Read Kansi Beach Chat Week #12.
Read the Tribal Council 12 Votes and Comments.

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This is an article the management shared with all the players. We thought it might give insights into the game

Survivor: The Ultimate Game

Submitted by: Gwen Thums

May 3, 2001

As I have watched two complete televised seasons of Survivor, the thing I walk away most amazed about is the sheer beauty of the entire premise of this game. It was touched upon in the final episode and post-season reunion special: this game might have started out about a million dollars, but that isn't what it ended up being about. And I think more this second season than the first, that is completely true, and isn't just sweetie-pie niceties being thrown at us. While some will indeed want to sit back and wonder why in the heck Colby took Tina to the jury vote with him, I think it speaks to the beauty of the game that he did.

This game is all about life, in a controlled environment, and yet, the ways in which it mimics life cannot be denied> Every nuance of every rule of this game, every aspect of its premise, is perfect. Perfectly thought out. Like life, it's a study in contrasts. Life is not all black and white, it's beautiful shades of gray, and so is Survivor. People enter the arena with a variety of reasons for being there; for the money, for the fame, for the personal challenge. And don't we all approach life that way, too? Survivor blends the physical, the mental, and the luck aspects as perfectly and as predictably (AND Unpredictably) as "real" life does. One can be as strong mentally, or physically, as humanely possible, and yet, as in real life, with just the blink of an eye, a quirk of fate, something can happen to entirely change the outcome of the game. In the first series, some will say that moment was when Richard OR Rudy took his hand off the pole, or when Greg asked the question "1 to 10." Without a doubt, in Survivor II, the defining moment that changed everything was Mike's accident. We can sit and stew and wonder what might have been, but it truly mimics life that way. There IS not guaranteed path to happiness or "success." It can't be scripted. You can get all the education you want or exercise and eat properly, and still be struck by a car or a fatal disease and none of your hard work will matter. You can be a lazy bum, buy a lottery ticket when you go to get that night's vino, and end up a multi-millionaire. It's what makes life frustrating, but it's also the flavoring that keeps things from getting mundane. It's what both scares us and thrills us. It worries us, and can also give us a reason to forge ahead. And such is Survivor.

It is such a basic premise, really: throw sixteen strangers in a rugged but controlled environment, and make them get along or risk being rejected. Make the rejected come back and determine the ultimate winner. Seems simple enough. And it is, and yet, boy, is it NOT. We've seen two series so far, and they couldn't be more different than night is from day. And there is no question but that the third in this series will transpire completely differently, too. Life is about a globe full of people, each of them unique. It's about Planning and Plotting: sometimes it pays off, and sometimes fate and/or life's natural state of chaos steps in and changes everything. Despite the best-laid plans, there are no guarantees in life, and there are no guarantees in Survivor.

Life is about control, and about chaos. It's about skill, and about chance. It's about intelligence, and about luck. And so is Survivor, and THAT is the reason it is most likely the most successful television series in history, episode for episode. People walk into this game for a variety of rather greedy, selfish reasons, and they walk out of it completely humbled. (Jerri doesn't count.) And the longer you live in life, too, the more humbled you become. Why? Because you can try everything possible to control your station in life, but you always have to allow for old Lady Luck or fate to step in and throw you a curveball. Sometimes they are great curveballs, and sometimes they are wicked. But man oh man, would life be boring without them! And so would Survivor. Colby worked his tail off in both physical AND mental challenges for weeks, but yet stepped up and gave Tina her Lady Luck and to this day is glad that he did. Some of us will never figure that out. And some of us will never figure out life, either. That's just the way this big ballgame of life is played. And ultimately, so is Survivor. We can try and try to understand it, but the best part about it, like life, is that we never truly will.

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Fri, 29 Jun 2001 22:55
Lola find a moment of privacy to speak with Lolli. She leans in close and whispers "Can I ask you something in confidence? Do you think Trey really wants to be voted off or is he just being gallant?"

Lollie replies "I don't whisper often....Grandma says that a whisper is a secret and a secret is a lie...but, Mommy and Daddy whisper to each other...I think that Trey is just upset about everything that has happened lately..."

Lola nods. "I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't really homesick. Some of my former tribe members were and that's why I asked."

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Sun, 1 Jul 2001 11:30
While gathering wood with Briene, Lola looks around the woods, sure the other Kansi are still back in camp asleep. She whispers, "Bri, don't you think it's time we let Trey go home so he will shut up about us voting him off?"

Briene doesn't answer her.

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Sun, 1 Jul 2001 21:00
Lola finds an oppurtunity to have a moment alone with Trey before Tribal Council. Lola looks around to make sure no one is listening. "Trey, will you answer me something honestly? Do you really want to leave or are you just being nice and offering to go?"

He replies "Lola, I really do need to go cause my mommy is Very busy right now, but at the same time I would love to try sticking it out till the end. If you vote for me that is just fine, then Mommy can get on with her life and I can go play at the hotel with the others. It has been very nice getting to know you. You are very smart and you are a hard worker." He smiles at her in a very charming fashion.

Lola smiles. "Thanks Trey. I have enjoyed getting to know you too. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't really homesick like some of my former tribemates were."

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