Survivor Redemption Island

I will absolutely watch the first episode.  After that, I make no guarantees. 

Thirtysomething special effects chick might be my preliminary Survivor girlfriend. 

Mike Chisel?  They letting porn stars on now?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Dickson 

Mike Chisel?  They letting porn stars on now?

 Ahem!   Brian from Survivor Thailand

So does anyone have any feelings on Boston Rob and Russell "the crackhead hobbit" being recast for the umpteenth time?  I've been a fan of "Survivor" for a while, but I think I'm going to pass on this upcoming season.

I actually kind of liked Russell in his first season, but became quickly annoyed by him in Heroes vs Villians.  And the HvV reunion show really displayed what a complete douche he is.  So with this being the third season he'll be in (out of the last four), I'll find something else to spend 40-some odd minutes on each week for the next few months.

Premiered last night, to very little advertising.

Good first start.  I may actually be on board with the Redemtion twist.  I could, however, have done without the past players scenarios of if there was this twist in previous seasons etc.

Did you guys realize one of the contestants is a former federal agent?

Yeah, I think I'm definitely on board with the concept of Redemption Island, although I'll wait to see how it functions in practice.  How many times have we bitched about a worthy player getting booted because he/she posed too much of an intellectual/physical threat?  Well, Redemption Island will give them a second shot at putting up or shutting up.

Question: has Phillip ever watched an episode of Survivor before?!?  Because that personality/attitude is going to destroy him.

Oh, and that was one of the greatest Tribal Councils ever... especially in light of the fact that it was the first one (which are usually a drag because the vote is pretty arbitrary so early in the game).

Oh, and there's some seriously decent eye candy this season.

I'll stick with it for a bit, but I am seriously well-past-done with Russell and his posturing bullshit.  This was a fairly average opener until Tribal when it suddenly became kind of awesome.  Special Agent Douchebag is not long for this world, that's for sure. 

And, yes, way more cuties than last season.  Hopefully that's enough to carry me to merge. 

"Former Federal Agent?" never ceased to make me laugh.  I still chuckle thinking about it.

Thank God Rob is taking a shine to Phillip. Longer he sticks around the more mesmerizing the show becomes.

Good on that farmer for not taking any of Russell's shit. 

Hillybilly Jim's body hair is, to say the least, mesmerizing.

Was I the only one disappointed that we didn't get the Redemption Island Francesqua - Jesus Dude throwdown at the conclusion of last night's episode. 

While keeping Ex Fed was great television, it seems like an unusally rookie mistake for Boston Rob to eliminate someone loyal to him and a physical challenge asset.  Not sure that was the right move on his part.  

And on the other team:   HILLBILLY FIIIIIIIIGHT!!

So i caught up with the past two eps. As predicted, Rob and Russell swayed me to keep watching a little longer. I'm over watching morons. The game is so much more interesting with people who know how to play.

Speaking of morons, Christina what the fuck were you thinking a) in trying to take out Rob in the first tribal and b) recruiting Philip to your alliance? I'm constantly amazed after 20 plus seasons that people still don't understand that they have to keep their tribes strong until just before the merge.  It does you no good to take out possible threats if you can't sustain a tribe. Going onto a merge without numbers is suicide.

After the first episode, I was annoyed that I would have to suffer through Philip for another episode as crazy is just crazy. Controlled chaos (Russell, Coach, etc) is much more fun to watch. But it seems that Rob is the Philip whisper. I was impressed that Philip was able to do what Rob asked him to do at Tribal. This makes him much more interesting.

Russell is only interested when provoked, which is why I love Rooster. A vengeful Russell is a beauty thing to watch.

Finally, I was wary of Redemption Island. But if people were smart, it could be advantageous. I'm thinking of MTV's Road Rules/Real World Challenges in which smart teams would actually vote their strongest team members into The Gauntlet to take out the other team's weakest player. Or vice versa. Since the winners split the prize money evenly with their teammates, some teams would purposely lose challenges to throw people off the team.

Since Survivors know who's on Redemption Island, strategic players should start to think about who should go up against that person.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Episode29 

I will say, however, that those snippets of footage of Redemption Island were yawners. Who gives a shit about people once they're voted out?  It's not like a Redemption Island returnee will ever win the game.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. First, Sugar is a prime example of someone who spent almost the entire game separated from her tribe, only to make it far because she avoided all the drama that comes from camp dynamics. Second, someone who makes it back from the island will have renewed vigor and they may work hard to ensure tribal wins. It may also cause pause to those who voted them out because even if that person gets voted back to the Island, they can potentially keep winning the dual and coming back. And if they make it to the merge, you better bet the other tribe will use him/her as a swing vote. Third, as mentioned above, I hope people start thinking strategically about who to send there. It's a risk, but if you send someone who's confident they can win any sort of challenge, it may be worth it to send that person to ensure the person originally voted out, stays out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ratty 

While keeping Ex Fed was great television, it seems like an unusally rookie mistake for Boston Rob to eliminate someone loyal to him and a physical challenge asset.  Not sure that was the right move on his part.  

 

And on the other team:   HILLBILLY FIIIIIIIIGHT!!

As Rob said to Philip, he's thinking long term. The closer Andrea and Matt get, the harder it will be to split them.

Should be fun to see how blatantly rigged the Redemption Island comps will be to keep Russell in the game.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moltisanti 

Should be fun to see how blatantly rigged the Redemption Island comps will be to keep Russell in the game.

That's what I'm afraid of.  I'm fervently hoping that next week is his fucking swan song as I am beyond sick of him.  However, I don't doubt for a second that they will skew the challenge to Russell's strengths at minimum.  They desperately, desperately want a B Rob V Russell Redemption Challenge. 

I'm digging Sarita now that she's finally talking.  I shall make her my Survivor Girlfriend this season. 

There's just something about seeing the smirk of a snotty young girl turned completely upside down.  "There's a storm coming!" LOL, it was time to say, guys i'm sorry for sticking with Russell, lets go out there and win it all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jstraw80 "There's a storm coming!"

I couldn't believe the show didn't immediately cut to a shot of the rest of the tribe laughing uproariously.  She couldn't have been more ridiculous at that moment if she had tried.  I was like, "Okay, there, Wyatt Earp.  They called down the thunder, now they got it."  In fact, I found her rabid devotion to Russell to be really bizarre and kinda inexplicable.  The other girl in their alliance didn't seem nearly so zealous.

I thought last night's episode was really fascinating.  Initially, I sided with Russell in that it would be insane to throw a challenge when only up by two tribe members.  On the other hand, another victory means another opportunity for Russell to find the immunity idol and/or find a new member for his alliance.  Interesting to see how they resolved it.  Oh, and Mr. Defense Attorney, worst acting job ever.

I DO disagree about the Redemption Island duel.  I thought it worked pretty well as a challenge that mitigated either contestant's physical advantages (other than arm length, I suppose), while still maintaining a certain physical element.  And, overall, the way it played out was pretty exciting.
 

Villain Boston Rob > Hero Boston Rob. This is the guy I know and hated for years! A conniving, backstabbing snake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mattioli 

I couldn't believe the show didn't immediately cut to a shot of the rest of the tribe laughing uproariously.  She couldn't have been more ridiculous at that moment if she had tried.  I was like, "Okay, there, Wyatt Earp.  They called down the thunder, now they got it." 

I half expected a Coach treatment, with the camera panning up to the skies about to break into a rain storm as her face was superimposed over it laughing maniacally.
 

Well from an entertainment aspect, it was sad to see Russell go, esp out that way .... but F him for his final remarks. In his first season, he completely sabotaged his team, made them weak by taking their things, hiding and throwing challenges ... and to see him use this an excuse was just lame.

Hey, Phillip was a Federal Agent? 

Nice to see Russell go out like a whiny old ninny. Hilarious that he just can't understand why his tribe would have the audacity not to give him a free pass to the finals.

This season just got infinitely more tolerable.  Russell went about 80 minutes past his 15 minutes of fame. 

I think Phillip is legitimately insane.  He makes Coach look like John F. Kennedy. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Episode29 

I realize that Russell earned this end. Karma, and what not. Cutting people's throats without mercy and mocking them for it, yadda yadda yadda.

 

But I felt strangely bad for him. He puts everything he has into the game and to see him finally voted out in such a pathetic way must have been crushing. I won't defend the guy as a human being, but I respect his fiercely determined gameplay and would have liked to see him at least be bested by worthy adversaries. C'est la vie, it is what it is. I will miss seeing him on the show, though.

 

Boston Rob's con job for finding the idol was masterful. The fact he could trick his teammates into allow him to spend 20 minutes searching without even casuing them to register suspicion was masterful. He won't win the game, but he sure as hell deserves to add the title Survivor Winner to his name at some point. One of the few legends who still manages to be compelling and play a fairly different game each time out. Dude can adapt.

 

Phil is gold. He's got skills. He can tell Ralph is lying, he was trained to do so. He's experienced in these covert matters. He's a doer. Fucking hell, they have to put him on a tribe with Coach one day....

 

Kristina had a lot of potential to be a great player but she was too bold too early and didn't wind up on the right team. She's far more interesting the younger females on her tribe. Too bad.

 

 

I kinda agree on Russell. The one thing I always respected about the guy was his commitment to the game. He really lives and breathes it. Unfortunately, he's always been bad at the social aspect of the game and its finally come back to bite him. He could have changed his game play and made more of an effort in the beginning of the game  to ease his tribmates' minds. Instead, he gets in a fight with Ralph and proves he can't be trusted by not telling people about the clue. So in the end, I can't feel totally bad for him. He dug his own grave. But I would much rather watch Russell than morons like Philip. There's entertaining crazy and just plain annoying crazy, and Phil is the latter.

I can't believe I actually like Boston Rob now. Back in the day, he was my number 1 villian and the thought of him made me angry. But he really has come a long way, and unlike Russell, it does seem that outside of the game Rob could be a nice person. In the game, he's still a ruthless strategist, and with Matt and Kristina's ousting, proves that he is the same old Rob blindsiding allies and just thinking about himself. But he does it in such amazing ways. Coming up with "Royal Treatment" to distract his tribe was just brilliant. Although technically he's never won, he totally has. Amber rode his coattails straight to the top and was awarded the million solely because Rob took all the hits for their alliance. And by proposing to her before the vote, he essentially ensured he'd be a millionaire, too.
 

In any case, Rob and Russell were the only players keeping me invested in this season. If Rob goes, I might not stick around.

It's interesting how B Rob developed, because he basically played exactly like Russell his first time out (Marquesas).  He was a belligerent jerk, had a shitty social game and was ousted before even getting to the merge.  I don't think he even made the jury that year.  So when he came back, he adjusted his social skills and strategy and got to the finals.  He learned from his mistakes, something Russell never did. 

Also, more Sarita please.  Thank you. 

Lot of cheesecake this episode, which is always appreciated.  That scene with the three girls in the waterfall looked like B-roll from a Maxim photo shoot.

Yeah, Frank needs to stay forever.  Once he and Boston Rob inevitably leave the show, this might be a mighty dull season.  

Rob is such a master of this game its not even funny. He's the only thing keeping me interested.

Phillip has grown on me, not because of sympathy, but he's actually talking like a sane person now. It seems he does have some strategy, despite the appearance that he was just a loose cannon in previous eps. He's learning to lay low, plant seeds, and bide his time.

Andrea seems to be a player, too. Compared to the other girls on the tribe, she knows the deal. She's already thinking ahead about numbers and who she can trust.

Stephanie is the only interesting person on the other tribe, but she's in a bit of a bind. Once she's gone, I'll have no interest what-so-ever in that tribe.

Redemption Island is not what I thought. I expected it to be like when Sugar was on, where you are away from the tribe during the week, but join them for the Immunity challenge. Thus, I expected the redeemed player to get back in the game by the next challenge and the loser of that challenge hangs out on the island by themselves. But basically, to get back in the game, you have to live on Redemption Island until the merge, having to beat every other person voted out of their tribe along the way. That's hard core. And if Matt can do it, that's a strong reason to vote him the million dollars. He can be a swing vote, he wouldn't have any strong ties (for or against) due to his time away from the tribe, and he can say he single handedly bested a half a dozen challengers.

I would like to know what Zapatera's reason was for voting Krista out over Stephanie.  From what I could tell, Stephanie was the more vocal and zealous Russell supporter ("There's a storm coming..."), but there seemed to be some sense that she could be redeemed.  I wonder what Krista did.  Conversely, I wonder what Stephanie did to suggest she was redeemable.

Oh, and count me in as someone who's really digging the Redemption Island twist.

"Remember boys... stealth."

Sooner that lawyer gets the heave-ho the better. Such a snot.

Oh, Ashley and Natalie, just make out already!!

Snoozefest. So my friend Bobby who was on Survivor Panama is blogging about the show on his Facebook page. This is more interesting than last night's ep, so I'll share:

I don't get it.  Does Phillip think Rob is a commie or some kind of threat to national security?

"I served my country for 4 years, 11 months, and 13 days. Duty, honor, and country: Those words mean something to me. And when you try to trash that — me and the United States got something for you when you try that one, baby."

Phil seems headed for all stars, if he can makes it another couple weeks. Come on merge!

He's a personality, but he has absolutely no strategic sense. It's frustrating watching him. If you read Jeff's blogs, he absolutely loves the guy. I just don't know how anyone can. He's a fucking nut job.

He's currently the most entertaining person on network television. Put him on Two and a Half Men, then you got something.

We have vastly different definitions of entertaining then.

I like Phil the best, but he's no Coach. Coach had a monologue about outwitting butt-eating cannibals. This season is looking like another bummer, I'm afraid. I know it's early, but I pretty much already don't care if anyone wins or loses.

Toss up for my favorite moment from tonight between Rob hurling the clue into the volcano and Ralph admitting he didn't know the meaning of "cohesive."

Great job by the editors on the immunity challenge. EDGE OF MY SEAT. That was some Game 7 Celtics-Lakers level of drama.

Zapatera is dead to me.  

Yeah i agree, some great moments with the rest of the episode a bore. Found myself flipping over to Idol after the challenge, only to turn it back and catch a little of the tribal.  Another dumb vote, keeping a guy around who's obviously going to flip teams at the merge.

I actually like the fact that this guy keeps winning redemption island.  Hope he wins again and gets back in. Only thing i find annoying with it is Jeff giving the person leaving for good time to say something.

Also, cant wait to see David and Phillip flip sides.