Survivor 46 / The Amazing Race 36 (2024)

[JirinPanthosa]

In season one everyone thought people were just going to vote their conscience, so I give them some leeway considering that they tried to turn it around three times and only Sean’s alphabet stupidity stopped them.

Russell’s voting and idol strategy was brilliant, he just felt so entitled that he didn’t think he had to show basic kindness around camp.

Big Brother to its credit vastly improved its casting the last few years. Some of it is also the editing. Hayden seemed so much more likable on Survivor than Big Brother. Because at that point, Big Brother baited people into just digging on each other all the time. But Big Brother hit casting rock bottom in I think season 15 when like four people were openly racist. Aaryn even making ask/axe jokes to the only black player that year. For a long time BB almost exclusively cast narcissistic Caucasian hotties in their 20s. But ever since Derrick’s season they’ve done much better.

 

[Timewalker]

Big Brother is entertaining when they don't have it so full of model-types and have the "normal people" (as in not model-types) have some other trait that could be intended as comic relief.

I'm talking about someone like Red, for instance. You look at him and immediately label him "hillbilly" and assume he'll be the first one voted off because he "doesn't fit." Or they get some sort of condescending edit.


I'm blanking on who Hayden is. But the thing about Survivor is that if you need space away from people, you can get it. You're not locked up with everyone so there's no place you can go where someone can't follow and bother you, other than the bathroom, and they can even go there and keep yapping.


Anyone noticed that the Amazing Race teams seem a lot more polite to the local people in recent seasons? There were a couple of seasons where the "ugly American tourist" trope was pretty obvious when one of the women just stood and screeched about "doesn't anyone speak English here?". With an attitude like that, I'm not sure I'd step out and help her, other than to tell her to mind her manners. I don't think Phil was too pleased when he saw footage like that.

 

[DigificWriter]

I'm blanking on who Hayden is

Kat Eddorsen's then-boyfriend who played against her on Blood vs Water.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I definitely remember Charla running around looking for a train by saying "TOOT TOOT! TOOT TOOT!"

Hayden was the member of The Brigade who won Big Brother, then appeared on Survivor Blood Versus Water as Kat's boyfriend and came in like 5th.

I remember something he said in the reunion show, that Survivor is physically more difficult but Big Brother is socially more difficult. And I think he's right, in Big Brother you're all comfy but you have to manage social relationships with every person in the house with no breaks, and for three times as long.

 

[Timewalker]

I'd have to see a photo of him, because while that's starting to ring a bell, I just can't visually remember who he was. There are so many of them who never stand out enough for me to bother to put names with faces and care enough to remember them. That's why I hate it when they put two or three of the same general "types" in the same show (ie. blonde models with similar facial features). Unless they have some other quality that distinguishes them, people who look too much alike are just not going to be memorable for me.

I didn't used to have this difficulty telling people apart, and it's frustrating.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

The first few episodes of Survivor 6 the models are hard to stomach. Especially knowing which one of them is the winner. The model alliance constantly complaining about how the others judge them for being pretty. How did Jenna M win this season again? I wish so bad Rob C won this season.

 

[DigificWriter]

Now that I've officially started a chronological watch-through/rewatch of Survivor, I've decided that I want to periodically post a list of my favorite players from each season (save for all-returnee seasons since Im going to be focusing just on first-time players), so here we go:
Borneo
Richard Hatch
Kelly Wigglesworth
Gervase Peterson
Jenna Lewis

The Australian Outback
Tina Wesson
Kimmi Kappenberg
Jerri Manthey
Elisabeth Filarski
Amber Brkich

 

[Timewalker]

See, that's interesting. I remember all of these people and what I thought of them, and those seasons were over 20 years ago. Good grief, I remember what some of their luxury items were (Jenna brought a notebook and pen, Jerri - I think - brought a backgammon game). Yet I can't remember some of the people who were on last week.

The show does too much of the strategy angle and the boringly-identical challenges, and not enough of the other camp stuff. I loved the hide and seek part last week, because it was different.

Kind of like Greg with his coconut phone in the first season. That was hilarious, and probably one of the reasons why some fans have wished he would come back. He was entertaining.

There's a YT channel that focuses on one player in each season, how they played, how successful they were (or not), and so on. I recently saw the one about Rudy, and it's interesting. In season 1 I didn't like him. I thought he was rude, arrogant, and couldn't wait for him to be voted off. But now? My opinion of him has changed. He was just someone who was operating with the values he'd been raised with, and his military background gave him the "I don't suffer fools, period" outlook. I'd forgotten that episode when he was telling the others about some of his Vietnam experiences - some of these other players were young enough to be his grandchildren, and they seemed genuinely interested.

The show needs more of these human moments. Now that the episodes are 90 minutes, it's not like they can't spare 5 or 10 minutes for us to get to know the players better.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

In season 6 the only one I am entertained by is Rob C and even he’s kind of a jerk. I guess Alex is likable. I seem to recall before Pearl Islands I was close to giving up on the show. Three weak seasons in a row.

It is weird how I remember every single player in season 1, most of them in season 2, maybe half in season 3, then in some of the middle seasons I can hardly remember the winner.

In Amazing Race the only team I actively dislike is Amber and Vinny. That’s a straight up toxic relationship. Not even close to the worst in show history but the worst this year by far.

 

[Timewalker]

In Amazing Race the only team I actively dislike is Amber and Vinny. That’s a straight up toxic relationship. Not even close to the worst in show history but the worst this year by far.

Agreed. When he started in with the constant stream of put-downs and disrespect in tonight's episode and she mentioned planning to marry him, I literally said, "Don't marry him!"

I don't know how long ago this season was filmed, but I really hope she didn't/doesn't marry him. What a POS.


As for Survivor... Hunter, WTF were you THINKING? He's one of the people I'd picked to possibly win. Now I only have two picks left for whom I'd be happy to see win. Q isn't one of them.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

My Survivor tiers:

Rooting for:
Tiffany

Happy to see win:
Kenzie
Maria
Charlie

Not rooting for but good enough players I'd be good with it:
Ben
Liz

Rooting against:
Venus
Q

My Amazing Race tiers:

Rooting for:
Mother & son

Happy to see win:
Rod & Leticia
Ricky & Cesar

Not rooting for but good enough players I'd be good with it:
Juan & Shane

Nothing against but not good enough players to want to win:
Yvonne & what's her name

Rooting against:
Team verbal abuse

Is this entire season going to be in South America? Have they ever spent the entire season on one continent other than the crappy family edition?

 

[Timewalker]

Survivor: I'd be happy with either Charlie or Maria winning. Ben hasn't made any impression on me to the point that I'd forgotten his existence.

Venus must have done something else we weren't shown to make people hate her so much. I don't get it.

Liz... meh

Kenzie and Q can go. ASAP

For TAR, I'd be happy for the mom/son team to win, or Ricky & Cesar.

As you say, "Team verbal abuse" will hopefully be eliminated next, though the preview looks dire for the mom & son.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Spoiler: Amazing Race

Yeah, I’m pretty pissed the most likable team got screwed because the camera crew messed up. Why didn’t they get a time bonus for that? Makes me lose interest in the season. Teams shouldn’t get eliminated because camera guys took a wrong turn.

 

[Timewalker]

Re: your spoiler: Agreed. That's insane.

There's just one team left to root for now (the boyfriends), though I wouldn't be unhappy if the pilots won.

As for Survivor... I'm not unhappy with who got voted off, and I am happy with who won immunity.

Q was such an effing jerk about that reward, though I have to wonder how Liz could possibly be medically cleared for the show if she hasn't eaten in 18 days. And for the others to rub it in her face that they were so full that none of them even ate the burger? JFC, what a bunch of awful people.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

What the heck was the person who got voted out thinking? They didn't think they'd adopt the same strategy two votes in a row? I was yelling at the screen.

 

[Timewalker]

Phil Keoghan was on one of those late-night talk shows last night (Colbert, I think). It was interesting. Apparently his family immigrated to New Zealand from Ireland way back when, and Keoghan said he really enjoyed the Barbados leg of the Race because he himself lived in Barbados for 8 years.

That swinging bridge they started the leg on is really cool. I watch several cruise ship channels on YT, and the guy who hosts La Lido Loca filmed his recent Caribbean holiday, including being on that bridge when it swung out of the way of a couple of ships.


I'm not upset about how Survivor turned out this week. I don't like that person, so 'byeeeee!

Gotta wonder, though, how many more of them are going to be voted out with idols in their pockets. What's the count now - 3? What's the most in a season who were this gullible and didn't play them?

 

[DigificWriter]

If Q somehow wins this season, I'm going to be as pissed as Liz (rightfully and understandably) was in this last episode.

Shifting to other topics, I'm still slowly watching older seasons and am now 3 episodes into Survivor Africa, which I really like so far. Going in, the only players I had familiarity with were Lex, Tom, Ethan, and T-Bird (the former trio from All-Stars and the latter from her work as the titular host of the RHaP Network's Talking with T-Bird podcast), but as of Episode 3, I've started liking Brandon, the two Kims, and Linda (although she had me a bit miffed by her unnecessary and overly flippant comment about Lindsey not being that strong just because she [Lindsey] was clearly experiencing kidney-related dehydrational distress).

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Seasons 1-3 are the only ones I watched a second time years and years ago, I actually had them on VHS tapes. So my memory of how 3 went down is pretty good. I remember the final vote getting decided by 'Pick a number between 1 and 1000'. I'm in the middle of season 6 now, I watched season 4 then skipped 5.

I remember a bit about Thailand, it being one of the most predictable and boring season and the whole "Who said anything about a merge?" twist.

 

[DigificWriter]

I remember the final vote getting decided by 'Pick a number between 1 and 1000'.

Hey.

Jk.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

So currently watching the 8th place episode of Survivor season 6. This might be the most modern season of the early seasons. I remember how it went in season 7, the all star season, and then in Vanuatu when Chris came back from a 1-6 gender gap and Palau when Tom dominated. I'm surprised, Amazon went the way a modern season goes. Except with the 3 person finale Rob C would have won.