S37.E01: Appearances are Deceiving

[Jersey Guy 87]

13 hours ago, ghoulina said:

I loved the way they did that first challenge. It was cool to see the choices everyone made. 

The most important choice was the puzzle.  And slide puzzle over 15 piece interlocking cube is an easy choice. The "carry 30 heavy sacks" choice was an obvious fake-out.

12 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Also, I think them giving an update on Pat means we won't hear from him at the reunion.  

We may or may not, but I think they had to give some sort of update at the end.  That was pretty brutal, he was in obvious pain, it's good to know he's okay.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

29 minutes ago, Sarahsmile416 said:

We are wrestling fans here and I always loved me some John Morrison so yeah, rooting for him.  And Mike White made me want to hug him.  He’s such an adorable nebbish. 

OTOH, Dan and Kara can go any time now. “Just kiss me in private” made my eyes roll out of my head and actually made me long for the days of Rob and Amber ?‍♀️

 

OK, so John is a legit wrestler.  I only follow wrestling from afar if my hubby or kid are watching and I didn't recognize any of his handles.  

RE:  Dan and Kara:

My 10yr old son was watching with me and when this whole flirty exchange was happening, he's yelling at the tv, "You're there to win $1M, not get a girlfriend!"  I had to educate him about the fact that both have in fact been done.  Realizing that Rob and Amber happened 3 years before he was born made me feel really old.

[mojoween]

I could not make it through School of Rock because Jack Black is too extra for me but I believe that Mike was also Kim Kelly’s shiftless older brother in Freaks and Geeks who just needed a nap.

[seacliffsal]

First of all, please let me say how impressed I am with all of you for already knowing several names!  I am still struggling.  While reading everyone's posts I have to focus really hard on which survivor is being referenced.

I totally understand how Pat could have injured his back.  It's no joke being on an outboard motor boat in rough seas.  And, if a wave lifts a boat into the air, that boat will often just slam down back on the water (and hitting water can be like hitting concrete).  I could feel his pain through the t.v.  I totally understood that he did not want to seem like a quitter (Jeff and the producers hate quitters...unless they think they make great t.v.).  I did appreciate that Jeff told him that nobody would think that and the medic was the one making the decision for him to leave.

I also believed the Kentucky lawyer's story about his mother.  Kentucky has a horrific drug problem-heroin and opiads.  Devastating.  However, he should have realized that he needs to be working alongside everyone else.  He is far too pleased with himself for not working.

There are a couple of women on the Goliath team that amazed me with their senses of entitlement.  

And, I cannot believe how many people were wearing denim jeans.  When it started pouring rain I felt for them as wet denim is just awful to wear.  It seemed like more people were wearing denim than I recall from previous seasons.

And, like others, I am just so glad this show is back!  I would like them to start considering some other locations though...

[Special K]

45 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

First of all, please let me say how impressed I am with all of you for already knowing several names! 

I'm not one them!  As I'm reading these threads, my pea brain is constantly going "David who?"  :p

I loved Enlightened (maybe I'm the only one who watched it), so I'm all in for Mike White, and I also love Christian.  Reading his bio upthread, how is he not a Goliath?  Yowza, that guy is accomplished.  Loved Gabby as the nerd whisperer.  I do a job similar to hers so I get it.

As that older lady was saying that her staff "would literally take a bullet for me" my eyes rolled SO HARD.  Yeah, you pay them so they have to suck up to you and let you think stuff like that.  She strikes me as pretty clueless and full of herself.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Special K

[amazingracefan]

1 hour ago, Jersey Guy 87 said:

The most important choice was the puzzle.  And slide puzzle over 15 piece interlocking cube is an easy choice. The "carry 30 heavy sacks" choice was an obvious fake-out.

The puzzles virtually always decide those challenges anyway.

 

For the opening episode I thought there was way too much blathering over the concept from Probst at the start and way too many background stories.

32 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

It's no joke being on an outboard motor boat in rough seas.  And, if a wave lifts a boat into the air, that boat will often just slam down back on the water (and hitting water can be like hitting concrete).

So could this have been avoided, maybe they just got away with it in the past?  What if several of them had been seriously injured and had to get taken out?

[ProfCrash]

51 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

First of all, please let me say how impressed I am with all of you for already knowing several names!  I am still struggling.  While reading everyone's posts I have to focus really hard on which survivor is being referenced.

I went to the cast web page to get most of the names. I had to click on Dan's picture to figure out that he was a cop because there is another similar looking dude, Aaron? Alton?, that wasn't wearing a flowered shirt who I thought was the Cop.

[Special K]

I just want to say that I think it's awesome that there is more than one black dude and that I can't keep them straight yet.

[Taeolas]

30 minutes ago, amazingracefan said:

So could this have been avoided, maybe they just got away with it in the past?  What if several of them had been seriously injured and had to get taken out?

Higher up someone mentioned that when Pat got to the hospital they discovered he had a weak disc in his back or something like that, which the boat crashing through the waves aggravated and ultimately injured him. 

 

So while it probably could happen again, and it isn't exactly preventable, it isn't likely to happen again. A perfect storm of events (including an actual storm) combined to make this happen. Likely in the future they'll just have the boat pilots go slower between islands, especially in choppy water. 

 

As for if they have to medivac multiple contestants out at once, it could happen and I'm sure they have contingency plans to handle it. IIRC a few years back they had 2 or 3 contestants need medical attention at once due to how hot and dehydrated they were after a challenge. I think one was medically pulled, but the others recovered enough to continue. 

 

As for Jeff's actions, he is a showman, so I can understand him keeping the show going and the drama going. But I doubt he was the one to make the chopper call. The chopper was likely enroute by the time the boat reached the shore; or at least by the time the Aussie(?) doc had done his assessment. Everything after that point was Jeff keeping the show going, and helping keep the injured contestant focused and awake until the chopper could get there. At one point the doc was trying his best to keep Pat awake and coherent; Jeff's prattle likely helped keep Pat awake while the assessment was happening. 

[meep.meep]

"No one roots for Goliath"  Wilt Chamberlain

someone had to say it.....

11 hours ago, OutOfTheQuestion said:

In the pro wrestling world, one of the knocks on John Morrison/Nitro/Impact/Mundo/Ultra is that he has kind of a wooden personality, at least by "bombastic wrestler" standards.  In this episode at least, he came off as funny and likeable.

All his nicknames were Johnny something - not too imaginative.  And he's a geologist and everyone knows they're pure evil.  (I work with a lot of geologists)

I want to hear more from the Vietnamese woman on the David's who is a MMI fighter.  

[Wings]

2 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I could see a little private "thought bubble" over every head saying, "Oh, GOOD!  Now I'm safe!!!"

Me too!  And he was slated to go early anyway.  They all agreed that he was being too bossy and getting on everyone's nerves.  He is a big guy and didn't appear to be an advantage in physical challenges so it was a win for them!  

Edited September 27, 2018 by Wings

[KimberStormer]

I will say this episode had a lot of things people always want.  Lots of camp life and learning about people: check.  Miserable people with nothing to eat: check.  People searching for idols in vain: check.  It's like they've been reading this forum.

3 hours ago, Lamima said:

Still not sure if I believe that the drug addict mom story is 100% accurate. We shall see. He seems shady as all hell.

So I too thought he was totally making things up, but once it was clear that his story was true, it actually made sense to me that it felt so off.  It is extremely well documented that the children of addicts often have a lot of issues that can last their whole lives, including an inability to trust and communicate with people.  After a lifetime of hiding things out of shame, bringing it up to a bunch of strangers has got to be awkward and unnatural-feeling.  It apparently took him hours to build up the courage to do it after everyone else was telling their stories.  So I don't want to judge him too quickly.

[Wings]

42 minutes ago, Special K said:

I just want to say that I think it's awesome that there is more than one black dude and that I can't keep them straight yet.

I liked the tall black man who aligned with the 19 year old blonde because he had 2 daughters and felt he could work with her (take her under his wing).  I will have to watch again.  I was posting about the Big Brother finale as I watched. :>  

[ProfCrash]

7 minutes ago, Wings said:

I liked the tall black man who aligned with the 19 year old blonde because he had 2 daughters and felt he could work with her (take her under his wing).  I will have to watch again.  I was posting about the Big Brother finale as I watched. :>  

That was Carl, the dude who screwed up the sand digging. He also didn't like Nick and his lack of a work ethic.

[Babalooie]

44 minutes ago, Taeolas said:

1 hour ago, amazingracefan said:

get taken out?

Higher up someone mentioned that when Pat got to the hospital they discovered he had a weak disc in his back or something like that, which the boat crashing through the waves aggravated and ultimately injured him. 

It just occurred to me that climbing that tree  in awkward positions to build the shelter probably began the aggravation and the boat incident made it worse.  

[Charlesman]

Both slide puzzles (the opening boat challenge and the team elimination challenge) were "new" types of slide puzzle that haven't been seen much on this show, if ever. Usually it's the 4x4 square and they have to get the pieces into order by moving one at a time into the empty space. The first one this episode was an "escape" type where you had to get the hero block out of the puzzle, and the second was a unique "slide them out" puzzle.

 

Glad to see some new challenges.

[Special K]

1 minute ago, Charlesman said:

Both slide puzzles (the opening boat challenge and the team elimination challenge) were "new" types of slide puzzle that haven't been seen much on this show, if ever. Usually it's the 4x4 square and they have to get the pieces into order by moving one at a time into the empty space. The first one this episode was an "escape" type where you had to get the hero block out of the puzzle, and the second was a unique "slide them out" puzzle.

 

Glad to see some new challenges.

And that cool pole vault!  I want one of those.

[ghoulina]

2 hours ago, Jersey Guy 87 said:

The most important choice was the puzzle.  And slide puzzle over 15 piece interlocking cube is an easy choice. The "carry 30 heavy sacks" choice was an obvious fake-out.

The puzzle choice was well made. But I was a bit puzzled (pun intended) as to why Christian and Lyrsa chose to have the Goliaths climb the netted tunnel. That looked fairly easy, to me - especially for more athletic person. I would have had them climb through all the ropes. I think that might have been a bit of a challenge for the big, wrestler guy. 

 

57 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

I want to hear more from the Vietnamese woman on the David's who is a MMI fighter.  

SAME. My sons take Tae Kwon Do and Brazilian Jiujitsu and they were super stoked to see her on the David tribe. 

[amazingracefan]

15 hours ago, GenerationX said:

 

• The opening challenge on the ship, while admittedly a cool idea that played out well, showed where the advantage really lies and always lies:  with the Producers.  Giving the Davids the choice of tasks was much more meaningful than picking the "strongest" and "weakest" contestants on first impressions.
• For some reason, Robo-nerd reminds me of Greg Kinnear, but younger and with more hair. 
• They caught the octopus two boots too early to divvy it up easily.

This was a solid start for the season, and I don't hate the theme ... yet.  There was one thing, though, about the premier that I already hate.  In the immortal words of Chrissy Hynde, "It is time for you to stop all of your sobbing."  Please, show, we're not even close to the dreaded, maudlin "loved ones" episode.  Give them some food or a tarp or something.

Good point on the opening challenge.

 

One problem with the personal stories (and the music backing put to them) is that they are used like they are meant to be some shortcut to being interested and understanding people on the show.  For many people they don't work like that and just seem neatly packaged attempts to manipulate the audience.  It's better if they could gradually introduce people in more terms than putting people into cliched roles too.

[himela]

I think the only reason the davids lost the IC was because those puzzle pieces were heavy and not because they were less smart. I predict that from now on the goliaths will win the physical part and the davids the puzzle part. I had Pat as the first boot. I also predict this will be the season when a nerd wins. Tired of the challenge beast type of winner.

17 hours ago, Pepper the Cat said:

i wish they had given an update on how Pat is.

They did, it was written that he has made a full recovery.

[cooksdelight]

When the Davids were in that hard rain, people crying, talking.... this was their theme song in my head.

[Lamima]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

That was Carl, the dude who screwed up the sand digging. He also didn't like Nick and his lack of a work ethic.

Is he the self proclaimed 'blerd'? If so, I liked him too.

[amazingracefan]

1 hour ago, meep.meep said:

"No one roots for Goliath"  Wilt Chamberlain

someone had to say it.....

Which isn't true of course, that's why you have people bandwagoning in sports.

[MisterBluxom]

I must express considerable disappointment with JP in the season opener last night.

Once again, his attitude seemed to be so extremely condescending to the audience. He spoke about this TV show in a way to make it seem as if it was the most significant human achievement ever!

Edited September 28, 2018 by MissBluxom

[HeShallBMySquishy]

So the girl on the Goliaths tribe who snickered at the Davids as they climbed onto the boat looked familiar, so I looked her up and of course she's the girl who is friends with Adam. Goddamnit! She really rubbed me the wrong way from the very start, and unless she shows some other personality traits in the coming weeks, l'm going to have to go against him here.

I actually found myself enjoying John somewhat. I laughed while he listed his 99 various wrestling personas, and he seems very aware of how ridiculous it is.

1 hour ago, KimberStormer said:

So I too thought [Nick] was totally making things up, but once it was clear that his story was true, it actually made sense to me that it felt so off.  It is extremely well documented that the children of addicts often have a lot of issues that can last their whole lives, including an inability to trust and communicate with people.  After a lifetime of hiding things out of shame, bringing it up to a bunch of strangers has got to be awkward and unnatural-feeling.  It apparently took him hours to build up the courage to do it after everyone else was telling their stories.  So I don't want to judge him too quickly.

I can personally attest to this. I grew up with alcoholic parents who have been in recovery for 19 years, and I'm an intensely private person who doesn't like discussing my childhood or home-life with people I know personally. It may be hard to believe, but I have revealed more of myself on my Previously.tv posts than I ever have with people I've known since childhood, and the bolded part (especially the inability to trust and communicate effectively) explains exactly why. I just feel like if I found somebody who took the time to sit face-to-face and actually listen, I don't know if I'd trust them enough to understand what I'm trying to communicate.

It's incredibly frustrating, this desire to share innermost thoughts with someone, but that inability to trust and communicate properly can leave a person feeling like nobody understands. It's that feeling of being completely alone while standing in a roomful of people.

Edited September 27, 2018 by HeShallBMySquishy

[ghoulina]

37 minutes ago, Lamima said:

Is he the self proclaimed 'blerd'? If so, I liked him too.

No, Carl is a truck driver. I think the Blerd was Davie? He seems younger. His job was listed as social media manager. My husband swore he knew him from somewhere, but I don't know....

[MisterBluxom]

18 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm just so glad that this stupid show is back.  I won't know what's going on for the first 5-6 episodes, but I'm just glad it's back.  All the POC and Mike White are still in the show.  I'm shocked and I'm happy.  (Deliriously:) I'm just so glad it's back.

Also I have no idea what the theme means this season .  Poor people versus rich?  LOL I'm half in the bag.

I am cheering for anyone nerdy, anyone who grew up poor, anyone POC, and of course Mike White.  "School of Rock" is in my top 20 favourite movies of all time and I have him and Jack Black to thank.

 

I know this is a little bit off-topic but I cannot help myself to say somehing nice and respectful to you. IMHO, anyone who recognizes the great talent that MW possesses as a comedic screen writer is deserving of my respect AWA many other peoples' respect and admiration. MW has also appeared in many other fine feature films. Zombieland starred a very fine cast that included Mike White, Jessie Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Bill Murray. A truly terrific film!

Mike White's role in that film was very limited but ... so what?  He played a most excellent role in that movie and, IMHO, his character was a great and very fullfilling role in that film. IMHO,  he did a wonderful job in that film and I truly enjoyed his performance - truly veryt much.  I fully expected that most of the actors who played a part in that film would have a brief word with Mike White and I think he may need to be reminded just how good he was in that role. He was actually much better than just "good". He really needed to hear just how great a job he did playing that part.

Edited September 27, 2018 by MissBluxom

[Nashville]

5 hours ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

Wrestler Dude is gonna work my last nerve.  He rattled off a dozen wrestling names and I never heard of a single one.  

 

4 hours ago, Gummo said:

Love the wrestler's self-deprecating humor. 

One of the reasons I enjoy the unrealities in general - I purely love how two people can watch the exact same thing and come away with such polar opposite takeaways.  :)

In truth, I have to confess - besides Mike (who I’m about 50% okay with so far), Wrestlemania is the only member of the Goliaths I feel inclined to like at this point; when he was listing off his interminable list of wrestling stage names, my impression was he did so with a wry sense of humor.  That, plus his total absence of personal affront toward the Davids who were messing with him in the first part of the IC impressed me; he kept focus and didn’t even cuss at them.

Doctor Lady (Alison), though...?  She struck me as the sort of person who’s born on third base and thinks they hit a triple.    

 

3 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I could see a little private "thought bubble" over every head saying, "Oh, GOOD!  Now I'm safe!!!"

I for one wouldn’t blame them for that in the least.  Hell, somebody was going home at TC.  Pat’s unfortunate accident simply saved the Davids the stress (and potential blowback) of making a proactive choice.  

 

1 hour ago, amazingracefan said:

So could this have been avoided, maybe they just got away with it in the past?  What if several of them had been seriously injured and had to get taken out?

Well, the fact this is the very first contestant transport injury in 19 years and 37 seasons would tend to indicate it’s VERY much a  low-probability occurrence....  :)

 

1 hour ago, Taeolas said:

Higher up someone mentioned that when Pat got to the hospital they discovered he had a weak disc in his back or something like that, which the boat crashing through the waves aggravated and ultimately injured him. 

My guesses ranged from simple lower-back muscle strain (best case) to a ruptured disc (middle-of-the-road) to a cracked/broken vertebra (worst case) - so while I’m sorry for Pat he got hurt al all, I’m very glad his injury was decidedly on the lighter side of the scale, in terms of the possible alternatives.

 

1 hour ago, Taeolas said:

So while it probably could happen again, and it isn't exactly preventable, it isn't likely to happen again. A perfect storm of events (including an actual storm) combined to make this happen. Likely in the future they'll just have the boat pilots go slower between islands, especially in choppy water. 

This was my impression as well.  When Probst entered at the start of the IC, it appeared a light rain had just started.  It’s entirely possible the forecasts available to Production did not predict the storm, or accurately predict how badly the storm would kick up, or what direction it would take - and once over open water, weather can move and change direction fast.  

When you’re on a small boat in rough seas, there really aren’t a whole lot of options for your passengers; put PFDs on everybody, get them belowdecks or as low and close to amidships as possible, and tell them to hang on - and that’s still not going to stop rough seas from pitching them about like tiddlywinks.  Seatbelts aren’t really an option: let the boat flood/sink/get capsized, and they cause more problems than they solve.

So, short of cancelling every challenge and/or grounding the contestants every time there’s a rain forecast (in the South Pacific during monsoon season, where a single storm can last for days), there’s not a whole lot Production can do - other than follow the lead of the locals who live in and deal with the local climate every day of their lives.

[JudyObscure]

I was really hoping they would start the season with some sort of double eviction so both tribes could send someone home.  Then the Davids could send home Nick and the Goliaths could send home Natalie for exactly the same reason -- not lifting a finger while everyone else is  working themselves into exhaustion.  Because, as Carl said, it's simply unacceptable.

Carl's my favorite.

[dkb]

12 hours ago, eel2178 said:

I really got the impression they were trying to one-up each other. "I was a Vietnamese boat person," "Well, my mom ODed on heroin.  Can anyone top that?"

^^ This made me laugh.

I think not watching the previous 2 seasons have dialed back my cynicism about the contestants. A good break from the formula.

But also agree with the below:

12 hours ago, green said:

No.  As a real life David I can tell you that when you meet someone else like that it means a lot to share these stories with each other because the "haves" of the world just think you are making stuff up or look at you in a patronizing, superior way or, at best, with some pity.  They can't really understand and it is so a relief when you find someone who has also gone through a lot of crap in life too and understands you. 

There is a bond born of suffering as deep as the bonds formed by soldiers sharing the same foxhole.  And just like soldiers say only a fellow soldier can really understand what they have gone through, so too Davids.  This stuff was real, every last sentence.  Yes there is a lot of fake stuff on Survivor but those conversations were not in the least fake.

 

2 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

So I too thought he was totally making things up, but once it was clear that his story was true, it actually made sense to me that it felt so off.  It is extremely well documented that the children of addicts often have a lot of issues that can last their whole lives, including an inability to trust and communicate with people.  After a lifetime of hiding things out of shame, bringing it up to a bunch of strangers has got to be awkward and unnatural-feeling.  It apparently took him hours to build up the courage to do it after everyone else was telling their stories.  So I don't want to judge him too quickly.

Yes, the time he needed to be able to tell his story also seemed more legit than when people make up fake stories.

When he was giving his talking head about the fact that he hasn't cried because his mom was his emotional support( or something to that effect), I didn't even think for a second he was faking. Just rang really true to me.

Like @KimberStormer says above, his story also explains his rudeness and his inability to understand why all of them were telling their sad stories in the beginning.

[eel2178]

12 hours ago, green said:

No.  As a real life David I can tell you that when you meet someone else like that it means a lot to share these stories with each other because the "haves" of the world just think you are making stuff up or look at you in a patronizing, superior way or, at best, with some pity.  They can't really understand and it is so a relief when you find someone who has also gone through a lot of crap in life too and understands you. 

There is a bond born of suffering as deep as the bonds formed by soldiers sharing the same foxhole.  And just like soldiers say only a fellow soldier can really understand what they have gone through, so too Davids.  This stuff was real, every last sentence.  Yes there is a lot of fake stuff on Survivor but those conversations were not in the least fake.

I'm also a real-life David, and I have been through plenty of one-up conversations. Also, many of the "woe is me" stories I've listened to have turned out to be 100% fiction.

[MisterBluxom]

On 9/26/2018 at 9:26 PM, LadyChatts said:

Damn that was scary.  I was wondering why they edited out what happened until they started talking about it.  Already a downer with the Davids losing but that was rough, too.  I feel sorry for anyone that has to leave due to a medevac.  Especially the first few days.

You are so right and your post has all of my empathy. It probably will not be of much comfort to you but I think the reason they edited out what happened until they started talking about it, was because they needed to have the pendulum swing back and forth a few times so that we would expect one side to win and then the other.

Edited September 28, 2018 by MissBluxom

[eel2178]

29 minutes ago, Nashville said:

Well, the fact this is the very first contestant transport injury in 19 years and 37 seasons would tend to indicate it’s VERY much a  low-probability occurrence....  :)

 

My guesses ranged from simple lower-back muscle strain (best case) to a ruptured disc (middle-of-the-road) to a cracked/broken vertebra (worst case) - so while I’m sorry for Pat he got hurt al all, I’m very glad his injury was decidedly on the lighter side of the scale, in terms of the possible alternatives.

Worst case scenario would have been a spinal cord injury, which is what I was concerned about. Nobody asked him to wiggle his toes or if he could feel anything below the level of injury. I'm glad it turned out be minor in comparison.

[SoMuchTV]

4 hours ago, mojoween said:

I could not make it through School of Rock because Jack Black is too extra for me but I believe that Mike was also Kim Kelly’s shiftless older brother in Freaks and Geeks who just needed a nap.

No way!  Now I'm going to have to rewatch Freaks and Geeks!

[princelina]

8 hours ago, ghoulina said:

I think there could be more to it than that. He WAS rubbing people wrong during the shelter build. But once it was complete, and the rain was cascading down, they seemed very appreciative of his hard work. Contrast that with people starting to become annoyed with Nick's laziness - I think the focus may have been shifting. Pat's rough exterior might be something you can get used to; but people will always be resentful of those who don't pull their weight. 

Also - compare Pat's bossiness building the shelter (as a construction worker) with Natalie's (a publisher?). I'd have no trouble with him in that situation, but in my mind I'd be telling her to take a seat.

 

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

That was Carl, the dude who screwed up the sand digging. He also didn't like Nick and his lack of a work ethic.

IMO they should not have sent a guy in jeans to do that task when there were a bunch running around in underpants!

[IndyMischa]

I haven't watched Survivor in years, but after my first season posting here for Big Brother, I knew I was going to need something to help with the withdrawals... Having said that, the premiere was kind of underwhelming and the theme needs to die a flaming death. Stat.

John the wrestler is my early fave - he seems in on the joke, which I always appreciate. (I was also amused when he bragged about being smart with a geology degree - and then a little disappointed when he didn't immediately follow it up with "rocks for jocks!") Glad to see that I'm not insane and had indeed seen Hot Cop somewhere before. I felt bad for NY Construction Guy, but am very glad the doc insisted on pulling him. Allison's "play-calling" on the IC puzzle, particularly in the pouring rain, was pretty impressive. Natalie the CEO can take several seats. Despite being (by far) the Team Nerd at work, Christian is already on thin ice and his schtick could take him straight to BECville if he doesn't ease up. The rest of them are forgettable / interchangeable at this point.

The "let's compare how sad our lives have been" thing was godawful. No more of that, please. I'll beg if necessary. 

[MisterBluxom]

5 hours ago, IndyMischa said:

I haven't watched Survivor in years, but after my first season posting here for Big Brother, I knew I was going to need something to help with the withdrawals... Having said that, the premiere was kind of underwhelming and the theme needs to die a flaming death. Stat.

John the wrestler is my early fave - he seems in on the joke, which I always appreciate. (I was also amused when he bragged about being smart with a geology degree - and then a little disappointed when he didn't immediately follow it up with "rocks for jocks!") Glad to see that I'm not insane and had indeed seen Hot Cop somewhere before. I felt bad for NY Construction Guy, but am very glad the doc insisted on pulling him. Allison's "play-calling" on the IC puzzle, particularly in the pouring rain, was pretty impressive. Natalie the CEO can take several seats. Despite being (by far) the Team Nerd at work, Christian is already on thin ice and his schtick could take him straight to BECville if he doesn't ease up. The rest of them are forgettable / interchangeable at this point.

The "let's compare how sad our lives have been" thing was godawful. No more of that, please. I'll beg if necessary. 

Oh my, IndyMischa, I feel your pain. That's fer sure.

I liked John the wrestler very much right from the opening bell and I hope he does very well. I also help he delivers a good performance and that he will be happy with his lot in this season.

In any case, he sure does seem to come across as a very bright guy. Someone who will do well dealing with some professional players who have somehow had some playing experience before this season.

I enjoyed the emotional pendulum swing back and forth as we got to play on Team David's side when we found out the young fellow that played so well on the shuffle type of puzzle had some definite experience.  When he had to come back to win the next puzzle challenge I wonder how many people were rooting for him to make a glorious comeback and win - even though he had really acted as a braggart. I got the feeling the editors of this show enjoy few things more than taking down a big braggart and watching him fall flat on his face. IMO, that segment was very well edited

Edited September 28, 2018 by MissBluxom

[HeShallBMySquishy]

1 hour ago, Nashville said:

In truth, I have to confess - besides Mike (who I’m about 50% okay with so far), Wrestlemania is the only member of the Goliaths I feel inclined to like at this point; when he was listing off his interminable list of wrestling stage names, my impression was he did so with a wry sense of humor.  That, plus his total absence of personal affront toward the Davids who were messing with him in the first part of the IC impressed me; he kept focus and didn’t even cuss at them.

Thank you @Nashville! You summed up perfectly my feelings towards Wrestlemania. I really thought he'd rub me the wrong way but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed him! It's still early yet though, but I hope that won't change. And I loved Mike calling Christian "Big Bang Theory"! I legit chuckled at that one.

[peachmangosteen]

Speaking of Carl, my fave thing about him was how he just looked 100% done at all times.

[babydollbrat]

First time in many many seasons I was able to tell people apart after the first episode! 

I know the hurt when in a boat and it crashes down on the wave so am very glad Pat has recovered and it wasn't as severe as it could have been. Shitty way to leave though.

Loved how fast Christian did that slide puzzle!! I always am in awe when someone can complete those things let alone kill it as fast as he did!

I fell in love with Dan (hotcop) ever since he went viral during Hurricaine Katrina and have followed everything he has done since and I was so stoked when he announced he would be on Survivor! All I can say now is uggghhhhhh :( He can leave my screen at anytime now...sooner the better.

[Ms Blue Jay]

@peachmangosteen, I like that too, because I love how certain people are not at all TV ready.  It's so real.

[IndyMischa]

1 hour ago, HeShallBMySquishy said:

And I loved Mike calling Christian "Big Bang Theory"! I legit chuckled at that one.

Same! I wasn't paying close enough attention to know who said it, but it cracked me up. Mike is added to the happy list (provisional status).

[Ms Blue Jay]

12 minutes ago, babydollbrat said:

First time in many many seasons I was able to tell people apart after the first episode! 

A couple of people have been saying this which makes me excited for the season.  Was it last season (or the one before) when all of us were complaining we couldn't understand who anyone was?  And that the editing was really effed up. And there was way too much tribe switching early on.

Edited September 27, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[violet and green]

Oh, boy! It's been a few seasons since I actually enjoyed a first episode of Survivor. But I was really enthused from the moment they reached Probst on that old ship, and then they went and gave a talking head plus name and job tag to every single tribe member! Have they been listening to/reading our gripes here?! Every single cast member got a moment. The last few seasons have started out with initial episodes so focused on some drama that most of the cast were just bikini and bandana blurs until several eps in...

Love the Davids, love the theme. Love the season already.

[ratgirlagogo]

4 hours ago, eel2178 said:

17 hours ago, green said:

No.  As a real life David I can tell you that when you meet someone else like that it means a lot to share these stories with each other because the "haves" of the world just think you are making stuff up or look at you in a patronizing, superior way or, at best, with some pity.  They can't really understand and it is so a relief when you find someone who has also gone through a lot of crap in life too and understands you. 

There is a bond born of suffering as deep as the bonds formed by soldiers sharing the same foxhole.  And just like soldiers say only a fellow soldier can really understand what they have gone through, so too Davids.  This stuff was real, every last sentence.  Yes there is a lot of fake stuff on Survivor but those conversations were not in the least fake.

 

I'm also a real-life David, and I have been through plenty of one-up conversations. Also, many of the "woe is me" stories I've listened to have turned out to be 100% fiction.

Sorry to say that I agree with this.  There are many reasons why I decided that I could best do my recovery without 12-step programs, but the one-upsmanship was one of the key reasons.   I realized around that time that  that's why my dad stopped going to the VFW meetings.

Edited September 28, 2018 by ratgirlagogo

[MisterBluxom]

6 hours ago, Nashville said:

Doctor Lady (Alison), though...?  She struck me as the sort of person who’s born on third base and thinks they hit a triple.   

I have never heard that before and I will never forget it. That is truly memorable. Please tell us that is your own original creation?

[Nashville]

15 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

I have never heard that before and I will never forget it. That is truly memorable. Please tell us that is your own original creation?

Thanks, but can’t take credit for it.

[Rachel RSL]

7 hours ago, Nashville said:

Wrestlemania is the only member of the Goliaths I feel inclined to like at this point; when he was listing off his interminable list of wrestling stage names, my impression was he did so with a wry sense of humor.  

What made it so funny to me was the way the list of names just kept going on and on and on. It reminded me of that episode of The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob keeps getting hit with the rakes. At first it’s kind of funny, then it’s just dumb, then it’s so dumb that it becomes funny again, then suddenly it’s hilarious! Does anyone remember all the names he listed? He got to one that had “tushie” in it and I just lost it! 

[Nashville]

4 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

What made it so funny to me was the way the list of names just kept going on and on and on. It reminded me of that episode of The Simpsons where Sideshow Bob keeps getting hit with the rakes. At first it’s kind of funny, then it’s just dumb, then it’s so dumb that it becomes funny again, then suddenly it’s hilarious! Does anyone remember all the names he listed? He got to one that had “tushie” in it and I just lost it! 

Reminded me of John Candy in “Home Alone” listing off his band’s greatest polka hits.  :D

[simplyme]

15 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

My initial observations, the Goliath's can go away. They all had that smug look that made me want to smack them. 

Pat: I was laughing when they got to camp and Pat was all over the shelter building. The initial response to him was amusing. It was clear that the other people on his tribe had not been around a lot of Pat's. Pat, with all of his comments and his instructions, was not trying to be a dick or acting like a dick. He was acting like a good number of folks who have spent their entire life doing construction type work. 

To be fair, the editing was done in such a way that we're *supposed* to dislike the Goliaths. The quotes they chose, the expressions they focused on, the music they played when the Goliaths got on board vs when the Davids did-- production did almost everything they could to make the Goliaths out as arrogant favorites and the Davids as the scrappy underdogs. In fact, it was so obvious that even sycophant Dalton Ross mentioned it in his EW recap at https://ew.com/recap/survivor-season-37-premiere/:

Quote

What the show is really doing is setting up one side (the Davids) as clear underdogs to root for, and the other (Goliaths) as the overwhelming favorites/villains to root against...

For the Davids, we get a confessional (first one of the season, in fact) from Christian, who talks about what a robot-obsessed nerd he is. For the Goliaths, we get Natalie boasting, “I’ve been amazing at business. Everything I touch turns to gold.” But that juxtaposition was nothing compared to the way they simply step onto the boat. When the Goliaths show up, we get confident booming music meant to translate their power and authority and dominance. When the Davids step on, we get the same goofy circus music they used to play whenever Stephen Fishbach would participate in a challenge. Through words, editing, and visuals, the show is hammering home the underdog theme hard. Hell, I’m half surprised they didn’t put all the Goliaths in New York Yankees uniforms and force the Davids to dress like the Bad News Bears.

I do agree with you whole-heartedly about Pat. I've known quite a few Pats in my life. And really, it's extremely rare for the shelter to get built without someone feeling like someone else stepped on toes. I think by the end, the David tribe had worked out that Pat just gave orders and talked a certain way, but it wasn't mean. It was a cultural difference.

5 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Speaking of Carl, my fave thing about him was how he just looked 100% done at all times.

My favorite thing about Carl is from his cast bio:

Quote

Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? 
I feel that I can outwit, outlast, and outplay everyone else.

All his answers are like that. It was awesome after reading Angelina's cast bio. Omg.

4 hours ago, babydollbrat said:

I fell in love with Dan (hotcop) ever since he went viral during Hurricaine Katrina and have followed everything he has done since and I was so stoked when he announced he would be on Survivor! All I can say now is uggghhhhhh :( He can leave my screen at anytime now...sooner the better.

I was going to mention this. Dan's gotten a LOT of attention for his looks. He literally went viral based on them. That could be another reason he's so focused on them. (At least he wasn't the "hot cop" in that Hurricane Irma pic that they then discovered had anti-Semitic posts. That was a different guy.)