S34.E01: The Stakes Have Been Raised (Double Episode)

[piequinn35]

18 hours ago, slowpoked said:

You can add Debbie from Kaoh Rong, Tarzan from OW, Tony from Cagayan, Na'onka from Nicaragua (although I wouldn't really like to reward a quitter by giving them another chance to play).

No Colton please. He's not crazy, he's just plain despicable.

Yes, no Colton pls., how about J'Tia the nuclear engineer, she dumped the rice, I think she was in Tony's season?

[uoflfan]

I am SO down with a season of Crazies.  #bringbackShane  Maybe they should pit the Crazies against Medical Evacuees.  Somebody could die on either team.  The guy who kept sharpening his machete was named "Matt", IIRC.  He was nicknamed "Mattchete" by TWOP.  I think he actually made it to the final 2 or 3 during whatever season he was on.

[azshadowwalker]

I loved Matt. The show's attempt to portray him as a potential serial killer was so gross. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, piequinn35 said:

Oh no, my bad, TONI was his second vote, his first vote was Ciera, Who Voted Out Her Mom.

:xD

I wanted to go and check how he spelled Ciera but I was too lazy.  I honestly was surprised how few crazy Ciera spellings there were!  I'm kind of a word nazi and even I was like, 'Wait a minute... how is it?  C and one R?'

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, slowpoked said:

Jeff Probst was asked by Dalton Ross specifically of this concept - bring back together all first boots and give them a second chance. Jeff said they actually have considered it, but in the end decided they don't have enough interesting characters for a full season

According to Probst. 

If a poll were taken and he had to put the top 16 on a season of Survivor, he'd probably grouch and complain the entire time.

[Calamity Jane]

7 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

It's like Debbie's thinking she's Shirin?  

 

I have a good friend who just cannot get some people's names right, no matter how long she's known them.  We had a teacher named Loreto, and she never even once said it correctly; we had a VP named Larra (pronounced LAIR-a), and she never got that right even once; my daughter-in-law is Lara, and she's never one time said it right.  It's just something about the spelling that trips her up, I think, because they're all slightly unusual names.  Debbie could have something like that going on, and the name Cirie is unusual, so her mind starts supplying various possible pronunciations and she has no clue which is right.  

[LanceM]

8 hours ago, Lamima said:

Hali??? How could she turn any tide? Nah. I am thinking Sandra and Troyzan.

Hali is a lawyer. It is kind of her job to get people to agree with her viewpoint. We saw her trying to do just that talking with Caleb and Varner to vote out Tony. Was she successful?  Who knows but it is certainly possible.

[Hera]

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

As I said, I understand why they are going for the rule change (and I 100% believe they think it'll lead to more rock draws, which to them equals better TV).  However, I see it backfiring on them, especially if they knew about it ahead of time.  I agree that sometimes they need to shake things up, but I don't see this accomplishing what they hope it will.  It's going to make people less likely to flip.

I'm okay with the rule change for this season, but I'm not sure I want it to be a permanent thing. I don't think the producers are hoping for more rock draws (that always seemed like a way of punishing the players for not being able to decide who to vote out to me), so much as they're hoping to stop majority alliances from nullifying the hidden immunity idol without knowing who has it. As @KimberStormer pointed out, split votes are now a standard part of Survivor strategy and mean that even with an idol, it might not be possible for the minority alliance to take out someone in the majority one. That's boring TV, and it makes the HII boring, too.

I actually think the producers have probably been trying to figure out how to make hidden immunity idols exciting again for a while: we've had the Tyler Perry idol on Cagayan, the Kaôh Rōng combined idol, and over a few seasons, various methods of hiding idols and clues to increase the chances that someone will find the idol/clue in front of someone else. Basically, I don't think they like it when a player finds the idol and then keeps it a secret until playing it at tribal council (if they ever need to) and they don't like that even that move might not be available to the idol-finder if the other alliance splits votes, whether they know they need to or not. I think they want to see idols being used in alliance-building and they want big, dramatic idol plays that turn the tables on the majority alliance. If this rule change doesn't yield the results they're after, I expect there will be further tweaking in future seasons.

[violet and green]

On 3/9/2017 at 7:35 PM, KimberStormer said:

I think the producers have inadvertantly eliminated all the wonderful chaotic tribals of the past few seasons with their no-split-vote rule

But it isn't a rule against splitting the votes. It's a change in procedure for tied votes. It may result in less willingness to split the votes, if that's what you're saying.

[Wandering Snark]

30 minutes ago, Hera said:

As @KimberStormer pointed out, split votes are now a standard part of Survivor strategy and mean that even with an idol, it might not be possible for the minority alliance to take out someone in the majority one. That's boring TV, and it makes the HII boring, too.

I call the existence of idols themselves to be boring and overused, they aren't "special" anymore. I liked when the idols weren't at the locale but they found a clue to an idol that would be difficult to attain, like during challenges or underneath your tribe flag. I am sick of idols personally and would love to see at least a season w/o them. I am also soooo tired of the constant re-placing of the idols after they've been used. This should be the Oprah show... you get an idol, YOU get an idol...

Edited March 11, 2017 by Wandering Snark

[Vyk]

9 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

He wasn't?!

Castaways who get the villain edit aren't snowflakes.  And in fact, the one "villain" moment he had was against the editors' snowflake that season, so of course he himself wasn't.

[Jobiska]

2 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

I loved Matt. The show's attempt to portray him as a potential serial killer was so gross. 

Matt was an introvert, a personality type they very rarely cast on Survivor, playing with (by the end) a group of people who didn't know how introverts tick.  I thought it was more their opinions that drove that narrative than the show making it up, but I still didn't like it.   On the topic of first boots, Daniel from that show actually got malaria despite taking the meds, so I think if anyone deserves a second chance it is he (though I'd understand if he didn't want to ever put himself in that position again!)

On the topic of this episode:  Wow, that was a lot of sharks.  I did like the return of the judgmental-looking green iguanas.  For some reason every time I see them I think they're looking at the Survivors and thinking disparaging thoughts.  

I guess they either didn't have to boil the water this time around, or realized they never had to?  They were staying hydrated before they got the flint (or was making fire so easy it wasn't a storyline?).  I don't happen to remember if orange had a campfire.  Oh I guess they had to have, with Sandra's excuse of "crate too near the fire."  Well, at least I didn't have to see any footage of someone trying so hard to rub sticks together that they are sweating into the tinder.  I don't like sweat.  

[Haleth]

21 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

I guess they either didn't have to boil the water this time around, or realized they never had to?  They were staying hydrated before they got the flint (or was making fire so easy it wasn't a storyline?).  I don't happen to remember if orange had a campfire.  Oh I guess they had to have, with Sandra's excuse of "crate too near the fire."  Well, at least I didn't have to see any footage of someone trying so hard to rub sticks together that they are sweating into the tinder.  I don't like sweat.  

I think part of the deal for coming back is that they don't have to work too hard for food or water. 

Edited March 11, 2017 by Haleth

[Jobiska]

3 minutes ago, Haleth said:

I think part of the deal for coming back is that they don't have to work too hard for food or water. 

Guess Jeff just has to obsessively throw flint at them even if they already have it!

[Eolivet]

1 hour ago, Hera said:

I'm okay with the rule change for this season, but I'm not sure I want it to be a permanent thing. I don't think the producers are hoping for more rock draws (that always seemed like a way of punishing the players for not being able to decide who to vote out to me), so much as they're hoping to stop majority alliances from nullifying the hidden immunity idol without knowing who has it.

See, I think the rule change is also due to idols, but more as a way to protect against bad Survivor. These producers are pretty reactionary, so it had to have been in response to something they saw last season. And if this is in response to the rock draw comedy of errors, I think that may have frightened the producers more for its incorrect idol play than the rock draw itself.

This gets kind of grassy knolly, but I think that idol finders tend to be who producers consider better players (even if by chance) and by changing the voting rules, it becomes less likely that idol-holders will play the idol for weaker members of their alliance. Changing the rules about tie votes means that idol-holders will be more likely to only play the idol for themselves (to protect themselves from rock draws if they believe the vote is close or someone may flip). I believe it essentially protects who the producers consider better players.

(And again, I think this was partly in response to David having to stick his hand in a bag of rocks, while Ken sat there, safe from harm.)

[LanceM]

Regarding the fire on the Mana tribe. They got it going without flint by rubbing a bunch of sticks together. There is a secret scene that shows it.  It was Caleb and Tony that it going with an assist from Hali by blowing on it to get the flames going. 

[vb68]

Quote

I was surprised at the omission of Ciera's Final Words - but considering how one of her earlier THs indicated she found the notion of being a season's First Boot both embarrassing and distressing, she may have simply been too upset for Production to get anything usable.

Even if that was the case, they had plenty of time, the next day or whenever, to film one and nobody would've been the wiser. I don't even see anything that wrong with letting someone have 24 hours or so to collect their thoughts.  It still feels like a bit of a diss to me that she didn't have one in this episode, but who knows.

[millennium]

1 hour ago, Wandering Snark said:

I call the existence of idols themselves to be boring and overused, they aren't "special" anymore. I liked when the idols weren't at the locale but they found a clue to an idol that would be difficult to attain, like during challenges or underneath your tribe flag. I am sick of idols personally and would love to see at least a season w/o them. I am also soooo tired of the constant re-placing of the idols after they've been used. This should be the Oprah show... you get an idol, YOU get an idol...

My peeve is that no one is hungry anymore.  We saw Ciera casually chomping on an apple and Ebbie strolling along eating some other fruit.  Food doesn't seem to be much of a concern anymore, except maybe quality (reward cheeseburgers, pizza, ribs, etc) instead of quantity.  

Things have come a long way since Survivor Palau, where Stephenie was the sole remaining member of her tribe and in a very bad way for lack of food.   I was reminded of the contrast between now and then not only because of the well-fed tribe members in this week's episode but because I've been watching Stranded With a Million Dollars.

Edited March 11, 2017 by millennium

[Lamima]

2 hours ago, LanceM said:

Hali is a lawyer. It is kind of her job to get people to agree with her viewpoint. We saw her trying to do just that talking with Caleb and Varner to vote out Tony. Was she successful?  Who knows but it is certainly possible.

Hali that was a no collar on her last season and came up with merge tribe name of 'Merica is an actual lawyer? Bio said she was a law student. Seems a little ditzy, IMO.

Edited March 11, 2017 by Lamima

[LanceM]

16 minutes ago, Lamima said:

Hali that was a no collar on her last season and came up with merge tribe name of 'Merica is an actual lawyer? Bio said she was a law student. Seems a little ditzy, IMO.

Yes that is usually what happens when law school students graduate and then pass the bar exam. : )

[Lamima]

1 minute ago, LanceM said:

Yes that is usually what happens when law school students graduate and then pass the bar exam. : )

Not all do.... you know... graduate and pass the bar.

[LadyChatts]

53 minutes ago, millennium said:

My peeve is that no one is hungry anymore.  We saw Ciera casually chomping on an apple and Ebbie strolling along eating some other fruit.  Food doesn't seem to be much of a concern anymore, except maybe quality (reward cheeseburgers, pizza, ribs, etc) instead of quantity.  

Things have come a long way since Survivor Palau, where Stephenie was the sole remaining member of her tribe and in a very bad way for lack of food.   I was reminded of the contrast between now and then not only because of the well-fed tribe members in this week's episode but because I've been watching Stranded With a Million Dollars.

My favorite has always been when Jeff went out during Outback and bartered with the castaways for more rice, because they were pathetic and didn't know how to ration their food.  It's why I get really uncomfortable when it comes to the treatment of the chickens and other animals out there.  There's no need for them anymore, imo, and no need to be chasing after the goats on the island, either (or brutally killing the fish, sharks, or other marine life, either).  If they worry about the castaways whining too much, edit it out.  No one's forcing them to be on this show.  It's getting cushier than Big Brother.

Edited March 11, 2017 by LadyChatts

[LanceM]

In case anyone was wondering what that bug was that was in Sandra's hair at tribal council.

From Peih-Gee Law on Reddit

"I watched the premier with Hali and she said it was a gigantic cockroach. The airborne kind. *shudders"

[Lamima]

7 minutes ago, LanceM said:

In case anyone was wondering what that bug was that was in Sandra's hair at tribal council.

From Peih-Gee Law on Reddit

"I watched the premier with Hali and she said it was a gigantic cockroach. The airborne kind. *shudders"

Yeah, see, that's why I could NEVER do Survivor. Icky critters. Nope, not for me.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Lamima said:

Not all do.... you know... graduate and pass the bar.

Apparently Hali did.

http://www.vcstar.com/story/entertainment/2017/03/08/ex-deputy-public-defender-returns-survivor/98913464/

I lived in Hawaii for a year.  Those giant flying cockroaches are no joke.  Blech.  

[green]

53 minutes ago, LanceM said:

In case anyone was wondering what that bug was that was in Sandra's hair at tribal council.

From Peih-Gee Law on Reddit

"I watched the premier with Hali and she said it was a gigantic cockroach. The airborne kind. *shudders"

They were called Palmetto Bugs in Florida back when I used to live there.  Kind of the official Cockroach Air Force.

Edited March 11, 2017 by green

[Ms Blue Jay]

.

Edited March 11, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Nashville]

16 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

I am not okay with throwing a crate of live chickens over the side of a boat into the sea. *Yes I saw it had floats but still, not cool show).

It's okay; chickens are relatively drip-dry.  :)

 

11 hours ago, piequinn35 said:

It was his first time to vote, give him a break. :xD

Hey, at least Caleb didn't vote for himself.  Was I mistaken or did Michaela's ballot look like she started to write down her own name, before crossing it out and writing Tony's...?

ETA: Michaela's parchment definitely had a letter M written down then scratched out - so she started to write down either her own name, or Malcolm's.

 

1 hour ago, green said:

They were called Palmetto Bugs in Florida back when I used to live there.  Kind of the official Cockroach Air Force.

In that case, which Debbiebugs are their Civil Air Patrol?  :>

Edited March 11, 2017 by Nashville

[Kelda Feegle]

13 minutes ago, Nashville said:

It's okay; chickens are relatively drip-dry.  :)

 

True but it would have been a bit scary for them and potentially injured them hitting each other in the cage. I'd just rather see them as part of a reward for a win.

[millennium]

10 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

My favorite has always been when Jeff went out during Outback and bartered with the castaways for more rice, because they were pathetic and didn't know how to ration their food.  It's why I get really uncomfortable when it comes to the treatment of the chickens and other animals out there.  There's no need for them anymore, imo, and no need to be chasing after the goats on the island, either (or brutally killing the fish, sharks, or other marine life, either).  If they worry about the castaways whining too much, edit it out.  No one's forcing them to be on this show.  It's getting cushier than Big Brother.

Sometimes it feels like they're on a "Castaway"-themed Princess Cruise.   The beautiful locale, the nearly constant gorgeous weather, a steady food supply, the gaily-colored challenge structures ... it's like the biggest obstacle now is overcoming gossip.

And I agree 100% about the animals.   They are added as slaughter-porn.

Edited March 11, 2017 by millennium

[KimberStormer]

6 hours ago, Eolivet said:

See, I think the rule change is also due to idols, but more as a way to protect against bad Survivor. These producers are pretty reactionary, so it had to have been in response to something they saw last season. And if this is in response to the rock draw comedy of errors, I think that may have frightened the producers more for its incorrect idol play than the rock draw itself.

(And again, I think this was partly in response to David having to stick his hand in a bag of rocks, while Ken sat there, safe from harm.)

This is an interesting thought.  I'm not sure it works, though, if that's what they want.  Before the split-vote became the thing to do, The Edgardo was the classic idol-bustin' move.  You try to figure out who is the least likely to have the idol, and vote for them (rather than the leader of the alliance, or whatever.)  Indeed Ciera was talking about this in terms of voting Caleb instead of Tony at the well.  So I think it would likely lead to more Edgardo-style weak-player targets and Parvati-style countermoves of playing the idol on lower members of the alliance; so more safe Kens, more at-risk Davids.

8 hours ago, Hera said:

I actually think the producers have probably been trying to figure out how to make hidden immunity idols exciting again for a while: we've had the Tyler Perry idol on Cagayan, the Kaôh Rōng combined idol, and over a few seasons, various methods of hiding idols and clues to increase the chances that someone will find the idol/clue in front of someone else. Basically, I don't think they like it when a player finds the idol and then keeps it a secret until playing it at tribal council (if they ever need to) and they don't like that even that move might not be available to the idol-finder if the other alliance splits votes, whether they know they need to or not. I think they want to see idols being used in alliance-building and they want big, dramatic idol plays that turn the tables on the majority alliance. If this rule change doesn't yield the results they're after, I expect there will be further tweaking in future seasons.

I agree they have been trying to figure out how to bring back the idol magic but the thing is I thought they discovered a really good way with the idols hidden at challenges and literally in the shelter in Cambodia.  Yet both of those never happened again as far as I remember?  But it looks like they're back for this season. 

I'm not sure they don't like an idol that is kept secret.  The audience (except for me) sure loves it when Jenn or Kelley Wentworth pulls out the idol at the right moment and nullifies every vote; I assume the producers also love that excitement.  They definitely do not like an idol play that does nothing because the votes were split.  And to me, that seems to be what they were trying to get rid of with this rule change.  But I honestly feel like the boring split vote has gotten more rare, and exciting tribal shenanigans have gotten exponentially more common, in the past few seasons, so it seems to me to be a solution that came too late, after the problem has already resolved itself.

[cooksdelight]

I know how to make idols more interesting. Stop having them. But don't tell them they're not out there.

Stop with the abundant food every time someone turns around. Stop giving them live animals.

The feast these people had right off the bat....wonder when the 7-course sit-down dinner will be held?

[SlackerInc]

That's easy to say from the comfort of your couch.  Yet with a very few exceptions, players continue to lose significant amounts of weight.  I mean, this isn't the Roman Coliseum.

[cooksdelight]

50 minutes ago, SlackerInc said:

That's easy to say from the comfort of your couch.  Yet with a very few exceptions, players continue to lose significant amounts of weight.  I mean, this isn't the Roman Coliseum.

Season 1, a food reward was a candy bar that the entire team had to share. Another food reward -- for one person only -- was a bowl of pasta and a beer. They all survived. They ate tapioca, fruit, fish and rats.

This episode, the abundance of food was startling. I noticed a few people had bulked up a little, but they may not need to this season.

[Jobiska]

8 hours ago, Nashville said:

ETA: Michaela's parchment definitely had a letter M written down then scratched out - so she started to write down either her own name, or Malcolm's

I assumed she did that for misdirection, so they wouldn't think it was hers, or so she could tell which hers was.

[Wings]

42 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Season 1, a food reward was a candy bar that the entire team had to share. Another food reward -- for one person only -- was a bowl of pasta and a beer. They all survived. They ate tapioca, fruit, fish and rats.

This episode, the abundance of food was startling. I noticed a few people had bulked up a little, but they may not need to this season.

Their food will run out, they are eating the bounty they got from the boat.  I miss their struggles with food, too.  

Australia was the worst.  Hasslebacks hair started to fall out they were so deprived.  That was too extreme but I would like to see a little more strife with the food situation. 

I remember rewards where they fell face first into the food and couldn't even talk.  Now they take in the spread deciding what to eat first and pause to butter the bread, pass the knife please.  Okay, I exaggerate only slightly on that last one.

10 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

There's no need for them anymore, imo, and no need to be chasing after the goats on the island, either...

The goats are privately owned by those who live on the island.  There is a lot of goat farming there.  They are off limits.   

[peachmangosteen]

I don't personally watch this show to see people actually survive in the wilderness, so I'm not that upset that they don't seem to be fighting not to starve anymore. And since most people do still lose a significant amount of weight, I don't think they've gone too far the other way into a Club Med situation.

[Wings]

19 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I don't personally watch this show to see people actually survive in the wilderness, so I'm not that upset that they don't seem to be fighting not to starve anymore. And since most people do still lose a significant amount of weight, I don't think they've gone too far the other way into a Club Med situation.

It certainly isn't Club Med but it is Motel 6 with a vending machine next to the ice.  Their weight loss is no longer shocking.  They do lose, but not nearly as much compared to earlier in history.  I find the recent weigh ins disappointing.  The footage does not show any desperation for fishing equipment or dividing the rice carefully, licking their bowls or scavenging for snails and bugs.  That was a big part of it for me.  I loved watching them eat their reward with the fervor of someone who is desperate.  They even give them a snack on the way to Ponderosa so they arrive sated and not all that eager to get the cheeseburger! 

There is a happy medium but I think they probably get a better show if the castaways are relatively well fed.

[peachmangosteen]

1 minute ago, wings707 said:

It certainly isn't Club Med but it is Motel 6 with a vending machine next to the ice. 

This is actually perfect.

I think as recently as last season and the season before some people were losing like 20 pounds, which imo is pretty significant. 

And I think that they're probably just seeming so well fed right now because they were given a lot of food initially on the boat. Maybe they'll be able to ration well and stay nicely fed all season, but I doubt it lol.

I agree that there needs to be a balance between them starving and it seeming like they're at a resort, but I think they've pretty much achieved it tbh.

[Guest]

34 minutes ago, wings707 said:

 The footage does not show any desperation for fishing equipment or dividing the rice carefully, licking their bowls or scavenging for snails and bugs.  That was a big part of it for me.  I loved watching them eat their reward with the fervor of someone who is desperate.

How do you feel about torture scenes in movies?  There are some things that just feel ghoulish and bad to me, and watching survivors truly suffer, whether it's from illness or injury or lack of food, sleep, warmth, dryness, whatever, is definitely in that category.  It feels gratuitous and unnecessary.  

I know they sign up for it but it reminds me of the old Stephen King books like The Long Walk and The Running Man, where in dystopian futures desperate people are competing for their lives while a hardened public watches and revels in their suffering.  Or I guess actual atrocities from our past like people fed to lions in the Coliseum.  Not saying we're approaching that level here but I have a visceral reaction of distaste to watching others physically suffering.  

[uoflfan]

13 hours ago, green said:

They were called Palmetto Bugs in Florida back when I used to live there.  Kind of the official Cockroach Air Force.

They are also Palmetto bugs in South Carolina.  They are huge and it takes a lot to kill them - at least 4 hits with a large heavy shoe - IF you can catch one.

Starvation is the reason I could never be on Survivor.  I'm one of those women who simply cannot gain weight.  It's my metabolism.  I'd start the game skinny and look skeletal at the end of the first week.

Edited March 11, 2017 by uoflfan

[Wings]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

How do you feel about torture scenes in movies?  There are some things that just feel ghoulish and bad to me, and watching survivors truly suffer, whether it's from illness or injury or lack of food, sleep, warmth, dryness, whatever, is definitely in that category.  It feels gratuitous and unnecessary.  

I know they sign up for it but it reminds me of the old Stephen King books like The Long Walk and The Running Man, where in dystopian futures desperate people are competing for their lives while a hardened public watches and revels in their suffering.  Or I guess actual atrocities from our past like people fed to lions in the Coliseum.  Not saying we're approaching that level here but I have a visceral reaction of distaste to watching others physically suffering.  

I merely ask that they make it so they have to fish to fill out their rice diet.  This falls short of hobbling. 

I hate to see them wet, I will say that.  I have said many times that supplies to build a shelter should be at hand and easy to throw up.  It isn't entertaining to see them struggle in the rain.   

[uoflfan]

1 minute ago, wings707 said:

I have said many times that supplies to build a shelter should be at hand and easy to throw up.  It isn't entertaining to see them struggle in the rain.

That would be the worst part of being on Survivor.  I hate seeing people dripping wet and freezing.  Being cold would be sheer misery for this Bahamian-American girl.

[vb68]

On a rewatch last night, when they were naming the chickens, I loved when Culpepper overruled Debbie and said no, Monica is the black one. And then turned to her with a straight face. "She has black hair".

[Guest]

Oh good, I feel better and do also kind of miss when fishing skill was a part of the game.  I kind of wonder if these places they put them just don't usually have stuff to catch in the close-in lagoons, unless they 'seed' it like they did with giant clams in Cambodia.  Seeing people fish and not ever catch fish is about as entertaining as seeing unfruitful idol searches.  

The freezing is my least favorite, too.  That alone would keep me off that show.  Some of the exile island nights were brutal.  I'm thinking Candice might've experienced a couple of those?  They'd put people out there without even any trees to shelter them from the wind and rain.  It was too much for me.  And the times when it rains for days and their feet are all wrinkled .... ugh.  

I watched a bonus clip of this ep and it showed Tai making something they called 'green beans' but they were passing one around and it was like a foot long, so I'm guessing it was some sea vegetable.  And passing around one coconut.  So I'm guessing the boat food supplies might not be all that much food if they're already eating seaweed, but they did seem to think it was delicious, too, so who knows.  

Edited March 11, 2017 by Guest

[Wandering Snark]

4 hours ago, wings707 said:

Australia was the worst.  Hasslebacks hair started to fall out they were so deprived.

And then there was Tina's descent into looking like a caveman at the end of her first season... and of course the eating of rats. That and crossing a swollen river to get the remains left in your rice can that was stuck in the middle on a branch... yeah, I too wouldn't want them to go back THAT far but dialing back the reward challenges wouldn't kill anyone.

[LadyChatts]

I remember when rewards were so simple.  Not just the food, but also the creature comforts.  Basic fishing equipment, a spice rack, two blankets.  Now it's an entire pantry full of goods or a reward that looks like a patio display at Home Depot.  Hearing the Survivors whine about being cold and hungry isn't exactly must see TV I get, but really, why not make it a little hard for them.  In Palau they had a challenge where they could have someone come out and build them a shelter, and there was one where they built their own bathroom and had it judged.  They built the bathroom courtesy of tools supplied by then sponsor Home Depot, butat least it was something they had to do themselves.  Now if they build something crappy and are miserable, CBS comes to the rescue.

[Wings]

9 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

I remember when rewards were so simple.  Not just the food, but also the creature comforts.  Basic fishing equipment, a spice rack, two blankets.

I remember them being so excited to get salt on one season!  I get that.  

[Guest]

I think the only time I found it overkill was them walking on the beach in the mornings in a Cambodia with mugs of hot coffee.  But that was Cambodia which was a shithole, so I was also kind of relieved they had the comfort.  And to be honest, hot coffee would be a HUGE help out there where it's cold and caffeine can really help fill the food void.  

Actually I didn't like that season where one tribe had it soooo cushy, including with a couch.  

[KHenry14]

52 minutes ago, wings707 said:

I remember them being so excited to get salt on one season!  I get that.  

I've always wondered why some castaway hasn't tried to make salt. It's not hard to make it from seawater, it just takes a while. But time is something they have a lot of, so why not give it a whirl?