The 115 Funniest Things to Ever Happen on Survivor

#25. Brandon's Flaming Arrow
Africa - Episode 6

A lot of people might take offense to me including this moment on the list. But... damnit... I don't care. Brandon nearly killing himself with a flaming arrow is one of the funniest visual moments of the first three seasons. It was endlessly replayed and made fun of on the message boards, it was a legitimate "laugh out loud" moment when you first saw it on TV, and it was even featured in a funny Snickers ad a few seasons later! And if that doesn't fit the criteria for "universally funny", I don't know what does.

Like I've always said, once you have the Snickers seal of approval, your moment immediately makes the Funny 115. That sort of endorsement is something you just can't ignore.

So here it is, Brandon and the flaming arrow. I wish I could somehow include audio, too, just so you could hear Brandon's girly squeal and we could somehow complete the effect. But sadly you will just have to use your imagination for that. Just keep in mind that there -was- a girly squeal involved. One that managed to set the movement back several years.

That's all I have to say about that.

Here we go:


It is the sixth episode of Survivor: Africa and the two tribes are competing in a challenge Samburu and Boran will be shooting flaming arrows into targets, and the first tribe to ignite all their targets wins immunity.

Lindsey demonstrates proper flaming arrow form

The challenge is relatively uneventful, for the most part. Nobody lights themself on fire, nobody pierces Jeff Probst with an arrow, and Clarence doesn't try to eat any part of the bow. So by all counts this appears to be a successful immunity challenge. It even has a thrilling ending (one of the best in Survivor history) when Ethan pulls out a clutch shot at the end to hand the victory to Boran.

Ethan wins it for Boran!

But the moment that everybody remembers from this challenge is Brandon's first attempt to shoot a flaming arrow. This is the Snickers-approved moment that everybody laughed about. Because... you see... well... um... let's just say that Brandon probably hasn't played many sports like this in real life. You can draw your own conclusions beyond that. Take a look:

Ethan and Brandon line up to shoot their flaming arrows

Brandon takes aim...

And he lets go of the wrong part

The arrow falls to the ground, and Brandon lets out a high-pitched, girly squeal

Aaaah!

The arrow's final resting place, straight down, about two inches from his foot

Brandon sheepishly looks over at Jeff Probst. "Oops!"

An embarrassed grin towards his tribesmates

Oh and by the way, Brandon's gay.

I'll shut up now :)

P.S. Don't blame me for laughing at this moment. Snickers thought it was funny too. They started it.

P.P.S. Send all hate mail to prickswhomakefunofgaypeople@snickers.com