Watching Survivor

In the light of the end of the season, the end of the year, and in closure before we embark upon the Fans Vs. Favorites fanaticism, I thought I’d look back over Survivor: China and pick out my favorite moments. Of course, I couldn’t put them in any particular order, because that would be conforming… or something. So! in NO particular order - my Top 10.

1. Todd - Day one: “I will do ANYTHING to win this game.”
Truer words were never spoken then those from Todd on day one. When I heard them I was all “Sh-yeah, RIGHT, they all say that!” But the little flight attendant did all Survivor Super Fans proud, but sticking to his guns, making personal relationships that mattered, and setting them aside as needed to get himself further in the game. I love a man who sticks by his guns - and clearly, so did the Jury! That boy could talk his way out of ANYTHING.

2. James - “I bury people.”
HELLO! He was pushing trees down with his bare hands, he’s a gorgeous specimen of man flesh, he’s an all around good guy, a hard worker, with a smile and laugh to die for. What’s NOT to like?

3. Chicken - “DAYUM!”
So I knew he was a goner, right off the bat, but for an explosive exit, none could be better. He said it all in a single word!

4. The Wrestler, Ashley, being weaker then the average Survivor.
Yeah, everyone thought SHE’D go far, huh? NOT… and seriously, could ya whine a little more? Please?

5. Sherea getting into Dave’s face - “I wish you WOULD touch me!”
Who doesn’t like a woman who goes all OFF on some poor lil gay guy? How funny was she, begging for him to lay a hand on her so she could smack him one, flinging his attitude right on back at him? LOVED it.

6. Jaime - playing the fake immunity idol.
She still swears she knew it was fake, but come on… seriously? Who really believes that?

7. As much as it made me want to cry - James NOT playing the idols.
It’s a classic Survivor Blunder, guaranteed to go down in Survivor history books as the biggest idiot move EVER.

8. Courtney - Winning Immunity
I said at the beginning of the season, that maybe Courtney would grow on me, like snide, snarky mold. I don’t think she ever won me over completely, she still annoyed me by the end of the season - however, she did make me laugh on occasion. Especially when she said she’d won immunity because she didn’t want to fall in the swamp water. Nice.

9. Jeff Probst.
Everything about Mr. Dimples makes Survivor better for me. He’s so good at reading people, at getting them to admit things they’d rather not, at calling them out on their BS - and at looking good in blue. He’s funny, he’s got kick ass dimples, and seriously - Survivor wouldn’t be the franchise it is without him.

10. China.
Yeah, the whole damn country - or at least the parts we got to see. The scenery was gorgeous, the local’s harsh and unforgiving yet undeniably beautiful at the same time. They incorporated the Chinese culture in subtle and overt ways, and it was an unforgettable location for the 15th season. I don’t think any other local can quite compare.

So there ya have it. What were your favorite moment’s of the season? What do you want to see more of in Fans vs. Faves? Only 6 more days till the cast is announced officially! WHOO!

Whew! That’s quite a bundle o’stuff to talk about, huh? Here we go!

Denise: Did she, or didn’t she take the money? According to many sources, including the AP, Denise Martin will not be accepting the $50k sympathy prize awarded to her by Mark Burnett during the finale last Sunday. On Tuesday’s CBS Early Show, she sidestepped the question of if she intended to accept the money or not, refusing to give a straight up yes or no question. She did say it was not her intention to be misleading, and apologized, but the big question of the cash remained up in the air. Later that day, however, there was another statement released, in which Denise said ” “I do not feel comfortable about accepting the $50,000. I would instead ask that it be donated to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation,” and asked again that we accept her apology. Good on her for not taking the cash - but it’s a shame she had to be shamed into doing the right thing, shamed into being honest.

Final Four Interviews:
Of course there’s a whole batch of interviews of all the finalists - though Denise had her own scandal to handle through other channels. Here’s the big ones for the final three, though!
Todd: Here, here and here.
Courtney: here and here.
Amanda: here and here.

And of course, the talk has already moved on from China to Micronesia, where it’ll be Fans vs. Faves! The official cast of what has quickly been named the “HalfASS” season won’t be announced until January 3rd, but spoilers all over the net have already pieces together lists of at least the Past Survivors portion of the cast. Also, with the promo being shown on the finale, Screen caps of the Fans have been posted, with information requested - if you DON’T want to know, DON’T click below!

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The Survivor Finale was marked with controversy yesterday when the Superintendent of Denise Martin’s school - and Denise’s boss - sent out a press release saying that Denise’s tale of woe on the finale was an outright lie. Information is still trickling in, of course, and I doubt we’ll ever actually get the whole truth on the intentions behind it. Our favorite Chen-bot moderated a brief interview and confrontation between Denise and Nancy Lane this morning on CBS. You can find the video here.

What it boils down to is that Lane points out again that Denise was promoted - per Denise’s request - before leaving for the show and had worked as custodian since March 30. She was granted the requested for leave of absence for Survivor (which was filmed during the summer - July/August), and returned to her position of Custodian (a job with a $10/hr increase in pay) that she had gained before leaving for China, and has in fact been working in that position since her return in August. Denise said that was indeed accurate, apologized to Lane, and her community, saying that she didn’t intend it to come out that way at all, that she simply meant she had tried to go back to the old job but was turned down, without reasoning (though she stated on the Reunion show that the reasoning was her popularity. This also doesn’t compute, since the show had not aired yet!). Lane countered that the reasoning was simple - the position had since been filled and that if it should come open once more, Denise knows how to transfer within the district - she’d done it once before.

Up until this point, I found myself wavering a bit. Denise is not the most well spoken person, and as we’d seen throughout the season and especially during the Final Tribal Council, she often gets flustered and unable to get her point completely across the way she likely intended it. Maybe she just didn’t think through what she was saying, what it would mean or how it would come across. I was willing to believe that until she completely sidestepped Julie Chen’s last question: would she still accept the $50k if Mark Burnett still insisted on giving it to her? She said she’d done all of this for her family and rambled until Julie had to cut her off and end the segment, and Denise never actually said yes or no.

That, in my opinion, was a simple and easily answered question. In her position (a place I’d never be for MANY reasons) my answer would have been a straight up “No, of course not!” It wouldn’t matter how much I needed the $50k, I would have jumped at the chance to save face and say no - insisted it was donated to a charity or something of the sort if it was going to be pushed on me.

Denise had me at least willing to give the benefit of the doubt until then. Now? I’m not so sure. Maybe she just missed her chance, maybe it goes back to her not being very well spoken and easily flustered, or maybe… maybe she really does intend to keep the now tainted cash.

What are your thoughts on the whole ’scandal’? Did she? Didn’t she? Will she? Won’t she? And what on earth will/should happen now?

Throughout the season of Survivor: China, I had a soft spot for the Lunch Lady. I’ve known several people like her, and hey, part of me resonated with her feelings of being the outsider, and left out of the group of ‘cool kids’. Who hasn’t felt that way? (The cool kids, of course. ha!) I’ve been that girl more then once in my lifetime.

As she was picked last for challenges, left out of challenges, brought on some rewards then bombarded by petty bitterness when she didn’t return the ‘favor’ at a later date - we all could empathize, could sympathize, and really pulled for her. She was the ultimate underdog, the one we loved to love, the one we wanted to pull through, even though she lacked strategy and really never played the Survivor Game.

As such, around the nation last night, there was a collective “Awwww!” as she spoke of losing her job and having to clean toilets now because she was too recognizable, and a collective cheer when Mark Burnett had Jeff make the announcement that he was going to give her $50k to help get her life back on track once again for her and her kids.

And now, this morning? There’s a completely different reaction. According to the article posted at EW.com’s Hollywood Insider, Denise’s boss, School Superintendent Nancy T. Lane, claims that Denise outright lied during the reunion show. According to Lane, the promotion to custodian was worked for, asked for, and gained by work performance by Denise before she took her leave for the show, and they’ve issued a press release stating this as fact:

Press Release: Mrs. Denise Martin
December 17, 2007
Douglas Public Schools

On the “Survivor China” television program that aired on December 16, 2007, Mrs. Denise Martin, an employee of the Douglas Public Schools, stated that she was demoted from her position as a cafeteria worker upon her return from taping the show. This statement is false. In fact, Mrs. Martin held a full-time position as a custodian prior to her participation in the series, and she returned to this same position upon her return from China. Mrs. Martin was granted - at her request - an unpaid leave of absence so that she could participate in the “Survivor” program. We were pleased and excited to support Denise, and have enthusiastically cheered her on throughout the duration of the show.

Although Mrs. Martin was a cafeteria employee prior to her selection as a contestant, she asked to be considered for a promotion to full-time custodian, and was promoted to this position on March 30, 2007. This promotion came with additional benefits and a higher salary. Following her leave, she then returned to this same position.

Regretfully, the Douglas Public School District was inaccurately portrayed as failing to be accommodating to an employee during what the District viewed as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. This is far from the case. On the contrary, we granted all requests made by Mrs. Martin so that she could participate in the “Survivor” series. Since Mrs. Martin was on an approved leave, her position was held open for her, and she returned to this same position upon her return from China. As a District, we make every effort to support our employees, and will continue to do so.

Nancy T. Lane
Superintendent of Schools

She added to EW:

“I can empathize, having been a working mother,” Lane said. “It’s tough to work those night shifts. But she took the job; that’s the job she took leave from [to do Survivor]. If she wants to go back to the day shift, she should apply when one comes open.”

Lane says she spoke with Martin on the telephone on Monday afternoon and that the show’s fourth-place finisher was apologetic, but that “she did not explain why she said that to my satisfaction,” Lane explained. “It’s difficult to grasp. We did nothing but encourage her. She took leave for almost three months, she was given additional times off when ever she needed it. Now she says this on national TV…. Douglas is a nice little town. Everybody was rooting for her, the local paper was bending over backwards with positive articles. Then to have it end this way. Talk about a letdown.”

Martin was still in California on Monday, but Lane says her job is waiting for her when she comes back home on Friday. “I told her, ‘I think we have a few things to go over,’” Lane says. “I might have a few things I’d like to talk about.”

CBS only had this to say for now:

“The comments made by Ms. Martin on the program were compelling and sympathetic. If these statements were misleading or false, we hope that she will take immediate and public steps to clarify her remarks.”

So - this begs the question…. what do YOU think of these developments?

In case you missed it, some awesome fans have made sure the Reunion show was placed on YouTube - check it out and get a load of how nicely this group of Survivor’s clean up!

Some of my favorite moments?
*Jean-Robert getting told he was indeed played in the final tribal - aka, finding out what we already knew. Oh, Jean-Robert.
*Jeff Probst calling Courtney “fat” (He didn’t really, as you can see. *L* So don’t get ruffled!)
*Todd Winning - we knew it was going to happen, but seeing his reaction and the genuine love for the game he has was most awesome!
*Amanda’s Doe Eyes - when she lost. Ha.

And my ultimate favorite moment was my Nephew calling me, and telling me how he felt about the verdict, though he and I didn’t agree. He had very well thought out reasons why he thought Todd shouldn’t have one (Didn’t like the lying, he wasn’t very nice) and he accepted my comments about separating the game from the person. Of course, he thought Courtney should have won, but I’m pretty sure it’s because she reminds him of his little sister who is also very small boned and skinny and petite. It certainly wasn’t because she was nice! So even though I couldn’t talk long, Bug, since I was still working? Thanks for calling me!

And here ya go - The Reunion Show:

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four:

Part Five:

And because I adore him so - here are the Many faces of James, or at least, some of them.

I do hope he is on the Fans vs. Faves! Of course, if he is - because he’d not been available for interviews, and with the production schedule being from the first week of November till just a few days ago, I think it’s safe to say that IF he was on the show, he made it at LEAST to the jury, and for doing so? looks MIGHTY FINE… Not that he’s ever looked bad, but you know what I’m saying. (grin) He’s looking as strong as ever. Not sure what that tells us of his chances out there, if anything, but it’s fun to speculate. And even more fun to just look at him. He’s so PRETTY… in a purely artistic sense of the word, of course. Honest. (ahem.)

So what were your favorite moments - reunion show, or season long? Do tell!

We start with Todd – Jeff asks about his gameplan. And Todd says that he decided from the get go that he’d do whatever it took to get there, and he can’t believe it worked! Jeff says he was willing to make relationships that he knew he’d have to lie. Todd says he could only hope that people would say Survivor is a Game. He hopes they know that the personal was personal.

Jeff moves on to Jean-Robert, and they play JR’s decree that Todd won’t win if he screws him over. Jean-Robert ended up voting for Todd to win, what changed his mind? J-R said it was difficult, but Todd changed his mind with his answers at the final Tribal Council. He won’t answer – and so Jeff reminds him that he said JR was the bigger threat. And JR says it’s hard to acknowledge that he recognized him as the bigger threat, but he knew it was the right thing. Jeff says “It’s a compliment, IF ITS TRUE – so Todd… did you play him, or believe it?” Todd says he knew JR loves his ego, and yeah, he played him.

Back to Todd – the strategy of the two key people, and Todd says they had a connection with Amanda immediately, Day four, they made it official. Day 6, he decided he needed Courtney because he wasn’t that small, because she’d be the bigger target. Time to talk about the riskey move - the idols, and James just starts shaking his head and jeff says “We’re coming to you James… we got LOTS of questions…”

Todd says giving him the idols, he rolled the dice and hoped it worked out. It was a huge risk, but it worked out. Amanda – time to talk about getting rid of James. She says it was nerve-wracking, and James could have killed everyone! My boy James just grins that million dollar grin! Amanda felt there was a point she thought sure it was going to backfire, James was looking his bag, and she was shocked when it worked.

James! Someone yells “WE LOVE YOU!” And Jeff teases him “You got fans, in spite of making the biggest blunder of this game!” Everyone laughs. Most popular guy, two idols, how’d that happen? James just shakes his head, says he was trusting his alliance, and he knows it cost him one million dollars. Jeff says they have more with him later.

Denise – Jeff asks why she didn’t take the chance to switch over. She says she thought it over, she wasn’t really sure, and rambles, Jeff interrupts and recaps the numbers flaw. She says she felt she’d be at the bottom no matter what. She felt her best chance would be to win it on her own.

Peih-Gee – how close did you think you got to get her to switch? She kept bargaining Todd, and she thinks if she has suggested going to Courtney it’d been better, but Denise said yeah, that might have won. Jeff asks who it would have been for Peih-Gee, Denise and Erik, they all said Peih-Gee, which makes her groan. Haha.

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Here we go kids, it’s recap time! I’ll be covering the full two hours – tribal councils right on through to the reunion show and hopefully the announcement of ASS2 and James’ part on it! Ha! I’ll add to this post as I can through the commercials for those I know are watching for it (Hi Jamie!) - be patient with me thought! All pictures will come at the end, when I can find screen shots.

Previously, on Survivor… we get a full season recap, of course, like we haven’t been paying attention – but we’re down to the final four, they’re loyal now, but who will be the first to turn on the others, who will outlast them all to become Sole Survivor?

It’s night 36 at Hae de Fung, where the final four is celebrating ending up with exactly what they wanted. There’s hugs, and dance moves, and Courtney says she always slips through the cracks to get to the top and hopes it will carry her all the way through.

The next morning, they’re still smiling, and Denise says she just wants to be happy one day out there before she goes. It’s a tough fight, and Denise says she’s proved herself and has learned a lot – it’s a life changing experience for her.

Tree Mail – another chance to eat, sounds like a reward challenge. Amanda says she’s been in a funk because she’s been without food, and knows it’ll be the most important reward yet, because she needs food.

Right to the challenge! It’s the one we saw on the Jeff videos at the beginning of the season – I was wondering! They tackle Survivor’s versions of the Great wall. Climb down the ladder, cross the bridge, finish the bridge and get to the end of the course. Use the Yoke to carry the puzzle blocks to the top of the wall, solve the puzzle and finish their section of the wall and win reward. Reward is comfort – the kind of food they’ve been craving, Pizza, beer, soft drinks and brownies – and Amanda is almost in tears. It’s a serving for one.

Survivor’s ready? GO! Todd is off to an early start, jumping off the wall and starting to build the bridge – which only goes together one way. All are working quickly, methodically, Todd and Amanda are in the lead, and Denise is struggling. Todd finishes first, Amanda is right on his heels. They load up the first load of puzzle blocks, with Amanda right behind while the other two are still trying to finish the bridge. It’s all about Todd and Amanda at this point – who wants it more.

Todd makes his second load and Courtney finishes her bridge finally. Denise is as good as out of it. Amanda joins Todd and starts working on the puzzle, Courtney has her first load of puzzle blocks. Denise FINALLY finishes her bridge, but Todd and Amanda have a huge lead. It’s like a tetris puzzle, and it only goes together one way. Courtney starts on her puzzle as Denise gets her first set back, Todd is making progress, and Amanda is close as well… Courtney is close – but wrong, and keeps going. Denise finally starts her puzzle….

Amanda is on to something, and AMANDA WINS REWARD!

Amanda is given the choice to share her reward with one or two people to join her. She says she hates it, she doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Jeff reminds her that there’s $1 Million on the line. She apologizes to them, and then decides to share her reward with Todd. Courtney rolls her eyes. OH THE SHOCK, and she and Denise head back to camp.

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We rejoin Hae Da Fung on night 22, as the final five get back to camp, and Denise decided to play it safe and vote out Erik, but thinks she might have made a mistake in the game. The next morning, Peih-Gee says he’s probably not the most popular person there and it’s hard to feel like an outsider. Awwwwwww. She brings back tree mail, and wakes up everyone else. There’s arrows, and while she reads, Courtney gives Todd a kiss on the cheek, and they listen to the mail, and we head direct to the challenge where Todd hopes he’s skilled and popular.

Reward!
They will each fire arrows from a replica of a 4th century of a Chinese repeating crossbow. Each time you or someone else hits your name on the board you score a point. You begin with 5 arrows. They divvy up the arrows in secret to the other survivors. Whoever’s name gets hit the most times, wins reward. The reward? They’ll be flown by private jet to the Great Wall of China, where they’ll eat and spend the night.

Peih-Gee gets one arrow. Commence whining and sulking. Todd gets 6, Denise has 2, Courtney has 12 arrows and Amanda has 4. Yeesh!

Peih-Gee misses the board completely.
Denise misses the first one, then hits her own name for 1 point.
Amanda misses, hits Denise, hits Denise again, and misses the last one. Denise has 3 points.
Todd hits his own name once, twice, three times, four, five, and finally misses his last shot - DAYUM that was some fine shootin! Even Jeff is impressed. Todd grins and says it’s secretly a hobby of his with a laugh.
Courtney has 12 arrows - she misses, hits her name, Denise, Amanda, misses, Todd, Denise, Denise, Todd, misses, Denise, and Denise - giving Denise the reward!

Denise gets to pick one person to go with her, and obviously chooses Courtney who gave it to her, and then gets to choose another and Peih-Gee starts begging, and she picks Todd instead. Peih-Gee starts bitching about how much she did for Denise, and she’s getting left out and it’s tough (Poor Denise is almost in tears as she says she’s sorry) and Amanda is disappointed too, but what can ya do?

WHINE PATROL. Oy.

Back at camp, Peih-Gee is pissed, and knows she said things she shouldn’t have and AGAIN tells us how she picked Denise and why didn’t she return the favor, and she heard Denise say she didn’t want Peih-Gee to get stronger and it’s like “hello I’m still a person!”

Amanda is teary, having to do all the work. She is having a hard time being left out of the reward. She confronts Peih-Gee and says she feels like she is always being attacked at Tribal, and Amanda wants to get it out in the open. Peih-Gee tells us that she respects her for speaking her mind, and is glad they got to sit down and talk. They find Asian Pears and limes, and are excited to eat - which of course is when we flip to the private jet.

Denise feels bad, but they know that Amanda feels comfortable with them, and Todd’s glad to be chosen. He does a little flight attendant welcome, as Denise opens the champagne. The wall is GORGEOUS. Denise is awed, and you get the feeling again that she truly appreciates the reward. They’re greated, shown their beds, and a table that’s FULL of food. They’re a little confused, because it was all raw, and the little Chinese guy demonstrates and they end up with a huge pot of food. He’s surprised at how quickly he gets full.

Courtney confesses that choosing Todd was better strategically because Amanda is far less likely to get into trouble back at camp with Peih-Gee, and an Angry Todd is a Bad Todd.

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…and adding more fuel to the ASS2 fire – because he is available for interviews and we still haven’t seen hide nor hair of James. Yay! I mean… Well, you know what I mean!

So, Erik’s working the interviews, and most of them are similar, as they do tend to be. Erik is one of the few of China’s Survivors to have known nothing about the game at all, until he was approached and asked if he wanted to do it. After the initial approach, he began to watch Survivor: Fiji, and the more he watched, the more he got into it – as he puts it “It’s one of those games, and one of those shows, that when you start watching it you get into it and literally can’t stop. You can’t get enough of it.”

I feel ya, brother, I feel ya! That’s why I’m here, after all!

Erik was asked to clarify the whole thrown challenge ordeal – did he, or did he not know about it?

Peih-Gee and Jaime and I were a very strong alliance, so we had all three discussed what should we do, we’ve got this opportunity. We decided that we were going into the first immunity challenge, the swimming challenge, and we were gonna win it. So, I went in thinking that we had all intentions of winning that challenge. Before the challenge started, after I was no longer able to talk with Jaime and Peih-Gee because we had already started swimming, apparently they think they saw James, Todd, and a couple other people from the other tribe sort of communicating. Whatever they saw, whatever Jaime and Peih-Gee saw, it freaked them out.

By that point, it was too late for them to tell me, so I worked my butt off trying to win, and I could hear Jeff Probst saying “Zhan Hu making no progress.” I was like, “Oh dear”. I smelled something funny, so I was just like, “Okay, great, they’ve thrown the challenge”. I was a little mad. I felt like I was forced to trust their judgment call, but I had to trust that they were still looking out for my best interest at that point. I think they were, so that’s what happened.

On the relationship between him and Jaime (confirmed by Dave, question evaded by Jaime), Erik would only say that she’s very important to him, and he is excited to see where it goes. He’d like her to be in his life forever – they just clicked instantly. Sounds like a yes to dating to me! Add to the fact that there were pictures posted on someone’s myspace where she attended a recent performance of his band… hmmmmmmm.

Erik addressed the fact that many folks (myself included) seemed to think he had no significant strategy at all. He would like to “beg to differ. I feel like I did pretty well and I am proud of all the decisions I made. I felt I was able to maintain the integrity of myself throughout the game and I still think I had a shot to get to the end – I almost did but it didn’t quite happen.”

Well that’s your story, and we’ll let you stick to it. All in all, I think Eric was just too nice of a guy for Survivor – he played the good ole boy, but didn’t know when to really step it up. He almost did it before his ouster – if he could have convinced Amanda and/or Denise to at least force a tie with Todd, that could have changed the course of the game for himself. He did mention that he was worried about changing and going balls out all of the sudden would affect him badly, though, which is why he decided consistency was the key for him.

Want to see more? Click here, and here.

And don’t forget –this is THE Survivor Week! We’ve the regular Thursday Episode, then the Finale on Sunday! Where our suspicions should be confirmed about ASS2! Whoo!

Previously on survivor, we get a recap showing us again how my man James is an idiot. *sigh* We go right back to camp after the recap, directly after Tribal council, and Todd is shocked that it worked, that he’s still there. He knows that had James used the idol he’d have been sent home. There was a final 6 group hug, and Peih-Gee is feeling hopeful - if she can keep Fei-Long turning on each other, she might have a chance!

Todd is miserable, and says he’s not emotional, but is really missing home at this point, as they all huddle in the cave while it rains. Tell me, why have they not worked to get a better shelter?! Todd tells us though that he cant trust anyone, even if he has an alliance, he’ll take out the threat. But he won’t tell them that!

Reward Challenge!
It’s the Relative reward! Teams of two, one with blindfolded, and they’ll have to listen to the partner to get them through the maze to the center. No warning, Jeff says “Erik you’ll be partnered with your mom” Cue the sappy reunion music where everyone cries and Amanda’s sister is there, Amanda apologizes for stinking. Peih-Gee’s dad is there, Todd’s sister Brandy is there, and gets a huge hug from her bro. And he finds out their other sister has miscarried. He’s in tears, and Courtney is rolling her eyes (Shock) but then is in tears as her Daddy shows up and (GOOD LORD SHES SO SKINNY), and we get to finally meet Denise’s hubby, who’s a big ole boy named Robert. She asks him “can I have your socks?” And she almost drags him over there…

Jeff explains the challenge, and they’re playing for a boat trip, a meal and a phone call home. Courtney apologizes to her daddy, who’s all but in a suit. L Everyone is blindfolded, and working their way toward the center to the platform. Amanda and her sister use bird sounds, Denise and hubby are working really way. Denise and Robert find each other first, connect and work together really well. Peih-Gee finds her dad, he’s trying to point her toward the way. Jeff says “Courtney is still looking for her Father” and Courtney shoots back “Shut it, Probst!”

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Thanks to the folks at SurvivorFever.net, we have scans of this weeks TV Guide, where Jeff Probst gives his rating of the final six players! Have to say he’s pretty much thinking the same things I’m thinking, even though he has the added benefit of, well, knowing who the final three are! Ha!

So, without further ado, here’s TV Guide’s thoughts, Probst thoughts and hey, because I know you can’t get enough of MY thoughts, some of those are tossed in as well. Aren’t you the lucky ones? (Nod away, there’s a good reader!) Right out of the gate, Jeff says that China is one of the best seasons so far, and it won’t disappoint us. (Well, not much, since my boy James was an idiot last week. Sigh.)

And, since they are rated by torches, 1-6, (6 being good odds to win, 1, bye-bye baby..) I’m going to put them in order. TV Guide didn’t, of course, but it will amuse me if this is exactly the remaining boot order…

Erik odds: 1 Torch
Says the TV Guide:

The Nashville-based Christian rocker and self-professed virgin, 26, hasn’t made any enemies so far. He also hasn’t made one smart move. Can you say ‘just another pretty face’?

Says Jeff Probst:

Erik has no chance of winning the game. I don’t care who you put him up against in the final three. Very nice guy, talkented musician, gonna be a great husband, probably a great dad. But a lousy Survivor player. you have to be willing to reach a little deeper inside yourself and find the fun part that enjoys the game.

Says me:
He looks good in those glasses, he’s a nice guy, he’s got a smile that is capable of melting knees when he turns it on full wattage. But he’s got no chance, and hasn’t for some time. He might say being on Zhun Hu hurt him, but in reality, he has not done a thing to further his place in the game. He has zero strategy, and is always 2-3 steps behind (HIIs anyone?). But he sure is purty!

Best move: Making friends in Feih-Long. It got him this far. It won’t get him much farther.
Worst move: Being too afraid to make a move, and when he did try to get into the grove, it was too little too late.

Denise - odds 2 torches.
Says the TV Guide:

The boston-area school lunch lady, 40, is tough hardworking and an earnest straight shooter. But at times in the game, she’s also proven to be as out of step as her mullet.

Says Jeff Probst:

She is the dark-horse favorite. Out of anybody in this game right now, I would want to get rid of Denise as soon as possible because she’s so likeable and she’s really done nothing wrong. She’s been a true friend to everybody. It’s hard not to root for her. And I like her even more for the story she told about why she has her mullet.

Says me:
Story? There was a story? I missed this? I dug around and found that while Jeff was on Regis and Kelly recently, he mentioned that the story is she has to have short hair because of working in the lunchroom, but her husband likes long hair, she keeps the back long for him. So it’s quite traditional in an ‘it’s all business up front and party in the back kind’ of way. Heh.

I like Denise. I’ve known a lot of women like Denise, and I’ve liked them all. I do think that she will be out before F3 though, because Jeff’s right. If she’s in the Final 3, she will take home the check. She hasn’t made any enemies (except maybe James when she helped blindside him, but he did promise in his final words not to hold it against anyone…) and she’s worked her butt off for her tribe.

Peih-Gee - Odds 3: Torches
Says the TV Guide:

The prickly California jeweler, 29, made one of China’s most controversial moves when she threw an immunity challenge in order to get a member of her own tribe ousted. She’s been on the chopping block several times herselve but has proven to be more resilient then a cockroach.

Says Jeff Probst:

I didn’t really like her in the beginning. She was kind of toxic. but the more she stayed, the more I started to see she’s a pretty good player. She’s (become) a true undersdog. She’s got a lot of former tribe members on the jury and that could work to her advantage.

Says me:
She annoyed me from the beginning, and she lost my support completely when she and Jaime so blatantly threw that challenge. I hate that. I hated it in Cook Islands when they did it to my buddy Billy! It. doesn’t. work. When you’re already the underdog, shouldn’t you attempt to secure your position by gaining allies, not by ‘cutting off your nose to spite your face’? (Who let my mom in here??) She whines, she doesn’t take responsibility for any failing, blaming others instead, but wants applause when her plan comes together. Not the best way to win friends and influence people!

Best move: Picking James and Aaron in the tribal switch.
Worst move: Throwing the challenge.

Courtney - odds: 4 torches
Says the TV Guide:

The mouthy New York City waitress with the scary-slight frame, 26, just might be the biggest eye-roller in Survivor history. The fact that she’s no physical threat could help her secure a spot in the final three.

Says Jeff Probst:

It’s been a long time since I’ve been this surprised to see somebody still in the game. But I actually think she could have a chance at winning depending on who she’s up against and what argument she makes. If she could take all her negative traits and turn them into [obstacles] that she overcame, she has a shot!

Says me:
For the love of all that’s holy as a Christmas gift to me, PLEASE EAT SOMETHING. Aside from that, I am pretty sure that she’s got a final three spot sewed up at this point. She’s no physical threat, and thus likely won’t get immunity again unless they let her sit on her butt and not move else she falls into a swamp. Again. Other then that, she’s clearly no threat, her only benefit is that she pretty much does as they tell her too as a vote. She’s mouthy, she’s negative, she rolls her eyes more (but far less expressively, if you can believe it) then my teenage daughter and I find it hard to like her. But then again, she’s also the type of person, who outside of the game, I’d probably enjoy bantering with.

Her best move: making it known to Amanda and Todd that she’d be their little voting wench.
Her worst move: While it didn’t hurt her, she clearly and loudly and with much disdain targeted Jean-Robert until the rest of the tribe caved and said ok. It made her a target, briefly, but now I’ll be shocked if she goes out before F3.

Todd - odds: 5 Torches
Says the TV Guide:

The Utah-based flight attendant, 22, may be a little guy, but he’s had the biggest impact on this season’s game. He’s smart, strategic and as cutthroat as Richard Hatch. But has he made too many enemies?

Says Jeff Probst:

Todd has been exciting to watch because he gets such joy out of playing the game. He’s loving this manipulative adventure he’s on, and he’s good at it. But it’s always fun to be the person in charge of giving the blind side to somebody until you get to the final tribal council and they’re sitting on the jury. Todd’s gotta let other people get credit for making moves if he wants a chance to convince people he’s worthy [of winning].

Says me:
I love Todd. I have since the very beginning, but that’s probably because I’m always a fan of the little gay boys with wicked ruthless strategy. He’s done pretty well running the game by using other people, and making sure he is not seen as the biggest threat until recently. He does, however, get a little too much up in arms when someone else comes up with a plan that mirrors his. Jean-Robert, for example, in his plan to oust James, which had Todd lamenting “but that was MY plan!” to us. Granted, if he didn’t do that to THEM… it’s ok.

He does have a number of enemies, though, and Jean-Robert did promise that he’d make sure anyone but Todd got the money. Of course, who’s going to listen to Jean-Robert? That might actually GET Todd the cash…

Best Move: Picking Amanda as a partner. Those two are unstoppable.
Worst Move: Switching up the plan last minute, without a real reason why other then ‘he stole my cookie plan!’

Amanda - 6 Torches
Says the TV Guide:

The L.A.-Based Former hiking guide, 23, was smart enough to form an alliance with Todd early in the game, and her sidekick status has allowed her to make fewer enemies. Orchestrating the dramatic ouster of fan favorite James proved she’s a power player.

Says Jeff Probst:

Amanda’s been in Todd’s shadow, but she knows this game as well as he does. She just pulled out a big sword and lopped somebody’s head off with it. If she’s willing to do that again, she could have a check for a million bucks. If she goes back to being timid, it’ll be tougher for her to win.

Says me:
As much as it pains me to say so, I think Amanda has this on lock. Of course, it only pains me because of James, so I’ll just have to get over it. She’s smart, she’s been involved in the strategies with Todd, and together those two have been unbeatable since week two. All that remains to be seen is if she can get out from behind him enough before the vote, or if anything she does here on out is too little too late. Although, historically the Jury prefers to give the money to someone who was nice, and had strategy, then someone who was a cutthroat strategist all along.

Best move: Hooking up with Todd from the beginning, and orchestrating the ousting of James.
Worst move: Has she done the ‘coat tails’ sidekick coast too long? Time will tell…

So there you have it! Do you agree with the rankings of the final six? Do you think there will be any real shake-ups, or is the final three pretty much a foregone conclusion based on what we’ve seen so far? Who is YOUR pick to win it all?

Hit the ‘comments’ link down there, and opine away!

Or also - Allstars and rumors of Allstars…

So, I haven’t written about it (again) yet because everyone has their own opinion on ASS2 and if it is for sure happening next season as Survivor 16. There have been many teasers posted, like that of my buddy Lynn back in July, where they were certain that there would be back to back seasons in China. The suggested cast list has also changed numerous times, as has the ‘twist’ ideas that have been tossed around.

The latest rumors say yes to the ASS2, but no to it being in China. In fact, according to insiders at Survivor Skills (who think people like me are a scurge on the whole Spoiler trade, ruining life for honest spoilers around the net - apparently because I report what I’ve seen under rumors, and thus they are sometimes incorrect. This is why they are called RUMORS, of course, instead of KNOWN FACT. And I’ve never claimed that I had the inside track or anything… But you know, whatever.) Season 16 will indeed by AllStars, and is currently being filmed in Palau.

But the best, BEST suggestion of the Allstars we’ve had yet concerns my boy James. Normally on Monday I’d be posting all the interview circuit links, where James would admit he was a dumbass for not using the hidden immunity idols and that he should have listened to Denise who basically all but said ‘don’t be a dumbass’ and used them and he’d still BE there and…

Wait, where was I? Oh yeah, the interviews…

There are none.

That’s right, there’s not a single interview to be found with James, and according to the Editor’s Note at Reality TV World where they talked about James’ ouster from the Tribe, CBS has announced that there will be no interviews with James, he is not available for post-show media. There was no reason given for this unavailability, but it’s eerily similar to what happened with Rupert after he was ousted season seven, then went right back for AllStars in season eight.

Course, that is cutting it pretty close for him to make it back in time for the finale reunion show. The promo for this weeks episode 11 says “three episodes to go” which means this week, December 6th, next week, December 13th, with the finale being Sunday December 16th as they are traditionally on a Sunday. If they started (as rumored) filming ASS2 on November 5th, that has them wrapping on the 14th with just two days to get back to join the Finale and Reunion show. James might be one tired boy if that happens! (Unless, of course, he gets booted early, which is something I refuse to contemplate because I’d be happy with All James All The Time - from a perfectly innocent artistic point of view, of course…. ahem.) (Then again, if he got booted pre-jury, he’d be home already, and available for interviews, no? So it’s likely he at LEAST makes Jury…) (Are you tired of parenthetical asides yet?)

SO! Since I’m talking about the spoiling - here’s the most current (I think) list of castaways that’s been circulating around. I’ve seen it in several places, so who knows who has the ‘first scoop’ and really, who cares? It’s there, and we’ll know come January/February if it’s right. (You spoilers HATE me, don’t ya? Haha.) This is from tv.ign.com, who got it from several places all over the net, including the Survivor: Wiki. So it’s a work in progress:

Survivor: Vanuatu - Ami (6th place), Julie (5th place), Eliza (4th place).
Survivor: Palau - Coby (9th place), Jenn (4th place), Ian (3rd place), Katie (2nd place).
Survivor: Guatemala - Gary (7th place), Judd (6th place), Lydia (4th place).
Survivor: Exile Island - Shane (5th place), Cirie (4th place), Terry (3rd place).
Survivor: Cook Islands - Jonathan (7th place), Parvati (6th place), Ozzy (2nd place).
Survivor: Fiji - Michelle (10th place), Yau-Man (4th place).
Survivor: China - James (7th place), Courtney (placement still unknown) (although - other places have Amanda here instead of Courtney…).

Ozzy AND James on the same show? HEAVEN! Add to that Michelle and Yau-Man? This will make my kids very, very happy. What about you?

ETA: While I was writing this, I saw the official announcement by CBS Press Release - Survivor 16 premieres on February 7th! WHOO!