On Apr 16, 2024, Brian Smith wrote
(in article <uvmtfn$163vp$1@dont-email.me>):

>
> Yeah, that sounds right. They also seem to be downplaying sexuality
> lately. Half the cast last season was gay but you'd never know it if you
> didn't follow them on SM.

Exactly! Being LGBTQ on Survivor is not a big deal anymore.

On Apr 16, 2024, Brian Smith wrote
(in article <uvmjte$1421b$1@dont-email.me>):

>
> The whole "I'm not here to win a million dollars, I'm here to win a
> million hearts" always made suspicious about him. He was very
> calculating and it looks like his real objective was/is to cash in on
> other projects.

Which brings me back to the question I asked earlier in the season:
How did somebody so poorly suited for the Survivor experience get
cast to appear on the show? And furthermore, why did the SEG
production people help him to attain his goal by giving him a large
amount of exposure that was not really earned. Did Jeff Probst, and
the many other executive producers, know that Bhanu was planning
to act out a role during his time on Survivor in the hope that it would
help him get more acting jobs? IMO, these are important questions
that speak to the integrity of the show, and explanations need to be
provided.

On 4/16/2024 5:23 PM, Zeppo wrote:
> On Apr 16, 2024, Brian Smith wrote
> (in article <uvmjte$1421b$1@dont-email.me>):
>
>>
>> The whole "I'm not here to win a million dollars, I'm here to win a
>> million hearts" always made suspicious about him. He was very
>> calculating and it looks like his real objective was/is to cash in on
>> other projects.
>
> Which brings me back to the question I asked earlier in the season:
> How did somebody so poorly suited for the Survivor experience get
> cast to appear on the show? And furthermore, why did the SEG
> production people help him to attain his goal by giving him a large
> amount of exposure that was not really earned. Did Jeff Probst, and
> the many other executive producers, know that Bhanu was planning
> to act out a role during his time on Survivor in the hope that it would
> help him get more acting jobs? IMO, these are important questions
> that speak to the integrity of the show, and explanations need to be
> provided.

IIRC, in his final episode, Bhanu said he applied for Survivor the day
after he became a citizen. According to his iMDB bio, he arrived in the
U.S. in 2013 which would have given him tons of time to make
connections. I wonder if he somehow got connected to Jesse who suggested
he applied? I think Bhanu saw it as a huge opportunity and didn't know
much about the show. He might have binged every season at some point but
he clearly didn't understand the game.

As for him getting such a big edit, did CBS (Paramount?) see him doing
future work for them? I would say Jeff and the other big producers knew
what Bhanu was planning to do. If not, you'd think early on a producer
would have asked him in a confessional WTH he's doing and try to get him
to focus on the game. Even a simple "Don't you think you should listen
to Kenzie?" might have been enough.

A lot of people seem to think the show screwed up giving him so much
focus in the first four episodes. The season seems so much better since
Ep05.

--
Brian

On Apr 16, 2024, Brian Smith wrote
(in article <uvn9c4$1886q$1@dont-email.me>):

>
> As for him getting such a big edit, did CBS (Paramount?) see him doing
> future work for them? I would say Jeff and the other big producers knew
> what Bhanu was planning to do. If not, you'd think early on a producer
> would have asked him in a confessional WTH he's doing and try to get him
> to focus on the game. Even a simple "Don't you think you should listen
> to Kenzie?" might have been enough.

I can understand somebody getting in over their head, but I’m bothered by
the suggestion that has been made that Bhanu was playing a character
when he was in the game, and the really weird behavior he exhibited was
just a performance for the cameras. Plenty of other people have gone on
Survivor with the hope that their appearance might lead to opportunities
IRL, but, AFAIK, every one of those players took the game seriously and
showed their true selves to the viewing audience.
>
> A lot of people seem to think the show screwed up giving him so much
> focus in the first four episodes.

Well, I guess it depends on who you ask. I have a friend who loves Survivor,
but she would definitely qualify as “a casual fan”, and she thought the
Bhanu
story arc was very entertaining. Survivor still draws an impressive number of
viewers each week and, like my friend, many of them just want to see some
wacky behavior and be surprised at the outcome of TC.

> The season seems so much better since
> Ep05.

HaHa! I’m still hoping that the actual season will start in E08. The tribal
twists that
Probst put Into play during E06 and E07 ruined the early merge portion of the
game
IMO. For example, the three members of the former Purple Tribe should not
have
had that much power given to them by the results of random draws. I am hoping
that
Probst will allow the F10 to play the game straight in E08, but I have a
feeling that he
is going to introduce another stupid twist at TC.

"Zeppo" wrote in message
news:0001HW.2BCF3FE400125F9230D78538F@news.easynews.com...
>
>On Apr 16, 2024, Brian Smith wrote
>(in article <uvmjte$1421b$1@dont-email.me>):
>
>>
>> The whole "I'm not here to win a million dollars, I'm here to win a
>> million hearts" always made suspicious about him. He was very
>> calculating and it looks like his real objective was/is to cash in on
>> other projects.
>
>Which brings me back to the question I asked earlier in the season:
>How did somebody so poorly suited for the Survivor experience get
>cast to appear on the show? And furthermore, why did the SEG
>production people help him to attain his goal by giving him a large
>amount of exposure that was not really earned. Did Jeff Probst, and
>the many other executive producers, know that Bhanu was planning
>to act out a role during his time on Survivor in the hope that it would
>help him get more acting jobs? IMO, these are important questions
>that speak to the integrity of the show, and explanations need to be
>provided.
>

I think the answer is pretty clear. Jeff and the other powers that be
believe their number-one priority is to make a TV show that will get good
ratings. Period. Yes, it is also a game and they have to follow certain
standards and guidelines that prevent them from unduly influencing the
outcomes, etc., but their top priority is to attract and maintain viewers.
Clearly, they felt that Bhanu had a "story" or a persona or a schtick or
whatever you want to call it that would appeal to a large number of viewers.
It doesn't matter if he was faking or acting or just trying to set himself
up for future acting gigs, as long as enough viewers were roped in enough to
watch him, that's all Jeff cares about.

--

Rick wrote:

> I think the answer is pretty clear. Jeff and the other
> powers that be believe their number-one priority is to make
> a TV show that will get good ratings. Period. Yes, it is
> also a game and they have to follow certain standards and
> guidelines that prevent them from unduly influencing the
> outcomes, etc., but their top priority is to attract and
> maintain viewers. Clearly, they felt that Bhanu had
> a "story" or a persona or a schtick or whatever you want to
> call it that would appeal to a large number of viewers.
> It doesn't matter if he was faking or acting or just trying
> to set himself up for future acting gigs, as long as enough
> viewers were roped in enough to watch him, that's all Jeff
> cares about.

Rick, we get it. But we still don't like it :)

--
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal