Mark Burnett recently made some comments in passing when it was asked of him whether Survivor would ever go to a cold location in the future. As a frequent visitor to Canada, Burnett directly stated that he would love to someday stage a series of Survivor there. This of course would deny the audience from seeing buff, hot, sexy bodies romping on the beach for 39 days which no doubt contributes to the high ratings the show has always enjoyed. CBS owns the right to the show and have final say on locations so don't expect Burnett's wish to come true.
My View: I think it would be a TERRIBLE idea for Survivor to go to a cold location. I will make no apologies for enjoying seeing the Amanda Kimmels or Danielle DiLorenzo's strolling around in skimpy bathing suits and there is nothing sexy about seeing a chick in ear muffs and a ski jacket. The show would lose the audience quick with this. I hope we never see it and I honestly would be shocked to see CBS agree to doing it.
What do you think? Would like to see a Survivor in a cold climate? Or is it a dumb idea?
n
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Coach Voted Most Annoying Reality Show Personality
WFMZ-TV conducted a poll recently asking responders "Who is the most annoying reality show contestant of all time?" And Survivor's own Coach Ben Wade took the top honor when the results were posted on their web site last night. Rounding out the top five were:
2. Rob Campos: For Love Or Money
3. Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag-The Hills
4. Barbara Gates-Trading Spouses
5. Carnie Wilson: Carnie Unstapled
Now I know nothing about Rob Campos, Barbara Gates, and Carnie Wilson (other than that she was in that three person female band years ago). I do however feel that Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag deserve the top spot and I am basing this on only approximately 2.5 minutes I caught of the Hills recently when the two of them were arguing with a think Heidi's sister about something only people on that show could argue about. Those two are truly nauseating and are a complete joke to television.
I actually dont think Coach deserves this honor. I suggest those who dislike him or call him a nut job to watch the recently released videos posted on the CBS Survivor web site covering the ousted contestants from Heroes VS Villains at Ponderosa (which is the resort the jury members are taken to when they are voted out). Coach was incredibly entertaining and down to earth in these videos and on more than one occasions Courtney, Rupert, Amanda, etc. note how cool Coach is and that he is not what he is made out to be on TV. Sure Coach can get a little loopy during the game itself but everyone reacts to the harsh conditions in different ways. Overall I think he is a good guy who is painted in a harsh light.
What do you all think? Did Coach deserve the top spot or did somebody else? And who are the other contestants that I have no clue who they are? What is their story?
2. Rob Campos: For Love Or Money
3. Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag-The Hills
4. Barbara Gates-Trading Spouses
5. Carnie Wilson: Carnie Unstapled
Now I know nothing about Rob Campos, Barbara Gates, and Carnie Wilson (other than that she was in that three person female band years ago). I do however feel that Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag deserve the top spot and I am basing this on only approximately 2.5 minutes I caught of the Hills recently when the two of them were arguing with a think Heidi's sister about something only people on that show could argue about. Those two are truly nauseating and are a complete joke to television.
I actually dont think Coach deserves this honor. I suggest those who dislike him or call him a nut job to watch the recently released videos posted on the CBS Survivor web site covering the ousted contestants from Heroes VS Villains at Ponderosa (which is the resort the jury members are taken to when they are voted out). Coach was incredibly entertaining and down to earth in these videos and on more than one occasions Courtney, Rupert, Amanda, etc. note how cool Coach is and that he is not what he is made out to be on TV. Sure Coach can get a little loopy during the game itself but everyone reacts to the harsh conditions in different ways. Overall I think he is a good guy who is painted in a harsh light.
What do you all think? Did Coach deserve the top spot or did somebody else? And who are the other contestants that I have no clue who they are? What is their story?
Monday, May 24, 2010
Jeff Probst On "Lost"
Funny stuff on the Jimmy Kimmel show last night as he devoted one hour to the season finale of Lost which ended its run after six great years. In order to add hype to the show, Kimmel stated how there would be three alternate endings to how Lost ended. Kimmel being Kimmel, the three alternate endings were parodies based on other famous television shows with one of them being Survivor.
The scene began with the main characters of Lost sitting around a fire discussing things that took place on the island recently. At that moment Jeff Probst walks in and goes up to Sayid (to those who dont watch Lost, Sayid is the former Iraqi military office) and says "Sayid the tribe has spoken. It's time for you to go." After a look of disbelief Sayid is shown during his "Final Words" scene lamenting how he just got kicked off the show because of Jeff *&(^%* Probst. Good stuff all around and you can see that Probst has some good acting skills for stints such as these.
Did anyone else catch this? What did you think?
The scene began with the main characters of Lost sitting around a fire discussing things that took place on the island recently. At that moment Jeff Probst walks in and goes up to Sayid (to those who dont watch Lost, Sayid is the former Iraqi military office) and says "Sayid the tribe has spoken. It's time for you to go." After a look of disbelief Sayid is shown during his "Final Words" scene lamenting how he just got kicked off the show because of Jeff *&(^%* Probst. Good stuff all around and you can see that Probst has some good acting skills for stints such as these.
Did anyone else catch this? What did you think?
Friday, May 21, 2010
James Clement To Appear On Young & The Restless
Survivor veteran James Clement will make his acting debut on the June 4 episode of the Young and The Restless soap opera. James will play a police office and appear in a scene with actors Greg Rikaart, Peter Bergman, Eric Braeden, and Joshua Morrow. Its not known whether or not he has a speaking part in the scene but I would think he does since why would they bring him on if they werent going to use him and generate the publicity he will bring.
My Take: I got to say out of all the contestants on H VS V I would have guessed that James would be the last person to appear acting in a television show. However soap operas are littered with terrible actors and actresses whose only assets are their looks so I can see he got this gig.
My Take: I got to say out of all the contestants on H VS V I would have guessed that James would be the last person to appear acting in a television show. However soap operas are littered with terrible actors and actresses whose only assets are their looks so I can see he got this gig.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
BREAKING NEWS: SURVIVOR TO MOVE TO WEDNESDAY AT 8 THIS FALL
CBS released their fall TV schedule today and Survivor has been moved up a day from Thursday at 8 to now Wednesdat at the same time. The move was made to free up the time slot for the Big Bang Theory. CBS is trying to turn Thursday night int a comedy night and thus the switch.
My take: I dont like this move at all and I think it could have negative consequences for the show. Thursday night is the biggest night of the TV week as the highest ratings have historically been on this night. This undoubtedly have helped Survivor garner strong ratings and kept it up there for 10 years. A shift to the less watched Wednesday night will no doubt hurt the bottom line numbers. And history has shown that moving a show from a longtime slot to a new time period disrupts viewers out of their habits and causes a ratings fall. As an over 10 tear entity, any drop in ratings for Survivor could spell trouble for its life on TV. A good example of this was with the ABC hit LOST which lost (pardon the pun) a nice chunk of their audience when it moved from a Wedneday night to a Tuesday night. Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen here.
What do you all think? It is a bad move to move Survivor to Wednesday night? Or does it not make any difference?
My take: I dont like this move at all and I think it could have negative consequences for the show. Thursday night is the biggest night of the TV week as the highest ratings have historically been on this night. This undoubtedly have helped Survivor garner strong ratings and kept it up there for 10 years. A shift to the less watched Wednesday night will no doubt hurt the bottom line numbers. And history has shown that moving a show from a longtime slot to a new time period disrupts viewers out of their habits and causes a ratings fall. As an over 10 tear entity, any drop in ratings for Survivor could spell trouble for its life on TV. A good example of this was with the ABC hit LOST which lost (pardon the pun) a nice chunk of their audience when it moved from a Wedneday night to a Tuesday night. Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen here.
What do you all think? It is a bad move to move Survivor to Wednesday night? Or does it not make any difference?
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
BREAKING NEWS: DID PARVATI KNOW ABOUT RUSSELL BEFORE SEASON??????
So things got a little interesting today as it appears somne disharmony is it at hand between the cast of Heroes VS Villains based on accusations that Parvati got some inside information about Russell's season before H VS V began. Surgar was the most outspoken on this as she out and out accused Parvati of knowing all about Russell's game play and the havoc he casued in S19. It has been strongly rumored that Parvati was in Samoa when the previous season aired and she was supposedly shown video footage of his maneuverings in ths game. Of course Parvati denied it:
“That’s ridiculous. She would do anything to keep her name in the news. She was the first person voted off and she wants to extend her 15 minutes or get her picture taken or something. No. That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. I don’t even go to any of the Survivor events. I’m never involved in Survivor unless I’m playing the game or at the finale. So honestly, it’s just a ludicrous claim that anyone could even say that."
Whats also interesting about this was during separate exit inteviws of both Candice and Danielle, they both were asked about this rumor and both immediately responded with a "No comment." Covering up something??????
As far as Russell's take on the issue, "I didn’t even know Parvati. I’d seen her on TV. That’s all I knew about her. And in 10 days I was back on the island. I didn’t have time to take a crap! (laughing) I didn’t know Parvati. I heard that myself. That’s bull crap,” Russell said. (By the way, he also addresses his final episode comment that suggested he knew he didn’t win the game: “When you’re sitting there at Tribal, you read people. You know what’s going on. If you’re pretty good at reading people — which I am — I knew it.”)
Of course we will never know the truth about it. The producers will never admit to anything untoward such as this. My take is that I dont put anything past the producers to do something like this. If it did indeed happen, than that once again supports my theory that the producers have a strong influence on the outcome of the show. It is a plausible theory since Russell has proven to be a ratings hit and you can see a situation develop where he is "helped" in the game in order to maximize the amount of episodes he appears in. Parvati is a very strong player and would be the perfect person to hand pick for an alliance for him. Just goes to show you that anything is possible with this and thats too bad because it would be totally unfair for the other players who didnt get the head start.
What do all think??? Do you believe this accusation? Or is this just sour grapes by the others??? Write me a response.
“That’s ridiculous. She would do anything to keep her name in the news. She was the first person voted off and she wants to extend her 15 minutes or get her picture taken or something. No. That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. I don’t even go to any of the Survivor events. I’m never involved in Survivor unless I’m playing the game or at the finale. So honestly, it’s just a ludicrous claim that anyone could even say that."
Whats also interesting about this was during separate exit inteviws of both Candice and Danielle, they both were asked about this rumor and both immediately responded with a "No comment." Covering up something??????
As far as Russell's take on the issue, "I didn’t even know Parvati. I’d seen her on TV. That’s all I knew about her. And in 10 days I was back on the island. I didn’t have time to take a crap! (laughing) I didn’t know Parvati. I heard that myself. That’s bull crap,” Russell said. (By the way, he also addresses his final episode comment that suggested he knew he didn’t win the game: “When you’re sitting there at Tribal, you read people. You know what’s going on. If you’re pretty good at reading people — which I am — I knew it.”)
Of course we will never know the truth about it. The producers will never admit to anything untoward such as this. My take is that I dont put anything past the producers to do something like this. If it did indeed happen, than that once again supports my theory that the producers have a strong influence on the outcome of the show. It is a plausible theory since Russell has proven to be a ratings hit and you can see a situation develop where he is "helped" in the game in order to maximize the amount of episodes he appears in. Parvati is a very strong player and would be the perfect person to hand pick for an alliance for him. Just goes to show you that anything is possible with this and thats too bad because it would be totally unfair for the other players who didnt get the head start.
What do all think??? Do you believe this accusation? Or is this just sour grapes by the others??? Write me a response.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Survivor Finale A Huge Nielsen Ratings Hit
CBS won big on Sunday night as 13.3 million viewers tuned in to watch Sandra Diaz-Twine take home her second million dollar prize on the finale of Survivor Heroes VS Villains. The rating spiked from 9:30-10:30 when Sandra was revelaed the winner.
My View: Numbers like these are always a great thing for Survivor fans in that ratings will always determine whether a show lives to see another season. Amazingly Survivor is still going strong and that bodes well as we head into the second decade of the show being on the airwaves. Great season for sure. There will be a ratings drop no doubt this upcoming season in Nicaragua due to the raw cast and absence of former players. Let's just hope its not too steep because than that could be trouble.
My View: Numbers like these are always a great thing for Survivor fans in that ratings will always determine whether a show lives to see another season. Amazingly Survivor is still going strong and that bodes well as we head into the second decade of the show being on the airwaves. Great season for sure. There will be a ratings drop no doubt this upcoming season in Nicaragua due to the raw cast and absence of former players. Let's just hope its not too steep because than that could be trouble.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Heroes VS Villains Totally Got Spoiled
As I have stated too many times to count, this is a spoiler free site and I never have went out looking for them before or during a season. Why spoil the fun???? And I certainly have the means to get them and always have but I never was interested in spoiling the suspense, especially a season like the one we just completed. Many other however just cant wait and in an unprecedented level of spoiling, the entire boot list of Heroes VS Villains was released to the public online sometime last summer, a full six months before the season began. And the kicker was that the list was 100 percent accurate all the way through the winner which has never happened before to this level in Survivor history. Sure there have always been accurate leaks but never to this degree.
So the questions that I have in all this is not why would anyone want to spoil it for themselves: thats totally up to you and if you want to ruin it for yourself than thats your choice. I am wondering A: How does such a huge leak like this get out? and B. What can be done going forward to prevent this from happening again?
Strong rumors have hinted that Russell and his wife are responsible for getting the boot list out on the web with no concrete proof. The reason he is being looked at is that S19 was also spoiled with only 2 boots being off. Coincidence???? And we all know that Russell is not the most ethical person we ever met. And that brings me to how this is allowed to take place. We all know the contestants and the crew sign page after page of confidentiality agreements so clearly someone is totally dropping the ball. This falls on the producers to police this better and they have to bring down harsh justice to anyone they find out did something like this so that a strong precedent is set that this will be enforced to the highest degree.
As far as what can be done going forward to prevent this besides what I just mentioned at the end of the previous paragraph, there really cant be much more done. Survivor will never be shot LIVE due to the fact its only a 39 day cycle. So the leaks will still be unavoidable and its just up to the individual to decide whether they want to be spoiled or whether they want to be surprised. I know this critic will also fall in the latter group.
What do you think about all this? Were you among those who looked at the spoilers? Why did you do this?
So the questions that I have in all this is not why would anyone want to spoil it for themselves: thats totally up to you and if you want to ruin it for yourself than thats your choice. I am wondering A: How does such a huge leak like this get out? and B. What can be done going forward to prevent this from happening again?
Strong rumors have hinted that Russell and his wife are responsible for getting the boot list out on the web with no concrete proof. The reason he is being looked at is that S19 was also spoiled with only 2 boots being off. Coincidence???? And we all know that Russell is not the most ethical person we ever met. And that brings me to how this is allowed to take place. We all know the contestants and the crew sign page after page of confidentiality agreements so clearly someone is totally dropping the ball. This falls on the producers to police this better and they have to bring down harsh justice to anyone they find out did something like this so that a strong precedent is set that this will be enforced to the highest degree.
As far as what can be done going forward to prevent this besides what I just mentioned at the end of the previous paragraph, there really cant be much more done. Survivor will never be shot LIVE due to the fact its only a 39 day cycle. So the leaks will still be unavoidable and its just up to the individual to decide whether they want to be spoiled or whether they want to be surprised. I know this critic will also fall in the latter group.
What do you think about all this? Were you among those who looked at the spoilers? Why did you do this?
Survivor Heroes VS Villains Reunion Show
As always, the reunion show followed the 2 hour finale and I always have enjoyed this "after party." Emotions are still on high after the tribe members watch the finale together and we get to the bottom of the many strategies, conflicts, regrets, and everything else that went on. Last night's show didn't dissapoint in that matter (including the pitched Boston Rob VS Russell Hantz possible future edition of Survivor which was first pitched HERE last month.....go back and check...its there....I'll wait). Here are the highlights from this peanut gallery:
-Hands down the best part was when Boston Rob responded to Russell's dig about how he never won the game by saying that "given the opportunity I'd gladly go back kick your ass all over the island." The idiot than stands up and tried to shake Rob's hand and Boston's finest tells him "I wont shake your hand." Russell looked stupid for sure. He didnt expect that for sure. Dissed!!!!!!
-We all know Russell is a classless asshole and a huge blowhard but his actions during the beginning of the reunion show was over the top. His screaming and whining about why Sandra didn't deserve to be considered the best ever and how fans should have a say in the outcome was classic sore losing at the highest degree and made him look like such a pathetic crybaby. Jeff Probst was getting very annoyed at him and on two occasions told him to "Stop.....and breath" and to "plant it" when he continually kept standing up to address the others. No doubt Probst seemed to be tired of Russell's act and seemed VERY insulted when Russell made a dig on the show being flawed.
-As far as the flawed comment that Russell made and his desire to have the fans vote, that was the biggest joke of all. I dont want to hear anyone tell me this is a good idea because its about the worst thing that could happen to Survivor. The show was NEVER meant to have that aspect to it and 10 years in to make that kind of change would be reinventing the wheel so to speak. The show is a success and has done just fine without it. And Russell's reasoning that fans would cure the bitter jury problem is wayyyyy off line and short sighted for a number of reasons. The first reason is that whose to say that fan voting wouldn't be just as corrupt. I dont need to tell American Idol fans or Dancing With The Stars fans about the dangers of having fans vote. Too many times to count we have seen out of leftfield results week in and week out in these shows (Cloris Leachman staying for weeks on DWTS and that red haired kid making the final 5 the Carrie Underwood season in Idol???) Just as many problems and more could occur with fans voting. And last night's player of the year vote which Russell won for 100,000 shows you why this wouldn't work. You can say Russell was the player of the year (debatable.....I think Parvati was just as good if not better) but Rupert coming in a close second???? I am a HUGE Rupert fan but even I will admit he did next to nothing in the game except to piss off the others with his inconsiderate ways around camp. If anything Parvati should have been right on his tail in votes and there was no mention of that. And the biggest reason for not having fans vote is the fact that Survivor was never meant for that aspect. The whole idea of the game is to put 16-20people together in a remote location and see what transpires. The best players mix stategy and excellence in the challenges while ALSO being able to play the people game successfully enough in order to curry favor with the jury at the end of the game. This is where Russell is a complete bust and he has no one else to blame but himself.
-Wanted to get back to the Boston Rob VS Russell Hantz future edition of Survivor. I wrote about this last month and thought this would be an awesome idea. Even the biggest Russell fans have to admit he had an unfair advantage coming into this game in that no one ever saw him play before. No doubt if these players had seen his season in Samoa, he would have been the first voted out. So now that Rob has the book on him, it would be a great mano-a-mano battle between two warriors. Love to see my idea come to fruition and I honestly see this happening in the future. It would be a huge ratings hit and that the name of the game in the television business.
-We all talked about how Boston Rob transformed himself from villain to hero in H VS V but the same can be said of Jerri Manthey. As you all know I have been a big fan of hers this time around and I feel she deserves a ton of credit. Her reputation as a villain was overblown and she aquitted herself well in the game.
-Was totally bush league of Russell to embaress JT the way he did by saying he made a winner look like the dumbest player in history was just wrong. Yeah JT made a dumb move but that was a total low blow to a nice guy that didnt deserve to be destroyed like that. Probst threw JT a bone by saying strategically it wasnt that bad of a move but the fans thought otherwide as they gave him the title of making the dumbest move in Survivor history.
-Amber and Rob's baby was cute. I dont like the dark hair on her though.
-Randy's bald head made me a bit worried. I hope he is not sick. I havent heard that so lets hope he is all right.
-Amanda looked hot as always. Boy do I miss seeing her in a bikini.
-Russell saying over and over again that he played ONE GAME drove me to almost kick over my TV. What the hell does that mean anyway????
-Survivor is going to Nicaragua next which I reported last month. Yeah I love being ahead of the curve.
-So after the finale I finally opened the e-mail of the spoiled boot list someone sent me months ago and I was shocked to see it was 100 percent correct. Damn CBS must have been pissed. Major leak somewhere that needs to be plugged. I will do a post on this later.
-Oh and in a HUGE shock Russell's wife Melanie was there in the audience. It has been widely reported that she served him divorce papers but there she was in the flesh. Appearing to see how much she will ask for in the divorce settlement??? Looks like they are trying to work it out.
-Love Long Island's own Tom Westman sticking up for Sandra and saying she deserved the victory.
-The last thing that just came to mind is that when Russell said to Rob "Did you ever win the game?" and Rob said "No"; he should have answered that "I didnt win but my wife did and that million dollar check is sitting in my bank account. Do you have one?" That would have been awesome.
Thats it for now. A great season for sure. As I said before I will keep up with daily posts on the show and bring you the lastest Survivor news.
-Hands down the best part was when Boston Rob responded to Russell's dig about how he never won the game by saying that "given the opportunity I'd gladly go back kick your ass all over the island." The idiot than stands up and tried to shake Rob's hand and Boston's finest tells him "I wont shake your hand." Russell looked stupid for sure. He didnt expect that for sure. Dissed!!!!!!
-We all know Russell is a classless asshole and a huge blowhard but his actions during the beginning of the reunion show was over the top. His screaming and whining about why Sandra didn't deserve to be considered the best ever and how fans should have a say in the outcome was classic sore losing at the highest degree and made him look like such a pathetic crybaby. Jeff Probst was getting very annoyed at him and on two occasions told him to "Stop.....and breath" and to "plant it" when he continually kept standing up to address the others. No doubt Probst seemed to be tired of Russell's act and seemed VERY insulted when Russell made a dig on the show being flawed.
-As far as the flawed comment that Russell made and his desire to have the fans vote, that was the biggest joke of all. I dont want to hear anyone tell me this is a good idea because its about the worst thing that could happen to Survivor. The show was NEVER meant to have that aspect to it and 10 years in to make that kind of change would be reinventing the wheel so to speak. The show is a success and has done just fine without it. And Russell's reasoning that fans would cure the bitter jury problem is wayyyyy off line and short sighted for a number of reasons. The first reason is that whose to say that fan voting wouldn't be just as corrupt. I dont need to tell American Idol fans or Dancing With The Stars fans about the dangers of having fans vote. Too many times to count we have seen out of leftfield results week in and week out in these shows (Cloris Leachman staying for weeks on DWTS and that red haired kid making the final 5 the Carrie Underwood season in Idol???) Just as many problems and more could occur with fans voting. And last night's player of the year vote which Russell won for 100,000 shows you why this wouldn't work. You can say Russell was the player of the year (debatable.....I think Parvati was just as good if not better) but Rupert coming in a close second???? I am a HUGE Rupert fan but even I will admit he did next to nothing in the game except to piss off the others with his inconsiderate ways around camp. If anything Parvati should have been right on his tail in votes and there was no mention of that. And the biggest reason for not having fans vote is the fact that Survivor was never meant for that aspect. The whole idea of the game is to put 16-20people together in a remote location and see what transpires. The best players mix stategy and excellence in the challenges while ALSO being able to play the people game successfully enough in order to curry favor with the jury at the end of the game. This is where Russell is a complete bust and he has no one else to blame but himself.
-Wanted to get back to the Boston Rob VS Russell Hantz future edition of Survivor. I wrote about this last month and thought this would be an awesome idea. Even the biggest Russell fans have to admit he had an unfair advantage coming into this game in that no one ever saw him play before. No doubt if these players had seen his season in Samoa, he would have been the first voted out. So now that Rob has the book on him, it would be a great mano-a-mano battle between two warriors. Love to see my idea come to fruition and I honestly see this happening in the future. It would be a huge ratings hit and that the name of the game in the television business.
-We all talked about how Boston Rob transformed himself from villain to hero in H VS V but the same can be said of Jerri Manthey. As you all know I have been a big fan of hers this time around and I feel she deserves a ton of credit. Her reputation as a villain was overblown and she aquitted herself well in the game.
-Was totally bush league of Russell to embaress JT the way he did by saying he made a winner look like the dumbest player in history was just wrong. Yeah JT made a dumb move but that was a total low blow to a nice guy that didnt deserve to be destroyed like that. Probst threw JT a bone by saying strategically it wasnt that bad of a move but the fans thought otherwide as they gave him the title of making the dumbest move in Survivor history.
-Amber and Rob's baby was cute. I dont like the dark hair on her though.
-Randy's bald head made me a bit worried. I hope he is not sick. I havent heard that so lets hope he is all right.
-Amanda looked hot as always. Boy do I miss seeing her in a bikini.
-Russell saying over and over again that he played ONE GAME drove me to almost kick over my TV. What the hell does that mean anyway????
-Survivor is going to Nicaragua next which I reported last month. Yeah I love being ahead of the curve.
-So after the finale I finally opened the e-mail of the spoiled boot list someone sent me months ago and I was shocked to see it was 100 percent correct. Damn CBS must have been pissed. Major leak somewhere that needs to be plugged. I will do a post on this later.
-Oh and in a HUGE shock Russell's wife Melanie was there in the audience. It has been widely reported that she served him divorce papers but there she was in the flesh. Appearing to see how much she will ask for in the divorce settlement??? Looks like they are trying to work it out.
-Love Long Island's own Tom Westman sticking up for Sandra and saying she deserved the victory.
-The last thing that just came to mind is that when Russell said to Rob "Did you ever win the game?" and Rob said "No"; he should have answered that "I didnt win but my wife did and that million dollar check is sitting in my bank account. Do you have one?" That would have been awesome.
Thats it for now. A great season for sure. As I said before I will keep up with daily posts on the show and bring you the lastest Survivor news.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sandra Becomes Greatest Survivor Player Ever
The debate about the greatest Survivor player ever ended at 10:05 ET when Sandra Diaz-Twine was revealed to be the winner of Survivor H VS V by a 6-3 count over Parvati Shallow and Russell Hantz. Sandra goes down as the first two-time winner in Survivor history and stakes her claim as the ultimate player ever. Lots to talk about here. We do the recap first and the analysis later. Here goes:
Things start off with the tribe back at camp after tribal council and Russell immediately acts like a baby when he says Sandra wasted her idol and exposed herself as a liar. Sandra goes right back at him and accuses him of the same thing. He than accuses Parvati of lying that she knew Sandra had the idol and you can see a major rift between the two is about to erupt. Russell than goes to Colby and Jerri and tells them Parvati is next.
The next morning the tree mail arrives describing the day's challenge and Russell's states the obvious that Colby has to go if he doesnt get the idol. He than exclaims that Jerri and Sandra are the two he wants in the final and he believes he will get the win if thats the case. The challenge itself is one where each member has to balance dishes on the end of a balancing arm. The more dishes stacked the more unstable it gets. When the dishes fall you are out. Sandra is the first out followed by Jerri and than Russell, leaving Colby and Parvati. Finally after the 17thde plate Colby's stack falls to the ground and seemingly his chance to win the game.
Back at camp, Colby tells the tribe he knows he is going and wants everyone to enjoy the day. After choking up in a confessional, Colby takes one last stab to stay in the game by confronting Russell. Russell tells him he is going but Colby tells him to get rid of Sandra and that way they stand a better chance of denying Parvati immunity and to have a chance to get rid of her next time out. Russell seems to be buying the idea and that sets the stage for tribal council.
At council, Colby exposes his plan to get rid of Sandra of which she seems surprised. The votes are cast in a non-shocker Colby gets sent home by a 4-1 vote. All villains remain in the game at this point.
Back at camp the celebration of the final four begins and they note how ticked Rupert looked. Parvati feels vulnerable after hearing comments made by Colby at tribal council and she vows a top effort in the next day's challenge. This is confirmed the next morning when Russell and Jerri discuss getting her out if she loses. Tree mail brings in the info challenge which contains a map to the journey of fallen comrades. So the journey begins to each person votes out and on and on it goes until they arrive for the last competition and burn the nametags of everyone they encountered along the way.
Its now final challenge time where a huge maze awaits. Each member must navigate their way through blindfolded and use guideposts to find four necklaces and than get out first. Winner gets to the finals. but Russell jumps put to a quick lead and despite a close finish, he wins immunity. So for the second straight season the Evil One earns his way into the finals.
Back at camp the scrambling begins as Parvait tried to curry favor with Russell. Jerri is certain Parvati is going and Russell tells Sandra she is going to the finals because he tells her he will beat her. She doesn't argue the point since she is not in a power position but secretly she feels she has a shot to win. Russell asks Jerri if she is ready to go to the final three and she seems ecstatic. Russell however tells Parvati she wants Sandra in the finals which she disagrees with. The decision comes down to Parvati or Sandra. Once at TC Jerri seems overconfident she is here to stay and Sandra reports why she should stay around. Parvati says how she has protected Russell which he disagrees with in front of the jury. She looks him in the eye and says they have been protecting each other. Once the votes are cast, Jerri goes home in a surprise by a 3-1 count. The final three is set: two former winners in Sandra and Parvati and Russell. Nothing left to do but go to the final jury.
The next day with no scheming to do the three get the tree mail and find a huge breakfast feast with fruit, wine, and the works. Parvati and Russell begin debating their games while Sandra rests. In the best moment of the season Sandra decides to burn Russell's hat. They break down the camp and burn the shelter before they go and finally begin their march to the final verdict in front of their old tribemates.
Things began with the speeches by Sandra, Russell, and Parvati. Sandra goes first and gives a great speech about she got to the end of the game on her own and scrambled on her own after her alliance was voted out. Russell than goes and in a surprise move apologizes if he offended anyone in the game but says he tried to play as best he could. Parvati was last and talked about how she put up a wall of defense and used the dragon Russell to get to the end of the game.
The jury than had their turn and they sparks began to fly. Colby goes first and tells Russell he is delusional and focuses in on Parvati and asks her about her game. He ignores Sandra which is interesting. Amanda chooses to ignore Russell and Parvati and questions Sandra with nothing enlightening coming about it. JT exclaims to Russell that he should sleep in the bed he made and not to look for excuses and applauds Sandra and Parvati for their play. Coach talks about how he has not made a decision and will be listening intently on what transpires. Danielle goes off on Russell and tells him no one respects his game and asks if he would change anything. Russell fight back and says he wont say what she wants him to say. Candice goes and tells Russell he told lies that hurt people. Jerri asks a good Q when she asks Russell to confess why he voted her out. Russell told her a lie which was exposed by Parvati. Rupert was last to go and he destroys Russell and praises Parvati and Sandra. Good stuff but not as intense as I thought it would be.
So the votes are cast and we see three votes for Sandra and three votes for Parvati. As always Jeff takes the votes with him and we are taken to a Live shot of NYC where the votes are revealed. And in the ultimate moment in Survivor history, Sandra Diaz-Twine becomes the first two time winner in Survivor history by getting 6 of 9 votes and the idiot getting zero in the ultimate form of justice.
Now for the analysis:
-I will say it again. Sandra is the best ever. No doubt about it. If you play twice and win twice the top spot is yours. I dont want to hear coattail rider or sucks at challenges etc. The fact of the matter is that she won against amateurs and than against pros. Enough said.
-Russell once again failed miserably at the jury portion of the game and will forever have that asterisk to his name. Very good player but not great.
-I can definitely hear arguments that Parvati deserved to win. She was pick and she played an awesome game. I totally buy in to her reasoning of picking Russell to align with right off the bat as a means of protecting herself against a good number of people targeting her. She was once again great at challenges in winning three immunities and she never backed down from Russell. The fact is though she didn't get the votes so the point is now moot. Number 3 all time behind Sandra and Hatch.
-Once thing that has to stop with the final episode is the nauseating match through the tags of the fallen Survivors. Its a royal waste of time and drags on and on. No one cares.
-Russell is clutch with wining the final challenge before the final jury. Thats two for two in his two seasons.
-Cant blame him for not taking Jerri to the finals. He made the right call in voting her out as I think she seriously could have stolen the game is she made it. She played a very underrated game.
-Was very disapointed to not see more vitriol thrown Russell's way. Only Danielle and Rupert really took it to him when I thought at least Courtney and Candice would have destroyed him more. All in all I think he got off easy considering all the carnage he caused.
-Russell pulled a Clay (Africa) by going back at Danielle at the final tribal council which is just dumb. But when the person doing it is a moron it makes sense.
-Colby did well in his final immunity challenge and salvaged some dignity with that performance. But he threw that out the window when he seemingly laid down for the second time in the game when he went back to camp and told everyone he knew he was going home. Never give the impression you are giving up which is what he did. He still tried a last ditch move to save himself but it was too little too late at that point. All in all it was a terrible season for him but the crazy thing is that if he did somehow make it to the final, he would have won in spite of all that.
-Sandra burning Russell's hat as I wrote before was the best moment of the season for me from a comedy standpoint. I loved it and that was totally a Sandra thing to do. Serves him right for burning Jaison's socks in S 19.
-The maze challenge was a stupid one for the last one. The last challenge should always be an endurance battle where whoever wants it takes it.
-Wow Sandra is a two-time winner. Crazy stuff without a doubt.
That's it for now. Will post a reunion show article either later tonight or tomorrow morning.
I would also love to hear from you all about what you thought about the episode and my opinions. Is Sandra the best ever? Why or why not?
Things start off with the tribe back at camp after tribal council and Russell immediately acts like a baby when he says Sandra wasted her idol and exposed herself as a liar. Sandra goes right back at him and accuses him of the same thing. He than accuses Parvati of lying that she knew Sandra had the idol and you can see a major rift between the two is about to erupt. Russell than goes to Colby and Jerri and tells them Parvati is next.
The next morning the tree mail arrives describing the day's challenge and Russell's states the obvious that Colby has to go if he doesnt get the idol. He than exclaims that Jerri and Sandra are the two he wants in the final and he believes he will get the win if thats the case. The challenge itself is one where each member has to balance dishes on the end of a balancing arm. The more dishes stacked the more unstable it gets. When the dishes fall you are out. Sandra is the first out followed by Jerri and than Russell, leaving Colby and Parvati. Finally after the 17thde plate Colby's stack falls to the ground and seemingly his chance to win the game.
Back at camp, Colby tells the tribe he knows he is going and wants everyone to enjoy the day. After choking up in a confessional, Colby takes one last stab to stay in the game by confronting Russell. Russell tells him he is going but Colby tells him to get rid of Sandra and that way they stand a better chance of denying Parvati immunity and to have a chance to get rid of her next time out. Russell seems to be buying the idea and that sets the stage for tribal council.
At council, Colby exposes his plan to get rid of Sandra of which she seems surprised. The votes are cast in a non-shocker Colby gets sent home by a 4-1 vote. All villains remain in the game at this point.
Back at camp the celebration of the final four begins and they note how ticked Rupert looked. Parvati feels vulnerable after hearing comments made by Colby at tribal council and she vows a top effort in the next day's challenge. This is confirmed the next morning when Russell and Jerri discuss getting her out if she loses. Tree mail brings in the info challenge which contains a map to the journey of fallen comrades. So the journey begins to each person votes out and on and on it goes until they arrive for the last competition and burn the nametags of everyone they encountered along the way.
Its now final challenge time where a huge maze awaits. Each member must navigate their way through blindfolded and use guideposts to find four necklaces and than get out first. Winner gets to the finals. but Russell jumps put to a quick lead and despite a close finish, he wins immunity. So for the second straight season the Evil One earns his way into the finals.
Back at camp the scrambling begins as Parvait tried to curry favor with Russell. Jerri is certain Parvati is going and Russell tells Sandra she is going to the finals because he tells her he will beat her. She doesn't argue the point since she is not in a power position but secretly she feels she has a shot to win. Russell asks Jerri if she is ready to go to the final three and she seems ecstatic. Russell however tells Parvati she wants Sandra in the finals which she disagrees with. The decision comes down to Parvati or Sandra. Once at TC Jerri seems overconfident she is here to stay and Sandra reports why she should stay around. Parvati says how she has protected Russell which he disagrees with in front of the jury. She looks him in the eye and says they have been protecting each other. Once the votes are cast, Jerri goes home in a surprise by a 3-1 count. The final three is set: two former winners in Sandra and Parvati and Russell. Nothing left to do but go to the final jury.
The next day with no scheming to do the three get the tree mail and find a huge breakfast feast with fruit, wine, and the works. Parvati and Russell begin debating their games while Sandra rests. In the best moment of the season Sandra decides to burn Russell's hat. They break down the camp and burn the shelter before they go and finally begin their march to the final verdict in front of their old tribemates.
Things began with the speeches by Sandra, Russell, and Parvati. Sandra goes first and gives a great speech about she got to the end of the game on her own and scrambled on her own after her alliance was voted out. Russell than goes and in a surprise move apologizes if he offended anyone in the game but says he tried to play as best he could. Parvati was last and talked about how she put up a wall of defense and used the dragon Russell to get to the end of the game.
The jury than had their turn and they sparks began to fly. Colby goes first and tells Russell he is delusional and focuses in on Parvati and asks her about her game. He ignores Sandra which is interesting. Amanda chooses to ignore Russell and Parvati and questions Sandra with nothing enlightening coming about it. JT exclaims to Russell that he should sleep in the bed he made and not to look for excuses and applauds Sandra and Parvati for their play. Coach talks about how he has not made a decision and will be listening intently on what transpires. Danielle goes off on Russell and tells him no one respects his game and asks if he would change anything. Russell fight back and says he wont say what she wants him to say. Candice goes and tells Russell he told lies that hurt people. Jerri asks a good Q when she asks Russell to confess why he voted her out. Russell told her a lie which was exposed by Parvati. Rupert was last to go and he destroys Russell and praises Parvati and Sandra. Good stuff but not as intense as I thought it would be.
So the votes are cast and we see three votes for Sandra and three votes for Parvati. As always Jeff takes the votes with him and we are taken to a Live shot of NYC where the votes are revealed. And in the ultimate moment in Survivor history, Sandra Diaz-Twine becomes the first two time winner in Survivor history by getting 6 of 9 votes and the idiot getting zero in the ultimate form of justice.
Now for the analysis:
-I will say it again. Sandra is the best ever. No doubt about it. If you play twice and win twice the top spot is yours. I dont want to hear coattail rider or sucks at challenges etc. The fact of the matter is that she won against amateurs and than against pros. Enough said.
-Russell once again failed miserably at the jury portion of the game and will forever have that asterisk to his name. Very good player but not great.
-I can definitely hear arguments that Parvati deserved to win. She was pick and she played an awesome game. I totally buy in to her reasoning of picking Russell to align with right off the bat as a means of protecting herself against a good number of people targeting her. She was once again great at challenges in winning three immunities and she never backed down from Russell. The fact is though she didn't get the votes so the point is now moot. Number 3 all time behind Sandra and Hatch.
-Once thing that has to stop with the final episode is the nauseating match through the tags of the fallen Survivors. Its a royal waste of time and drags on and on. No one cares.
-Russell is clutch with wining the final challenge before the final jury. Thats two for two in his two seasons.
-Cant blame him for not taking Jerri to the finals. He made the right call in voting her out as I think she seriously could have stolen the game is she made it. She played a very underrated game.
-Was very disapointed to not see more vitriol thrown Russell's way. Only Danielle and Rupert really took it to him when I thought at least Courtney and Candice would have destroyed him more. All in all I think he got off easy considering all the carnage he caused.
-Russell pulled a Clay (Africa) by going back at Danielle at the final tribal council which is just dumb. But when the person doing it is a moron it makes sense.
-Colby did well in his final immunity challenge and salvaged some dignity with that performance. But he threw that out the window when he seemingly laid down for the second time in the game when he went back to camp and told everyone he knew he was going home. Never give the impression you are giving up which is what he did. He still tried a last ditch move to save himself but it was too little too late at that point. All in all it was a terrible season for him but the crazy thing is that if he did somehow make it to the final, he would have won in spite of all that.
-Sandra burning Russell's hat as I wrote before was the best moment of the season for me from a comedy standpoint. I loved it and that was totally a Sandra thing to do. Serves him right for burning Jaison's socks in S 19.
-The maze challenge was a stupid one for the last one. The last challenge should always be an endurance battle where whoever wants it takes it.
-Wow Sandra is a two-time winner. Crazy stuff without a doubt.
That's it for now. Will post a reunion show article either later tonight or tomorrow morning.
I would also love to hear from you all about what you thought about the episode and my opinions. Is Sandra the best ever? Why or why not?
SURVIVOR HEROES VS VILLAINS FINALE TONIGHT!!!!
Well tonight is what we have all been waiting for. We very well could see the first ever two-time Survivor champion as former winners Sandra and Parvati are very much in the thick of it as far as prospects of winning. Based on the up-to-the-minute poll results that I posted the other day, it seems like the readers believe Sandra will reign supreme tonight. The voting breakdown:
Sandra-6
Parvati-3
Colby-2
Russell-1
Jerri-0
The results here are not surprising to me as I strongly believe that either Sandra or Parvati wins. And remember this is a spoiler free site and I have no knowledge of who wins. I have said all along that I thought Russell had NO CHANCE and I will stick by that view as he once again turned the entire jury against him. He will always have a big asterisk next to his name as someone who was a grat strategic player but who couldn't finish the deal.
I think people are underestimating Jerri's chances here as I believe she is the darkhorse to win it. She has been through the ringer as a three time player and she has played a very good game this time around. I think she definately is deserving of a win and could take it all if she goes up against Sandra and Parvati in finals due to the view of many not to give out a second million to a player.
Finally there is Colby who I dont believe for a second deserves consideration as the winner this time around. He blew his best chance in Australia and has been truly horrendous in H VS V. The fact of the matter however is that if he can win two immunity's in a row, which is a very tall task since he has been making a habit of being the first out in the last few challenges, than he has a great chance to win due to his extreme popularity and the view that he survived against all the villains in crunch time. Valid points but I still don't think he deserves it and he won't get there without the immunities becasue the one thing that the remaining villains agree on is that he has to go first.
Should be a great show tonight and the reunion show is always a personal favorite of mine. As always I will be here giving you an extended play-by-play and analysis. And once H VS V ends, be sure to stay tuned to the site as I will still be posting daily articles on the latest happenings on Survivor along with my periodic "Where Are They Now" articles and "Survivor History Revisited" postings.
Sandra-6
Parvati-3
Colby-2
Russell-1
Jerri-0
The results here are not surprising to me as I strongly believe that either Sandra or Parvati wins. And remember this is a spoiler free site and I have no knowledge of who wins. I have said all along that I thought Russell had NO CHANCE and I will stick by that view as he once again turned the entire jury against him. He will always have a big asterisk next to his name as someone who was a grat strategic player but who couldn't finish the deal.
I think people are underestimating Jerri's chances here as I believe she is the darkhorse to win it. She has been through the ringer as a three time player and she has played a very good game this time around. I think she definately is deserving of a win and could take it all if she goes up against Sandra and Parvati in finals due to the view of many not to give out a second million to a player.
Finally there is Colby who I dont believe for a second deserves consideration as the winner this time around. He blew his best chance in Australia and has been truly horrendous in H VS V. The fact of the matter however is that if he can win two immunity's in a row, which is a very tall task since he has been making a habit of being the first out in the last few challenges, than he has a great chance to win due to his extreme popularity and the view that he survived against all the villains in crunch time. Valid points but I still don't think he deserves it and he won't get there without the immunities becasue the one thing that the remaining villains agree on is that he has to go first.
Should be a great show tonight and the reunion show is always a personal favorite of mine. As always I will be here giving you an extended play-by-play and analysis. And once H VS V ends, be sure to stay tuned to the site as I will still be posting daily articles on the latest happenings on Survivor along with my periodic "Where Are They Now" articles and "Survivor History Revisited" postings.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
SURVIVOR UPDATE: Ethan Zohn In Cancer Remission
In a huge bit of good news, Jenna Morasca (winner Survivor Amazon) revealed recently that boyfriend and Survivor Africa winner Ethan Zohn is now in remission from stage 2Hodgkin's disease. The latest CT scan came back negative and now Ethan will get back to work on his charity as he will head to South Africa with Jenna next month and begin taping new editions of his OLN show. This is the second time Ethan has successfully beat Hodgkin's.
This is great news all around as I was really disturbed to see the condition that Ethan was in when he was portrayed in the Survivor special that aired the week before the season premiere of H VS V. One of the all time nice guys of the game and one of the most popular players ever, Ethan deserves nothing but health and happiness from this point forward. All my best to you Ethan and stay well. Hopefully we can see you on Survivor again.
This is great news all around as I was really disturbed to see the condition that Ethan was in when he was portrayed in the Survivor special that aired the week before the season premiere of H VS V. One of the all time nice guys of the game and one of the most popular players ever, Ethan deserves nothing but health and happiness from this point forward. All my best to you Ethan and stay well. Hopefully we can see you on Survivor again.
Friday, May 14, 2010
How Bad Will Russell Get Ripped In Front Of Final Jury If He Makes It To The End????
With only five survivors left in the game, the finale Sunday should be great from start to finish. Always the biggest highlight of finales is when the final two (or three) survivors face the jury. These riveting moments are usually filled with anger and rip jobs from those who were all pretty much voted out by the final grouping. Sue Hawk began this tradition in her memorable dress down of Kelly and Richard in Borneo and some great highlights were Tom, Lex, and Kathy tearing apart Rob and Amber in All Stars and Clay stupidly screaming back at the jury in Africa. Performances in front of the jury oftentimes dictates who wins and failure to impress results in a million dollar letdown (just look at Amanda for evidence).
So that takes us to Russell Hantz and the strong possibility that he makes the final of heroes vs villains. It would be smart for the other four remaining survivors to take him to the final as he once again has alienated the entire jury against him and stands next to no chance of winning as I said weeks ago. What I really am looking forward to seeing however if he being ripped to shreds by the scorned jury and THAT will be the highlight of the show for sure. And there is almost no doubt in my mind it will happen. The questions I have is: how bad???? and what plan will Russell have to combat this????? Does he say he is sorry and try and kiss jury butt or does he go with the "its all part of the game routine." Let's break it down with who is on the jury so far and the likeliehood they will rip Russell.
Coach: Coach certainly has made no secret of his disdain for Russell but I just cant see him doing a major number on him. Coach is too wishy washy and always shys away from direct conflict. I can see him spouting off on a "I am too ethical to talk ugly to others like Russell does" or something along those lines. Not much of a chance here of him ripping him. Rip O' Meter: 2 (out of 10)
Courtney: Courtney is great when it comes to insulting with one-liners and she stands a good chance of unloading on Russell with some sarcastic comments. He was never out and out rude to her until just before her ouster but she will definately have something to say to him. Rip O' Meter: 7
JT: Like Coach, JT doesn't strike me as someone who will confront anyone in the game directly. After all he shook Russell's hand and said well done after he was ousted by the Evil One so I think deep down he respects his game and wont take him on. Rip O' Meter: 1
Amanda: Amanda is too nice to take it to Russell and he really didn't do much directly to her. Move on. Rip O' Meter: 1
Candice: This is where thigns will get rough for Russell. Candice was used by him and she definaetly seems like one who gets the claws out when she is done wrong by. The guilt she expressed after her ouster tells me she is burning on the inside for being fooled by Russell and costing her the game and the respect from the rest of the heroes. Expect sparks to fly and it to get mighty uncomfortable for him here. Rip O' Meter: 10
Danielle: If there was an 11 on the scale than Danielle would get it. She will let it all out Boston style on Russell and tear him apart for screwing their alliance and trying to pit her and Parvati against one another. This will be intense. Rip O' Meter: 10 plus
Rupert: Gave one of the all-time great anger stares to Russell after he was voted out and he alredy has went off on him once in the game. Look for more of the same here although there is a chance the big softie will take the high road like he did with Rob in All Stars (although Rob didn't really screw him during that game). Rip O' Meter: 6
So there you have it. Should be a fun time seeing the idiot squirm in front of the jury and I cant wait to see how he spins his behavior this time around.
What do you all think? Is Russell going to get it handed to him or will the jury be more benign than I think?
So that takes us to Russell Hantz and the strong possibility that he makes the final of heroes vs villains. It would be smart for the other four remaining survivors to take him to the final as he once again has alienated the entire jury against him and stands next to no chance of winning as I said weeks ago. What I really am looking forward to seeing however if he being ripped to shreds by the scorned jury and THAT will be the highlight of the show for sure. And there is almost no doubt in my mind it will happen. The questions I have is: how bad???? and what plan will Russell have to combat this????? Does he say he is sorry and try and kiss jury butt or does he go with the "its all part of the game routine." Let's break it down with who is on the jury so far and the likeliehood they will rip Russell.
Coach: Coach certainly has made no secret of his disdain for Russell but I just cant see him doing a major number on him. Coach is too wishy washy and always shys away from direct conflict. I can see him spouting off on a "I am too ethical to talk ugly to others like Russell does" or something along those lines. Not much of a chance here of him ripping him. Rip O' Meter: 2 (out of 10)
Courtney: Courtney is great when it comes to insulting with one-liners and she stands a good chance of unloading on Russell with some sarcastic comments. He was never out and out rude to her until just before her ouster but she will definately have something to say to him. Rip O' Meter: 7
JT: Like Coach, JT doesn't strike me as someone who will confront anyone in the game directly. After all he shook Russell's hand and said well done after he was ousted by the Evil One so I think deep down he respects his game and wont take him on. Rip O' Meter: 1
Amanda: Amanda is too nice to take it to Russell and he really didn't do much directly to her. Move on. Rip O' Meter: 1
Candice: This is where thigns will get rough for Russell. Candice was used by him and she definaetly seems like one who gets the claws out when she is done wrong by. The guilt she expressed after her ouster tells me she is burning on the inside for being fooled by Russell and costing her the game and the respect from the rest of the heroes. Expect sparks to fly and it to get mighty uncomfortable for him here. Rip O' Meter: 10
Danielle: If there was an 11 on the scale than Danielle would get it. She will let it all out Boston style on Russell and tear him apart for screwing their alliance and trying to pit her and Parvati against one another. This will be intense. Rip O' Meter: 10 plus
Rupert: Gave one of the all-time great anger stares to Russell after he was voted out and he alredy has went off on him once in the game. Look for more of the same here although there is a chance the big softie will take the high road like he did with Rob in All Stars (although Rob didn't really screw him during that game). Rip O' Meter: 6
So there you have it. Should be a fun time seeing the idiot squirm in front of the jury and I cant wait to see how he spins his behavior this time around.
What do you all think? Is Russell going to get it handed to him or will the jury be more benign than I think?
Heroes VS Villains Extras
Just finished watching the deleted scenes from last night's episode over at the CBS Survivor website. As usual nothing earth shattering here but these are the tidbits I gathered from it:
-What cracked me up was Russell giving a 3 1/2 minute diatribe on how he is a decent person outside of the game and how he is nothing like the player he is during it. This always make me laugh when players say stuff like this. A person's behavior in the game is EXACTLY a reflection on their personality at home. There is no OFF button you hit when you go back home. And Russell proved my theory when he was arrested for pushing down an 18 year old GIRL outside a bar. What a bunch of garbage that comes out of the man's trap.
-Rupert really is some kind of insomniac as he was once again shown staying up all night casuing loud noises with his activities around camp. To say he was inconsiderate is a huge understatement, although it had nothing to do with him being voted out,
-Colby admitted he in no way believed Russell's word when he swore allegience to him and Rupert. However he had no other option so he had no choice but to go along with it and hope for the best outcome.
-Rupert looked absolutely crushed when he was doing his final words. How could he not have seen it coming and how on earth could he have trusted Russell??? It was definately hypocritical of him to rip The Evil One apart and the next day align with him.
That's pretty much it. Can't wait for the finale. One day away. Remember to vote on the polls if you haven't done so.
-What cracked me up was Russell giving a 3 1/2 minute diatribe on how he is a decent person outside of the game and how he is nothing like the player he is during it. This always make me laugh when players say stuff like this. A person's behavior in the game is EXACTLY a reflection on their personality at home. There is no OFF button you hit when you go back home. And Russell proved my theory when he was arrested for pushing down an 18 year old GIRL outside a bar. What a bunch of garbage that comes out of the man's trap.
-Rupert really is some kind of insomniac as he was once again shown staying up all night casuing loud noises with his activities around camp. To say he was inconsiderate is a huge understatement, although it had nothing to do with him being voted out,
-Colby admitted he in no way believed Russell's word when he swore allegience to him and Rupert. However he had no other option so he had no choice but to go along with it and hope for the best outcome.
-Rupert looked absolutely crushed when he was doing his final words. How could he not have seen it coming and how on earth could he have trusted Russell??? It was definately hypocritical of him to rip The Evil One apart and the next day align with him.
That's pretty much it. Can't wait for the finale. One day away. Remember to vote on the polls if you haven't done so.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
The Pirate Walks The Plank
Ahh good old Rupert. Once again he comes close but fails to close the deal. Russell burns another bridge and we are down to five as one more episode remains. You know the drill. First the recap and than the analysis. Here we go.
Things start out at the beach after tribal council as Jerri and Parvati discuss the events of Danielle being voted out. Jerri informs her it had to do with the fact Russell convinced her she was next if she didn't go along with it. The two of them reiterate the desire to get rid of Colby and Rupert as they feel it is a certainty that either one of them will win if they get to the final. The Evil One strolls over at this time and espouses on why he got rid of Danielle. He lies to Parvati and tells her Danielle was trying to vote her out and in a confessional details how he felt his game was on the line during tribal council and that he made the right choice in breaking up Parvati and Danielle.
The next morning, tree mail comes in hinting at family visits which gets everyone stoked. A cell phone is taken out with video snippets from loved ones. This leads into the reward challenge where the family members are brought in: Colby's bro, Rupert's wife, Jerri's sister, Sandra's uncle, Russell's wife (now soon to be ex-wife), and Parvati's dad. Emotions ran high as the challenge begins which centers on a race to fill up a bucket of water which is tossed from the tribe member to their loves ones which is used to raise another bucket above a line. Reward was a trip to a local tourist attraction with their loved ones. After a hotly contested battle (hot is a good word to use for Colby which I will get into later), Jerri edged Russell to win. Of course she was allowed to pick a companion couple (and later asked for a second couple which was granted). In a surprise move Jerri disses Russell and picks Parvati and Sandra and their loves one to go on the trip. The Evil One was ticked and exclaims to his wife that "she's in trouble now."
We than are taken to the reward trip which is to a series of Samoan geysers which gush water upward at different intervals. A good time was being had by all as photos were taken and laughs were shared. A picnic lunch followed and the game is discussed as the women anticipate Russell being angry. This proved to be prophetic as back at camp a pact is made between Colby, Russell, and Rupert to get rid of the girls. Russell devises the idea and swears a handshake oath to the two remaining heroes and Parvati becomes their target.
That night the girls return and Rupert annoys everyone with his sawing and snapping of wood, especially Jerri. This allows her and Russell to chat and he reaffirms his plans to keep her in tight in order to get a fourth person to make his new alliance with the guys to work. Immunity is on the dock early the next day as each of the tribe members have to simply balance two poles on the tops of their hands for as long as possible. If the pole falls than they are out of the game. 15 seconds in Colby continues his abysmal performance in challenges as he drops out with Sandra right behind. Russell was next, followed by Jerri. This leaves Parvati and Rupert as the last two for yet another challenge. And in an encore performance, Parvati outlasts the Pirate. Immunity for Parvati and the guys plan to get her out is finished. Sandra now becomes to the target by default according to Rupert.
Back at camp, Russell quickly backtracks on his deal with the guys and tells Parvati to vote out Rupert. Rupert and Sandra begin talking and she informs him that she wants Russell out. Rupert quickly rats her out to Russell and the game is on. Russell confronts Sandra and asks if she is with him or not and she quickly answers "I'm against you." Sandra and Parvati begin making jokes at Russell's expense which begins to set him off. The Evil One than decides it might be Sandra after all.
This takes us to tribal council as a rift is exposed between Rupert and Sandra. A lot of back and forth jabbering takes place and Rupert talks about how the villains are trying to posture themselves as the best villain to the watching jury. The votes are quickly cast as Sandra soon after plays the last hidden immunity idol in the game. Two votes were cast in her direction by Colby and Rupert while Rupert goes down with the other four votes. Finally after his torch was snuffed, Rupert gives the death stare to a smirking Russell as he exits the game.
Five are left: one hero and four villains. Now to the analysis as there is a ton to get to.
-First of all, the death stare that Rupert gave Russell was one of the best in Survivor history. Tom Buchannan held the title when he glared at Rob after his ouster in All Stars but this one took the prize. Should be a very fiery speech from he to the Evil One if the latter makes the finals.
-It is painfully obvious to me that for all his positives in the game, Rupert just doesn't have the people skills to do the scheming and plotting that is required to win the game. Big pluses in his legacy is that he made it to the final days in both All Star seasons but the lack of title hurts his all time rank. He is still top five in my book but is at the end of that pack.
-Russell once again has proven that he is a very flawed player. He wil never win Heroes VS Villains which I have concluded weeks ago as he once again has poisened the jury with his flip flopping and in-your-face brashness to the others. Making the plan with the guys and than quickly abandoning it was completely unnecessary and made Rupert an even bigger enemy than before. No chance of winning the game.
-As one of the first to report that Russell was served divorce papers by his wife Melanie, I thought it was telling that during the reward challenge, he didn't even kiss her hello or goodbye. Rupert was slobbering all over his lovely wife which I think any husband or wife would do after being away from their loved ones for so long. The fact that he didn't even give her a peck on the cheek tells me that there was already major trouble in that union before she came out to visit.
-Speaking of the reward challenge, I thought Colby was a complete jerk to his brother. After crying in the embrace when he first saw him, Colby than proceeds to scream and yell at him all throughout the challenge which they lost terribly. I couldn't believe how ridiculous he was. He acted like a complete asshole and he should be ashamed of himself. I understand you are competitive and want to win but he totally showed up his brother who came out a long way to see him. Totally classless. Once again another low moment in a season of lows to the washed up Texan.
-Oh yeah and one last thing on Colby: Fifteen seconds in and your once again the first out of the immunity challenge? Uhhhh yeah he totally sucks and clearly performed the worst of any player in H VS V.
-Jerri continues to play a quietly effective game that could very well pay off with a million dollars. She deserves it in my book. She made some big moves in this game that payed off.
-Sandra continues to crack me up. Loved when she gave Russell the finger right before tribal council and loved it even more when she said she was against Russell when he flat out asked her as much. She doesn't fear anyone in this game and is this close to staking her claim as the best player ever.
-Very clutch win for Parvati in the immunity challenge. She is the most athletic female to ever play the game and if she wins the whole thing, she too will claim the top spot of all time.
-Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. No doubt those lines will be replayed in Rupert's mind for quite awhile.
That's all for now. Should be a great finale on Sunday and it says here that Parvati takes it all. Colby and Russell have no shot for sure and Jerri and Sandra are right there. Let's see what happens.
Would love to hear what you all thought about last night. Post your comments below.
Things start out at the beach after tribal council as Jerri and Parvati discuss the events of Danielle being voted out. Jerri informs her it had to do with the fact Russell convinced her she was next if she didn't go along with it. The two of them reiterate the desire to get rid of Colby and Rupert as they feel it is a certainty that either one of them will win if they get to the final. The Evil One strolls over at this time and espouses on why he got rid of Danielle. He lies to Parvati and tells her Danielle was trying to vote her out and in a confessional details how he felt his game was on the line during tribal council and that he made the right choice in breaking up Parvati and Danielle.
The next morning, tree mail comes in hinting at family visits which gets everyone stoked. A cell phone is taken out with video snippets from loved ones. This leads into the reward challenge where the family members are brought in: Colby's bro, Rupert's wife, Jerri's sister, Sandra's uncle, Russell's wife (now soon to be ex-wife), and Parvati's dad. Emotions ran high as the challenge begins which centers on a race to fill up a bucket of water which is tossed from the tribe member to their loves ones which is used to raise another bucket above a line. Reward was a trip to a local tourist attraction with their loved ones. After a hotly contested battle (hot is a good word to use for Colby which I will get into later), Jerri edged Russell to win. Of course she was allowed to pick a companion couple (and later asked for a second couple which was granted). In a surprise move Jerri disses Russell and picks Parvati and Sandra and their loves one to go on the trip. The Evil One was ticked and exclaims to his wife that "she's in trouble now."
We than are taken to the reward trip which is to a series of Samoan geysers which gush water upward at different intervals. A good time was being had by all as photos were taken and laughs were shared. A picnic lunch followed and the game is discussed as the women anticipate Russell being angry. This proved to be prophetic as back at camp a pact is made between Colby, Russell, and Rupert to get rid of the girls. Russell devises the idea and swears a handshake oath to the two remaining heroes and Parvati becomes their target.
That night the girls return and Rupert annoys everyone with his sawing and snapping of wood, especially Jerri. This allows her and Russell to chat and he reaffirms his plans to keep her in tight in order to get a fourth person to make his new alliance with the guys to work. Immunity is on the dock early the next day as each of the tribe members have to simply balance two poles on the tops of their hands for as long as possible. If the pole falls than they are out of the game. 15 seconds in Colby continues his abysmal performance in challenges as he drops out with Sandra right behind. Russell was next, followed by Jerri. This leaves Parvati and Rupert as the last two for yet another challenge. And in an encore performance, Parvati outlasts the Pirate. Immunity for Parvati and the guys plan to get her out is finished. Sandra now becomes to the target by default according to Rupert.
Back at camp, Russell quickly backtracks on his deal with the guys and tells Parvati to vote out Rupert. Rupert and Sandra begin talking and she informs him that she wants Russell out. Rupert quickly rats her out to Russell and the game is on. Russell confronts Sandra and asks if she is with him or not and she quickly answers "I'm against you." Sandra and Parvati begin making jokes at Russell's expense which begins to set him off. The Evil One than decides it might be Sandra after all.
This takes us to tribal council as a rift is exposed between Rupert and Sandra. A lot of back and forth jabbering takes place and Rupert talks about how the villains are trying to posture themselves as the best villain to the watching jury. The votes are quickly cast as Sandra soon after plays the last hidden immunity idol in the game. Two votes were cast in her direction by Colby and Rupert while Rupert goes down with the other four votes. Finally after his torch was snuffed, Rupert gives the death stare to a smirking Russell as he exits the game.
Five are left: one hero and four villains. Now to the analysis as there is a ton to get to.
-First of all, the death stare that Rupert gave Russell was one of the best in Survivor history. Tom Buchannan held the title when he glared at Rob after his ouster in All Stars but this one took the prize. Should be a very fiery speech from he to the Evil One if the latter makes the finals.
-It is painfully obvious to me that for all his positives in the game, Rupert just doesn't have the people skills to do the scheming and plotting that is required to win the game. Big pluses in his legacy is that he made it to the final days in both All Star seasons but the lack of title hurts his all time rank. He is still top five in my book but is at the end of that pack.
-Russell once again has proven that he is a very flawed player. He wil never win Heroes VS Villains which I have concluded weeks ago as he once again has poisened the jury with his flip flopping and in-your-face brashness to the others. Making the plan with the guys and than quickly abandoning it was completely unnecessary and made Rupert an even bigger enemy than before. No chance of winning the game.
-As one of the first to report that Russell was served divorce papers by his wife Melanie, I thought it was telling that during the reward challenge, he didn't even kiss her hello or goodbye. Rupert was slobbering all over his lovely wife which I think any husband or wife would do after being away from their loved ones for so long. The fact that he didn't even give her a peck on the cheek tells me that there was already major trouble in that union before she came out to visit.
-Speaking of the reward challenge, I thought Colby was a complete jerk to his brother. After crying in the embrace when he first saw him, Colby than proceeds to scream and yell at him all throughout the challenge which they lost terribly. I couldn't believe how ridiculous he was. He acted like a complete asshole and he should be ashamed of himself. I understand you are competitive and want to win but he totally showed up his brother who came out a long way to see him. Totally classless. Once again another low moment in a season of lows to the washed up Texan.
-Oh yeah and one last thing on Colby: Fifteen seconds in and your once again the first out of the immunity challenge? Uhhhh yeah he totally sucks and clearly performed the worst of any player in H VS V.
-Jerri continues to play a quietly effective game that could very well pay off with a million dollars. She deserves it in my book. She made some big moves in this game that payed off.
-Sandra continues to crack me up. Loved when she gave Russell the finger right before tribal council and loved it even more when she said she was against Russell when he flat out asked her as much. She doesn't fear anyone in this game and is this close to staking her claim as the best player ever.
-Very clutch win for Parvati in the immunity challenge. She is the most athletic female to ever play the game and if she wins the whole thing, she too will claim the top spot of all time.
-Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. No doubt those lines will be replayed in Rupert's mind for quite awhile.
That's all for now. Should be a great finale on Sunday and it says here that Parvati takes it all. Colby and Russell have no shot for sure and Jerri and Sandra are right there. Let's see what happens.
Would love to hear what you all thought about last night. Post your comments below.
Survivor On Tonight
Sorry for being so quiet. I lost a battle to the flu. Dont fret however. I have rallied just in time for tonight's episode of Survivor and will have a full report after the show.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Family Visit Episode On Tap Thursday
After a one season hiatus in S19, the always popular family visit episode returns this Thursday on H VS V. All I know so far is that Russell's wife will be there which is interesting since he is now headed for a divorce. I would assume Rupert's surprisingly attractive wife will also be there but not sure about Sandra's husband who appeared in Pearl Islands since she remarked that he is off in Afghanistan with the armed forces. I am interested to see if Colby's mom comes out like she did in Australia and who will Jerri bring out???? Finally I would assume one of Parvati's parents will be visiting her.
Obviously the interaction between Russell and his wife Melanie will be interesting to watch since this is most likely one of the last blissful moments between the two before divorce proceedings started. It will be weird to see him be affectionate to her since I don't think the man has a kind bone in his body. We shall see.
Obviously the interaction between Russell and his wife Melanie will be interesting to watch since this is most likely one of the last blissful moments between the two before divorce proceedings started. It will be weird to see him be affectionate to her since I don't think the man has a kind bone in his body. We shall see.
Rupert's Old Home Burns Down
Came across a tidbit today that apparently Rupert Boneham's old duplex in downtown Indianapolis burned to the ground the other day. Rupert moved out quite some time ago but the family he sold it too no longer has a home due to an early morning fire that gutted it along with a neighboring residence. No comment from Rupert or press release from CBS.
SURVIVOR RUMOR: JT, COACH FIGHT RUSSELL????
Attention all Russell haters (of which I am the President of that club): rumor has it that Russell gets confronted and things get physical between he and Coach/JT at Ponderosa. Those of you who are not familiar with Ponderosa, when a Survivor contestant that will be in the jury gets voted out, they are taken to a place called Ponderosa which basically is a Survivor resort where they eat crazy amounts of gourmet food and wallow in a vacation setting. EVERY Survivor thats voted out from jury on and also those who make the end of the game are taken here for evaluation by a doctor at the very least. So there is no spoiler aspect to this rumor as Russell could have still won (not likely) and taken to Ponderosa for a checkup.
As far as the fight itself, from the videos that I have seen from Ponderosa, JT, Coach, and Courtney became very close and even recorded an original song together as a result of them forming a band (and the song sounds pretty good). On many occasions the three are shown discussing their extreme hate for Russell and how they will give him the complete cold shoudler when he gets to Ponderosa. This sounds like a powder keg situation where one snide remark from Russell could set off Coach and JT in a second and the fight is on.
Now I am 50/50 on whether this is true or not. We will find out soon when the videos are released. The rumor is out there however and I would love nothing more than to see the asshole gets his butt kicked. It is long overdue.
As far as the fight itself, from the videos that I have seen from Ponderosa, JT, Coach, and Courtney became very close and even recorded an original song together as a result of them forming a band (and the song sounds pretty good). On many occasions the three are shown discussing their extreme hate for Russell and how they will give him the complete cold shoudler when he gets to Ponderosa. This sounds like a powder keg situation where one snide remark from Russell could set off Coach and JT in a second and the fight is on.
Now I am 50/50 on whether this is true or not. We will find out soon when the videos are released. The rumor is out there however and I would love nothing more than to see the asshole gets his butt kicked. It is long overdue.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
UPDATE: Russell Hantz' Arrest
After revealing only that Russell was arrested for shoving "somebody" down to the pavement at a bar in Louisiana, it has now been reported that he in fact shoved an 18year old girl during a verbal argument. Very nice. What a piece of garbage.
Friday, May 7, 2010
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: RE: Dumbest Move Ever Vote
As mentioned here hot off the presses this afternoon, on the finale of H VS V on May 16 Jeff Probst will announce the award for the Dumbest Move In Survivor History. No doubt the idea was spawned after JT stupidly handed an idol to Russell a few episodes ago but without further adieu here are the five nominees will voting ending the day of reunion show.
1. Colby choosing Tina to go to the finals of Survivor Australia instead of Keith thus costing him a sure million bucks. This has been much discussed on here as I firmly believed he blew it although he had noble thoughts in mind.
2. James Clement holding onto two hidden immunity idols that he never played when voted out of Survivor China.
3. Erik handing over his immunity necklace during a late tribal council in Micronesia and thus immediately sealing his fate at that very eviction ceremony.
4. JT handed the idol to Russell.
5. Tyson blowing the split vote for Russell and Parvati by changing his vote at the last second to Parvati and thus ruining the plan and getting himself sent home.
These are all no doubt the five dumbest moves in Survivor history. I would shocked if JT didnt win this award as its the most recent and most talked about. As far as how I would rank them:
Dumbest: JT giving idol to Russell.
2. Tyson blowing the Parvati vote.
3. James not playing his two idols.
4. Erik giving away his immunity necklace.
5. Colby choosing Tina instead of Keith.
I placed a poll up so we can have our own vote and see how it shakes out before the reunion.
1. Colby choosing Tina to go to the finals of Survivor Australia instead of Keith thus costing him a sure million bucks. This has been much discussed on here as I firmly believed he blew it although he had noble thoughts in mind.
2. James Clement holding onto two hidden immunity idols that he never played when voted out of Survivor China.
3. Erik handing over his immunity necklace during a late tribal council in Micronesia and thus immediately sealing his fate at that very eviction ceremony.
4. JT handed the idol to Russell.
5. Tyson blowing the split vote for Russell and Parvati by changing his vote at the last second to Parvati and thus ruining the plan and getting himself sent home.
These are all no doubt the five dumbest moves in Survivor history. I would shocked if JT didnt win this award as its the most recent and most talked about. As far as how I would rank them:
Dumbest: JT giving idol to Russell.
2. Tyson blowing the Parvati vote.
3. James not playing his two idols.
4. Erik giving away his immunity necklace.
5. Colby choosing Tina instead of Keith.
I placed a poll up so we can have our own vote and see how it shakes out before the reunion.
BREAKING NEWS: Reunion Show Surprise
It was revealed by Jeff Probst on his most recent blog that during the live reunion show on May 16th, a special award will be handed out to the player who committed the dumbest move in Survivor history. Clearly this is a poke at JT for giving Russell the immunity idol before the merge and he obviously will win it since it is so fresh in everyone's minds. There have been a lot of dumb moves in Survivor history but JT's still takes the prize.
Question For You All
When Rupert confronted Russell in the beginning of the show, did Russell respond to him by saying "I dont give a F*&^$CK about you and your family??" or did he say "you and your fans?" If it was the former which I think it is than it just goes to show you how disgusting the man is to make that comment about someone's family. Rupert is fair game to be dissed but not his family. Thoughts????
Amanda Kimmel Interview With People
Thought this was a very interesting interview of Amanda after she was booted out of the game last week. I think it speaks volumes of how much people hate Russell and how he has caused the game to drop to new lows. Courtesy of People.com.
Amanda Kimmel, a 24-year-old former Miss Montana, has been a Survivor bridesmaid and never the bride, despite making it to the finale on both China and Micronesia. She earned her worst placement on Heroes vs. Villains when she became the jury’s fourth member. She tells PEOPLE about her girl fight, Candice’s disloyalty, Colby’s sloth and why she’s hanging up her reality-show veil for good. –Carrie Bell
You were final three both times you played before. Was there a reason why this was your worst showing?
A lot of things happened that I can’t talk about that made me lose interest. It was a very different game than my last two in all ways possible.
You stated that you made too many mistakes this time. What were they?
Giving Danielle back the clue. I didn’t do well at the challenge. I also didn’t do too well at the standing challenges either. To win, you have to be good at the physical, the strategic and the social game. I’m not good at sticking up for myself or to my guns. Tribal is my downfall. I would have done better in them if I had been on a jury before. Russell’s downfall is the social aspect. You can’t burn people’s socks, gloat about it and then expect them to vote for you.
Were you the right person for the villains to vote out this week?
They did it because of my tiff with Danielle. That and because Parv told them how strategic I was and that left a bad taste in their mouth.
Your fire seemed to have gone out long before Jeff snuffed your torch. Had you given up?
For sure. Because of certain things that happened that I won’t discuss I wasn’t passionate about the game anymore.
If your buddy James had stayed, would it have made a difference?
Maybe. He was the one person that I was like, “If I have to be here, at least I’m here with him.” But there were still things that happened that made me not want to play anymore.
Let’s talk about the idol clue. You fought for it, but ultimately let it go. Why?
I didn’t know the rules of the reward clues and I needed a little back-up from Colby. I wasn’t getting it. He made me feel really bad about taking the clue. I was already like, “Oh my gosh, what am I doing?” It escalated my nervousness. I couldn’t open it with Danielle all over me. I had the balls at least to get it. He could have held her back so I could read it. It was really selfish of him. What he does affects my game. It affects all of the Heroes. Having that idol for our side would have lead to a different outcome. We kept him over James and here he was just rolling over and dying.
How do you feel about Candice switching sides?
She was mad at me. She wanted to do this plan where we’d get in a fight to throw Russell off track. She was so excited about her plan and I was going to go along with it, but decided not to because it wouldn’t do anything for us and I didn’t think Russell would fall for it. We were in a tug o’ war with her. He’d talk to her. Then I’d talk to her. I don’t know what she was thinking voting with him because in no way was that in her best interest. No way she’s getting into their threesome. She can’t trust him. Me and her chilled together everyday after James left so I don’t know why she didn’t trust me when I said, “You’re on the bottom of 5 if you flip.” But when she gets scared, she flips. That’s what she does.
Is there someone you think deserves to win this round?
I’m rooting for the Heroes. But to be honest I don’t really care because there’s no one left that are my people. Anyone who is trying to get rid of Russell right now would get my vote so even Sandra. I wouldn’t vote Colby for the million because I don’t feel like he deserves it. He isn’t putting out enough effort.
Would you play again?
I will never play Survivor again. Russell has changed the game in a way I’m not interested in either. The show isn’t pure on any level anymore. When I left, I said, “Good riddance.” I was glad to be done with him. I have other things going on in my life. I’m coming out with my own organic fragrance called Wild and then I want to move into a skincare line. I’m excited to get that going.
Amanda Kimmel, a 24-year-old former Miss Montana, has been a Survivor bridesmaid and never the bride, despite making it to the finale on both China and Micronesia. She earned her worst placement on Heroes vs. Villains when she became the jury’s fourth member. She tells PEOPLE about her girl fight, Candice’s disloyalty, Colby’s sloth and why she’s hanging up her reality-show veil for good. –Carrie Bell
You were final three both times you played before. Was there a reason why this was your worst showing?
A lot of things happened that I can’t talk about that made me lose interest. It was a very different game than my last two in all ways possible.
You stated that you made too many mistakes this time. What were they?
Giving Danielle back the clue. I didn’t do well at the challenge. I also didn’t do too well at the standing challenges either. To win, you have to be good at the physical, the strategic and the social game. I’m not good at sticking up for myself or to my guns. Tribal is my downfall. I would have done better in them if I had been on a jury before. Russell’s downfall is the social aspect. You can’t burn people’s socks, gloat about it and then expect them to vote for you.
Were you the right person for the villains to vote out this week?
They did it because of my tiff with Danielle. That and because Parv told them how strategic I was and that left a bad taste in their mouth.
Your fire seemed to have gone out long before Jeff snuffed your torch. Had you given up?
For sure. Because of certain things that happened that I won’t discuss I wasn’t passionate about the game anymore.
If your buddy James had stayed, would it have made a difference?
Maybe. He was the one person that I was like, “If I have to be here, at least I’m here with him.” But there were still things that happened that made me not want to play anymore.
Let’s talk about the idol clue. You fought for it, but ultimately let it go. Why?
I didn’t know the rules of the reward clues and I needed a little back-up from Colby. I wasn’t getting it. He made me feel really bad about taking the clue. I was already like, “Oh my gosh, what am I doing?” It escalated my nervousness. I couldn’t open it with Danielle all over me. I had the balls at least to get it. He could have held her back so I could read it. It was really selfish of him. What he does affects my game. It affects all of the Heroes. Having that idol for our side would have lead to a different outcome. We kept him over James and here he was just rolling over and dying.
How do you feel about Candice switching sides?
She was mad at me. She wanted to do this plan where we’d get in a fight to throw Russell off track. She was so excited about her plan and I was going to go along with it, but decided not to because it wouldn’t do anything for us and I didn’t think Russell would fall for it. We were in a tug o’ war with her. He’d talk to her. Then I’d talk to her. I don’t know what she was thinking voting with him because in no way was that in her best interest. No way she’s getting into their threesome. She can’t trust him. Me and her chilled together everyday after James left so I don’t know why she didn’t trust me when I said, “You’re on the bottom of 5 if you flip.” But when she gets scared, she flips. That’s what she does.
Is there someone you think deserves to win this round?
I’m rooting for the Heroes. But to be honest I don’t really care because there’s no one left that are my people. Anyone who is trying to get rid of Russell right now would get my vote so even Sandra. I wouldn’t vote Colby for the million because I don’t feel like he deserves it. He isn’t putting out enough effort.
Would you play again?
I will never play Survivor again. Russell has changed the game in a way I’m not interested in either. The show isn’t pure on any level anymore. When I left, I said, “Good riddance.” I was glad to be done with him. I have other things going on in my life. I’m coming out with my own organic fragrance called Wild and then I want to move into a skincare line. I’m excited to get that going.
All Time Survivor Ranks
Someone sent me an e-mail after I posted my ALL SURVIVOR TRIBES a few days ago (see below) and asked me how I would rank the 16 I wrote about in sequence. So without explanations (as I did that in the All Survivor Tribes post) here is how I see it all time.
BEST EVER: 1. Richard Hatch
2. Parvati Shallow
3. Sandra Diaz Twine
4. Russell Hantz
5. Boston Rob
6. Amanda Kimmell
7. Rupert Boneham
8. Colby Donaldson
9. Tom Westman
10. Rob Cesternino
11. Amber Mariano
12. Todd Herzog
13. Kelly Wigglesworth
14. Tina Wesson
15. Danielle DiLorenzo
16. Stephenie LaGrossa
Disagreements??? So far the only other suggestion I got was Cirie Fields which I have no problem with. She was very solid and I would have no problem bumping Stephenie for her.
BEST EVER: 1. Richard Hatch
2. Parvati Shallow
3. Sandra Diaz Twine
4. Russell Hantz
5. Boston Rob
6. Amanda Kimmell
7. Rupert Boneham
8. Colby Donaldson
9. Tom Westman
10. Rob Cesternino
11. Amber Mariano
12. Todd Herzog
13. Kelly Wigglesworth
14. Tina Wesson
15. Danielle DiLorenzo
16. Stephenie LaGrossa
Disagreements??? So far the only other suggestion I got was Cirie Fields which I have no problem with. She was very solid and I would have no problem bumping Stephenie for her.
Some Additional Thoughts On Last Night
After such a packed episode, there were a few things that I missed in last night's wrapup.
First off, I am confused over the voting in the first tribal council when Candice went home. Russell hatched the plan to split the votes 3-3 on Colby and Rupert. Than the Parvati, Jerri, and Danielle decide to blindside Candice. When the actual votes were cast, Parvati and Danielle voted for Rupert while Russell voted for Candice. Did I miss something???? Why did Russell vote for Candice and the girls for Rupert? Shouldnt the votes have been Parvati, Danielle, Jerri, Colby, and Rupert for Candice with Sandra, Russell, and Candice for Rupert??? They made it out to seem like Russell would have no clue they were blindsiding her but than he casts a vote for Candice? And than complains about it afterwards??? I dont get the voting at all there. If I missed something or anyone else has a better idea as to what went down than please post a comment below.
Secondly, after being in such a terrible spot, why would Colby decide to step down during the first challenge for a plate of doughnuts????? What was up with that? I have hammered Colby all season for lack of heart and determination and this is further proof that he is a shadow of his former self. Where is the drive to go for immunity at all costs? Where is the killer instinct??? Weird.
More to come later when I view the secret scenes.
First off, I am confused over the voting in the first tribal council when Candice went home. Russell hatched the plan to split the votes 3-3 on Colby and Rupert. Than the Parvati, Jerri, and Danielle decide to blindside Candice. When the actual votes were cast, Parvati and Danielle voted for Rupert while Russell voted for Candice. Did I miss something???? Why did Russell vote for Candice and the girls for Rupert? Shouldnt the votes have been Parvati, Danielle, Jerri, Colby, and Rupert for Candice with Sandra, Russell, and Candice for Rupert??? They made it out to seem like Russell would have no clue they were blindsiding her but than he casts a vote for Candice? And than complains about it afterwards??? I dont get the voting at all there. If I missed something or anyone else has a better idea as to what went down than please post a comment below.
Secondly, after being in such a terrible spot, why would Colby decide to step down during the first challenge for a plate of doughnuts????? What was up with that? I have hammered Colby all season for lack of heart and determination and this is further proof that he is a shadow of his former self. Where is the drive to go for immunity at all costs? Where is the killer instinct??? Weird.
More to come later when I view the secret scenes.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Russell Seals His Own Fate
Wow that was nasty. That's the only way I could describe tonight's episode which contained a double boot of first Candice (good) and later Danielle (bad). Lots to get to here so first the recap and than the analysis:
-Things start off with a bang as Rupert unloads his feelings about Candice to Colby. Both are pretty ticked off at her for jumping ship and vow revenge. The next morning Rupert goes a step further and decides to rip into Russell in front of the rest of the tribe as a means of exposing his sadistic ways. Of course he started off by bringing up how despicable it was for Russell to swear on his kids and lie about it. Not one to bow down, Russell calls Rupert a dumbass among other things. Great stuff.
We quickly move to the first immunity challenge which entailed each tribe member hooked up by the wrist to a canister full of water above their heads. If the arm doops, the liquid falls and your out of the challenge. Of course these endurance challenges are made more interesting with Jeff bringing out temptations which begin 1minute in as both Russell and Sandra step off in order to get a plate full of cookies and milk. Colby goes next when a plate of donuts is brought out and than Jerri, Candice, and Danielle drop out when peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, milk, and a bunch of other snacks are brought out. So that leaves Rupert against Parvati for the necklace. After over one hour goes by, Rupert slips off and immunity goes to Parvati.
The twist in all this was a clue read by Jeff to everyone regarding yet another hidden immunity idol back at camp. This of course sets off a frenzy in search of the idol and in a huge shocker Sandra winds up finding it. To her benefit, no one saw her claim it and she quickly heads back to cmap. Meanwhile Rupert devises a plan to place a rock in his pocket and make it seem like he has the idol in order to buy him some more time. Russell sees the bulge in his pocket and falls for the ruse hook line and sinker (to borrow a phrase from him).
After the search, the plotting begins as Russell devises a plan to split the votes 3 to 3 on Colby and Rupert so that ensures one of them goes home and that the idol is played. In yet another move that trumps the Evil One, Parvati instead decides to get rid of his new ally Candice. Jerri and Danielle sign up for it and Colby overhears the convo and informs Rupert that if they join in, they will get their revenge on her and stay safe.
At tribal council, Colby exposes Candice for her flip flopping and rips into her for the disloyalty that she showed. Once the vote came down, Candice went home and Russell was left to wonder what went wrong.
Back at camp, Russell begins to realize that Parvati and Danielle are running the show behind his back and begins to formulate a plan to break them up. First things first though as another immunity challenge was up for grabs. This challenge centered on an obstacle course with four separate parts that whittles down the players until only three remain to fight it out for the necklace. Colby continued to show his ineptitude in challenges as he is the first to drop out followed by Sandra, Danielle, and Jerri. In the end, Russell holds off Rupert and Parvati for immunity and a major bargaining position before tribal council.
Back at camp Russell ratchets up his plan to split up Parvati and Danielle by approaching both and telling them that the other is plotting to vote them out. Parvati calls out the bullcrap and run to Jerri and Sandra and plead for them to stay the course and vote for Rupert. Russell enlists the desperate Colby and Rupert to come to his side and thats the setup as we hit the explosive tribal council.
The council was dominated by a fight between Danielle and Russell where she outs him as a huge liar and he calls her on being closer to Parvati than he. Danielle ends up in tears in an odd moment and in the end Jerri shockingly goes along with Russell's crap and Danielle is sent home.
Saying this was an intense episode is the understatement of the year. Lots of analysis to get to. Let's hit it.
-There is now absolutely no doubt that Russell's sealed his fate and guaranteed he wont win Heroes VS Villains. He has completely lost the respect and trust of pretty much everyone in the game that is or could be on the jury. We know Courtney despises him as does Coach. They have said as much on many occasions. JT will want revenge after being duped in incredibly idiotic fashion. Danielle and Candice no doubt are feeling burned by his betrayals. Rupert has expressed the most disdain and called him out in front of everyone. Sandra has been trying to vote him out from the beginning and Colby and Amanda have no reason to vote for someone who played the whole heroes tribe. It all goes back to the reasons why I say Russell can't be considered the best player ever. In order to get that title you need to win which he hasn't been able to do and won't do here in light of his actions this season. He has repeated last season's mistakes of alienating the jury and thus will always have the asterisk next to his name.
-It definately seems like Russell is even more nasty this time around. I am not questioning his move to vote out Danielle as he definately was right about feeling the two were considering him the third wheel. The thing that I dont get is since three go to the final, why not stick with what has worked so far and stay with them to the end???? Yeah they might be calling shots behind his back but they would almost surely take him to the final knowing how much he has pissed off the jury. The fact he didnt trust in that shows how much more paranoid he is this time around. I guess I am questioning the move now the more I think about it. Bad move is my conclusion.
-I absolutely loved the way Rupert ripped Russell apart in front of everyone at camp. Rupert was right for exposing how he swore on his kids and lied about it. Anyone who has kids, and I can relate with a 9 month old son, knows that the worst thing you can do is swear on your kids and not be truthful about it. Anyone who does that is a complete lowlife which Russell is. And Russell calling Rupert a dumbass and his mocking him was just more of the bullying that makes him look so classless.
-I have to admit that I felt bad for Danielle when she started crying. The game of Survivor is no doubt one that plays with your emotions and could lead to burnout. It certainly looked like that was the case with her. She was really hurt by Russell's accusations and betrayal and she wore her emotions on her sleeve. It was a very intense, real, raw scene that went to the core of what the game can do to you. Russell was not affected by hurting her at all which was not surprising.
-I just can't understand why Colby and Rupert would be receptive to anything Russell says. After he royally screwed them over at the merge, why would they want to do any type of business with him?? I guess at that point you have to do anything you can to stay in the game but I was hoping they would refuse to play with him.
-I still can't figure out for the life of me why Colby has become so bad at challenges. Finishing last in the latter challenge was a joke. And now Parvati and Danielle are using their opinion of him as someone who sucks at challenges to keep him around is comical. Could he have aged that much in ten years???? Apparently so.
-Loved how Colby admonished Candice at the first TC. She was such an idiot for turning her backs on the heroes and buying Russell's bullshit. She definately got hers. And its amazing how quickly Russell decided that he didn't need her anymore. It won't ever get much pub in light of JT's all time blunder but Candice's move last week was just as moronic.
-Sandra finding the idol was a great development. I have said all along that I strongly disagree with the perception that she was undeserving of winning Pearl Islands and I honestly feel she quietly is one of the better players ever. She has ratcheted up her game in the scheming department and has gone toe-to-toe with Russell and has so far been able to live to tell about it. Who else could make that claim? Short answer: NO ONE. She is this close to unbelievably grabbing the top spot as best Survivor player if she wins her second game. And even more mind blowing is that through one full season and a second almost completed season, she still has yet to receive ONE vote.
-Rupert is this close again to grabbing his first win which will further validate his legacy. Top ten peformer all time but a win puts him in top five range. Was surprised with his move a pretending he had the idol. I have always been critical of Rupert for not doing little things like this and thinking outside the box to further his game. Kudos to him for making the jump in game play. Overall this was a great episode for him.
-Parvati has her work cut out for her now. Her game with Russell is officially done and she is on thin ice.
-I mentioned Rupert is close to a validation win but so is Colby. The thing is that he has been so bad this season that I think he deserves it the least out of the final six remaining other than the idiot. Very dissapointing performance.
-Jerri totally frustrated me with her move to go with Russell. Just another example of how he always seems to get everyone to do what he says. He uses the kind of intimidation that makes most like Candice bow down to him. I thought Jerri would be too strong for that but I was wrong. Not good.
-My quick updated ranks for likeliehood of winning:
1. Sandra
2. Parvati
3. Rupert
4. Jerri
5. Colby
6. Russell
That's all I got for now. Be sure to vote on the new polls and post a comment about what you thought of tonight's show.
-Things start off with a bang as Rupert unloads his feelings about Candice to Colby. Both are pretty ticked off at her for jumping ship and vow revenge. The next morning Rupert goes a step further and decides to rip into Russell in front of the rest of the tribe as a means of exposing his sadistic ways. Of course he started off by bringing up how despicable it was for Russell to swear on his kids and lie about it. Not one to bow down, Russell calls Rupert a dumbass among other things. Great stuff.
We quickly move to the first immunity challenge which entailed each tribe member hooked up by the wrist to a canister full of water above their heads. If the arm doops, the liquid falls and your out of the challenge. Of course these endurance challenges are made more interesting with Jeff bringing out temptations which begin 1minute in as both Russell and Sandra step off in order to get a plate full of cookies and milk. Colby goes next when a plate of donuts is brought out and than Jerri, Candice, and Danielle drop out when peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, milk, and a bunch of other snacks are brought out. So that leaves Rupert against Parvati for the necklace. After over one hour goes by, Rupert slips off and immunity goes to Parvati.
The twist in all this was a clue read by Jeff to everyone regarding yet another hidden immunity idol back at camp. This of course sets off a frenzy in search of the idol and in a huge shocker Sandra winds up finding it. To her benefit, no one saw her claim it and she quickly heads back to cmap. Meanwhile Rupert devises a plan to place a rock in his pocket and make it seem like he has the idol in order to buy him some more time. Russell sees the bulge in his pocket and falls for the ruse hook line and sinker (to borrow a phrase from him).
After the search, the plotting begins as Russell devises a plan to split the votes 3 to 3 on Colby and Rupert so that ensures one of them goes home and that the idol is played. In yet another move that trumps the Evil One, Parvati instead decides to get rid of his new ally Candice. Jerri and Danielle sign up for it and Colby overhears the convo and informs Rupert that if they join in, they will get their revenge on her and stay safe.
At tribal council, Colby exposes Candice for her flip flopping and rips into her for the disloyalty that she showed. Once the vote came down, Candice went home and Russell was left to wonder what went wrong.
Back at camp, Russell begins to realize that Parvati and Danielle are running the show behind his back and begins to formulate a plan to break them up. First things first though as another immunity challenge was up for grabs. This challenge centered on an obstacle course with four separate parts that whittles down the players until only three remain to fight it out for the necklace. Colby continued to show his ineptitude in challenges as he is the first to drop out followed by Sandra, Danielle, and Jerri. In the end, Russell holds off Rupert and Parvati for immunity and a major bargaining position before tribal council.
Back at camp Russell ratchets up his plan to split up Parvati and Danielle by approaching both and telling them that the other is plotting to vote them out. Parvati calls out the bullcrap and run to Jerri and Sandra and plead for them to stay the course and vote for Rupert. Russell enlists the desperate Colby and Rupert to come to his side and thats the setup as we hit the explosive tribal council.
The council was dominated by a fight between Danielle and Russell where she outs him as a huge liar and he calls her on being closer to Parvati than he. Danielle ends up in tears in an odd moment and in the end Jerri shockingly goes along with Russell's crap and Danielle is sent home.
Saying this was an intense episode is the understatement of the year. Lots of analysis to get to. Let's hit it.
-There is now absolutely no doubt that Russell's sealed his fate and guaranteed he wont win Heroes VS Villains. He has completely lost the respect and trust of pretty much everyone in the game that is or could be on the jury. We know Courtney despises him as does Coach. They have said as much on many occasions. JT will want revenge after being duped in incredibly idiotic fashion. Danielle and Candice no doubt are feeling burned by his betrayals. Rupert has expressed the most disdain and called him out in front of everyone. Sandra has been trying to vote him out from the beginning and Colby and Amanda have no reason to vote for someone who played the whole heroes tribe. It all goes back to the reasons why I say Russell can't be considered the best player ever. In order to get that title you need to win which he hasn't been able to do and won't do here in light of his actions this season. He has repeated last season's mistakes of alienating the jury and thus will always have the asterisk next to his name.
-It definately seems like Russell is even more nasty this time around. I am not questioning his move to vote out Danielle as he definately was right about feeling the two were considering him the third wheel. The thing that I dont get is since three go to the final, why not stick with what has worked so far and stay with them to the end???? Yeah they might be calling shots behind his back but they would almost surely take him to the final knowing how much he has pissed off the jury. The fact he didnt trust in that shows how much more paranoid he is this time around. I guess I am questioning the move now the more I think about it. Bad move is my conclusion.
-I absolutely loved the way Rupert ripped Russell apart in front of everyone at camp. Rupert was right for exposing how he swore on his kids and lied about it. Anyone who has kids, and I can relate with a 9 month old son, knows that the worst thing you can do is swear on your kids and not be truthful about it. Anyone who does that is a complete lowlife which Russell is. And Russell calling Rupert a dumbass and his mocking him was just more of the bullying that makes him look so classless.
-I have to admit that I felt bad for Danielle when she started crying. The game of Survivor is no doubt one that plays with your emotions and could lead to burnout. It certainly looked like that was the case with her. She was really hurt by Russell's accusations and betrayal and she wore her emotions on her sleeve. It was a very intense, real, raw scene that went to the core of what the game can do to you. Russell was not affected by hurting her at all which was not surprising.
-I just can't understand why Colby and Rupert would be receptive to anything Russell says. After he royally screwed them over at the merge, why would they want to do any type of business with him?? I guess at that point you have to do anything you can to stay in the game but I was hoping they would refuse to play with him.
-I still can't figure out for the life of me why Colby has become so bad at challenges. Finishing last in the latter challenge was a joke. And now Parvati and Danielle are using their opinion of him as someone who sucks at challenges to keep him around is comical. Could he have aged that much in ten years???? Apparently so.
-Loved how Colby admonished Candice at the first TC. She was such an idiot for turning her backs on the heroes and buying Russell's bullshit. She definately got hers. And its amazing how quickly Russell decided that he didn't need her anymore. It won't ever get much pub in light of JT's all time blunder but Candice's move last week was just as moronic.
-Sandra finding the idol was a great development. I have said all along that I strongly disagree with the perception that she was undeserving of winning Pearl Islands and I honestly feel she quietly is one of the better players ever. She has ratcheted up her game in the scheming department and has gone toe-to-toe with Russell and has so far been able to live to tell about it. Who else could make that claim? Short answer: NO ONE. She is this close to unbelievably grabbing the top spot as best Survivor player if she wins her second game. And even more mind blowing is that through one full season and a second almost completed season, she still has yet to receive ONE vote.
-Rupert is this close again to grabbing his first win which will further validate his legacy. Top ten peformer all time but a win puts him in top five range. Was surprised with his move a pretending he had the idol. I have always been critical of Rupert for not doing little things like this and thinking outside the box to further his game. Kudos to him for making the jump in game play. Overall this was a great episode for him.
-Parvati has her work cut out for her now. Her game with Russell is officially done and she is on thin ice.
-I mentioned Rupert is close to a validation win but so is Colby. The thing is that he has been so bad this season that I think he deserves it the least out of the final six remaining other than the idiot. Very dissapointing performance.
-Jerri totally frustrated me with her move to go with Russell. Just another example of how he always seems to get everyone to do what he says. He uses the kind of intimidation that makes most like Candice bow down to him. I thought Jerri would be too strong for that but I was wrong. Not good.
-My quick updated ranks for likeliehood of winning:
1. Sandra
2. Parvati
3. Rupert
4. Jerri
5. Colby
6. Russell
That's all I got for now. Be sure to vote on the new polls and post a comment about what you thought of tonight's show.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Why Hidden Immunity Idols Cheapen Survivor
I know I know. I can hear it know. Another anti-Russell post. You dont like him so now you have to attack the aspect of the game that he has truly made his own. Well yes I do despise Russell like I despise visiting my dentist. But no this is not specifically aimed at the Evil One. The whole point of this post is the fact that after watching Heroes VS Villains up to this point, it began to dawn on me that things have gotten way out of hand with the popular hidden immunity idols. What started as a neat twist to Survivor a few seasons ago has morphed into an all-out idol orgy that has seriously undermined the whole premise of the game.
First let me go back to the very beginning of the show. When Survivor debuted to smashing success in Borneo over ten years ago, the motto of the game was to Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast. Three simple words that would become the credo of how to successfully navigate the ever present pitfalls and traps on the way to a million dollar payday. Immunity was only granted first for the tribe that defeated the opposing tribe in a challenge and than later for the individual who defeated the others in a tribeless competition. A truly priceless item that greatly increased one's chances of victory.
Despite the idol being available during each voting cycle, the pressure was still extreme for the tribe members to make nice, don't make waves, strategize ousting others, and ultimately dodge threats against oneself. The concept was briliant and it worked over and over again to much fanfare.
As the seasons rolled by, Mark Burnett and company decided to spice things up in order to keep the game fresh. We saw tribal switches, an exile island, and a concept called the hidden immunity idol. No need to go over the idea behind it because we all know how it works. And it surely has given us some of the most riveting tribal councils ever such as when Russell pulled one out to thwart an ouster attempt in S19 and it has carried over to Heroes VS Villains where not one, not two, not three, not four, BUT FIVE!!!! hidden immunity idols have been found and played during the course of the game. The repercussions of these moves have been earth shattering and have altered the course of the game to a tremendous degree. But the question I have answered for myself is this: enough already!!!!!
I mean seriously. The fact that FIVE hidden immunity idols have been played in H VS V is truly ridiculous. The game has become all about the idols now and that is not right. That's not what Survivor was set out to be from its birth. Without the hidden idols, Russell would have gone home without a fight in S19 and would have bit the dust at the hands of Boston Rob during the Tyson boot. The man has made a living out of using the idols to get to the end of the game and he has mastered it well. All the power to him really. If they are out there and he gets him, than by all means do what you got to do. I shockingly am not blaming Russell or anyone else other than Mark Burnett. These idols have ruined the integrity of Survivor by diminishing the importance of staying on others' good side and being able to dodge out of trouble without help. People skills were huge and the idols have destroyed all of that.
Russell has proven that if you are good at finding idols, than you pretty much can do whatever you want in camp and not worry about getting voted out. Just keep playing idol after idol. Its as simple as that. Games have turned on a dime because of it and yeah its can keep things interesting but its overkill now.
I think one hidden idol should be placed in camp with no clues. Should be out in the open for everyone to see and whoever figures it out than great. I believe Survivor needs to get back to its roots and bring the game back to what made it a hit in the first place. You could tell watching H VS V that some of our old favorites are not digging the idols and these people were made stars without them around. The show will still be great and people will still watch. There is an old saying that rings especially true here and I hope Mark Burnett is listening. "Keep it simple stupid."
First let me go back to the very beginning of the show. When Survivor debuted to smashing success in Borneo over ten years ago, the motto of the game was to Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast. Three simple words that would become the credo of how to successfully navigate the ever present pitfalls and traps on the way to a million dollar payday. Immunity was only granted first for the tribe that defeated the opposing tribe in a challenge and than later for the individual who defeated the others in a tribeless competition. A truly priceless item that greatly increased one's chances of victory.
Despite the idol being available during each voting cycle, the pressure was still extreme for the tribe members to make nice, don't make waves, strategize ousting others, and ultimately dodge threats against oneself. The concept was briliant and it worked over and over again to much fanfare.
As the seasons rolled by, Mark Burnett and company decided to spice things up in order to keep the game fresh. We saw tribal switches, an exile island, and a concept called the hidden immunity idol. No need to go over the idea behind it because we all know how it works. And it surely has given us some of the most riveting tribal councils ever such as when Russell pulled one out to thwart an ouster attempt in S19 and it has carried over to Heroes VS Villains where not one, not two, not three, not four, BUT FIVE!!!! hidden immunity idols have been found and played during the course of the game. The repercussions of these moves have been earth shattering and have altered the course of the game to a tremendous degree. But the question I have answered for myself is this: enough already!!!!!
I mean seriously. The fact that FIVE hidden immunity idols have been played in H VS V is truly ridiculous. The game has become all about the idols now and that is not right. That's not what Survivor was set out to be from its birth. Without the hidden idols, Russell would have gone home without a fight in S19 and would have bit the dust at the hands of Boston Rob during the Tyson boot. The man has made a living out of using the idols to get to the end of the game and he has mastered it well. All the power to him really. If they are out there and he gets him, than by all means do what you got to do. I shockingly am not blaming Russell or anyone else other than Mark Burnett. These idols have ruined the integrity of Survivor by diminishing the importance of staying on others' good side and being able to dodge out of trouble without help. People skills were huge and the idols have destroyed all of that.
Russell has proven that if you are good at finding idols, than you pretty much can do whatever you want in camp and not worry about getting voted out. Just keep playing idol after idol. Its as simple as that. Games have turned on a dime because of it and yeah its can keep things interesting but its overkill now.
I think one hidden idol should be placed in camp with no clues. Should be out in the open for everyone to see and whoever figures it out than great. I believe Survivor needs to get back to its roots and bring the game back to what made it a hit in the first place. You could tell watching H VS V that some of our old favorites are not digging the idols and these people were made stars without them around. The show will still be great and people will still watch. There is an old saying that rings especially true here and I hope Mark Burnett is listening. "Keep it simple stupid."
BREAKING NEWS: Did Russell Blow His Chance For Survivor Nicaragua???
As one of the first to report that Survivor 21 and 22 would be filmed in Nicaragua, I now have another interesting tidbit of info for you in relation to that development. Got word from a trusted mole that executive producer Mark Burnett is pretty ticked off about Russell getting arrested a few weeks ago in Lousiana after he aggresively shoved a fellow patron to the ground. I have reported all along that Russell would almost certainly be brought back a third time (which I also have said means he lost Heroes VS Villains....another shot to get that elusive title???) but this incident has casued Burnett and company to seriously contemplate moving on without him.
This would not be much of a shock if this does in fact happen. Burnett is extremely sensitive to negative press for any of his cast members and would no doubt have no problem keeping the Golden Boy Russell out of Survivor Nicaragua as a result. So things continue to spiral downward for Mr. Hantz. First he loses S19 and I believe S20. His wife files for divorce and now he is arrested for assault which could cost him a spot on the next edition of Survivor. Nice going loser.
This would not be much of a shock if this does in fact happen. Burnett is extremely sensitive to negative press for any of his cast members and would no doubt have no problem keeping the Golden Boy Russell out of Survivor Nicaragua as a result. So things continue to spiral downward for Mr. Hantz. First he loses S19 and I believe S20. His wife files for divorce and now he is arrested for assault which could cost him a spot on the next edition of Survivor. Nice going loser.
Monday, May 3, 2010
POLL RESULTS: Best Player Ever
Well after 40 days, the poll I placed up asking for the best Survivor player ever has run its course. An even 50 votes altogether were cast and the results were somewhat surprising to me but also a bit eye opening. I will get to that in a second. First the breakdown of votes:
1. Russell Hantz-28 votes
2. Richard Hatch-7 votes
3. Parvati Shallow-7 votes
4. Boston Rob-7 votes
5. Rupert Boneham-2 votes
6. Amanda Kimmell-1 vote
Now let's digest these numbers and allow me to give my spin on it.
First off, I truly believe that Russell won this going away because he is the "NOW" player. In other words, its been over 10 years since Richard Hatch destroyed the first Survivor and made it his own in truly dominant fashion. There is no doubt that about 3/4 of the current viewers of Survivor never saw the original series. The first season was a huge success for sure but it wasnt until Australia where viewing records were set. Survivor was just a curiosity in Borneo and the amazing game play of Richard went unseen by most.
Russell has been a great player the last two seasons and he has mastered the mental aspect of controlling people. No one is doubting that. What must be taken into account is the very big aspect of him not winning in S19 and most likely not winning H VS V. Sure he got screwed by a bitter jury in 19 but Richard Hatch pissed off everyone in Borneo but still got the check and the respect for his game play. Russell has failed miserably at this and the way he begged for the title at the S19 reunion show is clear evidence that he has not shot to win H VS V and realizing this, went to pathetic means to try and buy the championship from Natalie. In my book in order to be considered the best ever, YOU HAVE TO HAVE WON THE GAME.
And in H VS V we still have Sandra and Parvati around as former winners and if they add a second title, than they automatically get the title with no questions asked. Anyone who can survive the elements and win two different games deserves the nod with no objection. And in an interesting development, Parvati received five of her seven votes in the last 10 days. That tell me that in light of recent developments in H VS V (where Parvati has made big moves to dwarf Russell), more and more fans are coming to her side in this debate as she tries to become the first ever repeat winner.
If Borneo was played in S18 right before Russell came about, there is not doubt that this poll would have been closer.
On a last note, I swear it wasnt me who cast the one vote for Amanda. I just threw her in there to see if anyone would reward her with having made the if finals twice. Although I placed her on the all time Survivor team, (check previous post for the rest of the squad) she in no way deserves consideration for best ever. Whoever cast that vote I would like to hear the argument.
1. Russell Hantz-28 votes
2. Richard Hatch-7 votes
3. Parvati Shallow-7 votes
4. Boston Rob-7 votes
5. Rupert Boneham-2 votes
6. Amanda Kimmell-1 vote
Now let's digest these numbers and allow me to give my spin on it.
First off, I truly believe that Russell won this going away because he is the "NOW" player. In other words, its been over 10 years since Richard Hatch destroyed the first Survivor and made it his own in truly dominant fashion. There is no doubt that about 3/4 of the current viewers of Survivor never saw the original series. The first season was a huge success for sure but it wasnt until Australia where viewing records were set. Survivor was just a curiosity in Borneo and the amazing game play of Richard went unseen by most.
Russell has been a great player the last two seasons and he has mastered the mental aspect of controlling people. No one is doubting that. What must be taken into account is the very big aspect of him not winning in S19 and most likely not winning H VS V. Sure he got screwed by a bitter jury in 19 but Richard Hatch pissed off everyone in Borneo but still got the check and the respect for his game play. Russell has failed miserably at this and the way he begged for the title at the S19 reunion show is clear evidence that he has not shot to win H VS V and realizing this, went to pathetic means to try and buy the championship from Natalie. In my book in order to be considered the best ever, YOU HAVE TO HAVE WON THE GAME.
And in H VS V we still have Sandra and Parvati around as former winners and if they add a second title, than they automatically get the title with no questions asked. Anyone who can survive the elements and win two different games deserves the nod with no objection. And in an interesting development, Parvati received five of her seven votes in the last 10 days. That tell me that in light of recent developments in H VS V (where Parvati has made big moves to dwarf Russell), more and more fans are coming to her side in this debate as she tries to become the first ever repeat winner.
If Borneo was played in S18 right before Russell came about, there is not doubt that this poll would have been closer.
On a last note, I swear it wasnt me who cast the one vote for Amanda. I just threw her in there to see if anyone would reward her with having made the if finals twice. Although I placed her on the all time Survivor team, (check previous post for the rest of the squad) she in no way deserves consideration for best ever. Whoever cast that vote I would like to hear the argument.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The All Survivor Tribes
In the spirit of the NFL's ALL Pro Team or Major League Baseball's All Stars, I decided to go back through all 20 seasons of Survivor and come up with a true Survivor All Pro Tribe for each gender. Tribes are only 8 deep as this is truly a select group. In order to get in, player must have shown true All Pro ability. Player doesn't have to be a winner but must have shown the skill to be a master at challenges, scheming, game play etc. Here is what I came up with.
MEN'S Tribe
Richard Hatch: The original and the best player ever hands down in my book. Wrote the concrete blue print on how to scheme, build alliances, and most importantly (listen up Russell) how win over a jury despite this.
Russell Hantz: Not a winner which will always hurt his legacy. Sure one argument is he got royally screwed and was a victim of a bitter jury in S19 but the other argument would be that he failed where Hatch succeeded in winning them over despite the harsh game play. Still he deserves props for always finding unique ways to survivor and being the hidden idol king.
Boston Rob: Like Russell, was a victim of a bitter jury in All Stars. But hey he made out just fine as that million dollar check ended up in his bank account anyway and he also won the love of Amber. Rob truly is the biggest challenge warrior in Survivor history and the way he re-made his image in H VS V truly was remarkable. This from someone who hated his guts as much as I currently hate Russell but who converted me to a fan this season.
Rupert Boneham: Rupert deserves a spot on the tribe as the most likable player in history (who has a million dollar check to prove it) along with being one of the strongest ever. He ranked right up with Richard Hatch in providing fish for the team and he memorably outdueled the ripped Osten in Pearl Islands in the strength challenge. Only demerit is the lack of scheming skill.
Rob Cesternino: I couldn't stand Rob in both is seasons but the man did wonderous work in the Amazon. On a tribe of all men from the start, Rob was the weakest link physically but the most skilled in deception and game play. Would have won for sure if he made the finals but he lasted to the final three and began the first line of notable liars who used open BS to get further in the game (Jon Dalton, Hantz etc.).
Colby Donaldson: You got to includer Colby for the simple reason that he was so incredibly dominant in Australia. Sure he blew a sure win at the end by keeping Tina and not Keith but those are the breaks. I admire the gamble. Colby is one of the best challenge performers ever and despite producing a dud in All Stars, he still finds himself alive with 8 people to go in H VS V. Also one of the most liked players of all time.
Todd Herzog: Got to give Todd his props as he hands down was the weakest male player physically to ever win the gamein China. A true thinker through and through, Todd took a page out of Rob C's book and lied his way to the end. Despite burning bridges, Todd earned the jury's respect which guarantee's him infamy.
Tom Westman: Another champ loved by all like Colby, Tom was the guy who everyone liked that combined with his skill in the challenges made him a total package. It looked like age caught up with him in H VS V but Tom still won 5 individual challenges over the age of 40 which is quite an accomplishment.
WOMEN'S TRIBE
Parvati Shallow: The last name is perfect for her but the girl has got some serious skill both in challenges and in scheming. She wrote the book on using sex appeal to get ahead and also put her stamp in challenges by winning a number of immunity necklaces. A triathlon at home, Parvati truly is the total package when it comes to female players: beauty, athletic, and a mind for the game. Number two all time in my book and if she wins H VS H, number one is hers.
Sandra Diaz: Many feel her win in Pearl Islands was a fluke but I beg to differ. Sandra always made sure she was on the right side of the vote and she is using her scheming skills overtime in H VS V to overcome some long odds of staying in the game once ally Rob was booted off the tribe. Just like Parvati, Sandra would have to be considered the best ever if she wins H VS V as the only two time winner in history. The woman is legit people.
Stephenie LaGrossa: Stephenie elicits a mixed bag from people but I firmly endorse her candidacy. Quite possibly the most athletic female ever, Stephenie had some horrible luck in her seasons from being on the worst performing tribe ever in Palau to getting caught in a numbers crunch in H VS V. Bottom line is that Stephenie proved her worth in challenges and as someone who could think the game.
Tina Wesson: This tough mom showed her stuff in Australia and took home a million bucks that you could argue she deserved. Despite her outward homebody appearance, Tina had a strategic side that helped her to the end of the game. Took one for the team when she stepped down for Keith to win the endurance challenge and get a leg up on Kucha.
Danielle DiLorenzo: Although I cant stand her personality, Danielle is a proven commodity having made the finals of Panama and doing another solid job in H VS V. She doesn't back down from anyone as her battle with Russell a few episodes ago could attest. She also is a very good athlete who was a college sprinter and soccer player.
Kelly Wigglesworth: Its a shame that Kelly hasnt ever mdae it back to Survivor as he played a very solid game in Borneo. Although many will say she rode Richard's coattails, Kelly went crazy in winning immunity toward the end of the game that she warrants a spot here. She also never received a vote along the way and was within one vote of taking the money.
Amber Mariano: The only reason I have her on here is because she won All Stars. Nothing more or nothing less. She rode her husband all the way (and than really rode him after the game...sorry I couldn't resist) and clearly benefited from the treachery he caused. She outlasted the rest of the All Stars however so she makes the cut.
Amanda Kimmell: Last but not least is Amanda. Anyone who makes the end of Survivor the first two times they play deserves a spot. Amanda was more strategic than she gets credit for and she always had a plan. If only she was not such a bust at final tribal councils.
So there you have it. The men were much easier to fill out than the women. Who do you think I left off? Anyone on here that doesn't belong? Let's hear it.
MEN'S Tribe
Richard Hatch: The original and the best player ever hands down in my book. Wrote the concrete blue print on how to scheme, build alliances, and most importantly (listen up Russell) how win over a jury despite this.
Russell Hantz: Not a winner which will always hurt his legacy. Sure one argument is he got royally screwed and was a victim of a bitter jury in S19 but the other argument would be that he failed where Hatch succeeded in winning them over despite the harsh game play. Still he deserves props for always finding unique ways to survivor and being the hidden idol king.
Boston Rob: Like Russell, was a victim of a bitter jury in All Stars. But hey he made out just fine as that million dollar check ended up in his bank account anyway and he also won the love of Amber. Rob truly is the biggest challenge warrior in Survivor history and the way he re-made his image in H VS V truly was remarkable. This from someone who hated his guts as much as I currently hate Russell but who converted me to a fan this season.
Rupert Boneham: Rupert deserves a spot on the tribe as the most likable player in history (who has a million dollar check to prove it) along with being one of the strongest ever. He ranked right up with Richard Hatch in providing fish for the team and he memorably outdueled the ripped Osten in Pearl Islands in the strength challenge. Only demerit is the lack of scheming skill.
Rob Cesternino: I couldn't stand Rob in both is seasons but the man did wonderous work in the Amazon. On a tribe of all men from the start, Rob was the weakest link physically but the most skilled in deception and game play. Would have won for sure if he made the finals but he lasted to the final three and began the first line of notable liars who used open BS to get further in the game (Jon Dalton, Hantz etc.).
Colby Donaldson: You got to includer Colby for the simple reason that he was so incredibly dominant in Australia. Sure he blew a sure win at the end by keeping Tina and not Keith but those are the breaks. I admire the gamble. Colby is one of the best challenge performers ever and despite producing a dud in All Stars, he still finds himself alive with 8 people to go in H VS V. Also one of the most liked players of all time.
Todd Herzog: Got to give Todd his props as he hands down was the weakest male player physically to ever win the gamein China. A true thinker through and through, Todd took a page out of Rob C's book and lied his way to the end. Despite burning bridges, Todd earned the jury's respect which guarantee's him infamy.
Tom Westman: Another champ loved by all like Colby, Tom was the guy who everyone liked that combined with his skill in the challenges made him a total package. It looked like age caught up with him in H VS V but Tom still won 5 individual challenges over the age of 40 which is quite an accomplishment.
WOMEN'S TRIBE
Parvati Shallow: The last name is perfect for her but the girl has got some serious skill both in challenges and in scheming. She wrote the book on using sex appeal to get ahead and also put her stamp in challenges by winning a number of immunity necklaces. A triathlon at home, Parvati truly is the total package when it comes to female players: beauty, athletic, and a mind for the game. Number two all time in my book and if she wins H VS H, number one is hers.
Sandra Diaz: Many feel her win in Pearl Islands was a fluke but I beg to differ. Sandra always made sure she was on the right side of the vote and she is using her scheming skills overtime in H VS V to overcome some long odds of staying in the game once ally Rob was booted off the tribe. Just like Parvati, Sandra would have to be considered the best ever if she wins H VS V as the only two time winner in history. The woman is legit people.
Stephenie LaGrossa: Stephenie elicits a mixed bag from people but I firmly endorse her candidacy. Quite possibly the most athletic female ever, Stephenie had some horrible luck in her seasons from being on the worst performing tribe ever in Palau to getting caught in a numbers crunch in H VS V. Bottom line is that Stephenie proved her worth in challenges and as someone who could think the game.
Tina Wesson: This tough mom showed her stuff in Australia and took home a million bucks that you could argue she deserved. Despite her outward homebody appearance, Tina had a strategic side that helped her to the end of the game. Took one for the team when she stepped down for Keith to win the endurance challenge and get a leg up on Kucha.
Danielle DiLorenzo: Although I cant stand her personality, Danielle is a proven commodity having made the finals of Panama and doing another solid job in H VS V. She doesn't back down from anyone as her battle with Russell a few episodes ago could attest. She also is a very good athlete who was a college sprinter and soccer player.
Kelly Wigglesworth: Its a shame that Kelly hasnt ever mdae it back to Survivor as he played a very solid game in Borneo. Although many will say she rode Richard's coattails, Kelly went crazy in winning immunity toward the end of the game that she warrants a spot here. She also never received a vote along the way and was within one vote of taking the money.
Amber Mariano: The only reason I have her on here is because she won All Stars. Nothing more or nothing less. She rode her husband all the way (and than really rode him after the game...sorry I couldn't resist) and clearly benefited from the treachery he caused. She outlasted the rest of the All Stars however so she makes the cut.
Amanda Kimmell: Last but not least is Amanda. Anyone who makes the end of Survivor the first two times they play deserves a spot. Amanda was more strategic than she gets credit for and she always had a plan. If only she was not such a bust at final tribal councils.
So there you have it. The men were much easier to fill out than the women. Who do you think I left off? Anyone on here that doesn't belong? Let's hear it.
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