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DVD : Survivor Vanuatu - The Complete Season |
- survivor's demise is complete (no spoilers)I have been a fan of this series since the beginning, but this one definitely marks a new low.
Let me be clear. There is nothing wrong with these dvds, it is a nice collection with nice production values. But if you haven't seen this season, you might want to think twice before purchasing it.
Here is my problem with it (excuse the rant). Survivor used to be about people surviving in the wilderness. They endured hardships, were challenged each week to do physical and mental challenges, and people who were good at these things were rewarded. Not anymore. The game now caters to the lowest common denominator. The people who are the strongest, or smartest, or have the best survival skills are always the ones to get voted out first. They are "too much of a threat" to everyone else who realizes that they are not as skilled. The challenges too are a big joke. For example, several of the challenges essentially revolved around "walking across a balance beam". Hmm, now what in the world does that have to do with survival skills? By the time you get to the end of this sorry affair, you're left with all least skilled, least interesting, meanest, nastiest people that you just don't give a damn about. I think it's time to give this series a proper burial.
Rating:
- One of Survivor's BestSurvivor Vanuatu: Islands of Fire, the ninth season of the series, is definitely among the best seasons of Survivor. This season featured many interesting and unpredictable plot twists: an earthquake; nude sunbathing; shocking tribal council outcomes; and, of course, the winner. The DVDs' features are great. The four featurettes, along with the audio commentaries, add much insight and intrigue into what happened behind the scenes. Overall this was an excellent season of Survivor, and this DVD set is a must-have for any true Survivor fan.
Rating:
- Vanuautu before others?"Survivor: Vanuatu" was the season immediately following All-Stars, so it felt weird because All-Stars felt conclusive to the series. Vanuatu was actually one of the worst seasons. I often wonder why they released this over milestone seasons like Africa, Marquesas, Exile Island, and Amazon. Whereas the winner was unpredictable, Twila was great, it just felt boring. There were no major twists in the season and it dragged at points being predictable during the eliminations leading up to the final 7. I would buy this but not before the other releases.
Rating:
- And the winner is...Jeff Probst?Okay, so technically speaking, Jeff Probst, the venerable host of Survivor, didn't walk away with the check for a million dollars at the end of Survivor Vanuatu, the show's ninth season. That honor belongs to Chris Daugherty, the highway construction worker who survived a female alliance and fought his way to victory.
However, Probst really could be considered the winner of this season, much like Boston Rob could've been considered the winner of the All-Star season. Probst found something bigger than money, he found Julie Berry. And I am sure he is not the only one that would take Julie over a check for a million dollars.
Berry was the youth mentor from Maine who eventually finished fifth in this season, but her and Probst have since struck up a relationship, one that he felt brewing while the season was being filmed. In a commentary track on the finale, Probst revealed that he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen when she walked into her audition before the show even started. And quite honestly, he's right. She ranks up there with Colleen Haskell, Amber Brkich Mariano and Elisabeth Filarski as one of the most beautiful women to play the game of Survivor.
While Probst was busy picking up a girlfriend, Daugherty was busy scheming and lying his way to a million dollars. He sure didn't get off to a good start, making his final victory even more implausible.
The teams arrived on Vanuatu and were divided into tribes of men and women by the natives. In the very first challenge, with immunity on the line, Daugherty couldn't fight his way across a balance beam and cost his team the win. Despite that, he wasn't sent home, as he teamed with drill sargent Lea Masters (Sarge), Travis (Bubba) Sampson, Rory Freeman and Chad Critttenden to form the "Fat Five" (although it should be noted, Chad was far from fat). The five older guys stuck together and voted off three younger guys before the game was switched up.
The guys eventually rebounded and were able to capture a few wins, while the girls managed to stick together. Only Dolly Neely, the adorable sheep farmer and Mia the incredibly annoying one, were sent home early. The women's alliance was led by Ami Cusack and Leann Slaby. The two had a tight bond and they helped unite the other women.
But, change came when the two teams were split, with Julie and Twila Tanner, the outspoken, hard-working highway repair worker, joining the male Lopevi tribe and Bubba and Rory joining the female Yasur tribe. The new Lopevi started strong and Bubba was sent home. The new Lopevi women teamed up with the guys to vote off John Kenney, despite his strength in challenges, and the women agreed to vote off Lisa before Rory, as she had made a comment that didn't sit well with Ami, who seemingly controlled the game in Yasur.
When the merge came along, the men were outnumbered, as Rory, Chris, Sarge and Chad were only four to Julie, Eliza Orlins, Twila, Ami, Leann and Scout Cloud Lee, the oldest of the Vanuatu contestants. Rory, Sarge and Chad, who was a dynamite competitor despite the fact that he had an artificial leg, were voted off by the women's alliance, leaving Chris up against six women.
And that is when the game took one of its most dramatic turns. When the women decided they wanted to vote out Eliza before Chris, the lone male teamed with Twila, Scout and Eliza to turn the table and Leann went home, shocking Ami and Julie. Twila made perhaps her biggest mistake, swearing on her son that she was with Leann and Ami, a lie that a few contestants took very seriously.
With the game changed around, Ami went home next, followed by Julie, then Eliza, with Scout the final person voted out. In the final tribal council, Twila's lies and her outspoken ways came back to bite her, while Chris' lies didn't seem to bother anyone and the lone male in the final seven pulled out the big win.
Of course the only reason to buy reality shows on DVD is for extras and this set had a good amount of things. There were four commentary tracks. Chad, Chris, Twila, Scout, Eliza, Julie and Ami all sat in on at least two sessions, while Jeff Probst joined in on the finale. These commentaries were very interesting and are really what helps to sell this set. There were also four featurettes, one on each disc, involving the same castaways as the commentaries. These were also informative for a Survivor fan.
Though I was happy to see this release, I was a little surprised. Airing after the All-Stars version, this season was not considered one of the best in Survivor history, so I was surprised when it appeared on the DVD schedule. It's disappointing that we haven't seen seasons three through six, including Africa and the Amazon, but any release of this show is a good one if they keep up the solid extras.
Rating:
- One of the best seasons ever!WARNING: SPOILERS!!
In this season, there is a man with only 1 leg, Chad, a 60 year old woman making it to the final 3, Scout. Eliza talked a lot. Twila annoyed me so much I'm mad she made the final 2!! Ok now about the season. At first the Men and the Women were split up into tribes so it was Men vs. Women. And throughout the season the Women seemed to dominate! Up until te final 6, there was Ami, Twila, Eliza, Scout, and Julie. But there was Chris for the men. But Chris battled back and won immunity a couple of times. So he helped vote out Ami, Julie, and Eliza. So then it came down to the final 3, Scout, Chris, and Twila. Chris won final immunity. He voted out Scout. Now it is only Twila and Chris. The winner was Chris! The men had come back and beat the women! All the challenges were great, 2 people had nicknames. Travis was "Bubba" and Lee was "Sarge". And about the 6th episode, the tribes were mixed up. O yeah, in that episode there was an earthquake!! It was an awesome eathquake. They showed in on TV and everything. That is all I have to say about Survivor: Vanuatu the 9th season. It is really good.
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