# Survivor Caramoan : OAD 4-17-2013 - "Zipping Over The Cuckoo's Nest"



## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

Holy crap, best TC evar!

I never expected Malcolm to do that. I expected his goal was to survive the night with an idol still in his pocket. When he said "we're voting for Phillip" both of us cheered. 

Well done Malcolm!

In other news, what Phillip did in that swimming pool was flat-out gross and him skipping the immunity challenge was pathetic. 

I felt bad for Dawn when she lost her partial. Also, Brenda's knee seems to be all better. 

We are very happy that Phillip is gone.


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## Boot (Mar 15, 2000)

I wanted to see them both not play their idols, thinking they had convinced the others to cannibalize one of their own. Either one of them would go home wearing an idol, which would be awesome, or they would live to pull the same stunt next week, which would be awesome. Although Philip going home was a close third awesome.

Did anyone else notice that Brenda's hair was dry when she was hugging Dawn after recovering her partial?


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

That immunity challenge must have been totally exhausting. If Malcolm and Reynolds both survive the next episode, they're going to have to be looking for ways to stab each other in the back.


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

Best. Tribal. EVER!!! :up:


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## brianric (Aug 29, 2002)

Phillips only hope was having their group stick to the original vote and hope either Malcolm and/or Eddie not play their immunity idol. Glad to see Phillip go.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

eggselent tribal...no witty comment on the way out from fillup..weird


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

I know it was probably the editing, but I was hoping that when Jeff was getting ready to call for the vote and Erik looked and nodded to Malcolm that that WAS how that moment played out, and Malcolm realized that Erik was voting for Phillip. I was really hoping that Malcolm wouldn't actually play his idol and would still survive the vote (though a huge risk would be that Erik was an Eddie vote and not a Malcolm vote - if the rest all decided to vote the way they had originally planned to). Then when Malcolm heistated I got a little excited.

SOOOOO glad that Phillip is gone!!!

Great, great tribal council. Even Jeff was really excited!

And from the previews, rest assured there is another great Cochran moment - that's all I'm saying. (And I'm not spoilerizing that because it's really not any kind of surprise anyway the way Cochran has been this season).


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

Cochran is my favorite. He is smart and funny and always entertaining.

I hope he wins!


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## KyleLC (Feb 6, 2002)

Boot said:


> Did anyone else notice that Brenda's hair was dry when she was hugging Dawn after recovering her partial?


I re-watched it after reading your comment. It wasn't completely dry. The pony tail part was partially dry, but there were water drops falling from it.


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## bryhamm (Jun 30, 2004)

Great usage of the idols. I thought Malcolm would play one this week and then another next week. But this forced the big 7 to scramble at TC without a plan. It might have exposed things as you had some talking about going Andrea.


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## LordKronos (Dec 28, 2003)

So glad Fillup! is gone. For a moment there, I actually gave him a bit of respect for putting himself on the line. Then it dawned on me that his goose was half cooked, and that his only hope was to play chicken and hope everyone else would too.

Unlike some other people here in every other thread, I'm usually not too quick to catch on to the giveaway clues they always seem to throw in there. But this week I did catch Phillip's comment about "I think I've worked it now so that I have a shot of making it to final 3".

Hopefully next week Malcolm can convince a few others that his problem was with phillip and not them, and with phillip out of the way they can mend some fences. Not sure if Eric's on board with them for sure, or if he just thought Phillip was the safest bet.

Hope it gets interesting now. It was annoying watching all of these people just follow orders from that tool...with his "everyone has to share with me in private, but nobody is allowed to talk to each other in private" crap.


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## MauriAnne (Sep 21, 2002)

Incredible tribal. Big props to Malcolm for pulling it off... and good riddance Phillip.


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## WO312 (Jan 24, 2003)

Boot said:


> I wanted to see them both not play their idols, thinking they had convinced the others to cannibalize one of their own. Either one of them would go home wearing an idol, which would be awesome, or they would live to pull the same stunt next week, which would be awesome. Although Philip going home was a close third awesome.
> 
> Did anyone else notice that Brenda's hair was dry when she was hugging Dawn after recovering her partial?


I noticed the dry hair right as it happened and re-watched several times. I finally convinced myself that she was really wet, but somehow her hair looked dry. My first thought had been that it was a re-enactment after the fact, but now I'm sure it wasn't. Amazing hair.


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## JETarpon (Jan 1, 2003)

The retainer thing. What the hell?


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## nlsinger (Feb 8, 2006)

Buh-BYE!! :up::up:


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

I noticed Brenda limping a little, or at least hobbling with a straight leg, during the reward challenge.

I can't understand why Malcolm would make the idol reveal BEFORE the vote like that. If it had been me, I'd have not said anything until after the votes, then handed out the idols and played them. I wouldn't want to give the majority ANY chance to work out a different plan. It makes for better TV to do it earlier so that TC can be longer and more hectic, but it seems like bad strategy.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

bryhamm said:


> Great usage of the idols. I thought Malcolm would play one this week and then another next week. But this forced the big 7 to scramble at TC without a plan. It might have exposed things as you had some talking about going Andrea.


He had a chance to guarantee he got through at least two more TCs, plus the possibility of winning an IC and maybe getting some people to change their loyalty. So while this move was a lot more fun and made much better TV, it may not have been the best strategic move for Malcolm in the long run. I guess we'll see.

I was really bugged that Jeff kept the tribal council going long enough for the others to talk through the options and decide to just stick with their original voting plan. It would have been so awesome if Malcolm pulled out the second idol, gave it to Eddie, and Jeff said, "And with that, it's time to vote." Then you would have seen massive scrambling, and Malcolm and Eddie could have kept their idols.

So glad Phillip is gone.


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## pendragn (Jan 21, 2001)

I think he did it to ensure Phillip got voted off. He wanted to plant that seed. Also, by announcing it ahead of time he forced the 7 to openly scramble. Hopefully that would expose some of the schisms. 

Very well played by Malcolm. It was fun to watch. 

Tk


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

madscientist said:


> I can't understand why Malcolm would make the idol reveal BEFORE the vote like that. If it had been me, I'd have not said anything until after the votes, then handed out the idols and played them. I wouldn't want to give the majority ANY chance to work out a different plan. It makes for better TV to do it earlier so that TC can be longer and more hectic, but it seems like bad strategy.


Because the way he did it, he thought he might cause a mad scramble and then the others would all cannibalize themselves and he could keep his idol. He didn't count on Jeff letting them all talk through the strategy.

The threat of the idol is always more powerful than the idol itself, so Malcolm knew that if he could throw everyone into chaos, the true alliances in the bigger group would reveal themselves and it would give him some leverage going forward. Just playing the idols after the vote and sending Phillip home would have had the same result on the numbers, but this way had a much bigger effect on the game going forward.


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## latrobe7 (May 1, 2005)

That was very satisfying! 

I also loved Cochran comparing Dawn to a humingbird.  
That lady is wound a little too tight.


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Dawn is bat-crap crazy. Even lack of sleep doesn't make one THAT nutso. 

I'm not sure why the "Stealth R Us" alliance didn't turn on Andrea like they seemed to almost do? Was it simply to force the idols to be played?


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## loubob57 (Mar 19, 2001)

Your main plan? We're blocking that. Your backup plan? We're blocking that too. Suck it! 

The other thing you have to consider in the way Malcolm played this out is that during the discussion among the SRUS alliance that a name or two would get mentioned and heard by the target (like Andrea) and they'd know they were on the bottom and be ripe to swap alliances. If they get two people to swap they are very competitive again.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Reynold, Malcolm, and Eddie missed a great opportunity! They should have blurted out "Brenda just told Dawn to vote for Andrea!" and "x just told Y to vote for Dawn"...etc.

They may have been whispering away from the person they were discussing, but Reynold and Malcolm could hear what they were saying. I have no hope for Eddie, who can't even put a ring on a pole (insert dirty joke here).


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

madscientist said:


> I noticed Brenda limping a little, or at least hobbling with a straight leg, during the reward challenge.
> 
> I can't understand why Malcolm would make the idol reveal BEFORE the vote like that. If it had been me, I'd have not said anything until after the votes, then handed out the idols and played them. I wouldn't want to give the majority ANY chance to work out a different plan. It makes for better TV to do it earlier so that TC can be longer and more hectic, but it seems like bad strategy.


That's exactly what I thought. Why reveal it before the vote? That made no sense to me. I did know, that as soon as he found the second idol he was giving it to Eddie. Then the three amigos were completely protected. If their plan was to get rid of Phillip, then they ran the risk of him NOT going home that week. I guess he thought that perhaps he could ascertain that some of the other 6 were going to vote off one of their own and save an idol, but that's a risk, even if they said they were going to do that. If they did it as I suggested, it guaranteed Phillip going home. Worked out that way anyway.

So who is going to lead the remaining 5? I think now is the time that Malcom strikes and they bring over one or two of the others. In the end, I think this is going to wind up a match between Malcom and Cochran for control of the game.

BTW...Dawn ready to quit based on losing her retainer? Pathetic. I think she's my least favorite of all the players this season, except for the Hantz kid.


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> So who is going to lead the remaining 5?


Five? Who aren't you counting?


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> BTW...Dawn ready to quit based on losing her retainer? Pathetic. I think she's my least favorite of all the players this season, except for the Hantz kid.


It wasn't a retainer, it was a partial denture plate. Depending on which teeth it contains, it may be almost impossible for her to eat anything harder than boiled rice without it. Add in the embarrassment that comes with the change in appearance and speech without it, and I can totally see that being a severe loss.


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## KyleLC (Feb 6, 2002)

Steveknj said:


> BTW...Dawn ready to quit based on losing her retainer?


I thought it was more than a retainer in that it included some dentures, too.

ETA: What heySkippy said.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

heySkippy said:


> It wasn't a retainer, it was a partial denture plate. Depending on which teeth it contains, it may be almost impossible for her to eat anything harder than boiled rice without it. Add in the embarrassment that comes with the change in appearance and speech without it, and I can totally see that being a severe loss.


If she couldn't eat, I get it. But to me, this seemed more of a "being vain" thing. You're on Survivor, you smell like a dead ox, you're covered in mud, dead tired, and you're worried about losing a couple of false teeth?


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

I'm sure there was a big element of vanity in her upset. Some people, like the hockey player on TAR this season, don't give a flip and will pop their teeth out to gross out the kids. Others (probably most people) would vastly prefer no one even knows they've got a plate. The way she put it back in the instant Brenda returned it made me think she's in that camp.

What I thought was pathetic was her crying on the edge of camp until someone came to see what was wrong instead of recruiting Brenda (or someone else) quietly to help her get it back. She really is wound to the point of breaking.


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## Eddie501 (Jun 4, 2004)

heySkippy said:


> What I thought was pathetic was her crying on the edge of camp until someone came to see what was wrong instead of recruiting Brenda (or someone else) quietly to help her get it back. She really is wound to the point of breaking.


Or instead, just putting on a mask & diving for it as easily as Brenda did. My heart goes out to whoever has to live with this woman in real life.


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## Occam's Razor (Apr 2, 2013)

heySkippy said:


> In other news, what Phillip did in that swimming pool was flat-out gross and him skipping the immunity challenge was pathetic.


I agree on the dirty pool, that was just rude but for not participating you're way off base. Maybe he's not the man you are or want to be but when you have a phobia (if real, that another discussion) it's easy to say just do it but unfortunately it's not that easy in real life.



madscientist said:


> I can't understand why Malcolm would make the idol reveal BEFORE the vote like that. If it had been me, I'd have not said anything until after the votes, then handed out the idols and played them. I wouldn't want to give the majority ANY chance to work out a different plan. It makes for better TV to do it earlier so that TC can be longer and more hectic, but it seems like bad strategy.


It would have made for better TV to wait and reveal at the last moment - I was so PO'ed that he revealed it early, I wanted to see the expressions on their faces after they had already voted.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

That thing with Dawn's fake teeth was ridiculous. I understand why she was so upset and wanted to get it back, but to stand there and wail for someone else to come help her and not want anyone else to know after Brenda found it... I would have gone back to camp and been like, "hey y'all, I have some fake teeth and I lost them, where's the fishing mask?!"


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

heySkippy said:


> I'm sure there was a big element of vanity in her upset. Some people, like the hockey player on TAR this season, don't give a flip and will pop their teeth out to gross out the kids. Others (probably most people) would vastly prefer no one even knows they've got a plate. The way she put it back in the instant Brenda returned it made me think she's in that camp.
> 
> What I thought was pathetic was her crying on the edge of camp until someone came to see what was wrong instead of recruiting Brenda (or someone else) quietly to help her get it back. She really is wound to the point of breaking.


Well I guess I'm in the hockey player's camp. But how vain can you be on Survivor. I certainly wouldn't quit over something like that (unless, as you said, I couldn't eat). By the nature of the game, you're a mess. At what point do things stop being an embarrassment. I think if your THAT vain, Survivor isn't for you.


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## tonestert (Nov 15, 2007)

Great episode !
I have a question, could Reynold have given his immunity necklace to either Malcolm or Eddie before the votes were read (or would he have to give it up before voting) ? Then they could have kept one of the immunity idols and and Reynold would have been safe as no one would have voted for him.


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## Rickvz (Sep 5, 2000)

tonestert said:


> Great episode !
> A have a question, could Reynold have given his immunity necklace to either Malcolm or Eddie before the votes were read ? Then they could have kept one of the immunity idols and and Reynold would have been safe as no one would have voted for him.


I believe they have to give away the necklace before the vote.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Yeah they have to give it away before that, and then Jeff says, the only person you cannot vote for is ____.


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## pendragn (Jan 21, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> That's exactly what I thought. Why reveal it before the vote? That made no sense to me. I did know, that as soon as he found the second idol he was giving it to Eddie. Then the three amigos were completely protected. If their plan was to get rid of Phillip, then they ran the risk of him NOT going home that week. I guess he thought that perhaps he could ascertain that some of the other 6 were going to vote off one of their own and save an idol, but that's a risk, even if they said they were going to do that. If they did it as I suggested, it guaranteed Phillip going home. Worked out that way anyway.


He did it to cause public scrambling of the other 7 so they could watch themselves turn on each other. I think it worked. Now the 3 of them have something to work against as they try to add numbers to their alliance.

tk


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## jradosh (Jul 31, 2001)

This weeks EW blog (Dalton is on vacation) -> http://tvrecaps.ew.com/recap/survivor-caramoan-episode-10/


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

And the QA with Jeff: http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/04/18/s...obst-talks-phillip-tribal-two-immunity-idols/


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

pendragn said:


> He did it to cause public scrambling of the other 7 so they could watch themselves turn on each other. I think it worked. Now the 3 of them have something to work against as they try to add numbers to their alliance.
> 
> tk


Did it? I don't know. It cost them an idol I think. A better strategy would have been to try and flesh out who the 7 was going to vote for and save an immunity idol. Now, if the others all remain banded together, they are still in trouble.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Steveknj said:


> Did it? I don't know. It cost them an idol I think. A better strategy would have been to try and flesh out who the 7 was going to vote for and save an immunity idol. Now, if the others all remain banded together, they are still in trouble.


But they knew there would be a split. So that strategy would just result in one of them getting voted off (the one without an idol).


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

Occam's Razor said:


> I agree on the dirty pool, that was just rude but for not participating you're way off base. Maybe he's not the man you are or want to be but when you have a phobia (if real, that another discussion) it's easy to say just do it but unfortunately it's not that easy in real life.


I agree on the phobia thing-- if he truly has a phobia about being trapped underneath something underwater, I have no problem with him skipping the challenge. Problem is, he had no problem with it in last week's challenge.


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## zordude (Sep 23, 2003)

Occam's Razor said:


> Maybe he's not the man you are or want to be but when you have a phobia (if real, that another discussion) it's easy to say just do it but unfortunately it's not that easy in real life.


Plus lets be honest, there was no way in hell he was making it to the second round, let alone winning.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Not sure why Malcolm alienated Phillip by calling him the "fun sponge". He basically made sure Phillip will not vote for him if he got to the final.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

Really mad now. I have no tv service at the moment and no way to have seen this last night. How can I watch it now??

Can anyone either pm me or post a rough idea of what happened?


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

You can watch it online at cbs.com or probably on your cable provider's online streaming, hulu, etc.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

As soon as Phillip heard his name menitoned, he should have been the "leader" and said, we all need to vote for XYZ.


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## bryhamm (Jun 30, 2004)

Steveknj said:


> That's exactly what I thought. Why reveal it before the vote? That made no sense to me. I did know, that as soon as he found the second idol he was giving it to Eddie. Then the three amigos were completely protected. If their plan was to get rid of Phillip, then they ran the risk of him NOT going home that week. I guess he thought that perhaps he could ascertain that some of the other 6 were going to vote off one of their own and save an idol, but that's a risk, even if they said they were going to do that. If they did it as I suggested, it guaranteed Phillip going home. Worked out that way anyway.
> 
> *So who is going to lead the remaining 5? * I think now is the time that Malcom strikes and they bring over one or two of the others. In the end, I think this is going to wind up a match between Malcom and Cochran for control of the game.
> 
> BTW...Dawn ready to quit based on losing her retainer? Pathetic. I think she's my least favorite of all the players this season, except for the Hantz kid.





jradosh said:


> Five? Who aren't you counting?


Yeah, it should be 6. There was the 7 vs the 3, so with Phillip gone it should be down to 6 vs 3. The 3 need to flip more than just 1 person.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

Anubys said:


> Reynold, Malcolm, and Eddie missed a great opportunity! They should have blurted out "Brenda just told Dawn to vote for Andrea!" and "x just told Y to vote for Dawn"...etc.
> 
> They may have been whispering away from the person they were discussing, but Reynold and Malcolm could hear what they were saying. I have no hope for Eddie, who can't even put a ring on a pole (insert dirty joke here).


I agree! Call them out on it!


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## bryhamm (Jun 30, 2004)

pmyers said:


> As soon as Phillip heard his name menitoned, he should have been the "leader" and said, we all need to vote for XYZ.


Yeah, I didn't get why he did that. Although had he done that, then Malcolm and Eddie likely both keep their idols and then that puts the remaining 6 in a tough spot going forward. It's almost like he was sacrificing himself for the other 6. Why?


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## Occam's Razor (Apr 2, 2013)

bryhamm said:


> Yeah, I didn't get why he did that. Although had he done that, then Malcolm and Eddie likely both keep their idols and then that puts the remaining 6 in a tough spot going forward. It's almost like he was sacrificing himself for the other 6. Why?


He's the Specialist.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

bryhamm said:


> Yeah, it should be 6. There was the 7 vs the 3, so with Phillip gone it should be down to 6 vs 3. The 3 need to flip more than just 1 person.


Yeah, I miscounted for some reason.

With the head of the snake cut off, think the alliance crumbles? Who steps up?


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

bryhamm said:


> Yeah, I didn't get why he did that. Although had he done that, then Malcolm and Eddie likely both keep their idols and then that puts the remaining 6 in a tough spot going forward. It's almost like he was sacrificing himself for the other 6. Why?


I think the gamble is that they would not play the idol. In almost every instance, announcing that you have the idol has been a bluff to get the votes in another direction, not play it, and keep it for the future.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

BTW.....I can't wait for Boston Rob to show up at the reunion and clue Fillup! in on the fact that HE IS NO BOSTON ROB!!!


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## kettledrum (Nov 17, 2003)

David Platt said:


> I agree on the phobia thing-- if he truly has a phobia about being trapped underneath something underwater, I have no problem with him skipping the challenge. Problem is, he had no problem with it in last week's challenge.


But wasn't he the first one out of that challenge last week? He might not have been as afraid of it as he was at least right near the surface with an easy means of escape.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Occam's Razor said:


> It would have made for better TV to wait and reveal at the last moment - I was so PO'ed that he revealed it early, I wanted to see the expressions on their faces after they had already voted.


I disagree. I think the way it played out made for much better TV. And it was a much better strategic play as well. If their only goal was to get Phillip out, they could have done it your way. But the way they did it, they still got that result, plus they had the chance to watch the other players scramble, see what names were mentioned, and potentially keep their idols if the rest of the players hadn't had the chance to talk about the strategy.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

pmyers said:


> BTW.....I can't wait for Boston Rob to show up at the reunion and clue Fillup! in on the fact that HE IS NO BOSTON ROB!!!


The thing is though, even Boston Rob once was voted off earlier than he thought. The problem Phillip had is really a product of bad luck. He really had NO ONE in his actual alliance jump ship (yet) and the one waffler, ended up coming back after spying on the other side. If Malcom hadn't found the HII about 5 seconds before the rest did, then it couldn't have been played the way it played out and Eddie would have been gone. Not saying the Phillip would have won, he probably wouldn't. But I don't think he played a horrible game...until this one week.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> The thing is though, even Boston Rob once was voted off earlier than he thought. The problem Phillip had is really a product of bad luck. He really had NO ONE in his actual alliance jump ship (yet) and the one waffler, ended up coming back after spying on the other side. If Malcom hadn't found the HII about 5 seconds before the rest did, then it couldn't have been played the way it played out and Eddie would have been gone. Not saying the Phillip would have won, he probably wouldn't. But I don't think he played a horrible game...until this one week.


I'm not talking about results, I'm talking about gameplay, leadership, strategy and manipulation. There really is no comparison between the two and it cracks me up everytime that Fillup! mentions his name.


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## Occam's Razor (Apr 2, 2013)

DevdogAZ said:


> I disagree. I think the way it played out made for much better TV. And it was a much better strategic play as well. If their only goal was to get Phillip out, they could have done it your way. But the way they did it, they still got that result, plus they had the chance to watch the other players scramble, see what names were mentioned, and potentially keep their idols if the rest of the players hadn't had the chance to talk about the strategy.


agree to disagree. I see your point but still disagree


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

btw....I swear Fillup! had his own tribe calling him Reynolds! Frankly I'm not even sure at this point if it really is Reynolds and not Reynold....he's got me convinced too! lol


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

pmyers said:


> btw....I swear Fillup! had his own tribe calling him Reynolds! Frankly I'm not even sure at this point if it really is Reynolds and not Reynold....he's got me convinced too! lol


It's just Reynold, no "s". 

Reynolds is aluminum foil.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

Philip will probably say he knew that, just like he said he knew how to say "FranchesQua"


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## KyleLC (Feb 6, 2002)

laria said:


> It's just Reynold, no "s".
> 
> Reynolds is aluminum foil.


Thanks for not saying tin foil.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

pmyers said:


> I'm not talking about results, I'm talking about gameplay, leadership, strategy and manipulation. There really is no comparison between the two and it cracks me up everytime that Fillup! mentions his name.


I'm not saying that he's near the player that BR was, only that I don't think his game was really horrible up to that point. I think he did learn a few things from BR, like how to keep his alliance together for one. He had nowhere the physical or mental ability that BR had, but he did learn some things from him.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

Steveknj said:


> I'm not saying that he's near the player that BR was, only that I don't think his game was really horrible up to that point. I think he did learn a few things from BR, like how to keep his alliance together for one. He had nowhere the physical or mental ability that BR had, but he did learn some things from him.


His game wasn't terrible because his team dominated, if they were successful to vote out the 3 Amigos he probably would have been the first to go after them. The whole SRUS was snickered at by the other members.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

JFriday said:


> His game wasn't terrible because his team dominated, if they were successful to vote out the 3 Amigos he probably would have been the first to go after them. The whole SRUS was snickered at by the other members.


Yet they all voted for whoever Phillip wanted voted off, and nobody made a move to dethrone him.


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## loubob57 (Mar 19, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> Yet they all voted for whoever Phillip wanted voted off, and nobody made a move to dethrone him.


Well, a couple of them did try to dethrone him and got voted out as a result. Or something like that.


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

Nobody in that group was voting Phillip because they all dreamed of sitting next to him at the end.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

heySkippy said:


> Nobody in that group was voting Phillip because they all dreamed of sitting next to him at the end.


This


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## stellie93 (Feb 25, 2006)

heySkippy said:


> Others (probably most people) would vastly prefer no one even knows they've got a plate.


How's that working out for her. It makes more sense to want to keep America from seeing it--which you are not going to do--than to worry about the other players.



Occam's Razor said:


> I agree on the dirty pool, that was just rude but for not participating you're way off base. Maybe he's not the man you are or want to be but when you have a phobia (if real, that another discussion) it's easy to say just do it but unfortunately it's not that easy in real life.


Whether Phillip's story was true or not, he wasn't going to win the challenge and he was going to look bad losing--again--and I think the second part of that was the deciding factor. The Specialist can't look bad.



pmyers said:


> As soon as Phillip heard his name menitoned, he should have been the "leader" and said, we all need to vote for XYZ.


Yeah, I didn't get all the whispering--if it's Andrea just say it loud and everyone but her should go with it. There would still be a chance that enough of them would seize the opportunity to get rid of him, but at least he'd have a chance. Since he loudly told them to keep to the plan, there wasn't much chance the guys wouldn't play their idols.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

heySkippy said:


> Nobody in that group was voting Phillip because they all dreamed of sitting next to him at the end.


Except the guy that actually voted for him. You can speculate but facts prove you worng.


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## Einselen (Apr 25, 2006)

The more I think about it the more I think Malcom played it the correct way, showing the idols before the vote. He could have used one now, saved one for later, maybe won II next week if lucky two in a row, but during that time the rest of his alliance would be picked off while the 7 still strong and he would be there all alone. Now he created a rift between them, probably watched as people scrambled. If he could hear he got some names, if not at least he saw who communicated with who and in what order thus determining strong bonds/relationships. Now he is 3 vs 6 and only has two flip 2. If he saved his idol it would have been 2 vs 7 having to flip 3.


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## madscientist (Nov 12, 2003)

No one was suggesting he save the idol (at least I didn't see that anywhere here). That's obviously a very short-sighted strategy, especially with Reynold there to contest individual immunity. If it were just Malcolm he might think he can win a few individual immunities, plus the idols, and make it far enough for the majority to break up. But with Reynold there he needs to make a move now to shake things up (IMO). Good for him!

What we were saying is why announce you have the second idol, and give it to Eddie, BEFORE the vote. If you let the majority vote without telling them what you're going to do you know what they're going to do, and you're 100% certain you get to vote off whomever you want--namely Phillip.

If you do it before the vote, as they did, there's a chance that the majority will choose someone else to go home and vote for them, and now you've lost your chance to get rid of Phillip.

I do understand all the other points. I still think, if it were me, I'd take the sure thing and wait until after the vote. However, it worked out so ...


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

I thought the way the TC played out was brilliant!!

BTW, for Jonathan Penner fans, he starred in a 1998 movie called "Anarchy TV" where he does a nude dancing scene with Jessica Hecht! 





NOTE: He still sounded exactly like Alan Alda 15 years ago!


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

David Platt said:


> I agree on the phobia thing-- if he truly has a phobia about being trapped underneath something underwater, I have no problem with him skipping the challenge. Problem is, he had no problem with it in last week's challenge.


decks are different than opened barred contraptions


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

madscientist said:


> No one was suggesting he save the idol (at least I didn't see that anywhere here). That's obviously a very short-sighted strategy, especially with Reynold there to contest individual immunity. If it were just Malcolm he might think he can win a few individual immunities, plus the idols, and make it far enough for the majority to break up. But with Reynold there he needs to make a move now to shake things up (IMO). Good for him!
> 
> What we were saying is why announce you have the second idol, and give it to Eddie, BEFORE the vote. If you let the majority vote without telling them what you're going to do you know what they're going to do, and you're 100% certain you get to vote off whomever you want--namely Phillip.
> 
> ...


I think getting rid of Phillip was secondary. it was more important for Malcolm to see the majority alliance panic and scramble and get a feel for whose names were being thrown around, so he would know who to approach in the next couple days. That Phillip was the one who went home was just a bonus. Malcolm knew someone from their alliance was going home, and that was all that really mattered.


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## David Platt (Dec 13, 2001)

Remember the good old days when they actually got clues to find the immunity idols? How many idols have been played this season? Three? Four? And not a single immunity idol clue has been seen. This is getting ridiculous.


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## pendragn (Jan 21, 2001)

David Platt said:


> Remember the good old days when they actually got clues to find the immunity idols? How many idols have been played this season? Three? Four? And not a single immunity idol clue has been seen. This is getting ridiculous.


I don't think this is worse. I'm fine with them hunting for idols instead of hunting for clues. I don't see how it makes the game any worse.

tk


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## Marc (Jun 26, 1999)

David Platt said:


> And not a single immunity idol clue has been seen. This is getting ridiculous.


Each time they got some sort of meal reward from a challenge, I've been expecting someone to be secretively searching through the food to find the immunity idol clue.


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

I took a very long hiatus in my Survivor watching. I watched the first few seasons, then took a long break and only started to watch again last season.

The biggest difference I can see is the food - they seem to be much better fed than they used to be. I remember in the second and third seasons they were starving. You really got a sense of the hardship. It doesn't seem as bad in these later seasons...they keep getting all kinds of food!


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## MikeekiM (Jun 25, 2002)

tonestert said:


> Great episode !
> I have a question, could Reynold have given his immunity necklace to either Malcolm or Eddie before the votes were read (or would he have to give it up before voting) ? Then they could have kept one of the immunity idols and and Reynold would have been safe as no one would have voted for him.


Your post inspired me to think about another scenario that the three amigos could have orchestrated...

Reynold gives Eddie the necklace before the vote in the name of comradeship and sacrificing himself for his buddy...

Everyone in SRU votes for Reynold, thinking the tide has completely shifted (or they split their votes...not sure it matters)... Jeff asks before he reads the votes whether anyone wants to play a hidden immunity idol... Malcom plays his, and announces that he admired Reynold's sacrifice, and wants to give him his other idol...

The three amigos voted for Phillip, Phillip is gone...


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## Boot (Mar 15, 2000)

Marc said:


> Each time they got some sort of meal reward from a challenge, I've been expecting someone to be secretively searching through the food to find the immunity idol clue.


I wonder if there's been one hidden in a reward meal that nobody found. Unfound/unfindable idols usually find their way back into hiding, so we probably wouldn't know if one was there and nobody thought to look.

Although, in the past, has there ever been an idol at the reward location? Isn't it usually just a clue?

And speaking of clues - have there really been no idol clues so far this season? Unless I'm misremembering, It seems like the idols have all been found with no clues. (EDIT: sorry for the three posts about this that I just smeeked!)


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

nyny523 said:


> I took a very long hiatus in my Survivor watching. I watched the first few seasons, then took a long break and only started to watch again last season.
> 
> The biggest difference I can see is the food - they seem to be much better fed than they used to be. I remember in the second and third seasons they were starving. You really got a sense of the hardship. It doesn't seem as bad in these later seasons...they keep getting all kinds of food!


Yes, they realized fairly early on that when the contestants are literally starving, they are lethargic and that doesn't make for good TV. So while they're definitely not well fed, the contestants do get enough food so that they don't have to worry about starving and so that they have enough energy to interact and compete in challenges.

Besides, there are some of the competitors from those first few seasons who have had some serious medical issues relating to their time on Survivor and the producers definitely don't want anyone to have long-term health effects from competing on a TV show.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Will there be TWO idols hidden back at camp now, or just one?


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

Anubys said:


> Will there be TWO idols hidden back at camp now, or just one?


From Jeff's Q&A this week.


Spoiler



Jeff strongly hinted that there would be 2.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Anubys said:


> Will there be TWO idols hidden back at camp now, or just one?


My opinion is there are too many played already. I hate that there are so many, because it just makes the game potentially too random. I think after the merge, that should be the end of the idols except ones that already exist.


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## Anubys (Jul 16, 2004)

Steveknj said:


> My opinion is there are too many played already. I hate that there are so many, because it just makes the game potentially too random. I think after the merge, that should be the end of the idols except ones that already exist.


But then the show would have devolved into one group voting off the other with zero drama for weeks and weeks.


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## bryhamm (Jun 30, 2004)

MikeekiM said:


> Your post inspired me to think about another scenario that the three amigos could have orchestrated...
> 
> Reynold gives Eddie the necklace before the vote in the name of comradeship and sacrificing himself for his buddy...
> 
> ...


I don't think this would work. They power 7 went into the TC knowing they were gonna split things 4-3 between Eddie and Malcolm. My guess is that if your scenario played out, they would simply move the Eddie voters over to Reynold. They were gonna split their votes no matter what. They were not gonna put their eggs in one basket because they knew about the one HII. The same thing would have happened in that all the 3 amigos would be safe and Phllip would have gone home. But they would have missed out on the chaos it created by them announcing it when they did.


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## Dnamertz (Jan 30, 2005)

Eddie501 said:


> Or instead, just putting on a mask & diving for it as easily as Brenda did.


Who knows, maybe Dawn got stuck under a dock as a child and is afraid to go underwater.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Steveknj said:


> My opinion is there are too many played already. I hate that there are so many, because it just makes the game potentially too random. I think after the merge, that should be the end of the idols except ones that already exist.


Where's the fun in that? Hidden Immunity Idols are about the only thing left in this game that's unpredictable, so it's great when they are in play and the players have to strategize around them. And in the rare instance where they get played in the right spot, like this week, they are epic. Why would the producers want to limit that?


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## LordKronos (Dec 28, 2003)

heySkippy said:


> From Jeff's Q&A this week.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


I read it the exact opposite way



Spoiler



" Id say its a safe bet that *an idol* played at this point in the game will go back out". The words "an idol" suggest singular. Also he said fans of the show probably already know. From my recollection, once they merge I don't ever remember them putting 2 idols back into play.


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## LordKronos (Dec 28, 2003)

Boot said:


> I wonder if there's been one hidden in a reward meal that nobody found. Unfound/unfindable idols usually find their way back into hiding, so we probably wouldn't know if one was there and nobody thought to look.
> 
> Although, in the past, has there ever been an idol at the reward location? Isn't it usually just a clue?


I know they've hid them in the merge feast at least a few times. I don't remember for certain if they've hid a clue at a reward feast. I think I remember Phillip in his first season discussing a clue with someone at a reward, but I don't recall if it was found there.


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## LordKronos (Dec 28, 2003)

MikeekiM said:


> Your post inspired me to think about another scenario that the three amigos could have orchestrated...
> 
> Reynold gives Eddie the necklace before the vote in the name of comradeship and sacrificing himself for his buddy...
> 
> ...


Not sure that would have accomplished much. In that situation, they'd know there was no way Reynold(s) would give up immunity without an idol in his back pocket, so that would be roughly equivalent to what Malcolm did. In addition, I'm fairly certain Malcolm told nobody about that 2nd immunity before hand.


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## bryhamm (Jun 30, 2004)

LordKronos said:


> I read it the exact opposite way
> 
> 
> 
> ...





Spoiler



I read it like the original poster. I think of it this way ... he said "an idol played will go back out". Well, an idol was played by Malcolm and an idol was played by Eddie. I read it as any idol played will go back.


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## bryhamm (Jun 30, 2004)

LordKronos said:


> Not sure that would have accomplished much. In that situation, they'd know there was no way Reynold(s) would give up immunity without an idol in his back pocket, so that would be roughly equivalent to what Malcolm did. In addition, I'm fairly certain Malcolm told nobody about that 2nd immunity before hand.


Disagree with your last statement. Eddie did not seemed surprised when Malcolm played it. I bet he knew.


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## nyny523 (Oct 31, 2003)

bryhamm said:


> Disagree with your last statement. Eddie did not seemed surprised when Malcolm played it. I bet he knew.


I don't think so.

Malcolm never told anyone - Eddie looked surprised.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

Interesting interview with Phillip:

http://www.hitfix.com/the-fien-print/interview-phillip-sheppard-talks-survivor-caramoan


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Reading Phillip wax poetic about Boston Rob got me thinking about the discussion last week or the week before about Cochran taking Jeff Probst's place if he retires. I don't think Cochran has the right personality for it... he is more of a brilliant behind the scenes commentator. But I think Boston Rob might have the charisma to pull off Jeff's job.


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## betts4 (Dec 27, 2005)

laria said:


> Reading Phillip wax poetic about Boston Rob got me thinking about the discussion last week or the week before about Cochran taking Jeff Probst's place if he retires. I don't think Cochran has the right personality for it... he is more of a brilliant behind the scenes commentator. But I think Boston Rob might have the charisma to pull off Jeff's job.


Oh yes, Boston Rob would be a good replacement, and I think Penner would be too.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

David Platt said:


> Remember the good old days when they actually got clues to find the immunity idols? How many idols have been played this season? Three? Four? And not a single immunity idol clue has been seen. This is getting ridiculous.


Or maybe they're just not showing the clues.


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## pendragn (Jan 21, 2001)

betts4 said:


> Oh yes, Boston Rob would be a good replacement, and I think Penner would be too.


Maybe Boston Rob, but he's a bit too smarmy. And I say this as someone that really respects BR's playing style and was really glad he won.

Penner might be able to do it, but I'm not sure he has the gravitas needed to pull it off. Jeff definitely has gravitas.

tk


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## Azlen (Nov 25, 2002)

Another possible ex-Survivor who has experience in hosting a show would be Colby Donaldson. I would like him better than Penner or Boston Rob.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

I don't know... my SO somehow got sucked into watching his gun shooting show one summer, and he was so boring and stiff.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

Is Jeff leaving?


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

No Penner, please. Every time he opens his mouth, I hear Hawkeye from the TV show. I like the guy, but that's a killer right there.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

hummingbird_206 said:


> Is Jeff leaving?


Not that I know of... just speculating if he does retire.  He is getting older I assume, but he doesn't seem to be aging... when we started watching Survivor, he was "hey it's that guy from Rock 'n Roll Jeopardy!" (yes, we used to watch that ) He doesn't look like he's aged a day since then.


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## hummingbird_206 (Aug 23, 2007)

OK, thanks. I thought maybe I'd missed something.


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## Kablemodem (May 26, 2001)

Anderson Cooper would make a good replacement. He was great on The Mole.


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## JETarpon (Jan 1, 2003)

Kablemodem said:


> Anderson Cooper would make a good replacement. He was great on The Mole.


I think Kablemodem is (in this one particular instance) right.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Kablemodem said:


> Anderson Cooper would make a good replacement. He was great on The Mole.


I loved that show! The Anderson seasons of course... NOT any of the celebrity seasons. Although IIRC, the season that Ahmad Rashad did with normal players was not quite as bad as the celebrity ones, even though it was way dumbed down from the first couple.

I think Anderson might be too big for Survivor now, though.


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## Boot (Mar 15, 2000)

laria said:


> I think Anderson might be too big for Survivor now, though.


Agreed - and now that he's moved on to serious journalism, he could be worried that going back to hosting reality/game shows would damage his credibility.

But yes, he was the best Mole host - and I really wish they'd bring that show back, in its original form, with him at the helm.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

Derailing into The Mole for a second, I enjoyed the book 'Reflections of the Mole' by William McDaniel, the mole in the 2nd season. He gives some interesting insight into the game.

http://www.themolebook.com/

In reference to Jeff, I think he loves this show too much to ever step down. His excitement at each tribal council is apparent.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

Donbadabon said:


> ...His excitement at each tribal council is apparent.


You can tell he still loves this game as much as ever.


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## stellie93 (Feb 25, 2006)

Plus Jeff is responsible for a lot more than just hosting, isn't he? I guess he could just be a producer or something to lighten his load, but he'd still have to be on location for 39 plus days twice a year.


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## Roadblock (Apr 5, 2006)

madscientist said:


> I can't understand why Malcolm would make the idol reveal BEFORE the vote like that. If it had been me, I'd have not said anything until after the votes, then handed out the idols and played them. I wouldn't want to give the majority ANY chance to work out a different plan. It makes for better TV to do it earlier so that TC can be longer and more hectic, but it seems like bad strategy.


Like others said, it was because he wanted to keep an idol. Scare them, convince them you're using it, then keep it. Standard strategy. I'm surprised he played his, but like was also said above, he probably kept it because the tribal went on so long. Hard to imagine yourself going home with an idol in your pocket.



pmyers said:


> As soon as Phillip heard his name menitoned, he should have been the "leader" and said, we all need to vote for XYZ.


He did say they should stick with the vote. If Malcolm had kept his idol, it would have been the right move. I also think him talking contributed to Malcolm playing his, much like last week asking for Reynold's idol.



madscientist said:


> No one was suggesting he save the idol (at least I didn't see that anywhere here)....
> 
> What we were saying is why announce you have the second idol, and give it to Eddie, BEFORE the vote. If you let the majority vote without telling them what you're going to do you know what they're going to do, and you're 100% certain you get to vote off whomever you want--namely Phillip.
> 
> If you do it before the vote, as they did, there's a chance that the majority will choose someone else to go home and vote for them, and now you've lost your chance to get rid of Phillip.


Well, the vote was 4 for Phillip, 3 for Eddie, 3 for Malcolm. So yes, he could have saved his idol. Or both. He announced it early to try and swing a vote his way and it worked (Erik for Fillup (lol)). But it's hard to bet everything on something like that happening, he got worried after a long TC, and he played it.

EDIT: Oops, I got the vote count wrong. Looks like it was 4 Eddie, only 2 Malcolm. He still could have saved his own idol, though.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

Just caught up with this. No comments on the reward challenge other than Phillip clouding up the whole pool with a big ring of dirt? Malcolm's strategy was sound but I was surprised he took so long to find the balls. And I could not believe how slow Sherri was going on the beams. She is beyond useless which will keep her around til the final 3 probably.

Awesome TC. I was wondering how Eric flipped to vote for Fillup and then remembering him saying he was sick of him at the reward challenge. Seems like he took the opportunity to simply get rid of him.

Wasn't Dawn talking about how a million bucks would really help her family a few episodes ago. But apparently not enough to stick with the game because her ghostly white falsies are at the bottom of the pond? She gets more annoying every episode. And she's such a wild card that she needs to be taken out regardless of who does it.

As for clues for IIs, Dawn mentioned something like "it would be nice to have a clue" so it seems that they don't get them, or at least she is not aware that there are any clues out there.


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## heySkippy (Jul 2, 2001)

This year's clue seems to be "stick your hand in places you can't see and feel around."


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

heySkippy said:


> This year's clue seems to be "stick your hand in places you can't see and feel around."


Yeah, just ONCE I would like to see someone stick their hand in a dark hole and get bit by something.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

does jeff get fed info between challenges? i assume the cameramen etc do feed him stuff to talk about at tribal


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

newsposter said:


> does jeff get fed info between challenges? i assume the cameramen etc do feed him stuff to talk about at tribal


In the past he has said no, that he only knows what happens when he sees them.


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## loubob57 (Mar 19, 2001)

heySkippy said:


> This year's clue seems to be "stick your hand in places you can't see and feel around."





steve614 said:


> Yeah, just ONCE I would like to see someone stick their hand in a dark hole and get bit by something.


I learned not to do that while geocaching. That's when you grab a stick.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

fmowry said:


> Just caught up with this. No comments on the reward challenge other than Phillip clouding up the whole pool with a big ring of dirt? Malcolm's strategy was sound but I was surprised he took so long to find the balls....


Certainly a sound strategy and one that has worked a few times on this show. Like you said, the problem was that Malcom took too long to find the bags. He never really gave them a shot.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

Not just Malcolm's slow bag-finding skills, but Sherri also slowed them down quite a bit.


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## fmowry (Apr 30, 2002)

pmyers said:


> Certainly a sound strategy and one that has worked a few times on this show. Like you said, the problem was that Malcom took too long to find the bags. He never really gave them a shot.


There was speculation in the EW recap that maybe he threw the reward challenge in order to spend time with his team to start doing some politicking. Not sure I buy that though. It certainly didn't make a difference in this TC, and we might never know. It would have bought him some time to search for the II though.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

fmowry said:


> There was speculation in the EW recap that maybe he threw the reward challenge in order to spend time with his team to start doing some politicking. Not sure I buy that though. It certainly didn't make a difference in this TC, and we might never know. It would have bought him some time to search for the II though.


I'm not buying that.


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## MNoelH (Mar 17, 2005)

fmowry said:


> There was speculation in the EW recap that maybe he threw the reward challenge in order to spend time with his team to start doing some politicking. Not sure I buy that though. It certainly didn't make a difference in this TC, and we might never know. It would have bought him some time to search for the II though.


That makes no sense. He'd be spending time with his team either way... only the location would change.


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## DevdogAZ (Apr 16, 2003)

newsposter said:


> does jeff get fed info between challenges? i assume the cameramen etc do feed him stuff to talk about at tribal


Jeff has said that he knows of some of the major things going on, but none of the day-to-day stuff. He prefers not to know so that he can pulls stuff out organically at Tribal Council, rather than TC sounding like one of those pre-scripted interviews you see with celebs on the nightly talk shows.


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