Archive through September 12, 2003
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Archive through September 12, 2003
Rissa | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 06:02 am     I so agree with all of you!! Why do these shows pull this crap? Show Anthony as a complete jerk, extremely immature all season and then pull a complete character redemption in the last 5 minutes? UGHHH !! And for the most important part of the final challenge to basically be a shell game? Not fair, whichever side the two guys were on... it came down to whomever was the better liar winning over the person which less experience both with lying and liars. How does that determine who is more deserving? Shows the opposite to me. |
Kathyb | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 06:08 am     I can't get over how Cousin Mike believed Anthony. All he had to do was choose the other 2 safes and he had the money. No way was Anthony going to tell him the truth. Maybe it worked out for the best though. I don't think Mike would have split the money considering how they treated him (I can't say I blame him). Props to Anthony for doing so. |
Needmylifeback | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 06:59 am     And Mike didn't know the trick of the "liar"...when a person is lying in a situation like this (classic ...the liar doesn't even realize what he is doing...) they will divert the attention away from the goal as far away from it as possible....SO when Mike asked Anthony which safe the money was in and Anthony pointed to the one that he did...Mike could have said I only need one question..and walked over to the black safe...the safe furthest from the one Anthony picked....(I don't understand why he would have believed Anthony either....after all those weeks..) I also do not believe that Anthony had that big of change of heart, or overnight revalation.. (he was an entirely different person...) I don't think he wrote the words that were on the paper...(I've got to go back and look at the tape...but, as I was watching it I kept thinking that this is not something he would say..based off of everything he had said before in all other episodes..) SO ONCE AGAIN...I think that this show was scripted this way and that Anthony wasn't left alone all night but was with the group of producers who said that .....this is the way America wants to see this end...you come out to be the 'good guy' and everyone goes home happy! (And that must have taken all night! LOL!) ...they also may have offered him some other incentive to make it worth his while....(JUST MY OPINION! ) |
Crazydog | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 07:25 am     Well, Mike choked. He had a 2 in 3 chance of winning the money and he blew it. The odds were so much in his favor and he blew it big time. And I posted in the episode thread, but I must be one of the only people who was turned off by Mike's behavior in this episode. He would never have even gotten the chance at this money if it weren't for the rest of the family, and for him to say he wasn't going to share it - I just didn't think it was right. The cousins have been nice to him - they all had very nice things to say about him in last week's episode. It was only Aunt Donna and Uncle Michael that weren't too nice to him. |
Rissa | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 08:14 am     Crazy, that's exactly my point about Anthony's turnaround!!!!!! >>>>but I must be one of the only people who was turned off by Mike's behavior in this episode. He would never have even gotten the chance at this money if it weren't for the rest of the family, and for him to say he wasn't going to share it >>> Anthony was laughing his head off about how his family thought he was going to share and he said that wasn't even a thought to him, wasn't part of *who he was*. And then voila... 5 min. to go and he has an revelation? I don't like when a show jerks my chain like that. Was the end speech choreographed or were we lied to the entire series? And because of that bit of whiplash, Mike ends up looking bad because he didn't get the chance to make a corny speech? Crap, just crap. LOLOL |
Crazydog | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 08:42 am     Rissa, that's true, Anthony did say he wasn't going to share it, but I wasn't sure if he was joking or not. I think even Anthony, as much of a jerk as he has been, has a conscience and couldn't turn his back on his family. It's true that Mike didn't get a chance to redeem himself, but I honestly think that Mike would not have shared the money. He doesn't have to go to family gatherings at holidays and other events - he may have given a little bit to his cousin Jill but other than that he couldn't have cared less to never see these people again. His one concern was to help out his mother and sister. Anthony was in a different situation, he knew that if he kept all the money that his family would be angry with him. It seems he is very much a mama's boy and family does seem important to him. I'm not sure if there was someone there to talk with him or not - there could have been, but I think the end result was very satisfying. It was nice to see that he gave Mike his fair share - Mike seemed very touched by that. If he truly wanted to be a jerk he could have cut Mike out. Producers or not, he didn't have to listen to anything they said. |
Kellirippa | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 08:47 am     ...IS GEORGE HAMILTON not the most over-the-top, hammiest, cheesiest, melodramatic "actor" ever??? THat fake tearing up when he said goodbye to the family just made me howl with laughter... OYE GEORGE!! Yeesh... |
Squaredsc | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 08:55 am     anthony knew he had to share that money cause aunt donna would've kicked his tail. and i saw nothing wrong with cousin mike's attitude, imo. |
Crazydog | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 09:20 am     Regardless of whether the producers encouraged Anthony to split the money, I was very moved by his final speech. I don't think a reality show has moved me in a long time, I found it very touching. I also thought some of the comments of the others were moving, particularly Dawn Marie, who said the money wasn't going to change her at all. I'm sure she will use the money for her children's education and she won't blow it. And how funny was Aunt Donna's "it's finally over!" comment! Pure class. |
Ladytex | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 09:21 am     Yeah, just what I would expect from Aunt Donna ... |
Maryk | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 01:11 pm     I'm a little upset that there is virtually no buzz or publicity about this show. No appearances or even internet chats/articles by any of the family members. I would like to hear from them about the whole experience. Well, what did we expect from ABC, they basically killed this show on lack of promotion. |
Hippyt | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 02:32 pm     It took me all day to come over here,cause I knew I'd get all riled up again. The final challenge must be the stoopidest thing I have ever seen on any reality tv show. We went through all of that for it to come down to basically a coin flip???????? And,I do give Anthony props for splitting the money. I don't think any one else would have given Cousin Mike anything,maybe Dawn Marie,maybe. Oh,well,just what you said Maryk,ABC,what better can you expect? |
Hippyt | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 02:42 pm     I just had a thought. I think George Hamilton would be great fun doing celebrity Mole! |
Scorpiomoon | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 02:45 pm     LOL Hippyt! I think you're on to something. And if not CM, he would be great on the second season of "The Surreal Life". |
Beachcomber88 | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 03:35 pm     I was also pleasantly surprised by Anthony's generosity. Guess it's the only silver lining to him winning the money. If I'd won and I were part of that family, I'd split it too. Could you imagine the resentment he would feel at every single family gathering if he chose to keep it to himself? I don't see how it's possible to have a complete change of lifestyle on $100000. $100000 after taxes is only about $60000. Maybe some of them will be getting a new car, but it certainly won't be a Maserati. For some reason I didn't think George was being fake when he kind of choked up. I thought he was very sincere and was moved by Anthony's eloquent speech, as I was. I hated that punk up until the final minutes. |
Squaredsc | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 05:26 pm     <sigh> but anthony is cute. but so is cousin mike. |
Realitynut | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 06:41 pm     I hated that Mike lost, but Anthony's speech made me cry. I'm so glad he gave everyone an equal share. I have dreams about Mike - I wish someone would interview these people and find out what they're up to since the show. This was such a great show and I think we are the only ones who saw it. I love George's flair for the dramatic. He would be good on Surreal Life. I can see him sitting there sunning himself all day. What a hoot! |
Donut | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 07:12 pm     Rissa, you always have great things to say! Maybe watching the Reality of Reality Shows series on Bravo, has me extra riled up, but the last show just really pissed me off. I thought that it was really sleazy that they spent so many weeks focusing on having the committee look for the person with the most integrity and strength of character and then at the end, they completely flip it to make the winner the one that could lie the best.. I truly believe that this was one of the most scripted reality shows ever..I think they wanted anthony to win and they planned it down to the speech they wrote for him . They were sure they could control and guilt trip him into not looking bad on TV and share the money. I think they may have panicked when he lost the first round, and knowing that Anthonys best strength was lying (everyone said that he was known to be an expert liar), they quickly concocted a final challenge that he could win.. All this said, i still fell for the speech anyways and got all choked up, and frankly i didnt even follow this show for all the episodes.. but i really wanted dawn marie to win.. |
Curlyq | Thursday, September 11, 2003 - 11:11 pm     Well, Anthony has shown that he has a gift for charming people, so I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the speech he gave was his own words. He did have all night to work on it. On the other hand, a big part of me suspects that if they hadn't forced him to give his decision about the money right then and there and on camera he probably wouldn't have split it up equally, and he probably wouldn't have given his non-cousin Mike a dime. He did what was best. This way he doesn't have to worry about relatives hitting him up for money later, or resenting him for the rest of his life since they only voted him back in because they thought he'd share. It does kind of defeat the whole purpose of the game, though. Why bother naming a winner if they're all going to split up the money anyway? I don't blame Mike a bit for not wanting to share with these people who had been trying to keep him from the money since day 1. He wanted to win that money for his own family. I totally disagree that he wouldn't have been there if not for the others. Quite the opposite. I'm sure if they had had their way he never would've been there. He only has his cousin Jill to thank for getting him on the show. The rest did everything they could to keep him from the money. Nonetheless, I also think that if Mike had been put on the spot like Anthony was he might have made the same decision Anthony did. I'm very glad in the end they all came up to him and made him feel more accepted. That final challenge was disappointing. I had that same reaction, wondering why it was set up to reward the ability to lie effectively. |
Kathyb | Friday, September 12, 2003 - 02:07 am     I agree with the posters who think the producers "explained" to Anthony why he'd be better off sharing the money. After all, prior to that, the idea of sharing wasn't "him". I think the same thing would have happened had Mike won. The show kept referring to the money as "controlling the family fortune" and I think they always meant for it to be shared. |
Reader234 | Friday, September 12, 2003 - 05:52 am     OK, I'm with the crowd that has watched the reality of reality and believe that they helped both Anthony and Mike in those last shots about the money, I believe a bit of editing was done. And didnt ANYONE think of the Princess Bride movie w/ they had the 'shell game'? LOL, my 15 yr old and I both cracked up thinking of the movie (there was 2 glasses of wine, I put poison in one, did I switch it and I'll drink the poison, or did I think you would think i didnt switch so - to listen to the person evaluate the situation was hilarious... and of course the poison was in BOTH glasses, he had built up an 'immunity' to the poison - for storyline purposes!!) I agree it was a shocking alst 'challenge' but so funny that Anthony had to "lie" to win!! I'm sorry, I couldnt stop laughing, my dh came in last and tried to get me to explain why I was laughing. How many siblings does Anthony have? And will Aunt donna and Uncle Mike share their $200,thou with the others or is it "too bad, so sad, we almost lost to a cousin of cousin JIll's so you get nothin!!" I too didnt "buy" into the sweet message Anthony 'read', I do think that he meant it tho, I just dont think he came up with that all on his own... maybe I've become a bit of a skeptic!! *G It was a shell game right? |
Crazydog | Friday, September 12, 2003 - 07:12 am     <<It does kind of defeat the whole purpose of the game, though. Why bother naming a winner if they're all going to split up the money anyway? >> Well, I think one of the points of the show was to see if familial ties could overcome greed. The motto on the "family crest" said "blood or money". I believe Anthony has a brother and a sister. We saw them when he and Rob won the trip to Disney World. I think he also mentioned it when he was giving his pitch for getting voted back in - he said that apart from his brother and his sister the eight family members were the most important thing in the world to him. |
Rissa | Friday, September 12, 2003 - 07:16 am     Ahh shucks, thanks Donut |
Reader234 | Friday, September 12, 2003 - 02:24 pm     Just saw a commercial on the ABC Family channel, that starting this Saturday 12 central(or was that 12:30??? duh!) they are going to show all the episodes in order, along with some family commentary!! They showed Jill, Aunt Donna, and I think cousin Mike, it was a fast paced commercial... just thought I'd give a heads up that the family will comment on the show!! |
Pamy | Friday, September 12, 2003 - 06:39 pm     Cool Reader. I would love to see a reunion of this show!! I agree that the final challenge sucked but I still enjoyed this show more than BB this year. Donna's final words were pure classic!!!!! I was ROTF!!!!! Ya gotta love ol' Donner!!!! |
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