Survivor China - Final Episode Discussion Thread - THE WINNER IS ???

[dr.strangelove]

WOW, what a total surprise. I have to tip my hat to Todd. I can not figure out why he got votes over Amanda, who I thought was clearly the better player. I can;t figure out what turned them off, other than the Doe Eyes.

Overall, a good episode. The Jury was a little too kind. I like Denise for being hard on them all. Todd was brilliant. JR is an ass for gettign mad that they bet him and fallign for Todd's crap. But oh well.

Another season. I think next season will be the last one. Its a mini -all-star with a team of old survivors agaisnt a team of big fans of the show. That will be fun to watch, but its a sign that the show has run its course. I bet next year is it. Of course I would rather have it keep going.

[MaineDem]

1. I turned it off as soon as Todd won

I couldn't watch his smug little face another minute.

I think the finale was a disappointment. Every year I say I won't watch it again and, well, here I am at another final tribal. :D

Back to the Amazing Race, which, by the way, I'm extremely upset they pre-empted this week for Survivor.

Congratulations to Todd/...I guess. :evilgrin:

[devilgrrl]

2. You and me both...

what a little twit he is... hope he ends up like that asshat Richard Hatch.

[qanda]

3. Amanda completely fell apart at the final tribal council

I, for the life of me, can't understand why she wasn't hammering Todd. I think what turned the jury off is finding out that she *was* a player in the game. Everyone probably thought it was Todd's idea to get rid of James and learning that it was Amanda, more than likely put her in a very bad light. I read something over at TWOP that I whole-heartedly agree with-- women don't do well as schemers on Survivor. I had never really thought about it before, but men are definitely more likely than women to gain respect and get further in the game if they lie and scheme.

Sorry to see Todd win, but by the end, I really didn't care who won. I liked James a lot more last night for him not being bitter and also what he said about the women at the gravesite-- that was very nice.

[truebrit71]

4. Cannot believe that Todd won...what a rat...I figured that Amanda was the sure-fire winner..

...but she was dreadful at the Final Tribal...

I sincerely hope that next season isn't the last one..I am absolutely hooked and would miss it ebery Thursday. I don't think the CBS would allow this particular cash cow go out to pasture...

Kudos for James...really, REALLY dumb not to use the idols...but an all-around great guy...bets on whether he's in the next survivor?

Denise would have had it if she hadn't whined to Amanda about her financial situation...Amanda was still the dummy for not having gotten rid of Todd earlier...

[Duer 157099]

5. What a strange episode eh?

All in all, I was glad that Todd won, because he really did play the game, thoroughly, from the start.

Amanda really blew it, I was surprised that she didn't win, but after watching the episode, wasn't surprised. Meaning, she blew it in a very very short time! Her fatal mistake was telling Denise that she "had her back" (!!) even though she didn't exactly say that but she seemed to agree with it -- and she did outright lie because I'm sure that she told Denise that she WOULD NOT be voting for her -- and yet that's exactly what she did. She should have just been forthright about it and told her the truth, why not, what did she have to lose? That one move undermined her own confidence in herself, which was what led to her loss, imho.

It really irked me when Denise tried to play the sympathy card! Lame, lame, lame!

And when Todd said that he had been playing to JR's ego, I just didn't buy it -- I thought Todd was being sincere when he said that (at final jury, that he had to get rid of JR because he was a big threat), because I remember that episode when JR approached Todd and how Todd commented about it -- it was consistent with what he said during final jury. That was the one small thing that dinged Todd for me -- seems that he played that (after the fact, when it made no difference at all to the game!) solely for his own ego, to make JR think that he played him. Or am I just too gullible?

I was almost positive that JR was going to vote for Courtney just to piss everyone off! And I would have been.

Denise voting for Courtney was PETTY and dishonest -- what did Denise have against Todd??

Anyway, I think at least the one thing everyone on the planet can agree on is the James/idol thing... that will forever remain a massive :wtf:

[liberalnurse]

12. I agree.......He initally was scanned as a weakling by others

but he indeed played a full strategy....He earned it. :toast:

[lpbk2713]

6. Did they announce the location of the next Survivor?

I turned it off right after they said that little twerp Todd was the winner. I was rooting for PG and then for Amanda.

[bullwinkle428]

8. Next Survivor will take place in Micronesia - "Fans vs. Fan Favorites"

Apparently, one tribe is composed of supposedly long-time hardcore fans of the show, while the other tribe will be another "All-Star" team of sorts, taken from all of the previous seasons, including at least one player from this past China season.

[Qanisqineq]

7. I was kind of hoping Todd would win

I liked the guy. He was a schemer and a Survivor fan. A jerk at times but not too much of a jerk. I don't like when people say, "oh, I'd never seen Survivor until I was asked to be on it." Aren't there more Survivor fans applying? I'm glad a big Survivor fan won.

I liked Jaime's question at the tribal council. At first it seemed to not go well but she kept pressing the three and I liked the banter that started to come out of it. Turned out kind of funny to listen to.

Courtney got 2 votes -- I was stunned. Two and Amanda only got one? She didn't do anything except complain! She annoyed me with her complaining but she ticked me off when she said Denise "sucks at life". She sure did look different at the reunion show. With that haircut I wouldn't have recognized her except I knew the blonde had to be Courtney.

I wish the reunion shows didn't have so many commercials -- they can hardly talk to the people. I like to hear about everyone, even the guy that was only there for one episode. Anyone remember the early seasons where Bryant Gumble did the reunion? I thought of that tonight and was laughing.

Anyone hear about this thing with Denise? How the school superintendent says she did not lose her job/get demoted to janitor?

[Goblinmonger]

9. Here is part of the School District's press release

“…stated that she was demoted from her position as a cafeteria worker upon her return from taping the show. This statement is false. In fact, Mrs. Martin held a full-time position as a custodian prior to her participation in the series, and she returned to this same position upon her return from China. Mrs. Martin was granted — at her request — an unpaid leave of absence so that she could participate in the ‘Survivor’ program. We were pleased and excited to support Denise, and have enthusiastically cheered her on throughout the duration of the show.

Although Mrs. Martin was a cafeteria employee prior to her selection as a contestant, she asked to be considered for a promotion to full-time custodian, and was promoted to this position on March 30, 2007. This promotion came with additional benefits and a higher salary. Following her leave, she then returned to this same position.

Regretfully, the Douglas Public School District was inaccurately portrayed as failing to be accommodating to an employee during what the District viewed as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ opportunity. This is far from the case. On the contrary, we granted all requests made by Mrs. Martin so that she could participate in the ‘Survivor’ series. Since Mrs. Martin was on an approved leave, her position was held open for her, and she returned to this same position upon her return from China. As a District, we make every effort to support our employees, and will continue to do so.”

http://tv.popcrunch.com/survivor-china-denise-martin-not-demoted-to-janitor-video/

Wonder what Miss High-and-Mighty You-Lied-To-Me has to say about that? Wonder if Burnett will still give her the $50,000? Wonder if she really will get fired now that she has pissed off her employer?

[Duer 157099]

10. Interesting. But I think there's more to it than what's being said

My interpretation is that she may have the same position, pay-wise, but that she no longer works in the cafeteria because it was distracting to the kids (?). They probably reassigned her to other duties, such as cleaning bathrooms or whatever, and those duties are probably not during regular school hours, which seemed to be what she was complaining about.

So, I think she was pissed that her job duties changed and may impact her home life since her schedule no longer synchs with her kids' and so perhaps in her mind, she needs to find another job.

I can see how she would feel that way. Even though she was nearly my least favorite person on the show, especially in the last episode...

[Suich]

11. Congratulations to babylonsister!!!

Amanda got screwed. The reason Denise ended up in 4th place is entirely her own fault, not Amanda's. She should have voted with PG and Erik and gotten rid of Todd when they had the chance. I'm still not sure what Courtney and Denise did that qualifies as "Outwit, & Outplay." Courtney was mostly eye-rolling, pouting and complaining. Who else voted for her besides Denise, anyway? And Jean Rob-urt, you weren't voted off because you were a threat. You were voted off because you were annoying everyone! IMO, the best strategic play was Amanda convincing everyone to blind-side James.
Did Probst really ask Erik, on national tv, if he was still a virgin??? Cheesy.

Here's a link to a story about Denise: (The comments are pretty interesting.)

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2007/12/school-superint.html

Thanks to aikoaik for posting the link in the Lounge yesterday!

[babylonsister]

13. Thanks! I still have yet to see it; will be watching the rerun this weekend. nt