Friday, October 21, 2005

Episode 6: Margaret & Brian Leave

Margaret & Brian Leave
official title: Big Ball, Big Mouth, Big Trouble

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Summary: Nakum win Reward which includes the opportunity to compete for Individual Immunity. Rafe then wins Immunity and also gets to sit in on Yaxha's Tribal Council (he also gets to cast a vote for Immunity on Yaxha). In a very entertaining TC Nakum votes Margaret off. At Yaxha's TC they all say how great Brian is and then vote him off (yes, this was a double TC episode).

After the recap of last week's episode, Brandon (first interview) tells us that Blake being voted off last week really opened his eyes. He talks with Bobby Jon about it and he says that it was just one of those things you have to do in this game. Over at Nakum they are dealing with bugs. Rafe tells us that Margaret has a lot of negative energy about her especially since Brooke was voted off. Judd tells us that he thinks Margaret is miserable because she got stuck with him in the tribal switch [it certainly didn't help matters].

Reward Challenge
Competition: Roll With It
Reward: Food (hamburgers, hot dogs, beer, root beer) and Chance for Individual Immunity
Lydia sits out.

Teams of two try and push a big ball (roughly seven foot in diameter) into their goal area. The first tribe to 3 wins.

Stephenie/Cindy lose to Danni/Amy
Judd/Jaime beat Bobby Jon/Brandon
Judd/Stephenie beat Gary/Amy (Amy re-injures her ankle)
Cindy/Margaret lose to Amy/Danni
Judd/Jaime beat Bobby Jon/Brian

Nakum win Reward 3-2. Just afterwards Bobby Jon and Jaime yell at each other while chest-to-chest.

Individual Immunity Challenge (for Nakum only)
Competition: Tile Word Puzzle

Three bags full of tiles with letters on them are tied to a bamboo rack (one set for each Survivor). The contestants then have to race relay-style and untie the bags and return them to their table where they then have to solve the puzzle - 11 letter, 2 word phrase.

Image Hosted by ImageShack.usStephenie is the first one to collect all of the bags and start working on the puzzle. However Rafe (pictured) wins Immunity after Judd, who was right next to him, blurts out the answer - Ancient Ruin. I don't think Judd even had his tiles out of the bags.

Scheming at Nakum
Everyone is happy that they won Reward. They wonder why Bobby Jon flipped out after the Reward Challenge. Jaime said he thought it was going to come to blows. He said it was a Southern competitive thing. Judd in private tells us that he is not worried about being voted off because "they need me." Margaret tell us she thinks Judd is offensive and that he does whatever he wants, when he wants and how he wants (quick edit to Judd's beer burps). She goes on to say Judd is his own worse enemy. Cindy seems to agree as she tells us that he is often inconsiderate and out of bounds. Minor problem: someone drank more than their share of beer. Who could it be? Would you believe Judd? He tells us in confessional that he deserved the extra beer because he won it for them.

Image Hosted by ImageShack.usScheming at Yaxha
Amy (pictured) states the obvious: it sucks to go to Tribal Council and it's even worse to lose Reward too. She felt that she let them down during the challenge [note, she helped win 2 of 3 challenges that she was in]. She tells us her ankle is swollen again. With the tribe all lamenting losing, Danni says that they "gave everything" they had. Bobby Jon says Jaime is cocky and arrogant and that he had to put him in his place. In confessional Brian says that Amy is an obvious target but that would then put them (he and Gary) at a disadvantage. Brian wants to target Bobby Jon. However Gary doesn't sound like he's going for it. He doesn't want to get rid of Bobby Jon because he is strong. [This kind of amazes me. Gary is still focused on physical ability. He's not going to win this thing.]

Nakum at Tribal Council
(paraphrased, not word for word)
Jeff Probst: Lets start with some fun talk. Stephenie how was the food?
Stephenie: It was awesome, I traded with Judd my beer for a hot dog.
Jeff Probst: Judd you traded food away?
Judd: Yes Jeff, under these conditions I'll trade a hot dog for a cold beer anytime.
Jeff Probst: Jame what happened at the Challenge with Bobby Jon?
Jaime: He was celebrating and yelled at me so I yelled back.
Jeff Probst: Margaret is everyone in Nakum a good sport?

This starts a heated (and very entertaining) discussion between Judd and Margaret. She says he lacks sportsmanship, is a bully and doesn't listen to others. Judd says that winning is what matters most, he does in fact listen to people (3 or 4 of the others sheepishly agree when he puts them on the spot) and that she does not know what she's talking about. He goes on to say that, except for Margaret, he loves his tribe.

Jeff Probst: Cindy how is it having these two on your tribe?
Cindy: Their negativity is not good for the tribe.
Jeff Probst: Rafe are you intimidated by Judd?
Rafe: At first I was a little, but he's been good to me.

Time to Vote
:
Margaret is voted off easily (shown to the tribe 4 for her, 1 for Judd).

Jeff Probst's Final Thought
Tonight in your words you "got rid of the problem,' lets see what happens next.

Margaret's final words:
This was physically the most difficult thing I've ever done and I'm glad I did it. Good luck to Nakum.

Yaxha at Tribal Council
(paraphrased, not word for word)
Rafe sits in.

Jeff Probst: Bobby Jon what happened at the challenge between you and Jaime?
Bobby Jon: I don't really know, it was the heat of the moment and just came out.
Jeff Probst: Gary are they good sports on Nakum?
Gary: Yes. [Good answer with one of them sitting right there.]
Jeff Probst: Bobby Jon what do you think of Brian?
BobbyJon: He's great, he's a kamikaze bust-a-wedge [what? I think that's what he said.] He's be a good neighbor.
Jeff Probst: Danni what do you think of Brian?
Danni: He's strong, smart, a gentleman and classy.
Jeff Probst: Amy how is your ankle?
Amy: It's good but I tweaked it.
Jeff Probst: Brandon what do you think of Amy?
Brandon: You have no idea how impressed I am by her. She was hurt and still tried her hardest. That's what I like to see.
Jeff Probst: Bobby Jon there is no obvious weakest link, what do you base your vote on?
Bobby Jon: It's a tough vote everyone's given 110%. [He didn't really answer the question.]

Time to Vote
:
Rafe gets to vote for Immunity first and then leaves. His Immunity vote is to be revealed after Yaxha's votes are revealed.

Brian receives 4 votes (that's enough) and Bobby Jon 1 vote. The only thing that can save Brian now is if Rafe gave him Immunity. However it is revealed that Rafe had given Immunity to Gary. Brian then has his torch extinguished.

Jeff Probst's Final Thought
You did a good job of pumping Brian up and then cutting his throat, just remember one of you could be next.

Brian's final words:
I went down fighting. I didn't see it coming which is just the way that I wanted to go out.

Alliances
On Yaxha Danni (and her pawn Bobby Jon) is the one stirring the drink. If Gary or Amy were smart (but, alas, they're not) they would bring Brandon, who seems out of the loop, in and vote one of them off. On Nakum I'd say Cindy and Lydia are in danger.

Heroes and Villains
Judd is a jerk. I like Amy but can she hold up physically? I also like Danni but I fear she may be too manipulative. I'm afraid Cindy will be gone before we get to know her better.

Won Reward: Nakum
(food)

Won Immunity: Rafe

Voted Off: Brian and Margaret

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Survivor Fantasy League

Survivor Fantasy League

I didn't organize a tribe this season but I am in three of them. One of the tribes I'm in is doing well so far (knock on wood), we're in 11th place in the Private Tribes Leaderboard. So in recognition of our good start, here are the Survivor Slackers:

Survivor Slackers
1. ws_skeet, 520 points
2. qu4ttro, 500
3. golfshot62, 500
4. treekafka, 468
5. Tyler-Bigman, 426
6. Bakseeda, 408
7. ocean19, 313
8. bbqking76, 283

total: 3,418 points
11th place Private Tribes Leaderboard

The Leaderboard
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Click for big picture
(opens in new window).


I'm Bakseeda. Congratulations everyone, keep up the good work!

For what it's worth, here are my picks for tonight:

Judd, First Questioned at TC

Rafe, Climbs Ruins

Jaime, Climbs Ruins

Stephenie, First Questioned at TC

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Preview Episode 6

title: Big Ball, Big Mouth, Big Trouble
CBS, 8:00 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005
Episode #1106.

from the Survivor web site:
After winning an arduous Reward Challenge, one tribe member ruins it for the rest by becoming intoxicated and obnoxious.

A grueling physical challenge pushes two castaways to the breaking point, leading to a screaming match that comes close to exploding.

In a Tribal Council first, one castaway bullies and insults a fellow tribe member despite attempts to keep the peace.

from Yahoo TV:
Although the tribes compete for a food reward, both are informed they will be attending Tribal Council and voting a member out.

Predictions
The online buzz is that Brian and Margaret are the most likely to be voted off at the Tribal Councils (this is a double Tribal Council week). Brandon also gets some mention as an evictee. This looks like a big episode for Judd. He's reportedly the one that gets drunk and is the bully at Tribal Council (picking on Margaret). The speculation is that each tribe gets to grant Immunity to someone on the other tribe. Judd is granted Immunity for Nakum so he feels safe in attacking Margaret, so the guessing goes. It's also thought that Amy gets Immunity for Yaxha because of her injury during Reward challenge.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Survivor News Flash


Survivor News Flash

Some Sad News
Jennifer Lyon, fourth place Palau, has just revealed that she has stage III breast cancer. She was the attractive blond who was all lovey-dovey with Gregg. (full story at RealityTVworld)

Tropical Storm Stan
Guatemala has suffered greatly from Tropical Storm Stan. CBS and Survivor have set up a web page for information and charitable donations.

Guatemala / Central American Relief
Help the victims of Tropical Storm Stan

Correction & Clarification
Last week I mistakenly said the Jeff Probst's contract was up after Survivor Guatemala, his contract is through the next edition - Survivor 12. He leaves in a few weeks to start shooting.