S36: Ponderosa

[KimberStormer]

Literally everyone says "OMG I lost so much weight" (when they don't sort of pout and say "I didn't lose as much as I hoped") and "OMG I'm so tan" and "OMG my hair looks ridiculous" and if they're boys "OMG I've never had a beard like this".  I don't feel that Libby was any different at all.  I do think her island hair looked amazing, most people's island hair does to me, but that's as a sort of 'costume', if you will, on my TV screen.  I have very similar hair to Libby's and I can guarantee I would be freaking out a bit if I saw it starting to dread.

The Cagayan Ponderosa was a really bad one, yeah.  It wasn't just for Kass, they just sat sullenly at the bar for every single person who came.  I remember liking LJ in the game, but he lost me completely at Ponderosa.

Des is great and I enjoyed her Ponderosa a lot!  I like that people are doing activities, cooking, dancing etc.  I hope everyone brings something fun to the table this time.

[JudyObscure]

Yeah, Des said the same "OMG I'm so skinny." I guess it was the sheer number of squealing OMG's that had me thinking Libby was about to faint with admiration for herself, like a fan girl at a Taylor Swift concert.  At least it means she'll have  a connection with Chris.  They can share stories about how hard it is to be so good looking.

I noticed Libby got almost as many sunlit hair and up the booty short shots in Des's Ponderosa as she did in her own.  The camera man has found his muse.

If only the show would let  us get to know people so well while they're still in the game.  Des seems so incredibly nice, I'm starting to think production put her up to snooping through people's bags.

[peachmangosteen]

Loved Des' Ponderosa. She seems like a really fun, nice, self-aware person. I like the vibe with Libby/Des/Chris. Hopefully Michael isn't the next one there because I feel like he'd really bring the mood down lol.

Edited April 28, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[jay741982]

On 4/28/2018 at 2:27 AM, Oscirus said:

I kind of get the feeling that Desiree's dance was a hint to Chris. With all that prince and princess stuff, I can imagine that Libby spent their three days there fending off his advances.

LOL I chuckled when I first saw Chris try to touch Libbys waist and she looked back then moved away like NOPE. I had to watch a second time to catch that Des said that was part of the dance lol so maybe she was trying to give Chris the hint. Plus I caught Chris saying he liked "Following" Libby I said "I bet you do Chris and I don't blame ya" LOL

On 4/28/2018 at 9:01 AM, peachmangosteen said:

Loved Des' Ponderosa. She seems like a really fun, nice, self-aware person. I like the vibe with Libby/Des/Chris. Hopefully Michael isn't the next one there because I feel like he'd really bring the mood down lol.

Well maybe lol. Considering the Spoliers through SM of him and Libby being a couple, I think Libby would be happy he was there and I think that's when they really got close 

[Special K]

On 4/27/2018 at 12:01 PM, Oscirus said:

Ironically in her second season, Kass became quite the mayor.

I imagine Libby shall be taking over mayoral duties since she was the one greeting Des with a drink in hand.

Yes, she was a changed woman, her second season, definitely less full of herself and with a more relaxed air of "nothing to prove." 

I think in her first season, she was the last (or second to last) arrival at Ponderosa.  In her second season, wasn't she the first?

[ProfCrash]

She was the first one voted out in second season. And she clearly had learned from her first season and played a bit more chill of a game. She even made someone a birthday bracelet.

[Special K]

It's kind of revealing that you have to watch Ponderosa just to get to know the contestants anymore.

[Nashville]

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

She was the first one voted out in second season. And she clearly had learned from her first season and played a bit more chill of a game. She even made someone a birthday bracelet.

IMHO Kass played a MUCH more balanced, non-chaotic game her second time around; she just never could beat her reputation.

[enoughcats]

9 hours ago, Special K said:

It's kind of revealing that you have to watch Ponderosa just to get to know the contestants anymore.

Well said!

Which means, to me, that the eight or nine minutes each juror gets as their Ponderosa is what defines them to a lot of us.  So why are the hours of filming (leading up to Ponderosa) not giving us nuggets that are memorable? 

One reason is that the cameras jump around so much and this is before we know who the players are so we're never sure who did what/ said what/ strategized what even though we saw it, but could they somehow label them?  OK,  I know B1, B2 and B3 might tick off the blonds.  Pecks 1 through 5 for stomach muscle displays.....

Or we just wait for the jury to start forming to get to like the jurors.

[Oscirus]

13 hours ago, Nashville said:

IMHO Kass played a MUCH more balanced, non-chaotic game her second time around; she just never could beat her reputation.

To be fair, Tasha had good reason not to trust her given their last season together.

I think Kass was an excellent mayor that let people do them didn't make it as much about herself which allowed for some pretty major character moments. Watching Stephen deprocess from the game was brutal but  it made for a pretty compelling ponderosa storyline.

[KimberStormer]

Second Chances is one of my favorite Ponderosas, from Kass and Andrew Savage as the sort of Divorced Mom and Dad of Ponderosa, to Ciera and Joe as fun-loving spring breakers, to my favorite Ponderosa episode that doesn't star Courtney Yates: Kelley Wentworth, brain-fried and hollow-bodied, staring blankly into space while people piled up food in front of her, like some German Expressionist woodcut.  I know it's just a game, but I do find that stuff very affecting, like Yul's stories of hoarding food back home, or James sleeping on the floor after his two games in a row because he felt afraid to sleep on a bed.

[ByaNose]

and, then you had the bad Ponderosa with Abi Maria and RC (whatever happended to her ?) fighting. I also didn't like Corrine and her minions during Gabon. I like when my Ponderosa are fun and get along.

[Oscirus]

11 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

Second Chances is one of my favorite Ponderosas, from Kass and Andrew Savage as the sort of Divorced Mom and Dad of Ponderosa, to Ciera and Joe as fun-loving spring breakers, to my favorite Ponderosa episode that doesn't star Courtney Yates: Kelley Wentworth, brain-fried and hollow-bodied, staring blankly into space while people piled up food in front of her, like some German Expressionist woodcut.  I know it's just a game, but I do find that stuff very affecting, like Yul's stories of hoarding food back home, or James sleeping on the floor after his two games in a row because he felt afraid to sleep on a bed.

My favorite one from that season was the Kimmy one cuz it was so simple.  Two minutes trying to free the crab was so Kimmy.

[ratgirlagogo]

On 4/30/2018 at 12:58 PM, Special K said:

It's kind of revealing that you have to watch Ponderosa just to get to know the contestants anymore.

This season anyway.  This season has been the absolute worst for me in terms of keeping the different Survivors straight - let alone the alliances.  The early tribal swap switcheroos just did me in.   I struggle to remember who anybody is, who they're allied with, and why.

[ByaNose]

Rob & Josh we’re sorta talking about this today on RHAP. Would you rather have less tribe switches or less idols/advantages? They agreed that less tribe switches (especially so early on) because this season was just too hard to keep track of. I agree that Ponderosa this season is helping with that a bit. Although, I don’t think that’s ever been the intention of a Ponderosa. It was more about continuing the game from the jury perspective. I still have to look at pictures of the orignal tribes from Day 1 to see who were on Mololo & Navity. The only one who doesn’t seem to be apart of the old/new Mololo is Michael. I’m still not sure how he fell out of favor with the orignal Mololo tribe. 

[LadyChatts]

14 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

Rob & Josh we’re sorta talking about this today on RHAP. Would you rather have less tribe switches or less idols/advantages? They agreed that less tribe switches (especially so early on) because this season was just too hard to keep track of. I agree that Ponderosa this season is helping with that a bit. Although, I don’t think that’s ever been the intention of a Ponderosa. It was more about continuing the game from the jury perspective. I still have to look at pictures of the orignal tribes from Day 1 to see who were on Mololo & Navity. The only one who doesn’t seem to be apart of the old/new Mololo is Michael. I’m still not sure how he fell out of favor with the orignal Mololo tribe. 

Definitely less tribe switches.  Even if they were worried Malolo would get steam rolled over, they didn't seem to mind it with Ulong or Matsing.  Eventually they would have had a swap.  And who knows, Naviti might have thrown a challenge anyway to get rid of someone. 

As for Michael, I'm just going back to him not having the bonds with Donathan/Laurel (one or both of whom I suspect was on the bottom of Malolo, and likely would have been next).  I don't know exactly where Laurel stood, but I didn't get the impression Donathan was with the in crowd.  Michael's closet allies seemed to be Brendan and Stephanie.  After they were gone, I think it was every Malolo for themselves, and unfortunately there wasn't anyone from Naviti willing to flip that would give him numbers anyway.

[ByaNose]

45 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Definitely less tribe switches.  Even if they were worried Malolo would get steam rolled over, they didn't seem to mind it with Ulong or Matsing.  Eventually they would have had a swap.  And who knows, Naviti might have thrown a challenge anyway to get rid of someone. 

As for Michael, I'm just going back to him not having the bonds with Donathan/Laurel (one or both of whom I suspect was on the bottom of Malolo, and likely would have been next).  I don't know exactly where Laurel stood, but I didn't get the impression Donathan was with the in crowd.  Michael's closet allies seemed to be Brendan and Stephanie.  After they were gone, I think it was every Malolo for themselves, and unfortunately there wasn't anyone from Naviti willing to flip that would give him numbers anyway.

 I had forgotten about the Brendan & Stephanie alliance/bond. Funny thing is it’s because of Michael that Brenden went home. Stephanie seems so long ago. I bet she would have been a fun person at Ponderosa because she’s in to all of the excercising and Pilates thing. She would had sessions with everyone. LOL!!!!

[Guest]

I don't mind all the reshuffling typically, though it did seem especially confusing this season, but usually it helps prevent pagongings some, and those are the worst.  

[TVFan1]

As I always said, keep the original tribes the same until the merge. There needs to be a season or more where this happens. I don't believe Malolo would have kept losing if the tribes stayed the same. No tribe switches would actually be refreshing because everybody would mostly know who was from what tribe.

Edited May 2, 2018 by TVFan1

[Jobiska]

As far as mirror squeals--the impression it leaves on me is that it is more production-driven than anything.  When they started here in Fiji, and especially the last three, they definitely shifted the style of Ponderosa--only one video per person, and they have all that dramatic crap with the feet walking through the waves (at least the last couple), and the personal journeys by the tree interviews....and they always, always make sure the person looks at themselves in that full length mirror at the common area.  I have no doubt that they just stand there and keep filming and the person just goes on and on because they are expected to do so.  Sure, some do more than others.  They also have a *ton* more working out scenes.  But one thing they've cut out (in addition to field trips, for the most part) is they hardly have any "look through the bag, squeal over soap, hug your fave clean t-shirt, look at the mirror in the bathroom, talk with a foaming mouth while you're brushing your teeth about how nice it is to have clean teeth, even have shower scenes (from the outside of the stall), etc."  Those were a standard in earlier Ponderosas and they're cut way, way down now.  I just feel like they substituted the public-mirror scenes in their place.  

As you might guess, I preferred the earlier style and content--though I did like (was it last season, or two seasons ago?) when each person had their "thing"--One went crabbing, one taught a beauty contestant some tricks, one did this, one did that--and the one woman (whose face I can conjure but all their names are gone) was all stumped and her "thing" was trying to find out her "thing."  That was cute, to me.  

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

As you might guess, I preferred the earlier style and content--though I did like (was it last season, or two seasons ago?) when each person had their "thing"--One went crabbing, one taught a beauty contestant some tricks, one did this, one did that--and the one woman (whose face I can conjure but all their names are gone) was all stumped and her "thing" was trying to find out her "thing."  That was cute, to me.

I think they're still doing this part.  Chris had his rap, Libby had her healthy cooking venture, Des had her African dance class.  

I'm a little bored with the time spent on the weigh-in.  It's nice to know their loss but move it along.  I don't need to see it happen and see their guess beforehand, etc.  And the predictability.  Though I do kind of like seeing their blissful faces when they see the food and bite into a cheeseburger and such.  And it's nice to see them cleaned up before they're overly done-up at the reunion.  

[KimberStormer]

Yeah the guess-your-weight thing is a very weird new bit of the formula.  I don't know why they do it.  Production clearly makes Dr. Joe ask everyone but why?  I like the weigh-in, but I don't get the ritual.  Seems like they used to get more messed up in the game or have less medical care because they used to get all bandaged and stuff during the doctor check-in.

I suppose the mirror moment is probably also something they're supposed to do, but it does seem fairly organic to me.  Michelle in MvGX really seemed super-excited to get everyone in front of that mirror and see their reaction.

[Special K]

I think the producers ask a Ponderosa denizen to escort the newbie over to the (giant) mirror.  I think it was better when they just caught a glimpse of themselves in the course of their arrival/greeting, etc.,

The guess-your-weight-loss is so weird, really, and not illuminating of anything at all.  I actually even liked it when they used to weigh them in kilograms, so I could practice my conversion.  :)

I do enjoy to see which Survivors look (and report being) more/less physically stressed by the whole thing.  Like some of them (Des is an example) report generally feeling fine.  I find that amazing, since I personally can obsess all day over a paper cut. 

[Oscirus]

 

Too bad they didn't each get their own. Libby's become quite the mayor. Also Libby- Michael sparks. Interesting. And a ponderosa family visit?

Edited May 3, 2018 by Oscirus

[loki567]

Damn, that was a really good Ponderosa. Both Jenna and Michael showed way more personality than I remember from them during the show. 

I'm not shocked about the MIchael and Libby thing as I remember them sharing a Look during Libby's first TC after being voted out. Between that video and Kellyn's remarks tonight, Michael was probably driving most of the women crazy during the game. 

[MVFrostsMyPie]

OMG that commercial at the end.... hilarious!!

[KimberStormer]

Why is everyone so boring on the island and so much fun on Ponderosa?  Who knew that Jenna was so hilariously obnoxious?  She and Michael made a fun pair of bros to share a Ponderosa vid.  And OK I'm not some crazy shipper but the sexual chemistry between Libby and Michael is literally insane.

[Wings]

Funny, the doctor didn’t want to hug Jenna!  Hard to imagine how they smell. 

  I agree that too much time is spent with the doctor.  Weigh in and move on to the food.  I like to see all who are there greet the new arrivals with a drink and announce a pizza and cheese burger has been ordered for them. I miss that with the creative editing.  The pizza looks delicious, I love a thin crust.  

I saw the disappointment on Libby’s face when she learned his age.  There was a touch of sadness, just s touch.  She had probably been fantasizing about a relationship when home.  

Good Ponderosa! 

[ProfCrash]

LOL Jenna lost 10 pounds but she gained four pounds back from there weigh in a three days before. Interesting that they are weighed while playing the game. Jenna was discussing being pregnant and eating palm trees. Yeah, it was time for her to go. LOL

Are Michael and Jenna sharing a bedroom?

I laughed at the "Your legal, that's all that matters" line from Libby when Michael is shaving.

I love that they get to see their family and enjoy them in a comfortable setting.

The commercial was so much better then Chris's rap but Chris's rap was hilarious. You can tell that Michael has a modeling background and I suspect Jenna might as well.

Ponderosa has been fun this year. Here is hoping that Michael got his own bedroom or ended up sharing with Libby.

[Haleth]

It stinks (heh, no pun intended) that they didn't each get their own Ponderosa video, but that commercial at the end was hilarious.  

Do they always let the loved ones of boots just before the family visit go to Ponderosa?  I guess it makes it worthwhile for the people who travel all that distance.  It would be crappy for them to get all the way to Fiji only to be told they can't see their relative/friend after all.

[Wings]

11 minutes ago, Haleth said:

It stinks (heh, no pun intended) that they didn't each get their own Ponderosa video, but that commercial at the end was hilarious.  

Do they always let the loved ones of boots just before the family visit go to Ponderosa?  I guess it makes it worthwhile for the people who travel all that distance.  It would be crappy for them to get all the way to Fiji only to be told they can't see their relative/friend after all.

They probably do allow the family member to see them but didn’t  include it. 

Edited May 3, 2018 by Wings

[Porkchop]

Jenna and Michael's Ponderosa video is a hoot. And their commercial is hot! A hot hoot!

[ProfCrash]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

It stinks (heh, no pun intended) that they didn't each get their own Ponderosa video, but that commercial at the end was hilarious.  

Do they always let the loved ones of boots just before the family visit go to Ponderosa?  I guess it makes it worthwhile for the people who travel all that distance.  It would be crappy for them to get all the way to Fiji only to be told they can't see their relative/friend after all.

Joe saw his Dad, I think it was his Dad, last year. It was all they showed in his Ponderosa. In the past they have shown the Jury getting the letters from home (when they did the auction and the letter were sent) or videos from home (when they had the Sprint or whatever commercial that included watching videos from home on the cool new smart phone). Essentially, if they have the media/letter/person there they share it with the Jury members. And it does make sense, they had to fly the loved ones out there before the vote so why not let them see each other. The family members are sworn to secrecy that there loved on is playing Survivor and how far they made it in the game. The loved one would know that the player was voted out anyway because they didn't get to see the player.

[enoughcats]

Here's just the commercial

Memorable commerical

[ByaNose]

Although, I thought the commercial was funny I think Ponderosa is now too overly produced. What's wrong with just having the Survivors show up and let it play out? Now, it's all about creating a "thing". I guess I'm old school.

[Special K]

Hilarious ad!  I didn't even mind (much) that they misspelled "invigorating"...:p

[Special K]

15 minutes ago, Jean-Beth said:

Dan Foley from Season 30 [Worlds Apart] didn’t get to see his wife at Ponderosa when he was the first boot before the loved ones visit.  He was pissed and demanded to see her [per one of his interviews], knowing that she must have arrived with the other loved ones because the producers couldn’t know that he would get the boot over Carolyn, et al.  They did not give in to his demands.  I imagine it was around this time that they decided to pull together the clips of his shitty behavior.

I think the producers disliked him long before he went on his exit interview rampage, complaining about his edit not showing what a loving husband and hail-fellow-well-met he was normally.  Yeah, right!

But his love was epic!  A love for the ages such that no other mere mortal can ever hope to experience!  :-p

[ProfCrash]

24 minutes ago, Jean-Beth said:

Dan Foley from Season 30 [Worlds Apart] didn’t get to see his wife at Ponderosa when he was the first boot before the loved ones visit.  He was pissed and demanded to see her [per one of his interviews], knowing that she must have arrived with the other loved ones because the producers couldn’t know that he would get the boot over Carolyn, et al.  They did not give in to his demands.  I imagine it was around this time that they decided to pull together the clips of his shitty behavior.

I think the producers disliked him long before he went on his exit interview rampage, complaining about his edit not showing what a loving husband and hail-fellow-well-met he was normally.  Yeah, right!

Oh, I think we saw a cleaned up version of Dan and that he was much worse then what aired. I would not be surprised to find out that they chose not to let him see his loved one because he was that much of an asshole. That said, we know that Joe saw his loved one last year so they have allowed it in the past.

[303420]

14 minutes ago, Special K said:

But his love was epic!  A love for the ages such that no other mere mortal can ever hope to experience!  :-p

Wait, I thought that was Andrew Savage. 

[Special K]

1 hour ago, 303420 said:

Wait, I thought that was Andrew Savage. 

Him too.  :)

[LadyChatts]

2 hours ago, Jean-Beth said:

Dan Foley from Season 30 [Worlds Apart] didn’t get to see his wife at Ponderosa when he was the first boot before the loved ones visit.  He was pissed and demanded to see her [per one of his interviews], knowing that she must have arrived with the other loved ones because the producers couldn’t know that he would get the boot over Carolyn, et al.  They did not give in to his demands.  I imagine it was around this time that they decided to pull together the clips of his shitty behavior.

I think the producers disliked him long before he went on his exit interview rampage, complaining about his edit not showing what a loving husband and hail-fellow-well-met he was normally.  Yeah, right!

And yet he was equally pissed that they didn't show him letting curses fly from his mouth after his boot, saying he went on a expletive filled tirade for about 5 minutes.  All we got was Dan saying 'eh, good run' and being all smiles.  Hee.  Made me actually love TPTB that season the more Dan complained.

I'm kind of disappointed we didn't see more of Jenna.  I do wonder sometimes if these people hold back on the show, or don't play along with whatever stupid story line TPTB are crafting for them so they don't get the airtime as a result.  It seems it's very much the Dom show at this point. 

Edited May 3, 2018 by LadyChatts

[jay741982]

12 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

Why is everyone so boring on the island and so much fun on Ponderosa?  Who knew that Jenna was so hilariously obnoxious?  She and Michael made a fun pair of bros to share a Ponderosa vid.  And OK I'm not some crazy shipper but the sexual chemistry between Libby and Michael is literally insane.

Oh I know! Both were Happy to see each other and wanted to be closer. Jenna telling Micheal that Libby was stuck on him, and Libby looking at Him like a Snack lol

[tvfanatic13]

Loved this Ponderosa in general, but did not like the lack of interaction with the other jury members. Good spirited Ponderosa thankfully. 

[ByaNose]

Next week, should be the more traditional Ponderosa. Hopefully, just one will arrive & wont be as busy. I sort of do miss people greeting the Survivors with alcohol ? ?. It was more of a party atmosphere. Now, it’s very regimented with the person being instructed to go to the morrow and look at themselves. People have been doing that for themselves for years and now it’s like they are told directly to do it. They might as well have Go Pros built in to the mirrors so the camera person doesn’t have to follow them. 

[LadyChatts]

I do agree about the atmosphere of Ponderosa being different.  I loved the first ever season they did in Micronesia.  We saw the contestants board a boat and then get into a car that took them to the Ponderosa location.  But we got immediate reflections from them about their ouster.  The contestants were always waiting there with food and beer for them.  But it wasn't so much going to get weighed, looking in the mirror, talking about food, and then having some thing that they do.  It was more natural.  It didn't seem as much like a show.  And I'll forever love the big party they had at the end of Micronesia, where Erik got wasted.  I don't know why they don't show the final 3 showing up anymore.  I think that was the only season that did?  Oh, and we'd get to see them head out to the next TC, now as jurors, which was kind of cool.

 And I'd still love a pre-jury Ponderosa, even if the contestants didn't do much in the game.

Edited May 3, 2018 by LadyChatts

[peachmangosteen]

Super fun ep. Michael and Jenna are both like 100 times funnier and more interesting than we saw on the show. I like them both a lot.

13 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

And OK I'm not some crazy shipper but the sexual chemistry between Libby and Michael is literally insane.

Like really though.

[enoughcats]

36 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I sort of do miss people greeting the Survivors with alcohol ? ?

Michael isn't old enough to drink alchol and Jenna is ????pregnant.  Or did I misunderstand Jenna?

[peachmangosteen]

@enoughcats She was joking.

[enoughcats]

2 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

@enoughcats She was joking.

Good.  The thought of what would happen to a baby on reduced food and filth.............

That said, I don't think I've ever known a woman to joke about being pregnant.

[ByaNose]

36 minutes ago, enoughcats said:

Michael isn't old enough to drink alchol and Jenna is ????pregnant.  Or did I misunderstand Jenna?

The legal drinking in Fiji is 18. Michael was 18 then. He already said he had Fiji Tequila but he also was keeping up the pretense (on camera) that he was only 18. He had also said there was a history of alcoholism in family. It wasn’t true but it was the only way he thought he could get around not drinking at the merge feast, reward challenges & beyond.

Edited May 3, 2018 by ByaNose