Top 9 Survivor Seasons

Since I've been away for so long I've decided to do my top 9 favorite Survivor Seasons.

1. Borneo- of course the 1st season is going to top the list, it started everything.  One reason why this season always goes to the top  is Richard Hatch. Hatch is the original winner and is just an amazing player. He sort of 'founded' the idea of the alliance on Survivor and this has since spiraled out further as the seasons have progressed. Hatch helped make the season amazing, but I was always a big fan of Kelly as a kid. She was tough and competed against the boys and won constantly. I just loved how this season progressed and thought that it was the perfect first season to this amazing show. 
2. Amazon- this season was pretty good and everytime I watch it, it just gets better and better to me. I think it introduced an amazing player to the show (Rob C.) and just brought a new element to the game. I think this season is somewhat underrated due to the final two, no offense to Jenna M. and Matthew, but  Rob C. played the most overt strategic game this season. Rob C. made the game interesting and still had a chance to win at the end, this is not usually the case. As the player who plays the most openly strategic game generally is not respected enough at the end of the game to actually get votes from the jury. 
3. Fans vs Favorites- this season was awesome!! It had an interesting concept of having fans play favorites, currently Survivor is trying to do this concept again, but with not as much success. I think the original Fans vs Favorites was so successful, because the Favorites that were cast, were actually players and not characters.  The players are who I as a viewer want to see. If I want to see a cast of characters, then I'll watch a scripted show. Reality TV is to see people play a game in my opinion. Save the characters for the scripted shows and the players for reality TV, please. 
4. All-Stars-i like this season a lot, but partly due to the DVD. This DVD release of the season has the most commentaries per season. with only around 4 episodes not having a commentary.  This season had game play and also let Boston Rob make a name for himself, because in my opinion he would not have been asked back to other seasons based solely on Marquesas.  This season was just very different than the ones before it and that made it interesting to watch, and re-watch.  I would know I re-watch this season very frequently. 
5. Tocantins-this season is high on my list because it had everything that a Survivor fan wants to see. Characters, game play, stupid moves, and really cute boys. This season just had a mixture of good things, while it did bring Coach to the Survivor world it also brought J.T. and Tyson as well. I can get over Coach for Tyson's witty comebacks. This season might be a little underrated due to the winner being perceived to win just by being likable, but J.T. had some strategy and good plans.
6. Cook Islands- this season brought me one of my current favorite players-Jonathan Penner. This man is hysterical and so very smart. I think this man is awesome and want to see him play a little more, but not too much. Also you can't discount a season that spawned 3 favorites in the original Fans vs Favorites season and 1 returnee in Heroes vs Villains. Go Cook Islands...you spawned many amazing players and also were interesting to watch to boot.
7. Vanuatu-this season had some amazing moments that after watching the DVD I have come to appreciate more. Eliza is still one of the most opinionated and paranoid players to date.  I don't think winner Chris gets enough credit for how he played, he truly manipulated people. Manipulating people, I think takes more skill than outright lying to someone. Being manipulative is a little harder and really anyone can lie. Chris manipulated the women at the end and then Twila before the final tribal council. This season had a lot more game play with subtlety and less people going on immunity runs, which makes the game a little more compelling to watch, than just win and pick everybody else off.
8. Redemption Island- Boston Rob owned this season, right from the start.  This was his season to lose and he won it outright. This season had one of my all time favorite moments, Russell got voted out!! I hate Russell and Boston Rob winning was one of the best moments of the series.  This season brought many people back for Fans vs Favorites season 2  and the players seemed to redeem themselves, since on Redemption Island everyone seemed to be Boston Rob's puppet. 
9. Philippines- this season makes the list partly due to Jonathan Penner and Mike Skupin being on the show.  I love these two players and I think that they were amazing to watch. I thought this season was fun and interesting, I couldn't stop trying to figure out who would win, you can track my thought process as to who I thought would win this show through the blog. Denise winning was awesome and I loved it. She was a great player and very subtle. I love it when the subtle players win, because it shows that the jury actually knew what was going on and didn't vote for the person who they thought was pulling the strings but the actual puppeteer. 

So there is my top 9 favorite seasons of Survivor let me know what you think. 

Hibernated for the Winter....but now I'm back for (kinda)Spring

It's been a long time since I've posted.... and I'm really sorry, but I'm back. Yeah! So just to comfort you that I really am going to stay and post more often, I'm planning out some blogs now.  I want to rank some more of my favorite things and I think lists were easier to follow and start up with Survivor comparisons. I'm really sorry that I didn't start from the beginning so I could track how far off my predictions were. I just wanted to check back in with you guys and let you know that I'm going to start blogging again. So look back and their will be some posts coming, maybe even right after this post. I will try to never leave you alone for this long ever again. I thank you for sticking by me and not leaving. Thanks for staying and I will be posting and waiting to hear from you. 

Goodbye Penner.....

Abi makes a play(what!)

Abi finally made a plan, without someone else to guide her.  This is the first move that Abi has made by herself.   Abi decided in the auction to wait for an advantage and spend all of her money on that.  The only problem I have with this move is that the allaince should have jumped at the chance.  This is the faltal flaw that the allaince made in this episode. If the allaince would have anticipated this item coming up for auction, then Penner might still be there.  Bad move from the allaince, but great money spent by Abi. The money bought Abi a spot in the finals of the immunity challenge.  Without this money, Abi is probably out in the first two rounds. So good play Abi, but I still hope you go home. 

Penner takes a bow

Penner is gone! This makes me so sad, I was rooting for Penner all the way.  He played a great game and actually one of the most straight-up games he has played during his time on Survivor. However, since he played a straight-up game he made several mistakes, that cost him the money.  Penner didn't take the final four deal with Lisa and Michael, this ended up costing him the most.  If Penner would have taken the deal, then it would have been Denise going home, assuming that Malcolm would have played his idol.  I wanted Penner to make it to the end this time.  He was playing a good game and made a lot of good moves, but alas it was not meant to be. Maybe next time Penner, and I can't wait to hear your jury question. 

Lisa's flip-flopping ways

Of all the people on this season that dive me crazy Lisa takes the cake.  Lisa says she loves the game, but then says this game isn't for her.  She tries to play the game but then she feels bad and tells Penner that he is going home.  This drives me crazy and I'm surprised the castaways didn't just flip the script on Lisa and vote her out.  Yes she's a nice lady and you might have a chance against her in the finals but she's such a wild card that her cons outweigh her pros.  Lisa needs to go, she can't commit to a plan and keep her mouth shut.  Please let Lisa be the next person to go, please.  I want Lisa to go so some other people can stay (Denise, Malcolm, and Carter)

The Survivor catch-up blog

Abi vs. Dangrayne

In the last episode, Abi talked about how she didn't know how she was preceived by the tribe. She also said one of those famous lines that makes me laugh everytime, "I am very loved by my family and friends" or something to that effect.  This makes me laugh, because of course your family and friends love you that's why they are your family and friends.  Telling people this on Survivor is somewhat of a moot point.  I originally thought that some of her problems with other castaways could be attributed to her youth, but then  I found out that she is 32, so that blows my theory out of water. She does look really young, in my defense.  Abi just doesn't get certain things and know that I know her age I find her attitude to just be awful. Really you don't want to cook anymore, but you do want to eat? Get up off your but and help or just don't say anything at all.  Good luck winning Survivor Abi, maybe Angie will give you cookies.  

Pete and Artis take the fall

Pete and Artis have fallen victim to what I call the 'Abi disease'.  The 'Abi disease' stems from her not knowing how to interact with the other castaways.  Now it was brought up in the last episode that it could be cultural and yes that is probably part of it but not all of it.  Pete and Artis did choose to align with Abi and did choose to act the way they did towards Mike, RC and Lisa.  I'm not saying that the others are saints or angels and have never done anything wrong, but I maintain that no one deserves to be ostracized from a team ever.  Be cordial to people and treat them the way you want to be treated.  Back to Pete and Artis, I wish Abi would have been the first to go.  

Penner's Mistake?

Penner is redeeming himself this time.  He came in with a reputation of being a snake and  has actually been playing on the level.  However, Penner maybe so obsessed with playing on the level that he isn't making moves that would help him win the game.  For example, not taking a final four deal when asked and wanting to stick to what the alliance said they would do.  This is not a good move, especially since now he is on the outs of the alliance of six.   

Lisa- Power Player?

Lisa has surprisingly come to forefront as a power player.  I don't know how this happened but it did.  I have nothing against Lisa but it seems that she comes in and out of playing the game.  She has moments where she wants to stay loyal but moments where she wants to get rid of a strong player.  It seems that everyone wants Lisa to stay around but I don't know if she will go to finals.  Lisa might win because she is so well liked.  Denise is also very well liked but she has a better chance of winning than Lisa.  Denise can win her way to the end, while Lisa might not be able to.  Lisa has stepped up to the plate and made some game altering moves. 

The Challenge episode 7- Word of the Day:Respect

Sorry it's been a while, time got away from me last week, as well as not having a lot to say about the episode. So here are my thoughts on episode 7. 

Brooklyn finally wins!!!

Yeah!!! Brooklyn won a challenge!!! I was so excited to see that someone from the alliance didn't win.  What was more exciting was that this challenge was based purely on performance.  The time for the alliance has finally ended.  This challenge and the insane games are the first challenges that having an alliance didn't help you in the actual challenge.  This is refreshing from the past challenges, where being in an alliance can dictate the winner.  If this challenge is any indication of the final, which it seems like it might be, San Diego has no chance of winning the final.  Unless they get their crap together, San Diego will not win.  They can't communicate and can't keep calm during a challenge. These elements combine to mean that they won't win a final. 

So long NOLA

I was sad to see NOLA go.  I wis that is would have been Sam and Frank in the elimination, just because I want to see Frank go.  Frank is cocky and thinks that he deserves to make it to the end of the challenge.  Frank, I wish that I could send just you home.  Send Frank home and bring in Nate.  I think that Nate is the only guy left from San Diego, so he would be the only person that could come on as a replacement.  So sad to see NOLA go, come back and take Frank with you, please!

The Challengers version of RESPECT

This season the competitors have an interesting version of respect.  From the way that Camilla treated Eric during their arena.  Now, there's the way that Frank and Zach treated Sam.  TJ called it right, when under pressure, how you treat each other matters-a lot.  By not being able to make it through this challenge without yelling at each other, how are you going to make it through a final as a team.  Cancun had the right idea, if your teammate can't make it through a challenge, then help them.  That's the best thing you can do.  Don't yell at them and make them want to shut down, but encourage them to keep going.  San Diego, take a cue from Cancun and St. Thomas: don't yell and scream at each, but instead come together and be a team.  

Challenge MVP-

This week's Challenge MVP is a tie between Sam and Sara.  Sam because she stood up for herself during the challenge and then owned up to her performance not being up to par in the challenge.  Sam might not be able to carry logs up a hill but that's no excuse to yell at  her.  In fact I think she did what Ashley can't, put feelings aside and won in the arena.  I don't have that much faith in Ashley and I think the only reason she didn't get yelled at during this challenge was Sam's performance.  Sara is the MVP for Brooklyn.  Sara gets the credit for Brooklyn based on her confessional about putting the puzzle together at the log station instead of waiting to do this at the top of the hill.  This might not have been her idea, but she gets the credit.  

If They are Smart....

Now time for if they are smart!! If the challengers are smart, they will go after Cancun.  Cancun works together well and they perform well.  This makes  them a huge threat to win the final.  San Diego has very little chance of winning the final just based on them not being able to function as a team.  For every final that I have seen, the team that can work together is the team that wins.  Teams that fight the entire way through are less likely to make through a final.  So get rid of Cancun and keep the 2 person teams around.  These teams have a disadvantage in the challenges and throwing them in the arena is a waste.  Let the 2 person team lose and get in the arena that way, instead hope for an upset and put in a team that you want to see go home.  

Survivor Episode 8- Lost Opportunity?

Sorry for no blog last week, but time caught up with me.  I was thinking about posting something after work, but then I realized that a new episode is airing so it makes last week's episode kinda a mute point.  Ok now on to this week's episode.

Lisa-Please Pick a SIDE

The main thing that stuck out to me during this episode was that Lisa couldn't pick a side.  She even said at tribal that she was a double agent.  Really, and you wanna win.  The weird thing about her speech, is that it didn't make me hate her but kinda made me think that she could get away with it.  What did make me hate her was her telling Pete and Skupin about Malcolm's idol and her saying that she still kept her word.  Really, last I checked telling Malcolm you wouldn't do something and then doing it, means that you LIED, or at least DIDN'T KEEP YOUR WORD. This shows that Lisa can't be trusted.  She doesn't think in black and white, only shades of gray.  This is a problem especially if you make the finals and have to rationalize your decisions for the jury.  Lying but saying that you didn't really isn't a good way to get votes for the million.  Heads up Lisa, you might want to pick a side, like 5 days ago.

Good vs. Evil?

I don't understand this good vs. evil that seems to be going on.  Just because people are negative doesn't mean that they are evil and you are the good ones.  I don't get that at all.  It really doesn't make that much sense to me at all, but I only see these people for an hour each week.  I do applaud the players that see bringing an 'evil' person to the end greatly increases your chances of winning.  As much as I would hate this, I that Abi has a great chance of going far, since no one likes her. Even Pete doesn't like her.  That says something about her.  As for the 'good' people see the paragraph on Penner for his past gameplay.  I could see likable and not liked but this good/evil labeling drives me crazy. 

Penner and the Snake

Penner lucked out with the immunity challenge.  With is being an elimination style challenge, Penner just had to make it past round one and then he had a significantly better chance for immunity.  I did like how Penner won his first immunity challenge with a snake puzzle.  Penner is thought to be one of the sneakiest people in Surivor, he was also called a 'snake' and a 'rat' on his first season of Survivor.  This just shows that this win was meant to be.     

3 Strikes and You're Out...Jeff Kent

Yes this is corny I know, but I couldn't help it.  I actually thought that Jeff was gonna win based on what was shown in the past couple of episodes.  The last few episodes have made Jeff out to be a power player and someone in control of the game.  It seemed as though he was in a good position to win the game, he was likable, athletic, and had a strong mental game.  This elements all come together to form a winner in Surivor. But Jeff played with fire too many times.  He was obsessed with getting rid of the returning players and this ultimately hurt his game.  If  Jeff had at least faked loyalty to Penner, then maybe he could have stayed longer, but he didn't.  Sorry Jeff your obsession got the best of you.  Talk to Dawson about want she gets since you didn't win, maybe she'll ask for cookies!

The Lost Opportunity??

Jeff Probst really confused me with his 'lost opportunity' comment at the end of tribal. Maybe getting rid of Malcolm, I don't know.  Malcolm called people's bluff and it worked for him.  By just saying he would play the idol worried people enough to not vote for him.  It's also possible that no one really was considering voting for Malcolm except for Lisa.  I don't know.  I think Malcolm made a good move.  As for Abi, you didn't have to show your idol! No one knew you had it, so you didn't have to tell people that you had it.  Oh well, hopefully this will just get you eliminated quicker (I can only hope). 

For your viewing pleasure Bradley Cooper and his look-a-like, Malcolm:

I swear these guys look a like. 

Favorite TV Witches

In the spirit of Halloween (belated, I know) and my latest obsession, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, I've decided to write about my favorite TV witches. This is just a random listing and not in a particular order.

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch

This is my latest obsession.  I love this show and all of the main witches in the show.  These witches include, Sabrina, Zelda, Hilda and Salem.  I count Salem as a witch on the show, since he is now a cat because of the horrible things that he did while he was a witch.  Sabrina has real life problems and comes up with creative solutions to them.  Also it's kinda cool to be able to just point and change your clothes or alter something else. Hilda is one of the strangest aunts I've ever seen on TV, she is however entertaining.  

Willow going after Glory 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

How do you not have a TV witch list without Willow? She's a redhead, amazingly powerful, and cries when she breaks a yellow crayon.  Willow is super sweet, follows her heart, and is very quirky.  Being quirky adds bonus points in my book.  Willow is also true to herself, no matter if the decision is hard or easy.  Willow is kick-ass and sadly she is the only witch from the show I like.  I have nothing against Tara, but I just don't like her, so she can't make it on the list.   

Vampire Diaries

Bonnie as  witch (go figure)

Bonnie Bennett is an amazing witch, friend and girlfriend.  Bonnie has had her share of heart break in the 4 seasons of the show, but she keeps going and stays loyal to her friends.  Bonnie is tough, strong and always willing to help her friends.  She also will say no to a friend if they ask too much and this is another plus concerning Bonnie.  There have been other witches on the show, but none that have lasted that long and have made me feel something for them.  Therefore, like Willow, Bonnie is the only witch from her show to make it on my list. 

Charmed

Phoebe, Piper, and Paige are some of my favorite TV witches.  I love this show and love the interactions between the sisters as well as their signification others.  I started watching this show during its 5th season so I'm not a big Prue fan.  So Prue does not make my list.  Chris and Wyatt do however, I absolutely adore Chris and you have to include the most powerful witch in the Charmed realm, Wyatt.  

All my favorite Halliwell witches