It ain't like the old days in Palau

[park_ave_teach]

As a "newbie," I am sure that those of you who have been around for a long time discussed this before and will link me and others reading this thread to the archives, but I thought this was worth mentioning again.

I became addicted to Survivor with the Season of Rupert because he was from Indiana... one of our own, so I had not watched any of the previous seasons.

My addiction is at a scary level since I just purchased my first DVD collection ever: Season One-- Richard Hatch's success story.

I cannot BELIEVE how much those first "Survivors" were given/allowed to have on the island!!! What a difference a few seasons makes!! I know that I for one, and my tweenagers who are addicted with me, were scoffing at the idea that the new tribes on Palau were given a machete... "Right, they start with NOTHING this time!" -- we guffawed.

But, compared to that first season, (and I am sure many of you will attest to later seasons), these Survivors DO have nothing!!!

A list of items that my kids and I noticed evident in Season One on Palau:
Reebok outfits and gear, including RAINCOATS!!
Sewing kits
First Aid kits
Blankets
Grass mats
Contact Solution
Their own backpacks
One "luxury" item... yet, sunglasses are not?
Sunglasses
Chicken Wire
Cooking pots (although I have seen this one repeated)
Rice (is there no rice this year?)
Plastic bags that had contained various things
Canisters that had held the rice and other supplies
And, it looked to me, like there was lots of lumber on the beach for shelter making

Anyway, I laugh at myself for scoffing when this season of Survivor started. I feel rather sorry for this group and their tattered clothing. I have to wonder about the chafing... ouch. And, I think I would give almost anything if Reebok would drop some clothing just so Angie could put her "girls" in a sports bra...

[speedbump]

Don't forget "party favors" *wink wink*. I guess they thought Rudi and Sue would hook up.

[eny]

Season One they didn't know what they were doing, and Jeff hadn't yet learned the fine art of torture. Now Markie's off with Donald , Martha and Sly, so Jeff has a free hand. Back then he was just the guy with the snuffer.

It was very much eco-challenge in one place. Product placement, Reebok etc. has always figured prominently in each season. Who can forget the starving S2 cast getting those Cool Ranch Doritos , and the Sierra Mist? Food wise the first three were the worst. Those guys starved to the point of extreme malnutrition. Elizabeth was pulling chunks of her hair out by the end of the game.

After that, the cast were placed where they could easily get food. If they starved, it was their own fault. Plus they seem to always be getting food rewards of one kind or another. No while these people aren't well dressed, they are far more spoiled. Home freakin Depot ?

[park_ave_teach]

Season One they didn't know what they were doing, and Jeff hadn't yet learned the fine art of torture.

That was the other thing I noticed. Season One's idea of "reward" was to spend time with Jeff!!! How crazy is that??? I noticed it didn't get much "air time" when the Survivors were bonding with Jeff. Maybe because it was waaaaaaay too boring???

[Miss Filangi]

I think the rewards are better, but they start out with much, much left. I mean, at least everyone had a change of clothes in the first few seasons.

I'd agree that it has been harder on more recent shows. I don't think they are given the food they once were, but instead, picking locations where food is plentiful, if you get off your butt and get it.

[Healblade]

A list of items that my kids and I noticed evident in Season One on Palau:
Reebok outfits and gear, including RAINCOATS!!
Sewing kits
First Aid kits
Blankets
Grass mats
Contact Solution
Their own backpacks
One "luxury" item... yet, sunglasses are not?
Sunglasses
Chicken Wire
Cooking pots (although I have seen this one repeated)
Rice (is there no rice this year?)
Plastic bags that had contained various things
Canisters that had held the rice and other supplies
And, it looked to me, like there was lots of lumber on the beach for shelter making

Hmm... that's one perspective. A few notes on another perspective:

1) Season One was on Pulau Tiga, off the coast of Borneo, and not to be confused with Palau (only one vowel difference, a lot of people make that mistake)

2) They always have first aid kits. They also have medical staff that must clear them as physically capable of continuing playing the game. This was mentioned a few times in Season Four (Marquesas). They are supplied with essentials like sunscreen, "the pill", and any daily medicines that the players would otherwise require outside of the game. Contact solution would fall in this category, I believe.

3) Cooking pots: Having at least one is an absolute necessity for survival. How long are they going to live if they can't boil water? Not 39 days, I assure you. This became a major moral struggle with the Drake Tribe and the "pillage the other tribe for reward" concept in Season Seven (Pearl Islands), and they ultimately decided not to take the Morgan Tribe's boiling pot.

4) Lumber: On Pulau Tiga, the contracts and what not stated that the contestants, crew, etc. could not chop down or otherwise disturb the natural fauna of the island. Thus, a modicum of building material had to be provided, albeit not handed to them, for them to be able to build a shelter.

5) Rice: This is the big difference from Pulau Tiga and the other seasons. For over half of the game, the amount of rice was largely unlimited for the contestants. Later in the season, a limit was enforced. Since then, a much smaller amount of food has been provided in seasons were the contestants could not be expected to find their own food. After all, what could the Season Three (Africa) contestants do for food? Hunt down a lion on a wildlife preserve? I don't think so, and they really did need their corn meal mush and gruel to survive. It's the same story with the rain forest in Season Six (The Amazon). Eventually, the contestants could fish for piranha somewhat, but they were supplied with a modicum of manioc flour. In Season Four (Marquesas), the contestants were shocked to find they had been provided no food whatsoever, a Survivor first, but they were in an area where they could find their own food (coconut, fruit, etc.), and they survived just fine.

6) Luxury Items: They need to bring these back. Period. These were an excellent way to gain insight into the contestants. Rob Cesternino's (Season Six, The Amazon) Magic 8-Ball and Clay Jordan's (Season Five, Thailand) golf clubs provided entertainment for both the contestants and the audience without sacrificing any of the "survival" aspect of the game. Besides, these were originally removed from the game as part of the "stranded with the clothes on your back" concept of Season Seven (Pearl Islands). There really isn't a reason not to bring them back, as long as they disallow items used for survival purposes (Parachute and Texas Flag serving as shelter roofs

7) Sewing Kits, Blankets, Grass Mats, Chicken Wire, Fishing Equipment: I agree that these made it a bit easier for the first season, especially with Richard Hatch there to catch fish so well. However, we get the trade off of having these items and really weak rewards. Remember the boycott of the final reward challenge that season? It was the one where "just a bottle of beer" was the reward after the previous "night on a yacht" reward? I, for one, am glad Mark Burnett amped up the reward to a beer and a screening of the first scene of Survivor Episode 1. Now, we also see rewards of feasts and cars and such... it almost evens out.

[park_ave_teach]

1) Season One was on Pulau Tiga, off the coast of Borneo, and not to be confused with Palau (only one vowel difference, a lot of people make that mistake)

I feel really dumb. I made assumptions... (I know "ass" "u" "me") I was thinking Season Ten -- back to the beginning... like the Real World New York...



I need to take a Geography class before they revoke my teaching license.

[Strangelove]

I heard survivors get birth control products...

The question is why? How could you possibly need that kind of stuff on a stinking island? Seriously, these people are hairy, they stink, they have bad-BO, fish-breath, they're in perpetual hunger, and not to mention they're dirty as hell. Not even a 16 year old boy's sex drive could possibly survive that.

[queenb]

I heard survivors get birth control products...

The question is why? How could you possibly need that kind of stuff on a stinking island? Seriously, these people are hairy, they stink, they have bad-BO, fish-breath, they're in perpetual hunger, and not to mention they're dirty as hell. Not even a 16 year old boy's sex drive could possibly survive that.

Think again.. after a week or so, I'm sure you get kind of used to the smells, and awfully bored. Plus, if you already sleep in one big pile....

[SQUATMAN]

I heard survivors get birth control products...

The question is why? How could you possibly need that kind of stuff on a stinking island? Seriously, these people are hairy, they stink, they have bad-BO, fish-breath, they're in perpetual hunger, and not to mention they're dirty as hell. Not even a 16 year old boy's sex drive could possibly survive that.

I wouldn't go that far....talking from personal experience.

I haven't seen cooking pots this season. Willard made a reference to not having water, as a reason for his crankiness.

Thanks for the list, park_ave_teach. I'm a Survivor 1st Timer who decided to start watching this season mainly because of the claim that the contestants were going to start out with nothing.