Sirena: Sobrevivência na Ilha

There will be a temptation for some to liken Siren to long-running strategy and survival shows like Survivor, or physical competitions like the recent Physical: 100. However, whilst Siren takes inspiration from many of its predecessors, it is different in several key ways and these differences culminate in a reality television show that is superior to most in this genre.

Unlike Survivor and Physical: 100, there is no product placement and Siren is noticeably free of advertising throughout. This means the show is always focused on the contestants and the competition - there are no distractions. For a Korean reality television show, Siren does a good job minimising the amount of multiple angle replays and lacks the usual screen clutter from jokes and pop-up information. It is also less sneaky in its use of editing to suggest a false narrative, though there are still some minor moments when the editors are clearly lying to the audience. Siren also distances itself from both these shows, and most other reality programs, in its distinct lack of interviews with the contestants. Whilst they do turn up occasionally to offer some insight, these interviews are usually professional and free from fake drama. The overwhelming majority of the show is live footage and this really improves its pacing.

Siren is also unique in its blend of survival, strategy/diplomacy and physical competition. The survival aspect is persistent in the background throughout, but it's less extreme than Survivor, in which contestants regularly face medical emergencies. The participants in Siren are almost always physically capable of performing at their best thanks to this and the competition benefits from it. Furthermore, whilst diplomacy and strategy are still present and important, Siren doesn't suffer from Survivor's problem where strong opponents are unfairly eliminated early and the winner is often an undeserving "nice guy" caricature. Contestants are rewarded for their teamwork and ability in Siren. Unlike in Physical: 100, however, the ultimate winner is not necessarily the strongest all-around competitor and the show is less predictable as a result. Here, Siren manages to strike a unique balance between different aspects of this genre to create something that is both fairer and more exciting.

The show is not without some problems, but these are all relatively minor and do not have a significant impact on the viewing experience. Some sections of the competition feel underutilised and lacking - perhaps there was not enough interesting footage to work with? The pacing of the show is good, but at times it almost feels a little too fast with some teams and contestants getting noticeably less screen time. Again, this is perhaps due to a lack of usable footage but it does result in some teams being significantly less interesting than others. There are also some questionable refereeing decisions, though thankfully these do not impact the fairness of the result.

Overall, Siren is competitive reality television done right. It avoids most of the problems that commonly plague this genre whilst retaining a unique blend of the most exciting aspects. There is still a lot more than can be done with this format and I hope these possibilities are explored in the future.

I would like to start off with the fact that this show is a one if a kind there is nothing else you can compare with , it's production level is very high, the production team have clearly though about every move they will alllow the participants to do and not a single loophole can be found.

This show is perfect for survival enthusiasts who love the type of situations where startergy is very important especially when against others, such as how they should defend their camp and when they should attack other camps.

In a way I'm jealous because I would love to participate in this show as it also seems very fun.

I'm 3 episodes in and I can't remember when it was the last time I had so much interests and agony on a TV game show.

There are surprises, there is hyper realism, there is tension, there are plots and betrayals and ACTION, lots of action.

Although I'm from Greece, I'm really addicted to anything made in Korean when it comes to TV, and before I even hit pmthe play button I was sure about what I would see.

It's also perhaps even better than the 100 Physical series which I enjoyed a lot.

For some reason Koreans know how to show characters and profiles, even when the whole rest of the whole thinks "they all look the same" Nope, they're not, they just kick a$$ in what they do.

Can't wait to see what's a new day on the island is gonna bring!

This show is somehow very authentic and refreshes me from other contrived shows.

Firstly I was thinking this was just a women version of survival games. However after watching this, it feels like a new genre as it brings other values.

Strong but not violent, competing but not in a selfish way, so focused but not money oriented. The women in this show are very raw, and therefore beautiful.

Definitely season 2 should come out. It was fun to watch the participants' pure reaction and improvisation without knowing what's to come next. But it will also be very exciting when they are kind of prepared of the games in advance.

Woah! I've never watched a full season in a day until now. I just couldn't stand stopping when the episodes ended. I literally called people and changed plans for my day. They shirked the 'every episode follows a format' concept, and my guess is that they shot and captured everything that was interesting and wisely divided it up into 40 minute segments regardless of where things would leave off or how many episodes it would amount to. It was an intense watch, but you couldn't cleanly break from the show for a day or so between episodes because most of them left off mid-challenge/battle. My congratulations to the victorious team (though I rooted for others for most of the show). I hope the next season comes fast, and I also hope more countries follow this show's example. From the U. S., hats off to South Korea for their amazing talent for drama and excitement! Many of us are watching closely, excited for much of what your country churns out. Keep it up and we love you! Maybe later seasons will feature the best teams from different countries, or even the best players comprising teams to represent each country. Who knows. This show was an inspiring breakthrough! Yet another in a long line of great South Korean creations!!!