TV CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK: Such a yawn 3 episodes in, I can literally not give a proper review of the 8th season of Clover's Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives on SABC3 due to the show's slow start.

Three episodes in, the lethargic and white-washed, over-exposed 8th season of Clover's Tropika Island of Treasure on SABC3 is such a yawn to watch (nobody has even been eliminated yet. Don't ask.) that I haven't even been able to do a review about this weird slow-burn, no-burn advertiser-funded production (AFP) yet.

What I've already noticed - and remarked on - is how Clover and Tropika's communication around the show to the press has been worse than the previous season in my opinion, and how it hasn't done Tropika Island of Treasure any favours with the media in creating a good impression.

In fact it's created somewhat of a bad impression with this TV critic, and I think also with others covering the medium of television who I've spoken to since and who shared their thoughts with me.

As I've said, we're now 3 episodes into this "Survivor-lite" type product placement show from Cardova productions. I wanted to specifically wait (which I usually don't do) to sample more of the show before I give an honest impression in terms of a review of the new Tropika Island of Treasure season).

Of course Clover and Tropika didn't bother to do anything to try and show or preview Tropika Island of Treasure to TV critics and media who it didn't invite to Sun City or even told either beforehand or afterwards about the media event held there in January.

This lack of help to even show the show - part of the list of why I said the communication is way worse than before - of course meant that there was no way to actually see the show before it started airing. It signaled to me and others covering television, that it didn't matter to Tropika to actually get the show in front of the eyes of TV critics - something programmes actually do do when they believe in their shows and want to let viewers know through letting those covering television know.

Also note that because it's an AFP, SABC3 publicity isn't responsible for communicating about the show, but Clover and Tropika's marketing and publicity are and the people they designate to do so.

I decided to watch Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives old school - as a linear broadcast, but 3 episodes in, I'm flummoxed by how uneventful and borderline boring it is.

Nothing much has been happening in Tropika Island of Treasure, and that says a lot in this modern TV era where viewers need a pay-off per episode or a hook to lure them to watch the next one.

I truly thought that after 3 episodes TVwithThinus would be able to post a review. But no. So little of substance has been happening - nobody has been voted out, there's been no big challenges, (there's has been a lot of Tropika bottle shots), that it's all been pretty "blah" with apparently more lower grade "celebs" than in the much better 7th season.

Of course nobody has explained the change of more initial "set-up" type episodes, and the change in approach.

Of the Sun City press briefing and what was said there - as I've remarked before - there's been nothing. If there have been stories about the quotes and answers that originated from there - if actually anything of substance was asked and answered there - it passed me by.

Where is the game master introduced in the previous season? Why has this role suddenly been eliminated?

Why is the season set in the Maldives - a place that tourists are warned about and that nobody wants to travel to at the moment while it is in the grip of political unrest?

How is the bad political situation in the Maldives impacting on the show that is, one would suppose, once again being done in conjunction with Maldives Tourism that presumably wanted Tropika Island of Treasure to make it look good and is now somewhat wasted effort?

It also feels as if there's more D-listers on the show than before, except for Melinda Bam. How exactly were these people chosen? None of these questions and others that I would have loved to ask at a media briefing, there's been any opportunity to ask.

It's striking how different and badly Clover's Tropika of Island of Treasure compare with M-Net's Survivor South Africa Philippines currently filming in the East Pacific. Months before its May broadcast, as a TV critic I've already had a huge amount of access, did interviews, was invited for an actual set visit and met the crew and producers and banked stories for Survivor SA. The same happened for other media.

Last year Tropika Island of Treasure was way better in my personal opinion (for the first time!) in how it actually handled the media, communicated and was in tune with what was needed after many years of just not getting it and not knowing how and what to do properly.

And it's not just this TV critic who the show created a bad impression with.

Two weeks ago at M-Net's Dancing with the Stars SA cocktail party a member of the media came to me and without me even asking, started to dish about the Tropika Island of Treasure Sun City media day and media briefing. I just listened and shook my head as I took another sip of my wine.

The person told me: "I did a lot of coverage and did a lot of tweets until I discovered other media are VIP and I'm not VIP. The moment I discovered some media are even staying over at Sun City but I have to go back, I decided I'm stopping the tweeting. I decided no more coverage and I haven't since".

The person told me: "We had to wait in a shuttle for other media to arrive and it was so warm. Not even like a cooler box with drinks." And then made big eyes: "And you know ... It's Tropika!"

Here's is someone who actually was at Clover's Tropika Island of Treasure media day and who was still left with a very negative impression at the end of the day because of how the person was made to feel about the brand.

It's anecdotes like these - and there's others but one is example enough - that just made me wonder why Tropika Island of Treasure didn't keep to what it did last year and how much better everything was.

It's the second year that the show is on SABC3 after jumping from SABC1 to SABC3 for the first time last year. Yet, somehow Clover isn't fitting in with SABC3's way of doing professional programming publicity at all.

I was even told that Clover and Tropika didn't invite me to the Tropika Island of Treasure Sun City media event because Tropika Island of Treasure would be at SABC3's recent programming media event and would be highlighted there. Awkwardly and badly it didn't happen.

Tropika Island of Treasure wasn't discussed, the show wasn't highlighted, and there was nobody appearing in the show or who produced the show there. There was nobody from Clover or Tropika even there as far as I could see.

There was nobody to meet, and nobody appeared on stage like the other shows' talent. Absolutely nothing - and I mean nothing - from Tropika Island of Treasure came out of the SABC3 event - and that after I was told there would be an opportunity to ask questions there and which is why I wasn't told about the Sun City media event.

How is a TV critic supposed to cover a "no-show"?

Well, I will give my time and watch a 4th episode of Tropika: Islands of Treasure - Maldives next week on SABC3 and then share thoughts. But more time and attention than that I'm definitely not going to give a show and brands that in my opinion failed to bother and should have done much more and better, much earlier in the game.

RETURN OF TROPI-TRASH? Why Clover's upcoming 8th season of Tropika Island of Treasure on SABC3 is already signaling that it's looking like a return to Tropika Island of We-Don't-Know-What-We're-Doing.

After the revamped and much improved 7th season of Tropika Island of Treasure: Seychelles in 2017, things are not looking good so far - judged by the perplexing marketing strategy and inexplicably bad pre-publicity - for the upcoming 8th season on SABC3 of Clover's advertiser-funded production (AFP) that is set in the Maldives.

Following numerous trashy Tropika Island of Treasure seasons on e.tv and SABC1 in the past - remember when contestant Reeva Steenkamp died and SABC1 went ahead with starting the show a week after her death and refused to pull the show, followed by the trashy "killer giveaway" tweets? Or or the one without celebrities, or the one where the press had to "apply" to get access to the show - the show suddenly showed drastic improved.

Tropika Island of Treasure: Seychelles - in look, narrative and production values, as well as in the communication to the press around the show - for the first time felt like a "real" show and not commercial content packaged around an ad-wrapper TV shell.

After several seasons of Tropika Island of Treasure with horrifically bad publicity and done by people who seemed clueless as to what they're supposed to do and even how to do it - the AFP showed drastic improvements last year and was (the first!) good season.

Clover switched to Cardova Productions that made the show much more watchable, more "real"-looking and Survivor like.

Instead of using idiot publicist and PR firms who are clueless, Capacity Relations was roped in as a PR company in 2017 to liase with the Press Covering Television and the media.

To say it in other words, in 2017 Tropika Island of Treasure was elevated from the "trash TV" it was in the past, to basically very close to "normal".

The TV show was fine. I personally watched every episode and nothing felt gratingly crass commercialistic or like a hard-sell where sponsorship dominated over "story".

It was borderline-wonderful that something that's basically a half hour TV commercial changed so much (and for the better!) in that it had interesting narratives, funny contestants, actual watchable content, and PR people who were responsive, clever, who reached out, had proper publicity photos, communicated with the press, knew what to do and what the media's needs were, and actually responded to it.

Cue 2018 and it's back to trash (sigh) with South African television that will be delivering two island set shows: Tropika Island of Treasure: Maldives on SABC3, and Survivor South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) with the Tropika one up first and already a big disappointment.

The difference between the two from the outset, just in the basic media approach and how press are handled, couldn't be more starkly different.

Once again Clover and Tropika Island of Treasure doesn't seem to know what it's doing or should be doing - especially when it comes to PR and the press. Does that spell doom for the actual advertiser-funded show? Well, possibly, no. Possibly, yes. 

What is certain is that the back to a more trash approach in terms of communicating and doing PR about Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives is going to result in trashier, and less, exposure in the media that matter.

The marketing and publicity problems around Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives (and the show hasn't even started yet) are too many to mention but here's a few.

Let's look at the bad publicity photos that appear "non fixed" - meaning not properly airbrushed and with smudges and black tape marker. It was actually sent out to the press. To use. To publish.

Who does that?

That comes after the mindboggling decision not to gives out the basic contestant information to all media at the same time, but to make integral, basic information about the show that should be released to all media at the same time, somehow "exclusives" - severely diminishing the traction and exposure that general media would give it.

Whose old-school Women's Knitwear Monthly circa 1966 idea was this?

Then on Wednesday Clover and Tropika held a media event briefing for Tropika Island of Treasure Maldives but couldn't bother to invite or alert all relevant press and TV critics.

A smattering of press did attend (and lets see how many actual stories appear from their keyboards).

It's clearly solidly back to the trashier yesteryear modus operandi of the show - one that doesn't help it with the press oxygen it needs to breathe.

After the media press briefing held at Sun City (a step up from the benches at some bar from one of the previous seasons's media launch if I remember correctly) there was no press dump of press releases, no transcripts of who said what, or images of the day, or quotes from the contestants who answered questions; and nothing from the producers talking about the show.

There was nothing emailed out for the press who either attended - or the media that didn't - that they could use about the media briefing. (Keep in mind that Clover, Tropika and the show presumably want exposure for the show.)

This.Is.Bad.

On Wednesday afternoon I asked Miantha Padayachee, Tropika brand group manager, as well as the publicists at the PR company getting paid to work on the show, in an emailed media enquiry what is going on. There's been no response but if there is, it will be added here.

Clover's Tropika Island of Treasure: Maldives starting next month on SABC3 might again be good like the previous season (hopefully!) but at this point, with the flotsam already washing up on the pre-TV shore, I'm really not holding my breath.