Survivor 15 : China

[Hewson]

Interesting group for the upcoming season, a few I like, a few, not so much.

As for last night...Amanda f'ed up big time...Courtney said she'd vote however Amanda decided...so it was her call to keep Todd and she ends up 3rd instead of possibly first as a result. And she was awful at the jury TC. She said to Denise "I won't vote for you" and she lied. Then when Todd made the face and remark at the final 4 TC, she was done like dinner.

WTF was with the hairstyles at the reunion. Frosti and Todd especially. Courtney asctually looked decent with her Pris from Bladerunner 'do. And is it just me or did Amanda look better in the jungle than she did with all the makeup and the bangs at the finale?

And nobody asked Todd if the sister miscarriage thing was real or a Johnny Foul Play part 2.

 

[Bonochick]

Todd answered the questions from the jury very well. He was confident and didn't hesitate. Amanda and Courtney fumbled with their words too much.

 

[MrPryck2U]

Another season of Survivor done. Todd played the game well and deserved to win. Basically, Amanda decided her fate when she announced all the people she lied to/screwed especially Denise. I've got to give credit to Courtney for at least making it to the final 3. Denise's major flaw was that she was riding everyone's coatails and expected to be in the final 3. She should've never said to Amanda that she thought Amanda had her back. But, Amanda should never have said anything to her in the first place. I felt badly though that Denise lost her lunch lady job. At least they gave her 50 grand for troubles. And finally, at least James got to walk away with 100 grand. James was definitely my favorite player of the season.

Oh yeah, Amanda looked cuter in China, then back at the reunion all glammed up.

Looking forward to next season's Survivor. I saw some names I liked and some I really despised. Should be an exciting season for sure.

 

[RedRocksU2]

Jeff Probst is my hero for asking Courtney about that comment towards Denise...about her "sucking at life". WTF.
What a bitch. Can you imagine how she felt when her family in the audience heard that?...and her two daughters for that matter.

Bravo for not holding back and asking the question that needed to be asked.

Amanda; very cute.
James rules; he seems like such a cool guy.

 

[Sicy]

WTF was with the hairstyles at the reunion. Frosti and Todd especially. Courtney asctually looked decent with her Pris from Bladerunner 'do. And is it just me or did Amanda look better in the jungle than she did with all the makeup and the bangs at the finale?

And nobody asked Todd if the sister miscarriage thing was real or a Johnny Foul Play part 2.

Totally agree. Amanda looked way better in the jungle. Courtney looked cute. I also wanted to know about Todd's sister and the 'miscarriage'. I'm surprised they didnt address that.


Holy cow, 20 contestants for next season??

 

[ultravioletluvv]

I 'd James at the reunion.

Yep, Amanda looks way better au natural.

I too was hoping they'd ask Todd about the miscarriage. Oh well.

I felt kinda bad for Jean Robert at the final tribal and the reunion. Everybody just would not stop ripping on him. Also, i thought Todd was a little full of shit when he said he was just stroking his ego. Sure, he gave the perfect answer to stroke JR's ego, but he really did get nervous about JR starting to make plays and that's why he got rid of him. I thought he could have told him it was a little of both, but he had to try to humiliate JR even more on national TV. I know JR's a jerk, but i felt kinda bad for him.

I was totally over Denise's pity party way before final tribal. So her sob story at the reunion was just annoying. She had to know that by going public with that story, somebody would take pity on her. She took advantage of it. I don't feel sorry for her one bit. Plus, she knew she was taking a chance of losing her job by going on the show in the first place. If she really needed the million dollars that bad, she should have actually played a strategy.

Chicken... almost forgot about him.

 

[Slipstream]

^I just noticed that! I hope they don't boot people off the first episode like they've done before. We are going to see some formidable alliances with some of those returnees. I can't wait, I'm almost excited as All Stars.

 

[Bonochick]

If they didn't address the miscarriage, my guess would be that it was probably true. That might have been confirmed/discussed beforehand. Yeah, they still could have mentioned it, if that was the case...but it's probably nicer to just not bring up a sensitive issue like that.

 

[SeattleVertigo]

I think Amanda's beautiful, but I was quite disappointed when I saw her in the reunion show last night. But really, most of the people looked better in China than they did last night. How pathetic is that? <grin>

 

[Sicy]

The bangs werent working for her.

 

[Carek1230]

Well, another Survivor chapter is over. I wonder who from the China cast will go on to the all star version coming up next? It was interesting. I thought going into the show last night Amanda had it in the bag, but then quickly wondered whether Todd or <gasp> Courtney would bag the million. What's done is done and Todd's the victor. He played the game to win so gotta give the guy credit for that. Makes me sick how he and Courtney sit there hanging all over one another like an open invitation to ask them if they have something going or not (like anyone cares really!!) And I really lost interest in Denise when she began her pity party playing the martyr. Just because she earned minimum wage didn't make her the srongest candidate to win the money! The fact that the show's producer gave her money in the end of course made the show look good, but I wonder, was it a move to shut Denise up?

 

[ultravioletluvv]

^^ Totally. Denise begging for a job on national TV was enough. Mark Burnett giving her $50,000 is totally unnecessary.

 

[Sicy]

I wonder who from the China cast will go on to the all star version coming up next?

Amanda & James

 

[MrPryck2U]

If I were Burnett, I would've given her the 50K on the condition that she get a new hairstyle. She isn't a lunch lady anymore, so there'd be no reason for the mullet.

I liked Denise all the way through the show until she started laying down the minimum wage rap. What's also wacky, is that I hated Courtney all the way through, but I kind of liked her better during the Finale.

 

[RedRocksU2]

I was totally over Denise's pity party way before final tribal. So her sob story at the reunion was just annoying. She had to know that by going public with that story, somebody would take pity on her. She took advantage of it. I don't feel sorry for her one bit.

I disagree.
Even though I have never been on the same position as Denise in financial matters, I could feel her emotions. I truly felt sorry for her.
I also believe that she has been one of the most "truthful" players in a while, not the most intelligent...but she played to her best abilities.
IMO.

 

[Sicy]

Yeah I guess I'm just a wuss too because I kind of felt bad for her. $7.00 with kids cant possibly be fun.

and I guess only top 3 pay? (survivor). Well it doesnt matter now that she has $50k

 

[Hewson]

^^ Totally. Denise begging for a job on national TV was enough. Mark Burnett giving her $50,000 is totally unnecessary.

The dude set up a way to give Rupert a free million after all stars cause he was too pathetic to win, so 50K is nothing.

 

[Hewson]

Yeah I guess I'm just a wuss too because I kind of felt bad for her. $7.00 with kids cant possibly be fun.

and I guess only top 3 pay? (survivor). Well it doesnt matter now that she has $50k

I recall an article after the first season that all "contestants" got paid, and it was more the further you went...1 mil for 1st, 100K for 2nd, then I think 75K for 3rd and down to like 5K for the Chicken position. Don't know if that has changed since though.

I'm sure her husband works so they aren't living off of $280 a week, but at the same point I assume he doesn't make major coin if she needs a $7/hour job.
The extra 50K will be like 3.5 years salary at 7 bucks an hour...should help quite a bit.

 

[Daddysgonnapay]

Just now getting around to viewing everyones thoughts on last night.....I knew as soon as the questions started at tribal that Todd would win...he was the best at answering the questions...Amanda fucked herself by telling Denise she would not write her name down at tribal...why would she say such a thing??? dumb....and I said a long time ago she should have ousted Todd, while she still had pg and erik...so ...Todd was the deserved winner truly...although I did not care for him throughout...Amanda looked MUCH cuter in the wild...the bangs were definately NOT working for her....Courtney looked like she put some meat on her bones thank god, I , too, was hoping the miscarriage thing would be brought up simply to see Courtney acting that little scene mocking Todd again...that cracked me up...and the James story of how the women at the funeral recognized him from the show was so cute

 

[Daddysgonnapay]

oh...and PG during the questions addressing Amanda..."Quit looking at us with those big doe eyes and answer the questions honestly" or something to that affect......hahaha I LOVED that!

 

[ultravioletluvv]

^^ I know, i loved that too! I was getting sick of her stupid doe eyes too. She seemed like she was over-acting.

 

[Sicy]

Another thing I forgot to mention. Anyone else notice that Courtney never denied having an eating disorder when Jeff asked her about her weight?
She just said her brother and father are thin too and that she always gets harrassed about it.

 

[Daddysgonnapay]

but she did not look super thin last night at the reunion show...don't you think? sorry, I didn't like her hair either last night...i liked the little pigtails she wore while competing

 

[Sicy]

Jeff said she weighed more last nite than she did when she started the game.

 

[maycocksean]

Ugh. . .the worst possible outcome. . .

I haven't seen it yet, haven't had time to watch the finale on youtube but I saw an article in the newspaper.

Not yet having seen the finale, here my intial thoughts.

Amanda deserved to lose for one simple decision. Bringing TODD to the f'ing finale with her! I think she would have had a much better shot at winning if Todd had been sitting on the jury instead of Denise. I don't see Denise, a lackluster player all along, suddenly wowing the jury with her eloquent arguments about why she's played the game the best. And I bet you can't name one person who ever won Survivor with the pity vote. Amanda should have known that.

The next Survivor is going to be in Micronesia? Cool!!! That's where I live! I wonder which island it will actually be on. Is it the Federated States of Micronesia (which could be the islands of Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk or Yap) or is it the entire region of Micronesia (covers an area about the size of the continental United States) which could include anywhere from the Marshall Islands to the Marianas (where I live) to a return Palau.

The sad irony is that even if it were filmed right here in Saipan I'd still have to wait for it to finish taping and then be a week behind on each episode every week.

 

[phanan]

If they didn't address the miscarriage, my guess would be that it was probably true. That might have been confirmed/discussed beforehand. Yeah, they still could have mentioned it, if that was the case...but it's probably nicer to just not bring up a sensitive issue like that.

The miscarriage was indeed real, according to this article:

http://www.sltrib.com/Entertainment/ci_7744577


Excerpt:

One unintended consequence of being on the show was announcing to the world in one episode - unintentionally - that Herzog's 17-year-old sister has suffered miscarriage. Other contestants heard that news as Brandy greeted her brother. The producers then made a point of it in the episode.
    "That is the one thing that Todd did tell us that he was afraid would [come out]," said Todd's father, Glen Herzog, who added that his daughter is fine. "It's still been a little hard to prepare for it."
    "It's taught us a lot," he added. "It just makes you realize that you're human and everybody has weaknesses and problems."
    "I felt Todd should know about it because he was in the jungle," Brandy Herzog said about why she told her brother the news while in China. "It was hard at first, but we're getting past it.

 

[ultravioletluvv]

Oh Denise..


http://www.douglas.k12.ma.us/

Press Release: Mrs. Denise Martin
December 17, 2007
Douglas Public Schools

On the “Survivor China” television program that aired on December 16, 2007, Mrs. Denise Martin, an employee of the Douglas Public Schools, stated that she was demoted from her position as a cafeteria worker upon her return from taping the show. This statement is false. In fact, Mrs. Martin held a full-time position as a custodian prior to her participation in the series, and she returned to this same position upon her return from China. Mrs. Martin was granted - at her request - an unpaid leave of absence so that she could participate in the “Survivor” program. We were pleased and excited to support Denise, and have enthusiastically cheered her on throughout the duration of the show.

Although Mrs. Martin was a cafeteria employee prior to her selection as a contestant, she asked to be considered for a promotion to full-time custodian, and was promoted to this position on March 30, 2007. This promotion came with additional benefits and a higher salary. Following her leave, she then returned to this same position.

Regretfully, the Douglas Public School District was inaccurately portrayed as failing to be accommodating to an employee during what the District viewed as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. This is far from the case. On the contrary, we granted all requests made by Mrs. Martin so that she could participate in the “Survivor” series. Since Mrs. Martin was on an approved leave, her position was held open for her, and she returned to this same position upon her return from China. As a District, we make every effort to support our employees, and will continue to do so.


Nancy T. Lane
Superintendent of Schools

 

[Daddysgonnapay]

so much for being honest!!! wonder about the 50k now!!

 

[ultravioletluvv]

I doubt they'll take the $$ back. It's good press for them. But this doesn't really surprise me. I also read somewhere that Denise has her own karate studio. So, there's no way she can be as bad off as she's making it seem. Besides, even if everything she said was true, she has all of her arms and legs, a husband and family that love her, and now she's famous. Her life aint that bad if you ask me.

 

[thatsnotmypuppy]

The next Survivor is going to be in Micronesia? Cool!!! That's where I live! I wonder which island it will actually be on. Is it the Federated States of Micronesia (which could be the islands of Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk or Yap) or is it the entire region of Micronesia (covers an area about the size of the continental United States) which could include anywhere from the Marshall Islands to the Marianas (where I live) to a return Palau.

The new series has aparently wrapped filming and was shot on location in Palau - same place as the previous Palau series.

I was hoping Courtney would win. Such a nasty piece of work - I love her!