# Survivor Valentine's Day! Love is in the air... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 14, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667 "2008-02-14T22:32:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/41 "2008-02-15T21:51:24Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] There were times last night when I would have sworn that the “fans” had never seen the show before. Except for their bizarre reactions when they meet up with the “favourites”. The fawning reactions are kind of squicky. That said: Why oh why wouldn’t they figure out how to light a fire with flint BEFORE they go so that you don’t use half the flint trying to get a fire lit for the first time? Why wouldn’t you spend some time figuring out how to build a shelter? Why wouldn’t you realize that the game is as much social as physical? That camp was probably the most chaotic I can recall seeing on the show. [/QUOTE] Yup. And (as has been said) the right strategy at this early point in the game is to vote out the weak players, not to make a power-play. These people are supposed to be the “super fans”, but they’re making the same mistakes that have been made in every season. It was just stupid beyond belief to go for breaking up a budding romance, rather than vote out the demonstrably weakest player. I predict right now that there will be no fans in the final four. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/42 "2008-02-15T21:55:39Z")
A question about Johnny Rotten’s voting himself out last week: It has always been my understanding that when someone is voted out, they don’t get to go home. They have to stay at the production hotel until the game is over. This makes sense to me; if people went home as they were voted out, the folks at home would have knowledge of how the show went, which Burnett wants to avoid. So Johnny Jerkoff’s point that he wanted to be voted off so he could go home and see his girlfriend (wife?) and daughter didn’t make any sense. Am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/43 "2008-02-15T22:04:57Z")
I’ve just been reading the Television Without Pity Survivor forum on this week’s episode, and noted one thing there that hasn’t been mentioned here yet. Apparently though she didn’t win the show, being booted didn’t hurt Mary’s (Mary? who?) personal life. After being doomed to spend time with Johnny Fairplay at Loser’s Lodge, he introduced her (read “set up”) to another former survivor once the show was over. She and Ryan O from Survivor Pearl Islands are already engaged, and apparently planning their wedding. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/44 "2008-02-15T22:06:44Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] She and Ryan O from Survivor Pearl Islands are already engaged, and apparently planning their wedding. [/QUOTE] That has “everlasting love” written all over it. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/45 "2008-02-15T22:17:13Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] That has “everlasting love” written all over it. [/QUOTE] I hear ya. As pink frosting on the wedding cake, apparently Lex from Africa and All Stars is going to be performing the wedding ceremony. I did like Ryan O on Pearl Islands though, as a person, if not a player. I remember him with the pelican on the beach. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/46 "2008-02-15T22:23:02Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] I hear ya. As pink frosting on the wedding cake, apparently Lex from Africa and All Stars is going to be performing the wedding ceremony. I did like Ryan O on Pearl Islands though, as a person, if not a player. I remember him with the pelican on the beach. [/QUOTE] He’s a local guy, for me. I actually met him a few times-- a real nice guy. And Lex lives right over the hill (Santa Cruz is less than 20 miles away), so there is a local connection between the two. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/47 "2008-02-15T22:28:32Z")
I still fondly remember “Little Rhino”… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/48 "2008-02-15T22:31:11Z")
Yeah, he wasn’t the best player in the world, but he did suffer the fate of being the strong, young guy everyone was afraid of competing with after the merge. Still, a good player (like Fireman Tom) forges a strong alliance to make sure that doesn’t happen. Ryan O was a lot younger than Tom, though, so it’s not too surprising that the older guy was also wiser. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/49 "2008-02-15T22:35:20Z")
He was also stuck with a sucky tribe: Lill, Osten, and Savage, etc. One of the worst, ever, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/50 "2008-02-15T23:27:00Z")
[QUOTE=squeegee] Sure, but the producers do seem to mix this up intentionally – last season, Courtney was loved by the camera early on (but then, how could they _not_ use her snippy little comments), and she ended up in F3. [/QUOTE] Good point. You’re right, they’re wising up. I saw Probst in an interview on MSNBC the other night, and he pretty much conceded that they release certain misinformation to counter real spoilers that get out there. I like that they take an interest in their fandom. My only complaint at this point is that they should be filming in HD wide-screen. It would be great to see the exotic places, not to mention how filthy and bug-bitten the players really are. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/51 "2008-02-16T02:19:45Z")
[QUOTE=Frostillicus] I never understand why someone would read a thread that discusses what happened on a show that they intend to watch at a later time. 😕 [/QUOTE] Because I started the thread, and thought I’d drop in when I got home… without stopping to think what time it was. No mystery, really. > [@Green Bean](#): > > Jesus, Astroboy! This issue has been discussed and DECIDED over and over. > > There’s no reason why the east coasters should have to do something extra and make the whole thread annoying and difficult to read just because you (apparently) don’t have enough self control to just not open the thread for a couple of hours. Well, I guess I must have missed it over and over then. Excuuuusse me! 😛 I made a simple request; if it was out of line, so be it… no need for over-reaction. Back to the snark about the topic, please! ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/52 "2008-02-16T02:55:38Z")
Oh come on, you have to admit that calling you a “wah-wah-west coaster” was pretty good. Right? Bueller? ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/53 "2008-02-16T03:17:09Z")
[QUOTE=PastAllReason] That said: Why oh why wouldn’t they figure out how to light a fire with flint BEFORE they go so that you don’t use half the flint trying to get a fire lit for the first time? Why wouldn’t you spend some time figuring out how to build a shelter? [/QUOTE] I never get that part either. If you know you want to go in Survivor, why not spend hours practicing some of the basic skills you see on the show? I don’t think anyone expects you to be some sort of expert but once you get picked surely there’s time to practice making fire? The fans are not impressing me at all so far. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2008, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/54 "2008-02-16T04:15:20Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Good point. You’re right, they’re wising up. I saw Probst in an interview on MSNBC the other night, and he pretty much conceded that they release certain misinformation to counter real spoilers that get out there. I like that they take an interest in their fandom. [/quote] Me, too. I was also surprised how much time they spent in the Favorites camp before the IC/RC, and then the Fans team won. They’re definitely switching up, which is great – keep me guessing, I’m fine with that. As long as they’re consistent at what they show me; I’m not sure where the line is where the editing would piss me off. They’ve crossed that line a number of times, but I think they are aware of this and try not to be too unfair in the editing. > [@](#): > > My only complaint at this point is that they should be filming in HD wide-screen. It would be great to see the exotic places, not to mention how filthy and bug-bitten the players really are. Agreed. HD cameras can’t be that expensive these days, even for pro gear (more likely its “cheap” in the same ballpark that SD equipment is, which is still really expensive but not out of the ordinary for a weekly show). Is Survivor shot on film? I’m not sure, but it has that look. However, they do use a lot of probably expensive special gear, like the cameras they use at night, and stop motion gear for shots like watching the sun rise and clouds moving, compressing 2 hours to 30 seconds. Dunno if that impacts the way they shoot. I’d guess they have a shooting process in place and are loath to painfully change it. But, c’mon CBS – its time, give us Survivor HD! ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/55 "2008-02-16T15:50:30Z")
[QUOTE=squeegee] Agreed. HD cameras can’t be that expensive these days, even for pro gear (more likely its “cheap” in the same ballpark that SD equipment is, which is still really expensive but not out of the ordinary for a weekly show). Is Survivor shot on film? I’m not sure, but it has that look. However, they do use a lot of probably expensive special gear, like the cameras they use at night, and stop motion gear for shots like watching the sun rise and clouds moving, compressing 2 hours to 30 seconds. Dunno if that impacts the way they shoot. I’d guess they have a shooting process in place and are loath to painfully change it. But, c’mon CBS – its time, give us Survivor HD! [/QUOTE] It’s all the more a mystery to me since Burnett has often bragged about how he likes to make his shows “look big” with wide, sweeping helicopter shots and broad fish-eye zooms. These days, if your show is squeezed into a 4 x 3 box and you can’t see the misplaced single strand of hair over someone’s eye, then it just doesn’t look like a big production. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/56 "2008-02-16T20:06:32Z")
We’re at the point now where every PGA tournament is in HD, and that takes a lot of cameras. Doing the same for “Survivor” should be a piece of cake. Hey, Burnett: We want our HDTV! ---
**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:** [February 16, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/57 "2008-02-16T20:28:03Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] We’re at the point now where every PGA tournament is in HD, and that takes a lot of cameras. Doing the same for “Survivor” should be a piece of cake. Hey, Burnett: We want our HDTV! [/QUOTE] Well, to be fair, a sports event isn’t recorded or edited (outside of instant replays), so it is a very different production process; its basically all live shooting plus a big semi of equipment to route all the signals and a director who picks the shots and overlays, plus some backup material like interviews that can be played at opportune times. Having said that, I’m not a TV pro, so I’m not sure what technical or budget issues a Survivor production would need to surmount to move to HD. And having said all that, I want Survivor in HD now, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/58 "2008-02-16T22:15:41Z")
Lots of HD shows are of the edited variety. From sitcoms to dramas to documentaries, there’s a lot of them that aren’t live. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/59 "2008-02-17T01:13:17Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Lots of HD shows are of the edited variety. From sitcoms to dramas to documentaries, there’s a lot of them that aren’t live. [/QUOTE] I’d bet that the ratio of Survivor “footage” to that of an hour drama is probably in the neighborhood of 25 to 1 in the early episodes. That might factor in. Also, I am still convinced that a lot of the wildlife is stock, and they might not all be available in HD. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667/60 "2008-02-17T20:33:08Z")
If Discovery channel can shoot the much lower budget shows Survivorman and Dirty Jobs in HD, there’s no reason whatsoever Burnett can’t do the same for Survivor. > [@Roadfood](#): > > A question about Johnny Rotten’s voting himself out last week: It has always been my understanding that when someone is voted out, they don’t get to go home. They have to stay at the production hotel until the game is over. This makes sense to me; if people went home as they were voted out, the folks at home would have knowledge of how the show went, which Burnett wants to avoid. So Johnny Jerkoff’s point that he wanted to be voted off so he could go home and see his girlfriend (wife?) and daughter didn’t make any sense. Am I missing something? I’d have to assume they don’t hold you at gunpoint - if you absolutely want to leave, you can leave, though you’d probably forfeit any prize money or payments. More probably though, he was able to stay in daily contact with his girlfriend while at Loser Lodge, and could get home in 24 hours if he had to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-valentines-day-love-is-in-the-air/437667.md?page=4)