Survivor is a perfect mix of thrill and high-stakes drama. While the tasks truly test the physical and mental capacity of everyone, the drama at the Tribal Council also keeps the fans entertained. It is because of this that the show still holds massive popularity even after 40-plus seasons and several jaw-dropping finales. But according to longtime host Jeff Probst, one season had an alternate ending that actually never happened.
The reason for that is related to Probst himself and his inability to skateboard. This happened in Survivor: San Juan del Sur, which was the 29th season of the show. Let’s look at Probst’s reasoning as to why the planned ending was ultimately scrapped.
Jeff Probst’s inability to skate changed the ending of Survivor Season 29
Over the years, several seasons of Survivor have taken place, each being more thrilling and intense than the last. While the show is known for its drama-induced finales and jaw-dropping vote reveals, Jeff Probst has always made sure to keep it as engaging as possible.
For this, he was also seen traveling to different exotic locations, such as jet skiing past the Statue of Liberty to skydiving with the voting urn, he did everything that captured the intrigue of the viewers. But in season 29 of Survivor, things took a turn for the worse, and he was not able to go through with the planned stunt—all because he couldn’t skateboard.
During a conversation about Survivor: San Juan del Sur via Entertainment Weekly, he revealed that the production team had filmed a vote delivery scene that ultimately had to be scrapped. In this, the host would paddle away from an island in a canoe, eventually making his way to Venice, California. Once he finally got there, he would walk past a skate park and borrow a skateboard from a young skater.
The scene was planned so that he would take the skateboard and smoothly jump a curb, land the trick, flip the skateboard into his hands, and return it with a casual, “Thanks, kid. See you around.” But the only reason why this “never aired” was because he didn’t know how to skateboard.
He even hired someone to teach him, but after a few hours of practicing, he was sure that he would not be able to master it in time. Though this never aired, he also revealed that the footage still exists somewhere.
Jeff Probst knew Survivor would be a big hit
Survivor played a huge role in establishing Jeff Probst as a versatile host on television. Before this, he was doing random gigs just so he could earn a paycheck. But after he heard Mark Burnett talking about the show on the radio, he immediately jumped on the opportunity, and the rest is history.
But long before it became a cultural phenomenon, the host had a gut feeling that Survivor was going to be something very special. Interestingly, this realization came on the very first day of the show itself.
He revealed all of this during an interview via CBS News ahead of Survivor Season 48. Probst detailed the exact moment he knew the show had what it takes to be groundbreaking, and it was all because of two participants: Richard Hatch and Sue Hawk from Survivor Season 1. He added:
When we abandoned everybody on the beach and Richard Hatch, who ended up winning the first season, got up in a power position in a tree, and he was looking down on everyone, and he said, ‘I think we need to talk. I think we should all talk.’ And, Sue Hawk, a truck driver from Wisconsin, looked up and said, ‘Where I’m from, we work while we talk.
He continued:
There’s the show, a collision of people from different walks of life who are going to have to rely on each other and conspire against each other. And, those two did that the entire game.
This quick exchange between the duo was something, according to Probst, that made Survivor so compelling. Looking back now, it seems that the host was definitely right.
You can watch all the seasons of Survivor on Hulu.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
