Past Seasons Talk: The Tribe Has Spoken

[LadyChatts]

Like I've said, just b/c Russell bullied people out of the game, it became a popularity contest. That effectively strips the spirit of the game, outwit, outplay, outlast. You get america to vote, they'll vote russell. he won two sprint player award.

 

But,as Jeff said, there's a reason why America doesn't vote.  They don't see the whole picture, just what the editors want them to see.  They have a TV show to create, they have to create characters, and some people go overboard playing a character so they can get screen time and be remembered.  Russell forgot it is also a social game, that is why he lost.  And he lost me with his antics at both reunion shows over losing.  That was where I thought he forgot the show was over and he didn't need to put on the tough, gruff exterior that he might have had a few missteps.  I would have had him winning Samoa, but not HvsV.  I was in the Parvati camp with that season anyway.  Voting for a player award and someone to win the actual million/sole Survivor title-I don't know if Russell would win.  I didn't always vote for the Sprint award, but I would definitely do it for the million dollar award.  And, of course, there's stuffing the ballot boxes yourself if you're a contestant to get the win.  After the screw up that was the very first season of Big Brother, I am glad America doesn't have a say in voting on these shows anymore.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Like I've said, just b/c Russell bullied people out of the game, it became a popularity contest. That effectively strips the spirit of the game, outwit, outplay, outlast. You get america to vote, they'll vote russell. he won two sprint player award.

Russel was  annoying - but much more annoying was the way he was presented.  In Samoa he averaged 7 confessionals per episode; while  Natalie White, the winner. averaged 1.07 confessionals per episode - the least of any Survivor winner.  The audience at home saw little or nothing of the strategy that gained her the win - even those of us obsessives who read all the boot interviews etc. had only a limited kind of idea of how Natalie won.  The show heavily sold the idea that Russell was "robbed" by a "bitter jury" - when closer examination shows that Russell played effectively to get rid of people in the short run, but not to win a jury in the long run.  All juries are "bitter" by definition - the Yul Kwons and Kim Spradlins get the juries to give them the money anyway.  The Russell Hantzs do not.  Period.

Edited April 24, 2015 by ratgirlagogo

[peachmangosteen]

Very well said, ratgirlagogo.

[BigRedCheese]

 

Like I've said, just b/c Russell bullied people out of the game, it became a popularity contest. That effectively strips the spirit of the game, outwit, outplay, outlast. You get america to vote, they'll vote russell.

 

You get America to vote, that's when I stop watching Survivor, just not compelling television at all. The whole point of Survivor is to vote people out, and still get those same people to reward you with the million dollars, that's what's compelling. What fans of Russell's antics don't get is that the reason he made it to the end is because he was brought as a goat, they all knew he couldn't win or he would have been voted out early on. 

[hyukx3]

well, you got the game's motto of outwit, outlast, outplay, but in actuality, the players have hijacked the concept and turned it into, outwit, outplay, outlast, and likable..........mostly just likable

 

spencer from the tony winner season woulda vote for russell. boy's not bitter like most other sore losers.

i dont think russell went out of his way to alienate in HvV. in samoa, i dont quite remember but that statement is definitely not 100% true.

 

 

 

Survivor is, to an extent, a popularity contest, as I think it should it be. If people goes out of their way to alienate, mock and take genuine pleasure at other people's downfall, it's their own fault if jurors refuse to vote for them because of those actions.

 

Edited April 25, 2015 by hyukx3

[BigRedCheese]

 

i dont think russell went out of his way to alienate in HvV

 

I agree, and he wasn't such a jerk, actually kind of funny.. The players didn't hijack anything, you do have to outlast, outwit, and outplay, and you also have to convince the ones you voted out to give you the million dollars. Richard Hatch, the original Survivor, nobody would accuse him of being particularly likable in a traditional sense, but he knew how to work people, and make his case. Personally, I think whoever wins deserved to win, they convinced everybody to give them the money, but you just can't treat people the way he did in his first season and win. If you make it America's vote at the end, then the big characters would be voted out first rather than drug along like Russell was.

[enlightenedbum]

The game is literally get the jury votes at the end.  That's the game.  To get the votes, people have to want to give you a million dollars.  If they don't, you won't win.

 

Also the fan favorite award is a joke.  Rupert won the free million CBS cravenly gave him. James won twice.  It goes to big characters the editors create most of the time.

[hyukx3]

NOOOOO. KING RUSSELL 4EVERR. KEEP HOPE ALIVE!!!!

[Hera]

Like I've said, just b/c Russell bullied people out of the game, it became a popularity contest. That effectively strips the spirit of the game, outwit, outplay, outlast. You get america to vote, they'll vote russell. he won two sprint player award.

"Outwit, Outplay, Outlast" is the Survivor motto—it does not constitute instructions to the jury for how they should choose the winner, nor has it ever, from what I can tell. And anyway even it did, it would be pretty meaningless. Everyone who makes it to the final tribal council has already fulfilled the "outlast" requirement. As for "outwit", people often don't know who outwitted them until they watch the show—for instance, no one realized Stephen Fishbach from Tocantins was doing so much strategizing until the show aired. Knowing who truly outwitted you requires far more knowledge than jurors have at the time they vote. And "outplay" could mean anything—winning challenges (which is what Judd in Nicaragua argued he had done) or it could mean "playing" other castaways, making it a form of "outwit". It could also be a redundant form of "outlast", since the entire time people are in the game, they're "playing". It's a nice motto, but as a guide for judging players or deciding who "should" win, it's pretty hollow.

[BigRedCheese]

Personally, I loved it in Africa when Kelly Goldsmith asked Ethan and Kelly to pick a number, and voted on who got closest. Greg Buis did that in the first season, but later he said it was just a joke, and was going to vote for Richard all along.

[Jersey Guy 87]

Like I've said, just b/c Russell bullied people out of the game, it became a popularity contest. That effectively strips the spirit of the game, outwit, outplay, outlast. You get america to vote, they'll vote russell. he won two sprint player award.

 

The Sprint player award is heavily influenced by the editing and shouldn't be taken as proof that a given player was the best one that season.  Rupert and James have won the award, after all.

The voting by the players is seldom a strict popularity contest, although that certainly enters into it.  Part of outplay includes the social game - you have to make people not hate you.  Russell lost FTC two times because he ignored the social aspect of the game.  That means he was outplayed.

[Miss Scarlet]

All this discussion of bullying has made me remember how much I dislike Tyson. He was awful to Sierra for no reason in Tocantins and said something like "I just like to tell people they're stupid and crush their dreams". But I don't remember him catching that much hatred over at TWOP. Am I wrong about that? 

 

To me, he always came across as sexist and as someone who would say things like "women aren't funny" because he is incredibly insecure and can't handle the idea of any competent, intelligent or personable woman. He also made some dumb comment about his girlfriend at the Blood vs. Water reunion that came off like she was some trophy for him (and yes, I know he was caring towards her during the season, but the reunion comment was dumb). 

 

And I have no idea why anyone thought he was compelling enough to bring back 3 times. 

[enlightenedbum]

I'm with you.  Tyson is someone who thinks he's about 100 times funnier (and smarter) than he actually is and it's extremely off putting.  I skipped his third go for Colton reasons but knowing he won I have zero interest in ever watching that season.

[BigRedCheese]

I never liked Tyson much either, but most of his douchiness was confined to confessionals, that I remember anyway. For me, no one has been worse than Corinne, after the things she said about Sugar's deceased father, and that she hopes Sugar dies, and to have never apologized in the years since (unless she has and I missed it, entirely possible). Will, has equaled it, but I'm hoping that he does reflect and apologizes at some point in time.

[ProfCrash]

I did not like Tyson in his first few seasons. I thought he played a much better game his third time out. He was snarky but it felt less personal and less like he was trying. I will say that he was always so over the top that it felt so very intentional, and some ways desperate, that it did not feel as much like bullying. I also can't remember how much of what he said was in Talking Heads and how much was directed to individuals.

[enlightenedbum]

Stuff he said to Sierra was to her face, mostly.  He liked picking on the weak.

 

And he gave us like 8 more episodes of Russell than we could have had if he wasn't a moron, so fuck him.  AND it's entirely possible that if he weren't a moron the show doesn't feel the need to invite Boston Rob back until he won and RI is a much more interesting season.  Though I'm actually usually more entertained than annoyed by BR.

[KimberStormer]

Well one thing was that Tyson's comeuppance was instant upon his worst moment.  I felt about the scene where he was browbeating Sierra for no reason whatsoever the same way that people felt about this Will/Shirin scene--it made me physically uncomfortable and I probably cried.  It was intense and cruel, just terrible.  (Tyson's remarks were certainly not confined to talking heads; he was literally telling Sierra to her face he wanted to make her cry because he hated her and thought it would be funny.)

BUT THEN he was blindsided in that very episode in an incredibly satisfying fashion.  (A great Stephen Fishbach moment, to JT: "Someone always goes on a challenge run.  Let's make it you."  That's like the best pitch ever.)  I think that cosmic justice lessens the sting.  A punished villain, a villain who loses, is someone we can enjoy hating.  And he came back and was again eliminated hilariously by his own stupidity.  I haven't seen BvW, and it's very hard for me to imagine rooting for someone as vile as Tyson, but if he'd grown up some and cut the bully bullshit (and people who've played with him have said he has a very caring side) then at least I could probably make peace in my mind about him winning, because he already suffered for his sins to some degree.

[BigRedCheese]

I do remember really disliking Tyson and Coach in their first season, but I had forgotten that interaction with Sierra, probably because he got voted out the same episode, so it probably felt like he got what he deserved. I didn't really enjoy seeing him win in BvsW, but I didn't hate him like I did in his first season.

[Lantern7]

So . . . how bad was Shirin's exit and the subsequent celebration? For me, three events were worse, and they're the only three that come to mind right away.

 

1. The time in S8 when Hatch grinding his naked dick on Sue, Sue's slow burn afterward, and her ragegasm that ended up with her quitting. I might not have loved her, but I felt for her. And then her tribe (except for Amber) celebrated, singing, "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead." If Sue had taken a hammer to Tom's kneecaps, I wouldn't have blamed her.

 

2. Philip pushing Brandon over the edge. I know, he didn't have to push that hard, but I hold him responsible for the shitshow that ensued. Seeing the others vote Brandon off in public also sucked, though I do understand the unwillingness to take a stand.

 

3. Colton Cumbie getting his way and getting Bill voted off. I'll always call him "the Boy Queen of Samoa" for his actions, and that had to be the ugliest he looked in both tours of duty.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

2. Philip pushing Brandon over the edge. I know, he didn't have to push that hard, but I hold him responsible for the shitshow that ensued.

Thank you!  I don't hate Brandon at all - I think he was a tragically troubled person who should NEVER have been cast at all, let alone TWICE.  

 

My other horribleness scenario so far unmentioned is Rocky vs. Anthony in Fiji.  What a nightmare.  

[enlightenedbum]

 

1. The time in S8 when Hatch grinding his naked dick on Sue, Sue's slow burn afterward, and her ragegasm that ended up with her quitting. I might not have loved her, but I felt for her. And then her tribe (except for Amber) celebrated, singing, "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead." If Sue had taken a hammer to Tom's kneecaps, I wouldn't have blamed her.

I think Alicia was also not involved in that celebration, though admittedly that episode is so uncomfortable I haven't seen it in forever.

[Lantern7]

ratgirlagogo . . . and thank you for agreeing with me. Brandon was never the second coming of his uncle. He struck me as somebody who needed to be far away from his family in order to be sane. And good call on the Anthony abuse.

 

enlightenedbum . . . I don't remember if Alicia was on the same tribe as Sue. I only remember Amber not joining in the "fun," and thinking that was one nice moment from such a bland contestant.

[enlightenedbum]

She was definitely on that tribe.  It's why she was such an obnoxious juror when they voted her off in seventh instead of Rupert.

[jsm1125]

ratgirlagogo . . . and thank you for agreeing with me. Brandon was never the second coming of his uncle. He struck me as somebody who needed to be far away from his family in order to be sane. And good call on the Anthony abuse.

 

enlightenedbum . . . I don't remember if Alicia was on the same tribe as Sue. I only remember Amber not joining in the "fun," and thinking that was one nice moment from such a bland contestant.

To Alicia's credit, while Tom and Rob were dancing with glee after Sue went home, she interviewed that they were being crummy and that Sue was a strong member of their tribe.

[ProfCrash]

Brandon was no Russell. He was clearly unstable and should never have been cast. He also targetted a woman on his tribe because she was too attractive and tempted him. So she had to go because he was tempted. Uggghhhh

[kikaha]

 

My other horribleness scenario so far unmentioned is Rocky vs. Anthony in Fiji.  What a nightmare.  

 

Agree 100%.  Rocky is one of the biggest jerks ever on Survivor. 

 

Prof C:  Brandon looked and sounded crazy about Mikayla.  It kind of stunned me to read later that she had an affair with Russell, after the season ended.  Brandon is still crazy, but that made me wonder if there was more than met the eye. 

[LadyChatts]

I agree about Brandon just being a troubled individual that never should have been cast in the first place.  I don't think he's a bad guy at all, although he was never one of my favorites.  I probably wouldn't have minded him his first outing had it not been for the whole Hantz mania that swept the CBS reality circuit.  I seriously questioned TPTB at that point and wondered just how far they would go for ratings and drama.  It didn't help being on the tribe he was on, especially with Phillip.  That moment when he had his meltdown and Phillip stood there like it was a joke and talked back to him was when I shut Caramoan off.  I think Phillip had to be the big man and not act as though anyone would disrespect him in front of the group, even though that's exactly what he did.

[KimberStormer]

I don't remember Phillip doing anything to Brandon?  Except just being Phillip.  I remember him getting the hell out of there when Brandon was dumping the rice etc which I thought was the right move.

Brandon should never have been cast, and especially not cast twice.  I blame the producers 100% for that, even if Phillip did do something.  I don't blame Brandon, he was a victim there.

[LadyChatts]

I don't remember Phillip doing anything to Brandon?  Except just being Phillip.  I remember him getting the hell out of there when Brandon was dumping the rice etc which I thought was the right move.

Brandon should never have been cast, and especially not cast twice.  I blame the producers 100% for that, even if Phillip did do something.  I don't blame Brandon, he was a victim there.

 

I may be remembering wrong, I seem to recall when they arrived at the challenge Brandon started going off on Phillip.  Phillip said something to Brandon that escalated it, but I remember Brandon yelling at him not to bring his kids into it and that's when Jeff started to hold him back.  All the drama seemed to be Brandon and Phillip.  As I said, I've never re-watched that part of the season and only went back to the episodes I missed.  So I may be wrong.  Caramoan is one season I don't ever care to watch again.  I remember the disaster that was the reunion show (they were further ahead to just admit why it was staged the way it was and not come up with some lame excuse as to why not all contestants were onstage and spoken to).  That was a step too far just to keep using the Hantz name.  Brandon seems like a nice enough kid, but he never should have made it through.  

[ljenkins782]

I skip every couple seasons of Survivor, but am deeply into the current season, which always makes me want to watch old seasons I never saw/finished.

 

So I went back to Tocantins (watched half but quit on it for some reason) and finally got around to seeing Samoa. 

 

First of all, I am amazed that I sat through the entire miserable Gabon season (one of the few that I would never bother to revisit due to not having any interest in any of the players) but bailed on Tocantins! I think Coach drove me so nuts that I couldn't take it but having seen his doofiness in HvV, I found him somewhat amusing back in Tocantins. 

 

On the flip side, JT's HvV performance kind of negatively affected my view of him in Tocantins, where he really did play an excellent game. He got one of the most favorable edits I've ever seen, they practically carried him to the million on their shoulders, smiles on their faces to take him there. 

 

Stephen's jury performance was just epically bad, which is a shame because that was a good final 2 (unlike this current Season O'Goats.) Overall, that was a fun season with some likeable characters in JT, Stephen, Taj, Debbie, etc. I also liked Erinn and don't know why she seemed so unpopular.

 

The most uncomfortable part of the season was definitely Sierra. I don't completely understand why she was so loathed but it was hard to watch. 

 

As for Samoa, I enjoyed the season overall and was very surprised to find myself actually rooting for Russell due to the underdog nature of the final 4 Foa Foas. 

 

I couldn't stand him in the first few episodes and was disappointed to know that there was no comeuppance on the way during the game (him crying through the reunion after losing kinda counts :). But I always like to see a small group fight their way through and avoid a Pagonging. 

 

I was surprised at some of the last players standing because I never heard anything about them in all the talk through the years. Like, Mick the hot doctor, for example. I thought he must be an early boot and there he was at the end losing to Russell of all people. And Jaison looked like a midseason quit, so I would never pegged him to make it so deep either. 

 

 

[Miss Scarlet]

Talking about the season 31 voting has made me think about how funny our reactions to the editing are. It's amazing to me that we totally fall for the edits they're giving us even though a) we know the editing exists and the contestants are edited to be "characters" and to be fit into larger storylines and b) when there's evidence in the show that totally contradicts the edit they're trying to sell (e.g. selling Rupert as the  hero, even though they kept in the scene where he almost gets violent with other players for writing his name down or, more recently, trying to sell Spencer as the lovable underdog even though he was kind of unpleasant and petulant whenever things didn't go his way). It's no wonder this works so well on "casual" fans who don't even pay attention to that stuff and thus still think Rupert is the best thing since sliced bread.

[peachmangosteen]

b) when there's evidence in the show that totally contradicts the edit they're trying to sell ...

 

LOL to this but it's so true. I fall for it a lot of the time too and I know better because I watch Big Brother. I watched them sell Dick as a hero while still actually showing him berating and abusing a young woman nearly constantly. But hey, he loved his daughter and every scene he was in had rock music in the background so he's a true American hero.

 

You'd think Big Brother would make me realize they actually can give these people an edit that is is no way reflective of who they are are/how they really play, and yet here I am still loving Spencer even though consciously I know that if not for the edit I would've despised him.

[Lantern7]

So . . . how do you rate S30 in the big picture? I'd say it was worse than S29, except I've blanked out on most of it. All I really remember was Natalie winning, and me being cool with it. S30 was full of stupid moments, with the occasional hit of awesomeness. I think Mike would've gotten more time at the reunion than Natalie had gotten in hers had S31 not needed pimping. I think Probst realized this as well, and he more or less dropped the check into the love pile that was Mike's family.

 

Also . . . I don't think Dan will be easily forgotten, and I think he'd be back, even if he did shit-talk the show. Probst may have thrown him under the bus and backed it up over him, but I have such a low opinion on Probst and Mark Burnett where bringing back a stinker like Colton wouldn't be out of the question.

[LadyChatts]

Overall, S30 joins the bowels of awfulness that was Fiji, Thailand, Nicaragua, Caramoan, RI, and One World.  In hindsight, SJDS wasn't as bad as this crap fest.  Fiji had one redeeming factor, in that underdogs prevailed and we had an (almost) likable final 3.  One World wasn't too horrible once Colton left, but I half wonder if being associated with that season might have hurt Sabrina and Troyzan.  In some articles I read where bloggers and commentators were making a push for their favorites, they basically dismissed those two for being on that season.  I would probably rank it above RI and Caramoan, but it basically ties with Fiji, Thailand, and One World for how much I disliked it.  So a bottom 10 season for me.

[enlightenedbum]

I've got it #30, finally dethroning Thailand.

[Miss Scarlet]

I hope to never hear about the #dirty30 ever again. I don't understand how this season got so over-hyped. I mean I understand why this cast of narcissistic psychos thought it was the best thing ever, but I don't know how anyone else ever bought into it. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Fiji is one of my favourite seasons ever, like in the top 5-7 seasons of all time.  Because it happened right after Cook, it is or almost is, as multiracial as Cook, and I feel like no seasons have been as multiracial ever since.  Lots of black, Asian, and Latino cast members.  Only Seasons 13 and 14 have that quality.  I absolutely loved the cast of characters.  The "Edgardo blindside" was hyped on TWOP everywhere and for years before I got to see it, so I'm surprised to see Fiji talked about so poorly here.  I even loved Dreamz up until the car issue.  Dreamz was absolutely hilarious.  

 

Also Good About Fiji

- interesting haves versus have nots twist

- Rocky for comic relief maybe

- Yao Man and the fake idol, and just everything he said or did, very unique contestant

- Dreamz - almost everything the guy said or did made me hysterical, an actual homeless contestant on Survivor is so genius --- a cast member who actually PREFERS the conditions of Survivor to his real life, with a "Wow, this is great!" attitude.   He's also a hustler for life, and unfortunately, Yao Man got hustled.

- Michelle

- Earl

- Boo for hotness

- the infamous Edgardo blindside

 

I'll never forget a moment of the Have-nots waking up one morning.  They were just sprawled all over the ground with scarves covering their faces.  It was funny yet chilling.  They looked like corpses.  

 

If it helps for context, my favourites are Borneo 1, Cook 13, Fiji 14, Samoa/Russell 19, and Cagayan 28.   There's a few others I like I guess, but those are the top 5.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[LadyChatts]

I've currently been binge watching past Survivor seasons, and I didn't hate Fiji as much as I remembered.  It still ranks as one of my least favorites, however.  The whole reason they had such a diverse cast for the second season in a row was to prove a point that Cook Islands wasn't simply a gimmick-that they were being sincere that they didn't have issues with casting minority contestants and it wasn't a stunt to cast so many and divide them by race into tribes.  Personally, I wasn't up in arms about that like a lot of people.  I did think it was a poor excuse to try and prove they didn't have issues casting minority contestants that they had to sink to that level of purposely dividing tribes up by race to make a point.  I don't know the racial dynamic of people that have applied and have been recruited, but I think they could have managed to make their cast more diverse over the years.  It used to be a running joke that there were always the two token African American contestants (one male, one female), and that it took until Thailand to produce a contestant of an Asian background.

 

Back to Fiji, I know one girl dropped out the night before filming, and they didn't have to time to bring in an alternate.  I can't remember if they intended on dividing tribes up by race for a second season or not until that happened.  Fiji did have some good moments, the Edgardo blindside topping them all.  Fiji ranks as one of my least favorite seasons, but that moment is definitely a top 10.  I know there was always talk about Michelle getting a raw deal when she was voted out, but the same thing happened to Jenny during CI.  I liked Michelle, but there are others (including some pre-jury boots) that I would prefer to see return over her first.  Stacy always kind of peaked my interest.  I'm one that actually wouldn't mind bringing Dreamz and Rocky back, just to see if they've changed at all.  I can't say I entirely fault Dreamz for going back on his word to Yau-Man.  It was unfortuante that it had to be Yau-Man he did it to, the most popular player that season, and one of the most popular ever.  If it were Alex or Mookie, I feel like people wouldn't have cared as much.  It was a crappy move, but Yau-Man also took the risk of making a good will gesture to Dreamz without having anything other than his word to go by.

 

A few other fun moments that I remembered were Rocky and I think Alex mocking Yau-Man right before a challenge, where he had to catapulte something.  Obviously they didn't think he was going to be able to do it, but Yau-Man owned that moment.  There was that slip and slide challenge that was a lot of fun, Michelle falling off her platform during the blindfold challenge (you think they would have retired it after that), and Earle talking about Boo's "white boy" dance moves that he was practicing for a challenge.  The haves/have nots was an interesting idea, but I think it really slanted this season in the haves favor.  I don't like seasons so lop sided with one tribe continually winning all the time.  At least there are tribe swaps to help prevent a tribe from Ulonging itself (why did they never do a swap in Palau?) but even when that happened, the haves just kept on winning.  If I want to see contestants living the easy life, I'll watch Big Brother.  On Survivor, I want tantrums and rivalries over who will be the biggest provider and castaways not getting enough sleep and getting bit up.  The cast as a whole was just either miserable or blended together.  That's really what did it for me.

Edited May 22, 2015 by LadyChatts

[enlightenedbum]

Fiji is a weird dichotomy.  The pre-merge section is basically well-fed, well-rested assholes annihilating starving, dehydrated mostly cool people in physical challenges.  Then the second half is the remainder of the starving, mostly cool people out-strategizing the assholes and taking home the victory.  Which is great!  But man, those first however many episodes are not super fun to watch.

[SVNBob]

Lots of black, Asian, and Latino cast members.  Only Seasons 13 and 14 have that quality.

And now 31.  Almost every person of color on the voting ballot got selected.  The major exceptions I can remember is Sabrina from One World, and Carolyn (she's Latina, right?)

[Donny Ketchum]

Back to Fiji, I know one girl dropped out the night before filming, and they didn't have to time to bring in an alternate.  I can't remember if they intended on dividing tribes up by race for a second season or not until that happened.

They were.  Melissa McNulty dropping out right before the game began left the would-be white tribe down a member, so they had to improvise.

[peachmangosteen]

I loved Fiji. It was super entertaining IMO and the cast was great. I wasn't a huge Earl fan though and I wanted Cassandra to win. But I rarely get a winner I like, so I'm used to it and it usually doesn't really affect my love of a season.

[cherrypj]

A'ight. I took a break from watching past seasons because WA was on, but I'll resume now (midway through the first All Stars).

 

Here's my rankings, so far:

 

1. Pearl Islands (7): holy shit, that was a good season
2. Cagayan (28): damn, that Tony
3. Amazon (6): really enjoyed Rob C *and* Matt; there sure was a lot of sexism here; rough setting, too
4. Marquesas (4): Kathy and Robfather rocked
5. Australia (2): What the hell, I had a man crush on Colby too; enjoyed Tina's win
6. Africa (3): under-appreciated, really. The tribal twist made me laugh and laugh. So did Lex and his gut.
7. Borneo (1): I'm not being fair, but so many naive players really put a damper on this season
8. SJDS (29): lots of passive players; saved by Natalie winning
9. Thailand (5): damn, that Brian controlled everyone, didn't he? Really boring otherwise. I normally love outright domination like that, but we didn't get to see anyone else really try. Still think Shii-Ann is overrated. (I'm worried that I'll think of One World the same way; I wanna love Kim Spradling.)
10. WA (30): just awful editing; partially saved by Mike winning

Edited May 22, 2015 by cherrypj

[LadyChatts]

I never liked Outback as much as the others.  I was more about the colorful personalities that season (Jeff, Maralyn, Jerri, Alicia, Kimmi), and once Jerri left, I mentally checked out.  Too much about being nice that it reminded me of the first season of Big Brother.  Not that being nice is a bad thing, but it just seems a little too sickeningly sweet for me that season.  There seemed to be opportunities after the merge that people could have flipped, and maybe changed the course of the game, but they didn't.  Of course, the best part about that season was the flood and castoffs almost famishing on the beach, to where Jeff had to come in and rescue them with food.

 

Marquesas and Amazon-loved those seasons.  It was heart breaking losing Gina and Hunter before the merge, and I had always hoped they would get a second shot.  I guess Hunter had been asked but declined, and Gina was cut during AS.  How that season hasn't had more representation beyond Rob and Kathy I'll never understand.  Neleh, Sean, John, Paschal, even Vee and Tammy.  That was the first time they broke out the purple rocks, and according to Probst, it wasn't until they were drawing them that they realized there was a kink in the plan of how it was supposed to work.  Poor Paschal took the fall for a poorly thought out concept.  Although I remember the next day, he didn't show up at the final 3 TC because he had passed out and was ill, so maybe it was almost a blessing.  Amazon still ranks as my second favorite season ever.  Definitely one of the greatest casts ever put together, great challenges, loved the location.  Rob C gave some of his best confessionals during that season (loved when he did a mock Casey Kasem when he was voting out Roger).  Butch gathering too much firewood that helped burn the camp down, and crazy Matt with his machete.  I'm surprised he's never gotten a return invite.  Borneo remains my #1 just for being the original.  If I had to rank my top 10 favorites it would be:

 

1. Borneo (the original)

 

2. Amazon (see above)

 

3. Micronesia (Ozzy's blindside/Eliza's reaction, Ozzy's fake idol and the way it played out, Erik giving it his all to get Ami voted out over him, Amanda and Ozzy's love fest, Cirie, the black widow alliance, Penner, crazy Kathy, Erik giving up his immunity necklace at the final 5, the jury speeches, Parvati bowing out of the final 3 IC because she knew she was safe, Yau-Man slamming Fairplay's head into the boat to get the II at the start)

 

4. Cagayan (a concept that was straight of Big Brother's hand book, and that I expected to fail miserably.  But I needed that season after enduring Nicaragua, Caramoan, RI, and OW.  Sarah's blindside, Tony's paranoia and llama speak, Woo making a $900,000 mistake at the end, the idol hunt, crazy J'Tia, stealth ninja mode, Spencer proving even Probst wrong about his chances to succeed-probably my fave, when anyone can prove Jeff wrong on something, and Kass.  I didn't like Kass, don't want to see her again, but I admit if it wasn't for her, I'm not sure this season would have turned out so well).

 

5. Heroes vs Villains

 

6. Marquesas (see above, and also, because every season needs a coconut challenge)

 

7. Cook Islands (gave me Ozzy, the Aitu 4 underdogs triumphing, the whole race-divided tribes not being a cheesy gimmick that backfired, Billy thinking Candice actually fell in love with him out there, the challenges-probably one of my favorite seasons for challenges, Cao Boi, the surprise double vote at TC that sent Jenny packing, and the fire making challenge between Becky and Sundra).

 

8. China (even though it was a somewhat predictable merge, and I was disappointed Aaron got kicked off before that, the overall cast and some key moments like James's blindside made up for it.  Peih-Gee showed the one and only time it made sense to throw a challenge and get the result you wanted.  Also loved Courtney and her confessionals).

 

9. Africa (an underrated season, the first ever twist introduced and our first ever true 'battle of the ages' on a tribe)

 

10. Guatemala (also a very underrated season, and I'm sad that it still hasn't had any returnees make it back, for whatever reason).

 

Honorable mentions go to Pearl Islands, Tocantins, and BvsW

Edited May 22, 2015 by LadyChatts

[Oholibamah]

well, you got the game's motto of outwit, outlast, outplay, but in actuality, the players have hijacked the concept and turned it into, outwit, outplay, outlast, and likable..........mostly just likable

 

spencer from the tony winner season woulda vote for russell. boy's not bitter like most other sore losers.

i dont think russell went out of his way to alienate in HvV. in samoa, i dont quite remember but that statement is definitely not 100% true.

 

This poses an interesting question: do we think Spencer would have set aside his differences to vote for Kass over Woo? I personally doubt that very much. Kass wasn't exactly a great strategic mind, but was certainly more active in the game than useless lump Woo.

 

All this discussion of bullying has made me remember how much I dislike Tyson. He was awful to Sierra for no reason in Tocantins and said something like "I just like to tell people they're stupid and crush their dreams". But I don't remember him catching that much hatred over at TWOP. Am I wrong about that? 

 

To me, he always came across as sexist and as someone who would say things like "women aren't funny" because he is incredibly insecure and can't handle the idea of any competent, intelligent or personable woman. He also made some dumb comment about his girlfriend at the Blood vs. Water reunion that came off like she was some trophy for him (and yes, I know he was caring towards her during the season, but the reunion comment was dumb). 

 

And I have no idea why anyone thought he was compelling enough to bring back 3 times. 

 

I despised Tyson after his treatment of Sierra in Tocantins, but thawed a little during HvV and the first half of BvW. But his behavior toward Katie after she pulled the white rock was disgusting and brought my hatred back in full force. He played a decent, textbook game that season, but I just can't be that impressed after playing two of the worst games of all time.

 

I don't remember Phillip doing anything to Brandon?  Except just being Phillip.  I remember him getting the hell out of there when Brandon was dumping the rice etc which I thought was the right move.

Brandon should never have been cast, and especially not cast twice.  I blame the producers 100% for that, even if Phillip did do something.  I don't blame Brandon, he was a victim there.

 

I know this is post is old, but IIRC Phillip asked Brenda to pass him something from the shelter and Brandon took that as the straw that broke the camel's back re: Phillip's bossiness.

[laurakaye]

Slightly off-topic, but where do most of you go to watch old seasons of Survivor?  I think it's high time I revisited Cook Islands.

[LadyChatts]

Slightly off-topic, but where do most of you go to watch old seasons of Survivor?  I think it's high time I revisited Cook Islands.

 

I have CBS All Access, which has every season of Survivor (and Big Brother and The Amazing Race, if you are into those).  You get a week free, but then you have to pay each month if you want to keep it.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Cook Islands (gave me Ozzy, the Aitu 4 underdogs triumphing, the whole race-divided tribes not being a cheesy gimmick that backfired, Billy thinking Candice actually fell in love with him out there, the challenges-probably one of my favorite seasons for challenges, Cao Boi, the surprise double vote at TC that sent Jenny packing, and the fire making challenge between Becky and Sundra).

 

The water challenge between Aitu and Raro where all of the members of each tribe had to cross the water and then all fit onto the wooden plank.  This remains one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen on television.

 

Raro trying again and again to climb the plank and then all falling off at once -- I think someone at TWOP coined the phrase "Something something of tumbling Raros..."  hahaha!

 

And then everyone on Aitu doing everything slowly but steadily, all helping each other while doing so (Penner, Candice, Jessica, Becky, Yul, Ozzy, Sundra, and Cao Boi.)  Everyone puts their arms around everyone else and tries to hold on, Penner is coaching, Sundra climbs up, Ozzy wraps his arm around Sundra while cautiously looking over at Raro's progress, Yul climbs up, and tries to lift Cao Boi up too I believe.  Then Cao Boi FALLS into the water, then Yul tries to lift him up again.  At the very last second, Yul and Cao Boi each lift one of their feet in the air in a timed, calculated manner, and Aitu wins!

 

It's absolutely spectacular.

 

I saw it for the first time last summer and at that point, there was a YouTube of it, but can't find it now.  

 

I could get into how hard I fell for Ozzy during that season but it would be so embarrassing.  One of the coolest seasons for sure.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[LadyChatts]

CI had some good challenges for sure.  I loved the first challenge, where they had to assemble boats, go light a torch, bring it back and then assemble a ladder from their boat rungs to get up to their cauldron and light it.  They always used to do those fire-related challenges as the first IC.  I kind of miss those.  It used to be hysterical watching people on their rafts/boats, trying to make it back to shore with their torch lit, only to keep flipping over.

 

The RC where the mutiny happened, and they had to roll two of their tribe members in barrel out into the water, attach buoys, grab flags, and then float them back and dig up a hatchet to chop down their flag was another good one.  There was also a RC where they had code where flags represented letters, and put together a puzzle based off the flags.  I think my favorite one had to be the one with cannon balls, where they lined up their boat with a bag under the water, and when releasing the cannon ball, the bag would float to the top (I think it was a puzzle challenge).  Why that one stuck out was Jeff (being Jeff) kept talking about how badly Raro was doing, and Penner finally snapped back at him.  Jeff responded "Jonathan getting frustrated with me" without missing a beat.  It's when I fell in love with Jonathan.

[enlightenedbum]

Basically Cook Islands just had a ton of great characters.  And Parvati is way more appealing in retrospect.  Still kind of obnoxious if it's contained within that season.

 

And yeah, I think the challenge people peaked that season.  They had many, many good ideas, most of which Ozzy summarily destroyed, but whatever.