Survivor: Season 45 (All Episodes now 90 min)

[The Crypto Guy]

Good season. Closest vote we have had in a long time, I thought both played very good games. If Katurah didn't royally f*** up and had voted Dee like she was suppose to, then Austin would have been the winner by a landslide. Thought Dee was pretty horrible in the final questions, the frist two questions she just copied the person before her, and when she went first she said she got where she is by luck, that is the dumbest thing to say if you are trying to convince the jury you should win, but I guess it didn't matter, it's all show anyway, most, if not all, know who they are voting before that.

Highlight of the season was when baby Jake threw a temper tantrum and broke the final challenge to get DQed. That was amazing. Jeff definitely hated him.

 

[zombie kopitar]

I thought that season was terrific. Legitimately one of the better Survivor seasons. Of all time.

I think that's recency bias and it's really not going to hold up as a 'great' season, 90 minute edits played a big part in a more enjoyable watch imo, if it had shorter edits I don't think this sentiment would be as popular. The lack of gamebot play was very refreshing, it was probably the most 'likable' new cast since Millennials vs Gen X. But as far as the actual playing of Survivor, it was very mediocre; Dee won because Katurah is legit one of the worst players to ever make it to the final four. Austin was an idiot not asking for his idol back, he had to essentially flush out his own idol and that's when the game got worse and the outcome obvious. I liked seeing an alliance stay strong, but yeah Dee's win will be over rated do to the crappy play of others (Like Tony's first win and Kim). I think Yam Yam had an objectively better win last season, but the rest of the cast and season was way better in 45

Really loved the new auction format, and the longer edits with better camplife moments; but they still really need to go back to longer seasons, they basically play as long as the merge in old school survivor, it's ridiculous.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

I think that's recency bias and it's really not going to hold up as a 'great' season, 90 minute edits played a big part in a more enjoyable watch imo, if it had shorter edits I don't think this sentiment would be as popular. The lack of gamebot play was very refreshing, it was probably the most 'likable' new cast since Millennials vs Gen X. But as far as the actual playing of Survivor, it was very mediocre; Dee won because Katurah is legit one of the worst players to ever make it to the final four. Austin was an idiot not asking for his idol back, he had to essentially flush out his own idol and that's when the game got worse and the outcome obvious. I liked seeing an alliance stay strong, but yeah Dee's win will be over rated do to the crappy play of others (Like Kim and Tony's first one)

Really loved the new auction format, and the longer edits with better camplife moments; but they still really need to go back to longer seasons, they basically play as long as the merge in old school survivor, it's ridiculous.

Unfortunately they never will. They are probably saving a shit ton of money cutting the seasons down to 28 days and they are still racking in the same amount of money from sponsors.

Cutting the seasons down was the worst thing the show ever did.

Oh and bring back the loved ones coming to the island for a challenge. I know they are kind of cringy, but that was always a cool 20 minutes of an ep (Or does it cost too much and they are too cheap to fly them anymore?)

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I think they need to stick with the 90 minute episodes.

Was this cast so much more likable and they got lucky with more airtime for a better cast or we think this because we know more about the cast than prior seasons due to longer episodes?

Also, I personally prefer the 26 day, although I see both sides. I like the outlast component of 39 days, but the game play is more impulsive and "go for broke" with 26 days. They don't have as much time to regroup as an alliance and rationalize to each other why they should play it safe. There are more blindsides now.

What I want them to change is we need a new venue. Fiji is nice and all, but one of the initial appeals was that these seasons would take place in a lot of different countries. Fiji is boring by now.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I think they need to stick with the 90 minute episodes.

Was this cast so much more likable and they got lucky with more airtime for a better cast or we think this because we know more about the cast than prior seasons due to longer episodes?

Also, I personally prefer the 26 day, although I see both sides. I like the outlast component of 39 days, but the game play is more impulsive and "go for broke" with 26 days. They don't have as much time to regroup as an alliance and rationalize to each other why they should play it safe. There are more blindsides now.

What I want them to change is we need a new venue. Fiji is nice and all, but one of the initial appeals was that these seasons would take place in a lot of different countries. Fiji is boring by now.

I agree with most of this here. Definitely love the 90 minute episodes. I think that this cast was more enjoyable, but I think that the 90 minute eps. help to showcase relationships and personalities.

Personally I prefer the 39 days, but as you said, the shorter season makes gameplay more impulsive and knee-jerk. The alliances are somewhat more fluid as well, with gameplay having to shift more from day to day. Definitely helps for some more exciting action.

Couldn't agree more about the new venue. I enjoyed that different seasons in different locations which each presented unique atmospheres and challenges. Also I liked identifying seasons based on where they are. It's a little bit hard for me to differentiate seasons in my mind as much since they've all been in Fiji.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Unfortunately they never will. They are probably saving a shit ton of money cutting the seasons down to 28 days and they are still racking in the same amount of money from sponsors.

Cutting the seasons down was the worst thing the show ever did.

Oh and bring back the loved ones coming to the island for a challenge. I know they are kind of cringy, but that was always a cool 20 minutes of an ep (Or does it cost too much and they are too cheap to fly them anymore?)

Yep, exactly. They've made a handful of major moves to cut costs. They increased their air time to allow for extra ad time to offset. 13 days less time they have to fund production and castaways on the island, no family visits = no cost for family members' travel and lodging, no in-studio reuinion show cuts major costs for them as well.

So lame how much they've cut financial corners.

 

[Peasy]

Highly disagree the shorter seasons leads to more blindsides/flips. I find it does the opposite. They have way less time out there so way less time to gain trust from new people they meet from swaps/merge. Practically every new winner stuck with their original tribe throughout the merge.

Erika - her tribe had the most numbers going into merge and all made it fairly deep except Sydney the sacrifice
Maryanne - 4 of her tribe that made the merge lasted till like final 6 or whatever
Gabler - honestly barely remember this season now, but I think his tribe had 5/6
Yam yam - Tika 3 sticking together all merge
Dee - Reba 4 obviously

Conclusion of new era survivor so far - stick with your original tribe.

"big moves" might appear to be happening more because it is constantly talked about, they only cast super fans now that are so obsessed with building a resume (like dee pointed out), there are way more advantages now that make people want to try something. Also, starting with 3 tribes means come merge, two of the original tribes will come together and start to pick the other off. The lines will appear more muddy than a season starting off with just 2 tribes but below the surface it's the same thing. One of those original tribes will likely just stick together and made it far.

Go back and rewatch and older season like cagayan, mvg, David v Goliath etc, there are plenty of blindsides throughout.

The cookie cutter show that survivor has turned into is killing it for me.

 

[Epictetus]

They are dying for a returning player season.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

They are dying for a returning player season.

Yes they are, unfortunately since they didn’t do it at 45, I dont see them doing it till 50.

 

[Epictetus]

Yes they are, unfortunately since they didn’t do it at 45, I dont see them doing it till 50.

50 for sure.
They gotta do something special.
Would be awesome if they could return to Borneo where it all started.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

 

[Peasy]

Lmao Wendell all but confirmed this like the idiot he is.

Austin my guy, take this as a lesson and to always put yourself first... Especially in a game for a mill and the person in question is someone you met 3 weeks ago. You tossed away a million for this girl and got hella played.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

Damn, Austin got played.

Dee is a rat and home wrecker, and Wendell is a douchbag.

 

[Neil Racki]

Season was lame imo.

Majority rarely changed or challenged; majority rule for the most part and you knew who was going to be final 3 early on.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Damn, Austin got played.

Dee is a rat and home wrecker, and Wendell is a douchbag.

Wendell and Dee are just building their resumés for an American Heroes vs. Villains season LOL


In all honesty though I feel bad for the guy, despite how stupidly he played. Blew up his entire game for a girl who continually betrayed him and then she goes and does this. How sad, but entertaining.

 

[93LEAFS]

I don't really care about what they do in their personal lives. But, I will say, I'm more excited for this than any Superbowl half-time show ever.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I don't really care about what they do in their personal lives. But, I will say, I'm more excited for this than any Superbowl half-time show ever.

This is absurd. How in the hell did this even come about? Lol. Not gunna lie though I do like it.

 

[93LEAFS]

This is absurd. How in the hell did this even come about? Lol. Not gunna lie though I do like it.

I have no idea, and thought it was a joke at first.

I propose this year's Superbowl halftime show is Coach reading his memoirs. Probably the most unique casting in Survivor history. They've tried to find people as delusional (Debbie, The Specialist), but no one has ever been as good as Coach.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

I have no idea, and thought it was a joke at first.

I propose this year's Superbowl halftime show is Coach reading his memoirs. Probably the most unique casting in Survivor history. They've tried to find people as delusional (Debbie, The Specialist), but no one has ever been as good as Coach.

I agree. Coach is one of my favorite players ever. So entertaining and delusional. My wife and I quote lines from him all the time while telling his absurd stories.

Especially the one about Amazonian tribesmen trying to eat his ass LOL

 

[93LEAFS]

I agree. Coach is one of my favorite players ever. So entertaining and delusional. My wife and I quote lines from him all the time while telling his absurd stories.

Especially the one about Amazonian tribesmen trying to eat his ass LOL

My favorite quote about that is, I saw Fishbach asked once if he believed Coach's story. And, he just wrote "I believe Coach owns a Kayak, and there is an Amazon." I also can't believe how he basically stumbled into creating a religious cult in SoPa. Personally, my favorite Coach moment is this. Although, this is more on Tyson (another all-time favorite, Tocantins was stacked as a cast, and to think it almost had Abi-Maria too, but they didn't put her on since they thought her knowing Portugese could be an advantage).

 

[Peasy]

Man I really miss the old reality tv days. The people cast nowadays and impact of social media has really water downed the characters you get on tv.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Man I really miss the old reality tv days. The people cast nowadays and impact of social media has really water downed the characters you get on tv.

Absolutely. Give me Coach, Randy, Abi-Maria, Varner, Fairplay, etc. over some of these vanilla clowns they get these days.


Though Fairplay was a total puddle on his most recent show "House of Villains"... couldn't win a damn thing against a bunch of non-competition reality people and cried his way to #4.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

I don’t care what Dee and Wendall do in their personal lives. It looks bad that he’s nearly 40 with a child and a wife and she’s wrecking a family, but these aren’t like celebrities who have manicured images and PR people. They are regular people that went on a reality TV show, and now have a little fame. I don’t look at them any better or worse based on their personal lives.

Edit: If you want to see how unique Survivor legends can be in their personal life, google what Parvati is up to.

 

[Rodgerwilco]

Man, I'm watching Australian Survivor 2023 - Heroes vs. Villains in Samoa with the wife right now....

It's insane the difference in quality between this and US Survivor. The gameplay is top notch, the production quality is much better, the casting is great. George "King of Bankstown" Mladenov has gotta be one of the best Survivor castaways of all time. His strategy and social game are just wild, dude is incredible.

I don’t care what Dee and Wendall do in their personal lives. It looks bad that he’s nearly 40 with a child and a wife and she’s wrecking a family, but these aren’t like celebrities who have manicured images and PR people. They are regular people that went on a reality TV show, and now have a little fame. I don’t look at them any better or worse based on their personal lives.

Edit: If you want to see how unique Survivor legends can be in their personal life, google what Parvati is up to.

I find the most interesting thing about the situation is that we often talk about how someone's gameplay is separate from how they are in their personal life, but this highlights that some people who play a cut-throat backstabbing game are actually just backstabbing assholes in real life too lol.

 

[Jovavic]

Man, I'm watching Australian Survivor 2023 - Heroes vs. Villains in Samoa with the wife right now....

It's insane the difference in quality between this and US Survivor. The gameplay is top notch, the production quality is much better, the casting is great. George "King of Bankstown" Mladenov has gotta be one of the best Survivor castaways of all time. His strategy and social game are just wild, dude is incredible.


I find the most interesting thing about the situation is that we often talk about how someone's gameplay is separate from how they are in their personal life, but this highlights that some people who play a cut-throat backstabbing game are actually just backstabbing assholes in real life too lol.

Where are you watching the Australian show? Wife and I watched the season George was on, dude is a hoot.