S30.E03: Crazy Is As Crazy Does

[peachmangosteen]

Good points, I've just personally never gave much of a shit about the majority of the male players. My faves are all women. And my least faves are all men.

[Guest]

I listened to Nina's interview on Rob C's podcast.  Her first two points seem contradictory...

 

* Joe asked me if I would have trouble in challenges.  How awful was that?  Of course I wouldn't.  My hearing loss would not have been an issue.  100%.

 

* Joe's been around hearing impaired people so he should know we struggle at everything, it's all a struggle.  He should've made it easier for me, treated me special.  (Though I guess not made special concessions like ask about her challenge limitations or have her sit out.)

 

I think she's also way off base with this claim:  "How you play Survivor is you make your whole tribe feel welcome and like a unit!  You have to do that to beat the other tribes in challenges.  So they played a bad game by excluding me and not making me feel 100% welcome."  

I think you do need to make your whole ALLIANCE feel secure but your whole tribe?  Not really.  You're clearly competing both against the other tribes for immunity but within your own tribe for not being voted out.  So, no, they're not all going to act like your ally because they're not all your ally.  

Edited March 14, 2015 by Guest

[KimberStormer]

I'm as much as a feminist as much as the next person but I have found many female contestants equally annoying as I've found some male contestants. Case in point, Mike may have been annoying in his demanding people work when he wants but Lindsay in making her case went from having a good point to being as equally obnoxious as Mike. As someone else noted, whatever faults Survivor has, it's the one show one can't say there's been a main prototype of winner - we've seen women, men, gay, straight, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, young, old, etc. 

 

For sure; this is what sets Survivor apart from the judge-based reality shows (Project Runway, Top Chef) that I sometimes watch and have slowly come to hate.  This is what I was thinking of when I said the players are ahead of the producers.  No way Nina Garcia or Tom Colicchio takes Cirie or Sandra seriously.  No way Tina or Chris from Vanuatu makes it anywhere near the end.  Regardless of talent or skill.  But there's no prejudiced judges to get in the way on Survivor, only a frustrated Probst powerlessly scolding at tribal.

 

I just personally think without the men, Rodney, Vince, etc we have a still varied and interesting group and none of the scary uncomfortable-to-watch people.  As much as I think the "collars" theme is dumb and the players have (as they always do with themed tribes) let it take over their brains to a stupid extent, if it helped cast and highlight a woman as goofy as Jenn then I'm OK with it.  How often does a woman get to be the comic narrator?  Courtney Yates and...who?  Jeff's infamous claim that there have been fewer interesting women than men is, to the extent that it's true at all, a casting and editing issue, but it hasn't been with this season so far, IMO.   Jenn and Hali aren't "Pageant Girl #1 and #2" the way other contestants (Jefra and Alexis, Hope and Allie, Natalie T and Ashley, etc etc) have portrayed.  They're Jenn and Hali.  That's progress!

[LadyChatts]

I listened to Nina's interview on Rob C's podcast.  Her first two points seem contradictory...

 

* Joe asked me if I would have trouble in challenges.  How awful was that?  Of course I wouldn't.  My hearing loss would not have been an issue.  100%.

 

* Joe's been around hearing impaired people so he should know we struggle at everything, it's all a struggle.  He should've made it easier for me, treated me special.  (Though I guess not made special concessions like ask about her challenge limitations or have her sit out.)

 

I think she's also way off base with this claim:  "How you play Survivor is you make your whole tribe feel welcome and like a unit!  You have to do that to beat the other tribes in challenges.  So they played a bad game by excluding me and not making me feel 100% welcome."  

I think you do need to make your whole ALLIANCE feel secure but your whole tribe?  Not really.  You're clearly competing both against the other tribes for immunity but within your own tribe for not being voted out.  So, no, they're not all going to act like your ally because they're not all your ally.  

 

I'm believing more and more that Nina didn't do much to adapt to her tribe, and maybe that's why they gave up trying to adapt to her.  I also question if maybe she's embellishing just how bad they were to her out there.  She's got an audience now, without her tribe to speak up.  She has a worse concept on this game than I thought, for someone who said she's watched for many years.  Last week I thought she relished in the attention she got from Vince and Will over her outburst to Jenn and Hali (who both seemed somewhat caught off guard by it).  Jenn was right: she enjoys having someone coddle her.  Different tribe, different season, would have probably still been the same Nina. 

Edited March 14, 2015 by LadyChatts

[ratgirlagogo]

 

This is what I was thinking of when I said the players are ahead of the producers. 

Agree a million percent and it's one of the things that has kept me watching Survivor season after season, despite all the producer bullshit we all complain about.  The players are far less sexist, racist, homophobic etc. overall than the producers and less interested in rewarding Big TV Personalities or other sponsor-friendly winners.  

Edited March 14, 2015 by ratgirlagogo

[Guest]

I'm believing more and more that Nina didn't do much to adapt to her tribe, and maybe that's why they gave up trying to adapt to her.  I also question if maybe she's embellishing just how bad they were to her out there.  She's got an audience now, without her tribe to speak up.  She has a worse concept on this game than I thought, for someone who said she's watched for many years.  Last week I thought she relished in the attention she got from Vince and Will over her outburst to Jenn and Hali (who both seemed somewhat caught off guard by it).  Jenn was right: she enjoys having someone coddle her.  Different tribe, different season, would have probably still been the same Nina. 

 

In Vince's interview with Rob, he actually said that Nina needed to be coddled and that's why Jenn and Hali didn't get along with her, but he seemed to blame them.  Then he backpedaled and said, "well, not coddled, but treated differently..."

 

I also didn't like in Nina's interview Rob asked her if the girls had invited her, if she would've gone skinny dipping.  She said, "No, of course not!  I just wanted to be asked."  But like Hali said they didn't ask because they didn't think she'd be into it, which she wasn't.  

 

I just heard an awful lot of victim talk.  Oh yeah, Rob said he played with a deaf girl and did she watch his season.  She said, "That was so long ago!  I didn't, and I don't have a copy."  Amazon does sell that season, I watched it that way.  

[Donny Ketchum]

Yep.  Those interviews sealed it for me.  I was back and forth between Joe, Hali, and Jenn choosing rightly or wrongly by sending Nina packing over Will.  But after those interviews, I think they chose right.  Will's still an easy boot if they lose next time, but I'd rather have him than perpetual victim Nina.

[LadyChatts]

In Vince's interview with Rob, he actually said that Nina needed to be coddled and that's why Jenn and Hali didn't get along with her, but he seemed to blame them.  Then he backpedaled and said, "well, not coddled, but treated differently..."

 

I also didn't like in Nina's interview Rob asked her if the girls had invited her, if she would've gone skinny dipping.  She said, "No, of course not!  I just wanted to be asked."  But like Hali said they didn't ask because they didn't think she'd be into it, which she wasn't.  

 

I just heard an awful lot of victim talk.  Oh yeah, Rob said he played with a deaf girl and did she watch his season.  She said, "That was so long ago!  I didn't, and I don't have a copy."  Amazon does sell that season, I watched it that way.  

 

I think that was a no-win for the girls.  Don't ask her, they're ignoring her.  Ask her, and she probably would have felt they were mocking her in some way.  That whole blow up seemed like she was just seeking attention, and she got it.  Vince's plan was to get in her head and turn her against the others, and he obviously did a good job of it.  Too bad it backfired on him and he aligned with the one person on his tribe that inadvertently got him booted.  Aside from saying the girls ignored her, Nina said she heard everything from Vince about what they were saying about her.  She doesn't seem to get it that he might have been lying for strategy reasons.  If there wasn't a tribe swap or merge on the horizon, I feel like Nina would have just up and quit and found someone to blame for it.  Even Jeff didn't seem to think she'd be able to handle it, in his pre-game assessment.  I could possibly believe her that she had this conversation with Joe about how well she'd perform in challenges, though I doubt it was as bad as she's making it out to be.  And if he was worried she'd perform poorly, he was right.  Though her hearing had nothing to do with it, so that's where he would have been wrong if that's what he meant (for now, next week's challenge is probably what they were worried about).  I'm glad she was voted off, for various reasons, but seeing her getting carried through this season playing victim would have worn super thin real fast.  I think this season has a lot of potential with some good people left who could actually make the effort to play the game.

 

CBS also has every Survivor season up on their website, though I don't know if they had that uploaded before this season started filming.  Regardless, between that, DVDs, the various social media, and old fashioned research, there's no reason not to know your Survivor stuff or stay up on top of the seasons.  Nina probably could have learned a lot just googling the Amazon season and finding old interviews with Christy and the cast. 

Edited March 14, 2015 by LadyChatts

[viajero]

Agree a million percent and it's one of the things that has kept me watching Survivor season after season, despite all the producer bullshit we all complain about.  The players are far less sexist, racist, homophobic etc. overall than the producers and less interested in rewarding Big TV Personalities or other sponsor-friendly winners.  

 

I would also say that they are less biased than the general public on those reality shows where viewers have a vote.  There is a pretty obvious bias against women (particularly young women) on most of those shows.  Even on this show, how often did a woman ever win that Sprint Favorite Survivor award (or whatever it was called)?  

[Guest]

I could possibly believe her that she had this conversation with Joe about how well she'd perform in challenges, though I doubt it was as bad as she's making it out to be.  And if he was worried she'd perform poorly, he was right. 

She mentioned it in many interviews-- how Joe asked her right away if she could do all the challenges and she said 'of course'.  He said, 'what if there's a calling challenge?'  She said, 'then I'll be the caller.'  He said, 'but what if we need to call back to you?'  I thought it was a valid thing to discuss.  She took it so personally, and says 'that planted the seed that no one thought I could do it...'  

 

But then she also praised Will for being 'the only one to approach me on the beach about my implant and ask me questions about it.'  ?  

[marys1000]

I give Nina the benefit of the doubt.  Pre-merge/tribe challenge, you do want your entire tribe to do well and everyone get along which is what I think she's saying when she says everyone on the tribe should be made to feel welcome. You'll do better in challenges for all sorts of reasons.  It seems obvious that is what she considers important pre individual game play.   

When Nina says "treated special" I think everyone here zooms to the extreme and is delighting in thinking the worst of Nina.  There is MIDDLE GROUND.  Treated "special" can mean something as simple as - talking to my left ear/implant or speaking while looking at me.   And being deaf is a disability in a game where people are constantly scheming under there breath with each other.  It has got to feel very isolating and paranoia creating right from the get go which would make you very vulnerable to someone like Vince playing on that if that is true.  Good game play actually although no, not particularly nice.  But if I were trying to keep the tribe from spinning out of control, working together in challenges etc. I would go out of my way to make sure the deaf person feels like they are hearing what everyone else is hearing.  What is wrong with that?  Is that so hard?  Is that not part of the social game?  In that sense I think she has a point. 

 

I have to wonder if Carolyn really just sat around and made it totally obvious that she wasn't ever looking for the idol.  Seemed a highly edited piece of film - everyone out looking at the same time and only Carolyn not.  I'm sure over the few days that there were people coming and going and I'm betting it wasn't as obvious as all that. 

 

Dan's whore comment strikes me as someone trying to seem young.  I see that "you're a whore" in a lot of comedies.  Just because you see it on reality tv (housewives etc) and other movies doesn't mean it will fly in real life.  An easy mistake to make when hungry, tired etc. but still a bit of a mistake. 

 

So with 6 on tribes, when will the merge happen?  Will that be part of next weeks 2 hour episode?  A team challenge, one vote out then merge?  Seems like there would still be too many contestants. What is the aveage number of contestants at merge?   At any rate will Will as the next vote off no collar should they lose again that alliance has a good chance of moving forward whole if the other tribes lose one or two of the next few challenges.  What are the other alliances that are as strong? 

Edited March 14, 2015 by marys1000

[BigRedCheese]

 

People never believe me when I tell them that So-and-So got a really bad edit, they aren't like that.

 

I know that you've got to meet several Survivor players, and I enjoy the anecdotes about it that you share, but those are also edited through the person telling you them. I appreciate the inside scoop of what they told you, but I also take those anecdotes with more than a grain of salt.

[NutMeg]

Treated "special" can mean something as simple as - talking to my left ear/implant or speaking while looking at me.

 

I would agree in principle, except that whenever we saw Nina on screen SHE was not looking at people. I may be remembering wrong, but it seems to me that when people were talking near her, she would be looking at the non human scenery instead as at them, and even when people were talking to her, she sometimes didn't look at them (such as with Hali and Will - apparently Will she heard, Hali she either didn't hear or ignored). If you don't look to me while I'm taliking to you, after a while I might stop trying, but maybe that's just me (for instance, I hate with the fire of a millions suns people who talk to you while looking at their smartphones - someone does that while we're having lunch and I'll be sure to avoid one-on-one lunch with that person from then on).

[eurekagirl mOo]

As far as I'm concerned they ALL need to keep their undies on. There's a reason in polite society nudity is limited to special beaches or, you know, strip clubs. No one wants to see your bits....man or woman..just no.

Nina wanted to be the "deaf one" no matte what. Hey I can't see well even with glasses (or contacts and glasses, thank you very much) but nobody makes any special accommodations for me nor do I expect them to.I deal.Thats' what you do. I'm not deaf but I am older and I can't hear shit if there's a lot of background noise. Just see mouths moving. So what? You just say Hey I can't hear you. And move closer. It's not rocket science. If you act like an invalid you get trerated like one. Suck it up buttercup and put your big girls panties on. Geesh

And sorry but I thought the God and his beard comment was funny as hell. You just know that if someone has  to cover their entire back in some bible verse he isn't keeping quiet about his "beliefs". I'm sure it's irritating as all get out and I probably would have said the same thing.

[needschocolate]

Why do tribes always look so surprised and exasperated when they're "getting their first look at" the tribe that just voted somebody out? They ALWAYS have this 'Oh shit, it's on!' look going on. They see members of other tribes at the very beginning of the game when the tribes are split up and at challenges. They don't know anything about personalities or alliances, or any drama that is going on at the other camps, so why do they always ham it up?

 

I think that while one tribe is at TC, the other tribe(s) is sitting around the fire speculating who will get voted out.  In this case, they probably thought  the older woman or the out of shape looking guy would be the one to go, then the tribe shows up and the relatively young, relatively fit-looking guy is gone and they are surprised.  

 

I have no explanation why they would look surprised when it is a more obvious boot except that maybe there was a choice between two and their tribe got into a "I bet it's A" "well, I think it is B" discussion and they are flabbergasted that they "lost."  For instance, if we see people on blue collar look surprised that Nina is gone, it could be because they were firmly in the "I bet they get rid of Will - the guy was no help in the challenge" group.

[Guest]

Even Jeff thinks Nina's victim act, complaining and lack of self-awareness cooked her goose.  And that Joe probably had good reason to exclude her from the challenge.

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/11/survivor-host-jeff-probst-has-fascinating-theory-huge-no-collar-challenge-fail

 

Interesting- he says next week's episode is the best of the season.  Woohoo!  

[peachmangosteen]

So with 6 on tribes, when will the merge happen?  Will that be part of next weeks 2 hour episode?  A team challenge, one vote out then merge?  Seems like there would still be too many contestants. What is the aveage number of contestants at merge?   At any rate will Will as the next vote off no collar should they lose again that alliance has a good chance of moving forward whole if the other tribes lose one or two of the next few challenges.  What are the other alliances that are as strong? 

 

I'm gonna reply to this in the Speculation thread.

 

ETA: Well, never mind, there isn't a spec thread for this season. I'll take my reply to the spoiler thread. There are no actual spoilers for this season though so it's more like a spec thread anyway.

Edited March 14, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[Drogo]

My first civilian job, I had a supervisor with a birth defect that affected one of his hands.  After spending years surrounded by physically "perfect" men, it was admittedly uncomfortable for me and I had no idea how to act so he gave me a little advice.  

 

He told me that whenever you meet a disabled person, you have to determine which of the two types they are:  someone who wants to be treated with special care or someone who wants to be treated like everyone else.  

 

I'm not sure which one Nina was.  

[cooksdelight]

I don't think Nina is sure which one she is either.

[Wings]

Even Jeff thinks Nina's victim act, complaining and lack of self-awareness cooked her goose.  And that Joe probably had good reason to exclude her from the challenge.

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/11/survivor-host-jeff-probst-has-fascinating-theory-huge-no-collar-challenge-fail

 

Interesting- he says next week's episode is the best of the season.  Woohoo!  

 

 

Thanks for this link.  Good article.  Sounds like Shirin sticks around awhile.  She "does these types of things" (monkeys) sounds as though there will be more. 

Edited March 14, 2015 by wings707

[JudyObscure]

Eurekagirl quote:

And sorry but I thought the God and his beard comment was funny as hell. You just know that if someone has to cover their entire back in some bible verse he isn't keeping quiet about his "beliefs". I'm sure it's irritating as all get out and I probably would have said the same thing.

With all respect, I'm genuinely curious about this. I've seen the same viewpoint from several people here and, although I don't know if Mike talked about his beliefs or not, I don't see why, if he did, it would justify Lindsey ridiculing those beliefs. To me that's like saying it would be okay to make dead sister jokes to Rodney because he has something about her tattooed on his arm. Like Mike saying, "I didn't see you gather any firewood, maybe your dead sister did it while I wasn't looking." Not funny and out of line to me.





Edited March 14, 2015 by JudyObscure

[fishcakes]

Like Mike saying, "I didn't see you gather any firewood, maybe your dead sister did it while I wasn't looking." Not funny and out of line to me.

 

LOL. I agree with you, and if Mike said that, it would be horrible. But the analogy itself is making me snort laugh.

Edited March 14, 2015 by fishcakes

[peachmangosteen]

With all respect, I'm genuinely curious about this. I've seen the same viewpoint from several people here and, although I don't know if Mike talked about his beliefs or not, I don't see why, if he did, it would justify Lindsey ridiculing those beliefs. To me that's like saying it would be okay to make dead sister jokes to Rodney because he has something about her tattooed on his arm. Like Mike saying, "I didn't see you gather any firewood, maybe your dead sister did it while I wasn't looking." Not funny and out of line to me.

 

For me it would depend on the way in which he talks about it. Of course we really have no way of knowing if he even does at all because it has not been shown, but I personally suspect he might be a bit preachy since he has the tattoo and just his general demeanor. Plus, just the fact that Lindsey went there makes me think he gets annoying about it because otherwise her comments are just strange. But she might just be a bitch so!

[Miss Scarlet]

 

And sorry but I thought the God and his beard comment was funny as hell. You just know that if someone has  to cover their entire back in some bible verse he isn't keeping quiet about his "beliefs". I'm sure it's irritating as all get out and I probably would have said the same thing.

Yep. I'm sure Mike discussed it around camp. People like that think their beliefs are amazing and that there's nothing wrong with sharing. And if the other people don't like it then it means there's something wrong with that other person, not with themselves.

 

I didn't love the comment, but Survivor has so many ultra-religious Christians every season that it's about time they had some atheist/agnostic types on. Just because Mark Burnett is some type of evangelical Christian doesn't mean that people of other religions/faiths shouldn't be cast. It just goes to show the only reason that they cast for a bit of diversity in gender, age, race, etc. is because they don't want to get called out for not doing it. 

Edited March 14, 2015 by wudpixie

[BigRedCheese]

 

I don't know if Mike talked about his beliefs or not,

 

 

that's like saying it would be okay to make dead sister jokes to Rodney because he has something about her tattooed on his arm

 

That doesn't make any sense, the sister is a flesh and blood person that Rodney loved and had interactions with, her existence wasn't a belief, but a fact. A belief  isn't something really tangible, if someone talks about their political beliefs, those that don't share those beliefs can and will disagree and sometimes poke fun at them. I don't see why religious beliefs should be any different. Sure, I respect that everybody has a right to believe whatever they want, but that doesn't give the belief itself automatic respect. If somebody tells me that they think the world is secretly being run by a race of alien lizards (and yes, there really are people that believe that), then sure, I would have no problem asking them if one of the alien lizards started the fire, and if that was somehow part of the secret conspiracy. It was Mike that was being insulting to her by seeming to be skeptical that she did start the fire, in effect, calling her a liar. 

 

I'll make this my last word on the subject (at least for this episode thread), it's one of the YMMV things, and I doubt that if anything said will sway either of us.

[fishcakes]

Based on what Lindsay said, I don't conclude that she's an atheist or an agnostic so much as I conclude that she's an ass. I'm an agnostic and I wouldn't mock someone's beliefs like that even if they were constantly talking about them. Mostly I wouldn't do it because it's rude, but I definitely wouldn't do it on Survivor because insulting and antagonizing someone is simply giving them a reason to vote you out.

[Guest]

Yep. I'm sure Mike discussed it around camp. People like that think their beliefs are amazing and that there's nothing wrong with sharing. And if the other people don't like it then it means there's something wrong with that other person, not with themselves.

 

People like what?  People with scripture tats?  Have we actually seen Mike mention anything remotely religious around camp?  If not, I don't think you can really just assume he's an obnoxious evangelizer from a tattoo.  There are plenty of quietly spiritual people.  

[wonald]

 

He told me that whenever you meet a disabled person, you have to determine which of the two types they are:  someone who wants to be treated with special care or someone who wants to be treated like everyone else. 

 

I'm not sure which one Nina was.

 

 

She was the third - and worst - type: she says she wants to be treated like everyone else but she actually wants to be treated with special care.

[Drogo]

 

 

He told me that whenever you meet a disabled person, you have to determine which of the two types they are:  someone who wants to be treated with special care or someone who wants to be treated like everyone else.

I'm not sure which one Nina was.

She was the third - and worst - type: she says she wants to be treated like everyone else but she actually wants to be treated with special care.

 

Exactly my point wonald... The blame can't fall on people who treated her the way she said she wanted them to.

 

 

People like what?  People with scripture tats?  Have we actually seen Mike mention anything remotely religious around camp?  If not, I don't think you can really just assume he's an obnoxious evangelizer from a tattoo.  There are plenty of quietly spiritual people.

 

And there are a ton of guys with bible passage tattoos who couldn't name three of the twelve apostles. 

[Miss Scarlet]

People like what?  People with scripture tats?  Have we actually seen Mike mention anything remotely religious around camp?  If not, I don't think you can really just assume he's an obnoxious evangelizer from a tattoo.  There are plenty of quietly spiritual people.  

I was thinking of the religious types they usually cast on Survivor. Which probably isn't fair to the contestants on the show either, but I can't get the crazy Coach "on your knees!" and Brandon Hantzes of the show out of my mind. But yes, I definitely agree that there are quietly spiritual people who shouldn't be lumped in with those nutbars. 

Edited March 15, 2015 by wudpixie

[needschocolate]

People like what?  People with scripture tats?  Have we actually seen Mike mention anything remotely religious around camp?  If not, I don't think you can really just assume he's an obnoxious evangelizer from a tattoo.  There are plenty of quietly spiritual people.  

 

We didn't hear him make any religious comments and he could be one who thinks of his religion as a very personal matter and doesn't discuss it publicly.  Or he could be one of those guys who has a bible tattoo but isn't a churchgoer.  He may have gotten the tattoo years ago and has since lapsed and now breaks 8 commandment a week.  Or maybe he is a atheist who got the tattoo after getting too drunk one night and thought it would be a funny joke on his atheist friends.  Or maybe he wanted a tattoo of his dead sister so that he could use it to pick up girls, but the tattoo artist had a grudge against him.   

 

We don't know how he handles his religion or how religious he is. All we know is he has no trouble (loudly) giving his opinions and he has a huge tattoo of a bible verse number on his back.  The simplest perception of him from this is that he would loudly preach his beliefs.  If we apply Jeff's rules of Survivor (be self-aware and perception is reality) then it makes sense that the woman who said the beard comment would think Mike is obnoxiously religious, which would inspire her to make the god and his beard comment..  And her making that comment (she is there with him and she thinks he is overzealous) gives the viewers further reason to think Mike is one of "those" types.  

 

Many viewers think the guy who made the "mother is a whore" comment is an immature wannabe comedian who doesn't possess the sense to know that comments like that are offensive.  But maybe the other guys's mother is a whore and the guy who made the comment has personal knowledge of it.  

Edited March 15, 2015 by needschocolate

[Calamity Jane]

She was the third - and worst - type: she says she wants to be treated like everyone else but she actually wants to be treated with special care.

Exactly what I was getting ready to say. 

[peachmangosteen]

But maybe the other guys's mother is a whore and the guy who made the comment has personal knowledge of it.  

 

LOL! This got me good!

[BigRedCheese]

 

But maybe the other guys's mother is a whore and the guy who made the comment has personal knowledge of it.

 

Indeed, perhaps Dan is one of her johns, and is in fact Rodney's father, and he chose to go on Survivor to reconnect with his long lost son, born out of one night's passion with a lady of the night. Perhaps all this will be revealed at the next tribal council, where Jeff will rip off a mask to reveal that he is really Maury Povich. 

[seacliffsal]

BigRedCheese-I think you just explained why next week's Survivor is 2 hours long....

[CletusMusashi]

"And woe to ye who rest on your bamboo beds while the righteous feast on scorpions.  For I will bring the wrath of my hairy-bellied beast upon your jezebel mother."

I would personally, out of my own wallet, pay for him to get that as his next tattoo.

[Gweilo]

I quite like Joe.  But it amuses me no end that he seems to have endless strings to his bow, and they always conicide with whatever is the biggest issue at the time.

 

Tribe is having problems building a shelter..."Hey, I used to be a builder!"

Deaf lady is feeling like she can't communicate with others....."Hey, I'm in with the deaf comunity and know sign language!"

 

What's next?

Probst falls seriously ill...."Hey, I once was the host for a survival-themed reality show!"

[Jersey Guy 87]

(regarding Probst)

Interesting- he says next week's episode is the best of the season.  Woohoo!  

 

Since this is the best season ever according to Probst would that mean it will be the best episode ever?  Cool.

 

With all respect, I'm genuinely curious about this. I've seen the same viewpoint from several people here and, although I don't know if Mike talked about his beliefs or not, I don't see why, if he did, it would justify Lindsey ridiculing those beliefs. To me that's like saying it would be okay to make dead sister jokes to Rodney because he has something about her tattooed on his arm. Like Mike saying, "I didn't see you gather any firewood, maybe your dead sister did it while I wasn't looking." Not funny and out of line to me.

 

 

I'm a little conflicted on this one - Rodney uses his dead sister to pick up girls so I'd be perfectly good with mocking Rodney (he clearly isn't "honoring" her death by using her as a pickup lure) but I think I have more respect for his dead sister than he does.

Nina was voted out because she's a bad Survivor player.  As Rudy said all the way back in season one if you don't fit in you have to adapt, not expect the others to adapt to you.  As far as I can see Nina made no attempt to fit in with her tribe, instead she complained that she didn't fit in.  Sorry, you've got to change yourself if you don't want to be voted out before the disloyal guy who's in horrible shape.

[green]

Since this is the best season ever according to Probst would that mean it will be the best episode ever?  Cool.

 

Since Probst always tells whoppers to promote the show and this is just the typical marketing ploy-speak, it will probably be a snooze of an episode.

[Drogo]

There's some kind of medic emergency in the coming attractions, and Jeff always gets excited about those. 

 

He loves to hover over the wounded and have his little "In your professional opinion, can he/she continue in the game?" interactions with the physician.  He's a regular Dr. Doug Ross. 

 

Just look at this happy bastard. 

 

[green]

^  If that is the case maybe that is part of the reason they decided to piggy back these two particular episodes cause the first is a real snooze fest for sure if it is the one with the boring medical emergency stuff.  (Also explains the whole Will edit so far too).

[Guest]

Nina was voted out because she's a bad Survivor player.  As Rudy said all the way back in season one if you don't fit in you have to adapt, not expect the others to adapt to you.  As far as I can see Nina made no attempt to fit in with her tribe, instead she complained that she didn't fit in.  Sorry, you've got to change yourself if you don't want to be voted out before the disloyal guy who's in horrible shape.

Steven Fishbach called her the opposite of a triple threat- no social game, no physical game, no strategic game.  Heh.  I only listened to the RHAP Know-It-Alls podcast to hear his take on her because I figured it would be universally bad, and it was.   

[himela]

Steven Fishbach called her the opposite of a triple threat- no social game, no physical game, no strategic game. 

This kind of people if they are treated in an appropriate and diplomatic way can become the most loyal allies who are dragged to the final two or three but they never win cause they made no move by themselves. If Joe could control the girls he would have asked them to be polite with her and he would become her "savior". This way she would have become the Philip of Boston Rob; the loyal, apathetic and obedient ally who would say no to nothing and in the end she would be so grateful to Joe that she would ask from the jury to vote for him cause he was the mastermind.

[Guest]

That's what I was thinking but then Steven got to that too.  He said you couldn't even use Nina as a Philip to your Rob because you couldn't trust her.  She'd flip on you immediately in a merge.

[LadyChatts]

I think that's what Vince was going for-get two of the weaker players into an alliance and pick off his biggest threats.  Of course I felt it was more out of spite and a craze for control that made Vince target the "Barbie Pack" as he calls them, but it's nothing new on Survivor to get weaker players on your side.  Nina had no social game and that was obvious.  He got into her head and she was a pawn for him.  I don't think she would have flipped on Vince if he didn't attempt to turn on her, but she would have gotten dragged along for however long he was in the game.  I don't believe she would have stayed loyal to Joe, unless he was the one to bring her under his wing first.

 

Although somehow I don't know if Nina would have asking for someone else to get the win.  I could hear her jury speech now.

[Guest]

I think her jury speech would've rivaled Jaclyn's for awfulness.  

[needschocolate]

This kind of people if they are treated in an appropriate and diplomatic way can become the most loyal allies who are dragged to the final two or three but they never win cause they made no move by themselves. If Joe could control the girls he would have asked them to be polite with her and he would become her "savior". This way she would have become the Philip of Boston Rob; the loyal, apathetic and obedient ally who would say no to nothing and in the end she would be so grateful to Joe that she would ask from the jury to vote for him cause he was the mastermind.

 

With Phillip, you needed to make him feel included and appreciated - Tell him the plan (you can change it at the last minute, just give him a reason afterward), pretend to listen to his stories, and don't argue with him.  Keeping Nina loyal would be much more difficult, IMO.  It would take so little for her to think you were mistreating/disrespecting her ad then she would turn on you or you would have to deal with the crying and yelling to win her back.  For each and every situation, you would have to make a judgment call whether to treat her with special care or treat her like everyone else.  And if you try to cover yourself by asking her something like which position she would be best suited for in a challenge (puzzle, swimming, etc...) then you need to be prepared to find a way to protect her when it turns out that she wasn't in the right position and she is the reason you lose (this might not always be the case, but she seems rather misguided on her capabilities).  You also would have the worry of her spilling the beans because she doesn't seem to have a good handle on what should be confidential - like telling Will that Vince was concerned about his health.  Plus, both Phillip and Nina annoyed the rest of the alliance/tribe, but Phillip was helpful in challenges - Nina is not, making her harder to keep around without people realizing that she is your goat.   

[loki567]

Yeah, Nina strikes me as the type you could spend all game long trying to mold into a loyal ally/goat that would flip on you five minutes before a TC because you raised your voice to her. The whole, "give her attention and validation," stuff could backfire if somebody else does a better job of stroking her ego. Pretty much the exact same thing happened with Kass in Cagayan. 

[Miss Scarlet]

 

For sure; this is what sets Survivor apart from the judge-based reality shows (Project Runway, Top Chef) that I sometimes watch and have slowly come to hate.  This is what I was thinking of when I said the players are ahead of the producers.  No way Nina Garcia or Tom Colicchio takes Cirie or Sandra seriously.  No way Tina or Chris from Vanuatu makes it anywhere near the end.  Regardless of talent or skill.  But there's no prejudiced judges to get in the way on Survivor, only a frustrated Probst powerlessly scolding at tribal.

That's true and it's something that I should tell myself whenever I get angry about how sexist the show is. But I think the problem that I have with sexism on the show isn't so much that women can't win, because clearly they can, but it's that women who win (or most women who play the game) are not portrayed fairly. They are usually under-edited, have a low confessional count compared to male winners, are dismissed by Probst at the reunion or in the media and are viewed as "weak", even when they played a good game. So at the end of the day it's great that they won and got the check, but they're not represented well and that's really bothersome.

Edited March 18, 2015 by wudpixie

[Guest]

I wish Lisa Whelchel was underrepresented in confessionals.  I don't really feel like the show goes that far as to favor men so much as it does favor stories/edits.  Though if women players are more likely to play the 'under the radar' game (not sure that's true) then I can see them showing that game less in footage, because there's not much to show.