Survivor returned on Wednesday for Season 44 with a 2 hour premier. I was looking forward to the return, and it did not disappoint. Being a fan since the beginning (over 22 years), Survivor still keeps my attention and I still find it fascinating to watch and analyze. I also read Dalton Ross’s recap on EW and love how it gives me another perspective on things.
Right off the bat, things were crazy. I cringed when Bruce dove head first under the first obstacle narrowly missing his head. And then before I could even regain my thought, he dove head first under the second obstacle, only this time he wasn’t as lucky, and bashed his head. It hurt me to watch, and I wasn’t surprised when he eventually had to be medically removed. Its interesting to me how the rest of the contestants acted like Bruce was there best friend in the world and how sad they were that he was out of the game. This is one of the things that has always fascinated me and made me want to be on the show to see how I would react. Not to be mean, but would I be sad if somebody had to leave the game early due to injury, or would I be thinking there is now one less person to worry about on my way to the end.
Here are two things stood out to me during the premier (actually three things)
1. It does seem again (similar to the last few seasons), that the contestants are treating this more of a fun adventure than a survival contest for One Million Dollars. They just don’t seem to get that mad or upset when things don’t go there way and it could cost them the game. “I know we lost the challenge, but hey it was fun and we all did really well”. This is really a parallel of society in general. Again, I would love the opportunity to see how an older player like myself would feel and react.
2. I liked the new twists (the locked bird cage and the new prisoners dilemma set up). Really liked how there were different rewards instead of them all being the same. Really makes things interesting. And I liked how the contestants sitting out of the challenge talked to each other to get information (Maybe this happens all the time, but I don’t remember them showing this in the past). As long as the twits do not effect the game in a completely random and unfair way, I’m all for mixing things up (Never liked the Fire Making challenge for the final four introduced in Season 35, or the Do or Die twist in Season 41. They are just to random and basically reward single players for losing a challenge)
3. I am amazed how many haters there are on social media who dislike the introduction of new twists with a passion, and want things to be like the early seasons with now idols / advantages / twists. Or the people who read into everything and act like Survivor is ruining there lives. I shouldn’t be surprised as again this parallels society in general. I do realize by “society in general”, I really mean the small percentage of twitter / Instagram / facebook users who seem to have taken over everything)
I’m looking forward to getting back into the routine of watching Survivor on Wednesday and Daltons recap on Thursday. I also plan on listening to Jeff Probs Survivor Podcast when I get a chance (Hopefully while getting out and going for a walk over the weekend)
Decided to head back to Stable Arena on the Lehigh campus last night for the Lehigh / Lafayette Patriot League Quarter Final game. Did not turn out as I wanted, as the Mountain Hawks took the 1st half off and found themselves in a hole that was to big to climb out of. The did come out and give a great effort in the 2nd half but simply ran out of time to make a full comeback. The season is now over and we will have to wait another year to see if Lehigh can find its way back into the NCAA Tournament for the 1s time since 2012 . It was a fun season (I found out I somehow get ESPN+ and was able to watch a bunch of games this season). Thanks to the Engineers / Brown and White / Mountain Hawks in 2022 – 2023 and looking forward to 2023-2024
TV Shows I’m watching / and ones I need to find time to watch
Star Trek Pickard Season 3
The Mandalorian Season 3
A Million Little Things Final Season
CSI: Las Vegas
The Accused
Shrinking
Not Dead Yet
The Black List
The Last of Us
Spring Training Baseball is in full swing, and the World Baseball Classic starts on Monday, March 6th The MLB season officially opens on Thursday, March 30th. I have two Fantasy Drafts to prepare for and looking forward to having baseball back
And finally, I miss the days of people being in the office on a daily basis. Use to look forward to chatting with people about Sports / Movies / TV and the world in general to help break up the day. Now with most people remote, there is really no commodity between team and co-workers. Chatting on Messenger and Zoom calls is just not the same. Gone are the days of coming into the office and everybody laughing about last nights Seinfeld or other comedy shows, or discussing / complaining in person about the local sports teams (Great game by the Mets last night, Boy were the Giants terrible yesterday). Its just not the same and I find it one of the major downsides of working from home. Throw in social media and you are now getting observations and opinions from strangers (most who just like to bitch and complain about anything). There were always a few of these folks at work, but you learned how to get along and have a civil conversation.
More to come
Average Andy
If you have a Facebook account, give this video by Debbie Gibson a watch. Love here take on the issue of what’s considered right or wrong based on other peoples behavior (if even known)
AverageAndy 