The finale is on Sunday! Amazingly, we ALL have 1 player left in the game. I don't think that's ever happened before! Even though some of us don't have a chance to win, it's nice to have someone to cheer for.
There are only 4 players left which confirms my suspicions of there only being 2 contestants who will enter Final Tribal. This will be very interesting because I don't think any of them suspect that yet. I may be wrong, but I feel like they usually do 2 immunity challenges in the finale along with the final tribal.
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 112 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]
2. Skupin (26.5 pts)
[3. Jeff (21.5 pts)]
[4. Abi-Maria (42.5 pts)]
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 84.5 points
[1. Penner (41.5 pts)]
2. Denise (14 pts)
[3. Artis (23.5 pts)]
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 84.5 points
[1. Pete (27.5 pts)]
[2. Carter (39.5 pts)]
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (16.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 37 points
1. Malcolm (38 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Ding dong, the Brazilian's gone! Previews for next week loook like they go into a euphoric hug-fest over Abi's departure. Maybe they're all drunk on sugar again! Moon doesn't have a lock on this contest quite yet, but he's darn close. If it does come down to a Final Two instead of Three, and Denise/Malcolm wins that final immunity, who do you think they would take, Lisa or Skupin? I think Skupin, which means it's a virtual lock on him making Final Tribal. That being said, it's Skupin, so there's always the potential for a med-evac.
2. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Denise & Malcolm may both be favored to win over Skupin & Lisa, but it will come down to the immunity challenge to determine which one of them gets there. I think Denise has what it takes to beat Malcolm, but he's a strong competitor, so it should be a great battle! She's seriously tough, though - that bite on her neck looked like it came from something the size of a small child. I can't believe she was able to wait out that allergic reaction; I doubt anyone else could have (except maybe Malcolm).
3. The Clap - Lisa's learning curve in this game is about two weeks behind all the other competitors. Scenarios that Malcolm & Penner had worked out by Day 12 are just now entering Lisa's head. Maybe there's an advantage to that, though. After all, she's still around!
4. I'm on Dregs! - I am super impressed by Malcolm's comeback in that immunity challenge. He flew through the puzzle at a record speed. I think it was the first time I've really seen him with his hair down too -- he a cool Mufasa impression going on! Hope he wears it down at the reunion show, I'd like to see it when it's clean.
Douche of the Week:
I'd like to give my DoW vote to the demon thing that bit Denise (how dare you bite my favorite player!) but since it's not in the pool, I guess I'll vote for Abi instead. I can't believe that she thought her fake immunity idol ploy was actually working. I wonder how much of her idiocy is part of her everyday self, and how much of it comes from being extremely hungry & tired.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Philippine: Ep 12
Unfortunately, the moment I gave Carter credit was the moment he got voted out. I think that getting rid of Carter was the smart move, but the entire jury is going to hold it against them after all the things they've said about Abi-Maria, and the original Yellow Tribe in general. But, as Ben said, the jury can be mad at all of them, but they'll still have to vote for one of them if they leave the jury no choice. This means voting Abi-Maria out next episode, though, and I'm not sure that will happen.
For once I wish they'd done the stupid move & kept Carter around. Sure he's a much bigger threat at challenges, but wouldn't it be great if the alliance actually followed through on their "final 6" bond? It would have been so entertaining to watch that! It's also horrible to have Skupin say things like "voting Carter out is like voting out my own son" right before writing his name down. If he'd really meant that he never would have voted for him. DoW candidate for sure.
Previews for the next episode are concerning. Lisa has no long-term vision for the game & she's as flaky & wishy washy as she claims not to be. Also, her complete meltdown when her brother came out was terrifying to watch. That sort of 5-minute-long dry-heaving, stopped-breathing, dangerous-to-your-health sobfest is not appropriate in that context. It really freaked me out. That was beyond normal, there's something weird happening there.
My ideal next episode is that Lisa does switch over to the Dark Side (or Brazilian Side) & drags Skupin with her. Anticipating the shift, though, Malcolm gives his idol to Denise to play & they knock out Lisa instead. Vindication!
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 98 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]
2. Skupin (22.5 pts)
[3. Jeff (21.5 pts)]
4. Abi-Maria (32.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 84.5 points
[1. Penner (41.5 pts)]
2. Denise (14 pts)
[3. Artis (23.5 pts)]
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 83.5 points
[1. Pete (27.5 pts)]
[2. Carter (39.5 pts)]
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (15.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 30 points
1. Malcolm (31 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon is now the only team with 2 players remaining - and is anyone else as shocked as me that one if them is Skupin? I thought that guy would have been med-evacked by episode 6! It's all but guaranteed that at least one of them will make the finals, maybe even two with the way things are going.
2. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Denise is still in it, but no one can be sitting very comfortably right now... except Malcolm I guess who's guaranteed himself a Final 4 spot. I'm still hoping for a Denise victory! She needs to start making some moves to leverage a strong position in the finals, but it might already be too late. Has she flown too far under the strategic-gameplay radar to win enough jury votes?
3. The Clap - Lisa's emotional journey storyline is running incredibly thin. She's betrayed pretty much everyone and is now going against everything that she's said to the jury are her priorities. I think she's likely to make Final Tribal, but I don't think she can win. There are going to be too many bitter jury members & too many of them who won't give her any credit for the strategy she played. I hope Penner shares her child star story, too -- be one of the bitter ones, Penner!
4. I'm on Dregs! - OMG Malcolm actually won something! Better late than never I guess, and it couldn't have come at a better time. He was about to fall into the "I feel like I'm in control & am getting complacent so now I'm getting voted out" trap, but saved himself with his first immunity win. Congrats Malcolm, you've managed to salvage some dignity here at the end, but you still are getting outscored by Abi-Maria in this pool. And you've only tied her for immunity wins.
Douche of the Week:
My vote this week goes to Lisa. Her claims of loyalty being her #1 priority are annoying considering how often she switches sides, plus her out-of-control sobbing when seeing her brother was quite distrurbing.
For once I wish they'd done the stupid move & kept Carter around. Sure he's a much bigger threat at challenges, but wouldn't it be great if the alliance actually followed through on their "final 6" bond? It would have been so entertaining to watch that! It's also horrible to have Skupin say things like "voting Carter out is like voting out my own son" right before writing his name down. If he'd really meant that he never would have voted for him. DoW candidate for sure.
Previews for the next episode are concerning. Lisa has no long-term vision for the game & she's as flaky & wishy washy as she claims not to be. Also, her complete meltdown when her brother came out was terrifying to watch. That sort of 5-minute-long dry-heaving, stopped-breathing, dangerous-to-your-health sobfest is not appropriate in that context. It really freaked me out. That was beyond normal, there's something weird happening there.
My ideal next episode is that Lisa does switch over to the Dark Side (or Brazilian Side) & drags Skupin with her. Anticipating the shift, though, Malcolm gives his idol to Denise to play & they knock out Lisa instead. Vindication!
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 98 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]
2. Skupin (22.5 pts)
[3. Jeff (21.5 pts)]
4. Abi-Maria (32.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 84.5 points
[1. Penner (41.5 pts)]
2. Denise (14 pts)
[3. Artis (23.5 pts)]
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 83.5 points
[1. Pete (27.5 pts)]
[2. Carter (39.5 pts)]
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (15.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 30 points
1. Malcolm (31 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon is now the only team with 2 players remaining - and is anyone else as shocked as me that one if them is Skupin? I thought that guy would have been med-evacked by episode 6! It's all but guaranteed that at least one of them will make the finals, maybe even two with the way things are going.
2. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Denise is still in it, but no one can be sitting very comfortably right now... except Malcolm I guess who's guaranteed himself a Final 4 spot. I'm still hoping for a Denise victory! She needs to start making some moves to leverage a strong position in the finals, but it might already be too late. Has she flown too far under the strategic-gameplay radar to win enough jury votes?
3. The Clap - Lisa's emotional journey storyline is running incredibly thin. She's betrayed pretty much everyone and is now going against everything that she's said to the jury are her priorities. I think she's likely to make Final Tribal, but I don't think she can win. There are going to be too many bitter jury members & too many of them who won't give her any credit for the strategy she played. I hope Penner shares her child star story, too -- be one of the bitter ones, Penner!
4. I'm on Dregs! - OMG Malcolm actually won something! Better late than never I guess, and it couldn't have come at a better time. He was about to fall into the "I feel like I'm in control & am getting complacent so now I'm getting voted out" trap, but saved himself with his first immunity win. Congrats Malcolm, you've managed to salvage some dignity here at the end, but you still are getting outscored by Abi-Maria in this pool. And you've only tied her for immunity wins.
Douche of the Week:
My vote this week goes to Lisa. Her claims of loyalty being her #1 priority are annoying considering how often she switches sides, plus her out-of-control sobbing when seeing her brother was quite distrurbing.
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Philippines: Eps 9 - 11
Many apologies for my insanely delayed blog post! With the holidays, the house, and probably a few other excuses I could dig up this fell right off of my to-do list. I hope to do better from now on!
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 97 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]
2. Skupin (21.5 pts)
[3. Jeff (21.5 pts)]
4. Abi-Maria (22.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 84.5 points
[1. Penner (41.5 pts)]
2. Denise (14 pts)
[3. Artis (23.5 pts)]
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 72.5 points
[1. Pete (27.5 pts)]
2. Carter (29.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (15.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 20 points
1. Malcolm (21 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - I thought this was a close call until I realized I didn't give Abi her 10 points for successfully playing her hidden immunity idol. Now I think it's pretty much decided. Moon has a decent lead & 2 players left who are guaranteed to bring in at minimum 10 more points each. Unless something crazy happens - like a final tribal vote sweep - I don't think anyone can catch him.
2. The Clap - Bag & Leah are ranked 2nd currently because they have 2 players & one of them is the remarkably competitive Carter. He very well could win enough immunities to get himself into the finals & bring Bag & Leah a big bag of points on the way there. And who knows? If he does & somehow Lisa makes the finals with Skupin there's a real chance that she could win the whole thing.
3. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - I adore Denise & I really hope she wins. I'm not sure that people are giving her enough credit for the strategy that going on, although I think that her speech at tribal council about how dislikeable Abi is will help. Go Denise!
4. I'm on Dregs! - It sounds like Malcolm is favored to win this season, but that doesn't mean much to me right now. Actually, what it DOES mean to me is that we should not do the draft the same way next season. Going first without a re-draw for the second round of draft picks really means that the #1 picker only gets to have 1 good pick & guarantees them the worst player. Lesson learned.
Douche of the Week:
The worst part of this! Many DoWs to catch up on. Here's how I have it so far:
Ep 8: Tie between Pete & Abi-Maria (2 votes each) - voting closed
Ep 9: Abi-Maria (2 votes)
Ep 10: Abi-Maria (2 votes)
Ep 11: Abi-Maria & Lisa (1 vote each)
Because of how much of a slacker I am, I am giving everyone the chance to re-vote for Episodes 9-11. Even if you already voted, you have the chance to vote again & have your vote count twice!! In comments, be sure to specify which episode your vote should count for. & to help out a little, here are the episode recaps:
Ep 9: Everyone's still reeling from the crazytown tribal where everyone pulled out their hidden idols & Jeff ended up getting voted out. In the reward challenge the "good guys" team wins & visits a village & feasts. The group left behind is Michael, Artis, Lisa, Pete & Abi, who spends her time leaning on Lisa telling her she doesn't trust her, etc. At tribal, Lisa says that the people outside her alliance were more gracious than her alliance. Skupin switches his vote & Artis gets voted out.
Ep 10: Lisa "breaks up" with Abi-Maria; the reward challenge is where they run around flipping drums & everyone is absolutely terrible at the strategy. Malcolm, Pete, Abi-Maria and Carter end up winning & they have a spa day that Abi raves on and on and on and on about. Abi starts refusing to help around camp & then Denise goes to task on Abi at tribal. Jeff shames the entire country of Brazil by saying this must be a cultural communication issue. Abi successfully uses her idol & Pete goes home.
Ep 11: Abi is emotional but still really obnoxious. They have an auction where the alliance of 6 underestimates Abi & she gets the big advantage at the immunity challenge. In the end it's Carter with 10% of his own body weight added & Penner who've both run the whole course & Abi who is only running the last leg. This made this challenge as even as possible, I think, and it was very entertaining to watch. Ultimately Abi wins immunity & the tribe votes out Penner. Penner had the chance to save himself but rejected a 4-person alliance when it was offered to him, so now it's Denise, Malcolm, Skupin & Lisa who are setting themselves up to be the Final Four, and Abi & Carter on the edges.
My personal votes (not included in the above tallies) are:
Ep 9: Abi
Ep 10: Abi
Ep 11: Penner
Looking forward to getting your votes (again) too!!
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 97 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]
2. Skupin (21.5 pts)
[3. Jeff (21.5 pts)]
4. Abi-Maria (22.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 84.5 points
[1. Penner (41.5 pts)]
2. Denise (14 pts)
[3. Artis (23.5 pts)]
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 72.5 points
[1. Pete (27.5 pts)]
2. Carter (29.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (15.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 20 points
1. Malcolm (21 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - I thought this was a close call until I realized I didn't give Abi her 10 points for successfully playing her hidden immunity idol. Now I think it's pretty much decided. Moon has a decent lead & 2 players left who are guaranteed to bring in at minimum 10 more points each. Unless something crazy happens - like a final tribal vote sweep - I don't think anyone can catch him.
2. The Clap - Bag & Leah are ranked 2nd currently because they have 2 players & one of them is the remarkably competitive Carter. He very well could win enough immunities to get himself into the finals & bring Bag & Leah a big bag of points on the way there. And who knows? If he does & somehow Lisa makes the finals with Skupin there's a real chance that she could win the whole thing.
3. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - I adore Denise & I really hope she wins. I'm not sure that people are giving her enough credit for the strategy that going on, although I think that her speech at tribal council about how dislikeable Abi is will help. Go Denise!
4. I'm on Dregs! - It sounds like Malcolm is favored to win this season, but that doesn't mean much to me right now. Actually, what it DOES mean to me is that we should not do the draft the same way next season. Going first without a re-draw for the second round of draft picks really means that the #1 picker only gets to have 1 good pick & guarantees them the worst player. Lesson learned.
Douche of the Week:
The worst part of this! Many DoWs to catch up on. Here's how I have it so far:
Ep 8: Tie between Pete & Abi-Maria (2 votes each) - voting closed
Ep 9: Abi-Maria (2 votes)
Ep 10: Abi-Maria (2 votes)
Ep 11: Abi-Maria & Lisa (1 vote each)
Because of how much of a slacker I am, I am giving everyone the chance to re-vote for Episodes 9-11. Even if you already voted, you have the chance to vote again & have your vote count twice!! In comments, be sure to specify which episode your vote should count for. & to help out a little, here are the episode recaps:
Ep 9: Everyone's still reeling from the crazytown tribal where everyone pulled out their hidden idols & Jeff ended up getting voted out. In the reward challenge the "good guys" team wins & visits a village & feasts. The group left behind is Michael, Artis, Lisa, Pete & Abi, who spends her time leaning on Lisa telling her she doesn't trust her, etc. At tribal, Lisa says that the people outside her alliance were more gracious than her alliance. Skupin switches his vote & Artis gets voted out.
Ep 10: Lisa "breaks up" with Abi-Maria; the reward challenge is where they run around flipping drums & everyone is absolutely terrible at the strategy. Malcolm, Pete, Abi-Maria and Carter end up winning & they have a spa day that Abi raves on and on and on and on about. Abi starts refusing to help around camp & then Denise goes to task on Abi at tribal. Jeff shames the entire country of Brazil by saying this must be a cultural communication issue. Abi successfully uses her idol & Pete goes home.
Ep 11: Abi is emotional but still really obnoxious. They have an auction where the alliance of 6 underestimates Abi & she gets the big advantage at the immunity challenge. In the end it's Carter with 10% of his own body weight added & Penner who've both run the whole course & Abi who is only running the last leg. This made this challenge as even as possible, I think, and it was very entertaining to watch. Ultimately Abi wins immunity & the tribe votes out Penner. Penner had the chance to save himself but rejected a 4-person alliance when it was offered to him, so now it's Denise, Malcolm, Skupin & Lisa who are setting themselves up to be the Final Four, and Abi & Carter on the edges.
My personal votes (not included in the above tallies) are:
Ep 9: Abi
Ep 10: Abi
Ep 11: Penner
Looking forward to getting your votes (again) too!!
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Philippines: Episode 7
Wow! What a crazy episode! I enjoyed watching the evolution of this vote so much. It was pretty amazing how flexible everyone acted in changing their votes. And I loved how at tribal most of them had given up on secrecy and were completely willing to share hidden immunity idols, key strategic options & decisions... pretty much nothing was left undiscussed at this tribal.
This was definitely one of the most entertaining strategic episodes, however, I still believe that the Earl/Yau Man season's episode where they blindsided Edgardo still sits at #1. Also in the running is when Evil Russell & Parvati owned all the "heroes" in the Heroes v. Villains season. And Parvati again, when she and Amanda pulled off a major blindside in the Fans v. Faves season. Being in the company of these legendary players really says something about this season.
I really respect Lisa's strategy in this game, if not her execution. Her realization that she needs to ally herself with the people she least gets along with in the game is next-level play. Actually following through with it though wasn't nearly as impressive. Jeff was also impressive, up until he was king of the island. So often the problem is that once made king players relax. But that's when they need to be most on guard. This was a classic example.
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 71 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]
2. Skupin (13.5 pts)
[3. Jeff (21.5 pts)]
4. Abi-Maria (14.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 56.5 points
1. Penner (21.5 pts)
2. Denise (10 pts)
3. Artis (13.5 pts)
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 44.5 points
1. Pete (15.5 pts)
2. Carter (15.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (13.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 14 points
1. Malcolm (15 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Penner lives to see another day! And I he'll probably barely be on the radar next episode, if he continues to play the savvy game he's known for. Penner's greatest strength is probably his adaptability. He was in command of the game but when that fell through he didn't despair - he came up with a new strategy. He didn't dwell on a lost opportunity (at least not for too long), he moved on to finding a new way to survive.
2. The Clap - Probably the team that benefitted the most from this episode. Taking Jeff out is a huge boost to Pete's life expectancy in this game. And while Lisa made some mistakes, she's also proven that she's capable of making moves, and that has to make Bag & Leah proud. Keep up the wily-ness Lisa!
3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - This episode was the death knell for Moon. He needed Jeff to come out on top this episode to have a chance to dictate how the rest of the season plays out. Now, while in the lead, he's depending on a sorry lot of dregs that are unlikely to earn him many more points. And with Abi-Maria's unnecessary reveal of her idol, he now has 2 players with pretty large targets on their backs.
4. I'm on Dregs! - I'm sooo happy my pony is still in this game. Keep hope alive Malcolm! I hope he's learned something from Penner - his strategy has to change now that he's revealed his idol. I hope he's successful at adapting.
Douche of the Week:
Pete's gotta get it! It's unbelievable that he barely gave Lisa's revelation about Malcolm's idol a second thought. If he was really the mastermind that he thinks he is, he would carefully evaluate every piece of info that he's given.
This was definitely one of the most entertaining strategic episodes, however, I still believe that the Earl/Yau Man season's episode where they blindsided Edgardo still sits at #1. Also in the running is when Evil Russell & Parvati owned all the "heroes" in the Heroes v. Villains season. And Parvati again, when she and Amanda pulled off a major blindside in the Fans v. Faves season. Being in the company of these legendary players really says something about this season.
I really respect Lisa's strategy in this game, if not her execution. Her realization that she needs to ally herself with the people she least gets along with in the game is next-level play. Actually following through with it though wasn't nearly as impressive. Jeff was also impressive, up until he was king of the island. So often the problem is that once made king players relax. But that's when they need to be most on guard. This was a classic example.
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 71 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]
2. Skupin (13.5 pts)
[3. Jeff (21.5 pts)]
4. Abi-Maria (14.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 56.5 points
1. Penner (21.5 pts)
2. Denise (10 pts)
3. Artis (13.5 pts)
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 44.5 points
1. Pete (15.5 pts)
2. Carter (15.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (13.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 14 points
1. Malcolm (15 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Penner lives to see another day! And I he'll probably barely be on the radar next episode, if he continues to play the savvy game he's known for. Penner's greatest strength is probably his adaptability. He was in command of the game but when that fell through he didn't despair - he came up with a new strategy. He didn't dwell on a lost opportunity (at least not for too long), he moved on to finding a new way to survive.
2. The Clap - Probably the team that benefitted the most from this episode. Taking Jeff out is a huge boost to Pete's life expectancy in this game. And while Lisa made some mistakes, she's also proven that she's capable of making moves, and that has to make Bag & Leah proud. Keep up the wily-ness Lisa!
3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - This episode was the death knell for Moon. He needed Jeff to come out on top this episode to have a chance to dictate how the rest of the season plays out. Now, while in the lead, he's depending on a sorry lot of dregs that are unlikely to earn him many more points. And with Abi-Maria's unnecessary reveal of her idol, he now has 2 players with pretty large targets on their backs.
4. I'm on Dregs! - I'm sooo happy my pony is still in this game. Keep hope alive Malcolm! I hope he's learned something from Penner - his strategy has to change now that he's revealed his idol. I hope he's successful at adapting.
Douche of the Week:
Pete's gotta get it! It's unbelievable that he barely gave Lisa's revelation about Malcolm's idol a second thought. If he was really the mastermind that he thinks he is, he would carefully evaluate every piece of info that he's given.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Philippines: Episode 7
I'm so excited at how the alliances played out this week! It was pretty unique I think that two alliances could unite so unanimously over voting out the veterans. While technically they didn't succeed at this due to Penner's craftiness, they are well on their way to getting rid of the returnees. It would've been easy for both alliances to try & win over RC & Skupin but this was so much better and done so much less often!
I think that the overall average intelligence level of the competitors is higher this season than it's been in recent seasons. I also think that the producers have done a good job of mixing things up enough so that players are forced to play outside the "formula."
The Standings:
FYI: Your scores may look a little strange. This is because I forgot to subtract out the "sitting out a challenge" penalty last week. This has been fixed now though!
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 59 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]2. Skupin (13.5 pts)
3. Jeff (9.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (14.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 46.5 points
1. Penner (19.5 pts)
2. Denise (8 pts)
3. Artis (13.5 pts)
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 42.5 points
1. Pete (15.5 pts)
2. Carter (15.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (11.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 12 points
1. Malcolm (13 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug & Bri are going to stay at the top of my power rankings until Penner gets voted out. He had a spectacular idol play in this last episode & now he has 3 more days to either find a new idol or make new alliances. This man is clever & I'm not going to count him out until he's actually out. Denise & Artis are doing very well for themselves too, and I could see both of them getting far.
2. The Clap - I don't expect Carter to win many more individual immunity challenges. Honestly I didn't expect him to win any! That was a nice point boost for a competitive team. I think Lisa could be a real threat too, especially with her multi-alliance options. Pete is probably the figurehead that will be turned on once the riffraff have been eliminated, but he could still bring in some big points before then. Overall I think this team benefitted the most from the outcome of this episode.
3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - It was inevitable that Moon would lose someone soon, but Jeff is probably his MVP right now & he doesn't seem to be in any danger quite yet, and losing RC isn't a big deal. It's always risky though when you tell people "I just want to outlast so-and-so" though. There some kind of bad karma that immediately puts you on people's radars once "so-and-so" is gone. Plus in this new alliance Jeff could easily be singled out by the Yellows as a threat & get the boot. Moon should be hoping Jeff still has some moves in him!
4. I'm on Dregs! - Malcolm seems to be in a secure position right now & I'm happy he didn't win this immunity because I don't want people to view him as a huge threat yet. Still, I need him to start bringing in some major points pretty soon if I'm going to have any chance. Really glad that it was Lisa who found his idol & not anyone else! She's the only one where that situation could have played out like it did. I hope this "forced" alliance goes far; Denise, Malcolm & Lisa are all my favorite players right now!
Douche of the Week:
I'm voting for RC this week because she annoyed me SO much at final tribal. Her weird fake fight with Abi-Maria while maintaining this creepy smile & staring at Jeff the whole time was extremely uncomfortable to watch.
I think that the overall average intelligence level of the competitors is higher this season than it's been in recent seasons. I also think that the producers have done a good job of mixing things up enough so that players are forced to play outside the "formula."
The Standings:
FYI: Your scores may look a little strange. This is because I forgot to subtract out the "sitting out a challenge" penalty last week. This has been fixed now though!
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 59 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]2. Skupin (13.5 pts)
3. Jeff (9.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (14.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 46.5 points
1. Penner (19.5 pts)
2. Denise (8 pts)
3. Artis (13.5 pts)
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 42.5 points
1. Pete (15.5 pts)
2. Carter (15.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (11.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 12 points
1. Malcolm (13 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug & Bri are going to stay at the top of my power rankings until Penner gets voted out. He had a spectacular idol play in this last episode & now he has 3 more days to either find a new idol or make new alliances. This man is clever & I'm not going to count him out until he's actually out. Denise & Artis are doing very well for themselves too, and I could see both of them getting far.
2. The Clap - I don't expect Carter to win many more individual immunity challenges. Honestly I didn't expect him to win any! That was a nice point boost for a competitive team. I think Lisa could be a real threat too, especially with her multi-alliance options. Pete is probably the figurehead that will be turned on once the riffraff have been eliminated, but he could still bring in some big points before then. Overall I think this team benefitted the most from the outcome of this episode.
3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - It was inevitable that Moon would lose someone soon, but Jeff is probably his MVP right now & he doesn't seem to be in any danger quite yet, and losing RC isn't a big deal. It's always risky though when you tell people "I just want to outlast so-and-so" though. There some kind of bad karma that immediately puts you on people's radars once "so-and-so" is gone. Plus in this new alliance Jeff could easily be singled out by the Yellows as a threat & get the boot. Moon should be hoping Jeff still has some moves in him!
4. I'm on Dregs! - Malcolm seems to be in a secure position right now & I'm happy he didn't win this immunity because I don't want people to view him as a huge threat yet. Still, I need him to start bringing in some major points pretty soon if I'm going to have any chance. Really glad that it was Lisa who found his idol & not anyone else! She's the only one where that situation could have played out like it did. I hope this "forced" alliance goes far; Denise, Malcolm & Lisa are all my favorite players right now!
Douche of the Week:
I'm voting for RC this week because she annoyed me SO much at final tribal. Her weird fake fight with Abi-Maria while maintaining this creepy smile & staring at Jeff the whole time was extremely uncomfortable to watch.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Philippines: Episode 6
Sorry these keep coming in late. Once my life settles down (haha) I will be much more prompt! For now, here's a bare-bones post:
The Standings:Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 55 points
1. RC (13.5 pts)
2. Skupin (15.5 pts)
3. Jeff (9.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (16.5 pts)
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 36.5 points
1. Pete (15.5 pts)
2. Carter (9.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (11.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 32.5 points
1. Penner (9.5 pts)
2. Denise (2 pts)
3. Artis (15.5 pts)
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 12 points
1. Malcolm (13 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug & Bri are lucky that Jeff made the right decision. If Red Team was up in numbers then I think getting rid of Penner. But since they are down in numbers they should keep him around. He can either be wily & steal over Yellow players, or he'll make an obvious target to vote out (if blindsided) giving Jeff & co a little more time to manuever.
2. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon is still doing well but his team seems like it's on a self-destruct path. It will be really important for RC to convince Skupin to switch sides come merge time. Right now I think he's too clueless to realize that he's in serious danger. If RC can pull that off, then this team has a chance.
3. The Clap - Bag & Leah's team seems to be full of whiners right now! Lisa is actually doing incredibly well & being smart about laying low. Carter looks like he's about to vote himself out of the game, though, and Pete is all bark & no bite.
4. I'm on Dregs! - Malcolm is better at a catching game than a former pro baseball player. Looking on the bright side!
Douche of the Week:
I'm voting for Michael. Why would anyone eat uncooked rice? It almost seems like he's trying to get himself voted out!
The Standings:Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 55 points
1. RC (13.5 pts)
2. Skupin (15.5 pts)
3. Jeff (9.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (16.5 pts)
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 36.5 points
1. Pete (15.5 pts)
2. Carter (9.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (11.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 32.5 points
1. Penner (9.5 pts)
2. Denise (2 pts)
3. Artis (15.5 pts)
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 12 points
1. Malcolm (13 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug & Bri are lucky that Jeff made the right decision. If Red Team was up in numbers then I think getting rid of Penner. But since they are down in numbers they should keep him around. He can either be wily & steal over Yellow players, or he'll make an obvious target to vote out (if blindsided) giving Jeff & co a little more time to manuever.
2. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon is still doing well but his team seems like it's on a self-destruct path. It will be really important for RC to convince Skupin to switch sides come merge time. Right now I think he's too clueless to realize that he's in serious danger. If RC can pull that off, then this team has a chance.
3. The Clap - Bag & Leah's team seems to be full of whiners right now! Lisa is actually doing incredibly well & being smart about laying low. Carter looks like he's about to vote himself out of the game, though, and Pete is all bark & no bite.
4. I'm on Dregs! - Malcolm is better at a catching game than a former pro baseball player. Looking on the bright side!
Douche of the Week:
I'm voting for Michael. Why would anyone eat uncooked rice? It almost seems like he's trying to get himself voted out!
Monday, October 22, 2012
Philippines: Episode 5
I'm a bit disappointed in Survivor for merging the blue tribe so quicky - I'm also annoyed at the dull way they did it. While we were watching, Ben suggested that maybe they'd do a schoolyard pick, where Malcolm & Denise got to pick people to join their "new" tribe. That would've been cool. On the plus-side though, neither appear to be in any imminent danger, so diving head first into a tribe full of backstabbers & broken alliances doesn't really seem to have affected their chances of winning the game.
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 44 points
1. RC (10.5 pts)
2. Skupin (12.5 pts)
3. Jeff (7.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (13.5 pts)
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 28.5 points
1. Pete (12.5 pts)
2. Carter (7.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (8.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 23.5 points
1. Penner (7.5 pts)
2. Denise (0 pts)
3. Artis (12.5 pts)
4. Katie (3.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 9 points
1. Malcolm (10 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug & Bri are in great shape. It's amazing how Penner went from alone, alliance-less & declared "first out" to ruling the red roost. His transition was so smooth too, it was quite professional. He didn't even hurt anyone's feelings doing it! How often does that happen? Denise is still a huge threat & her being 4th to the men's alliance is a great position for her to be in. I think she could beat these guys in some of the individual challenges, forcing them to take out each other before her. I have high expectations for the perennial threat of Doug & Bri this season.
2. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon has a solid lead with almost all-yellow team. However, he doesn't seem to have any closers. A few could definitely have some deep runs, but I don't think he's going to keep up the point-winning pace he's on now. RC needs to make some moves for this team to have a chance at the win!
3. The Clap - Bag & Leah are getting demoted to 3rd because Pete's not as smart as he thinks he is. As Ben noted, he really should have asked if Malcolm had an idol. I also think he's completely failing to recognize what a huge threat Malcolm is to him. Malcolm is like a better version of Pete (better in the wilderness, better at the social game - in a non-douchey way) and his first line of order should be to take him out. But his ego is probably blinding him to the fact that he can't control everyone and this will probably be his downfall.
4. I'm on Dregs! - My team name did not disappoint this season, although the team itself has. Losing both my dregs in 1 episode is probably enough to seal up the Loser category for me... or to paraphrase the wise Penner: "Now I am down 1 one person... that gap at this stage in the game may just be insurmountable.” Malcolm will have to do more than win to keep me in this game. Beast mode?
Douche of the Week:
I'm voting for Dana. Weak sauce lady.
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 44 points
1. RC (10.5 pts)
2. Skupin (12.5 pts)
3. Jeff (7.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (13.5 pts)
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 28.5 points
1. Pete (12.5 pts)
2. Carter (7.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (8.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 23.5 points
1. Penner (7.5 pts)
2. Denise (0 pts)
3. Artis (12.5 pts)
4. Katie (3.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 9 points
1. Malcolm (10 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug & Bri are in great shape. It's amazing how Penner went from alone, alliance-less & declared "first out" to ruling the red roost. His transition was so smooth too, it was quite professional. He didn't even hurt anyone's feelings doing it! How often does that happen? Denise is still a huge threat & her being 4th to the men's alliance is a great position for her to be in. I think she could beat these guys in some of the individual challenges, forcing them to take out each other before her. I have high expectations for the perennial threat of Doug & Bri this season.
2. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon has a solid lead with almost all-yellow team. However, he doesn't seem to have any closers. A few could definitely have some deep runs, but I don't think he's going to keep up the point-winning pace he's on now. RC needs to make some moves for this team to have a chance at the win!
3. The Clap - Bag & Leah are getting demoted to 3rd because Pete's not as smart as he thinks he is. As Ben noted, he really should have asked if Malcolm had an idol. I also think he's completely failing to recognize what a huge threat Malcolm is to him. Malcolm is like a better version of Pete (better in the wilderness, better at the social game - in a non-douchey way) and his first line of order should be to take him out. But his ego is probably blinding him to the fact that he can't control everyone and this will probably be his downfall.
4. I'm on Dregs! - My team name did not disappoint this season, although the team itself has. Losing both my dregs in 1 episode is probably enough to seal up the Loser category for me... or to paraphrase the wise Penner: "Now I am down 1 one person... that gap at this stage in the game may just be insurmountable.” Malcolm will have to do more than win to keep me in this game. Beast mode?
Douche of the Week:
I'm voting for Dana. Weak sauce lady.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Philippines: Episode 4
Sorry for my delayed post! I updated the scores & then completely forgot to add my own opinion to it! =)
If you watched this episode in Colorado you probably missed most of the immunity challenge because of a breaking news report. I read up on what happened & the summary is: blue team started off strong, but Denise was slow on the obstacle course & Malcolm messed up the part where you swing a ball at the pots & that's how they lost.
The Standings:
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 9 points
1. Malcolm (0 pts)
2. Dana (5.5 pts)
3. Dawson (3.5 pts)
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 18.5 points
1. Pete (7.5 pts)
2. Carter (7.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (3.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 18.5 points
1. Penner (7.5 pts)
2. Denise (0 pts)
3. Artis (7.5 pts)
4. Katie (3.5 pts)
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 29 points
1. RC (5.5 pts)
2. Skupin (7.5 pts)
3. Jeff (7.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (8.5 pts)
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Apart from having the creepiest name among a very questionable group this year, Doug & Bri probably have the only team with 2 legitimate prospects to win the season. Who knows what will end up happening in the long run, but Penner & Denise both appear to be powerhouses.
2. The Clap - I think Pete could do very well for himself, but he may get distracted by having too much fun manipulating his teammates & forget that he's playing for $1 million. Too much of what he's doing now is a sure way to get backstabbed right after a merge.
3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon's team is crushing right now, but is on the edge of a bloody civil war that could take down his entire stable. I also have concerns about what's happening this week with Jeff's knee. He can't stay in the game if he gets a knee brace, right? That just doesn't seem fair to me.
4. I'm on Dregs! - I'm not earning points now & it seems really unlikely that I'll start earning points if I make it to a merge. Hoping the Red Ladies will do some serious backstabbing to get me back in this game!
Douche of the Week:
In a weak week of voting Abi-Maria took it down last week. Your vote actually counts here, please do it! I'm going to have to go with Abi-Maria again... right now she's setting herself up for the DoW sweep for the season I think!
If you watched this episode in Colorado you probably missed most of the immunity challenge because of a breaking news report. I read up on what happened & the summary is: blue team started off strong, but Denise was slow on the obstacle course & Malcolm messed up the part where you swing a ball at the pots & that's how they lost.
The Standings:
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 9 points
1. Malcolm (0 pts)
2. Dana (5.5 pts)
3. Dawson (3.5 pts)
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 18.5 points
1. Pete (7.5 pts)
2. Carter (7.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (3.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 18.5 points
1. Penner (7.5 pts)
2. Denise (0 pts)
3. Artis (7.5 pts)
4. Katie (3.5 pts)
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 29 points
1. RC (5.5 pts)
2. Skupin (7.5 pts)
3. Jeff (7.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (8.5 pts)
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Apart from having the creepiest name among a very questionable group this year, Doug & Bri probably have the only team with 2 legitimate prospects to win the season. Who knows what will end up happening in the long run, but Penner & Denise both appear to be powerhouses.
2. The Clap - I think Pete could do very well for himself, but he may get distracted by having too much fun manipulating his teammates & forget that he's playing for $1 million. Too much of what he's doing now is a sure way to get backstabbed right after a merge.
3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon's team is crushing right now, but is on the edge of a bloody civil war that could take down his entire stable. I also have concerns about what's happening this week with Jeff's knee. He can't stay in the game if he gets a knee brace, right? That just doesn't seem fair to me.
4. I'm on Dregs! - I'm not earning points now & it seems really unlikely that I'll start earning points if I make it to a merge. Hoping the Red Ladies will do some serious backstabbing to get me back in this game!
Douche of the Week:
In a weak week of voting Abi-Maria took it down last week. Your vote actually counts here, please do it! I'm going to have to go with Abi-Maria again... right now she's setting herself up for the DoW sweep for the season I think!
Friday, October 5, 2012
Philippines: The Draft & Episode 3
Wednesday was the Survivor draft followed by the third episode of Survivor: Philippines. There was some debate watching mixed in there too, but it didn't take much politicking before we were ready to watch a much more entertaining form of competition. That being said, the group generally agrees that the next presidential election should mimick the Survivor format more. Each candidate would be on a tribe & Americans could evaluate their effectiveness at getting along with others, being a good leader, etc. all while watching them starve & fend off the connivers on their own tribe. Wouldn't you want to watch that too?
Without knowing very much about many of this season's contestants, we all feel like the draft went well. None of us feel like we have a bad team... at least not yet! Only time & TV editing will reveal how good we are at analyzing cast videos, making inferences from the previous episodes, and following our gut.
The Rules:
We made very few rule changes - we only added a med-evac penalty, and then changed what the prize was for the winning team. This year we're bumping the monetary prize up to $15 per team & we're also adding a trophy! That's right, Survivor Pool now comes with memorabilia. Here's how it's scored:
Placement Points
Final Tribal Council: 20 + 5 pts per vote
Jury: 10
Challenge Points
Wins a team reward challenge: 2
Wins a team immunity challenge: 3
Wins an individual reward challenge: 4
Invited to share a reward challenge: 1
Wins individual immunity challenge: 6
Sits out a challenge: -2
Hidden Immunity Idol Points
Find the other tribe’s hidden immunity idol: 10
Find your tribe’s hidden immunity idol: 5
Plays hidden immunity idol at tribal council (success v. fail): 10/-5
If you play hidden immunity idol unncecessarily during the last tribal council you can play it: 0
If you don't play your immunity idol on the last day you can play it: -5
Plays a fake immunity idol: -10
Creator of fake immunity idol, if played: 5
Miscellaneous Points
Douche of the Week (overall player who wins the title the most): 10
Buy bad item at auction/don't buy an item at auction: -2
Buy good item at auction: 2
Having the fan favorite: 5
Quitters: -10
Med-evackers: -5
Cost to trade a player during the draft (charged to each team involved in the trade): -2
The Teams:
Michal: 8 points
1. Malcolm (0 pts)
2. Dana (5 pts)
3. Dawson (3 pts)
4. Russell (0 pts)
Bag/Leah: 7 points
1. Pete (2 pts)
2. Carter (5 pts)
3. Angie (0 pts)
4. Lisa (0 pts)
Doug/Bri: 10 points
1. Penner (5 pts)
2. Denise (0 pts)
3. Artis (2 pts)
4. Katie (3 pts)
Moon: 14 points
1. RC (2 pts)
2. Skupin (2 pts)
3. Jeff (5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (5 pts)
A couple things:
1) We didn't think about the fact that 2 tribes kind of win, but only 1 gets the real win. As a compromise, I gave the top 2 tribes points for winning a reward, but only the top finisher the points for winning the challenge. That being said, the rule does state "winning immunity" so I didn't really follow the rules on this one. Please everyone voice your opinion on how we should deal with the 3-tribe-dilemma & I will adjust the points accordingly.
2) Please also tell me your team name! Team names are due by Wednesday, otherwise I will make a bad one up for you
3) Don't forget to vote for your Douche of the Week, aka best rule ever. My vote this week goes to Skupin for telling Artis not to dive in face-first or he'd break the mask & then doing that exact thing 2 seconds later. Slow clap for you, Skupin - keep up the douchey work!
Without knowing very much about many of this season's contestants, we all feel like the draft went well. None of us feel like we have a bad team... at least not yet! Only time & TV editing will reveal how good we are at analyzing cast videos, making inferences from the previous episodes, and following our gut.
The Rules:
We made very few rule changes - we only added a med-evac penalty, and then changed what the prize was for the winning team. This year we're bumping the monetary prize up to $15 per team & we're also adding a trophy! That's right, Survivor Pool now comes with memorabilia. Here's how it's scored:
Placement Points
Final Tribal Council: 20 + 5 pts per vote
Jury: 10
Challenge Points
Wins a team reward challenge: 2
Wins a team immunity challenge: 3
Wins an individual reward challenge: 4
Invited to share a reward challenge: 1
Wins individual immunity challenge: 6
Sits out a challenge: -2
Hidden Immunity Idol Points
Find the other tribe’s hidden immunity idol: 10
Find your tribe’s hidden immunity idol: 5
Plays hidden immunity idol at tribal council (success v. fail): 10/-5
If you play hidden immunity idol unncecessarily during the last tribal council you can play it: 0
If you don't play your immunity idol on the last day you can play it: -5
Plays a fake immunity idol: -10
Creator of fake immunity idol, if played: 5
Miscellaneous Points
Douche of the Week (overall player who wins the title the most): 10
Buy bad item at auction/don't buy an item at auction: -2
Buy good item at auction: 2
Having the fan favorite: 5
Quitters: -10
Med-evackers: -5
Cost to trade a player during the draft (charged to each team involved in the trade): -2
The Teams:
Michal: 8 points
1. Malcolm (0 pts)
2. Dana (5 pts)
3. Dawson (3 pts)
4. Russell (0 pts)
Bag/Leah: 7 points
1. Pete (2 pts)
2. Carter (5 pts)
3. Angie (0 pts)
4. Lisa (0 pts)
Doug/Bri: 10 points
1. Penner (5 pts)
2. Denise (0 pts)
3. Artis (2 pts)
4. Katie (3 pts)
Moon: 14 points
1. RC (2 pts)
2. Skupin (2 pts)
3. Jeff (5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (5 pts)
A couple things:
1) We didn't think about the fact that 2 tribes kind of win, but only 1 gets the real win. As a compromise, I gave the top 2 tribes points for winning a reward, but only the top finisher the points for winning the challenge. That being said, the rule does state "winning immunity" so I didn't really follow the rules on this one. Please everyone voice your opinion on how we should deal with the 3-tribe-dilemma & I will adjust the points accordingly.
2) Please also tell me your team name! Team names are due by Wednesday, otherwise I will make a bad one up for you
3) Don't forget to vote for your Douche of the Week, aka best rule ever. My vote this week goes to Skupin for telling Artis not to dive in face-first or he'd break the mask & then doing that exact thing 2 seconds later. Slow clap for you, Skupin - keep up the douchey work!
Monday, May 21, 2012
One World: Finale
I thought this was one of the strongest seasons in a while, and
certainly included one of the strongest strategic players we've seen! My
ranking of the top 10 strategic players in the game:
1. Parvati (Cook Islands, All Stars & Heroes v. Villains)
2. Boston Rob (Marquesas, All Stars, Redemption)
3. Kim (One World)
4. Earl (Fiji)
5. Yul (Cook Islands)
6. Evil Russ (Samoa, Heroes v. Villains, Redemption)
7. Colton (One World)
8. Yau Man (Fiji & All Stars)
9. Amanda (China, Fans v. Favorites & Heroes v. Villains)
10. Rob C (Amazon & All Stars)
Some memorable moments from these players:
- Parvati giving away 2 immunity idols to Sandra & Jerri in Heroes v. Villains to protect her alliance & subsequent owning of the Heroes
- Kim's streak of 4 immunity wins in a row
- Earl's alliance taking out Edgardo in the best collateral damage blindside I've seen
- Yul's alliance repeatedly sending Candace to Exile Island
- Yau Man - the first person to create a fake immunity idol
- Rob C - convincing Matthew to throw the final immunity challenge on the basis that it would make him look better to the jury
- Colton convincing his tribe to go to Tribal Council for no reason
The Standings:
Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 114 pts
1. Kim: 94 pts
2. Leif: 17 pts
3. Colton: 3 pts
Untouchables: Doug/Bri - 104 pts
1. Jay: 30 pts
2. Troyzan: 38 pts
3. Alicia: 36 pts
The Sycophants: Moon - 70 pts
1. Jonas: 11 pts
2. Sabrina: 44 pts
3. Tarzan: 15 pts
Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 60 pts
1. Chelsea: 44 pts
2. Monica: 2 pts
3. Christina: 14 pts
All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 52 pts
1. Michael: 22 pts
2. Bill: 1 pt
3. Kat: 29 pts
Thoughts on the Season:
Congratulations to Bag & Leah!! They had two really strong players, but in the end they only needed 1 to take this one. In a season filled with backstabs, medical evacuations, insanely stupid people, and really bizarre decisions, the one thing that remained constant throughout was Kim's complete dominance of the game. I'd love to see her in an All-Stars season where she'd really be tested by other great connivers.
Speaking of stupid people & top 10 lists, Kat is definitely making it onto the top 10 dumbest people in Survivor history list, along with Robb With Two Bs, Dreamz, and Erik (the guy who gave up his immunity necklace on his bday & then got voted out). This is a different list than the "top 10 dumbest moves" in Survivor history list, which I should actually write sometime.
Thoughts on Next Season:
I like that they are bringing back med-evacked people; I've been hoping for that for a while. I do NOT like that they are only bringing back 3 of them. Surely there have been enough med-evacs over 24 seasons to fill the whole cast, right? I'm getting tired of them bringing back just a handful of repeat castaways and a bunch of n00bs. All repeats or all n00bs is the way to go. That being said, I really hope that Colton & Michael from Season 2 (burned hands guy) are 2 of the 3 who come back.
I am pleased that they are finally leaving Samoa though! We need more variety!
1. Parvati (Cook Islands, All Stars & Heroes v. Villains)
2. Boston Rob (Marquesas, All Stars, Redemption)
3. Kim (One World)
4. Earl (Fiji)
5. Yul (Cook Islands)
6. Evil Russ (Samoa, Heroes v. Villains, Redemption)
7. Colton (One World)
8. Yau Man (Fiji & All Stars)
9. Amanda (China, Fans v. Favorites & Heroes v. Villains)
10. Rob C (Amazon & All Stars)
Some memorable moments from these players:
- Parvati giving away 2 immunity idols to Sandra & Jerri in Heroes v. Villains to protect her alliance & subsequent owning of the Heroes
- Kim's streak of 4 immunity wins in a row
- Earl's alliance taking out Edgardo in the best collateral damage blindside I've seen
- Yul's alliance repeatedly sending Candace to Exile Island
- Yau Man - the first person to create a fake immunity idol
- Rob C - convincing Matthew to throw the final immunity challenge on the basis that it would make him look better to the jury
- Colton convincing his tribe to go to Tribal Council for no reason
The Standings:
Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 114 pts
1. Kim: 94 pts
2. Leif: 17 pts
3. Colton: 3 pts
Untouchables: Doug/Bri - 104 pts
1. Jay: 30 pts
2. Troyzan: 38 pts
3. Alicia: 36 pts
The Sycophants: Moon - 70 pts
1. Jonas: 11 pts
2. Sabrina: 44 pts
3. Tarzan: 15 pts
Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 60 pts
1. Chelsea: 44 pts
2. Monica: 2 pts
3. Christina: 14 pts
All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 52 pts
1. Michael: 22 pts
2. Bill: 1 pt
3. Kat: 29 pts
Thoughts on the Season:
Congratulations to Bag & Leah!! They had two really strong players, but in the end they only needed 1 to take this one. In a season filled with backstabs, medical evacuations, insanely stupid people, and really bizarre decisions, the one thing that remained constant throughout was Kim's complete dominance of the game. I'd love to see her in an All-Stars season where she'd really be tested by other great connivers.
Speaking of stupid people & top 10 lists, Kat is definitely making it onto the top 10 dumbest people in Survivor history list, along with Robb With Two Bs, Dreamz, and Erik (the guy who gave up his immunity necklace on his bday & then got voted out). This is a different list than the "top 10 dumbest moves" in Survivor history list, which I should actually write sometime.
Thoughts on Next Season:
I like that they are bringing back med-evacked people; I've been hoping for that for a while. I do NOT like that they are only bringing back 3 of them. Surely there have been enough med-evacs over 24 seasons to fill the whole cast, right? I'm getting tired of them bringing back just a handful of repeat castaways and a bunch of n00bs. All repeats or all n00bs is the way to go. That being said, I really hope that Colton & Michael from Season 2 (burned hands guy) are 2 of the 3 who come back.
I am pleased that they are finally leaving Samoa though! We need more variety!
Friday, May 4, 2012
One World: Episode 12
The bloodbath has begun! And in such a fun way too! This season the contestants really like to drone on about how they are safe & blindsides are fun right before getting voted out. I find it extremely satisfying to watch, and hope that trend continues.
All things considered, this was a hugely important episode for Moon & my "underdog" teams. Kim stood on the brink of loyalty v. cunning and really wanted to leap onto the cunning side. But her loyalty alliance of Sabrina and Chelsea dragged her back to their side, ensuring that their alliance will last at least a little bit longer.
My biggest disappointment with this season is how most people are deciding not to give the challenges 100% of their effort. Strategically it makes sense, but only in the short-term. The ladies don't want to reveal themselves to be a threat. But these women need to recognize that Kim will use "I've won almost all the challenges" as a very strong argument for the jury to give her a million bucks (on top of all the rest of it).
The Standings:
Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me: Doug/Bri - 78 pts
[1. Jay (30 pts)]
[2. Troyzan (38 pts)]
3. Alicia (10 pts)
Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 57 pts
1. Kim (37 pts)
[2. Leif (17 pts)]
[3. Colton (3 pts)]
All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 52 pts
[1.Michael (22 pts)]
[2. Bill (1 pt)]
[3. Kat (29 pts)]
The Sycophants: Moon- 29 pts
[1. Jonas (11 pts)]
2. Sabrina (13 pts)
3. Tarzan (5 pts)
Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 26 pts
1. Chelsea (20 pts)
[2. Monica (2 pts)]
3. Christina (4 pts)
Power Rankings:
1. Pride of Chucky - Kim is a genius & we all know it. But why don't the other women in her alliance know it? Shouldn't they recognize at this point that Kim's the master puppeteer who's most likely to get jury votes? I guess maybe the smartest people left are in her inner alliance & value loyalty, and maybe the rest are just too dumb to figure it out. Tarzan seems to be the only one in the know, and he seems happy to keep quiet about it... for now. Bag & Leah's current ideal final three is Kim & any two other females.
2. Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me - Alicia continues to suck. Lucky for her a bad personality is actually an attribute right now, and I think she knows it. We'll see how she works the game now after losing her closest ally. Doug & Bri's current ideal final three is Alicia, Christina, and Tarzan. I really can't see her beating anyone left besides Christina, but Tarzan's a good match here because Moon's team doesn't have many points.
3. Ladies of Ephesus - Convincing Kim to do what everyone else wanted was a crucial move for Chelsea, even if she didn't fully realize its importance. This move solidified Chelsea's alliance and should empower her more. I hope she finds it in her to starting making tough decisions and putting herself first. Hopefully my team will start to earn points soon! I've only earned 1 point over the last 3 weeks. My current ideal final three is Chelsea, Christina, and Sabrina.
4. The Sycophants - Moon dodges a close one in this episode. I hope Sabrina's name doesn't get brought up again. Tarzan is comfortable now, but I can't imagine that anyone will let him make it to the final 3. There are too many men on the jury, many of whom would probably vote his way. Previews indicate that next week Tarzan will try to make a move though - I'm excited to see how that goes! Moon's current ideal final three is Sabrina, Tarzan, and Christina. Unfortunately this seems like the least likely scenario out of all my "ideal final three" combos.
5. No Brains - Goodbye, dumb Kat! I will not miss you. I can't believe how many mistakes you made in this game - you should've been voted out long ago. Kat will probably be one of the biggest wild card jury votes since I suspect she'll act like a huge brat about getting blindsided & vote on spite rather than for an actual good reason.
Douche of the Week:
Voting for Kat this week. Selfishness & immaturity do not a millionaire make.
All things considered, this was a hugely important episode for Moon & my "underdog" teams. Kim stood on the brink of loyalty v. cunning and really wanted to leap onto the cunning side. But her loyalty alliance of Sabrina and Chelsea dragged her back to their side, ensuring that their alliance will last at least a little bit longer.
My biggest disappointment with this season is how most people are deciding not to give the challenges 100% of their effort. Strategically it makes sense, but only in the short-term. The ladies don't want to reveal themselves to be a threat. But these women need to recognize that Kim will use "I've won almost all the challenges" as a very strong argument for the jury to give her a million bucks (on top of all the rest of it).
The Standings:
Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me: Doug/Bri - 78 pts
[1. Jay (30 pts)]
[2. Troyzan (38 pts)]
3. Alicia (10 pts)
Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 57 pts
1. Kim (37 pts)
[2. Leif (17 pts)]
[3. Colton (3 pts)]
All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 52 pts
[1.Michael (22 pts)]
[2. Bill (1 pt)]
[3. Kat (29 pts)]
The Sycophants: Moon- 29 pts
[1. Jonas (11 pts)]
2. Sabrina (13 pts)
3. Tarzan (5 pts)
Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 26 pts
1. Chelsea (20 pts)
[2. Monica (2 pts)]
3. Christina (4 pts)
Power Rankings:
1. Pride of Chucky - Kim is a genius & we all know it. But why don't the other women in her alliance know it? Shouldn't they recognize at this point that Kim's the master puppeteer who's most likely to get jury votes? I guess maybe the smartest people left are in her inner alliance & value loyalty, and maybe the rest are just too dumb to figure it out. Tarzan seems to be the only one in the know, and he seems happy to keep quiet about it... for now. Bag & Leah's current ideal final three is Kim & any two other females.
2. Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me - Alicia continues to suck. Lucky for her a bad personality is actually an attribute right now, and I think she knows it. We'll see how she works the game now after losing her closest ally. Doug & Bri's current ideal final three is Alicia, Christina, and Tarzan. I really can't see her beating anyone left besides Christina, but Tarzan's a good match here because Moon's team doesn't have many points.
3. Ladies of Ephesus - Convincing Kim to do what everyone else wanted was a crucial move for Chelsea, even if she didn't fully realize its importance. This move solidified Chelsea's alliance and should empower her more. I hope she finds it in her to starting making tough decisions and putting herself first. Hopefully my team will start to earn points soon! I've only earned 1 point over the last 3 weeks. My current ideal final three is Chelsea, Christina, and Sabrina.
4. The Sycophants - Moon dodges a close one in this episode. I hope Sabrina's name doesn't get brought up again. Tarzan is comfortable now, but I can't imagine that anyone will let him make it to the final 3. There are too many men on the jury, many of whom would probably vote his way. Previews indicate that next week Tarzan will try to make a move though - I'm excited to see how that goes! Moon's current ideal final three is Sabrina, Tarzan, and Christina. Unfortunately this seems like the least likely scenario out of all my "ideal final three" combos.
5. No Brains - Goodbye, dumb Kat! I will not miss you. I can't believe how many mistakes you made in this game - you should've been voted out long ago. Kat will probably be one of the biggest wild card jury votes since I suspect she'll act like a huge brat about getting blindsided & vote on spite rather than for an actual good reason.
Douche of the Week:
Voting for Kat this week. Selfishness & immaturity do not a millionaire make.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
One World: Episode 11
With Troyzan gone, I'm excited to see the craziness that starts to happen in camp. I'm hopeful that there will be lots of politicking and new alliances formed, but the logical part of my brain says that's really unlikely. Like many seasons the part that always surprises me the most is how unwilling the dreg people are to form alliances with the other dregs. There are enough people on the outs that they could overthrow the General, but they don't like the people they'd have to align with, so instead they go out 5th & 6th.
The dumbest part of the episode by far was when Sabrina told Christina that they were putting her name down in case Troyzan played his idol. Sabrina tried to say that it was okay to share this info because Christina is just that stupid, but I don't think that's the case. I think Christina knew the risks but also knew that she didn't have sway with anyone in her alliance, so there was nothing that she could do. Which should be a signal to her that she needs to start talking to other people to try & build relationships & alliances. Maybe that's the part where Sabrina's right & that she's too dumb to figure that next step out.
The Standings:
Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me: Doug/Bri - 77 pts
[1. Jay (30 pts)]
[2. Troyzan (38 pts)]
3. Alicia (9 pts)
Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 50 pts
1. Kim (30 pts)
[2. Leif (17 pts)]
[3. Colton (3 pts)]
All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 38 pts
[1.Michael (22 pts)]
[2. Bill (1 pt)]
3. Kat (15 pts)
The Sycophants: Moon- 29 pts
[1. Jonas (11 pts)]
2. Sabrina (13 pts)
3. Tarzan (5 pts)
Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 26 pts
1. Chelsea (20 pts)
[2. Monica (2 pts)]
3. Christina (4 pts)
Power Rankings:
1. Pride of Chucky - I think Kim's now past the most dangerous point in the game for her with the recent elimination of her biggest nay-sayer. Her reign is pretty much locked up, and they are low enough in numbers now that it'll be really tough for anyone to pull enough people together to blindside her. I also just remembered that she still has a hidden immunity idol, so I'm thinking that her spot in the finals is all but locked up.
2. Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me - I'm keeping the Untouchables in 2nd place largely because I think Alicia is more capable of blind-siding Kim than almost anyone else. Doug & Bri's large point lead doesn't hurt either. I think she's probably ranked lower in the girl-alliance hierarchy than she knows, otherwise the mutiny might have already happened.
3. Ladies of Ephesus - Again, I'm really only placing myself higher than Moon because I think my players are more capable of winning challenges than his. Their long-term viability is probably on par with mine, I just think I can earn more points on the journey.
4. The Sycophants - I love Tarzan's strategy right now. I think he's fully aware that the last member of a destroyed alliance often gets ignored for a while while the dominant alliance turns on itself. The last couple of women's alliances ended up with a male straggler for a few episodes for this reason. In Survivor: Vanuatu the man even ended up winning the whole thing! I hope Tarzan gets far.
5. No Brains - Geez, Kat sure did a good job of "making her own decisions" and "being a leader" when she decided to jump off the Kim bandwagon & switch over to doing what Troyzan told her to. And her timing couldn't have been worse; she essentially saw a sinking ship & jumped on board just as the water was coming up over the sides. I think one of the reasons that she was so upset by what Troyzan was telling her was because she was incapable of understanding the metaphor/symbolism of the reward. When Troyzan said "it's not about the food, it's about what the food represents" I could see the cogs in her little brain kicking into overdrive, desperately trying to understand what he meant.
Douche of the Week:
My vote goes to Kim this week for her major mistake of taking Chelsea on the reward & not Kat. She knew better & at least realized that this could end up being a critical error for her long-term.
The dumbest part of the episode by far was when Sabrina told Christina that they were putting her name down in case Troyzan played his idol. Sabrina tried to say that it was okay to share this info because Christina is just that stupid, but I don't think that's the case. I think Christina knew the risks but also knew that she didn't have sway with anyone in her alliance, so there was nothing that she could do. Which should be a signal to her that she needs to start talking to other people to try & build relationships & alliances. Maybe that's the part where Sabrina's right & that she's too dumb to figure that next step out.
The Standings:
Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me: Doug/Bri - 77 pts
[1. Jay (30 pts)]
[2. Troyzan (38 pts)]
3. Alicia (9 pts)
Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 50 pts
1. Kim (30 pts)
[2. Leif (17 pts)]
[3. Colton (3 pts)]
All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 38 pts
[1.Michael (22 pts)]
[2. Bill (1 pt)]
3. Kat (15 pts)
The Sycophants: Moon- 29 pts
[1. Jonas (11 pts)]
2. Sabrina (13 pts)
3. Tarzan (5 pts)
Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 26 pts
1. Chelsea (20 pts)
[2. Monica (2 pts)]
3. Christina (4 pts)
Power Rankings:
1. Pride of Chucky - I think Kim's now past the most dangerous point in the game for her with the recent elimination of her biggest nay-sayer. Her reign is pretty much locked up, and they are low enough in numbers now that it'll be really tough for anyone to pull enough people together to blindside her. I also just remembered that she still has a hidden immunity idol, so I'm thinking that her spot in the finals is all but locked up.
2. Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me - I'm keeping the Untouchables in 2nd place largely because I think Alicia is more capable of blind-siding Kim than almost anyone else. Doug & Bri's large point lead doesn't hurt either. I think she's probably ranked lower in the girl-alliance hierarchy than she knows, otherwise the mutiny might have already happened.
3. Ladies of Ephesus - Again, I'm really only placing myself higher than Moon because I think my players are more capable of winning challenges than his. Their long-term viability is probably on par with mine, I just think I can earn more points on the journey.
4. The Sycophants - I love Tarzan's strategy right now. I think he's fully aware that the last member of a destroyed alliance often gets ignored for a while while the dominant alliance turns on itself. The last couple of women's alliances ended up with a male straggler for a few episodes for this reason. In Survivor: Vanuatu the man even ended up winning the whole thing! I hope Tarzan gets far.
5. No Brains - Geez, Kat sure did a good job of "making her own decisions" and "being a leader" when she decided to jump off the Kim bandwagon & switch over to doing what Troyzan told her to. And her timing couldn't have been worse; she essentially saw a sinking ship & jumped on board just as the water was coming up over the sides. I think one of the reasons that she was so upset by what Troyzan was telling her was because she was incapable of understanding the metaphor/symbolism of the reward. When Troyzan said "it's not about the food, it's about what the food represents" I could see the cogs in her little brain kicking into overdrive, desperately trying to understand what he meant.
Douche of the Week:
My vote goes to Kim this week for her major mistake of taking Chelsea on the reward & not Kat. She knew better & at least realized that this could end up being a critical error for her long-term.
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