Survivor: Kaoh Rong

[bigpern23]

Haven't seen a thread on this season yet, so thought I'd start it. It's OK so far, nothing mind-blowing, but tribal last night was pretty good in terms of watching someone totally flame out.

Scot Pollard has been very likable and enjoyable to watch so far. He's probably gotten the most screen time. Tai and Caleb's friendship has been funny to watch, and Caleb looks like a legit threat. The Big Brother history may ultimately hold him back, but he seems like a decent player.

No real strong thoughts yet on anyone, which doesn't bode well for a great season, but I'm still enjoying it thus far.

 

[DanOregon]

What made last season so good - the lack of no-hopers and goofballs, makes this season tough to watch. I'd guess maybe four people have a shot, but I'd guess the ice cream guy will win it at this point.

 

[bigpern23]

What made last season so good - the lack of no-hopers and goofballs, makes this season tough to watch. I'd guess maybe four people have a shot, but I'd guess the ice cream guy will win it at this point.

Yeah, agree on the first sentence. Also, there don't seem to be many strategists in this group (at least so far). I don't think anyone would give a former NBA player the $1 million, so I don't think Pollard has a chance, but so far he's been arguably the best player.

Looking at the cast list, not a single player jumps out to me as a potential winner. Last year, I think I had four people in mind who I thought could win after the first two episodes.

 

[MTM]

Too early to tell who the great strategic players are. With the same tribe losing twice, we haven't seen the other ones have to scramble.

I have to imagine crazy cat lady Debbie is first to go from brains, because she annoys everyone.

 

[bigpern23]

Too early to tell who the great strategic players are. With the same tribe losing twice, we haven't seen the other ones have to scramble.

I have to imagine crazy cat lady Debbie is first to go from brains, because she annoys everyone.

She might make final three just because someone is likely to want to sit next to her at final tribal. I don't think that will happen, but I'd bet she makes the merge.

 

[Buck]

She's clearly a nut, and more than a little full of sh#t.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a player sabotage herself the way that woman did.
Just out of the blue, at least the way the edited. Very strange.
And she just kept making it worse and acting stranger.

As crazy as she got, she could've helped them win a challenge, and the guy last week could've helped them.
He had some size. She seemed strong and physically capable.
The blonde girl brings nothing to the team.
They just need to win a challenge.

 

[Pilot]

Last season to this season is apples to oranges just because they were all second-time players, thus ready to play at a much higher level from Day 1.

As for Jenny getting the boot last episode, yeah, that was a hilariously bad tribal council performance. It was funny because I was thinking to myself, "Things haven't gone really south until she has made the full turn from totally safe to begging for 'another chance.'" It was just a matter of time.

She claimed a day later in her exit interviews that her vote out was already a done deal when tribal started, that her mistakes were from earlier in the day, but I don't totally believe her.

 

[Fly]

Kaoh Rong? Was the pilot who flew the contestants and staff in Wi Tu Lo?

 

[TwoGloves]

Some thoughts: Julia has a great rack. Liz has a better rack. Debbie is bat-**** crazy and won't last long. Jason has to be one of the dumbest human beings anywhere to have a severe sunburn and then still walk around with no shirt on. Who the hell let the old guy be in charge of the kerosene?

 

[Huggy]

The premiere allowed me to enjoy one of the my fave things about this show: the desperate rush to make alliances with people you met five minutes ago.

 

[bigpern23]

This week's episode was pretty dull. And it was frustrating that, without a reward challenge, they spent 45 minutes showing a lot of strategizing and such, only for it all to become meaningless when Neal got pulled off the island. Goes to show good tribal council has been for the past few seasons that the show really suffered without it.

Things are getting tight now, with Neal becoming the first member of the jury, and I still don't have a clear guess of who will win.

Possible winners:
Cydney - strong, athletic and smart enough to contend for individual immunity, has a strong alliance, hasn't pissed anyone off.
Michele - Much smarter than partner Nick. He's been going on and on about getting rid of Brawn, but she was smart enough to talk him into keeping around the rich NBA player and unlikable bounty hunter. Ultimately, Neal's medical situation forced their hand, but it showed she's got a good handle on strategy of the game.

Unlikely, but possible:
Tai - Good alliance with Scot, has an idol, super likable, great around camp. Downside is, he's sooooooo likable, I think other players will realize they'd be stupid to take him to final tribal because if he gets that far, he's going to win.
Debbie - She's super annoying and completely off her rocker, which might make other players decide to take her along. She's actively playing the game, and may be able to build a resume of big moves she can take credit for. Downside is she's way overconfident and doesn't pick up on social cues as well as she thinks she does.
Nick - Also actively playing and could build a resume. Seems good in challenges and is always a threat for immunity. Downside is he's also pretty arrogant and looks primed to be blindsided (probably by Michele).
Julia - She's cute, likable and hasn't annoyed anyone. Downside is, she hasn't done much of anything, doesn't seem to be a threat in challenges and is generally a non-entity.

Not much of a chance:
Scot - He's playing a pretty good game (though he might have slipped up by telling Nick about Tai and Jason's idols), he's a physical threat, has a strong alliance. If he makes the final, I think he'd probably be deserving. However, I don't see the jury giving $1M to a millionaire professional athlete.
Jason - He's got an idol and he's unlikable enough to make final tribal, however, juries don't usually give the money to the unlikable player (Tony over Woo being a notable recent exception). Jason will have to build a resume of moves that were HIS, not his, Scot and Cydney's if he's going to win.
Aubry - Such a wet blanket. Seems like the obvious next target.
Joe - Not enough finesse. He'll never pull of a big move that he orchestrates. His confrontation with Peter showed he's not savvy enough to outwit the group. If he thought Peter was coming after him, he'd have been better served orchestrating a blind side, rather than confronting Peter about it.

 

[Iron_chet]

I saw an interview with Pollard and he really pushed that he was doing Survivor because he needed the money, said divorce and kids had used up his cash.

He came across as fairly unlikable which I found odd because I remember him doing his Harry Caray impression on an NBA broadcast and he seemed to have a bit of charm/charisma. That being said his Harry Caray impression was the same on we were all doing which was impersonating Will Ferrel on SNL.

 

[DanOregon]

I had Neal winning the thing. Seemed like he could bring people together. Oops. It could be interesting with 4 beauty, 3 brains and 3 brawn.
I wouldn't want Tai next to me in the final. After that it seems pretty even. On the other end, I think I'd want Debbie, Joe or the pretty boy next to me.

 

[bigpern23]

I had Neal winning the thing. Seemed like he could bring people together. Oops. It could be interesting with 4 beauty, 3 brains and 3 brawn.
I wouldn't want Tai next to me in the final. After that it seems pretty even. On the other end, I think I'd want Debbie, Joe or the pretty boy next to me.

I would probably want Debbie and Jason sitting next to me. Debbie is so crazy, I don't think anyone would find her answers to questions to be believable and she'd probably come across as a combination of pompous and delusional. Jason has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way and I don't think anyone would end up voting for him.

 

[MTM]

I told my wife that all the Survivors this year are either unlikable or invisible. Some, such as Michelle and Julia, have gotten very little screen time. Not much of Cydney either, and she's the only pleasant Brawn player.

 

[bigpern23]

I told my wife that all the Survivors this year are either unlikable or invisible. Some, such as Michelle and Julia, have gotten very little screen time. Not much of Cydney either, and she's the only pleasant Brawn player.

This has definitely been downer of a season compared to last season.

I'm not sure I like the Brains/Beauty/Brawn division of players. They end up talking too much about it and it gets repetitive. Jason talking about pushing geeks in lockers is a pretty good example. It was a pretty good line, but I doubt he ever says something like that if not for being named to the Brawn tribe.

If there is a real social division among those types of people, it would be more interesting to see that happen organically. In a 10-person tribe, do the better looking people naturally band together? Do the smarter people tend to join up?

 

[Iron_chet]

Half way thru the episode and I am stunned at what a pair ofmorons Pollard and Jason are.

Nothing like giving the remaining people a common enemy.

 

[DanOregon]

Ditching the machete and ax was so dumb. That it was DISCUSSED blew my mind. Okay, and then what happens? It wasn't like they weren't going to be targeted anyway - only now A) it came off as petty and kind of tipped their hand and B) probably cost them the $1 million. Debbie didn't seem to listen to anyone. If she quit talking about what an expert she is in everything, maybe she would have picked up on the vibe.

 

[Doom and gloom]

This season should be called Survivor: Divas, Dumbasses and Dip****s.

 

[WCIBN]

Ditching the machete and ax was so dumb. That it was DISCUSSED blew my mind. Okay, and then what happens? It wasn't like they weren't going to be targeted anyway - only now A) it came off as petty and kind of tipped their hand and B) probably cost them the $1 million. Debbie didn't seem to listen to anyone. If she quit talking about what an expert she is in everything, maybe she would have picked up on the vibe.

Even if Scott Pollard possessed the mental game of Cochran, the challenge ability of Ozzy, the likeability of Colby Donaldson and the BS-ing ability of Boston Rob (which he doesn't), he had no chance of winning the game as soon as all of them found out he played in the NBA for 11 seasons. None of them would hand a $1 million prize to a guy that already banked $38+ million even if he deserved it.