Survivor (franchise)

The show features a group of contestants deliberately marooned in an isolated location, where they must provide basic survival necessities for themselves.In the game, the contestants, known as castaways, are split into tribes and assigned separate camps at the filming location, typically a tropical setting.At Tribal Council, the tribes discuss the events of the last few days with the host asking questions, and then vote out one of their own players, eliminating them from the game.After this, the jury members then vote to decide which of the remaining castaways should be declared the Sole Survivor and be awarded the grand prize.Many versions of the show will follow the final episode with a live reunion, during which the votes from the Jury are counted, and a "Sole Survivor" is declared, and the players reunite to discuss their experience on the island.American version host Jeff Probst noted that while 16 castaways assist in splitting the tribes with respect to age and sex, they have used 18 or 20 to provide them "wiggle room" in case of player injury or if one should want to quit the game.Rewards include food, survival equipment like flint, tarps, or fishing gear, luxury items, and short getaways from camp.The host asks these questions in hopes of bringing tribal dynamics to light, and players in precarious situations may reveal information or bargain with others to keep themselves in the game.Beginning from Survivor: Fiji, the host then offers players the opportunity to play an immunity idol prior to announcing the votes.The host then reminds the tribe that once the votes are read, the decision is final, and the eliminated player must leave the Tribal Council area immediately.As the eliminated player walks off, the host makes a final observation before telling the remainder of the tribe to "grab your torches and head back to camp" and wishes them a good night.If the players had the same number of previous votes cast against them, as seen in Africa, the tie was resolved by a sudden-death challenge (in this case a trivia quiz about nature), with the loser eliminated.To put all players on even ground in subsequent seasons, the non-tied voters have several minutes to deliberate and must come to a unanimous decision about which tied castaway to eliminate.Beginning with Survivor: Game Changers in the U.S., the process shifted from each juror receiving the floor one-by-one toward a moderated discussion highlighting the show's three major tentpoles: "Outwit", "Outplay" and "Outlast".The reunion show also now takes place immediately after this vote at the FTC site, with all of the contestants sitting and talking over the season with themselves and Jeff.At the Survivor: Game Changers reunion, Probst revealed that a two-way tie in a final three would be broken with the third-place finisher casting the deciding vote.The medical team may provide treatment and give the player the option to continue in the game, warning them of the health risks involved.Those that have quit the game voluntarily may also still be eligible for the jury and, if their reasons for leaving are considered sufficient, they may also still be allowed to make a farewell speech to the camera.In the American version of the show, the producers have encouraged players to make fake idols by providing decorative materials—such as beads, string, and paint—through props within the game.In light of this so-called "Russell factor," producers subsequently began hiding the idols in more difficult-to-find locations,[14] and, in Survivor: Nicaragua, clues contained a rebus puzzle rather than text,[15] though this did not carry into the next season or beyond.Exile Island was first introduced in Survivor: Palau when a single contestant was made to stay alone on a beach for a day as a result of being the first to drop out of an Immunity Challenge.This twist was not used regularly until Survivor: Panama; it was also used in Cook Islands, Fiji, Micronesia, Gabon, Tocantins, and San Juan del Sur.In addition, the first-place winner of the duel must give a clue to a hidden immunity idol to any castaway in the main game.In Exile, the two castaways will compete in a "Redemption Island" style duel with the winner returning to the tribe and remaining in the game, and the loser being officially eliminated.Two variations of the Exile Twist was used during the Australian Survivor: All Stars – The first was during a Double Tribal Council, in which both tribes voted out a player, who would compete in a Fire Making Duel.Most of these twists and variations are used in other franchises as well: The Survivor format has been adapted for numerous international versions of the show, some named after the original Expedition Robinson.As the ride moves along an undulating track, riders can be sprayed by water guns hidden in oversized tribal masks while drums and other familiar Survivor musical accents play in the background.In late 2013, a former contestant of the American version of the show, Erik Reichenbach, launched a Kickstarter campaign for a Survivor-styled online mobile app called "Islands of Chaos".If the campaign is successful, the plan is to release the game free of charge on a range of platforms including on Apple and Android devices.[33] Beginning on July 8, 2007, a parody of Survivor called Total Drama Island appeared on the Canadian television network Teletoon.