New Site for Heroes vs. Villains
December 26th, 2009
There is a new site for the Heros vs Villains Season. The new site is located at herosvsvillains.survivor.com.
What do you think?
Russell and Natalie Fight in the BEST Interview Ever!
December 23rd, 2009Here’s the last 2 and a half minutes of our call with Russell and Natalie yesterday. You need to listen to the last 10 seconds. They are still going at it after the call is over. It’s hilarious.
Russell: You need to weigh it. weigh it out. If she out witted me and out played me, then give her the money. But they didn’t. She was nicer to people than me. But weigh it out. Which weighs more?
That’s just, that’s called a bitter jury. That’s what it is, when you, ya know, yes, she got a better social game than me, but did she have a better strategic game than me? Did she have a better physical game than me? No. So let’s weigh it out. When you think, It’s common sense. When you put it logically, it seems like it would have to be my vote.
Natalie: No it doesn’t because you were so mean to everybody. It’s a social game. You have to at least admit that it’s a social game.
Russell: Yeah, it’s a social game, a social game. Let’s rename it “The Social Game” cuz that’s all it is. If it was a social game, and only that and only people like you were playing in it, then you know what would happen? They would have shut it down before the first season would have even been finished cuz you’re that damn boring.
Natalie: I might be boring, but guess what? I got the check. So that’s all that matters. I don’t care.
Russell: You, you…
Natalie: Yeah, I know. You don’t have anything to say. Thanks.
Russell: About money now? You want to talk about money now? You want to see my bank account?
Natalie: I don’t really care about your bank account.
Russell: I don’t really care about your check.
Natalie: Yeah, you do! You wanted the title. You do. You do care. You wanted to win and you hated that you didn’t win. I’m sorry that you didn’t take into account the jury. You did not play the social card…
Russell: I did not, but …
Natalie: At all!
Russell: That’s how stupid you are. That you think that the social game is THE game. It’s the, you say, you sit there and say “it’s a social game! It’s a social game!”. How can you be that ignorant? How can you be that stupid?
Natalie: Oh, guess what? I played the player, so just shut it up now. And you know it.
Russell: Social… Calm down. Calm down.
Natalie: And you know it. You’re not used to getting a rise out of me and you got a rise.
Russell: Is it…Oh, you want me to get a rise out of you? Click to hear Russell and Natalie's Entire Exit Interview
Natalie: You already did and you know it.
Russell: Oh, you want me to start working on this? Cuz I’ll get ya! I got many interviews to go to.
Natalie: I know you do.
Russell: All kind of TV shows.
Moderator: …and on that note, I’m going to have to pull for time. Thank you guys for enjoying that though. Thank you guys for a great season.
Russell: We’ll get that Natalie.
Moderator: …and we’ll see you back in Feburary. Take care. OK.
Russell: Watch what happens now! Watch what.. Watch what happens now!
Natalie: You wanted that!
Natalie and Russell talk to reporters.
If you want to hear the whole thing, it’s 25 minutes long. You can listen to the audio file here. That was the best part, but to get the full “Russell Experience”, listen to it all.
25 minutes long. 9.3MB. Download it here.
What do you think?
‘Survivor’ Crowns A Winner, Offending Many Who Do Not Understand ‘Survivor’ – Monkey See Blog : NPR
December 23rd, 2009Interestingly, this season has been compared to the eighth season, which was an “All-Star” season, where the final two were Rob and Amber, a couple who fell into a pattern that was in some ways similar: he was far more aggressive and mouthy; she was quieter and more passive. The difference between Rob and Russell (other than that Rob got four votes and almost won, while Russell got two votes and didn’t) is that Rob knew the entire time what he was doing. He never believed he was going to walk in there, say “I did all the work,” and be handed a bag of money. He thought that might work on some people, but he knew other people would never vote for him. He played in the only way he could, with a pretty solid understanding of the gamble he was making, and hoped for the best. He lost the gamble, but he wasn’t deluded. (Furthermore, everybody acknowledged that Rob genuinely did make most of the decisions, which Russell didn’t; some of the votes for Amber seemed to be spite votes against Rob because he ran the show. The votes for Natalie seemed more based on a personal dislike of Russell’s obnoxious, sexist, bullying behavior and a genuine affection for Natalie.)Natalie White won the $1 million prize, taking the title of sole Survivor from one of the biggest game players ever, Russell.
Russell, on the other hand, lectured and taunted Natalie and Mick before the final tribal council about how everyone was going to vote for him, how he would make them look like fools if they even tried to defend themselves. He insisted that he had it in the bag. In short, he had no idea how he was perceived. His social skills are, despite the “manipulative mastermind” narrative the show tried so hard to present, very, very poor. That’s why he sat at the reunion show almost in tears over not winning. He was stunned and shocked that his plan didn’t work, because it never occurred to him that other people didn’t think he was as great as he thought he was. It never occurred to him that other people correctly read his bluster as bluster; that his alliance was saying, “Oh, yeah, buddy, you’re the big genius, I’m sure you’ll win” and then turning around and rolling their eyes when he walked away.
It never occurred to him that he was being simultaneously used by three other people, all of whom had the same plan to let him bluster and brag and make himself someone nobody wanted to give money, and then to grab the money right out from under him, taking advantage of his enormous blind spot when it comes to social relationships. Ultimately, one of those three people had the game go precisely as she planned.
How, exactly, is this not deserving to win?
Read the entire article at:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2009/12/survivor_crowns_a_winner_offen.html
What do you think?
Russell wins $100K for being a better character than player, but Natalie wins the game and $1M + reality blurred
December 22nd, 2009
Why did Natalie win? Erik summed it up in his surprising and emotional jury speech: “in an environment filled with arrogance [Russell], delusional entitlement [Mick], maybe the person who thinks she’s the least deserving is maybe the most.” Shambo and John were the only people who didn’t buy into that argument; the other seven jury members did, although their erratic Q&A—or the editing of it—made them hard to read.
I’m convinced that the fatal flaw in Russell’s game plan was there from day one, and even earlier: He never took the social game into account. (An interview with Russell’s thoughts about this is coming later today; obviously, he disagrees.) At the beginning of the episode, he referred to the others as “my puppets,” adding, “when I’m finished with them, just throw them in the trash.” You can’t treat everyone as disposable and expect them to vote for you. He was, I think, too honest, too cocky, and too confident.
Russell didn’t get how that cost him the $1 million. But he talked shit about everyone and talked himself up, and of course the jury talked amongst themselves about that, and he was better at antagonizing them than befriending them. A good example of this came during the reunion when, amusingly, he produced a pair of socks from his pocket to offer to Jaison as replacements for the ones he burned, and then hurled them into the fire. Funny, but he’s a dick, and dicks don’t get $1 million from people they’ve dicked over. Instead, they complain about not being rewarded.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_samoa/2009_Dec_21_natalie_wins_russell_loses
What do you think?
Jaison, Mick, and Brett say Russell couldn’t win; he was “too blatantly arrogant and mean-spirited” + reality blurred
December 21st, 2009
Mick Trimming
Interestingly, Mick said that, throughout the 39 days, “Russ was upfront that he wasn’t going to help out with anything around camp.” Mick said Russell was a little bit more toned down around us. As the game went on, his ego just got so ridiculously overblown.He couldn’t contain himself, really.” That, Mick said, “just turned people off. There’s a way to play that hard, but just make a couple friends along the way. Put a couple people on the jury who don’t despise you.”
Jaison Robinson
Russell’s strategy, Jaison said, was “great for getting to the finals but not great for winning” because he was “too blatantly arrogant and mean-spirited. I never thought a majority of the people were going to vote for Russell,” because the jury “dismissed what he had to say” and waited “to hear what Mick and Natalie had to say.”
Brett Clouser
On the jury, Brett said, “honestly, I had no idea who I was going to vote for, and I think that was the case for most people.” He was “open to a compelling argument,” and while people “may perceive [Russell] as the best strategist,” “the way in which [Natalie] operated and the social game she played and the ability to make it to the end of the game with her integrity intact” led him to vote for her. Brett added that “the way she played the game isn’t as easily communicated to the television audience as someone like Russell.”
Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_samoa/2009_Dec_21_mick_jaison_brett
What do you think?
Russell: “I would not change a thing”; Natalie: “We made group decisions”; “it’s okay to pray about anything” + reality blurred
December 22nd, 2009
Natalie White
In other words, she knew he’d lose, and that’s because he “taunted people” who “felt like he was being malicious.” In their alliance, Natalie echoed Jaison and said, “We made group decisions, essentially. It was a group effort. They were always group efforts even from the start. Jaison and I had this checks and balanced system to make sure Russ wasn’t going behind my back and Mick wasn’t going behind his.” Still, Natalie admits that “Russ is an amazing, phenomenal strategic player.”
Russell Hantz
Russell told me, “People like you, you don’t get it. You have to understand, I controlled them like puppets. How did I do it? Because my social game was so good.”
Of course, that’s the problem: He may have controlled them but he was condescending and arrogant about it. Russell said, “I had to very aggressive,” particularly after the merge, because “they were too weak. I had to work my butt off, put the target on my back, mess up my social game, to help people like Natalie, and that’s what I did, I brought them to the top.” Natalie made friends, Russell said, but “I didn’t have the opportunity, because I was too busy protecting people like Natalie, and Mick, and Shambo, while they were standing back.”
Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_samoa/2009_Dec_21_russell_natalie_interviews
What do you think?
Jeff Probst blogs about ‘Survivor’ finale: ‘Nobody outplayed Russell’ | EW.com
December 22nd, 2009
Jeff who played the best game, who must have deserved the win, because Natalie actually won Survivor Samoa.
I do not believe the jury voted for Natalie, I believe the jury voted against Russell.
Russell was clearly upset last night and I think a lot of people understand why that would be. He played a very risky and creative game and he wanted to be acknowledged. As for the audience, they spoke quite loudly when they awarded him the $100,000 from Sprint by an overwhelming 46% Russell to 10% Shambo… and 7% Natalie. Not even close. I put myself in that same group. Again, I’m speaking as a fan, not as a host or a producer.
But hey this is how it goes, it’s why Survivor is so fun to watch, you can never predict the outcome. So…
A FEW QUESTIONS…
Q. Can you be considered the greatest player ever if you don’t win? Hmmm. It’s a tough question for me. On one hand, it’s a no-brainer, absolutely not. Survivor is a social game and to win you have to vote people out in a way that compels them to return and vote for you to win the game. It’s extremely complicated and Russell did not achieve it, therefore he cannot be considered the greatest player to ever play. On the other hand, I can’t think of anybody who has ever played a game like Russell played. It was so dominating that I am still shaking my head that he didn’t win. The only guy I could even see having the talent and guts to do something equally dominating would be Boston Rob. So I am on the fence on this one. But this much I am certain of – Russell is without any question ONE of the greats. No doubt about it.Q. Did Natalie play a better game than Russell? For me, that’s a bit easier to answer. I do not think that Natalie played a better game, but rather was the right person in the right position who made one very good strategic move and that was to stay out of Russell’s way, and as a result she ended up with the money. But to be fair – a very good counter argument is that Natalie used her strengths, avoided her weaknesses and by taking this active approach to the game, she put herself in position to win the money and it paid off. It’s a counter argument, but not one that I’m that fond of supporting.
Read the entire article at:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2009/12/21/jeff-probst-survivor-russell/
As a producer, Russell brought life to the series. He was great TV and made people watch each week to see what outrageous thing he would do next.
Jeff is a great guy and I’m a huge fan, but Jeff is wrong above. I understand that people really, really like Russell. The core of Survivor, the thing that makes it so interesting, is the balance between working with people and and voting them off. Working together, then working against them, then getting them to vote for you.
The bottom line is the jury votes. Nothing else matters. Nothing else.
Challenges might help you get to the end. Being nice might help you. Blindsiding people might help you and does make for good TV. Physical endurance? Survival skills? Eating and drinking? All things that might help you play the game.
The ONLY THING THAT MATTERS is the jury votes. “Playing the game” means nothing.
What do you think?
‘Survivor: Samoa’ finale recap: The worst jury vote ever | TV Recap | EW.com
December 22nd, 2009
Natalie Wins Survivor Samoa with 7 votes. Russell gets 2 votes.
A travesty. That’s really the only word for it. Wait, here’s another one: A joke. You could also go with absurd, ridiculous, lame. I’m going to make sure that I am absolutely clear about this: Natalie winning over Russell is the worst jury vote in the history of Survivor. That honor previously belonged to the All-Stars season, when a bunch of bitter Bettys couldn’t handle being outsmarted by Boston Rob and awarded the million dollars to Amber instead. But this is worse.
You may not like Russell. You may consider him cocky, sneaky, and lots of other things. But he OWNED this game, and he owned the final Tribal Council as well. Natalie’s opening speech to the jury contained NOT ONE SINGLE REFERENCE to anything she did well in the entire game, just that it was ”the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” Hey, hand her the million then! Later, she talked about how her big strategy was to NOT be aggressive. That was her strategy!!! Don’t do anything. Again, hand her the million!
Read the entire article at:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20332130,00.html
Dalton! You’re an idiot!
You don’t understand the game of Survivor. How did Russell “own the game”? Why is his manipulation of other people any more deserving than Natalie’s manipulation of him? Because he said so? If you say a lie enough times, then people believe it. I’m the greatest!
In her own words, she played the player.
She saw what was required to win and she did everything she could to make that happen. Mick, Jaison, and Natalie all said that they knew what Russell was about and they all used him to get to the end. They were the manipulators, not him.
Natalie owned this game. I can prove that by looking at the check she got yesterday. She told me that she knew if she stroked his ego a little bit, he’d do anything she wanted him to.
Bitter juries are what this show is about. If you want the million, then don’t piss off the jury. Russell focused on the wrong thing and got blindsided by his own ego.
This game worked out exactly right. Sucker.
What do you think?
Evil Russell says he is America’s sole ‘Survivor’ | Peep | Chron.com – Houston Chronicle
January 1st, 2010Russell Hantz of Dayton, who famously lost Survivor: Samoa, called the newsroom Tuesday looking for a reporter — any reporter. He wanted to talk about how well he played the game.
Hantz earned the nickname Evil Russell this season as he bragged about his mind games and sabotaged players by burning socks and emptying canteens.
He made it to the final three with Mick Trimming, a dark-haired Los Angeles doctor, and Natalie White, a slim blonde from Arkansas who gave up her job as a pharmaceutical rep to be on the show.
During the live episode Dec. 20, it was announced that White, one of the females Hantz had deemed “a dumb-ass girl,” had earned the most votes from the jury of ousted players who were bitter about Hantz’s strategy.
There was some outrage over the vote. Even producer/host Jeff Probst praised Hantz’s risky and creative game and wrote in his blog: “I do not believe the jury voted for Natalie, I believe the jury voted against Russell.”
Hantz was clearly unhappy with the results. And he’s not ready to move on.
From the newsroom, Hantz’s info was given to me for a follow-up call. When I introduced myself on the phone, Hantz said, “Hello, how are you doing?”
Read the entire article at:
http://blogs.chron.com/peep/2009/12/evil_russell_is_the_best_survi.html
What do you think?
Stephen’s Survivor Strategy Blog: Natalie Wins the Final Fishy! – PEOPLE TV Watch
December 27th, 2009Bitter juries don’t start out bitter — somebody makes them that way. Natalie knew at the very beginning that she could beat Russell in a jury vote. On day nine she said, “I know I could beat Russell in the very end. A lot of other people in the tribe have been rubbed the wrong way by him. So I’m just trying to … build good relationships.” That was before they had met the Galu tribe, before there even was a jury. Natalie knew that Russell’s bullying, aggressive game play would alienate the jurors; if she rode his coattails to the end, she knew she could beat him there.
But a highly-edited hour of TV doesn’t come close to what it means to live for 39 days in the wilderness. Even Probst, after 20 seasons, has never lived at camp, gotten drenched in two-day rain, or forged those intimate bonds. The fact that Natalie, Mick and Jaison all were counting on sitting next to Russell at the finals speaks pretty loudly: Russell was seriously alienating people in a way that doesn’t come across on television.
And remember: the jury vote wasn’t some surprise twist. You know you have to win the jury to win the game. I was talking about Russell’s loss with JT, the winner of my season, and he had a good insight: “You need to make the jury feel good about voting for you.” That doesn’t mean just being a sweetheart all the time. Todd, Yul, and JT were strong strategists who backstabbed their way to victory. All of them, however, played the game with a mind to winning votes at the end.
Read the entire article at:
http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/12/26/stephens-survivor-strategy-blog-natalie-wins-the-final-fishy/
What do you think?
Survivor: Samoa – Life at Ponderosa – Brett
December 23rd, 2009Survivor: Samoa – Life at Ponderosa – Brett Part One
Survivor: Samoa – Life at Ponderosa – Brett Part Two
What do you think?
Survivor: Samoa – Life at Ponderosa – Jaison
December 23rd, 2009Survivor: Samoa – Life at Ponderosa – Jaison Part One
Survivor: Samoa – Life at Ponderosa – Jaison Part Two
What do you think?
Survivor’s Russell: “You Have to Love the Way I Played the Game”
December 23rd, 2009TVGuide.com: Looking back over the entire season, which alliance do you think helped you the most?
Russell: One thing about Natalie is I trusted her with my life. Natalie was a trustworthy girl. I knew she would do what I told her to do. I knew she would vote the way I told her to vote. She was by far my strongest ally. It’s fitting that she won the game. If anybody was going to win it besides me, it has to be her because of the trust factor.
TVGuide.com: Do you have any regrets or anyone you’re still upset with?
Russell: I don’t have any regrets with anybody, not even Jaison. I know it’s just a game. I just let it go. [Jaison]’s problem in life is going to be that he can’t let things go. Somebody burns your socks and you can’t get over that and you’re a Stanford grad? You’re that weak in your mind? I can’t help him, he needs help. Maybe I should help him. Maybe that’s what I should do with $100,000; establish some kind of charity to help Jaison. Help the babies … That’s why I have this [points to a necklace he's wearing with a large gray, pacifier-shaped charm], to remind me of all the babies I played with. I wear a pacifier around my neck.
TVGuide.com: Are you frustrated with Jaison because he brought up the question of who needed the money the most during the final tribal council?
Russell: Yes. Jaison’s daddy is like a hundred millionaire. They’re very, very wealthy. It frustrates me that Jaison brought up the money issue. Ok, let’s just go ahead and give the money to the poorest person and not even play the game … He’s a weak person.
TVGuide.com: So will we see you on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains?
Russell: I don’t even know if I am going to do it again.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/413539_tvgif22.html
What do you think?
Survivor’s Mick: My Morals Mattered More Than the Money
December 23rd, 2009TVGuide.com: Why do you think your morals played such a big role in your decision-making on the island? On a previous episode, you had a clear chance to get Russell out but you decided not to because of your morals.
Mick: I didn’t want to go that route. My friends, my family and my colleagues are going to watch this and if I come home and get on the phone with my parents afterwards, they’re going to go, “This isn’t the kid we raised.” I just felt compelled to stick to that and if that meant getting voted out, I was kind of OK with it. I didn’t feel like — it’s crazy to say, it’s a million dollars — that [it was worth it]. Maybe if it had been $1.1 million, I would have been willing to kill somebody [laughs]. I don’t know where my threshold is. It was a huge struggle because you give your word to somebody and in real life for me, that’s the way it’s going to be. To go away from that out there, it’s really hard. You do form relationships with these people, you start to care about that them and care about how they are going to perceive them. You also have to be smart about it and think these people are going to vote for me, or not vote for me, on the jury.
TVGuide.com: What were your feelings leaving the last tribal council and after everyone had voted?
Mick: It was terrible. It was brutal. You’re tired you’re malnourished, you’re hungry, you’re thirsty … Then, everyone gets up in front of you and points their finger at you, berates you and tells you what a lousy human being you are. So you walk away just brutally hurt. I walked away from it basically, knowing that I definitely didn’t win. I thought Natalie had won after that.
TVGuide.com: If it couldn’t have been you, did you want Natalie or Russell to win?
Mick: I think Russell played an amazing game. He was such a dominating force out there. But you’ve got to remember that you still have to make friends. You still have to realize that people are going to be voting for you. You have to treat them with a little bit of humility and he just didn’t get that, he didn’t understand that. It’s weird, I think I’d rather have Natalie have the million bucks but in terms of winning Survivor, I think I would have voted for Russell.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/413556_tvgif22.html
What do you think?
Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Texas/Southwest
December 23rd, 2009The latest winner of the CBS television reality show “Survivor” says she gambled when she quit her job in Van Buren so she could be on “Survivor: Samoa.”
The gamble paid off for Natalie White, 26, when it was revealed Sunday that she won the competition and $1 million.
“It was a huge gamble,” she said by telephone. “It was a scary gamble. It was a job that I loved. But big risks equal big rewards. You get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you’re crazy not to take it.
White won by a vote of 7 to 2 from the panel of former Survivors. Texas oilman Russell Hantz, White’s closest ally during the game, grumbled to several media outlets that he was robbed of the castaway crown.
“That’s what I hear,” said White. “I won fair and square 7 to 2. People will always underestimate me, which is fine. That worked out to my benefit in this game. We will be friends in real life. We really will. You don’t share this kind of experience with everybody.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D9COF9E83.html
What do you think?
Survivor Samoa FINALE / WINNER – From Backstage – Including Red Carpet Interviews
December 23rd, 2009To see the live report visit: http://wibw.videogenesis.net/watch?v=6986
After checking in, we were able to go see the set up for the red carpet, chat with the CBS Studio staff and the other media that was attending the event. Many of us had come up with the same outcome of Natalie winning the season because of her social game. Even though Russell has been one of the best Survivor’s of all time, he played everyone to much. This season’s jury consisted of 9 castaways and the only way to win any season is with good relationships in the jury, which Russell did not have. So, that was our prediction…
We ultimately had the option of watching the show from backstage on the monitors or being in the audience…. For anyone that knows me… I chose to be in the audience! We had to be seated prior 5:00 pm (Pacific Time) for the beginning of the show to start so that we could be coached on laughing and clapping. Has to be used for good production! There was only one shot that we did prior of the audience clapping that aired when we went from the Samoa video to LIVE from LA!
We watched the same video that viewers at home watched for the first 2 hours but within the breaks we had a guy that did some interaction with the audience for entertainment. He talked about what we needed to do when we went live, threw out some Survivor merchandise, and did some discussion of where people were from in the audience. We literally had people from all over the world from Canada to England to Samoa! When I said where I am from Baileyville, Kansas no one knew where that was… Gee I wonder why, the population is 100 on a good day… HAHA
We were able to move around between commercial breaks until about 20 minutes before when we went LIVE and at that point we were under “lock down”! The castaways all came onto stage right before we went live right along with Jeff Probst! Everything that viewers watched is exactly what we watched just we were in the studio. It was very interesting that when Russell threw the socks in the pyrotechnics (the fire) we went straight to break and the production crew fished them ASAP! Wonder if he asked about doing that…
Read the entire article at:
http://www.wibw.com/nationalnews/headlines/79921777.html
What do you think?
Michael Russnow: Survivor Finalist Russell Really Is an Ass: Whereas 4th Place Brett Showed Class Will Tell
December 23rd, 2009But the point here is to cast light on the devil incarnate of the most recent Survivor, which concluded Sunday night on CBS. Machiavellian is too tame to describe the overconfident and somewhat deluded Russell Hantz, who was earlier voted Fan Favorite by the viewing audience even as he sat through the program sullen and glum after learning he’d lost to Natalie White.
For many weeks we watched Russell plot and play people against each other, and, to a certain extent, he must be commended for achieving his goal to make it to the end. While his Survivor counterparts couldn’t see the edited confessionals presented to the television public in which he admitted his lies and cheating, they were nonetheless exceedingly dimwitted as each of Russell’s supposed confidantes were voted off the island.
Didn’t these clever people, including a physician and articulate law student ever talk to each other out of Russell’s presence? Wouldn’t they have let it be known they had a deal with Russell in the same way that Mick Trimming and Jaison Robinson conversed about the rare slip Russell made when he revealed he was actually a successful businessman? Wasn’t it obvious when his close companions, such as the earthy but not too swift Shannon Waters (Shambo) were voted off with his support?
And yet, when there were only six people left and attention turned to the heretofore mostly wallflower, soft-spoken and handsome 23-year-old Brett Clouser, who’d saved himself by winning the immunity idol, no one started talking about getting rid of Russell. This was the amazing faux pas, that each of Russell’s tribe mates stuck with him when Mick, Natalie and Jaison could have taken him out. At the least, they should’ve made him think they were going to do so to make him use his last personal immunity idol that he amazingly kept finding (even without clues). Instead, they allowed him to keep the idol for another round, thus ensuring he’d be in the game for another two tribal councils.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-russnow/emsurvivorem-finalist-rus_b_398966.html
What do you think?
RussellGotScrewed.com was registered nine days before Survivor Samoa’s finale + reality blurred
December 23rd, 2009Elsewhere, it celebrates the very reason for Russell’s loss even while complaining about it. On the About page, Russell is quoted as saying, “I’m not going out there to make friends. I’m just not doing it. But everybody is going to think I am their best friend, because I’m just such a lovable character.” Actually, no, nobody you played the game with liked you, which is why you lost.
The site is registered to Sazerac Design in Lafayette, Louisiana, and its owner didn’t respond to my request for information about it, though Russell writes on the site, “This site is maintained by some friends of mine back in Louisiana.” But it asks people to buy t-shirts and/or donate money to ST. Jude’s:
Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_samoa/2009_Dec_22_russell_got_screwed
What do you think?
Survivor the game versus reality
December 23rd, 2009During the last show and after the winner is declared, contestants talk about feelings that have been hurt, judgments that have been passed, attitudes that flared and how disgusted they were with the lies and deceit.
Ironically, if one wants to argue that Survivor is reality and life, the perceptions shared at the end of the show are more of the reality and prove how psychological the game of Survivor can be, not the actual Survivor game itself.
The reality is that humans often perceive each other in a way that allows them to feel good about themselves while attempting to ensure they are perceived as good by others.
For one person to challenge this reality and succeed in doing so, is worthy of being crowned with the title of sole Survivor and winning a million bucks.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-27430-Huntsville-Family-Examiner~y2009m12d22-Survivor-the-game-versus-reality
What do you think?
Backstage Interview with ‘Survivor: Samoa’ Contestant Mick Trimming
December 23rd, 2009When did you learn what the word feckless meant?
It’s one of those words that just has a certain sound to it where you can sort out what it means. I actually looked it up when I got home to find out what the exact definition was. But I already had a pretty good idea. I knew it didn’t mean ‘My favorite person.’
Were you surprised by the final outcome?
Not really. After the last Tribal Council it was pretty obvious in my mind that she had it. Did I hope that I was going to get one vote? Absolutely.
Did you have someone in mind you thought might go your way?
That’s a good question. I thought Brett might. He and I are pretty tight. Outside of that it’s tough to say.
Read the entire article at:
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/survivor/backstage-interview-with-survi-33454.aspx
What do you think?
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