HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 23, 2000 – Bingo, anyone?
Whether you care or not, “Survivor” is finally coming to its logical conclusion tonight, when $1 million will be given away and huge ratings will be won in a three-hour-long coup de grace (that’s two new episodes, plus an hour-long “reunion” pow-wow).
But, with America’s alpha reality series going off the air, what are all the “Survivor” addicts going to do every Wednesday nights after?
“I can tell you this much. When the show came on — the very first episode — I watched it for 10 minutes and I knew that I was going to love the show. I called everybody and told them about it,” Eric Somers, a self-professed “Survivor” fanatic, tells Hollywood.com.
And thereafter, the 33-year-old Los Angeles denizen has seen every single episode of the show, religiously and reverently.
“You can just tell that it was brilliantly put together,” Somers explains. “It has the feel of a great football game [where] we don’t know how it is going to turn out. It’s also like a James Bond movie where people have to hunt each other down.”
With such unmistakable fervor for Pulau Tiga, you’d think someone like Somers will miss the show, at least just a little, after it’s gone, right?
Well, guess again. For, as much as he loves the show’s bickering and catfights, Somers admits feeling a sense of relief now that it is finally going to end.
“The thing is, I enjoyed the show, but it’s too much of a commitment. Like if I miss an episode, I’d have to call a friend or tape it myself.”
And if fans like Somers are letting go so easily, what about those who really hate “Survivor” — you know, your friends who live for making fun of the series – how are they taking the show’s swan song?
Naturally, they’re really bummed.
Nude Man and Old Man: Richard and Rudy “Actually, I’m a little sad that it is all over,” Paul Sims, creator of the Web site Survivorsucks.com, intimates to us.
But regardless ‘Survivor’s’ demise, Sims still plans to update the site regularly with new haiku poems written by fans, and tying up all the loose ends until January.
In case you haven’t heard, that’s when the next edition of “Survivor,” which will feature a new group of castaways and take place in the isolation of the Australian outback, is set to debut. In a bit of marketing flourish, the new “Survivor” will premiere immediately after the Super Bowl.
That said, will “Survivor” fandom evaporate along with the show tonight? And can the next season sustain the same amount of hype?
“I don’t know. Collectively, we have a very short attention span,” Sims says. “I think it’ll be very difficult to have this all over again with the next “Survivor.”
Meanwhile, fans like Somers aren’t lamenting, they’re looking ahead. If not to the next “Survivor,” then to getting back to a normal, casual, TV viewing lifestyle.
“[After ‘Survivor,’] I’m going to go back watching ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘The Sopranos,’ and ‘Ally Mcbeal,'” says Somers. “The good shows.”
