Survivor: Nicaragua - Page 3

At this stage in the game, why would anyone want to get rid of him? He can't compete in challenges and has no strategic abilities that I can see.

I thought Brenda was tough, but her problem (much like Marty) was that she was way too confident. You need to play the game with a certain sense of humility.

Still, I was amazed the plan to oust Brenda didn't blow up in their faces. It was damn risky of Naonka to tell Brenda's closest allies of the plan. They had the votes, there was no need to say anything to Sash and Chase. I was expecting Sash to use the idol to save Brenda. Pretty cold that he didn't.

Also, the promo for next weeks episode totally spoils who wins individual immunity.

To clarify, from a pure strategy standpoint, when they were separate tribes, Danny was the ultimate deadweight and should have been voted out at the first possible opportunity. Now, there's no strategic reason to vote him out (so long as he doesn't end up on your team during a rewards challenge), but he's so useless that it irritates the hell out of me. It's really more of a personal thing on my part.

I wonder if the producers were terrified at this point in filming that they were facing a potential final 3 of Dan, Kelly Purple and NaOnka...

Some tarp and rice in exchange for not having to sit through GULLIVER'S TRAVELS? Can't believe only Holly jumped at that bargain.

"I have nothing left to suck..." - Purple Kelly

Speaking of sucking, this episode set a new Survivor low on a couple of levels.

1) NaOnka and Purple Kelly should have had their worthless asses ejected from the game immediately after the RC. No candy, no hot dogs, no fucking GULLIVER'S TRAVELS. Out. Instead the producers decided to build drama by subjecting us to 40 minutes of watching two unbearable people whine about being tired. Not only boring to watch, but genuinely irritating.

2) An unbearably long tribal council that consisted almost solely of pointless "You can do it!" speeches.

3) The fist-to-the-head GULLIVER'S TRAVELS plug literally made me cringe. I never again want to have to watch a group of imbecils make comments like "Jack Black is so funny" and "He's fat..." again on TV. I'm not sure how it's possible, but this episode made GULLIVER'S look even worse than its two terrible trailers. Benry should be caned for not only repeating the tagline of the movie but also attempting to relate the message of the film to NaOnka and Kelly's impending exit. Just awful, awful stuff. (Although the shot of Dan in the giant chair at RC was gif-worthy)

This season is unsalvageable.

No shit. I would have used that time for a nice 100-minute nap.

So glad Naonka is gone. The contempt dripping from Probst at Tribal was truly glorious.

Also, Purple Kelly's "I have nothing left to suck" will go down in Survivor's Foot-in-Mouth Hall of Fame.

Ugh, between the double quit at tribal (after the previews touted it specifically as "can't miss") and the incessant pimping of "Gulliver" (which looks GODAWFUL) that officially goes down as the worst episode of Surivor since the season that featured Rocky. Saddle up Holly, I guess you're the eye candy now *sigh*

Few things i pointed out last night.

Na saying she was the only African American left, then the direct shot to African American Sash (or at least half).

Jane talking about only going home if you have someone there to give you everything you want, then the direct shot to Purple Kelly.

Benry whispering to Na over and over again to take Holly's spot and her just ignoring it.

Loved Probst beat them down. Would have loved if he approached the subject of Na being a teacher of children .... and all the horrible things she had done as a human being.

Season is getting better. Actually rooting for Fabio, but still pulling for Jane.

Doesn't matter. Guy is going to fucking coast into the Final Three, anyway.

A Fabio vs Holly Final would partially redeem this season, but right now this is one of its all-time worst.

No way, dude. I thought Benry's dialogue about Gulliver's Travels was hilarious. Especially because it was abundantly clear that he thought it sucked and was struggling for something kind to say.

So I guess this means no Final Three this year. They only started going with Final Three because contestants realized they could quit the game which then necessitated that the producers increase tribe sizes.

Oh, and Na' is the most despicable person I've ever seen play this game. Absolutely reprehensible. You can't edit that stuff. Purple Kelly's just pathetic. I can't wait to hear the boos at the reunion show.

Agreed on both counts. It's been a pretty lackluster season - but I'm still convinced part of that is because the previous two seasons were so damn good. Almost anything would pale in comparison.

Having said that, though, this season is one of the least compelling.

I always thought I liked horrible shitty people on Survivor, but this season put the lie to that. I guess what I like Machiavellian assholes like Russell. This season is almost hilariously bad in the casting. And God, could they find some decent black people to be on this show?

But this last episode was great! The two worst players are out, after going through an hour of public shaming, which will likely continue all season, especially in the reunion, and Gulliver's Travels is about finding strength within yourself to overcome obstacles! I don't much like the hero old ladies left on the show (Jane in particular irks me), but the free for all that's about to ensue is at least unpredictable.

I was listening to my weekly Survivor podcast (I know...) and they brought up an interesting point.

Could the fact that Kelly Purple has been absent all season be due to the fact that the producers wanted to punish her for quitting? As she played no major role this season (Unlike NaOnka who featured in far too many stories and key moments to easily cut around) it's very possible that there was decision made to edit her out of the show.

I wouldnt think of it as punishment, more like she never made any contribution to anything on the show, and with her quitting, why make her into a star? There are more deserving people of the limited amount of screen time. I wouldn't consider it punishment, more like an editing necessity.

And I have to say it: NaOnka is just an asshole.

Suspected it was Benry's night even before turning on the show. It was his time.

While on one hand this episode had enough strategy going to make it a good one, the personalities are so uncompelling that it's hard to get too caught up in it all. I mean, you know the season's lacking when we're expected to root for blank slate Chase to find a solution to the alliance wars or for boring Sash - who's getting the winner edit - to figure out how to stick around another cycle.

Dan continues to be amazing.

This season is boring the piss out of me.

yeah, total snooze and dont care factors. Did love Jeff's "... and the two quitters"

Yeah, that was a pure snoozefest. The only worthwhile moments occurred when Chase was browbeating himself for taking Jane instead of Sash to the reward. Other than that, zzzzzzzzzzz.

On a side note: I would love to see what it's like back at the hotel or whatever with Marty, Alina, Brenda, Kelly and Na'. Awkward. Hell, it's probably more entertaining than what's going on in camp.

Go to the show's CBS site and you can watch videos of them hanging out at Ponderosa. Some of them are pretty entertaining. Not a great deal of drama though.

It's just awful that Sash passes for a mastermind this season.

Wow did this season ever blow. I'm only watching now out of some perverse obligation. I was pretty disturbed by Probst's antics at tribal council trying to influence the vote. Even if it made perfect sense and the two dimwits still didn't get it, I don't think Jeff should be offering strategy tactics. I think he must realize what a dud this season is, and is trying desperately to instill some sort of excitement to the whole mess. I hope Fabio some how wins, but this season's winner is going to be lamer than the soft core porn dude who won years back.

Agreed, but that says it all about the season.

Man, Fabio's mom is a fucking BABE!

Rest of the episode: snooze, although I was kind of hoping for Jane to go a little Mama Voorhees there at the end.

The finale is going to be an exercise in fast-forwarding.

Jeff stepped over the line tonight. I realize how desperate the producers were to pound some sense into the three worthless contestants, but the second you tell them to team up and dictate who to vote for you've fucked your credibility*.

Jane is gone. Fine. I feel little love for her despite how hard the show tried to sell her as the lovable redneck heroine. She's an unlikable nutjob with a short fuse and a martyr complex.

I guess I'd like Holly to win(?). Or Fabio. Just please God not Sash or Chase.

The reunion episode is going to be a grim watch.

*Yes, I realize Reality show credibility mean very little, but there are precedents dammit!

I wasn't terribly sorry to see Jane go, but I did enjoy the scene where she finds out in a really uncomfortable way that she will be the one going home. It's frustrating, though, that Fabio and Dan didn't go along with Jane's idea of voting for Holly. That would have at least split the votes, although not even Jan followed her own advise as she voted for Sash. I think I've said this before but there is not a savvy player in this game.

Sash - Although I think Sash is a smart player, there is something a bit too calculated about him to make me like him. He comes across as being insincere. I don't know if the jury would pick up on that, though. I think he is probably the one to beat at the moment, as I think he has a sense of authority that Chase and Holly don't have.

Chase - I don't think he has much of a chance of winning. He's too wishy washy and I don't think he'd be able to own up to the decisions he's made in the game. While the choices you make can decide whether or not you end up in the final three, the game is won and lost at Tribal Council. You need to be confident without being arrogant, and make it clear that the choices you made were made due to strategy and not over personal differences. The Jury can be easily swayed, so this is the time to play them like a fiddle.

Fabio - I genuinely like Fabio. You wouldn't have been able to convince me of that at the start of the season, but he's someone who has no filter who seems to be genuinely happy go lucky that I can't help but root for the guy. If he manages to stick around for one more week I think he could win it all. He's proven that he can compete and succeed in challenges and because he's so guileless, I think he could easily win over a jury, especially one so bitter of being deceived.

Holly - Holly needs to get rid of Sash or Fabio. Her dream final three would be her, Chase, and Dan. Typically when you have people who were in an alliance compete for winner of Survivor one of them is usually seen as the leader, the other the follower. She needs to show to the jury that she was the one calling the shots. Chase would be too worried about not hurting people's feelings that I don't think he would make much of an impression over a jury.

Dan - Dan has to be in the final three. He's the most useless player in the game. He's absolutely been coasting, and everyone knows it. Here's the thing, though. In an earlier post, I said that it would make for a great moment if it were revealed that Fabio was really a very well educated, intelligent mastermind who was only pretending to be dumb. If I were Dan, I would tell everyone that I was just pretending to be slow and hurt and that I was really from England, and classically trained as an actor, and I'd put on a phony accent, and I'd make it seem as if all of what the jury saw of me was part of an elaborate plan. Just something completely over the top. I mean, what does he have to lose? Not only would it totally fuck with the juries minds, but it would be the biggest con ever if he could convince them that he deserved to win. Seriously, you know you have no real shot at winning, why not go out with a bang? Even if they saw through it, it would be the ballsiest thing anyone has ever done on the show.

So I was watching the voting confessional video from last night and noticed that there were two VERY obvious edits in both Jane and Sash's turns at the podium. I did a little bit of digging and came across this bit of gossip from an anonymous "insider":

Interesting if it's true. Wonder how it would impact jury votes...

Probst stepped over the line a long ass time ago. Dating one of the hotties from Vanuatu (and how he treated the winner on the subsequent reunion show) and how he handled Janu quitting during Palau come to mind.

Refresh my recollection, if you don't mind.

Probst talked Janu into quitting so the popular Stephannie (who was clearly going to be nuked at that TC) could stay for another 3 days. Promised her that dropping out wouldn't cause her to lose her jury status. All the while, he had the cameras turned off.

They tried like Hell to downplay this during the Reunion Show, but I recall a number of players were blatantly pissed at Probst for openly stepping in and doing that.

Well, to be fair, he didn't date Julie until the show had wrapped. I agree his behaviour at the reunion was often uncalled for but it didn't bother me as much because it had zero impact on the outcome of the game.

The Janu situation is iffier, though. I agree. Having rewatched Vanuata recently, it didn't bother me as much the second time around, but it was still over the line. I'd still say last night's TC set a new low for him interference-wise.

Looks like that insider gossip may be at least partly true. Jane's vaguely referenced some shady dealings with Sash in post-game print interviews.

God, they all suck soooo much. I want them all to burn to death.

I couldn't care less about Jeff stepping in. I wish he had just decreed, voice of God style, the Sash was voted off, and fuck anyone who disagrees.

They're so fucking dumb, all of them.

The final vote could have ended in a tie. It was 4 votes Fabio - 4 votes Chase... what if the last vote went to Sash?

Alas, not as dumb as the people who keep watching this utter drivel season after season.

Well, the least of three evils won, I guess. Coming at the end of the show's arguably weakest season I'll take what I can get. While it's become the norm of late, I was surprised how bitter the jury was this time around. Jane telling Sash to crawl back into a dark hole? Awesome. Marty calling Chase dumb? Glorious. I don't think there's any question that Fabio's emotional breakdown won him the million. He's definitely among the show's weakest winners, but if the alternative is Sash or Chase, it's impossible to care.

That reunion show was something of a trainwreck. You could tell Probst couldn't give a shit about this season's cast and spent most of the hour blithering on about next season and yakking with Terry Bradshow and Boston Rob. As much as I disliked this group, it was kind of a douchey move on Probst and the producers part. I'm sure there was something he could have asked Tyrone, Jill, Benry or Yve about. Nice to see Shannon hang himself (again) on TV. What a loser scuzzbag. Also, NaOnka's mom looked visibly shaken.

I'm baffled by the logic over the plans for Redemption Island. They're going back to a variation of the Outcasts twist? The most despised twist in show history? Not cool. At all.

So you came to this thread specifically so you could say that? Okay, thanks for stopping by.

As for the game, it was a really mediocre season, but this was one of the most enjoyable tribal councils in recent memory. I'm glad Fabio won, if only because he seems to be the least transparent of the three. I was getting ready to curse out my television when Chase gained the lead in votes. Chase did nothing in this game. Although this goes back to what I said about the game being won and lost at Tribal Council. This is the most direct we've ever seen him. As fun as it was to see Fabio bursting with excitement, I think he should have pointed out that both Chase and Sash had immunity idols, and a very strong alliance. The only reason Fabio was so out of the loop was because he was kept out of the loop, not so much a lack of intelligence on his part. This vote was much closer than it should have been.

I'm not so sure about that. I saw online who voted for who. NaOnka seemed impressed by Fabio's answer, yet she apparently voted for Chase. So did most of the other girls, who would be the most likely to vote for him over something like that.

Oh you're quite welcome. I just like pointing out the obvious.

Glad that Fabio won - giddy Fabio after winning the final immunity necklace was glorious. Crying Fabio also makes me laugh. When they were trying to point out that Fabio didn't deserve the win due to winning the final three immunities, I don't understand why he wasn't all "You do realize that you both had the opportunity to win those challenges instead of me but couldn't". I hope the Survivor execs actually put the next contestants through some sort of basic agility testing so we don't wind up with Dan (someone who makes the final 5 because of how utterly useless he is).

Oh. But it gets better in its awfulness. I feel morally obliged to spoil this. Read on if you wish...

The legit spoiler sites have said the theme of next season will be "Boston Rob vs. Russell" with both being "mentors" early on and then, you guessed it, they get to enter into the game.

So no, it wasn't a coincidence Rob was there last night. But this season was apparently shot way back in September directly after Nicaragua wrapped. So him having his normal weight on shouldn't be indicative of spoiling how far he got.

FilmNerdJamie, I've been reading that same bit of rumor a number of places. I'm not happy about it.....but after how boring this season was, I can't say I blame the producers for wanting to shake things up. I think this was in the bottom three worst seasons for the show.

And very late to the game, but I have to agree that Probst stepped over the line a few TCs back when he suggested that Dan, Fabio and Jane ally with each other (he was right, of course, but I don't think it's his place to mess with the vote that directly).

And I had no idea about the kerfluffle with Stephanie, Julie, etc., but that was when my personal life was in disarray and I missed a couple of seasons.

I always wish the reunion show was two hours because there's never time to cover everything. But it's also a short hour - there were a shitload of commercials during the reunion part, far more than normal during an hour of TV.

Glad about Fabio winning, but that was a serious yawn even on heavy fast-forward. And they didn't even talk to Yve at all at the reunion. Fuck those guys!

After 21 seasons, Redemption Island might be where I finally get off the Survivor train. We'll see. They'll have to be some serious eye candy.

I've maintained the twists they cook up are irrelevant. It's always about getting the right cast. If they do, it doesn't matter what you throw at them, you'll get great results.

I think to some degree, this is true. A great cast makes or breaks the season, regardless.

At the same time, introducing new twists has two motivations for them. Or maybe one, just expressed in two ways. First, Burnett & Co. don't want people to be able to anticipate what's going to happen. Keeping them uncertain ups the tension/drama, leading (they hope) to wilder and more watchable play by the castaways. It also gives the viewers something to anticipate and kibitz about - keeping it a water cooler show, rather than something people think they always know what's going to happen.

Case in point: both The Amazon and Vanuatu had Battle of the Sexes as their main theme with the inevitable pre-merge switch.

Yet the former had great results (despite one of the worst winners the show has produced) and the latter...not so much.