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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Thursday, December 17, 2009 - 8:14 pm
As usual, thanks to Survivor Fever for the transcript and pics: ***********************
Transcript: Jeff Probst: Next time, on a very special 2 hour season finale, after 37 days, 15 have lost the battle. Now, for the final five, it's war. Join us this Sunday, December 20th for the exciting seasons finale.
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 5:00 am
No phone no pool no pets Jeff Probst in his blog this week is carrying on about how Mick has no chance unless he all of a sudden turns into a great orator at finals and explains why he played so quietly. I think that may be a major clue about who comes out and blows the doors off the jury right before the vote, per Missyae's spoilers of the whole season. Doesn't make me happy, I was hoping it would be Natalie.
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 5:56 am
The title of this week's show is "Tain't Over".
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 5:58 am
Okay - Here's Jeff's Blog ****************************** Hey everybody, let’s get right into it… ANATOMY OF A REWARD CHALLENGE Long before the Survivors participate in a challenge it has already gone through an extensive testing process. It begins with a “test block” where our dreamteamers do a light run-through of the challenge so we can see how it’s coming along. When we did the first test block for last night’s “Coconut Drop” reward challenge it was rough. We all agreed that it was a brilliant and inventive challenge but it wasn’t quite right. So we gave some notes and our art department made some changes and we tested it again. Technically it was working much better but it was still taking a long time to complete. We debated reducing the number of coconuts so that it would play faster. But John Kirhoffer and Dan Munday, the geniuses who created the challenge, reminded us that if we reduced the coconuts the challenge would lose a lot of impact. The only way to change the challenge would be to completely redesign it. Well, this was a challenge that had already taken a couple of weeks to design and construct, so the idea of starting over was out of the question. We went ahead with the challenge as planned and it played beautifully. There was great drama and some character revealing moments surrounding Natalie and religion and Shambo and her hair. So, on that front it was a hit. But it took nearly four hours to complete. Four hours… and that’s simply too long. To give context, not counting endurance challenges which are in their own category, the average challenge takes 15 minutes to run. The reason four hours is too long is that it affects everything else on the schedule. Because we’re behind, the reward itself is now delayed and could result in us having less time on the reward than we desire. The losing team of Survivors who are returning to camp have less daylight for us to shoot reality and conduct interviews. It’s a domino effect. If we have a tribal council that night, we might have to go later than normal and that means our crews are working longer days than we anticipated and then you have to get up the next day to do it all again and you’re already behind. You get the point. The good news is that this rarely happens. I’m talking maybe once every other season. That’s how good our challenge guys are at designing these contests. They really know their stuff. WHY WE DO TEAM REWARDS DURING THE INDIVIDUAL PORTION OF THE GAME There is a specific reason that we will often run a “team” challenge during the individual portion of the game and that is because we want to continue to mix things up and cause conflict. When you send only three people on a reward and the other three are left behind you have a very good chance of a new alliance forming or somebody sharing information that will turn the game around. The reason it works is because people are often either desperate and/or suspicious, as they should be, and they use this opportunity to do a little detective work or to stir things up. Survivor is so much easier to play from the confines of your living room, much more difficult to actually be “in” the game where every decision is a potential million dollar choice or mistake. You saw it happen at the reward challenge where Russell, Jaison, and Shambo started investigating Natalie’s decision to choose Brett as her teammate. That simple little discussion could change the game 180 degrees. That’s all it takes for a month-long alliance to come crumbling down. Or if you’re Russell it’s merely another opportunity to capitalize on everybody else’s paranoia and move one step closer to the end. BRETT IS AN ISLAND There was no hiding that the Foa Foa four wanted to get rid of Brett. They talked about it at every challenge and at tribal council. It was quite refreshing to not have them pretend that “maybe Brett has a shot to stay.” Anything can happen but if Brett loses an immunity challenge he will be in serious trouble. If Brett makes it to the final, short of a total meltdown, I think he wins the million dollars. IMMUNITY CHALLENGE This challenge was the prototype for a Survivor challenge. It looks simple, you can play it at home, but after a 36 days of playing Survivor, merely counting pigs can drive you insane. There were lots of different strategies going on. I stayed back in the counting area so I could monitor everything. Russell would memorize a couple of numbers and head out. Brett had a different strategy. He stayed for a long time, storing many numbers in his head, never panicking. I love watching challenges play out in front of me, knowing the decisions the Survivors are making are often do or die. Clearly for Brett, it paid off. THE MULLET IS GONE Well, there is no hiding my sadness that Shambo is gone. She was loved by some and despised by others, but from my little perch she was a great Survivor contestant. She had a point of view and she shared it openly. She had a sense of humor about herself, she was a pretty good player and without question Shambo was memorable. I can tell you right now that some of the other Survivors from this season who are reading this as you are will be screaming at me for being nice to Shambo. Not my problem. I wasn’t in the game, I only know what I see and what I saw I enjoyed. I’m not saying Shambo wouldn’t get on my nerves over time, I’m only saying I liked what I saw. SO WHERE DO WE STAND When we finished shooting Survivor: Samoa I had mixed feeling about how the season would play for the audience. I knew we had a star in Russell but I wasn’t sure if we had anything else. I have had hundreds of people stop me to tell me this is one of their favorite seasons. I realize that may not ring true to everybody reading this, but for a lot of people this has been a great season. Russell is truly a star and like him or not the fact that he is still in the game as we go into the final episode is a very good thing. The Foa Foa comeback has also been a major storyline this season. Equally interesting is that Brett is still alive. Suddenly the quiet T-shirt designer is only a few days and one or two challenges away from a legitimate shot at a million dollars. Even though I do know the outcome of who makes it to the final, I am still going to give you the same predictions I felt at this point when we were shooting the show: Brett – If he makes it to the final, I think Brett has a really good shot at getting enough votes to win the money. Some of the jury may not feel he deserves it, but with a jury made up of Galu, the odds are in his favor. Russell – Hands down the strongest player of this season. NO doubt about it. The big question is “Can he get the vote?” That really will depend on whether the jury takes an intellectual approach (if so he has a chance) or an emotional approach (his chances diminish significantly.) If he makes it to the final he will have his work cut out for him. Natalie – With only five people left, I’d say Natalie has fairly good odds of winning this game. Her biggest challenge is going to be getting to the final. If Brett continues to win, Natalie could be in trouble because she is a threat to win the game. Her best strategy would be to continue to stand next to Russell and vote the way he says. Jaison – He has a reasonable shot depending on who he is up against. If Jaison is up against Mick and Natalie I think he could make a pretty compelling argument and might sway the jury his way. He was a slow burn but I think people have come to appreciate his integrity. Mick – I think Mick is the longshot. The one thing that could turn it for Mick is if he makes it to the final and then reveals that he has been playing “quiet” for a reason. If Mick turns out to be a great orator he could surprise everybody and change the minds of the jury at the final tribal council. I hope you’re excited for our finale on Sunday. I think it’s going to be fun to watch and the Reunion show should be a kick as well. AND THIS JUST IN… On a separate note, I just found out that the pilot for a new show I created with Mark Burnett, called “LIVE FOR THE MOMENT” will air at 8 pm on Thursday, Jan. 28th, 2010. If you’re looking for something new that offers great adventure as well as an uplifting message about how to get the most out of life, I hope you’ll check it out and encourage your friends to watch. I’m really proud of it and I hope it connects with an audience. The only way a show like this gets a chance for a second episode is if people watch the first one! Thanks for the support. FINAL BLOG I may not be able to write a blog following the finale. I will do my best but I want to be up front and share that it just might not happen. So with that in mind I will take a small leap ahead and say… “Survivor 20…..” Wait till you see what we have in store for you! I think you’re gonna dig it! Thanks to Entertainment Weekly for letting me do these blogs again and thanks to Dalton Ross for the weekly reminders to get my blogs finished on time. Finally, thanks to you guys, the fans, our loyal audience, the people who read this blog and respond with your comments. I read your comments every week and I learn a lot from them. Sometimes your comments even get copied and sent to our producers or our challenge department because you make some very good points in your analysis of the show. I’ve enjoyed our back and forth, thanks for the honesty. And now…. Let’s get to Sunday night already!
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 6:13 am
BonBon ... having now read the Blog, I see exactly what you mean. ************************ I've been all over the place and so far, no exit interview write-ups from Shambo. No transcripts from the Survivor Insider, which would include the voting booth where Shambo was booted. No vidcaps showing any of the next challenge. All we have to go on, so far, is what the spoiler(s) have told us previously, and hopefully, I have kept in the general thread. It's now time to bring it over here. Per the Spoilers - Finale Show: F5 - Brett wins immunity again, Jaison is booted F4 - Brett finally loses immunity and is booted. F3 - Russell, Mick and Natalie Winner - TBA at the live show following the two-hour season show on Sunday night.
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 7:03 am
Yea, Ginger! I was so disappointed when I got here before you this AM, and Jeff's blog wasn't posted yet. There was a link for it in that thread, but my little home web system can't handle some links - and that is one!
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 7:24 am
Titan --- You must live on the East Coast or get up awfully early, cause I had the Blog in here before 8:00 am my time (Central) - LOL I know everybody is very interested in how Shambo was received at Ponderosa, so I have just watched both video episodes regarding Shambo at Ponderosa so I can report it here for you. She was fine with getting booted off. Spent a couple of hours during the day with Brett to be able to say good-bye to him since she felt pretty sure she was leaving. She was very emotional when she got to the doctor's tent because it was the same doctor who had treated her during the 2nd week of the show when she hurt her neck. I don't think we were made privy to that, but this doctor was so kind to her and she felt like seeing her again was like an angel. Erik met her with an umbrella and escorted her into Ponderose. It wasn't til the 2nd video that she had a one on one with Erik. She made sure he knew that when he was voted out, she voted Jaison as they had agreed and was not in on the breaking down of Galu that night. She had already told us that when that happened she felt she had Carte Blanche after that to do as she pleased. She said to Erik that she could not understand why she was the "traitor" when they were the ones who started it all by booting Erik. The two that are avoiding her are Kelly and Laura, more so Kelly than Laura. Monica seems to be relating to her and was explaining how the overindulging on empty stomach is causing a swelling and uncomfortable feeling in almost everybody, so she was warning Shambo. John lets us know he is used to working in an office where you might not like everybody, but you have to get along......so that's what he is doing at Ponderosa. Dave is being cordial, but also staying to himself a bit and trying to exercise more. He feels very uncomfortable with too much eating, especially of wrong foods, and lack of exercise. So, except for Kelly and Laura, Shambo is doing fine ... but in the two videos, there were no flare-ups or verbal fighting, just stand-offishness!
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 8:45 am
Here's the link for the Tribal Council voting where Shambo got the boot. It has not been transcribed yet, so since time is short, you can go watch the video at CBS yourself using this link, or stumble through my notes below from where I watched it. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/video/?pid=OZRU32XQOFvzrghy5QDhyw_23yMIZzHd&vs=Clips&play=true *********************************** Mick (Shambo) --- said lots of good words, thanked her for her help, said it should be Brett but since he won immunity....... Shambo (Mick) --- said it was either him or her tonight Brett (Shambo) --- said Shambo betrayed their tribe Russell (Shambo) --- said she was the weakest link Jaison (Shambo) --- didn't say anything Natalie (Shambo) --- said she was voting for Shambo for 2 reasons. First they needed to keep Mick and Jaison as the strongest to hopefully beat Brett in the IC. Second she was loyal to Russell, Jaison and Mick first over Shambo. Great Game!
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 1:00 pm
Thanks to Suvivor Fever for the transcript: **************************** Transcript: Announcer: They are the final five Survivors. Brett, Natalie, Mick, Jaison and the master of disaster, Russell. Russell: I came here focused. Announcer: Will the most evil player ever... Natalie: I trusted you from the first day. Announcer: ...knock everyone out of the game? Three tribal councils, 2 breathtaking hours... Brett: I have four people with the sole goal of beating me. Announcer: ...1 ultimate Survivor. Russell: Let's see if that 21 year old can outwit me when it comes to pain.
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 1:06 pm
Cut and pasted from Shambo's interview with Zap2It. ******************** Welcome to Los Angeles! Are you looking forward to anything in particular at the finale? I really want to meet Betsy, Marissa and Mike because they were out of the game by the time I went to Foa Foa. I've been watching the show and not having had the opportunity to hug those guys, I'm really looking forward to meet them. I'm also looking forward to letting bygones be bygones and burying the hatchet. I don't think there's all this dissension that we would have everybody believe. Even with Laura? Your relationship with her seemed particularly contentious. Absolutely. After the show last night, when I went back to the Ponderosa, a few peopel said hi, a few people hugged me, a few people were off in their own little worlds but Laura gave up her Quonset hut so I could have a hot shower and a bed. So is Laura this big demon person who hates Shambo? Absolutely not. She's this great Christian woman who gave of herself in my moment of need and that's what I hold on to at the end of the day. Things happened that we both regret and we can't change it, but we found a forward path and it makes me happy.
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Auntiemike
Member
09-17-2001
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 1:30 pm
Shambo talks about Laura being a Christian woman but I see a lot of forgiveness in Shambo's heart....she sure knows how to be Christ-like towards others. Good for her! She has a pure heart of gold.
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 1:32 pm
***** CBS is so focused on Russell, do you think it could it be a set-up for the viewers? The ultimate mis-direction? Whenever they talked with Mick, and Jaison for that matter, in the tribal councils, I always thought both of them had excellent, well thought out communication skills. So, when I heard about the possibility of a great speech in the finals, I thought about both of them as capable.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 1:50 pm
Thx Ginger!!! You make my day! aahhhh Shambo, I just love that girl! I hope they let them give her a hair makeover, I bet she will look 20 yrs younger!
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 1:51 pm
I wonder why we didnt get any real previews for Sunday's show
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 2:27 pm
From what she said last night, Shambo loves the mullet!
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 3:35 pm
Probably the reson for the lack of previews, Pamy, is that they can't get past that first challenge and TC without giving away who gets the first boot of the evening. The picture we have of the 5 of them arriving at the challenge, plus the 2nd picture of the 5 of them lined up appears (according to posters over at Survivor Blows) to be an obstacle course of some kind, and they claim to have seen a bag, which means puzzle pieces. They sure are seeing a lot more in the picture than I am, but maybe they are referring to the moving part and I'm only looking at the still shot. Regardless......the spoilers have already told us who wins that first challenge and who gets the boot, and also who gets the 2nd boot. The questions are who gets the 2nd IC win, and of the three left, who wins the $1 million. Survivor Blows has a voting thread open for its participants now, and I can already see that everybody is agreed on the 5th and 4th placements, but it's a mixed bag for the F3 placements. Nobody really knows for sure, and that's the way it should be.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 6:31 pm
Kooklie, I think they want us to think Brett goes on a winning streak and wins. In JP's blog he makes it seem like the others would have a better shot at winning than Mick, so he and Nat are prolly final 2 and I have thougth Nat will win because they have shown far more of her than of Mick. I think she has played a great game and if my Russ cant win hope it's her. I would have loved to hear a Jaison jury speach, I love to listen to him talk.
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 7:03 pm
Ginger, aaah yes that makes sense!
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 7:42 pm
IF.... the F4 happens as speculated, why would they choose Jaison over Mick? They were already talking Mick on this episode. There wouldn't be a tie. So, something must happen with Jaison / Russell for Russell to pick Jaison over Mick. Maybe?
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 7:56 pm
Just a guess on my part............ Maybe Natalie and Russell decide after Brett wins yet another IC, that they have a better chance of getting a win against him using Mick rather than Jaison??? If Brett gets to the F3, he will win hands down with all the Galu on the jury, so they have to play what they think is their best card. The only other thing I can think of is that Jaison goes against Russell somehow, but with 2 IC's and 2 TC's plus the jury thing in the Finale, there is not that much time for Jaison and Russell to clash. I bet it's a decision to keep Mick over Jaison in order to have a better shot at ousting Brett (and it obviously works).
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Friday, December 18, 2009 - 8:48 pm
That makes sense... Now, that I think about it, Maybe because Jaison is a law student, they think he could be more convincing to the jury?
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Saturday, December 19, 2009 - 5:03 am
Yep ... that's another good reason. They may feel he is more of a threat with the jury. However, it is Mick we have seen bonding more with the players from Galu, than Jaison .... but we are only seeing what is edited.
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Alaginger
Member
07-11-2002
| Saturday, December 19, 2009 - 5:37 am
CBS Press release: "A shocking new deal is struck even as the remaining castaways face the last two immunity challenges in the game, on a special two-hour season finale, followed by a one-hour live reunion show of SURVIVOR: SAMOA, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009 (8:00-11:00 PM ET/PT)"
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Saturday, December 19, 2009 - 8:35 am
I think its cuz Mick is better in challenges than Jaison, they want to keep ppl that can beat Brett......or Russ realizes that Jaison could win the jury over because he is such a great speaker. ...or word gets back to Russ that Jaison told some ppl he is behind most of the big moves
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Sunday, December 20, 2009 - 2:22 am
My Sis in Phoenix made a good point. Russell is still concerned, most likely, about him being a Multi-Millionaire comment (tattled to Galu by Jaison). Now, if he had to face Mick in front of the jury, Russell could argue "hey, Mick's a Doctor so he doesn't need the money either". He could additionally argue that Mick didn't make big gameplays, not that Jaison did either - Russell would surely prefer to face off Mick at the end.
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