Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but it's also the quickest way to kill an innovative TV show. Once the imitators arrive, the original seems almost instantly passe.
That's something a graybeard reality show like "Survivor" has to deal with when it returned for its 14th season last Thursday, as host Jeff Probst admitted last week on a media conference call. And it starts with the very people involved, the contestants.
"It's harder to cast a reality show these days," Probst said. "It's just a fact. There are so many of them." So, instead of relying on video submissions or even casting calls to put together its casts, "Survivor" has actually gone out and actively recruited contestants. That has led to the most racially diverse "Survivor" cast ever for this season set in Fiji - a response in part to the brouhaha caused by the segregated tribes in last season's Cook Islands installment - but also some of the program's most interesting individual contestants.
Probst is obviously trying to drum up interest in the show - it's what the conference call was all about - but it does sound as if this season's "Survivor" might have an intriguing array, beginning with a couple of contestants he said rank with his favorite "survivors" ever.
Yau-Man Chan is a native of Borneo, near where the first "Survivor" took place, who now lives in Martinez, Calif. "So he is really at home," Probst said. "This is a guy who knows how to open a coconut quickly, efficiently. I really think people are going to enjoy Yau-Man." Yet, "this is definitely a season dominated by strong men," Probst added, putting the more lithe Yau-Man at a disadvantage. How does it play out? Probst ain't telling, of course.
There's also Andria "Dre" Herd, a previously homeless guy from Wilmington, N.C., who turned his background as something of a gymnast into a job as a cheerleading coach. "This is a kid literally off the streets who has survived and made something of his life," Probst said. "His biggest obstacle on the show is social adaptability. It's not something he's used to.
"This is a kid who never would have applied to 'Survivor' on his own," Probst said, but the show's recruiters have brought him in as an interesting addition.
Tugging at the heartstrings, there are no fewer than three residents of the New Orleans area, including Kenward "Boo" Bernis from Lafayette, La. "Boo is the most injury-prone survivor I've ever seen in 14 seasons," Probst said. "And it's almost funny, the rest of the tribe is kind of laughing. ... He's so athletically gifted, but keep the machete out of his hand."
Chicago-area viewers who are looking for a new rooting interest after the Bears debacle can cheer on Mookie Lee, a loan manager from Wheeling, but Probst didn't have much to say about him - not that that means anything, as Probst always plays it close to the vest.
He was more forthcoming, however, about the way "The Apprentice" apparently beat "Survivor" to the punch with a new device, dividing teams into one luxurious living space and one far more Spartan. This evidently found Mark Burnett, producer of both shows, stealing from himself.
"Mark runs his shows very independently, but this was an idea born organically from us," Probst said. "We were a little surprised to find 'The Apprentice' doing it."
There's also no denying "Survivor" seems to get more out of it. The 19 contestants arrive in Fiji (one dropped out at the 11th hour; "She had a lot of anxiety to the point where it escalated into a panic attack," Probst said, "and it was clear this was something we shouldn't talk her out of") and are put to work building an elegant living space.
Yet then they're divided into uneven teams and put to a challenge, with the winners getting the home.
"The losing team gets sent to a beach with a pot and a machete," Probst said. "It was huge stakes in the first episode," he added.
"In addition to the shelter, they got the biggest housewarming gift we've ever given." Not just hammocks, but couches and appliances - even a sewing machine. "Cut to the other tribe and they're on their hands and knees literally licking leaves to get water."
Sounds as if "Survivor" has more real-life parallels than ever. "Well, 'Survivor' is about social interaction," Probst said. "We created adversaries so fast, and it grows. ... So you have some animosity.
"I thought it played great," he added. "In terms of being 'fair,' it's not the term I would use. It just is."
And "Survivor" just remains one of the most popular reality shows on TV - in part because of its ability to adapt and keep itself fresh.
"You see shows like 'American Idol,' that show continues to evolve. And we do the same thing," Probst said.
"People can smell bull (manure). We can smell it. I know when we've done something wrong.
"But execution is everything," he added. "You may get tired of 'Survivor.' You may say, 'After 13 seasons, I'm done,' but our execution has not lessened."
SOURCE: Chicago Daily Herald
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