# Survivor April 13 2011 "The Buddy System" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2011, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310 "2011-04-14T00:51:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [April 15, 2011, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/61 "2011-04-15T18:02:15Z")
> [@gregorio](#): > > And it sounds to me sometimes that Rob is reading off of a script. No one else is getting that vibe? The thing about Rob as that he was portrayed as a dumb Boston Southie who worked in construction during his first season. He did work construction, but that was during the summers while he was earning a degree in psychology from Boston University. That education, plus his experience playing the game, is what makes him so good. He plays the character Rob when interacting with the other Survivors, and durind the confessionals you are seeing the real Rob. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/62 "2011-04-15T18:35:38Z")
I do get the distinct impression that Rob is making some decisions based solely on what will make good TV. As a veteran of the show he knows what that is. Things like the two shelters, the buddy system, the fish argument, voting Matt off right after the came back all make for solid TV, and Rob knows it. He wants to win, sure, but he also knows how to market the “Boston Rob” brand and he’s doing that very well. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/63 "2011-04-15T19:25:48Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I do get the distinct impression that Rob is making some decisions based solely on what will make good TV. As a veteran of the show he knows what that is. Things like the two shelters, the buddy system, the fish argument, voting Matt off right after the came back all make for solid TV, and Rob knows it. > > He wants to win, sure, but he also knows how to market the “Boston Rob” brand and he’s doing that very well. Everyone is doing a little showing off. They all know they’re going to be on national TV. Rob is just a little better at it because he’s so good at this game. I’m pretty sure everyone is putting on a fake personality for the TV cameras, but we only get to see the interesting ones. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/64 "2011-04-15T19:30:48Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > Everyone is doing a little showing off. They all know they’re going to be on national TV. Rob is just a little better at it because he’s so good at this game. > > I’m pretty sure everyone is putting on a fake personality for the TV cameras, but we only get to see the interesting ones. Plus, good strategy in general makes for good TV. Rob knows what does and doesn’t work, but he’s also never won before. So he’s got to try something new every time he plays. While there’s been separation between tribes post-merge before, there’s never been such a strong segregation directed by one person before. Also, I think the big part of Rob’s strategy is get the rest of his tribe to look like jerks, but he’s playing the nice guy. Notice how he was helping David up right away after the challenge. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2011, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/65 "2011-04-15T23:57:27Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > So? Let me ask you this - if flapping their arms like a bird helped them gain an advantage, do you think that would be “cheating” as well? No - it was clearly implied that “legs only” meant “in contact with the structure”. It’s absolutely absurd to suggest otherwise. What’s absolutely “absurd” is for you to get so worked up (and oddly incensed) about my post. It’s just a TV show. We’ve had two posters who said (mistakenly) that Jeff said contestants should keep their hands off the structure. Well that’s not what he said. I was pointing out the error. In my view, if you are using your arms to help support your weight (whether or not they are in contact with the structure) then that is not “legs only.” You disagree. That doesn’t make you a bad person. Just tragically mistaken. 🙂 ---
**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:** [April 16, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/66 "2011-04-16T02:09:12Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > One thing I want to know, though – are things always that slow between challenges? I mean people lazing around, not saying much…for some reason I thought Survivor’s premise is based more on personal interaction than anything else. In the first seasons they pretty much let the contestants starve. The bad part was that it made some of them lethargic. The good part was that there seemed to be a lot more interaction amongst the players, with hunger making them aggressive. I thought it made for better TV, having them fight when the weren’t competing. I still like the way Lex went all psycho in Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/67 "2011-04-16T03:28:37Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > In my view, if you are using your arms to help support your weight (whether or not they are in contact with the structure) then that is not “legs only.” You disagree. That doesn’t make you a bad person. Just tragically mistaken. 🙂 Do you think Jeff didn’t see the girls holding their legs? If he didn’t say anything once he saw them do it then it wasn’t cheating. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/68 "2011-04-16T05:02:45Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > Do you think Jeff didn’t see the girls holding their legs? If he didn’t say anything once he saw them do it then it wasn’t cheating. I see it differently. I suspect David interpreted the “legs only” injunction the way I did, which is why he went for the ankle lock position. Only after he saw the girls holding their feet/ankles did he reach up to try to grab his own foot, but in that ankle lock position it wasn’t much help. Jeff obviously must have understood the rules the way you and the others do. In which case I suppose my objection is that the rules were open to two interpretations, which put anyone interpreting the rules the way I did at a disadvantage. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2011, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/69 "2011-04-16T06:05:12Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > I see it differently. I suspect David interpreted the “legs only” injunction the way I did, which is why he went for the ankle lock position. Only after he saw the girls holding their feet/ankles did he reach up to try to grab his own foot, but in that ankle lock position it wasn’t much help. > > Jeff obviously must have understood the rules the way you and the others do. In which case I suppose my objection is that the rules were open to two interpretations, which put anyone interpreting the rules the way I did at a disadvantage. They go further into the rules than what we see in the episode. I imagine they went specifically into what they could and couldn’t touch. ---
**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:** [April 16, 2011, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-april-13-2011-the-buddy-system/578310/70 "2011-04-16T06:06:34Z")
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