Is Lex the 'Survivor: Africa' Villian?

In looking at this past annus horribilis that was the year 2001, one of the themes that seem to be running through it, especially post September 11, is Good vs. Evil.

This theme is as old as mankind. Think of the oldest book you can conjure. The Old Testament perhaps? That theme runs through there. It runs through popular fiction, and through movies, of every genre. Luke Skywalker against Darth Vader. Or in your parents’ generation, Gary Cooper in High Noon versus the western gang.

So why wouldn’t this theme apply to reality television as well?

Let’s face it, we need to have a good guy, and we need to have a bad guy to play off him (or her). It makes a study of contrasts. Light and Dark. Oreo cookies and the creamy middle. My cooking vs. Emeril’s. It makes life entertaining. And we have had our fill with bad guys on reality TV. On the first Survivor, we had Richard “Machiabelly” Hatch. On the second Survivor, there was Jerri, or as I called her “Lady Macbeth.” Big Brother 1 didn’t really have a bad guy, unless you want to count “Nasty” Nick from the UK version. Big Brother 2 gave us ChillTown, with several people who might fit the bill, Will, the winner, Shannon, Mike Boogie and Justin who was expelled because of some knife play. Heck, at the end I’m not sure there was a “good guy” left. The UK version had it’s baddie evicted first, the school teacher, who was not really bad, but was seen that way because she started to unravel very early on in the game. The UK version of Survivor had Charlotte “The Harlot,” who won, because she went into the final two with Jackie, who was seen as slightly worse. Sort of like baddie vs baddie lite. The Amazing Race gave us Team Guido, and Murder in Small Town X had Kristen, who may have not been “bad” but was definitely cast that way.

And in Survivor: Africa, we have… .Lex Luther. I have to admit with glee, I called him that in the first RNO group article we did, all those weeks ago. I don’t know why I called him this, but there was something about the way he was photographed that made me think, “this is going to be the villain,” in the series. Just a hunch, or a bit of female insight. It wasn’t really based on anything else, and in fact I thought I might have been mistaken because he has kind eyes and he plays the drums. And let me tell you, drummers are under-rated. Every band has one, but they get short shift because fans are looking at the lead singer, or the guitarists. If you have ever seen a really good drummer on stage its like watching a magician. The way they move around going from one set to another effortlessly, every movement fluid and unbroken, well, a girl can get really weak in the knees around a great drummer.

But why Lex? Well, for starters, he was fine until the merge. Then he got a bit crazy. Taking Clarence aside and telling him he was going to get voted off was stupid. I am sure at the time he was doing it as a kindness, to tell Clarence, relax, enjoy the last few hours playing the game instead of obsessing about the vote. But it came off cocky. He had to know by doing this he was getting a vote from Clarence. And Lex was fine when the first vote was read against him at that tribal council. But when Teresa’s vote came up, well, Lex got rabid. Ranting and raving about who voted against him. And as much as I did not care for Brandon (because of his work ethic, not for any other reason), Brandon hit the nail on the head when he said words to the effect that he wished he had voted against Lex just to see that reaction. And then Lex started doing something I have not seen on any other Survivor series, namely he used his time with the camera placing the vote to make vitriolic tirades against the person he was voting against. The one that really rubbed me the wrong way was the first time he voted for Frank, when Brandon got evicted. He had no reason to say what he said about Frank. None. I am sure I will get e-mails saying yes, he had reasons, but in the real world you keep those kind of opinions to yourself as a form of diplomacy. Besides, I happened to like Frank the most of any player this time, as seen by my article about him. I know Frank would have been a gentleman, and never said those things about Lex. The other question is why Lex was cutting his nose off to spite his face? He should have seen the last two series. Didn’t he know that comments like that could cost him in the jury? Sure, it was in the privacy of the voting booth, but I doubt that was the only place such things were said.

In spite of all this, Lex does seem to be nice, when he is not playing the game. Which has me wondering if he really is a villain. I could not say that for Richard or Jerri, or even Team Guido. Lex was nice when he played the last reward challenge, the one where he saw his children and his wife. He was smart to take Tom along for the trip. The only other person he could have taken would have been Ethan, and at this point he knows he needs Tom more in his pocket than Ethan. Lex was caring when Tom had too much liquor. As someone who drank a half a bottle of scotch on a dare in college, I felt so sorry for Tom, but Lex put him in the bed correctly, even putting one foot on the floor. And I was happy to see Lex’s nicer side. Lex also did one surprising thing: the words he used when he evicted Kim P. were not as caustic as the words he used to evict Kelly and Frank. Maybe the hot air balloon experience changed him. Perhaps it was seeing his family video.

My esteemed editor just wrote a piece about Survivor: Africa not having a “cutie” in it. Indeed, when I wrote an article earlier this season in preparation for the new season on Survivor strategies, I specifically stated one to look for was the “cutie”, or “sweetheart.” In Mark Burnett’s second book on Survivor, he goes into detail about the 16 stereotypes he is looking for. But nowhere in Burnett’s list does he mention a “villain.” And I have to confess, even though Lex is being shown as a “villain” mode, is he one? Not really. He is just guilty of using poor judgment perhaps, but not a reality show villain. Maybe a villain lite. And like David’s article, here is another role I hope really comes out for Survivor 4 and the upcoming casting call for Survivor 5. As much as viewers hated the Richards, Jerris, and Team Guidos of this world, we need them to balance out the cast of characters and keep us watching. Not having a real villain leaves a hole. And I miss it.

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