Six Slowest Starts in Survivor History

Rob Has a Podcast | Survivor, Traitors, Big Brother & Reality TV - RHAP

Survivor Know-It-All, Rob Cesternino | RHAP Productions

Tv & Film, Tv Reviews, After Shows

4.9 • 5K Ratings

🗓️ 21 October 2025

⏱️ 74 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Six Slowest Starts in Survivor History
Rob Cesternino and Brandon Donlon dive deep into Survivor history, examining seasons that started slow but eventually gained momentum. This special podcast explores the nuances of pacing in Survivor storytelling, highlighting six seasons that overcame sluggish beginnings to deliver compelling gameplay.
The hosts debate what constitutes a “slow start” in Survivor, analyzing factors like tribe dynamics, memorable characters, and early-game twists. They examine seasons ranging from old-school classics to new-era entries, discussing how different elements contribute to a season’s early pacing.
Rob and Brandon discuss:
– Caramoan’s pre-merge struggles and eventual turnaround
– San Juan del Sur’s lackluster early episodes and post-merge excitement
– Fiji’s controversial haves vs. have-nots twist impact on early gameplay
– Debate over including Survivor 46 in the list of slow-start seasons
– Comparison of old-school vs. new-era Survivor slow starts
Chapters:
0:00 Slow Starts in Survivor History
10:38 Caramoan: The Slowest Start?
20:44 Survivor 43’s Sleepy Pre-Merge
31:19 Micronesia’s Controversial Beginning
41:38 San Juan del Sur’s Gray Start
51:48 Vanuatu vs. Season 46 Debate
1:02:24 One World’s Problematic Pre-Merge
1:08:02 Wrapping Up Slow Starts

Never miss a minute of RHAP’s extensive Survivor coverage!
LISTEN: Subscribe to the Survivor podcast feed
WATCH: Watch and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube
SUPPORT: Become a RHAP Patron for bonus content, access to Facebook and Discord groups plus more great perks!

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs.
0:04.8	Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable
0:10.4	themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products out there.
0:14.7	Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time. From startups to scaleups, online,
0:20.1	in person and on the go Shopify is made for
0:22.8	entrepreneurs like you sign up for your one dollar a month trial at shopify.com
0:27.7	slash setup.
0:32.6	Hey everybody what's going on?
0:40.3	Rob Cispranino back, and we got a little podcast off the cuff here today.
0:45.8	And these are one of my favorite types of podcasts to do where we're just
0:50.5	vibing today.
0:51.7	A little bit of reheating of the nachos from summer of Survivor.
0:56.3	I said, hey, why don't we do a podcast of the times Survivor seasons started a little slow and got good?
1:05.3	Maybe putting it out into the universe, maybe manifesting a very exciting second half of the Survivor season
1:13.1	while still acknowledging it's been a little slow to get out of the gate.
1:16.4	And here with us, a man who once famously was slow to get out of the gate, it's Brandon
1:20.7	Donnellin.
1:22.6	Wow.
1:24.0	You introduce your guests.
1:25.8	It is true.
1:26.7	It's not incorrect. But I, you know, one thing. But look at you now. You. It is true. It's not incorrect.
1:44.6	But I, you know, one thing now, you're flying. We're here. Nobody else. I'm looking around. I don't see anybody else here. I'm thrilled to be here. I'm thrilled to. The only thing I like talking about more than current Survivor is old Survivor. Yeah. And we're going to talk about a lot of it. So we're going to get into it.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Survivor Know-It-All, Rob Cesternino | RHAP Productions, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Survivor Know-It-All, Rob Cesternino | RHAP Productions and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.