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“The Summit” review: Just skip it

Posted on by Vanessa
“The Summit” review: Just skip it

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Does it feel like we've seen it all before, except with bikinis and beaches instead of parkas and peaks?

There's been quite a surge in new reality competition series in recent years, from Netflix's offensive competition “Squid Game” to Peacock's Emmy-winning “The Traitors.” So it seems like the perfect time for CBS to premiere the mountaineering competition “The Summit” (special preview Sunday, 9:00 a.m. EDT/PDT, moved to Wednesday, 9:30 a.m. EDT/PDT on October 9, ★ ★ appears). out of four). The series, adapted from an Australian series, sends a group of strangers on a journey to reach the top of a mountain in just 14 days. Anyone who makes it shares the rest of the $1 million cash prize that the climbers carry on their backs. But here's the catch: the group can lose players and money in the process.

“Summit” is woodenly hosted by actor Manu Bennett (“Spartacus”) and contains many great elements taken from some all-time reality formats: vote-out of fellow players, a variable prize pot, crazy physical challenges and beautiful traveling landscapes. A little “Survivor” here, a little “Amazing Race” there, a little “The Mole” sprinkled on top. These are all great ingredients.

But when you add it all up, “Summit” ends up being a cheap “Survivor” rip-off set on a mountain, too physically demanding for most participants and full of nonsensical twists and rules that make it hard to understand, let alone yourself to cast a spell. The best reality competitions have a structure that allows great stories to emerge naturally regardless of the cast, with heroes and villains emerging from every old group of would-be millionaires. “Summit” fights against itself: At a certain point, watching people groan and grunt as they climb a nearly 90-degree cliff is no longer fun or entertaining.

The goal of “Summit” is for participants to reach the titular location in the (admittedly wonderfully picturesque) New Zealand Alps in just 14 days. Each of them has an equal share of $1 million in their backpacks when they set off, and they must stay together as a group. You can't overcome obstacles and challenges until everyone does.

This is where the murderous part of the series is supposed to be located. At various points, the climbers are given the choice of losing stragglers and going faster by the “mountain guard” (aka a black helicopter that wastes fuel by appearing ominously and dropping bags), but they also lose the money that person when they cut them loose. If someone gives up, the money in their backpack is gone too. But players also vote and “steal” one of their fellow hikers each time they reach certain checkpoints (at the end of each episode), thereby eliminating the participant's money, i.e. the prize pot does not become smaller.

It's unnecessarily complicated and ends up kind of disappointing. The group votes are public, meaning they are completely determined by groupthink. Usually only one or two names are suggested and most people raise their hand to fit in with the majority. The twist that the group can lose slow pokes at the cost of their money could actually lead to interesting dilemmas for the climbers, except that the producers try to force players' hands too often. And if a participant needs to be medically evacuated, their money disappears too, which is annoyingly unfair. It's not the competition's fault that the producers cast someone who wasn't up to the task.

Speaking of the task: It's probably just too difficult. Climbing a mountain is not something anyone can get up from their couch and do on any given day. The cast is made up of people with varying athletic abilities, but the slower and less agile have little opportunity to shine. There is very little tension in a show where it seems clear that the biggest will likely be the winner. And again, it's really not very pleasant to see these people burst into tears over the strenuous physical struggle.

It's almost as if 24 years ago someone came up with a pretty good format for a reality competition that pushed contestants to the edge of their physical capabilities while testing their social and strategic skills, and it's already coming up on Wednesdays airs at 8 a.m. EDT/PDT on CBS.

“Survivor” is still coming along quite well; We don’t need The Summit.

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