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Survivor Facing Challenges
I read with amusement this morning an article in my local newspaper that had this title: "Upcoming ‘Survivor' off to a Bumpy Start." The article quoted "Survivor" host Jeff Probst complaining that the show has been plagued with several preproduction problems ranging from encroaching animals to slow shipments.
Isn't the show called "Survivor!?" And shouldn't they know how to survive in the face of adversity? I guess you can call me a cynic of the show as the very premise of "Survivor" seems ridiculous in light of fact that billions of people around the world face real life and death survivor ordeals on a daily basis.
For example, there are close to one billion people who are either malnourished or starving to death. And a network wants to make a show called "Survivor?" One would have thought that in light of the "9/11 attacks" and the seemingly never-ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that a game show centered on "surviving" would be obsolete by now. Apparently, people watch this staged "reality" show.
In case you "have a life" and have never watched this show, Survivor casts a number of Americans (ranging from 14 - 18) and "abandons" them in the middle of some remote area-albeit not Iraq or Afghanistan, or even the mean gang-infested streets of Los Angeles or Chicago. The participants are divided into teams and participate in challenges. The losing team (or "tribe" as they are called) must then go to Tribal Council (kind of like being sent to the Principal's Office for punishment) to vote one of their own team members off the show.
This coming season-the 17th!-Probst, a slew of production members, and contestants are off to Africa for a season dubbed: "Survivor: Gabon-Earth's Last Eden." The 18 castaways will have to live in the West African wilderness where, apparently, they will have to survive hippos and other animals besides each other.
Certainly, we all wish the contestants a safe return. But seriously, how can this show still be relevant today in light of the true reality that people around the world are trying to survive the challenges of everyday life. And, they do so without cameras following their every move and without a chance of winning a million dollars.
That's one million dollars before taxes, Richard Hatch! Hatch, by-the-way, was sentenced to prison for tax evasion after winning one million dollars as the Season 1 winner. He claims that CBS promised to pay his taxes in return for his "keeping silent" about the network's backstage alleged dirty dealings (e.g., secretly providing food to some of the contestants).
Here's hoping "Survivor" does not survive past this year!
