On Sept. 25,Survivorwill premiere its 39th season:Island of the Idols.
No doubt the show will debut a new twist at some point along the way.
Perhaps it will be genius.
CBS
Perhaps it will fall flat.
Some of the twists unveiled have had a major, permanent impact on the game.
Others have come and gone.
CBS
Some of the twists are universally regarded as major successes.
Others, not so much.
They are willing to try twists out knowing that they very well may fail.
Instead of playing it safe, they venture out of the old and into the bold!
Prepare to vehemently disagree!
The Fake MergeThe game ofSurvivoris also a game of cat and mouse between players and producers.
The most glorious example of this occurred onSurvivor: Thailand.
Up until that point, every single season ofSurvivorhad featured a merge when 10 players were remaining.
I certainly didnt say anything to give you that impression, did I?
But only once did any players actually take Probst up on the offer.
And it was amazing.
That left their previous tribemates at an 8-4 numbers disadvantage.
It also gave viewers clear underdogs to root for and villains to root against.
The Idol NullifierThe first immunity idol canceling twist actually showed up in an international edition:Australian Survivor.
But the Aussies made it way too easy.
In that iteration, you could cancel out anyones hidden immunity idol after the idol had been played.
But once it was imported over forSurvivor: David vs. Goliath, you had to be a lot savvier.
Not only that, but you had to name the exact person you were using the Nullifier on.
Juror RemovalThis is perhaps the cruelest twist inSurvivorhistory.
Which is why it is so genius.
Evil genius, perhaps, but genius nonetheless.
Getting voted out ofSurvivorstinks.
But not if your name is Neal Gottlieb.
Poor Neal didnt even get voted out!
He was medically evacuated ofSurvivor: Kaoh Rongon day 19 due to an infection.
But at least he could still cast a vote for who should be the Sole Survivor.
Or so he thought.
And the best part about it is that producers havenotused it every season.
(Sometimes in life all it’s possible for you to do is laugh or cry.)
Honestly, I still dont even quite understand the point of it.
The Outcasts/Redemption Island/Edge of ExtinctionTheSurvivorvote-off is one of the most powerful moments on all of television.
But it gets a little less powerful when it means you arent actually out of the game.
Dividing the Tribes by EthnicityDoes anything else need to be said?
The Haves vs. Have NotsSurvivor: Fijitried out a novel concept.
But novel does not mean successful.
Watching a tribe with all the advantages continue to pile on did not seem exactly fair.
Or fun to watch.
