The Survivor Thread

[RPS]

Gabon was a head scratcher of a season in terms of strategy. I mean, I like a good underdog story, but not when the underdogs are so unlikeable. Than again, the alternative alliance was just as unlikeable. I enjoy Gabon for Randy. One of those interesting Shane-like characters were just so unique and complex that they are perfect for a Survivor-like television program. They clearly are sociable and made for television in terms of charisma, but don't really know how to interact with the rest of the world.

[GoGo Yubari]

I liked Kenny a lot but his obsession with that stupid deal was ridiculous.

[RPS]

I really loath when people get upset that somebody backtracks on a deal in a game like this. Of course I'm going to backtrack if I am so obviously going to get voted off.

[GoGo Yubari]

Halfway through Tocantins, and I had no clue why people were making such a big deal about how eccentric Coach is. Like, compared to Phillip he's nothing. And then I got to the Amazon River story, and I get it now.

EDIT: Episode 9 of Tocantins is amazing. Coach going full-on nuts and pretty much all of these labyrinthine master plans stacking up on each other.

[The Quasi Juice]

Philip was insane, but not as insane as Coach, and Philip actually understands the game. Coach got annoying at times. Him coming back from exile island with a walking stick, only short pants, long hair + beard and extremely skinny was an epic jesus moment.

[GoGo Yubari]

Phillip's understanding of the game is weird and sketchy, though. He was able to fully articulate his plan brilliantly after the game ended, but at the same time he's also the same person who seriously shouted "TO HELL WITH YOU!" at a Juror.

Also aaaaaah, oh wow,

The Tyson blindside. Glorious.

[bill_da_bill]

Just finished up Vanuatu. I actually found it to be a pretty interesting season to watch. I believe I am the furthest behind in the watching of seasons, but I'll spoiler tag my thoughts anyway to be safe...

Chris played a very impressive game. He was very good at reading people and very convincing in his relationships towards people. He was also a genius for making sure Twila made it to the final two against him because he was a shoo-in at that point. I know GoGo compared Chris and Vecepia to each other and I can see that comparison, but I think Chris did more work to get the win. In all fairness his big break was kinda served up to him by Scout and Twila, but from that point on he played a flawless game and he did a lot of the work. Vecepia let Sean and Rob and others take the lead and do the work and in a way coasted on through to the finals. Not saying that's a bad strategy or makes her less of a winner, but I think that is the big difference between the two of them. As far as winners game play I think Chris is right there behind Hatch and Brian on my list for top gameplayers. He was pretty amazing at the final jury. In fact his final jury performance might make him better than Brian who struggled in that spot. I'm only talking about the first 9 seasons here, so I am not including Rob in Redemption Island in the discussion.

I'd put Vanuatu up behind Borneo, Pearl Islands, Africa and Amazon, but I think it's close to the level of All-Stars, Marquesas and Outback. Thailand is for sure a distant 9th of the 9 seasons.

On to Palau I go.

[GoGo Yubari]

Oh, Chris definitely earned his win more than Vecepia had to, and I rank him decidedly higher because of it, and their personalities are also something that make them distinctly different; Chris was a clever bullshit artist whereas Vecepia played a strong under-the-radar game. I think their main shared quality is a sheer willingness to stab people in the back in order to successfully advance themselves to the next stage of their game. Chris did it to Sarge sort of in the same way Vee did it to Rob (not really a betrayal so much as a "I have to go with them to burn them later" vote), and then both worked their way to facing the other remaining player they'd have the best chance of beating, stabbing one of their closest allies in the back in the process (hi, Kathy and Eliza!). And Chris's Final Jury performance is tremendous, one of my favorite ones from a winner in Survivor history.

[bill_da_bill]

What am I in for with Palau? Enjoyable?

[GoGo Yubari]

Palau is odd. Probably at this point somewhere near the lower end of the scale, but the way the first half plays out is one of those things that I bet will never quite happen again. It has a pretty great supporting cast, too.

[GoGo Yubari]

Tocantins done, Samoa next, but for the hell of it looking at Heroes vs. Villains lineup now. Mostly a solid lineup but, honestly.

Danielle? Seriously? What the fuck? Is she a villain because she beat Cirie and cost Terry the game or something? Should have brought Corinne or Natalie back instead of her (if I had to guess why Natalie isn't back it would presumably because they brought back the other three-fourths of the Black Widow Brigade, and perhaps Corinne isn't in because they brought Jerri Manthey back so why bring someone who's a hell of a lot like her back too, or something?). Or shit, give Ami another shot or something. And what the fuck, is that Candice from Cook Islands on the Heroes tribe? Candice, the girl who flipped on her entire tribe? How? What?

Also ugh, I fucking hope Sugar leaves immediately. She is the worst ever.

[GoGo Yubari]

At the final... um. Ten for Samoa. Jesus, there's going to be a clusterfuck soon if I'm ten episodes in and there are still ten left. It's interesting to see Russell's game at its peak (as opposed to, well, Redemption Island), and I dig the Foa Foa Four in general. Also, Natalie is so clearly the new Amber and "oh my word" is so clearly the new "oh my god, it's soooo goooood!"

[Pizza]

Palau is odd. Probably at this point somewhere near the lower end of the scale, but the way the first half plays out is one of those things that I bet will never quite happen again. It has a pretty great supporting cast, too.

I enjoyed the first half a lot, there's some great characters, in particular James, and Jeff Probst in dick mode is kind of funny.

The clean sweep wasn't too shocking for me. I knew it had happened in a survivor season, but didn't know which one. I figured out that it was this one pretty quickly, but it was still pretty fun to see. I just watched the episode where Bobby John left, and am hoping Stephanie goes on a Chris-like run and breaks Koror.

Edited July 25, 2011 by pizzamonkey

[GoGo Yubari]

James is absolutely hilarious, and part of that great supporting cast. Dude is the epitome of the phrase "jack of all trades, master of none." I also loved Angie because she was like a fucking pitbull in challenges.

[RPS]

Wow GoGo you are plowing through those seasons. Not a fan of Samoa. I don't think I watched it when it was on television, just downloaded it later. Wasn't a huge fan of Russell.

[GoGo Yubari]

Yeah, Samoa especially because I really want to just get to HvV. No clue how fast I'll get through Nicaragua but seriously, I'm this close to being fully caught up on Survivor, a task I started on all the way back in like February or March. Samoa's probably the second-fastest I've worked through a season, fastest being Pearl Islands.

I enjoy Russell, even if I think he's a complete scumbag. I won't be surprised if I get totally sick of him once I hit HvV, though. What he's pulled off post-merge in Samoa is pretty entertaining and the alternative had he not done so would have been much less fun to watch.

[RPS]

It's true, but I've read some allegations against the producers of Survivor regarding Russell and it never sat well with me. Just because... I mean... it just seems a bit too easy for him. And his shtick gets old quickly.

Edited July 25, 2011 by RockPaperScissors

[GoGo Yubari]

I haven't! Those will be interesting to read. TV-wise, though;

A blindside of one of the game's most powerful players, a successful Idol play, and a tie and nearly the purple rock tiebreaker in three successive episodes is pretty tremendous.

EDIT: Oh my god, a recap episode? As episode twelve of this season?

EDIT II: And god, I'm sick of Jeff Probst. It feels like he outright tries to sabotage players now at Tribal Council.

[The Quasi Juice]

I always felt Kenny should have gotten a spot on HvV.

[GoGo Yubari]

I would have been down with that, though I can't really argue with Randy getting that spot for Gabon over him.

I'll probably do an alternate HvV lineup after I finish Samoa (which is like... within the hour).

EDIT: ... man, this is actually way harder than I expected to do. Will do so later. Just wanted to say that the Villains' entrance in HvV is tremendous.

EDIT II: Aaaand I'm getting sick of Russell already. Pity that they replaced Shane Powers for him, though I get entirely why it happened.

EDIT III: Three guesses why I loved the first episode of HvV, and the first two don't count.