Every season, Survivor presents elaborate immunity and reward challenges, but they are lacking the diversity they once had. While the specifics of each challenge may vary, they basically boil down to a physical challenge, which is usually an obstacle course, followed by a puzzle. The other option is an endurance challenge, where contestants suffer physical pain for as long as they can stand it, or they have to balance something until it drops.
Whether it is a tribe challenge or an individual challenge, everything has started to look pretty much the same. One of the most frustrating thing for viewers and castaways is that victory almost always comes down to the puzzle. No matter how far a Survivor team or individual has fallen behind during the physical part of the competition, they all usually end up back on even footing during the puzzle portion because the puzzles are so time-consuming to solve.
Some Old Survivor Challenge Favorites Need to Return
Early on in Survivor, there was a lot more variety to the challenges. The show needs to bring back some of the old favorites, and also add new ones into the mix. One fan favorite that has fallen by the wayside is the Survivor auction. In these auctions, participants were each given a certain amount of money they could use to bid on food, amenities, letters from loved ones, game advantages and mystery prizes (sometimes clunkers). The Survivor auctions were entertaining for viewers, and also gave contestants a much-needed break from the grueling physical challenges.
The first auction of the series took place in Survivor season 2 in Australia. According to The Hollywood Reporter, host Jeff Probst said they got rid of the auctions because everyone was hoarding their money, not buying food and waiting to spend it all on an advantage. The solution is to not offer advantages, and offer only food and a couple of amenities like it was in the first few seasons.
Current Survivor Challenges Have Lost Their Creativity
Survivor also used to have games in which contestants were tested on their knowledge. Sometimes, they were asked about the location where the season was being filmed and related cultural facts, while other questions were about their fellow participants. Jeff sometimes made sure things got brutal. Again, these types of challenges provided a nice break from the repetitive obstacle course and puzzle challenges that dominate today. They also revealed a lot about the relationships between the competitors.
Food-eating challenges were another popular staple in the early days of Survivor. Longtime fans will always when Gervase Peterson struggled to eat grub worms in Survivor season 1. When players had to eat duck embryos in Cambodia and drink cow’s blood in Africa, those were iconic moments that helped put Survivor on the map. Now, it seems like every challenge is the same.
Obviously, there needs to be some grueling physical challenges and some brain bending puzzles. On Survivor, endurance challenges are also essential to the show. However, there are just too many formulaic challenges lately to keep things interesting. Whether the producers bring some old favorites, or spark some new, creative ideas, fans would certainly appreciate the variety to spice things up.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter