For five out of the last six all-newbie Survivor seasons, production has divided the tribes based on "characteristics", age, type-of-work, or something similar, of the contestants (Brains vs Brawn vs Beauty x 2, White Collar vs Blue Collar vs No Collar, Millennials vs Gen X, Heroes v Healers v Hustlers). Of these, the two best seasons, hands down, were the two Brains vs Brawn vs Beauty seasons (Survivor: Cagayan and Survivor: Kaoh Rong). They were the 6th and 9th best seasons in Survivor history, and the 1st and 4th best all-newbie seasons, respectively. So the big question is... Did both seasons' success have to do with the Brains/Brawn/Beauty format, or was it just a coincidence both times?
The answer is complex, but I think it's a bit of both. I am usually one to say "the format doesn't matter" because it's all over by the tribe swap 1/4 of the way into the season, and is often very irrelevant even before that. However, that said, of course it does matter at least somewhat and I do think that Brains/Brawn/Beauty is the best of the four formats. Why? It's hardly a format, and if it was up to me there would be NO gimmicky "format". Survivor always cast challenge beasts, nerds, and attractive people, even if that's not how they divide them. And it's a hard format to "run" with. In both Cagayan and Kaoh Rong, you heard much less reference to the "format" than in Worlds Apart or MvGX where Jeff was constantly making references between the players' games and their "division". Sure, we had some annoying moments where Jeff brought it up in the BvBvB seasons (most notably with Morgan in Cagayan and to a lesser extent Liz in Kaoh Rong), but it was relatively minor compared to Worlds Apart and MvGX). The argument could be made that Triple H was similar to both BvBvB seasons in that there was not too much reference to the "format" but I still felt more "aware" of the format than I did in either Cagayan or Kaoh Rong.
However, by NO means, is this why both BvBvB seasons are so good. Cagayan would still be sixth if its "format" was as noticeable as Worlds Apart's, and Kaoh Rong would still be ninth if its format was as noticeable as MvGX. The lack of awareness of the format just helped make Cagayan and Kaoh Rong even just a bit better.
I believe that the real reason that Cagayan and Kaoh Rong were so much better than the other seasons is because of casting. A large part of that does not have to do with the format at all. However, some of it probably does. True gems like Spencer and Aubry may have been specifically cast on BvBvB seasons because of how "brainy" they are. Another example could be the two cops on Cagayan or Scot and Cydney on Kaoh Rong, highlighting the "brawniness". On the flip side, some of our weaker players in other seasons (Dan in Worlds Apart, Chris in MvGX, Ryan in Triple H) may have also been cast to fit the "format" of their seasons. Therefore the argument can be made that the formats helped contribute to better casts in Cagayan and Kaoh Rong, and worse casts in the other three seasons.
The takeaway: BvBvB is a great format for new school Survivor. The sad truth is, production loves "formats", and we'll probably have them for almost every all-newbie season from here on out. However BvBvB is not an in your face, gimmicky "format" that makes the season feel "weird". It probably doesn't affect how good a season will be, most of the success of the two BvBvB seasons did not have to do with formatting, but it may occasionally bring us some extra fun cast members. I'd take BvBvB 3 over Worlds Apart 2, MvGX 2, HHH 2, or most any new "format", any day.
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