, and his answers to the jury questions were spot on. Overall, it was a boring season (just my opinion) because there weren't many stand out characters or anyone to mainly root for, unlike previous seasons.

Tbh, the only one I want back in the future is Ethan, idc about the others.

So, that's my thoughts on S3, and I've already seen the first 3 episodes of Season 4 because I started it today. It is shaping up to be better than Season 3, so that's good I guess. Hope it doesn't go downhill post-merge (although that's when seasons usually pick up in quality).

[Macie Lightfoot]

Africa's amazing and possibly the most underrated season ever? There are so many hilarious and ridiculous contestants and the dynamics were pretty interesting all throughout.

Also, Samburu is without a doubt one of the best tribes ever and Lindsey is anything but "a bit invisible" and "another filler" wtf. I'm not even trying to be condescending but did we watch the same show?

[reece(:]

Originally Posted by rk3388

Wait til Pearl Islands <3
China <3
Gabon <3

Those three are definitely top tier

[Headie]

Originally Posted by troynuncdicit

Africa's amazing and possibly the most underrated season ever? There are so many hilarious and ridiculous contestants and the dynamics were pretty interesting all throughout.

Also, Samburu is without a doubt one of the best tribes ever and Lindsey is anything but "a bit invisible" and "another filler" wtf. I'm not even trying to be condescending but did we watch the same show?

Lindsey had some great moments and I was rooting for her at one point, but I didn't find her to be a very dynamic character. I think she was cast as an invisible filler but ended up making the most out of her few episodes, although I did start to lose interest with her during her last episode or so.

Oh and it's fine, I don;t think you're being rude at all. I love that everyone has different opinions on each season and we get to discuss them all together My opinion is an unpopular one (judging from what people have said) but I just couldn't connect to Africa like I did with Australia. For some reason I felt it was lacking something, like a stand-out character or something.

[swinearefine]

Originally Posted by rk3388

Wait til Pearl Islands <3
China <3
Gabon <3

This so much. Pearl Islands and China are just absolute perfection, and Gabon is so underrated.

[reece(:]

Originally Posted by swinearefine

This so much. Pearl Islands and China are just absolute perfection, and Gabon is so underrated.

Major love for these three, Heroes and Villains and Micronesia add to them to make my top 5

[swinearefine]

Originally Posted by Hayden

Spoiler:

I was pleasantly surprised when Tina won, even though Colby deserved it more (lol I'm contradicting myself but idc)

Alright can everyone in the world please refrain from saying that the winner didn't deserve to win, because like... they won so obviously they did? Especially for AUSTRALIA of all seasons, which had a fantastic winner and a strategically inept runner-up who had no one to blame for their loss but themselves.

If you win, you deserved it, end of story.

[swinearefine]

Originally Posted by reece(:

Major love for these three, Heroes and Villains and Micronesia add to them to make my top 5

omg twins <3 but the only reason I adore them is the returning players, if it were straight up newbies I would have probably hated them because they really bastardized the Survivor format those seasons.