Survivor (Season 42): Life, the Universe... and Everything!

[Timewalker]

Sorry, couldn't resist adding that last part to the thread title.

Start date: Tonight, March 9

Here is a list of the cast and their photos.

Two of the cast are Canadian. Could we strike twice in a row?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

It's a shame to lose Jackson like that. But, not disclosing to the producers that you changed medications to one that practically has a warning label that says "Warning: Appearing on Survivor will almost certainly kill you", I'm not sure what he was thinking.

There's a few players this year that are very clearly not cut out for this. Lydia for one, and Tori seems to think she's using her super therapist powers to control everyone and everyone just sees completely through it immediately.

 

[Timewalker]

I'm going to have to rewatch this, since I was watching in bed and dozed off here and there.

 

[DigificWriter]

Everybody should go read Jackson's exit interview with Parade's Mike Bloom:
https://parade.com/1349520/mikebloom/jackson-fox-survivor-42-interview/

 

[Timewalker]

So a combination of bad judgment and bad luck. Hopefully they can work it out so he gets another chance in a future season.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ I don't think it's fair to call an honest mistake - borne out of trust and medical consultation - in filling out medication forms 'bad judgment'.

I do agree that Jackson should get the chance to play again, but fear that public misconceptions about what happened and this perception that Jackson intentionally lied to Survivor's producers are going to put the kibosh on that.

 

[Timewalker]

As I said, I didn't see that part of the episode. If he made a mistake, that's one thing. If he deliberately lied, that's another.

In terms of people who get on the show and then pull some stunt, do you think this ranks as the worst? I would say the worst is Colton, the rich crybaby who rageflounced not once, but twice. I doubt he ever had any intention of honestly trying to compete.

 

[Timewalker]

How about that first Immunity challenge. A real backbreaker, that one.

At that level this game is no longer worth a measly million dollar prize, imo. Unless the prize is given including taxes paid.

https://gamingsection.net/news/how-much-is-1-million-after-taxes/

Do you feel it is time to increase the prize amount?

I'm curious about how this affects Canadian contestants. Prize and lottery winnings aren't taxable here.

As for whether several hundred thousand USD is fair for spending a month and a half playing a game... maybe if they had smaller prizes up for grabs now and then, the way Big Brother sometimes tosses someone a $5000 prize in a Veto contest, or how The Amazing Race will sometimes have a cash prize for winning a leg of the race?

But aren't Survivor players paid something no matter where they end up? The big prizes are $1 million and $100,000, but I do recall reading that there's a sliding scale for everyone else so nobody leaves with nothing.

 

[DigificWriter]

@Timewalker Colton had some serious mental issues that mitigated things for me, but I do get why people might not be able to see past the surface of how he acted.

 

[Timewalker]

@Timewalker Colton had some serious mental issues that mitigated things for me, but I do get why people might not be able to see past the surface of how he acted.

Well, other than suffering from affluenza and bigotry and thinking the universe revolves around him, I can't pinpoint anything.

Do they not have anyone on staff vetting the potential players for psychological issues before they're cast? After all these years, they should.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Don't forget Brandon Hantz. The only one worse than Colton. Colton was an entitled asshole, but you never got the feeling he'd ever be violent. I think Colton did go into the game intending to compete in genuine, but the first setback he didn't know how to handle it.

I can empathize with Colton a little bit, because I believe the people around him never supported his sexual orientation, so the slightest feeling that he's surrounded by people against him brings up bad memories and puts him in fight or flight mode. So I can forgive him for quitting, but he's still responsible for his treatment of other people.

I wouldn't compare Jackson to either of them in any sense. He's a genuine good guy, who just made a short sighted decision vis a vis his medication.

I would TOTALLY do Survivor, the only thing stopping me besides probably not being interesting enough to cast is not being able to leave my job for three months.

 

[DigificWriter]

Like Colton, Brandon Hantz had mental health issues that mitigate his behavior for me.

The 'worst ever' people for me are Richard Hatch (actually committed crimes), Jeff Varner (transphobic as heck), and IotI Dan (creep with zero boundaries).

 

[Timewalker]

Okay, I've finally seen the entire episode. It looks like a lot of footage of Jackson being sick was not shown, so it looked like it came out of the blue. And it wasn't announced as a medical-related reason for his leaving, so wouldn't that leave the other tribes wondering wtf was going on?

This is the first time in ages that we're not shown anyone specifically looking for an idol.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Like Colton, Brandon Hantz had mental health issues that mitigate his behavior for me.

The 'worst ever' people for me are Richard Hatch (actually committed crimes), Jeff Varner (transphobic as heck), and IotI Dan (creep with zero boundaries).

Where do you draw the line though between holding people responsible for their own actions and letting them off the hook because of mental health issues? There are millions of people out there with mental health issues who make better choices not to harm other people because of it. I haven't heard anything about Jeff Varner and how transphobic he is, but you could equally argue, maybe that's the way he was raised. So he's responsible for his transphobia, but Brandon Hantz isn't responsible for threatening actual violence?

They're adults who make choices to hurt people.

Did Richard Hatch commit any violent crimes or just tax evasion? I guess what he did to Sue was pretty awful. Thinking it's not sexual assault because he happens to be gay. I don't remember Dan.

 

[DigificWriter]

^ I said that Colton and Brandon Hantz's mental health issues mitigated their behavior; I didn't say that their mental health problems excused their behavior.

Re: Varner, the fact that he's a gay man means he's got no excuses for being transphobic and outing Zeke on national television, and the fact that he doesn't (or didn't) understand why doing what he did was wrong makes things even worse for him.

Re: Hatch, being convicted of a federal crime gives you little sympathy regardless of whether or not the crime you committed was violent.

Re: IotI Dan, he's the guy who got himself evicted from Survivor because he was sexually harassing and assaulting female castaways.

 

[Timewalker]

So was it reasonable to vote out Zach (unanimously!) for reasons of being inept and/or lazy, or did he also have a crappy social game? Sounds like everyone, including the take-a-chance thing, considered him worthless.

 

[DigificWriter]

So happy that Maryanne didn't get voted out and is still in the game.

Also, I'm now officially digging both Jonathan and Omar, the former of whom is, as of now, giving me serious John Morrison (DvG John) vibes.

 

[Timewalker]

Obviously the moral of this time around is that if you get any advantage, even if it's just a third of one, STFU ABOUT IT.

I don't remember how this all turned out last time. Did any of them get to actually use the thing once everyone had said their ridiculous phrases?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Oh, did you mean John Penner, not Jeff Varner?

He seemed like he made an ignorant mistake, and felt bad for it immediately.

Law is not the same as morality. But Richard Hatch rubbed his penis on Sue without her permission thinking his sexual orientation made it okay, so for that reason I will agree he’s awful.

I like Maryanne a lot but she is not good at this game. I just want to meet her IRL. And vote her the fan prize. There’s no obvious favorites so far.

 

[DigificWriter]

@JirinPanthosa I don't recall Varner showing all that much contrition, or didn't believe in its sincerity if he did, and he's still the first person ever actually evicted from the game because of his own actions.

Re: Maryanne, it sounds to me like you aren't seeing that there are levels to her beyond her weirdness and infectious personality, so what I would say is 'wait and see' before you completely write her off.