WHY THE LIES?
Once they were told they had been chosen for Survivor, the contestants could only tell their immediate family. They had to shut down their social media instantly and most had to concoct backstories to tell friends and workmates why they were suddenly gone for a few months.
“I just smoke-bombed,” Rohan says. “I put my social media on private and said I’ve gone on an adventure.” Kat had a more elaborate lie. “I told everyone I’m going to Vietnam. I’ve told that story that many times I feel like I actually went to Vietnam, I had fake flight times, arrival times, dates I was there. I felt like I had to really live it for people to believe it. I’m a very honest person, but I had to fabricate this whole story which is a really good test for those skills going into Survivor. I don’t have a very good poker face but I impressed myself.”
Picture: Network Ten
SIZE MATTERS
Just as there’s different Survivors in different countries they all have different incarnations. Some are once a week, some are stripped across a whole week. After initially planning two nights a week, Channel 10 are serving fans three episodes a week. “The US model is the classic structure — 14 or 15 one hour episodes, airing once a week,” Dick says. “Around 2003 we had our first deviation away from that in Latin America, where we tried a stripped version. It worked really well in Colombia. That made us think out of the box. We’ve had Live Survivor in Italy and Spain, a few countries who do two or three episodes a week. It works in all those different structures.”
I DON’T LIKE MONDAYS
Charlie Parsons created the idea of Survivor and set up Castaway Television Productions in 1991 with Lord Waheed Alli and Sir Bob Geldof. Yes, that Sir Bob Geldof. He of Boomtown Rats and Band Aid/Live Aid fame. He’s a joint owner of the Survivor format which is an incredibly lucrative brand year in, year out. Countries who buy the format have to also buy the rights to use intellectual property such as the iconic theme music. “Bob’s gearing up for the Australian series to be a huge success,” Dick says.
Cashed up: rocker Bob Geldof is one of the three owners of the Survivor franchise. Picture: Tim Marsden
BACK STORIES BACKLASH
These days reality shows thrive on backstories. The Voice, X-Factor ... the sob-inducing backstories are promoted as much as the talent. That’s not the case on Survivor. Contestants can reveal things about themselves, but it’s not a huge focus. “The original ethos was ‘What would be it be like to be abandoned on a deserted island with people you’ve never met before?”, Dick says. “With the sort of person you might sit next to on a bus but could never imagine yourself being friends with. Really disparate, different people together and watch how they interact.”
THOSE STORIES THOUGH
There are some powerful stories in this year’s cast — Kate Campbell has already mentioned hers. At 19 she was involved in a boating accident in Western Australia and doctors told her parents her chance of survival was a million to one. “I’ve never played the victim,” Kate says. “I don’t want to be the girl who was in the accident. Perth people might remember me, the rest of Australia won’t know. I went to Victoria on a holiday and it was so refreshing. No one knew me. My scars have pretty much healed up. I was just the girl they met at the beach or at the pub. It’s not going to be walking out going ‘Woe is me, get the cameras ready, here’s my story’. It’s a huge chapter in my life. It doesn’t define me but it has certainly shaped me as a person. My honesty and integrity got me through that phase, I want to continue that in the show.”
DIVERSITY
Barry was voted off, leaving Australian Survivor a very white affair, something that gets regularly pointed out on social media. However Barry wasn’t ready to be a spokesman for adding colour to reality TV in Australia. “I try not to get into all that kind of stuff,” he says. “I do stuff for a personal reason. People will always think what they think. Donald Trump is always going to say what he says. Just me being on the show is great if that’s a positive thing in society, I’ve helped someone.”
Political ambitions: Conner believes being on Survivor could harm his chances to be PM one day.
GAYBREAK
This year’s contestant Craig is hoping that he’ll give mainstream Australia a different perception of what a gay man can be. “I can walk into a room and go ‘hey Gurl’ and I’ve worked a job for months before anyone knew I was gay,” Craig says. “I can bond with the girls, I can be bitchy on the side to the camera, but I can get along with the guys as well. I have great relationships with straight guys. I train a lot. I’m a big guy. Gay isn’t a stereotype. We’re still male, we can still be masculine and frankly the majority of us are. In mainstream media a gay person is always an extreme — the camp guy who dresses up. That’s why sports in Australia and gay men in sports being proud and comfortable and feeling proud and comfortable. The fear for sports people to come out is understandable but it’s a shame, not on the person but the public.”
POLITICAL AMBITIONS
Which Australian Survivor could be Prime Minster? Conner has a dream. However he knows it may be ruined by being on reality TV. “I’m very interested in politics,” he says. “I like to research social structures and see why people do what they do, especially in desperate circumstances. Lord of the Flies kind of stuff, which is what’s drawn me to Survivor. It is a game of political strategy. There’s probably no way after doing Survivor I’d ever be elected into politics! I can just picture myself in question time and them playing a video of me from Survivor saying “I’m willing to lie and cheat and steal to win the game’. But I’d love to work in the area of politics, maybe foreign affairs or diplomacy. But then if Trump can become President maybe I could be PM after doing Survivor?”
Picture: Nigel Wright
RETURNING TO NATURE
A team of cleaners return each Survivor site to how it was before they arrived, using before and after photos. Indeed, sometimes it’s even cleaner. “We return everything to nature, how it was before we arrived,” Dick says. “There’s a lot of cleaning when we arrive. A lot of trash washes up on beaches. We actually clean the beaches when we arrive to make it look pristine. We fit in with the local community.”
SECRET SUPERFANS
There are at least four Survivor superfans in this series — however the superfans know the first rule is to not tell anyone on the island you’re a superfan. “It’s a target,” Evan says. “If you’re physically built and you do well with challenges or building, that’s desirable. When it gets to the intellectual property it doesn’t help to tell anyone you’re a superfan.” He’s also lying about his job. “I teach drama and media. If someone told me on Survivorthey teach people how to act that’s alarm bells right there. Nah. So I’ll chuck in something else due to teaching. I’ll say I’m an arts teacher for kids. That’s not very threatening.” Andrew, another superfan, has “been preparing this for 17 years”. He also wants to narrate as much as possible. “The people who get the most screen time on Survivor are the ones who can narrate the show to camera best,” Andrew says. “I’m happy to tell the viewers who I’m lying to, whose socks I’m stealing, but I’ll be as nice as pie to peoples’ faces.”
LIE BUSTERS
Susan is a customs officer whose job is to spot liars. “People think all we do is stamp passports and confiscate meat,” Susan says. “I’ve spoken to thousands of people who try and deceive you and hide things. I spent a lot of time interviewing refugees, that was hard, they’re real stories. But sometimes they lie to protect themselves. It’s not like they’re hiding 30 cartons of cigarettes. But I can spot if someone’s lying through their face. My husband, my kids, no one can get away with not being honest to me.” Mentalist Matthew is a “professional liar.””As a magician when we lie to someone we’re not doing it to hurt them we’re doing it in a friendly sort of way. I’ve learnt how to do it well.”
Australian Survivor, Channel 10, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
Rohan said arriving at Australian Survivor was a little like being abducted.
Originally published as
The secrets of Australian Survivor
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/en...s/news-story/673ae295992df8ad4b2e00f6f0133166
Soz, if this has been posted before here already....
and fellow Puzzle King leave the game. Pretty stoked to see him back with Christine though #SurvivorAU @nickiadanza
