Watching Survivor

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!