Survivor: China



Survivor: China is the fifteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The premiere aired September 20, 2007. Host Jeff Probst claimed the show was the first full American TV series to be filmed entirely within China.[1] It is also the northernmost Survivor season held to date, well outside of the tropical zone. Applications were due on January 30, 2007. Around March 2007, about 800 applicants were selected for an interview by CBS. Out of those 800, about 48 semi-finalists were selected to go to Los Angeles in April–May 2007. From these semi-finalists, about 16 were selected to participate in the show between June and August 2007. The final contestants and their original tribes, Fei Long (飞龙) and Zhan Hu (战虎), meaning Flying Dragon and Fighting Tiger respectively, were officially announced on August 20, 2007.[2][3] The merged tribe was Hae Da Fung (黑打風), which means Black Fighting Wind, a name proposed by Peih-Gee Law.[citation needed] The complete season was released on DVD from CBS Home Entertainment, via Amazon.com's CreateSpace, on January 27, 2014. It is set to have significantly more special features than recent releases.

The "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast" slogan used in previous season's logos has been replaced by Chinese characters. The characters translate to "compete in intelligence" (比智慧, bĭ zhìhuì), "compete in skill" (比技巧, bĭ jìqiǎo), and "compete in endurance" (比耐力, bĭ nàilì).[4] Among the many aspects of Chinese culture and history included this season were a Buddhist ceremony and a 100-foot (30 m) tall replica of a historic temple used for Tribal Council. Each tribe received a copy of The Art of War by Sun Tzu. As stated by Probst: "Survivor is a war. The book deals with leadership and how you defeat the other tribe. It's interesting how much it plays into the game all the way through." The show had "unprecedented access" to several historical Chinese monuments, including the Shaolin Temple and the Great Wall of China.[2]

Exile Island from the previous three seasons was discarded for this season, but the Hidden Immunity Idol was still part of the game. In lieu of Exile Island, the tribes had the ability to kidnap a player from the opposing tribe as part of winning a Reward Challenge. The kidnapped player remained with that tribe through the next Immunity Challenge and received a clue to the location of an Immunity Idol at that camp. However, this clue must be given, unread, to a member of the other tribe prior to the next Immunity Challenge. Ultimately, neither of the two Idols available to the castaways were used; James Clement was voted out with both in his possession. Three players went to the Final Tribal Council, continuing the pattern that began in Survivor: Cook Islands and again in Survivor: Fiji. Probst explained that having a final three "prohibits one person winning through to the end and then taking an extremely unlikable person with them."[5] In the end, Todd Herzog won, defeating Courtney Yates and Amanda Kimmel by a vote of 4–2–1. During the reunion, James Clement was awarded a $100,000 prize as the most popular player in Survivor: China, beating fellow favorites Denise Martin and Peih-Gee Law.

VS.

Survivor: One World



Survivor: One World is the twenty-fourth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed from August 1 through September 8, 2011 and premiered on February 15, 2012. Applications were due in January 11, 2011, approximately 800 applicants visited in various states, from there 18 contestants were chosen to participate.[1] The season was filmed in the vicinity of Upolu, Samoa, which is the same filming location used for seasons 19, 20, and 23.

The two tribes were initially divided by gender, which was previously done in three other seasons. Two significant new twists debuted this season. Unlike previous seasons where tribes lived at separate camp sites, the two tribes began living on the same campsite together. While the concept of all the castaways living at the same camp prior to the merge also appeared in other seasons, this is the first time it was employed at the beginning of the game and continued beyond the first tribal challenge.[2] Following the tribal swap on Day 12, both the gender-divided tribes and the "One World" twist were dissolved. The second twist involved the hidden immunity idols. There were three idols hidden, two were designated for a specific tribe. If a castaway found an idol designated for his or her tribe, the castaway could keep and use it; If a castaway found an idol designated for the opposing tribe, he or she was required to give it to a member of the other tribe before the next tribal council. Two challenges were conducted without Jeff Probst's supervision during the game, as was previously done once in Survivor: Samoa.[2]

Kim Spradlin was named the winner in the final episode on May 13, 2012, defeating Sabrina Thompson and Chelsea Meissner in a 7–2–0 vote. In addition, Spradlin won $100,000 as the "Sprint Player of the Season", earning the fans' vote over runners-up Chelsea Meissner, Greg "Tarzan" Smith and Troy "Troyzan" Robertson.[3]

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Each round I'll be posing a question for all polls. Round one question is a sort of grading rubric for the season:

Rate the season 1-10 on the winner
Rate the season 1-10 on entertainment
Rate the season 1-10 on the cast overall
Rate the season 1-10 on gameplay

DISCUSS!