Outback Nostalgia/Love Thread

0 Kudo

Started By	Comment
beatles20147	Outback Nostalgia/Love Thread	Lead	[-]
Posts: 12256 (04/07/09 12:15 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	A couple of times I've made the comment that Outback hasn't really aged well; that it's a good season but it was the hype and timing that made it so popular. So over time it's descended pretty heavily in my ranking. Yet for some reason the other night, I felt compelled to watch what is actually my least favorite episode of the season (besides the recap), the F6/flood episode. It pretty much reinforced my stance on that particular episode being the season's weakest--it's pretty much one of the most depressing episodes ever--but it made me rethink the season as a whole. Because for what is supposedly a lesser episode, it has the epic moment where Tina and Keith retrieve the rice can; the drama of Rodger proclaiming that their camp was fine before turning a corner and seeing the devastation (the whole walking back to Barramundi camp scene is incredibly well-edited); and a really fun, light-hearted (especially considering the circumstances) immunity challenge with a great line from Colby after he takes out Amber/Keith/Tina before Rodger and Elisabeth. Like I said, this is probably the weakest episode of the season (you could probably argue the two episodes that follow it I suppose) and yet it totally delivers. It's a downer but it's completely satisfying at the same time. I also have to point out the irony in how nowadays we all hate how much of a presence Probst has on the show, yet back then he actually joined the contestants for part of the rewards. He wasn't above the contestants like he is now; it humanized him and made him likable. If he weren't such a tool nowadays I wouldn't mind seeing something like that again where he gets to chat one-on-one with the players even briefly. So I figure it's never a bad time to break out a classic season and discuss it, especially since I don't think we've had a general Outback discussion in a long time. What do you think? Is Outback overrated? What place does/should it hold in the annals of the show? What's the best and worst episode of the season?
Thailandsurvivor		#1	[-]
Posts: 6013 (04/07/09 12:45 AM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	The pre merge is probably the greatest of all time in terms of editing, entertainment, drama, and even strategy. I can't think of a single boring segment from episodes 2 to 6, especially on Kucha. Oh yeah, and if Alicia didn't ruin her reputation on All Stars, I'd like Outback even more.
chad6		#2	[-]
Posts: 3010 (04/07/09 1:02 AM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	I love the Outback. It was such a classic season. I agree that the pre-merge was very dramatic and entertaining. I would also throw out that it was still very interesting up until Jerri's boot. The game after that was very predictable and slow, but I enjoyed the actual survival aspect. I really thought the whole starvation/flood/desperation story line was really interesting. I think the finale was uber boring but I liked the characters so much that season it didn't matter.
tullfan2		#3	[-]
Posts: 3276 (04/07/09 7:40 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	I pretty much agreed with everything that chad8 said. I disagree with you as I thought that the Final 6 episode was amazing. It is one of the highlights of the post-merger portion of the season along with the actual merge episode and the episode where Jerri is booted. In terms of the contestants having to deal with the reality of surviving against the elements, this episode is the best of any season. The decision to locate camp inside a river bed was the most foolish and costly decision regarding shelter ever. Only Rupert's decision to build an underground shelter in All Stars comes close. Survivor Austrailia Outback is the best season if you are primarily interested in the actual survival aspect of the show. The survival aspect of the show has been deemphasized over time in favor of the gameplay elements of strategy and challenges. In recent seasons, the survival aspect has been practically non-existant. The problem with the Outback season is that it is the first one that highlighted a weakness of the overall format of the show. Then pre-merge portion of Outback is my favorite of any season. It was amazing. However, once Ogakor gained control after the tribes merged, the game became predictable because no one did much to shake things up. The other problem is that late in the season, the contestants have little energy to do much of anything so there is very little action outside of the challenges and the rewards to maintain the viewers interest. The Africa, Marquesas (after the power shift) and Thailand seasons repeated the same weakness. Summarizing, Survivor Australia Outback is a huge step in the evolution of the show and is a "must see" season if you have never watched the show and want to watch seasons in chronological order. Of course compared to later seasons with more complex gameplay and unpredictable outcomes (eg. Amazon, Pearl Islands, Micronesia) it comes off as simplistic and slow moving (mainly the second half). For someone who wants to watch the show evolve over time and watch seasons in chronological order, I consider the "must see" seasons to be: Borneo, Australia, Marquesas, Amazon, Pearl Islands, Vanuatu, Palau, Cook Islands, Micronesia. I may or may not add Tocantins to this list depending on how the season plays out. I strongly recommend Africa and China because of the novelty of the locations. All Stars is recommended for anyone who wants to see some of the characters for a second time and because people still argue about it after 5 years.
spyzsrvvrcharmd		#4	[-]
Posts: 1300 (04/07/09 8:07 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Signed for the season that hooked me in Survivor. It still had the documentary feel that Borneo had but it's more polished. Even Jeff called it Survivor: The Movie. The characters are still memorable and really fresh.
spyzsrvvrcharmd		#5	[-]
Posts: 1300 (04/07/09 8:07 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	ETA: Double post
nordicsurvivor		#6	[-]
Posts: 366 (04/07/09 10:06 AM) Registered User Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	What makes Outback so special to me is the fact Tullfan2 already stated: it's all about people surviving. Also, they were able to combine the surviving aspect and the strategy way better than they do nowadays, and even if there were a decent amount of strategy involved to keep things interesting there was other stuff too. Also, what was really great IMO is that we actually got to know the people back then. Nowadays there are so many twists and so many survivors per season that they don't have the time to show everything essential about people bonding, what are their normal routines back at camp, etc. But back then Nick and Amber were probably the only ones we didn't get to know that well, and they were still way better than the likes of Joe or Sydney nowadays. Everybody knew Rodger liked to pray at camp, that Tina and Keith were the ones making food, they liked to play backgammon... Just random stuff that made the people more familiar to us, and what made the season so special for me.
Dr Will Hatch two point oh		#7	[-]
Posts: 7815 (04/07/09 11:26 AM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Unfortunatly, I must disagree. I appreciate all the seasons on some level. Even the ones featuring the bane of my viewing experience, the hidden immunity idol, pique my interest. The Outback is a "mid card" season for me because while I appreciate that they focus on the players, I'm not too keen on the players. I hated the pretentious morality that most of them spouted because the nature of Survivor doesn't allow for morality. Why did they all hate Jerri anyway? Because she's annoying, well so what? Because she tried to play the game? Yeah, so did Tina. The environment wasn't really "The Outback", but some guys cattle ranch. As with all the seasons, they aren't really allowed to survive on their own terms because of the barriers they aren't allowed to cross. Borneo will always be the best season in my opinion, and better than the second season. I thought the "adventure and survival" portion of Borneo was more exciting and less manufactured, there was a battle of ideas between everyone concerning how the game should be played. It's just fascinating to hear people justify their actions. The Outback doesn't because you're coerced into assuming that there are "good people" and "bad people". Give me abrasive Sue and homophobic Rudy anyday.
fsmdud		#8	[-]
Posts: 1818 (04/07/09 12:13 PM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	The comments about surviving and camp life scenes being strongpoints in Australia are definitely key. The editing nowadays is so fuckin lame that whenever theres a scene about some tribe member eating more than others or not working around camp, its a dead on signal that that player goes home that episode or the next episode. They make shit so fuckin obvious now that the ironies, the subtleties, and the true guessing-game that made Survivor so great with the Outback and other early seasons just dont exist anymore. And thus theres almost no reason to even watch any seasons after Vanuatu.
Dr Will Hatch two point oh		#9	[-]
Posts: 7818 (04/07/09 12:29 PM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	fsmdud wrote: The comments about surviving and camp life scenes being strongpoints in Australia are definitely key. The editing nowadays is so fuckin lame that whenever theres a scene about some tribe member eating more than others or not working around camp, its a dead on signal that that player goes home that episode or the next episode. They make shit so fuckin obvious now that the ironies, the subtleties, and the true guessing-game that made Survivor so great with the Outback and other early seasons just dont exist anymore. And thus theres almost no reason to even watch any seasons after Vanuatu. I wouldn't go that far, but you have some good points. I also don't like how the editors try to sanitize everything and make the winner as bland as possible. Bobs win was so refreshing to because no matter how much they talked about him winning challenges or being good at building shit, he was one of the least likely winners ever.
Katy Carney		#10	[-]
Posts: 5394 (04/07/09 12:30 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Can you imagine if Australia had aired today? Colby would've spent half the season on exile, Nick would've used an HII at the F7 and sent Keith to the jury but then when the HII was replanted Colby would get it and use it on Elisabeth who bought a super special immunity idol at a reward auction and so the immunity idols would cancel each other out and Colby would go anyway, and the super expanded jury of 11 would vote on the final three of Amber, Tina and Nick and Nick would win almost unanimously, with Tina getting one vote and Amber getting two, but no one in the audience would care because Amber and Tina only got 2.5 confessionals the entire season. Progress <3
Dr Will Hatch two point oh		#11	[-]
Posts: 7819 (04/07/09 12:37 PM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Katy Carney wrote: Can you imagine if Australia had aired today? Colby would've spent half the season on exile, Nick would've used an HII at the F7 and sent Keith to the jury but then when the HII was replanted Colby would get it and use it on Elisabeth who bought a super special immunity idol at a reward auction and so the immunity idols would cancel each other out and Colby would go anyway, and the super expanded jury of 11 would vote on the final three of Amber, Tina and Nick and Nick would win almost unanimously, with Tina getting one vote and Amber getting two, but no one in the audience would care because Amber and Tina only got 2.5 confessionals the entire season. Progress <3 And if the cast of Fiji aired as the second season, Michelle would be a cohost on The View and we would all think of Earl as te greatest winner ever.
JackSparrowBauer		#12	[-]
Posts: 468 (04/07/09 1:23 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	I've always thought that Australia was overrated, because it was the most popular season ever, but the only thing spectacular about it was its location. I should watch it again sometime, though. I've only watched it once and it was before I look at the show the way I do now.
Katy Carney		#13	[-]
Posts: 5400 (04/07/09 1:24 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	The last few episodes drag on and on and on and on. It's really not worth watching past the Amber boot episode. Just ffw through to the jury questioning and the reunion.
Cuauhtemoc Gilmore		#14	[-]
Posts: 17795 (04/07/09 1:28 PM) OMEDETO, CATHY!! Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Amber is still my favorite Outback character for some odd reason.
JackSparrowBauer		#15	[-]
Posts: 471 (04/07/09 1:38 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Amber was even more boring in Australia than she was in All-Stars. I thought the season started to get worse once Jerri got out. She and Elisabeth were my favorites that season.
WylDawg		#16	[-]
Posts: 18050 (04/07/09 1:43 PM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	I hate when people say that Outback was too predictable and thus boring. Yeah, it hindsight it was, but we didn't care back then and that was the beauty of it. To this day it still proves that great characters make a much more entertaining season than having 26 hidden immunity idols tossed in the mix. Besides, the Jerri and Amber boots were very unexpected back then.
Dr Will Hatch two point oh		#17	[-]
Posts: 7823 (04/07/09 1:50 PM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	The characters weren't interesting to most people. Outback got high ratings because it was the second season.
WylDawg		#18	[-]
Posts: 18054 (04/07/09 2:06 PM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Who is "most people"? I agree that most it's popularity was due to it being in it's prime, but I'm pretty sure the average fan would consider it to have great characters. If Outback was the current season, I'm sure we would all praise it for that exact reason.
CSCin3D		#19	[-]
Posts: 11727 (04/07/09 2:10 PM) Registered user Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	Dr Will Hatch two point oh wrote: The characters weren't interesting to most people. Outback got high ratings because it was the second season. You're a fucking phony, and you're not a legitimate Survivor fan.
Yasothon		#20	[-]
Posts: 222 (04/07/09 2:14 PM) Reply Quote More Recent Posts Message Connection Block Invite	WylDawg wrote: I hate when people say that Outback was too predictable and thus boring. Yeah, it hindsight it was

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Yuku free message boards

Outback Nostalgia/Love Thread

Outback Nostalgia/Love Thread

Quick Reply