Yeah, you would think that Jeff would get tired of the repetition. The rules change from season to season, but Jeff’s patter never does:
“Once again, immunity is up for grabs”
“I’ll go tally the votes”
“Blue team, I got nuttin’ for ya”
It’s not a sacred ritual, Jeff – it’s ok if you don’t say the words exactly right.
Actually, he always says, “Once again, immunity is back up for grabs.”
It bothers me a little every time because it’s redundant and unnecessarily repetitive.
His nick name if “One Take Probst” and that is part of the reason. Also, they strive to get everything on the first take to keep it as “live” as possible. It’s one of the few shows that does not rely on recorded narration to describe the rules of the challenges. Probst gets those right on the first take usually and they just air his explanation to the contestants on TV.
I’m too lazy to look for the quote, but Probst commented on this some seasons ago. The way he and Burnett envision the show, they very much want to play into the “tribal” aspects of the milieu. So while it’s not exactly a sacred ritual, the concept of those little moments being ritualized by specific repetition, and therefore set in stone, is part and parcel of the producers’ intent.
Exactly. I was going to post something similar, but not as well said. Essentially, the exact repetition of the many key phrases is deliberate.