A Possibly Better Final Four Twist

Ever since the Survivor producers for some dumb reason got rid of what we were used to at the final four and decided to stick with it forever. If there was something wrong with the old format, it would have been that too many people got eliminated at the final four that could make good winners. Thus, they changed the format. But using the South African version of this show as a starting point for what they could do instead of the other format.

What do they do in the South African version? Around the time of the finale, they don’t have the usual immunity challenge. Instead, they do a different sort of twist instead. The final four would compete in an elimination challenge. Winners get to stay and become finalists. Loser gets sent straight to the jury. Would this be a good idea? Well, let’s see how it might be better.

You see, with the current final four format, there is the standard immunity challenge that one person wins. Then, they choose someone to be safe while the other two people compete to stay in the game. Thus, an elimination challenge happens only it is more of a limited basis and not entirely in a far way. If they wanted a fairer way, instead of doing a sort of fake out and making a limited number of people do this while the loser of an immunity challenge is safe just because the winner wants them to be, you could do a challenge that’s equal instead of the current way.

Would this idea work? I guess we don’t know for sure. I’d rather them go back to the old way of how they did final fours or even go back to just standard final threes. Of course, that would go back to how they had a different problem instead of the current one. But they can’t just change things and have there be a new problem that only succeeds in getting rid of an old one.

I don’t think that they should keep changing Survivor. Can you imagine if the twist in Kaoh Rong where they voted out a jury member was used again? But would going back to the old way solve anything? If they want to try a twist out, they should an elimination challenge at the final four between all of the people instead of a second, run-off challenge that only includes half of the final four. Of course, I would rather them not do either and just have the regular vote like they used to.

That’s about it for this blog post. There’s not much else to say so I hope that you see what could be a good idea or another bad one. Would you ever want to see this twist used? I think that it might work if only they feel the need to change something. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Top Ten Tragic Heroes

It might be a bit difficult to explain what a tragic hero is in terms of this blog post. Then again, it might not be too hard to explain. You see, a lot of heroes in Survivor struggle and don’t ultimately prevail and win the game. Some of them make mistakes which lead to their defeat. All of the people that I have on this list are people that I consider heroes who made some sort of tragic mistake or somehow just could not turn the tables around and lost as a result. This might include people who were not heroes in every season that they played, so I hope that it makes sense still. Now let’s get to the list.

#10 Caleb from Blood versus Water- He might only be on here due to his death after his season. One might debate whether or not he was a hero when he played and his game inexplicitly ended when he was voted out for reasons that I don’t understand. His death was tragic and is more of the reason that I think he belongs on this list.

#9 Rudy from Borneo- The first tragic hero, he had a lot of game going for him and could have easily won it if only he had stayed focused just a bit longer. Instead, his game ended and Jeff Probst thought that the show wouldn’t last if he didn’t win. Thankfully, Jeff was wrong. But poor Rudy just lost focus and he lost the game because of it.

#8 Ian from Palau- While there was some villainy left in him, he left by heroically sacrificing his place in the game in order to secure his friendship with Tom. Many insist that it was a dumb mistake and those people are right to think that. At least he did what he thought was right.

#7 Sierra from Tocantins- I still hate that the horrible twist that affectively put in her a no win situation had happened. She even helped set up camp, but no one cared and her tribe hated her for the rest of the game. She struggled throughout the game even if she seemed heroic to me.

#6 Spencer from Cagayan- In his first season, he struggled to make it far in the game. He was on a weak tribe and was a threat to be voted out many times before it actually happened. He could have won this season if only he could gain control of the game, but he never did.

#5 Michael from Ghost Island- Some of us could have sworn that he got an edit that would be given to the underdogs who eventually win the game. But, sadly, he didn’t. He tried as hard as he could, but he just couldn’t take control of the game.

#4 JT from Heroes versus Villains and Game Changers- He keeps making dumb moves. The second time he played, he made a risky move that sought to benefit his place in the game, but it didn’t. Instead, it got him voted out with an idol that he used to have. The next time, he caused a dumb move that got his friend voted out and later got voted out after not using an idol he had on himself. People tend to take advantage of nice people and that’s why his stories the second and third around always ended in such a tragic way all the time. One can be surprised that he won the first time.

#3 Stephenie from Palau- She was able to outlast her old tribe and became the only person in the whole show’s history to outlast every member of her starting tribe. She then struggled to last in her new tribe and was voted out for being a threat. She was always struggling in the game.

#2 Rupert from any season he played- He’s so likable that he stood no chance of people letting him get to the end. But he also struggled far too much such as the third time when he was injured and had to play that way for the whole game. The fourth season was the biggest of his struggles because he had the potential to do good, but gave it up to let his way play again. He is going to get so much grief for that. Even if he hadn’t lost the very first duel, then it wouldn’t have been a wise move and is just an example of a hero who would fall on his sword.

#1 Matt from Redemption Island- If only he weren’t so honest, then he might have lasted. He made one of the dumbest moves of all time and certainly the worst move of the season. He spent a record amount of time on Redemption Island and fell short at the final duel. He probably couldn’t win Survivor because nice guys often do finish last in this show.

That’s all that I can think about for this post. I hope that I didn’t miss anyone and I hope that you and me understood why I mean by tragic hero. They are all heroes who had some sort of tragic element to their game in some way. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Other Biblical Ideas for Survivor Seasons

Well, there are some good ideas based on the bible that could be used for other seasons of the show. We don’t yet know if David versus Goliath will turn out good. But I do have some other thoughts as to what could make a thing to put in a season inspired from the bible in question.

When I had done the twists that have been done internationally that I wanted to appear in this show, one that I didn’t think would work as well was masters versus slaves where in one of the tribes, there would be women masters and male slaves while the other tribe had male masters and females slaves. Since the concept of slavery was there in Exodus and it would seem fairer if it wasn’t just one tribe was the masters and the opposing tribe was the slaves. That would be too much like the absolute failure of the rich versus poor twist. I don’t know if it would work, but I thought that I would consider the idea of it in this post.

An important theme throughout a lot of the bible is the concept of sacrifice. Imagine if after winning a reward challenge, someone on the tribe had to give up their reward in order for everyone else to get it. Or if someone had to give up their own reward for those they invited to enjoy the reward. I would not want to see it with someone being able to replace someone else being voted out, but it could make more of an interesting season to put something in there occasionally.

The failure of mankind and reason we have all this trouble in the world is due to temptation. So if they did a season where temptation was a constantly theme throughout it. Temptation challenges could be the ultimate use of a season like this. Or they could offer possible advantages to the tribe with more members before a challenge where people can get something if they sit out but then won’t be able to see what happens there. I don’t know if this would work as well as it could as I don’t want it to wind up having one advantage after another. As long as there can be a good thing done with this, then it might work.

Different things that could work would be challenges that are based after stuff talked in the bible. Could one make fire in a really wet environment? Or should there be a strength based busting things down in the way that Samson did? Trying to travel a long ways could be a good challenge. They could even do a challenge involving slingshots.

Of course, one very important thing they could do is go to a location that’s mentioned in the bible. It would be interesting seeing all different sorts of games happening in a place like Egypt. They could go to the island of Malta that was mentioned in the book of Acts. They could even go to locations that used to exist from where they are believed to be now.

Something mentioned early on was how the Israelites were nomads at one point. I thought if maybe it could be a good season if the tribes were constantly on the move from place to place. This might not work as well as it could, but maybe you would have to win the challenge to move forward to the next part of the game or vote out a member to continue.

Another thing that could be done would be a leader twist where after every tribal council, regardless of if these people went there or not, the tribe would have a new leader. What could make it even more interesting is if they aren’t allowed to vote for someone who was just the leader most recently. I think that the inspiration that I have for this is the book of Judges.

What else could work? The bible is riddled with various rules that people are expected to follow. If they did something like taking people back to how people were back then and how they were living, although that would be more of a time warp type of season. What they could do is if whoever follows the rules best or the most gets an advantage for their tribe or themselves for later in the game. There were some weird rules back then that the bible didn’t talk about that was enforced by the Pharisees or other of the leaders at the time. As for people expected to go back to something like a time warp season, that could also work as a theme.

The last thing I can think of including is a sinners versus saints season where you have those who have done bad in life and are now reformed versus those who have done a good path their whole life. I do not know if it would work and I don’t think that most sinners would want to be labeled that, even if they are considered reformed and better now.

I think that’s all I can think of for this post. I could do a list of twists that I think would be bad and that they shouldn’t do relating to biblical or religious themes. There are terrible ideas out there and I’m not sure that a time warp season even going back to an earlier time would work. Maybe I should do a post about that in the future. What year should it be like and how would it fit with the whole idea and theme of Survivor that it should generally have? And would it be needed since they generally do primitive things on this show just by putting them out in the wilderness? Sorry if I’m going off on a tangent here. I do that a lot in posts like these. Anyways, that is all. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

David versus Goliath using All Returning Players

I had promised more of random blog posts ideas that are inspired by the upcoming David versus Goliath theme of Survivor. I thought that trying to do the theme with all returning players would work well. With the David tribe, they have to be an underdog to be on the tribe even if they didn’t win and weren’t the underdog the whole time. Those who can outthink their opponents are also worthy of this tribe as well.

With the Goliath tribe, I’m picking the players thought of as stronger and some, like him, had a failure to their name that also leads them to fit in the game. Goliath probably didn’t think that he would wind up losing, but he did. I would mention alternates, but I won’t. Just know that I’m not picking any player who would be playing a fifth time. I’m picking five players from each gender for the two tribes. Now, let’s get to the list.

Males for David tribe

Chris from Vanuatu- One of the ultimate underdogs, he should have by all accounts lost the game at many different points when it happened. He certainly fits the profile of someone like David who had all the odds against him and still wound up winning the all important battle.

Yau-Man from Fiji and Micronesia- He is one of the smartest players to ever play the game. Who needs to open a box by brute force when you can just drop it on a corner to open it? He could create fire for his tribe before they ever got flint. He knew various ways to outsmart opponents and the only sad part is that they knew it and got rid of him for it.

Brett from Samoa- Who would have thought that someone entering the merge on a tribe that had twice as many players as the other tribe would wind up being the one on it making a mad dash to the end with all of his tribe on the jury? He came one challenge within winning and could have done better if only there were smarter moves made by his tribe at the beginning of the merge.

Eddie from Caramoan- Many people hate him for some odd reason, but I still think that he could have won this season if only he could have won the last challenge. He had so little blood on his hands that he was a big underdog in the season and could have done better if only he could win the last challenge. I also would like at least one fan from this season to play again.

John from Blood versus Water- The weirdness of this season made him a player that I wanted to win his way back into the game. While he ultimately fell short at the challenge that mattered most, he is still a great player that I like a lot and hope plays again.

Females for David tribe

Sylvia from Fiji- She might not be the best example of an underdog, but she did get dealt a bad hand and didn’t last long in the game. But I still think that she was one of the best examples for this tribe as she was a leader and could have lasted longer in the game.

Sierra from Tocantins- I hate how the producers put her in such a bad position due to the horrible first impressions twist. She was then put in a situation where I don’t think that she could have won the game no matter what she did. I mean, why did people hate her? Did it mean nothing that she helped set up the camp for them when they arrived? She’s such an underdog, I’ll be disappointed if she never winds up playing again, although not so much if she doesn’t want to.

Natalie from Samoa- The fact that she was on such a terrible tribe for the first part of the game makes me wonder if they could ever take control of the game. She was able to turn the tables and then she made it to the end despite an ally just thinking that she was a “dumb ass girl” whom he could just take to the end and beat. She's the one who beat him and everyone else.

Christine from South Pacific- She was another great player thanks to Redemption Island. If only Ozzy hadn’t had the sense to get rid of her, then she would have gotten back in the game instead of him. I do hope that she plays again, even if she didn’t make the merge.

Denise from Philippines- It can be shocking with all of the problems with her tribes before the merge and the fact that she attended every tribal council that she managed to win the game in the end. She is the ultimate underdog, as I said in last week’s post. And she’s quite a popular player.

Males for Goliath tribe

Rafe from Guatemala- Know that I will always be upset about the fact that they haven’t had a player originally from this season play again until it hopefully happens. He was such a good player up until his crucial mistake at the end, that his loss puts a damper on the season.

Terry from Panama and Cambodia- He was such a strong player, yet just couldn’t pull out the last victory that he needed to that would take him to the end of the season. It can even be hard to think of where he went wrong in terms of wins (outside of not winning), but he did have the failure at the end which is similar to what happened with Goliath.

Marcus from Gabon- He was so strong that he was immune up until the jury started forming when he was voted out. He also made mistakes that negated his chances of victory. For being such a strong and powerful person, he came up short when he needed to win.

Tony from Cagayan and Game Changers- This person is one of the cockiest winners in the history of this show. His second time playing was a more humbling experience. But the fact that he could be such a huge and powerful force without winning immunity (although he did have idols) is someone that would work really well on this type of season.

Domenick from Ghost Island- It can be a bit hard to pinpoint where he went wrong on this season that caused him to lose since Yanni had to break a tie. Of course, there were some problems that he had by thinking too highly of himself and playing too hard. But isn’t that what Goliath is like?

Females for Goliath tribe

Kelly from Borneo and Cambodia- Like many players, she was strong, but not what people wanted for the win. She didn’t understand the value of sticking with an alliance. She is one of the first players who would work for a season like this. She won a lot, yet lost when it mattered.

Sandra from Pearl Islands, Heroes versus Villains, and Game Changers- She is one of the best players and won twice, something no other person can (currently) claim. She was one of the best players to have never won an individual immunity challenge and yet, she’s a strong person. If people weren’t too wary of her ways, then she might have lasted the third time around instead of increasing the target on her own back. Isn’t she a strong player, though?

Ashley from Redemption Island- This may be a strange choice, but this was honestly the hardest part of the list for me to come up with examples of. I see her as a great finale choice for this list (which I have a lot of them). She was a strong player and doesn’t really have a mistake that caused her downfall. She might not have won the season if she were in the final tribal council, but she was still a fighter until the very end and who knows what would have happened if she faced Rob or could vote him out.

Kim from One World- She is one of the strongest players because it didn’t seem like she was in any real danger when she played. It’s likely that she could easily win a second time if she played again. I do not think that there was a problem she encountered, but sometimes the strong players win quite easily in the end and she was one of them.

Trish from Cagayan- I think that she is a good pick to round off the rest of this list. She was put on the right tribe in the first place, the strong tribe, and she could have lasted longer if only her allies didn’t get rid of her. But can you think of many better examples than her?

Males for David tribe: Chris from Vanuatu, Yau-Man from Fiji and Micronesia, Brett from Samoa, Eddie from Caramoan, and John from Blood versus Water. Females for David tribe: Sylvia from Fiji, Sierra from Tocantins, Natalie from Samoa, Christine from South Pacific, and Denise from Philippines. Males for Goliath tribe: Rafe from Guatemala, Terry from Panama and Cambodia, Marcus from Gabon, Tony from Cagayan and Game Changers, and Domenick from Ghost Island. Females for Goliath tribe: Kelly from Borneo and Cambodia, Sandra from Pearl Islands, Heroes versus Villains, and Game Changers, Ashley from Redemption Island, Kim from One World, and Trish from Cagayan.

There were a lot of winners that I took off of the list. I don’t know if I should have kept any of the people that I thought should have been on this list. You can comment with people that you think that I missed or were wrong about. What would your casting of this type of season be? You can let me know or just ignore this. I hoped that you liked this post. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Top Ten Underdogs

Well, there isn’t much for me to say in this post’s introduction except that I’m sorry if the time that these posts get published is later in the day than you would like. Since I don’t have to post these after the episode airs since there isn’t an episode to blog about, there is no real reason not to have these ready in advance. But as long as I can post them at a good time and on Wednesdays, then that is all that really matters in the case. Sorry if this is unneeded.

When you think about the underdogs of Survivor, you have to wonder who would be the best examples of them from the past. When I do the list, I’m not going to stick with just individuals in every case and will go with groups of people in some cases. Even if they weren’t successful in turning their fates around, they still might be worthy of the list. I hope that you enjoy.

#10 Any Ravu member from Fiji- Maybe these people shouldn’t count due to they were practically going to lose all the time before the merge due to the other tribe being more well off than them. But when it got more towards the end of the game, a lot of the people who had survived to the merge wound up going far and one of the original Ravu members wound up winning the game.

#9 Matt from Redemption Island- This poor guy struggled throughout the game due to his honesty. Some people still like him and I’m one of them. If only he were smarter. There was no problem with him before the merge episode and his first vote out was a kind of fluke. He was good for a while and won a lot of challenges to stay in the game, but just couldn’t last well.

#8 Michael from Ghost Island- His struggles were such a huge focus on the game that it sucked that it wasn’t the set up for a winner’s edit. He played his hardest despite being on tribes that always sucked. Were it not for twists that always put his side in the minority, he might have lasted longer than he did. Of course, he wouldn’t be an underdog then either.

#7 Spencer from Cagayan- He went from being on one of the worst tribes ever to continuing to fail all throughout the game. What can be a bit shocking is that he could have easily won if circumstances were different. Here he is, struggling throughout the whole game, and he almost wins it in the end.

#6 Stephenie from Palau- She outlasted every single member of her tribe. She was by herself in the end. She’s the only person to be on a tribe of one. Now you wouldn’t think that she could wind up winning the game and you’d be right. But she fought as hard as she could.

#5 The outsiders from Marquesas- They weren’t underdogs for long. The members from Maraamu soon came to realize that everyone who was always part of Rotu were going to eliminate them if they were not careful. Thus, these five players banded against the others and became the final five.

#4 The Aitu four from Cook Islands- After the mutiny happened, these people played their hardest and won every remaining challenge before the merge. With now half of the members of the other tribe, it could have been hard for these people to stay ahead. They were still in the minority at the merge, but they managed to pull ahead and win, becoming the final four.

#3 Natalie from Samoa- Maybe Brett from this season should be on the list, but I think that Natalie makes more sense. Her tribe sucked thanks to Russell Hantz’s sabotage of it. They had only four players at the merge where the other tribe had eight. But she was able to orchestrate a huge move and the victim of it did a speech as to how she should win. Like many people, she was on a terrible tribe at the start. And she was able to win in spite of it all.

#2 Chris from Vanuatu- With men versus women being ingrained in everyone’s head from the very start of it all, it seemed only logical that the six remaining women would be battling it out for the win once the last man was voted out. Only the last man never was voted out. He winded up lasting until the very end and winning the game. Who would have guessed it?

#1 Denise from Philippines- First your tribe never wins a challenge. Then, you are switched to a new tribe. After that, it sucks and you head into the merge having gone to every tribal council in the game. Some might consider you to be the ultimate underdog since you have all these problems going against you. Like everyone in the second half of this list, there was a winner out of these people who had to face such terrible circumstances and came out on top.

Well, that’s about it for this post. I’m wanting to do a lot of posts that relate to the upcoming David and Goliath theme. This is one of them. Hopefully I can come up with more and if you have any ideas that you think would work in terms of posts or what I could put in the posts, then let me know. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.