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Chy
Member
07-19-2003
| Friday, February 20, 2009 - 1:08 pm
I think it will be good to have a thread like this. He is good at it. Worthy of a thread. Plus this way posters who thinks he might spoil the show for them do not have to come and read. If the mods don't agree with me, I'm fine with erasing it. Warning! Some posters consider Jeff a bit too spoilish. Here's the one after the premier. I know someone posted it in some other thread, but like to keep all JPiddy's blog together here. . . . . . . . . . http://popwatch.ew.com:80...9/02/jeff-probst-blo.html 'Survivor: Tocantins': episode 1 Feb 13, 2009, 08:00 AM | by Jeff Probst Mark my words. Survivor: Tocantins will go down as one of your favorite Survivor seasons. I know I've said that about other seasons in the past and check the records, haven't I usually been right? Some seasons I'm not sure how the audience will react, so I say nothing, but when I'm sure, I scream it. This is me screaming: YES! YES! YES! Say it with me. YES! YES! YES! Yes is my new favorite word. Life is so much more fun when you just let go of your fears and say ''YES'' to whatever. Don't believe me? Try it. Today, just say ''YES'' to everything that comes your way. Let me know how it goes. Okay, so to episode one. Well, here's something I was dead wrong about. I never thought Carolina would be first out. In fact, I thought she could go a long way. I was way off on that one. Too bad, we always seem to lose a cute girl early. What is wrong with these people? Don't they realize this is their show? They should get rid of the ugly and boring people and keep the attractive and entertaining ones. Like Sydney. Please don't turn around and vote out Sydney next week. Carolina may not have understood how to play Survivor but I'm sure there are a few fans already missing her. Whatever. I get paid either way. While we're here, let's start the blindside tally. That's the first of what will be a record-setting season of blindsides. I loved our opening twist. We on the Survivor creative team were all rather proud when we stumbled upon the simple but effective notion of ''first impressions'' as an episode 1 twist. In fact, if I remember correctly, we all downed a case of Brazilian beer as a toast to ourselves. The twist worked and it plays out for quite a while. Sandy and Sierra are clearly still in trouble as a result of the first impression vote, but you have to admit, it's amazing that neither of them were the first person voted out, all things considered. I think Sandy took a risky approach - clearly selfish and probably based on the fact that she feels a bit ''odd woman out'' due to age. Sierra impressed me with her desire to instantly try to win back favor on her tribe by working hard on the shelter. I think it worked. Hard work and the ability to say... ''YES''... can get you a long way in life. I bet Sierra wins the whole thing! Ka-ching! Either that or she'll fall in love with a Survivor producer and make cute little Survivor babies. I still get paid either way. ''And now here's something we think you'll really enjoy!'' (Can anyone name that cartoon character?) We have something very special for you fans this season, it's a new Survivor philosophy, you might even call it a religion of sorts. IT goes by the name Coach. Stay open to IT. Stay open to Coach. Beautiful things may emerge if you just open your arms and accept what Coach can offer you. Salvation? I doubt it. Great laughs? Absolutely. Coach is a star. He was meant to be on Survivor. I only wish we could clone him. I'm already pushing CBS to do another All-Star season just so we can have him back. Plus, my friend Serena already likes Coach, so there's that. We have so many great characters this season. I'd list some of them but that would just irritate the ones I left off. Oh who cares, like I said, I get paid either way. Okay, in no particular order: Tyson, J.T., Steven, Sierra, Brendan, Taj, Sandy, Debbie, Spencer, Erinn. Yes I know you are already wondering if that means these people last a long time. Guess you'll have to watch to find out...and maybe I left one or two off the list just to throw you off. Maybe. You never know. Especially when I write this blog late at night, I get lippy and sometimes I just say things that simply aren't true. And let's just get this out of the way, for all the Survivor: Tocantins participants, don't take these blogs too seriously. I only mean half of what I say. The other half of what I feel, I never share at all. It's all just fun. I love you all equally. But mostly Coach. Next week, Exile Island comes into play. Cue Probst dramatic voice: ''This year, we have the most desolate and unforgiving Exile Island ever.'' Okay, I've said that before too, but this time it really is! You'll see. Plus, there is a twist on Exile that creates some interesting reality...I won't spoil it, but if only we had thought of this idea a few seasons ago, we'd be crushing American Idol in the ratings. Oh relax, Seacrest, I'm kidding. You guys are still the king. Whatever. Blah, blah, blah. I still get paid...just not nearly as much as you, Ryan. That does bother me a little bit. I'll admit it. I mean I don't do Survivor for the money, but when I see Ryan's house I do get a bit envious. It's a pretty cool house. Then again, he's a cool dude, so I just say ''YES'' and move on with my still glorious life. It's 2 a.m. as I'm writing this and honestly these blogs are a bit like therapy for me, only $150 an hour cheaper. So far I've saved $50. Okay is that enough for this first episode blog? Serena says, ''Yes, baby, it's enough already. Come to bed, it's late.'' Ah the imagination. It's a terrible thing to waste. So be it. To bed I go. Talk next week. Share your comments and as always I'll respond as time allows. After second epi: 'Survivor: Tocantins': episode 2 Feb 20, 2009, 08:05 AM | by Jeff Probst First things first. Did you see our ratings? We went up from last year's premiere! That doesn't happen. Television ratings are crumbling all around us as the networks scramble to figure out how to combat DVR's, kids watching on computers, and iPhones and the like. So when something like this happens to a show in its 18th season, it's big news! And it's all because of you - our loyal viewers. So on behalf of the entire crew and CBS, I say thank you for your amazing support. Okay, on to the episode. I gotta mention it. Another blindside. We're 2 for 2 and I love it. Candace never saw it coming. I hated losing Candace. She was bound to provide lots of spark around camp. But Candace, you picked a fight with the wrong guy.... You picked on Coach! Nobody picks on Coach. He's a symphony conductor for crying out loud. He's a maestro! You don't mess with maestros! They're known for their Scorpio-like ''get even'' mentality. You stung him and he stung you back. Torch snuff. Bye-bye. Just like that, Candace is out. I am imagining Candace reading this right now and she is either...smiling and laughing along with me or...she is calling lovely Corinne from last season and asking her for the address of my house and instructions on how to light a Molotov cocktail. Ah, what the heck, go for it. I'm insured. I love it when the Survivors eat grubs. It takes me back to Season 1 when we had a challenge in which they had to race to eat grubs and Gervase couldn't get his down. Ah yes, season 1. The good ole days. Back when I wore those silly safari clothes and said really corny things like ''fire represents life.'' Thank goodness those days are gone. Boy, was I a loser. I'm so much cooler now. Whew. I have a question - do you think that Taj revealed she was the wife of Eddie George because she believes that honesty is the best policy? Or do you think she absolutely loves telling people ''I'm married to Eddie George, Heisman trophy winner at Ohio State and former NFL football star!'' I'm guessing the latter. But to be honest, I'd brag, too, if I was married to Eddie George. Heck, I'd pull a Heidi Klum and tattoo Eddie's name on my forearm. Yes, Heidi has a tattoo of her husband's name, ''Seal,'' on her forearm. That beautiful supermodel forearm with a huge tat of the word ''Seal.'' It's there. I know. I saw it. Yep. I've seen Heidi's naked forearm. Lots of times, in fact. The problem with Taj's revelation is that you give people a reason to vote you out. Taj just shouted at the top of her lungs - ''I don't need the money! I'm already rich!!!'' That could be costly. How great was that challenge? It was physical, it was in the water (which means bikini's), and...it was pouring rain! I mean it was dumping! Here's a fact I've never admitted before. I secretly pray for rain every time we do a challenge. I love it when it rains. Not just because it turns me on a little bit, but also because it adds so much to the look and play of a Survivor challenge. It amps up the drama, it makes the shots look that much ''cooler,'' and like I said, I just like being wet. Anytime it's raining, just know that I'm happy...and yes, a bit turned on. Is that wrong? Or weird? I recently had to take a required sexual harassment course and I'm pretty sure merely writing that last sentence constitutes sexual harassment on some level. Sorry if I've offended. A lot of people ask me, ''Why do you only do one challenge in the early episodes?'' The reason is because we want to have more time in the show for you to get to know the personalities of our Survivors. We figure in episodes 1 and 2 we can build one big challenge, make it epic, and that will allow us a few more minutes in the show to focus on the Survivors. Question: Do you like that or would you prefer 2 challenges in every single episode? Speaking of getting to know the Survivors - my two favorite people this week are: From Timbira - Sierra. She's a fighter and I like that. Wouldn't that be weird if Sierra ended up married to a Survivor producer? How random would that be? From Jalapao - J.T. He's a great leader and he's playing humble. But I don't buy it for a second. J.T. is a bona fide threat in this game. It's only episode 2 and trust is already playing a big part in the game. It's what makes this game so difficult to play but so fun to watch...ultimately you have to trust someone in order to survive, but conversely you really can't trust anyone if you want to survive! So what do you do? You have to trust people who are untrustworthy, and then you have to cut them loose before they cut you loose. It's like learning Russian. Very complicated. One of my favorite moments of the episode was the ''fire pit'' cover-up. It was a great lie. Quick thinking. I absolutely love those kinds of moments. The key to it all was Debbie. All you need is one person to validate your lie and you're set, and let's face it, you can't get better than a middle school principal to endorse your lie! Debbie bought it hook, line, and sinker, and she was no doubt watching tonight's episode and laughing herself silly. Debbie has a pretty good sense of humor. I would love to know why Brendan chose Taj. I would have never guessed that and never dreamed he would share the Exile information with her. But it was an interesting move and now we have the potential for an alliance that could wreak havoc later in the game. The other relationship I am starting to enjoy is that of J.T. and Stephen. They couldn't be more opposite and yet they seem to be clicking fairly well. Okay, time for me to go to bed. Hang in there with me on these blogs. It's been a very busy past few weeks for me, and so I haven't had as much time for these blogs as I'd like. But I'm committed to posting something every week, so I just ask for a bit of understanding if they're not always everything you want them to be!!! Talk next week!
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Gurliegirl
Member
06-20-2006
| Friday, February 20, 2009 - 2:01 pm
Alrighty then. Sierra obviously is currently hooking up with a Survivor Producer. Interesting. I love Jeff's writing.
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Seamonkey
Moderator
09-07-2000
| Friday, February 20, 2009 - 8:13 pm
LOL, is Jeff a co-producer??
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Chy
Member
07-19-2003
| Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 9:02 am
Yes, Sea. JP is. I think in some interviews he let us to believe that, being involved with the producing area is a big reason he's still doing Survivors. You know how his contract comes up for renewal every few years.
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Gurliegirl
Member
06-20-2006
| Thursday, February 26, 2009 - 10:12 am
Wait...his friends name is "Serena." Hmmmmm, that's pretty close to "Sierra."
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Thursday, February 26, 2009 - 1:34 pm
Can we have the link to the EW blogs at top of this page? I think Dalton's blogs are very funny.
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Thursday, February 26, 2009 - 3:41 pm
Pamy, have you read the news that there are two more seasons of Survivor with JP coming? YIPPEE!
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Scotchbright
Member
10-05-2006
| Friday, February 27, 2009 - 11:42 am
Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Tocantins' (episode 3) Feb 27, 2009, 07:32 AM | by Jeff Probst Categories: 'Survivor', About Last Night, Reality TV, Television, Things That Are Awesome! Jeff gets talking about last night's ousted contestant right away, so click after the jump if you're not worried about spoilers. Ah, poor Jerry. We all had such high hopes for him. This is an example of just bad luck. Jerry was a trooper and I think would have probably done a pretty good job of just hanging out in the middle of the pack allowing him to get deep in the game. Not sure if Jerry had enough killer instinct to win but would have loved to have seen him last a bit longer 'cause he was a good one. The only person happy that Jerry is gone...? Erinn. She was very close to going home. Erinn needs to continue to recover or her name will come up again and again. What can you say about the reward challenge other than this...blindfolds always work. In the bedroom and on Survivor. They always come through. So long as it’s consensual, blindfolds typically equal good times. Show of hands, how many people have used blindfolds at some point in their life? And...? Good results? (Right about now is the time a third of you will begin to write your comments to me complaining that I am too provocative. Save the carpal tunnel, it only encourages me.) The reward challenge was a blow out. Not sure why I enjoyed seeing Timbira lose, but I did. They were so cocky, and Jalapao just came in and got it done. They’re the underdogs at this point and I always secretly root for the underdogs. But as we Survivor fans know... underdogs can quickly become cocky and then they become villains and then you root against them! As evidence of how bad the crew living conditions were in Brazil, even I got envious at the Jalapao reward. Umbrella, chairs, hammock! I would have loved to have a large umbrella outside my little four-walled tent. I often feel that way about the food rewards, too. When the Survivors win something like cheeseburgers, trust me the entire crew is salivating. We don’t get cheeseburgers on location. We don’t get big thick pizzas or large chocolate cakes either. We do get beer. Thank goodness our crew loves their beer. It’s the only thing that keeps most of us from ending up in an insane asylum. Most of us. This week's observation about Sierra: Sierra is like an annoying little sister that you constantly complain about but secretly love having around because there is just something about her you’d miss if she was gone. Timbira will miss Sierra if they get rid of her. She’s worth keeping even though she is annoying. Imagine living with Sierra. Oy vey. Okay time for a moment: Ext. Brazilian River - Day Coach stares into the water...contemplating. Tyson spits something, maybe a seed. It makes a small splash. Coach mumbles something insightful. It’s not a question. It’s a command. He’s Coach after all. Then... Coach (to Tyson): You’re like my assistant coach. “You’re like my assistant coach.” Ah, thank you, reality gods. Beautiful. One of my favorite moments of the season. Coach laid out the perfect spiral pass and Tyson gently cradled it into his arms. For very different reasons, both these guys are solid gold. Coach is without question one of the greatest Survivor characters ever. What’s your take on Coach? Love him? Love to hate him? Or just plain hate him? For the record Serena’s advice to Coach, “Just relax. Stop trying so hard. Just be yourself.” To which I reply, “He IS being himself! That’s what makes him so brilliant! And then as if that wasn’t enough, another moment so good it’s as though it was scripted: Ext. Jalapao Camp – Day Spencer, young and single, lies on his side trying to sleep. Sandy, considerably older and also single, snuggles up next to him. Uncomfortably close. Hands searching. Surprisingly Spencer doesn’t seem to mind. Sandy musses her hair with a sexy toss of the hand. Sandy: I know I’m a sex kitten. Whoa. That made me incredibly uncomfortable. I had to stop the TIVO and rewind it. No offense, Sandy, (although as my friend Lopez says, whenever you say that, you actually mean the opposite) but that was just plain uncomfortable and in some states probably illegal. Is Spencer even 18 years old? J.T. and Steven fishing together. It’s a bit like A River Runs Through It. Nice. I like it. But is it just me or do you get the idea that J.T. is the kind of guy who if you so much as looked at his girlfriend in a bar, he’d break your nose and then finish your beer. He seems very pleasant but I’m guessing that he’s broken a few noses. And finally, the quote of the day: Tyson: I love seeing people cry when you crush their dreams. See ya next week!
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Chy
Member
07-19-2003
| Friday, February 27, 2009 - 1:53 pm
. . . I can't remember where the exit interview goes. No spoilers in this, but if you were worried about Jerry ... From Reality News Online ~~ snip ~~ RNO: From what we saw, you seemed to have something of an alliance with Tyson before that point - is that correct? Jerry: Oh yeah. I like Tyson. Basically, the men on the tribe kind of had an agreement that we would stick together through thick and thin. All the men were four of us, four women, so if we could start weeding the women out, we'll make it to the end - that was pretty much our strategy. (Chy: ) RNO: You said "through thick and thin" - but when "thin" came, they voted you out. Were you upset? Jerry: Not really, because I wasn't 100%. At one point I wasn't even 50%. The choice they made under the circumstances, I don't fault them. I would have done the same thing if the shoe was on the other foot and it was one of them. I have no hard feelings against what they did. RNO: After you were voted off, did you see a doctor? Jerry: Yes, I sure did. The doctor gave me some type of stomach medication and in a couple days I was back to getting over whatever virus I had going on in my stomach. RNO: So it was a virus? Jerry: Yeah. I couldn't get rid of it while I was in the game. I tried several different things but nothing worked. They made a little potion for me with tea leaves and that didn't help either. ~~ snip ~~ Well, now maybe Deb just went up a notch. But what good would it be if Timbira is so weak?
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Lorie
Member
08-29-2003
| Friday, February 27, 2009 - 2:30 pm
Okay, all these hints about Sierra marrying a producer and then he says, imagine living with her. Oy vey! Me thinks they are a couple!!
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Chy
Member
07-19-2003
| Friday, February 27, 2009 - 2:30 pm
More of that Jerry interview at RNO: . . . ~~ snip ~~ RNO: What was the most eye-opening thing you saw on TV that you didn't know about while you were there? Jerry: There was when Brendan and Taj went to Exile Island, they made a pact with each other. That wasn't what he told us. Also when he found the idol, that was an eye-opener. At the very beginning, when Sierra and Sandy made it to each camp, they had a clue for the idol and I had no idea about that either. There was a lot of undercover conspiracies going on. I guess you expect that in the game like that. ~~ snip ~~
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Chy
Member
07-19-2003
| Friday, February 27, 2009 - 2:32 pm
Ummm, except, I do believe Jeff talked about a Serena in last season's Blogs as well.
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Friday, February 27, 2009 - 5:23 pm
Yes, I agree that Serena isn't new on the scene.
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Kookliebird
Member
08-04-2005
| Saturday, February 28, 2009 - 12:26 am
I would have thought that Jerry's ailment was more bacterial than a virus. He was probably very dehydrated when he finally left the game.
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Saturday, February 28, 2009 - 3:10 am
I always hate it when a contestant leaves for this kind of reason - so sad! I am absolutely down with outwit, outplay, outlast - but outhealthy is another story! Besides I really liked Jerry!
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Happymom
Member
01-20-2003
| Friday, March 06, 2009 - 8:00 pm
Jeff's latest blog
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Saturday, March 07, 2009 - 4:34 pm
You know, at some point I would think Coach would do something that would clue me in to Jeff's love for him. I haven't seen diddly that impresses me with Coach. Maybe he goes extremely far in the game and actually does something smooth, I dunno. In the meantime, Jeff sounds increasingly crazy by constantly harping about how great he is.
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Karuuna
Board Administrator
08-31-2000
| Saturday, March 07, 2009 - 4:50 pm
I think Jeff thinks he's "great" because he is great tv, and not a 'great' person. Jeff likes good theatre and that's what Coach is.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Saturday, March 07, 2009 - 5:45 pm
Agree with Karuuna's opinion. The role of the actors who play real people on reality television shows is to "make great television," as we hear so often from the actors on Big Brother. Jeffie thinks Coach "makes great television." And that is also why Coach is not so worried about getting fired from his soccer coaching job, because he has a big future in acting (in his mind).
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Babyruth
Member
07-19-2001
| Saturday, March 07, 2009 - 5:52 pm
Jeff thought Johnny Fairplay was "great" too.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Saturday, March 07, 2009 - 6:34 pm
I agree with Kar... Jeff thinks Ben is great because he's that controversial hated character that makes good TV. I mean, really, he couldn't have asked for better words to come out of someone's mouth if they'd been scripted (the "I told them with my eyes what to bring off the truck" thing). Jeff thought Johnny Fairplay was great because of the way he played the game. The lie about his grandmother primarily. ETA: LOL!!! And I just started to read Jeff's blog and the first thing he talks about is Coach and you can't find that kind of writing on TV. Did I call it or what? 
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Pamy
Member
01-02-2002
| Saturday, March 07, 2009 - 7:35 pm
JP thinks toolish behavior is gold and Coach gives us platnium sound bites.
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Biscottiii
Member
05-29-2004
| Sunday, March 08, 2009 - 12:22 am
Yep, boosts Jeff's ratings & keeps fans coming back!
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Tntitanfan
Member
08-03-2001
| Sunday, March 08, 2009 - 6:23 am
I wonder what his symphony patrons are thinking about him -
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Sunday, March 08, 2009 - 10:49 am
Maybe it's just me, then, I don't think he's even that adept at bringing the "good tv." Bringing teh crap-pay attitude and teh toolish behavior, yes, but when I think "good tv" on the villain side of things I think of Richard, Boogie, Jerry Manthey, those two girls that one Survivor season that were unholy t-words and b-wordy to everyone, Roddy, etc. Personality plus assish behavior by the bucketloads. Coach is just living in some parallel universe where he rules and shit. Oh, well, I guess if I'm in here talking about him he must be doing something right. Except NOT, I'm only talking about him because Jeff insists on harping about him. Heh. Got off the hook on that one. I'll wait patiently for Coach to do something that really disgusts me. The kind of disgust that keeps me watching just in order to see him voted off the island. In a blindside, preferably.
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