Inside the voting hut everybody can hear you scream: Shock, awe and vicious bickering await in tonight's megalodon-sized Survivor SA: Immunity Island episode on M-Net.

by Thinus Ferreira

A megalodon-sized Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island episode will be broadcast tonight on M-Net (DStv 101) from 19:30 that stretches a hour-and-a-half in length and that includes a jaw-dropping tribal council lasting 19 minutes in duration with vicious bickering from the remaining castaways where words like "disgusting!", "despicable!" and "I'm done being an emotionless robot!" are uttered.

And unlike space, everyone hears you when you loudly scream from inside the voting hut at tribal council for all to hear who it's for.  

TVwithThinus got an advance screening of tonight's episode of Survivor SA: Immunity Island on M-Net that starts at 19:30 and ends at 21:00 and that is once again an episode for the TV history books and that yet again marks several first for the series.

Tonight's episode of the 8th season clocks in at an hour-and-a-half - essentially a feature-length episode for an unscripted reality series - which is unprecedented for the genre, for M-Net, and for Survivor SA as a mid-series episode. 

While it will feel like DStv subscribers are watching a movie in terms of the shocking twists and turns and eye-popping, brutal tribal council, the episode itself doesn't feel that long.  

M-Net was asked about tonight's peculiar episode duration of Survivor SA: Immunity Island and the massive television real estate devoted to the show on the schedule with the channel that told me that "This season the team made a decision that episodes would not have defined durations".

"As per the move internationally, we run episodes for the duration required to tell the story. For Survivor SA's 8th season this duration can vary from 44 to 70 min."

So what went into the decision for this longer episode? M-Net and the production company Afrokaans say that episodes "simply feed off the gameplay and contestant interactions and reactions to the elements we put into play on each episode".

"For the opening show, we knew we would need more time to establish characters while the finale is really two episodes rolled into one. For the rest, we edit to content that emerges rather than any pre-defined plans."

Asked whether viewers remain engaged watching Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island even when episodes are longer, M-Net says that "to date we have not seen changes in viewing patterns simply based on extended episodes". 

M-Net also says that its scheduling department is happy to be flexible with longer episodes of Survivor SA in terms of the channel's Thursday night line-up.

The badmouthing and bickering and shocking twists and turns on night 30 at tribal council in tonight's episode of Survivor SA: Immunity Island that stretched over 19 minutes, will definitely leave viewers in shock and awe.

Earlier during the episode a castaway will say "My revenge button is switched on". Tonight's tribal council and its extremely intense words and exchanges will really have viewers on the edge of their seats. 

In another Survivor SA first, host Nico Panagio is literally left speeches for several minutes and doesn't say a word or even ask a question as the remaining castaways verbally attack each other with shocking accusations, provide proof, and even admit guilt.

 

While the tension builds, castaways tell each other off with words like "You're disgusting!", "despicable!" and one castaway will remark that this person is "done being an emotionless robot!". 

In another Survivor SA first, one of the castaways during voting at tribal council, will scream very loudly from inside the voting hut to make it very clear who it's done for.