North of Eden

Stephen is the usual co host but since he can't since he is/was a contestant....Josh Wigler who is a cohost on many other podcasts with Rob is filling in. Unfortunatly Josh is one of those podcasters that can't actually carry on a serious discussion without trying to insert some sort of joke, wisecrack or pun into literally every sentence he says as if he were auditioning for being a stand up comedian. I was dismayed that he would be covering SURVIVOR this season for this reason and now trowel on the bias for Fishback and its brutal. To Josh's credit though he has watched all seasons and is often plugging I believe a book he wrote about the strategy used on SURVIVOR over the run of the series.

Well it finally took until the last episode for FTWD to rise to the level of WALKING DEAD PRIME but it did. Very enjoyable episode. Sometimes pure action is simply a lot better than character drama. Sorry but true. That's one of the reason I never cared for the late Michael Pillar-a prominent writer/producer on the STAR TREK shows who admitted in interviews he didn't like to do what he called "Run and Jump" episodes...he was in it for the character driven stuff...but sometimes that is just boring as we saw that to be the case with this series in its weakest episode that had NO zombies. Seriously though what are we to make of the fact they got a whole ton of people killed trying to rescue their friends and family by unleashing zombies? And don't get me started on the epic fail of a notion Hotsy would travel all the way into a zombie herd just to get revenge on Salazar and then fails to shoot him. Other than those points great finale!

For me this was a tough episode...it was a version of the Star Trek "Kobiyashi Maru" No Win Scenario. Almost all of my favorite players wound up on the LOSING TEAM! The only one I wouldn't have cared about going home was Varner and was dismayed when the vote shifted away from him (they had legit reasons for tossing him and should have stuck with it!)...once that happened I knew I would lose someone that I liked seeing play. Worse I feel bad for Woo because he lost his closest alliance mate. Still I will admit I would have lost 75% of my interest in this season if Tasha went out this early. Meanwhile I hated how well Pompous Terry and his team were doing. I wanted them to lose and get him out of there. Plus I don't like it when everything goes perfect for Joe. Also I will be happy when Fishback goes. The reason being I enjoy listening to Rob Has A Podcast but its no fun this year because of Rob and Josh are so biased towards Stephen it sucks. Last weeks podcast was the first I had to shut off because Eliza Orlins got on the microphone and started defending Stephen and it was sicking. I don't like cliques and I don't need to hear about the stupid NYC Surivors called the "Wine and Cheese" club rallying around Fishback. Ugh..just ugh. Spencer is a real prize isn't he:? Anyone who has to WORK at showing emotions or any interest in other people...well I'll just have to shake my head. That Idol was so prominent I was just waiting for someone else to see it and say "What's this?!" Jeremy spent wayyyy to long retrieving it. He was lucky. Also to this day I believe they get some sort of help by production finding these clues and idols...I mean c'mon...its a HUGE jungle...the odds of finding the right tree, rock or whatever seem so remote I can't calculate them. Monica=non-entity with Kimmi K. as Vice-non entity.

Just watched now. Very pleased with the outcome. I like the brothers and the track stars are eye candy and I'm sorry but anyone who has a fear of heights dangling 2 FEET off the ground has "cannon fodder" stamped on their forehead. Agree with the Texans....last week I liked Justin but this week he was so annoying that I was saying SFU at him during the dance challenge. I never care for reality show contestants who feel they constantly have to be "ON"...I'm looking at you BJ and Tyler among others. I thought the Texans would burn their Express Pass on the dance challenge or worse get sent home with it in their possession. They really did screw up in the end injuring the one guy just to pass Team Bates Motel. Logan appears to be some sort of Jeckyll and Hyde. She was two different people in this episode...a shrewish wench and a normal competent racer. In the church scene I couldn't help but think if my Aunt Alice were there she would have snatched the caps off everyone of those racers who wore a hat into the church like she did to me once. Don't know why more people didn't do the statue...it looked like the newscasters had a fairly easy go of it.

LOL@Shirin...she didn't get a chance to play her weepy victim card this season! With that said I would have prefered Spencer to get the boot because something about that kid rubs me the wrong way. But there was no way they were going to toss another male when they might need his stength in a challenge. Oh my heck! Abi truly is a villian you LOVE to HATE! The sheer glee on her face when she was informing Sharin she was in danger directly due to her lack of support was a thing to behold. I hope she stays around to stir things up awhile longer. I don't see why Kelly Wentworth was even considered for a Second Chance. She was vanilla in her season and she's vanilla in this season even without her Dad...and frankly for an allegedly hot blond I don't find her to be all that at all. Hell Kimmy Kappenberg with her normal body and looks is way more attractive. I hope her idol doesn't mean she sticks around a long time. The look on Woo's face when Sharin and Spencer were trying to recruit him made me worried he was falling for it but luckily he's a lot smarter than people give him credit for and wasn't going to hitch himself to a pair of shooting stars. Didn't like Savage his first go around but I am liking him now. Especially since he and Jeremy have supposed "Know it All" Fishback's number.

Just watched now. Already light years ahead of last season just for the fact of not having Phil trying to generate sparks at the mat between people when there were none (still last season gave us the awesome JACKIE who was even better on BIG BROTHER this summer-talk about a near perfect woman). Felt bad for Justin when he almost blew their dream but despite what he says he got to cocky again during the volleyball game. He needed to be more humble after the mistake. Why is that one team called "Chackattack?" I don't get it. Never have been a fan of Alpha Male teams so I was dissapointed they won the express pass. I am very GUARDED about Team Mom and Son. I do not ever want to see another LUKE on this race. I think I may have hated him more than anyone who ever appeared. Just an absolute overgrown baby. I don't know what he will do when Margie dies. Like the Papparazi and a few others. I have a pretty good feeling about the cast over all....still its hard to remember that there were ever NORMAL people like Emily and her Mom and Frank and his wife. The good old days when nobody had a "hook" or a gimmick.

Snap! Two season in the row with PATHETIC winners! Last year while technically a master mind Derrick ruined any suspense or enjoyment on the game with the mixture of his charisma free personality and his stranglehold on the game...and now this year. Steve who was the INVISIBLE MAN for most of the summer swoops in and takes home the half million...he can say all the convoluted things he wants but he coasted...I know because I saw him do it. Good news for Austin though he might have shot with Liz now because if she won she would have dusted him instantly...the $50 K after taxes will probably be gone quick so she may wish to hang onto ol' Judas to plunder some cash and extra 15 minutes of fame with personal appearances of "The Austwins" Not sure what was funnier...Julie's perceived audio problems making Steve start his speech three times or her instant boredom with the prejury boots that she has to cut away after the first question to return the focus back on Vanessa. In short Vanessa really should have won the game...I don't like her...I don't think a millionaire needs any more money...but she did play the best game. At least the episode was redeemed by James winning fan favorite! I cheered.

F#$k I hate these clip shows. Every year I am mystified why they do this instead of using this particular episode to show us the goings on in the Jury House. You can't tell me there aren't very intersting things going on in that house. For instance how are Austin and Julia getting along without their linchpin Liz? Did Meg perhaps...without a ton of cameras around finally be receptive to James? Did James and Shelli bury the hatchet? Nope, we get non of that...just a manufactured clip show where the houseguests are fed things by production to rimenise about. It was only redeemed by the James and Meg segment, seeing Audrey again (especially in her Emperor Palpatine get up) and Da'Vonne. It really makes you think how unfair it is that we lost interesting players like that early on so a guy like Steve can float under the radar for the game. If he wins it will be equivalent to someone sneaking in the Boston Marathon at the last mile and sprinting to the finish line. And I've said for years...enough already with the diary room confessionals interspred during comps! The demeanor always gives away the winner. Steve was unusually chipper in his confessional at the start of the competition...gee do you think he wins round one?

Ugh! I hate, hate HATE this! About 7 weeks ago I made a post that the game was now in a dangerous place where someone would realize dragging a do nothing floater like Steve to the end would be their best chance to win the game...and I guess Vanessa latched onto that. The ONLY reason he is in position now to win HOH is because he was a floater while people early in the summer were playing the game. There were whole episodes where he appeared once and maybe even not at all. I have no love for Austin but I'd rather see him or Liz win then nobodies like Steve or Johnny Mac or a lying liar like Vanessa. I'm glad he blasted her on the way out...I hate when people are nice to the person who got you evicted. Speaking of Vanessa...she has a pair the size of a beanbag chair to be trying to work Austin's jury vote mere seconds after she evicted him. Please Austin and Liz STAY bitter and rally the jury not to let her win. I don't want to see a manipulative millionaire win...oh, snap...I don't want Johnny Mac or Steve to win either. I'm screwed...there is no way to be happy on finale night unless Liz does the impossible. One last thing AMERICA...please vote for James to be the $25000 winner...James was REAL...Johnny Mac has been playing a character for the ENTIRE SUMMER....he's a phony...please don't hand him a check because he is "funny". He's not.

Under the Dome deserved 90% of the smack talk about it some from myself but here at the end I will give credit where it is due. The segment from Joe stepping into the amaphest ring to the moment where the dome comes down was pretty epic! Very well shot and edited. The only change I would have made is not to cut to a commercial just yet...I would have waited for Julie to say "The Dome is Gone". Funny...I almost kind of would like to see where our merry band of "Egg Hunter/Alien Trackers" would go next season and how they would react if they got trapped under ANOTHER dome.

I was never more thankful tonight for DVRing everything as there is no measure of speed to register how quickly I hit the Fast Forward button the minute Frankie's ugly mug came in through the front door. I was able to skip the entire segment. There is nothing in the universe that would make me willingly subject myself to his schtick again...I like to remember him as we last saw him in the final second of last year's finale....alone and bereft. There was a great screen cap of that going around as I recall. In other news Vanessa looks like a big idiot conducting her interviews. Of course EVERYONE would have deals with everyone else...and OF COURSE people are going to say they told other people what they wanted to hear...just like they are now telling you what YOU want to hear. When a the grand prize is 13 days away everyone's word is worthless. You are not going to be able to suss out anything reliable. Her slack jawed expression below her bug eyes was getting really tiring tonight. Looking back there were two good "eras" in the house this year. The Audrey era where she was all crazytown playing so hard she played herself out of the game and the period between Shelli leaving the house and James and Meg's double eviction. There was some intersting game play...another (albeit) weak faction finally emerged and James and Meg were just so likable. Since they've been gone....its all been a lifeless mess of Vanessa puppeteering everything.

Pleaaasssseee let Austin win! The time is ripe for a good old fashion double cross that would find Vanessa and one of her puppets on the block and dare I hope...Vanessa out of the house! I was so hoping to see Vanessa drop her egg and have to start again. Shut up Steve...you sound so stupid talking about how you did this and you did that and were making big moves....you are the plaything of Vanessa...you're an empty vessel and she controls your strings. Thank goodness the season is almost over so I can be spared seeing anymore of Johnny Mac playing his stupid character. I wish he had stayed gone...any of the three other coming back...even Shelli would have been better than watching his excrutiating act. On a shallow note...the athletic short shorts the twins were in proved once and for all Julia has the better body. How Da'Vonne was calling either of them thickums is one of the great mysteries of the season. Damn...it was so good to see James again. The show hasn't been the same without his good humored charm. I hope he gets asked back in a future season. If they can churn out loathsome players like Mike Boogie and Dan over and over again...why not bring back someone cool for once? I wonder if he and Shelli came to some sort of peace. So coming full circle...please Austin and Liz...you seem to have a clue about Vanessa at last. It's time to burn that witch at stake!

Unbelievable! Absolutly Unbelievable! Julia is officially the DUMBEST houseguest (leap frogging over Lawon and his "superpowers") since Marcellus way back when. Safety was practically theirs for the taking but she must share her brain cells with her sister. Even more astonishing in the aftermath in a TINY house...Austwins are unable to compare notes and ferret out the Vanessa is the lyingest liar who ever lied! How can they be so stupid to let this woman manipulate them into turning on each other. And there was even any mention made of trying to campaign Steve to put someone else up...they just rolled over and died. I have no more words....I can only shake my head. I've got my fingers crossed for an Austin HOH....just to see him burn the house down..and maybe...just maybe get Vanessa up on that block! In other news its also amazing how much mileage Grodner has gotten out of her pet ass clown over the years...but as annoying as seeing Jesse...my blood started to boil during the commercials when no other than "Chaos Cass" turned up in a SURVIVOR promo...hate...hate...hate...that woman!

Well this episode confirms what I suspected....the show wouldn't be anywhere near as good with out the last two likable people in the house...James and Meg. The house had a totally different feel to it. Morose Steve pacing about waiting for Austin to wake up....Johnny Mac contributing nothing and worst of all is Vanessa and her tiring endless manipulation of the whole game...all that adds up to not a great watch. Everyone left is so unlikable...underscored by the fact that when the chips start coming down Liz and Austin really don't even like each other all that much...he was ready to abandon her at first sign of trouble and all the smack she was talking about him in the hammock...what a loathsome crew left in that house. Also troubling is the horrific possibility of a final two of Johnny Mac and Steve who did NOTHING for the first part of the game but float through...the idea of one of them winning is horrible...though I suppose that can't happen because if it came down to a scenario where Steve had to pick between JM and Vanessa who to take...he's such a pussy and complety Vanessa's bitch that he would hand over the game to her just like that flunky from last year Cody did. I don't even like Austin and the twins but I hate JM and Steve for not keeping Meg and I need to see them and Vanessa get tossed out short of their goal. With that said Austin do you know nothing about women?..When your girl runs out and tears its proper to chase after her...not sit around like a douche.

there is a name I never wanted to hear again and I am not talking about Howie. I like the more lenient moderation herest .Three cheers for this site!

You'd be hard pressed to find a more foregone conclusion than the double eviction claiming both James and Meg tonight. And with James eviction my interest went down to 6% the opposite of Liz's 93%. I knew he would lose the memory challenge as I heard somewhere maybe on the show or maybe on this board that he wasn't good at that sort of thing. My heart was literally pounding when the Veto was primed for him to pull off and upset the stunningly his shots weren't any good. Feel bad for James...he looked totally defeated during his interview. If he does NOT appear on any future All Stars then the concept I would deem spurious. As for Meg's eviction....I could be wrong but I thought I heard the audience groan when Steve minus any sort of nutsack voted and confirmed that he and Johnny Mac aren't ever going to wake up and smell the coffee. The only pleasure I foresee left this season is when Vanessa, Johnny Mac and Steve stare slack jawed one by one as the Austwins vote them out!

Hurray for James my favorite player! However its heartbreaking knowing that this is just a temporary reprieve. Unless he wins HOH the Double Eviction will claim him. Also despite all logic....he will never be able to flip Steve to send a twin home...possibly Johnny Mac...put Steve would never have the cajones to make a big move like that....especially since he's a huge chicken whenever Vanessa is after him. How wonderful it would be though if he could save Meg...get out Julia and then flush out Liz in the double eviction but that I know is a pure fantasy. Hah...Vanessa was a douche when James was telling her she was playing too hard. How delicious it would be if Vanessa gets booted just short of the final two despite all her machinations and tears. About the comp. For once the manipulation actually favored my player but I do feel the producers introduced this comp because its tailor made for James who has been shown to hide his whole body...a tile should be a cake walk for him. When we didn't actually SEE Vanessa find the tile but the last sight of her was in the room BY it...I had a hopefull feeling that it was misdirection...and it was! Austin should have hid his tile in his laundry hamper....nobody would probably be inclined to search there.

As Julie Chen would say...It's Official. This season is going down the same stupifying drain that last season did because one person is controlling everything and everything goes their way! Last year it was Derrick that ruined the game by his complete stranglehold and this year its Vanessa. At least she is a more intersting character who doesn't come with a psychophant ready to sacrifice their game for hers. Still...this is terrible. James is the one person who isn't afraid to make big moves but unfortunatly he can't win HOH. The fact that no one will either break up the trio or vote out Vanessa when there is a chance has become simply unfathomable. If only anyone of the jurors (besides Shelli) could have come back other than "make no moves" Johnny Mac tonight could have been epic..instead we get this. and sorry...Redrawing the lines in the house Vanessa would have been to put Julia and LIz side by side in the chairs. The producers are probably cringing because this sabotages the double eviction Thursday because it will be the same old same old predictable one two punch of two allies being sent home...first James and then Meg.

And here Vanessa is suppose to be this really smart player and yet she thinks Steve is some sort of Dr. Evil type mastermind. Steve of all people! BB did a great job on the Zingbot set in the backyard. It didn't even seem like the backyard. I would so blow at that competition. It's really hard. That was weird having the others watch the competition and the abuse they were heaping on the flat screen TV hasn't been seen by CBS Audio/Visual equipment hasn't been seen since Chima threw her microphone pac in the pool (Can't say as I blame her....it was sickening watching the smug Jeff Schroeder and his Grodner spoon fed COUP DE TATE wreck Chima and her allies plans that time.) Speaking of Zingbot he seemed a little extra malicious this year. I don't even like Austin but that seemed like a cheap shot and probably not true or else Liz wouldn't spend the summer canoodling with him. As for James in the "Friend Zone" even after all these weeks I still hope Meg will give him some of that "Clay treatment" he got that time before he was evicted. Hey Rachael eventually woke up about Ross...maybe James will be that lucky. Loved Johnny Mac complete disenterest in Steve hyping up what a great game player Vanessa was just after they went on the block. I'm sure that's the last thing he wanted to hear. Hopefully Vanessa will blow the Trio apart as poetic justice for everyone keeping her in as long as they have. Nice MISSION IMPOSSIBLE riff on the James the Joker segment. I wish Audrey had stuck around to spice things up with her habitual lying.

Can't say I didn't see that coming. After all of Austin's handwringing I new he wouldn't have the cajones to put Vanessa on the block for the simple matter he woudn't want to spend the time from nominations till Thursday having to deal with her moody breakdowns over it. Worse yet he truly seemed to be backpeddling in his last DR in that he may not backdoor her at all if the opportunity doesn't present..."The time may not be right" which is exactly what LIZ said last week. When will the timing be right? She could be the final two and her opponents save 1 in the Jury because nobody can pull it together and get her out. How quickly after finale night does Liz's 93% like of Austin evaporate to zero. The real world has a way of killing showmances. Anyway James and Meg appear safe so I won't be upset if Johnny or Steve go home.

You'd be hard pressed to find a Thursday episode with more filler: James & Meg package James the joker package Steve's hometown package (I hope the principal and librarian are married because he was very hands on with a staff member) Meg falling package Jury House package Zingbot package (did not need to see Cody AGAIN but I'd forgotten about the Christine storyline) all this filler and so we couldn't even get the HOH Second heat on the air? I'd much rather see that..in fact as people said a couple weeks ago there have been way TOO MANY continued HOH comps this summer...and the problem with those is that when they air the whole thing on Sunday...thanks to the demeanor of the people in the diary room you can almost always guess who the winner will be. Every year there is someone like Shelli at jury house who says they hope to see so and so come through that door next because they did yada, yada, yada but come jury night they ALWAYS vote for that person to win the game if they are in the finals. Hypocrites...can't anyone ever hold a good old fashion grudge against someone for ending THEIR game? Props to Shelli though for her first appearance where she didn't harp on her relationship with Clay (whose probably out squiring young co-eds about the town by now). This past week was the first time I actually liked Johnny Mac because he wasn't playinig a character anymore but playing the game. But he lost me again tonight when he threw in with the Austwins. Steve and JM are so stupid to align with a trio and wind up wheel four and wheel five respectively putting them far from the money. Since it can't be said enough....Austin put a shirt on.

I've got a lot to say about Steve tonight. First of all I hope he enjoyed his little hammock scene because that is the closest he's ever going to be able to come to being able to poke a woman from underneath. Sorry it had to be said. Second Steve SFU about how you want to get Becky out...do you think the viewers are stupid?! You had her right in your cross hairs last Thursday and didn't pull the trigger so stop all your trash talk because you obviously can't walk the walk or however it goes. And last this a a VERY DANGEROUS point in the game for fans who want to have an exciting finale night. Right around now the light bulb is going to go off in someone's head that Steve is the goat you take to the very end in order to win the game. Any jury voting on game play is not going to award this spineless floater the grand prize. As a viewer I want a suspenseful finale night not a forgone conclusion that whoever is sitting next to him is the winner. I hope Vanessa is the one to split up the Austwins just for the fact they were all bluster tonight about getting her out but then being too chicken when it came time. Don't care about OTEV...please bring on ZINGBOT so he can cut Austin to the quick? James was so backburner tongiht he almost fell off the stove. Did he get a confessional. Johnny Mac was kind of dumb...you never throw the VETO...never...no matter what deals you may think you have. Why risk it? Good editing where they overlapped Meg's words and cut them off as she felll. The CLAY song was actually pretty good. Austin and his tatoos are just gross...especially in night vision cam when he was pawing at Liz. Can someone split this trio up already?!

Steve boy...what a cowardly little piece of s@%t...boasting for weeks now how he would win HOH and get rid of his arch nemesis Becky and when he has the chance he chickens out...and Johnny Mac is not much better. Why is NO ONE interested in splitting up the twins?! Oh,Jackie...so sorry to see you go...you are the definition of drop dead gorgeous. And Sadly James and Meg are done. Becky won't trust them now and spineless Steve and Johnny Mac will throw in with Six Sense. As for Vanessa staying...whatever leading influence production used in the Diary Room to sway the voters into keeping her must have been of epic porportions. Steve boy...what a cowardly little piece of s@%t...boasting for weeks now how he would win HOH and get rid of his arch nemesis Becky and when he has the chance he chickens out...and Johnny Mac is not much better. Why is NO ONE interested in splitting up the twins?! Oh,Jackie...so sorry to see you go...you are the definition of drop dead gorgeous. And Sadly James and Meg are done. Becky won't trust them now and spineless Steve and Johnny Mac will throw in with Six Sense. As for Vanessa staying...whatever leading influence production used in the Diary Room to sway the voters into keeping her must have been of epic porportions.

Here's a few bullet points of AWESOMENESS *THE BLANKET....best BB Comic cover ever! * Jackie's Striptease and James's reaction earned her being cast for this season just for that little scene. * Vanessa done up as Debbie Gibson circa 1988-this was the first and only time this season that I thought she looked attractive. * Julia shooting daggers of death at Austin pawing her sister...she must not use to being margenalized when it comes to Liz and her attentions. * Steve,...didn't care for his delusions of grandeur but he saved the master plan with his win. Not so awesome: Shelli is one stupid Puma. Picking Vanessa and going against the HOH's plan is not a way to win trust...and could have sealed her fate if Vanessa hadn't made it onto the block. Finally when are James and Meg going to hook up? I've been waiting all season for that.

This episode was a complete homage to the LOST episode THE OTHER 48 DAYS as we actually got to see what the other side of the house was up to by bringing Steve, Becky and Johnny Mac (in non comedic DR appearances) into play and on camera. We even saw some strategy on the part of some of these players. It's about time! The one thing I would like to see more light shed on is Steve's pathological hatred of Becky. Some good LOL moments tonight such as the insensitivety of the twins going on about Clay's exes streaming down out of the hills why Shelli is stuck in the house...right in front of her. And LOL @ Julia...because at one point during the nomination ceremony the angle of Austin's hand appeared as if he was holding Liz's hand under the table....while Julia is a big old third wheel sitting on the OTHER side of the table. Glad James and Jackie appear safe but I still don't trust Becky..she seems shifty to me based on what we have seen in past episodes...and her TELLING Shelli and Johnny Mac after extracting a vow of secrecy? How long before Shelli spills the beans to Vanessa. When all is said and done though...Steve is DOOMED...this will be a classic case of the Pawn Going Home. The Sixth Sense people will never vote out one of their own while an easy boot like Steve is on the block. Becky needed to put up another Six Senser next to Shelli to have ANY hope of this working.