August 21, 2000
Surviving Survivor - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
VANCOUVER -- I’m probably one of the only people on the continent that hasn’t been an avid and loyal viewer of Survivor. Wednesday nights for me, up to the end of July, has always been tuning into Vaughn Palmer’s Voice of the Province at 8 PM. Survivor was out of the question. I have, amongst many others, seen the overwhelming coverage lobbed at the show and it’s quite exciting if you ask me.
It’s rather interesting to note that Survivor was the crowning achievement of this whole reality TV binge that the industry has gone on for the last year or so. A year ago, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire debuted and took the television world by storm. It ushered in a renaissance to the game show format, which quickly folded as the NBC, CBS and FOX game show’s faded faster than a fast-finger round question. It was this “reality” TV example, where suspense and tension were no longer created by actor’s, but by almost-regular folk who were in the common pursuit of a million damn dollars.
I remember talk of Survivor beginning in the spring of 1999. I had just finished Lord of the Flies in Mr. Dolsen’s English 11 class and when I had read about CBS coming up with a TV version of that same said book.
Well, on Wednesday night, the sixteen-week saga of Survivor is coming to a close. Those who’ve gone before have been voted off and only 4 are left. In the 2-hour finale, one person will remain victorious and leave that small island with a million dollars. Was it worth it? Well, that’s for the contestants’ psychiatrists to decide.
The success of Survivor proved to the makers of TV that reality sells. Well, almost reality. The nugget to think about is how many people do you know actually live on an island way in the nether regions of Micronesia? The 16 castaways were not indigenous to that land, which in hindsight is so real, ain’t it?
Yet millions of viewers tune in to watch and see the challenges and human drama and psychology in surviving. But really, how many humans are thrust in that kind of situation. People chosen by a major television network and thrust upon an island, in the pursuit of money. (People living on the internet seems realer.) Hell, people having to survive on a deserted island could give two damns about money - how about real surviving, making it out of that hell hole alive?
How many of the 16 CBS survivors actually die?
Ah, well it all comes to an end on Wednesday. Viewers will flee their verandas and porches to watch television i nthe dog days of summer. When Neilsen gets a counting the next morning, there will be a ton of viewers who did flock; enough flockers to match the Super Bowl.
Having survived Monica, Buttafuco, Laura Palmer’s murder, O.J., Jacko, Who Shot J.R.?, Regis and Kathie Lee and Jon Benet - once this will pass it will certainly pass.
Who’s the Survivor? My guess is it’ll be the person who leaves this cesspool with their sanity. Give or take a couple screws.
Questions and comments may be sent to: editor@thecommentary.ca
An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .