Survivors Strike Back Blog: Episode 1513

Well its hard to believe another season is over and it was a good one with a real good ending. Todd totally ruled the tribal council. He played JR like a pro and all of the rest of his answers were fanstastic. Todd totally deserved to win.
Amanda I was with you until you started whining at TB, you totally blew it there with your answers...besides not voting with Denise to get Todd out with a tie. If you would have had a tie, Todd had more votes then any one else, and you would have been in a much better position to win.
Courtney you had a good ride on everybody else's dime. What more could be said than that.
Denise, the game is over and all the lying is supposed to stop. But you just sent one of the biggest lies out to national tv. Hopefully MB can get a stop payment on his checks, that would be the right thing to do. Get a haircut, dye your hair, and just disappear. That would be the best suggestion that I could give to you. Did you honestly think that nobody would check out your story? Many people do mimmium and menial jobs but they do them with dignity and dont try to scam the whole country!!! That is the problem with the country, everybody thinks they don't have to say they are sorry until they get caught, but then "I'm sorry" just doesn't cover it, it is not a catch all for this big of misrepresentation of the truth. SHAME!!!!!!!SHAME !!!!!SHAME!!!!!!
We'll talk to everyone next season. Everybody have a great Holiday!

P Smurf out

Congrats to Todd. The man knew what he wanted from the start. At times it was a winding road, but he constantly kept the goal in sight. Having studied the game from a strategic standpoint for so long gave him an insight that was unprecedented.

Most of us show up with a game plan that may, after many morphs, guide us along to a pretty good finish. Todd's game plan laid the foundation for a one million dollar payoff, that culminated with a flawless performance at the final tribal.It seemed to me to be a well choreographed finish. It was as if he willed the questions asked, and had rehearsed the answers beforehand.
Nice job!!! Bravo Zulu !! Shit Hot !!

I can't help to think why finalists are not better prepared to enter the final tribal. It should be part of everyone's plan as they realize they are getting close to the final 5. If you're not thinking about it, than you shouldn't be there. I'm talking about a statement that includes everyone, and an answer for every contingency. It's inconceivable, you've got the time, make the plan! It's the reason Todd won and the reason Amanda lost ! And the reason Courtney was satisfied in just relying on her "winning personality". Hey !! What Da Fung !! The "I hate kids comment was her third strike, so don't get me started !"

Amanda, like it or not, made the most strategic play in the whole game, and Todd should remain thankful for it. Having James out of the game made it a no brainer for "the four". Amanda, fell into a major "guilt trap", and along with Courtney, could not put together a real good reason why she belonged there. It was not a pretty sight to watch. Here she is, a totally strong woman, helping to guide the entire show, who ended up folding like a beach chair in the final tribal. Dam !!!

In the long run, nobody could stand up to the Todd onslaught. He earned it !

Congrats to the SEG and CBS team for another great season. The blogs are alive with tales of total mayhem and a level of unpredictability never seen for the next season. Can't wait !

Six is clear,
TD

The final three, the questions and answers came and went. I thought Amanda absolutely bombed on answering questions and on her opening statement. She won a great immunity
At the end and could of made some better moves, but took the eventual winner to the end.

When Amanda talked to Denise before tribal, it was obvious Amanda only thought about Denise getting the sympathy vote. How could she not? Denise basically told her she would be getting the sympathy vote by saying, “this it for me, you guys are all young”, “I’m just a lunch lady”. I kept thinking don’t say that, it hurts your argument to stay.
Hey it worked for Mark Burnett right? Not

Courtney didn’t do what I expected either. She was just happy at where she ended up. She didn’t really answer the questions that well either. If she had, she may have swayed some votes. Courtney was fun though. Keeps it real.

Last weeks blog- I said it. Todd knows how to get his point across and he did.
THE BEST: Making Jean Robert actually believe that Todd voted him out because he was the biggest threat. That is how to stroke an ego. Good job Todd.

Happy Holidays to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HATS OFF TO TODD, THE ULTIMATE SURVIVOR! It all came down to Twiggy’s “Slimmy Little Sucker”, Todd, and her own “winning personality”. For the second time in Survivor history, a GAY man has won the million! However, there are some major differences in Todd’s game and that of Richard Hatch. We never saw Todd get naked, although it would probably have been far more rewarding that enduring Richard’s incessant need to bear his butt. We also never had to endure endless litany about Todd’s “gayness”. While we all know he is gay, Todd’s game was never about his sexual preferences. He simply did what is essential in this game. He formed a strong alliance in the very beginning of the game and he stuck with it through hell and high water. While we got to hear his wise cracks privately, he remained kind in camp. He was a pleasant person to everyone, doing his best to make everyone happy. That paid off in the end. At one point it appeared that Todd had lost his mind in giving the immunity idol to James, but the God’s prevailed. What’s more important, Todd never had a fit and fell in it, when James didn’t offer to share at least one of the idols. I’ll bet Courtney was right , “An angry Todd is a bad Todd”. However, Todd maintained self control throughout the entire game, and proved himself to be one of the smartest players to ever enter the game.
Todd told the truth at Tribal, unlike whining Amanda. Sorry, Girlfriend. You dropped down a peg or two at Tribal. Todd made no apologies for his game. The boy’s been studying the game since he was a small kid. This game was almost his life study, and it paid off. Todd is a poignant example of the power of intention and focus.
Boo Hoo, Boo Hoo, Denise. Married with children and working for $7 bucks an hour. Is that really the reason we should vote to give you a million bucks? The bitter grapes at the reunion show was understandable in relation to being demoted from lunch room lady to grave yard shift toilet cleaning. It was not becoming in relation to the game. Denise was a lucky girl to make it as far as she did. While I hated to hear her victim speech, I gotta’ admit, it worked! It got Mark Burnett to give her Fifty big G’s!
Here’s the real deal with Denise. Her school didn’t take her off the lunch line because she was popular with the kids. They kicked her ass down the food chain for appearing on national television in her panties and bra. They probably wanted to fire her, but it would have brought bad publicity. Here’s the deal, Denise. It’s not like you lost a $100,000 a year job. You’re making minimum wages. Apply at Walmart, or any of hundreds of other minimum wage jobs. Get off your pity pot, lick your wounds, and then just “get over it”. We’ve all had our Survivor crosses to bear. I lost some good speaking gigs over being “outted” at the Reunion show. However, I also meet thousands of wonderful people who don’t judge people by whom they love or what they look like in their underwear. I’ll forever be grateful for the amazing experience of Survivor and the opportunity to be known intimately by so many. Thanks again to the incredible team that makes this game work. Eric is a doll, but I still don't believe he's a virgin. Over and Out! See ya' next season.

JEFF PROBST TOTALLY ASKED ERIK IF HE WAS A VIRGIN ON LIVE TV! Okay… aside from being utterly, inexcusably gauche, that was all kinds of awesome. I mean, it’s not like you weren’t thinking it, too, so back off! I am always first in line at the “Complain about Probst” counter, but I thought he completely rocked the reunion show. Taking Denise to task for her lack of strategy, calling out James about his two idols, letting Jean-Robert know he’d been played, asking Courtney about her weight… say what you want about Jeff, but he absolutely asks the questions you want asked (or are mortified to imagine being asked). I mean, there’s only so much I can take of “So, [arbitrary juror], tell us what you learned about yourself! Say, that’s great! Hey there, [pre-jury contestant], was it worth it? Haha, oh, you scamp!” So when Jeff asks questions that make we wince in embarrassment, I think everyone’s a winner. So, thank you, Jeff, for owning that reunion. Now, about your choice of hats…

Anyhow, a huge congratulations to Todd, who has been a fan of the show since the first season. That’s incredibly exciting for him, and it’s really fun to see someone who is so into the show actually win. I have to say, I think the way he handled Jean-Robert was pretty deft, considering you knew Todd believe precisely 0% of what he was saying. But he knew how to get J-R’s vote, and if you have to eat a little crow before eating a lot of caviar, by all means, go for it. Like you, Jenna, I was so sure Amanda was going to win, but then when she picked Todd alone for the reward, and then told Denise she wouldn’t vote for her, I kind of knew Amanda’s game was over. Plus, she completely bombed in front of the jury. What was up with that? I’d think a pageant queen would be more eloquent in front of a jury. As soon as she started apologizing, all I could think was “Stop talking… stop talking… stop talking…” There are times when apologizing is appropriate (“Sorry I mentioned your poor prognostication in my last blog post, boss!” for example… hypothetically…), but when it just comes across as “Wow, I made so many mistakes, and I really regret a lot of the decisions I made,” you don’t look contrite, you look weak. So that was a disappointing showing from Amanda, but Courtney made up for it by far exceeding my expectations. I thought she presented a really practical argument for herself, and I loved the way she handled the questions from Jaime and Frosti, in particular. Also, James deserves a whole boatload of credit for being so good-natured about his legendary blunder, and I enjoyed the fact that he was anything but bitter on the jury.

Which brings me to Denise…

I… okay… I mean… she seems like a wonderful, wonderful lady and an incredibly loving mother and wife. And ultimately, that’s what really matters. But as a competitor on Survivor? I just couldn’t take it anymore. She KNEW she was going out in fourth place since AT LEAST the episode Erik was voted out. So when she turned on the pity party, I was just not having any of it at all. It would have been a whole lot easier to swallow had she not UTTERLY squandered any of the at least THREE opportunities she had been given to advance to Final 3 (with Erik and PG, with Amanda and PG, and with Todd and Courtney). And yes, loyalty is important, but why did she think Amanda and Todd should be any more loyal to her than to Courtney, whom they had also been aligned with since the beginning? Loyalty gets you to Final 4; after that, it really has to be every contestant playing his or her own game. And I realize Denise doesn’t have it in her to betray an alliance, but then she really has no leg to stand on getting indignant about going out in fourth. If you’re not going to look out for yourself, and you’re not on any higher rung of the ladder than any other member of your alliance, then… what are you hoping for? An immunity win? Fine. But don’t get pissy when you don’t win immunity and are promptly dispatched. And I’m not even going to touch that whole letter-from-the-superintendent thing (which you can see on Entertainment Weekly’s homepage, as of late-night Monday), because that’s a whole mess o’ awkward that I don’t want to get involved in.

So here’s looking forward to next season! Can’t wait to see some fan favorites back on the show… should be a good one! See you there.

Another season gone just like that. What can I say I really enjoyed this season. A great location, interesting cast and a winner I LOVE.

Going into the finale I thought that Amanda was looking like she was going to take the win because of her edit and they were starting to make Todd look like Rob C, you know the really smart player that goes down to early. But then as things started to shape up you could really see that Todd was sneaky but respected for how he played.

And I hate to skip to the final tribal council but I hate that fallen comrades crap and the final TC is the best. I thought Courtney gave some great answers and I just love when she stuck it to Jamie's question. We always have one bitter jury member and Jamie took that prize last night. She just wanted them to talk crap on each other and it blew up in her face. Courtney gave those answers I always wish a survivor would give. Lets face it Survivor was not built for Courtney but she sure gave the show a run for its money and made it farther than everyone but Todd and Amanda and it is was fun to watch her experience Survivor through her eyes. Now on the other hand Amanda might as well had just told the jury before the questions started to not bother voting for her because her answers we SO bad, I mean I can't remember seeing someone choke so bad at these questions for a long time. She was flipping back and forth between saying she was playing fair, then lying, but only saying she wanted to not vote people off but had to, it was hard to keep track. Plus her face just looked like defeat and guilt.
But Todd oh Todd did he give the right answers. Here is the deal Survivor is a GAME, you are allowed to lie and cheat Denise, its OK Santa will still bring you presents not coal, and you know why. ITS A GAME. Todd played the way the game was meant to be played, he lied, he backstabbed, he kept a great alliance, and always made sure he knew what was going on. Watching him was like watching Rob C play the game and we all know Rob C was amazing at the game when we played in Amazon. It was good to see a lifelong fan win this season not someone who works at the saddle ranch in LA. Todd was a student of the game and played it well, he made all of us watching proud. Welcome to the winners club Todd! Enjoy the ride you deserve it.

Then we get to the reunion show and hear about Denise being demoted, I felt so bad for her and was so glad Mark B gave her some cash. Then I wake up this morning reading a press release from her school saying that she was actually promoted and everything she said on the show was a lie!!! WHAT Denise Survivor is over, and you don't want to play Mark Burnett, that is a battle you won't win.

So next season is fans versus favorites, who knew?! :) I think that season is going to be good, but its just a hunch.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Holidays.