S35: John "J.P." Hilsabeck

[Star Aristille]

Hi.  I'm planning on playing like Jay from Millennials vs. Generation-X.

That alone tells me he's probably not going to do all that well.

[Silver Raven]

Nobody with that pink skin and red hair can survive in the Survivor sun.  He's going to be toast, literally.

[LadyChatts]

He's a red head?

Seems like a nice guy.  Much the women, I'm finding most of the men boring, but I do like him.  Firefighter so he'll probably be very athletic, and, like Patrick, seems down to earth, so I can see him doing well.

[legaleagle53]

On 8/31/2017 at 0:43 PM, Silver Raven said:

Nobody with that pink skin and red hair can survive in the Survivor sun.  He's going to be toast, literally.

I think the castaways are allowed to use sunblock for that very reason.

And he's definitely what I would call eye candy.  If you were to ask me what my type is, I'd say "J.P. -- with just a few more years' seasoning."

[ByaNose]

JP is very good looking but he's very bland and kind of dumb. That said, they are showing him a lot. I don't know if that means he is leaving soon or in the finals. I'm not even really sure that he has excelled at the challenges. Has he?

[LadyChatts]

33 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

JP is very good looking but he's very bland and kind of dumb. That said, they are showing him a lot. I don't know if that means he is leaving soon or in the finals. I'm not even really sure that he has excelled at the challenges. Has he?

He was pretty bland in his interviews, too, and it seemed like the rest of the cast thought so in their impressions of him.  After the first episode, I thought maybe the guy had some personality and wouldn't have the dead eyed stare.  I was wrong.  He keeps that up, the most exciting thing about his Survivor journey might be him vs Alan over idol-gate.  I don't think the Heroes, which look to be the buffest team, have blown it out of the water, nor do I think he's been a challenge beast.  Maybe he's holding back?

[simplyme]

10 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

He was pretty bland in his interviews, too, and it seemed like the rest of the cast thought so in their impressions of him.  After the first episode, I thought maybe the guy had some personality and wouldn't have the dead eyed stare.  I was wrong.  He keeps that up, the most exciting thing about his Survivor journey might be him vs Alan over idol-gate.  I don't think the Heroes, which look to be the buffest team, have blown it out of the water, nor do I think he's been a challenge beast.  Maybe he's holding back?

Yeah. The most exciting thing I got out of his interviews is that he has a dog named Thor. So far, I'm kind of wishing they'd cast the dog.

[ByaNose]

3 hours ago, simplyme said:

Yeah. The most exciting thing I got out of his interviews is that he has a dog named Thor. So far, I'm kind of wishing they'd cast the dog.

That’s hysterical!

I wonder if he’ll be the Ken of the season minus the abs. Ken was super good looking but soooooo dull. He managed to win his way to the Final 3, Was willed the legacy advantage and didn't even receive a question at the Final Tribal Council. I could be wrong about the last one. That’s the kind of vibe I’m getting. JP will get airtime and win some immunities (should he make the merge) and, make the finals. At least, he’ll always have his looks. LOL!!!

[blackwing]

I think he looks a lot like James MacArthur, the son of Helen Hayes who played Danny Williams in Hawaii 5-O Original Recipe.

Seems pretty hard working.  He didn't get much airtime this week, I think it's because the girl who ogles him when he comes out of the water with fish got put on the other tribe.

I would think he is safe until the merge, I know muscle isn't everything but a team still needs some and he's pretty much all his team has.

[piequinn35]

Yes he is like Ken, doesn't talk much, a provider for the team.

[ByaNose]

16 hours ago, piequinn35 said:

Yes he is like Ken, doesn't talk much, a provider for the team.

And, according to Alan Ball exit interview JP wasn’t playing the game at all out there. He was nice and providing everyone food. He’s “playing” a retro game of Survivor which is odd because I don’t think he’s ever watched the show. LOL!!!!!

Edited October 20, 2017 by ByaNose

[Nashville]

10 hours ago, ByaNose said:

And, according to Alan Ball exit interview JP wasn’t laying the game at all out there. He was nice and providing everyone food. He’s “playing” a retro game of Survivor which is odd because I don’t think he’s ever watched the show. LOL!!!!!

A nice Ozzy, maybe?  ;)

[Guest]

I see a little young Steve McQueen there.  

[piequinn35]

Ben calls JP an idiot: 

 

[Special K]

6 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

Ben calls JP an idiot: 

 

To be precise, he called him "a full-blown idiot."  :-)

[NutMeg]

2 hours ago, piequinn35 said:

Ben calls JP an idiot: 

 

And this clip makes me like Ben a bit more :)

[piequinn35]

Josh Wigler (Hollywood Reporter): What do you think of this guy?

JP : Oh, that guy? That's a great looking dude right there. Is that me? I dunno! 

Chrissy : No read on him. Absolutely no read.

Josh : Nothing?

Chrissy : Nothing. I cannot figure him out. I feel like him and the other young beautiful boy, they're gonna be best buddies in this game.

Cole : He seems to be like your stereotypical male. Classic looks. He's pretty jacked, and doesn't really say a whole lot or interact. Like when a helicopter flew in yesterday with Jeff Probst on it and everyone's freaking out, he just sat there in his chair. He didn't even turn around and look. He was just, like, dead to the world.

Mike : I bet he's military. He could literally be Captain America.

Ben : He's another young kid, another cut kid. They're all cut, like chiseled out of stone and shit. 

Ashley : He's very cute. He almost reminds me of another guy I dated, actually. He'll be fun, but I don't know how smart he'll be with the people game. 

Lauren : I think that guy is probably a white collar type. I've observed him a little bit and, you know, the way he drinks and the way he carries himself, he kind of acts like his shit don't stink. And that's fine, you know. Sometimes I'm sure I look that way. But out here, you need to be laid back and you need to be willing to crack a smile. 

Patrick : He looks so uptight. He seems uptight to me. He's one of the few that doesn't smile or give you anything. He acts like you're not there. Like, come on guy. We're out here trying to have a good time. We're on Survivor. Maybe this is part of his strategy. But it's not working with me. 

Ali : He seems nice. I don't really know too much about him. He kind of looks like your average American guy, you know? He could be nice and friendly, or he could be the opposite — a douche bag. I don't know.

Desiree : He seems like a young college kid, or just recently graduated. He seems nice enough, but I don't have any real major reads on him.

Jessica : Another jock. He's cool. I keep mentioning the word muscle, but it's like, is this like Survivor: Muscle? Everyone brought their A game.

Devon : Seems like the jock type. Probably a football player.

Alan : That's the wrestler. Super fit, in shape, loves the sun. He'll lay out and get a tan if it's 12 at night, if he can. But he's quiet, doesn't say much. I can tell he's from the South. I know he's from the South, just by what I've observed. 

Roark : I would says he's probably our fratty bro from the South. He really keeps to himself.

Katrina : I think he might be an exercise physiology type guy. I think he's from Texas, because he was wearing a Texas shirt.

Simone : Texan. I think he's Texan.

Ryan : I think he's from Texas. I saw him wearing a Texas shirt, so everything that I gel with him over will be sports. That's an angle that I really am going to try and play up, especially with him and especially if I can't get a read on people. 

Joe : I mean, who likes the Texans? I mean, do you watch football? Who likes the Houston Texans? He's built like a tank and drinks aspartame all day, too. I'm doing something wrong.

Josh : You need to drink more soda.

Joe : Yeah, I gained 15 pounds to come out here, but I didn't drink any soda. Like, I think I need to drink soda to be ripped and ... I don't know. I'm doing something wrong!

Mike : When was the last time a very strong person has won Survivor — if ever, right? Like, Ethan might have been strong, but it's not like the Ozzys or the Malcolms ever win. So, I'm happy to play with him. At some point, when the puzzles come along, we'll take him out in the end. 

Also, he did watch Survivor, and he was not a recruit of the show.

[LadyChatts]

So did TPTB purposely plan the 2 hour episode around JP's boot, so when he gives interviews tomorrow, the press will have someone more engaging in Joe to follow?  I'll be curious what he says about his quiet edit, and whether his answers are more than one word.  Did he even get to speak this episode?  I really don't remember the last time an alpha male was so quiet on this show, let alone their boot episode.  JP must have literally gave them nothing to work with.

And I said this in the episode thread, but the fact that he didn't get his final words shown was an added highlight of his boot.  Sums up his whole Survivor edit.

Edited November 30, 2017 by LadyChatts

[ProfCrash]

Rob said that he was told to send three questions for JP via email. JP is going to have limited press due to time constraints. I wonder if the Producers knew that JP was not going to be available for press for some reason, like he was super bitter, and decided to move the double episode so that there was someone to actually talk to, ie Joe.

[piequinn35]

Chrissy:

Quote

Much love to JP - he and I spent 27 days straight together, every tribe, swap, and challenge team. He is a beautiful person, thoughtful, gentle, brave, strong, funny, incredibly caring, and a ray of sunshine. Miss his smile in the game already

Some people are just not "articulate" like Chrissy or Ryan, JP is a good guy, I felt really bad for his edit, this tv show likes articulate people for entertainment.

[ProfCrash]

25 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

Chrissy:

Some people are just not "articulate" like Chrissy or Ryan, JP is a good guy, I felt really bad for his edit, this tv show likes articulate people for entertainment.

JP is perfectly articulate. He described the type of exercises they did in the firehouse, discussed what he had learned, and what he was enjoying on Ponderosa trips. He did not have any awkward pauses or sound like a fool. He strikes me as the quiet type who prefers to be in the background rather then in the forefront. Cole and Desi had more to say in his Ponderosa video then JP did. I am guessing he was not willing to elaborate in his talking heads or answer the questions with the depth or answers that production was looking for. I suspect it is intentional on his part and not because he struggles to communicate.

[LadyChatts]

JP could have gotten the Kelly Wigles SC edit, where he wasn't playing into what TPTB wanted him to say.  So they could have just said screw it with him and focused on other characters.  Being a firefighter, maybe he was afraid of being portrayed the wrong way and things being taken out of context hurting him in the real world.  Hard to say.  JP seems like the type that was there more for the experience, less for the TV aspect of it anyway.

I'm just surprised he didn't dominate better in challenges. 

Edited November 30, 2017 by LadyChatts

[piequinn35]

4 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

JP is perfectly articulate. He described the type of exercises they did in the firehouse, discussed what he had learned, and what he was enjoying on Ponderosa trips. He did not have any awkward pauses or sound like a fool. He strikes me as the quiet type who prefers to be in the background rather then in the forefront. Cole and Desi had more to say in his Ponderosa video then JP did. I am guessing he was not willing to elaborate in his talking heads or answer the questions with the depth or answers that production was looking for. I suspect it is intentional on his part and not because he struggles to communicate.

He even paused in his ponderosa video about his words not making any sense... If you compare his way of talking to the way Ryan or Chrissy talks he is not articulate imo.

Yes maybe he is just shy and quiet person that super likes going outdoors, hike and surf.

I couldn't count how many "you know" he said, just too many. I counted two "and things like that".  

[piequinn35]

Ali:

Quote

For the record: JP is in Paramedic school. He is emailing in his interviews. Please don’t jump to conclusions. He’s just taking on his HERO role per usual.

[NutMeg]

18 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

 I really don't remember the last time an alpha male was so quiet on this show, let alone their boot episode. 

Despite the way he looks, I really don't see JP as an alpha male.

[piequinn35]

JP is not an alpha male, he is hot though, my example of alpha males are Colby and Tom.

[NutMeg]

I can see it with Tom, not with Colby. By alpha male I understand someone who is naturally considered as a leader by his tribe, and maybe your definition is different.

[piequinn35]

Could be leader or total domination in their season, Colby did it on season 2 but lost by one vote in ftc, just season 2. ?

[LadyChatts]

I have different definitions of alpha males-leader, provider, and domination are a few, but I also think alpha males in the challenge sense, which is where I was getting at with JP.  Young, buff, a physically demanding job, I would have expected better.  Not to say the older, out of shape castaways (male or female) can't pull a surprise.  Lauren is a terrific example this season.  Bob is a not so terrific example of Gabon.  I would have just expected that JP and Devon, and hell, even Cole would have been better at challenges.

[ProfCrash]

Yup, JP is in paramedic school. He mentioned it in the interviews he did. He also mentioned that he went in representing himself and his firehouse so he felt like he could not play a deceptive game because it would reflect poorly on his firehouse. He is very invested in his job. I respect him for that. And I think that he is a quiet guy who struggles with the larger game. He mentioned in his interview that he did not like the big group strategy discussions and strongly preferred the individual conversations.

I think he is a nice guy, who is perfectly capable of communicating but knows his own preferences and was not comfortable with breaking out of that mold. So a good guy but not the worlds most interesting Survivor contestant. He is a totally different personality then Jeremy and that is fine. He just makes for boring TV. But it sounds like he is am an amazing Firefighter and that is what is most important to him and the people who he serves.

[peachmangosteen]

Maybe he's more of an introvert. I am as well and Survivor would be hell for me, so I empathize with him. 

[piequinn35]

I knew it! The real power couple!

This was taken last September.

Edited December 2, 2017 by piequinn35

[Jextella]

On 12/1/2017 at 9:00 PM, piequinn35 said:

I knew it! The real power couple!

This was taken last September.

That's awesome!