The Unfiltered Ramblings of a DVR Addict

It’s hard to believe that we’ve had 18 seasons of Survivor.  18 seasons in 9 years is pretty impressive.  One thing that can be said is that for those 18 seasons Survivor has performed consistently well in the ratings.  There have been ups and downs along the way, but in general the ratings have always been good enough to justify being in CBS’ Thursday night line-up.  Any TV fan knows Thursday nights is where the networks have historically put their big shows.  The Cosby Show, Seinfeld, and Friends were all examples of Thursday night shows, and for 9 years survivor has stood up to the sitcom big boys proving that reality TV has a place on network TV.

I’ve been a fan of Survivor since day one.  Out of those 18 seasons I think there are only 2 that I haven’t watched.  Out of those 16 seasons I can honestly say that this most recent season was one of the most entertaining in a long time.

I think what made this season so great was the fact that the contestants were so great this season.  Obviously having interesting characters on reality television is what ultimately makes a show successful or not.  Survivor has had it’s fair share of great characters over the years, but they have had some duds as well.  This season was populated with characters you loved to hate and others that you loved to love.

A few that stand out in my mind are Taj, Steven, and Coach.  Taj was one of the most likable reality television contestants ever.  If she had made it to the final 2 she would have won, hands down.  It was kind of sad to see J.T. and Steven turn on her, but it was understandable.  Neither of them could have beaten her.  Another one of my favorites this season was Steven.  Steven is one of the smartest contestants I’ve ever seen on Survivor.  He played the game masterfully, and hitched his wagon to the right person.  With his smarts and J.T. brawn there was no way they weren’t making ti to the final 2.  The award for most hated and annoying reality show contestant of all time has to go to Coach.  I could go on for a long time about Coach, but I’ll make it short.  First, you can’t give yourself a nickname, Coach began calling himself “the Dragon Slayer.”  I also heard him say that other people are calling him that, but I never heard it come out of any person’s mouth but his.  Second, it is so sad that the only person in the world that wanted to come see you in Brazil was one of your employees.  Last, did anyone believe a word that came out of this guy’s mouth?  He spoke so much about honesty and loyalty be he seemed like such a B.S. artist.

Of course J.T. ended up being the winner.  J.T. was one of the most honest contestants I’ve seen on Survivor.  That’s not to say that that he wasn’t sneaky and conniving, he was just honest about it.  If he said he wasn’t going to vote for you he wouldn’t (with the exception of Taj).

All in all it was a great season, and I look forward to the next one.  By the way, I’m going to start sending in my application.  I want on that show!