Surviving "Survivor"

The show:

"Survivor: Samoa"

The issue:

The reality of reality

The set-up:

After 18 other seasons, you know the drill: A group of strangers is sent to live in a challenging environment, divide into teams and face off in challenges in which the losing team votes someone off the tribe. In this 19th incarnation, the living conditions on Samoa are unusually brutal.

In 18 seasons, only five other contestants have been removed from the game because of a medical evacuation:

Michael Skupin (fell into a fire, Australian Outback)

Bruce Kanegai (intestinal blockage, Exile Island)

Gary "Papa Smurf" Stritesky (allergic reaction to bug bites, Fiji)

Jonathan Penner (infection due to knee injury, Fans vs. Favorites, Micronesia)

James Clement (infection due to finger injury, Fans vs. Favorites, Micronesia)

The delivery:

We're not even to the tribe-merge yet on "Survivor: Samoa" and already two players have been medically pulled from the game -- Mike Borassi, just a few days into the competition for dangerously low blood pressure, and now this week, Russell Swan for even lower blood pressure and dehydration.

Russell's evacuation was perhaps the hardest to watch -- seeing him black out not once but twice and hearing that his heart rate plummeted right along with his blood pressure. It was stressful. It was sad. He was heartbroken -- here was this strong man, the leader of his tribe, lying in the dirt and crying, worried that he'd let his family down.

The discussion:

Seeing the cameras rush in on him as he lay on the ground, eyes fixed on nothing, felt surprisingly dirty to me. I understand the purpose of this game, of this show. I understand the circumstances and I get that this is what they signed up for -- sort of. But with each new challenge the contestants endure, I'm getting the increasingly uneasy feeling that the game is being escalated almost in an effort to see how bad they can make things for the players.

The result:

No, CBS didn't make it rain for days on end in Samoa. And, no, the show would not be at all interesting if they constantly coddled the players.

But I do think it's possible for the players' health to be better-monitored throughout the game. I mean, let's face it, "Survivor" is only as "real" as the producers allow it to be. Why not allow people to avoid something as simple as dehydration? What do you think of how Russell's exit played out?

Watch it:

"Survivor: Samoa" airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays on CBS

Official site