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Segregated “Survivor,” plus or minus?
The segregation twist announced for the 13th edition of “Survivor” already has accomplished what CBS and creator Mark Burnett wanted — buzz and hype for a reality show currently perceived as worn and weary.
This week we found out that the latest version of “Survivor,” scheduled to arrive Sept. 14 from the Cook Islands in the South Pacific, will divide the 20 contestants into four teams along racial and ethnic lines.
There will be blacks, Asians, Latinos and plain-old whites competing — at least in the first part of the season. As voting off the island proceeds, the teams eventually will merge, and color lines will disappear.
Burnett, the mega-producer from England, has said this social experiment in fake reality just might have a positive effect on race relations reality. He did not follow up that statement by predicting that elephants will fly, but he could have done so with equal credibility.
In another of the gazillion interviews Burnett has conducted this week to promote “Survivor,” he also made the following statement: “In America today, I really don’t believe there are many people who hate each other because of their race”.
Again, elephants could very well take flight.
Reaction among fans on the Internet ranges from suspicion to disgust. For the most part, people see the segregation twist as a blatant attempt to curtail the ratings decline that “Survivor” suffered last time out. The Panama-set series averaged a series low 16.8 million viewers each week. Even with that little swoon, “Survivor” is still the most-watched reality show on TV.
Host Jeff Probst weighed in with his opinions on the flap in a Q&A blog on The Slug.
“This is an equal opportunity game,” says Probst. “Twenty people are given the same materials, the same odds of winning a million dollars.”
The goal, of course, is for sparks to fly. Maybe it will be interesting, but more likely it will be a manufactured version of reality, which is what reality shows are anyway. This one just has the potential to be more excruciating to watch than others.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Reality TV
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By Barbara
August 25, 2006 07:51 PM | Link to this
"For the most part, people see the segregation twist as a blatant attempt to curtail the ratings decline that 'Survivor' suffered last time out."
Um, hello - that's what TV's about - ratings. Was anyone under the misnomer that Survivor was created to help solve world hunger?
~Barbara
http://babas.typepad.com
By Mary
August 25, 2006 12:50 PM | Link to this
Much ado about nothing.