Survivor II: The Field Guide

Rating:
Summary: Revealed at Last! How Jerri planned on winning the game...
Review: "Survivor II: The Australian Outback" is over and done with, so why read "The Official Companion Book to the CBS Television Show"? Because if you were a devotee of the show you will find it interesting. The first section, "Survivor: Borneo," provides Mark Burnett's comments on the end game of the first "Survivor," looking at the last days, final tribal council, wrap party, and the show's premier as a prelude to casting the second series. The chapters providing "A Short History of the Land Down Under" and "The Playing Field" are concise but interesting looks at the playing field for the game with color photography similar to what we got during the series.

The information on "The Contestants" in Chapter Four is arguably more interesting to read after the show rather than before hand. The comments of the Casting Director and the Psychologist about Jerri, Colby and the rest of the cast are wonderfully ironic given the way the game played out. This is even truer about the final chapter on "Strategies," where we learn how each of the sixteen INTENDED to play the game (Jerri wants to "find a way of not being so controlling"). The Sixteen Strategies for Winning "Survivor" laid out by Burnett are certainly fodder for discussion around your own tribal fire.

But let's face it, the great thing about this Field Guide is reading about Jerri's intentions and self-image and comparing it with the "edited" product. You might get similar enjoyment reading about Tina, Elisabeth, Roger, Keith or whoever you favorites were (to win or to hate), but I cannot believe that there is anything as choice as what we see about the Wicked Witch of the Outback who insisted everything anybody did in the game was a strategic move, except, of course, for some of her kinder, gentler moments. This book would certainly be a fun read for anyone suffering from Survivor withdrawal.

Rating:
Summary: Not at all like the first book (BEWARE)
Review: "Survivor II: The Australian Outback" is over and done with, so why read "The Official Companion Book to the CBS Television Show"? Because if you were a devotee of the show you will find it interesting. The first section, "Survivor: Borneo," provides Mark Burnett's comments on the end game of the first "Survivor," looking at the last days, final tribal council, wrap party, and the show's premier as a prelude to casting the second series. The chapters providing "A Short History of the Land Down Under" and "The Playing Field" are concise but interesting looks at the playing field for the game with color photography similar to what we got during the series.

The information on "The Contestants" in Chapter Four is arguably more interesting to read after the show rather than before hand. The comments of the Casting Director and the Psychologist about Jerri, Colby and the rest of the cast are wonderfully ironic given the way the game played out. This is even truer about the final chapter on "Strategies," where we learn how each of the sixteen INTENDED to play the game (Jerri wants to "find a way of not being so controlling"). The Sixteen Strategies for Winning "Survivor" laid out by Burnett are certainly fodder for discussion around your own tribal fire.

But let's face it, the great thing about this Field Guide is reading about Jerri's intentions and self-image and comparing it with the "edited" product. You might get similar enjoyment reading about Tina, Elisabeth, Roger, Keith or whoever you favorites were (to win or to hate), but I cannot believe that there is anything as choice as what we see about the Wicked Witch of the Outback who insisted everything anybody did in the game was a strategic move, except, of course, for some of her kinder, gentler moments. This book would certainly be a fun read for anyone suffering from Survivor withdrawal.

Rating:
Summary: Slick and pretty, but not very interesting
Review: As if Burnett needed more marketing for his piece d'resistance, hit TV series Survivor, here comes a pretty picture book to make you feel bad for having missed the first series. Except... Burnett should feel bad for missing the strengths of the first series' BOOK. Unlike the "Field Guide" to Survivor I, there's little interesting in the way of additional material or structural insight. If you're a Survivor fanatic, you may enjoy some banter about Australia's surivalist history and environment. If you need some toilet reading, you may enjoy the study cover and pretty pictures. If you're looking for something intelligent, exciting, and revealing, this ain't it.

Rating:
Summary: Fun to Leaf Through, But Not Worth the $$
Review: Diehard fans of the show who criticized the first "Survivor" book will be happy to know that this volume picks up some of the slack for its predecessor: It describes the last few days on the island in detail and provides coverage of the last Tribal Council, with Sue's full speech included.

From there, however, it goes into tedious history about the Australian Outback itself and the production-based reason for picking the locale. This comprises the largest section of the book, and for those who aren't interested in geography and topography, it will be a boring read.

The section that most readers would be interested in is the section about the contestants of Survivor 2. Unfortunately, the material included here is hardly more extensive than the stuff you can read in magazine articles (and magazine articles cost less, might I add). The "psychological profiles" are hardly more than blurbs, and frankly, one doesn't need to be a psychologist to have given the same assessments of the contestants. Any person who has watched the first episode or two could've come up with the same "profiles."

All in all, I'd say it's worth checking out from the library or for browsing through while at your local bookstore, but this isn't one that you need to have in your home library-- unless you're hoping it'll be worth something as a collector's item. Maybe the complete, post-show Survivor 2 book will be better.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it, better than the first
Review: Is it just me or is Mark Burnett getting further and further detached from reality (delusional as Rich Hatch would say)? Has he become so attached to his dramality projects that he no longer relates to the common masses who watch his shows? Does he not realize how obvious it is that he either wrote less of this book than his first one or that he wrote most of it and that's why it's just an extended brochure?

SURVIVOR: THE ULTIMATE GAME was an interesting book. It contained a lot of behind the scenes information and though you can't believe everything you read, it was intriguing. Even if you weren't a fan of the show you can pick up that book and have an enjoyable read. Not so with SURVIVOR II: THE FIELD GUIDE. If you have never seen an episode of either Survivor, you'll probably not enjoy this book. A lot of the stuff found in here can be found in the encyclopedia.

The chapter dealing with the end of the first show was a nice way to begin the book. The chapters dealing with the history of Australia, famous survivors, and the dangers of the outback were informative. Unfortunately, the character backgrounds and etcetra of the new contestants is lacking. There really isn't much here. There are a few tidbits scattered throughout, but for the most part, the contestant info (which should be the most interesting part of this book) is lacking. All in all, the book lives up to what the first few episodes of SURVIVOR II turned out to be: lots of movement, but not enough character.

Rating:
Summary: "Not much more than a pamphlet."
Review: Is it just me or is Mark Burnett getting further and further detached from reality (delusional as Rich Hatch would say)? Has he become so attached to his dramality projects that he no longer relates to the common masses who watch his shows? Does he not realize how obvious it is that he either wrote less of this book than his first one or that he wrote most of it and that's why it's just an extended brochure?

SURVIVOR: THE ULTIMATE GAME was an interesting book. It contained a lot of behind the scenes information and though you can't believe everything you read, it was intriguing. Even if you weren't a fan of the show you can pick up that book and have an enjoyable read. Not so with SURVIVOR II: THE FIELD GUIDE. If you have never seen an episode of either Survivor, you'll probably not enjoy this book. A lot of the stuff found in here can be found in the encyclopedia.

The chapter dealing with the end of the first show was a nice way to begin the book. The chapters dealing with the history of Australia, famous survivors, and the dangers of the outback were informative. Unfortunately, the character backgrounds and etcetra of the new contestants is lacking. There really isn't much here. There are a few tidbits scattered throughout, but for the most part, the contestant info (which should be the most interesting part of this book) is lacking. All in all, the book lives up to what the first few episodes of SURVIVOR II turned out to be: lots of movement, but not enough character.

Rating:
Summary: survivor - palau: country tie-ins
Review: It seems as if Survivor will be airing yet another show in 2005 as Survivor-10 or Survivor-Palau.

I wonder how much these show actually help the host country? For example, the country domain is .pw and www.survivor.pw could be used as a fan site for Survivor-Palau. Have the show's producers considered this?


Rating:
Summary: The official companion guide to the second Survivor TV show
Review: This official companion guide to the second Survivor TV show series takes readers from the final tribal council of the original series through behind-the-scenes examinations of the Australian Outback preparations. Removable 14-episode charts, profiles of the 16 stranded Americans, and other details from maps to statistics makes for an exciting visual reference.