Survivor Samoa

[Ekim23]

season 20 is going to be shoot in Samoa

And the producers also said that s19 filming was over and 20 not yet there

I think it's more to say "nobody was there"

John is one of my favorite too
And that scene with Laura & Monica was weird "Im so proud of you" LOOL

 

[joesman]

Confusing Russell with Richard (Hatch?) are we? The producers would be so pleased that you're buying what they're selling.

I agree though. I can't listen to him OR look at him. There's something about his creepy eyes and that gap-toothed smile. I don't know if there's a specific "look" for a child molesting serial killer...but if there is, he's got it.

The gap toothed smile hit me in the ass this week. What milliomaire has teeth that bad?


Serial killer (checkout his basement Clarice) goes to "I've killed and skinned just
about everything there is", Ben.

 

[joesman]

Also I heard on E! news (yes, I watch those) that the producers of Survivor made an announcement somewhere along the line of, 'despite the Tsunami which occured in Samoa, our crews and casts were unharmed in the incident'.

I thought shooting for this season wrapped months ago? how come they are still casts and crews in Samoa at this point?

The ALL Stars is also being filmed or already filmed in Samoa. I have heard that Russell and Shambo are on the All Star show. You are tright about the announcement. I read it in a news report online.

 

[falconfan]

Anywho, my inner conspiracy theorist has come out and I am convinced this show is now scripted and that the survivors don't actually live in their makeshift 'habitats' when they are not filming. It just seems far too convenient, especially since the episodes are filmed in the most devastated area (where the tsunamis would have hit).



If they are still filming, as Survivor 20 would imply...how did they manage to dodge 4.5m waves where there were, quote: 'reports of "bodies everywhere"'? Blows my fucking mind, anyway...

The filming of Samao wrapped long before the tsunami hit. Come on now. I could see where someone would htink maybe the producers try and influence contestants but something that extreme... you don't think it would've trickled down to be gossip by now? What with all the castaways, cameramen, editors, sound people... etc, etc.

 

[falconfan]

No, Jaison is much prettier than I am. Look, my avatar is an ass for God's sake!

But it's the hottest ass I've ever seen.

 

[slipintothefog]

It's already been reported that Survivor 20 is taking place in Samoa too. Richard Hatch tried to get permission to leave the country to be a contestant on the season.

Hatch last week asked a federal judge for permission to leave for Samoa next month, when filming begins. He argued that any money he earns from the show can pay his tax obligations.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31870342/ns/entertainment-reality_tv/

EDIT: Sorry, I misread a post and thought the location was being disputed. That's what I get for posting as soon as I wake up... lol.

 

[Zingerific]

4. This week, I'm switching my TV crush to this guy, again, I don't remember his name- might have been John or Luigiamo, again, no thanks to the producers' part. Attitude stinks, yes, but oh, so dreamy eyes.

SashaLex, that's John the rocket scientist.

There was another rocket scientist John on a show a few years ago called Pirate Master; is this the same guy? Anyway, pirate John made a pompous fool of himself (complete with faux pirate accent) and was eliminated the first episode.

 

[falconfan]

I hated Natalie on BB11 with a passion, and I still conceded that she played the game well, and far better than Jordan (who I liked for the most part).

And if I remember correctly, and I do, I was pointing out the mertis of Nat's game months before you were willing to admit them and when it finally got to the point where she was so clearly reaping the benefits of her gameplay and it couldn't be denied you caved

 

[falconfan]

Isn't it the common consensus that Samoa 20 (All Stars) is still filming? No less...there's no doubt it was a reality show earlier. Now it's way too fucking produced. They even have storylines for God's sake.

No. CBS stated clearly that they were done filming the 20th season by the time the Tsunami hit. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090930/ap_on_en_tv/us_tv_survivor) Much like the first all-stars shooting back to back in the same location and having the ability to cast early allowed them to get shooting in the can early. Here's an article from all the way back in June that states the seasons are filming back to back and that the spring addition (of the 30 day show) was slated to start in mid-August, which means it should've finished in mid-September before the tsunami was a thought in anyone's mind.

Not to mention that the show was sued in its first season for tampering with the result. So there's no way they'd oscillate to become a fully scripted show. I mean outside the lack of evidence it's just illogical.

 

[CaptainRush]

I just wanted to pop in and say Thumbs Down for seeing all the commercial ads of the show featuring another typical Russel.

BB fans understand the hate.

 

[falconfan]

The idols haven't ALWAYS been hidden near camp (the times when they're not hidden on Exile). In Fiji for example, Earl found his idol in the jungle a good way from camp, and Mookie found his buried in the sand along the beach. Oh and of course there's the question of what made him think it was in a tree when it's not usually in trees at camp.

I can't believe you don't see how insanely unlikely -- and how much of a coincidence -- it is for anyone to find it like that. Much less the man who they clearly tapped during casting to be the villain of the season, giving them another larger than life personality (after the season of Coach) for water-cooler conversations, thereby making an extremely uncool show relevant again (or so they clearly think). It's actually far more likely that the producers directly or indirectly led him to the idol.

Dear let me put this in terms of BB because I know you're familiar with it. Jeff and Jordan will spend an hour counting cans on the wall or how many bubbles there are in bubble wrap. Libra roams the house for days counting the number of forks or plates for God's sakes. It's not really beyond contestants on these shows, given the massive amount of free time they have, to do things they have no indication will benefit them beyond vague trends from past shows. I mean a study of Russel reveals quite quickly that he's obsessed with being in power while most the tribe seems unthreatened and unmotivated to look for an idol. And you say he didn't know it was in camp. You're right. Why not look though? You know there could be an idol around camp. You have tons of free time and you're obsessed with being in a position of power (which he is. He took out Betsy and Marissa not because they were genuine threats to him but because they casually disagreed with him. He's clearly insecure at a base level)... why not look around camp? And considering that the idol was in a very obvious place at the center of camp than yeah... you're gonna find it.

I mean the question is not did he have time to look in every tree but why would he have to? He used a bull's eye approach,starting in the center of the camp. The idol happened to be very close to the center of the camp. He found it. I really don't see why this si so imposible considering Gary did this just as quickly when the idol was actually off in the jungle up in a tree.

 

[falconfan]

I never said she was a bad player after Jessie left. I simply wasn't willing to call her a great one until I saw evidence of it. Need I remind you that for the first half of the season (when Jessie was there), you called her a bad player too? After Jessie left, yes it took me a week or two, but then I saw how good she was, and I gave her credit for it. I don't see how that refutes my point. If you perceived it faster than I did well...good for you. But it doesn't disprove my assertion that I can give people credit even when I don't like them.

I didn't see reason to credit Natalie, and then she gave me reason, and so I did.

Nikki, you KNOW that the week Lydia was voted off you said that getting rid of her OR Nat would be a waste. I said getting rid of Nat wouldn't be a waste because she could do some serious social damage. You dismissed it and used Lydia's ouster as flimsy evidence that Nat was harmless ignoring the fact she had sowed serious doubts in the minds of Jeff, Jordan, and Michele and had the alliance on the brink of collapse. She had herself in a secure position through social manuvering and you refused to aknowledge it at the time. You let your personal preference color your perception which only makes sense. We all do it from time to time. In Gabon when Marcus appeared not to be a complete tool or jackass I thought his gameplay was good but then when I looked back I realized flaws that I should've noticed earlier on. It's life .

But I know you're just trying to distract from the original argument. You were so quick to call "shenanigans" on some of us for not giving Russell credit because we disliked him (and I easily pulled up two examples to refute that claim i.e. that I've called criticized people I liked, and given credit to people I hate), yet curiously you won't allow for the possibility of "shenanigans" on the part of production even though that claim is far more likely, and has not been refuted by any of your points.

I think what this all boils down to is that you're sometimes adorably naive when it comes to these shows (especially shows you love). Weren't you the one who thought most of the contestants came from the applicant pool?

What it boils down to is that I really don't feel like coming online every week to here reiterated claims that are in fact based on nothing. I understand suspicions. I get that but I really don't want to have to come on here and read every week about how Russel just couldn't possibly have found that idol and he didn't look surprised enough . It's completely irrelevant to anything that happened in this episode and it's based on NOTHING. No concrete evidence. Nothing other than it not sitting right but then again I'm talking to someone who still thinks the Kanye/Swift debacle was staged so I don't think we're ever gonna agree about this.

 

[falconfan]

OK let me put it this way: it's not out of the realm of possibility for me that he told the producers in voice-overs or whatever that he planned to look for the idol at camp, and so they put it in a place where he could find it. Because logically what you're saying makes sense but what's logical and what's likely aren't always the same thing. And the fact that this worked out so well for the guy who they clearly want to frame as the SUPER MASTERMINDY VILLAIN YOU MUST WATCH THIS SEASON is way too coincidental.

And this way of course, production can't be held responsible for rigging the game. I believe this is more along the lines of how Survivor and BB producers interfere. Although I wouldn't put it past the producers to be like, "Well if you think it's already here, then sure go ahead and look for it. Start near camp though. Say like...right near that tree. It's easier for the cameras."

You do know that sometimes they actually interrupt the game and tell them to move this way and that way so they can "get the right shots", right? And just as the BB producers can use a simple instruction like "Go to the DR" to manipulate the game, Survivor producers can use the fact that they only have so many cameras and have to follow people everywhere, as a reason to give directions in order to manipulate the game.

Like if two people are going off to have a conversation, production can actually say, "Oh can you two go into the jungle to have that conversation instead of along the beach...say north bound? It's easier for this camera guy to follow you that way." And if while doing just that, those two people happen to overhear an important conversation that two other castaways are already having in the jungle, well then...that works out just fine for the narrative doesn't it?

Yes I'm aware all of this is POSSIBLE but come on you can't just ascribe that randomly when and where they want. Anything's possible. For all we know Cirie isn't that great and in Micronesia they sat Erik's dumbass down and worked on him for days about how muhc respect he'd get for giving up immunity. But you never broke out that accusation despite the equal improbability of a Survivor SUPER FAN who was clearly the odd man out decides to hand over immunity. Why? Because genius Cirie is more appealing then idol-finding Russel.

I mean I've been breaking out facts.... Gary's found the idol without clues, the idol's often hidden right near camp, they have tons of free time to scour for the idol. You're just trying to push off interpretations.... he didn't look surprised, they could've told him that, they obviously want him to have the idol.

It's equally possible they edited him to look like a total jackass who thought he was controlling things because... he's a total jackass and he got what he wanted. This isn't a code Janey. He wasn't this amazing character in mortal danger. He was relatively safe and looks to still be so. Plus with jackass Ben, delusional Shambo, and crazy-ass Yasmine it's not like they don't have other strong characters to edit around. They didn't need to clue him in on the location, it's not highly improbable he'd find it if he opted to look, it's not improbable that an insecure asshole like him WOULD look.... I'm just see no reason to cling to this conclusion so adamantly.

 

[slipintothefog]

China (for me) was the worst season in recent memory, and if the fact that it was the Todd Show is any indication, then this season doesn't inspire me with much confidence.

Really? I remember the focus being spread around to way more than just one person in China (Todd, Amanda, Courtney, PG, James, Jean Robert, etc.). It seems like only with Tocantins and Coachebag that they started this whole "give all of the camera time to the most annoying person on the cast" movement that continues with Russhole on Samoa.

The best thing about S20 being an All Stars is that it should hopefully give us a break from one person dominating every episode. The editors won't have to worry about introducing interesting characters because half of the cast won't be boring models with no game for the first time since Micronesia.

 

[falconfan]

Or because genius Cirie is a smarter, better player than Russell! She gave me ample reason to give her credit, Russell has not. In fact he has proven thus far to be another Todd, someone who talks a lot about being a mastermind than actually being one.

It doesn't matter how good of a player she is. It was HIGHLY improbably that anyone would give up that idol and the fact you not only don't initially consider the possibility of production tampering but outright reject it without consideration says something. You know I adore Cirie. I don't think there was any tampering but if you apply the same standard of evidence you did to your Russel ASSUMPTION than you have every reason to suspect it.

Really this is ridiculous, and you have no reason to think my -- or anyone else's -- suspicions over Russell finding the idol, are solely rooted in dislike for him. Yes, him finding the idol rang false for me (and not just me) because of his bad acting etc. And yes that's just a hunch, an instinct, but hello? That's part of what watching these shows are about. You're ignoring the fact that for some of us, that scene did not ring true and -- coupled with the incredible coincidence of that person being the one the show is revolving around and pushing hard as THE BIGGEST VILLAIN SINCE RICHARD HATCH -- it set off all kinds of instinctive alarms.

NIK!!!! For fucksake you're putting the cart before the horse. You keep saying that the fact it happened to happen to their supervillian... it happened BEFORE they started advertising or even editing. Have you ever considered they edited that way because they had the material and not they manufactured the material based solely on the results of casting? Really? It was episode two. He'd been there for six days. They could've just as easily made him a Coachesque blow hard. But he got what he wanted so they edited him as an evil mastermind. OF COURSE if someone finds the idol it's going ot be a character they're building because had Ashley or interchangable blonde or liz found the idol they would've been laying a foundation for them. I just think it's crazy to be so sure that they had all their eggs in the Russel basket so soon for no reason.

I'm not saying you have to accept that as evidence (of course, it's not evidence) but don't dismiss it as "nothing" on our part.

But it is nothing and don't pretend that had anyone else just talked about the sense they'd got off a clip that you'd pretend it was any form of constructive evidence.

What rubbish! You know as well as I do that "super fan" does not always equal "super smart." Most BB fans think Janelle is the best player of all time (including some people on this board) which indicates a lack of game on their part. You don't have to be particularly perceptive -- or even good at these games -- to love them. Erik always came across as a totally naive moron. It's not that shocking in retrospect that someone could convince him to give up Immunity as a "big move that will win you jury votes."

And why assume those people are the producers? Who's to say Erik didn't say 'I'm thinking of maybe giving up the idol but I'm afraid they'd vote me out' and production didn't say 'you don't think they would would they?' 'don't you think you'd get respect for that?' 'the jury would like to give it to soemone honorable don't you think?'... it works both ways Dear . Erik did in fact know the game well and what was happening was SO obvious to everyone in the game that the second he walked away EVERYONE erupted in peals of laughter. This case is built just as strongly as your one against Russel you just didn't feel it because you didn't want ot.

 

[falconfan]

I would rather be too cynical about Hollywood and television than too naive.

Well that's a rather cynical perspective

 

[falconfan]

Then skip over posts -- or parts of posts -- that say that. Or just don't reply to that. I'm not going to come here and pretend I don't think Russell THE BIG MASTERMINDY VILLAIN finding the idol like that was highly suspicious just because you don't like reading it.

You don't have to pretend he's a big mastermindy villain. In fact I prefer you don't as I don't believe such to be teh case. But I'm not going to pretend that finding an idol would make him a big mastermindy villain or that it's not fully possible he found it on his own.

But coming from the person who just two posts prior to this one couldn't resist jabbing at Janelle fans for making groundless claims that coincide with their personal preference it does seem a bit odd to be told just to 'ignore' what I consider to be claims supported by no evidence that coincide with personal preferences espcially when I was quoting such an accusation when I said so and not making references to it years down the road in a thread about another reality show

 

[falconfan]

Wow. Again, you're being naive. You really don't realize that they CAST CERTAIN TYPES?? Like Douche and Russell would totally come across as the crazy villain/wannabe mastermind villain type that they would know from the get-go that they could center a great deal of the show around if they could (and therefore they'd want them to stick around). In fact that is the main reason people like Douche and Russell get cast. You really think they just cast random people and wait to see how the season plays out before they decide how they're going to portray any of them? That they discover all the heroes and all the villains the same way we do (i.e. by simply watching what happens)? You can't possibly be that clueless about reality tv.

No shit Sherlock. I'm just not naive enough to think that should those personality types fizzle they would be to stubborn to work around that. I also know that Douche's season had notably lower ratings than seasons prior to this so they likely wouldn't be looking to emulate it. Listen truth of the matter is that I'd bet dollars to donuts they have as much footage of Ben saying "I'm the best. I'm gonna win. I'm super-survival man JT 2.0" and had he stuck around forever they would've rolled with that but he didn't so they didn't. You got a glimpse of it but that was all. They have hopes and expectations for every characters some pan out some don't.

I'm sure the moment they got there (and even before) Russell started giving camera interviews about being a mastermind and breaking this teammates down. He is not the kind of person who would be reticent about that and keep that from production early on.

Of course he did. That means nothign. You keep avoiding the fact that they had no reason to give him the idol location so early on. None. What with Marissa leaving and Betsy clearly on the outs, him sabotaging the camp, lying about Katrina they had PLENTY to work the evil mastermind routine with without delivering him the idol on a platter. It just doesn't seem logical to me.

I disagree. He was on the "outs" of many of the big votes and he was more of the "Omigod! That's Ozzy!" sycophant fan than the "How can I advance myself strategically in this game" analytical fan.

I'm not claiming he was the brightest but he wasn't a complete idiot either. He was able to wiggle past Ami before the merge. He refused to keep Amanda the week she played her idol. He defected from the favorites group to vote out Jason over James and give himself decent social capital. Then he makes a mistake that practically robs him of the game... I think it was Cirie but he seems so highly improbable why not suspect influence from production.

 

[slipintothefog]

I also know that Douche's season had notably lower ratings than seasons prior to this so they likely wouldn't be looking to emulate it.

Douche was annoying but he really was one of the only parts of Tocantins that got people talking. I remember those primetime recaps on Yahoo.com were always about Coach and nothing else. Also, he definitely was not the reason why Tocantins' ratings were lower because the ratings have been eroding naturally with almost every season since Palau.

Out of the last ten seasons, China was the only one that finished with more viewers than the preceding season. And the ratings went back to a decline for Micronesia (which, hell, was even a half All-Stars), Gabon and Tocantins. Overall, Tocantins lost less than a million viewers compared to Gabon so, even though I thought it was a pretty boring season myself, I can't say it doing worse in the ratings was any fault of the show rather than the fact that people have been gradually losing interest in Survivor for the last four or five years anyway.

 

[Zingerific]

I think the real question is how much they think they can compromise the integrity (or lack thereof) of the game? Or, another way, how much do they think they can get away with without causing the ratings to fall?

Careful viewers know about manipulation and such, but I'd guess the casual viewer (the bulk of the audience, right?) doesn't. If the manipulation becomes so apparent that even they think the books are cooked, would the ratings go down? Maybe so, as someone above noted that the ratings are way down this season.

The only precedent I can think of is the 50s game show scandals, which almost killed the whole genera. Sure, the population back then was far more naive, and thus more shocked at the scandal, so I don't know how applicable it is to today.

Anyway, this is a roundabout way of making my earlier point that the sheer utter unlikelyhood of Russell just stumbling across the idol like he did suggests to me that it was, in fact, a one in a million coincidence. If they wanted to get the idol into Russell's hands, they could have found a less ham-handed way to do it.

I would rather be too cynical about Hollywood and television than too naive.

Now that is an interesting dichotomy. I think I'll disagree; being taken in by a reality show is really small potatoes, and my blood pressure isn't what it used to be....