# Would you want to compete on "Survivor?"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [May 15, 2007, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159 "2007-05-15T08:49:41Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/1 "2007-05-15T08:49:41Z")
Would the one-in-twenty shot at a million dollars be enough to compel you to put up with all that crap? And do you think you would have a chance of winning?
I don’t think I’m good enough at hiding my annoyance at stupid/lazy/generally irritating people to get very far, so I probably wouldn’t even try, although I think I would do pretty well in the challenges. If I was more of a people person it might be an interesting experience, but as I am–no.
You?
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### Author:  [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/2 "2007-05-15T09:10:54Z")
Well, let me put it this way…
Richard Hatch, easily the strongest competitor in either Pagong or Tagi (not to mention seemingly the only person who could gather food worth a damn), was not only saved from elimination by a single vote twice, he barely beat out an unpopular Kelly Wigglesworth in the final. _And_ he needed the benefit of an utterly clueless dolt playing for freakin’ fifth to take one of those votes.
Tina Wesson, who’d shown little aptitude in any aspect of the game, saw her tribe down 5-6 and seemingly poised for a Pagaon-style wipeout just before the last premerge elimination…when one of the strongest competitors on the other side suffered a freak accident and had to leave without an Immunity Challenge. And then a blabbermouth from the same side gave her tribe the edge needed to gain the material advantage. And finally, she barely beat out probably her side’s best competitor, Colby Donaldson (say what you will about his final statements; it was the jury that made the decision, and Wesson got the votes).
Ethan Zohn was exactly the kind of nice, personably guy who gets chewed up and spat out within the first three weeks. Won it all.
Sunburn? Have to hike a mile for water? Freezing cold at night? Smell bad? That’s peanuts compared to the completely fluky, chancy nature of the whole contest, where strategy guarantees absolutely nothing and victory ALWAYS hinges on a good helping of pure, dumb luck. It’s even worse now with the frequent rule changes and the organizers having completely free rein to mix things up at a moment’s notice.
So no. My track record in games of almost pure chance isn’t all that impressive.
(That plus I don’t like the idea of being mocked for a simple mistake until the end of time. “Wrongly assuming there was a merge”, anyone?)
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### Author:  [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/3 "2007-05-15T10:03:41Z")
I’ve only seen _Survivor_ once or twice. The parts of it that I don’t like outweigh the parts I do.
I think it would be fascinating to try to live in those conditions; to spend a month on an island somewhere, foraging and trying to survive, but with some level of essentials and a safety net in case of a true catastrophe. And the challenges sound like they’d be fun, or at least interesting.
But the political machinations, which seem to be the real heart of the game, bother me. I don’t enjoy watching, and I probably wouldn’t enjoy being with, a group of people who are all looking for the perfect time to stab each other in the back.
_Pirate Master_, which is coming in a few weeks, seems to carry over a lot of the elements I dislike in _Survivor_, but I have to watch it for other reasons.
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### Author:  [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/4 "2007-05-15T14:21:10Z")
Yeah, I’d like the chance - tho there is no question that my big mouth would get me booted in short order. And I’d be miserable from the discomfort - I likes my nice bed and good meals. And I would be unable to keep down any of those disgusting food challenges.
But I would find it a really interesting experience, both in an extended stay in an exotic location, as well as learning about the interpersonal dynamics that take place.
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### Author:  [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/5 "2007-05-15T14:23:23Z")
Nope. I need my anti-depressants!
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/6 "2007-05-15T14:31:58Z")
Give me 6 months to get into shape, and I’ll be booted off on the first show. Unlike the nimrods that populate the show, I **do** know how to survive in the wilderness, make fire by rubbing 2 Boy Scouts together, fish with my bare hands, and all that mountain-man shit. Unfortunately, I would be unable to keep my big mouth shut around people who are totally incompetent at such things. The “players” would boot the “survivors” immediately.
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### Author:  [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/7 "2007-05-15T14:42:41Z")
If it was a real competition, yes. It’s not, so no.
As others have said, all that back-stabbing soap opera BS just makes it a TV show with bad amateur actors and the stupid is excruciating to watch.
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### Author:  [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/8 "2007-05-15T14:43:52Z")
[QUOTE=silenus]
Give me 6 months to get into shape, and I’ll be booted off on the first show. Unlike the nimrods that populate the show, I **do** know how to survive in the wilderness, make fire **by rubbing 2 Boy Scouts together** , fish with my bare hands, and all that mountain-man shit. Unfortunately, I would be unable to keep my big mouth shut around people who are totally incompetent at such things. The “players” would boot the “survivors” immediately.
[/QUOTE]
Bolding mine.
Hey Canteen Boy, I’m getting a little cold…
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/9 "2007-05-15T14:52:49Z")
I’d love to try it if it weren’t for the squick factor. I just couldn’t go that long with the same pair of underwear. Or without a razor.
Other than that, it would be intriguing.
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### Author:  [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/10 "2007-05-15T15:20:07Z")
I would. What sucks is they really have gone towards the hard body route. I’m in good shape, but I’m not a hard body. Like **silenus** , I can handle myself, so I would have to hide that knowledge during the tryouts. But a month’s worth of camping for a chance at a million? I’d jump at it. Don’t the people who just make it to the jury still make like 40k? Not bad for a month’s work.
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### Author:  [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/11 "2007-05-15T15:23:30Z")
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen]
Don’t the people who just make it to the jury still make like 40k? Not bad for a month’s work.
[/QUOTE]
Do they? That might make it worth it.
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/12 "2007-05-15T15:24:38Z")
Not a chance. Early incarnations of reality TV competitions were good (the first UK series of Big Brother, for example), they’re all pretentious bullshit puppetry now.
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/13 "2007-05-15T15:25:15Z")
No way. I hate how they bring out the worst in people. I’ll keep Evil Kalhoun under wraps, thankyouverymuch.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/14 "2007-05-15T19:57:57Z")
No friggin’ way. Not a chance, baby.
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### Author:  [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/15 "2007-05-15T20:34:37Z")
Absolutely. How often do you get a chance to do something that weird? Sounds like a great experience.
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### Author:  [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/16 "2007-05-15T20:59:07Z")
Aw hell no.
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### Author:  [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/17 "2007-05-15T21:14:44Z")
No, not even when I was young enough and in-shape enough to do so.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/18 "2007-05-15T22:22:58Z")
I don’t eat bugs.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [May 15, 2007, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/19 "2007-05-15T23:16:02Z")
If you eat commercially processed foods you do! 😃
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### Author:  [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)
#### Post date: [May 16, 2007, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-want-to-compete-on-survivor/404159/20 "2007-05-16T01:43:47Z")
I would. I am good at “surviving”, but that doesn’t mean much. I would probably get voted out in the first 3 shows as I would be so low-profile that I would be chosen for the random dumping of the day.
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