violet and green

It certainly was a fast edit. At the start they kept lingering on some guy who looked familiar. (I kept thinking, is that Bradley Cooper?? No... Then I remembered who it was - Nico Tortellini! I thought. Tortorella, rather.) I had to stop and rewind many times as there where things that flashed by so fast. Amanda, who really needs someone to step in and remove the burgundy shades from her lipstick collection, and who is still one of my favorites of the season had a really passionate reaction to one lipsync, but I can no longer remember whose it was. There were so many moments I thought, did I see that? Was Saphira actually wearing vampire teeth in the final number? And where did it go? She could have done a whole vampire reveal. Didn't even notice any absence of Plain Jane after she got the heave-ho, but $25K (same as the runner up) is nice, I would think. But I saw her in a white sparkly bodysuit outfit, sitting with the rest of the queens, and snapping her fingers in appreciation in time with the beat all through the final lipsync, so she can't have left the building. I'm quite pleased Nymphia won the season and was awarded for her fashion sense and versatility, and vulnerability, in the end. I thought Saphira had it in the bag, as Ru seemed so transfixed with her, and her opening number with the opera start was amazing (maybe that's when Amanda went off). So many young women in the audience. It's a real switch in demographic for a finale. A very odd season. I hope to see Amanda again, with a glow-up, and considerably less harsh makeup. Am guessing the number of Amanda reaction shots in this finale was production taking notice of the viewing public's appreciation for her; ditto, a Nymphia win, which was really heartwarming. In short, Amanda!

What in the hell was that tribal? I enjoyed the voting confessionals, and Ben saying "This does not rock", and Tevin echoing it on the way out. But I have no idea what Q was doing - having a tantie? - or where any of it was leading. Tevin had his moments, but most of them annoyed me deeply. Even Jeff looked a bit annoyed as Tevin threw his head back and did that giant laugh before he had his torch snuffed out. This is the oddest season and cast I can remember. Casting brief: Cast big! Cast egos the size of Jupiter! Cast delusional! Cast obnoxious! Cast loud! Cast histrionic! Cast clueless! Cast those who speak about themselves in the third person and those who believe they will be Survivor Legends! There's usually one or maybe two of these in a normal season, but they've packed them in like sardines this time. The difficulty is picking out those who are just playing the game with the cards dealt them in the moment. It's exhausting.

I loved Amanda doing well and beating Dawn. She really does make herself up like some crazy drunk aunt at a NYE party. So good to see a bit more of Mirage. I was also surprised when Morphine won over Mirage in round 2. A real shame to stuff Plasma in with Mhi'ya and Xunami - I thought it was arguable who won that lipsync. I would've given it to Plasma. But then they had to have Mhi'ya in the final rounds... It was fun seeing how steaming mad she got at losing! Really nice to see Megami doing so well. I was kind of sad Morphine won the whole thing and the 50K, after all that, especially if she really is planning to spend it on more stupid and dangerous cosmetic surgery.

Yes, as I said, it speaks to his character. But they are not binary decisions. The host of Australian Survivor, Jonathan LaPaglia has a medical degree, but he decided to focus on acting, and then hosting Survivor, and he's a top host.

I liked him in the first episode, I think it was, when he pulled a pained face and retreated into his body during Soda's camp singalong thing. He said a few things where I related to him, and he was more of an introvert and self-amuser and off doing stuff, like building a bed. Then I found out he turned down a "full-ride" of medical school, to go back to live in his home town and be a teacher and build cool things with his students, (and I went all "Get off my lawn! You can do your hobbies in your spare time, and be a philanthropist and youth-worker once you get your degree, young fella."); which speaks to his character. Of this cast, he stands out as one of the more likable ones.

Now I've warmed to Kenzie (quel surprise!), which gives me someone else to root for. So glad Hunter and the three voted together and that he saved his idol, and that they targeted Tim and not Ben. So now I have three or four to get behind. Venus is insufferable, but enjoyable to watch in action. The sea was such a lovely pale blue when they were doing that challenge!

You're right. Alisha said "land and sea" so many times, I missed the bit where it was Kaleena who veto'd "land and water"...

I was hoping, the way Alisha and Kaleena were front and centre of the edit so early on, that they were taking their time and going to come up with a really cohesive and creative interpretation of the challenge. And then it boiled down to Land and Sea - even after Kaleena pointed out it was a lake, not the sea... That was so disappointing. The only thing in that episode that gave a bit of the architecture they'd visited were the batons of the winning chefs. It was great to see all those sites and learn a little of the history.

I have warmed somewhat to Plane. And I loved her body shape once she stripped off. What an excellent breastplate! And lovely body-contouring.

It's hard to get worked up about a player leaving, who we barley got to know. Plus the way it was obvious from the edit once the rocks were drawn that the orange team would lose, as the people featured earlier on so heavily just happened to be on the orange team, and then, lo! the vote came down to the two of them. It's making me miss Jelinsky. Those were the days.

I'm not changing my opinion, which is all it is, regardless.

Having gone that long, they still could have held off another hour or so. Or just shared half of one pastry, while they waited. I wasn't suggesting it for the sake of politeness, but for basic decency and also camaraderie. It was a huge deal they not only won, but won food - and he comes back to, oh, we saved you some.

So glad they kept Ben, as he is a highlight of this so-far dull season. I went off Jem when she was smirking as they dug fruitlessly and destroyed that tree's root system in the process. So it's good she went out with her idol. Take that! Thank god the cursed tribe won immunity, got flint, and some food. I thought it would have been nicer for the two women to wait until Q got back from the journey thing to start eating it.

Isn't it different every city?

Such an uninspiring season. I wish Amanda was still there for some great talking heads and a bit of light relief.

I miss Padma. She embodied warmth. I don't think Kristin has such an empathetic nature. She always struck me as cold and clinical and precise. I felt sorry for hat guy going out first, as he came from an interesting perspective in his cooking, but that was a bit revolting to watch in the reverse quickfire final three cookoff. That level of chaos needed to be behind closed doors!

Because he's French, and Kevin is sometimes spelled Kévin in France. The pronunciation of Kevin and Kévin are quite different. And it's his name! Apparently, there was a boom of babies named Kevin or Kévin in France in the early nineties, and it is a mocked name there. Probably inspired by people watching Kevin Bacon movies!

There seems to be far fewer people posting since the live chat threads began. Also, the live chat threads used to lock at the end of the episode, but now people are continuing to post on them many hours or days later. The net result is there is not much going on on the main threads.

So, that was basically 7 hours of Vanu (not an engaging or interesting or endearing tribe), heavily featuring Bhanu, to start the season off. On what planet is this good TV?

Thank god that's over. I almost lost the will to live during that episode. I have never before been so bored with a season of Survivor. It doesn't help that I've just finished watching the last season of Australian Survivor, where people were playing hard straight out of the gate and there was an engaging and interesting cast. There was one funny moment when Bhanu was crying and he peeked through his fingers to see if the camera was getting it! I don't think him leaving will change much. This is a bad season. Will keep watching, I suppose. Very tempted to quit during this episode. One thing that really irritated me: Has no-one on Vanu ever heard of sashimi? Oh, no, we can't use those fish...

We saw Bhanu feverishly rubbing back and forth with a carved out piece of bamboo in the first episode. It's not as if they didn't try at all. I still remember some contestant breaking their glasses in half to increase the likelihood of getting a flame, and getting one!

I don't think he's a very good actor. I think he is an emotional, expressive, somewhat eccentric man, who in his life has tried to make the most of his talents. I saw a little clip of him doing traditional dancing... When he said, he is not an actor, I think he meant he couldn't act and easily lie in this situation. He is not a smoothy. I think it is also worth bearing in mind that Yanu tribe, being Yanu tribe, have the most inept shelter of all three tribes, and have not had flint or fire - so no rice, no warmth - for seven days at this point. Jess was losing her mind from lack of sleep on their shitty bamboo shelter floor, days prior, and the episode opened with Bhanu saying they had relocated to the wet-looking sand below a rock curve to escape the rain the previous night and he hadn't slept at all. That alone will send some of us quite mad, and cetainly increase emotional lability.

I think in the very first episode Bhanu said he was an immigrant and he grew up in a dirt hut and he wanted to inspire other immigrants/Indians... something like that. I think that's behind his "win a million hearts" aspirations. Some of his many proclamations hit and others don't, but I appreciate his heartfelt sincerity and raw emotions, even if we get a bit too much of him. It makes a change from polished assholes.

Well, that was a mess. But Bhanu saying mournfully, "I'm a wackadoodle!" was the sweetest thing ever said on Survivor.

Michelle Visage will be hosting Drag Race Down Under, without Ru Paul. I think this will be an improvement, he never seemed to really get the cultural references, and having a rotating judging panel of local drag queens along with Rhys Nicholson will help. https://tvtonight.com.au/2024/03/michelle-visage-to-host-drag-race-down-under.html