Survivor is a popular reality television series on the CBS network. The show consists of 16 contestants isolated in a remote location. The contestants are subjected to numerous competitions involving mental and physical challenges, as well as attempting to provide for themselves (though the extent that the contestants have been able to do so has varied from series to series).
The basic premise of the show is that each episode, one competitor is voted off in an elaborately-staged ceremony by the other competitors remaining in the game. The competitions provide an opportunity for either individual players or, in early weeks, a "tribe" of competitors, to avoid the possibility of being voted off. Whilst each individual's voting patterns are known to viewers, the competitors only know the overall results of the vote. Once only two competitors remain, the final winner is chosen from the two by an overall vote of the last ten competitors - the winners receiving one million dollars (in US versions of the series) and all other competitors receiving nothing (though they are apparently compensated for their expenses and some go on to earn money from endorsements and personal appearances). In addition, from time to time, such extra prizes as automobiles are awarded to individuals who may not win the grand prize.
The initial series was a huge ratings success for CBS in 2000, but subsequent series have attracted less attention. An Australian version of the series, screened in 2002, flopped in the TV ratings.
Survivor I was set on the remote island of Palau Tiga in the South China Sea.
Survivor II was set in Australia in the "Outback" (though the location was by Australian standards not particularly remote, nor was it arid).
Survivor III was set in Kenya.
Survivor IV was the most recent installment, and was set on the island of Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas
Survivor is a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, unrelated to the television show. It's a cynical book about a man named Tender Branson who is in the Creedish death cult. In this cult, every member learns how to be a servant for the human race—most of them are butlers—and fear most human pleasures. They await a sign from God to tell them to deliver themselves unto Him, that is, commit suicide. The sign finally comes, and Tender is the last surviving member of the cult. He's thrown into mainstream culture and becomes a personal icon for many people.
An excerpt from chapter 25:
- "This one time, the agent asked me where i saw myself in five years. Dead, I said. I see myself dead and rotting. Or ashes, I can see myself burned to ashes. I remember i had a loaded gun in my pocket. Just the two of us were standing in the back of a crowded, dark auditorium.
- 'I see myself dead and in hell.'
- I remember i was planning to kill myself that night. It was the night of my first big public appearance. I told the agent, I figured i'd spend my first thousand years in hell in some entry-level position, but after that I wanted to move into management. Be a real team player. hell is going to see enormous growth in market share over the next millenium, and I wanted to ride the crest.
- The agent said that sounded pretty realistic."