The Quitter: Osten Taylor from ‘Survivor: Pearl Islands’

As time went by, Osten had predetermined that he would get sick, get bitten by animals, etc. For a while, his teammates kept him in the game, thinking that he would get over it (as, for example, Shawna had in The Amazon). But he didn’t.

Osten was a man at the peak of physical fitness, surrounded by physically weaker people. Sure, he was being weakened by the lack of food and other conditions, but he was also stronger to begin with. He had plenty of excuses, but none of them stand up to scrutiny, especially as he sat there next to Darrah and Tijuana, who are both shrinking away before our eyes.

But Osten wasn’t content with just the Hall of Shame induction that would have been awaiting him simply from his behavior on the show. No, he had to make it worse in his media appearances after the show. He told TVGuide.com that although people say that he quit, “Mark Burnett quit on us by letting the Outcasts in. So I [thought], 'You know what? I'll quit on him.'" What a whiny excuse. First of all, Osten was talking about quitting from just a few days into the show – long before there was any hint about the return of the Outcasts. Second, there were nine other people who were faced with the same situation of the Outcasts returning, and none of them quit.

Ironically, Osten later added in a chat that bringing back the Outcasts “destroys the credibility as well as the integrity of the game. It goes against the whole premise of the show Survivor to allow them back in. It’s a complete abomination.” While I personally happen to agree that allowing people to return goes against the best concepts of the game, I find it incredibly ironic that the guy who quit would complain about something else violating the integrity of the game or going against its premise. After all, the premise of the game is to try to stick around as long as possible – to survive. If there was an “abomination” here, it was the way Osten acted.

On the Early Show and in his CBS chat, Osten made other ridiculous comments. He called host Jeff Probst’s behavior “juvenile” and called him a “coward.” When asked why he called Probst a coward, he said that it was for two reasons. First, “he is a coward.” Ah, well, that explains everything. His second reason is, “because if you have something to say, you say it to their face, not wait (sic) until they’re gone.” The problem with this, of course, is that Probst made it quite clear during the Tribal Council that he was pretty disgusted with Osten’s behavior. The only thing he did after Osten was gone was lay his torch down in the dirt and make an additional comment or two. Besides that, it’s ridiculous to call him a “coward” in any case. I mean, even if we go with Osten’s incorrect claim that Probst didn’t say things to his face, do we really think he did it because he was afraid of Osten? Hell, all Probst would have had to do is say, “Look out, pelican!” and Osten would have been hiding behind Tijuana. What would Osten have done to Probst? Whine at him some more? Please. On the flip side, Osten claimed in the same interviews and chats that Probst’s comments didn’t bother him “one iota.” Hmmm. Then why did you resort to namecalling?

Other things he said include that he was not portrayed accurately. Um. You quit. You were portrayed as a quitter. Seems pretty straightforward to me. When somebody in the chat asked how it feels to know that his place in Survivor history is as the first quitter ever, he sarcastically (I presume) replied, “It feels great.” Well, then this Hall of Shame induction ought to feel even better!

Finally, when asked if Survivor has changed his life, Osten replied, “Survivor hasn't done anything for me. It was a good experience, but I didn't learn anything about myself.” I think that may be the worst thing he’s said overall. He didn’t learn anything about himself? Well, maybe not, but the rest of us sure learned plenty about him – and it wasn’t good.

Host Jeff Probst was absolutely right to scorn Osten in his final tribal council. The producers were absolutely right to deny him an exit speech and instead just show his torch lying in the dirt where it belonged. Osten’s spot on Survivor should have gone to somebody who would actually play the game, not simply experience a small amount of hardship – much of it of his own making – and give up. Osten has earned his place in the Reality TV Hall of Shame.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of the Reality TV Hall of Shame, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com. Thanks to the RealityNewsOnline writing staff for their thoughts and contributions to this induction.

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