By Jennifer Larson

Millions of viewers tuned in to the premiere of SURVIVOR: CHINA Thursday night. That’s the good news; the bad news is that while SURVIVOR won its timeslot in the coveted 18 to 49-year-old demographic, it was the lowest rated premiere in the show’s history. This is the 15th season of the groundbreaking series that changed the landscape of TV, and some are saying it may have run its course. But that may be a bit hasty, because if memory serves me last season’s installment began in much the same way. But as tvsquad.com points out “it was down 14% from the ‘Fiji’ season,” and that does not bode well.

I think the problem is twofold. First of all we are all hip to the fact that these people are going to immediately try and scare up an alliance or two. And we know that most of these will fall apart within the first week. Second, there is so much competition in the Reality TV genre right now that SURVIVOR isn’t as fresh and exciting as it was in the beginning. That really sucks for them, since they were really the first – or at least the biggest hit – of all the Reality TV shows out there. Personally, I am still a big fan, and I wouldn’t miss an episode. That being said, I have come to appreciate the fact that other shows out there like THE AMAZING RACE, PROJECT RUNWAY and TOP CHEF are reality shows based on some actual skill. Granted, it takes a lot of skill to outwit 15 other people, but I wouldn’t call it a gift or a talent.

Add to all of that the fact that SURVIVOR is beginning to look like they get their contestants from central casting, and you have a disaster waiting to happen. Mark Burnett is a genius, and still provides the viewers with extremely high production value, but he may need to get those creative juices flowing and come up with a way to enliven this stalwart series if he wants it to remain on the air. Even with all that, I know I will keep watching … will you?