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Archive for the 'Survivor' Category

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‘Survivor: Samoa’: More fun at Tribal Council

November 20th, 2009, 1:22 am by The Watcher

Laura hits the roadRocket scientist John calculated the correct answer when he complained about his alliance mates’ lack of “analytical ability” during Thursday’s episode of “Survivor: Samoa.”

In other words, they aren’t too bright.

And so the ex-Galu alliance lost another member to crafty Russell and his former-Foa Foa pals. At a dramatic Tribal Council, the first vote ended in a 5-5 tie between Laura and Natalie. In the re-vote, John switched his ballot to Laura, and finished off his Galu alliance in the process.

John calculated that it would be better to end up in sixth place rather than take a 50-50 shot at regaining control of the game at a 1-in-8 risk of ending in 10th place.

Too much math? It was for the rocket scientist.

Of course, John is still in the game, and anything can happen - like Russell and pals coasting to the finish, with a Hidden Immunity Idol in hand and a huge advantage in strategic thinking.

The core Galuvians remaining - Dave, Monica and Brett - need a miracle to survive the next three TCs. Then John will.

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Posted in: Survivor • TV: Reality shows • The Watcher • • | 6 Comments »

Thursday highlights: The important stuff

November 19th, 2009, 11:45 am by The Watcher

Jurors 1 and 2Some interesting offering from tonight’s prime-time schedule:

One winner: “Project Runway” concludes its sixth season tonight. The three finalists - Irina, Althea and Carol Hannah - show their lines at New York Fashion Week (filmed in February) and the judges select a winner. The Watcher’s money is on Irina. 10 p.m. on Lifetime. And don’t forget to vote in our poll!

One loser: The Hidden Immunity Idol is back up for grabs on “Survivor: Samoa.” Want to bet Russell finds it? Someone who doesn’t find it will be voted out of the merged tribe tonight and take the third seat in the jury box. 8 p.m. on CBS.

Six, um … Our local favorites, “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” are back for another hour of drinking, fighting and other assorted intellectual endeavors. 10 p.m. on Bravo. The Register’s Richard Chang previews the action.

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‘Survivor: Samoa’: Russell, the wizard

November 13th, 2009, 11:25 am by The Watcher

KellyPoor Kelly Sharbaugh.

Not only did she get the boot from “Survivor: Samoa” Thursday night with just four of the 11 votes cast, she spent nine weeks on the show as the Invisible Girl.

I’m sure Kelly said something before her parting words; I just can’t remember what it was.

The co-engineers of Kelly’s ouster were Russell and Shambo. Russell, the Shaman of Samoa, found his second Hidden Immunity Idol without the benefit of a clue.

If you hate Russell boasting about how much smarter he is than everyone else on the show, you have to really hate that he’s right. His ability to stay on with his bull-in-a-china-shop strategy makes me wonder how he would fare against stronger competition. I guess we’ll find out next season.

Shambo advanced Kelly’s name as a substitute for Laura, who won Individual Immunity. Shambo continues to be the mole in old Galu for the ex-Foa Foans, although I’m not sure how that will pay off for her in the end. But then, she’s at the tail end of the Galu alliance, so I suppose being last of five is better than being last of seven.

Next week’s mad dash for the HII, should be a lot of fun. My money’s on Russell.

Posted in: Survivor • TV: Reality shows • The Watcher • • • | 6 Comments »

Thursday highlights: Designers and plotters

November 12th, 2009, 10:44 am by The Watcher

Irina for the winSome viewing highlights from tonight’s schedule:

The Final 3: Is everyone happy with how the last eliminations turned out on “Project Runway”? I’m still undecided as to whether Carol Hannah should be at Fashion Week ahead of Gordana, but as long as witchy Irina is in and weeping Christopher is out, the Watcher won’t complain. Tonight, we get the first half of the two-part finale. 10 p.m. on Lifetime.

The Final 11: I just read the official “Survivor” Tweet, which promises “one of the most memorable Tribal Councils” ever on “Survivor: Samoa.” The Watcher is always up for that. Last week’s previews implied that Russell is in trouble, which makes me think he’s safe. 8 p.m. on CBS.

The Middle 6: Our lovely ladies of leisure return tonight for the season’s second installment of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” We’ll have a fuller preview later today, as well as the Watcher’s blow-by-blow review of the episode tomorrow morning. Oh, you want to watch it? Tune in to Bravo at 10 p.m.

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Booted ‘Survivor’ contestant Erik Cardona never saw it coming

November 6th, 2009, 5:41 pm by PETER LARSEN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

erik_snuffblog

Erik Cardona grew up in Chino Hills, which made him the closest we had to an O.C. contestant on “Survivor” this fall. Well, that and a special  moment he shared as a lad with one of Pedro’s colleagues here at the Register — more on that later.

So after Cardona suffered the equivalent of a 2-by-4 upside the head in Tribal Council on Thursday’s episode, we were interested in chatting with our O.C.-adjacent ex-Survivor on his experiences on the wild and wooly shores of Samoa.

A bartender and substitute teacher before the show, Cardona says he was a fan of the show who never dreamed he’d appear on it, until one day while walking in Santa Monica with friends, a casting agent saw something she liked.

“I met someone who literally grabbed me by the collar and said, ‘Would you ever (be on ‘Survivor’)?” he says. “I said, ‘Lady, you have no idea how perfect the person you just bumped into is.”

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Posted in: Pedro • Pop Culture • Survivor • TV: Reality shows • • | 2 Comments »

‘Survivor: Samoa’: Rethinking Russell

November 6th, 2009, 8:33 am by The Watcher

The face of genius?It happens to me almost every season of “Survivor.” I start out hating the villain and end up a fan by the end.

Thursday’s episode of “Survivor: Samoa” turned me fully to a Russell fan. Sure, his crowing and preening during the confessionals is annoying, but the guy can play the game.

In what was undoubtedly the craziest merge ever - and probably one of the 10 best episodes in the show’s history - the politics careened from right to left and back again, and Russell was at the middle of it all.

Oddly, it was the normally passive Jaison who brought up Erik’s name for elimination - after Jaison, Monica and Laura took turns in the group’s collective sights - but it was Russell’s machinations that led to the uproar.

Rather than trying to quietly worm into the Galu power structures, Russell rolled into camp like a bowling ball and knocked away the veneer of peace at Galu.

But did he make a mistake by playing the Hidden Immunity Idol at Tribal Council? Was it an act of overconfidence or paranoia?

The political excitement of Tribal Council was only enhanced by the hilarity of Erik’s bloviating. I can’t recvall a blindside that was ever preceded by such “he has no clue” bloviating.

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Posted in: Survivor • TV: Reality shows • The Watcher • | 2 Comments »

Thursday highlights: Mergers and acquisitions

November 5th, 2009, 10:35 am by The Watcher

Galu on top, for nowHighlights from tonight’s TV schedule:

The merge: Why does “Survivor” call it “the merge” instead of “the merger”? That’s like when football announcers talk about players “defensing” each other. Either way, the event takes place tonight on “Survivor: Samoa,” with Galu bringing eight players and Foa Foa just four. The F-Fers seemed doomed, don’t they? No tribe has survived that sort of imbalance since - oh, yeah, since last season. 8 p.m. on CBS.

The acquirers: Our favorite local lasses, “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” resume their televised antics of spending money and getting drunk. (OC Register’s Richard Chang previews the new Housewives episode.) The Watcher will pitch in with his thoughts tomorrow morning. 10 p.m. on Bravo.

Posted in: Real Housewives • Survivor • TV: Reality shows • The Watcher | 1 Comment »

‘Survivor: Samoa’ gives us a scare, then a cop-out

October 22nd, 2009, 11:23 pm by The Watcher

rAt least there's just one Russell nowI must admit, even though CBS already told us that Russell Swan would be the castaway hitting the deck Thursday on “Survivor: Samoa,” the episode managed plenty of drama anyway.

Watching Russell’s hollow stare made us understand why Jeff Probst called this his scariest moment on the show.  Of course, Jeff wasn’t at the Kucha camp when Mike Skupin fell in the fire on the Australian Outback season.

Russell’s disappointment underscored what a tough competitor he was - even if he seemed a bit of a political outsider in the Galu tribe he led. If only the show hadn’t wimped out later in the episode.

Both tribes trudged to tribal council, having been warned that each would be required to vote someone out. Instead, Probst sent them all back to camp to rethink those votes for three more days.

Maybe that’s all the time the men on the Galu tribe will need to figure out that keeping Shambo could be disastrous for their long-term chances.

Posted in: Survivor • TV: Reality shows • The Watcher • | 3 Comments »

‘Survivor’ spoils itself for Thursday night

October 19th, 2009, 1:17 pm by The Watcher

Maybe CBS figured that the identity of the castaway who falls ill on “Survivor: Samoa” this week was common enough knowledge - or maybe the network doesn’t care about spoiling its reality shows any longer - but the latest promo spot for Thursday’s episode doesn’t just give away the identity of the fallen one, it shows the whole drama.

Does this mean that reality promos are going to become like movies trailers, which give us all of a film’s surprising moments and funniest jokes?

If people want to seek out spoilers, that’s one thing. But doesn’t some of the audience still like surprises?

Watch if you dare!

YouTube Preview Image

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Posted in: Survivor • TV: Reality shows • The Watcher • | 5 Comments »

Soaked ‘Survivor: Samoa’ still scores

October 15th, 2009, 11:58 pm by The Watcher

See ya, AshleyAhh, that felt good. Sitting back on the couch with a drink and a bowl of ice cream, watching people suffer. It’s one of the many great things about “Survivor”: experiencing deprivation vicariously.

Thursday’s episode of “Survivor: Samoa” was classic old-school; something we might have witnessed in season one or two. We were treated to rising seas, punishing rain, shivering contestants, fighting over fire-building - even a good old-fashioned gross food contest.

On the downside, there was little in the way of politics and treachery, and even the spat between Russell H. and Liz had little meaning. Absent a chance to set up a backstabbing incident, the Foa Foa vote at Tribal Council seemed obvious. Ashley almost single-handedly lost both challenges. She had to go.

Jeff Probst told us before the season started that two players would be removed from the game for medical reasons. We saw Mike Borassi go down in week two. According to the preview, we’ll be seeing the second victim next week.

If you watch the segment carefully, you will see that everyone except Russell S., Laura and Brett is accounted for. That’s one way for Foa Foa to even things up a bit.

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Posted in: Survivor • TV: Reality shows • The Watcher • | 2 Comments »

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