# Suvivor Fiji-- or is it Survivor L.A.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205 "2007-01-31T01:17:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [January 31, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/1 "2007-01-31T01:17:11Z")
Check out the new cast. [Survivor Fiji](http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor14/). 1. Looks like about half are from L.A. (or SoCal) yet again 2. Lots of non-whites in this group. It’s not going to be another challenge of the races, is it? 3. This time they start with 19. Do they get rid of one before tribes are selected? ---
**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:** [January 31, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/2 "2007-01-31T01:24:40Z")
Only 7 women this time. I dibs Jessica! As for the 19…one may have gotten sick or dropped out at the last minute. That would seem to be the logical answer. I wonder if they handicapped the tribes because of that? ---
**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:** [January 31, 2007, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/3 "2007-01-31T04:25:41Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Only 7 women this time. I dibs Jessica! [/quote] Yeah, she’ll be fun to watch > [@](#): > > As for the 19…one may have gotten sick or dropped out at the last minute. That would seem to be the logical answer. I wonder if they handicapped the tribes because of that? They’ve had a vote-someone-out as soon as they land on the island before. That would be the more logical answer. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/4 "2007-01-31T04:35:24Z")
Too many Californians, I agree. Are the producers getting lazy? They need to seek out a more geographically diverse group. For me, the cultural clashes are a big part of the fun. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/5 "2007-01-31T12:57:02Z")
The 20th person, Melissa McNulty, quit right before the game started. She made it all the way to Fiji, through the pre-game training, and quit at the last minute. For some odd reason, they didn’t have any alternates this season (Sundra was an alternate in Cook Islands), so they had to go on with 19. Look at the group picture - there’s an enormous gap between the girl on the left and the others. That’s where she was. Way to screw someone out of the chance of a lifetime, you high-maintenance bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/6 "2007-01-31T13:02:47Z")
[QUOTE=singular1] Way to screw someone out of the chance of a lifetime, you high-maintenance bitch. [/QUOTE] I don’t understand what you mean by that. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/7 "2007-01-31T13:49:55Z")
She took up a slot that someone who may have really wanted it could have gotten. By staying in the running until the last minute, she assured that no one got it. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/8 "2007-01-31T15:13:32Z")
[QUOTE=singular1] Way to screw someone out of the chance of a lifetime, you high-maintenance bitch. [/QUOTE] Do you know why she dropped out? If she just wanted to try it out and chickened out at the last minute, sure, but if she broke her leg? Not so much with the bitch part, I would guess. Or even high-maintenance. I remember when high-maintenance used to be a good thing… ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/9 "2007-01-31T15:28:26Z")
[QUOTE=interface2x] She took up a slot that someone who may have really wanted it could have gotten. By staying in the running until the last minute, she assured that no one got it. [/QUOTE] Well, since no one knows the actual reason why she dropped out - it may not have been on a whim, you know - why not blame the producers for not having selected an alternate? Besides, even if she had stayed in, no one else would have gotten the slot. So this whole “way to go, bitch” thing seems kind of stupid to me. YMMV etc. ---
**Author:** ![Cowgirl\_Jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Cowgirl\_Jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowgirl_Jules)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/10 "2007-01-31T16:23:22Z")
Even though the have a bunch of people from LA (like usual), just \*look \* at how many immigrants they have this year. I noticed five or six; it was starting to look like a real theme. I kind of wonder where they’re going with that. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/11 "2007-01-31T17:00:32Z")
My early assessments: Alex, 28 Harvard law degree. Describes himself as assertive. I was going to eliminate him early until I watched his video. He actually seems well grounded, and has a handle on the correct game strategy — quiet at the beginning, becoming more aggressive after the merge. Will probably make it far. Could be in final four. Anthony, 32 Role playing gamer. Finds expert witnesses. Yale alumnus. In his video, he seems personable and articulate. His game strategy is a bit naive, I think. Pick someone early on that you think you can trust? The game is too dynamic for that to work. But he could get lucky. Luck comes to those who anticipate opportunities. Boo, 34 Construction worker. Bar owner. Former college football player who believes himself to be “cerebral”. Articulates no real strategy other than romance based on his looks. Every guy will hate him. He’ll be an early out. Cassandra, 42 Charity Maven. Social and fiscal liberal. Large extended family, which could cause her much grief (from missing them). Religious. Physically unfit (and admits it). Her strategy is to be nice and lose 25 pounds. Probably won’t make it to the merge. Dre, 25 Cheerleading coach. From same city (and part of town) as Michael Jordan (Wilmington, NC). Training to be a boxer. From his video, he seems to be quite full of himself. Goes on and on about how he raised himself above hardship. I see him getting into fights with other guys. This blowhard may well be the first out. Earl, 35 Advertising executive. Allegedly an accomplished musician. (Not to be confused with the Australian crooner of the same name.) His video is rambling, and his strategy is unfocused — be fluid. Wants to make mama proud. Nice guy. He’ll be used and abused. Won’t make it to merge. Edgardo, 28 Another ad worker. Puerto Rican. Miami beach bum. Thick accent. Hot tempered. Describes himself as intense and impatient. Fears he will yell at someone for messing up. Considers himself to be a prettyboy, and thinks guys will dislike him. Dude, you should have just stayed home. Erica, 27 College track star. Now manages fundraising. Single. Lived in New Orleans when Katrina hit. That could make for some interesting conversation, but if overdone will get on people’s nerves. Keeps changing her strategies. Currently going for under-the-radar. Confrontational. Early out. Gary, 55 School bus drive, barber, and carpenter. Vietnam veteran and Minnesota crap flinger. Amazingly physically active, participating in everything from inline skating marathons to wilderness canoeing. Nonaggressive. If he is very careful about how he fathers the tribe (and he intends to be), he could make it to the merge and beyond. **James, 28** Bartender for private parties at upscale hotel. Calls himself a people person despite that he uses them for his own purposes. Thinks he’s no longer young at 28. Has a Boston Rob accent and personna. His strategy is to play ad hoc — just take it as it comes. Has no compunction about using hypocrisy and lies to advance himself. Says he is a man’s man. He is unctuous and disturbing. The winner. Jessica, 27 Fashion stylist and makeup artist. Single. Pretty. Likes leisurely hikes and eating pancakes. Describes herself as trustworthy. Doesn’t like “routine”. Despite the sheer lack of any obvious qualifications, her video rescues her. She reads people well. Her attitude is solid. But there’s just not enough there there to go all the way. Past the merge, and maybe even final four. Liliana, 25 Mexican-American. Marine combat theater veteran. (Women in the Marines must meet exact same qualifications — including physical — as men.) Enjoys music and Indie films. Grew up as a tomboy. Currently a loan officer. Could be a physical dynamo. Feisty. But her strategy is unfocused. Still, she is surprisingly sweet and feminine. Could go to final four. Even two. Lisi, 36 Not Lisa. Lisi. Short for Lisette. Works in customer service for a “psychic service”. Self-described “Underground Electropunk Noise Artist”. Loud. Enthusiastic. Physically out of shape. No discernable strategy other than laying low. Already bitching about how dumb everyone else is. If Dre isn’t the first out, Lisi will be. Michelle, 23 Studying fashion design in her senior year. A fairly vanilla and nondescript biography composed of mostly filler about how bubbly and energetic she is. She at least likes camping and rock climbing. Voice is cartoonish and annoying, but seems to love talking. A hard read. Her peppiness could be her downfall. But if she reins it in a bit (okay, a lot) she could be a contributor in challenges. Probably out just before merge. Mookie, 25 Korean-American with a degree in actuarial science. Oversees and coordinates implementation projects for Internet loan firm. Consults on transformation and business strategies for the financial services industr… […snore…] Wha!? Oh, sorry. Religious. Competitive. Atheletic. Despite his boring real life, video snippets suggest that he is popular among the others and gets along well. Possible finalist. Rita, 38 Venezuelan-American. Studied French and Italian literature. Lived in Mexico for a decade before moving to Texas. Beauty pageant consultant and single mother of two. Does local TV ads. Beautiful and well spoken. Describes herself as simple, but seems emotionally conflicted to me. Says she knows how to use her sex appeal. Will go beyond merge. Stacy, 27 Korean-American. (I identify these when they are actually born elsewhere.) Adopted by Vermont family, she moved alone to Miami at age 17. Got Graphic Design degree while working full time. Another advertising worker. Ingratiating nasal voice. Easily annoyed by complainers and lazy people. Unfocused strategy. Out before merge. Sylvia, 52 Chinese-American. (Hong Kong.) Masters in architecture. Founder and board chairman of major west coast architecture firm. (Kwan Henmi Architecture/Planning, Inc.) Designed the interiors of San Francisco Giants stadium. (AT&T Park). Married with children. Currently building dream home. Considers game to be social experiment and personal adventure. Out pretty quick. Yau-Man, 54 Malaysian-American. MIT alumnus. (Physics). IS director for chem department at UCLA Berkely. Married with two kids. Very strong accent. Self-described geek. Strategy is to apply the Heisenburg Uncertainty Principle. Says he is on outer fringes of Bell Curve. Massively delusional. Physically weak. Out pretty early. Maybe first out, if not Lisi or Dre. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/12 "2007-01-31T17:10:58Z")
SInce I am out of town next Thursday, I set my TIVO to record the season, and it picked up a preview show on some channel. The 20th person quit the night before the show started because she was overwhelmed emotionally. No broken bones, etc. If you’re that fragile emotionally, you shouldn’t try out for the show. Of course, the producers may have known this and thought it would make for good television, but didn’t anticipate her quitting before they ever started filming. There was going to be a repeat of last season’s racial division to start the show, but her quitting prevented that, so they did something else which the preview show didn’t reveal. Of course, it was “amazing and unprecedented”. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/13 "2007-01-31T17:22:10Z")
Yeah, that makes sense–20 players would make 5 four-person teams. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/14 "2007-01-31T17:26:16Z")
…Seriously? People still watch this show? I did find it hilarious and some-what satisfying that the average episode of “Arrested Development” got higher ratings than the season finale of the last round of Survivor. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/15 "2007-01-31T17:30:00Z")
Aaaaand we have our first “Reality TV sucks and so do the people who watch it!” thread-shitting. Only took 14 posts… ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/16 "2007-01-31T17:41:36Z")
[QUOTE=Push You Down] …Seriously? People still watch this show? I did find it hilarious and some-what satisfying that the average episode of “Arrested Development” got higher ratings than the season finale of the last round of Survivor. [/QUOTE] Where did you get that from? According to [this source](http://entertainmentnow.wordpress.com/2006/12/21/broadcast-tv-ratings-for-the-week-of-1211-to-1217/), the Survivor Cook Islands finale was CBS’s top-rated show for the week among adults 18-49. Fox’s top show for the week was House. Arrested Development isn’t even listed. Besides, if you want to bash people who watch this show, why not take it to the Pit? It is bad Cafetiquette to dump on threads in the manner you have. Edited to add: Oops, sorry, Jayjay. Didn’t see your post in time. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/17 "2007-01-31T18:01:44Z")
Sorry it took me so long to answer. According to [Jeff Probst himself](http://asapblogs.typepad.com/theslug/2007/01/jeff_probst_tal.html), > [@](#): > > The Slug: Tell us about the person who quit. There wasn’t an alternate? > > Jeff Probst: We brought alternates in the past. We had an alternate in “Cook Islands.” Sundra was an alternate, and Sundra made it to the final four. But we only bring an alternate if we’re worried about somebody. We weren’t worried about anybody. We thought we had a solid group of people. > > One woman, bless her heart, she just got overwhelmed and started panicking. We told her about how the show works and how you’ll be a little isolated. It was just too much for her. Our psychologist talked to her. Our medical doctor talked to her. We went out and talked to her. There was just no way you could try to encourage her to stay on the show. She was not comfortable — not even close to comfortable. And the game hadn’t started. So we said, “All right. You’re out.” > > The Slug: Oh my. When did this happen? During training? > > Jeff Probst: It was the night before. We did give them a little course on what’s going to go on out there. You know, what berries to pick and what snakes to watch out for. She was OK during that period. As a group, they can feel the game’s about to begin. They’re secluded. And they can sense a shift in energy. She could feel the game was about to begin. All the producers go out and explain the game. She just panicked. So we were stuck with 19. It required one shift. We were orignally going to have two tribes of 10. We won’t be able to do that now. So we came up with an alternate idea of what to do. > > The Slug: What happens? > > Jeff Probst: It plays out in the first episode. It’s nothing significant. Instead of having two equal teams, you have two tribes and one extra person. And what do you do with that other person? It played out just fine. The only drag is we lost a person, and it just effects your creativity a little bit. Where you maybe wanted to do a double Tribal Council and vote two people out, you can’t because you just lost one. It has a little bit of trickle down, but when it happens before the show, it’s very easy to move everything a little bit. So, yeah, high-maintenance bitch. Another model recruit, and it kept someone who really wanted to play the game from having that chance. I do blame the producers for no alternates, but I blame someone who doesn’t go through with this a whole lot more. ---
**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:** [January 31, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/18 "2007-01-31T18:02:52Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Where did you get that from? According to [this source](http://entertainmentnow.wordpress.com/2006/12/21/broadcast-tv-ratings-for-the-week-of-1211-to-1217/), the Survivor Cook Islands finale was CBS’s top-rated show for the week among adults 18-49. Fox’s top show for the week was House. Arrested Development isn’t even listed. Besides, if you want to bash people who watch this show, why not take it to the Pit? It is bad Cafetiquette to dump on threads in the manner you have. Edited to add: Oops, sorry, Jayjay. Didn’t see your post in time. [/QUOTE] Not to defend him, but _Arrested Development_ is no longer on the schedule. I think he was saying the ratings share that the Cook Islands finale got was smaller than the average ratings share of _Arrested Development_ when it was on the air. Which is irrelevant in any case, ratings not being fungible. You can’t take the ratings that a show got a year ago and compare them to the ratings that a different show got last week because the outside factors are going to be different. It’s the same reason you don’t take the ratings for _60 Minutes_ on a Superbowl Sunday and compare them to the ratings for the last new episode of _Lost_. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/19 "2007-01-31T19:04:12Z")
Okay. Thanks for that correction, Jayjay. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205/20 "2007-01-31T19:30:11Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Besides, if you want to bash people who watch this show, why not take it to the Pit? It is bad Cafetiquette to dump on threads in the manner you have. [/QUOTE] Yes of course I bashed people who watch the show.. I called them idiots and fools. Oh wait.. I didn’t. I was snarky. Last time I checked was still allowed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suvivor-fiji-or-is-it-survivor-l-a/390205.md?page=2)