challenge in the early days ofSurvivor?
You’re forgiven if you don’t because it was not exactly the most memorable competition.
(Not to mention it was pretty subjective.)
Credit: Timothy Kuratek/CBS
It’s no surprise that the S.O.S.
challenge is no longer in rotation on the show.
In fact, it has not been seen since season 10 (Survivor: Palau).
CBS
Where did they go?
Why did they leave?
And might some of them ever return?
Monty Brinton/CBS
(Also ensure to check out Kirhoffer’s list ofSurvivor’s35 Best Challenges Ever.)
First off, I love it when the loved ones participate in a reward challenge.
Why is that and will we at some point maybe see it again?
Monty Brinton/CBS
JOHN KIRHOFFER:You never know what you’re gonna get when a loved one comes in.
So you don’t always get your Colby yelling at Reed moment that you would love.
And I think it was Amanda and her sister were making bird noises or something.
Monty Brinton/CBS
Is there something where the loved ones could be in the cage and you have to free them?
Just some way where they can be involved, even if it is more as a prop?
So if you got it right, “Sandra you got it right.
Monty Brinton/CBS
Whose loved one do you want to walk the plank?”
So, what about getting them involved in one of those ways?
We’ll write that on the board.
Monty Brinton/CBS
Dalton wants more challenges on the board.
[Laughs] He’s only got three right now, so he wants more.
Okay, next challenge, and it’s an old one you guys used to do.
Timothy Kuratek/CBS
This is the one where Jeff tells a long story.
We just did it inSecond Chance.
And they ran around, and they did that.
Bill Inoshita/CBS
It was at night.
That one worked out great.
And we talk about that all the time.
And one of the things with Jeff is, it only works if we’ve got a compelling story.
A good, natural story.
All right, what about the F.U.
It always led to bruised feelings.
So it would be like, “What do you mean I’m the bossy one?”
Or “What do you mean I smell the most?”
And it always led to drama back at the beach afterward.
I don’t even know the last time you did this.
The last time we did this was season 24,One World.
I love the cat-and-mouse game that producers and contestants play with each other.
And then one team celebrated when they see their tribemates emerge.
And then you wonder what’s happening.
[Laughs]
That, I think, is pretty much a topography thing.
It’s if we have the right topography where there are the trails and stuff.
But it’s just finding those locations that work well.
But I love that one.
I love the running out and we talked about it.
We’ll put that on the board too.
We’re making some hay here.
This was in the rotation for a whileno pun intended with the actual rotation.
Yeah, that was one that we started inPalau.
We did it once on dry land inGabon.
And it was a big track.
And then we pitched different ways.
One of the things we pitched is, what if you were swimming?
And here, there’s so much coral.
It’s either coral or it’s a steep drop-off.
So it’s very difficult.
That one we also debuted in season 10,Palau.
Because we get big swells.
Can I tell you how much that challenge stressed me out?
And how long can you last without breathing?
It does get gnarly.
And there at the end you’re trying to make a snorkel out of your hand.
That one fully advantages people who are just comfortable in the water.
You just get out and you’re fine.
But being underwater and in the ocean is completely different than swimming in the pool.
We see it every season.
I believe Jason beat Ozzy in that inMicronesia.
That was his big moment, but then Ozzy got him back with the effing stick.
Okay, here’s another one.
The first time we did that was season 7,Pearl Islands.
I remember Savage collapsing, and the blonde woman Christa was the one that won it.
We don’t do that one.
That one makes me nervous; I get so much anxiety.
Just the back strain that it could cause.
I don’t know, could they fall over and tweak their back.
We’ve done it a few times.
It’s just one that makes me, personally, uncomfortable to watch.
So we haven’t offered it up in a while.
So I’m guessing the reason you haven’t done that is just because of the injury concern.
We like the head-to-head battles, but we don’t wanna become WWE.
That may have started inPalauas well.
I remember James throwing his mat down once on top of Randy Bailey.
So, why haven’t we seen that one in a while?
You know what, that one’s definitely gonna come back.
We gave that a rest ‘cause it felt like we were over-using it.
It was a go-to every couple seasons, but we did talk about bringing that one back.
That is a fun, head-to-head classic.
Yeah, first they have to transport two players from one platform to another using the posts.
I’m like, “Okay, that was something.”
And then we did that again inKaoh Rong, season 32.
Again, it requires a more lagoon setting.
We tested a water challenge this morningan epic brand-new concept, brand-new challenge.
I’m super excited about it.
But even then, we have backups.
And here in Fiji the swells can just be oppressively big.
For more Survivor scoop, follow Dalton on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
