SURVIVOR 19: SAMOA - Megathread (Spoilers Within)- Page 2

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 1:50pm

Moreover, I have a HUGE gripe at the fact there is not ONE member of the LGBT community represented

What in the hell does that matter for?

4 WORDS:
Mick John Erik YUMMY!!!



So incredible to see skin skin skin on national TV again. My gawd Micks looks are out of this world. John in his blue speedo is heaven.


Now, this Russell character? HOLY EFFIN SH*T!!!
Worst Villain Ever may not have been an over-statement!
I mean, jeezus

Is this all it's about for you? Good lord, you sound like a horny teenager.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 2:40pm

Well, it's pretty clear Russell was only cast on the show specifically to act like an a-hole and hi only goal in this game is to achieve infamous notoriety. Whereas previous douchebags like Coach and Johnny Fairplay wanted to act like imbeciles, I believe they probably also wanted/needed the money. Russell doesn't need it or seem to even care about it. The only thing he wants to do is act like the world's biggest prick. I'm really disappointed to see the show accommodate his purely egotistical needs. It's one thing to love to hate a villain, but it is something else entirely to watch a sociopathic masochist wreak havoc simply for the fun of it. As with Coach, I'm praying something truly scandalous is discovered on this guy, hopefully regarding his business dealings, gets uncovered and exposed in a MASSIVE way. If he treats people like this on national TV, you know he's got to be a lot worse when it comes to his own business empire.

That being said, either his methods are somewhat working or there is a LOT we didn't see with regards to Marisa's interaction with the rest of the tribe. It's sort of hard to believe so many people would take her out based solely on one person's opinion of something she may or may not have said in the first few days. I really hope the rest of the tribe catches on to him and tosses him out on his misongynistic ass. And with such an early push to leak some spoilers of his antics and brand Russell before the premiere, I'm thinking it may be due to the fact that he gets voted off early in the game. He's not so much a "villain" as with past seasons as he is just an awful human being. I'm surprised he was allowed to just start destroying other people's clothing. It's one thing to sabotage items the contestants can reproduce within the confines of the game like the way he depleted the drinking water, but I don't think I've ever seen this situation where people literally destroy each other's personal belongings they were allowed to bring into the game, most of which are for survival reasons and are extremely limited. Is it really ok for him to start burning people's clothes when they are not wearing them? What about if they wearing contacts or glasses and he destroys them when they are removed for showering or cleaning? Or what if he decides to throw someone's necessary medication into the ocean? Not cool, CBS. Socks may not seem like much until you are living out in the elements with no washer or dryer and you need to keep your feet and legs warm and protected.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 3:03pm

^^
That seems a bit of a rough assessment of Eug's post.

This Russell character actually doesnt bother me so much. Yes, he's a douche and I look forward to him getting some commuppance, but he's at least playing well so far. I am AMAZED that those women didnt compare notes and realize they were being manipulated. The older woman ALMOST spilled the beans to one of the blonds, but held back. That could've caused his ouster, but he slithered through it unscathed.

The burning of the socks was too much and more of a "I'm going to do this because I can...aint I a badass" kind of act, which I think is completely unnecessary. I dont like him, mind you, just that he could make the game more fun. My point is that he's not like Coach of last year who took credit for things he had no hand in. He was not a puppetmaster at all...just a douchenozzle.

[Calvin]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 3:08pm

Just from the commentary here, I'm kinda glad I've decided to sit this one out. I'm going TAR only this season.

[clever name]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 3:16pm

This is why I didn't want to watch this season. I figured if I heard good things about it I would catch up online. I don't want to be frustrated all season watching some tool.

I had the opposite theory, Matt. I thought since CBS promoted him so much I figured he would be sticking around a while. I hope you're right!

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 3:19pm

But Calvin, why would you want to miss the gratuitous shot of Russell's butthole sweat stains as he parades around in nothing but his boxer briefs? I half expected him to throw Ashley on the ground and reenact the rape scene from Female Trouble. And I guess CBS thought it was pointless to blur the visible genitalia lines of anyone who wasn't young and hot.

[Calvin]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 3:29pm

Well, when you put it that way

Even without seeing the show, my wager is with clever name: If they've built this doofus up that much, he'll be around for quite a while. They'll see to it. Just ask Stacey Stillman.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 3:51pm

Yeah, the Stacey Stillman controversy stirred up a lot of publicity, but one of the things I liked about Survivor was that it was quite different from Big Brother in tone and attitude. Last night was like Big Brother on sand. It was really disappointing. I didn't realize the show was struggling so much as to be this desperate. Why didn't they just call Rosie O'Donnell back in to save the day instead of promoting this bastard? I still think they may just be using him as a hook to start the season and he'll be gone by the merge at the latest when the show traditionally picks up speed and invested viewers stick with it through the end.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 3:56pm

I guess because I haven't seen it in so long, I'm sort of enjoying it. So far anyway.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 9/18/09 at 6:17pm

I have watched Survivor religiously for all 18 seasons. I am absolutely romanced by the quality of program CBS presents each year. I am a total sucker for great personalities, adventure, far-away lands, games, challenges, competitions and sociology.

In-re: Gays in the cast. I am proud of seeing my LGBT brothers and sisters represented on TV. And I am not ashamed to admit I always have a strong desire to see them on any reality-based program (in spite of the fact these people are lifted from real-life onto a very produced island). To quote Harvey Fierstein: Any representation is good representation.

As for the skin, count me in as one of the thousands of millions of people in the world who enjoy seeing it. Eve ate the damn apple and I get a kick from televised obliques!

But alas, this was only the first episode! What else are they for than for first-impressions? Updated On: 9/19/09 at 06:17 PM

[NYadgal]

Posted: 9/19/09 at 7:55pm

Maybe thats why there are no gay characters because we would see right through him

That's a rather absurd statement...

Anyway,
I agree with Mister Matt. I am disappointed to see the producers of the show spending so much time on the behavior of Russell, and also agree that the sabotage took things too far. While he is 'playing' the game, I don't enjoy watching his manipulation, and I just don't embrace total dishonesty as a decent way to play.

I think there are a number of very interesting people on this season, and I would like to see more time spent on the others. The domination of air-time for Russell is already tiresome.

I do love this show, and think that if I can get beyond the Russell-factor, it could be one of the best ever.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 7:43am

I missed the first half of last night's show. Why was Jasmine with the Foa Foa tribe, and why did Ben get kicked out of the challenge?

[adamgreer]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 8:06am

Jasmine was sent to the other tribe to "gather information." The winning tribe got to send one person over there to see what was going on. She proceeded to lecture the other tribe, particularly Ben, on their losing ways. She came across really obnoxious, and I was inclined to be sympathetic with Ben until he started acting like a racist.

Ben was thrown out of the challenge by Probst after he warned both teams about taking "cheap shots" in the wrestling challenge. Ben tripped another player, and Probst tossed him, stating repeatedly this was the first time in the history of Survivor he had to toss someone out of a challenge. That scene was one of the reasons I find Probst so endearing as the host- he takes this game VERY seriously, and anytime someone doesn't play by the rules, he treats it as a personal attack to the great game of Survivor.

I'm still not thrilled with how things are going, particularly with the amount of air time Russell gets. Why they haven't seen through him yet is beyond me. Based on the previews, it seems like Jaison is catching on, though. Hopefully next week they get rid of Russell. I didn't agree with the ouster of Betsy (or Marisa, for that matter), so I'm not all that pleased.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 8:19am

Thanks, Adam!

I did see a bit of her being obnoxious telling them why they were losing, etc. I'm not sure why they all wanted Betsy out...is it just because she's older and they don't think she can help in the challenges?

[NYadgal]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 8:42am

...What happened to my post which bumped this thread last night?!

(Maybe Russell stole it).

Adamgreer, you summed it up perfectly.

I am hopeful from some of the previews that people are catching on to Russell. But, I really don't enjoy al of the air time they are giving him. I still think that absolute sabotage should NOT be allowed. It's one thing to 'Outplay', but to hurt the other players (and throwing out water and burning socks IS hurting them!) should NOT be allowed. I am very disappointed that the producers/directors are letting that continue.

Jasmine was out of control. I even wondered for a moment if I missed something and she was instructed to go to the other tribe to give them criticism and help... but then I realized it was just her own way. Ridiculous.

There are a bunch of people I'm really not crazy about. I would love for them to focus on some of the more interesting people for a change.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 10:46am

I had such high hopes for Betsy, but when she called Russell out on the beach, I had a feeling she was done for. She should have exposed him much earlier when he was making deals with everyone.

I have also decided that I'm not interested in "The Russell Show", so this isnt really working for me anymore. I have no idea what half of these people's names are! It does look like a good verses evil plot will unfold next week...I wonder if Jaison realizes what happened to his socks!

Jasmine may have been trying to stir things up in Foa Foa...she did expose Ben as an asshole and racist. I was even shocked by the kool aid comment.

WTF did everyone think he was doing when he had his whole arm up that tree?! I'm not sure these people arent too dumb for me to stay interested. Shame.

I also liked the way Probst handled the tripping incident. It does fly in the face of the producers who allowed a player to empty people's canteens and burn someone's socks however. Fairplay is fairplay.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 10:50am

I got the feeling Jasmine was trying to create some animosity and lower morale in the other team, but whether she was intentionally doing that for strategy or not, she wasn't thinking ahead to the merge. Though I'm sure they're expecting to Pagong the Foa Foa tribe, we've seen the tables turn on Survivor many times and Jasmine will be one to watch for a crack in the Galu tribe.

Remember Galu? They are the purple tribe. The ones who get very little screen time because they don't have Russell. We did get a little story on Shambo and how she sucks at fishing and totally rocks at floating and losing equipment. Should Galu lose immunity, the entire tribe has a scapegoat for their first tribal council.

And as for voting Betsy out, I think it was a really stupid move. She might be a little slower at challenges, but it's not like she was dragging them down in any way. I think a lot of the votes were simply to avoid revealing alliances that may be forming. With three people down already, nobody wants a target on their back by voting against the obvious majority. But they need to start playing the numbers game NOW in case they keep losing challenges. Russell and Ben should be the first two targets as they are both loose cannons who are playing very hard very early. And was it just me or did Ben appear not to simply trip Russell S, but kick him pretty hard?

***SPOILER***
Was anyone else totally deflated by Russell finding the immunity idol? I have to hand it to him for not only finding it, but doing so right in front of the tribe without their even realizing it. That was pretty ballsy (no pun intended), but I think his telling Jaison could be his ultimate downfall. At, least, I really hope so. And I'm wondering if this will change the game in any significant way. I don't remember any other season where the immunity idol was found before it went into play.

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 11:53am

Matt that's funny that you said that about Galu. I was thinking this morning that I didn't see anyone from that tribe EXCEPT Jasmine in the whole 2nd half of the show.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 11:57am

I only realized during the challenge that there is ANOTHER Russell on the other team.

I'm hoping they are giving him all of this camera time because it will be short lived.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 12:20pm

doodle - I'm thinking along the same lines. Why devote so much screen time to Russell if we're only going to have more of the same all season? Other controversial Survivor players were highlighted here and there, but they usually weren't so highly featured until it was obvious to the production team that their days were numbered or a major scandal had been revealed.

The rumors are already flying about Russell highly exaggerating his business and its value. See link...
Russell Rumors

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 12:44pm

From your mouth to God's ears, doodle.

Matt, that's very interesting......

[Calvin]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 12:52pm

Other controversial Survivor players were highlighted here and there, but they usually weren't so highly featured

until Coach

[smartpenguin78]

Posted: 9/25/09 at 1:42pm

Unless and until the others get their collective asses in gear and stop the guy I refuse to waste more energy thinking Russell is evil. He is at least self-aware. And at least he is straight up (to the cameras) that he played his hand against both Marissa and Betsy because they were catching onto his crap. (I really lament that both of them are gone as so many more of these people are just... blech.
It is this Ben (expletive) who is truly the one who needs to have a two x four to the face of comeuppance and soon. Then Russell, and I agree there should possibly be booting from the game for direct sabotage.

[EugLoven]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 12:45am

Really gotta hand it to Russell for having the balls and brains to LOOK for the hidden idol at camp and FINDING IT right under everyones noses.

Ben really showed his (ugly) true-colors when Jasmin came knocking on the door. Yuck. The tribe missed a great opportunity to oust him (poor Betsy)

Mick is just wowing me each second hes on screen. Gorgeous AND a doctor?!?!

Liz, again, is impressing me with her brains and total under-the-radar ability. Keep an eye on her.

I feel like we havent even gotten to MEET the other tribe. I know nothing about Brent, for example. Zero air-time for the first 2 episodes!

[StockardFan]

Posted: 9/28/09 at 1:09pm

I totally want to divorce my husband and marry Mick.