Survivor 20: Finale!

Okay, so I've written up this huuuuuge post about the finale, but you won't find it here! I've switched blogs, for reasons that you can read up on in my new blog! Check me out at: www.punky-pickle.blogspot.com. If you don't, you won't get to find out who won the pool!

Survivor 20: Episode 13

What I consider to be the greatest season in Survivor history is ending this Sunday. I'm sure the finale and reunion show will be awesome - but it's sad to see such a great season end. Without question, this is the season I most wish I hadn't spoilered for myself.

With another season wrapping up, that means there must be another winner of the pool! Lets take a look at what our players have done in the past:

- Me - 2 wins (Danni from Guatemala, and JT from Tocantins)

- Doug - 2 wins (Bob from Gabon and Earl from Fiji)

- Bag - 2 wins (Parvati from Fans v. Faves and Evil Russ from Samoa - although E. Russ didn't actually win)

- Moon - 1 win* (Yul from Cook Islands)

- Alia - 1 win (Todd from China)

- Dachui - 0 wins

- Courtney - N/A (this is her first year)

Things I find interesting about this Final 5:

1. There are 2 past winners still in the game. Parvati and Sandra are two players who I really respect, but I didn't pick them because I though all previous winners would have targets on their backs and get voted out early. Not so. Also, there are 2 runners-up still in as well: Evil Russ and Colby. And this is the farthest Jerri has ever gone in the game!

2. Can anyone beat Parvati in challenges? She's good at puzzles, she's good at physical challenges, and she blows everyone away in challenges that take mental toughness/endurance. Moon suggested last night that she may be the best Survivor in history. This will be an interesting conversation to continue after we know the results on Sunday.

3. I really don't think Colby could get lamer if he tried. ("C'mon Reid!") Geez, what a mistake that was, picking him. I think he's the only player left I'm actively rooting against.

4. Mathematically speaking, it is still possible for any of the remaining players (me, Doug, Courtney, Gorbag) to win.

5. Thank God Rupert is finally gone. His overdramatic posturing has been driving me crazy for a month now. I can't tell if he speaks so slowly because he thinks it makes him sound more intense, or if his brain is actually just moving at that speed right now.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 116 points
[1. JT (40 pts)]
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (49 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 72 points
1. Colby (20 pts)
[2. Amanda (32 pts)]
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 72 points
[1. Rupert (28 pts)]
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (38 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 56points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
[3. Danielle (34 pts)]
[4. Candice (8 pts)]

"New Rookie" Courtney: 52 points
1. Evil Russell (39 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (11 pts)

Survivor 20: Episode 12

I think this is one of my favorite episodes, and not just because of who was voted out - thank the Lord we don't have to see those scary breasts anymore! Seriously, those things reminded me of the Hulk when he's angry. There's veins bulging out all over the place and it looks like her skin was stretched so thin that at any moment it would just pop - I'm surprised her bikini wasn't in tatters by the end of last episode.

But the real reason this episode was so great was because of the enormous power play that happened between Parvati and Russell. It seems like this last episode ended up being a draw, with the edge leaning slightly towards Russell. Parv took out one of Russell's pawns, but Russell took out Parvati's knight. The knight was more valuable for sure, but Parvati is a better player, so to me it felt like it broke even. It will be exciting to see who wins the next round!

Sadly, this ends Moon's run at this season's title of "Sole Survivor Poolist." He outlasted Dachui, but didn't come close to outscoring them, thus sealing his fate as the last place player in this season's pool. Nice to see that his dreg purchase ended up being worth it - although Candice still wasn't enough to save his team.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 109 points
[1. JT (40 pts)]
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (42 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 72 points
1. Colby (20 pts)
[2. Amanda (32 pts)]
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 58 points
1. Rupert (18 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (34 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 56 points
1. Evil Russell (39 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (15 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 56points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
[3. Danielle (34 pts)]
[4. Candice (8 pts)]

Survivor 20: Episode 11

I have tragic news. I was googling "are Amanda and Ozzy still dating?" a few days ago, and in one of the responses someone had listed who made the finals and in what order contestants made the jury. People I have shared this horrible news with have all immediately asked "why did you keep reading then?" I have an answer, but I am as yet unwilling to share it with you. For your own protection.

The consequences of this are huge. I don't really know the order of the jury members (although I did know Amanda was going out last night), but I do know who the final three are. As a result of this, I will no longer be doing my "power rankings" of our teams - it's not fair, and even if I try to ignore the information I have, I would be way too paranoid that I might accidentally give something away and spoiler it for the rest of you too. So I'll still report how everyone's doing and I'll do analysis of each episode, but there will be no more future predictions mentioned here. Feel free to make your own predictions in comments though!!

Anyways, enough sadness, let's get on to the show...

This episode was wacky, that's really the only word I can think of to describe it. Let's start with Danielle finding the clue, dropping it on the floor, and then getting physical with Amanda after she "stole" it. Survivor needs to give us a Rules explanation, because I have way too many questions about this. 1) what are Survivor's rules on one contestant being physically aggressive towards another player? 2) what are the rules Survivor has about "stealing"? IMO this was not stealing - Amanda didn't rip the clue out of Danielle's hand. It was sitting near her, but there was no clear possession of the clue at all. And let's not even get started on Colby wussing out about this and then Amanda caving and giving the clue back! What she SHOULD have done was open the clue and read it out loud. Then it's all square and the scramble can begin when they get back to camp. I thought this was the inevitable conclusion of the cat-fight and was insanely disappointed to see Amanda just hand the damn thing back over without even looking at it.

Also, how dumb was Amanda to not immediately check the popcorn bowl for the clue she was obsessed with finding? How can she not have realized that 100% of the time the clue was found either in food (e.g. in a jar of coffee) or near food (e.g. in a napkin)? She was absolutely right when she said she made too many mistakes in this game. Honestly, I don't think she actually did anything right - this season was just one giant mistake for her.

Next, let's discuss the Candice fiasco. I've never seen someone more easily manipulated. Candice is mentally and psychologically outmatched in this season. And for some reason she thinks that jumping ship as much as possible is a winning strategy. In her first season she mutinied against Yul and Ozzy (brilliant play, Candice, ditching two of the most dominant men in Survivor history) and now she's mutinied against her Heroes tribe simply because she's terrified of Russell. I felt so bad for Sandra, who worked her butt off to try and show Candice how idiotic she was being. But Candice is nothing if not gutless.

Which leads me back to my "Sandra should be a Hero" theory. Here are two women who both were placed on the wrong tribe. Being gutless is the anti-definition of being a hero. And Sandra never did anything villainous at all. I guess this is one of the big "what ifs" of this season (along with no one buying Candice for over a month). What if the producers had gotten it right and Sandra had been a Hero and Candice had been a Villain? Each tribe would have benefitted, since Heroes needed brains and Villains needed brawn in the beginning...


Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 103 points
[1. JT (40 pts)]
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (36 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 72 points
1. Colby (20 pts)
[2. Amanda (32 pts)]
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 58 points
1. Rupert (18 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (34 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 40 points
1. Evil Russell (33 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (5 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 36 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (24 pts)
4. Candice (-2 pts)

Survivor 20: Episode 10

In another outstanding episode, the tides were turned supposedly against the Heroes, but I think the long-term effects will show that this episode hurt Russell more than anyone... anyone besides JT, I guess.

There were a couple of lessons learned from this episode: 1) it's impossible to overestimate Parvati, 2) Amanda is a terrible liar, 3) Rupert may be thinking after all, and 4) JT can look really really stupid when he tries to.

Here's the thing that astounded me the most - JT actually thought through the actual scenario, and then disregarded it! It's not like he was completely clueless. And the actual theory was much more simple, straightforward, and believable than his own contrived notions. He wanted so badly to be right that he ignored all the blazing neon signs that pointed to the truth. It reminded me of the movie Contact, where they talk about Occam's razor - the theory that, all things being equal, "the simplest solution is usually the correct one." In this case the two options are A: Russell was the victim of an all-woman alliance and managed to survive only because JT slipped him an immunity idol which then was played simultaneously with Parvati's because she somehow smelled a trap which meant that Courtney was simply collateral damage, or B: Russell is a villain and a liar. JT chose option A.

I loved how at the end Parvati gave up both of her immunity idols to save either Jerri or Sandra. It was a canny move, and one I'm sure she hoped would buy both of their allegiance for the rest of the game. Unfortunately I don't think she understands how much Sandra hates Russell. I think she also hates that she was put with the Villains tribe. She will be much happier switching over to the Heroes alliance, where she already has a relationship with Rupert, and they are easily manipulated. This is also partially wishful thinking, since both of my remaining players are Heroes, and they could really use her guidance.

** New Rule Proposal ** After all the fun and games of finding hidden immunity idols and then passing them out like they are candy, I'd like to propose adding a rule. I think they should be a point bonus for anyone gifted an idol, and possibly also a point deduction for giving one away. This rule should not apply to immunity idols won in challenges. What do the rest of you think?

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 103 points
[1. JT (40 pts)]
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (36 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 58 points
1. Colby (18 pts)
2. Amanda (20 pts)
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 52 points
1. Rupert (18 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (28 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 35 points
1. Evil Russell (28 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (5 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 34 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (22 pts)
4. Candice (-2 pts)


Rankings:

1. B2B - Doug & Bri were hurt badly by the loss of JT, but they still have a monster lead and the most dangerous player in the game on their team. I think they are still the favorites to win this season, but now there's actually a chance one of us could possibly beat them. What would be best is if Parvati got voted out next week... but I doubt that will actually happen. Keep in mind that last year's winner, Evil 'Box, won with 126 points, and B2B will probably make at least 113 points if Parv makes the minimum of the jury.

2. Bridesmaids - I'm ranking myself this high because I'm counting on a Sandra mutiny that will miraculously save my team. At first I was bummed that the Villains voted out Courtney over Sandra, since Sandra is so clearly a bigger threat. However, looking back on it now, I am really happy that Courtney got voted out when she did. No way could Courtney help Colby and Amanda as much as Sandra can. If Sandra doesn't switch sides though, I'm screwed.

3. Gorbag - I saw life in Team Gorbag last week! Not only did Rupert actually DO something, and think through a plan, but Jerri won his team some points as well! Either Jerri or Rupert could very well make final 3 if someone thought they wouldn't get enough votes to beat them, so they have the opportunity to win some points. They'll need to win some immunities on the way to the finals, but I don't think that's too out of their reach if it's a physical challenge.

4 - TIE. New Rook - Sandra is one of my new favorites to win the game, but she's likely going to take out Russell on the way, which would kill all hopes of the New Rookie to win her inaugural season of the pool. However, Courtney's team is slowly sliding down a muddy slope that is total points. Over the past 4 weeks, Courtney has netted a grand total of -11 points, thanks to sitting out challenges and "misplays" of immunity idols. It's not like Sandra really misplayed her idol - or that she even had a choice to not play it (although how badass would THAT have been had she been told her name wasn't being put down? "Thanks Parv, I'm just gonna hold on to it for now though...") but she must take the deduction all the same. Rules are rules after all, sorry Court!

4 - TIE. Moonwalkers - Candice is my other new favorite to win the game - but like Courtney, Moon is so far behind in the rankings that I just don't think he can catch up to B2B. Unfortunately I had just finished telling Ben how I loved Candice because she's such a competitor, and then she stepped right off that pole and gave immunity to one of the Villains. Had she stuck it out, I think she absolutely would have turned the tides of the vote. Parv only had 2 immunity idols - if her friend Danielle were vulnerable, she surely would have given her one, right? Meaning it was a 50/50 chance whether she'd give her other immunity idol to the correct person. Meaning that Parvati probably wouldn't have done it, since it would help her more to hold on to her 2 hidden immunity idols, and still have a good relationship with Russell. I guess we'll never know though....

6. Dachui - Danielle told me that their demise wasn't entirely unexpected. She predicted a Villain domination until personalities broke them to pieces. She just hoped they could make it to the merge, where they could take their angst and bitterness out against Heroes instead of each other. Not a bad plan, Dachui, and in the long run I think it was worth the risk. I'm excited to see what schemes you have for the next season too!

The next season of Top Chef

I just checked Wikipedia for an update on the next season of Top Chef and was disappointed to find the following:

"On October 5, 2009 it was announced by Bravo TV that a 7th season of Top Chef has been picked up.^[6] Shooting began in early April, 2010, in Washington, DC^[7][8]

The show will bring 17 contestants, similar to prior seasons, but this time one of the contestants will be a Top Chef "veteran", who participated in one of the prior editions (and didn't win). It has been also reported that classic episodes such as Restaurant Wars and Wedding Wars will return. The Finale is planned to happen in Montreal, Canada. It will bring five chefs and will be comprised of three episodes (instead of two).

Judges for Season 7 will be: Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Ted Allen and Fabio Viviani.

Bravo TV is planning to air the first Episode right after Labor Day, in early September 2010. Since the audience of Season 6 was below that of Season 5, Bravo TV has decided to extend the period between seasons."

Fabio is a judge now? Blah! The finale is in Canada!?! Blahh!! And what's the deal w/ bringing back a veteran? With some shows I support this, but not with Top Chef. They had their chance! If it's anyone besides Kevin's beard then send them away!

In other "sequel" news I stumbled across the fact that they are making a Transformers 3, which will include Frances McDormand and John Malkovich among the cast. This seems like an extremely strange marriage of styles and attitudes.

Survivor: Episode 9

Throughout the whole episode I was convinced that the Heroes would somehow fail at slipping E. Russ the hidden immunity idol. Either they'd lose the challenge, or they'd somehow be kept apart - something must happen, I told myself, to stop this train wreck from happening. Sadly, I was wrong. The incompetence of the Heroes is astonishing. I loved the part where Candice and Amanda both realize that slipping him the immunity idol is a terrible decision, but decide to let it happen anyways. The next episode will be very interesting; we'll get to see what the repercussions of the hidden immunity idol swap will be. From previews it seems apparent that the Heroes will smell foul play when they see Parvati still around. But will they actually do anything about it? And even if they do act, and take Sandra and vote for one of the remaining Villains, they have TWO immunity idols to protect themselves with. I'm guessing that Jerri will end up being the collateral damage of the next week.

Another FAIL of this episode was that the Villains voted out Courtney instead of Sandra. I'm not sure why they did that. First of all, Courtney is my player, so they should have left her in for that reason. Secondly, Sandra is much much smarter than Courtney, and she's capable of making moves that Courtney is not. I'm hopeful that the Villains will be punished for this mistake. It looks like in the next episode that Sandra will at least try to switch over to the Heroes side. This is a good play not only because she can dominate those guys in the vote and mentally, but because she really should have been on the Heroes tribe from the start. This woman is not a villain!

The merge is going to be really interesting because it's going to pit many players' ponies against each other. Parv v. JT, Sandra v. Evil Russ, Rupert v. Jerri, and Candice v. Danielle. I'm the only player who's ponies are actually in an alliance together! So many of these cage matches are at the same level too. Parv and JT are the "captains" of each alliance, Sandra and Evil Russ are the "brains", Rupert and Jerri are the "cargo", and Candice and Danielle are each "dark horse" threats. I definitely get the feeling that there'll be a couple episodes where the only names that will be bandied about will be from one player's stable.

Current Standings:

"Beauty & 2 Beasts" Doug/Bri: 93 points
1. JT (30 pts)
[2. Tom (27 pts)]
3. Parvati (36 pts)

"Douchey" Dachui: 74 points
[1. Tyson (18 pts)]
[2. Boston Rob (26 pts)]
[3. Coach (30 pts)]

"Always the Bridesmaid, never the bride" Me: 58 points
1. Colby (18 pts)
2. Amanda (20 pts)
[3. Courtney (20 pts)]

"Gorbag" Bag: 42 points
1. Rupert (18 pts)
[2. Randy (6 pts)]
3. Jerri (18 pts)

"New Rookie" Courtney: 40 points
1. Evil Russell (28 pts)
[2. Stephenie (2 pts)]
3. Sandra (10 pts)

"Moonwalkers" Moon: 28 points
[1. James (7 pts)]
[2. Cirie (7 pts)]
3. Danielle (16 pts)
4. Candice (-2 pts)


Rankings:

1. B2B - if this team keeps finding hidden immunity idols the rest of us are completely screwed. On the plus side, JT and Parvati are not in an alliance together, so I feel confident that they both won't make the final 3. On the negative side, if even one of them makes the final 3 it's probably enough for Doug to lock up a victory. Still, a lot can happen when going from 10 players down to 3, and both players are known as threats, so it is possible that they will both only make the jury. Hopefully that happens soon, so the rest of us have a chance to catch up!

2. Bridesmaids - So close! I came so close to sneaking Courtney into the merge, but alas, the Villains voted her out in the 11th hour. Colby and Amanda could get me the victory, but it all hinges on them either growing brains or starting to listen to someone smarter than them. Their greatest strength starting with the merge will be their likeability, so I'm hoping they won't start stepping on other players' toes in the next few weeks! I'd be very happy to see a Candice, Colby, Amanda, Sandra alliance get together later in the game...

3. New Rook - Courtney's in a good position because I feel like the Heroes + Sandra are going to start eliminating Villains, but they'll constantly fail when trying to get rid of Evil Russ. It was huge that Sandra made it to the merge - she's got the time and the ability to put herself in a much more secure position. Russell, on the other hand, thrives on the brink, and that's where he'll be come merge time. Out of all the teams that are left, I think Courtney's is the most capable of getting both her players to the final 3. Unfortunately, that's what she'll need to have a chance at winning, since neither of her players are known for winning individual challenges.

4. Moonwalkers - Moon's dark horse team is doing really well, considering the circumstances. Candice and Danielle both seem to be laying low while still having a full understanding of what's really going on. There is a huge point deficit for Moon to make up, though, so he'll need more than just a victory from a pony to get him the victory in the pool.

5. Gorbag - Jerri is lost and confused, and Rupert is most confident about things the things he's most wrong about. He thinks that the Villains are in an all-female alliance, and he thought he was their best candidate for a challenge where he's spend most of his time putting all his weight on a broken toe. Delusional? Yes. A future winner of this game? No.

6. Dachui - It's disappointing that only one of their players made it to the jury, but it's cool that the one who did is Coach. This guy steals the show even when he's not playing!