Necromancer

In 2018, four cable shows ended. My television viewing was then reduced to two network shows and one cable show. I began watching American Ninja Warrior seriously in 2013. The show was a pure athletic event with athletes testing themselves to successfully complete obstacles and then climbing the warped wall. Every year I looked forward to watching the wolf pack, Ryan Stratis, James McGrath, Kevin Bull, Travis Rosen, Sam Sahn, Michelle Warnky, Jesse Graf, Jamie Rahn, Brent Steffenson, Adam Rayl, Ethan Swann, Nick Hansen, Jesse Lebreck, Joe Moravsky, Loren, Ball, Flip Rodriguez, Grant McCarthy, Sean Bryan, David Campbell, Isaac Caldiero, Brian Arnold, and many others. Over the past few years the show has changed. Contestants with health challenges or contestants hoping to bring awareness to diseases and afflictions were now running the course. Contestants with gimmicks such as an insect expert, a cake maker, a pizza maker, 3 piece suit guy, and others I call clowns are also competing. Then NBC lowered the age requirement allowing teens to compete. I stopped watching American Ninja Warriors last year and now I go to YouTube and enter the names of Ninja Warriors and watch their runs there. NBC has ruined what was once a great show.

Is Rod the same guy who got ill after eating the fish on the current XL challenge? What episode(s) has Sarah been on? There have been so many contestants named Sarah.

I was surprised that Allysa Beird and Jessie Graff failed a city qualifier. Did Sandy Zimmerman qualify or is she also out?

Watching Rylie complete the 60 day challenge was no surprise to me. She gave an interview back in April and at the end of the interview she said "I feel legendary." I took that to mean she became the second Naked and Afraid woman to survive 60 days out in the wilderness. I expected Jeff and EJ to partner up again since they were teammates and good buddies since XL 1. Even then Jeff didn't want to join the remaining survivalists, telling them that he and EJ will remain a separate team. Jeff's former partner from his first 21 day challenge, Eva, was in the larger group. Before extraction, Eva went up to Jeff and told him what she thought of him. Ryan and Steven must have resolved past differences they had when they went out hunting together. They were in XL 2 and Ryan criticized Steven's hunting strategies and work habits. Steven didn't like what Ryan said and criticized Ryan. Steven went on to the complete the 40 day XL challenge but Ryan got sick and had to medically tap. They met again on that Naked and Afraid of Sharks episode where they had to survive on an island. I was really hoping Gary would make it to the merge. I wanted to see how he and Matt would interact. However, Gary has only himself to blame for not becoming a legend. Placing the alligator eyeballs on his own eyeballs got him a few minutes of attention but it ended up costing him the challenge. There wasn't a reunion show after XL 6 probably due to the dislike and animosity some of the survivalists had and displayed towards each other. The survivalists on XL 7 all got along and treated each other with respect in their quest to make it to extraction. The producers should bring all twelve back together for a reunion show.

Matt, Ryan, and Rylie are walking across their bridge to check Ryan's snare for a nutria. Ryan: First nutria we got was how many days ago? Rylie: Two weeks. Matt: Two weeks ago by the way. Rylie: Yeah. Ryan: Yeah. Matt: Yeah. But you know what though? Our odds increase every time. Like back in my single days, you know, dating. Rylie: Oh no. Matt: Just throw it out there. Rylie: God. Are you comparing women to nutria? Matt: I definitely will never do that. Rylie: Did they give you rashes as well?

Sarah Bartell was in the last Naked And Afraid XL in South Africa. Her boyfriend attempted the 21 day challenge but the producers forced him to tap out due to the risk of hypothermia. The current XL has Sarah Danser partnered with Suzanne and EJ.

Amber and Lacey both appeared in XL season 3 where they tried to survive 40 days in Ecuador's Amazon Basin. Lacey didn't always agree with the priorities of Amber and Giovanna. While rushing back to their camp to prevent the fire from going out, Lacey fell and injured her leg. The producers decided to medically evacuate her. Amber went on to complete the forty day challenge.

I wonder if it was fair to allow Najee Richardson to use an asthma inhaler before he attempted the Spider Trap. Some asthma medications are performance enhancing drugs. If Najee Richardson couldn't continue the obstacle course without his inhaler, he should have stopped after completing the Dungeon. Some American Ninja Warrior athletes become fatigued and fail the obstacles that require upper body strength. They fall in the water ending their run. If these same athletes were allowed to take a performance enhancing drug, they would probably go farther. It just seems unfair to the other contestants for an asthmatic contestant to use an inhaler. I am asthmatic and use an inhaler. I can run and swim longer if I take a few puffs of Ventolin or Qvar.

Flip Rodriguez got the WWWA treatment. He was shown completing the Shrinking Steps, Burn Rubber, Warped Wall, Corkscrew, and then falling from the Dungeon. Ninja Warrior veterans Abel Gonzalez and Kevin Bull were only shown falling from the Corkscrew. That was the extent of their airtime. I watch only the runs and don't care about a competitor who chooses to run in a suit or a competitor who dedicates his participation to a relative who is fighting a terminal disease.

The mother of the minor girl should have went to the police immediately in 2015 when she found out that Drew Dreschel had an inappropriate encounter with her daughter. And why did the girl wait until June, 2019 to go to the police? Did Drew break off the relationship? The timing is suspicious in that Drew won the $1 million dollar prize last year.

Bulent Gurcan appeared on Naked and Afraid twice before he attempted the 40 day XL challenge. His first episode is Stalked on all Sides and his second episode is Blood, Sweat and Fears. All 11 seasons of Naked and Afraid are available on Xfinity. Both of Bulent's episodes can be watched for free on YouTube.

My take on the final episode of XL: Banished is that Bulent arrived in the new area and was immediately perceived as being an uneducated, surly, immigrant who spoke broken English. In fact, Bulent holds a Masters Degree and is a licensed pilot. His characterizations of the failed survivalists he interacted with were not well received by the final four. When Bulent told them of catching catfish with his bare hands and catching terrapins, the group dismissed this as exaggerations. However, he could be useful and earn his keep - not by chopping wood - but by hunting and killing fresh game while the others relaxed in the boma. Bulent incurred the displeasure of the owners of his new found territory when he didn't observe Gwen flashing hand signals and when he had the audacity to sleep in when he was supposed to be hunting at 8 am. For his transgressions, Bulent was told he could no longer remain in this area with his fellow survivalists and must leave in the morning. But Bulent didn't need these do-nothings. Except for the fresh spring water, Bulent wouldn't miss the area. Gwen, Sarah, Jon, and Suzanne might have thought they were condemning Bulent to failure when they cast him out but he once again thrived in his new space. Maybe they were secretly hoping Bulent would fail. They didn't appear to be happy when Bulent arrived at the extraction point. Once again Bulent proved his detractors wrong. He completed the grueling 40 day challenge largely on his own and like the famous song....."I did it my waaaaaaaaay." I can't wait for the reunion show when all of the survivalists are brought together to talk about their experiences in Africa. Except for Dawn, Joshua, Ryan, and Wes- the four survivalists that had no interaction with Bulent - the other seven could direct their misplaced anger and frustrations at Bulent.

I would think Bulent meets his fellow remaining survivalists and sets up his own shelter nearby, just like he did when he met Seth. Bulent makes one kill providing the sustenance needed by Jon, Gwen, Sarah, Suzanne, and himself to make it to extraction. He then leaves the others and moves closer to the extraction point and waits for the final day. Bulent strikes me as being a misanthrope and misogynist. Being a loner, I don't know why he would want to join the others. Bulent must know that if he throws in with Jon, Gwen, Sarah, and Suzanne, he runs the risk of them judging him and banishing him. The previews for the last two hour episode seems to bear this out. On another note, none of the five survivalists seeking redemption made it to the last day. Dawn, Joshua, Kate, Seth, and Ryan all failed to complete the 21 day challenge and won't complete the XL challenge. The producers might have selected these failed survivalists for their drama value.

Love him or hate him, Bulent could end up being the savior for the remaining survivalists. Ryan is the only hunter left and might become incapacitated. With only two episodes left, I can see Bulent walking into the camp and scoring a much needed kill. The group is then able to make the long, hazardous trek to extraction. This, of course, is pure speculation on my part. I'm hoping that Ryan is able to make a kill, providing the survivalists with the protein needed to complete the challenge.

Did Jon, Sarah, Ryan, and Suzanne join Wes and Gwen and form one large group? I wasn't sure if they were making their own boma or expanding the existing one made by Wes and Gwen. If they are one group, Jon, Sarah, Ryan, and Suzanne could band together and banish Wes or Gwen.