Product Description
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The complete season of Survivor: All-Stars.
.com
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Billed as "the greatest Survivor ever" when it launched
following the Super in January 2004, Survivor All-Stars
broke new ground for the hit reality series by bringing back 18
of its most famous (and infamous) characters from the previous
seven installments to battle it out in a quest for affirmation or
redemption (and, of course, the million-dollar prize). Half the
fun was seeing who was picked to return, and there were many
tasty selections: original winner Richard (natch) from Borneo;
Colby, Jerri, and Tina from the Australian Outback; Ethan, Lex,
and Big Tom from Africa; and the newest alumnus, Rupert from the
just-completed Pearl Islands. (There were, of course, many
omissions, such as Mike Skupin, who deserved a second chance
after falling into the fire in Australia.)
Right from the beginning, it was clear that this Survivor was
going to be different. Because people now knew each other (from
sharing a previous game, watching on TV, or mixing at
Survivor-related functions), some of the schemers were quickly
sniffed out and snuffed out, and players were more aggressive
about creating alliances (which sometimes overlapped, but hey,
it's only a problem if you get caught). In addition, because no
one wanted to see someone win a second million dollars, previous
champions found that they had targets on their backs. As a
result, there was an entirely new wave of power players. Along
the way there were some surprising and very emotional
developments (which had the unfortunate side effect of killing
some of the show's action) and the first on-screen Survivor
romance. In the end, Survivor All-Stars didn't live up to its
billing as the best ever (that title would remain with season 2
in the Australian Outback ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007TKGVC/${0} )),
but it did bring a new twist and some genuinely memorable moments
to a long-running series.
The DVD set adds significant value to the season, including some
welcome behind-the-scenes info on the series as a whole. The
bonus footage consists of much longer versions of each member's
"confessional" after being voted out, and 57 minutes of scenes
that are edited and scored like the regular episodes. Among those
scenes are a tribal council that was never seen on TV and Rob
Cesternino's dead-on impression of host Jeff Probst at a mock
tribal council, which was seen during the season as new footage
in the midseason "recap" episode. That episode is the only one
not included in the set, but with the above-mentioned moment
preserved, only the most hardcore fan would object to the loss of
this dead spot in every season. Three different quartets of cast
members recorded commentary tracks on a total of 10 episodes,
including the final four on the last episode and the first
reunion (the second is also included). They provide a lot of
in and fun stories, though there's a bit too much yelling
over each other. There are also featurettes that should appeal to
all fans of the show: how the challenges are created and tested,
the casting process, behind the scenes at the final show, and TV
promos for the previous seven seasons. The individual profiles of
all 16 All-Stars consist of footage of their original
appearances, which may help remind you why they were picked to
return, and interviews before the the season started. --David
Horiuchi