DJariya

mwbmis

Too bad. I liked her. That was way too much time spent post challenge for as little intrigue as there was.

Joe Schmoe

Why does Sebastian often look half asleep/stoned?

davidh777

I can see how they thought Stephanie was a threat, but I think losing Jenna would’ve given them a better chance to win a challenge. But the preview

Inhumans99

I should not be such a feeb to claim the show is on track the prior week and then grumble because one of the more telegenic players is gone but I yam what I yam.

I do feel the players are not taking out the correct/actually threatening tribe mates at tribal council. It looks like it is turning into a season where a super small handful of players run the board and a bunch of tribe mates are easily picked off while the shows editors try to edit things so it looks like the obvious is not going to happen every week.

To happen this early in the season is not good and makes the show bland to watch or am I a nutter and it is way too early to be all doom and gloom about this season?

Finisher

Yeah her fake boobs were nice to look at her. We're down to the cute blonde chick who gets no air time. It's interesting how quicky the eye candy goes lately.

Gonna need a rooting interest fairly soon otherwise this is another lost season.

Inhumans99

I think I might have jumped the gun and should give this season at least another episode or two before declaring it a write-off. To be fair, I really do like the cast much better than last season's but it is kind of funny that after my mini-rant that Dalton wraps up his EW.com recap with the following words:

"And that will do it. We are now more than a third of the way through the season. The next third is often the toughest stretch of a season for viewers — past the initial burst of excitement when a season starts and original alliances are forming, and not quite at the mad rush end game where the stakes are raised and dreams are dashed so close to the finish line. We’ll see how Ghost Island fares, but with so many dynamic personalities and players still in the mix, I’m hopeful it will be solid."

I think he is right and the cast mates deserve some more time to impress.

Finally, Chris may have played baseball in the past but still, holy flipperoni he was insanely good at that reward challenge and it was a hoot to watch. Jeff's reaction to how fast the challenge was over was wonderful.

The funny thing is that a ridiculous number of bean bags were provided for the challenge (I believe it was 60 bags...so a lot) because the producers probably thought that the tribes would need every bag and then some (like Malolo, who kept missing the targets) to have a fighting shot at completing the challenge without having to waste a ton of time picking up bean bags to replenish their throwing stock.

Still happy to watch...the show may get a bit boring over the next few weeks but the tribe switch up next week should be good for some manufactured drama.

buckeyes8604

I really liked this episode a lot. It felt like it was from the early seasons. I'm worried the 2nd half of the game is going to turn into a non-stop parade of advantages, but so far, so good.

Joe Schmoe

I don't tire of the contestants. Instead, I get tired of hearing Jeff say the same lines every week:

"C'mon in, guys!" at the start of every challenge.

"_____ gettin' their first look at the new _____ tribe" at every immunity challenge. Followed by "_____ voted out at the last Tribal Council."

"Wanna know what yer playin' for?" at every reward challenge.

I expect to hear "The tribe has spoken" every week because that's the show's catchphrase. I just wish he'd find other ways to express those other lines. Other than that, I still enjoy this show after all these years.

Finisher

Would not mind at all if Jeff is replaced.

Inhumans99

CBS will just retire the show if Probst ever decides to leave. The Amazing Race has been going strong for nearly as long (30 seasons) with the same host so the hosts of both shows are by this point in time so intertwined with their respective shows that it would be too jarring for regular viewers to latch onto a new host.

I am aware that some folks feel Probst has inserted himself too often into the game but I actually like that he is much more relaxed and ready to pitch a fit if he sees someone slacking off during a challenge. If he retires I would probably walk away from the show without thinking twice about my decision and I bet a ton of regular viewers would do the same.

I should also include Big Brother as a long running show with the same host but even though I have seen some credible discussions that Julie Chen is easier to replace than Probst or Phil Keoghan, I feel that once again she has now become part of the fabric of Big Brother and it would be too easy for long time viewers (I am not even remotely what you would call an occasional viewer of The Amazing Race or Big Brother) to walk away and CBS bigwigs know this all too well.

Joe Schmoe

I watch all 3 of those, and it's kind of nice that each host can dicuss moments or contestants from long ago just from memory. I've seen every episode of Survivor and TAR and nearly every season of BB, but I don't recall every face, play, outcome, etc., like they do.

davidh777

I'm OK with all those phrases, except the reward one, because it's so obvious it's like a rhetorical question, and yet players are expected to respond. Just once they should mix it up and answer "Eh, I'm good."

brainee

Yeah ... while this season has been lacking a clear villain, Stephanie was the only one I felt strongly about rooting for. This episode just felt incredibly deflating for me. I know it's early in the season, and maybe other players just need the editing to get me to root for them too. But with so many other things piling up on my "to watch" list my enthusiasm for the rest of the season is extremely low.

Joe Schmoe

That would be sweet!

hdnmickey

I'm very sad to see Steph go, but they made a wise decision. Of those three she was the obvious target given they think they needed Mike. Sadly they didn't figure out that another switch is likely coming given the tribes are radically uneven again.

buckeyes8604

I used to feel that Jeff couldn't be replaced, but not anymore.

Watching Australian Survivor the past 2 seasons, Jonathan LaPaglia has done a great job and this past season felt really natural as the host. Right now I'd say I like him more than Jeff.

If you found the right person, maybe a previous Survivor, I think it could definitely work after the initial adjustment. I just don't think CBS would want to do it, or more importantly, that Jeff wants to stop hosting anytime soon.

Inhumans99

Wait...Jonathan LaPaglia is the host, that is awesome. I really loved LaPaglia in Seven Days and IMDB reminds me he was in another show I enjoyed New York Undercover. I never watched The District but regardless I have always liked him as an actor. I guess if the right person/celebrity came along Survivor could lose Probst.

I still think that once you have hosted a staggering 36 seasons of a show it becomes nearly impossible to prevent massive audience erosion even if CBS scored right out of the gate with a replacement host that instantly clicked with the audience.

Thrush

Chen is easily the worst part about BB. If you've ever watched the UK version you realize how much better the show is with a host that has a pulse.

mwbmis

Chen is better than she used to be, but still not very good. I would disagree though about her being the worst thing. IMO, the worst thing about the show is Alison Grodner. The show is a shell of what it used to be.

davidh777

Seems like Cochrane or one of the podcast people could take over as host and renew interest for a couple seasons.

Bill Needle

No question. Grodner turned it into another dopey scripted television show peppered with children's birthday party games.

hdnmickey

I couldn't drop the show fast enough if they replaced Jeff with Cochrane. There's got to be better options than that guy.