Survivor 20: Heroes and Villains (5 Discs)

SummaryPros:+One of the best, most memorable seasons of Survivor in the show's 22-season run+Lots of great extras+10 discs and optimal DVD video quality for a TV show of this nature (16:9 widescreen)+High-quality discs+Well-designed sleeves+Effective menusCons:-Smaller printing on the backs of the DVD cases is too light and hard (but not impossible) to read-No cardboard sleeve to contain the 3 DVD casesEDIT 5/29/11:Based on a question I got, I need to update my review to note that there ARE closed captions for the episodes. Most of the extras did not seem to have them, or I was unable to get them to work otherwise, but the show itself is captioned.Overall Recommendation:+Definite BUY for: (a) Survivor fans, (b) people who watched Survivor during its earlier seasons and would like to see some of their favorite players return, and (c) anyone curious about Survivor who hasn't really watched the show much but would like to experience a good season of it-Definite SKIP for anyone disinterested in Survivor, reality TV, etc.Review:Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains is one of the most memorable seasons of Survivor in the show's history. In stark contrast to most seasons, this group of veterans were all about the game from day 1. Tons of twists and turns occurred during this season, including possibly the single stupidest move (and probably most game-changing) any survivor has ever made.Others have reviewed the season, however, so I want to focus on this DVD set. In fact, I'm writing this review specifically because this is the first Amazon Manufactured on Demand (MOD) product I ever bought, and I doubt it will be the last. This is a 10-disc set. Each disc has 2 episodes (or the time equivalent thereof), and there are extras on every disc, ranging from extended exit interviews to the Surviving Survivor special. The first disc is mostly bonus features and setup stuff. The remaining discs contain the episodes. While these are on DVD-Rs according to the Amazon listing, they do not look like DVD-Rs; they have the clear mirror-like back (as opposed to green, purple, or whatever other color tint commercial DVD-Rs have). The discs are all nicely labeled and look largely indistinguishable from other non-MOD seasons' discs.The 10 discs are stored in 3 cases, two 4-disc cases and one 2-disc case. These are standard cases available at most office supply stores, but I have no complaints here. Actually, I like this better than DVDs stored in those ridiculous "Eco-cases" that have holes punched in them to cut down on plastic. Whereas those can lead to the insert becoming punctured or otherwise damaged, these cases protect it well. On the topic of the insert, each one is printed on standard DVD-sleeve paper. The cover and spine of each disc is identical except for the part number. The back contains an episode list with original airdates. The only complaint with the sleeve is that the printing for the little grid on the bottom of the back is too light, so it's hard to read. This does not matter much, of course, and the only reason I even bring it up is because it is one of only 2 flaws I've noticed.The second flaw is one that is not unexpected, but somewhat of a shame. Commercially available, non-MOD seasons of Survivor had nice cardboard boxes to store the DVDs on a shelf. The 3 cases are all standalone products, except for the obvious numbering and the fact that on parts 1 and 2, the UPC on the back is replaced by "1 of 3" and "2 of 3." A cardboard box to keep these in would have been nice, but its absence is hardly enough to warrant lowering the overall score.Finally, a note on the DVDs themselves. When you put these in your DVD player, the normal DVD piracy warning and CBS logo appear, then it gets right to the menus. The menus have nice shots of tropical areas, presumably the locations for filming. No menu audio is present. Everything is simple, clean, and easily navigable, which is exactly what one expects from a DVD menu. Spot checking some of the episodes indicates that they look mildly better than they did when they aired on TV. The picture is clean and all of the colors are wonderful. The audio mix is also enjoyable for this show, showing off the talent of the post production team.I'm primarily writing this review for those who, like me, never bought an Amazon MOD DVD set before, but really wanted this season of Survivor on DVD. I thought MOD products would be slightly better than bootlegs people sell on eBay; I was never expecting this. To those of you unsure about the MOD products, I can wholeheartedly say that it's a very good investment. This set is as good or better than many other in-store TV on DVD sets. It is professionally made, and the minor issues discussed above generally do not detract from its overall quality. On a 100-point scale, I'd probably give it a 98/100 to account for the things that are missing. Still, this set has plenty of extras, is well-made, and contains one of the best and most memorable seasons of Survivor in the show's history. It is a great buy and is strongly recommended to Survivor fans and to those who may have watched the show during its earlier seasons, but stopped at some point during its run. Buy this set.

Im very happy to finally have this dvd set in my collection. One thing I will say before viewing this title, I encourage fans to watch Survivor Samoa before this season to be able to truly enjoy it. I wish they would put all the seasons out on the market and not make us wait so long. The dvd though cheaply packaged in regular dvd cases, is remarkable in its video quality and is presented in widescreen, the special features are great too, including extended post tribal council interviews with the newly voted off castaway..now to the season itself! This season marked the endpoint of a very strong run of seasons of Survivor. Now with Nicaragua and the currently airing Redemption Island it just seems that the groups they select for seasons are just boring people. But this season, along with the previous 4, gave us very memorable characters. Starting with Micronesia- Fans Vs Faves, and goin to Gabon, followed by Tocantins, and then Samoa..Heroes vs Villains had a lot to live up to. And ya know what, it does! Filmed in August-September 2009, Probst and company gathered 20 of the most memorable people to ever play the game of the Survivor. 2 tribes- 10 former contestants were labeled as HEROES- known for their acts of integrity and resisting the dark side...and 10 Villains- known for their acts of deception and cut throat attitude to win the game at all costs. The 10 Heroes- Amanda, James, Cirie, JT, Tom, Rupert, Colby, Candice, Stephanie, and Sugar. The 10 Villains- Boston Rob, Tyson, Sandra, Courtney, Jerri, Randy, Danielle, Parvati, Benajamin "Coach" Wade, and Russell. A few questionable selections plague both teams including Danielle even bein on the show at all, same goes for Candice, and Cirie...who really should have been a villain after what she pulled back in Micronesia. But for the most part they got it right. Richard Hatch would have made it on here, but his trouble with the IRS prevented him from doing so.From the very first episode, 15 minutes in...you know its goin to be an all out brawl for the season as 1 castaway gets a dislocated shoulder and another breaks a toe..all in the very first challenge! It is moments like these that make this season great...every episode has something major that goes down.POSSIBLE SPOILERS, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION! ***One of the main threads this season is the Boston Rob vs Russell feud. Both are polarizing figures...you either hate them or love them. I like Rob, but Im a diehard Russell fan. For anyone who watched Samoa, you know Russell would play the same way he did the first season, making deals with everyone and making bold moves in trying to get to the end. And why should he have played any differently, he participated in Samoa and made it to the top 3, not sure if he had won that game or not. He turns right back around 3 weeks later and competes as a member of the Villains tribe. CBS decided they had too much of a goldmine in Russell, after seeing what he had done in Samoa, so they decided to shoot seasons 19 and 20 back to back. Both were filmed before Samoa (19) premiered in September so they did not know how Russell played the game. But they should ve known better...here is a guy they dont know...and hes been described as one of the Top5 most notorious players to ever play...so they did it to themselves. This feud between Rob and Russell is the highlight of the season -"if ya aint with me, you against me"Whle Russell commands much of the spotlight, other cast members get screen time and rightfully so is Coach. Making it to the top 5 in Tocantins was impressive, but Coach is known for his legendary stories of sailing, and canoe trips and being captured by natives. Love him or loathe him, he is quite fascinating. And he comes into this game with a chip on his shoulder with something to prove. He enters this game in a heck of a lot better shape this time around and it pays off.This season is marked by 2 huge moves...1 winning the award for the Dumbest move ever and 1 that I thought should have gotten the honor actually (Tyson, lol). But as I stated before, this really is a companion piece to Samoa. It's the same location for both seasons, features probally the most polarizing figure the game has ever had in Russell. If you are a fan of this series, I strongly recommend buying this set...whether you missed its broadcast, or bought it for replay value like I did, you will not be disappointed!AS Coach would say, "Pray for the Merge". Well I say "Pray for more seasons to be released" haha!

As other reviewers have said, I was hoping that Thailand and Amazon would be next, but any Survivor is good Survivor. I'll get the DVD's no matter which season. Those two next though please Amazon / CBS!Heroes vs. Villains, although bogged down by a few problems, is actually one of my favourite seasons. Off the back of Tocantins and Samoa, I didn't think I'd be able to enjoy Survivor much anymore. Despite the return of Russell and the ridiculous amount of idols this season, I actually ended up really enjoying it, although Sandra should've had a much better edit pre-merge, seeing as she's the greatest winner ever (also the greatest two times winner as well did you know?).On the plus side, giving the show a two hour premiere was a fantastic choice and gave us one of the best first episodes ever in the shows history. It also seems judging by the running time this set will be packed full of bonus footage, which makes this all the more worth the purchase. Keep the Survivor DVD's coming please!Update- Got my DVD's today (fast delivery considering I live in the UK) and I'm very pleased with them. Great quality and packed with lots of extra bonus features any diehard Survivor fan would be happy with. I am a very happy Survivor fan and I know what I'll be watching over the next few weeks! Now, could we please get Thailand and Amazon?

So worth watching, love these Survivor box sets.

I was very disappointed as one of the episodes was deleted

In great condition.

Love it

All disks worked. Fun season.