dino88

It's easy to play with integrity when you are on the losing end and know there's no chance of you winning the game. For all Julie's talk about respectable gameplay, didn't she lie straight to Russell's face before voting him out?

DJariya

Congrats to Rob. I like the guy and I'm happy for him and Amber, but I hope I never have to see his face on TV ever again. Yeah I heard he's hosting some History Channel reality series, but I have no interest in seeing him again. 6 times on CBS is enough (2 on the Amazing Race in addition to Survivor)

Probably the most 1-sided, predictable endings to a Survivor season ever. Was it the worst season of Survivor ever? No, that IMO still goes to Vanuatu with that loser Chris taking the crown.

Natalie and Ashley were IMO 2 of the stupidest Survivor contestants ever. All they did was ride on Rob's coat tail the entire season and neither one had the balls to make a big move. Andrea was so right in her final tribal speech.

to Grant being a little bitch to Rob at the Reunion show.

His wife, Christina Cox, is hot though. She's a TV and Film actress. IIRC, she had a small part on the final season of 24.

to Redemption Island coming back in the Fall with 2 returning players. I'm still going to watch, but I thought the concept got dull really fast.

freshticles

That loser had a quote that was so good though, they should have just givin him that season for it..

"You question a woman's character, you question a woman's ability, she'll snap your neck! You open your heart, show a woman you're vulnerable, then they start thinkin' with their heart. That's when they open up that back door. "

Double_Oh_7

Again, it's easy to dominate if you've played three previous times. I'd even go so far to say Rob is the WORST player since it took him four chances to finally win.

And RI turned out to be a total bust. After a season-long build up, the person who came back was immediately voted out.

TheBang

No Murlonio at the reunion?

Joeboo835

I hate to say it because i'm a big fan of his (I love his blogs), but I think Probst has to go. He's had a string of absolutely horrible reunion shows and he's starting to plant himself WAY too much into the game, affecting the outcome. He asks questions in tribal that are affecting how people react and think about whats going on. That shouldn't be his job.

Anyway, just my $.02.

Are there any pictures from the reunion show?

Red Dog

Grant needs to get over it. What a wussy.

And I don't remember that chick Dave proposed to (which was really cheesy) -- she's rather attractive.

Rob played a masterful game.

dvdjunkie32

Reasons why I hate this season:


The Russell vs Rob showdown never happened

Redemption Island added nothing to the show, and took away a lot. The beginning credits were eliminated, and several players like Steve, Ralph and Julie barely got any screen time.


Way too predictable - after the merge, every freaking vote had ZERO surprises.

Phillip went from funny kook to extremely abrasive and uncomfortable. The reunion show made him look pretty good, but he still comes off as a very unpleasant person.


This season had some of the worst challenge designs. Shuffleboard again! Bag toss, and last night's immunity challenge was a rehash of maze challenges done in Australia and other seasons.


We learned zero about the environment or culture. It was mere window dressing.

Jeff Probst became extremely annoying with his nonstop gushing over Rob and Phillip.

Patman

She was voted off first in her season. She was on the season that introduced the world to Coach.

Schloob1

I know I've mentioned this before on past Survivor seasons. But for all we know he has been asking these type of questions/scenarios for awhile now. We are just now seeing them perhaps. Tribal councils not always but typically can last for over an hour. We see about what 5 minutes at most? The rest of the time they are not just sitting there roasting marshmallows.

grenier

Yup, just make sure to start a thread about the stalk.

Red Dog

No wonder I didn't remember her. I bet I was really pissed that she got voted off immediately.

Double_Oh_7

Aaaawwwwwkwaaaarrrrrd. I wouldn't be surprised if those two were broken up by the end of the week after that embarrassment.

Shinobi

Amber's stuffed animal collection got robbed.

Josh-da-man

Rob played a near-perfect game, which made for a really dull season. Week after week with no surprises.

That said, I hope we never see him on Survivor again.

The Redemption Island twist turned out to be a big dud with the returnees getting booted as soon as they were back in the game. They should have given them automatic immunity for their first tribal council back.

I wonder if we aren't hitting a will with shows like Survivor and Big Brother. This Survivor: RI reminded me a lot of last summer's Big Brother where one alliance completely dominated the game with a perfect strategy. They've been running so long that we're going to see strategies perfected and more dull games.

Major props for Jeff Probst for controlling himself and not tackling Rob and sucking his dick at any point during the game or reunion show.

Cardsfan111

Russell has a new reality show lined up.

Goat3001

Can't they just be in love? Is that so unrealistic these days?

Red Dog

C'mon. There is no such thing as love for hot chicks and attorneys.

Speaking of the attorney, I wasn't surprised he was the most rational one (probably of any Survivor season) during jury questioning.

creekdipper

Nat had daddy issues. Not a good trait for a "professional dancer".

Perfect post re: the producers' lack of faith in the audience. Maybe the ratings will prove this wrong, but I agree with you & others that I miss the days in which they allowed us the chance to get to know the contestants & watch the "stars" of the show gradually emerge. It was hard seeing some people get voted off early because we were getting to like them; now, unless they start ranting or otherwise drawing attention to themselves, they're just cardboard cutouts to be used as cannon fodder. It's bad when you get far into the game & barely know a contestant's name or have heard him/her speak (usually it's a her). Your example of Ashley is a good one...they just used her as faceless background material for so long (I never knew she was a college athlete until reading it here). If she had been jettisoned mid-game, we'd never have known that she was a viable threat.

To me, the turning point was a while back when they started showcasing the crazies who seemed to be deliberately hamming it up just to get air time. I mean, Survivor has always emphasized the different folk form the start (Rich Hatch with his spontaneous nudity, for example...but it was usually a genuine quirk or a strategy move). Still, they gave enough time to get to know the other,more 'normal' personalities. And that was when they had both a reward challenge & immunity challenge (I guess the RI 'duel" is supposed to replace one of those most episodes). When they started focusing on the contestants that they felt would get the most buzz, we stopped learning about the others & most of the time was devoted to strategizing about whom to vote off. I understood the All-Stars seasons even though I wasn't a big fan at first, but inviting people back repeatedly messes up the concept. Not only does the audience know the returnees (after all, they get people who made it deep into the game or were finalists), but the newbies know them. It introduces an entirely different dynamic into the game. Even the "Fans Vs. Favorites" was a better idea since the "favorites" all knew the ropes & weren't as likely to fall for cheap tricks.

I wasn't initially a big fan of The Amazing Race, but I think they've done a better job of maintaining the original concept & keeping it interesting even though they do All-Star seasons, too. And they have the additional burden of having to come up with pairs who are different, which isn't easy.

Phillip looked good at the reunion show but still seemed clueless (as pointed out by Probst). He seems almost like the sibling with problems that needs looking after by his family. It seemed improbable that what we saw was the real Phil, but it seems to be the case. Phil's attachment to reality seems tenuous at best...he makes Coach look like an average Joe.

I agree with another poster that the season with Chris was probably my least favorite, although the quote posted above is priceless.

Re: Your determination to stick with the show as long as it's on...you've got a lot more dedication that I can muster up, so you'd get my vote at Final Tribal.

uteotw

Crazy or not, I really disliked the extreme hatred towards Phillip. Just way too cruel for my taste, like beating up a special needs kid.

Goat3001

He's definitely a smart dude. He just got the short end of the stick this season. He got onto an alliance that didn't really trust him from the beginning and it eventually crumbled post-merge. Granted he did nothing to better his position in the game. A smart move would have been going right to Rob at the merge and saying he wanted in. It probably wouldn't have gotten him much farther but as long as it buys you days in the game it's a worthwhile move.

I was thinking that a good move for him would have been to tell Rob that he had his vote as long as he kept him around for a few extra days. Then going to Ralph and telling him that he needed the HII because he heard that he was getting voted out. Then just holding onto it while the Zapatera dropped. It would have been one hell of a dick move and I would have loved it.

creekdipper

Ughh. Hate to prejudge but can't imagine watching Russell on a regular basis (and this from a former Russell fan). To paraphrase a familiar line, "Would you buy a used home from this man?"

On the other hand, Colby Donelson makes a perfect host on Top Shot. He's enthusiastic & knowledgeable and seems genuinely supportive of the cast. From all appearances, he's in his element and has the respect of all the contestants. Perfect match of host & show, IMHO.

creekdipper

That would have been interesting. Heck, anybody making a bold move would have been interesting.

Don't know, though. Everything was going Rob's way so much that I doubt Rob would have listened to him since the strategy was working perfectly. Using the idol would have saved David from one vote & forced the Omes' hands early (to boot Andrea), but David most likely would have been gone the next Tribal. Still would have been fun to see him trying to work the deal.

creekdipper

It just occurred to me that Nat gave off the same vibe around Rob that Steve Buscemi's crazy girlfriend gave off in Boardwalk Empire. I knew she reminded me of somebody else on tv.

They both know how to work that pout. Rob seemed to have a genuine affection for her (in a paternalistic way). He kept describing her as sweet & loyal but also kind of dumb. She was useful to him, but he still seemed to feel protective of her. Rob did reward her loyalty with a bigger $ payout than the others (except Phil...I guess he came in 2nd in voting thanks to Ralph).

I'm sure Nat will quickly get over her Rob-crush (faster than Jeff, evidently). Besides, if she got too familiar with Rob, Amber would go all Murlonio on her butt.

creekdipper

I wish Jeff would have asked Ralph if he misspelled the names on purpose & Phil if he mispronounced names on purpose (which would seem to be a handicap for such a sterling candidate to be a G-Man).

Francesca never got to say if she made up with Phil.