Surviving Paradise

I love reality tv and game shows, but this was bad.

1. There is no true "survival" aspect. The camp is right on the edge of the villa, so close they can hear their music. They are given tarps, sleeping gear, fire, etc. They easily win food within the first day, and there is truly nothing grueling other than not being able to shower. Plus, they are only there for about 10 days, according to one of the confessional segments.

2. The "paradise" aspect is weak. It's literally just living in a nice villa and chef-made meals. There were no extravagant reward trips, no chance to win extra money or prizes, no being waited on hand and foot, no fun parties other than the guests pulling out cheap wine and splashing around in a pool.

3. There is no way to play the game as the rules seem to be made up as the production team went. I love twists in a game, but you have to give the contestants a chance to understand what they are playing.

4. Every relationship in the house seemed incredibly forced. When you watch it, you will know exactly what I mean.

Overall, this was awful. Skip it.

Lefkada is a beautiful island! Unfortunately, we hardly got to see it in that ill-fated TV programme. It could have been shot in a studio, with the camping part outside in the car park. Everything looked extremely cheap, from the house with the cheesy lights to the terrible acting of the contestants. I kept watching, hoping that the challenges would get more interesting. But when the camping group's challenge was to swim across the just 300 feet wide natural lake of Lefkada, a task that would take even the most inexperienced swimmer less than 3 minutes, I gave up. This show is rubbish and I wish I hadn't stuck it out for 5 episodes.

Honestly, I generally keep quiet on these things, and I absolutely love reality TV, but this show has zero strategy, and the winners were chosen purely based on popularity. It's incredibly frustrating to watch a game where the outcome is determined not by skill, intelligence, or strategy, but by who has the most followers or can play to the crowd's favor. The true losers in this scenario were the kind and selfless players who genuinely put their hearts into the competition, only to be overshadowed by those who were more popular. It's disheartening to see such a lack of meritocracy. No one with a genuine love for competition will enter this show.

This is a very "Netflix" show. Netflix simply expects viewers to keep watching this show. I enjoyed this show while occasionally skipping parts, but at the same time, it left me with the impression that Netflix's reality show quality is at this level. Watching a show with unclear rules is exciting but also unsettling, as the sense of "reality" gradually fades in an anything-goes situation. I found myself continuing to watch, feeling somewhat foolish, and it seemed like Netflix was telling me, "It may feel a bit odd, but you kept watching; this is what Netflix is all about." Well, that's fine; it served as a way to pass the time. However, from now on, I perceive Netflix Original shows as mere pastimes, not something to take seriously. Thank you, Netflix.

As someone who has watched numerous reality competition shows, this one missed the mark in many ways. The first one that suck out was that massive lack of competitions/activities/games etc. They had some small tasks thrown in, but for the most part, the cast sat around and did nothing but talk amongst themselves.

The rules were also unclear to both the viewers and the cast all the way until the end of the show. It seemed like they tried to throw us a big twist at the end, but it was very predictable after the prior disappointment they gave us all season long.

Another thing I struggled with was the cast referring to others as "big players/heavy hitters/etc." when there was just one cast member who took part in multiple challenges. Why are we referring to others as big time players in this game when hardly anyone is actually doing anything other than sitting around a campfire or sitting in a mansion/on a boat drinking champagne?

The host felt totally lifeless as well. Maybe it's the script she was given, or the way things were edited, but she ended up adding nothing to the show.

But hey, if weak drama and gameplay that is left totally to chance in the rare instance that something actually happens, this one is for you.