Rating: 
Summary: The Grand Sociological Experiment of the New Age
Review: In June 2000 the landscape of American television was starkly different than it is now; nearly all shows stopped production in the summer, and aside from a traditional game show fad that was beginning to subside, all programming was scripted fiction.Then Charlie Parsons and Mark Burnett brought to CBS an idea that, while not entirely original in concept or design, was remarkably different than anything currently being aired in the United States. It was a "reality" show, based on the hit Swedish program "Expedition Robinson", in which a group of strangers were dumped on an island and forced to fend for themselves, and vote each other off one by one. They called their version "Survivor", and it kicked off a TV revolution that does not appear to be going away. This first season of "Survivor" established all the rules which, eight seasons later, are considered gospel by fans and contestants alike: sixteen players are divided into two tribes where they must build shelter, find food, and compete in challenges. Lose the challenges and you face Tribal Council, where the tribe votes out one of its players, be they the weakest link, the bossiest leader, or the slimiest snake. Eventually the two tribes merge into one where the challenges become individual and the field is ultimately levelled to two remaining players who are judged by their fallen peers. One is left standing to claim the million-dollar prize and the title of Sole Survivor. With these parameters, sixteen Americans volunteered to be the initial guinea pigs, and were marooned in Borneo. Some were there for the adventure, some for the fifteen minutes of fame, and some for the money. It was, in the end, a game, and those who sought the pot of gold proved the most ambitious. One of the only rules of Survivor is that you cannot conspire to share the prize money. The Pagong tribe, consisting of mainly younger players like Jenna Lewis, Colleen Haskell and Greg Buis, were quite content with this and opted to lay back and let the cards fall where they may. But the Tagi tribe (including Rudy Boesch, Susan Hawk, and, of course, Richard Hatch) discovered early on that you could bend the conspiracy rule without actually breaking it. If they all voted together as a bloc, they'd have the numerical advantage to ensure a slot in the final four or five. You could call it an arrangement, or agreement. They called it an alliance. The alliance strategy ultimately proved the obvious way to go, and it was perhaps that one aspect of this first season which proved the most influential on the seasons which followed it; nearly every subsequent winner of the game has used a solid alliance to get them to the top. It is not always the ringleader, not always the strongest or smartest. No one person or personality is guaranteed victory in this wholly unique game, because the game is shaped by the people who play it, and no two people are the same. Survivor was an almost instant ratings smash, and the first season finale ranks among the most watched events in recent years, and this can be attributed not to its sex appeal or entertainment quotient, but its curiosity. Random people scheming and plotting to outlast each other in a democratic process. Survivor is, at its core, a microcosm of Western society and politics, a grand sociological experiment of the Pax Americana. The DVD release of the complete first series allows many fans who have forgotten or did not see the original Pulau Tiga castaways to experience, or re-experience, the show that they fell in love with those four long years ago. And coming with the hindsight of eight sequel seasons (season nine is being cast as of this writing, and producer Burnett and host Jeff Probst are reportedly signed through season twelve), it is a real trip to go back and watch how it all started; when grubs were considered "gross food", sloppily-edited credits gave away future events (giving berth to the wild internet "spoiling" subculture), and "alliance" was considered a dirty word. Probst is shaky here; the job is new to him and there is no edge to his attitude. It is a new experience to him, as it is to everyone else. And all the great moments are here: Greg and his "coconut phone", Sean's alphabetical voting strategy, and of course Susan's infamous "snakes and rats" jury speech, often imitated but never duplicated. Survivor fans will need a copy of Season One. Others may want to consider this as the perfect place to start catching up on what they've been missing.
Rating: 
Summary: Why This Show Works on DVD
Review: Contrary to a popular belief, SURVIVOR is not the kind of show that only works in its first viewing. Yes, as a game show with an unpredictable outcome, the first viewing may be the most entertaining, but what one must consider here is that SURVIVOR remains popular, season after season, because it is the best-produced show on the air. If you have any interest in TV as a creative medium, think about what it takes to produce a show like this: the countless hours of editing to create story arcs amongst the contestants and keep the outcomes unpredictable, the artfully-woven travelogue elements that present the geography and harsh climate of a remote location, the vast creativity and ingenuity required to come up with dozens of well-designed games and challenges that will entertain viewers while truly testing the players. (It looks as if the DVDs themselves could have presented a few more extras, in which the depth of these processes are shared.) SURVIVOR changed the face of modern TV for a reason -- and, to this day, it maintains the professionalism and class that few, if any, other reality programs have achieved. In fact, I'd argue that watching the series again *after* the first time is the only way to completely grasp what makes SURVIVOR work so well, as being less focused on who is ousted from the island each episode allows the viewer to actually notice the details. New viewers, one-time viewers, and longtime fans alike should all be able to appreciate this set, while purchasing it will most likely determine whether later seasons are released onto DVD as well... so have at it. (Speaking of later seasons, all of them contain a series of reactions and strategies against the standards set by this season, when the slate was clean and no one really knew how to play. The powerful reactions of the often innocent players, not expecting the backstabbing and deceit that everyone expects from this game now, are completely unique in that respect to this season of SURVIVOR, and remain gripping -- even emotional -- four years later.)
Rating:
Summary: Survivor - Not just great the first time around
Review: This DVD is so incredible because My wife and I love looking back at previous episodes and see where things went wrong for many of the losing survivors. Strategy and luck play huge factors in this game. It's fun to see enjoy the season with 20/20 hindsite. Usually before every new season starts, I go back and re read the highlights of each previous season. It's amazing watching how with each new season, the survivors learn from the previous seasons. The All Star season is going to have a huge effect on the new seasons because we found out that having a bad reputation can kill you (lookin at you ROB C). I also think we'll be going back to alliances playing large roles in future seasons. Pearl Islands had almost NO alliances compared to previous seasons. I can't wait for the other seasons to be released on DVD. Colby storming through Australia, Ethan,Lex and Big Tom dominating Africa, Vecepia owning Marquesas, Brian controlling Thailand, Rob C and Matt using each other in the Amazon, Rupert and Jon battling in Pearl Islands and Everyone at once on All Stars.. Keep em rolling CBS!!
Rating:
Summary: Incredible DVD.. Incredible show!
Review: I must admit, I didn't watch the first season of Survivor. I was so glad they came out with this in time for the break for the summer. It's really interesting to look back on the beginnings of Survivor and compare that to say Survivor All Stars. These people who you see on the first season, had no idea what they were in for, and that's why it seems more genuine, and more interesting then the other seasons. There were points in it that you could see crew members interacting with the cast, and Jeff Probst. The music is definitely more American from the first season. One immunity challenge in Season one has Piano and Techno music a la C.S.I. The main difference is that these people had fun. You see them enjoying themselves much more then you do now. They weren't making alliances from the very second they stepped on the beach. I love the current Survivor, but this DVD set really is awesome to watch. Highly recommended to any Survivor fan! (And I know there's a lot of you out there!) So when's Australia coming to DVD?LOL..
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: As advertised. Simply put, the season as you would have seen it on tv. The box says all you need to know.
Rating:
Summary: Bring out ALL Seasons on DVD for Fans of the Show!!
Review: I finally succombed to survivor fever back when it was first on tv during the merger episode. By then, I really didn't know enough from the earlier episodes to understand the moronic attitude of the anti alliance group, and to appreciate Hatch. I did not like him for years. However, I got my S1 dvd set this week and I am on disk 3 now. I LOVE THIS. What a great season. Here are some observations. Cheesy stuff they don't do anymore, that I think is great in these episodes: 1) the gong going to tribal council
2) the treasure chest full of "money" (my note: what happened to this money during the rainy tribal councils? They never show it soggy) More on the filming: During most of the challenges, you can see boats out at sea that are supporting the production. Most of the time, the cruise ship they used for the crew is parked at the horizon, clearly visible in the scene. I heard helicopter noise during the filming of the merger challenge, where pagong lost for the last time to make it an even 5. It is VERY amusing to watch the voting after the merge. Pagong pagonged ITSELF. This is hilarious. I just finished the episode where Jenna gets voted on by her entire tribe, even though the alphabet voting put greg out. Another observation: whenever Jenna was on a tribe, the tribe did happy things. Pagong was a happy tribe as was Chapera. I think Jenna is under appreciated as a player on survivor. I miss them casting a wide age range of players. If they bring that back, it will make the dynamics more interesting. BB's game strategy was a train wreck. Sonja was a great lady. I loved her singing that funny song to hatch. Gretchen was an interesting survivor, she understood the game, as did Greg. How come we don't hear about these contestants? If you haven't watched the new dvd set, I recommend that you watch the first CD all the way through WITHOUT the probst et al commentary turned on. Then go back and turn on the commentary and watch E1 all over again listening to the boys talk about the scenes as they unfold. This is great stuff. I wish they had commented on EVERY episode with more of the cast. This was probably the best $35 i have spent on entertainment in quite some time. I hope they bring all the seasons out on DVD. What I wish they will do for future sets: 1) after the credits for each episode, then show clips of the voting confessionals and ALL the insider clips that were on the CBS website each week. 2) Have cast commentaries on EACH episode by cast members of that season that you can turn on or off, like they did for episode 1 on this set. 3) Show audition tapes of cast members (I don't know if these are on this set, I am still watching disk 3) Also for those purchasing this set, don't mistake the plastic on each CD case as something you have to rip off. I was bone headed and discovered AFTER I ripped off the plastic on my case that it was to hold the cover in place. The cd case itself was not sealed in plastic (dah). Oh well.
Rating:
Summary: One More Thing...
Review: One more tidbit I forgot to mention in my earlier review...
As of right now, the release date for Survivor: All-Stars, is scheduled for August 31.
Rating:
Summary: Info on what is included on the DVD...
Review: Here are the extra's that you get...
Commentary
Jeff Probst, Richard Hatch, Gervase Peterson and Rudy Boesch provide excellent commentary on the first and last episodes of the season. This stuff is gold for Survivor fans. I'd like to talk about it more, but I wouldn't want to spoil anything. Survivors Leave Los Angeles and Arrive in Borneo (6:58)
We see them hang out for a bit at CBS, get some photos taken, get on a plane and then hold passports up to their faces while a camera zooms in and out. Booooring. The Late Show with David Letterman Top Ten featuring the Survivors (2:48)
A piece from The Late Show with Letterman. A Look Back with Richard, Rudy and Gervase (10:41)
A general "look back" with the three guys. They remember bits and pieces from the show, but also talk about some things that have happened to them since the show aired. Bonus Disc
Main Feature (2:14:56)
Along with never-before-seen clips from the show, there are profiles of the contestants along with their casting and interview tapes, as well as an expanded version of their final words. This acts as a nice recap of the season. "Survivor: Inside the Phenomenon" documentary (20:50)
This is a really cool behind-the-scenes look at the show, featuring interviews with Mark Burnett and Jeff Probst. Really good stuff. Survivors
Each Survivor is profiled in this section. Along with their profile we also get their "favorites" voting history and final words. The Island (14 screens)
This section contains information on the island, wildlife, terrain and climate. Episode Summaries
Information about each episode, including highlights, the immunity challenge and voting results. And for anyone who is interested...Richard's butt is still blocked out. THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome that its on DVD, but could we have had a few extras?
Review: I never saw Survivor 1 and really regretted missing out, so I'm thrilled to get to see it now. Yeah the suspense over who wins is gone, but watching the Macchiavellian manuervering and intrigue is almost more entertaining when you know its going to work. My only gripe with this set is that its really lean on extra features. How about some deleted footage? How about more than 1 episode with a commentary? I just would have liked something more, but at the really good price (say compared to a season of CSI on DVD), I'm not going to complain.
Rating:
Summary: The One that Started it All
Review: Survivor Boreno is Richard Hatch. It is amazing to watch all of the episodes and admire the way he dominated his season. Truly, he was one of the best mental players to ever play the game. He definitely deserved to win. The Season begins with 16 strangers being case overboard off the island of Boreno in the South China Sea. The castaways soon deal with rats, snakes and learning to deal with interpersonal relationships, which are essential to the game. It was very interesting to see the people in this season have moral issues with the idea of an "alliance," now the staple of the show. Also, these castaways have MANY more amenities than the current castaways do. As the 16 dwindle to 1, we see the beginnings of one of the best shows on television. Stand out season 1 members: Sue (who could forget the speech?); Gervase (eating bugs and rats); Jenna; Kelly; Rudy (one of the most original Survivors); and, as previously mentioned, Richard. Can't wait for fellow Texan Colby and Season 2 to be available on DVD.
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