'Survivor' Changes Up the Game -- Finally

Russell definitely gave the franchise a major boost. I laughed with every episode of his first season as the majority tribe was whittled down to nothing after the merge. Russell is like Jigsaw from the Saw movies. His knowledge of psychology is so deep that nothing is left to chance.

"H vs V" was good due to Russell, but I didn't care for Cirie being on the Heroes tribe. She said on the preview show that she didn't know why she was on the good tribe. Her entire strategy consists of destroying her own tribe. It wasn't fair to the good guys.

You're right about a major reason for the decline being people that are in it for fame. I suspect Marty kicked Jimmy J off because he feared it would turn into the Coach Jimmy season ala Russell's first season being the Russell Show. You can tell that certain actions/speeches are fake and designed to gain fame or get rid of someone that threatens perceived fame. If I can get rid of you, I have a greater chance of becoming rich and famous outside of the show. Danger Dave (Russell's 1st season) said in Ponderosa that he thought he would be famous enough to never have to work. People are also concerned with trying to make it to the next All-Stars season.

I don't see desire for the million as 'bad' as long as people have some sort of real strategy instead of blindly getting rid of people in order to make it one day longer (Cirie blueprint). I think a greater problem is when people 'settle' for lesser amounts. NaDonkey and Purple were probably examples of this. They were happy with their $40K (just guessing). They had a decent chunk of change, were scared of being eliminated soon, left on their 'own' terms, and became infamous. People begging to make it to the Finals and throwing in the towel because $125,000 is 'good enough' make me sick.

I would like physical challenges, but some fans would complain that it favors the big guys. It could be a lot of endurance or building puzzles. Too many physical challenges = greater chance for injury. This is the real reason they combined reward/immunity challenges in the regular game.

Will it backfire with the strong/smart players actually being eliminated early?

For instance: "If I can get rid of you now (1st, 2nd, 3rd week), there is no way on Earth you will survive several (say 7, 6, or 5) Redemption challenges until someone returns."

If you wait too long to get rid of a threat, he/she would only have to win one or two challenges (entirely doable) to return.

A lot will hinge the return date. Will the person be guaranteed a seat on the jury? Will the person return before the jury with a chance of being eliminated twice?

I'm willing to give it a shot. Survivor has a lot of energy left. Honestly, it will take a couple of bad seasons (horrible gimmicks and utterly bland/stupid people) in a row to wound the show. I don't see the producers being that stupid.

Tom, I hear where you're coming from, but before this past season we also had some good seasons. I think the introduction of Russell Hanz in season 19 gave the francise a boost, and it was the first time I was genuinely excited to see what he'd pull off week to week. Plus I think last season's Heroes vs. Villians was a very good season.

So I'm writing this season off as a bad concept on Survivor's part (old vs. young, and the intro of the Medallion of Power, which I heard Probst say himself will never be back) and I'm hoping that this upcoming season has a more fan-based cast.

I think that's where Survivor gets me, when they cast people that aren't genuine fans of the show. You can tell when someone is and when someone isn't based on their game play and I think the majority of this season weren't real fans of the show. They're in it to be on TV or win a million and don't uphold the integrity of the game as a priority, which for me as a fan is a letdown. This season alone it led to quitters after the merge, and their overall lack of strategy.

I think the concept of Redemption Island could be a very, very good one, but again I think it's based largely on the next cast. Will we be rooting for any of the people that are sent there to fight their way back? That'll remain unknown until we see it. Plus, like I said in my earlier comment, I want to see these redemption duels completely cutthroat and not wussy puzzle challenges. I want the people snuffed to really have to work their way back into the game, so I hope the producers feel the same way.

I'm with you on the season, although I reluctantly started rooting for Fabio in the last few episodes, and especially in the final half of the finale, this season was beyond frustrating to watch as a fan.

So I'm actually excited to see how Redemption Island plays out. I think it could go either way, depending on how tough the duels are. (I'm hoping seriously physically tough, no puzzles allowed!) and I hope they end Redemption Island at the right time, I would think right before the first person lands on the jury. That way the person that's lasted there has a shot at the top spot or a spot on the jury.

"This was pretty sorry batch of castaways, let's be honest."

It was rated by numerous mags, websites, and fans as the worst season ever with the lowest-rated season finale.

It felt like they were trying to build Sash into the closeted replacement for Richard Hatch. Chase was smarter than portrayed. You could tell major chunks of footage were removed to make him look 'clueless'.

Redemption is a stinker. It's the show's attempt to keep 'their' man/woman in the game and correct the 'bad' decisions at Tribal Council. It's more show rigging. They control the challenges and when the last person rejoins the game. I expect it to play out poorly and be gone like the Medallion of Power. Most likely it will backfire with a bland or 'stupid to the point of losing ratings' castaway coming back. The redeemed one may even be voted out immediately after rejoining especially if he/she survived several battles and is viewed as aa threat.

Two problems with the new change and addition of Redemption Island. Because of the duels, Jeff says today that all comps will now be combined as reward/immunity challenges. I love having them separate. When they get to individual rewards/immunities, does one person win both? Not crazy about that either.