# Survivor Weds. Sept. 22nd **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718 "2010-09-23T00:40:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/61 "2010-09-25T13:30:45Z")
Hmm okay, I’ve heard a lot about Australia, so I’ll try that one next-it should be interesting to see how the show evolves. And for my money, Cook Islands was my very favorite as well. Some of the later seasons have had better strategy, but the baffling and utterly unexpected way that Yul’s foursome dominated the game was _awesome_. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/62 "2010-09-25T14:35:03Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > They should really call the younger tribe the “Jr High Tribe”. I’ve seen more mature 12 year-olds than most of them. But it was hilarity of the highest order. Shannon’s attempt to out Whats-his-name was so out there it was almost unreal. Yeah, that’s a great strategy to win friends and influence people! > > NaOnka sounds like some Lakota Indian name, so I’m just going to start thinking of her as Witko-win (crazy woman). It must be good (poor?) editing that lets the viewers see someone like Naonka as nuttier than a squirrel turd, yet the other tribe members barely raise an eyebrow at her. If someone has stolen my socks, I’d have certainly confronted her in front of everyone else but she seemed to get a pass on that. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/63 "2010-09-25T15:01:28Z")
> [@rockle](#): > > I often wonder what this game would look like if there was more randomness. Set up two identical camps on two parts of the island, with all the same gear and rations, and every time there is a challenge, switch up the teams by pulling names out of a hat, basically, until we finally get to the merge. Other people have said the same thing in threads about earlier seasons. No Pagonging or Ulonging, just “North Camp” and “South Camp” and people having to learn to work together on the fly to ensure they stick around to see another challenge. If they did that, they might have to cast more for “survivorship” than for personality. > > Of course, that might be godawful boring, too. So I don’t know. I always thought it would interesting if they had the entire cast live as one big tribe for the first three to six days. Long enough to form relationships, then randomly split them up to two tribes and then eventually merge them. It may make the merge more interesting because the other tribe is suddenly full of friends you may like better than your tribe. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/64 "2010-09-25T15:14:32Z")
I think that at least how the game is structured now, inter-tribe friendships paint a target on your back. If it’s getting close to a merge and the rest of the tribe has reason to suspect that you have friends across the water, chances are other threatened groups would make sure that you got voted off before the merge. Especially after Shambo royally screwed her alliance, I think the next several seasons will feature tribes who are extremely paranoid about potential defectors. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/65 "2010-09-25T16:30:42Z")
Here’s a question that Mrs. Cad is tired of me asking every season. How must money would CBS make if they had DVD/subscription for Survivor Uncensored (no blurs). I ran the numbers and came up with an @$$load. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/66 "2010-09-25T17:00:58Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > Here’s a question that Mrs. Cad is tired of me asking every season. > How must money would CBS make if they had DVD/subscription for Survivor Uncensored (no blurs). I ran the numbers and came up with an @$$load. Especially this season, which seems to be loaded with even more good looking contestants than usual. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/67 "2010-09-25T17:05:24Z")
> [@Omi\_no\_Kami](#): > > Hmm, what do you gentlemen think: I have, in my possession, DVDs of the complete first through tenth seasons, and a friend has offered to loan me her HD with 11-17. I have seen and loved: Cook Islands, the one with Yul in it, the one with Shane in it, Fans vs. Favorites, and everything after (and including) Gabon. I am going to finish Borneo today, but what should I watch next? I am particularly interested in seasons that have particularly intricate play or hilariously unbalanced contestants, although I’m not holding out hope that there’s anything to top Yul/Heroes vs. Villains or Shane. 🙂 I am partial to the Palau season, because I think it’s kind of hilarious to watch one tribe, that absolutely shouldn’t, completely and totally suck to the point of self-obliteration. But I also admit to being biased because one of my Top Two favorite players ever is on that season. If you don’t like the people on that season, and you find yourself rooting for people on the wrong side, it could be very boring. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/68 "2010-09-25T18:10:55Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Especially this season, which seems to be loaded with even more good looking contestants than usual. Really? I’d rate this cast as the ugliest ever, and by a wide margin. The younger tribe has the normal distribution of attractive people as we usually get on both tribes, while the older tribe is nothing but uggos. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/69 "2010-09-25T18:36:32Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > > > Especially this season, which seems to be loaded with even more good looking contestants than usual. > > Really? I’d rate this cast as the ugliest ever, and by a wide margin. The younger tribe has the normal distribution of attractive people as we usually get on both tribes, while the older tribe is nothing but uggos. Brenda is quite attractive, and so is Yve, but I agree that–at least among the women–this is a sub-par season of Survivor in terms of hotties. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/70 "2010-09-25T18:47:14Z")
Crystal Cox, Liz Kim, Becky Lee, Courtney Yates, and Amanda Kimmel. And Parvati Shallow. If they just agree to package their outtakes on the next DVD extras, I’ll buy the whole season’s discs. Even if it’s the Thailand season. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/71 "2010-09-25T19:09:19Z")
I have a particular fondness for Survivor: China. Any season that has someone with TWO HIIs getting blindsided is worth watching. Thirding the “I’d pay to watch it unblurred.” ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/72 "2010-09-25T19:14:10Z")
Some of the blindsides have been brilliant, but my top pick for HII mischief has to be Bob’s fake idol in Gabon-christing nuts but that was a wonderful fake. Didn’t he make a kiln and bake resin into a mold or something? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/73 "2010-09-25T19:56:08Z")
Here’s an idea: The producers have a really hokey-looking HII made, and see what happens when someone finds it. Just have it be a stick figure with a shoe-string attached to it. I’d love to see whether the finders would be reluctant to use it because they thought it was fake. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/74 "2010-09-25T21:23:29Z")
Aww. I just finished season 1, and even though I’d been spoiled for years about the outcome, I was still rooting for Colleen to win. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718/75 "2010-09-27T17:09:57Z")
Incidentally, the more I look at the current game the more I’m convinced that there’s something to be said for Todd from Survivor: China. Coat-tailing used to be more of a legitimate strategy than it is now, but I think a lot of players are currently biased against giving the win to a follower versus someone who actively plotted. Bob in Gabon played a pretty solid game and he survived a lot of episodes under fire, but even then he was heavily criticized at the final tribal council for being too wishy-washy. Todd, on the other hand, had a really great plan- I remember him talking in the reunion episode and saying that he had essentially decided that for him to have a chance at getting to the end he needed an alliance that included a close ally beginning from day 1 or 2, since history builds trust, someone more athletic than he was to make him seem less threatening, and someone smaller and weaker than he was who he could make dependent on him if he needed to, and who would be a more obvious target if the tribe wanted to vote for someone who was weak in the challenges. He still managed to stay (somewhat) safe and in the middle, but by actively plotting how he could play under the radar he showed leadership and built a much easier to defend history come final tribal council. Of course after watching Courtney Yates, I’m not sure I would want a small, petite person in my main alliance: if she had decided to betray him, she stood a much better chance at winning the (likely) stamina-based final challenges than he did. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-weds-sept-22nd/554718.md?page=3)