Thursday, October 28, 2010

Survivor Nicaragua: Episode 7

Update on score. Analysis, etc. tomorrow:

Me - 47 pts
Tom - 44 pts
Courtney - 34 pts
Dachui - 34 pts
Doug/Bri - 20 pts
Bag - 16 pts

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Survivor Nicaragua: Episode 6

This last episode was filled with good ideas, poor execution, and an almost killing blow to team Dr. Bug. I don't think we've ever had 1 episode where one team lost 2 players, but we almost saw it last night! Marty escaped by the skin of his teeth... and by the stupidity of Brenda. Lesson #1: if you have the chance to vote someone out who is holding on to a hidden immunity idol that they can't use at that moment, vote them out! If anything, Marty is a greater threat now than ever. Young people + Jane no longer have a super majority to split their votes between Jill and Marty, the more time he stays there the more he can infiltrate their team.... the reasons to not pick on a one-legged woman and instead go after a real threat are more than I have the time to write about here.

I think Brenda is going to pay for this mistake. I think that, had she gotten rid of Marty in this episode, her chances of winning the whole thing would be significantly higher than they are now. And the other young uns who followed her lead are going to pay for it too.

Standings:

Team Estrogen: Me - 37 points
1. Brenda (16 pts)
2. Alina (13 pts)
3. Holly (8 pts)

Team Laughing Uproariously: Moon - 34 points
1. Jill (11 pts)
2. Dan (0 pts)
3. NaOnka (23 pts)

Team Crush a.k.a. Team Sanity: Courtney - 31 points
1. Jane (5 pts)
2. Benry (13 pts)
[3. Kelly (13 pts)]

Team Hunk: Dachui - 29 points
1. Chase (13 pts)
[2. Jimmy J. (0 pts)]
3. Fabio (16 pts)

Team Dr. Bug: Doug/Bri - 20 points
1. Marty (5 pts)
2. Purple Kelly (13 pts)
[3. Yve (2 pts)]

Team Just Gimme a Chance: Baggins - 18 points
1. Sash (16 pts)
[2. Tyrone (2 pts)]
[3. Jimmy T (0 pts)]


Power Rankings:

1. Estrogen - While I have a bad feeling in my gut about Brenda, she does still appear to be in control of her tribe... for now. Holly & Alina are kicking some serious butt on Espada in the meantime, and I think that they could do well for a while, even post-merge.

2. Dr. Bug - Yve was a dreg who brought in a whopping 2 points this season (which is still better than Dan), and losing her will affect Dr. Bug very little I think. Overall, actually, I think Dr. Bug emerged from this episode as a stronger team than they were before it. Marty is a force, Purple Kelly is a regular contributor to the point-count, and they lost their dead weight.

3. Crush Sanity - Losing a player is going to hurt Team Crush more than it will hurt Dr. Bug. Courtney's team was probably the most uniformly strong across her players, so the impact of the loss is much greater. Jane and Benry could go far, but they'll need to work extra-hard to make up for the points Kelly would have contributed!

4. Team Hunk - Chase and Fabio are brawny but not so much with the brainy. They need to ride coattails to do well in this game. While I think they are both secure for the time-being, I just don't see either of them as closers.

5. Laughing Uproariously - Moon and I are the only teams that still have 3 players... but 2 of his players are Dan (who must be wearing an anti-vote amulet under his buff) and Crazy Nay. Both have said at some point during this season that they don't want to be there, so his superior numbers mean very little. If they make it to a merge, both of them could get deep, but I seriously doubt either one will win many points.

6. Just Gimme a Chance - Team Bag needs a miracle - like Sash finding and playing 3+ hidden immunity idols and then winning the game. It's not completely out of reach, but I'd say his chances of winning the pool this season are about as great as Holly's chances of winning Survivor.


Top Chef Analogy of the Week:

Holly is like Eric on Top Chef: Just Desserts. They both came into the game with gaping holes in pretty important areas of their games (basic social skills and dessert plating skills). But both have managed to adapt to their situation and fill the hole. Suddenly they're both a threat, but since they started out so badly in the beginning it'll take awhile before anyone catches on.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Survivor Nicaragua: Episode 5

I again have limited time to write da blog, but I wanted to share what I think are our updated scores. I had trouble remembering the new tribes though, so please correct me if I'm wrong:

La Flor - Fabio, Sash, Marty, both Kellys, Brenda, Jill, and Jane

Espada - Chase, Tyrone, Yve, Alina, Holly, Dan, Nay, and Benry

If these are correct, then here are our scores:

Me - 29 points
1. Brenda (14 pts)
2. Alina (13 pts)
3. Holly (2 pts)

Dachui - 27 points
1. Chase (13 pts)
[2. Jimmy J (0pts)]
3. Fabio (14 pts)

Courtney - 27 points
1. Jane (3 pts)
2. Benry (13 pts)
3. Kelly (11 pts)

Moon - 26 points
1. Jill (3 pts)
2. Dan (0 pts)
3. NaOnka (23 pts)

Doug/Bri - 16 points
1. Marty (3 pts)
2. Purple Kelly (11 pts)
3. Yve (2 pts)

Bag - 16 points
1. Sash (14 pts)
[2. Tyrone (2 pts)]
[3. Jimmy T (0 pts)]

I think those who most improved from the tribe swap were:

Me - My 2 ppl on the chopping block both joined a dominating alliance. Brenda continues to crush.
.
Courtney - Jane is in a much better position and got to show her badassery in the challenge.

Dachui - team Dachui I think improved the least, but I think it's a bonus that they're players are on different tribes now... that's just my opinion though and I'm sure there are many out who can validly argue the opposite.

Those whose positions became shakier:

Doug/Bri - Brenda has her sights set on Marty's hide, and I'd pick Brenda over Marty in a Devious Fight any day. She's much more subtle and effective.

Tom - Nay is going as soon as they have a strong majority, her new alliance won't protect her nearly as much as her old one. She's too unbalanced. Dan continues to anti-crush.

... and the Least Improved award goes to:

Bag.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Survivor Nicaragua: Episode 4

 Unfortunately I don't have a lot of time for a blog today, but I wanted to post our most recent scores and give a few thoughts.

Thoughts:

If the tribes get mixed up next week, like the previews implied, that could only help this season. With so many loonies in Nicaragua, and most of them on the Older Tribe's team, there needs to be a dash of sanity tossed in. NaOnka is nuts, there's no doubt, but she's 1 person with a whole lot of crazy v. 3 players on the older tribe who are still pretty nuts. NaOnka > Holly, but NaOnka < Holly + Jimmy T. + Psycho Marty.

Marty is going crazy pretty quickly. I guess the leader of the loonies quickly becomes a loon himself. He gets his mind set on eliminating someone - whether it's deserving or not - and then puts everything on the line to make it happen. One day he's going to go after someone popular and then he'll get the boot.

Standings: (these include temporary team names, which could change in the future)

Team Hunk: Dachui - 22 points
1. Chase (11 pts)
[2. Jimmy J. (0 pts)]
3. Fabio (11 pts)

Team Estrogen: Me - 22 points
1. Brenda (11 pts)
2. Alina (11 pts)
3. Holly (0 pts)

Team Crush: Courtney - 19 points
1. Jane (0 pts)
2. Benry (11 pts)
3. Kelly (8 pts)

Team Laughing Uproariously: Moon - 19 points
1. Jill (0 pts)
2. Dan (-2 pts)
3. NaOnka (21 pts)

Team Just Gimme a Chance: Baggins - 11 points
1. Sash (11 pts)
2. Tyrone (0 pts)
[3. Jimmy T (0 pts)]

Team Dr. Bug: Doug/Bri - 8 points
1. Marty (0 pts)
2. Purple Kelly (8 pts)
3. Yve (0 pts)


Power Rankings:
1. Estrogen - I'm giving myself the #1 spot because Brenda is more and more impressive with every week. Also, with a potential tribal mix, Alina's position will become much safer, I think. Holly's still a lose cannon, but at least she's still in the game, right?

2. Crush - Team Crush is doing really well considering that her #1 pick hasn't won any points. Jane is my favorite person on the show so far, and I hope she does well. In the meantime, Courtney's getting a lot of help from her supporting cast.

3. Laughing Uproariously - Moon's stock went up when NaOnka got herself an immunity idol. One of the worst players on the show is our current point leader. If he can get his dregs to produce this much before getting the boot he has a great chance to go far with Jill. He'd be ranked higher if Lame Dan wasn't on his team.

4. Team Hunk - Dachui has Chase, and as long as he's in they still have a chance. Not huge with Fabio being their only other player, but still... they could make some moves.

5. Dr. Bug - Doug/Bri's #1 pick was my #1 overall pick too. But I'm suddenly happy I didn't get Marty because he's playing the game way too hard this early. See above for more details.

6. Just Gimme a Chance - Bag's team crumbled faster than Malika's wedding cake in Top Chef: Just Desserts. Sash is barely even on the show, Tyrone is a part of a tribe that is in shambles and winning no points in the meantime.