Showing posts with label reward challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reward challenge. Show all posts

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Survivor H/V: Week 9

Week 9:
Special for One Day Only: Free Idols!


There isn’t a whole lot to say about Courtney’s departure. She really didn’t do much except ride coattails. Towards the end we did get to see her sarcastic comments come out again, which were entertaining. If I were the Villains tribe, I personally would’ve gotten rid of Sandra, who I think is more of a threat. The other thing that I took out of tribal council was that I’m really ready for the merge. I think it’s weird that there will be two members of the jury who weren’t even on the same tribe as some of the Heroes. This just isn’t fair if one of the Heroes gets to the end. Also, I can’t help but think it was a ploy of the producers to have the tribes merge at a 5-to-5 tie. Not that it won’t be entertaining, but the way this has all gone down is a little odd.

Some thoughts...

* I liked how the producers made this reward challenge from an individual challenge, to a group endurance one. Although the Villains won by a mile (Courtney actually contributed!), this was one where I couldn’t predict who was going to win from the get go.

* Dear Outback, your new sponsor is now Sandra! She talked about Outback the way I talk about Pizza King

* So, Parvati found the other clue to the hidden immunity. She did a great job of concealing it. More on this in a bit, but I’m surprised that at this point, the others didn’t think to even look for a clue. That definitely seemed to be a trend to winning reward challenges this year.

* Right now Parvati is controlling this game. Russell thinks he is running the show, and he did, but now Parvati has taken the reigns without him knowing it. That is what makes her such a good player. She knows when to stay in the background and be quiet and then she finds the right timing to thrust herself into the leadership role. The other great move was to tell Danielle about it but not Russell. Maybe she sensed the tension between the two, but she is cementing the two-person relationship in the three-person alliance. I can’t wait to see how these two use this idol.

* Seeing that the immunity challenge was very physical, it was no surprise that the Heroes won. But was anybody paying any attention? Of course the highlight of the episode was J.T. giving Russell the hidden immunity. I loved how the transaction went down. The heist genre would be proud. The look on Russell’s face was priceless. Would you believe it if it happened to you?’

* Now, to J.T.’s credit, none of the other players got to see Russell last season. On the other hand, in no circumstance is it a good idea to give an idol to an opponent that you don’t even know! J.T. will get the blame for this (which he deservingly should), but his tribemates should’ve prevented him from making this idiotic move. J.T. is falling into the trap of over-thinking in this game, and if anybody is going to be targeted going into the merge, he will (being a past winner and being such a physical threat).

* Speaking of past winners, isn’t it crazy that three of these players will be going into the merge having won it all before?

* This sums up the Russell-Parvati-Danielle alliance perfectly: Russell told them all about his idol. Parvati and Danielle told no one else. This action alone will have a tremendous impact on this game, and in my opinion, means that Russell won’t win this season. It was unlike him not to look for another idol once he played his. And it was near a bridge, just like in his previous season!

* Parvati reading J.T.’s letter was HILARIOUS. The way she read it like the voiceover girl from Gossip Girl (I mean, from what Whitney tells me) was pitch perfect. J.T. single-handily changed from the popular jock to the geeky mathlete.

* The debate of whether or not Courtney or Sandra should go wasn’t all that interesting, but it just was another example of Parvati taking over the game as she slowly was pushing her opinion into the forefront, and Russell wasn’t seeming to mind all that much.

* I wonder if the other Villains have worked up the courage to tell Danielle about her mustache.

* If this was ever a time to voice your opinion about this season, now is the time: What did you think of J.T.’s move? This move will be talked about for a long time. What I like most about it is that we didn’t see the impact of the stupid move right away (like Tyson voting himself out). It’ll be fun to see how this mistake will fester.

Yahoo for the merge!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Survivor H/V: Week 5

Week 5:
No Chocalate + Focus = Blown Out Knee


I won’t even hide it... I’m sad to see Tom go. Unlike some people who get voted out early, he really fought hard the whole game. I think his million dollar win was a target that never quite got unstuck. Despite being, what seemed, still pretty strong in challenges, J.T. had to vote against him to earn some kind of trust back from his other tribe-mates. I’m curious to see if James, Rupert and Amanda will still hold that strong loyalty. All three of the aforementioned are followers when it comes to alliances, so J.T. will probably still be able to guide them with a leash. I don’t think it was a good move on their part, especially with James with such a bad injury. They did not have me fooled for an instant. I don’t care how strong James is, that vote was totally based on alliances. The Heroes are in deep trouble, and even if they started to win some challenges, it may not be enough to catch up with the Villains when a merge happens. I think the Heroes know that, so they are starting to prepare now.

Some thoughts...

* Another brutal reward challenge. I’m seeing a trend. Reward challenge: physical. Immunity challenge: some physical and puzzle. If this keeps up, the Heroes will never win.

* Wow, Jerri took a shot to the face. Rupert did try to help her up, but I don’t think Jerri will ever forget that move. As soon as a merge happens, I bet she guns after Rupert. Colby will be thanking Rupert later.

* James’ injury was hard to watch, especially when he got back up to walk. It was clear that the Heroes were going to loose when he went down. I don’t think it was the lack of numbers that caused them to loose, but you could see the momentum just drift away from their “no chocolate” imitation strategy.

* Speaking of, I was ready to see Jeff and Colby throw down! I love how Jeff doesn’t back down from anybody.

* You know Russell was going to find that idol. Now I’m changing my thinking about him now being a “marked man.” That was really stupid for the others not to look for that thing. He really does hold the power, and like I said last week, if they vote for him, Boston Rob may be gone. So what if he’s a marked man?

* I have to admit to something. I actually stood up for Coach. Yes, and I was proven wrong immediately. When Russell started talking about bringing Coach into his alliance with Parvati, I thought, “No way! Coach is way too loyal to everybody else. Plus, Russell clearly didn’t join in the group yoga session.” I should’ve known better because Coach now has a bigger man crush on Russell and even bowed down to him. Like Russell needed another ego boast. Watch out for these three because if a merge happens, they will quickly grab J.T., Candace or Colby.

* As for the immunity challenge, it was just sad to see the Heroes loose like that... AGAIN! If I were at camp, I would constantly be creating puzzles for everybody just so they could be somewhat prepared. And as much as I hate to admit it, James did a great job “calling” out to everybody.

* Finally, I’m glad Tom called James out on his “strategy.” Somebody finally needed to do it. I’ve never quickly changed my opinion on a player like I have James this season. He really does seem to be a completely different person.

As you probably noticed, the NCAA tournament knocked a new episode from being aired this week. Don’t forget that the next one is this coming WEDNESDAY.

Sic’ em!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Survivor: Tocantins - Finale

I've been planning a certain something for Coach for a long time now when he got voted out. I thought it was going to be a lot earlier than it was, but all along I was going to write something from his point of view. But, he ended his "reign" in such a ridiculous fashion, I decided to follow suite: So, before I get to the finale, I would like to recite a poem:

My attempts to be a strong warrior and Survivor player,
were challenged even though I tried to avoid Exile island.
I endured criticism from Erinn, Sierra and all the naysayers,
But with unexpected back pain, immunity lost was unplanned,
and the wizard put the final stake into the Dragon Slayer.


(I know it's not the greatest, but give me some credit, ok?!)

The final four, which wasn't a huge surprise was J.T., Stephen, Taj and Erinn. What was the surprise that followed a spider-web challenge built just for J.T., was the outing of Taj. I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind this. They said it was because Taj was more of a threat to win individual immunity in the final three than Erinn was and I don't buy that at all. Besides the challenge way back when everybody played water-tackle-basketball, Taj has not been a threat at all. I don't know if Stephen and J.T. were scared that they might not hold up to their promise to be in the final two, which apparently cracked anyway. I think Taj wouldn't have been frustrated at all to be third and she would have probably cast a vote for Stephen. But they pretty much just made their only Jalapao ally very, very angry.

The regret was apparent when the final three returned to camp and Erinn couldn't shut her yapper. Then my pick Stephen decided to start a new gameplan. I think it was called "Self-implode" because from the moment him and Erinn had their little heart to heart, it seemed like Stephen did everything in his power to destroy the great game he had played up to this point. Although I wasn't the biggest fan of Erinn, I definitely knew she was smart enough to weasel herself into the final two.

I liked the final immunity challenge because it was different than the endurance ones we are used to seeing, yet it obviously tested your mental prowess. J.T. proved once again that concentration can get you a long way in winning a challenge and Stephen just let his nerves overtake him. Then after this, the bond that seemed to have no faults in it broke. Erinn made an ingenious move by pleading a brilliant case to J.T. to take her to the final two. Now, I don't blame Stephen AT ALL for talking to Erinn, but when J.T. confronted him on it, all he had to say was, "Yes, I talked to her about that, but I wanted to throw her off our game. I wanted to see if she would approach you about it..." There, all is said and done.

I honestly think J.T. was dead set at that point to bring Erinn to the final two, but his plan changed at tribal council because Stephen began to be more talkative than he ever should have been. He answered Jeff's questions so badly, I think J.T.'s plans changed. He saw a jury that would respect him for bringing the strongest player with him (which means more votes) and he now had a jury that hated Stephen at that moment more than Erinn. I do think friendship played into it as well, don't get me wrong, but J.T. was so good at reading people at this game, and at that moment he saw that Stephen would be more hated in the final two than Erinn, which had not been the case up to that point.

I've never been the biggest fan of the final tribal council. It provides for all sorts of akwardness, which I know is the point, but it usually just ends up being a jury full of resentful players getting their last two cents in and being all coy about who their vote is going to be for. Besides for Sierra who took this route, I thought the jury asked great questions for the most part and they were ones that actually made the other two squirm, well Stephen at least. Like Amanda in China and Fans vs. Favorites, Stephen did an awful job of pleading his case. Stephen did a great job in this game... he strategized well, seemed to play the social game well (until the end), and made very strong allies, but none of this shine through. For a while in my mind I had Stephen over J.T., because it did seem like Stephen made the plans and J.T. went along but diverted if it shone a bad light on him (how brilliant was it not to vote for Coach?). But by the end, I thought nobody was more deserving of winning than J.T. I was surprised that Stephen got absolutely no votes, but that's how bad he did at that last tribal council.

I thought it was great to see a final two that had the two strongest players in it, and to see somebody win that I thought absolutely played a flawless game throughout. J.T. was a provider, everybody loved him (although he played a part in everybody getting voted out), he was awesome in challenges, and he alligned himself with the right people at the right time.

Congratulations to Roger for winning this season! At the beginning, I was certain J.T. was going to make it to at least the jury, but usually somebody who is so strong gets a target on his chest early. J.T. played that Southern charm to perfection and he showed that you can play this game with intensity and strategy, but still have everybody love you at the end. By far, one of the top Survivor players ever. Wow, it sounds like I have a man-crush on him too... Great pick Roger...

We have at least two more seasons of Survivor left... it'll be a long summer, but in the meantime watch So You Think You Can Dance, you won't regret it...

Thanks for reading all my updates this spring and being patient for all my delays. I hope you love reading them as much as I like writing them. Also, I think it's time to reapply again, don't you? As always, I have to leave you with some questions...

Will there ever be a more colorful character than Coach? Did you think Taj deserved to be voted out like that? If Erinn were in the final two, would she had a chance at all of winning? Was Stephen his own worst enemy? And would you agree that J.T. is one of the best Survivor players ever...

Until the fall...

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Survivor: Tocantins - Week 9

I knew it! I knew J.T. and Stephen wouldn't be as loyal to Tyson and Coach! Now, I didn't know that it would be this early on, but I feel like I sorta called it, right? :) The episode began with Sierra's reaction, which in honesty drove me up the wall! I'm sorry, but I felt no pity for her. I hate it when people try to save themselves by trying to make others feel sorry for them. Why don't you instead try to approach people with, "Hey, I screwed up, my strategy didn't work. Let's see what we can do to get YOU further in the game." You being the key word there, because as soon as you start saying, "Save me!" people are going to shut you off. Just like Tyson did... my goodness, what did you think about that little confrontation? I thought Tyson was telling her what she needed to hear, but that was rough. He was basically talking down to somebody else who was about the same age. It was a little funny, but almost a little too brutal.

We had the classic "visit the natives" reward challenge which is never too interesting. It always seems that somebody ends up throwing up, whether it is drinking too much, or in this case, eating too much. And poor Stephen had to spend another three days by himself on exile island. I think you forget how rough it is out there, especially by yourself. At least last year on Gabon they had a hut and hammock they could enjoy.

The immunity challenge was interesting and a good one. Of course the rain and cold added so much more to it all, especially with the option to chow down on some pizza under a covered tarp. I totally didn't blame Stephen for going, being on Exile, but I was a little surprised that J.T. went. Not surprised at all by Coach's decision and if I were Tyson, I would have been mad too. I've always said that if it were me, I didn't care what position I was in, I would play the challenge. I know that's easier said because I've never been starving like that before, but it just throws too much limelight on you.

Sierra ALMOST won it, but Debra had a perfect shot that shattered her hopes, for the time being. I had the chance to play shuffle board this past weekend, and I admire Debra's more than clutch shot. Which led to a great post strategy session amongst everybody. Erinn created an ingenious idea to get Tyson off. If you are her, you are getting a power player out of the way who happens to not like you and you are strengthening position to go with J.T. and Stephen. Now, you have to give J.T. and Stephen the huge credit for implementing the change. I think that no doubt Tyson and Coach would've stuck with them, but they were smart enough to realize they had a better chance of winning not having to strategize or compete with them at the end.

Once again the overconfidence bug hit, and Tyson, Coach and Debra were stunned. I thought it was brilliant to not include Sierra in the plan, because who knows how she would have acted around Tyson and Coach before tribal council. I honestly didn't think Tyson was gone, but I'm glad that the overall editing of the show surprised us as much as Tyson was surprised.

Now I'm sure the next episode, if it the past ones haven't already, will be the Coach show. I bet we are going to hear the tirade of honesty and integrity being broken, and how the spirits of the land will not be so kind to Stephen and J.T. who have for certain now lost their warrior status. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Sierra will have a huge decision to make to be on the bottom rung of one alliance (Coach, Debra, Erinn) or the other (J.T., Stephen, or Taj). I don't know where Erinn plays in all of that, but she's put herself in a very interesting position to float to either side that probably won't provide too much backlash against her.

So... Were you shocked that Tyson was eliminated? Were you as annoyed as I was by Sierra's attitude? How mad will Coach be, REALLY? And who do you think has the best chance of winning right now (I think J.T.)?

Practicing my shuffle board skills,

Nathan

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Survivor: Tocantins - Week 6-8

Yeah, I realize I haven't written one of these in a while. I really don't have a good excuse... but by the flood of emails I got wondering where they were, I thought I better get back into it.

Rather than trying to recap all three I'll just try to jump in. But too the departed Sydney and Joe... Sydney had the potential to go far because she was a loyal vote, but the tribe did right by keeping Taj, because she will be even more devoted and maybe possibly make a not-so-smart move that will help Stephen and J.T. (they are really playing her at the moment). Joe happened to have bad luck with the infected knee, but I didn't see him going very far. I don't see how a guy like him didn't get in better with J.T. and Stephen except for the fact that he really liked the pretty women, who in this game, happened not to be strong players.

Now to this past episode... I can't remember a tribe going into a merge with the numbers be so divided so early on. The old tribe of Jalapao didn't have to do anything at all. I think it's just plain crazy that Timbira turned on their own so quick. Stephen and J.T., especially lucked into it. They said that they are the power players right now, and it's true. I really wouldn't count on them being totally faithful to Coach and Tyson. They are in such a great position right now and you can't forget how pivitol Taj and Erinn may be for them down the road. I think Tyson and Coach will stay true to them, but think of this scenario... If Sierra goes next (which according the teaser seems like she will), you now have a situation where you recruit Taj and Erinn (who probably won't be huge factors in individual immunity), blindside Tyson, then pick off Coach and Debra. As strong as Tyson has been in the challenges, I don't think you will want to go against him at the end.

Going back to J.T., what is it about this guy that everybody loves? Obviously people aren't seeing how devious he can be, but he is just one of those guys that girls love and that other guys want to be. Coach obviously had a man crush on him and Brendan had one little boating adventure with him and he was ready to take him to the finals! I really liked Brendan. I really don't know why the others turned on him so quick. He came off as so likable in his interviews, was he just rude to everybody else? He was really smart, really athletic, and a natural born leader, but he got caught by the biggest snake in this game, overconfidence. Plain and simple. He should've taken advantage of J.T. and Stephen...like I hate to say... Coach.

Ok, no bones about it, this is the season of Coach. The producers know everybody hates him, therefore they are going to show him more and more. (I call it the Richard Hatch syndrom) I am really surprised he has made it this far, I would've never guessed that would've happen, but he has something where he does get strong players (Tyson, J.T.) to allign with him. I loved that one quote Tyson had, "Coach says one thing and everybody hates him, I say the same thing and everybody laughs). Coach will get burned in this game, I guarantee it, which means I am already dreading his jury speech.

I know I keep saying it, but this is a great season. I'm really enjoying it and they did a wonderful job with the casting. A lot can still happen, and at this point of the game, it's always exciting when that's the case.

So did you believe Coach's story (I can't tell you how much I rolled my eyes. I loved Brendan challenging him on it)? Are you finding Tyson as entertaining as me? Are Stephen and J.T. truly the power players right now? What do you think Brendan could've done better? And why is it you get depressed as soon as Sierra talks?

Trying to stay on track,

The Dragon Slayer

Monday, March 23, 2009

Survivor: Tocantins - Week 5

This season might officially be deemed as the season of great challenges! They have been so entertaining so far and I know I keep going on and on about this, but over the past couple of seasons I have zoned out as soon as Probst says, "Do you want to know what you are playing for?"

The spin reward challenge was hilarious but competitive, and actually had some strategy behind it. Then the net challenge, which as far as I could remember was new but similar in past styles on the season. But it cemented its legacy in Survivor history by JT's chipped tooth. Of course he had to toss it aside like it was a booger, to just add to the manly man credibility that he already established way back during his first interview when his thick Alabama accent first crawled out of his then pearly white teethed-mouth. I love Jeff Probst's improve nature of making sure they recovered the tooth, just so he could leave the challenge by saying, "All I have for you is J.T.'s tooth." Classic Probst... I honestly thought he got it to auction off on the Survivor website.

I'm interested to see what Tyson does in this game. He seems to be holding back a little back and staying in the middle, but I bet he makes a big move in a big way. The reason I say this is his keeness to notice Brendan's choice of taking Stephen to Exile Island. I wonder if Brendan is truly the next to go if Timbira looses.

The letter reward, of course, is always heartbreaking. It really makes you think about how weird it would be away from any kind of contact from your friends and family. But this one was a little different in two comments... Joe's about how his Dad hardly gives compliments and J.T. saying that his mom said "I love you" for only something like the fourth time. They tried to play it off as much as they could, but wow, it really shows what distance from your loved ones can do, on both sides.

Now I am definitely one to know that Survivor has a formula, but it seems to be getting really apparent this season about who is going to go. There was Spencer's profile piece this episode, Sandy's rant about Sydney last episode, etc. It takes the drama out a bit about who is going to win the immunity challenge and also who will be going home. I wish they were a little bit more clever on how to approach this.

Thankfully the challenge was yet again entertaining and we went back to Jalapao camp where there was a bit of a self destruction moment. They did let one slip by and I wonder how much of Taj's outburst was her personality or that she had the immunity idol. Well... scratch that, Stephen has it in his possesion for some odd reason. Like him, I wouldn't mind at all, but it's funny that Taj trusts him that much to GIVE it to him. She could have easily been voted out this episode and not have known it. Stephen will be in odd predicaments like this the rest of the game, but I bet he may not be entirely true to this secret alliance. Especially if Brendan is the next one to go if Timbira loses.

I was a little surprised by Spencer's exit. Not because he messed up the challenge (where was Sydney, Taj towards the end, etc.) but as a fan who has watched the show since day 1, I was surprised he didn't fight more. I think all it would have took was some sucking up to J.T. and Joe with an apology, but he really showed his age during that really awkard scene in the pond. He just didn't seem to be really close to anybody and although most of his tribe was young, there was still a disconnect there.

Sorry for the loss Kacey. I know how it feels to go out early, but sometimes it helps (at least for me). When I went out early last season, I wasn't quite as nervous when I watched it. I thought Spencer was a good pick because he seemed a lot smarter than Eric from Fans vs. Favorites, but I think he just got a little to self-conscious and too hard on himself after that last challenge.

So were you impressed with the tooth throw away? Did you think Spencer could have saved himself? Will the secret alliance stay intact?

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Survivor Gabon: Week 9

Does anybody want a cookie?

What an entertaining episode! This season really needed an episode like this one. Everything about it was really good... high tension, comedy, blindsides, strategy...

I'm going to go ahead and talk about Randy. I have always been so uneven about how I felt about him. He is a great character for this show, you can't deny that and he has really saved this season in a lot of ways. He is almost so miserable though, and so aware of it, you really lose the ability to hate to love him. That said, I kind of liked his strategy to go completely crazy on everybody. I think it mainly stems from the fact that I could never be that crass and rude, but there really was some intelligence behind what he was trying to do. Too bad for him it completely backfired in every sense of the word.

I always really enjoy the auction reward session. It is always a lot of fun to watch and there is still a lot of strategy that comes to play. You can tell the survivors really enjoy it, and the whole cookie scenario was just not hilarious, but ridiculous and unnecessary at the same time. Regardless of what point Sugar was trying to make, she should have taken the cookie! It's food that you aren't just going to get. Randy was being sarcastic with his motive, but who really cares? Although Randy would have probably still followed through of his plan of just being plain mean, Sugar really added a lot of fuel to the fire that didn't need to be there. But really, it couldn't have gone down more perfectly if you are a fan of Survivor at all.

I thought the immunity challenge was very interesting in setting up those blocks in the domino position. That had to be so challenging to line all of those up correctly but doing it in a fast manner. It kind of lost the drama because Randy wasn't in it, but it was still a good one. I was rooting for Corinne.

Then craziness ensued both back at camp and then tribal council. I still can't grasp why Bob made the move he did. I don't blame him at all with trying to make friends on the other side, but I don't know if Sugar is the one to do so. She hasn't really proven to be loyal to anybody, but I know Bob had to get in somehow, but I really didn't see the need to blindside and hurt a person in your alliance... in other words, a "friend" who sits on the jury. Now, he voted for Susie with Corinne and Randy, and according to the teaser, it seems like he is going to pass it off as an idol that Marcus gave him. I might be wrong there though. He said that he really didn't see how the idol was going to help him, but I really think it could have. It was that convincing! We'll see how his thinking pays off and it could prove to be a MAJOR move in the game, but I'm still baffled by it. Not so much turning against an ally, but really embarrassing him in the process. Just call it a hunch, but I think Randy would be one to hold grudges.

This tribal council had to go down as one of the most hilarious ones, by far. Randy had it coming, no doubt, but when Crystal yelled at the camera, I lost it (my parents and whitney can back this one up). That was soooo funny and I almost think that only Crystal could have pulled that off.

I know I'm forgetting some major things, but it's late and I need to call it a night. Either Corinne goes down in the next episode, or there will be a major shake up due to Bob's leading. If him and Corinne are smart, they could coax Sugar and Matty to come to their side. Sugar is 5th on the totem pole, if not Matty as well. But let's see if they are smart enough to make some moves on their own.

Did you enjoy the episode as much as me? Are you going to miss Randy? Can you fathom Bob's move?

Have a great Turkey day and go Cowboys and Sooners!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Survivor Gabon: Week 8

The tribes have merged which to me is always the official, "Game on!" Fang was of course shocked to see Marcus gone, which they should have been and it was quite funny to see Matty try to repress a smile. I know I keep saying this, but I've really liked the challenges this year. That 3-course slingshot golf course was pretty dang impressive. How long did that take to make and how much money did they spend on it? Well, it was well worth it to see Randy and Matty go nuts. Something tells me that feud isn't quite over yet, if Randy doesn't get voted out of the next tribal council. The reward was the thing we always come to except from Survivor except nobody got drunk this time. Bob's fake immunity idol actually looked really convincing and I think he could really fake out a lot of people with that thing. I kinda predict a big move because of that thing.

Which then led to the individual immunity challenge where Sugar and Susie were the front runners! They haven't shown it much, but it does seem like Susie is a incredible hard worker at camp. I'm glad that the spotlight shone on the fact that women can indeed start a fire without men and it was funny to see Matty and Randy cringe at that fact. This then led to the always fun "who is going to go" scramble. It's so funny to see people pretend that they aren't leaving the base camp to strategize, but what else are they doing? You know which people were voting for who, but once again it came to Sugar who has somehow managed to still not make an alliance, but will probably be in the top four due to the immunity idol. Did everybody forget that she had it? Are they even going to try to snuff it out?

So far, the way they are building the show this season, all signs are pointing to Kenny to win it. I will admit he is making some strong moves and obviously he is the leader of his alliance (is it funny to anyone else that the former Olympic champion and a videogamer are such strong friends? Only in Survivor...) The thing with Kenny is that I don't hate him nor love him. He's made the right moves at the right time, but I don't think he will be put up there in the all time greatest strategic Survivor players. Too many of his moves come out of malicious intent. Do you guys feel the same way?

So Charlie was blindsided, which was kinda sad because I liked Charlie. He brought a lot of niceness to a game that is filled with ill intent. I personally would have gone after the other three because they have been bigger threats to win challenges and I think Corinne and Randy strategize just as much as Charlie did. At least Marcus and him are buddies though!

So, who do you think has the best chance of winning right now? Will Bob, Corinne and Randy be able to survive against the other 5, and most importantly, do you think the other 5 will stick together? What do you think of Kenny?

Call me if you want to go sling-shot golfing anytime soon!

Monday, November 3, 2008

Survivor Gabon: Week 6

Well, I must be loosing my touch. Once again, I'm out of the game early. Early as in before the merge! I guess writing these updates aren't helping my luck too much.

I think that this is officially the worst Survivor season that I have watched so far. Whitney and I were talking a bit about it and we just don't have any connections to the players. There just isn't anybody I can really get behind. Is it that I just have been plagued by the Survivor cliches? I sure hope not... I mean, there really isn't a James or a Yao Man from this season. I guess Bob would be one, but he's really not given much screen time. By the way, Bob looks like a cartoon turned into a human person. And what was up with his little squeals of delight? Now, if you know me at all you know that I can't criticize somebody tearing up, but that was just weird, ha ha.

I've said it many time so far this season, it just stinks to see a team lose and lose and lose and lose and lose. This season has actually had some great challenges, but they fall by the wayside when one team is so weak. The reward challenge was a great set up, but was over just as quick as it started. I wonder if Crystal will ever get a second breath of fresh air. Her tribe chose Sugar over her to participate in that challenge... I like Crystal a lot, but she is a candid proof of how much this game can wear on somebody physically and mentally. She looked as if she could really control things, but all this loosing is really getting to her.

By the way, did Randy not get any letters from the reward challenge? Do people in real life dislike him as much I do? Ha ha. Randy has really proved to be a strong competitor in this game. I don't think he is nearly as nasty as his testimonials. I'm not saying that the sarcasm isn't there, but I think it's a lot of show. For him to ease into that alliance over Bob shows that he must have some redeeming qualities. I wonder if he'll stick with those 4 because if it doesn't benefit him, I could easily see him turning things upside down.

It was a good idea to do a double elimination and the log roll was a great competition to have. It was entertaining to see everybody participate and of course there were some surprises of who advanced. Kudos to Marcus for giving the necklace to Sugar. Very strategic without coming across as mean-spirited. He's a bright guy... you just wonder when that target will form on his back.

The good thing about this challenge is that it finally made Kota scramble, but the bad thing is that it may have taken two of the more entertaining players out of the game. I didn't hate Ace nor really, really like him, but he was pretty entertaining. I was just interested to see if he would do anything in the merge. Yes, Dan was a bit annoying, but how exciting would've Kota been without him? You could tell he was a really nice guy, but just wore the game a little too much on his sleeve. I think it was very smart for the tribe to split their votes. Now they know for sure that Sugar must have the necklace and if Dan had played it... great, Susie's gone! They lost somebody who could have helped in challenges, but honestly, how many were they going to lose against Fang, especially with Ace gone now.

I'm a little confused by Sugar's move to blind-side Ace. On one hand, she really didn't need Ace. All he constantly did was ask for her immunity necklace and she had to know that Matty wasn't necessarily really keen on her. How many scenes were there of those two strategizing? Not many... But on the other hand, Ace really was the only person she was connected to. I think she knew what she was doing and although Kenny's lies planted the seed, I don't think she believed him and decided to do it on her own. I'm not sure what she is going to do now. Nobody on Kota likes her and Kenny and Crystal will just like her for some votes, so she either goes far just because everybody knows she has the necklace, or she uses it wisely to form some alliance when the merge happens.

Any thoughts? Good move by Sugar? Does Randy have a chance to win this game? Will a merge ever happen?

Have a great week and be careful not to spill your rice!