Past Seasons Talk: The Tribe Has Spoken

[Ms Blue Jay]

11 minutes ago, kstar821 said:

I'm laughing because I'm from Philly.

Nobody's accent was worse than Stephenie.  I knew that was a homegirl before it even showed where she was from. 😂

100% I have an accent too, but I wouldn't know how to recognize it!

[kstar821]

Ms Blue Jay - are you from Philly, too?

I think all us Philadelphians sound normal. 😄

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, kstar821 said:

Ms Blue Jay - are you from Philly, too?

LOL, no.  My comment is just meant to convey that I totally understand that everyone on Earth has an "accent".  I just don't know anyone from Philly so Gervase's accent is funny and cute to me.  I wasn't making fun in a bad way or anything.

1 hour ago, kstar821 said:

I think all us Philadelphians sound normal. 😄

Yes, I sound normal to myself too, that's what I meant by "I wouldn't know how to recognize it".  🙂

Are you saying that Stephenie is from Philly too?  I always wondered.

Edited June 11, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Nashville]

3 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

Yeah, Vytas' brand of assholery was more subtle, but it was there no doubt. In addition to all of the above, I seem to recall a scene between Aras and Vytas when they were both on Redemption Island, where Aras said that he would root for Vytas if he got back in the game and Aras didn't, and Vytas said "I can't say the same." wtf???

It’s been a while, but IIRC I initially considered Aras pretty much a nonentity on a personal level; a nice enough guy, but not outstanding in either overwhelmingly positive or negative personality traits.  Kinda the human version of vanilla.  
 

It wasn’t until BvW’s introduction of brother Vytas and the exposure of their family dynamic that I finally found Aras truly interesting - and I felt bad for Aras.  It seemed pretty obvious - to me, anyway (and yeah, these are ALL nothing but my own personal impressions):

• Vytas had always been pretty outstanding at fulfilling the stereotypical role of Family Screwup.
• Younger brother Aras had always strove to (over-) compensate at being the Good Son, in an attempt to restore balance to the family dynamic - a role at which he was generally successful (at being the Good Son, anyway).
• Vytas was (a) more than a tad narcissistic, (b) generally felt petulant at life’s “unfairness”, and (c) resented Aras as the family Golden Boy whose successes (in VytasVision, anyway) highlighted Vytas’ failures.
• Aras was pretty much a genuinely nice guy - but he had never fully shaken his younger-brother hero worship of older brother Vytas, and still often (constantly?) strove for Vytas’ approval.
• Vytas recognized this in his younger brother, and (like most narcissists) had zero problems with attempting to manipulate Aras for Vytas’ own advantage - usually by denying Aras the approval Vytas knew he sought.

TL;DR: Aras = nice guy, Vytas = douche.

[kstar821]

42 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

LOL, no.  My comment is just meant to convey that I totally understand that everyone on Earth has an "accent".  I just don't know anyone from Philly so Gervase's accent is funny and cute to me.  I wasn't making fun in a bad way or anything.

Yes, I sound normal to myself too, that's what I meant by "I wouldn't know how to recognize it".  🙂

Are you saying that Stephenie is from Philly too?  I always wondered.

Oh yes.  Stephenie is the epitome of Philly.  She sounds and acts exactly like my cousin's wife who was raised in South Philly.  I love it.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I deleted my post because it felt mean - let's just say I'm not a fan of Ciera.  LOL

Edited June 11, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[fishcakes]

8 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

I mean, I'm not trying to slander Terry, but I wouldn't really be surprised if a macho man of his age and career had some sexist views that he expressed at camp. Or is Aras was just odd enough that his mind would go there as a way to insult someone. It's just such as odd scene as it paints them both in a negative light that, even if you're putting it there to show a heated rivalry between gentlemen, I would root against both. 

I'm surprised no one has come in to slander Terry since you posted this. For a dull guy, he inspires a lot of rage. I don't remember Terry saying a ton of sexist things, but his reply to Aras during the conversation you mentioned did stick out to me because he said something about how of course he respected women and you could ask any of the flight attendants at his airline if that wasn't so, at which point I heard a collective "AHEM!" from all the women pilots at his airline. It could be that he cluelessly said similar, mildly sexist things around camp, probably calling all the women "gals" and whatnot. He seems paternalistic and out-of-date, but not malignant or anything.

4 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

Yeah, Vytas' brand of assholery was more subtle, but it was there no doubt. In addition to all of the above, I seem to recall a scene between Aras and Vytas when they were both on Redemption Island, where Aras said that he would root for Vytas if he got back in the game and Aras didn't, and Vytas said "I can't say the same." wtf???

Oh that's right; I forgot about that scene. Yeah, for some reason Vytas blamed Aras for ruining his game. He was also so envious and bitter about Aras having previously won the game. It would have killed him if Aras won again, especially in a season that Vytas played.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I just recently saw S12 and I wish I could post an educated reply about all of this, but I've watched at least 10 seasons back to back and everything is getting muddled.

I agree, that nothing Terry sticks out to me as malignant or ANYTHING like that, and the way the show was edited, Aras's comment seemed to come out of nowhere. Also, Terry was clearly very upset by it, and Aras owned up to the whole thing and apologized.

But, something is sticking in the back of my brain, like maybe Terry said SOMETHING to make Aras think that about him.  But because I can't grab for any hard evidence, it doesn't seem fair for me to comment.  So, it was either totally technique on Aras's part to upset Terry, which is terribly immature, but Aras was in his early 20s (LOL), or Terry had said some comments to perhaps make Cirie, Aras, Danielle feel that way about him, I have no idea.  I have to take the side of it being Aras immature, or at the very worst, Terry perhaps being a little clueless like Fishcakes is saying.

11 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I'm surprised no one has come in to slander Terry since you posted this. For a dull guy, he inspires a lot of rage. I don't remember Terry saying a ton of sexist things, but his reply to Aras during the conversation you mentioned did stick out to me because he said something about how of course he respected women and you could ask any of the flight attendants at his airline if that wasn't so, at which point I heard a collective "AHEM!" from all the women pilots at his airline.

Or the male flight attendants, who I'm sure also exist!

Vytas talks about how Aras was the "golden boy" and won all these things in high school, was a great athlete who got a scholarship to a great school, blah blah.  But maybe Aras felt pressure to be a good kid for the sake of his parents after Vytas was such a gigantic fuck up.  Or maybe Aras really is such a good kid.  The whole thing is weird.

The biggest thing I took away from S12 and S31 is that I can't believe Shane Powers wasn't chosen for Second Chances.  I'm kind of devastated about the whole thing, to be honest.  I'm very curious about how many votes he received and the vote totals.  The fact that Jeff Varner got to play 3 times and Shane only once is the absolute worst.

Another thing about S31.  Fishbach is edited extremely well in S18, but edited extremely poorly in S31, especially in the first few episodes where they make him seem like an ineffectual, clueless Magoo.  The difference is extraordinary.  

Edited June 11, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[peachmangosteen]

The only things I remember about Terry are that I hated him and that he told Aras spouses were more important than parents. Oh, and Aras' "Somebody call the wambulance" or whatever quote that I believe was in reference to Terry.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

The only things I remember about Terry are that I hated him and that he told Aras spouses were more important than parents. Oh, and Aras' "Somebody call the wambulance" or whatever quote that I believe was in reference to Terry.

Oh my god, that was it!  I think that was the comment!!!!!

So Terry won the family challenge and he gave first place to himself, second place to Shane and his son (I guess because Shane was having mental breakdowns and talking to his son on his "Blackberry" which was a rock), third place to Cirie and her husband and didn't give anything to Aras or Danielle.  Aras's family member was his mother.

So Terry was like, I hope you all understand where I'm coming from.  You'll never know a love like having a wife, you just had your mother out there.  (Not quoting exactly, but something like that).  And obviously Aras was pretty hurt by that and said he loved his mother very much and he needed to see her as much as anyone, even though he wasn't married and didn't have kids.

[Guest]

8 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Another thing about S31.  Fishbach is edited extremely well in S18, but edited extremely poorly in S31, especially in the first few episodes where they make him seem like an ineffectual, clueless Magoo.  The difference is extraordinary. 

Extraordinary is exactly right. S18 Stephen was the smart, level-headed strategist who was shown to be nerdy in a cool way (a la Yul), like remembering a code in a challenge by breaking it down into phone number length or something like that. S31 Stephen was a weepy mess haunted by losing to JT and therefore obsessed with not losing to another "golden boy" (Joe), and the show never lost an opportunity to show him flailing at a challenge. It was so bizarre. 

5 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

So Terry was like, I hope you all understand where I'm coming from.  You'll never know a love like having a wife, you just had your mother out there.  (Not quoting exactly, but something like that).  And obviously Aras was pretty hurt by that and said he loved his mother very much and he needed to see her as much as anyone, even though he wasn't married and didn't have kids.

This was the low point for Terry to me. He was so condescending in that conversation. However, my ongoing issue with Terry wasn't even really his fault. His tribe came into the merge down in numbers, but he had an immunity idol. He kept winning the immunity challenges and could have given his idol to one of his tribemates, but he didn't, so they were voted out one by one. It just irritated me to see nice people like Nick, Austin and Sally get voted out while smug Terry kept hanging in there.

Again, not his fault, but he was dead to me after that XD 

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 minute ago, tracyscott76 said:

This was the low point for Terry to me. He was so condescending in that conversation. However, my ongoing issue with Terry wasn't even really his fault. His tribe came into the merge down in numbers, but he had an immunity idol. He kept winning the immunity challenges and could have given his idol to one of his tribemates, but he didn't, so they were voted out one by one. It just irritated me to see nice people like Nick, Austin and Sally get voted out while smug Terry kept hanging in there.

Trust me, Terry's bizarre idol non-play drove me crazy too.  He kept promising the person in danger in his alliance that he could use it for them, and then he simply never used it.  It was mind-boggling.

And it wasn't ignorance of the idol because this was only S12, either.  Before every tribal, players like Shane would talk out exactly what would happen if Terry used the idol and what their back up plan was.  Every player understood what the idol could do.  Except for maybe Terry.

[LadyChatts]

11 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

The only things I remember about Terry are that I hated him and that he told Aras spouses were more important than parents. Oh, and Aras' "Somebody call the wambulance" or whatever quote that I believe was in reference to Terry.

I never liked Terry, either.  I found him to be arrogant, condescending, and pompous.  But one of my favorite Terry moments was actually from Second Chances.  The first tribe swap happened, and we get a TH of Terry talking about how great camp life is, his tribe is finally winning challenges, and that they have a whole ocean to go grocery shopping in.  He thought he was golden.  And yet, while he was out grocery shopping, his new tribe was back at camp talking about voting him off.
 

And on the subject of Terry, I randomly landed on Exile Island and Samoa as my next re watch seasons.  Wish me luck I don’t break my TV because I hated Exile Island the first go round. We’ll see if that changes on re-watch.  Although I thought Cirie was all sorts of adorable when she couldn’t believe she was on the older women’s tribe.  Since this was the first season to introduce us to EI, I am intrigued to see how it went it’s first season again.  Watching this stuff years later and knowing what’s coming can be kind of interested.  I remember rooting so hard for the younger guys to lose the first IC, just because that would have been a cool start.  The shelter they built has to be one of the worst ones ever.  

I am finding that Samoa may have actually had an interesting cast if it wasn’t the season of Russell (whose game play was nothing new, and frankly his character wasn’t even original or entertaining).  I liked his tribe better than the Galu tribe, especially since I just got past the Ben boot.  Ashley was kind of annoying, too, but other than that, I wish his tribe hadn’t been on such a bad losing streak.

Edited June 12, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Ms Blue Jay]

Shane at 34 was put on the Older Man's tribe and Cirie at 35 was put on the Older Woman's tribe.  LOL.  That was the worst.

I just watched a season that didn't even allow 30-39 year olds on it.  Nicaragua.   

Edited June 12, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[AncientNewbie]

The tribe split in S12 just seems like it was poorly described because it made the “older” tribe sound like they were geriatric when it was just a line down the middle. Bobdawg and Melinda were the same age, about two years younger than Shane. Courtney was a year younger than Melinda. 

Terry really never seemed to get the strategy of using the idol. We look approvingly on his IC run and near miss because challenge beasts are cool, but one slip at any point and he was out in Nick or Austin’s place and a Survivor footnote. If he was so certain of himself he should have tried to keep an ally. Or else tried to cut a deal with someone from Casaya with something other than “and La Mina will vote you out right after you flip.”

[LadyChatts]

20 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

 

This was the low point for Terry to me. He was so condescending in that conversation. However, my ongoing issue with Terry wasn't even really his fault. His tribe came into the merge down in numbers, but he had an immunity idol. He kept winning the immunity challenges and could have given his idol to one of his tribemates, but he didn't, so they were voted out one by one. It just irritated me to see nice people like Nick, Austin and Sally get voted out while smug Terry kept hanging in there.

Again, not his fault, but he was dead to me after that XD 

Quote

Terry really never seemed to get the strategy of using the idol. We look approvingly on his IC run and near miss because challenge beasts are cool, but one slip at any point and he was out in Nick or Austin’s place and a Survivor footnote. If he was so certain of himself he should have tried to keep an ally. Or else tried to cut a deal with someone from Casaya with something other than “and La Mina will vote you out right after you flip.”

I can sort of forgive Terry on that.  It was only the second season the idol was in play, and unlike the previous seasons, the rules changed here.  Plus, as mentioned, if Terry lost immunity, he was gone.  That said, the following season Yul showed how to use an idol as a bargaining chip without ever having to actually play it.  I think this also showed that Terry wasn't as good at the strategic and social game as he was the physical part.  I always felt like Terry came into this game thinking he was going to be the hero in the tribe immunity challenges, be a camp provider, and be respected for being an alpha male that was a fighter pilot.  It's like he forgot about the other elements of the game.  And he definitely seemed like he preferred socializing with the guys over the women.

Quote

The tribe split in S12 just seems like it was poorly described because it made the “older” tribe sound like they were geriatric when it was just a line down the middle. Bobdawg and Melinda were the same age, about two years younger than Shane. Courtney was a year younger than Melinda. 

Quote

 

Shane at 34 was put on the Older Man's tribe and Cirie at 35 was put on the Older Woman's tribe.  LOL.  That was the worst.

I just watched a season that didn't even allow 30-39 year olds on it.  Nicaragua. 

 

This tribe split, of all tribe splits, had to be the stupidest idea ever.  Especially since it only lasted one episode.  It might have been a cool idea to split the tribes like older men/older women or younger women/older men when the swap happened, even if the "older women" would have been picked off.  And I agree about the break down based on age, given what's been mentioned about Melinda, Bobby, Shane, and Cirie.  

On the subject of Cirie, knowing what I know of her now, it is so funny watching her in this first season talking about hating camping and leaves.  Who knew she'd turn into such a mastermind.

[Hera]

On 6/11/2020 at 10:14 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

The biggest thing I took away from S12 and S31 is that I can't believe Shane Powers wasn't chosen for Second Chances.  I'm kind of devastated about the whole thing, to be honest.

Same. Shane was great TV—the "blackberry", the rash, the thinking seat, the mood swings and random screaming. I can't imagine what it would be like having to share a camp with him, though. Both he and Bob Dawg really hated Courtney and claimed she was nuts, but she came across as far more mentally stable (if a little new-agey) than he did.

[LadyChatts]

42 minutes ago, Hera said:

Same. Shane was great TV—the "blackberry", the rash, the thinking seat, the mood swings and random screaming. I can't imagine what it would be like having to share a camp with him, though. Both he and Bob Dawg really hated Courtney and claimed she was nuts, but she came across as far more mentally stable (if a little new-agey) than he did.

I always wondered if it was his nicotine fits that made him that way.  In the first episode, he said he hadn't smoked in 31 hours, and yet typically smoked 3 packs a day.  Which made me seriously wonder why anyone that's such a heavy smoker would go on a show like this.  I remember later on he was later to smoke at a RC after bumming one from a local.  That scene still sticks out to me as one of the funniest ever from this series.  

I did think Courtney came off as a little nutty myself, but I think that was just her.

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

  I remember later on he was later to smoke at a RC after bumming one from a local.  That scene still sticks out to me as one of the funniest ever from this series.  

Exactly!  His scenes were so surreal.  There is no other contestant like him.  I should know.  I've binge watched like 20 seasons in a row.

[SVNBob]

8 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I always wondered if it was his nicotine fits that made him that way.  In the first episode, he said he hadn't smoked in 31 hours, and yet typically smoked 3 packs a day.  Which made me seriously wonder why anyone that's such a heavy smoker would go on a show like this.  I remember later on he was later to smoke at a RC after bumming one from a local.  That scene still sticks out to me as one of the funniest ever from this series. 

I'm pretty sure it was nicotine withdrawal fits.  When I did a rewatch of the season about 3 years ago, I noted this about the moment when Shane gets his first smoke in weeks.

On 6/24/2017 at 2:36 AM, SVNBob said:

Meanwhile, Casaya goes to the village and feasts.  And Shane gets his first couple of cigarettes in 15 days.  As he's smoking them, you can see the nicotine physically change him.  He becomes a "normal person" again,

Because there is a noticeable change in him as he takes the first drag.  He relaxes.  Tension visibly leaves his body.  And soon after, he apologizes to Danielle and Courtney about his behavior, as if the nicotine allowed him to realize he was acting like an ass.

After that moment, Shane is actually a little less off-kilter for the rest of the season.  There's still the "shitty apartment" argument he has with Courtney before Bruce's medevac, but that was more borne out of the coconut chop RC before that, and Courtney also reacting badly to it.  He does have other wacky moments, like asking Cirie about his rash and the naked medevac assist, but he's still a bit more even-keeled than he was before those smokes.

[AncientNewbie]

Shane and Courtney (well, all of them) have such a strange dynamic. Sometimes there seemed to be real affection between them and a moment later, shitty apartment. I don’t think they could ever replicate that tribe if they tried. 

Edited June 13, 2020 by AncientNewbie

[Steph Sometimes]

I started a rewatch of Pearl Islands a few weeks ago and found myself not really into it after several episodes, and I think it's because so much of it is iconic that I just remembered so many of the players and the storylines and even remembered boot order so I lost interest. I decided to switch it up and start on Guatemala. There are a few things I remember about the season and the players (Judd's exit line, Jamie and Bobby Jon screaming at each other) but it's much more unfamiliar to me. I barely remembered some of these people. I'm into it. I don't remember how long she lasts, but two episodes in Margaret's pretty much a saint.

Two seasons I thought about starting again (Vanatu and Palau) are missing the first episode on Hulu. Maybe I can find them on YouTube?

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I don't think I ever got through Palau and Guatemala.  I find them so dull.  

[Eolivet]

On 6/11/2020 at 12:59 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

You'll never know a love like having a wife, you just had your mother out there. 

Adam Klein sends his regards.

[LadyChatts]

23 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

I started a rewatch of Pearl Islands a few weeks ago and found myself not really into it after several episodes, and I think it's because so much of it is iconic that I just remembered so many of the players and the storylines and even remembered boot order so I lost interest. I decided to switch it up and start on Guatemala. There are a few things I remember about the season and the players (Judd's exit line, Jamie and Bobby Jon screaming at each other) but it's much more unfamiliar to me. I barely remembered some of these people. I'm into it. I don't remember how long she lasts, but two episodes in Margaret's pretty much a saint.

Two seasons I thought about starting again (Vanatu and Palau) are missing the first episode on Hulu. Maybe I can find them on YouTube?

 

Oh really?  I thought those episodes were there when I re-watched.  I have CBS All Access, which has all the seasons, so maybe I watched them there (I do remember wherever I watched Palau, the first episode thankfully had Wanda's singing cut out).

As to your comment on Pearl Islands, that's a love/hate I have with re-watching previous seasons.  Sometimes I come out hating a season that I previously loved, or a contestant.  Cook Islands was at one point one of my all time favorite seasons, but when I watched it a while back I found it sooo boring.  At least until the Aitu 4 began their underdog story.  

[LadyChatts]

I just watched episodes 2 and 3 of Exile Island.   Starting with episode 2, I will say I appreciated Jeff's challenge commentary a little more back then.  It was to the point and not overly dramatic like we have now.   Casaya lost both the RC and IC; for the RC Probst simply said 'you weren't out hustled you just lost' and during the IC 'Casaya is just inept'.   

Besides the Nick who won DvsG, I'm always amazed on Survivor re-watches when there's a Nick in the cast, because I never remember them.  This season's Nick is no exception.  We had the tribe swap this episode, which I will again say made starting out with 4 tribes for 1 episode stupid.  I guess I'll chalk it up to the early days of Survivor and trying new stuff.  And I hate the tribe swap pick 'ems, mainly because the poor "older" folks were left standing as the last ones picked (Dan and Bruce,  and the 30 somethings of Melinda and Cirie).   Who of course were the targets of their new tribe.  It did suck, and I didn't find either lady weak.  Shane was such a loose cannon that I don't even know why Danielle/Courtney/Aras were begging him to stay when he was threatening to quit.  It kind of made me wish Casaya had gone on a Ulong-style losing streak just to prove it wasn't the "older" women that were weak.  

I did love some of nicotine-deprived Shane's antics.  At the  IC, while La Mina was all 'yeah, everything's great,' Shane was 'I'm not going to sugar coat it to psych the other team out, we suck, we're miserable'.  And then when he and Aras told Melinda and Cirie to their faces that they were getting picked off, and there was a 4 person alliance of those 2 and Courtney/Danielle, making Courtney and Danielle angry.  Although Melinda and Cirie knew they were getting picked off, so it's not like Aras was telling them some big secret. 

Episode 3: I wish Bruce and Cao Boi could have wound up on the same season.  Shane, I'm glad I haven't seen a machete in his hands yet, because yikes.  Cirie had some pretty good one liners.  I always thought she'd make an excellent Big Brother player.  I remember at the time being sad Misty got voted off, but it was mainly because I didn't like anyone else on Nu La Mina.  On re-watch, though, eh.  Still don't like Nu La Mina, but Misty was just there.  I didn't really get Terry's logic in voting her off, though-she's an engineer and smart so she could cause trouble?  I think he was threatened by her, and just more concerned at keeping a younger woman around that might sway Nick/Austin to jump ship.  With just Ruth Marie and Sally left at the two women, no way Austin and Nick would bail on him before the merge.    

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Valerie]

Dalton Ross has given me the best birthday gift ever, an Oral History of The Dragonz, the rock band from HvV Ponderosa with Coach, Courtney, and JT. It's just as in-depth as the one about Erik's immunity necklace blunder, and it includes the 5-track EP they "released" all those years ago.

 

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-dragonz-oral-history/

[Ms Blue Jay]

Hali from Collars/Second Chances looks like Alexis Bledel.  I'm relieved to have figured that out.

[Nashville]

13 hours ago, Valerie said:

Dalton Ross has given me the best birthday gift ever, an Oral History of The Dragonz, the rock band from HvV Ponderosa with Coach, Courtney, and JT. It's just as in-depth as the one about Erik's immunity necklace blunder, and it includes the 5-track EP they "released" all those years ago.

 

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-dragonz-oral-history/

https://youtu.be/VKcAYMb5uk4

 

[cherrypj]

On 6/16/2020 at 2:22 PM, Valerie said:

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-dragonz-oral-history/

Oh that was great!

[BK1978]

On 5/17/2020 at 6:53 PM, tracyscott76 said:

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.

That was awesome, I loved how Judd tried to fake everyone out by telling them it was on the ground when it was up in the trees (Or was it the other way around?  I am going by memory here, having not watched it since it aired) and Gary stalked him and saw Judd looking up and that is how he found the Idol.

I always wish they would have brought Judd and Gary back.  Judd was a great villain.  

On 5/18/2020 at 10:02 AM, 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.

On Australian Survivor they hid an Idol on a remote island that could only be accessed at night due to the tide.  So if they wanted to get it they had to wait until it was pitch black to head out there to an island with no lights on it.  I always thought that would be a cool concept to try on our version and hell they film in the exact same place so they could use that island.

On 5/18/2020 at 4:37 PM, 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.

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.

People will probably get sick of me bringing up Australian Survivor, but on one season a woman named Sharn found an Idol at a challenge and she stuffed it in her shirt (IIRC), well she tripped and the Idol fell out in front of everyone.  That was hilarious.

On 5/20/2020 at 11:51 AM, fishcakes said:

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.

 

Candice was a Villain, I never understood why she was on the Heroes tribe.  It wasn't just the mutiny it was the way she treated people.

Fuck you Brad Culpepper will never grow old.

On 5/20/2020 at 11:29 PM, 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 never thought Sandra was the best even though she won twice.  Never thought Boston Rob was the best either.  I always thought Yul was the best, though his showing was not great on the last season.

On 5/21/2020 at 7:19 AM, 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.

I never saw the entire season of Thailand so I am not sure how she was on there.  But going off how she was on All-Stars I would say she was not a Villain.  She was the resistance to the majority alliance and that was about it.

Cirie would be what they call in wrestling a tweener.  She is neither a Villain or a Hero (Though she is one of my favorite players of all-time) she is in this morally gray area between the two.  Which makes her a tweener.

On 5/26/2020 at 1:44 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

I am rewatching it now and I didn't even remember G.C. existing. 

 

The only thing I recall about G.C. was the whole being or almost being M.I.A. for the challenge.

On 5/29/2020 at 1:42 PM, KimberStormer said:

I think to grasp the hate people have for the Onions, like Corinne, you need to watch Gabon Ponderosa.  They edited them very kindly on the show.

 

They were edited kindly, wow if that was a kind edit I would hate to see an unkind edit.  I always thought they came across as assholes and I hated them (especially Corinne).  Granted I am just going by memory since I have not watched it since it first aired.

On 6/2/2020 at 11:01 AM, peachmangosteen said:

I feel like I remember it coming out that Parvati was more of an asshole/was employing Russell-like tactics right along with him than was shown.

 

That is why I never got why so many people loved Parvati and hate Russell.  To me they were two sides of the same coin.  Parvati was an asshole for her first three seasons but she is viewed as this beloved figure.  I just never got it.

On 6/13/2020 at 8:38 PM, Steph Sometimes said:

Two seasons I thought about starting again (Vanatu and Palau) are missing the first episode on Hulu. Maybe I can find them on YouTube?

 

I doubt they would have it on YouTube due to copyright.  Years ago they would have full seasons on YT, I remember watching most of Africa on there and some of season 4.  Same thing with Big Brother, that was how I got to watch the second season of Big Brother.  But then they really started cracking down and it would get taken down just as quick as it was put on there.

Which sucks because for thing like Big Brother Canada, that is the only way I can watch it without going on a shady site.

[LadyChatts]

On 6/13/2020 at 1:53 AM, SVNBob said:

I'm pretty sure it was nicotine withdrawal fits.  When I did a rewatch of the season about 3 years ago, I noted this about the moment when Shane gets his first smoke in weeks.

Because there is a noticeable change in him as he takes the first drag.  He relaxes.  Tension visibly leaves his body.  And soon after, he apologizes to Danielle and Courtney about his behavior, as if the nicotine allowed him to realize he was acting like an ass.

After that moment, Shane is actually a little less off-kilter for the rest of the season.  There's still the "shitty apartment" argument he has with Courtney before Bruce's medevac, but that was more borne out of the coconut chop RC before that, and Courtney also reacting badly to it.  He does have other wacky moments, like asking Cirie about his rash and the naked medevac assist, but he's still a bit more even-keeled than he was before those smokes.

I made it through a few more episodes of Exile Island (past the merge boot), and saw the ep where Shane finally got his nicotine fix.  For some reason, I thought it was later in the season after the merge that that happened.  Anyway, Shane was the best walking, talking anti-smoking advertisement.  He even said he couldn't believe how his body felt.  I think if he could have eaten it he would have.  I did have to laugh, because as you pointed out, after smoking Shane got normal and apologized to Courtney and Danielle for his behavior towards them.  As those two were about ready to drop kick him into the ocean, it seemed like they were making nice.  Then we have Cirie in the other corner hating what she's observing, as she wanted Shane to keep irritating the girls enough to put him on the chopping block ahead of her.  I forgot how awesome first season Cirie was.  I'd probably rank this a bottom 10 season if it wasn't for her.

Casaya was one of my favorite train wreck tribes.  One minute Danielle/Courtney/Shane/Aras have a 4 person alliance (that Shane and Aras aren't afraid to admit to anyone), the next Shane is taking back swearing on his son's name to get out of the commitment, Danielle and Courtney are ready to set Shane adrift on a raft in the night, and Aras is trying to both figure out how he got mixed up with those 3, and trying to keep the peace.  And the drunken outhouse hijinxs of Bobby and Bruce, who seemed to be minding how own business sleeping in there until Bobby crashed his pad.  That TC lead up to Bobby getting voted off was great.  

I also was kind of happy to see La Mina's downfall at the merge, even if Shane acted like an ass about Casaya having the numbers.  Terry definitely could have used his idol for leverage.  I don't get it with Terry and his 'we're in an alliance because we looked each other in the eye and shook on it.'  Back in the day when alliances were like signing a peace treaty.  When Dan brought Ruth in with the 4 La Mina men, Terry again did his 'yeah, Dan shook her hand and looked her in the eye and promised she'd be our fifth.'  Then we they wanted to vote her off, Terry was all 'well, Dan actually did all that, none of the rest of us shook Ruth's hand or looked her in the eye, so we can vote her off.'  

[LadyChatts]

So I've re-watched some more Samoa and another Exile Island.  I just saw Austin get his torch snuffed, and I almost think it's embarrassing how bad Terry fumbled using his idol for leverage.  As I said before, it was only the second season and I don't exactly blame him for not wanting to give it up.  But after so many seasons of watching idol plays, it just blows my mind that the best Terry could offer anyone was 'we'll take you to the final 5.'  Granted, he did actually offer Danielle the idol if she voted along with the La Mina 3.  He should have played it for Nick, or at least let Nick win that first IIC and then played it for himself (as Terry likely would have been the one going).  But I wonder, if Terry had done what Yul did a season later and successfully used the idol to gain an advantage, would they have changed the idols rules for Cook Islands and made it so you had to play the idol before the vote was read (as was started in Fiji?)  

But I didn't like La Mina so seeing them get picked off didn't make me shed any tears.  But Casaya got incredibly cocky post merge, so knowing that they have to start picking at each other is going to be fun.  Rooting for these two tribal factions is like rooting between getting a root canal or teeth pulled.

 

 

Edited June 22, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Ms Blue Jay]

There is no excuse for Terry.  Early in the idol days or not, every player showed full understanding of how the idol works during that season, out loud, and often.

[LadyChatts]

8 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

There is no excuse for Terry.  Early in the idol days or not, every player showed full understanding of how the idol works during that season, out loud, and often.

I'd be curious if anyone else from La Mina (Austin, Nick, or Sally) found the idol if they would have used it to gain an advantage.  Of course, if Terry didn't have the idol, he might have insisted that one of the other 3 use it for leverage.  But Cirie said it best, on the first day of the merge when Terry was trying to deal her a guaranteed final 5 if she came over to their side, she said that it was laughable that he thought he had something to offer her.  It just seemed kind of funny that all Terry could do was say 'final 5.'  Not even 'final 4 or final 3' but final 5.  And even if Nick managed to stay thanks to the idol, La Mina was still down by 1 member.  And depending who from Casaya went, it might have still been a hard sell getting someone to flip.  

And on that note, I got through Sally and Bruce's eliminations.  I don't know how I forgot Bruce was medevaced.  For that episode, there was a RC that involved chopping and I want to say how much these challenges really need to make a come back.  The first part of the challenge was the castaways answering questions based on their tribe mates (who thought they were running the game, who never stopped talking, most annoying), and then had to answer based on who the majority of the group went with.  First off, Shane and especially Courtney were not happy to see their names come up so much.  Secondly, a clear pecking order was established.  Terry went first, then Bruce, Courtney, and Shane.  Shane was livid that his ropes were chopped (twice by Courtney and the third time by Cirie), and Courtney wasn't too happy either that she was a target.  Cirie won the challenge and took Aras and Danielle along, which further angered Shane as he thought he was tight with Cirie and Aras and began questioning his position in the game.  So if Bruce hadn't been medevaced, could Terry have managed to get people to flip?  It would probably have only been for that vote, as Danielle would have been the likely target for Shane, and then it would take him back to what he thought was going to be the final 4 of him, Cirie, Aras, and Courtney.  This would have actually put Terry in a power position possibly.  Let's say Terry wins immunity, but even if he doesn't, he has the idol, so either way he's safe.  Worse case no one from Casaya joins him and they roll the dice with who he writes down, especially if he plays his idol.  But Terry would have probably wanted Aras out, and that might have been the only way for him to agree to possibly vote with Bruce/Shane/Courtney if those 3 decided to flip.  

[SVNBob]

2 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

For that episode, there was a RC that involved chopping and I want to say how much these challenges really need to make a come back. 

Blame BvW2 for that.

They had a coconut chop that season, and the majority alliance, after chopping everyone else, was openly discussing at the challenge who should next get chopped and who should not in order to arrange the winner they wanted.  Peachy overheard them doing this, clarified that that was what they were doing, then made a chop of his own.  He cut off the rest of the challenge and declared the "chosen" winner as the winner.

Hasn't been a Coconut Chop since.

[peachmangosteen]

8 hours ago, SVNBob said:

Blame BvW2 for that.

I blame Jeff. So that group used a strategy he didn't like for the game, who fucking cares! It seems like he was so personally affronted by that and so now he's pettily keeping that challenge from happening. Or if not him, someone on TPTB. Besides, just because that group did that doesn't mean every group from now on will do that. 

[Nashville]

5 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I blame Jeff. So that group used a strategy he didn't like for the game, who fucking cares! It seems like he was so personally affronted by that and so now he's pettily keeping that challenge from happening. Or if not him, someone on TPTB.
 

In general, gamers hate getting gamed.  😉

5 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Besides, just because that group did that doesn't mean every group from now on will do that. 

If they don’t, I’d be very very disappointed in them.  😆

[LadyChatts]

6 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I blame Jeff. So that group used a strategy he didn't like for the game, who fucking cares! It seems like he was so personally affronted by that and so now he's pettily keeping that challenge from happening. Or if not him, someone on TPTB. Besides, just because that group did that doesn't mean every group from now on will do that. 

All the injuries that have resulted from the blindfolded challenges hasn't stopped them from doing those.  Probst didn't like BvsW 2 to being with, and probably was just pissy that they took control of the challenge in that way.  I was honestly surprised he didn't give them more of a scolding or just said 'forget it' about the reward and sent them all back to camp.  I thought it was pretty crappy how they just openly stood there and made it obvious, which was no doubt their intention to show they were aligned and in control.  

But seriously, without the chopping challenges, we never would have had the downfall of the Rotu 4, and never would have had a possible flip during Exile Island.  I still think there's a chance Shane and Courtney would have voted with Terry and Bruce had Bruce not been medevaced.  But no, let's just do more of those exciting dig in the sand for puzzle pieces and then knock them down with balls, or endurance challenges where they don't even get tempted to come down or try anymore.   

Edited June 23, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Growsonwalls]

So I rewatched Exile Island and while nothing Terry said was overtly sexist I think he and Aras just had really different backgrounds and viewpoints and Aras thought Terry was old-fashioned and conservative (which he was) and Terry probably thought Aras was annoyingly hippie-dippie (which Aras was as well).

But I kind of like how that Survivor had a bunch of running personality conflicts that weren't so much game-related but personality related. I feel like nowadays the conflicts are over idol clues and how advantages and there's less of a "I don't like you just because" story-building. This season Ben and Jeremy were constantly battling but we had no idea what caused the conflict, just that they didn't like each other.

As for Aras and Vytas, I agree Vytas is a dick. But didn't they actually not grow up together? I feel like Aras lived with his mom and Vytas with the dad and sometimes broken families mean siblings are played off against each other. Sad but it happens.

[Hera]

7 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

So that group used a strategy he didn't like for the game, who fucking cares! It seems like he was so personally affronted by that and so now he's pettily keeping that challenge from happening. Or if not him, someone on TPTB.

Quick, someone start convincing players to ruin Edge of Extinction by all raising the sail as soon as they arrive! Hopefully, the powers that be will have a similar hissy fit and refuse to bring it back.

[peachmangosteen]

3 minutes ago, Hera said:

Quick, someone start convincing players to ruin Edge of Extinction by all raising the sail as soon as they arrive! Hopefully, the powers that be will have a similar hissy fit and refuse to bring it back.

I always wished multiple people would quit EoE or just choose to not even go there. It would have been so hilarious!

[LadyChatts]

Probst loves EOE (and if Probst loves it and we don't, clearly we're the ones who are wrong!)  So if there was a serious revolt, he'd probably just change the rules even more to ensure people couldn't leave.  

[LadyChatts]

In watching more Exile Island, how exactly did Danielle get asked back for HvsV?  I can't see her as a hero or a villain, and of all the people they asked, why here?  It would have made more sense to put Candice on the villain's tribe and found someone else for the heroes tribe (and I don't even think Candice should have been cast for that season, either).  

It's interesting to watch these old seasons and pick up on things in the edit that pretty much gave things away later on down the road.  In Exile Island, Terry and Danielle made a final 3 deal but Danielle said she didn't want to just settle for 3rd place.  Terry said that in the final 3 IIC, whoever finished 1st and 2nd should go to the final 2, as he thought that meant the best were going to the end.  I'm sure he was kicking himself when he left the F3 IIC without the necklace.  

And for Samoa, Russell said he wanted to take Natalie to the end because she was too dumb and would never win.  Natalie said she thought she could win based on her social game.  I'm still on the fence if a social game really wins, or if it's that the jurors don't want someone else to win bad enough so they just award the million to someone else (in this case, anyone not named Russell).

[Hera]

On 6/23/2020 at 8:35 PM, LadyChatts said:

I'm still on the fence if a social game really wins, or if it's that the jurors don't want someone else to win bad enough so they just award the million to someone else (in this case, anyone not named Russell).

If that were the case, then Mick would have picked up some votes, but he didn't.  Russell only got two votes to Natalie's seven, so if the anti-Russell jurors were indeed coordinating their votes to keep him from winning, they would have realized that there weren't enough pro-Russell votes for him to win, and they could each vote for whomever they wanted.

[Eolivet]

This is a @Ms Blue Jay appreciation post! I've so enjoyed getting notifications on posts as you're clearly doing a rewatch of recent seasons. It's made my day in these "trying times." A nice reminder that our discussion threads are interesting enough to read years later. Thanks for spreading a little kindness around.

[AncientNewbie]

A Panama question...

What would have happened if Aras was too injured to stay in camp at the final two?

I imagine they do everything short of wheeling a hospital bed in before the jury, but say he hurts a kidney and has to be rushed off island asap...do they do a no question vote? Award sole survivor to last person literally standing? Bring back third place so that's the final two?

There's no real answer I've seen about what happens in a messed up final two, but that's always puzzled me because he looked very close to serious injury.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, Eolivet said:

This is a @Ms Blue Jay appreciation post! I've so enjoyed getting notifications on posts as you're clearly doing a rewatch of recent seasons. It's made my day in these "trying times." A nice reminder that our discussion threads are interesting enough to read years later. Thanks for spreading a little kindness around.

Awwwwwwwww.  That's sooo sweet.  I'm glad you are enjoying.  I am hoping it is not annoying people.  LOL.  If others decide to do the same thing, I'm commenting in old threads and it's changing all the order of the episode threads around which might make them harder to find in the future!  But man, I've seriously watched almost every season the past month and I've been having so much fun!  I will have to release a top 10 seasons list when this is all said and done.  I surprised myself by liking Season 12 (Panama/Exile) and Season 37 (Davids versus Goliaths) so much that they definitely go into my top 10 of all time!

I used to be someone that watches a lot of movies.  But Survivor has wrecked all of that.  LOL. 

16 minutes ago, AncientNewbie said:

A Panama question...

What would have happened if Aras was too injured to stay in camp at the final two?

I imagine they do everything short of wheeling a hospital bed in before the jury, but say he hurts a kidney and has to be rushed off island asap...do they do a no question vote? Award sole survivor to last person literally standing? Bring back third place so that's the final two?

There's no real answer I've seen about what happens in a messed up final two, but that's always puzzled me because he looked very close to serious injury.

LOL.  Giving a 24 year old (?) wine and letting him play on the rocks when he knows he has a 50/50 chance of winning $1 million.  Just such a bad idea.  

Edited June 26, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Steph Sometimes]

I'm doing a rewatch of Guatemala. There are eight people left, four men, four women. There's a challenge where teams of two are pitted against each other (man/man vs man/man) and trudge through this huge mass of mud. Three of the four women are average to tall. Danni seems to be all legs, One woman is so much shorter than the other three, and the mud level is so much higher on her than the other three. She's basically in quicksand compared to the other three.

Jeff completely understands this and reacts with his usual sensitivity. "Lydia, you have to dig deep!" "Lydia causing her team to fall behind!" "This team was ahead but now aren't all because of Lydia!" "Come on Lydia!"

I'm not going to say she was ever a favorite of mine, but I'm a fellow shorty Lydia. I see you.

[SVNBob]

2 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

Danni seems to be all legs,

Truth.