Logo text
Survivor and Top Chef They are crucial parts of my TV rotation. In a reality TV landscape where “consistency” is rarely achieved, it is among the most reliable and prolific shows.
Survivor and Top Chef They have a combined 73 seasons and counting, but if I had it my way, they would produce four or five cycles a year, as the weekly routine hinges on televised trips to Fiji and wherever Christine Kish and her fellow chefs take them. They are my comfort. We all need rest.
That’s what makes it alarming to report that premiums this spring — Survivor: In the hands of the masses and Top Chef: Carolinas – indicates that both revered formats are broken.
A good reality show is fixable. Look no further The Amazing Raceanother one of my favorite things to watch, which has broken up over and over (families?) and over (matched strangers on blind dates?!?) and over (previous exclusive Big brother Racers?!?) before bouncing back.
But man Survivor and Top Chef I messed up this season, and you know who’s to blame? I! And you! we! Fans are at least partly to blame! Although perhaps not to the same extent as the producers, who over-relied on us at the expense of the integrity of their shows.
Just two weeks ago Kesh, whose success as Padma Lakshmi’s host is considered a minor miracle, began an initial challenge by declaring: “Today we thought: Why not give the people what they want?”
My heart sank. I will only speak for myself and say what I want from him Top Chef He is the talented chefs who make food that I wish I could taste. I never thought I deserved control over this process.
Instead, 11 episodes into a 14-episode season and with no explanation beyond populism, Top Chef Rapid fire turned to the masses. Given three choices of main ingredients, fans chose the easiest and most common – “peaches.” So far, so good. Given three choices of cooking times, fans chose the most generous time – “30 minutes.” You rule, fans! But then, given a list of three possible transformations, fans voted to have the contestants change workstations midway, to have them finish and serve a dish that someone else had designed and started.
Perhaps the hope was that this would prove how resilient chefs are? Maybe it will just create entertainment chaos? Instead, with almost no time or flexibility, the chefs just distributed what they were given. Nobody made it better. Nobody made it worse. So the judges were giving one chef a critique of something made by a different chef. Likeable, charming, and down-to-earth, Rhoda seemed embarrassed to accept praise for what was Sherry’s entire plate, which justifiably angered Sherry. To make matters worse, the show awarded the $10,000 challenge prize to Rhoda.
How did the producers not realize this would be a problem? How could there not have been a quick amendment to allow the prize to be split, at least, between the two contributing chefs?
The season has been plagued with regular head scratches.
The location, starting in Charlotte and then moving to Greenville, fails to offer a unique character or locally distinct missions. Part of me wonders if, when Top Chef The producers decided to do this season in the Carolinas, they completely forgot that season 14 was actually set in Charleston, using the most fertile aspects of the regional culture of the time.
Then there were the casting quirks. Having a pair of twins (Jonathan and Brandon Durden) and a husband-and-wife duo (Jennifer Lee Jackson and Justin Tutla) was weird, but it wasn’t inherently bad. Supposedly, the producers dreamed up climactic episodes in which twins or husband and wife go head-to-head for elimination or victory, raising the stakes. Instead, the four proved to be average reality TV chefs and the judges never had to choose between any of them. Reasonable idea. Poor implementation.
Worse still, Jennifer revealed a major structural defect. Early on, she aggravated a shoulder injury, causing her to miss several snap shots, with no consequences, something that had never happened before. Producers had to scramble and get rid of the rule that if she missed another opportunity, she had to be eliminated, giving her the option to leave and return in a future season. She refused, and was stuck for a while and only dropped out when her problems got worse. She should never have been given the choice. Jennifer scowled through a series of mediocre performances made for bad television, suspended the show with a verbal commitment to bring back a contestant who had made it past half a season of mediocrity, demanded that a previously eliminated player be brought back into the game in a confusing manner, and ruined an entire season of extras. Last Chance Kitchen Web series. This should never happen.
Of the two shows I’m talking about here, Top Chef Which I am most convinced is fixable. easily. Although the “let’s have the fans vote on one challenge for no reason” episode was bad, the next episode, centered around visiting Asheville and learning about the role restaurants and chefs played in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen, was excellent. If only the producers could find a way to add a competitive element to the quick challenges, instead of just cash prizes, I guess Top Chef It will be fine.
I have bigger concerns about Survivor.
Season 50 was presented as a gift to the fans. They brought back 24 favorite players and conducted a variety of fan polls on topics both big and small, from the availability of idols and perks to whether or not there will be a live final. I’m a fan (and writer of hundreds of recaps and interviews), so I voted several times. In almost every case, my votes were at odds with the majority of fans. Clearly the problem is me.
I love a tidy game Survivorare determined based on a combination of competitive strength, social competence, and strategy emanating from the players themselves. Give me one or two hidden immunity models per season, just to add some uncertainty, and I’ll be happy. good Survivor Players generate chaos themselves. I don’t need Mark Burnett and Jeff Probst to do this.
instead of, Survivor 50 It was non-stop nonsense. There were idols everywhere and merits were practically falling from the trees. There were goofy connections between celebrities and other features, and Zac Brown and Mr. Beast even appeared on the show. That the eventual winner was the person who basically withstood the bullshit — she got the “Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol” and almost got sent home because of it — was a tribute to her game in a season that could have been titled “Expect the Unexpected.”
Except that’s actually the slogan on CBS Big brother.
Survivor It should never have been Big brother.
The difference is in the title: Survivor Refers to the one who survived, the contestant. This is who we identify with and what we root for. The same applies to Top Chef.
Big brother Points to the voyeur. Otherwise it will be called hamster. We are the voyeurs and the show is about constant surveillance and manipulation, not really about the people being watched. It would be the third option The Amazing Racewhere the title refers to the game itself – not the players or producers, but the journey we all embarked on. By this standard, Survivor He will be called Survive and Big brother It will be called be Vulgar backyard conversations between racists.
this season, Survivor It was interchangeable with Big brother. Producers have actively worked to disrupt merit-based performances on the grounds that fans find merit-based performances boring. The contestants couldn’t get comfortable, and the game couldn’t find momentum.
The level of chaos was so extensive that when Probst walked out during the live finale and accidentally botched the crucial campfire challenge that decided the three… Last time, I wasn’t sure if he had messed up or if the producers had pulled a last-ditch celebrity-sponsored twist. The Kevin Sorbo Make Fire Live on CBS Twist or something like that. It wasn’t that. Probst just messed up.
Really, I don’t know if Survivor He can or wants to be fixed, because the things that are broken are codified.
They never get rid of oversaturation with idols, merits and vicissitudes. Not sure what “new age” is. Survivor Players will even do this if they find themselves in Fiji and spend days searching for hidden tchotchkes and find nothing. Would they even know what to do with themselves? The producers fear they won’t.
There is nothing that can be done with or about Probst unless he decides he is ready to move on to the next stage of his career. He has been a true model of hosting excellence for 26 years. Survivor It does not exist without him.
But Probst has made a gradual transition from hosting the show to shaping the show into its ideal image this season, inserting himself into the show and making everything revolve around him. It wasn’t just the challenge he literally took part in. His comments during challenges have gone from nonexistent to basic to arrogant. His role at Tribal Council has shifted from observer to Phil Donahue-style coordinator to frequently making arguments on behalf of players this season.
and Survivor He never leaves Fiji. The financial and productivity incentives are very great. It doesn’t matter that the settings and challenges all look the same now. That’s what it is.
But what it is now is too distracting to be considered comfort television anymore.
And I need my comfortable TV.
