recently finished a very long process of rewatching every survivor season in order and will be doing writeups as i rank them from worst to first. after I finish these up I will be redoing my top 39 characters that I did a long time ago, and then i am leaving this site forever and ever
after these two it's all seasons I like so it doesn't feel like a chore anymore
22- All Stars
All Stars is the mother, father, and guardian of legacy assignation. In theory it sounds super cool, bringing together some of the biggest names from the greatest era of Survivor. Going into it and seeing how epic the opening scenes are, and seeing people like Colby and Richard on the same tribe, it’s hard not to get excited about it. And that excitement lasts for the first couple of episodes, even though the season isn’t going perfectly. But roughly after the Richard boot, especially after the Ethan boot, the season takes an awful nosedive into a dark, bitter world that Survivor had difficulty ever escaping.
I don’t know. Really All Stars is a mess of controversy and divided sides between Rob and Lex, and no matter what side you align yourself with, the season is a mess of disappointment. The season itself is produced very well and matches up with the previous seven in that sense, you can tell the producers put a lot of effort into it and loved the show still, but the contestants gave them nothing positive to work with.
The season itself is interesting and isn’t the worst, I think there are worse below it, but it definitely is the season that did the most damage to the show and to the fan base overall, which I don’t really feel like going into. But that and the legacy damage (unless you were like Amber, Ethan, Shii Ann, or Richard) is enough to drive this season to the bottom end of my list.
Favorite Character: Ethan Zorn
21- One World
One World is basically a Cook Islands with a better cast for me. It’s extremely boring and nothing really stands out about it for me. The gameplay wasn’t particularly compelling; it was basically watch Kim walk slowly to a win. The twist was interesting at first but was quickly abandoned.
What saves it from Cook Islands status is that it’s less detestable than ASS or SP, but at least has a few good characters that make the dull ride a little bit tolerable. I enjoy Sabrina (especially premerge Sabrina which is the closest the season gets to a star), Troyzan, Kim, and Tarzan. The season does feature the awful duo of Colton and Alicia, but other than that the cast is average with a few decent footnote contestants.
Really the season could probably be lower but I just find it less objectionable than the others, so it lands here more because of other season’s weak points as opposed to its own personal strengths.
Favorite Character: Colton’s Appendix..... or Sabrina
OW is w/e. If every season were like it, I wouldn't keep watching. But an occasional season as sub-par as it is acceptable. If it had come around at a different time in Survivor history, I think many people, myself included, would be more receptive to it.