Survivor Pearl Islands - The Complete Seventh Season
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Movie Reviews of Survivor Pearl Islands - The Complete Seventh Season
Movie Review: BEST SEASON OF 5 Stars
Okay, so I'm kind of biased because this is the first one I ever saw. BUT, I've yet to see one that's better than this. This one has all the elements that make "Survivor": Great characters; an exotic location; alliances; deceit; incredible challenges; amazing rewards; the coolest Immunity Idol ever and a huge big fat load of STRATEGY!!!!!!!! I mean it: If you're in any way someone who enjoys watching the social politics of the game, BUY IT RIGHT NOW!This season contains one of the most adept and consummate strategists ever to play the game: The infamous "Johnny Fairplay". He glides through the game, effortlessly deceiving his tribemates, and pulls off one of the most audacious deceptions of reality televison. The best Survivor "villain" since "The Outback's" Jerri Manthey.
Of course, to balance Jon's "villainy", we also have Survivor's most loved contestant of all time: Rupert Boneham. It's not hard to see why the shoe-stealing, skirt-wearing, Grisly Adams-esque, affable pirate is so likable. Although many have argued that this season was dedicated to Rupert, there's no doubt that he was a huge factor in this seventh season's success.
But that, of course, is only two of many greats. The determined Burton Roberts, the elegant Tijuana Bradley, the beautiful Darrah Johnson, and the opinionated Sandra Diaz-Twine also added their own personalities and influences to the game.
Producer Mark Burnett alters his proven formula for this season, with some controversial results. The decision to shipwreck the castaways with nothing but the clothes on their backs was inspiring, and the scenes following the premiere's opening titles showing the survivors bartering and bargaining at the Panamanian village are great.
The "Outcast" twist, of course, remains the most shocking of all Burnett's inventions. The return of the first six ousted survivors to form a third tribe wouldn't have had such an impact if they had not won that fateful challenge and secured the right to reinstate two of their numbers as castaways once more.
Panama itself is one of the most beautiful locations of all the seasons (with the producers having returned there for Survivor: 8 and 12) and the camera work does the stunning vistas and crystal beaches justice in every sense.
As for the box set, a lot of people complained that it didn't comply with the larger one-disk-per-box sets of Borneo, Austrailia and All-Stars. YAWN! WHO CARES?!?!?! This one's good enough. It contains the entire season, as well as several audio commentary features with Rupert, Sandra and Christa (Episodes 1 and 10), and "Fairplay", Burton, Ryan O. and Andrew (Episodes 7, 8 and 11). The first Rupert/Sandra/Christa combination is probably the best of all. The arrogant Fairplay refuses to comment on Episode 8, purely because he himself is not featured prominently in that particular one. JERK! They're all really insightful, though.
The aptly-named "Pirate's Tale" Documentary is really good, with all of the "audio" participants named above giving interviews about many of the memorable events of the show. It also includes a few words from producer Burnett and host Jeff Probst.
The "strategy" featurette is the only 'let-down' of the entire box set. It's pretty much made up of short, pre-game interviews mixed with clips of each survivor in Panama. Not that great (Watch out for Christa's "super" self-exagerations).
As a whole, "Survivor: Pearl Islands" lives up to everything that should be expected from an unforgetable season of the best show on television! From the thrilling marooning off the Panamanian coast, to the final tribal council and the penultimate vote, Pearl Islands delivers the BEST SEASON OF SURVIVOR EVER!!!
Movie Review: Maybe the best season of Survivor, ever
Summary: 5 Stars
WARNING: SPOILERS
Survivor was at its most popular during its first two seasons, but I think in terms of gameplay and general quality it peaked around season 7-8 (Amazon and Pearl Islands). In both seasons, there was one master manipulator. In Amazon, it was Rob Cesternino, a wiseass computer programmer who hopped from alliance to alliance every three days, until he eliminated all the power players. In Pearl Islands, Jon Dalton aka "Jonny Fairplay," managed to do the same thing despite being hated by the rest of the cast. As with Rob, Fairplay escaped the axe constantly due to a series of lies and manipulation. Perhaps his most famous lie was him claiming that his very-alive grandmother had passed away. After tearfully telling his tribemembers that his grandmother wasn't "with him" anymore, he confesss, "My grandmother is at home watching Jerry Springer." Love him or hate him, Jonny Fairplay is undoubtedly one of the greatest villains of reality tv history, and also one of the best Survivors to ever play the game. He didn't win, like so many Survivor puppetmasters, but still, he was an amazing strategist. In a revealing moment at the reunion, the other castmembers are asked what they think about the "great lie." Even Lill, arguably the most sanctimonious of all the castmembers, nods appreciatively at the scheming Jonny Fairplay.
Besides Fairplay, Pearl Islands had perhaps the best and most colorful cast of any Survivor season. There was Sandra, the "lippiest mom" and eventual winner of the season, Rupert, who became one of the most famous Survivors ever, Osten, the first Survivor to ever quite the game, and Lill, the Scoutmaster who moped and cried her way all the way to the end. There was also a strange twist: two "outcasts" who had been previously voted out of the game returned, much to the dismay of their former tribemembers. With so many funny/unforgettable moments of the season, I can't possibly list them all. Maybe one of the funniest was in the first episode, when the castmembers were allowed to go to a Panamanian village and barter for supplies. One Panamanian woman became very attached to a castmember, and Sandra says disbelievingly, "I think she liked her. In a *sexual* way." Osten's battle with the elements is another great storyline arc. I won't mention Rupert, who I think was actually rather irritating with his "I wanna be the biggest baddest pirate" schtick, but hey, the American public loved him, so much that they gave him a million dollars after the All-Star Survivor season in an "America votes" award.
Unfortunately, this great season is skimpy on the extras. There are two commentary tracks, one with Sandra, Christa, and Rupert, and the other with Fairplay, Burton (one returning "outcast"), RyanO, and Andrew Savage. The strange thing is that Fairplay, the villain, is much more enjoyable to listen to than Rupert, America's favorite pirate. Maybe it's because Fairplay was an excellent strategist, while Rupert and Christa were horrible strategically. On Survivor commentaries, it's always more fun to listen to people who understand the game. I know I'm going to hell, but the Savage/Burton/RyanO/Fairplay track has to be the funniest in Survivor dvd history. They were relentlessly mean, but they had me in stitches. There are some extra interviews with the cast members. Again, the dvd presentation is disappointing -- no deleted scenes, unlike the All-Star Survivor dvd's.
But Pearl Islands is probably the best season of Survivor, out of the 12 seasons.
Movie Review: THE TRIBE HAS SPOKEN: GREAT SEASON OVERALL!
Summary: 5 Stars
I didn't think the show would hold up well to repeat viewing but it does. Surprisingly it's better when you can watch the episodes back to back without the week delay. Like "24" this show is tailor made for dvd.
Although Australia Outback is probably my favorite season overall this one is very good. You had an interesting mix of personalities. Obviously Rupert was the most popular and he was very enjoyable to watch but I'm one of the few who also liked Johnny "Fairplay". Sure he was a snake but he never pretended to be anything else. He really knew who to manipulate people and move himself along each week. His strategy to save Burton was brilliant.
As for Lilly well her constant whining/crying really grated on my nerves after a while and that darn boyscout uniform seemed out of place for some reason.
The "outcast twist" was a great idea too and completely changed the dynamics of the game. It pretty much sealed the Morgan tribes fate once the merge took place.
*SPOILER ALERT" as for the eventual winner Sandra well she played the game well enough to get her to the final three. Even though she didn't win any challenges she stuck with her alliance with Christa and Rupert as long as she could then sided with others to move her along and letting poor Christa take the blame for the whole "who threw out the fish?" incident was priceless. In retrospect she didn't ruffle any feathers too much and let people Like Fairplay and Burton do most of the dirty work. Her luckiest break was Lilly taking her to the final two and the rest as they say is Survivor history.
In closing I think the shows shot by the water make for more compelling television because the challenges are generally more difficult and the scenery is breathtaking. As someone who's visited the ocean there's nothing more beautiful in the world imo.
PS: The Tribe has Spoken. Season 7 Pearl Islands is a winner on dvd!
Enjoy!!
Movie Review: Rupert is Survivor
Summary: 5 Stars
Ask yourself a question, what happened to seasons 2,3,4,5 and 6? Why aren't they released and season 7 is? One answer: Rupert. Not only is his face right in the center, but it's bigger than everyone elses. You'd think he was the winner, and that's because he was. I'm only giving this season 5 stars because of Rupert.
The first several episodes are golden; in my opinion, the definition of the game. Strangers placed in a foreign land overcoming physical and mental challenges; giving it their all to win. After those episodes, the show is a huge disappointment. I absolutely hated the twist of bringing back those already voted out. I also hated the way they got rid of Rupert via the infamous Dart game.
Never before or since in Survivor's history have we seen the Dart game. I don't even remember, but it was a stupid game. Something like you have to blow a dart on your own name to receive "killer status", then you can get rid of other players. But if someone else hits your name then you lose killer status, and you have to get it back; stupid, stupid, stupid. But it was just a setup to get rid of Rupert. Anyways, if you like Rupert, get this season; he's really the only reason to buy it.
Movie Review: One of the last great seasons of Survivor
Summary: 5 Stars
With the exception of All-Stars, this was the last season of Survivor that I watched from beginning to end. I think this season was so great, that newer seasons just haven't been able to compete.
I didn't understand (and still don't) the 'Rupert craze'. He had some good moments, but I never saw him as a threat to win it all. And I didn't find him all that loveable. He was certainly entertaining, though. Good choice for a cast member.
Like another reveiwer, I was rooting for Burton all the way. When his beard grew out, Burton reminded me so much of Steve Reeves from the old Hercules movies. I just couldn't help but root for the guy.
Although I've never liked him in anything else, Jon 'Johnny Fairplay' was extremely entertaining this season. The 'dead grandmother' will be a tv classic for a long time.
To be honest, I didn't even notice Sandra on the island until the last three or four episodes. For her to win was somewhat of a letdown, but at least the ridiculous, wishy washy Lil didn't win.
Although I was pulling for Burton (both times he was in the game), this season had enough twists, turns, and drama to keep me hooked all the way.