S40.E00: Greatest Moments and Players

[Whimsy]

Quote

A retrospective featuring interviews with unforgettable players from the previous two decades of Survivor; a sneak peek of the next season 

 

[Guest]

Well this special did its job of getting me excited for the season. I kind of wish it could just stay like this forever, with all the promise and potential and anticipation, without actually airing and risking disappointment.

I doubt Amanda enjoyed it, since she was left out of Parvati's narration of the Black Widow Brigade's bamboozling of Erik ("Everyone had a part to play...here's what Natalie did, here's what Cirie did, here's what I did...the end") and was shown lying poorly to Parvati in HvV to get her to play her idol.

During the "fake idols" portion, I found it interesting that my reaction to Rick's glee over planting fake idols for Julie and Lauren was so negative, but I didn't mind other times that it happened. He just seemed so much more nasty about it, and seeing them all presented back to back didn't really change my view on it.

I could only imagine heads exploding when they showed the first Final 4 fire making challenge and had Ben talking about how he was toast until that moment. Yeah, how about that, buddy? XD

[treeofdreams]

I enjoyed the retrospective.  I don't have the detailed memory of past seasons that so many of you do, so it was very interesting to me.  I had forgotten that Cirie was screwed by the game in two different seasons.  She remains one of my favorite players.

One thing that I wish they had included in the program - a montage of people's faces at FTC when they were blindsided.  So many great moments, so many great expressions!

[SVNBob]

3 minutes ago, treeofdreams said:

I had forgotten that Cirie was screwed by the game in two different seasons.  She remains one of my favorite players.

Technically, she was screwed by the game in all 4 of her seasons.  Or at least, she was never really voted out in a normal manner.

• Panama: There was a tie at the F4.  She lost in the firemaking challenge to Danielle.
• FvF: She made it to the F3...but then there was a surprise F2.  Amanda won the FIC, and voted Cirie out.  (The closest to a normal vote out.)
• HvV: Idoled out by Tom.
• GC: The Idolgeddon.

[mojoween]

Every time Russell bleated “and I didn’t even have a clue” I giggled because I am 12 and he sucks for all eternity.

Wait. Sierra voted out HER MOM?  I HAD NO IDEA.

I am so happy to see Danni again.  Her cheerily waving at her brother while eating a cheesesteak and getting an advantage will always be one of my favorite moments.  Plus she got to see her Chiefs win!

[treeofdreams]

11 minutes ago, SVNBob said:

Technically, she was screwed by the game in all 4 of her seasons.  Or at least, she was never really voted out in a normal manner.

• Panama: There was a tie at the F4.  She lost in the firemaking challenge to Danielle.
• FvF: She made it to the F3...but then there was a surprise F2.  Amanda won the FIC, and voted Cirie out.  (The closest to a normal vote out.)
• HvV: Idoled out by Tom.
• GC: The Idolgeddon.

Ugh,  Thanks, I hadn't remembered all that.

Idolgeddon.  Heh.

[Lamima]

I enjoyed watching. I wish, so badly, that we can get back to that OG Survivor and drop all the social issue/conflict dissecting at TC. Just get back to the basics...the outplaying, outlasting, outwitting. Seeing some of Survivor's greatest moments, and I was watching for my top several (and they didn't disappoint me), was just wonderful. Now, show/Jeff, keep this ball rolling and don't deviate to tie in certain actions to social issues. PLEASE for the love of god!!!!

I was not going to watch anymore after last season's "issues". But here I am...

[fishcakes]

I thought it was pretty boring. It mostly just showcased the already best known players and ignored the ones we haven't seen or heard much about over the years. Also, I could have done without the not-so-subtle promotion of more idols and more twists making for a great game.

I did love a few moments though, a couple of them Amber-related. First when she said with a disbelieving look on her face that she was one of the oldest players now (I think she was 21 the first time she played), and at the very end when Ethan quietly said to Rob something like, "oh your wife is here. Good job." That one got to me because Amber dated Ethan right before Rob and you could see Rob's jealousy about it during All Stars, and it just reminded me of when everyone was young. Seeing them all as gray-haired and mature and, in Ethan's case, having confronted his own mortality, was kind of touching.

Also loved how irate Sandra was that she spent all that time on Idol Island with Rob and he never told her he was in season 40. I like to think she blabbed everything to him about her upcoming strategy while he sat there mute. And I love Sandra, but the whole thing just strikes me as funny especially since now she's obviously going to try to murder him.

[SVNBob]

7 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I did love a few moments though, a couple of them Amber-related. First when she said with a disbelieving look on her face that she was one of the oldest players now

I believe Amber is now the same age Tina was when Amber first played.

[Lantern7]

Basically: sixty minutes of Probst huffing off alpha dudes and his own ego, while hoping that everyone forgets how nasty the prior season was. Or how stupidly S38 ended.

Nice bits with Amber. We haven’t seen her since TAR11, right? Of course, she probably won’t admit that she was pretty far down the list for S8 casting, or that three of the four votes she got were more about saying “fuck you” to Rob.

It was nice that we got to see also-rans like Christian and David Wright. Maybe Cochran didn’t make the beta male spotlight because he’s got a better gig than coming back to Survivor? Of course, Erik gets dragged through the mud for his dumbass move. Even if he wasn’t medically booted in his second time, we’d still hear that story. At least we got to see James get booted with two idols.

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

I could only imagine heads exploding when they showed the first Final 4 fire making challenge and had Ben talking about how he was toast until that moment. Yeah, how about that, buddy? XD

“That’s not an advantage.” I don’t think Probst and Co. handed him the idols on any level, but that final twist seemed geared for a dominant player one last chance to stay in the game. And I’ll say it again: if the other players didn’t want to suffer one “Ben Bomb” after the other, they would have tried to prevent him from scoring idols. He could have done the equivalent of Arthur Fleck dancing down the stairs, and I wouldn’t have blamed him.

1 hour ago, SVNBob said:

Technically, she was screwed by the game in all 4 of her seasons.  Or at least, she was never really voted out in a normal manner.

• Panama: There was a tie at the F4.  She lost in the firemaking challenge to Danielle.
• FvF: She made it to the F3...but then there was a surprise F2.  Amanda won the FIC, and voted Cirie out.  (The closest to a normal vote out.)
• HvV: Idoled out by Tom.
• GC: The Idolgeddon.

I only count FvF and GC as unusual. She does earn a seat next to Bobby Jon at the Butthurt Conference (lost firemaking Challenge to Stephenie; got idoled out by Gary).

16 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

Also loved how irate Sandra was that she spent all that time on Idol Island with Rob and he never told her he was in season 40. I like to think she blabbed everything to him about her upcoming strategy while he sat there mute. And I love Sandra, but the whole thing just strikes me as funny especially since now she's obviously going to try to murder him.

I wasn’t thinking “irate.” I’m not sure if either of them committed to WaW before IOTI. But if she sends him packing early? I’m all there for it,

[tvfanatic13]

4 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I thought it was pretty boring. It mostly just showcased the already best known players and ignored the ones we haven't seen or heard much about over the years. Also, I could have done without the not-so-subtle promotion of more idols and more twists making for a great game.

I did love a few moments though, a couple of them Amber-related. First when she said with a disbelieving look on her face that she was one of the oldest players now (I think she was 21 the first time she played), and at the very end when Ethan quietly said to Rob something like, "oh your wife is here. Good job." That one got to me because Amber dated Ethan right before Rob and you could see Rob's jealousy about it during All Stars, and it just reminded me of when everyone was young. Seeing them all as gray-haired and mature and, in Ethan's case, having confronted his own mortality, was kind of touching.

Also loved how irate Sandra was that she spent all that time on Idol Island with Rob and he never told her he was in season 40. I like to think she blabbed everything to him about her upcoming strategy while he sat there mute. And I love Sandra, but the whole thing just strikes me as funny especially since now she's obviously going to try to murder him.

I can't see how Sandra wouldn't be the first voted out. 

[Guest]

42 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I did love a few moments though, a couple of them Amber-related. First when she said with a disbelieving look on her face that she was one of the oldest players now (I think she was 21 the first time she played), and at the very end when Ethan quietly said to Rob something like, "oh your wife is here. Good job." That one got to me because Amber dated Ethan right before Rob and you could see Rob's jealousy about it during All Stars, and it just reminded me of when everyone was young. Seeing them all as gray-haired and mature and, in Ethan's case, having confronted his own mortality, was kind of touching.

 

34 minutes ago, SVNBob said:

I believe Amber is now the same age Tina was when Amber first played.

These are the kinds of things you get when a show has been around so long. It's like when you're watching a soap opera for years and you blink and suddenly the teen rebels are the patriarch and matriarch of the family, or the young heartthrob surgeon is now the grizzled chief of staff. It's nice when the show dips back into these early years.

[mojoween]

Yeah I don’t think anyone is going to want to sit next to possible three-time winner Sandra for any length of time.

I wonder if they asked both Ethan and Jenna and whichever one responded first they then told the other “nah, we’re good.”

[tvgoddess]

I liked it, it introduced me to a lot of players I wasn't familiar with. I haven't seen nearly as many seasons as everyone else, although I'm making my way slowly back through ALL of them. (Halfway through Marquesas currently).

Have a couple of new people to root for besides the ones I already know well.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, mojoween said:

I wonder if they asked both Ethan and Jenna and whichever one responded first they then told the other “nah, we’re good.”

Supposedly, according to Jeff, players with...er...substance issues were not considered, at least in part for their own good. So I don't think Jenna was ever in the running.

[Quilt Fairy]

I always assumed that Rob and Sandra went to IOTI knowing that they both in S40.  

[tvgoddess]

1 minute ago, tracyscott76 said:

Supposedly, according to Jeff, players with...er...substance issues were not considered, at least in part for their own good. So I don't think Jenna was ever in the running.

Seriously. Jenna's lucky to be alive. I don't wish her ill will at all, I hope that she gets the help she needs.

[meep.meep]

I assume that all the attention paid to idols in this is a strong indicator that there will, again, be far too many idols in this season.

 

[Lantern7]

4 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

I assume that all the attention paid to idols in this is a strong indicator that there will, again, be far too many idols in this season.

 

I’ve heard about other elements, and I don’t wish to spoil for anyone that wants to be surprised. Simply put: a surplus of idols might be the least of our annoyances.

[treeofdreams]

9 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I’ve heard about other elements, and I don’t wish to spoil for anyone that wants to be surprised. Simply put: a surplus of idols might be the least of our annoyances.

Can you pop that into the Spoilers topic?  I would love  to know!

[violet and green]

4 hours ago, SVNBob said:

I believe Amber is now the same age Tina was when Amber first played.

And I can't help noting, Parvati is almost the same age that Jerri Manthey was in Heroes vs Villains, when Parvati referred to Jerri dismissively as a 'bitter cougar'! 

[deirdra]

Why was the second half the Parvati show?  She is only 37 but looks older than Jerri Manthey (now 49) and sounds bitter and dismissive of others.  She is not as smart as she thinks she is.

Edited February 6, 2020 by deirdra

[willco]

I'm surprised at myself that I remembered almost everything this special showcased ( although they did seem to show a lot of very well known bits !). But my memory for past seasons isn't the best-- I guess that I mostly forget the little things.

 

I'm going to be particularly disappointed if either Boston Rob or Sandra wins this season ! There is no reason-- at all- that they should not be voted out ASAP. I doubt if Rob will be able to pull his Pied Piper act with these players like he did when he won, but he is a smooth talker. Still, though, everyone knows they are good-- send them packing !

 

Poor Erik- I think it will really take something to top his stupidity of giving up his immunity to those 4 women. Even James having 2 idols isn't as bad, to me. It's dumb, but not Erik dumb.

[meep.meep]

I would put Tyson voting himself out above either of those.

[Steph Sometimes]

It wasn't bad, but way too much Parvarti. There are nine other women competing! 

[SVNBob]

2 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

It wasn't bad, but way too much Parvarti. There are nine other women competing! 

True to the bolded. 

But this special wasn't really about the upcoming season.  It was a look back at all seasons past.  And Parv was a key player in two of the bigger moments in Survivor history: the Black Widows vs. Erik, and her Double Idol Play.

[Steph Sometimes]

6 minutes ago, SVNBob said:

True to the bolded. 

But this special wasn't really about the upcoming season.  It was a look back at all seasons past.  And Parv was a key player in two of the bigger moments in Survivor history: the Black Widows vs. Erik, and her Double Idol Play.

Ok. That's true. I guess, even without thinking about the upcoming season, I wanted to hear from more people. Maybe I just needed a 2-hour show.

[Guest]

I just wish they hadn't tied Sandra's win into Parvati's double-idol play: "And she cleared the way for Sandra to become the first two-time winner!" There's truth to that, since it gave the Villains the majority, but it seemed to minimize what Sandra herself did to become the first two-time winner. That's on the producers of the special, not Parvati, but it irked me.

[Lamima]

Quote

16 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

It wasn't bad, but way too much Parvarti. There are nine other women competing! 

 

14 hours ago, SVNBob said:

True to the bolded. 

But this special wasn't really about the upcoming season.  It was a look back at all seasons past.  And Parv was a key player in two of the bigger moments in Survivor history: the Black Widows vs. Erik, and her Double Idol Play.

 

And Parvati is Jeffro's very favorite player!

Edited February 8, 2020 by Lamima

[Lantern7]

20 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

It wasn't bad, but way too much Parvarti. There are nine other women competing! 

Here’s how I figure the women are ranked in terms of how much the producers will spotlight them: Parvati, Amber, Sandra . . . then the other seven in any order. It would’ve been eight, but Sandra has two wins.

[peachmangosteen]

Did anyone else think Ben looked really skinny? He looked so much thinner than I remember him looking, even at the end of HHH.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Did anyone else think Ben looked really skinny? He looked so much thinner than I remember him looking, even at the end of HHH.

I did think he looked very different, but mostly I was focused on the severe decrease in his facial hair.

[SVNBob]

15 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Did anyone else think Ben looked really skinny?

There's a meme going around on r/Survivor based on the promos ("Survivor changed his/her life."  "Now s/he's back") where they use pictures of one Survivor with the first line of text and a different but similar looking Survivor with the second (example, Woo and Cao Boi).  A recent one had a still of Ben from this special in the first spot, with a pretty accurate choice for the second.

[marys1000]

So many commenting on they didn't have kids their season and now they do.  I feel like this is going to be the 'about my kids" show. 

[peachmangosteen]

16 hours ago, SVNBob said:

There's a meme going around on r/Survivor based on the promos ("Survivor changed his/her life."  "Now s/he's back") where they use pictures of one Survivor with the first line of text and a different but similar looking Survivor with the second (example, Woo and Cao Boi).  A recent one had a still of Ben from this special in the first spot, with a pretty accurate choice for the second.

That's actually kind of uncanny lol.

[cleo]

I've only watched half of this but hope to watch the rest tonight.

-it's really amusing seeing how frustrated Spencer gets at Kass

-they let Rupert play three times? He's such an ass. I'm not sure I ever saw his third season.

- I'm not sure I ever saw any of Parvati's seasons. I missed chunks of Survivor here and there. I'm doing a slow rewatch in order but I'm only on 8.

Really looking forward to tomorrow! Edge of Extinction is trash and I will boycott its seasons, except this one.

Edited February 11, 2020 by cleo

[Matteo]

Unfortunately, Rupert has played FOUR times! Pearl Islands, All-Stars, Heroes vs. Villains, and Blood vs. Water... though mercifully out earlyish on a couple of those seasons.

Edited February 11, 2020 by Matteo

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, Matteo said:

Unfortunately, Rupert has played FOUR times! Pearl Islands, All-Stars, Heroes vs. Villains, and Blood vs. Water... though mercifully out earlyish on a couple of those seasons.

Just “Blood vs. Water.” I’ll have to check, but I think his  percentage of days in the game to total days is higher that Rob among the four-timers. Let me check the Past Seasons thread . . .

. . . and I did not remember correctly. Here’s the Excel I made:

Edited February 11, 2020 by Lantern7

[Matteo]

Wow, for some reason, I didn't recall him making it as far as he did in Heroes vs. Villains, but then I just read the wiki and realized how much I'd forgotten.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

Unfortunately, Rupert has played FOUR times! Pearl Islands, All-Stars, Heroes vs. Villains, and Blood vs. Water... though mercifully out earlyish on a couple of those seasons.

He and his wife Laura also went out 2nd on The Amazing Race.