8:00pm, Wednesday night, you know what that means….!
It means my son just asked me to do something that’ll take about 15 minutes, hold on…
8:20pm, Wednesday night, you know what that means…!
Time to disengage from the real world and plug in to our secret world…Survivor, Ring Around The Collar. And while I’m still trying to “get the stain out” from last week’s episode, I’m excited for tonight’s. Although, with the possibility of Jenn throwing in the towel, I’m not super thrilled, but that’s gotta be a misdirect, right? Fish is now climbing down from the ledge and climbing back inside.
So, I read a comment today from one of my more avid posters. In it, she was kind of down on how “bored” some of us claim to be with the past few seasons. I wanted to reply to her here, because I don’t want any of you to get the feeling that I’m down on Survivor. It’s really the opposite. While I may be down on the players chosen to compete, the allure for me has always been about the game. I don’t give two f**ks about “the evil guy,” the “Super virtuous guy,” the “Black Widow chick,” or even the “voluptuous hottie with no gameplay,” – um, actually let me take that last one back, I do care for the voluptuous hottie…
What I’m getting at is that I don’t care about the people, I care about the game. I love to see a cool challenge. I like watching how difficult the idols are to find. I’m intrigued by the dynamics of alliances, and voting, and blindsides. But the people? I could care less about who WINS the show, it’s not me so WTF do I care? These folks are on the adventure of a lifetime, playing A GAME that many of us would kill to be on. And then when it happens, some of them lose their minds and completely screw it up. Maybe that’s why I rip on them so much?
As you know, I’m quite vocal on what type of player I like to see. A smart, athletic, savvy, attractive (sue me!), fan of the game and its history, and most importantly, someone who can offer SOMETHING in confessionals that attempts to draw me in and make me care if they stick around or not. Or maybe I just don’t want to be pissed off at how stupid or unaware they are. That’s it. And who do we have left this season?
Carolyn – besides having an idol, hasn’t really done much, just flying under the radar.
Dan – words cannot describe what a doofus he is (but I’ll try tonight!)
Jenn – is someone I could support, but does she even care anymore?
Joe – the only shining light this season… (no homo)
Mike – aka ‘Freak Show” (he inherited that title from Vince). Too many things I hate about him.
Rodney – his supposed “plans” are not enough to make up for his shortcomings
Shirin – insecure, inept, insane, in the nude, none of these work for me…
Sierra – showing promise each week. I’m choosing her to complete my “Blue Lagoon” Final Tribal (with Joe)
Tyler – he’s my #3, but dude needs to step it up!
Will – is he even aware how the show works? You can’t win playing like that…
Needless to say, there aren’t many good ones to choose from. And THAT’S what I hate about Survivor right now. I’m not really bored, I’m just watching instead of engaging with it. It’s like watching anything on C-SPAN, you understand what they’re saying, but you just don’t give a s**t.
Trust me, I still love the game, but I want to be stimulated each week, hoping one of the players I like (or at least someone deserving) wins all the marbles. As an exercise, I took a look at the final 10 players in each of the last few seasons and here’s a breakdown of how many players I “liked”:
San Juan Del Sur – 7
Cagayan – 8
Blood vs. Water – 7
Caramoan – 5
Philippines – 7
Great recap. I am going to pile on the chocolate reward, What a terrible prize. Granted, as one commenter pointed out before, no one is losing weight so perhaps there is food being given that is not shown, but chocolate? yes maybe as a desert, but not as the only reward. How much money did the players get for toasting Snickers bars?
Biggest question I had about the challenge. When the heck did Will learn to swim? I thought water was his (well he claimed black people’s) kryptonite.
I have complained about this in the past, but if a school yard pick, let’s see the picks.There could have been time cut from the immunity challenge footage to show the vote. Watching people stand on their toes, did not require the amount of TV time wasted on that.
I forgot that Jow was
Whoops hit wrong key!
I forgot that Joe was a jewelry designer, I was yelling producer set-up. But I am still confused on why Mike/Dan wanted to follow Joe. Mike has the idol! Seemed like producer BS to me, I am just getting too jaded!
How did the eating of the chicken not spark controversy?
I come back and see that half our protein is gone after OD’ing on sugar, I might raise a ruckas.
I am not happy that Joe/Jenn/Yahoo girl did not try switch a couple votes.Heck only one vote was needed, since they figured a split vote was happening.
Ok Bryan, I’m disappointed in you this week. 🙂 Here’s my thing. I don’t get why you are so down on Mike and Dan. Let me explain. Yes, Dan is really gross. Yes, Dan is obnoxious and annoying and his face is very much like a rodent. But I like the way the show has a MIX of people. That’s the trouble with Big Brother the past few years. I’m a big fan of the show and on all the blogs, everyone complains about how the show is now all 20 somethings who look perfect. The beauty of these shows is that they aren’t all pretty, or nice, or easy to be around. I love it. And don’t get me wrong, I liked Joe-aka Malcom squared or “Ozzy 3.0.” But I don’t want to watch 20 Joes play. As for Mike, he’s a bit odd but so far, he’s not playing a bad game. At least he’s doing something. He’s a lot more interesting to watch than Tyler, who seems to be a cool guy but about as interesting as watching paint dry. Anyway, I think the thing that made all these shows great to begin with was how they were a slice of society. They don’t all have to look great in a swim suit. Get a Maxim if you want that. Ok, I’m done. A few final observations. I don’t see the cootie stain on Jenn but she truly looked preggo in a few of those shots. Will on the slide reminded me of a seal or walrus sliding down a glacier. I thought Joe’s fake idol was a really smart idea and I’m actually surprised that Mike even doubted if it was authentic. It looked really good to me. I wish they’d bring back the eating gross stuff challenges. I am still hoping….
Doc! Thank you. Love your support. I can’t believe they did a whole reward being chocolate too. Sounds like someone’s bad marketing idea that no one thought through. I mean, they couldn’t throw in some local roast chicken and fruit to nourish the players? I bet there was some other food there, but the “deal” was to sell it as chocolate only. I think I’ll ask one of them that question and see what they say. I wonder if they’ll even answer honestly…? I think Will could always swim fine, in a straight line, but when he had to tread water to maneuver that buoy around (week’s ago) that’s where he struggled. I think the schoolyard pick is just a time consuming scene that’s probably one of the first cuts made when trying to “get to time.” Don’t know if you know this (and apologies if you do) but it’s probably a scene that was edited, and then when they found the editor’s cut was a few minutes longer than it needs to be, so the pick is one of the first scenes to go. It doesn’t really move the episode along, unless something incredibly dramatic or important happened during the pick. I get you, though… I’m not “100%” but I think Mike wanted to follow Joe just to cover the fact he already had the idol. That sounds right, no? Yeah, I wondered about “chicken-gate” while watching. Maybe it’s another indication that the winning 5 actually ate on their reward. Maybe the producers said, “the winning team is going to eat a feast besides chocolate, so you guys should probably eat a chicken.” I just tweeted Sierra and Tyler, let’s see if they answer… And I wonder if they had some conversation about switching votes but no one was interested. Again, maybe there was some of that but we just didn’t see it. Keep writing in, Doc!
Kinb, My dear, I understand your feelings (I’m being Dan now) but I think you need to apologize to me… See, that’s why I hate Dan, because he’s always trying to fix things that aren’t broken. Here’s my thing about Mike and Dan. Mike is playing a pretty good game, hands down the best game of anyone, in fact. He may even win it all. But his stupid behavior, his stupid choices, his dumb tattoo, and most of all, his stupid voice makes me not like him. Didn’t someone hear him speak during casting and say, “This dude’s voice is annoying, find somebody else.” Because that’s the television producing I know. Find people that look and sound the part and America will get behind them. And yes, I’ve said I’d like to see a season of beautiful super heroes, but don’t mean that literally. Frickin’ LJ was a horse trainer, but at least he was a strong guy who had a brain. Guys like him are a “slice of society,” but I don’t like bringing guys like Dan aboard. Just one of those guys who seems to be totally unaware of how he comes across. And at his age? Puh-lease… And some quick replies:
-One of the reasons Jenn is considered so hot is simply because she seems so “down to earth.” Cooter stain, droopy drawers, pot belly, manic-y, and so on. She’s like an “approachable” cutie. Will = side show at Sea World. I’m surprised Joe handed over the idol at the start of tribal. I thought he’d bluff a little better than that. And I’d be fine without the eating challenges. Those were always Fear Factor things that I believe Survivor “borrowed” from them. I think that’s the one thing I could never do. Just wouldn’t want to even try to eat balut or any of that other shit… I don’t care to eat gross things. Hang in there, Kate, I’m sure the last few episodes will be better than the first 9. Have a great weekend! BF
Loved Joe. LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED LOVED him. (That wasn’t weird at all, huh?)
Ok Fishy, I’m going to say all of this with love but the lawyer in my former life is trying to come out. Yes, Mike has an annoying voice and maybe he has a stupid tattoo. Didn’t Morgan have an annoying voice, yet you liked her? Oh yeah, you never were able to actually listen when she was talking…Ok Dan is stupid, yes I concur. But Kass was smart but really annoying, and that was not any better. Plus she wore Tee Vas and I hate those shoes. My husband wore them on our first date and all I can say is, he’s lucky I had a lot to drink! Example #3, Tony, lots of stupid tattoos, but not annoying. In other words, you just hate Dan. I actually hate Dan too, I just love it when there is a mix of people, fat-thin, pretty-ugly, Dan-Morgan. Your honor, the defense rests. Seriously though, I think you and I have totally different survivor styles. As for the eating challenges, I will not hold a grudge at your RUDE Fear Factor insult. If I remember correctly, aren’t eating challenges old school survivor, in other words, the true essence of the show? Wouldn’t you rather watch Shirin eat a real bug than a snickers that looks like a piece of poop anyway? You hurt me so Fishy, yet “I can’t quit you!” 🙂
Ginger, I think I got a little “Joemance” meeself! 😉
Kinb! Let’s set the record straight… I have NO IDEA what Morgan’s voice sounds like! I couldn’t tell you about her gameplay, the votes she cast, who she was aligned with, or if she did anything compelling. She had those boobs and that’s all that mattered… ;-P
Dan vs Kass: I could listen to Kass, and see why she was doing what she was doing, but it didn’t annoy me. She just followed the wrong path, and as an attorney, never wanted to admit that it wasn’t a good play. As I said 2 seasons ago, she may have just been playing for 2nd place money and wanted to be dragged along by anyone…
Ok, I concur with you, Tevas are the Devil’s flip-flops and no one should wear them except Charon…or your husband. Thankfully for him, booze is legal.
At least Tony was entertaining. He knew he was acting crazy and just went with it. I’m surprised no one ever booted him out the way he was conniving. That, to me, is the first one you take out, because they’re always “working it.”
The eating challenges were never my style. I know they were there since ep. 2 of Borneo, but that’s the one thing I never liked. I think Fear Factor embraced it a bit more (FF aired 1 year after Borneo, btw) but that’s the one thing I hated about that show too. And no, I wouldn’t want to watch Shirin eat a bug. Ever. However, I’d watch Morgan eat anything…
I can’t quit you either, darlin’. Besides, this tent is oh so cozy…
Ok, getting ready to write tonight’s recap. Tune in tomorrow!
And yes, I just hate Dan…