Yes. Probst tweets about this every year. They must submit all challenges in advance and in the order they will appear on the show, including never-used ones like tie-breakers and so forth. They must also follow strict standards of fairness during the challenges and so forth.
he tweets way less now he has that talk show, but he did tweet briefly about what you are all talking about, though he did not say much:
I know he has an interest in appearing fair, but I’ve followed him on Twitter for years and the detail he provides make it sound like Survivor is very strictly run. As do his Tout videos, where he provides(provided, I should say) more details. It’s more of a game show than “fake” reality show, so to speak, especially when it comes to the actual challenges and game portion.
I don’t think it was rigged, I think the 6 were overconfident. They all knew there could/would be a game advantage at the auction, there has been for the last several. They knew at the start of the immunity challenge that Abi was going to be there in the final round but they didn’t do any planning to make sure the winners were rested, they even showed Skupin at the start of the challenge saying “She can’t do it, she can’t climb”
Abi’s been slacking for weeks and with her back against the wall she actually tried for the first time on the island and as a result they had no idea what she was capable of.
Also at the auction Penner bought a milkshake that wasn’t shown - she could have bid $320 and won but I don’t blame her for not doing the math - keeping the extra $180 wouldn’t be worth the risk of miscalculating.
This was only the second auction that didn’t allow them to freely share food isn’t it? I think that was an odd limitation for them to add, I liked seeing the mini alliances pop up around food.
Penner: Proves the adage - If you’re not in an alliance then you’re out of the alliance (read “target”). What if Penner told Lisa that he would be in her alliance but Abi and Pete go before Malcolm and Denise? Would he still be there?
Abi: God bless her. She is so far out of her league but was actually trying to survive. I don’t think anyone will believe her about the HII but at least she’s playing the game.
Lisa: Unwatchable. Does she even know what she wants anymore?
I would have been happy with a Malcolm, Denise, Penner final but ultimately I just want Malcolm and Denise there. With Penner gone who can beat then for the million? Not Abi or Lisa. Spicoli is too much of the coattail rider. Can Skupen beat them or did he cost himself the million by not voting Denise?
I think Malcolm and Denise are in trouble going forward. They are both huge threats in the ICs and obviously have a tight alliance. The others would be wise in banding together and voting them out. Abi is a bitch, but there isn’t anyone I’d rather sit next to in the final than her. Well, maybe Lisa, but all the more reason to bring both of them as far as possible and get rid of Denise and Malcolm ASAP.
I was not surprised, once we learned what the advantage was.
I don’t think people will buy her 2nd HII. I can’t recall any time there was a challenge advantage given and a clue to a hidden immunity idol. I would not have believed there was a ‘first part’ of the message that was a clue to an HII or anything else; much less if I had been able to glimpse the approximate number of lines on the paper. Tearing up the paper makes it seems like she’s hiding something (which she said she was). But given her claim, I would think that she was lying. Too clever by half, I think.
The SO and I rolled our eyes at Abi’s confrontation with Penner at the camp. ‘Aren’t you sorry for being so mean to me? All of you attacked me. I’m the victim here!’
I’m sorry to see Penner go. ISTR some dislike for him on his previous seasons. I never disliked him, and I found his Alan Alda accent amusing. But better Penner than Denise.
Alas, I have a feeling Denise won’t be around much longer. I hope I’m wrong, and that she goes on for the win. (I’d be happy with either her or Malcolm.) But she is a formidable physical threat, and the others would be smart to get rid of her. The final challenge is often an endurance one, and she has the right body type for that.
Who is going to vote against Malcolm and or Denise? Certainly not Lisa and so at best you have a 3-3 tie next week. Malcolm has a HII that he is itching to play (and needs to be used soon) and I think he would make that move. Malcolm could get either Spicoli or Abi as an ally and now it is 4-2. In fact, getting Abi as an ally would be a great move because even if voted off, she will probably vote for whoever was not mean to her and so there’s a jury vote. Spicoli is a lost little lamb without Penner so he will ally with whoever talks to him first - either Skupen or Malcolm.
Final 3: Malcolm/Denise/Lisa or Abi and let’s start discussing whether Malcolm or Denise will win the million.
I could see Malcolm having that exact thought when he was hugging her and calling her “darling” at the tree mail box. “My mean friend Denise was mean to you, but I’m a nice guy. Can I have your Jury Vote?” Uncharacteristically transparent for Malcolm, but for Abi, you need to be blunt to get through to her.
I keep wondering when Carter is going to wake up and realize that he’s odd man out.
Malcolm is playing the game brilliantly. He still has his HII, which is amazing because he is such a threat, both in the physical challenges and because he seems like a nice kid. Reminds me a bit of Ozzie. He also made the move to form a Final 4 alliance at the right time, right after Abi had alienated Lisa with her “I don’t trust her” speech. Lisa is good to have on your side because she does stand by her word, even to her own detriment.
Lisa is playing the game stupidly, but she seems to have another purpose for going on the show. She had just ended her 25 year marriage, so maybe she felt the need to find herself again. She’s reportedly looking for acting jobs again, so maybe she wanted the exposure.
Penner was stupid for not joining the final 4, but I agree that he’s a very gracious loser. I didn’t dislike him, but giving a player 3 opportunities to win is ridiculous IMO. I also wonder if there’s something going on with him and Lisa.
Skupin doesn’t have a prayer unless he secretly flips to the other side and vote against Malcolm. Which would be a brilliant move on his part. The big problem with that plan is that they’d have to keep it a secret from Abi because she is the world’s worst actress.
Abi is a self-absorbed brat. I hope her parents are cringing at what they’ve raised.
Denise is a great competitor, but if I had to choose between Denise and Malcolm, I don’t know who I’d choose.
A lot of people seem to be holding Penner’s three seasons against him. How many Survivors have had three shots?
Penner
Parvati
Hot Amanda
Russell
Coach
Ozzie?
Boston Rob
Any others?
I think my point is that I don’t hold this being Penner’s third try against him because a third try isn’t all that unusual. I rather like him, but agree with the group: Better him than Denise.
This is a little odd, but I completely didn’t get “gracious loser” from Penner. On his way out, he seemed like a very sore loser in the “when I screw you over, it’s strategy, when you screw me over, it’s because you’re a bad person” category. Did I look away at the wrong moment when he made it clear he was only joking and that he was just happy to be there? Because when I saw it, he was snubbing people and generally acting entitled.
His exit interview (not aired, but on the CBS site) was one of the most gracious I’ve ever seen. I don’t think that his exit from the tribal council area showed it but it was only a couple seconds.
All he did was snub Abi, which was appropriate, because why the hell did she think she was on a hugging-farewell basis with him?
And I’m not getting the hate for Lisa – is it an age thing? As a middle-aged dame who watched way more “Facts of Life” than I care to contemplate back in the day, I’m enjoying watching her. Not to root for her necessarily – though it would be a hoot if she made it to final three with Malcolm and Denise – but I’m not at all bothered by her. She has – despite her Hollywood background – kind of an everywoman thing in terms of what does the game look like to a real person instead of a rabid strategy wonk.
It’s hard to tell how much of what the contestants say is their true feelings and how much is rhetoric. The fact that it was Penner’s 3rd try might not be relevant at all, but if it’s a rallying cry to vote him out before yourself, you go with it. Same with Penner acting hurt that someone would betray him. I never got the sense that he felt truly betrayed, just that he was playing up the talk of honor and decency to Lisa, because he thought she was the sort of player that would be swayed by such talk. (Didn’t work, but he was trying…)
The best players in this game tell everyone else exactly what they want to hear, and pick and choose their means of manipulation based on the target. You don’t sway a Lisa the same way you sway an Abi.
Meh. Most of them are slightly bizarre, but the only one that strikes me as being stupid is telling them no to reasonable requests, in order to instill obedience. I don’t think in this day and age we should teach our kids to be blindly obedient. There are too many people willing to exploit a child who never questions authority.
That’s what I was trying to get at. Do people her (my) age, who grew up watching her on TV, have a lingering fondness for her that leads to us giving her a pass on behavior that we might otherwise find annoying? I honestly don’t know the answer to that.
And as far as her child-rearing practices – yeah, a little bizarre, but I don’t research reality competition participants’ real-life beliefs or practices when I’m picking who to root for or against. That’s just me, though.
I think the show was just fine before they started reintroducing players. IMO it gives returning players an unfair advantage, unless the entire field is comprised of returning players. I also intensely dislike allowing hated players to return just because they are so intensely disliked. Act normal? Goodbye! Act like a dick? Welcome back!
IOW, Welcome back, Abi!
Of course, more than anything I hated Redemption Island, and am really glad that they dispensed with it.
