TV on the Radio: The Survivor Finale

As if Tim hasn’t written enough on the subject, today he’s teaming up with John S to break down the finale (and reunion!) of Survivor: Redemption Island. Was this season exciting? Was Rob a villain? Was Philip actually crazy? Who was better looking: Andrea or Ashley? And will Parvati be back next season? Click here and all these questions and more will be discussed and speculated on.

Survivor Survival Guide: “Seems Like a No-Brainer”

“I obviously have the most to lose.” —Rob

“Let’s just focus on relaxing today.” —Natalie

In the end, it was bound to be disappointing. There were two ways the Survivor: Redemption Island finale could have gone last night: It could have been just and unexciting, or it could have been exciting and unjust.

It was the former.

Boston Rob Mariano finally broke through, claiming the $1 million prize in his fourth attempt on Survivor in a finale that lacked drama or controversy. It was, as the season has been pretty much since the fourth episode, a coronation of Boston Rob.

But let’s save those final thoughts for the end. First, a recap of “Seems Like a No-Brainer.”

Survivor Survival Guide: Previewing the Finale

It’s really the finale already? Sure doesn’t seem like it, does it, what with the eight castaways still having a chance and only a single big move made all season, way back in the third episode, right?

It’s nigh impossible to judge this 22^nd season of Survivor and its concomitant introduction of Redemption Island now, on the day of the finale episode, since so much about the season has yet to be defined. This is true to an extent of every season, but how Redemption Island plays out in tonight’s finale will go a long way toward determining how this season is remembered. If one of the four remaining castaways on Redemption — Matt, Mike, Andrea and Grant — comes back to win the game, well, it couldn’t help but cheapen the concept just a little.

So it is with more trepidation than usual that I approach this finale, anxious not only that someone I don’t want to win will walk away with $1M, but rather that someone I find overwhelmingly undeserving will.

NPI Comes Alive!: Introducing….TV on the Radio!

With the end of the college basketball season, NPI Comes Alive! is back in a new form. Today, Tim and John S are breaking down Survivor in their first TV-oriented podcast. They’re discussing Boston Rob, Redemption Island, Russell, Former Federal Agent Phillip, and the presence or absence of Survivor Gods. Click here to listen to the first edition of a new podcast series, TV on the Radio!

Survivor Survival Guide: “Expectations”

Coach: “I just want once to hear Courtney say, ‘I want to play. I can beat this guy.’”

Courtney: “Thanks, Dad!”

Danielle: “Well he is a coach.”

One week after Russell ousted Boston Rob in one of the most memorable episodes of Survivor in years, the show couldn’t help but take a step back last night. The rising conflict between Rob and Russell had driven the previous two episodes, so now it was back to expositing the next crises in each camp and creating new drama.

It didn’t take long for Jeff Probst and the producers to tip their hand, as the episode began with what could only be described as a kind of tribute to Boston Rob that was surprisingly editorial in showing the instant remorse exhibited by Jerri and Coach in siding with Russell. The new conflict was set: Russell’s axing of Rob splintered the Villains tribe, which was now far more dysfunctional than the Heroes. In fact, the Heroes gained another feather in their cap when JT found the hidden immunity idol they received a clue for last week. Now, JT had said they should all look for it as a tribe and he did find it on his own, but for the second time this season, Amanda happened to spot someone find the hidden idol, and JT was forced to come clean and pretend like he was getting it for the tribe all along.

Survivor Survival Guide: I’m Not a Good Villain

“He wants to be the good guy to everyone. And he can’t. He can’t be the good guy and win this game.”

–Jerri on Coach

“You’re a little man.”

–Boston Rob to Coach

The two main storylines of last night’s episode of Survivor were evident from the moment Jeff Probst said, “Previously on Survivor…”. That opening summary clearly established a Colby Redemption Episode after he was saved by James’s injury last week* and that this would be the week the struggle in the Villains’ camp between Boston Rob and Russell would finally come to a head. Colby’s redemption occurred quickly and unimpressively, as he helped lead the Heroes past the Villains in a Reward Challenge hybrid of basketball and water polo. He was also tangentially a part of their victory over the Villains in the Immunity Challenge—a relay race to collect puzzle pieces before solving the puzzle. Courtney wasted an early Villains’ lead, and this time the Heroes didn’t cede the advantage during the puzzle portion of the challenge. Seeing Boston Rob not come through on the puzzle was like watching Mariano Rivera blow a save; it was weird.

*Seriously, the tone of the “Previously on” was basically, “Colby has sucked so far. Like, really, REALLY sucked. But he’s still here!”

Survivor Survival Guide: Banana Etiquette

“Better to play with me than against me.”

“I believe I’m gonna get him to eat those words.”

–Boston Rob and Russell

Last night’s episode of Survivor felt all along like a kind of contrivance. With the Villains winning four of five challenges, we had only seen them once at Tribal Council, when they suspenselessly voted off the curmudgeonly Randy way back in the third episode. In the intervening weeks, we’ve been treated to glimpses of the burgeoning rivalry between Boston Rob and Russell—one that, ideally, would be a defining arc of the season. Unfortunately, as long as the Villains kept winning, Rob and Russell’s tete-a-tete would remain latent.

In order to change that, the producers resorted to one of their two main contriving tricks: ordering that both tribes go to Tribal Council.* It didn’t matter who won immunity; in fact, immunity was individualized within each tribe. We were finally going to get to see the tussle between Rob and Russell.**

*The other trick is switching up the tribes, which would seem to take some of the meaning out of this season.

**See what I did there?

Survivor Survival Guide: “It’s Getting the Best of Me”

“She’s obviously the problem here. There’s no other source of kryptonite…. Something just ain’t right, and it’s got to be her.”

—James on Stephenie

I mentioned last week that it would be interesting to see how much stock the players put into each other’s past appearances on the show. After the second episode, the answer is clearly a lot. Not only have alliances been forged on the basis of prior relationships (Tom and Steph; James, Amanda, and Cirie), but James specifically brought up Steph’s ignominious membership in the Ulong tribe—the only one to never win an immunity challenge.

The episode started with the focus on the Villains and specifically Boston Rob, who was growing frustrated with the inactivity of his tribe. It’s hard to blame him: Coach, Russell, and Randy are particularly useless men, and none of the female Villains seem prepared for the long-haul (we could already see Courtney’s rib cage on Day 4; that does not bode well). Contrast that with the Heroes, who have Colby, JT, James, and Tom as ready and eager workers and Steph as one of the most physically gifted women the show has ever seen. Irritated by problems with the tribe’s shelter, Rob went out for a walk in the woods, where he proceeded to collapse and lose consciousness.

Survivor Survival Guide: “Slay Everyone, Trust No One”

“These All-Stars, I feel I’m above them. Like Michael Jordan in basketball, Michael Phelps in swimming, there’s always someone that’s above their sport. That’s me. I’m the best to ever play this game, and now I get to prove it.”

—Russell, Villain

“To win this game of Survivor, you have to have a dark side somewhere.”

—JT, Hero

If John S is gonna go and file a weekly review of his favorite desert island show—and steal my interlocutor style in the process—then you best believe I’m gonna respond by doing a weekly review of my favorite desert island show, stealing his RW/RR challenge format in the process.

Survivor kicked off its 20^th season last night with the first episode of Survivor: Heroes and Villains. Twenty former castaways are back for a second and in some cases third go-round, with 10 being assigned “Heroes” and 10 “Villains.” The designations ring true for most of them, although the dichotomy is a bit overstated (can anyone on a reality television show really be cast as a “hero” or “villain”? And even in context, Sugar?).