Watching Survivor

Hey guys! As I mentioned a while back, my buddy Billy Garcia (Survivor: Cook Islands) is working his tail off to put together his latest charity event that happens next week in New York City - the Charity Reality Dodgeball Event. Things are coming together and it’s shaping up to be a GRAND time! (…and I’m totally jealous that my buddy Lynn gets to go. TAKE PICTURES FOR US LYNN!)

And, if you can’t go - PLEASE consider helping Billy out! He sent me a message yesterday, and he’s trying to take care of the travel and boarding expenses of all the Survivors that are attending through sponsorship. He’s gotten the hotel portion paid for, but there are some who still need airfare. If you can help, a little or a lot, PLEASE contact Billy (nycgarcia@msn.com) right away!

The following Survivors need sponsors still:

Rory - Vanuatu
James - palau
Boo - Fiji
Ruth Marie - Exile
Christa - pearl islands
Daniel - Amazon

It’s for a GREAT cause - please get a hold of Billy if you can help!

And for those lucky folks who are going, but still need ticket info? Here ya go:

There are 4 ways you can get involved to help raise money for a great cause.

1) Purchase a ticket to the event/after party - Cost $100
2) Purchase a VIP pass and participate in the tournament against your favorite Survivor contestants - Cost $150
3) Purchase the Immunity Idol pass and get to play on a team with your favorite Survivor contestants - Cost $200
4) Make a seperate donation to help us find a cure.

VERY IMPORTANT!!!
To purchase tickets send in your check with the following info:
1) Make check payable to: The Sports Center Inc (In the Memo put “R4D Long Island event”
2) Mail your check with the number and type of tickets you want to: The Sports Center Inc, 2807 Middle Country Rd, Lake Grove, NY 11755
3) On the envelope Mark Attn:Grant

After the event enjoy food and drink and party into the late hours all for a great cause.

Raffles, silent auctions and fun. Hosted By The Sports Center Inc & Billy from S13: Cook Islands.

Hotel information will be provided once you purchase your ticket. Call 631-648-8951 for more info visit http://www.thesportscenterinc.com/ & http://www.myspace.com/realitycastawaysdodgeball

Thanks so much!

(Part one, part two)

Immunity Challenge!
Today’s challenge, each person will throw three stars at three targets. hit the target and get the amount of points on there. Person with the highest score wins immunity. Hit the target, and get 1, 2 or 3 points. Hit the heart and get five.

Peih-Gee tosses first, hits the ground, the board, and it bounces off. She scores 0.
Todd just misses the black, bounces off, then hits for three points.
Erik hits 3 right off on his first throw, misses the 2nd throw, then hits on the third to get 6 points.
Courtney nails 3 right off, then 2, then 1, and shares the lead with Erik with 6 points.
James misses, hits for 3, then again for 6 total.
Amanda hits for three, bounces off, then hits for three again.
Denise misses, hits for two, hits the heart and bounces off, she’s out of the running indeed.

Amanda, James, Courtney and Erik tied at 6 and go to the final round.

They each get once throw, and the target is 10 feet farther away.
Courtney misses. Amanda scores 2. Erik scores three and moves into first place. James throws and it bounces off and Erik Wins Immunity!

Back at Hae Da Fung, James tells us that we get rid of Peih-Gee tonight, then Erik and it’s all cake after that. Amanda goes to Todd and tells them they can’t win against James in the end, and she wants to get James out before the final three, or they lose. Todd agrees that it is time, and he will do whatever everyone is comfortable with. Denise even agrees, and she’s closest to him! (this is where I start whimpering…) Todd says that it hurts to lie to his face, but they’ll say they’re voting out Peih-Gee according to plan, then vote for him instead. Peih-Gee finds the immunity idol, and goes and talks to Amanda. She tells Amanda she knows James has it, and asks if she’s aware of that and thinks they’re gonna flush it out, and then it’ll be Amanda going home. Amanda says that it’s in her best interest to act like she’s going home and trust her.

She tells Erik that they want to flush out the idol, so she and Erik will vote for Todd, and if James plays the idol, then Todd will be gone. He’s not really sure, as it’s a big risk, as it depends on James playing the idol. James and Amanda talks, and he says he’s the main guy trying to hold it all together, and if he gets past tonight, he’s good. He also says he can’t go before Peih-Gee. He will have the idols with him, and if he gets a sense that something’s going down, he’ll play the idol.

(JAMES! WAKE UP! PLAY THE IDOL!)

Tribal Council

Jeff tells Denise that she’s beaming like he hasn’t seen her beam in the last 30 days, and asks her about the reward. She beams. Peih-Gee has been trying to penetrate Fei Long, and James says it’s that Zhun Hu needs to go, and not slide in. And Peih-Gee points out that they’re not losers, they have been winning individual immunity, and she tells them that they’re going to be voting for someone, so keep that in mind. Todd says trust is huge, friends close and enemies closer. Denise says she doesn’t trust anyone at all, because some folks say they have a pact, but then it they switch. James says to trust if you have the same goal, but you have to know they need her. But you really can’t trust anyone.

(COME ON JAMES! PAY ATTENTION! DENISE JUST TOLD YOU WHAT WAS GOING ON!)

Erik is the only one that says he’s not concerned tonight. Everyone says they think it could be them. Peih-Gee says she’s not been in doubt with her place, and she feels it will be her.

Time to Vote!

(HE DIDN”T PLAY IT GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!)

The votes.
Todd, James, Peij-Gee, James, (and he starts to shake his head) James, (and he scrubs his hand across his face and…) 10th person voted out, James.

(NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!)

Peih-Gee is all smiles, Erik is too, the Jury is laughing and James is stunned. Jeff says tonight said it all, it’ll be an interesting 9 days left.

Next time - Amanda turns on her closest ally, emotions run high, and everyone’s fate rests on Denise.

(Part one)

They’re all excited about the private jet, where they got champagne and food, and were living in the lap of luxury. Peih-gee wastes no time making a power play and working Erik and Denise and start pimping them for the final three. Denise tells us that she knows what she’s doing, and will wait and see what happens, she doesn’t want to make any enemies.

They arrive at the temple, and Peih-Gee was excited to experience something from her culture, where they saw monks playing music and meditating. Denise is tells them that she’s been studying Karate for 8 years, and they ask her about it. She tells us of all the rewards, this was the one she would have wanted to see the most, and it was incredible to see where martial arts began, and the demonstration was incredible. )And it was - they were amazing! It all looked so effortless!

After the main exhibition, they joined a class with some kids and learned some moves. Denise picks up the moves quickly, and a monk asks her to demonstrate what she knows. Erik said it was cool to see her do it and he was impressed. “Denise - who knew?” Denise has no words to describe her experience.

They were fed, and then got to sleep in a room with mats and blankets and pillows. They all three just keep saying “Best, reward, ever!”

Day 29 and it’s raining back at camp, where they’re huddled in a hole, praying for the crowds to go away. It’s driving Todd nuts, and he says he’s done with the rain! Done! The Reward winners come back, and they refused to leave their hole to greet them, until Amanda came out to say hello. Denise knew no one would greet Peih-Gee and Erik. Peih-Gee told them about the reward, and Courtney says “the cave is the best thing I have, it’s my happy place!” and she was unhappy with Peih-Gee coming into her happy place and talking. No talking in the cave!

Denise gets with Todd and tells him that Peih-Gee and that she wants to vote out Todd, and he’s annoyed and hates her guts, of course. Erik talks to James and asks him if he’s tight with Todd, and he says that he’s just trying to win tomorrow, and James is laughing that he’s not going to go to the other side at this point, that makes no sense when it’s five against two. That’s not a happy place!

Day 30, and James is peeling something and eating it. Courtney and Amanda walk to get the treemail, which is hooked up with ninja throwing stars. Amanda talks to Courtney and puts forth the plan to get rid of James, because he’s in control. They’ll have to blindside him, else he use the idol. There’s no way anyone can beat him, and Amanda knows that now is the night. Amanda says James is always saying “don’t eat the apple, stay the course, don’t eat the apple…” but she’s ready to bite the apple and make the whole frickin pie!

(Part three!)

It’s been two weeks, and finally we will get to see what that ‘more business to attend too’ at tribal council involved! Last week’s recaplet only served to make me want more, as amusing as some of the ‘never before seen’ moments were. IS there going to be another castaway voted off? Will we see two people leaving? Will my man James survive another week? Let’s find out, shall we?

Jeff tells them they’re not going back to camp, because it’s time to participate in a reward challenge here at Tribal Council - the winner gets to travel by private jet hundreds of miles to the Xiu Lin (sp? that’s a total guess on my part…) temple, which is the home of Kung Fu, enjoy a demonstration, a vegetarian meal, and spend the night before returning to camp the next day. The winner of the challenge will pick two people to go with them. The challenge starts now…

(Or, after the opening credits and a commercial, of course!)

The challenge - answering questions about Chinese culture, first one to 5 wins.

1. China is credited with the invention of the abacus. True - Todd, James, Peih-Gee and Denise got it right.

2. Which animal does not belong to the Chinese zodiac - C- Cat, everyone got it right.

3. 99% of giant panda’s diet is bamboo… Denise is the only one who got it wrong, the answer is True.

Peih-gee, James and Todd has 3, everyone else has 2.

4. The Capitol of China is? Beijing, everyone was right except Amanda.

5. In Chinese culture, receiving a red envelope means that inside is…? Cash - Peih-Gee wins reward!

Peih-Gee chooses Denise and Erik to go with her on reward. Erik because they’ve been starving since the beginning, and Denise looks thrilled to have been chosen, and who wouldn’t be? They grab their torches and head back to camp.

Early the next morning, day 28, the boat arrives to pick up Denise, Peih-Gee and Erik. Denise is concerned leaving camp, it makes her nervous, but she’s still thrilled to go. At Camp, James claims he’s willing to frolic all the way to four with the ones who are left at camp. Todd says they thought it was nice, just the four of them, and there was no arguing at all. The four of them are in the Garden of Eden - if eve hadn’t have eaten the apple they’d be frolicking naked in heaven. Don’t be tempted, don’t eat the apple!

Amanda, however, tells us this is her chance to make a change in the game, and to make it happen. It needs to happen, and she’s ready.

(This is where my parenthetical asides start trying to get James’ attention… JAMES! YOOHOO! PAY ATTENTION!!!)

(Part Two)

We all know by now, that Frosti was the youngest Survivor in the history of the series, and as a serious threat with his athletic ability that I, for one, wish he had gotten to show off more. What we also learned over the past weeks, was that he’s also a genuinely nice kid, someone a mom like me can point too and appreciate for being a stand up kinda guy, like you’d want your daughter to crush on a little. Through his last words on the show, in the extra transcripts, and his interviews along the circuit – there’s no doubt about it. Frosti is a hell of a nice kid. His mama should be proud, despite what he says about himself:

Honestly, back in Chicago I’m a pretty cynical guy. I’m pretty negative and I look at a lot of the downside of things.

He continues on to explain how he’s had to put that aside, and really learn to focus on the positives in order to play the game the way he wanted too – with integrity.

Since I’ve been out here I’ve really forced myself to look at the positive, try and find a good balance in things. Really working that whole mind over matter, things are as good as you can take it, do your best. I really took to it. Hopefully that stays with me once I head back home.”

[cut]

I really had to do all the things I said I would do, and one of my biggest struggles in life is to finish the goals I set for myself. The journeys I start. I think it’s summed up best in the Confucius quote from the puzzle we did. The journey of a thousand miles begins a single step. Coming out here was the first step on that journey. I feel like I haven’t completed it yet, but I’ve gotten a lot farther than I thought I could. It’s a great beginning for me. I don’t want this to be the end for me. I want to have even more of this journey. I think this has been a really big step for me, and it’s helped me on my own path in life.”

And if your still not convinced, you can check out his interviews here, here, here, here and here.

Reminder! This Thursday is a recap of the first half of the season show, which means we have to wait another week to find out what that ‘other business’ is at Tribal Council, which is all kinds of wrong. That means I won’t be doing a full recap, unless something exciting happens on the show that we haven’t seen yet. So – from me and mine to you and yours – Happy Thanksgiving (To those who celebrate turkey days, happy Thursday to those who don’t) and I’ll catcha on the flip side!

(part one, part two)

Back at camp, Frosti says it’s hard to know that he made a sacrifice, and got nothing for it. He’s like “We’re here for 12 more days, and you can’t wait that long for a cheeseburger?” Frosti feels Erik knows he’s on the chopping block, and they both wish each other luck. Erik’s pretty sure it’s him because Frosti is higher up the ladder with cuddling the bag of bones - I mean, Courtney. Frosti works it with Todd, and points out how smooth Erik is because he’s awesome and good with the girls and Todd knows that hands down Erik would win in the end, but Frosti is an animal in the challenges. So it’s time for someone to talk.

They try to figure out if they can get Courtney to commit. Denise isn’t sure who people are voting for, and it’s not her. But they’ll see. Todd goes to Courtney to figure it out. She says that he’s her little munchkin, and knows everyone’s worried, but she won’t really commit to Todd. She knows she has to think it strategically. Todd is worried too. They don’t know what to expect.

Tribal Council!
Jeff says that James deciding to eat instead of play, surprised him the most. James says he ate seven burgers - and would have eaten the last one if he had a chance. His first thought was “attack!” Todd said the “Fat kid inside of Todd said EAT!” Frosti is rolling his eyes, and states the obvious - there’s always a chance that he’d be going home and he had to know he’d done everything he could to survive. Erik says that the four people that sat out definitely felt comfortable. He knows he’s on the chopping block, somewhere at the bottom.

Amanda says it’s hard to form friendships and try to play the game, it’s hard to juggle. Denise says she would hope there would be loyalty between friends, but it’s a game, and there is no real loyalty. Frosti says that he’s formed relationships with the whole tribe, and it’s helped him, but it’s a game and everyone understands sometimes you have to hurt the people close to you. Erik says it feels personal sometimes but there is only so much that he can do.

Time to vote!
Frosti and Eric vote for each other, both saying it’s nothing personal, but those are the only ones we see before the votes are tallied. James does not play the HII again.

The votes: Frosti, Eric, Frosti, Frosti, Frosti, Frosti is the 9th person voted off Survivor: China!

Jeff says “The tribe has spoken,” and Frosti adds with a wry grin “with cheeseburgers still on their breath!” And then Jeff drops the bomb - they will not be heading back to camp, there is more business to attend too here…. and CREDITS! AUGH!!!!

Next time on Survivor: Injuries take their toll, James is fed up, and Todd stakes a stand. and no clue what would happen at Tribal! AUGH!

(part one)

Back at camp, Peih-Gee goes after James and blames him for losing the challenge, and James is not happy at all about it. He tells her to shut up, and quit talking, and she walks away, because she can’t believe he ever accused her of giving up (Um, hello - how about the one you threw?)

She tells us she’s mad and took it out on James because she’s mad that she’s never one a reward and she’s in a bad position, without anyone. James and Denise talked about it, and he hates how rude she is. “That’s some nerve!” He says that’s why they need to focus and get her off.

He says “be naked, be happy, don’t eat that damn apple!” when he refers about Courtney and Frosti, and the possibility of a romance. Hahah!

Erik is excited on the reward, and feels it was fun and good to try and build relationships and they talk about other’s back at camp. They diss Peih-Gee, and Erik says he doesn’t mind her being talked about negatively, as then he’s not the one getting talked about.

Courtney tells us that she loves her Frosti. He agrees that he likes her a lot, and that she’s attractive and smart and way out of his league, but he’s comfortable around her and that’s nice. They see a goat, and Eric starts immitateing and they tease him “Stop hitting on the goats!” He thinks maybe he’ll be saved another round for making Courtney and Amanda laugh. Which it seems it has - as Amanda finds him adorable.

They eat a dinner of fried chicken and mashed potatoes and everyone chows down. Frosti is a little worried about it because he doesn’t want to be replaced as the one Fei Long turns too.

Back at Hae Da Fung, they tribe is reunited and the losers ask for juicy details, but they don’t tell them what they ate, so they don’t get the hate. Todd tells Amanda, Courtney Frosti and Eric about Peih-Gee’s freaking out on James, and Erik feels pretty confident that means he’s safe for another week.

Immunity challenge!
Today’s challenge is a memory test - they will have a series of zodiac symbols, each round Jeff calls out a list, use the knife to pick them up in the correct order. Get it right, you’re in, wrong you’re out. If they feel so comfortable that they don’t need immunity - you don’t have to play, you can eat! He unveils Cheeseburger, fries, drinks, and the fixings. Jeff hands out coins, black means you eat, white you play. Simple case of temptation - chose…

Courtney wants to eat (THANK YOU) Todd, Denise and James will all eat. Peih-Gee, Frosti, Amanda and Eric will play. The eaters can only eat for as long as the challenge adds.

Round one: Tiger Rabbit, Rat, Monkey Dog.
Erik is wrong, Amanda is right, Peih-Gee is right, Frosti is still in. Eric has to watch everyone eat, poor guy! He says he’ll just enjoy the smell…

Round two: Rat, Ram, Dragon, Rooster, Ram
Amanda is out. Peih-Gee is in, Frosti is right!
We are down to two!

Round three: Snake, rat, rabbit, tiger, rooster, ram.
Peih-gee just rocks through it, and gets it right, and Frosti is wrong and Peih-Gee wins immunity, and everyone stops eating.

Jeff tells her the only thing better then a cheeseburger on day 27 is Immunity, and she agrees as he hangs it around her neck - then it’s back to camp before Tribal Council tonight.

(part three)

Previously on Survivor - JR was a giant tool and got booted, which brings us to tonight’s episode…

We rejoin the tribe on the morning of day 25, where James tells us about his narrow escape, and he’s going to be sure he has the HII with him at Tribal Council. James wakes the tribe by singing, sending the monkeys running away and to call them to breakfast that he’d made, and Courtney is happy to be without Jean Robert. Amanda and Courtney have noticed that Denise is still upset, and that she was blindsided when they voted off Jean-Robert, and she voted with the original plan, and no one told her about the change.

Denise tells us she feels left out, and she’s feeling backstabbed. She feels like an idiot because she was the only one voting according to plan, and she talks to James and sticks with him because he has the immunity idols. It’s the smart thing to do.

Pieh-gee points out the obvious, that she’s on the outs, and no one likes her. James says duh, and Todd points out that Pieh-Gee has stepped into JR’s annoying role. Todd is worried about Courtney flirting with Frosti. Methinks Todd has gotten a little paranoid.

Reward challenge!
They’ll be divided, using four different sized drums, and have to keep the ball bouncing from one to the other as navigating an obstacle course. First with three balls in the bin at the end, win a cruise on the river, spend the night on the boat and return in the morning. Schoolyard pick once again.

Peih-gee, James, Todd, Denise - Red
Eric, Frosti, Amanda, Courtney - Yellow

Survivor’s ready - go!
Todd and Eric take it all the way to the first obstacle, and the yellow group makes it through the first gate, Red team loses it and goes back, James looses it again, Yellow team keeping it alive and getting all the way through - Frosti and Eric get the first ball in!

Red team having a tough time getting the hang of it and going back a third time! Eric and Frosti leading the yellow team excellently, everyone working together. James loses it AGAIN for the red team on another pass from peih-gee, while Eric, Frosti and the Yellow leads 2-0! Red loses it right at the final bin! Red still on their first ball, James is NOT GOOD at this - and Yellow (Erik, Frosti, Amanda, Courney) wins Reward!

(part two)

On the interview circuit, the Professional Poker player, Jean-Robert Bellande is proving himself to be quite genuine… genuinely delusional, that is! Most of the after show interviews have insights of thought processes, some (or a good deal of) revisionist history, and honest takes on the other players with possibly a couple left field moments.

Jean-Robert lives in left field.

Last week we all watched and (not so) quietly snickered when Jaime played the fake Hidden Immunity Idol, only to this week have Jean-Robert blindsided by the thought that there really is one out there! Then, to win the reward and get all five clues at once and figure out where it should be that very night? Well, it’s clear why he was thought of as “the smart one”.

I know, I couldn’t write it with a straight face - I don’t expect you to read it with one, either.

He was a man in love with his strategy:

Reality TV World: So you’re saying the playing the role of the “local jerk” part of your strategy was over and you were now starting to focus on assuring you had jury votes if you made it to the Final 3?

Jean-Robert: It wasn’t over, it was just a process. You can’t go from being a jerk to being an angel overnight. It’s a process thing we’re all of a sudden now I’m kicking in a lot more at camp, helping build the fires, I’m cooking, doing whatever…

Reality TV World: Were you confident that process would have eventually taken shape and you would have had the jury votes if you made it to the Final 3?

Jean-Robert: I loved my strategy. I loved my strategy. And when I got to the Final 3, and I was presenting my strategy — this was all part of the plan, you know, me being the lazy jerk at the beginning, and you can see me kick in — I think I would have gotten a lot of respect from the jurors and you’d of seen me get votes from people you’d never expect.

And he was a man who was far behind the rest of the players:

Reality TV World: After you read the final Hidden Immunity Idol clue during last night’s reward, you commented how you were shaken-up that you weren’t aware there was a Hidden Immunity Idol out there. Why didn’t you ever think there would be a Hidden Immunity Idol?

Jean-Robert: I had NO CLUE whatsoever that there was a Hidden Immunity Idol in this game. Each season… You know, they had Exile Island, this game we had [kidnapping]. Normally, I’m going to receive some sort of clue — some sort of information — it just was never presented to me.

As far as I’m concerned there isn’t one. I’m not saying there isn’t one, but it’s just like if I don’t know about, there isn’t one as far as I’m concerned. I never had one clue. And you see what happens! Those guys had those clues for who knows how many days and it took them like four or five days — maybe a week — to figure out where this thing was. For me, I got the clues and I was right there within hours! As soon as we got home that night [from the Reward Challenge], you see me digging around and figuring out it was up there in that pagoda, taking off the plaques. The plaques that I had were like the faux idols, but it’s like I’m right there.

Right away in the morning I have that conversation with [Erik Huffman] where I’m fishing around, saying, “Hey, I think I got the idol.” Obviously I didn’t really believe I had the idols — I was just bluffing — but I wanted to get information from him, which I got.

This is part of the thing that freaked Todd out. He’s like, “This guy went from not even knowing there was a Hidden Immunity Idol to coming up with a plan to blind-side James and get rid of him. That’s some scary stuff!” That freaked Todd out, and Todd decided, “Hey, we better get rid of Jean-Robert.”

But Todd organizing this move against me, yeah, he perceived me correctly as a serious threat in the game. But at that moment, James is a bigger threat than I am and it’s actually a big mistake on his part.

Oh, Jean-Robert.

Now, I know we have the advantage of seeing things from outside the game, without the starvation and the rain and the cold and other hardships, but you’d think that maybe, just maybe, he’d see that he was well and thoroughly PLAYED in this game. In the bit above, for instance. He had no clue because he hadn’t received one. Brilliant! And he was there within hours after having received the clues - but he forgets, he got ALL FIVE CLUES at once. Sure he found them right away - after searching all night! The fact that the others already had them, and found them with just three clues while poking around in plain sight, well that was just luck, right Jean-Robert?

After all, he’s “the smart one”:

Reality TV World: When you learned James had the Hidden Immunity Idols, you confronted him about it. What did you hope to get out of that confrontation?

Jean-Robert: A couple things. I wanted him to know that, “Listen man. You knew all along that I was going to figure things out.” He had me pegged as the smarter guy in the group. He keeps referring to me as, “Jean-Robert dumb. Jean-Robert whatever.” But part of that is because he knew that I was like the smart one. I was going to figure things out.

Part of it was, “Listen. I’m hip to what’s going on. James, you going to bring me in on this? You’ve been holding me out of the loop — and yeah, I’m a little disappointed that you haven’t included me — but where are we going from here? Are we the [Final 2] or aren’t we?”

Really… I’m not worried if he’s going to go with me or not because at this point I’m thinking he’s the biggest threat. If he denies this in any way, shape or form, now that gives me the justification in my heart to go ahead and blind-side him.

Oh, Jean-Robert.

You can find other interviews, with more of the same, here and here. He does plan to lobby hard against Todd for betraying him if he makes it to the final two, as he’d threatened last week. Because he’s so well liked, and such a great study of people, I’m sure he can convince them to do his bidding. After all, that was his strategy - and he loves his strategy!

That’s his story, and by gosh, he’s sticking to it! In the meantime, he’s playing $1 Million tournaments… and cashing out at $20k.

Hrm, maybe it’s time to think about a new strategy…

(Part One, Part Two, Part Three)

Tribal Council
Jeff asks if Courtney ever expected to be there wearing the Immunity Necklace. She says “if I was going to win one, it’d be one that involves not falling in a swamp!” James admits that he feels nervous being there without immunity. Peih-Gee says Eric and I are the only one who brought are stuff, so we’re the only ones thinking we’re going! Jean-Robert says he’d be frustrated in their shoes, they’ve been in a bad position. Erik doesn’t quite agree, but he’s playing it one day at and James says “You working it!” he’s not fooling anyone.

Jeff asks about the idol and JR says as the local jerk, he’ll have his name on a ballot any time and if someone plays a HI it could be him. Amanda says everytime she goes to TC, she is not comfortable. Time to Vote!

The Votes: Jean-Robert, Jean-Robert, Peih-Gee, James, James, James, (AAH NO!) Jean-Robert, (THE STRESS!) Jean-Robert, JEAN-ROBERT! (WHEW!)

Jean-Robert is the 8th person voted out, and the second member of the jury. Jeff says the vote speaks for itself - tribal lines are gone, it’s a brand new game.

Next Time on Survivor: Tension rises, and a surprise at Tribal Council - they won’t be headed back to camp, but have more business to attend too.

And I nearly spit my DC all over the place when Jean-Robert says he knows they know he was the best player in the game, and that’s why they got him out. Oh Jean-Robert. You got PLAYED.

What did you think of the episode?! Do tell!

(Part One - Part Two)

Immunity Challenge time!
They have to balance on a large barrel filled with water, as it drains it’ll become more unstable, when you fall off, you’re out. Last person sitting wins immunity.

They push the levers, and the challenge begins. Hands and feet can only touch the barrel, no part of the structure. That’s all. Jeff blasts Jean Robert for complaining - Courtney is like a statue. 10 minutes in, and JR is trying to distract people. James is struggling, JR is the first one out! HAHAH!

Denise is next out, and into the swamp. James is struggling, but saves himself. 20 minutes in, Eric almost falls, Peih-Gee shows the first sign of trouble, Courtney is solid, and James is the 3rd person out and as he says “DundunDUN!”

Todd is struggling, but Eric falls before he does. Amanda is starting to wobble, but Peih-gee is out 5th. Amanda is out because she touched the structure! Down to three - Courtney, Frosti, Todd. 30 minutes in and Frosti is singing. Todd wobbles and falls! And then there were two… Courtney hasn’t moved in 32 minutes and quips “I am lazy!” Frosti is starting to wobble, Frosti can’t recover and COURTNEY WINS IMMUNITY! She says “It’s almost like a pagent!” Guess there are some benefits to weighing like, two pounds. Heh.

Back at camp, they congratulated Courtney, who didn’t think she would ever win anything, she doesn’t care who gets voted out, because it won’t be her! Peih-Gee is scrambling to save her ass, and hopes she’ll AUGH SNAKE survive one more. Jean-Robert and Erik talk and he tells Erik that he has the hidden immunity Idol, and he figures that means he’s guaranteed he is in the top five. Erik is 99% positive that James has it, and let’s Jean Robert in on it that he doesn’t have it, and that he is sure James has it. Aw, poor Jean-Robert. HAHAH! So now Jean Robert thinks he can start something and pull a fast one on James. Boy is this guy always a day late and a dollar short or what?

Jean-Robert confronts James about the HIIs, and he doesn’t give him any answers, and tells James that :The best course is with me, not against me, always!” And James tells us “Why would I align with you? That’d be the worst move in Survivor History!” Jean-Robert figures it’s fair game then. So he tells Todd what he already knows - that there’s two idols, and that James has them both and he wants to blindside him tonight. Which is oh so funny cuz Todd had THAT idea yesterday!

Todd is still entertaining options, and likes to keep it fun. James tells Todd that Jean-Robert knows, and Todd says “Well, he thinks you’re going - so lets go for Jean-Robert!” Amanda says he’s all over the place and second guessing himself, but wants Peih-Gee to go. Courtney says she doesn’t know, and Todd says JR is the best bet. Courtney is happy, he’s the Susan Lucci of Tribal Council. She’s hopeful, but wont’ see for sure. James isn’t even sure he’s going to bring the Idols with him, might roll the dice. But you never know….

(Part Four!)

(Part One Here)

James tells us that the reward was nice and there was a 1000 year old village and he don’t really enjoy the ‘romantic side of stuff’ but the history was really nice. They open the message to find the final clue to the hidden immunity Idol. Jean-Robert says that he should have had some clue, some idea there was an HII out there, he’s stunned. Todd is laughing, and JR is the only one who didn’t know about it. He’s all “This is big guys” and everyone else is laughing at him, quietly. I’m laughing at him too - not so quietly!

Jean-Robert wants to do know to do with the clues - and James is all “Make it disappear!” And everyone is all “That’s cool, an HII!” And Amanda says it was the best part of the whole evening, listening to him try and figure out where it might be.

Back at Camp, Denise is upset, that she wasn’t picked and she was always the last one picked, and she didn’t even get to try for Reward. She wonders if she’ll be the odd man out and go out before the rest of them. They do a bit of strategizing, and Peih-Gee decides to put for the the idea that if those five stick together they can get Jean-Robert. Denise says it’s an easy vote. She’s not sure what she’s going to do, just yet, and won’t give them a definitive answer. Hello swing vote!

That night, the four winners return, and get to bed, but Jean-Robert doesn’t sleep, he starts looking for the immunity Idol, which could be is “Million dollars right there!” He peels off the remaining plaque, but isn’t sure if it’s the right one, but it might be his ‘trump card’. Gee, was he not paying attention LAST TIME? HAHAHAH!

Day 23, and it’s dinner time. James is blasted for eating twice what everyone else does, by Jean-Robert of course. Todd says that “These PEOPLE are driving me insane!” He’s pissed that James has both HII as he gave him one of them and told him where they other one was and he hasn’t offered to give it back. Thus his plan is hatched.

Amanda’s a little suspect, it makes her nervous that he’s wanting to change and get James out, blind-siding him, but not telling Peih-Gee. Frosti knows he’s sort of a swing vote, and he and Todd have a bit of agreement. They just can’t let James win immunity at the next challenge.

(Part Three!)

Previously, on Survivor! Poor Jaime - no matter how much she denies the fact that she ‘didn’t know’ it was fake, and that she knew all along in her post show interviews - they’re still editing it like she had no clue. Awesome. No revisionist history for her!

We rejoin the Hae Da Fung Tribe right after the the Tribal Council and Jean Robert talking about how shocked he was, and then James telling Jean Robert to move to move over and give Erik room, and telling us they need to “keep his dumb-ass in line since we stuck with him now.”

Back at camp the morning of Day 22, James is out working with the nets. He knows they have to stick together, though they’re all completely opposite, and they clash, but they have too. He says Peih-Gee and Erik aren’t trying to win Survivor - they’re trying to win a High School Friend Contest!

Amanda knows that James is in a really good position and that makes her afraid he can win the whole thing, since he has both HII.

Reward Challenge!
They will be divided, one member will sit in the boat, while the opposite members throw buckets of water to try and sink while the member tries to bail fast enough. Sink twice, and win reward which is an authentic Chinese meal, in a little village. Schoolyard pick!

Peig-gee is captain of the red, and Jean Robert is captain of the yellow.
Jean Robert, James, Todd, Amanda
Peih-Gee, Frosti, Erik, Courtney, cuz she’s light.

Poor Denise sits out, and not eligible for the reward for it. That bites!

First round, Todd and Courtney are in the boat. Courtney is getting drenched by Amanda James and Jean-Robert screaming “I hate all of you!’ OH I LOVE THIS CHALLENGE! Todd’s doing awesome - with no water, and staying in the middle and Courtney is drowned! WHOO!

Frosti and Amanda in the boats now for round two. Red team is starting to tire “James is relentless!” and showing no signs of getting tired at all. Amanda has a nice safe spot in the middle, with hardly any water falling into her boat, Frosti is in trouble, and can’t get out of there - and is Sunk! Yellow team wins reward!

James, Todd, Amanda and Jean-Robert are given a message to read all together while they enjoy their reward, and head off to the ancient village.

(Click here for Part Two!)

Well, are ya? Tonight’s the night, and by all accounts there is a sneaky plot to get my boy James blindsided tonight. That is so NOT OK WITH ME! Harumph. Hopefully he gets wind of it all and Jean-Robert finally gets the boot.

Here’s Probst’s Preview to chew over before the big event!

So, do you have any last minute predictions? Who do you see going home? Who do you WANT to go home? Will James be smart and play an HII tonight at Tribal to save himself one more week? Will Courtney disappear completely from view, leaving us only her complaining? Time will tell!

Hey ya’ll - do you live in the New York area? Planning an early December Visit? Love Survivor’s that love to participate in a good cause? Have a secret (or not so secret) adoration for the movie ‘Dodgeball’ because hello! That’s THE GAME of ALL GAMES and GO TEAM!!?

Have I got a DEAL for YOU!

Well, ok, really my buddy Billy Garcia has a deal for you, if you want to be all ‘technical’ about it. As we’ve seen before, Billy has a soft spot for raising money to help support Diabetes research, which is something near and dear to my heart as my dad has Type Two Diabetes and has been battling it for most of my life. So, it stands to reason that I love helping spread the word for his upcoming events with Reality 4 Diabetes!

Here are the details:

What: Reality Castaways Dodgeball
Where: The Sports Center in Long Island New York
Hosted by: Billy Garcia from Cook Islands & Grant Stanis
When: Saturday, December 8th, 2007

1st Tournament: Fans can watch, play against & play with past contestants from Survivor in a Dodgeball Tournament.

2nd Tournament: Fans get to watch as teams from Fiji, Cook Islands, Guatemala, Vanuatu, Asia (Thailand + a surprise! I’m betting it’s a recent China castaway!), Panama and a Hybrid team compete in a PRO RULES dodgeball tournament.

3rd - After Party: Fans get to hang out at a special VIP after party with all the stars from the Grandfather of All Reality TV, Survivor! Food, drinks, and paaaaaaaaaaarty - including raffles, silent auctions and a whole heck of a lotta fun!

You can check out the myspace, and sports center pages, as well as Reality 4 Diabetes to keep up with all the fun, get tickets and breaking details! Also, below after the cut is the confirmed list of attendees and teams!

Get you’re tickets now, and don’t miss this event! And if you’re feeling REALLY frisky, maybe you can cover it for Watching Survivor by hitting the comments and contacting me for info on a guest post! How cool would THAT be? Or if you’re REALLY awesome, you can pay my way from Alaska and I’ll do the covering! (grin) Hey, as long as we’re dreaming…

So, if you’re gonna be out that way, drop in and have a ball. A DODGE ball! And tell Billy I sent ya!

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