I thought I was through with Survivor. I truly believed the days with my formerly most-beloved reality show were over. Season after season following Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, there was only one common denominator: torturous boredom. Every challenge felt bootlegged from an earlier season, each contestant — not including the returning players — was a bland, self-righteous tool; and predictability became as common to Survivor as injury is to Michael Skupin (love ya, Boar Hunter!). Personally, I felt the show’s infamous motto needed to be altered to this one: Outwit. Outplay. Outlast. Out of Gas. But then something miraculous happened. Somebody at CBS — maybe Jeff Probst himself — thought of a great concept that could potentially get former fans-turned-disgruntled viewers (such as yours truly) invested in a show that at one point drew 50 million spectators during its inaugural season finale (Survivor: Borneo). Bringing back three former players who were booted out of the game due to injury (an unfortunate circumstance through no intentional fault of their own) was a genius way to bring together Survivor fans of old and new. Read more on TV Review: Survivor Phillippines (***½)…
Tags: CBS Corporation, Jeff Kent, Jeff Probst, Jonathan Penner, Lisa Welchel, Michael Skupin, reality television, Russell Swan, sports, Survivor, Survivor Phillippines, Survivor Phillippines premiere, Survivor Phillippines Review, Survivor: Borneo
