Past Seasons Talk: The Tribe Has Spoken

[Lantern7]

Funny115: Lisa/Blair on religion and Survivor

[AncientNewbie]

14 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Funny115: Lisa/Blair on religion and Survivor

 

I appreciate Mario trying, and with anyone else that probably would have been funnier...but they found child porn when searching Skupin's computer because of his Ponzi schemes. I really am okay with that guy not showing up again other than in the footnotes.

Edited May 12, 2020 by AncientNewbie

[cherrypj]

1 hour ago, AncientNewbie said:

I appreciate Mario trying, and with anyone else that probably would have been funnier...but they found child porn when searching Skupin's computer because of his Ponzi schemes. I really am okay with that guy not showing up again other than in the footnotes.

That was weird, yeah, because Mario had been extremely consistent calling Skoopin "Bob Johnson," complete with a black bar over his eyes. Why he didn't do that for this entry was a sour note.

Because Lisa W is probably my favorite player, and the non-"Bob Johnson" dragged down an otherwise good entry.

[Guest]

51 minutes ago, cherrypj said:

That was weird, yeah, because Mario had been extremely consistent calling Skoopin "Bob Johnson," complete with a black bar over his eyes. Why he didn't do that for this entry was a sour note.

Because Lisa W is probably my favorite player, and the non-"Bob Johnson" dragged down an otherwise good entry.

I was confused by that, too. Why did he suddenly ditch all that? He did get in a couple digs about it, though, so it's not like he's forgotten. Maybe he figured the references were sufficient, and adding the black bar was too much of a pain or was played out.

Edited to add: or, maybe he thought it was important to see Skupin's eyes, since where he was looking was kind of important to the whole point of the entry. I dunno, I think I reached my quota of thinking about Skupin, so I'm gonna go with that.

Edited May 12, 2020 by tracyscott76

[Lantern7]

Okay . . . so here I am, poking around, looking for stuff about Mystery Science Theater 3000. It turns out Mario has a half-completed list of his favorite episodes. I thought, "Yeah, he does other stuff besides Survivor, but I never get around to looking." So I scrolled down a little further on the main page and I found "Sandra Jesus-Twine." Basically, it's a mix of pictures of Jesus and Sandra's best quotes. It is so beautiful, you guys. So beautiful.

[peachmangosteen]

That made my day lol!

[fishcakes]

I burst out laughing at the "I'm against you, Russell" one.

[peachmangosteen]

I feel like I need to rewatch HvV now.

[Nashville]

7 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Okay . . . so here I am, poking around, looking for stuff about Mystery Science Theater 3000. It turns out Mario has a half-completed list of his favorite episodes. I thought, "Yeah, he does other stuff besides Survivor, but I never get around to looking." So I scrolled down a little further on the main page and I found "Sandra Jesus-Twine." Basically, it's a mix of pictures of Jesus and Sandra's best quotes. It is so beautiful, you guys. So beautiful.

Lord, I think I may have broke my dick laughing so hard at that shit.

🤣🤣🤣

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I feel like I need to rewatch HvV now.

Or you could just read this to save some time:

http://funny115.com/v2/2.htm

It's titled "The Fall of Russell Hantz" but it could just as well be titled "The Second Coming of Sandra". It's essentially Mario's detailed recap of the events of HvV, pointing out all the ways Russell was terrible at the game, with a LOT of Sandra.

[kstar821]

13 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Okay . . . so here I am, poking around, looking for stuff about Mystery Science Theater 3000. It turns out Mario has a half-completed list of his favorite episodes. I thought, "Yeah, he does other stuff besides Survivor, but I never get around to looking." So I scrolled down a little further on the main page and I found "Sandra Jesus-Twine." Basically, it's a mix of pictures of Jesus and Sandra's best quotes. It is so beautiful, you guys. So beautiful.

The 3rd picture where it says "I'm against you Russell" made me laugh so damn hard out loud. 😂

[enchantingmonkey]

After reading the last few posts, I decided I could use some of Sandra's snark in my life and started watching HvV again.  Her first line is, "Last time I was mean, and this time I'm meaner."  Ok, that's what I was looking for.  

I've not re-watched a season before, and episode 1 didn't hook me but episode 2 got my attention with Rob passing out, Heroes losing the Immunity challenge again, and James being pissed at Stephenie.  

When did they introduce Hidden Immunity Idols into the game?  Someone was asking where another tribe member had gone and there was no discussion of off looking for an idol, which is usually always what that scene is about nowadays.  

[peachmangosteen]

11 minutes ago, enchantingmonkey said:

When did they introduce Hidden Immunity Idols into the game?  Someone was asking where another tribe member had gone and there was no discussion of off looking for an idol, which is usually always what that scene is about nowadays.  

I wanna say Gary, I think his name was Gary Hoogenboom or something and he was a football player, was the first person to get one. I think he was in Guatemala.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, peachmangosteen said:

14 minutes ago, enchantingmonkey said:

When did they introduce Hidden Immunity Idols into the game?  Someone was asking where another tribe member had gone and there was no discussion of off looking for an idol, which is usually always what that scene is about nowadays.  

I wanna say Gary, I think his name was Gary Hoogenboom or something and he was a football player, was the first person to get one. I think he was in Guatemala.

Yeah, that was Season 11, but it was very different from how it's been recently. Judd won a clue to it, and Gary followed him and found it instead (it was very funny how it played out and part of why I think Season 11 is underrated). For the next few seasons, either the idols were on Exile Island (introduced in Season 12) or the clues were on Exile Island with the idols somewhere near the camps. They were much rarer, not being "reintroduced" after someone played one. The clues required some interpretation, too. I believe it was Russell who just started looking for them without clues, and that eventually became the standard.

I remember the HvV scene at the Villains camp where Russell went off by himself, and I thought the others did talk about how he was probably looking for an idol, because they had at least nominally agreed as a group not to look for one.

[LadyChatts]

3 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I wanna say Gary, I think his name was Gary Hoogenboom or something and he was a football player, was the first person to get one. I think he was in Guatemala.

Or Gary Hawkins, the landscaper 😉  That was the best alias and cover story.  I don't think he expected Danni of all people to blow it (and during a challenge).

Quote

Yeah, that was Season 11, but it was very different from how it's been recently. Judd won a clue to it, and Gary followed him and found it instead (it was very funny how it played out and part of why I think Season 11 is underrated). For the next few seasons, either the idols were on Exile Island (introduced in Season 12) or the clues were on Exile Island with the idols somewhere near the camps. They were much rarer, not being "reintroduced" after someone played one. The clues required some interpretation, too. I believe it was Russell who just started looking for them without clues, and that eventually became the standard.

I forgot until I went back to watch old seasons how much they use to use clues to find the idol.  That was when Exile Island was also in play for a few seasons, where they would get the clues in most cases.  I do think it was better back then and more strategic when you had clues.  Rather than now just finding a tree trunk or rock, where they always hide them.  At least they use to try and make it tough.  And while I do prefer the HII being played before the vote, it was kind of cool watching back a season like Cook Islands, where Yul could use it as a bargaining chip to get people on his side.

Edited May 18, 2020 by LadyChatts

[AncientNewbie]

There are pluses and minuses to how Idols have evolved over time, I guess, but I'm also going to like the seasons (probably for many reasons) where there was either a single idol or a single one at a time. S13, to me, is one of the more compelling because of how the idol caused different strategic moves among the players. Likewise S17 shaped the way it did in part because of who had the idol and who knew it.

[peachmangosteen]

11 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I forgot until I went back to watch old seasons how much they use to use clues to find the idol. 

I always remember Sugar finding it after going through like a swamp or something and shit. Now people just walk up to a tree and it falls in their hand.

I like HIIs because they can really help the game be less predictable. I think the biggest problem with them now, even more so than how easy they are to find, is that there are so many of them. As soon as Cirie was booted even though she received no votes, TPTB should have realized there's just too many idols/advantages. But no, they loved that shit lol.

[Lamb18]

I thought Yul had the first idol, but I don't remember which number his season was.

[LadyChatts]

5 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I always remember Sugar finding it after going through like a swamp or something and shit. Now people just walk up to a tree and it falls in their hand.

I like HIIs because they can really help the game be less predictable. I think the biggest problem with them now, even more so than how easy they are to find, is that there are so many of them. As soon as Cirie was booted even though she received no votes, TPTB should have realized there's just too many idols/advantages. But no, they loved that shit lol.

I have a love/hate relationship with the idols for the reasons you mentioned.  It was better when people just weren't out in the jungle and knew to look in trees.  Fiji and China (the last two seasons I watched), had clues and they were hidden at camp.  In China, they were hidden on the tribe's respective camp sign, which is in view of everyone.  In Fiji, they were buried at camp.  So it could make it a challenge.  And there were clues, which some tribes members strategically shared together to try and find it.

I think once an idol is played it should be out of play.  Hide one at each respective camp, one at the merge, and that be it.  And yes, idols are one thing, but then throwing in every advantage out there...seriously, I really think Jeff wants to get to a TC where no one gets voted off because somehow they have some sort of safety.  Which I can't say would be really exciting, but I can see Probst's wide eyed, jaw dropping reaction as to what great TV he thinks it'll be. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, Lamb18 said:

I thought Yul had the first idol, but I don't remember which number his season was.

13.   But the posters upthread are talking about Season 11, so then Yul was not first.

They had to introduce idols unfortunately because I'm watching all the old seasons right now and all of the losing tribes get Pagong'd.  It's too predictable and boring.

Edited May 18, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Guest]

One innovation with hiding idols that I liked was I think in Second Chance (31) when they hid an idol at a challenge. Jeremy had gotten a clue that told him roughly where on the challenge course it would be, but it was up to him to grab it when no one was looking. Kelley Wentworth did this too, but I can't remember if that was also in Second Chance or on the first Edge of Extinction season.

Stuff like that (and hiding the idols as part of the camp signs in China, as mentioned above), shows that they can come up with new quirks with hidden immunity idols that are still interesting and require some effort beyond the tired "get up early and go truffle hunting" that happens over and over.

[SVNBob]

9 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

One innovation with hiding idols that I liked was I think in Second Chance (31) when they hid an idol at a challenge. Jeremy had gotten a clue that told him roughly where on the challenge course it would be, but it was up to him to grab it when no one was looking. Kelley Wentworth did this too, but I can't remember if that was also in Second Chance or on the first Edge of Extinction season.

It was Second Chance, and she did it first.

[enchantingmonkey]

In my HvVs' re-watch, Probst asks Jerri the biggest difference between now (S20) and her first season.  She says something about how it's Game-On right from the start, which made me think of the many times we heard that from old-school players on season 40.  Perhaps it always feels like the game has passed you by when you've been gone for awhile?  

Does anyone know why Danielle was on HvV?  She's almost pointless.

Sandra makes for great comedy relief.  

[Steph Sometimes]

I decided to start some rewatches because who knows when the next season is coming. I feel like some of the early seasons are so iconic and have been etched in my brain that a rewatch isn't necessary. I'm sick of Rob and plan to avoid any season with a Hantz (I may change my mind with HvV). I decided to start with Pearl Islands. So much has been said about the Queen (I still love her) and Rupert and Fairplay (love them much less), but I'm somewhat fascinated by Christa. She's just so odd.

Has anyone done a rewatch and completely changed their opinion on someone?

[LadyChatts]

4 hours ago, enchantingmonkey said:

In my HvVs' re-watch, Probst asks Jerri the biggest difference between now (S20) and her first season.  She says something about how it's Game-On right from the start, which made me think of the many times we heard that from old-school players on season 40.  Perhaps it always feels like the game has passed you by when you've been gone for awhile?  

Does anyone know why Danielle was on HvV?  She's almost pointless.

Sandra makes for great comedy relief.  

I think nowadays everyone is looking to build a resume and make big moves.  Parvati mentioned this season how surprised she was that people would make an alliance and have no problem breaking it, as in her original seasons people got together and typically stayed loyal.  I've seen it mentioned a few times by old school returning players that there's just constant strategizng going on at camp, more than they were use to in their previous seasons.  I don't know, if because idols and advantages came into play and complicated it more or what, but I do think it's more about creating a resume and a character for one self to be remembered long after the season ends.  New school players have said that the constant running around is just the way it is now.  

As for Danielle, I'm guessing she had to be a last minute addition, because her inclusion never made much sense (I could argue the same for Candice).  And I don't think Probst liked her that much, so I doubt he was pushing for her to come back on.

[enchantingmonkey]

50 minutes ago, Steph Sometimes said:

Has anyone done a rewatch and completely changed their opinion on someone?

Watching Russell Hantz in HvV is more amusing on this re-watch.  I really hated him when this season originally aired to the point that I wouldn't be surprised to find out that I had FF through his confessionals.  But I'm intrigued by his crush on Parvati, and I enjoyed his rivalry with Boston Rob in the early episodes.  

And speaking of Boston Rob, I'm not a fan but I didn't mind him on this re-watch, which surprised me a little.  

[Steph Sometimes]

1 hour ago, enchantingmonkey said:

Watching Russell Hantz in HvV is more amusing on this re-watch.  I really hated him when this season originally aired to the point that I wouldn't be surprised to find out that I had FF through his confessionals.  But I'm intrigued by his crush on Parvati, and I enjoyed his rivalry with Boston Rob in the early episodes.  

And speaking of Boston Rob, I'm not a fan but I didn't mind him on this re-watch, which surprised me a little.  

I cannot stand Russell (or his nephew who shouldn't have been on once, let alone twice) and still rank Samoa as one of the worst seasons ever because of how it seemed to only be Russell to the point where they'd go to council or show the jury and I felt like I didn't know who anyone was. So I'll definitely skip that season.

I like Rob best when he's not running the show and found him most tolerable in HvV. Maybe it's because he looked good compared to Russell and maybe because he was aligned with Sandra and Courtney and I enjoy both of them. I do like Rob and Sandra playing off each other. I'm on the fence about rewatching even though I enjoy so many people on the season.

[Nashville]

13 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Parvati mentioned this season how surprised she was that people would make an alliance and have no problem breaking it, as in her original seasons people got together and typically stayed loyal.

Guess Parvati must’ve missed the entirety of DvG and their constant rehashing of the difference between alliances and voting blocs, and Peachy at EVERY. FREAKING. TRIBAL. COUNCIL. acting like the very notion of voting blocs was the biggest innovation in Survivor gameplay history and the greatest thing since sliced bread - even though the notion goes all the way back to Fishbach in Cambodia.

[AncientNewbie]

Picking up on a couple of threads...with minimal clarity.

I do agree "the game is faster" but I blame some of that on production changes. When your first couple of days are supposed to be building a fence to keep lions away or getting fire to boil water, it's harder to go straight into FT strategy mode. I will always miss that part of the game, as I felt it also impacted tribe and alliance dynamics a lot.

I feel like I'm at risk of losing my superfan card with this, but Danielle was a replacement but I can't remember the detail (or if not a replacement, they had to go several names down the list to get to her.) HvV had several changes in production that resulted in a fair amount of H and V shuffling to separate people that knew each other or played together before.

[fishcakes]

8 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

I feel like I'm at risk of losing my superfan card with this, but Danielle was a replacement but I can't remember the detail (or if not a replacement, they had to go several names down the list to get to her.) HvV had several changes in production that resulted in a fair amount of H and V shuffling to separate people that knew each other or played together before.

The Survivor Wiki has the rundown of who was initially invited and then replaced because they either declined or were cut. It looks like Corrine was the first choice but she declined so Danielle replaced her.

The puzzling thing to me is that Candice was always considered for the Heroes tribe, but after her mutiny in Cook Islands, I don't see how anyone could see her as anything but a villain. Much later in BvW, she became a hero by revealing Culpepper's full name, but they couldn't have known that at the time they were casting HvV.

ETA: OMG, it wasn't Candice. It was Marissa. I've been worshipping the wrong person as a goddess all along.

 

Edited May 21, 2020 by fishcakes
religious crisis

[Guest]

From that Survivor wiki article: 

"Shii Ann Huang (Declined because she had just given birth.)

[...]

Sandra Diaz-Twine replaced Shii Ann Huang."

THANK YOU SHII ANN'S BABY YOUR TIMING WAS PERFECT

[Eolivet]

1 hour ago, Nashville said:

Guess Parvati must’ve missed the entirety of DvG and their constant rehashing of the difference between alliances and voting blocs, and Peachy at EVERY. FREAKING. TRIBAL. COUNCIL. acting like the very notion of voting blocs was the biggest innovation in Survivor gameplay history

That was David vs Goliath? I thought Millennials vs Gen X harped on that, too (featuring Hannah's "trust cluster." It's not a voting bloc! It's not an alliance! It's somewhere in between!) Or people just had very short memories, acting like every season was the biggest innovation in Survivor game play history.

[KimberStormer]

Do people still think Sandra is the best for some reason now that she's lost as much as she's won?

[Lantern7]

Funny115: Mario takes the piss out of Will. And also Dan, because Dan is Dan, and Dan will always suck.

2 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

Do people still think Sandra is the best for some reason now that she's lost as much as she's won?

I don't think so. I was/am a fan of her, so my opinion might not be as valid. She beat Lil Morris. who had taken the Outcast route and was the subject of a stomping from the jury. But once again: she didn't kill Jon or Russell in their sleep. That makes her a queen in my book.

Also: if Natalie had won W@W, would the season had been tainted like Chris Underwood's win? Once again, I'm biased towards her. Editors probably set up extra stuff to do on EoE so that someone coming back wouldn't be a rando like Chris. But as much as I say Tony hustled for his wins, Natalie worked to get fire tokens, and she validated that and EoE*. Also, as a woman, a win for her would have chapped Probst so bad.

*Possible minus: she may have validated the return of Fire Tokens. Ditto Edge of Extinction, though Probst said that's gone, and I want to believe him.

ETA: Clicked the HvV casting link. Shii Ann and Twila were listed as Villains. On what fucking planet would they be considered the bad guys?!?

ETA2: And so was Vecepia. Boy, the blowback would have been tremendous by that categorization.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Lantern7

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

ETA: Clicked the HvV casting link. Shii Ann and Twila were listed as Villains. On what fucking planet would they be considered the bad guys?!?

ETA2: And so was Vecepia. Boy, the blowback would have been tremendous by that categorization.

Shii Ann I could almost buy as a villain, with her self-appointed "Shii Devil" nickname, her sort-of mutiny to the other tribe after the non-merge, and her "Screw you guys!" routine after her challenge win in All-Stars.

Twila and Vecepia? No clue. Danielle wasn't really a villain, either, but there she was. And I would make a case for CIRIE actually being a Villain after FvF (and Amanda, I guess, but eh.) But these designations in the theme seasons are always a little suspect.

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

Do people still think Sandra is the best for some reason now that she's lost as much as she's won?

Forget this, people (TPTB lol) still think Rob is the best!

7 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

And so was Vecepia. Boy, the blowback would have been tremendous by that categorization.

Vecepia was going to be considered a villain for HvV?! I mean, as @tracyscott76 said, the designations on theme seasons are often bad but that's a doozy lol.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Also I just rewatched Panama/Exile/S12 and Danielle is not a "Villain".  Who is she the villain to, the supposed hero "Terry"?  Give me a break. To me, Casaya were the heroes of the whole thing.  So putting Danielle on the Villains tribe confuses me.  Then again, she's not a hero either.  I guess that makes her a Villain.  

13 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

Shii Ann I could almost buy as a villain, with her self-appointed "Shii Devil" nickname, her sort-of mutiny to the other tribe after the non-merge, and her "Screw you guys!" routine after her challenge win in All-Stars.

Twila and Vecepia? No clue. Danielle wasn't really a villain, either, but there she was. And I would make a case for CIRIE actually being a Villain after FvF (and Amanda, I guess, but eh.) But these designations in the theme seasons are always a little suspect.

When we're talking All-Stars - again, I see Shii Ann as the hero.  She was the underdog and people were so awful towards her about it.  Jenna Lewis is the villain, Shii Ann is the hero.  She never said "Screw you".  She just cheered really loudly that she won the IC.  Because she had to, or she'd be kicked out.  I don't get why that offended so many.   The worst thing she said was "Take that".  LOL.  So?

@ 2:40:

If you posit YauMan as a hero at Micronesia - then yeah, Cirie was villainous towards him.  LOL.  Erik too, but Erik was more like the court jester.  

I definitely see Vecepia as a hero, but I never bothered to watch the last episode.  I guess if Kathy is posit as the hero, then Vecepia is the villain, but that seems like BS.

I wish Shane Powers was brought back.  I'm so damn sad watching Panama and realizing he is one of the most fascinating personalities I've ever seen on the show.

Edited May 22, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Guest]

10 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

When we're talking All-Stars - again, I see Shii Ann as the hero.  She was the underdog and people were so awful towards her about it.  Jenna Lewis is the villain, Shii Ann is the hero.  She never said "Screw you".  She just cheered really loudly that she won the IC.  Because she had to, or she'd be kicked out.  I don't get why that offended so many.   The worst thing she said was "Take that".  LOL.  So?

Well the "Screw you guys" wasn't really meant to be taken literally, it was a South Park reference. But is yelling "Take that!" and pointing really all that different from "screw you"? I'm not saying she was some awful person, just trying to come up with a reason for putting her on the villains tribe.

And it's all about perception, as so many things are. Where one person sees an underdog being treated terribly, another sees someone who was on the wrong side of the numbers and was kind of petulant about it when the majority alliance wouldn't do what she wanted. Obviously she needed to try to break them up and keep herself in the game, but calling them stupid people and stupid players because they wouldn't save her wasn't exactly heroic in my view. And yelling "Take that!" at people you're trying to get on your side isn't necessarily smart, either.

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Hey guys, I'm rewatching Season 15/ China.

At some random point early on, the tribes each get to pick 2 other players on the other team to have.  One team gets James Clement and Aaron (two very strong guys) and the other tribe gets Sherea and Frosti.

This is extremely extremely detrimental to these 4 people's games and seems unfair.

Does anyone think that this shakeup happened deliberately because James was so damn strong and his team kept dominating?

I know there's all these statements that the show probably makes that they don't do shakeups in the middle of the season / as the season's going on, and that everything is planned out fairly and far in advance, but I can't help but think this is a weird twist.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[LadyChatts]

55 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Hey guys, I'm rewatching Season 15/ China.

At some random point early on, the tribes each get to pick 2 other players on the other team to have.  One team gets James Clement and Aaron (two very strong guys) and the other tribe gets Sherea and Frosti.

This is extremely extremely detrimental to these 4 people's games and seems unfair.

Does anyone think that this shakeup happened deliberately because James was so damn strong and his team kept dominating?

I know there's all these statements that the show probably makes that they don't do shakeups in the middle of the season / as the season's going on, and that everything is planned out fairly and far in advance, but I can't help but think this is a weird twist.

I just finished watching this season (and forgot how much I enjoyed it).  I liked Aaron, and I can't say I cared for James much on re-watch, so I was sad that Aaron left and not James.  I'm kind of surprised that NuZhan Hu didn't get rid of James, since their goal seemed to be to lose so Sherea and Frosti wouldn't get voted off on the other side.  I also blame the 'kidnap a member of the opposing tribe' twist in the RC, because when Zhan Hu got to kidnap Leslie, she was just like an endless flow of information of what was going on at her tribe's camp, including that Aaron was running things and a leader.  That obviously didn't help him.  

I think this was the equivalent of a tribe swap with a twist.  Kind of like the school yard pick 'em swaps (like happened in Fiji), or the swaps happening in a challenge type of thing (like Guatemala), It probably was going to happen regardless, and it didn't help that Fei Long was more stacked than Zhan Hu.  Actually, on paper I'd almost argue the tribes looked about equal in strength, so I'm wondering if it was a surprise that Zhan Hu had a bad losing streak.  But I don't think it was done solely because Fei Long was handily winning over Zhan Hu.  I read once that they claim that everything is planned out well before the season starts and that they don't add or take anything away when the season is going to purposely affect the outcome.  I probably believed that more in the early days, not sure if I would know.     

Edited May 23, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Ms Blue Jay]

I thought that the kidnapping thing was extremely strange too.  Everything up until then had been influenced by Chinese culture.  But the kidnapping thing came out of nowhere.  It was like , are you saying that kidnapping is part of Chinese culture?  I found it extremely strange.

Oh my god, James thinks that Courtney is so stupid for falling for Frosti in China, "You don't make friends on Survivor.  This ain't Love Connection!"  What happened to him in Micronesia?  LOL!  Oh, James.

James also calls the Immunity Idol "Immunization" at one point.  Everything he says this season is pure gold.

Holy shit James just called Todd a "Stewardess."  Good lord!!

Jean Robert called it the "American Immunity Idol".  Hahahahahhaahahahahahah

Edited May 23, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

If people play back to back seasons, how much rest time do they get?

[LadyChatts]

15 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I thought that the kidnapping thing was extremely strange too.  Everything up until then had been influenced by Chinese culture.  But the kidnapping thing came out of nowhere.  It was like , are you saying that kidnapping is part of Chinese culture?  I found it extremely strange.

Oh my god, James thinks that Courtney is so stupid for falling for Frosti in China, "You don't make friends on Survivor.  This ain't Love Connection!"  What happened to him in Micronesia?  LOL!  Oh, James.

James also calls the Immunity Idol "Immunization" at one point.  Everything he says this season is pure gold.

Holy shit James just called Todd a "Stewardess."  Good lord!!

Jean Robert called it the "American Immunity Idol".  Hahahahahhaahahahahahah

One reason I liked the kidnapping element was that was how the idol clues were handed out.  And that was how Todd was able to figure out where the idols were hidden at both camps (I mean, I think he assumed it was hidden at the same spot at the Zhan Hu camp).  I don't really know why, other than just to add something different.  Was this the last time they did the kidnapping twist?  I kind of wish they'd bring that back.  

As I said, my opinion of James changed after watching this again.  I thought he came off as a quitter (when he was swapped to Zhan Hu), a bully (after the merge), and kind of boring otherwise.  That said, he did have some good one liners.  And I noticed he kept talking about "taking a bite out of that apple", much like he did in Micronesia.  

I think one of my favorite moments was when Amanda and Todd knew James had the HII, and when people would come to them with that information (not realizing they both knew, and were in an alliance with James), they did a good job playing dumb.  Especially Jean-Roberte when he thought he was the only one who knew about the idols in the game, and I think Erik was the one who told them that everyone knew, and that James had two.  You can tell this is old school era when there was even a debate whether an idol was hidden or not.   

Quote

If people play back to back seasons, how much rest time do they get?

Nowadays the seasons film March-May, and end of May/beginning of June until mid/end of July.  So the turnaround is quicker.  I don't even think Zeke or Michaela went home when they filmed MvsGX and then Game Changers.  Back in the older seasons, I think there was a few weeks break; seasons usually filmed in the spring/summer (for the fall season), and in the fall (for the spring season).  

Edited May 23, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Ms Blue Jay]

10 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

As I said, my opinion of James changed after watching this again.  I thought he came off as a quitter (when he was swapped to Zhan Hu), a bully (after the merge), and kind of boring otherwise.  That said, he did have some good one liners.  And I noticed he kept talking about "taking a bite out of that apple", much like he did in Micronesia.  

Hmmmm.   I disagree!  When he was swapped, Peih-Gee and Jamie threw the challenge, remember?  And all James did was tell them to concentrate and stop acting like silly girls.  He was trying his damndest to win the challenge with all of these new people.  He had zero. idea. that they were throwing the challenge and he didn't get that until Tribal Council when Jeff barked at them until they admitted it.  P & J's plan was to throw the challenges first to get rid of Aaron (which they did) and then James (but things changed, things got murky, I forget what.). I don't see when or how James quit anything.

Bully?  Who?  I'm watching and Peih-Gee attacked James after losing some challenge.  James tells her to go away.  I don't see how that's bullying.

I love him in this season.  His speech about how Denise is a good woman and that if she were younger or he were older "Denise would be in trouble" is one of the best things I've seen on this show.

James went home with two idols.  I *guess* that the show wasn't sophisticated enough back then that they replanted anything?  

Edited May 23, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[LadyChatts]

3 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Hmmmm.   I disagree!  When he was swapped, Peih-Gee and Jamie threw the challenge, remember?  And all James did was tell them to concentrate and stop acting like silly girls.  He was trying his damndest to win the challenge with all of these new people.  He had zero. idea. they were throwing the challenge and he didn't get that until Tribal Council when Jeff barked at them until they admitted it.

Bully?  Who?  I'm watching and Peih-Gee attacked James after losing some challenge.  James tells her to go away.  I don't see how that's bullying.

I love him in this season.  

James went home with two idols.  I *guess* that the show wasn't sophisticated enough back then that they replanted anything?  

I was taking more after the merge.  There was a group challenge, where he was teamed up with Peih Gee and two others, and his team ended up losing.  Peih-Gee tried explaining herself after, as he seemed to blame her, but he pretty much told her to shut up and go away.  It reminded me of how he acted towards Stephenie in HvsV.  

Also, my opinion of Peih-Gee actually changed for the worst (I guess?) after re-watch.  I forgot how unbearable she was pre-merge and even early merge.  Jamie was bad too, and they acted like a couple of pre-schoolers when it came to throwing that challenge.  So it was kind of fitting that when Peih-Gee tried telling Sherea at the next RC what they did and she ignored them, making them question their decision.  

Considering that they actually made finding idols difficult back then (in this season, they were hidden on the tribe's respective signs), and there was no Exile Island to go to to get clues, I guess it made sense they wouldn't re-hide them.  Which again, shows what an old school era this was.

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

I was taking more after the merge.  There was a group challenge, where he was teamed up with Peih Gee and two others, and his team ended up losing.  Peih-Gee tried explaining herself after, as he seemed to blame her, but he pretty much told her to shut up and go away.  It reminded me of how he acted towards Stephenie in HvsV.  

James did not blame PG.  PG blamed James.  That was the whole discussion. What happened is that Peih-Gee began attacking him immediately after the challenge.  She said "And you accused me of throwing a challenge?  How dare you.  You walked so slowly back to the mat every time."  Peih-Gee instigated the whole thing, and by the way completely lied about throwing the earlier challenge.  Then James said Go away.  So, yeah.  Uh, I don't see how that makes James a quitter.  But agree to disagree.

Edited May 23, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[LadyChatts]

26 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

James did not blame PG.  PG blamed James.  That was the whole discussion. What happened is that Peih-Gee began attacking him immediately after the challenge.  She said "And you accused me of throwing a challenge?  How dare you.  You walked so slowly back to the mat every time."  Peih-Gee instigated the whole thing, and by the way completely lied about throwing the earlier challenge.  Then James said Go away.  So, yeah.  Uh, I don't see how that makes James a quitter.  But agree to disagree.

I don't know if we're talking about the same challenge.  Also, when I said James was a quitter, it was after the swap, when he basically was giving up because he was outnumbered on the other side.  And it was after they threw the challenge.  He saw the writing on the wall.  He wouldn't be the first (or last) to be screwed by a swap.  I do think Aaron was booted over him, likely due to what Leslie had told Zhan Hu when she was there.  That's the only thing that made sense.  The only reason he seemed to get any life back into him was when he got the idols.  We can agree to disagree!  

[Ms Blue Jay]

The only time Peih-Gee and James fought was a challenge where P, James, Todd, and Denise played against Frosti , Courtney, Amanda, and Eric.  It was banging balls on a drum.  

After the challenge, PG came to yell at James for not playing hard enough.

There's no other instance where PG and James had a conflict.

I tried to YouTube it, but here's all there is.  He seems pretty flabbergasted that PG tried to blame him for the loss.

 

Edited May 23, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[enchantingmonkey]

It was fun re-watching Russell Hantz self-sabotage during HvV.  I'd forgotten how hard the jury was on him, basically telling him he had no chance of winning.  I'm sure I was overjoyed with how the jury treated him when the season aired but I was more forgiving of how he played his game this time around.  It made me wonder if there have been players post-Russell that used his cutthroat tactics and won the game.  Any good examples of this?       

[Guest]

39 minutes ago, enchantingmonkey said:

It was fun re-watching Russell Hantz self-sabotage during HvV.  I'd forgotten how hard the jury was on him, basically telling him he had no chance of winning.  I'm sure I was overjoyed with how the jury treated him when the season aired but I was more forgiving of how he played his game this time around.  It made me wonder if there have been players post-Russell that used his cutthroat tactics and won the game.  Any good examples of this?       

I'd say there are certainly some post-Russell winners who played a similar "detached", merciless game (Rob, Tyson, and Sarah, for example) but none of them had the same in-your-face "I think I'm smarter and better than all of you and I have no problem letting you know that" style. Tyson perhaps came closest, but it was leavened by his brand of humor, which Russell did not have. So generally, I'd say Russell's tactics have not been used by any winners.