Survivor: Gabon - Season 17 (1 Viewer)

[Paul D G]

Recap episode. Man, is Corinne a bitch. Her snobbish comments re the reward feast ("It's pate! Don't you know what pate is?!") puts her on the same social level as Randy. And her utter contempt of Sugar simply for being a model and free spirit was clearly spelled out. How will she react when she discovers Sugar completely pwns her?

BTW - they showed a close up shot of the Immunity Bottle floating in the water. It did not look like it'd been opened, but I wasn't able to pause the image to get a closer look.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Yeah. Between the two, I think I'd rather spend time with Randy. Even though she is much easier on the eyes than Randy, you know, there are certain cases when that just doesn't count for squat.

But, as always, you've got to take everything with a grain of salt because we only see what the editors let us see. Randy, however, certainly seems to have some social skill issues, doesn't he?!?

 

[Patrick Sun]

I knew Kenny was going to get "blindsided" in some respect since the producers kept on playing up him having a big head in the game (if I make it to the final 3, I'll win, that type of stuff), so with Kenny left holding the bag with the 3rd vote against Matty, he is in a pickle, and he'll have to throw Crystal under the bus if he wants to try to advance one more week if he doesn't win immunity. Kenny should have just voted off Corinne as well (to show that the final 5 are strong, not splintered), but he does have a better shot at getting Bob's and Corinne's jury votes, but he might not get to the final tribal council as a non-juror.

Corinne's final words were definitely all corinne-worthy.

 

[mike caronia]

Kenny's in a pickle no doubt!
The gamer got gamed!! ha
Outwitted!
He could have voted Corinne too and it wouldn't have mattered HAD Corinne had an idol.

And no doubt about those final words Patrick! She's a bitch

My girl Sugar has no chance of getting the vote at the end it seems.
And her whole alliance KNOWS she has an idol yet they haven't even tried to flush it.
Guess they want her in the final thinking no way she can win..

I'm starting to think Matty may sneak by and win this.
Don't think Bob can worm his way through 3 more tribal councils...if he could he'd have all the votes there now and the $$$.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Bob rocks. Like Kenny, I wasn't sure Bob had much game, but he's certainly doing what he needs to get done in order to continue to scrape by week by week.

I thought Bob's win of the reward challenge and the reunion with his wife was one of the coolest Survivor moments in a long while. They sure had a lot of prime footage to show in this episode (hence, I guess, the abbreviated opening theme)...but they sure didn't show much of the visit from the loved ones. That's usually quite an important moment each season.

 

[AnthonyC]

Bob's pretty much the token "gets the boot right before the finals" player for this season. I'd be shocked if he ends up anywhere besides 4th place, even if he doesn't get immunity the next two rounds.

This episode would've been way better if Matty had actually gotten the boot, since that would be the second time this season my winner prediction was voted out. And plus, as much as the game had been shaken up the past few weeks, it is slipping up into Pagonging territory at this point, even if the five in power weren't all from the same tribe. It was way more exciting to see that in Marquesas (second most underrated season after Africa).

 

[Ronald Epstein]

What an emotional ass I am!

I was choked up for pretty much the first half of this week's
show. Count on Survivor to be able to tug on the viewer's emotional
strings by bringing in family members.

Little surprised that the moments with Corrine and Crystal's family
member were omitted.

I was so surprised that Corrinne went home. I thought it would
be a landslide choice that Matty would leave....or at least I thought
that was the plan.

Also surprised so many people going after Bob. Nice guy, and I
don't see the threat other than the fact he isn't aligned with any of
the other players.

What was Corrinne's final line that everyone is talking about?

Clearly, this is my favorite show -- certainly the one I look forward
to the most week after week. Gotta again thank RAF for
pushing me to watch this show.

 

[mylan]

It was something like " I am pulling for Bob and (hesitates) Kenny but I hope the rest have miserable lives".
A major bitch to the end. Doesn't she realize she is going to have to face these people at the reunion show? Her attitude cannot be good for anyone watching back home either: her employer, potential mates, friends, etc. talk about true colors coming through!

 

[dfergie]

Bob is McGuyver and The Professor from Gilligans Island personified... very resourceful man... Funny that Corrine said only her Brother "Got Her"... I hope Kenny and Crystal go next, although that would put Susan in good shape to win.

 

[AnthonyC]

Ronald, you have to check out some of the earlier ones. This is a great season for sure, but there are a few past ones that blow it out of the water.

Unfortunately, the majority are unable on DVD (legally). :frowning:

 

[Stan]

I keep watching just to see how it turns out. Normally this show is really enjoyable, but this is easily the worst season for me.

Other than Bob, I can't stand any of the remaining survivors. I think the many team shuffles have really screwed up the enjoyment factor of this season.

It's probably pretty hard to do the interviews and figure out what kind of contestant you'll really get, but I don't ever recall a more unlikeable group of people.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Amen.

 

[Paul D G]

I'm trying to figure out who was the bigger moron of the show - Corinne or Kenny.

- Corinne (and Bob) come up with this 'brilliant' plan of the fake idol. My first impression was they would show this around camp so everyone would mentally take Corinne of the candidate roster.
- Then it becomes clear she only wanted to use it to convert a couple of people to her side so she gets the upper hand - and only shows Kenny?
- Kenny then goes to Crystal and tells her to vote for CORINNE so she could play the idol and Matty would get blindsided (again ???). Which was apparently the plan; to blindside Matty.

I assume Kenny came up with the playing-the-idol on his own without telling Corinne (because she didn't have an idol to play she wouldn't have suggested this). If so, even if she had a real idol, she wouldn't have known to play it and STILL would have been voted out.

So Corinne's plan completely backfired on her. And it wasn't a good plan to begin with. Yet there she is patting herself on the back, congratulating herself for duping "a bunch of idiots", yet the only person she told the plan to was Kenny. So there's only one idiot. The one she calls a friend.

And at her final words does she express regret that the plan failed? No, she bitches about Sugar. I wonder if the complete Final Words is online somewhere I have to see that.

And it wasn't just that she wished everyone miserable lives, it was the look-at-how-cute-i-am smile she gave afterwards.

So. At the reunion show. Will Corinne be all full of love like people usually are, or will she sit there fuming at having to be with these people again (in the second row)?

 

[Stephen_L]

While I'm enjoying the show, I've been also frustrated by the endless tribal reshuffles this season. Kenny and Fang didn't dismantle Kota, the producers did. By all appearances Kota was set to obliterate Fang, but was twice broken apart so the individuals could be picked off. It means that there really isn't much reason to build tribe unity and teamwork in the beginning of the show because becoming a strong tribe confers no advantage. It just becomes self interest. Part of the fun of the show was the conflict of tribe loyalty early vs. self-preservation later.

 

[RAF]

Glad to hear that you like it Ron. Knowing your tastes, I knew that you would. While this season is memorable because it's the first one in HD (this type of show was born for HD!) I have to agree with Anthony that there are several earlier editions that had a wider variety of interesting plots, challenges, twists, etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying Season 17 very much but I understand Anthony's comment. Too bad that legalese limits previous shows' availability (although without the HD aspect you might not agree that they are more interesting).

As has been mentioned before, HD brings out more of the real experience of being a "survivor" because all of the nicks and bites and welts and grime, etc. seem so much more real when they are shown in their full glory. One can really get a sense of what being in such a situation entails.

The "reunion with family/friends" episode has become a season staple for Survivor and it's always quite emotional so I understand your reaction. Some of the earlier "reunions" actually had even more of a back story and coverage than this year's presentation.

As to the remaining contestants, I really would like to see Bob win because I think he has the talent to "survive" what's thrown at him - everything except the fact that the other members are finally realizing how strong he is in challenges and how smart he is. So he probably won't make it to the final three unless he continues to win challenges. (As a former Chem teacher I'm rooting for the "science guy.")

Sugar would also be o.k. with me because it's quite obvious at this point that she has played the "dumb blonde" role to perfection. She found the idol on the first try and the comments that she has made so far (although edited) show her to have a head on those "model" (?) shoulders.

As to the rest: Susie might actually get the award for staying under the radar the best and it might get her to the finals. Kenny is a gamer (although Bob blew him away in the last challenge that involved a gamer's intuition) so that could play out well for him. However he also has gamer's arrogance and that probably will bite him in the butt. I thought that Matty would do well but now he's one of the few remaining threats (as perceived by the others) so his days are probably numbered if he doesn't win challenges. Besides, Leonardo DiCaprio called and he wants his face back! (With apologies to Hanson! )

Crystal is an interesting character. She's an Olympic medalist and yet she doesn't seem to do well in challenges where she should shine. Is she playing us with that strategy or is she all thumbs? I find it interesting that there seems to be absolutely no indication that she was a member of the Olympic Team (not even with the relatives there) so I have to feel that she is purposely withholding that information to appear to be harmless - unless I missed something. If that's the case then I give her the "under the radar" award instead of Susie.

I'm looking forward to an interesting last couple of episodes as this all plays out. A case might be made for any one of the final six emerging as the Sole Survivor, and that isn't usually the case in most seasons.

 

[ChristopherG]

What exactly is the issue?

 

[Mike Frezon]

She announced at the very beginning of the show (either episode one or the TV Guide preview show that I saw) that it was definite strategy on her part that she would NOT be revealing anything about her Olympic experience. And with her complete ineptitude in physical challenges, I think the rest of the cast must be really surprised to learn the truth!

While I will finish the season out...I am really put off about the change in direction which has been caused by the random shuffles of the teams. I don't know if the reshuffles are a reaction to the Ulong scenario in which one tribe was completely inept and decimated by mid-season...but I'd much rather see that than these random shuffles which completely put the established players in very weak positions.

Let's go, Bob! I'm still enjoying the reunion of Bob with his wife. She must have been crazed to see him covered in dirt and facial hair!

 

[mylan]

That was one of my favorite scenes when she said something like "hold on a second" and came around the corner after Jeff had clearly stated that no family members were there and before commercial Bob said, "cheers, we're in Africa" priceless!

 

[RAF]

In re-reading the original comment about "legal" copies of Survivor DVDs, I now realize that I may have misinterpreted this. While it is true that only a couple of Seasons of Survivor at most (and a "Best of" compilation) have made their way to DVD I now think that the writer was stating that you can't watch too many seasons of Survivor "legally" on DVD - not because there are legal obstacles but because the only copies of many seasons would only be available "on the street" if at all. Anyone else with more clarification on this matter should feel free to jump in here if they wish.

As to Survivor on DVD - now that there is HD source material perhaps we will get a Blu-ray version of Season 17 with all the extras. I'm not sure how much of a market there would be for this so the jury's still out (no pun intended).

 

[AnthonyC]

What I meant was that only six seasons (out of 16 completed) are currently available on DVD, and it's been two years since the last release so I'm not entirely optimistic about seeing any more. :frowning: Which is a shame since seasons 3 and 4 are two of my all-time favorites.

I'm still perplexed as to why this show and The Amazing Race have not been released via Amazon.com's burn-on-demand program yet.