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Television Media

CBS to Pay One Million to Desert Island "Survivor" 232

Posted by Hemos from the television-becomes-more-scary dept.
wilkinsm writes "CBS is starting a new game show this fall called "Survivor." 16 constestants will be sent to a deserted island for seven weeks. Eventually the one that "survives" becomes the winner. It looks like all you get to take with you is your shirt on your back. There are looking for a "diverse" group of contestants, so I thought maybe some of you would like to try. " So, tribal counsels vote people out - I see Lord of The Flies, II: The Revenge of Piggy.
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CBS to Pay One Million to Desert Island "Survivor" More

CBS to Pay One Million to Desert Island "Survivor"

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  • ... is the celebrity contestant and "secret" weapons cache. Ahnold anyone? Too bad Richard Dawson's no longer with us...

  • Guess what... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I think we should install linux on that island and put it into a Beowulf cluster with neighbouring islands (which I'll be happy to take over, thank you very much).

    Oh, yeah. First Post :)
  • I would definately do it.
  • There was some Swedish show I read about (at least I think it was Swedish) called `Big Brother' where a group of random people had to survive in a house together on only £150 / day. The house was of course full of cameras and I think the idea was that everyone slowly went insane. Or something.

  • Third year ... (Score:3)

    by Beno ( 97054 ) on Friday October 08, 1999 @06:02AM (#1629445)
    In sweden we have had this program idé for three years now, they compete against each other and the losers gets to vote whos leaving the island (exept for the one winning the contest). One contest every week or so.. The first time was kind of fun they more or less starved for real, they were forced to eat palmtrees!! Well anyway the first time they had to say why they wanted someone to leave, well one person was so unpopular, and they said it, so well, he kind of commited suicide when he later saw the show...
    Tragic, but kind of interesting to see...
  • I think it would be fun, but no internet? no computers? hmm...



    First?
  • Geek dies on deserted island, cause of death net withdrawl..
  • <sarcasm> This show is a great idea! How better to keep us glued to our sets. It's like MTV's Real World, only the people could actually DIE! </sarcasm>

  • The Running Man?
  • It was called Expedition Robinson, it is at the moment shoving Link :http://www.svt.se/noje/robinson/index.html

  • Sounds like (Score:4)

    by DonkPunch ( 30957 ) on Friday October 08, 1999 @06:06AM (#1629455) Homepage Journal
    "Gilligan's Island" meets "The Real World".

    "So, like, Heather was all in my face because my coconut radio didn't work. I told her she just needed to chill out. I mean, there's bound to be a boat coming by sooner or later. But she was all, 'No way. We're never getting off this island.' And I was all, 'So? We've got coconuts, bananas, and tons of awesome beach. It's all good, you know?' So then she just, like, hit me. So now we're going to have a vote to see if she needs to leave the island and maybe get some counselling or something."

  • Be Prepared... (Score:3)

    by SEWilco ( 27983 ) on Friday October 08, 1999 @06:06AM (#1629456) Journal
    "...your shirt on your back."
    OK, time to start weaving my shirt. Fishing line, nylon twine, braided aluminized mylar sheets...
  • Hrmm...troubling precedent. What happens if they get someone with a loose screw??? He gets hungry, there's no food, he breaks another contestants neck, eats contestant...mmmm Crunchy!!

    How long before arena deathmatches live and in primetime???
  • are the other people going to die? WTF is wrong with america?
  • It reminds me of the Steven King (under the alias Richard Bachman) book "The Running Man" (Excuse me, I never watched the movie).

    The idea is, TV Game shows have to get more violent and more shocking to retain viewers. Is this the first step?

    Scary.

    ~jawad

  • Ahhh, I actually miss that show. Even though I didn't have a TV of my own I used to watch it with friends sometimes. Now that I'm back in the US of A I don't get a chance to see it. Now what was the name of that show again... Robinsson Island or soemthing like that. I'm surprised it has taken the US this long to "borrow" the show idea. I wonder if they are actually buying the rights for the show in the US...
    ---
  • There are TV people crawling all over the place now and then ..
    And they probably have to sign some sort of paper "If I die it was my own fault.." etc
  • Real World must be a bigger cash cow than I figured, given the fact that a major network has decided to rip an idea off a crummy little network like MTV. Will wonders never cease?

    Let me guess, the participants won't really have any survival skill (or if they do, it will be pure coincidence), and all contestants will be chosen such that their personalities clash with everyone else's. My only complaint is that there won't be any booze on the island. That would make the "voting" considerably more interesting (read: violent).

    I wonder if Abe will be there.

  • well, how about it CBS? reps from other countries, and the last survivor is obviously from the best country.
  • Not the movie, the story by Stephen King writing as Bachman. Basically the same story, but better: it's in the city, and the contestant is chased by the police, and I believe there's even a bounty on his head.
  • Didn't the Swedish just start a show where people were placed in a house (ala MTV's Real World), but had to stay in it for 4-7 weeks? And psychologists were worried they would have a hard time adapting to the real world after it was over?

    On a good note, at least they'll survive Y2K. Course the palm trees could fail at midnight, and the monkeys would take over, worse case scenario of course.
  • Boy does this sound familiar. I'll have to reread that story again. (Is saying "again" after already saying "reread" redundant? Maybe I'll get a "redundant" moderation).

    logan

  • The only other inhabitants are ... deadly coral snakes. It seems romantic ...

    I tried to come up with a witty comment, but everything I came up with seemed pretty indadequate next to that quote.

  • It's called Big Brother. Couple of people confined in a bunker on a remote location. Last man standing gets $100.000. Cameras everywhere, including "hidden" cameras and webcams [big-brother.nl] (don't bother to click, they use the Windows Media Player, how appropriate).

    Somehow people seem to like the show but I don't care. Anyone who is willing to waste 100 days of his life on this crap and sacrifice his/her privacy must be an utterly boring type. And people who watch the program really should get a life theirselves.

  • Wow; wonder how many of them can make a spear or filet a monkey. Or will it be more like one big live-action Doom, where you just wander around and find everything you need lying on the floor. Will the monkeys operate the cameras? This has to be the dumbest thing I have seen in some time. I'm putting my money on the morbidly obese housefrau from Des Moines, or the surfer.
  • No, not the Swedes. The Dutch is whom you're talking about, and that show (dubbed a `live-soap', and about as intellectually challenging) is still running. It started about three weeks ago, and is set to end around Christmas. The `winner' will get $125.000,-. The show has its own website (probably www.big-brother.nl [big-brother.nl], Windows Only as far as I have heard, they seem to use Windows st(r)eaming media).

    The people in the house are under 24x7 camera surveillance, a compilation of which is broadcast each night. In reality, all most people are waiting for is to see them fight, have sex, or otherwise do those things which you normally would not want others to see.

    Cheers//Frank
  • Mmmmm.... desserted island. I can sit around with the other 15 contestants eating banana splits and drinking wine from a coconut while sitting under an enlarged cocktail umbrella...
  • Well, there are a lot of things wrong with America, but there are a lot of things wrong with other countries as well. But sorry to dissappoint you, this was not an original American show idea. The show has been around for 3 years now in Sweden and NO the other people are not going to die, they will be taken off the island by boat.
    ---
  • This show is currently running in the netherlands(on Veronica), try http://bigbrother.veronica.nl Getting around can be dificult since it's Dutch only :(, however video streams can be found under 'Live Beelden', then selecting one of the cams There is only one way to describe it...BORING.
  • If you actually read the article, it quite clearly explains the process of being eliminated. People don't actually "die" or "survive" other than surviving the tests without being kicked off the island. The screening process is quite intense, so hopefully no worries about lunatics. It is always possible, but not particularly likely. The regulations (and application) can be found here [cbs.com].

    ---
    Tim Wilde
    Gimme 42 daemons!
  • I've heard that somewhere in sweden this kind of show already exists, and that someone that got voted out commited suicide. Anyone from sweden got any info on this?
  • ...Sometimes a name says it all.

    Miserable roll-your-own soap opera bs. I'd rather watch Rollerjam. ;)

    In future spinoffs, CBS will form a joint venture with that national "You want a sugar-daddy?" pimp guy posted earlier on /., to send 16 single marketing socialites into Silicon Valley. Who will "survive"? :D Would anyone out there care to brainstorm some of the prizes?

    __________________________
  • Yes, it all started in Sweden, where it was (or still is?) called the Robinson Expedision (after Robinson Crusoe.. duh!).

    We also have it in Norway, with the same name [tv3.no], but it does not appear to be very successful. We can also see swedish television channels in Norway, so those who were interested probably have seen it there.

    It's interesting, but there's not a lot of exitement. See the Simpsons instead.

  • Anybody read The Long Walk also by Richard Bachman(a.k.a Steven King). Running man was an alternative to prison(If I remember correctly) These people are choosing their own fate.

  • What's to prevent a small group of contestants banding together to "fix" the contest? A group of 6 contestants could easily control the votes in the "Tribal Council" (gosh, this show sounds stupid), set up one of their own group as the eventual winner, and split the winnings 6 ways.

    Of course, I suspect it will all come down to the old "Prisoner's Dillema" (if I rat on my cellmate, I go free - we both keep quiet, we both go free), and greed will win out in the end...

    Give me a rerun of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" any day over this crap...
    ________________________

  • Isn't it a coincidence that there are going to be 16 contestants, and there are 16 cities that one can be interviewed in? One contestant from each city? Geographical diversity? On another note, what if a person or persons die? I can see it now, 16 people damn near starving to death, while some fat producer is munching on a candy bar offshore. Hmm. I wonder how I'll convince my employers to let me have a 7 week vacation.

  • Hmm. Close.

    The contestant was a married man just trying to get a little more food and money for his family by participating on the show. The chase took place all over the country and he had to call in from time to time to let the network know he was alive. Hunters, for the show, were in pursuit of him.

    Near the end of his run he finds out that the show's producer has actually had his family killed and he's gets made the same offer to join the team of Hunters that Arnie got in the movie version. Instead, he hijacks an airliner and crashes it into the building that the show is produced from.

    I've probably left out some stuff in there somewhere, but the book was far superior to the movie.

  • if done right, this could be quite interesting ...

    but it will probably be stupid crap like the real world ....
  • What is really interesting about the Swedish orginal show is that it was a massive success. I believe that last years sesaon finale drew about 2.5 million viewers (the population of Sweden is only 8.5).

    Many viewers reacted to the cruel nature of the show, but it was widely held that this was exactly what made it so popular.

    The US version is probably going to be a hit as well, unless the reactions get much stronger than in Sweden.
  • I can see everyone voting with ulterior motives, just to be the last couple. Alone. On the beach.

    What I didn't understand is, how much of it will be on TV. The discussions and voting, how-did-its on hut manufacturing?

    ~afniv
    "Man könnte froh sein, wenn die Luft so rein wäre wie das Bier"
  • I knew I should've paid attention to the lecture on food gathering. Oh well. Anybody ever read the story "Dirty George the Roach Eater"? Yum, yum...
  • The only other inhabitants are ... deadly coral snakes. It seems romantic ...

    I tried to come up with a witty comment, but everything I came up with seemed pretty indadequate next to that quote.

    I can see it now...
    "... and the winner of the 1 million is... the coral snake!! He finished off the last two competetors in their sleep to get the full share of the money!"
    ---

  • My apologies to Gilligan... (Score:3)

    by bmabray ( 84486 ) on Friday October 08, 1999 @06:25AM (#1629496) Homepage Journal
    Sit right back & we'll tell a tale,
    A tale of a fateful show,
    That started as a ratings ploy,
    With an idea that really did blow.

    The producer was a slimy weasel,
    The director dumb as slop,
    16 idiots set sail that day,
    For a 7 week flop,
    A 7 week flop.

    human://billy.j.mabray/

  • weapons cache???

    Jeezus squeeze us, if this is about survival, leave the fscking guns outta this. 99% of people aren't trained and self-disciplined enough to handle a firearm without being more of a danger to themselves and their fellow marooneds than they are to their erstwhile game.

    Issue everybody a K-Bar, though. Digging, skinning, whittling etc. with bare hands, teeth etc. gets old after awhile.

  • Some of the contestants from the Swedish show last year actually killed and eat a rat, in prime time. Animal rights activists were moderately upset and got some media attention.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Die? You mean get murdered! Come on if your on an island with 15 other people, and only ONE gets $1,000,000 (look at all this zeros, not many eh!), wouldn't you kill everyone? The thing says 'survive', its population control at its finest! Next it'll be 100 people....then 1000 people...soon we'll all be living nice and comfortable.....just take people from large metro areas, and within a few years, they will be nice and relaxed.

  • ...there are gonna be some serious lawsuits. I don't care what kind of waivers people sign, somebody's next of kin is going to sue. The legal eagles will never let this thing happen.

  • This could be interesting but only if there where some sort of measurable objective. Not just a popularity contest. They should put everyone on different islands, have a doctor examine them before and after. Evaluate how well they survived. What their housing looked like etc. How well they ate. That would be a contest that I would be interested in.

    But then they would not have a soap opera.

    I predict they select "survivors" based on:

    • Girls
      • Hair
      • Breasts
      • Legs
    • Boys
      • Hair
      • Chin
      • Muscles

    The good news is that for the girls heroin sheik is in....

    Check out the Lance Armstrong Foundation [laf.org]

  • I think an better way to play something like this would be to see what geek could survive for seven weeks without internet access. I had a holiday recently and went without net access for 7 days - it was hell.

    --
  • It was a TV show a long time ago about these 7 people getting stranded on a desert island. Hilarity ensued. If you turn your brain off for half an hour, you could enjoy it. :-)

    human://billy.j.mabray/

  • US citizens only - this totally sucks!!! (Score:3)

    by SpinyNorman ( 33776 ) on Friday October 08, 1999 @06:33AM (#1629511)
    As a Brit who moved to the States to steal your women and take your jobs, I think I should be allowed to gnaw on your sorry-assed bones in this excellent competition! :-(
  • if you put it in perspective it gets sort of scary - soon enough this will not attract enough viewers and they will have to push the limit further and further.

    expect running man. it will become the reality.

    and something completely unrelated - how many more people will be glued to tvs because of more and more thrilling entertainment? scaaaaary...

  • I saw a blurb on TV about this the other night. At the end of it, they had a mention of a simular show the company did that involved a deserted island. Apparently, one of the "cast members" commitied suicide (officials assured that this wouldn't happen with the Big Brother show due to psycological testing each candidate gets before being accepted).

    When "reality" gets too real.

  • Read the rules. This tribal-council nonsense is gonna turn into an exercise in the Prisoner's Dilemma. Gee, and I was only thinking of corporate liability when I posted that remark about lawsuits.

  • There was an article on this in some UK TV guide last week.
    Apparently one of the people who survived eventually killed himself.
    Iain

  • Cool! (Score:1)

    by drwiii ( 434 )
    Find me a coconut that runs Linux and a palm tree with an ethernet cable coming out of it and I'll survive. (:

    --

  • Did you see that one show where they almost got off the island?

  • Battle to be least obnoxious. (Score:3)

    by ucblockhead ( 63650 ) on Friday October 08, 1999 @06:40AM (#1629523) Homepage Journal
    The rules amuse me greatly. Every week, the contestants vote one of their number off of the island. Seems to me that the winner will be whoever is least annoying to their fellow competitors.

    There is lots of room for interesting mathematical games as well. A good opening strategy might be to find eight fellow competitors at the beginning and form a voting block. Those joining the block garauntee their own survival for eight rounds. Then, you try to form another voting block. Lots of room for Machiavellian strategy.

  • The people who came up with this sound like they were on more powerful "medicinal" substances then the ones who thought up "Real World."

    -m
  • "You and fifteen other strangers are marooned on a deserted tropical island in the South China Sea..." with only a camera crew, make-up artists and a production team to keep you company. Think about it, what your average person, even an attractive one, would look like after seven weeks in the jungle. CBS will obviously have to intervine in any number of cirumstances (what if someone decides "hell, Im on a desert island, I'll just walk around nude and fling excrament at the camera crew!!").
  • Normal US contest rules (of any type) require US citizenship to win any prizes. Probably something to do with taxes...

    BTW, is that .sig a reference to Gauntlet? I loved that game...
    --

  • Wow, that's all we need, another popularity contest. This has nothing to do with their survival skills, it has to do with how personable they are (10 bucks says I know who will win after watching the _first_ show). Besides, this means that we nerds have no chance. Some ESFP will come along and win, and all the INTX's will get kicked off the island.

    I think it would really be cool, if they let all of them stay on the island and see how they develop a socity, government, city, etc.... Would you end up with a communist `counsil' where everybody did for the state, or would they develop a sence of indiviualism and what they do best? What do you do with crimnals (can there be crimnals without laws?)? Would they work together or work against each other? Would their be specialized labor, or everybody for him/herself?

    Anyway, I couldn't do this, it would be too hard to go 7 weeks without computers (unless you got a really small laptop and a cell phone, snuck them onto the island and kept it a secret and got online at night (oh, yeah, and a few hundred batteries (or....maybe you would develop solar panels out of coconuts....)))

    That's my $(2^4*3+1/7%3*2/100)
  • Umm, this kind of show has been running in Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia for I think 3 or 4 years now...
  • You are getting behind. A show just like this one have been running on Swedidh television for about two-and-a-half year by now. Nobody have died yet. But the 'survivers' have gone really famouse.
  • There is some confusion here.

    The people locked up in a house-show is the Dutch "Big Brother".

    But this show sounds much more like the Swedish "Robinson", where people go to a deserted island, survive, and are gradually voted out until a winner remains.

    It seems to be the media event of the year in Sweden, judging from the internet newspapers I read from my fatherland (which seems to have gone downhill since I left :-)
  • For you those of you deprived of growing up watching American TV:

    Gilligan's Island was a sit-com on American TV in the late 60's. It is considered both unredeemably stupid and a classic (often by the same people).

    The premise of the show is that 7 people on a three hour boat tour were caught in a storm and standed on an island. The episodes recounted their futile attempts to get back to Hawaii. One of the more amusing aspects of the show is that the castaways managed to create for themselves most of the comforts of modern life (including a car and a washing machine) out of bamboo and coconuts. Another was that several of the characters must have carried dozens of changes of clothes for a "three-hour tour".

    Gilligan was the hapless ship's mate (played by Bob Denver) who while good-intentioned, was usually the cause of any particular scheme to get rescued failing.

    It's a classic of American pop culture. The show lasted for a few seasons and has been rerun incessantly since then.

    In other words, it's "Star Trek: Voyager" without the spaceship.
  • True, it's on it's third year now here in Sweden.

    In the beginning, you could be voted out by your own team - one was - and later killed himself.
    Whether this was due to the show, I don't know, but there was all kind of complaints, and the show was called mobbing-tv e.t.c.
    They have now changed the rules so it's the other teams which can vote out one from "your" team.
    This completely spoiled the show, because the other teams will obviously try to vote out the "best" on a competitive team.
    That means that if you try to help your teammates, be a nice guy and all that, you're asking for a ticket home.

    So from mobbing-tv, it went to be sissy-tv.

  • Is saying "again" after already saying "reread" redundant?

    Not if you've already read it twice. In that case, since you've already reread it once, you can reread it again... :)


    --

  • The Long Walk (Score:3)

    by Wah ( 30840 ) on Friday October 08, 1999 @06:54AM (#1629535) Homepage Journal
    ...is one of my favorite short stories. It's in the Bachman Books and I'm sure many reprintings.

    The basic premise: 100 18 yr old men are selected and start walking. They must maintain a pace of 4 mph, if they fall below 4 mph three times, they, um, get their heads blown off my soldiers (it IS King...). For every hour you walk you can lose one of your strikes, but it's always three and you're out. Last man walking wins. The prize, IIRC, is you basically get your every whim until you die.

    In the book it was built up as more popular than the superbowl with massive betting on who would be next, first, last to die. Persoanally I think it's some of King's best work (before that computer started writing his books) and would make an excellent movie, if done correctly.
  • Like we're supposed to believe this is really going to be a challenge for the quote-unquote survivors when there's a whole freakin' camera and sound crew living on the island with them? Yeah right.

    Oh wait, or do you have to volunteer to build your camera and sound equipment out of coconuts and bamboo and palm leaves and be willing to eat sand and seashells before you're part of the crew for the show?

    What tripe. What trash. But people will watch because 85% of the people in the U.S. are blithering idiots who need to get their entertainment spoon-fed by whomever has the loudest marketing. Critical thinking abilities in this country have dropped to critical levels when the networks can pass this sort of stuff off a "real". I might even say this is more insulting to one's intelligence than that "Erkle" show.

    -=-=-=-=-

  • Sounds a bit like Prisoner's Dilemma. The classic backstabbing game.

    They mention that there are poisonous coral snakes... I hope they have adequate medical facilities nearby to treat somewhen *WHEN* they get bitten by one (not if).

    One last comment: What happens if there is a tie in the vote? Re-vote? A votes for B, B votes for C and C votes for A.

  • Instead of "Survivor" it should be called "The Real World", or "Road Rules".

    Oh wait, those are taken.


    Nothing can possiblai go wrong. Er...possibly go wrong.
    Strange, that's the first thing that's ever gone wrong.
  • There is a similar show running in Denmark called
    "Robinson" which is a huge success; intriges are
    fueled by the tv station and the fact that people
    must vote their fellow group members home.

    A total waste of time, if you want a real survival
    course - be all you can be.

    /Soren
  • I'm glad I read before I poted. This was the first thing i thought of when I heard this on the radio this morning. It's funny...there was a quote on this special about wrestling on tv. At the end they said that we aren't quite on the level with ancient rome watching people battle to the death with each other. We haven't cried out for blood...yet.
    I fear something like this is just one more step down the spiral. Evil prevails when good men do nothing.
  • Let's get 16 people together and take part in the contest. No matter who's the winner we can share the $. ;D

    Given our voting skills we should be able to finish the job most quickly.

    Anyone?
  • Was it 7 weeks? I can't seem to find it again.

    Anyway, the point is that this is basically marketing, and designed to grab the USA public and make them watch advertisements.

    Something like this has been happening in Australia for a couple years, but much more serious. 2 people (usually a couple) were sent down to the back blocks of Tasmania for a year (yup, 1 whole year) with bugger all. No constant tv crews either.

    So it was real physical survival, whereas the TV show is about political surival. Guess most of us geeks miss out then. Still, they'll need people to 'die' early on, so don't give up now.
  • Okay, take a minute to think about what you just typed... just because things will probably be fairly unchallenging for the camera crew does NOT imply that the same will be true for the "survivors". You have made a classic logical error in your argument, I suggest that you go back to school and enroll in a beginners Logic class. Perhaps then you will be able to come up with better arguments when you speak.
    ---
  • It seems the best strategy would be to remain popular (or at least innocuous) amoung all the other contestants, to decrease the likelihood of being voted 'off' the island.

    However, if island 'cliques' emerge, things could get interesting....for example, in-group agreements to support each other (ie, not vote each other out) could emerge. Groups could also collectively target a (possibly random) specific individual in some other group to be 'voted out', thereby preserving safety within the group.

    In that scenario, the largest clique wins, and then in-group battles would break out, possibly with the formation of sub-cliques, etc..

    What's also interesting is that the ultimate victor has to remain more popular with the last seven contestants than his rival. That's probably why the contest isn't open to CANADIANS! (we're too innocuous/friendly and we'd win every time).


  • True. There is a real feel this is going to be "Real World: Deserted Island."

    But the fact is, what if you have some not really cool (aka unlikable in some way) person that has the uncanny ability to provide well for the rest of the group? Or perhaps this person is well VERY resourceful but (s)he can be a real prick at times?

    Do the skills outweigh the behavior?
    I saw the comment about gaining "luxuries" through contests so I am skeptical on how uncontrolled the environment is. What happens if one of the people is in need of medical attention? (ie: broken leg) Does that mean a free week because one person automatically eliminated themself? (the pseudo-Darwin Award)

    Weird...I may have to try out for it anyway. Minneapolis is only 10 miles away...what the heck.

    If I make it the "shirt on my back" will have to either be my Batman T-shirt or the one I picked up at the Abacus World Expo.

    -Vel
  • The swedish show was called expedition robinson as someone already pointed out earlier and it also was on a tropical island, the price there was a measly $50,000.-

    In holland (wich is where I happen to live) we are now enjoying a really fun show called (as pointed out) Big brother but their concept is a little different. It goes like this:
    Nine people live in a house without any connection to the outside world other than a voice over. no TV, no newspaper etc. They stay in that house (wich, by the way is a sort of pre-fab single story building) for 100 days.

    There are some fun elements added too:
    Every few weeks each of the inhabitants has to nominate two housemates for removal from the house. After that the viewers (that's us!) get to vote on the nominee's and the one with the most votes has to leave the (and spend the next few weeks in talk shows) and he or she gets nothing. In the end there will be three left and then the public votes for the most popular and that person gets $125,00.- and the other two get nothing. end of show.
    They get to spend $250.- every week (with nine people!) but they can raise their budget by succesfully completing assignments such as: cycling 1300km on a hometrainer in five days.

    Every day there is a "prime time" summary of all the fun things they did that day on TV and at night it (sometimes) replaces the shopping channel (wich is good). there are also four webcams running all day and night (remember the time-difference)

    http://www.big-brother.nl

    (Sorry, I'm no good at HTML)
  • How lame, it's nothing but a popularity contest, but with a sort of political backstabbing twist because there can only be one winner in the end. Like Highlander meets 90210.

    Of course, if you rework their premise, it makes perfect sense. Assume the castaways don't have enough food (and assume they're helpless morons, because they're on a tropical island). Each vote is to determine who is sacrificed to be eaten. Now that would be a show worth watching!

  • South China Sea my @$$ (Score:4)

    by alumshubby ( 5517 ) on Friday October 08, 1999 @07:04AM (#1629550)
    Oh, for Chrissakes...Guess where the #1 spot in the world is for getting robbed, raped, kidnapped and/or murdered with a 360-degree view of the ocean? Yep. South China Sea. The US Navy and others patrol to try to keep the pirate situation down to a low boil, but there's only so many ships, plenty of bad guys, and unless CBS is going to have its own private flotilla and Marine det providing security, Very Bad Things are liable to happen.

    You guys all read Snow Crash...you do remember those pirates, right?

  • Sounds destined to fail (Score:5)

    by DanMcS ( 68838 ) on Friday October 08, 1999 @07:07AM (#1629552)

    The application alone seems designed to ensure that they all starve to death:

    Applications MUST be written clearly or typed and must be accompanied by a videotape which meets the following restrictions:
    CONTENT: Who you are and why you would make the ultimate Survivor! Be creative!
    So, to be on the show, you must be able to survive a screen test. Something tells me this one will be the most important test of a cantidate, but really, even if they look good on camera, how are they going to look after 5 1/2 weeks on a deserted island with no plumbing?

    Some of the other questions are amusing too. The answers most likely to ensure survival in a real marooning situation, are likewise those most likely to scare the producers and cause you not to be hired. Compare them with the typical angst-ridden teen applicant.

    In which other occupations, if any, have you been employed (please list your last three (3))?
    Tribesman Hunter, Gatherer, Flint knapper
    Teen McDonalds, lifeguard, Walmart

    What is your level of education and what school(s) did you attend?
    Tribesman None
    Teen I just graduated from SuperDuper High School in Podunk, Ohio (go Porcupines!)

    Name three of your favorite hobbies.
    Tribesman Making spears, burning out canoes, skinning game animals.
    Teen Going to movies, shopping, talking on the phone

    Not including your current place of residence, in which other cities and/or countries have you lived and for what period of time?
    Tribesman I have lived in Brazil, Australia, and the Congo at various times. Of course, the tribes didn't call them that...
    Teen I've never been outside of the three-state area.

    List three adjectives that best describe yourself:
    Tribesman Large, brutish, accurate (with projectiles)
    Teen Smart, sensitive, ambitious

    If you could hold any political office, what would it be and why?:
    Tribesman Someday, I would like to lead my own clan into the rainforest and never return.
    Teen I would be mayor, so I could beautify our city's streets and parks.

    What is the accomplishment you are most proud of?:
    Tribesman I killed my first wild boar when I was 10.
    Teen I won the spelling bee my senior year!

    Do you have any pets? If so, please list their name and type.:
    Tribesman Animals are for eating.
    Teen Poofy, my iguana.

    Are you a vegetarian or do you eat meat?:
    Tribesman See above.
    Teen It isn't right to eat animals, they are people too.

    What's your favorite movie?:
    Tribesman Alive.
    Teen Clueless

    What's your favorite music to listen to?:
    Tribesman The rythmic pounding of drums.
    Teen Ska

    Describe your perfect day.:
    Tribesman Waking at dawn, I rise and gather my hunting equipment. But I find that a deer has fallen into the pit I dug last week, so I bludgeon it and dress it to take back to camp, where I roast a haunch and smoke the rest to preserve it. No tigers attack me.
    Teen I get to sleep in till noon, then go and help my grandmother with her garden.

    Do you have any body art (piercing, tattoos, etc.)? If so, please describe.:
    Tribesman All men in my society have a 3 inch prong stuck through their lip after they make their first kill.
    Teen I have 8 ear piercings, a nosering, two eyebrow rings, and one other one, you don't want to see it.

    List three (3) items you would take with you to the Survivor! desert island, if allowed, and why?:
    Tribesman A knife, a lighter, and a tarp. That's all I own anyway.
    Teen A TV, stereo, and VCR so I wouldn't feel so far from home.

    What is your favorite topic of conversation at a dinner party?:
    Tribesman The upcoming rainy season, or the next expedition into town.
    Teen The terrible plight of the suburbs in this country, as they are doomed to fall behind when even more sprawl moves people out from the cities.

    What skills do you bring to the island that would make you a useful member of the group?
    Tribesman Given a rock, I can provide food for the entire group.
    Teen I am a good listener, a caring friend, and a swim instructor at my local pool.

    Why do you believe you could be the final Survivor? (please limit your answer to 3 or 4 sentences):
    Teen Because I believe in myself!
    Tribesman If I am not, I will call down my tribe's medicine man and your corporate headquarters will be left a smoldering ruin in our wake.

    Who do you think CBS will pick?

  • If I recall correctly, the winner is so fried mentally from forcing himself to walk that he doesn't realize the walk is over and just keeps walking, walking, walking...

  • I'm not sure of the law, but who controls this island as far as laws?
  • One slight twist and this show could called "Predator".

    Here's how it works:

    A bunch of us pool our resources and money. After the show starts, we determine the exact location of the island.

    Then we hire one special forces operative, preferably an ex-SEAL with impulse control problems. He can be special contestant number 17!

    His job is to eliminate, with extreme prejudice, the contestants, the camera crew, the producers and any other humans on the island. And he gets to keep the grand prize for a job well done.

    Now *that's* entertainment.


    Nothing can possiblai go wrong. Er...possibly go wrong.
    Strange, that's the first thing that's ever gone wrong.
  • no wonder my dental co-pays have been rising! hehehhe :P
  • if this is about survival, leave the fscking guns outta this.

    It's not about survival, it's about entertainment..

    99% of people aren't trained and self-disciplined enough to handle a firearm without being more of a danger to themselves and their fellow marooneds than they are to their erstwhile game.

    Yeah, but the point is watching untrained people try to operate firearms or heavy machinery is the entertainment value... Imagine "America's Funniest Home Videos" crossbred with "Faces of Death"..

  • ABC's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? The plot: 16 people stuck on an island, with Regis Philbin shouting "Is that your final answer?" at them repeatedly until all but one go insane.

    What do you think, America?
  • Excuse me?

    Why don't *you* think about what *you* said.

    There will have to be a fully-equipped camera and sound crew, along with whatever support on the island. Let's say something "bad" happens to one of the "survivors." Do you really think the other people on the island are going to sit back and say, "Oh, we're the camera crew, we're not allowed to treat you for snakebite. You're gonna die." The support crew affects the behaviours of the "survivors" by creating an environment of "Well, nothing bad could *really* happen to me because there's all these other people here in case something does." Even assuming the whole situation is even vaguely real to begin with.

    Since I'm not trying to construct a proof, I don't see how you can find a "logical error" in my argument. It's a supposition based on my knowledge of human ethical behaviour.

    Try to not resort to personal insults next time you don't think things through, as well. You just come across sounding like a loser and a jerk.

    -=-=-=-=-

  • Imagine that in March of 2000, you and fifteen other strangers are marooned on a deserted tropical island in the South China Sea, cruise missles sailing overhead.

    White sand beaches, lush rain forest, crystal clear waters. This is your new home for seven weeks. The only other inhabitants are long tailed Macaque monkeys, monitor lizards, and our crack team of TV cameramen, journalists, and Bob Eubanks! It seems romantic, but you are now part of a bold challenge where only one of you will win the ultimate prize of one million dollars.

    You will not bother with shelter - hey, it's the tropics - catch food (see aforementioned monkeys, lizards, and journalists), and establish a new island society. You must work together as a team, but only to lull your competitors into a false sense of security. Each day you will compete in challenges of strategy, guile and bludgeoning to steal your opponent's small luxuries and to preserve your chance for the ultimate cash prize.

    You will form a Tribal Council. Here you will openly debate the group dynamics of the previous days, and smash the skulls of those who disagree with you. The council ends with a secret ballot where each of you votes to eat the cameramen and take the prize-winning journalists as mate. The person with the least amount of mates must leave the territory immediately and is elimiated from the gene pool.

    Over the weeks, one by one, more are eliminated until only two remain. In order to choose the final winner, a unique Tribal Council is called. This final conflict (refereed by the last seven outcast males) will be a WCW Cage Match Battle Royale, with Jesse Ventura as Guest Announcer. Weeks of surviving the elements and outlasting the other castaways, but it all comes down to one - the Survivor! The winner of the $1,000,000 (less %38 federal tax, 10% millionaires tax, 3% state tax, all applicable license fees, insurances, and transportation fees. CBS owns all trademarks and distributions rights associated with this contest, including books and movie sales, as well as the Survivors persona and image without limit.)

    Do you want a chance to win ONE MILLION DOLLARS (see note above)? Do you have what it takes to be the ultimate Survivor(TM)? Click here for information on how to apply for this once in a lifetime opportunity to embarrass yourself in front of the whole world, live!

  • No, we've had this game in Sweden for some time,
    and it turns out that the person that seems most
    likely to win is often voted out first, because
    he/she is the worst competitor.

    I suppose being a nice guy is a plus, because
    you don't really want to spend week after week
    with a bunch of people you don't like. Unless,
    of course, the price to the winner is so big
    that it is worth the time...
  • Depending on the contestants, in my opinion, the most likely last contestant will be a woman.

    All she would have to do is sleep with the guys and that would guarantee that she would not be voted out most likely. Then all she has to do is get them to turn on each other one by one.

    Hey AC, let's do lunch sometime, and pitch this to the Spice Channel! Or maybe WB.

    George

  • Ratface dun said:

    We're on the third series here in Sweden. First one began in 1997. ... and there was me thinking the US got all the good TV first.

    Actually, you'd prolly be shocked to see how many rather popular TV shows in America are direct ripoffs of European, British, or Japanese TV shows :) For example, "Ready, Set, Cook" (TV Food Network) is an Americanised version of the British "Ready, Steady, Cook"; the same network is apparently now showing an Americanised version of the Japanese show (and cult classic) "Iron Chefs" (imagine Ready, Steady, Cook on major crack :)... "Survivor" is apparently a ripoff of "Expedition Robinson" on Swedish and Swiss TV; even "America's Funniest Home Videos" is an Americanised version of a Japanese "funniest home videos" program (watch the credits for proof--that is, if you can stand more than five seconds of Bob Saget without bearing an amazing resemblance to someone who has just downed an entire bottle of syrup of ipecac).

    Seriously, though...I don't want to think of all the legal disclaimers contestants will have to sign (the US is decidedly more sue-happy than Europe is, has no legal caps on damages, and game shows HAVE been sued in past). If someone ends up dying or going seriously ill on the show, the lawyer packs are liable to be on them anyways...and I hope they're timing this fairly carefully to avoid hurricane season or areas known for tsunamis :) (Tsunamis wouldn't be a concern in the Carribean, where I expect they'd hold the contest--many cruise lines actually own private "vacation islands", and I imagine it'd be a similar setup--but if the contest lasts past June or so they ARE going to have to worry about hurricanes...)

  • I suspect that for the first few rounds, at least, you want to be one of those personable, but quiet sorts that no one notices.
  • Watch men and women climbing ropes for big cash prizes and to avoid certain, agonizing death in...

    Climbing for Dollars!

    Thursdays at 9:00 after The Running Man!
  • There you go again, getting personal. As if you have any idea what my job is about or that I would ever have any reason to thank you for any sort of advice you could ever consider giving me.

    I now forget this thread exists.

    -=-=-=-=-

  • I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!

    Get up! Get your lazy ass out of your chair, open your window, and shout it: I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore! I can't hear you. Come on, get up. GET UP RIGHT NOW. Go to your god-fearin congressman, and tell him in no uncertain terms: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"

    Say it with me one more time...

    --
    grappler

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