S30.E12: Holding On For Dear Life

[Guest]

I agree w/ProfCrash above.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Guest

[Special K]

I think, to start, they should stop casting people they have already rejected a million times (Dan).

[laurakaye]

 

 

By the way, here is the Rot's profile pic:

 

 

Now it all makes sense.  Rodney meant to get in the "Big Brother" casting line, but got in the "Survivor" line by mistake.

Edited May 8, 2015 by laurakaye

[iMonrey]

His jaw gets the biggest workout, chawing on twigs or w/e.

 

Yeah, what is up with Mike always having some stick of wood sticking out of his mouth? I bet he's got a toothpick hanging out of his maw at home all the time. I know people like this, I've got a friend who's always got a toothpick sticking out of his mouth, but I've never figured out what the deal is on that. Oral fixation? Cigarette substitution? Or do they just think it makes them look cool, like Clint Eastwood or something?

 

Didnt Jeff states that everyone will like the winner? Nobody likes Carolyn.

 

Jeff Probst is full of shit. There's not one single player left that I like. Not even Mike. Mike is getting a soft edit because he's the under dog and that's probably who Jeff is rooting for, but even if he manages to win I've not forgotten the true colors he showed in the first couple of episodes. He might even be comparatively more likable than the rest of the final six but that's not saying much when the others are such horrible people. Least objectionable by process of elimination doesn't mean likable.

Edited May 8, 2015 by iMonrey

[Guest]

Listening to the RHAP exit interview now.  I like Tyler more now than in the show.  I wish he was one of the season 31 potentials.  He did say if he'd known Carolyn had voted for him he would've nuked her game on the way out but he didn't know.

 

About the season 31 potentials-- Hm.  It sounds like Joe is the one shoe-in.  Probably Mike and Carolyn and Shirin, and maybe Max, since at least they're fresh in peoples' minds. I don't really care about any of them except maybe Joe, Stephen and Ciera.  

 

Shirin should thank Will for the slapdown.  It's going to get her a second season.  It won't surprise me if she gets the Sugar edit.  No more poor victim of the meanies, next we'll see a total attention ho, catty, annoying harpy.

[JudyObscure]

That's absolutely not true. A higher center of mass makes that challenge innately more difficult for men. Rodney's gym body only accentuated his top-heaviness. Guys who work out that way typically do a lot of reps with heavy weights that take their muscles through a range of motion while never working on the muscle's ability to withstand force in a semi-contracted state. This was a challenge for someone with a proportionate, resilient musculature to win. Someone short with a background in yoga or pilates would naturally find a challenge like this to be easier than someone with a gym body (which, by the way, is quite a bit different than a gymnast's body).

I know that a "gym," body is not the same as a gymnast's body.  Looking at the American gymnastics team they look a lot like Rodney, average height about 5'6" with big shoulders and biceps and small legs, just like Rodney.  I agree that Carolyn was well suited for the challenge both physically and mentally but I think Rodney had the best body of the men for this challenge, and big biceps seem like a good thing to have when holding weight, no matter how they twitch.

[LadyChatts]

Listening to the RHAP exit interview now.  I like Tyler more now than in the show.  I wish he was one of the season 31 potentials.  He did say if he'd known Carolyn had voted for him he would've nuked her game on the way out but he didn't know.

 

About the season 31 potentials-- Hm.  It sounds like Joe is the one shoe-in.  Probably Mike and Carolyn and Shirin, and maybe Max, since at least they're fresh in peoples' minds. I don't really care about any of them except maybe Joe, Stephen and Ciera.  

 

Shirin should thank Will for the slapdown.  It's going to get her a second season.  It won't surprise me if she gets the Sugar edit.  No more poor victim of the meanies, next we'll see a total attention ho, catty, annoying harpy.

 

I haven't checked out everyone, but of the S30 crowd, Joe is doing the least campaigning of anyone.  Given his fan favorite status (seriously, I prefer him over everyone left) and Probst saying they would find a way to bring him back, I'm sure his bags are already packed and he's got his ticket stamped.

 

Agree with you about Shirin :)

[Lingo]

I truly don't understand why Dan didn't use his advantage.  From all appearances, wouldn't it have seemed like he was vulnerable?  I don't get why so many of them voted for Mike knowing he had the idol.  Did they really think he was faking out again and not going to play it?  Was there some discussion that we didn't see regarding a splitting of the vote for Tyler so that Tyler would go home in case Mike played his idol?

 

How come Tyler voted for Mike?  Why wouldn't he have thrown his vote at anyone else, say Dan.  I do think in his closing comments that he said he tried to convince others to vote for someone else, but that he couldn't sway anyone.

 

That discussion was there; we saw it. It was Rodney, Sierra, Carolyn, and Dan agreeing that the guys would vote for Mike, the women for Tyler. Only Dan expressed concerns because he was worried Will would flip. They told him he didn't need to worry about it. I'm a little surprised he didn't throw in two votes too (maybe one for Mike, another for Tyler), given how worried he was. Likewise Tyler for Dan. But they were both reassured by the others and both knew the importance of Mike losing his idol.

[RedheadZombie]

If my memory is correct this happened in the seasons won by Tina and by Yul.  Tina won against Colby, a bit if a challenge monster and seemed to be a well-liked guy, so not a goat.  Yul won against Ozzie, a certified challenge monster, who also got some votes, and, therefore, was not a goat.  Their third was Becky, who some may consider a goat in her supposed lack of gameplay (though it turned out, according to Yul, that she was more involved that people realized).  But she made it to the end because they stuck to their alliance, not because of her goatness (Jonathan probably would have been a bigger goat, having turned on his alliance).  .

 

Woo chose to take Tony instead of Kass, for loyalty and honor.  Everyone hated Kass, so it was a guaranteed win.  Obviously the decision cost him a million dollars.

[peachmangosteen]

I've never seen anything (besides here) where Jeff said people will like this winner ... 

 

The actual quote from Jeff about this season's winner maybe being one of the most likable is posted on a couple different threads here. I don't care to look for it, but it's definitely out there. It's from EW, I believe.

 

Or do they just think it makes them look cool, like Clint Eastwood or something?

 

This is 100% why Mike does it IMO. I'm totally back to hating him.

[Guest]

The actual quote from Jeff about this season's winner maybe being one of the most likable is posted on a couple different threads here. I don't care to look for it, but it's definitely out there. It's from EW, I believe.

 

 

This is 100% why Mike does it IMO. I'm totally back to hating him.

I've looked through that EW site over and over and can't find anything about 'iconic' or 'most likable' but there is so much Jeff content and the site isn't very search friendly.  I don't expect anyone to dig it up for me but if anyone happens to know the source of those quotes off the top of their head, I'd love to read it.  I've seen him saying it's one of his favorite casts, it wouldn't surprise him if it was a popular winner, no one will say whoever wins didn't earn it and a few other similar things.  But he never really seems to say he knows who will win.  Which jibes with the past.  I don't know why he'd start peeking and giving hints now, 30 seasons in.

 

I figure Mike carries sticks around to rub his teeth with, to clean them.  He does do it more than most but I can kind of see it.  I'm jabbing at mine with toothpicks all day long.  

[JudyObscure]

I know some men who quit smoking and took up the toothpick habit at that time. 

[Rick Kitchen]

Didnt Jeff states that everyone will like the winner? Nobody likes Carolyn.

 

Nobody likes anybody who's left.

[SlackerInc]

Yes, more or less, he thought he was safe. He and the other guys were convinced Mike would not play his idol and would go.

 

Or, as seems more likely to me, he did think deep down that he had a good chance of being in trouble, but knew better than to project weakness by saying so.  (I'm almost always surprised that people admit to "being on the chopping block"--just doesn't seem like there can be anything good about focusing others' attention on you like that, just in case maybe they weren't already doing so.)

[dolphincorn]

 

big biceps seem like a good thing to have when holding weight

 

They're working the hardest when the arm is bent at about 90 degrees. In this challenge, the arms were almost fully extended.

[himela]

Mike could chew on these sticks during the challenge in order to keep his focus in a way we don't know.

[shercat]

6. Mike (7) Needs to win three straight immunities.  Not impossible, but unlikely.  Would win any combination at F3, but he’d love to be able to make a “blue collar loyalty” point at FTC, so I think his FTC order would be: Dan, Sierra, Rodney, Will, Carolyn.  Since the tribe switch he has voted for Joaquin, Jenn (x2,) Hali, Joe, and Tyler (x2).

 

Yet Tom, Brian, Colby, Kelly, Fabio, JT, and Ozzy won the last three challenges back to back, with Colby winning the last 5 and Ozzy and Kelly winning the last 4. I think it is definitely doable, given that Mike seems to have won endurance and strategy-type challenges. 

[cooker30]

I've looked through that EW site over and over and can't find anything about 'iconic' or 'most likable' but there is so much Jeff content and the site isn't very search friendly. I don't expect anyone to dig it up for me but if anyone happens to know the source of those quotes off the top of their head, I'd love to read it. I've seen him saying it's one of his favorite casts, it wouldn't surprise him if it was a popular winner, no one will say whoever wins didn't earn it and a few other similar things. But he never really seems to say he knows who will win. Which jibes with the past. I don't know why he'd start peeking and giving hints now, 30 seasons in.

I don't think Jeff woukd have to look at the votes to know, or at least "know", who won. For example if it was Mike, Will and Dan in the F3 and the jury did a "You suck, you suck harder, congrats Mike." Then Jeff would have a really good idea who was taking the money.

[kikaha]

I've always assumed Jeff knows who wins, probably within minutes after the vote at FTC.  Am I wrong? 

[peachmangosteen]

I've always assumed Jeff knows who wins, probably within minutes after the vote at FTC.  Am I wrong? 

 

I don't know if it's confirmed or not, but I believe he does, too. IMO there's just no way he doesn't know. It doesn't make sense at all to me for him to not know.

[Asha124]

I wonder if they are going to rehide the HII. But maybe there is still the one Joe got clue to? On rewatch I've noticed that Carolyn's idol is yellow, Jenn's was red and Mike's was blue so they were all the original idols hidden at the 3 camps (Yellow - WC, Red - NC, Blue - BC). The thing is there was no other clue after Mike found the idol so maybe it was really a clue to the BC idol? Or nobody found another clue because they weren't looking for it...

[NutMeg]

Late to the party, but I've been progressively reading all the previous posts before posting :-) Some points below are answers to previous posts, which I won't quote because I read them a couple of days ago.

 

Regarding the possibility of Tyler outing Carolyn's idol on his way out: I remember Eliza doing just that to Ozzy when her torch was snuffed. So technically I'd say it's possible. Of course you have to want to out the person, and it's easier when the person is not in your alliance that when she is and you're so shocked at being out that it takes you a couple of minutes to figure she must have written your name down.

 

Will as Walrus or Willrus is very good. My issue though is that if we go by Willrus Will wil be remembered whenever someone has to explain the origin of the word to new posters, and I don't want to think of him ever again after he's left my screen. Chicken works for me, as he's just clucking along and too chicken to stick his head out.

 

Reward: While I thought this group of three was the best choice to go and meet the kids, I couldn't help but wonder if Carolyn would be wearing some extra clothes and, if not, if the kids would wonder why she was in her undies (bottom of swimsuit would look weird as an attire in any non-island situation). And there she was, with a napkin neatly draped over her knees, but obviously no extra clothes between bikini bottom and napkin). With the neat uniforms the kids were wearing, I was half expecting them to start feeling sorry for the poor American half-naked lady.

 

Still regarding Carolyn but also Mike: I'm mega impressed by their focus ability in endurance challenges. Both seem to immediately go "in the zone" and have proved able to maintening that state for an insanely long time. Kudos.

 

Lastly (I promise I'm not Carolyn obsessed, just stating what I haven't seen yet on this board), Carolyn works in HR, and while HR people in my experience can be either very bad or very good, those who are very good really read people's sthrengths and weaknesses well and know where their skill set would be the best fit. If she is very good at her job, these skills could very nicely translate on Survivor - read people's sthrengths and weaknesses well and know what strategies will appeal to them. So far I'd say she's played a flawless game. Of course it's deemed "boring" because it doesn't involve histrionics or any drama, so we haven't heard much about it. Mike is much more appealing from TV show producers' perspective - from him, we got anger, frustration, tears, excesses (physical work, overemotivity), immunity wins when needed, allying with underdogs (Shirin) and now being an underdog himself. Of course he'll be remembers more, and more fondly, by the viewing public. In a void, I'd say he's a worst player than Carolyn, because he's expanding a lot of (physical, nervous, emotional) energy when it's not needed. And still, this season, if he was F2 with her, he'd win, not despite of his game flaws, but because of them. And would be a decent winner.

[Dobian]

Rodney you big baby, you get to spend your birthday on a one-in-a-million experience.  Suck it up.  Enough endurance challenges, we've tested grip strength enough already.  Hopefully next week's immunity will be a mental challenge or something.  Looks like Mike has some options next week beyond, "I must win immunity".

[Guest]

I don't think Jeff woukd have to look at the votes to know, or at least "know", who won. For example if it was Mike, Will and Dan in the F3 and the jury did a "You suck, you suck harder, congrats Mike." Then Jeff would have a really good idea who was taking the money.

I know if it was that scenario, and that's almost my exact words for that scenario from last week's thread.  lol

 

Jeff has said in the past he doesn't look at the FTC votes.  I think he prefers to remain in the dark with the rest of us.  But even if he did look, why wait until season 30 to start letting hints about the winner slip out in interviews?  He's such a creature of habit he uses the same sentences and arm gestures every show.  

[Wings]

I think Jeff has always looked but pretended not to, in the early seasons, thinking it heightened the suspense.   Once spoilers hit the scene it was ridiculous to keep up the charade.  

[blackwing]

Jeff has said in the past he doesn't look at the FTC votes.  I think he prefers to remain in the dark with the rest of us.  But even if he did look, why wait until season 30 to start letting hints about the winner slip out in interviews?  He's such a creature of habit he uses the same sentences and arm gestures every show.

Jeff Probst has shown over the years that he is extremely prone to exaggeration and overhype.  I think he's also a serial liar.  It's well known that immediately after every vote, he reads them all and rearranges them for maximum drama.  He pretends like he doesn't know who is going home as he reads each vote oh-so-dramatically but we know better.  I don't see any reason why this man who is so desperate for attention and seems like he wouldn't be able to stand not knowing for months who won would be able to refrain from immediately knowing who wins.  Clearly, someone rearranges the votes at the final TC for maximum drama just like for every other vote.  I have no reason not to believe that it's him, and that he looks right away.

[Guest]

I know they arrange the votes for drama in a normal tribal council.   His knowing the outcome 2 minutes before they all do and 6 months before they all do are two different things.  He's never said he doesn't know who's leaving in those.  

[Lingo]

Regarding the possibility of Tyler outing Carolyn's idol on his way out: I remember Eliza doing just that to Ozzy when her torch was snuffed. So technically I'd say it's possible. Of course you have to want to out the person, and it's easier when the person is not in your alliance that when she is and you're so shocked at being out that it takes you a couple of minutes to figure she must have written your name down.

 

Technically, I think that happened after she played the fake idol (the stick, which Ozzy readily admitted to planting) but before the votes were read.

[NutMeg]

Technically, I think that happened after she played the fake idol (the stick, which Ozzy readily admitted to planting) but before the votes were read.

 

Makes sense, but then again if the person who you were allied to voted for you it may take a few seconds to process the disconnect, and by then your torch is snuffed!

[Eggman]

The producers have to look at the votes even before the end of FTC, in case of ties.  There was some speculation that a relatively recent season had an FTC vote that resulted in a tie and they all had to go through the vote again, but it was only barely alluded to in a few after the fact interviews.  The idea that they don't know who the winner is is naive.  First and foremost, this is a television show.

[Guest]

I don't think Jeff is running this show alone.  If he chose to remain in the dark due to all his interviews, that'd be simple enough.  None of the other producers are out in the media daily discussing the season.  

 

But no one seems able to come up with a link to him actually calling the winner iconic or well-liked so it's probably all a moot point.  

[escatefromny]

But no one seems able to come up with a link to him actually calling the winner iconic or well-liked so it's probably all a moot point.

"... but it would not surprise me if the winner of Season 30 became one of the favorite winners of all time."

Jeff Probst Interview, Parade Magazine, February 23, 2015

http://parade.com/377745/joshwigler/jeff-probst-digs-deep-into-survivor-worlds-apart-the-30th-season-of-the-hit-reality-series/

Edited May 11, 2015 by escatefromny

[Wings]

"... but it would not surprise me if the winner of Season 30 became one of the favorite winners of all time."

Jeff Probst Interview, Parade Magazine, February 23, 2015

http://parade.com/377745/joshwigler/jeff-probst-digs-deep-into-survivor-worlds-apart-the-30th-season-of-the-hit-reality-series/

 

 

Thank you for this.  I knew I personally read that but could not find where.  Granted I didn't look as hard as I did for the house I just bought!  

[blackwing]

Yup, from that quote it seems like he knows who the winner is.  Of course, he could always claim that he knows who the three finalists are and that he liked all of them and any one of them would be "one of the favorite winners of all time".  But Occam's Razor says to me that he knows exactly who won.

 

Of course, he made this comment prior to the airing of any episodes.  So I am not sure if I take his comment seriously.  Jeff Probst is so out of touch with reality and with viewer perception.  In another article, he talks about "the twist" (which I have interpreted to be Dan's double vote).  He says that the twist is a huge moment and that they are "jumping the shark" as they have done many times before.  He clearly has zero idea of what "jumping the shark" means.  I believe he meant to say "pushing the envelope".

 

In Jeff's confused and narcissistic view, pre-airing, I could easily see him truly believing that Dan would become one of the favorite winners of all time.  Jeff could easily think that America would fall in love with this fat postal worker with the hairy moobs who is so witty and strategic.  Cause America identifies with hard workers who manage to display bigotry and a complete lack of self awareness and emits profound growling utterances like "as God is my witness, we are going to the end together".  

Edited May 11, 2015 by blackwing

[Guest]

Right, that's the closest anyone has come to "iconic".  As I've said, he couches it in all kinds of hedges-- "We'll have to see how things shake out but it would not surprise me if..."  

 

I just think that if the road from here to FTC gets particularly brutal and strategy-filled, which he keeps suggesting it will, he could be referring to all of the three left standing, not one person in particular.  YMMV.  

 

Though honestly I'm thinking it possibly is going to be that ending a few of us have surmised-- where Mike is somehow at FTC through damn hard playing and Jeff doesn't need to peek to tell just how the jury is feeling.  Often at FTC it's pretty clear just from their comments.  

Edited May 11, 2015 by Guest

[ProfCrash]

Tyler said Jeff would comment at tribal councils that he wishes they could bring back the entire cast and shoot another season with them because they were gold. Who knows if Jeff says such things in order to make the players feel good about what they are doing and carrying on what they are doing or if it is something that he really meant at the time.

 

It does make me wonder how the big moments of this season really felt during the season. Shirin said that she had forgotten about the conversation with Dan that lead to the somebody slap her talking head until it aired. Obviously the Will fight was something that stood out for Shirin but I am not certain how much it stood out for the other players. While Will went over the line, it is unclear if it was so different then some of the other loud behavior we have seen so it didn't feel important to most of the players or even Jeff.

 

You have the various Rodney blow ups that I am sure happened more frequently then we saw and were pretty loud. You had the Sierra vs Dan/Rodney blowup after the Lindsey vote but the rehashing and bitching about a vote is pretty normal. I am sure the WIll/Shirin fight stood out as different but it might not of triggered to the other player as being as important as it is to us.

 

If Jeff takes his cues from the Survivors, I have a feeling that they all blew off the fight after Shirin was voted out. It might be addressed at the final tribal but only if Will makes the final tribal and Shirin decides to go there.

[blackwing]

Right, that's the closest anyone has come to "iconic".  As I've said, he couches it in all kinds of hedges-- "We'll have to see how things shake out but it would not surprise me if..."  

 

I just think that if the road from here to FTC gets particularly brutal and strategy-filled, which he keeps suggesting it will, he could be referring to all of the three left standing, not one person in particular.  YMMV.  

 

Though honestly I'm thinking it possibly is going to be that ending a few of us have surmised-- where Mike is somehow at FTC through damn hard playing and Jeff doesn't need to peek to tell just how the jury is feeling.  Often at FTC it's pretty clear just from their comments.  

 

Yes, but in the same article he also says "I had such a good time with this season. I was riveted for so many days over what was happening, that I just gave myself a gut-check and decided, “Why am I going to hold back my enthusiasm when I feel this strongly?” Survivor fans trust me, I think. I’m pretty honest and candid. For instance, I’ve said that last season was not one of our best, and it was my mistake. I’m saying now, you should pack in and enjoy the season, because it’s going to be pretty damn good. If I’m wrong, I’ll go back in my hole and keep my mouth shut. But I don’t think I’m going to be wrong."  

 

At the time he gave this interview he clearly appears to have thought this was one of the BESTEST SEASONS EVAH.  So it's not much of a hedge when he says we have to see how it plays out.  He thinks Survivor viewers trust him, and he says that this season is "pretty damn good", so therefore it seems that he thinks viewers will agree with him and think the winner is one of the favorite winners ever.

 

Memo to Jeff:  YOU WRONG.   This season sucks.  Because the people largely suck.  You better keep your word and go back in your hole and keep your trap shut.  Enough with the hyperbole.

Edited May 11, 2015 by blackwing

[Guest]

To me it sounds like typical producer hype.  And maybe Jeff does love this season.  I have a feeling the rest is going to get good.  My favorite eps ever are seeing a real villain get come uppance and/or a real underdog prevail and/or someone use some serious strategy, which are all three entirely likely to occur here still.  

 

Though if in the end I'm left scratching my head, that wouldn't surprise me, either.  Some of Jeff's good buddies were players I couldn't stand.  But overall I think we're usually more in tune over what makes a good ep or season.  

[ProfCrash]

The way it was edited, Jeff was wrong. The way Tyler describes the season, Jeff was right. I have a feeling that Jeff did not know about all the sexist, bullying BS that was happening at the camps. If Jeff had the seasons as edited there is no way he makes those comments. No way in hell. He would call it controversial and conversation starting but he would not call it the best season or a top season.

 

The cast is known as being insanely close. We have mentioned that Sierra went to watch an episode with Dan and we know that they two of them had their moments in the show. Clearly those moments had been smoothed over. Then again, some of Dan's worst comments were made in talking heads and about people who were not there to hear the conversations. Tyler commented that the Will episode has caused some fractures in a tight group but it seems like Shirin, Joe, Hali, Mike, and Jenn are still very tight. Tyler said he considers Shirin and Will a close friend. Realistically speaking, I have not seen any evidence of tightness outside of Shirin with the above mentioned folks and Max. Based on the exit interviews, I doubt Shirin is close with So, Joaquin, and Kelly. Based on social media  I think we can safely say that things are still raw between Shirin and Dan and Will.

 

There is something that is off from Jeff's perception, how the group seems to perceive itself, and how the season is being depicted. I honestly sense that the sexist stuff was not something that the cast or Jeff thought was all that prevalent when the season was shoot. I have to believe that the Will/Shirin fight did not come off as badly to the people involved, outside of Shirin, when it happened. I have to believe that Tyler's comments in interviews that there was a lot of laughter, fun, and game play that was awesome was closer to how the players and Jeff saw the season.

 

That sure as hell is not the season the editors are showing.

[ljenkins782]

I found this interesting from that article:

Who is the Biggest Flirt?

 

 

Well… I think Mike does a pretty good job of flirting. I think Jenn from No Collar does a good job of flirting by being an anti-flirt. She appears to care not at all what anybody thinks, which is oddly appealing. It draws you in. I would put those two as the flirts.

 

 

I can see where he's coming from with Jenn, those early days with Vince/Joe, that's exactly the vibe I got too. 

 

 

 

But Mike as a flirt? I'm not sure I'm seeing that at all. He had a brother/sister vibe with Kelly and he was nice to Shirin after the big blow-up, but I wouldn't call that flirting nor do I remember any times when he seemed flirty with anybody. 

[LadyChatts]

Tyler said Jeff would comment at tribal councils that he wishes they could bring back the entire cast and shoot another season with them because they were gold. Who knows if Jeff says such things in order to make the players feel good about what they are doing and carrying on what they are doing or if it is something that he really meant at the time.

 

It does make me wonder how the big moments of this season really felt during the season. Shirin said that she had forgotten about the conversation with Dan that lead to the somebody slap her talking head until it aired. Obviously the Will fight was something that stood out for Shirin but I am not certain how much it stood out for the other players. While Will went over the line, it is unclear if it was so different then some of the other loud behavior we have seen so it didn't feel important to most of the players or even Jeff.

 

You have the various Rodney blow ups that I am sure happened more frequently then we saw and were pretty loud. You had the Sierra vs Dan/Rodney blowup after the Lindsey vote but the rehashing and bitching about a vote is pretty normal. I am sure the WIll/Shirin fight stood out as different but it might not of triggered to the other player as being as important as it is to us.

 

If Jeff takes his cues from the Survivors, I have a feeling that they all blew off the fight after Shirin was voted out. It might be addressed at the final tribal but only if Will makes the final tribal and Shirin decides to go there.

 

I think Jeff said himself that he told the cast during a TC that they were his favorite ever, but I can't recall where I read that.  I do know Jeff gave this season and its players a ton of hype, and it was undeserved.  It started off strongly, but started going south right before the merge, and hasn't gone back.  We're almost to the finale.  I don't care how good this week and next week are, it will still overall rank as one of the worst seasons ever.  Had we had different people here at the end, maybe that would have saved it.  If the editors chose to show this actual good game play that's allegedly going on, maybe that would have done it.  I know that some of the Survivors (Hali and Jenn specifically) said they had no issue with Dan until they watched the show.  I think this group is as close as any other.  But even before all the drama, I was getting that sense that certain people were tight (Mike, Jenn, Hali, Joe, and Shirin seemed extremely tight, and I believe Vince and Max are now roommates) but beyond that, it seemed everyone else kind of was friendly but it wasn't the extreme tightness of some of the other groups.

 

I agree that none of them likely anticipated either how badly some parts were going to come off, what would be left out, or the general reaction of the public would be to the events.  It sounded as though some were caught off guard, especially after Will vs Shirin.

[escatefromny]

I found this interesting from that article:

But Mike as a flirt? I'm not sure I'm seeing that at all. He had a brother/sister vibe with Kelly and he was nice to Shirin after the big blow-up, but I wouldn't call that flirting nor do I remember any times when he seemed flirty with anybody.

I thought Jeff's comment about Mike being a flirt was odd too. Then I remembered it was as Jeff so the focus would be on the men (exclusively) and figure that Jeff equates "flirting" as getting people to like you and be on your side, makes a little more sense that way.

Jeff really is a bit of a buffoon, I'm still trying to work out his "jump the shark" comment and how he could possibly NOT know the correct meaning. It is funny now because it seems like a Freudian slip or a prophecy.

[scowl]

I've always assumed Jeff knows who wins, probably within minutes after the vote at FTC.  Am I wrong? 

The votes have to be examined at the FTC to make sure they are all valid. If a ballot has something like "Suck it, Probst!" on it, they would ask Jenn to write a correct name instead. This means someone knows who the winner is before the FTC ends. 

[Wings]

This season was clearly better before the editing team took over to create the story arcs.  Tyler spoke of the laughter and fun and all are friends on SM.  I can see Jeff and the crew really liking these guys as they were filming, if this is the case.   Why he continues to push the hype knowing how it has been presented is just, selling.  And that is what production wants.  Ya gotta create fervor and excitement.   It is TV and that is what happens.  It exists to entertain.  

 

I like Jeff and think he is good at what he does.  He is not solely responsible for all that is wrong here.  There are hundreds of people who put each season together.  Jeff does not do the editing nor does he make decisions on his own.  

[himela]

It's unfortunate in my opinion that the reunion happens like 8 months after the 39 days end. I think it would be more realistic and obviously we'd enjoy it more if they made a reunion the next day of the final tribal council (before revealing the votes ofc that could be made live as usual). Then they could do the live reunion. Tbh I'm tired to watching reunions with players who were fighting or insulting each other like 20 minutes ago and suddenly being all nice and lovey lovey with each other, apologizing and saying that this and that nasty thing they said or did was not meant to be said or done and they regret it. I hate so much love in the reunion. If the reunion was filmed one day after the FTC, when things are still raw and emotions are still running high, this would make for good TV.

[blackwing]

I agree that Jeff is trying to "sell" the season, but at some point, there is such a thing as overhype.  I don't think it can be said that Jeff was having a good time and had his head in the hand like an ostrich so was completely unaware of how unappealing some of the comments made by certain members were.  There's absolutely NO WAY that Jeff isn't aware of everything that is going on out there.  Just because he wasn't present for the actual conversations doesn't mean he doesn't know about them.  He has demonstrated this time and time again at tribal council when he asks questions about things that he clearly would not have known about unless he had seen footage or gotten a report from the camera crew.  He's not some impartial observer that is asking questions at tribal, completely ignorant of what has transpired over the past three days.  He knows exactly what is going on, and he was completely aware of the horrible comments that Will, Dan, and the Rot had made.

 

Now I do agree that he might not have control over the editing.  But he is no spring chicken.  He has done this 29 times before and he has reviewed hundreds of hours of footage.   He knows exactly what is going to make for "good TV", and there's no way he doesn't have an inkling that Will's attack or Shirin's crying isn't going to make the final footage.  Moreover, he was actually physically present for the tribal council where Will refused to apologize and Shirin was in tears.  He was also there when Dan said that he was adopted which is just as bad as suffering emotional abuse and domestic violence.  Also, I highly doubt that he's sitting at home watching these episodes in their final format for the first time.  I think he would have watched them prior to the season airing.  

 

I think he just made a gross misinterpretation and miscalculation of what he thought would qualify as entertainment.  He certainly completely miscalculated how these people would be generally received by the viewers.

[peachmangosteen]

Since so many of the contestants are also talking about all the awesome stuff I really wonder what made the editors/Production decide to tell the story they did this season? Especially knowing what Probst was saying pre-show. Or do they edit all the eps before any air? In that case, Probst's comments make even less sense because like how in the world did he see that edit and think the audience would love this season/cast? He is so tone deaf.

[LadyChatts]

I think Jeff just got caught up in thinking what good TV this was going to make.  As the saying goes, even bad publicity is good publicity.  Two weeks later and people are still talking about Will and Shirin and who was in the right.  It will be one of the first things people think of when they remember this season.  So good drama makes for great TV, or so they thought.  The problem was, it wasn't just that one time this season.  It was just one of many incidents, so putting them all together, it's harder to get people to brush it off and think it was just one person, an isolated incident, but everyone else is great.  It could be that everything else that was left on the editing room floor is what Jeff was referring to, and if he really doesn't see the edited version before it goes to air, then I can see why he hyped the season the way he did.  He probably figured everyone would love rooting against Rodney, Dan, and Will, and waiting for their downfall.  Except, it's not even a 'love to against' as we've had with some villains.  And even the likable people left got a bad edit earlier or have been (mostly) in the background.  This is truly the first season where I have no one to root for at this point.

 

I feel like two seasons took place: the one we're seeing, and the one the contestants got to play.  Unless they're all bluffing and trying to make it sound better than it was.  When we get the next newbie season next spring (boy, those people will have a loooong wait) I have a feeling more care will go into the edit than we saw this season.  Unless they hope the second chance season will completely wash everyone's memory of S30.

Edited May 11, 2015 by LadyChatts

[Guest]

 I don't think the season is all that bad.  I think people on social media are way more up in arms over the villainy than I am, for one.  I think Jeff probably does like all the villainy.  It's not my favorite thing but I suppose it beats bland, careful players who do almost no playing or feather ruffling.  The penultimate bad season to me was the one BRob won because it seemed like he was the only one playing.  

 

I also think Jeff is going to naturally be more RAH-RAH in a Parade interview than say one with Dalton Ross, especially one that appeared before the season started.  He probably figures or was told that most Parade readers aren't still (or weren't ever) Survivor viewers, unlike readers of his EW interviews.  He had an opportunity to maybe re-recruit some old cast-off viewers or get a few new ones, even.  Swing for the fences.  Only a pathetic few (us) would even remember the Parade comments this deep in.  

[blackwing]

His embarrassing "jumping the shark" comment comes from a Dalton Ross interview.

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/24/jeff-probst-names-his-favorite-survivor-winner-non-winner-twist-challenge-and