About Ready To Clock This Bloke

About Ready To Clock This Bloke is the premiere episode of Australian Survivor: Taroko - Joint Ventures.

Challenges
Reward Challenge: Chariot Lariat One member of each team will sit on a wooden platform suspended in the air by two ropes, which will be held by two other tribe members. If the weight becomes too much to bear and they drop out of the challenge, they'll be eliminated. That last team standing wins reward. Reward: Comfort items for the tribe including a tarp for the shelter, cushions, a hammock, a blanket and a few folding deck chairs.

Immunity Challenge: Ride Or Tie Contestants will sit in a carriage at the top of a sloped track and will ride down the track in the carriage to the bottom, where they will load the carriage up with four coloured blocks, before getting back in. As a tribe, they will then need to pull themselves back up the track in the carriage to the top. Once there, they will unload the blocks and will need to stack them so that there are no repeating colours on any sides. The first three tribes to finish win immunity.

Opening
The episode opens to a flash of three military trucks driving down a winding forest road in the night, the only visible light being that of their own headlights. There is then a cut to the back of one of the trucks, showing eight people sitting down and glancing amongst themselves. Two more similar flashes follow this, respectively showing two more groups of eight, before there is then a cut to show the trucks driving out of sight, with the camera panning up to the moon which glows in a star-filled sky.

As some soft music is heard in the background, there is then a fade to show the sky going from night to dawn, before the camera cuts once again, this time to show a small clearing by a rocky yet crystal-clear stream. The camera lingers here for a moment, before footsteps are heard, and eventually people are shown crossing the stream as a group, taking in their surroundings as they do.

Finally, the camera then cuts to another clearing ahead, surrounded by dense forest, showing Jonathan LaPaglia standing at the end of the clearing.

Jonathan: Welcome… to Taroko.

(There is then a cut to show a birds-eye-view shot of the Taroko Gorge, with various shots of cliffs, rivers and waterfalls following it.)

Jonathan Overlay: Situated in the west of Taiwan, the Taroko Gorge was carved out by the Liwu River, resulting in this breath-taking sight to behold lying in and around the Qilai and Nanhu Mountain ranges. It is here that twenty-four Australians are about to embark on a life-changing journey, battling it out in one of the world’s toughest games for the grand prize of half a million dollars. They’ve already been divided into the three tribes that they will be spending the start of this game with, and first impressions are already beginning to form...

(There is cut to focus on one group of eight walking through the forest, before the camera focuses in on a middle-aged woman with short, black hair looking at the scenery around her with a smile.)

(The camera then pans across to a younger, ginger-haired guy in a singlet who glances at Donna, noticing her enthusiasm and rolling his eyes. There is then a cut to focus on an older man wearing suspenders and a white hat who has the same keen expression as Donna.)

(The camera then cuts back to focus on the younger guy, who now notices Leroy’s eagerness, shaking his head and looking away.)

(There is then a cut from the Jinheng tribe to the next group of eight, who are making their way through the forest as a group.)

Jonathan Overlay: It’s these impressions that people have of each other that can either make or break them, as in this game, perception can be everything...

(The camera focuses in on a younger man in a white, floral t-shirt as he climbs over a log blocking their path, before turning back to lend a hand to those behind him.)

(Trenton then extends a hand out to a blonde lady with glasses and a blazer, helping her down off the log.)

Millie: Thank you.

Trenton: No problem.

(Millie smiles at Trenton, before continuing on walking, glancing around at her tribemates as she does.)

(As the last of the group get over the log, the camera focuses in on a pink-haired woman who is the last across,

(There is then another cut to one last group of eight as they make their way down a steep hill towards the clearing Jonathan is waiting at.)

Jonathan Overlay: This season, these perceptions will be more important than ever, as people will need to quickly learn to rely on each other or risk falling to the wayside.

(The camera then focuses in on a young guy with a button up t-shirt and glasses as he heads down the hill, leaning his hand on a tree branch to ease himself down it.)

(The camera then pans to the side to show a young woman with blonde and blue dyed hair also timidly heading down the hill, being sure to not fall.)

(As Megan goes to steady herself against a tree, she looks to her right to see a woman in a flannel shirt and cowboy hat heading down the hill without a care in the world, with the camera focusing on the woman’s smile as she does so.)

(As the tribe continues to head down the hill, the camera cuts back to Jonathan one last time.)

Jonathan: In the end, only one will remain, outlasting the rest and claiming the title of Sole Survivor. Fifty days, twenty-four people, one… survivor!

The camera then zooms out from Jonathan to a shot of the forest around him, before fading into the season intro.



Reward Challenge
There is then a fade back to the clearing where Jonathan is standing, with the tribes beginning to filter in, sizing each other up and standing in front of Jonathan.

Jonathan: Welcome to Australian Survivor: Taroko - Joint Ventures!

(Everyone cheers.)

Jonathan: Woman at the front here with the red hair.

Lilli: Lilli!

Jonathan: Lilli, when you hear a name like Joint Ventures, what does that mean to you.

Lilli: Well, Survivor really is a game about working together with people, so it seems fitting to me.

(A man beside her in a black jacket is shown nodding.)

Jonathan: Right, next to her, you agree?

Phil: Phil, and of course! I’ve played sports all my life and yeah, sometimes you might kick a beauty of a goal or hit a glorious six, but it’s still a team game at the end of the day. You’ve got to join together or you’re stuffed.

Jonathan: Right you are. Now, I suppose you’re looking to get into your tribes?

(Everyone nods enthusiastically.)

Jonathan: The eight of you on the left here will be the Baiyang tribe. Here’s your buffs.

(Jonathan tosses them a bag of buffs which is caught by a young, blonde-haired man who opens the bag and pulls them out.)

Callan: Aw, how thoughtful. You gave us green to match my eyes!

(The rest of the Baiyang tribe laughs, before they each take their buffs and put them on.)

Jonathan: The eight of you on the right now will be the Jinheng tribe and will wear blue. Catch.

(Jonathan throws the next bag of buffs to them, which they take and pass around, with one woman looking slightly reluctant to put it on.)

Donna: What’s wrong?

Ramya: Nothing, teal's just never been my colour.

Donna: Aw, I’m sure you’ll look great!

(Ramya shrugs and puts her buff on, with everyone then turning their attention back to Jonathan.)

Jonathan: Last but not least, that leaves the eight of you in the middle. You will be the Dayuling tribe-

(A young man with a mullet is shown grinning.)

Hawkey: F___in’ oath! The darling tribe!

Jonathan: Not quite. Dayuling.

(The rest of Dayuling laughs, with Jonathan throwing the bag of buffs to a confused Hawkey, who takes a buff out and reads the name.)

Hawkey: Oh… close enough I reckon.

(Hawkey then hands out buffs to the rest of the tribe who all put their buffs on.)

Jonathan: So, woman on the end here with the yellow t-shirt.

Silver: Silver.

Jonathan: What are your first thoughts looking at your tribe?

Silver: I think we’ll have a great mixture of personalities and experiences, and I look forward to getting to know them.

(Silver smiles at her tribe.)

Jonathan: Guy in the blue shirt next to her.

Brett: Brett.

Jonathan: Do you agree?

Brett: Oh, I agree and then some. We’ve obviously got some fit people here, and some smarts to back that up. We’re absolutely the tribe to beat.

(The Baiyang tribe all laughs and cheers him on, with the other two tribes looking less than pleased, especially a woman with brown, tied back hair on the Dayuling tribe.)

Rochelle: There’s always got to be one…

Jonathan: Woman in the brown…

Rochelle: Rochelle.

Jonathan: Those are clearly some fighting words right there, claiming to be the tribe to beat right out of the gate.

Rochelle: Absolutely. I’d like to see Brock put his money where his mouth is.

Brett: It’s Brett.

Rochelle: It’s irrelevant.

Brett: We’ll see.

(Rochelle raises an eyebrow.)

Rochelle: Really? Bring it!

Jonathan: I think this is the perfect time to get into our first challenge.

Rochelle: Oh yes it is!

(Rochelle grins and stares directly at Brett, who is unphased.)

(Everyone then turns their attention back to Jonathan.)

Jonathan: You’ll see behind me there is a line drawn on the ground, and a little further back than that there are three poles, one coloured for each tribe. One person from each tribe will wrap themselves around that pole, while one person from another tribe will attempt to get you off that pole and across the finish line in any way they can. Once you’re over the line, your whole tribe will be out of the challenge, then we’ll reset to have the two remaining tribes go head to head. The last tribe left standing wins reward, and it’s a good one...

(Everyone looks excited.)

Jonathan: Not only will you head back to camp with flint as an early advantage in this game, but you’ll be heading back to a covered crate of dry firewood and a firemaking kit to go with it. For the two losing tribes, nothing. Given this challenge only runs with two people, I’ll give you a minute to choose who that’s going to be. I have a feeling though that the decision is already half-made for Dayuling and Baiyang…

(Rochelle immediately turns to the rest of her tribe, but is cut off by a middle-aged woman with blonde hair.)

Annalise: Go for it. You don’t have to tell us twice.

Rochelle: Good. Who’s coming with me?

Hawkey: I’ll give it a crack.

Rochelle: Alright. I’m on pole removal, you’re holding on for dear life.

Hawkey: Yes ma’am.

(Rochelle nods affirmatively, with a few of the Dayuling members glancing around at each other in response. The camera then cuts to focus on the Jinheng tribe, who seem much less uptight, with Phil looking around at his tribemates inspectingly.)

Phil: So guys, what do we reckon?

Murphy: Piercings here looks strong.

Dylan: It’s Dylan. I’m down to do it if you guys need. I work night fill so picking someone up and dragging them probably suits me better than being on the pole.

Phil: Perfect. Anyone got a preference of being on the pole?

(Nobody reacts much.)

Donna: I could give it a go.

Phil: You sure? By all means go for it if that’s what you want.

Donna: Why not? What’s the worst that can happen?

(Donna and Dylan both step forward, with the camera finally cutting to Baiyang who look around at each other.)

Callan: So, it seems pretty clear that you’re one of our competitors Brett.

Brett: Sure am. Who’s coming with me? You seem fit.

(Brett gestures back to Callan.)

Callan: Fit and athletic, sure, but this is more about size.

Marianne: I could do it. I do enough lifting back on the farm that I should be alright.

Sturt: There’s our two. Good luck guys.

(The six competitors step off their tribe mats and up to the start, with Rochelle glaring at Brett once more. Rochelle then notices as Marianne walks over to the pole, leaving Brett at the start line.)

Rochelle: Get on the pole if you want to face me. Don’t chicken out.

Brett: Nah, I’m good.

(Rochelle rolls her eyes.)

Rochelle: Typical.

(With everyone in their positions, they all turn their focus to Jonathan.)

Jonathan: On the pole for Jinheng we have Donna who will have Rochelle coming after her. On the pole for Dayuling we have Hawkey, who will have Brett coming after him. That leaves Marianne on the pole for Baiyang, with Dylan going after her. Survivors ready? GO!

(The three attackers immediately rush to the poles, trying to pry their opponents off, with Brett trying to charge right at Hawkey, who doesn’t budge and instead laughs.)

Hawkey: Nah mate.

(Everyone continues to try to pull people off their poles, with Rochelle immediately making the most progress, getting both of Donna’s arms free, before dragging her off the pole by the legs.)

Donna: Oh goodness…

(Donna tries to grab back on the pole, but Rochelle tackles her down relentlessly, before standing up and dragging Donna by the feet to the start with a triumphant look on her face, pulling her across the line before anyone else is even off the pole.)

Jonathan: And with that, Donna is out and Jinheng’s chances at reward are gone.

(Dylan stops attacking Marianne for a moment, looking frustrated.)

Dylan: Is she f___ing serious? It’s been ten seconds.

Marianne: Looks like it.

(Dylan scoffs, before he then heads back over to his tribe, shaking his head in disgust, with everyone else resetting and getting ready for the final round.)

Rochelle: You going on the pole yet, or are you still chickening out?

Brett: I have faith in Marianne.

(Marianne smiles.)

Jonathan: Alright, we now have a showdown between Dayuling and Baiyang. Same people on the poles as before, the only difference is Rochelle now attacking Marianne. Survivors ready? GO!

(Brett and Rochelle both rush to the poles again, trying to pry the other two off, but there is a much more even fight this time as Marianne firmly holds onto the pole, even with Rochelle trying to drag her off, while Hawkey continues to laugh at Brett’s efforts to move him. This continues for a while, before Hawkey’s grip slips slightly, with Brett taking full advantage of this and yanking him off the pole, much to the Baiyang tribe’s delight.)

Hawkey: Sh__.

(Hawkey then digs his feet in, stopping Brett for a moment, allowing for him to get up, where he proceeds to tackle Brett down to the ground, holding him down, despite Brett being the attacker.)

Hawkey: Oi, Rochelle, maybe speed it up a bit, yeah?

(Hawkey and Brett continue to scuffle on the ground, with Rochelle finally prying Marianne’s arms off the pole and stopping her from getting them back on, allowing for her to move her feet off as well, dragging her to the side. Marianne gets her hands back on it, but Rochelle proves to be too strong, dragging her towards the line, passing right by Brett who is still face down on the ground with Hawkey tackling him, and crossing over the finish.)

Rochelle: YES!

Jonathan: DAYULING WINS THE FIRST REWARD CHALLENGE!

(Rochelle looks at Brett, smirking, before joining the Dayuling tribe in celebrating. Hawkey then finally gets off Brett, helping him up and dusting him off.)

Hawkey: Sorry mate. I'll shout you a beer some day.

(Hawkey then rushes over to celebrate with the rest of Dayuling as well, with everyone seeming ecstatic to have won.)

Jonathan: Dayuling, congratulations, you’ll have your reward waiting for you back at camp. As for the rest of you, I’ve got nothing for you, head on out to your camps and let’s get this game started!

(Everyone starts walking out, with Brett looking annoyed at the loss.)

As everyone continues walking out, the camera pans up to the sky, before it fades back out to black.

Authors' Notes

 * This episode was written predominantly by AJ, as the authors are rotating through each episode.