A Family Affair

Survivor through the generations

I have a nearly 20 month old daughter. As I write this, she is sitting next to me, eating her morning cereal and watching the same episode of Barney the Dinosaur she has seen at least 50 times before. I believe that to be karmic retribution for my childhood when I did the same thing to my parents. Barney is one of the only shows my baby will allow us to watch but it isn’t the first one; that honor belongs to Survivor.

Curiously watching her tv shows.

While she was around for Survivor: Kaoh Rong, she only really became cognizant of the things around her in time for Millennials vs Gen X. Through the season’s original run, she had her first birthday and because she didn’t pay any attention to the television back then, we didn’t know what kind of theme she would like. It was a problem that made us randomly throw our eggs in the Minnie Mouse basket. As we we would later find out, we were wrong. At the time though, the only show she would ever sit down and actively watch with me was Survivor.

Should have been a Survivor theme dad!

It felt very appropriate that her first season actively watching with dad, not that she will remember it, was Millennials vs Gen X. Since I really started to watch closely in order to write about the show, I would watch it live alone and then rewatch the recording with her in the morning before she went to daycare and I went to work. It became our father/daughter morning tradition. With Adam’s story as a winner being so inspirational and family focused, it was a reminder of how much the show we love can come and touch us emotionally.

As a parent, watching Adam go through his arc and reveal at the reunion the incredible way in which it all ended, it was impossible not to shed some tears. It served as a great reminder of why Survivor is so great in the first place.

As I’ve mentioned before, when the show began in 2000, I was a soon to be 11 year old. If it hadn’t been for my parents talking about this new thing coming on CBS and then making my sister and me watch it with them, I would have never known about Survivor.

Like the sports teams I follow fervently (go Raps, go Jays and bring a hockey team back to Quebec City damn it) the shows I enjoy were informed my parents. My mother was the one getting me into dramas like the Wire and the West Wing. My dad is a huge comedy nerd and is the reason for all the comedies and stand ups that I enjoy. He is also a gigantic strategy nerd and he was the one who wanted to watch Survivor and he still does.

I don’t think that the show would have nearly as much meaning to me if it wasn’t for that connection it gave me with my dad. I remember cheering for Hatch alongside him during Borneo. I remember our numerous arguments over the fact that I liked Brian Heidik for his willingness to be so cold and mechanical and he thought Brian was an immoral son of a bitch. Pearl Islands is obviously legendary in its own right but it was only made greater when my father drew Jonny Fairplay in his office pool. While most people spent their time hating him for being a little weasel, we spent every week waiting with anticipation to see what trick he would pull out next. It’s partly why the dead grandma lie will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Those early seasons are special to a lot of people. Partly because they were an absolute poo culture craze that took over the world. I have fond memories of that too but it will never be why I connect so much with them. When I go back for rewatches of all the pre-All Stars seasons, even to this day I am overwhelmed with memories of bonding with my folks through Survivor. It takes a special show to do something like that.

That’s why when my daughter’s attention was suddenly captured by the gratuitous animal and nature shots that Survivor loves to throw in as cutaways, I was thrilled. She is going to learn to love the show just like her pops does, much to the dismay of my girlfriend. Who knows how long the show will go on for but thanks the magic of DVDs and online streaming services, past seasons are always at my disposal.

The next Ozzy in training.

The show has even helped her development. During Game Changers, she really started forming words. When she saw animals she would try to say their names “Bird! Bird!” She learned the word “go” from Jeff Probst yelling it every episode. Her vocabulary from the start of the season to when it ended had at least quadrupled. Not all of that can be attributed to Survivor but it certainly didn’t hurt.

My parents gave me a gift in helping me discover a passion for something I might have completely missed out on otherwise. In that way, and so many others, they were amazing role models. As a dad, it’s all I can hope to measure up to for my little lady. Since the current season ended, we’ve had to go back in time to continue our morning tradition. She has seen all of Borneo and Australian Outback so far. She doesn’t know it yet but I’m sure she loved Colby Donaldson. If my daughter falls in love with the show like I did, I’m just doing my job as her dad and if she ends up being uninterested…well at least I tried. As long as she doesn’t become a Will Sims III fan, I’ll feel like I’ve done right by her.