# Survivor 3/20/13 Operation Thunder Dome **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441 "2013-03-20T12:49:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CrabRangoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9e8a1a/32.png) [@CrabRangoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrabRangoon)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/1 "2013-03-20T12:49:07Z")
It’s that time of the week already. I’m hoping my guy Michael gets a good placement this week… Let’s watch and find out: ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/2 "2013-03-21T01:21:28Z")
Ugh, Corinne! You’re reminding me why I hated you on your first season. “My gay”? MY GAY? There are good fag hags and bad fag hags. Good fag hags enjoy the time they spend with their gay friends. Bad fag hags think they OWN their gay friends. Corinne, you’re not a good fag hag. And, having been there myself, I feel for Michael. There was serious crush going on and now the crush is out. That does hurt. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/3 "2013-03-21T01:23:34Z")
Well that was a real snoozer. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/4 "2013-03-21T01:25:00Z")
Istill loathe Philip. ---
**Author:** ![CrabRangoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9e8a1a/32.png) [@CrabRangoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrabRangoon)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/5 "2013-03-21T01:30:35Z")
Wow. That seriously sucks for Michael. I am bummed - how incredibly one-sided. They couldn’t possibly have made it worse if they tried - perhaps if Eric and Corinne were switched - but really, this is pathetic. As Jeff said so directly. And the preview looks like next week is another physical challenge. I fear. So how are the fans supposed to have any chance when both tribes have Faves in the majority? Boo!!! ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/6 "2013-03-21T02:47:08Z")
Can we just fast-forward to the merge? Worst random draw ever. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/7 "2013-03-21T04:16:18Z")
Really terrible twist to an already pretty terrible season… ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/8 "2013-03-21T11:41:55Z")
When I’m too busy playing a game on my phone to know or even care what happened with this supposed “twist”, you know I’m bored with the episode. I cannot wait for Reynold to be voted off in the worst way. Yeah, I know he found the second HII, but I can dream, can’t I? He gives me the creeps. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/9 "2013-03-21T12:05:12Z")
> [@Lamar\_Mundane](#): > > Can we just fast-forward to the merge? > > Worst random draw ever. I don’t think it was really random. I think they planned to have each new tribe be 4 faves, 3 fans. The bowl Jeff was using wasn’t big enough for 14 eggs, so he must have handed them out to the fans, then gone back and refilled it, or gotten a second bowl, for the faves. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/10 "2013-03-21T12:32:03Z")
Mental note: don’t tell the other team, who outnumbers you, that you definitely don’t have the HII. So Malcolm and Reynold both have HIIs. Does that mean that they’ll hide another one for the weaker tribe? ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/11 "2013-03-21T12:45:16Z")
Anybody else cringe at Phillip _whittling_ that flint? Jeebus, that thing will be worthless in a day with him around. I do appreciate the goofy music they always play for him, though. Speaking of the music, did they always have **The Walking Dead** string section as they gather for Tribal Council? That seems new to me. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/12 "2013-03-21T13:21:32Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > Anybody else cringe at Phillip _whittling_ that flint? Jeebus, that thing will be worthless in a day with him around. I do appreciate the goofy music they always play for him, though. > > Speaking of the music, did they always have **The Walking Dead** string section as they gather for Tribal Council? That seems new to me. Was he whittling the flint or was he scraping the Mg bar into the tinder to make fire-starter? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/13 "2013-03-21T13:24:28Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > or was he scraping the Mg bar into the tinder to make fire-starter? That’s what it looked like to me. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/14 "2013-03-21T13:26:38Z")
> [@singular1](#): > > Anybody else cringe at Phillip _whittling_ that flint? Jeebus, that thing will be worthless in a day with him around. I do appreciate the goofy music they always play for him, though. The flints they’re using are actually a bar of magnesium with a rod of flint mounted on it. You’re supposed to shave off some of the magnesium from the back, then strike the flint sparks into that, to ignite the magnesium shavings and get a hot flame. This way you don’t need to find bone dry tinder to ignite with the sparks. Here’s what I’m [talking about](http://www.campingsurvival.com/avsurfir.html). Ninja’d! ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/15 "2013-03-21T13:56:14Z")
Huh! So, ignorance fought, then. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/16 "2013-03-21T14:00:04Z")
Actually, I didn’t know about it until the horrible tiebreaker challenge when neither Becky or Sundra could start a fire with a flint, and still took another half hour when the producers broke down and gave them matches. I bought one, and found that’s it’s really hard and time consuming to start a fire that way. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/17 "2013-03-21T14:40:55Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I don’t think it was really random. I think they planned to have each new tribe be 4 faves, 3 fans. The bowl Jeff was using wasn’t big enough for 14 eggs, so he must have handed them out to the fans, then gone back and refilled it, or gotten a second bowl, for the faves. Which, if true, is even worse. Why even pretend that you care about a fair competition if you’re going to create two new tribes in which your proclaimed “favorites” are in the majority? At least with the previous tribes the fans had a chance of evening up the numbers and getting a flipper at the merge. Now I don’t see how the favorites don’t have a staggering majority when the merge happens. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/18 "2013-03-21T14:50:07Z")
At the beginning of the episode when Julia started talking, I said to the SO ‘You know… She hasn’t gotten any airtime.’ You’d always see her standing around looking serious. Corinne says later that Julia is ‘boring’. I guess that explain’s Julia’s lack of air time! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/19 "2013-03-21T14:55:30Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I don’t think it was really random. I think they planned to have each new tribe be 4 faves, 3 fans. The bowl Jeff was using wasn’t big enough for 14 eggs, so he must have handed them out to the fans, then gone back and refilled it, or gotten a second bowl, for the faves. > [@Jas09](#): > > Which, if true, is even worse. I don’t think that is true. The producers have gone on record time and time again to point out they are subject to the same rules as any other game show; the rules and competitions must be as stated and not rigged in any way. Besides, as pointed out, why would they _want_ to create the imbalance in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441/20 "2013-03-21T15:07:34Z")
Yeah, if this were _Big Brother_ I might suspect blatant producer manipulation, but I think _Survivor_ plays it pretty straight when it comes to challenges and tribe remixes. (Though I do think Probst often steers the conversations in specific directions a little too much at Tribal Council.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-3-20-13-operation-thunder-dome/653441.md?page=2)