I have seen a lot of reviews stating that this is fake and that there's no way that the castaways are living by themselves. The fact that they don't realize is that most fans of the show are aware of this. We know that there's camera crew, and a medical team waiting for if anything were to happen. And as far as the show being scripted, that simply makes no sense. For one, it's illegal for a reality show to be scripted in the United States. In addition, numerous castaways (Russell Hantz, Rupert Boneham) have had early exits, despite being ratings magnets. Take Heroes vs. Villains for example. You would think that to boost the ratings, if it were scripted, one of the fan-favourite Heroes would win, to bring in the ratings and please the fans. What happened? Not a single hero made it into the top four. Take the numerous medical evacuations. Watch one and look at the other castaways' faces (Skupin's in particular). Tell me it's scripted. The only things close to the show being scripted was in Season 1 (It's at season 40 now, and no such thing has happened since) when Stacey Stillman claimed that Mark Burnett (Executive Producer) had asked several castaways to vote out Stacey instead of Rudy Boesch. The other situation was when in Fiji, only one castaway actually applied for the show. Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary has occured.
In addition to Heroes vs. Villains, many seasons had non-favorable winners. Such seasons include Edge of Extinction, Game Changers, Kaoh Rong, Worlds Apart, San Juan Del Sur, South Pacific, Nicaragua, Samoa, Gabon, Panama, Guatemala, All-Stars, Pearl Islands, The Amazon, Thailand, and Marquesas had less than favorable winners. Hell, Jeff Probst almost quit the show after Gabon because he thought the show had reached it's end.
But, after all of that, what truly makes this show great? The suspense, survival aspect and sense of character really make this show something great and something to remember. I walk away from each episode either mad or happy, but I think about it for a while afterwards. It sticks in your mind. It's evolved so much since Borneo. This show is really, in all honesty, the saving grace for CBS reality shows. The Amazing Race's ratings have been poor for a while, and Big Brother is only around in the summertime. In addition, the format of Big Brother makes it more difficult to get into.
At the end of it all, Survivor is a fantastic show, and I highly recommend watching it. Most of the people writing the bad reviews have most likely not seen more than a couple of episodes, or are discussing Island of the Idols. Island of the Idols did have some political issues brought into it, but for me, that just shows how real it really is. Situations on Survivor match situations experienced in the real world. Just because they're on a remote island doesn't mean that they aren't affected by the world around us. I agree with some people that the show could've handled it better. But, at the end of it all, Dan was removed and served some time in jail. In addition, the castaways featuring in Winners at War were all informed of a strict new ruleset detailing new rules about inappropriate behavior. But, at the end of it all, it's a game. It's meant to entertain, and it suceeds tremendously at that. And that's what makes the show great.
But, after all of that, what truly makes this show great? The suspense, survival aspect and sense of character really make this show something great and something to remember. I walk away from each episode either mad or happy, but I think about it for a while afterwards. It sticks in your mind. It's evolved so much since Borneo. This show is really, in all honesty, the saving grace for CBS reality shows. The Amazing Race's ratings have been poor for a while, and Big Brother is only around in the summertime. In addition, the format of Big Brother makes it more difficult to get into.
At the end of it all, Survivor is a fantastic show, and I highly recommend watching it. Most of the people writing the bad reviews have most likely not seen more than a couple of episodes, or are discussing Island of the Idols. Island of the Idols did have some political issues brought into it, but for me, that just shows how real it really is. Situations on Survivor match situations experienced in the real world. Just because they're on a remote island doesn't mean that they aren't affected by the world around us. I agree with some people that the show could've handled it better. But, at the end of it all, Dan was removed and served some time in jail. In addition, the castaways featuring in Winners at War were all informed of a strict new ruleset detailing new rules about inappropriate behavior. But, at the end of it all, it's a game. It's meant to entertain, and it suceeds tremendously at that. And that's what makes the show great.