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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston, MA

    Survivor: Winners at War

    I thought there was a thread on this already, but for the life of me I can't find it...so I'll start one (again?).

    Like JE, I'm a Survivor junkie. I missed the first season, but near the end heard all about the hype. The second season started right after the Super Bowl, and my wife and I watched it. We then watched the next 6 seasons before taking about 3 years off (with our third child), so we missed the year Yul won through Russell's first year. Then we were back and have watched every season, many of which with our three kids (now 21, 19 and 16) who love it. We are all extremely excited about Season 40 and one where it's all former winners.

    Obviously, it's an immensely strong group. I mean, they all have won. There are only two people I really wish were there that are not - Cochran and Fabio. Would love to see them replace Nick and either Ben or Adam (probably Ben, because he is only a champion due to Survivor changing their rules at the last minute, and thus stealing a win from Chrissy). But it is what it is.

    I look at the players and truly think that anyone could win. I would have to say the smart play would be the get rid of Boston Rob and Sandra as quickly as possible, but at the same time Rob is so good at challenges, and Sandra is so strategic, that getting them in your group would be a good thing. It also hurts that both Rob and Amber are in together, as certainly the group won't let them both make it to a merge. I hope they switch around the tribes alot. And I know there's a second chance to get in, so nobody is really gone, and would be fun to see someone like Rob get back in late in the game.

    For now, my money would be on either Jeremy, Tyson, Wendell or Adam for the men, and Natalie, Danni, Sophie, Michelle for the women. And fully excited to see Ethan back. He was a total stud back in Season 3 (the year they all nearly starved to death in Africa).

    Bring it on!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    I'm glad someone else will join me in talking about this season! It may only be the two of us Uda... but we will have fun.

    -Jason "I have seen every season but 1... I'm not sure which one it was I missed but the wife and I decided to skip one about three years ago... I've seen every single other episode" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New York City
    I skipped last season but am back in for this one and excited. For this small group, was last season worth going back and watching?

  4. #4
    Last season is easily one of the worst.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Quote Originally Posted by acdevil View Post
    Last season is easily one of the worst.
    Yeah, some decent characters but the gimmick of using Rob and Sandra fell flat and did not advance the story.
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    I moved. Now 12 miles from Heaven, 13 from Hell
    Pretty good start to the new season. It helps that regular viewers know all the players (I’ve seen all but the one Danni won.) Of course, this was really two episodes back to back. Neither person voted out was a surprise if you thought about it much.

    If you’ll put spoiler in the header, and some rules about advanced spoilers (things picked up on other sites), then the few of us here can have a good discussion. (I typically will watch an episode the next day, so I just won’t jump in until I watch it.)

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New York City
    The Ringer does a pretty good primer on the new season.
    Singler is IRON

    I STILL GOT IT! -- Ryan Kelly, March 2, 2013

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston, MA
    OK Spoilers. If you haven't seen the first episode, don't read further (and JE - can you change the topic thread subject to include spoilers?)

    Was just super fun to watch all of these people again. Some thoughts (in no particular order)

    * Loved Ben talking about being star struck with Boston Rob and how just talking with him made Ben babble and then tell him all that happened.

    * There's always been a part of me that thinks at least some of Survivor is rigged. Be it bone headed moves by people, or challenges that suddenly turn. I was pretty shocked last night that Natalie gave the idol to Sandra. Why would she do that? It just seemed like a twist to ensure Sandra stays around for a few more weeks. There's also immense power from those on Edge of Extinction - but given that this is all returning winners, I'm actually OK with that.

    * It's clear to me that ultimately Rob, Amber, Parvati and Sandra have absolutely no chance to win this game, unless they come back at the very end and make the final 3. Everyone else will rightly vote them out. I was shocked that Rob wasn't the first one to go (brings me back to that partially rigged thing).

    * I didn't know about the Poker thing that Tyson, Rob, Amber and Kim did. But clearly lots did, and Tyson and Kim are in big trouble because of it.

    * My money is now on Sarah, Michelle, Sophie and Denise for the women, and Adam, Wendell, Yul and Nick for the men.

    * Jeremy and Tony are a blast to watch. And super dangerous. They will last for a while, but then likely get taken out as the dangerous threats that they are.

    * Ethan needs to stop with the "this game is so fast, how do I play it?" stuff. He's a freaking legend. Start acting like it.

    Again, just can't reiterate how fun it is to watch this. As Rob said "every single person out here is a threat to win, and a threat to everyone else."

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Quote Originally Posted by Udaman View Post
    * It's clear to me that ultimately Rob, Amber, Parvati and Sandra have absolutely no chance to win this game, unless they come back at the very end and make the final 3. Everyone else will rightly vote them out. I was shocked that Rob wasn't the first one to go (brings me back to that partially rigged thing).
    Why do you say that about them? Rob and Amber have been targeted as a married couple and that makes sense, and Sandra has won twice so folks will see her as less deserving, but why Parvati? Is it because she is the 2nd or 3rd most famous player to play the game?

    By the way, I have come to the conclusion that Amber just isn't that good at Survivor. The first season she was on, she was a total goat who got taken late in the game because she was a non-entity and no threat. Then, she won All-Stars because Boston Rob fell in love with her and protected her the whole way. Was there any sign during All-Stars that she was the mastermind controlling things? No. She won because the folks who had been manipulated and controlled by Rob voted for her because they could not stand to vote for him.

    So, now we get to the all-winners season and there is an immediate target on Rob and Amber's back. Rob deals with it by getting in the head of rival players and forcing them to do his bidding. He's an amazing manipulator and phenomenal at reading people. Meanwhile, Amber is in trouble and she does... nothing. She's impotent and meekly gets voted out. If Lex had not helped Rob out by saving Amber back in All-Stars, she'd be a nobody.

    By the way, Extinction Island is a nod to the popularity of Rob. If he does get voted out soon, this gives the show a way of keeping him around and maybe even letting him back into the game. He's the GOAT on Survivor and it ain't even close.

    -Jason "I am convinced that Sandra's anger at Rob is all for show and that she is working with the producers to create a good storyline... if they ever wind up on the same tribe, I bet they team up" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Boston, MA
    Fair points about Amber - I had kind of forgotten that about her (and it's true). All that aside, it was really touching when she kind of broke down about seeing Rob's team lose in the first challenge saying "I'm his biggest fan." They seem to be a pretty awesome couple.

    Yeah, I felt the Sandra anger was a bit manufactured. Though I also saw a video of them after the fact (on a panel), and I get the feeling that Amber doesn't like Sandra all that much (probably because she voted her out).

    The Poker Club thing is clearly pretty big. Yul was smart to bring that up. He's really awesome to watch (but wish he, too, would stop with the 'this game is so fast" bit).

    No doubt at all that EOE is all about Rob (and Sandra). Read a quote that Jeff gave where he said several of the players this year said they would not come back without EOE. Makes sense.

    To me the best players ever are: Rob, Ozzie (challenges), Cochran (strategy), Yul (strategy), Parvati. Sandra was good, but is terrible at challenges and also got dragged along her first season because she was someone they thought they could beat. But boy she can manipulate people.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Deeetroit City
    Survivor? Should this thread be combined with: Plaguewatch: CoronaVirus?

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Summerville ,S.C.
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    Why do you say that about them? Rob and Amber have been targeted as a married couple and that makes sense, and Sandra has won twice so folks will see her as less deserving, but why Parvati? Is it because she is the 2nd or 3rd most famous player to play the game?

    By the way, I have come to the conclusion that Amber just isn't that good at Survivor. The first season she was on, she was a total goat who got taken late in the game because she was a non-entity and no threat. Then, she won All-Stars because Boston Rob fell in love with her and protected her the whole way. Was there any sign during All-Stars that she was the mastermind controlling things? No. She won because the folks who had been manipulated and controlled by Rob voted for her because they could not stand to vote for him.

    So, now we get to the all-winners season and there is an immediate target on Rob and Amber's back. Rob deals with it by getting in the head of rival players and forcing them to do his bidding. He's an amazing manipulator and phenomenal at reading people. Meanwhile, Amber is in trouble and she does... nothing. She's impotent and meekly gets voted out. If Lex had not helped Rob out by saving Amber back in All-Stars, she'd be a nobody.

    By the way, Extinction Island is a nod to the popularity of Rob. If he does get voted out soon, this gives the show a way of keeping him around and maybe even letting him back into the game. He's the GOAT on Survivor and it ain't even close.

    -Jason "I am convinced that Sandra's anger at Rob is all for show and that she is working with the producers to create a good storyline... if they ever wind up on the same tribe, I bet they team up" Evans
    Mr evans i couldnt agree with you more sir. Absolutely the way i saw it.although my wife disagrees with me somewhat .
    Rob may be the best of all time.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington DC
    I just got around to watching the first episode, and it certainly lived up to my high expectations. Like others here, I have watched the show from season 1, but missed a few in the middle before coming back to watch regularly the past few years. Here are my scattered thoughts on the season so far:

    Coming in, I thought that Rob, Amber, and Sandra would have HUGE targets on their backs. I also thought the multiple-time returnees would have a big advantage knowing what it was like to play again from the outset, and that the "newer" players would fare better as the game has evolved since some of these winners last played. But after watching the first episode I'm not sure I'm right. Rob and Sandra definitely have targets on them, but they are so darn good at this game that I'm not sure it matters. Rob was masterful - he's like a mob boss controlling the game with fear without ever actually threatening anyone. He just has to say "I'm not sure I can trust you" and people freak out and do whatever he says. And aligning with Parvati early was key to early survival, but it will be interesting to see who turns on the other first (and you know it is coming!). Sandra did her usual sowing discord but keeping herself out of it. It is a huge testament to them that they didn't get any votes! Amber was another story; seemed disinterested and didn't maneuver like the others, and paid the price.

    As for the new players, a lot of them seemed in awe of the legends. I forget that the show has generally cast superfans in recent seasons who grew up watching Rob and Tyson and Yul et all, and as a result they seem a but star struck and intimidated. Will have to see if they shake it off but for now I've been more impressed by the "old schoolers".

    One of my all time favorites was Yul, and I was worried about him picking it up again after so many years. And he seemed a little in over his head at times, but also reminded me of how logical and strategic he was. His "outsiders" alliance is brilliant, and can hopefully blunt a lot of the advantage the multiple returnees have. Ethan on the other hand seemed like Brad Rutter - outclassed by the newer players. Hopefully he gets it in gear.

    I know Survivor has resisted an all winners season with the justification being that there wasn't a large enough pool of winning players willing to return to make casting interesting, but I think there is another dynamic at play here - the relationships outside of the game. It seems there is a community of ex-players, and some of them are very tight and come into the game with existing bonds, while others do not. I'm not sure how much impact this will have as the game moves on, but it is a dynamic that has not been present before.

    I'm more of a traditionalist and don't like the multiple twists - tribe swaps, multiple idols, idol nullifiers, extinction, etc - so not a fan of fire tokens so far. I want to see people best the game, not get bailed out by a tribe swap or a gift from another player.

    It's early, but after one week I think I would list Rob, Yul, Wendel, Sarah, and Sophie as my favorites to win. I think Tony's style is not conducive to this format, and I also think Ben seems in over his head. Jeremy is in a bad spot but I think he's a strong enough player to dig himself out. I don't have an early read on the others yet.

    Looking forward to the rest of the season!

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    Just wanted to pop in to marvel at Boston Rob. Even with the people allied with him being targeted, no one even begins to talk about taking him out. I don't know if it is because he is seen as someone who can help win challenges or if he is just so damn likable but I was amazed to hear folks bringing up Parv and Ethan but not even beginning to talk about Rob. He is the GOAT!

    Still too early to get a good sense of where things really stand. What is up with all these fire tokens and how can people earn more of them? Feels like we should be finding at least one or two of them in hidden places at some point.

    -Jason "I'm betting Natalie makes it back into the game very soon as she has 3 fire tokens on exile island that should give her some kind of huge advantage" Evans
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    I moved. Now 12 miles from Heaven, 13 from Hell
    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    Just wanted to pop in to marvel at Boston Rob. Even with the people allied with him being targeted, no one even begins to talk about taking him out. I don't know if it is because he is seen as someone who can help win challenges or if he is just so damn likable but I was amazed to hear folks bringing up Parv and Ethan but not even beginning to talk about Rob. He is the GOAT!

    Still too early to get a good sense of where things really stand. What is up with all these fire tokens and how can people earn more of them? Feels like we should be finding at least one or two of them in hidden places at some point.

    -Jason "I'm betting Natalie makes it back into the game very soon as she has 3 fire tokens on exile island that should give her some kind of huge advantage" Evans
    They wanted to "weaken" him, which is why Ethan was voted out. Parv would have been the obvious one, but that would have given Adam too much satisfaction/power, after his major blunder in blabbing to Rob and Ethan. Based on the reactions to the votes, he was shocked and worried when he saw how the it went.

    I figure that they may think he'll be more dangerous to return/win if they send him to EoE now. That, and/or they're worried if what he will do to them if they "miss". And, he's perhaps the all-time best in group challenges. While he blew the puzzle in episode 2, he almost brought them back in the last episode (according to the edit, at least.) And not too many can beat throwing tribe mates over rolling logs and pulling others up inclines.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Hot'Lanta... home of the Falcons!
    That log challenge... wow! Here is a great bonus video of Ethan talking about what he went through to complete it. I had wondered about these extra fire tokens and when they would come into play... well, there are now 4 extra tokens in the game. Tyson saying, "you guys have so much firewood" at the end of the episode was one of the funniest things I have ever seen on the show.

    Meanwhile, Rob is back to being the puzzle master. He solved that block puzzle ridiculously fast. Next week brings a tribal swap. I just hope Rob comes out on the right side of it. He is must see TV every single week!
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    New York City
    Link please?

    I can’t believe they didn’t take out Rob and/or Parvati by now. It’s almost as if they are watching the game and don’t want their favorite players to leave. There is no justification for having the number advantage and taking out Ethan before one of the other two. Now they are giving the two most dangerous players new life with the tribe swap. They are lucky the other tribe was smart enough to get rid of Tyson almost unanimously. I have been skeptical of extinction island as a concept and didn’t like Chris winning after spending most of the season there. But the extinction island segment this week made it worthwhile. That was pretty compelling reality TV, especially when the other three joined Ethan on his last run. I would love to see Natalie get back into the main game soon. The tribe swap will be a major roll of the dice for almost everyone.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by mr. synellinden View Post
    Link please? .
    Ooops. Here is the Ethan video: https://twitter.com/survivorcbs/stat...89381219422211
    Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by JasonEvans View Post
    Thanks. Here is a good read/recap of episode 4 from The Ringer, which makes the same point about the effectiveness of the Edge of Extinction element in this episode.
    Singler is IRON

    I STILL GOT IT! -- Ryan Kelly, March 2, 2013

  20. #20
    Had to save this from the second page.

    Was pretty disappointed about Rob getting voted off last night, but it was probably the right move for the rest of his tribe.

    Really getting antsy to see something happen with Edge of Extinction and/or the Fire Tokens.

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