The Survivor Thread

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Simply amazing. Fucking great episode.

[gmillerdrake]

Cochran is pretty funny...his dead pan sense of humor and timing are great. Probst:"Cochran, when did you get sunburnt?"
                                                                                                              Cochran:"Instantly" 
I can already tell you who I don't like from the fans....it's the big Marine. I know they edit the show for the drame effect but from his sitting on his butt while they're building a shelter...to his nonsensacle reasoning on why he was going to jump in and save the day on starting the fire...don't like him..at all.

You could kind of sense the way they cut and edited the show that Francesca was going home first again. I didn't care one way or the other.....I was suprised at how tame Brandon was and then the previews for next week hit and it looks like he's going to go off again.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

No surprise about the Brandon preview for next week. That guy has more issues than a newsstand.

[KevShmev]

Francesca played the game too hard from the start last time and was voted out first, so what did she do this time?  The same thing.  And was met with the same result.

[BlobVanDam]

Simply amazing. Fucking great episode.

Was it ever! Both challenges were really cool, especially the opener. It's like a smaller scale version of the one last season that ended up fizzling out because both teams bargained their way out of it. That was fierce.
Two big physical challenges, and I liked both teams. I didn't care who won, I just enjoyed watching it. So far, this season is shaping up every bit as good as I'd hoped.

It's pretty funny that Francesca went first again. Let's face it, she was only there because of her relationship with Phillip, not because of her, so that was no huge loss.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I think Phillip was too quick to be dismissive of Fransessqua.  She tried to make amends and he more or less ignored her.  He could have used her to his advantage.  Anybody who saw their season would NEVER have imagined that they would be working together.  It could've been a pretty good move on his part.

That opening challenge was excellent.  Hi everyone, you're here.  There's your other team.  A bunch of returnees.  Now strip down.  It's fucking ON.

BOOM

Pretty damned badass.

[senecadawg2]

When Phillip is talking to the camera alone, I feel like I've recovered lost footage of the last man alive driven crazy in a post-apocalyptic world. He takes himself soooo seriously, and its incredibly entertaining. I was glad that they got rid of Fransequa, as she would have been gunning form Phillip with all her might.

Also really enjoyed Cochran, and its good to see Malcolm again. Brandon... Not so much.

As for the newbies, I didn't like the 4 self-proclaimed 'cool people', and hope they don't stick around too long. Didn't see enough of the others to form any concrete opinions, but I have a feeling ill like big beard and hat man.

[gmillerdrake]

As for the newbies, I didn't like the 4 self-proclaimed 'cool people', and hope they don't stick around too long. Didn't see enough of the others to form any concrete opinions, but I have a feeling ill like big beard and hat man.

Yeah that 'Brat Pack' is annoying already....and what's even more annoying is that in my office pool I drew Ally, the chick who was making out with that dude and my wife drew Eddie...the guy who made the real deep analogy about it being like high school and they were the cool kids. Doesn't look like either of us will be winning the pool....unless my chick sleeps her way to the end...

I agree with you also that the Bearded and 'Hat' man already look to be good players...it'll be interesting to see if they can at least make it to the merge.

[hefdaddy42]

Definitely rooting for the faves (well, most of them, anyway).  Not too impressed with any of the fans yet.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Tonight is the night Brandon apprently goes crazy.  -er.

Everybody got tired of Russell because he's a fucking troll.  Brandon wsa as creepy as they come on his first season.  Now he's going to be a creeper AND a characteristic Hantz?  God help us.

[gmillerdrake]

Tonight is the night Brandon apprently goes crazy.  -er.

Everybody got tired of Russell because he's a fucking troll.  Brandon wsa as creepy as they come on his first season.  Now he's going to be a creeper AND
a characteristic Hantz?  God help us.

I don't know. I think that editing may be in place to give that impression...he might suggest it being that its in the heat of the moment after tribal, but they showed no 'daylight' instances of it.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I certainly hope so.  If that's the case, they've played it up pretty well.  I don't know if I could bear to see another batshit crazy Hantz.

[senecadawg2]

Everybody got tired of Russell because he's a fucking troll.  Brandon wsa as creepy as they come on his first season.  Now he's going to be a creeper AND a characteristic Hantz?  God help us.

I don't know... Personally, I found Russell to be one of the most entertaining players ever. Obviously he never had a snowball's chance in hell at winning, but the way he lied to everyone multiple times and thought so highly of his strategic game, both coupled with his general demeanor won me over. Brandon, on the other hand, was fucking annoying the whole time. His tirades against the young pretty girls 'tempting' everyone were excruciating. I can't wait to see him off this season.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Well, I shouldn't say everybody.  I personally found him to be pretty entertaining as well, but most people didn't care for him, is the impression I get.  But he definitely was trollin' hard.

[hefdaddy42]

I loved watching Russell as well.

[gmillerdrake]

Well...there goes my chance at the office pool. I wish Allie would have had a chance to play longer, she seemed like she would have been a good player. Not good enought to realize she aligned herself on the losing side though. And, I firmly stand by my initial summation that Shamar is an ass...someone who I can't believe we're going to have to put up with for a while being that the chic who's running the show wants to keep him around so he will stay. I just can't stand folk like him.
  I think the editing department should get an award for making it look like Brandon's going to go nuts.....and then they do it again. Let's see if they're for real this time.

[BlobVanDam]

  I think the editing department should get an award for making it look like Brandon's going to go nuts.....and then they do it again. Let's see if they're for real this time.

Yeah, that was a total fizzle, and I expect next week will be the same. The guy's just unstable, but in the end he's always been all talk. It will be nothing, or else they would have shown a snippet of him actually doing something.


I actually like Shamar staying in the game. Usually I don't like the loud, angry guys, but I guess I just hate the jock group that much more. I'm glad that Ally went, but I just KNEW that that guy wasn't going to play his idol. You could just tell he's that kind of person. It will be one of those things that lingers for a while.

[gmillerdrake]

I just KNEW that that guy wasn't going to play his idol. You could just tell he's that kind of person. It will be one of those things that lingers for a while.

And that whole deal. It's not like that idol was a bowling ball with Tug Boat rope attached to it. How the heck can you not hide that dinky little thing? Did he try to keep it wrapped up as well? Just a dumb move on his part. To his credit though...unlike the past several seasons I watched he didn't find the idol then run back and tell 7 different people. He kept it to himself until apparently he couldn't hide something that looked like a small aarowhead with some string on it.

[BlobVanDam]

I just KNEW that that guy wasn't going to play his idol. You could just tell he's that kind of person. It will be one of those things that lingers for a while.

And that whole deal. It's not like that idol was a bowling ball with Tug Boat rope attached to it. How the heck can you not hide that dinky little thing? Did he try to keep it wrapped up as well? Just a dumb move on his part. To his credit though...unlike the past several seasons I watched he didn't find the idol then run back and tell 7 different people. He kept it to himself until apparently he couldn't hide something that looked like a small aarowhead with some string on it.

I know right? When I saw that tiny little idol, I thought "oh, they've made it so tiny that it's easy to hide. Nice." And then he gets spotted right away!

I'm not sure how much time he had to tell anyone before tribal council. The editing didn't give a sense of how much time had passed there.

[KevShmev]

I thought Probst crossed the line tonight.  When that gal said she wouldn't say who she saw with the idol in their pants, for Probst to say, "You are looking directly at Reynold," was completely out of bounds, IMO.  I often think he teeters on the line of going too far with getting involved, but tonight he ran past it at warp speed.

[BlobVanDam]

I agree there. He always stirs things up in tribal, and asks targeted questions to specific people to mix things up so tribal council isn't predictable, but tonight he almost entirely gave that one away with not a hint of subtlety.

I like that he's always in touch with what's happening, and I appreciate that he's trying to keep things interesting and unpredictable, but he was too heavy handed tonight.

[BlobVanDam]

Just as we all knew would happen, the preview of Brandon was a complete fizzle, and a quote taken out of context. Nothing happened there.

I was surprised everyone stuck to their actual voting plan despite all of the piling on Shamar at tribal council. That was unexpected, but I'm glad Shamar stayed in, because I love that he rubs the jocks the wrong way. It was sad that Hope was the one that left though, because she was damn cute.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Brandon is played up in the commercials, but is really just an angry little sidenote to this whole season.  He has the moronic little angry discussions with the camera, then that's about all you see of him til the challenge.  Which was DAMN close last night.  I found it slightly impressive that for all the talk of how heavy the challenge box was, when they first raised it up onto the track, two people got on one side and Brandon lifted the whole other end by himself.  He was totally in hyper-adrenaline mode.

I'm not sure what to make of Shamar.  He said in his pre-air interview that his intention was to make people miserable (or something like that).  He's definitely doing it, but there are (strangely) people who are loyal to him and want him around regardless of his drama.  I saw a post on Twitter last night that said:

Only in this Survivor season could a castaway say "I don't know how many people he killed" & leave the audience wondering "Who?"

  So true.

[BlobVanDam]

I don't get it. How could you possibly wonder "who?" He's been a big focus in the last two episodes, and he's very hard to miss!

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Well, yeah, definitely a joke, but based on the fact that you've got at least 3 people who are borderline off their rockers.

[BlobVanDam]

I think they're already on the wrong side of that line.

[KevShmev]

This season is boring me already.  None of the fans have made me want to root for them, and so much attention on "favorites" like Brandon and Philip has me forwarding through chunks of episodes now.  I might actually jump ship on this season unless it gets interesting next week.

[gmillerdrake]

This season is boring me already.  None of the fans have made me want to root for them, and so much attention on "favorites" like Brandon and Philip has me forwarding through chunks of episodes now.  I might actually jump ship on this season unless it gets interesting next week.

The only thing keeping me watching is my utter distain for Shamar. He's a disgrace of a Marine...I'm embarrassed for him actually. I just want to see him get voted off, problem is he's the perfect person to keep around.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Oh holy shit, Brandon goes full-on Chernobyl next week. Finally. Looks bad.

[BlobVanDam]

I won't believe it until I actually see it.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

The preview was pretty damning this time. Wow!

[gmillerdrake]

The preview was pretty damning this time. Wow!

I won't believe it until I actually see it.

The preview was pretty damning this time. Wow!

Yeah, showing him actually dumping the rice.....pretty hard to argue with that. Unless............it's just edited again. Like if the rice were to have been contaminated by rat poo or something. But it does appear he and Philip get into it.

I thought this episode was alright. Call me a synic but I think that whole eye injury was a load of BS and the Doc and producers gave Shamar an easy way out. That dude was a friggin' loser A hole...plain and simple. That tribe deserves to be depleted and whooped the way they have been for even considering keeping him around over the others who at least pulled their weight. Just like Hugo Chavez....it doesn't bother me one bit to see him go.

[BlobVanDam]

I made my comment before realizing the new episode had aired, so I hadn't seen the clip yet. My bad!
Yeah, I don't see any wiggle room for misinterpretation here. Everyone was crying, and he tipped out all of their rice. That should be a great episode. I hope he doesn't just get voted right out though, because I want him to keep it unpredictable. Let's see how they deal with losing most of their food. Maybe they'll just salvage what they can.

I wasn't expecting they'd still go to tribal after Shamar leaving the game, so their team is looking very weak right now. I really wish one of the two jocks went, but at least the idol is finally gone!

I have to say, they've had excellent challenges this season. All very physical, with a big focus on swimming and climbing, and a lot of throwing/accuracy type challenges, instead of just wheeling out puzzles. I love it. The favourites were very smart with how they arranged their team for that challenge, and it paid off.

[KevShmev]

I am now forwarding through the majority of the favorites camp scenes simply cause I cannot stand anymore of Philip and Brandon.  I still can't believe the producers thought either of those tools were favorites.

And the fans finally used their heads. Voting out Reynold and Eddie would be moronic.  Unless they just want to lose every challenge.  Sherri saying, "We are losing with them," shows how dumb she is.  Reynold was the only reason they almost came back and won the immunity challenge after she killed them in it early on, but yeah, let's vote him out because we are gonna lose either way.   It's amazing how short-sighted some people are.

[BlobVanDam]

I am now forwarding through the majority of the favorites camp scenes simply cause I cannot stand anymore of Philip and Brandon.  I still can't believe the producers thought either of those tools were favorites.

I believe Probst has said that by "favourites", they don't necessarily mean liked, but favourites to watch, whether it's people the fans love, or people the fans love to hate. But basically it's just returning players versus new players, so they're chosen for entertainment value.
Personally, I've enjoyed them for that factor, although I think they're both played up a fair bit, so I can see how some people are finding that tiring.