Rant #808: I Am a Survivor

You know it's fall when "Survivor" premieres another season on CBS.

It did so last night, and while I haven't watched it yet--I was watching the Yankees game and taping the show on another TV--I pretty know what to expect.

And that is the problem with "Survivor," and it has been a problem for a while: to paraphrase an old Four Tops' hit, "It's the Same Old Show."

I am sure that everyone knows that "Survivor" supposedly pits average Joes and Janes in competitions held in far off places--many of the places are really wretched--to see who is the ultimate "Survivor."

The show has been on forever, and when it was first on, it developed a buzz like few TV shows before it or since.

The show was new, on the cutting edge, and it was must-see TV.

Since that time, the show is the same old same old.

The producers have added some nice curves, such as the Immunity Idol, which allows contestants to not be voted off when their time comes.

Other wrinkles have failed miserably, not adding to the game at all.

And the latest wrinkles--to add celebrities to the mix--just doesn't work.

This season, without mentioning names, they've added a washed up actress who was on "The Facts of Life" and a former Major League Baseball player who was the National League Most Valuable Player one year and who has a surly reputation.

And this was supposed to be for average Joes and Janes, huh?

But people still watch, just not as many as in the past.

Last season was a low for the show, with viewers leaving in droves.

There weren't any interesting characters--after a arrogant gay player had to leave due to illness--and the show dragged.

This year, we've been promised a "back to basics" approach.

We'll see.

But like millions of others, I will be glued to the tube, watching this thing.

I just wish they would move the show to a cold weather climate to see if it would make things any different.

Sure, you would lose the "sex" factor--there is no nudity on the show but you see plenty--but it might make it more interesting, more man versus the elements than it is now.

But I know that won't happen.

Heck, I feel like a "Survivor" myself watching this show.

I've stuck with it from the beginning, I may as well continue with it until it finally crashes.

There isn't much else on, anyway, so why not?