i have been a survivor fan for years now. i have watched almost all the past 16 seasons of the us version (with the exception of survivor: the australian outback because we still don't have cable subscription then and we had crappy reception for studio 23, but i still read synopsis and episode recaps in the net). survivor has been one of the best reality shows in primetime tv, and has been one of the most successful yet.
i have waited for the debut episode of the local franchise of survivor, survivor philippines. with the great billboards and teasers that they have released, it was really a show to watch for reality tv fans like me. the deput happened last night (september 15) and the countdaown was shown in almost all the shows yesterday in gma 7 (the timer really reminds me of the countdown that is used by abs cbn before the launch or the finale shows of the pinoy big brother and pinoy dream academy). with minutes ticking away and commercials of the shown being shown every 10 minutes or so, anticipation and excitement was really triggered to the max.
the show opened with a survey of the location. the devil's island in southern thailand, which it was called, was previously inhabited by pirates and has been notorious for its wild and unforgiving environment and creatures. the location is the typical tropical location, an island with great beaches and prestine waters. location wise, it was a great location, perfect for the first season of the show.
the next scene shows the castaways arriving to the location on board a fishing vessel. another boat welcomes them with the host, paolo bediones. he instructed the castaways to jump to the waters and swim to shore. they can use the life vests scattered in the waters. it's a race to the shore, with a reward for the first one to reach the beach. the swim proved to be a hard one. some even had cramps and some grouped to work as a team. during the swim, the profiles of each of the contestants were shown.it was jace (the gym instructor) who reached shore first, followed by zita (the laundrywoman) and jc (the basketball jock). the castaways then started reaching shore one by one.
after that, paolo welcomed the castaways to the island and grouped them into 2 tribes: jarakay (the men's tribe) and naak (the women's tribe), which means crocodile and snake in thai language, respectively. tribe colors were blue for jarakay and red for naakthey were also given a trunk full of the things they need for their stay in the island. they also learned that as a reward for jace being the first man on the beach, his tribe will occupy the larger camp.
they then proceed to the reward challenge. all of the tribe members will be chained together except for one who will serve as the keykeeper and puzzle solver. the chained members would sprint to a pole and cross the pole without their feet touching the ground. they would then go to a pole where the first set of keys is attached. upon reaching the pole, the key keeper would unlock the first set of locks. after this station, there would be 4 pairs chained tofether per tribe. they would then go up a platform and traverse a zip line. after the 4 pairs are finished, the keykeeper would then unlock the last set of locks, freeing all the tribemates. the tribemates would go to a rope web one by one to retrieve 8 puzzle pieces tied to the ropes. after all the puzzle pieces are retrieved, the team would give the pieces to the puzzle solver. first team to solve the puzzle wins reward. reward is materials for the shelter.
as expected, the boys had the earlier, sprinting through the course with ease. they were first to the zip line. the girls slightly made ground at the rope web. but what gave the boys the advantage was that they first retrieved the puzzle pieces that are farthest. the boys had a big advantage and started the puzzle way ahead of the girls. but they had difficulty on solving the puzzles. the girls were able to catch up a bit and the challenge now depends on the puzzle makers. the boys were able to solve the puzzle first. jarakay wins.
the rewards were given to jarakay; a larger camp site and materials for the shelter. the losing tribe was also punished by being chained by pairs until the next challenge. they were then instructed to proceed to their respective camps. naak, given the smaller camp arrived first on their camp site. they immediately explored the area, decided where they would put up the shelter, looked for materials for their shelter and were able to find their water hole. on the other hand, jarakay, who was given the larger camp arrived at their camp later and it was already dark. they were not able to do anything and decided to call the day quits. both tribe had difficulty sleeping during their first night, due to the insects and cold weather. the episodes ends here.
let me comment on the pilot episode on different aspects. each aspect would be rated on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the highest.
first is the location. the location is great, great beaches with crystal clear water. the history of the islands (pirate story) also gave it an edge. the snakes, sharks and crocodiles shown also gave it a feel of adventure (i wonder if the cast aways would encounter such creatures). a typical tropical survivor location, much like borneo or pearl island. this location is very close to pearl islands, due to the terrain, environment, weather and pirate history. but i think it would have been better if the first season of survivor philippines was shot in our homeland. survivor japan already shot a season in siquijor. last year, survivor france shot a season in caramoan. i think they can find a suitable location with the same environment here in the country amongst the 7,100 plus islands. i would give this aspect a 3 out of a possible 5.
second, the opening credits and music. the opening credits was a bit lame. maybe due to the monotone background music. as compared to the opening music of the us version, the local music lacks the highs in the beats that would make your heart pound the first time you hear it. the opening credits which introduces the survivor also was quite boring, too dragging and lacks excitement. i would give this aspect a 2 out of a possible 5.
third, the cast aways. a survivor season is only as good as its cast. they would give you all the drama and the shows excitement through their clashing personalities, triumphs and conflicts. the casting crew gave us a good mix of people, from ordinary peolple (a laundry woman, a yaya, a waiter), people from the urban areas and the city (the call center agent, business woman), models and athletes. its a common strategy for the initial season of reality shows to include recognizeable celebrities to get audience share. for this season, celebrities include veronica, the bemedalled taekwondo champ; jc, the basketball jock and jon, who is tagged as a "mechanic" but is a folded and hung model. the males looks almost the same, great looks with great bodies. i still need to watch more for their personalities. for this aspect i give them a 4 out of a possible 5.
fourth, the host. jeff probst is definitely a tough act to follow. so many people were elated when gma 7 announced that survivor philippines' host is paolo bediones. with his vast hosting experience with extra extra, s files and extra challenge to name a few, he really has an advantage. but surprisingly, he did poorly on the pilot episode. he sounded monotonous, far from the up beat tone he previously has. he sounded nervous, i don't know why. i hated it when he instructed the cast aways to jump to the water, his spiel goes something like this: "hanggang dito na lang ang fishing boat na sinasakyan nyo. kinakailangan nyong tumalon sa tubig at lumangoy papuntang pampang... (a long silence) ito ay isang unahan." its sounds lame and it seems that he forgot his line due to the long pause. i also hated his voice over during the swim to the beach. he sounded amateur. for this aspect, i would give the show a passing mark, 3 out of a possible 5. i know paolo can do a better job.
fifth, the tribes. the cast aways were divided into 2 tribes, jarakay and naak. they were divided by gender; jarakay is the men's tribe and naak is the women's tribe. this is the same grouping that the survivor amazon used. its okay but i would prefer to see a mixed tribe to establish dynamics and prefer to see this grouping on a later season. for this i give the show a 3 out of a possible 5.
sixth, the reward challenge. the challenge was a grueling one. i already saw the attributes of the race in different challenges in the us version. it was a good challenge, a lengthy challenging one that combines physical endurance and mental toughness. the props were also good, with the exception probably of the puzzle pieces (because the puzzles from the us version really looks better). i have yet to see the immunity challenge but as of now, i would give this aspect 4 out of a possible 5.
seventh, airing schedule. survivor philippines is shown every day at the primetime slot at about a little past 9pm in the evening. since it is shown every night, some days i would assume would not have challenges shown but will showcase the group dynamics of the tribes. its like stretching a single episode of the us version from 1 hour to 5 hours and chop it to 5 episodes. what does a survivor fan wait for in a good survivor episode? its definitely great group dynamins, a great reward & immunity challenge, lots of schemming and back fighting and an awesome tribal council. this would definitely not be all shown in a single episode, which most survivor fans don't like. imagine watching reward challenge on monday, group dynamics on tuesday, immunity challenge on wednesday, scheming to survive on thursday and tribal council on friday. it would be boring to wait for such a long time for the tribal council. for this aspect, i give them a 2 out of a possible 5.
and lastly, editing. a good episode mainly relies on good editing. its the ability to scan which scenes to show and how to integrate them for the viewers to easily understand the flow and making it look cohesive. i think this is the slowest paced survivor show i ever saw. editing was not good, some scenes are boring and shiftings from one scene to the other was also not good. this was also the case in the early episodes of the amazing race asia, which drastically improved as time goes by. i hope this would also happen to survivor philippines. for this aspect, i would give the show 2 out of a possible 5.
all in all, out of a possible 40 points, the show earned 23. still on the average range and lots of room for improvement. i was really disappointed about the pilot episode since survivor is a very good material and the production really failed miserably. there are so many episodes to go, i hope they would improve. i would still be watching the show but most of my colleagues were very disappointed already that they decided that they would not continue watching at all. i think the show needs to go back to drawing board and look on how to win back their lost audience. it critical to amuse the fans on your pilot episode and i think it did not happened here. leasson learned... hope gma 7 does damage control.
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