Twenty three seasons ago, TV viewing was changed forever by the arrival of the show Survivor. And my TV viewing was also changed. I did not watch the first season as it was airing, and I regret every minute if missing it. I did see it in re-run when I was nursing LegoMaster. But only after I had seen other seasons. Over the years I have loved it, hated it, wondered why I watched it again, swore I would never watch another season, and laughed at DadOfAllTrades when he said I should audition. And it seems that every season, I sit on the couch waiting to see who was voted off next. So, why do I like it so much?
Is it living vicariously through other people? There are parts of me that think I could do what those folks are doing. I could make a fire. I could do a maze with a blindfold on. I could eat fish I just caught. I could go without showering or brushing my teeth for 39 days. And what could be wrong with winning one million dollars? However, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I would be a basket case. I hate being watched by others. I hate being judged by others. I am well aware of my need to fit in and also my grumpiness when I get hungry, so starving on a desert island with 10 million viewers would give me a huge ulcer.
There is a reason I still tune in after the “honeymoon period” of a new season. (The Honeymoon period is the first weeks when one hopes that this season will be just a little different; just a little farther from the same. It usually ends once I figure out that nothing is new under the sun. ) It is that one person that I can’t wait to see leave. There always seems to be one person who would irritate me to no end if I was there on the beach and, for some reason that is not quite Christian, I can’t wait to see how they get voted off. The last five or so seasons, however, the person I cannot stand has made it to one of the last shows. I am subject to them the whole season. It is like I enjoy torturing myself.
It is the ludicrous way that the host, Jeff Probst, eggs on the contestants. They will be competing in a challenge, messing up royally, and in a voice over we hear “THAT IS NOT GOING TO WORK!” or “YOU BETTER GET MOVING OR YOUR TEAM IS GOING TO LOOSE!” Way to make friends and influence people, Jeff. It is both funny and irritating at the same time.
It may be that I have this voyeuristic thing going on in wanting to watch others private lives. I feel normal after watching. I wish I could have experienced the first season as it was happening. IIRC (if I remember correctly, for those of you who don’t text), I was in the process of dating DadOfAllTrades at the time and, at the same time, getting my Master’s degree. Watching television was not first on our list. It must have been fascinating to watch these castaways try to bumble through the game without knowing what was going to happen. I bet there were a few psychologists watching with utter delight as their years of studying theory were now being depicted on the little screen.
Whatever it is, I continue to race to the couch at 8pm every week to see how “the tribe has spoken”.
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