# Survivor 05/07/2003 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865 "2003-05-03T15:59:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/81 "2003-05-09T21:35:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\*So one reality TV participant struggling for an additional 15 minutes of fame who put his time in on another completely different network and completely different premise is a good source on how Survivor is run? > > Why not just read or listen to interviews of past Survivor contestants? They’ll say basically the same thing, and that there is a lot of producer manipulation in the form of retakes during challenges, heavy editing (what? You think we assume we see everything that happens in a 3 day period in one hour? Right.) > > But if you’re looking for coincidences to justify your conclusion, why do you ignore and disregard basic physics? > > REGARDLESS of all that, I’m still going to ask you again: What do the producers possibly have to gain by setting that fire? > > They didn’t gain any ratings from it, because they didn’t hype it up during the commercials. This wasn’t a “A Very Special” Survivor episode. \*\* Calm down. Fact is, neither of us knows what truly happens behind the scenes of Survivor and it’s just as foolish to pronounce yourself as correct without considering alternative scenarios. Perhaps I came across as believing that my opinion was a fact, but that was not the intention (the insignificant portions of time I have to formulate responses do not permit me to review my posts with a fine tooth comb, as you seem to have). It is ignorant for you to assume you’re more correct than I. Second, while it is true they didn’t “hype” the fire (as that would only add further fuel to the speculation), there’s no doubt in my mind that it hasn’t contributed to water cooler talk, etc, thus potentially expanding Survivor’s ever important audience (especially with the Season final this Sunday)! I would just appreciate it if you were a bit more becoming seeing as how it’s just a TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/82 "2003-05-09T21:40:16Z")
:rolleyes: Whatever, skaterboarder. Cynicism is a good thing in healthy doses, just don’t OD on it. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/83 "2003-05-09T21:42:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Realhoops \* > \*\*I agree the fire wasn’t set by the producers, but there were actually _no_ Survivors around to watch the fire, right? I mean, it occurred while they were all gone to the reward challenge, right? > Anyway… I’m just curious about how it went out… I wonder if the producers let it burn up their stuff and then put it out or if it also went out naturally. Wonder if they’ll cover that on Sunday night. \*\* The fire went out because it ran out of dried palm fronds and dried firewood to burn. Everything else in the camp is probably green wood and waterlogged from the daily rainstorms. No mystery, no conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/84 "2003-05-09T21:49:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Munch \* > \*\*:rolleyes: > > Whatever, skaterboarder. Cynicism is a good thing in healthy doses, just don’t OD on it. \*\* When did I pronounce it wasn’t? But there are more civilized ways of providing a counter opinion without posting assumptions of things that I did nor did not consider (Looks at “basic physics” portion). ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/85 "2003-05-09T22:30:08Z")
Regarding the fire-building competition: What I meant was usually they have to build fire from scratch (rubbing two sticks together, using someone’s glasses) when they get to their camps in the beginning. In other years, they don’t get matches or any help till the first TC when they get lit torches to take back to camp. This year they got flint, steel and kerosene because it was so wet in the Amazon TPTB gave them a break and let them have an easy way to make fire. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/86 "2003-05-09T22:36:18Z")
I taped _The Early Show_ this morning and just now watched it. To give the Devil his due, I have to admit HeiDDi looked really good, drool-worthy even. She cleans up nice. She even distracted me from my habitual ogling of Julie Chen, and that’s saying something. The viewers’ called-in questions were really angry and accusatory. I’ve never heard such hostility toward a _Survivor_ castoff before. Not that she didn’t deserve it, of course. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/87 "2003-05-09T22:53:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by John Mace \* > Heidi was on Howard Stern this morning. [Here’s a transcript](http://www.mediafiends.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2015), sorta. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/88 "2003-05-10T01:33:46Z")
The only thing I could think when I saw the pre-vote speech from HeiDuh was that the other had all said similar things that we weren’t getting to see due to creative editing. I mean, seriously, wtf was she thinking otherwise? Anyone heard any more news on her getting canned? ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/89 "2003-05-10T03:00:02Z")
> [@](#): > > When Matt and Rob got back from their reward, I was thinking, “Man, I hope Matt stashed away a shirt somewhere.” (He must have, because he was wearing one later). Don’t have it on tape, but I’m pretty sure he had one tied around his waist at the reward challenge. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/90 "2003-05-10T06:47:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\ ***vandal** , Jenna turned into a whore on the very first episode, when she said (paraphrasing) that she had intended to use her boobs as a ticket to the finals. (She was upset that the teams were broken up by gender, interfering with this “plan.”) \*\* Oh, okay. I just thought _whore_ was akin to _slut_, in that, a woman has no shame in who she chooses to sleep with. I didn’t think any of that was going on in the show with her. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b782af/32.png) [@The\_Wrong\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Wrong_Girl)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/91 "2003-05-10T12:33:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vandal \* > \*\*I just thought _whore_ was akin to _slut_, in that, a woman has no shame in who she chooses to sleep with. I didn’t think any of that was going on in the show with her. \*\* Well, that was happening, as well. Jenna clearly has no shame in whom she chooses to sleep with. I mean, did you _see_ her and Heidi spooning on this week’s show? Ick! No shame, no shame! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/92 "2003-05-10T18:48:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by skaterboarder87 \* > \*\*Calm down. Fact is, neither of us knows what truly happens behind the scenes of Survivor and it’s just as foolish to pronounce yourself as correct without considering alternative scenarios. Perhaps I came across as believing that my opinion was a fact, but that was not the intention (the insignificant portions of time I have to formulate responses do not permit me to review my posts with a fine tooth comb, as you seem to have). It is ignorant for you to assume you’re more correct than I. > > Second, while it is true they didn’t “hype” the fire (as that would only add further fuel to the speculation), there’s no doubt in my mind that it hasn’t contributed to water cooler talk, etc, thus potentially expanding Survivor’s ever important audience (especially with the Season final this Sunday)! I would just appreciate it if you were a bit more becoming seeing as how it’s just a TV show. \*\* I don’t think they really went to the Amazon. I think they’re on a Hollywood set. Check out the shadows, and you’ll see there are multiple light sources. Also, notice that they never show the sky. Why not? Because there isn’t one. As for the fire, if you freeze the frames and examine them individually with a chromatic analyzer, adjust the gamma level up 37%, reverse the image, and invert the saturation — you can tell the fire doesn’t look quite right. I think they burned a minature model. (Also, the flames are the wrong color for dried palm fronds.) ---
**Author:** ![skaterboarder87](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@skaterboarder87](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skaterboarder87)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865/93 "2003-05-10T22:21:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Libertarian \* > \*\*I don’t think they really went to the Amazon. I think they’re on a Hollywood set. Check out the shadows, and you’ll see there are multiple light sources. Also, notice that they never show the sky. Why not? Because there isn’t one. As for the fire, if you freeze the frames and examine them individually with a chromatic analyzer, adjust the gamma level up 37%, reverse the image, and invert the saturation — you can tell the fire doesn’t look quite right. I think they burned a minature model. (Also, the flames are the wrong color for dried palm fronds.) \*\* HIOOOO! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-05-07-2003/172865.md?page=4)