1. Either go back to two tribes at the start, or keep mixing it up
This has been something that hardcore fans have grown tired of. For nine straight seasons, (41-49), the show started with three tribes of six people. Why? Smaller tribes are ok on occasion, but not at the start of every season. Why can't we have two tribes of eight, nine, or ten people every now and then? Is that too much to ask? Jeff needs to get over his obsession with this setup.
2. Quit taking away flint
A minor change, but a necessary change nonetheless. Part of the punishment of losing a pre-merge challenge is that the losing tribe loses its flint. That action has only increased the odds of a tribe continuing to lose and falling significantly behind in numbers, creating the dreaded "disaster tribe." It also adds basically nothing to the entertainment value. We know they don't have much food. You don't need to take away flint to make the show look tougher, which it doesn't even do.
3. No mergatory, just merge at different times
We don't need to split people up as part of the merge. Why, for so long, did they have to "earn" the merge? For 40 seasons, earning the merge meant surviving enough votes or winning enough tribal challenges to get to the merge stage of the game. Please revert to that. They did for 49, so I have high hopes they will for 50 and beyond. To keep it fresh, merge at different times like they did before 40.
4. Only split people up post-merge for a reward
Another pet peeve we hardcore Survivor fans have is how they split players up post-merge for not only immunity, but sometimes separate tribal councils. Too many players have gotten screwed by being put in a group with no allies. Jeff Probst seems to like it when luck is a major factor in Survivor, but introducing twists like this adds way too much luck to the game. We don't want to see lucky players win, we want to see GOOD players win. We can only imagine the great players and winning games we were potentially robbed of in recent seasons because someone got put on a team with few or no allies and they were voted out.
5. Fewer journeys
I initially hated "journeys", when players go off to a separate island to compete for an advantage. I think I'm okay with them now, in moderation. I hate seeing them in every pre-merge episode. I most dislike how they use them to replace separate reward challenges. Gone are the days when most Survivor episodes were a reward, an immunity, and a tribal council. I would like it if they could throw in a couple more pre-merge reward challenges and stop combining the reward with immunity every time. Sometimes, all a struggling tribe needs is to win a reward or challenge of any kind, and it is a lot harder to do if it's always paired with immunity.
6. No forced loss of votes
I initially hated "journeys", when players go off to a separate island to compete for an advantage. I think I'm okay with them now, in moderation. I hate seeing them in every pre-merge episode. I most dislike how they use them to replace separate reward challenges. Gone are the days when most Survivor episodes were a reward, an immunity, and a tribal council. I would like it if they could throw in a couple more pre-merge reward challenges and stop combining the reward with immunity every time. Sometimes, all a struggling tribe needs is to win a reward or challenge of any kind, and it is a lot harder to do if it's always paired with immunity.
6. No forced loss of votes
One of my personal biggest pet peeves of modern Survivor is how easily players lose their votes. It's especially irksome when the player(s) involved have zero say in whether they lose their vote or not. Losing their vote to play their shot in the dark? That's fine. Lose their vote to get a beware advantage? Also ok. They chose it. Losing your vote because you were selected for a journey? NOT OK. Too many players have been screwed over by this. If you give the players the choice, that's fine. But do not instantly say they lose their vote and have to "earn" it back. Again, this is production forcing luck to be a part of the game, which most fans do not like.
7. Give them a small amount of rice at the start
Survivor players used to instantly get rice. Yes, that was for 39-day seasons, but even for 26-day seasons, not having ANY food really takes a toll on them, and makes them more lethargic and less active with gameplay and strategy. I even recently saw a comment from Sophi on Season 49 where she said she would have been way more active if she had any food. You want exciting gameplay, Jeff? Give them a small amount of food. Doesn't have to be a lot. Just enough so they aren't lifeless and have zero energy.
8. Make idols hard to find and introduce idol clues again
Think of the most iconic idol finds in Survivor history. Yul on Exile Island. Terry on Exile Island. Sugar in Gabon. Russell, without using a clue. Idols finds were fun to watch when they were very hard to find and typically required a clue to find. Too often in the New Era, they put them between waist and eye level, and we can see them sticking out of a crevice. They need to bury them again, or even put them at challenges again. Just change it up. The "beware advantage" format is beyond stale.
9. Diversify challenges
I wish I had a nickel for every pre-merge challenge in the New Era that ended in a puzzle or a post-merge challenge in the New Era that was endurance-based. It seems like the majority of each. Challenges used to be my favorite part of every episode because of how unique and diverse each was. I know Jeff has stated they want to stay away from physical challenges that could result in injury, such as Sumo at Sea and Smergenbrawl, but there are other challenges in Survivor's history I would love to see return that pose no risk of physical harm. How about the memory challenges from Amazon or Worlds Apart? Or how about the memory math challenge from Tocantins that Stephen dominated? Or how about the knowledge-based games that have players holding a cube and using that for their answers? Jeff is so insistent on every challenge having a physical and puzzle element early on, and an endurance element in the post-merge. Change it up, Jeff, please!
10. Cast from more backgrounds
I'm very happy Survivor is casting more diversely, ethnically. However, that has caused them to cast too many people in white-collar cushy jobs and not enough blue-collar "struggling to make ends meet" jobs. Where are the construction workers? Where are the waiters and waitresses? Where are the cashiers and stockers? I know those kinds of people apply too, so why are they being avoided? And while I'm at it, a large chunk of New Era players are from two regions in the U.S.: California and the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. I would wager around 40%, if not more, New Era players are from those two regions. Where are the people from the Midwest, the South Atlantic, and Appalachia? How about the Pacific Northwest, my home region? And lastly, while I am still on the topic of casting, I would suggest they cast fewer super fans and more casual fans. Survivor actually had some of its best seasons when casting recruited. Casting itself has gotten stale, and the head of casting, Jesse Tannenbaum, NEEDS to have a different approach. Not everyone has to be a good storyteller. When everyone is a decent storyteller, nobody sticks out, and the season is not memorable.
7. Give them a small amount of rice at the start
Survivor players used to instantly get rice. Yes, that was for 39-day seasons, but even for 26-day seasons, not having ANY food really takes a toll on them, and makes them more lethargic and less active with gameplay and strategy. I even recently saw a comment from Sophi on Season 49 where she said she would have been way more active if she had any food. You want exciting gameplay, Jeff? Give them a small amount of food. Doesn't have to be a lot. Just enough so they aren't lifeless and have zero energy.
8. Make idols hard to find and introduce idol clues again
Think of the most iconic idol finds in Survivor history. Yul on Exile Island. Terry on Exile Island. Sugar in Gabon. Russell, without using a clue. Idols finds were fun to watch when they were very hard to find and typically required a clue to find. Too often in the New Era, they put them between waist and eye level, and we can see them sticking out of a crevice. They need to bury them again, or even put them at challenges again. Just change it up. The "beware advantage" format is beyond stale.
9. Diversify challenges
I wish I had a nickel for every pre-merge challenge in the New Era that ended in a puzzle or a post-merge challenge in the New Era that was endurance-based. It seems like the majority of each. Challenges used to be my favorite part of every episode because of how unique and diverse each was. I know Jeff has stated they want to stay away from physical challenges that could result in injury, such as Sumo at Sea and Smergenbrawl, but there are other challenges in Survivor's history I would love to see return that pose no risk of physical harm. How about the memory challenges from Amazon or Worlds Apart? Or how about the memory math challenge from Tocantins that Stephen dominated? Or how about the knowledge-based games that have players holding a cube and using that for their answers? Jeff is so insistent on every challenge having a physical and puzzle element early on, and an endurance element in the post-merge. Change it up, Jeff, please!
10. Cast from more backgrounds
I'm very happy Survivor is casting more diversely, ethnically. However, that has caused them to cast too many people in white-collar cushy jobs and not enough blue-collar "struggling to make ends meet" jobs. Where are the construction workers? Where are the waiters and waitresses? Where are the cashiers and stockers? I know those kinds of people apply too, so why are they being avoided? And while I'm at it, a large chunk of New Era players are from two regions in the U.S.: California and the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. I would wager around 40%, if not more, New Era players are from those two regions. Where are the people from the Midwest, the South Atlantic, and Appalachia? How about the Pacific Northwest, my home region? And lastly, while I am still on the topic of casting, I would suggest they cast fewer super fans and more casual fans. Survivor actually had some of its best seasons when casting recruited. Casting itself has gotten stale, and the head of casting, Jesse Tannenbaum, NEEDS to have a different approach. Not everyone has to be a good storyteller. When everyone is a decent storyteller, nobody sticks out, and the season is not memorable.
BONUS: Let things speak for themselves rather than having the player narrate in a confessional
Survivor editors/producers need to focus more on showing us rather than telling. I feel like every advantage/idol find, and every journey is narrated by the person involved, and I'd rather just have the moment speak for itself. Watch past seasons. They allow moments to speak for themselves, and only add a confessional when it adds to the moment. But in modern Survivor, they have the player narrate in the confessional. I'd much rather have them do the journey or find the idol, then, after it's over, talk about it, rather than narrating it and explaining it as it happens.
