A reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.
Even though at times it was boring, other times were thrilling and there was enough good overall for this to be considered a successful season of Survivor.
The whole season had an air of uselessness around it, and we'd have all been better off if CBS had just aired a 30-minute special where Les Moonves wrote Mariano a check.
Putting Rob on a tribe full of gomers who were too star-struck to act against him became more and more boring, and there is such a thing as over-saturation.
It certainly was entertaining at times watching Rob strategize (the most dominant showing ever) and Phillip philosophize (the craziest showing ever), just not very dramatic.
The footage focuses almost exclusively on backstabbing and self-interest. It's small-minded and cynical, but no more than the stuff in The Federalist Papers about the awfulness of human nature. The show is solidly American.
This season is shaping up to be a good one, with strong personalities and savvy players. The Redemption Island twist is making for compelling duels, and no one knows yet how the winner of the Island challenges will integrate back into the tribe.
"Survivor" gave us some interesting insight into group dynamics and social behavior, but the complete lack of gameplay by anyone other than Rob or Russell Hantz made the season much less than we have come to expect from the show.
