Australian Survivor - 15k applicants. 24 players. 1 minority.

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > TV IV > Australian Survivor - 15k applicants. 24 players. 1 minority.

Zesty: Jan 17, 2012; The Great Twist

Australian Survivor airs on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday Nights in Australia! Check your local listings.

First episode airs August 21st!

What is Survivor?

Survivor is a reality show where a group of ~~18 to 20~~ 24(!) contestants, from all walks of life, are stuck on a remote paradise and forced to live together for 39 55(?!) days; gathering their own food, building their own shelter, and purifying their own water. The cast is split into opposing, equal teams, called tribes. The tribes must work together to form a community, in the hopes of one contestant becoming the Sole Survivor and winning ~~one million dollars~~ 500,000 schmeckles. Tribes that fail to win immunity vote out a member of their tribe.

A typical Survivor season has three phases. Pre-Merge, Post-Merge, and Endgame.

Pre-Merge: Roughly the first half of the game. The tribes compete against each other twice each episode. First for a reward, and second for tribal immunity. Tribes that fail the immunity challenge will be forced to vote one of their own members out at the end of the episode.
Post-Merge: The tribes are merged together. Players are now playing for individual immunity and all players will participate in voting out a player from the tribe.
Endgame: Once 5-7 players or so remain, the show reaches the End game phase. Usually the very strong core alliances are shaken up here as people try to reach the end or placate the jury. The last nine players voted out before the final tribal council will join a Jury that will decide who will win of the final three (sometimes two) players.

Supplemental Material

Rob Has A Podcast: Rob Cesternino (The Amazon, All-Stars) and Stephen Fishbach (Tocantins, Second Chances) recap the episodes.

Glossary of Terms

Blindside: When a tribal council seems to be set up so one or one of two possible players are getting eliminated, but somehow either a secret coalition or a surprising idol play makes it so someone else is voted out instead.
"The Edit": Survivor is a show to entertain. It is produced and edited in a way to give players a streamlined personality and to create as much tension before Tribal Council as possible.
Goat: A useless, awful, or crazy person that is not being voted out of the game specifically so a player can look like a more desirable final survivor to the jury compared to the goat.
HII: Hidden Immunity Idol. They are hidden around the island. Clues will be given that could reveal their location. One-use item that a player can use after the votes are cast (but before they are read) at Tribal Council to nullify votes against that person. They can't be used at Final Four player or later.
Mactor: Portmanteau of "Model/Actor". A player who doesn't know the game very well and are just using it to further their career.
Pagonged: Going into post-merge, it's the act of voting out the former members of your opposing tribe before voting out the former members of your original tribe. It's the reason it's important to win tribal immunity pre-merge so that you outnumber the opposing tribe members in post-merge.
Pony/Poison: After the new season's cast is announced, thread members will pick a "Pony" (someone they think is awesome and will win) and a "Poison" (someone they think will suck and/or be an annoying rear end in a top hat they hope will lose or just simply suffer)
Purple Rocks: In the event of a tie at Tribal Council, there is a revote, with only the people receiving the most votes being eligible to receive votes during that revote. If the revote also ends in a tie, Survivors draw rocks. Whichever player draws the differently colored rock is eliminated from the game.
Splitting the vote/Flushing the Idol: An alliance that splits its votes between two members to counter a potential idol play. If one of those two players plays a Hidden Immunity Idol, there will still be enough players voting for the other guy to vote them out. This strategy can be risky.

This Season's Cast

^{there he is}

More information about the cast is on the wiki. Spoiler warning for those not caught up on the show.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zgZYYmRVEo

Zesty fucked around with this message at 01:30 on Sep 14, 2016

# ? Aug 17, 2016 21:23

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# ? Apr 16, 2024 11:53

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Thanks for the OP. Tagline is too perfect.

I'm both really looking forward to this and really hesitant at the same time. I'm glad it appears to only be airing two nights a week, just hoping they get the cast right and there is some compelling strategy on hand.

# ? Aug 18, 2016 06:28

JakeP: Apr 27, 2003; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS; Lipstick Apathy

not gonna lie i wheres waldoed that picture for him

# ? Aug 18, 2016 06:53

JakeP: Apr 27, 2003; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS; Lipstick Apathy

that might be wheres wally for austrailians im not sure :shrug:

# ? Aug 18, 2016 06:53

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

JakeP posted:

not gonna lie i wheres waldoed that picture for him

Is this in reference to the caption under the cast picture? Who is this and why do I care?

# ? Aug 18, 2016 08:20

Wandle Cax: Dec 15, 2006

xcore posted:

Is this in reference to the caption under the cast picture? Who is this and why do I care?

Have you really not heard of Where's Waldo/Wally? It's a picture book where you look for one stripy man hidden in a sea of other people and paraphernalia. He's hard to find much like the lone minority in that sea of white contestants.

# ? Aug 18, 2016 09:33

Andrew_1985: Sep 18, 2007; Hay hay hay!

Can we draw up a drinking game for the first episode?

'Underestimate me in this game'
'Mateship'
'Aussie Battler'

Watched the 6 minute preview and it was far too slow. Hope this is good.

# ? Aug 18, 2016 12:08

Propaganda Machine: Jan 2, 2005; Truthiness!

I liked the preview in as much as the style and spirit felt a lot like older seasons of the American version, with Adventure Host and a strong focus on the setting/culture, with what looks to be great production value.

# ? Aug 18, 2016 13:16

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Wandle Cax posted:

Have you really not heard of Where's Waldo/Wally? It's a picture book where you look for one stripy man hidden in a sea of other people and paraphernalia. He's hard to find much like the lone minority in that sea of white contestants.

Haha, yes I have, I just didn't make the link between the comment, the photo caption and the thread title. I thought the photo caption was referring to the dude in the bottom left corner and people were keen to see him because he was someone we watch for.

# ? Aug 19, 2016 01:14

JakeP: Apr 27, 2003; by Jeffrey of YOSPOS; Lipstick Apathy

im most stoked for the old fat guy in the back on the right with the mustache

# ? Aug 19, 2016 01:59

newtestleper: Oct 30, 2003

This, so far, looks far better than I expected.

# ? Aug 19, 2016 04:45

Pinterest Mom: Jun 9, 2009

The Destiny's Child song is a tiny bit on the nose.

# ? Aug 19, 2016 06:44

Teckiwi: Dec 7, 2006

Can't wait to see if it's 2 tribals per week(maybe the case with 24 players?) or added camp/challenge content for the 2 eps. 55 days is nuts, the US players struggle enough and they go and extend the season another 2 weeks, might get to see some interesting blowups or medical evacs as a result. NZ season is filming now, no idea if similar cast size/length.

# ? Aug 20, 2016 07:11

bowmore: Oct 6, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

wonder how much better or worse this will be than the last Australian survivor

# ? Aug 20, 2016 08:27

Dugong: Mar 18, 2013; I don't know what to do,
I'm going to lose my mind

55 days?! That's pretty hardcore.

# ? Aug 20, 2016 18:10

Zesty: Jan 17, 2012; The Great Twist

If it's anything like the first season then they're probably going to overprovide for them anyway.

# ? Aug 20, 2016 20:37

bowmore: Oct 6, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

oooo yeah it starts tonight

# ? Aug 21, 2016 02:00

newtestleper: Oct 30, 2003

Stoked for this. Aussies - does this screen live on the channel's website? I'm in NZ so will probably need to watch on Mondays/Tuesdays otherwise

# ? Aug 21, 2016 08:31

bowmore: Oct 6, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

Blue wins fire straight off the bat

# ? Aug 21, 2016 10:50

bowmore: Oct 6, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

old bloke decides to go for a swim instead of helping tribe set up

interesting tactics

# ? Aug 21, 2016 10:53

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

newtestleper posted:

Stoked for this. Aussies - does this screen live on the channel's website? I'm in NZ so will probably need to watch on Mondays/Tuesdays otherwise

This might be an exception but usually no. It's normally up the next day and you'll probably need a VPN

# ? Aug 21, 2016 11:04

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

This cast is a lot less painful than the preview indicated

# ? Aug 21, 2016 11:05

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Red tribe is a dumpster fire

# ? Aug 21, 2016 11:13

bowmore: Oct 6, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

xcore posted:

Red tribe is a dumpster fire

lol

yes they are

# ? Aug 21, 2016 11:23

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

*tries to sleep against a natural sand bank* Doesn't actually think about what might have formed the bank.

# ? Aug 21, 2016 11:24

bowmore: Oct 6, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

well the fire is out now....

# ? Aug 21, 2016 11:24

elgarbo: Mar 26, 2013

That was surprisingly better than expected.

Just as long as they don't follow the tried and true Australian reality television model of throwing in a few intruders this could be a worthwhile diversion.

# ? Aug 21, 2016 12:45

Sir Charles: Apr 25, 2006; Can't...seem to...penetrate the fabric...must be...some kind of...polyester weave!

Initial thoughts -Why was that guy dressed as a wizard?

Des is the worst.

I'm hyped. It looks a lot better than I thought it would.

# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:38

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Speaking of the wizard (and the one minority), he not only didn't have one confessional, he voice was literally not heard the entire episode. The only camp footage I saw him talking in was during somebody else's voice over narration.

# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:47

Sir Charles: Apr 25, 2006; Can't...seem to...penetrate the fabric...must be...some kind of...polyester weave!

xcore posted:

Speaking of the wizard (and the one minority), he not only didn't have one confessional, he voice was literally not heard the entire episode. The only camp footage I saw him talking in was during somebody else's voice over narration.

He did have that great fall trying to get onto the net in the immunity challenge.

# ? Aug 21, 2016 13:49

The Lord Bude: May 23, 2007; ASK ME ABOUT MY SHITTY, BOUGIE INTERIOR DECORATING ADVICE

I'm cheering for the dude dressed as a wizard, because he came to survivor dressed as a wizard. He doesn't speak because he's a wise wizard, who will triumph over his nemesis, the mere magician.

# ? Aug 21, 2016 14:21

Dugong: Mar 18, 2013; I don't know what to do,
I'm going to lose my mind

I really liked that. Sue was great. :wtc:

at the invisible monitory though.

# ? Aug 21, 2016 23:06

Umbra: Jul 9, 2003; Sweet Sassy Molassy.

Dugong posted:

I really liked that. Sue was great. at the invisible monitory though.

Well, in all fairness I think Tegan from the yellow tribe didn't get any dialogue either. Pretty good first episode though!

# ? Aug 22, 2016 01:27

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

I'm loving the older lady so far. She has all of the awesome Survivor old lady qualities without any of the usual character flaws that this Survivor archetype has.

# ? Aug 22, 2016 01:30

Zesty: Jan 17, 2012; The Great Twist

How did red manage to sink their Canoe? Overweight? Broke something? Now Red is getting MORE supplies? They can't float as it is.

I'm surprised they were allowed to leave their boats behind and swim to the fire. I expected them to have to bring it back to the beach with them to win the challenge.

The camera loves the Courier Driver guy in the Red Introduction segment. I bet he's getting voted off this episode. Called it.

Nick really stands out as a likable guy. I expect he'll go far.

Bianca is a liar right off the bat and I like her for it.

Haha! Red is getting washed away by the ocean.

I really like that immunity challenge. Very cooperation oriented... haha. Host stole the Probst dig deep line.

-

I take gif requests.

# ? Aug 22, 2016 02:59

Looten Plunder: Jul 11, 2006; Grimey Drawer

Met posted:

How did red manage to sink their Canoe? Overweight? Broke something? Now Red is getting MORE supplies? They can't float as it is.

I think it was just a case of the supporting arm on the boat was hollowed out to hold supplies and it got pushed underwater.

# ? Aug 22, 2016 03:32

Lampsacus: Oct 21, 2008

-I hope our NZ Survivor is less racist.

# ? Aug 22, 2016 05:15

Arcanen: Dec 19, 2005

That was absolutely hilarious. Des had an incredibly entertaining arc. "I'm here to be a strategic player and that's why I'm going to sit around and do poo poo all even though I could easily build everyone a quality shelter they desperately need" :lol:

Cringed a lot to see people make rookie mistakes; the response to the request for a final 2 on day 1 from a supposed "superfan" was another hilarious moment.

The production quality seems pretty good, though the first challenge for fire was completely gameable. Even attempting for fire was idiotic when the alternative was just stick around and be able to rack up mad amounts of supplies. Assuming you go for the fire, there's a roughly 2/3 chance you'll lose anyway, and so you'd be much better off just collecting those supplies and getting "fire in the form of flint" during the next challenge which is a pretty sure bet even if you're not able to make fire yourself. Then there was the whole rule that someone could just jump in front and swim for the challenge, so... why would the rest of the team row out at all? So what should they have been doing instead? That's right, getting more supplies.

For a first episode of Survivor by a new crew? Surprisingly solid. Australian Jeff needs a bit of work in Tribal Council, since he just asked one question and then asked everyone in turn "oh and what do you think about this question? and what do YOU think about this question", but the editing of Des's arc was gold.

But what the gently caress at the only minority in the game not getting an introduction, or even a single line during the entire episode? Racism towards Aboriginals in Australia is a different beast to what you see in the US (I am Australian), and this oversight in the editing shows how. Australians look at race relations in the US and think themselves superior because of what they view as visible chaotic tension between racial groups. But racism towards Aboriginals is far more insidious; there are horrific structural inequalities and racist laws (read up about the Northern Territory Intervention if you're curious), but most Australian's just don't hear anything about it, or really think much about it at all. White privilege in Australia basically doesn't allow the Aboriginal population to have much of a say at all. So in retrospect, not such surprising editing.

Arcanen fucked around with this message at 05:25 on Aug 22, 2016

# ? Aug 22, 2016 05:22

Deceptive: Dec 27, 2012

Or maybe it was the first episode of a show with 24 contestants and he wasn't even on the losing tribe.

# ? Aug 22, 2016 07:46

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# ? Apr 16, 2024 11:53

Sir Charles: Apr 25, 2006; Can't...seem to...penetrate the fabric...must be...some kind of...polyester weave!

This challenge concept is hilariously elaborate.

# ? Aug 22, 2016 13:06

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