S30: Shirin Oskooi

[Miss Scarlet]

I saw the secret scene of her singing the Survivor theme song and I thought it was hilarious. It was probably one of the best secret scenes I've watched. I don't know how I would feel about it if I was out there on the island with her, but as a viewer I think she's great. I much prefer the type of entertainment we get from someone like her than from the Rodneys and Brandon Hantzes of the world that CBS mistakenly believes are entertaining.

[marys1000]

From Joaquins interview wih Cochran.  She really irritated him. 

 

Cochran: Beyond your bromance with Rodney and your earlier bond with So, it wasn’t clear what sort of relationships you had with the other players.  How did you connect with everyone else?

Joaquin: Carolyn and Tyler and I were very, very, very close.  When we got to the mix-up and I saw Tyler was on my team — who at the time was my closest ally — I was ecstatic.  I got along with Max; I thought him and his funny delusional thinking was hilarious.  I thought he was a good guy.   Sierra, like you saw, I got along great with her.  We vibed out and laughed a lot.  Even with Mike and Dan… I’m a very easygoing person; it’s hard for someone not to like me.  At the end of the day, I’m a likable person; I’m very social.  I can talk to anybody.  Like I said at the beginning, my job doesn’t define me.  I’ll go out with any of these people and have a drink and — before you know it — it’s 3 in the morning and we’ve spent the entire night talking and laughing our faces off.  And that’s basically how it was with every single person there.  Except for Shirin.

[wonald]

I don't like Shirin but this just makes Joaq seem petty. This all happened a year ago under extreme circumstances. Let it go. Bro.

[Donny Ketchum]

I don't like Shirin but this just makes Joaq seem petty. This all happened a year ago under extreme circumstances. Let it go. Bro.

Joaquin just doesn't strike me as the type to let things go.  I kinda had a hint of what a douche he was since the first episode, and he just went and confirmed it here.

[Guest]

I don't really understand Hali's case against Shirin.  Why does it matter if she and Max didn't go hide to speak to each other?  Isn't it known they're (1) allied and (2) enjoying talking to each other?  Then Hali says how you get far in Survivor is not be annoying.  I wish.  That would've ruled out all the long games of Philip and the other nutballs.  

 

I'm not sure Hali understands this isn't a popularity contest.  

[LadyChatts]

I saw the secret scene of her singing the Survivor theme song and I thought it was hilarious. It was probably one of the best secret scenes I've watched. I don't know how I would feel about it if I was out there on the island with her, but as a viewer I think she's great. I much prefer the type of entertainment we get from someone like her than from the Rodneys and Brandon Hantzes of the world that CBS mistakenly believes are entertaining.

 

I've said before that I think Shirin would be a lot of fun to hang out with in real life.  But being on an island with her, I don't know.  I can see where she'd be annoying out there, and we're just getting a condensed version.  Losing Max appears to have humbled her, from what little we saw of Nagarote this week.  At least she seems to understand that when you aren't fitting in, you better be trying your hardest to adapt and find a way to fit, unlike someone else that was in this game (*cough*Nina*cough*).  

 

Shirin's in a good spot right now, I think.  The merge is coming up and her vote is going to be needed.  Annoying or not I feel like she's around for awhile.  Even though I like Carolyn, it'll be funny if Shirin winds up causing her and Tyler's downfall.  I enjoy her, and she is just the right amount of crazy that I can handle watching.  Plus, I always enjoy seeing actual fans on this show, even if they act like they've never seen an episode of a day in their life.  I only say that about Shirin because she and Max were so oblivious to everything going on around them, even back with their old tribe.

Edited March 28, 2015 by LadyChatts

[pennben]

 

I've said before that I think Shirin would be a lot of fun to hang out with in real life.  But being on an island with her, I don't know.  I can see where she'd be annoying out there, and we're just getting a condensed version.

 

I would absolutely be annoyed beyond belief by Shirin if stranded on an island; we've been shown the bottoms-off; we've seen her in an overly-detailed narration of monkey sex; we've been shown her as a "professional whistler"; we've been shown her singing the star spangled banner; we know she was bonded to Max, another one who would annoy me; we've learned that she performed the Survivor theme song; we've also learned she apparently can't shut up for a second....that last one is what would destroy me out there.

 

She may be a great person, but, honest to god, if I were stuck on an island with her, given all of the above, I'd want to to either jump off a cliff and swim away or throw her off a cliff and turn away.

 

She's probably great in real life, but this isn't that.  I expect to see her for a long time though on the show.

Edited March 28, 2015 by pennben

[KimberStormer]

I don't really understand Hali's case against Shirin.  Why does it matter if she and Max didn't go hide to speak to each other?  Isn't it known they're (1) allied and (2) enjoying talking to each other?  Then Hali says how you get far in Survivor is not be annoying.  I wish.  That would've ruled out all the long games of Philip and the other nutballs.  

 

I'm not sure Hali understands this isn't a popularity contest.  

 

Well, it kind of is.  You'd better be more popular than whoever you're sitting next to at the end, anyway.

 

Hali's right.  If you see two people thick as thieves who don't involve anyone else in their conversations, that's going to make them a target.  It's just a Survivor fact.  Breaking up super-tight couples is a pretty standard play.  If you have a tight ally, great, but don't show it off.  You need numbers anyway, and you don't want people thinking you value someone else over them.

 

I like Shirin, and I'm glad to see her regrouping and trying to change her approach, because what she was doing was not working.

[ByaNose]

Did Shirin get the winners edit last week? LOL!! Seriously, I thought she was leaving when she brought up her "horrible" life in Orange County in her confessional. Of course, she didn't go home and is still around. I'm not sure she'll win but I think she might go far. With the merge I think she wouldn't be considered a threat and might not be on anyone's radar. It would be funny if she would be a challenge beast. I wouldn't see that one coming. LOL!!!! I guess it comes down wether they want to keep her around if they think she'd be easy to beat since she is annoying or if they want to vote her out real fast if she is annoying.

[Guest]

Well, it kind of is.  You'd better be more popular than whoever you're sitting next to at the end, anyway.

 

Hali's right.  If you see two people thick as thieves who don't involve anyone else in their conversations, that's going to make them a target.  It's just a Survivor fact.  Breaking up super-tight couples is a pretty standard play.  If you have a tight ally, great, but don't show it off.  You need numbers anyway, and you don't want people thinking you value someone else over them.

 

I like Shirin, and I'm glad to see her regrouping and trying to change her approach, because what she was doing was not working.

Yeah, I see the case for breaking up 'power couples' but I'm not sure if those two goofs could really qualify, especially if they were truly on the outs with everyone else.  

 

If there are players that choose who to keep around based on how hard they work or how pleasant they are throughout the game, we aren't really shown that line of thinking much.  I don't think the other players pick their winner much on general likability.  More on good game play.  But every season is different.  Maybe Hali is onto something and this group is more about clearing out the annoyances first.  They do seem to be a little more emotional in their decisions than what's usual.  

 

But I would still argue that's not normally how you win Survivor-- being nice, normal and not annoying.  

[peachmangosteen]

But I would still argue that's not normally how you win Survivor-- being nice, normal and not annoying.  

 

You win by being nicer, normal-er, and less annoying than who you're sitting beside.

Edited March 28, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[Guest]

They seem to usually give it to the person who's game they respected most.  Who pulled the strings without getting so much blood on their hands to inspire vengeance.  

 

Though likability can't hurt.  I think JT won on likability.  

[peachmangosteen]

I still think it's pretty much based on likability. But that doesn't mean the winner is always super likable, they're just more likable than the others in the F3. Which is why I doubt Shirin has much of a chance of winning, but I suspect she'll make it very far and maybe even to F3.

[NutMeg]

They seem to usually give it to the person who's game they respected most.

 

Agreed. But if they really don't like that person and have a better choice they can justify to themselves and/or they have a buddy in the F2/3, they'll vote for the latter, and sometime rationalize it after the fact. It's human nature to not want to reward people you don't like with a million dollars if you have another option.  

 

[Of topic" why was the "million" never revised upwards? A million today means much less than a million 10 years ago!]

[Guest]

The ratings fall each year much more than inflation rises.  They've gone from almost 30 million viewers to around 11 million.  

[Special K]

From Joaquins interview wih Cochran. 

 

...it’s hard for someone not to like me.  At the end of the day, I’m a likable person...

 

I really hate it when people make pronouncements like this about themselves.  Isn't likeability in the eye of the beholder? 

[peachmangosteen]

Someone was talking about this interview with Shirin on the spoilers thread. I hadn't seen it. It's really great and just made me like her even more. Her response to the question about her going bottomless is great.

[pennben]

I agree peachmangosteen! I have found her annoying and still think if I was with her 24/7 I'd have problems with her (and likely her with me), but I found her charming in this interview.  In particular, like you, I loved her answer about going bottomless.

[peachmangosteen]

Yes, I imagine Shirin would be hard to take 24/7, but then I think all of them and all of us would be, too!

 

She's really the only person this season I actively like and am rooting for. It'd be a good story to see her turn it around and make it far in the game, so I hope to see that happen.

[scowl]

When I went to college decades ago, there was a girl in the dorm from a small conservative town. She was so glad to get out of there that she acted a whole lot like Shirin. She "freaked freely" as we said at the time. She was hyperactive. She interrupted conversations. She told dirty jokes that only she laughed at. She sang loudly in the shower. She pretty much drove everyone crazy. The cool thing was after a month she calmed down and became a really nice person and almost everyone forgot what a insufferable lunatic she had been. It will be neat to see if that can happen on Survivor. 

[NurseGiGi]

Someone was talking about this interview with Shirin on the spoilers thread. I hadn't seen it. It's really great and just made me like her even more. Her response to the question about her going bottomless is great.

Okay, I really like this interview and I will be cheering for her from now on.  The only problem I have with her is her seeming lack of self awareness, especially with regard to her alliance with Max, but I'm willing to cut her some slack there.  Apparently, the misogyny is out of control this season so I can see her latching onto someone who treated her with some respect.  I hope she goes far.

[LadyChatts]

Shirin hasn't looked this happy since Max was still back on the show.  Her and Nina are two reasons why I hated this collar concept, because those two were put with the wrong people.  I'm glad she's on the side of Hali/Jenn/Joe, and that she made no secret at TC that she was staying loyal to her alliance.  She looked equally disappointed when Hali's name was the first one read, and then as excited as the girls when Jenn's idol use actually worked.  And bonus points for saying what I was thinking about the new tribe name.  And getting a Sarah Palin dig in there as well.  Here's hoping that these 4 can drag some people over to their side.  I am so hoping that a former blue collar goes home again next week.  If it wasn't for the remaining BC, minus Sierra, I'd be calling this a great season.

Edited April 2, 2015 by LadyChatts

[Donny Ketchum]

Shirin is definitely doing a better job of fitting in.  I'm impressed with her total change in gameplay.

 

I'm now hoping she and the No Collars can find some way to turn the game around.  With the much better edit they're all getting in comparison to the Blue Collar boys, I suspect they might.

[ProfCrash]

I don't know how much her game play has changed. Jenn and Hali had a conversation asking if they could tolerate Shirin's antics and decided that they could.

[twizzwhizz11]

I really liked how they set up the narrative of Shirin not relaly fitting in with the White Collars (having more of a 'No Collar' type attitude) in the episode where Nina went home, and how she's now become allies with them.

 

I like Shirin. Maybe I have a higher tolerance for "annoying people" than, say, Joaquin and I'm sure everything is heightened when you're out there on the island. She's clearly successful professionally and isn't afraid to be herself.

[ProfCrash]

She is successful in a field that is insanely eccentric. Coders and developers are pretty interesting personalities. Check out how Apple and Google work, they set up campuses that provide a ton of services for the coders and developers to keep them at work. Most people who are developing programs and doing the coding are pretty focused and OCD. When they are doing something, they are doing something. So if you give them food, a bed to take a nap on, a place to work out if they want or crash and play some video games, they will hang out and work 12 hour days focused on writing the code for a killer program/project.

 

That is who Shirin is working with. So she goes from Google where she helped develop some impressive programs, working with developers/coders, totally focused on this one very big project. She takes the personality that allows her to work in that environment to an all encompassing game like Survivor, and all she wants to do is talk Survivor 24/7 and be her normal self. Except she is not surrounded by tons of other folks similar to her and now she is in trouble.

 

So she fits better with No Color because of the approach to business but not because of her personality. She is not as much a go with the flow person. She has a different set of eccentricities which have drive Hali and Jenn kind of crazy.

[wonald]

Shirin's preparing-for-Survivor-by-killing-bunnies always set off my BS Meter and the secret scene this wk with the chicken chase just proved it. She didn't help at all, much less took charge since she had "desensitived" herself. Just stood there and let Hali and Carolyn do all the work.

 

Speaking of standing around, I bet she was one of the lazy ones when Merica was building that shelter that Kelly and Hali spoke about. At least she wasn't standing around with her bottoms off this time so she learned . . . something.

[SlackerInc]

I don't usually "do" individual player threads, but I want to shout from the rooftops as I've been defending Shirin all season in the episode threads, expressing my puzzlement as to all the enmity directed her way--and I think in this episode she 100% vindicated my perspective.  She's only "annoying" because she's the only really cool person in the midst of a bunch of losers!

[wonald]

She's way too cool to even be playing Survivor. It would make my viewing a lot more enjoyable if she wasn;t on it, that's for sure.

 

Kelly just called Shirin a "wingnut" in her exit interviews. And I thought Shirin said that she and Kelly had an "understanding".

[peachmangosteen]

Kelly just called Shirin a "wingnut" in her exit interviews. And I thought Shirin said that she and Kelly had an "understanding".

 

It's pretty established that Shirin doesn't really get that people hate her. 

 

Honestly, they must be leaving a lot of the editing room floor with her because the hate she's getting from the contestants seems way OTT. I mean I get some annoyance with her for sure, but people didn't even express this kind of hatred for Russell or Coach and they were 10 times worse. Maybe everyone in this cast is just really sensitive or something.

[LanceM]

It is interesting that she referred to Shirin as "another" wingnut the first one being Hali I guess who she called a "space cadet". 

[fishcakes]

Yeah, she seems like a kind of a weirdo and I probably wouldn't want to live with her, but I don't get why now, months later, her former tribemates are so harsh. She doesn't seem to be nasty or even unkind to anyone, so the animosity she's getting is puzzling.

[wonald]

I don't think the Shirin dislike is really that exceptional. Certainly, not to the EPIC degree of the Baylor Hate last season.

[LadyChatts]

I think some people are just bitter.  I get that vibe from some of Kelly's post show interviews.  And I'm questioning if this "closest cast ever" is really a bunch of crap.  It seems there are core groups that are close, which is like any season.  But as a whole, I'm not buying they are one big happy.

Edited April 2, 2015 by LadyChatts

[LanceM]

Shirin does seem closest now outside of the game to the no collars (Hali, Jenn, Joe) and with Mike. I saw an interview with her and Hali on a San Francisco tv station where she said one of the first things she did when she got home was to fly out to Tennessee to visit Hali and her family.

[SlackerInc]

Honestly, they must be leaving a lot of the editing room floor with her because the hate she's getting from the contestants seems way OTT. I mean I get some annoyance with her for sure, but people didn't even express this kind of hatred for Russell or Coach and they were 10 times worse. Maybe everyone in this cast is just really sensitive or something.

 

I really think it's just what I said upthread: she's too cool for them.  I've seen it many times before: when someone is politically progressive, hip (including "hipster" cultural tastes) and significantly more intelligent than average folk, that inspires automatic and intense bittercakes from the hoi polloi.  (Look for instance at how ginned up a lot of people get against "hipsters" as though they are worse than neo-Nazi pedophiles.)  Normally, this wouldn't matter to Shirin because she will not run in the same circles with those kinds of people.  But thrown into the Survivor crucible, she's in trouble.

[kikaha]

A number of contestants have said Shirin never stops talking.  That alone can drive others up a wall.  We've seen -- not just her fascination with monkey sex -- but her need to share the details with everyone on the beach.  She quickly and eagerly leaped into parading around bottomless, which upset all her tribemates, including Max the hypocrite. 

 

To sum up, she does lots of real annoying, in-your-face things, and seems tone-deaf to how others respond to all that.  Her instant offer to pee on Dan is another example. 

 

She comes across as a nice person even so.  She's showing more brains and awareness than in those first few episodes.  I'm pulling for the NC4, which she is part of, and hope they all make it deep into the game. 

[Jersey Guy 87]

I really think it's just what I said upthread: she's too cool for them.  I've seen it many times before: when someone is politically progressive, hip (including "hipster" cultural tastes) and significantly more intelligent than average folk, that inspires automatic and intense bittercakes from the hoi polloi.  (Look for instance at how ginned up a lot of people get against "hipsters" as though they are worse than neo-Nazi pedophiles.)  Normally, this wouldn't matter to Shirin because she will not run in the same circles with those kinds of people.  But thrown into the Survivor crucible, she's in trouble.

 

Hipsters annoy people not because they're more intelligent, politically progressive and have better taste but because they think they're more intelligent, politically progressive and possess better taste.  It's the smug attitude of "I'm so far above you common people" that make hipsters annoying.  But Shirin doesn't strike me as a hipster, really, more of an eccentric with a lack of a filter and poor ability to read a room.

 

A number of contestants have said Shirin never stops talking.  That alone can drive others up a wall.  We've seen -- not just her fascination with monkey sex -- but her need to share the details with everyone on the beach.  She quickly and eagerly leaped into parading around bottomless, which upset all her tribemates, including Max the hypocrite. 

 

To sum up, she does lots of real annoying, in-your-face things, and seems tone-deaf to how others respond to all that.  Her instant offer to pee on Dan is another example. 

 

She comes across as a nice person even so.  She's showing more brains and awareness than in those first few episodes.  I'm pulling for the NC4, which she is part of, and hope they all make it deep into the game. 

 

That's exactly her problem - her lack of awareness of how others perceive her.  Doesn't make her a bad person, but I can definitely understand how people are annoyed by her.  As she seems to be pretty strongly aligned with the get rid of BC group I'm rooting for her because I find Mike, Dan and Rodney completely insufferable.

[peachmangosteen]

To sum up, she does lots of real annoying, in-your-face things, and seems tone-deaf to how others respond to all that.  Her instant offer to pee on Dan is another example. 

 

I don't really get the problem with her offering to pee on Dan. It's a common, if dumb, thing that people think of when someone has been stung. 

 

Doesn't make her a bad person, but I can definitely understand how people are annoyed by her. 

 

Oh, for sure. It's not hard for me to understand why people are annoyed with her, but the level of vitriol she's getting from the contestants seems way OTT. And like it's been awhile since they filmed so I don't understand why they're still hanging onto it either. Like I said, people didn't even hate Russell this much and he is actually a bad person. It's very strange to me and I would like to know if it's on the editing or some of these people are just very bitter and unpleasant.

Edited April 3, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[Jersey Guy 87]

The issue with Shirin offering to pee on Dan is she seemed to offer it up so quickly and enthusiastically.  It's as if she had been waiting for a chance to pee on somebody who had been stung.  I thought it was a riot.

 

I don't read many of the post boot interviews and I don't follow any of the contestants on Twitter, Facebook, etc. so I only know about the post-show reaction to Shirin from reading it here.  And based on what we've been shown there's no reason for extreme vitriol, especially this far after the fact.  Maybe she's been unpleasant to some of the others after the show.

[peachmangosteen]

Maybe she's been unpleasant to some of the others after the show.

 

I didn't consider that, but I guess it is possible.

 

But even in the show I feel like Shirin is getting an OTT amount of hate from the contestants for what we're being shown. Again, I can definitely see being annoyed by her, but some of these people seem to despise her and I just don't get that at all. She doesn't seem mean-spirited or arrogant or hostile or judgemental.

[wonald]

I didn't consider that, but I guess it is possible.

 

But even in the show I feel like Shirin is getting an OTT amount of hate from the contestants for what we're being shown. Again, I can definitely see being annoyed by her, but some of these people seem to despise her and I just don't get that at all. She doesn't seem mean-spirited or arrogant or hostile or judgemental.

 

I don't think she is meanspirited but she is arrogant. So boastful. From her harping at how super-smart she is in interviews to how she start sentences with "I don't know how big a fan of Survivor you are but . . .  I know this, this, and this" to her delusion that she is some Survivor mastermind which must come across in any strategy talk (it certainly comes across in her confessionals). That kind of condescension is just as grating as Dan's condescension to women.

[peachmangosteen]

I don't see it honestly. But again it might be an editing thing. But really no one says much about her being arrogant. Really they mostly seem to think she's like clinically insane and that I definitely don't see and seems like hyperbole because they're bitter she outlasted them.

[kikaha]

 

But even in the show I feel like Shirin is getting an OTT amount of hate from the contestants for what we're being shown..

 

Who are you thinking of?  I know Joaquin said some unpleasant things.  I wrote that off, in part, to jealousy: she got so much further in the game.  Anyone else besides him? 

[ProfCrash]

She said in her mid season interview that she knew that Tyler wanted nothing to do with her. That was part of her explanation for why she was so interested in the monkey sex, there was nothing to do and no one to talk to. It was pretty clear that Tyler, Joaquin, and Carolyn all disliked her. That left her with Max and she said that they realized that Max needed to be the link back to the other White Collars so Shirin was trying to keep her distance from Max at the WC beach.

 

I suspect that the comments from Tyler and Carolyn are going to be pretty harsh when they leave the game. The in game interviews have been pretty harsh. Jenn and Hali's conversation about working with Shirin even though she is annoying was one example. I think Shirin's comment at Tribal that she was not a swing vote was her way of saying that she was tight with her new alliance but also a way of saying that she had not even been approached by the larger alliance. We didn't even see her talking with Tyler about finding a way to work together.

 

We have seen less of the obnoxious behavior but that could be because Shirin is not a central story point at the time, an indication she is not in danger for a little bit, and less because she has toned down her behavior.

[LadyChatts]

I will really hate if Carolyn/Tyler or anyone refuses to work with Shirin because they find her annoying.  So do Jenn/Hali, but at least they can put that aside for the games sake.  Shirin seems close with several cast members outside the show, so I can't believe she's really that horrible of a person.  I did sense some bitterness coming from Kelly regarding Shirin and Jenn/Hali.  Joaquin might just be upset she outlasted him and he's stuck in pre-jury Ponderosa with Max.

[Lingo]

It feels like every other season or so there's someone in the cast who everyone seems to hate and pick on for some reason, and on the show they come across as a pitiable underdog, more or less, but even after the show many in the cast still harsh on them.  And usually it's a small, young girl.  I'm thinking of Baylor, and Sierra from Coach's first season (Erinn too to some extent), and Eliza both times she played.  I always end up feeling sorry for them.

[SlackerInc]

I submit that this was another good week for Shirin, if for no other reason than that she was the target of the spewing of vitriol from the utterly loathsome Dan, and she remained cool.  If I didn't already like her, didn't know anything about her, I'd suspect she was probably all right in my book just by the quality of her enemy there.

[Miss Scarlet]

This was from Max's xfinity interview a few weeks back

 

 

The confrontation Shirin had with Joaquin over the idol search was very much motivated by a conversation that she and I had that Joaquin had done so well in the challenge that he was threatening to work his way back into the core of the tribe. Shirin and I set out to make sure he didn’t by putting him in a situation where he would be horrible and obnoxious to her. Unfortunately, what I didn’t realize that Joaquin calling Shirin a horrible woman and being obnoxious and sexist toward her, he would actually win the respect of Tyler and Carolyn. That was a head scratcher.

Poor Shirin. She has dealt with so much crap this season. This information from Max is on point and makes me dislike Carolyn and Tyler. It also explains why Carolyn has apparently formed such a tight bond with Rodney. And I don't know why Carolyn always has to mention her dislike of Shirin. It's like, okay, we get it! You don't need to bring it up in every confessional! I thought it was especially rude when the NC went on reward (pre-merge) and Carolyn was talking about how nice the reward is and then just has to add "and we tolerated Shirin". Rude.

[peachmangosteen]

I am like 99% sure Mike is going to win, but I can't help but shake the feeling that, as inconceivable as it really seems, Shirin might win. I'm probably just holding onto false hope to get me through this wretched season though.