simplyme

What I got from Jeff's explanation (using Allison as an example) is that the Davids never really had any assets to begin with. Everything in life has been an upward battle for them. They don't have the supportive families or communities, they didn't have a middle class upbringing, and people aren't going to give them a job or loan based on any connections or networking. If they fall, they have nothing to soften the blow. In contrast, the Goliaths had some sort of support system. They may have worked their rear ends off to get where they were, but if they had options available to them that simple weren't available to the Davids, and there's a good chance that if they get fired or screw up, they won't end up homeless. People have their backs. Ever heard the old Everlast song "What It's Like?" My impression of the theme made me think of that song. And wow. Poor Pat. Link to youtube of What It's Like: https://youtu.be/qA1nGPM9yHA

But to some degree, isn't that every season? Has there been a season where smaller, thinner people haven't had to tap earlier? (I'm not trying to be a pita. I only saw seasons 3-5, but am aware of who the winners were for 1-2, so I'm honestly asking.) I'd like a way for someone with a naturally small frame like Carleigh to be more competitive, but that's not the way the show is currently structured. I can't blame Sam for using his natural assets, nor for having the brains to significantly add to said natural assets before heading out. I think one of the reasons it was a little harder to cheer for Sam then, say, Britt is that at times they chose god awful boring footage to show for Sam. Britt seems to be naturally charismatic and have a wonderful sense of humor when he isn't completely starving. (I recently rewatched his stint in S3. He's funny in that, too, but he isn't there very long compared to others.) Some of Sam's footage I had to keep prodding my leg with a pencil to stay awake; my mom actually did fall asleep. But some of it was fine. I mean, Sam is not a gripping personality, but he's not always dead boring. This last episode I thought his footage was fairly decent. The previous ep where he talked foreeeever about his bowels and carved? Zzzz. 5 minutes of that, tops. One other topic: I certainly can't criticize anyone's mood swings or choices on this show. Overall they all did way better than I would have. If I don't eat regularly or enough, blammo. Migraine. And you do not want to be near me. Cruella de Vil starts thinking I'm an out and out witch.

While I agree in theory, I believe the make up of the cast influences whether a female castaway can opt-in to fire-wood and food-gathering the same way a male castaway would without being viewed as aggressive or with suspicion. With a number of the casts we've seen, women who go into the woods are going to be more likely to be targeted for being a threat. I also think that culturally, women are still generally expected to be more social than men, so I expect a man gets more chances to wander off alone whereas a woman who isn't with someone is considered more suspicious. Also, the provider and fire tender role is sometimes claimed by a type A alpha male (occasionally two). A good way to make that person feel like you are trying to get rid of them or make them unnecessary is to get up early and get the fire started for them. Also why no one is practicing making fire... If people see that any time before final four, you better have a good reason for wasting flint to practice something that you don't normally do or people are going to get paranoid. So you may know how to make fire before you get there, but not have a chance to do it for extended periods without socially stepping on toes. That's a disadvantage. I think these are all subtle, subconscious things and they clearly don't apply to everyone, but I think they're certainly common enough ingrained attitudes that it does still make idol-hunting and fire-making harder to pull off as often for women (and some males.) That said, I have no idea why so many contestants don't learn to make fire before going on Survivor except a) they aren't really fans of the show or b) they're bleeping idiots.

I'm not sure that's because they had no personality, though. It could just be that the editors decided that we should see the Compelling Narrative of How Dom and Wendell Controlled the Tribe With Help from Laurel and the Lovable but Naive Donathan. I mean, watching Ponderosa was like, "Wait, what? Where did all that personality come from?" for some of them. I think it just got cut out to show us The Story and Dom and Wendell's bromance. *yawn* Also, regarding one of The Amazing Race teams:

I apologize for dragging this back up. I was *really* behind on this thread. I just wanted to add that one additional reason I think the casting is skewing younger is that the Boomers have mostly aged out of the casting pool and Gen X is a much smaller generation. So from when the show started, the casting pool has gone from being comprised primarily of the Boomers and Gen X with the Boomers being the largest population to primarily Gen X and Millennials with the Millennials being the largest population. And then factor in ability to leave family and work for an extended period of time usually being easier for younger people as @ProfCrash mentioned and the trend is strengthened.

I think there are a couple others that want to win, too, namely Sam and Britt. I think we all knew Carleigh wanted to win because of how she went out last time, but I think it's somewhat sunk in for both Britt and Sam that if they were going to choose to be away from their families again, they better either come home with the $500k or get medevaced, and it better not be a weaselly medevac. Sam didn't mention his wife, but Britt specifically mentioned his wife saying if he was going to do this, don't tap for them. Stay and get the money for them. Sam has talked quite a bit about getting the money for his family. And My God, the man ate leeches to prove to his kids that he was going to keep trying. My mother may never forgive him for that. She was exceedingly grossed out.

Still love Britt's sense of humor. Sam is still boring. He literally put my mother to sleep. The surprise of the episode for me was discovering that apparently Larry has grown on me, enough that when he said he was going to climb a mountain, I sat straight up and yelled, "No! Don't do it, Larry! Don't go up the mountain!" like he was heading towards the light or something. But he hasn't tapped... yet. Was relieved to see Dave go. Partially because his pontificating annoys me for some reason and definitely because I was relieved he didn't get medevaced for starving again. Thank you for learning, Dave.

As food sources disappear, hunger drives the remaining participants to a new low; one attempts a risky climb into wolf territory in search of food and another contends with a potentially game-ending health issue. First aired August 9, 2018.

Is this a survival scenario or an Alone-type reality TV scenario with cameras? Randy for the scenario with cameras. Flat-out survival is a little harder. I think I'd still choose Randy, but there's some part of my lizard brain that points out that Sam is a big guy, and if things got truly desperate... uh, well, think Donner party. I just don't know if I could do it. So, yeah, probably Randy. I'm never getting dinner invites from this crowd now, am I?

Yeah. If I recall correctly, she has EDS, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which has a bunch of subtypes and varies a lot from person to person. It can be extremely painful and debilitating. (A friend of a friend whose blog I used to follow had EDS.) I echo your sentiments about wishing her and her daughters the best but remaining skeptical about her amazing recovery. (And frankly, with most versions of EDS, your doctors would bleeping shoot you if you even considered ANW.) Link to the Ehlers-Danlos society website to better explain it: https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/

So then why do they do this same crap during the Olympics? Those are pretty clearly sports, but the TV coverage of them is *horrible*. They're so busy showing interviews and backstories and various ceremonies that they hardly show the actual sport anymore. It's unwatchable for me.

I guess for me, how much showboating bothers me usually tends to come down to where it falls on my two scales of Annoying and Arrogant. I assume different viewers probably rank differently as we all have pet peeves. Things that bump you waaaay up one or both scales: 1. Showing off in the middle of an obstacle by hanging by one arm, doing it in an unusual way, etc. (Does not include hanging by an arm to shake the other out) If that obstacle is no problem for you, just be grateful and move on. 2. Flips, jumps, or any energy wasting move before or sometimes in the middle of the run 3. Over the top gestures like pec flexes or naming yourself the Towers of Power, especially mid-course. Stop wasting time. 4. For people who have been there before, celebrating and then hitting the buzzer. (I'm so glad to see i'm not the only one this bugs!) Things that don't bother me: 1. Waving to friends or family 2. Taking time between obstacles to gather breath or thoughts or get a bit of feeling back in their limbs. If they flash a quick sign to someone as they do that, eh. I'm fine with that. 3. Spontaneous acts of "Omg! I did it!" joy or a single flip off an obstacle they're dismounting anyways like once during the run. I'm not a complete killjoy. I don't mind people being relaxed and having a bit of fun or being really excited that they accomplished something. That's understandable to me. But I don't really care for obvious playing to the crowd. As the old football adage attributed to various coaches goes, "Act like you've been there before." As for costumes, it kind of depends on the costume. I'm not thrilled about the concept of costumes, but realistically it helps people develop a persona (increasing their chances of being chosen to run) and stand out. If they don't make me cringe (Baby Ninja) and don't screw with the person's ability to run the course, I'll live with it. I'd rather see Lance Pekus, the Cowboy Ninja, in his jeans and boots than have to sit through another 5-minute long sob story about the guy with a horrible disease who was mauled by a bear and is running the course in memory of his trusty dog who died saving him in that attack.

I think Michele played a great game and was the deserving winner. I also think Aubry had an uphill battle at that tribal. One thing Kaoh Rong really drove home for me is that I can't necessarily rank players as to how "good" they are because they don't have the same Survivor experiences. Michele was able to avoid conflict with pretty much everyone for an extended time by never being on a losing side and going to a Tribal Council until something like the merge. Aubry's tribe lost quite a few times, and while she made it through, that tribal council maneuvering created tension between her and a lot of other people: Peter, Scot, Julia, and Debbie to name a few. So I do feel Michele had the better social game, she stepped up and won crucial challenges when she needed to, and she very strategically chose when to flip on people (and gathered little to no ill will for it). She's the winner, and she's a good one. The biggest criticism of her was that she coasted through the beginning, but what was she supposed to do? Throw challenges? So she essentially did pretty much everything right. Aubry had to fight much harder to even stay in the game. She made some crucial strategic alliances, and she did very well at a number of challenges. I felt that the tribes she was on affected her social game because she had to maneuver more. I don't think she was a better or worse player than Michele. I just think she got different circumstances that made the game much harder in addition to maybe having a tense, nerdy persona that fewer people would be comfortable losing to. But Survivor isn't a fair game. I can understand Jeff liking Aubry and her style of play. I do too. But I don't think that should invalidate Michele's win in any way. She played exactly as she should have socially, physically, and mentally. Random circumstances also being in her favor are not her fault and shouldn't be held against her.

Oh, I'll agree with that. I think both he and his brother were in over their heads even on the first season. I just think age was only one factor and someone else the same age could have a much better skillset and better mental preparedness.

TL;DR version: I don't know that I would blame it on his age. I mean, Sam and Brad are the same age. His age didn't help, though. Longer: I certainly don't think his age helped him at all, as at 24 he's presumably had significantly fewer experiences to mature and develop his independence and self-reliance than most of the rest of the cast. But I don't think it was the whole problem. Brad was the only person out there with less than 24 hours of experience on the show because his brother tapped. Excuse me, his brother was "medically evacuated" *eyeroll* on the first day. Brad was the hiker and had pitched a tarp, but I don't think he even got to spend the night. So no experience building a shelter, catching fish, making traps, etc. So really, this was his first attempt against people with more experience and it was in Mongolia, which seems to be rather tough in the food procurement arena. It's like if this were a video game, he skipped the normal version and started right in on the extra hard version with less food and meaner monsters. So he struggled with food, as several people have, and I imagine he felt overwhelmed due to his lack of experience and the hunger. And when I say lack of experience, I mean both life experience and show experience. So I wouldn't really knock people his age. There are some fantastic, tough, intelligent ones out there, and it's not like most 45-year-olds are well suited to this show either. But it certainly didn't help the situation, no.

I'd agree with this. The smallest person to win this so far was S2's David McIntyre, who started at 190 lbs. Alan Kay, Zach Fowler, and the Baird Brothers were all pretty large men to begin with. Yes, they burn more calories than smaller people, but they have more to lose before they get pulled. So between Sam putting on significant extra weight before the show started and seeming to hunt, fish, and move less than most others, I'm not worried about him being pulled for his BMI. I'm still cheering for Britt though.* *Admitting that is probably the kiss of death.

Birth control pills are really poorly named. :) Yes, they can be used for birth control, but a *lot* of women take them for other medical issues. They help treat or prevent: endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, ovarian cancer, menstrual-related migraines, and a host of other conditions. At least one survey has found that more than half of women who take birth control pills do so for reasons other than birth control. Actually, most of the women I know who took them (myself included) took them for other reasons. That said, the logistics of not only making sure there was a supply for the contestant but also that they took the pill the same time every day (necessary to be effective) sounds daunting in a rugged environment with individuals several miles apart. I have difficulty seeing that happening.

Well, I'm down to rooting for Britt and then Sam as my back-up. Yes, SAM!! Larry annoys the bejesus out of me with his mood swings, random yelling, and playing to the camera (and wasting bear spray), and I'm just so tired of Dave talking about hunting (especially his moral dilemma about taking life). If it were anyone other than Larry yelling to hear his own echo, I would have expected to hear Larry yelling back at them. Yes, Dave. I'm completely shocked that the deer disappeared when you tried to run past them while talking constantly to the camera. They must have ESP. Sad to see Randy go, but as soon as he started talking about missing community again this episode I knew he was tapping. Bah humbug. I think the highlight of the episode for me was Britt putting the mouse head on the knife and doing a little mouse voice. Sad but true. ...I'll just point out that one is a reality TV contest and the other is generally considered one of the worst punishments available for convicted criminals.

That appeared to be the day after the night of the moose wooing. I think Jesse was not only hungry, but sleep deprived and irritated with nature. I can't imagine I'd be a ball of sunshine after lying awake listening to a moose yodel loudly for something like six hours straight. This is the first season SimplyMom has watched Alone. To quote her, "Dave is boring."

Huh. It's interesting how two people can interpret an interaction differently. I read that whole exchange as Wendell asserting that yes, he had a social game equal to Dom's and using the conversation with Des as an example and Des speaking up to say that yes, they had conversations, but they weren't meaningful ones about the game and strategy. It isn't just having conversations with people that matter, it's having the *right* conversations. For Des, she may have enjoyed talking about rap, but she felt her social bond with Dom was tighter because they talked more about the game, which were the right, meaningful conversations to build closer ties. Yes. This 100%. I tend to think of it as each juror voting for who they least mind losing Survivor to. It's a bit about keeping your ego intact.

I think the problem here is using the term "best." Survivor has a winner. Whether that winner played the "best" game is going to depend on what any given individual prioritizes in strategy. For example, Ozzy almost always votes for a provider and strong physical force. Many viewers think Russell Hantz played one of the best games of Survivor ever, but others point out that that view overlooks the social aspect of Survivor, which he bombed. Best is debatable. The winner is not debatable. So there's a difference between what is the "best" game (opinion), and what is the winning strategy. And I think it's valid to speculate or comment on what may have influenced a juror's vote. However, since winning jury votes is the ACTUAL point of the game, I'm not sure they can by definition be wrong. If a finalist didn't get someone's vote, the finalist was the one who was unsuccessful. It is their job to get the vote. I can personally think a juror is a moron or has ridiculous issues that a finalist has little chance in hell of overcoming, but that's part of the game. (I can name a few jurors I feel that way about, actually.) But the finalists still have to work with or around them. That's the game. Everything else: immunities, providing, conversations they had... Those are just the ways they can make their case to try to get the votes. So in this case, IMO, Wendell is the winner. Who played the best game between Wendell and Dom is going to be personal preference. Does that make sense? ETA: And @OldWiseOne said this much faster and more succinctly than me. Doh!

I agree with all who thought this was a good FTC. I thought all three finalists handled themselves well above average in explaining, pushing, and defending their moves. I also really liked the jury's questioning, for the most part. I thought they did a good job of fairly evenly getting the information they wanted, rebutting points they didn't like civilly, and giving people credit for playing what can be a difficult game well. I like that Michael acknowledged that Laurel was in a difficult position and gave her credit for surviving. I liked that they seemed to honestly discuss how social and integral both Dom and Wendell were, giving Dom credit for being the more active social hub, but also pointing out to him that he sometimes went too far. I particularly liked Des's response to Wendell's assertion that he'd had good conversations with people where he used their conversations about music as an example. (It was something like, "Yes, but I'm not going to vote for you because we had a good conversation about Kanye. I need to know more about what you did in the game.") The only thing that got a slight eyeroll from me was Chris trying to insist they pick who was the mastermind. But then again, that seemed in character for Chris. Overall, I definitely prefer the current FTC format to the previous, disjointed "Each juror gets to waste time, grind an axe, or awkwardly and inappropriately hit on Parvati" format. I think it allows for better discussion, analysis, and back and forth. Not that it couldn't still be honed, mind you. (Outwit, outplay, outlast... Just skip the branding. As long as the discussion is divided into segments that make sense, it's fine.)

I agree with this. And as annoyed as I was with Laurel, her reasoning was sound. If she took out either Dom or Wendell, she a) loses the other, and b) becomes one of the very next targets. Being a Malolo was definitely a disadvantage this season. She had what I think of as the Hannah problem. She could do what the jury wanted and remove Dom or Wendell, but that would effectively be killing her own game at that point. Unfortunately, the jury doesn't reward you playing the best game for *you.* They reward you for making moves they like or want to see. Someone somewhere on these boards asked what Laurel meant when she said she made the decisions about who to send home. That was true for quite a few votes. Laurel and Donathan were the swing votes. She chose to keep Dom and Wendell for the above reason. But again, the jury doesn't reward that because she wasn't really driving the game. She was the one who ended up wielding the power of decision, but she wasn't free to use it any way she wanted. Going against D&W would have removed that power from her and left her vulnerable. Before this episode, I slightly favored Wendell, but I have to say that I thought Dom worked his rear end off those last few days. I was surprised to find myself rooting for him at the end, though really either was fine.

Thank you. I was really curious who Angela voted for, but I made the executive decision to turn the TV off after the winner reveal once Probst reeled off all the crap they were going to cram in. Also, Kevin Hart. Since Angela voted for Wendell, I'm thinking she might gave been steamed that Dom saved Laurel and sent her to make fire. Had Dom saved her and pitted Laurel and Wendell against each other (with presumably a Wendell win), the vote total probably stays the same. Five for Dom and five for Wendell. But Angela gets to be the tiebreaker, and I'm curious if she would have rewarded Dom with her vote in that scenario...

When 2/3rds of the players are making me yell, "Stupid! You're. So. Stupid." at the TV every 5 minutes, it means I'm not impressed by the cast.