articles

pril 11, 2001

Wanna Be on Survivor 3? You've Got 2 Days to Apply
by Barbara Fletcher


So, do you think you have what it takes to be a Survivor?

Are you in excellent mental and physical health? Are you at least 21 years of age?

Are you willing to travel at your own expense in April or May 2001 to one of several U.S. locations?

Can you cough up a clearly-typed application form and a three-minute videotape highlighting "why you would make the ultimate Survivor"?

And (what really counts) can you cook rice like a pro, eat bugs, worms, and other critters with a big smile on your face, use your brains and brawn to Outwit Outsmart Outplay, and back-stab your way out of a makeshift shelter?

Of course you can.

But are you a U.S. citizen living in the good old U.S. of A.?

Ah, there's the clincher. In order to qualify as a contestant on Survivor 3, you must be a U.S. resident -- and you've got to act fast. The deadline for applications closes April 13 at the stroke of midnight.

And, again, Canadians are denied the ability to prove on international T.V. what Survivors we truly are. *Sigh*

What we need is our own Survivor show. (That Little House on the Prairie-esque Pioneer Quest that surfaces on the History channel every once in a while doesn't count). Or, at least we need to find a way to sneak on to one of the Survivor-like shows cropping up all over the globe.

We need to make our mark.

After all, the British show Shipwrecked intentionally chose three Australians to participate in the latest series -- probably just as an experiment to see how the Aussies and the Brits could get along (or not).

Wouldn't it be great if CBS allowed a gaggle of Canadians on Survivor 3 to see how well we would get along with our neighbours to the south?

After a few weeks -- when all politeness, diplomacy, and all-round niceness has fallen prey to the survival instinct -- Canadians would kick butt. Introduce some of Canada's finest beverage as part of a reward challenge and there would be no turning back.

But, until Canadians are allowed to participate in the Survivor shows of the world, at least we can take the Great Canadian Survivor Challenge from the comfort of our own computers.