Survivor Fiji - Episode 1 Discussion Thread - NO SPOILERS

[dr.strangelove]

Each week I will try to post one of these. The rules are simple, only talk abotu last week's episode or the promo for the next episode. No spoiler discussions as I really hate them. Thanks.

Last night was a good start. I loved that they were all together in teh beginning. I think that will help later in the game when a merge happens. It was so funny how excited they were to have a toilet seat. Sylvia is obviously a good leader, but she probably shot herself early by pissig some people off. Erica was the first they showed playing the game, whihc I liked to see. I think Dream is a great guy and will be fun to watch. Who did not feel bad for Sylvia on the snake infested Exile Island. Her clue to the Immunity Idol seemed weak too. I don;t think she got a lot of bang for her buck.

So our two tribes are Moto: Cassandra, Liliana, Stacy, Lisi, Boo, Alex, Gary, Dre and Edgardo.
Ravu is the other: Michelle, Erica, Jessica, Rita, Earl, Anthony, Yau-Man, Rocky and Mookie.

I think I would have voted off Rita, since she seems to have less physical strength, but ths early, its always about the physical game.

[Qanisqineq]

1. Unfortunately my husband called me while I was watching

and so I missed a whole bunch. Argh, he knew I was gonna watch. I think AFN replays it on Sundays so I'll try to catch it again then.

I would have died if I were Sylvia with all those snakes. Snakes are my biggest phobia. And then to have the clue say "look for the immunity idol back at camp"! How frustrating. Maybe there are too many snakes to have people digging around in the brush. The first thing I thought of when she read that clue was a couple seasons ago -- the ex-quarterback watching the guy looking on the ground for the idol and figuring out where to look. I thought, if she wanders around obviously looking for something, someone else might figure it out! As an entomologist, I'd just say I was looking for bugs (and I probably would be!)

I have a hard time getting into the first few episodes because I can't keep anyone's names straight. :crazy: I didn't see or hear much from my choice Alex. Sometimes they seem to concentrate (from the beginning of the season) on showing people that make it far in the show so I hope that isn't bad news for him and me!

[dr.strangelove]

3. I think pretty soon everyone will know the idol is at camp

those secrets never stay secrets long. Alex looks good to me. He was not annoying anyone and he seemed to do well in the challenge. I wonder if they focus on the eventual final players from early on. I never thought about it. I have Outback at home on DVD. I shoudl look at how much time they spend on Tina and Colby in the first two episodes.

[MemphisTiger]

2. I disagree with the thought that Dreamz is a good guy

if I were out there I would have beat the crap out of him while he was talking to hear himself talk and I was trying to sleep. I think Erica, the black lady with the big hair(?) is playing the game a bit too early and seems to have a bad attitude. Yau-Man is surprisingly cool and of course I picked Rocky so I'm pulling for him, hopefully he learns to keep his mouth shut. I don't think he's going anywhere because he is strong but he needs to tone it down.

Quesion: Are those sea snakes poisonous?

[dr.strangelove]

4. I think some sea snakes are poisonous

I thought I heard the word poison at some point.

[Suich]

5. Some people from Ravu were talking about who to eliminate.....

who said "It's gotta be a girl"???

:grr:

[Qanisqineq]

6. oh, I heard that too!

god I hate that. It always has to be a girl because you know, girls just cannot be good at physical stuff.

:banghead:

[dr.strangelove]

7. I heard that too and got pissed

When you have a show with women like Stephanie, Alicia, Jerri, Amber, Cirie and so many other women who kicked ass, how can you just dismiss someone based on her sex. Bad call.

[MemphisTiger]

9. I didn't see Amber when she was on the regular season

but she didn't impress me phsically on the all-stars season. She rode Rob's coattails.

[dr.strangelove]

10. I guess "coat tails" are how you look at it

I did not see Rob dominate any physical challenges in that All-star season either. He and Amber never won any, as I recall. They used the "outwit" part of the game to get to the finals. If youa re giving all of that to Rob, I think you are being far to kind to Mr. Boston. While he is a fun guy, he relied on Amber to strategize. she is the brains of their operation, IMHO. I guess since its all in the editing, it can only be an opinion influenced by what we saw, but even with that I think Amber deserves far more credit that Rob for that season. If anything, I think he road her coattails as she made most of the tough decisions and he just played the prick that he is.

[MemphisTiger]

12. I agree he wasn't a physical guy even though he was strong

in the physical game, he did the dirty work while she sat back and let him. Did she use him? I don't know, but I don't respect that kind of game personally. I can respect the game Rob played and Ozzy played, both scheming and physical.

[dr.strangelove]

13. I can't respect stupidity

I have no respect for someone who deos great in physical events and never plays the game. I have more respect for someone like Richard or Brian who lets others do the hard work for them and wins in the end. I think tom was the only winner who did it on physical with very little brains. I respect him less then any other winner.

[MemphisTiger]

8. If you play the averages they tend to be less physically strong

for challenges compared to the average man. We are talking about averages here but I remember steph being an animal in challenges a few seasons ago.

The problem I see is that the women tend to make their way to the end by aligning with a physical guy like Becky last season and coast.

[dr.strangelove]

11. I think that is completely untrue

The challenges over the course of a season usually involve very little need for pure physical strength. There are usually a few where pure physical strength is needed. Endurance and agility is usually far more beneficial to the tribe. Getting out difficult knots, having a good strength to weight ratio for rowing and carrying weight and being able to get through tight turns quickly are far more important in this game. I can think of only two challenges (though used twice each) in the game's history where pure strength was needed. The weight games where water or sand bags were added to a bar on a person's back and the hot pursuit game where weighted contestants chase each other around. Even in the wrestling match and the knock the person off the beam challenges, weight to strength ratio and agility proved more valuable.

I would agree that there is a need for some dominating strength. I would keep a few very strong people around for those reasons, but I do not think a team of 8 strong men would win in an average season of challenges, as amazon showed.

I think many people discount heavily the role that different people play int his game. In Rob/amber and in colby/Tine, I would argue that Tina and Amber were far more responsible then the strong male counter for the strategy and they both won in the end. In the Becky/Yao season, I think that was not the case and the strategist won as well. In both the Tina and Amber wins, the jury all commented that Amber and Tina were much more involved in decisions that they let on. It was clear to both juries who were pulling the strings in those seasons. I would also find it difficult to suggest Vecepia did not carry herself to her win. True the purple rock that season made for a very unfair result, Vecepia was an integral part of the shift in control and was integral to moving Neleh and Pascal to her side. She was not attached to a male who carried her. She was part of a group of five that carried themselves to the end. Also Sandra's win was during a season where the biggest physical player was used by the rest. Burton was kept around for his strength until he was no longer needed. It was her and Jonnie Fairplay in control of that game. And Jonnie Fairplay is hardly a big strong man who she hitched her coat tail to.

Anyway, I think the only time a woman hitched herself to a physical guy was Becky last season. In the other seasons, I think strong women, both physically and mentally, have done fine on their own. If I were ot pick my all star tribe, I would start with Kelly from season 1 and Steph from 10 and 11 use them as my goal.