Customer Reviews

Survivor - The Complete First Season

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

In June 2000 the landscape of American television was starkly different than it is now; nearly all shows stopped production in the summer, and aside from a traditional game show fad that was beginning to subside, all programming was scripted fiction.

Then Charlie Parsons and Mark Burnett brought to CBS an idea that, while not entirely original in concept or design, was remarkably different than anything currently being aired in the United States. It was a "reality" show, based on the hit Swedish program "Expedition Robinson", in which a group of strangers were dumped on an island and forced to fend for themselves, and vote each other off one by one. They called their version "Survivor", and it kicked off a TV revolution that does not appear to be going away.

This first season of "Survivor" established all the rules which, eight seasons later, are considered gospel by fans and contestants alike: sixteen players are divided into two tribes where they must build shelter, find food, and compete in challenges. Lose the challenges and you face Tribal Council, where the tribe votes out one of its players, be they the weakest link, the bossiest leader, or the slimiest snake. Eventually the two tribes merge into one where the challenges become individual and the field is ultimately levelled to two remaining players who are judged by their fallen peers. One is left standing to claim the million-dollar prize and the title of Sole Survivor.

With these parameters, sixteen Americans volunteered to be the initial guinea pigs, and were marooned in Borneo. Some were there for the adventure, some for the fifteen minutes of fame, and some for the money. It was, in the end, a game, and those who sought the pot of gold proved the most ambitious. One of the only rules of Survivor is that you cannot conspire to share the prize money. The Pagong tribe, consisting of mainly younger players like Jenna Lewis, Colleen Haskell and Greg Buis, were quite content with this and opted to lay back and let the cards fall where they may. But the Tagi tribe (including Rudy Boesch, Susan Hawk, and, of course, Richard Hatch) discovered early on that you could bend the conspiracy rule without actually breaking it. If they all voted together as a bloc, they'd have the numerical advantage to ensure a slot in the final four or five. You could call it an arrangement, or agreement. They called it an alliance.

The alliance strategy ultimately proved the obvious way to go, and it was perhaps that one aspect of this first season which proved the most influential on the seasons which followed it; nearly every subsequent winner of the game has used a solid alliance to get them to the top. It is not always the ringleader, not always the strongest or smartest. No one person or personality is guaranteed victory in this wholly unique game, because the game is shaped by the people who play it, and no two people are the same. Survivor was an almost instant ratings smash, and the first season finale ranks among the most watched events in recent years, and this can be attributed not to its sex appeal or entertainment quotient, but its curiosity. Random people scheming and plotting to outlast each other in a democratic process. Survivor is, at its core, a microcosm of Western society and politics, a grand sociological experiment of the Pax Americana.

The DVD release of the complete first series allows many fans who have forgotten or did not see the original Pulau Tiga castaways to experience, or re-experience, the show that they fell in love with those four long years ago. And coming with the hindsight of eight sequel seasons (season nine is being cast as of this writing, and producer Burnett and host Jeff Probst are reportedly signed through season twelve), it is a real trip to go back and watch how it all started; when grubs were considered "gross food", sloppily-edited credits gave away future events (giving berth to the wild internet "spoiling" subculture), and "alliance" was considered a dirty word. Probst is shaky here; the job is new to him and there is no edge to his attitude. It is a new experience to him, as it is to everyone else. And all the great moments are here: Greg and his "coconut phone", Sean's alphabetical voting strategy, and of course Susan's infamous "snakes and rats" jury speech, often imitated but never duplicated.

Survivor fans will need a copy of Season One. Others may want to consider this as the perfect place to start catching up on what they've been missing.

Contrary to a popular belief, SURVIVOR is not the kind of show that only works in its first viewing. Yes, as a game show with an unpredictable outcome, the first viewing may be the most entertaining, but what one must consider here is that SURVIVOR remains popular, season after season, because it is the best-produced show on the air. If you have any interest in TV as a creative medium, think about what it takes to produce a show like this: the countless hours of editing to create story arcs amongst the contestants and keep the outcomes unpredictable, the artfully-woven travelogue elements that present the geography and harsh climate of a remote location, the vast creativity and ingenuity required to come up with dozens of well-designed games and challenges that will entertain viewers while truly testing the players. (It looks as if the DVDs themselves could have presented a few more extras, in which the depth of these processes are shared.) SURVIVOR changed the face of modern TV for a reason -- and, to this day, it maintains the professionalism and class that few, if any, other reality programs have achieved.

In fact, I'd argue that watching the series again *after* the first time is the only way to completely grasp what makes SURVIVOR work so well, as being less focused on who is ousted from the island each episode allows the viewer to actually notice the details. New viewers, one-time viewers, and longtime fans alike should all be able to appreciate this set, while purchasing it will most likely determine whether later seasons are released onto DVD as well... so have at it.

(Speaking of later seasons, all of them contain a series of reactions and strategies against the standards set by this season, when the slate was clean and no one really knew how to play. The powerful reactions of the often innocent players, not expecting the backstabbing and deceit that everyone expects from this game now, are completely unique in that respect to this season of SURVIVOR, and remain gripping -- even emotional -- four years later.)

I finally succombed to survivor fever back when it was first on tv during the merger episode. By then, I really didn't know enough from the earlier episodes to understand the moronic attitude of the anti alliance group, and to appreciate Hatch. I did not like him for years. However, I got my S1 dvd set this week and I am on disk 3 now. I LOVE THIS. What a great season.

Here are some observations.

Cheesy stuff they don't do anymore, that I think is great in these episodes:

1) the gong going to tribal council
2) the treasure chest full of "money" (my note: what happened to this money during the rainy tribal councils? They never show it soggy)

More on the filming:

During most of the challenges, you can see boats out at sea that are supporting the production. Most of the time, the cruise ship they used for the crew is parked at the horizon, clearly visible in the scene. I heard helicopter noise during the filming of the merger challenge, where pagong lost for the last time to make it an even 5.

It is VERY amusing to watch the voting after the merge. Pagong pagonged ITSELF. This is hilarious. I just finished the episode where Jenna gets voted on by her entire tribe, even though the alphabet voting put greg out.

Another observation: whenever Jenna was on a tribe, the tribe did happy things. Pagong was a happy tribe as was Chapera. I think Jenna is under appreciated as a player on survivor.

I miss them casting a wide age range of players. If they bring that back, it will make the dynamics more interesting. BB's game strategy was a train wreck. Sonja was a great lady. I loved her singing that funny song to hatch.

Gretchen was an interesting survivor, she understood the game, as did Greg. How come we don't hear about these contestants?

If you haven't watched the new dvd set, I recommend that you watch the first CD all the way through WITHOUT the probst et al commentary turned on. Then go back and turn on the commentary and watch E1 all over again listening to the boys talk about the scenes as they unfold. This is great stuff. I wish they had commented on EVERY episode with more of the cast.

This was probably the best $35 i have spent on entertainment in quite some time. I hope they bring all the seasons out on DVD.

What I wish they will do for future sets:

1) after the credits for each episode, then show clips of the voting confessionals and ALL the insider clips that were on the CBS website each week.

2) Have cast commentaries on EACH episode by cast members of that season that you can turn on or off, like they did for episode 1 on this set.

3) Show audition tapes of cast members (I don't know if these are on this set, I am still watching disk 3)

Also for those purchasing this set, don't mistake the plastic on each CD case as something you have to rip off. I was bone headed and discovered AFTER I ripped off the plastic on my case that it was to hold the cover in place. The cd case itself was not sealed in plastic (dah). Oh well.

This DVD is so incredible because My wife and I love looking back at previous episodes and see where things went wrong for many of the losing survivors. Strategy and luck play huge factors in this game. It's fun to see enjoy the season with 20/20 hindsite.

Usually before every new season starts, I go back and re read the highlights of each previous season. It's amazing watching how with each new season, the survivors learn from the previous seasons. The All Star season is going to have a huge effect on the new seasons because we found out that having a bad reputation can kill you (lookin at you ROB C). I also think we'll be going back to alliances playing large roles in future seasons. Pearl Islands had almost NO alliances compared to previous seasons. I can't wait for the other seasons to be released on DVD. Colby storming through Australia, Ethan,Lex and Big Tom dominating Africa, Vecepia owning Marquesas, Brian controlling Thailand, Rob C and Matt using each other in the Amazon, Rupert and Jon battling in Pearl Islands and Everyone at once on All Stars.. Keep em rolling CBS!!

The show has changed over the years...and not necessarily for the better. Watching the first season of Survivor, you can really see how the simpler, cleaner and more laid-back filming style worked wonders, turning a longshot reality show into the hottest series of the year.

Later editions, like Australian Outback and Survivor: Africa, tried to tinker with the format, adding more music and other bells and whistles...and eventually Survivor became what it is today (slick and processed). It lost the "edge" Survivor: Borneo displays, the unique feeling that you were staring reality in the face, and anything could happen at any given moment.

Also, back then the show focused on little things that meant nothing: people playing ukeleles, sitting around, swinging in hammocks. Today it seems as if every Survivor contestant's day is scheduled down to the minute. Episodes are edited to create fake crises and promote certain characters/storylines. Alliances are purposely covered up by the producers to keep viewers in the dark. With Survivor: Borneo, you get none of this.

I still like Survivor, and watch it every season, but season one is definitely the best. This DVD collection contains every minute of footage shown on TV, plus the "Greatest Moments" disc and some episode commentary. Well worth the money. Five stars!

P.S. Richard Hatch rocks! :)

Ok...I know that MTV's the Real World came before Survivor, by many years...But it was Survivor that thrust Reality shows into American homes and have virtually taken over the airwaves these days with multitudes of Survivor clones and others...

Of course you know the story...16 castaways are marooned on an island near Borneo and split into two tribes. Each week they compete against each other in contests for reward and immunity. The tribe losing the immunity challenge has to go to tribal council and vote one member out until there are two members left. Then a council of 9 former castaways votes for the winner of a one million dollar prize.

Season one had probably the shows most memorable cast including tough, truck driving Sue Hawk, former Navy seal and senior citizen Rudy Boesch, cute Colleen Haskell, and of course, season one winner Richard Hatch.

Each week was a fascinating look at these people scheming and planning to save themselves and get rid of someone else. Richard made himself invaluable to the tribe due to his ability to catch fish and feed the tribe.

This skill kept him in the tribe even through his arrogance and refusal to help out in any other of the tribe work. Strangely the openly gay Hatch who loved to walk around nude (a brilliant tactic by the way) bonded with the tough, old, and very anti-gay Rudy.

You'll recall some faces that you may have forgotten such as Sonia who was the first person EVER voted out of Survivor, Dirk, the ultra religious man who annoyed everyone, Greg & Colleen who were Survivors first romance, And Gervase, who annoyed most of the women with chauvanist comments about them being like cows.

The final episode was notable for Sue telling Kelly she would not give her water if she were dying of thirst. Greg cast the deciding vote giving Richard the victory.

The DVD set also includes the reunion show as well as a number of other special features.

Survivor is still the king of Reality TV! This DVDonly cements that status.

I've been fascinated by Survivor since it's debut in 2000. The simple premise, 16 Americans stuck on an island, fending for themselves and subsequently devouring each other until only one top dog is left, is just extremely watchable.

This is the DVD box set of the complete first season. Even though I saw this when it aired on TV, it was still exciting even though I knew who won. It was just very neat to see everyone get picked off and alliances forming. If you've seen the latest seasons of Survivor, you may be shocked because of how low-key everything is. The editing and the repetitive music are kind of off-putting, especially in the first few episodes. But the castaways, the characters, are what makes this season especially fascinating. The rotund schemer, Richard Hatch, is the most interesting to watch as he develops from a whiny corporate leader to the master of island life.

I only give the DVD 4 stars because of a lack of bonus features. Other than two audio commentaries, there's just a retrospective interview, a David Letterman top 10 list, and an unnarrated and uncohesive look at the Survivors leaving L.A. for Borneo. Also available in this set is the "Greatest & Most Outrageous Moments" DVD, which is previously available, and is simply a highlight reel of the first series. It is uncensored, though, so if you want to hear salty language or see Richard Hatch's butt in all its glory, well, there you go.

No question, the most memorable moment of "Survivor: Borneo" was during the final tribal council when Sue Hawk unloaded on Kelly Wigglesworth. When Sue told Kelly "if I were ever to pass you in this life again, and you were laying there, dying of thirst, I would not give you a drink of water. I'd just let the vultures take you, and do whatever they want with you, with no ill regrets," everyone watching had their jaws on the ground. When Sue finished her speech and made her plea for the contest to end the way Mother Nature intended it with Richard the Snake eating Kelly the Rat, I can remember thinking that they can do "Survivor" until the end of time and they will never top that moment. Every time one of the jury members tells Jeff Probst that they want to make a statement rather than ask a question, they get judged against the Sue Hawk standard and they fail (It is like lighting the Olympic flame; no one will top using the archer at Barcelona).

However, when I watched "Survivor: The Complete First Season" again on DVD what was confirmed for me was that the most pivotal moment in the show came in the tribal council at the end of Episode 7. This was not only when the road was paved for Richard Hatch to be the sole Survivor, but also when the course of American popular culture changed. This is because once Hatch won the million dollars, his strategy of alliance and deception became the template for how future competitors would attempt to outwit, outplay and outlast the others on "Survivor" but on "Big Brother" and virtually every other reality game show. But what people forget is that at the turning point in the series MOST of the castaways were playing the game quite differently.

Episode 7 was the first tribal vote after the merger and you probably remember that Gretchen, who was the most popular of the contestants and the one we thought personified the skills of a true Survivor. But Gretchen was voted off because she had four of the ten votes cast. The four who voted for her were (surprise, surprise), Richard, Kelly, Sue, and Rudy. But do you recall the rest of the votes? Greg voted against Jenna, Jenna voted against Gervase, Gervase voted against Susan, Sean voted against Colleen, Colleen voted against Richard, and Gretchen voted against Rudy (remember, nobody ever voted against Kelly). In other words, the other six all voted for six different people. But not only did the former members of Pagong all vote for different people, instead of targeting a member of Tagi, but Greg and Jenna both voted against Pagong teamamates. All together now: What were they thinking?

Well, in retrospect, I think it is clear that what the former members of Pagong were thinking when they mereged with Tagi into Rattana, was that they really were now one tribe. Needless to say, this is not a mistake that has been made since that day. Consequently most "Survivors" since then have featured a reshuffling of the tribes before the merger, just to keep things interesting. Unfortunately the commentary for these episodes on DVD is quite limited (but insightful for the first and last episodes), because I would have liked to have checked my hypothesis, which is that it was Gretchen herself, by word or deed, who propagated the idea that doomed first her and then the rest of the former Pagong players one by one by one.

My thesis is that this was an event of great cultural significance. If Pagong had decided to target any one of the Tagi players, whether it was Rich or not, that would have been five votes to four and the steamroller would have been on their side. I do not think they would have voted for Rich, because he was providing food, and since Gretchen voted for Rudy that would be consistent with the Pagong approach of getting rid of the member of the tribe who was contributing the least. Play that token out to the end and Gretchen wins. Given who would have won (most qualified) and how they won (voting off the weakest and not the strongest member), the course of popular culture and American civilization would have been changed and, more importantly, changed for the better. Face it. This country was not built on the idea of taking out the strongest or the best. That is the goal, not the objective. Make Richard Hatch the role model and we are heading for a bizarre dystopia no one ever would have expected.

The other thing that rewatching the original "Survivor" confirms is that Mark Burnett did a marvelous job of creating suspense when there was not any. After Episode 7, which was furiously debated around the nation's "watercoolers," the consensus was that unless the rest of the castaways wised up, the alliance of four was going to run the table. Which they did. But Burnett, aided by some the release of some computer alterred photographs, cut these episodes so that there was always a slim reed of hope that the alliance would be derailed. But it never happened. Who went home when the tribe spoke each week might have been a surprise, but it was never one of the alliance until they were the only ones left and started eating their own.

I almost always like to watch movies twice because I like to see how the end game is set up, and that same approach is what makes watching "Survivor: The Complete First Season" interesting. Knowing the outcome informs your enjoyment and understanding, not only of how the game was being played that first time around, but also how it was editing for maximum effect. One suggestion when you watch these episodes again: After each one go check out the CBS web site for "Survivor: Borneo" because they are all still up, and you can still access all of the information and extras, such as polls and stuff. Frozen there for Internet eternity right now are the online poll predictions for the finale. Rudy was the overwhelming favorite with 53.47%, with Kelly second at 22.54% and Susan third at 12.22%. Richard Hatch was sitting at 11.75% and he ends up being the one with the million dollar check. Now we know how he did it and what it has meant.

Survivor truly is the greatest of the "reality" shows out there, and this DVD is the perfect way to commemorate that. It is a great season, with great characters, and truly one can see how the entire craze started off because of this phenominal show. It has excitement, treachery, and great production values, and is a staple of American culture.

It truly is one of the few gems left in relaity TV, where everyone is trying to match the greatness and success of survivor, and failing miserably.

This show is no one hit wonder like Joe Millionaire or the Apprentice, it is around to stay, and all the seasons have been great and I cannot wait to see them with more extras when they are released on DVD as well! Buy this DVD, you will not regret it, I guarantee it!

First off let me say that this DVD set is great. The extras are great and the commentary with Rudy, Rich, and Gerv on the first ep and the season finale (double length) is great. It's really cool to hear these guys go down memory lane. And you actually find out more about their experiences that weren't aired in the eps. Nearly all the extras are really cool.

I only have two minor complaints about the set. First the person that was voted off in each episode is on the back of each disc. SO BE CAREFUL if you don't remember who got voted off or if you didn't see the episodes, DON'T LOOK AT THE BACK OF EACH DISC CASE! There is nothing revealing on the discs so they are good.

The other minor complaint would be that you can't select scenes to watch. You will have to use remote to individually skip through chapters instead of a menu where you select the tribal council/ending scene.