"I'm just always chasing that face-falling moment. Chasing it forever."
February 27, 2015 7:41 AM Subscribe
Linda Holmes describes her favorite Survivor moment: Not Just Eating Bugs For Money! A Story Of 'Survivor' And Strategy. "This is a story of watching a couple of people who aren't very likable lose a million dollars, fair and square, because they got outfoxed."
I read that entire thing through twice and I still have no idea what the strategy was. Can someone try to explain it to me like I'm eight?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:57 AM on February 27, 2015
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:57 AM on February 27, 2015
Can someone try to explain it to me like I'm eight?
Turn off that TV and go do your homework.
posted by logicpunk at 8:04 AM on February 27, 2015 [33 favorites]
Turn off that TV and go do your homework.
posted by logicpunk at 8:04 AM on February 27, 2015 [33 favorites]
the best Survivor moment ever will always be "That's not the idol. It's a f***ng stick."
"It has a face on it, don't worry."
posted by bibliowench at 8:17 AM on February 27, 2015 [5 favorites]
"It has a face on it, don't worry."
posted by bibliowench at 8:17 AM on February 27, 2015 [5 favorites]
We're big Amazing Race fans, but we ended up watching Survivor the other day, and goddammit we might be watching that now too.
Because GOD are people stupid.
posted by St. Hubbins at 8:39 AM on February 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
Because GOD are people stupid.
posted by St. Hubbins at 8:39 AM on February 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
I am also a huge fan of the thing that is not an idol because it's a fucking stick.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 8:41 AM on February 27, 2015 [18 favorites]
posted by Linda_Holmes at 8:41 AM on February 27, 2015 [18 favorites]
So, I'm going to go ahead and guess that it wasn't the idol?
Bummer.
posted by madajb at 9:08 AM on February 27, 2015
Bummer.
posted by madajb at 9:08 AM on February 27, 2015
So Probst starts by reading the Cassandra votes. One, two, three, four. Everybody still looks happy. Then he reads Dreamz' vote for Mookie, and Dreamz looks happy.Who is the fourth Cassandra vote? There are only 3 people left on the Alex team, right?
posted by jeather at 9:08 AM on February 27, 2015
I absolutely loved reading this article, and it sent me straight back to a reread of the Funny 115 (which is actually the Funny 230, because there are two lists, each for a different block of seasons). That site is a list of great Survivor moments like this, with hilarious write-ups, including a bit of analysis about how the editors/producers set up the various storylines to make these great moments.
From that site's writeup of the same incident this article discusses:
From that site's writeup of the same incident this article discusses:
No, the thing you might not remember about The Four Horsemen is that for about an episode and half, they weren't portrayed as bumbling cartoon villains. Nope, not right off the bat they weren't.posted by Katrel at 9:12 AM on February 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
For the first episode or so they were portrayed as The Heroic Noble Protagonists of Survivor: Fiji!
That's right. That's why this storyline was so awesome. This is something that everyone forgets. This is how the editors completely blindsided us.
For about an episode and a half, Mookie and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse got the winner's edit.
Survivor is great and that season is also my favorite.
It's been mentioned on the blue before.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 9:48 AM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
It's been mentioned on the blue before.
posted by You Should See the Other Guy at 9:48 AM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
What I liked best about that article that is that it reminded me, somebody who hasn't watched Survivor since the second season, exactly why it is still going strong 15 years/30 seasons in and made me regret missing that moment.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:52 AM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by MCMikeNamara at 9:52 AM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
I've watched every episode of every season of Survivor and have Wednesday's premiere sitting on my DVR untouched because I've been invested in a book the last few days like a schmuck.
Off to go rectify this business right now so I can read the article and the comments!
I haven't looked for fear of spoilers but the best two Survivor moments were when that skinny Eric kid was tricked into giving up his immunity to a tribe of women and when James got voted off with two idols in his pocket. Stupid boys.
posted by phunniemee at 9:59 AM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
Off to go rectify this business right now so I can read the article and the comments!
I haven't looked for fear of spoilers but the best two Survivor moments were when that skinny Eric kid was tricked into giving up his immunity to a tribe of women and when James got voted off with two idols in his pocket. Stupid boys.
posted by phunniemee at 9:59 AM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
I did love this moment, and this was one of the best seasons. Yau-man is everyone's favorite, but Earl played such a perfect game, he led quietly with little ego and won with a unanimous vote. He made winning look effortless.
I think Pavarti had the best hidden immunity maneuver, with blocking all possible votes by the other alliance and blanketing them so they'd lose someone no matter what hidden immunity they had (IIRC). And James had the best loss getting voted out with two in his pocket when there was no reason not to play one except sheer arrogance.
posted by nom de poop at 10:04 AM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think Pavarti had the best hidden immunity maneuver, with blocking all possible votes by the other alliance and blanketing them so they'd lose someone no matter what hidden immunity they had (IIRC). And James had the best loss getting voted out with two in his pocket when there was no reason not to play one except sheer arrogance.
posted by nom de poop at 10:04 AM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
jinx, phunniemee!
posted by nom de poop at 10:05 AM on February 27, 2015
posted by nom de poop at 10:05 AM on February 27, 2015
My favorite blindside was the revolt against Queen Bee Ami on Survivor Vanatu.
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 11:00 AM on February 27, 2015
posted by Combustible Edison Lighthouse at 11:00 AM on February 27, 2015
I have gone back and read every Miss Alli TWOP recap of selected entire seasons of Survivor, because they are so well-written and so funny and they bring back all the memories of the experience of watching the episodes live. Also, she usually hated who I hated and liked who I liked (seriously, can someone who loves Rupert come forward and defend themselves?). Some great seasons to revisit are the Men vs. Women season where Chris wins, the first Survivor All-Stars season, and the season where Tom and Ian controlled the game until both Tom and Ian behaved in ways that seemed completely contrary to their previous personae.
I have also gone back and read the entire season's worth of recaps to the Evil Doctor Will season of Big Brother, because it is the platonic ideal of TV recapping
You guys, I miss TWoP so much.
posted by joelhunt at 11:35 AM on February 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
I have also gone back and read the entire season's worth of recaps to the Evil Doctor Will season of Big Brother, because it is the platonic ideal of TV recapping
You guys, I miss TWoP so much.
posted by joelhunt at 11:35 AM on February 27, 2015 [6 favorites]
A friend of mine was on that season, and fell afoul of what the author calls "the arrogant young dudes". Re-living this moment was fantastic. Very happy that Earl won that season.
posted by foldedfish at 11:45 AM on February 27, 2015
posted by foldedfish at 11:45 AM on February 27, 2015
I stopped watching after about 5 seasons, but my favorite memory is Season 2's Colby getting excited about winning a "conjugal visit" with his mother.
posted by bibliowench at 12:06 PM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by bibliowench at 12:06 PM on February 27, 2015 [2 favorites]
Everybody should go watch the new season because there's a guy with hair feathers and he is horrible.
posted by phunniemee at 1:04 PM on February 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 1:04 PM on February 27, 2015 [4 favorites]
Is CBS doing that thing where you have to pay to watch online? I got so mad last season when I couldn't finish because they moved to a fee-based structure, and this is from someone who sat through those awful chase blue commercials every five minutes during previous online viewing.
posted by mochapickle at 1:27 PM on February 27, 2015
posted by mochapickle at 1:27 PM on February 27, 2015
mochapickle, looks like you can watch the week's episode for free.
As long as they don't take away my Ponderosa clips I guess that's ok.
posted by phunniemee at 1:29 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
As long as they don't take away my Ponderosa clips I guess that's ok.
posted by phunniemee at 1:29 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
there's a guy with hair feathers and he is horrible
I feel like I got my feel of horrible in the Coach and Rupert era...
I read that entire thing through twice and I still have no idea what the strategy was. Can someone try to explain it to me like I'm eight?
I wrote up something long (I had a little trouble following the article too and I even vaguely remembered it to begin with.) As I was doing that I realized that it wasn't exactly the strategy that was brilliant.. The bro dudes were going to lose the vote pretty much no matter what.
The brilliance is that they were done in by their arrogance; the leader assumed Earl's team had to be targeting him. They were sooo arrogant too. In Survivor, in general, the athletic, confident dudes often have status because the game favors them a little bit. The Four Horsemen was an alliance full of that kind of dude, so it was like the athletic dudes versus the women and "non-athletic" dudes... the way they went from supreme confidence in one moment to "welp, we're dead" in the next moment was very satisfying. In a larger scale they drove away allies they could have had like Stacey, because they were just too obviously not going to let a non-bro into their inner circle.
And the cherry was that not-very-imposing-looking MIT grad Yau-man kept beating them at physical challenges anyway.
(At least, in my probably too-rosy memory.)
posted by nom de poop at 6:16 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
I feel like I got my feel of horrible in the Coach and Rupert era...
I read that entire thing through twice and I still have no idea what the strategy was. Can someone try to explain it to me like I'm eight?
I wrote up something long (I had a little trouble following the article too and I even vaguely remembered it to begin with.) As I was doing that I realized that it wasn't exactly the strategy that was brilliant.. The bro dudes were going to lose the vote pretty much no matter what.
The brilliance is that they were done in by their arrogance; the leader assumed Earl's team had to be targeting him. They were sooo arrogant too. In Survivor, in general, the athletic, confident dudes often have status because the game favors them a little bit. The Four Horsemen was an alliance full of that kind of dude, so it was like the athletic dudes versus the women and "non-athletic" dudes... the way they went from supreme confidence in one moment to "welp, we're dead" in the next moment was very satisfying. In a larger scale they drove away allies they could have had like Stacey, because they were just too obviously not going to let a non-bro into their inner circle.
And the cherry was that not-very-imposing-looking MIT grad Yau-man kept beating them at physical challenges anyway.
(At least, in my probably too-rosy memory.)
posted by nom de poop at 6:16 PM on February 27, 2015 [1 favorite]
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Well, and the Rats and Snakes speech, but that's pretty much so far beyond, it's basically Shakespeare.
posted by Mchelly at 7:52 AM on February 27, 2015 [5 favorites]