S39.E05: Don't Bite the Hand That Feeds You

[GenerationX]

Random thoughts on episode 5 - "Karishma vs. Karishma"

• In this very special episode of Survivor, contestants and viewers alike explore who will get custody of the horseshoe currently residing in Karishma's rear end
• I wonder how many takes of Probst announcing the Applebee's commercial reward were required
• I predict more Dean-Kellee "real-life semi-awkward connection" stuntcasting in future seasons.

[BK1978]

13 hours ago, laurakaye said:

 I hate that they've removed the title sequence with the players' names.    I am patiently waiting for TPTB to recognize that going back to the simpler style of Survivor, even for a couple of seasons, might be the refresher that many long-time fans are craving.  

I just edited your post down to what I wanted to respond to.

I completely agree with wanting the title sequence back.  They have that on Australian Survivor and I really does help me learn who the players are pretty quickly (They have 24 players every season so it truly does help).  I am not sure if I remember this correctly or not, but when the US version used to have opening credits I could have sworn they would remove the person from the credits who was voted out the previous week.

I am not sure if I have said it on this board or not, but I am in favor of having a twist were the show plays out like the original season.  Two tribes of eight, final two, jurors ask each of the final two a question (I hate the new jury discussion thing.).  No idols, no tribe swap, may the best contestant win.  

I have a love hate relationship with idols.  They sometimes keep people in the game that I do not want kept in the game.  Then again, one of my favorite winners was Yul and he would probably not have won the game had he not had the Idol.

[DEL901]

17 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

The show didn't allow Canadians to apply before.

16 hours ago, valandsend said:

I wonder why?

Legal/work permit requirements most likely.  

[ByaNose]

I remember they did full credits for years. Then the started just doing the merge & jury people. Now, it’s nada. I really miss the original structure of previously on and upending credits. It was so iconic and told a full story. I don’t care if they only have 47 minutes of show as Jeff likes to say. Maybe, cut out a stupid wrestling match (really WTF was that) and, show the opening credits. I’ve been watching since Day 1. This current is kind of meh for me. I’m tiring of Rob (who does most of the talking) and, Sandra. Also, Karishma is getting on my last nerve. Two better people were voted out when it should have been her. 

[TVFan1]

9 hours ago, BK1978 said:

I just edited your post down to what I wanted to respond to.

I completely agree with wanting the title sequence back.  They have that on Australian Survivor and I really does help me learn who the players are pretty quickly (They have 24 players every season so it truly does help).  I am not sure if I remember this correctly or not, but when the US version used to have opening credits I could have sworn they would remove the person from the credits who was voted out the previous week.

I am not sure if I have said it on this board or not, but I am in favor of having a twist were the show plays out like the original season.  Two tribes of eight, final two, jurors ask each of the final two a question (I hate the new jury discussion thing.).  No idols, no tribe swap, may the best contestant win.  

I have a love hate relationship with idols.  They sometimes keep people in the game that I do not want kept in the game.  Then again, one of my favorite winners was Yul and he would probably not have won the game had he not had the Idol.

I agree with everything you said, but I wanted to include that there is NO fire making challenge when it comes down to a final 2 0r 3. Have the VOTES decide who stays and who goes.

[stcroix]

I've eaten at Applebees and it's below par.  No way were those people not acting for that 'commercial'.  I thought it would never end! There had to be 5 cameras filming to get all the perfect shots-- or else they practiced over and over and then did several scenes.  The way those people were acting reminded me of the Saturday Night Live Skit making fun of Ophra's Favorite Things shows! The number of times Missy looked at the food and screamed,'' Oh God!" made me expect to see her with either a lighted cigarette in a hot tub right after, or a natural birth of twins lying on the sand beside her. 

[treeofdreams]

I have no opinion on Applebees, never having eaten there, but I can imagine the survivors, having had so little food up until then, and that limited by what was available on the island, going gaga over anything that was more than what they have been having.  All Probst has to do is mention hamburgers or chocolate or anything else and they will go nuts.

[Special K]

Just weighing in to say that the contemplation of what precisely is wrong with Dean's face on this thread has me LOLing.

[blackwing]

On 10/26/2019 at 1:47 AM, BK1978 said:

I completely agree with wanting the title sequence back.  They have that on Australian Survivor and I really does help me learn who the players are pretty quickly (They have 24 players every season so it truly does help).  I am not sure if I remember this correctly or not, but when the US version used to have opening credits I could have sworn they would remove the person from the credits who was voted out the previous week.

Yes, I remember this too.  It was always kind of fun to see the people disappear each week.  I can't remember when they stopped showing names of everyone, then they started only showing names at the merge, then they stopped showing names altogether.  I miss seeing the names.

20 hours ago, treeofdreams said:

I have no opinion on Applebees, never having eaten there, but I can imagine the survivors, having had so little food up until then, and that limited by what was available on the island, going gaga over anything that was more than what they have been having.  All Probst has to do is mention hamburgers or chocolate or anything else and they will go nuts.

I don't disagree that they are hungry and would go nuts over any mention of food.  I've always hated when Jeffy announces food rewards.  I hate most everything about Jeffy, but especially when he announces food rewards like he is handing out Nobel Prizes or something.  "CHOCOLATE.  CHIP.  COOKIES!!!!!"  And most especially when he puts on the southern accent.... "FRAAAAAHHHHDDDD.  CHIIIICCCKKEENNN!!!!   APPPPPLLLLLE   PAAAAAHHHHH!!!"  "WITH ALLLLL THE FIXXXXXIIINNNS!"  Shut up Jeff.

However, in this case, when he announced the food reward, the reaction of the contestants seemed unusually over the top.  I could understand an over the top reaction to something like, say, a tomahawk bone in ribeye steak and whole lobster and champagne.  But Applebees?  It just seemed like they were coached by production to go completely gaga over the mention of their sponsor Applebees.  The reaction of the one contestant at the mat who sank to their knees, overcome with emotion like they had just witnessed the birth of the baby Jesus, was particularly ridiculous.

[marys1000]

On 10/25/2019 at 1:24 PM, laurakaye said:

Not bored here, just....jaded, maybe?  I long for the Survivor days of old where we didn't have a thousand distractions and were allowed to actually get to know the players.  I hate that they've removed the title sequence with the players' names.  I can absolutely do without surprise visits from Boston Rob or Cochran, 10+ immunity idols per season, and any island named Extinction, Ghost, or Redemption.  I am patiently waiting for TPTB to recognize that going back to the simpler style of Survivor, even for a couple of seasons, might be the refresher that many long-time fans are craving.  

I think about this too but the only way to make a "old fashioned" Survivor work and be fresh again is to find Survivor's who have never seen the show and aren't allowed to know anything about the show before playing.  

That might be truly interesting if they could pull it off.  Everyone knows alliances, flushing idols etc.  It would be fun to see if a new crop come up with the idea of alliances on their own or some other "system".  Otherwise I dont' think there is a way to go back to the old days. Everyone plays the game the way its been played for a long time now.  The only season that modified that a little bit was that season where the alliances were more fluid, can't remember what they called it.  

But yea, this season seems blah to me.  

[Rachel RSL]

LMAO at the memory of the "cloth of spaghetti"!  That was the nastiest reward in the entire history of the show.

On 10/24/2019 at 12:24 PM, Bryce Lynch said:

Tom joked about getting beat by a girl in something.  If that passes as "sexist" for a 60 year old, former hockey player, I don't know what to say.    

It's not that it passes as sexist, it's literally the definition of sexist.

On 10/25/2019 at 12:46 AM, BK1978 said:

I did the same with Red Robin.  About fifteen years ago there were none locally and the closest one was about a 45 minute drive.  So every so often I would hop in the car and drive up there just for that.  

I once drove 2 hours and crossed the border into the U.S. for the sole purpose of going to The Cheesecake Factory.  I REGRET NOTHING!

[phlebas]

On 10/26/2019 at 7:14 AM, DEL901 said:

Legal/work permit requirements most likely.  

Or maybe Canada was planning their own version and they didn't want to cross-pollinate, then recently decided "Survivor: Eh?" wasn't happening.

[Special K]

14 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

LMAO at the memory of the "cloth of spaghetti"!  That was the nastiest reward in the entire history of the show.

It should be a rule that every season, one of us has to invoke the cloth of spaghetti, just so I can laugh like a hyena.

[Eolivet]

5 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

LMAO at the memory of the "cloth of spaghetti"!  That was the nastiest reward in the entire history of the show.

Benji and the communal nacho platter on Australian Survivor send their regards.

[ByaNose]

I’m on Karishma watch. Girlfriend better be going home this week. She’s like krypotnite. 

[Jobiska]

On 10/24/2019 at 4:31 PM, RedbirdNelly said:

also when Karishma said it was her favorite sit down place I had to ask "where on earth does she live??" and now I realize from visiting here it's Philadelphia???

LOL, sitting on our couch near Center City Philadelphia, I actually asked out loud "Where do you live???" (and my son thought I said "How do you live?," which, ditto).  

Coming off of an extended birthday celebration (why celebrate just the day when you can stretch it out to one or two weeks or heck, the whole month!) where I dined out a few times, I especially wonder.  

[ETA:  I didn't realize she was now from Houston.  Still.  I think if I moved away I'd still say decades later that Vernick and Honey's Sit 'n Eat were my favorite restaurants, unless I'd found comparable in my new locale.  Applebee's is...not comparable.]

I was surprised there was no immunity idol or clue hidden inside one of those chewy sharks.  I guess they didn't want dental emergencies.  Or even somewhere else on the reward!  

I don't mind Karishma that much.  

Edited October 30, 2019 by Jobiska