Survivor: Popping Collars

[awesome possum]

You're right, many of the runners up are Goats but I think 6 could be squeezed out of there if you go back far enough. The problem is that some of the more memorable runners ups have already been back too many times like Ozzy and Stephenie and Amanda.

I'd pick Kelly (Borneo), Matthew (Amazon), Twila (Vanuatu), Stephen (Tocantins), Monica (BvW) and Woo (Cagayan).

[Kyoshi]

I wouldn't mind a season with Parvati and Yul just so it can finally be settled.

But Parvati, like Rupert, has been overplayed. Too much of her won't end well.

[Kyoshi]

You're right, many of the runners up are Goats but I think 6 could be squeezed out of there if you go back far enough. The problem is that some of the more memorable runners ups have already been back too many times like Ozzy and Stephenie and Amanda.

I'd pick Kelly (Borneo), Matthew (Amazon), Twila (Vanuatu), Stephen (Tocantins), Monica (BvW) and Woo (Cagayan).

That's a solid list. Ive always wanted Kelly to do another season. I always liked Chase (Nicaragua) as well.

[The Dragon Prince]

I thought Jenn was gone for sure. She is one of my favorites so i'm very glad Will turned on Vince.

[Cyvasse Khal]

I don't think Parvati is allowed to play again anyway. Certainly not while she works for CBS, but I'm pretty sure anyone that's ever worked for CBS can't go on.

Where are you all seeing the "confessionals"? Safe assumption it's like CBS.com or something?

It was more all the pre-game interviews and bio and even in the first ep I was basing what I thought Mike's character was like. A leader personality but mostly pretty goofy and fun. So it was just surprising to me how he was acting last ep. I would have pegged him as someone who not only would have joined in the coconut basketball, but would have thought of it and set it up. I guess everyone has bad days, but based on the previews he seems to carry on the bossy grumpiness for another 3 days.

[Gertrude]

I'd pick Kelly (Borneo), Matthew (Amazon), Twila (Vanuatu), Stephen (Tocantins), Monica (BvW) and Woo (Cagayan).

I was thinking you were talking season, not tribes, duh.

Who you'd pick to be on and who would be willing to be on again are two different things. Of that list, I'm not interested in Monica or Woo. In Monica's first season, I was left wanting more, but BvW cured me of that. Woo is just ... Woo. I want someone who came to play.

Now I have to look at the runners-up and see who would interest me -

Katie (Palau). I think she got a raw deal on editing. She was a fun character and was playing the game, not just riding coat-tails. Her main sin was not making any moves, but not for lack sizing up the situation or trying.

Sabrina (One World). She was a good balance of likable and strategic and I was rooting for her most of the show. Just got outplayed.

OK, that's about it. So sub out Monica and Woo and sub in Katie and Sabrina and I'm in. All the others were goats or already been back.

[Howdyphillip]

So much bad gameplay but such entertainingly bad gameplay. From Vince starting an argument over who gets to be the alpha dog, Joe wanting to split the votes which almost got his girlfriend sent home, to Nina basically telling Will "we need your vote tonight but you're weak so you're gone next", to Mike's bossiness to Max and Shirin's treating their beach like a nudist vacation and making others uncomfortable. I think I'm missing something too.

That said, I really like each of the tribes and pretty much every player so far, even Vince was great entertainment value. I got a feeling that Probst and company are going to be pulling out their "Second Chance" season soon. So many entertaining and potentially good players gone in the pre-merge. I can already imagine a tribe with Vince, Brad Culpepper, and Drew Christie on it. And while I'm fantasy booking, I'd love to see an all-returnee season made up of three tribes, one tribe of memorable pre-merge boots, one tribe of memorable jury members and one tribe of memorable runner ups.

And yeah, there's more than Vince than meets the eye. I read that he had post-grad work in Psychology at Columbia, so he's capable of being very manipulative.

Nina... wow. Not only did you alienate yourself from your tribe even more than you were but you basically killed your alliance by telling Will that Vince wanted him out for being weak. What??!!

I can understand why they focused on the nudity on White Collar this week. There's no major conflicts - it looks like Joaquin was able to shrug off whatever heat may have been on him after Tribal - and they weren't going to Tribal so show the "fun" side of Survivor. I don't mind the throwbacks to old episodes or players because we do the same thing here. Max and Shirin - Max especially - is as big of a Survivor Nerd as most of us. He's a frequent contributor at the Survivor subreddit and is incredibly active on twitter. Speaking of, I recently started twitter to talk about and interact with the Survivors - I've decided to apply in the next year or so and I want to make a "name" for myself to hopefully give me a boost. Anyway, seeing Max's social activity, I think he may have inadvertently given away some spoilers because of his social activity.

I'll spoiler it just in case, though it's mostly speculation:

Max and Vince are apparently very good friends now to the point where they just documented their hanging out together for several days in a row. Either the two bonded quickly after the season ended or Max is a pre-merge boot and they got to know each other well at Ponderosa.

Right? I was absolutely convinced it was Nina or Jenn by the time they voted, though I went into Tribal thinking there was no way Jenn was getting voted out because she's very engaging and had only had, what, 1 confessional the whole episode? But by the time they went to vote I was sure it was going to be her. Nice swerve by the editing.

Great post, and really nice observations.

Nina really did win the award for worst play, and Will didn't do himself any favors by becoming the fourth member of a four way alliance. The whole tribe will be weaker without Vince as well. All in all, it was kind of devastating for No Collars last night. I do expect this to be not much of a factor though, as when the tribe swap inevitably happens it will really change things up.

I do have a question for you that you may want to ask some of the survivors on your twitter feed about your spoiler.

I was of the understanding that as of recent seasons (the last 5 years or so), that pre jury boots were not sequestered anymore and that they were sent home. Did I misunderstand that?

Also, best of luck getting on the show. I had a real chance to get on for season 7 and missed it by a fraction.

Edited to talk about runner ups.

I am not sure I would want to see this as CBS would probably feel obligated to add Russell Hantz. I am done watching that guy. below would be my list though

1.) Colby Donaldson - He just needs to be redeemed for that horrible showing on HvV

2.) Neleh Dennis - I would really like to see her again as an adult to see how she has matured.

3.) Dreamz - He was absolute gold to watch his first season, and I would like to see a redemptive arc for him as well.

4.) Stephen Fishback - One of the best strategists in the history of the game.

5.) Chelsea Meissner - Would have won her season if she wasn't playing against the best to ever play the game.

6.) Lisa Welchel - I just adore her and that is the facts of life.

[Howdyphillip]

I just started watching SURVIVOR South Africa edition season 5 today. It is actually really enjoyable once you get over the accents. They focus way more on the strategy as the game is only 27 days and there are seventeen 67 minute episodes. That is over double the footage for a third less time. This particular season started with two tribes of 10 people who had a famous captain who could not be voted out, was not eligible to win, and was not involved in any voting besides the final tribal council. I am five episodes in so far, and episode 5 is absolutely epic. I have never seen anything like this in Survivor history.

Both tribes had to go to tribal council.

The first tribe had someone who wanted to quit the game, but the rest of the tribe decided to tell him that they were not going to vote him out, but they were going to vote out one of his alliance members instead. He brought the flint to tribal council and gave it to the woman who they were threatening to vote out saying that he would still quit, and that the tribe would lose fire if they voted her out. They proceeded to vote him off.

The second tribe had two people, a woman and a man, that had made an early alliance based around finding the Hidden Immunity Idol together. The woman wanted to blindside her partner, so she went and stole the idol from its hiding spot. The man confronted her in front of the tribe about it by waving his dirty underwear in her face and letting everyone know what had happened. The tribe elected to have her give the idol to the neutral captain to be used at his discretion and then they voted her off.

That is an insane episode of Survivor.

[Kyoshi]

I just started watching SURVIVOR South Africa edition season 5 today. It is actually really enjoyable once you get over the accents.

Hey, I'm South African. :P We love the accents.

I also think Chelsea and Sabrina would have done really well in a non-Kim season. Another cast I really liked is the Nicaragua one. I'll never understand why that season was panned. I get that Naonka and Purple Kelly pissed off some people but that season was really awesome to watch. And I wouldn't mind seeing a lot of people from it again.

[awesome possum]

All in all, it was kind of devastating for No Collars last night. I do expect this to be not much of a factor though, as when the tribe swap inevitably happens it will really change things up.

My favorite part of three-tribe seasons, the swap/merge can completely mix up the dynamics!

And I'm going to look into that South African version, sounds pretty great.

I do have a question for you that you may want to ask some of the survivors on your twitter feed about your spoiler.

I was of the understanding that as of recent seasons (the last 5 years or so), that pre jury boots were not sequestered anymore and that they were sent home. Did I misunderstand that?

I asked around and got an answer from Nadiya! I'll toss it in spoiler tags to keep with the conversation, but no spoilers here:

She said last season she stayed at Ponderosa until the last pre-merge boot arrived, at which point they were sent on a vacation to a country nearby

I feel like such a nerd that I get all hyped up when I interact with Survivors, as if they aren't just normal people who happened to be cast on this show.

[SpaceChampion]

I just want to see Yul vs Earl vs Kim from One World.

Maybe throw in Tony and Fishbach.

Just make an all Masterminds season.

[Slurktan]

I just want to see Yul vs Earl vs Kim from One World.

Maybe throw in Tony and Fishbach.

Just make an all Masterminds season.

Don't forget Brian from Thailand.

[SpaceChampion]

I never saw Thailand. I missed a lot of seasons between Africa and Panama. I think between those I've only seen All-Stars.

[Howdyphillip]

There is not a single player that I dislike more than Brian Hydek. I am the biggest Survivor fan I know, and I would not watch another minute of that sociopath play the game. I would take 10 seasons in a row of Brandon vs Russel Hantz with Colton thrown in before I watched a minute of TV that featured that dog killer.

Also, I am finishing up Survivor SA season 5 right now, and it may be the best Survivor season ever played. The twists were awesome and the blindsides were out of this world. It can not be my favorite season just because I don't understand the accent most of the time, but it certainly was dynamic.

Also, for AP, I haven't reached out to players in a very long time, but I used to correspond with Dr. Sean from Season 1 and Jeff Varner from Season 2. I remember how exiting that was. These people really do earn their 15 min of fame.

Space Champion... Those seasons should be up on YouTube. They are worth checking out. Especially Marquesas.

[The Dragon Prince]

Can't wait for tonight's episode. It looks like everyone on the blue collar tribe is getting tired of Mike constantly wanting to get fire wood. I really don't see Mike lasting much longer.

[awesome possum]

Normally I would agree, but they made a big deal of it in the previews so I don't think Mike is going anywhere this week. For example, last week's previews made it seem like Nina was all but guaranteed to go.

[Cyvasse Khal]

Can't wait for tonight's episode. It looks like everyone on the blue collar tribe is getting tired of Mike constantly wanting to get fire wood. I really don't see Mike lasting much longer.

Classic preview trope. Whatever is shown on the previews will almost always have no bearing on the rest of the episode.

[Slurktan]

So with it being 2 hours next week.... early double boot eppy?

[Gertrude]

Probably. March Madness usually eats up a week of Survivor, so they are just giving it to us early. I'm guessing it's just two eps back to back rather than anything exciting.

Pretty boring episode as it went pretty much like you expected it to. Um ... tatooed girl is getting herself into a bit of trouble too, it seems. Dan is safe? Maybe? Even with the 'yo mama is a *bleep*'. And once at merge, who will want him out?

It was pretty shitty of the no-collar to exclude Nina in the challenge and then vote her out. However, it would have been even worse to not vote her out based on that. Nina didn't fight back and say, hell yes put me in. That says something as well. So yeah, Nina should be the one to go there, even though it seems massively unfair. Oh well, Survivor isn't fair. Not impressed with any of the no-collars.

[Slurktan]

Probably. March Madness usually eats up a week of Survivor, so they are just giving it to us early. I'm guessing it's just two eps back to back rather than anything exciting.

Pretty boring episode as it went pretty much like you expected it to. Um ... tatooed girl is getting herself into a bit of trouble too, it seems. Dan is safe? Maybe? Even with the 'yo mama is a *bleep*'. And once at merge, who will want him out?

It was pretty shitty of the no-collar to exclude Nina in the challenge and then vote her out. However, it would have been even worse to not vote her out based on that. Nina didn't fight back and say, hell yes put me in. That says something as well. So yeah, Nina should be the one to go there, even though it seems massively unfair. Oh well, Survivor isn't fair. Not impressed with any of the no-collars.

I think the youngish construction guy will be out first on the blue collar. While Dan and Mike may say stupid things that guy straight up is an asshole.