thetimesbehind

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Quitters

Survivor is grueling because castaways compete dehydrated and on empty stomachs. When combined with the social drama, it takes a clear toll on everyone who plays the game. Everyone playing the game says they will do anything for a million dollars, but sometimes the elements get the best of them.

Suicide by Tribal: Some people want to quit but do so by asking their tribe to send them on their way.

1. Brandon Hantz/South Pacific/Caramoan: In his first season, Brandon vaciliated between quitting and fierce determination. In his second season, Brandon got his feelings hurt by Phillip declaring he controled Brandon’s fate. He went on to dump all their food and scream about his self determination. Jeff Probst graciously allowed his team to forfeit and vote him off at the immunity challenge.

2. Johnny Fairplay/Pearl Islands/Micronesia: Johnny was the most controversial player in his first season, but he was such a dud in his second that he asked his tribe to vote him out at the first tribal council.

3. Chet Welch/Micronesia: Chet was always seen as an easy out, but he made it real simple when he asked his tride to vote him out after 17 days.

4. Lisi Linares/Fiji: Lisi acted tough and bullied her tribemates, but when she left the cushiest camp in survivor history, she wanted to quit. At the last minute, she claimed she changed her mind, but her tribe granted her initial request.

True Quitters:

1. Colton Cumbie/One World/BvW: In his first season, Colton feigned appendicitis to be medically evacuated and in his second season, Colton got upset that no one on his tribe wanted play along with his drama, so he just walked.

2. Lindsey Ogle/BvBvB: Her tribe blindsided her ally at tribal council. When they returned to camp, her rival Trish Hegarty gave a speech about trying to become a new team. Lindsey went off on her with personal attacks and walked away from camp. She told Jeff Probst that she had to quit because she was afraid of what she would do to her rival. In reality, the vote didn’t go her way, so she threw a tantrum and gave up.

3. Naonka Mixon/Nicaragua: She bullied everyone and acted like she was strong. The weather beat down on everyone, but she showed her true weakness when she quit the night after going on a reward.

4. Purple Kelly Shinn/Nicaragua: She did nothing but quit, She didn’t even do that independently. Naonka decided to quit and Kelly followed her out the door.

5. Kathy Sleckman/Micronesia: Kathy was at the bottom of her tribe, sent to exile multiple times, and missing her family. She had an emotional breakdown and walked.

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Caramoan: Production’s most brutal act

Every season, the loved ones’ visit breaths life into the castaways’ spirits. There is always a competition survivors want to win in order to earn more time with their loved ones. This season, Brenda Lowe won the reward challenge with her dad and joyfully selected Dawn Meehan to share in a barbecue with her and their loved ones. Then, Jeff announced that an additional loved one was waiting at the barbecue and forced Brenda to decide between her and Dawn sharing the barbecue or giving it to the other four castaways. This decision put Brenda in a lose-lose situation. She opted to be generous and choose the greater good and sacrificing time with her own loved ones. The goodwill she earned got her promptly voted out. As brutal as the choice production thrust on her, I will never forgive Dawn for voting her out. Brenda was her biggest support through her emotional roller coaster, she let Dawn win immunity that day to boost her spirits. Dawn voting Brenda out on the basis that her generosity made her a threat is despicable.

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Rankings

There are three categories for people who cause major emotional reactions: Heroes, Villains, and Slime. Heroes break the survivor mold by doing acts of honor, endurance, and kindness. Villains personify the game of survivor with backstabbing, manipulation, and deceit. Slime includes players who are pitiful people who exploit the deceptive aspects of the game as carte blanche to be nasty and hateful to the people around them. I can only include seasons I have watched, so this is not a comprehensive list.

Heroes

1. Yauman Chan/Fiji/Micronesia: Survived harsh conditions, won numerous challenges despite being physically smaller and weaker. Ultimately, he was betrayed by his long term ally and another tribemate broke a promise which sent him home, but Yauman responding with gracious kindness and wisdom.

2. JT Thomas/Tocantins/HvV: was a strong challenge competitor and faithful to his original alliance to the final four, He led his minority tribe to the final four.

3. Ozzy Lusth/Cook Islands/Micronesia/South Pacific: a competition beast, his loyalty and honor was his downfall. He sent himself to redemption island to give his tribe a better shot and earned his way back into the game twice.

4. Sugar Kiper/Gabon/HvV: switched up the game because she wanted a good person to win. She flipped on the majority because they were bullies even though she knew it would lose the game for herself.

5. Yul Kwon/Cooks Islands: Controlled the game from day one, maintained good relationships throughout, and led a minority tribe to the final four without needing his idol.

Villains

1. Russell Hantz/Samoa/HvV: Manipulated and deceived two seasons back to back. All his evil deeds were purposeful and part of game strategy.

2. Richard Hatch/Borneo/All-Stars: The original villain. He set the tone for building alliances and picking off opponents one after another.

3. Jonathan Penner/Cook Islands/Micronesia/Philippines: Bossed people around. Flipped and flopped at every chance. Whined and argued constantly. He was flabbergasted that his tribemates didn’t like him.

4. John Cochran/South Pacific/Caramoan: Played the Patsy for the rival tribe when he flipped on his tribe at the first chance after they had stuck their neck out for him several times before.

5.  Boston Rob/Marquesas/All-Stars/HvV/Redemption Island: Controlled his tribemates through manipulation and intimidation. He used them until he didn’t need them anymore then voted them out.

Slime

1. Brandon Hantz/South Pacific/Caramoan: Was a bipolar mess in his first season but escalated into a dangerous mess. He blew out and destroyed his tribe’s camp and morale. I felt scared for his tribemates’ safety around him.

2. Naonka Mixon/Nicaragua: Physical and verbally bullied tribemates with no remorse.

3. Ben Browning/Samoa: Excessive violence in challenges and proudly used racist insults.

4. Colton Cumbie/One World: Slurs against tribemates and was medically evacuated taking the immunity idol home as a souvenir rather than giving it to an ally in the game.

5. Lisi Linares/Fiji: Treated tribemates out of her alliance like untouchables. She vacillated between wanting to quit and force her will on the tribe.

BONUS

Characters

1. Phillip Sheppard/Redemption Island/Caramoan: The Specialist of Stealth’R’us was unaware that he was a huge joke in both seasons and vehemently defended his insanity when confronted. People got along with him because they knew he was no threat for jury votes and pitched fits when questioned.

2. Coach Wade/Tocantins/HvV/Redemption Island: self aggrandizing and telling ridiculous stories, Coach’s teammates had to hide giggles whenever he talked. He unintentionally spoiled his own alliances with his loose lips. At least he grew from season to season.

3. Shambo Waters/Samoa: The chickens ranked above all her tribemates. She boasted a fabulous mullet and played erratically throughout. 

4. Tom Buchanan/Africa/Allstars: Tom was an old farmer who didn’t budge an inch in personality. He didn’t mind breaking from the group when he felt so inclined and spoke his mind more than freely.

5. Bob Crowley/Gabon: Adorned with a buff bow-tie, Bob didn’t have a clue how to play the social game, but he made his own idols and made his tribemates love him.

Seasons I have seen: Borneo, Africa, Panama, Cooks Islands, Fiji, China, Micronesia, Gabon, Tocantins, Samoa, Heroes v Villains, Nicaragua, Redemption Island, South Pacific, One World, Phillipines, Caramoan

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor One World

Four episodes into the season and I am done watching this mess. There are a couple likeable castaways but everything centers around nasty, whiny Colton Cumbie. There have been several successful gay players in Survivor history such as the first winner Richard Hatch, China winner Todd Herzog, and Gabon’s Charlie .Herschel. Their sexuality was occasionally the subject of conversations, but it wasn’t a significant part of the way they portrayed themselves. Colton on the other hand, is a terrible person who uses being gay to excuse his bad acts. From day one he was trying to escape his own tribe to be with the women’s tribe because he assumed the all male tribe wouldn’t accept him on the basis of his sexuality. He continued to hate and insult his team because they annoyed him. It’s survivor; that is part of the game! He called Leif Manson (who is a Little Person) a munchkin and oompa loompa. He called Bill Posley ghetto trash. These players did nothing out of the ordinary to deserve these insensitive attacks. He told players to jump in the fire and kill themselves becuase he was annoyed by them. The worst part was that his let him run the show. If a couple people decided they were sick of him, they could have flushed the idol and sent him packing in a few weeks. Fortunately, fate helped me out and sent him home on Day 16 when he was medically evacuated for stomach pain. I skipped ahead a few episodes until Colton was off the show to avoid hearing him complain and insult others.

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Micronesia: Fans vs Favorites

After watching several seasons of Survivor, I enjoyed seeing some castaways I enjoyed from previous seasons as well as a few from seasons I hadn’t watched. It was also fun to see superfans blush upon meeting their celebrity opponents.

BEST MOMENT: Ozzy Lusth found a hidden immunity idol, and with inspiration from tribemate Yauman Chan, he fashioned a fake immunity idol and hid it in the same spot. Jason Siska found the false idol and joyfully pocketed it. He made a deal with Eliza Orlins to save her using the item. When she saw the stick, she immediately knew it was fake and berated him for his stupidity. Eliza was subsequently voted out.

WORST MOMENT: Cirie Fields thought she was going home in the first week of the Panama season but made her way into the final four. This go around, she thought she had made the jury vote in the final three, but she was voted out in a surprise penultimate tribal council. It was heartbreaking to hear her apologize to her family for failing to make it to the end.

BEST CHALLENGE: On Day 22, the newly merged tribe fought for their first individual immunity. It was Jason’s long awaited opportunity to defeat his hero, Ozzy. The castaways climbed under a metal grate and tried to keep breathing as the tide rose over their heads and the grate. Several of the players lasted even as the tide surpassed the top of their heads using their hands to make a type of snorkel. Eventually Ozzy succumbed to the waters and Jason had his victory.

THE MOMENT THE GAME CHANGED: Parvati Shallow had alliances with the couples in the favorites tribe as well as the girls in the fans tribe. She had the choice to stay with her original alliance and vote out a fan or flip to her new alliance and vote out Ozzy. She opted to blindside Ozzy, the biggest physical threat with an idol in his pocket. 

BEST SURVIVALIST: Ozzy Lusth lived on the island like he was born there. He caught fish and climbed trees like a native.

WORST SURVIVALIST: Chet Welch never looked comfortable or healthy. He wanted to quit off and on. He was an albatross in challenges and irritating at camp. After weeks of being the false target to blindside others, he eventually got his way when his tribe honored his request to vote him out.

FAVORITE PLAYER: Cirie Fields is a pro at flying under the radar. She is not an outdoorswoman and can’t even swim, but she keeps her cool and gets along with everyone. Her laugh and smile keep the drama light and it was painful to see her fall just short of the jury wote again.

LEAST FAVORITE PLAYER: Natalie Bolton loved being evil and conniving. She was rude and nasty about players in confessionals finishing her interviews with an evil grinch-like look.

BEST STRATEGIST: Parvati Shallow was able to manage two separate alliances and control the final tribal councils until the end.

WORST STRATEGIST:  Erik Reichenbach was the last remaining male after a powerful group of women slyly blindsided many of his tribal brothers. Erik won the immunity challenge and assured himself a spot in the final four, or so the audience thought. The girls schemed and planted an idea in Erik to give away the immunity necklace to earn him some favor with the jury. He foolishly passed the necklace to Natalie Bolton and they coldly sent him packing.

BIGGEST TAGALONG: This season didn’t have many coattail riders. Everyone was either a quitter, a physical competitor, a strategist, or fell into a bad alliance. Eliza Orlins made bad alliances, so she couldn’t tagalong very far. She tried to make moves, but she didn’t succeed in much.

PLAYER WHO DESERVED TO GO FURTHER: Cirie Fields should have been able to make her case before the jury. She was there along with Parvati and Amanda through the whole game.

PLAYER WHO THOUGHT THEY CONTROLLED THE GAME (BUT DIDN’T): Ozzy had the idol, was one of the best competitors, and had strong alliances. His alliance wasn’t as strong as he thought and Parvati flipped against him and blindsided him. He didn’t forgive or forget as he gave an emotional soliloquy during his jury time.

BIGGEST GAMER: Erik Reichenbach won the most individual immunity and reward challenges. He could have ridden the challenges to the end, but he foolishly handed off his safety.

PLAYER WHO SHOULD HAVE WON BUT DIDN’T: Amanda Kimmel played a strong strategic, social, and physical game. She was more honorable than Parvati, but she received the curse of winning the final challenge with Cirie, whom Amanda singlehandedly voted out, cast her jury vote for Parvati.

ACTUAL WINNER: Parvati Shallow played all sides and betrayed as she needed to. She won challenges and played a smart social game. I would have preferred most of the other castaways to win over her, but she earned the title of sole survivor.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID WRONG: They were too many players who left the game the wrong way. Jonny Fairplay and Chet Welch asked to be voted out. Kathy Sleckman quit. Jonathan Penner and James Clement were medically evacuated.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID RIGHT: Fans went crazy over their favorites. When castaways went to exile in pairs, it was fun to watch fans get one on one time with their heroes and get to know them as regular people and competitors.

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Nicaragua

It was hard to step back into a cast of all new survivors after an all returner season. There was star power with Jimmy Johnson, but the game got painful after all the really strategic players were sent to the jury and an entire episode was devoted to quitters. There were a few interesting personalities that kept interest in the game.

BEST MOMENT: Fabio Birza was the last player with a good personality and integrity, so of course, he was the one on the chopping block. He won the last three individual immunity challenges to make the jury. It was a relief to have someone on the jury who took a different journey to get ther.

WORST MOMENT: Naonka Mixon was belligerent and mean the whole time on the island except when she was having an emotional breakdown. She eventually walked out of the game. The saddest part of her meltdown was her failure to realize her need for personal growth. She boasted that she was the same person she was when she started, which meant she missed out on an opportunity to become an improved person and remained a pitifully hateful and selfish human being.

BEST CHALLENGE: After last season replayed old challenges, this season had several fun new challenges. I particularly enjoyed the challenge where teams were supposedly randomly separated into men and women. The teams had to push through various barriers such as piles of hay, poles, and a brick wall. The men barrelled through and the women really struggled as would be predictable.

THE MOMENT THE GAME CHANGED: Brenda Lowe had been the ringleader and appeared to have a safe path to the finals. In accordance with his MO, Chase flipped on her and Sash followed. Brenda was blindsided and the last real leader was ousted. From there, alliances were fractured and fluid.

BEST SURVIVALIST: Jane Bright was a master fisherwoman and didn’t let the elements get her down. She used her life experiences and work ethic to make jungle survival seem like a regular camping trip.

WORST SURVIVALIST: Naonka Mixon wanted to quit several times and eventually just walked out. She even went on a reward and still wanted to bail that same day.

FAVORITE PLAYER: Jane Bright had a fun personality and kept the game lively. She was faithful to her friend which ended up being her demise. She was the smallest player and still performed well in the challenges.

LEAST FAVORITE PLAYER: Naonka Mixon was mean and nasty and worst of all, self unaware. She prided herself in being terrible to other people. She hated a tribemate based solely on the fact she was an amputee and seemed boring. She stole food and lied about it until she could lie no more. Most of all, she planned to quit and still went on the reward forcing Holly to skip the reward to get rice and a tarp for the tribe.

BEST STRATEGIST: Sash Lenahan was a weasel, but he weaseled his way into the final three. He talked his way into whichever alliance was currently in power. Unfortunately for him it caught up with him and he received no votes from the jury.

WORST STRATEGIST: Purple Kelly Shinn should not have ever left the States. Her voice wasn’t heard until a quarter of the way into the season. She even said she would let others do the thinking for her. She was the ultimate follower. She even followed Naonka out of the game.

BIGGEST TAGALONG: Dan Lembo was never a threat. He rarely made any efforts in the social or strategic game. He should have been voted out on his first visit to tribal council, but everyone knew he was absolutely no threat and kept him around as long as possible.

PLAYER WHO DESERVED TO GO FURTHER: Kelly Bruno was a target as soon as she revealed that she had a prosthetic leg. She was loyal to her tribe and worked hard at camp and in the challenges. They blindsided her in a tie breaker vote when they could have ousted their main opponent, Marty Piombo.

PLAYER WHO THOUGHT THEY CONTROLLED THE GAME (BUT DIDN’T): Brenda Lowe was the ringleader, but she got wrung by almost everyone she trusted.She proved that being to strong and comfortable is a death sentence.

BIGGEST GAMER: Fabio Birza had to win to survive and he made it happen with four total individual wins as well as six team challenge wins.

PLAYER WHO SHOULD HAVE WON BUT DIDN’T: Jane Bright was part of four person alliance, three of whom made the final four, but they turned on her in the final six despite having an easy out with Dan.

ACTUAL WINNER: Fanio Birza won in a narrow decision over Chase Rice. The jury hammered Sash and Chase on their backstabbing but all the people Chase betrayed most forgave him and cast their votes in his favor. Fabio’s deciding votes came from the two quitters who in later seasons may not have been able to be on the jury.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID WRONG: There was a Medallion of Power that bounced around during the first few challenges but it was quickly dumped. It seemed like it was supposed to be more impactful that it was.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID RIGHT: The division of young and old was not working,so they ditched it quickly and mixed up the tribes.

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Heroes v. Villains

This season was obviously a favoirte because it was filled with many of the most memorable survivors going back as far as season two. There were also a lot of great moments, but they seemed somewhat over the top and possibly manipulated by production staff. This was the first season that production double dipped on a setting reusing the same structures and locations for challenges. They played it off that they were recreating favorite challenges from the past, but how did so many favorites from the past also happen last season?  Regardless, it was fun to see great players from different seasons interact and go after each other.

BEST MOMENT: The Heroes struggled in the challenges, but after several losses, they were hungry for a win. During a sumo challenge, players had to shove one another off a platform into the mud. The heroes were aggressive and unrelenting winning every round. It was entertaining to see the villains pummeled one after another.

WORST MOMENT: Rupert Boneham was the penultimate Hero voted out, but he was the final person who acted like a hero. Colby Donaldson was technically a hero, but he presented more like a 6 foot tall fly on the wall. When Rupert was gone, it became clear that no hero would win the game.

BEST CHALLENGE: The first challenge was intense. Pairs from each team dug in the sand for bags and fought to get them to their mat. There were two major injuries in this callenge alone. Rupert Boneham broke a toe which was brought up throughout the season. Stephenie LaGrossa’s arm popped out of its socket and was snapped back in.

THE MOMENT THE GAME CHANGED: JT Thomas obviously hadn’t seen Survivor Samoa because he unwisely gave Russell Hantz an immunity idol. JT mistakenly thought Russell was the underdog in an all girl alliance on the other tribe. In all actuality, Russell was running the other tribe. The funniest part was how JT wrote a note (similar to those written by a middle schooler and exchanged during passing period), and was soon voted out by his own idol.

BEST SURVIVALIST: Rob Mariano set the Villains tribe off on the right foot by making fire even though they lost the first challenge where the heroes won the flint.

WORST SURVIVALIST: All the players in the season had survived 20 plus days prior to this season, so survival was nothing new. Cirie Fields was competing on her third season, but she still seemed like a fish out of water while trying to survive the elements.

FAVORITE PLAYER: Rupert Boneham is a big guy with a bigger personality. He was a new player to me, so I enjoyed seeing his unique charm. He was the only player to stand up to Russell prior to joining the jury. He also lived past his expiration date by keeping a rock in his pocket.

LEAST FAVORITE PLAYER: Randy Bailey brought back his signature nastiness. He hated everyone and they reciprocated the sentiment. He was voted off early, but was almost invisible.

BEST STRATEGIST: Parvati Shallow was a returning winner, so everyone had it out for her. She teamed up with Russell Hantz and let him take all the bullets for her into the final three. She wasn’t a coattail rider because she pulled off a double idol tribal council and sent home JT Thomas, another returning winner.

WORST STRATEGIST: Tyson Apostol fell for Russell’s scheme and sent himself home. Russell knew his tribe would be splitting votes amongst him and Parvati, so he persuaded Tyson to flip his vote to Parvati. At tribal council, Russell played an idol to protect Parvati and sent Tyson packing.

BIGGEST TAGALONG: Sandra Diaz-Twine rode coattails all the way to her second million dollar prize. Sandra flew under the radar to day 39 where the bitter jury awarded her the title of sole survivor to spite their collective nemesis Russell.

PLAYER WHO DESERVED TO GO FURTHER: Cirie Fields fell short of the final vote in her previous two seasons, but she was always a lovable teammate and audience favorite. JT Thomas flipped on her and voted her out on the basis of her past strategic play.

PLAYER WHO THOUGHT THEY CONTROLLED THE GAME (BUT DIDN’T): Danielle DiLorenzo was tight with Russell and Parvati from the beginning, giving Russell an opening in the game, but when he realized Danielle was closer to Parvati than him, he swiftly gave her the boot.

BIGGEST GAMER: Parvati Shallow won three immunity challenges. Everyone saw her as the biggest threat and she had to win to stay safe.

PLAYER WHO SHOULD HAVE WON BUT DIDN’T: Parvati Shallow survived attacks from day one. She made big moves. She won challenges. She stayed faithful to her alliances. Unfortunately, the jury hated Russell so much that they punished Parvati by association.

ACTUAL WINNER: Sandra Diaz-Twine knows how to talk. She didn’t do anything during the game, niether good, nor bad. Fortunately for her, the other finalists did a lot of bad, and she got the jury’s protest votes. Her best play was when she told the jury that she had tried to work with the heroes, but they wouldn’t listen. They listened this time.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID WRONG: Russell played Survivor: Samoa just a few months prior to the filming of this season, so the other players weren’t wise to his game. He was familiar with all of his opponents’ game plan, but they were clueless about his. This gave him the advantage and allowed him to play them like fools. Also, how was Candice Woodcock a hero? She was an ineffective flopper in the Cook Islands and even more this season. A passionate kiss after being voted out doesn’t earn someone hero status.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID RIGHT: You can’t beat a season with 20 favorites of the past.

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor: Nicaragua; The most selfish player of the game, ever

Naonka Mixon has to be the most selfish and miserable player in the history of Survivor. Coach Wade was annoying and arrogant, but he wanted to be honest and true. Russell Hantz was the most decieving and manipulative, but it was all part of game strategy. Naonka kicked off the game hating a girl solely on the basis of her having an amputated leg later shoving her to the ground to snatch a hidden immunity idol clue. The next day, after making food for the group, she had a tantrum when people ate more than she saw fit and she stole much of the tribes food, burying flour and hiding skillets behind bushes. When confronted, she lied about hiding it and as her story slowly unraveled she became more belligerent. She proceeded to flip on the people who trusted her the most voting out the three most strategic players in the game. This would have been great strategy until she weakly quit the game. After announcing she wanted to leave that night, her team won a reward challenge and had the option to forego the reward to give rice and a tarp to the whole tribe. Everyone expected her to make the sacrifice since she would be eating well that night after giving up, but she held on to her reward and another starving player had to give up her reward to get the rice and tarp for the tribe. Her justification for quitting was that she stayed in the game for 28 days and never changed. No matter what happened, she was still Naonka. The flaw in her reasoning was that a person should never change. Naonka would have done well to leave the game a better, more understanding version of herself. Instead, she will always be known as an erratic and belligerent quitter.

[thetimesbehind]

ANTM Cycle 2

America’s Next Top Model Cycle 2

Much of the second season folowed the same format as the first. The biggest difference was a revamped setup of the model’s living arrangement and more screen time devoted to house drama. There were more finalists which limited time with each girl, but the drama was amped up.

THE GIRL WHO EVERYONE LOVED: Shandi Sullivan was quirky but fun loving. She took a bit of time to come out of her shell, but everyone raved about her progress and transformation which boosted her confidence and made her a favorite.

THE GIRL WHO EVERYONE HATED: Camille McDonald was ice cold. She showed no emotion or weakness but she made up for it in drama. She had a long running rivalry with Yoanna House even making unfounded claims that Yoanna was anorexic.

THE GIRL WHO WANTED IT THE MOST: Yoanna House studied the fashion industryl she knew all the designers and styles. She took the judges criticism and worked on her weak areas throughout the competition.

THE GIRL WHO THOUGHT SHE WANTED IT THE MOST (BUT DIDN’T): April Wilkner just wanted to win. She wasn’t as concerned with the modeling aspect and being the best.

THE GIRL THE JUDGES WANTED TO WIN: Every panel, the judges talked about her great potential. They raved about how unique she was and could be a designers muse.

THE GIRL WHO UNDERACHIEVED:  Tyra said that Sara Racey-Trabizi was the only girl who could have measure up with the top commercial supermodels in overall appearance. Sara failed to bring the personality and produce the pictures to support the hype.

THE GIRL WHO OVERACHIEVED: At the beginning of the season, Shandi Sullivan looked like an awkward production assistant next to the rest of the models, but after a makeover and a few weeks of progress and praise, she became a front runner.

THE GIRL WHO WON: Yoanna House was so passionate and driven to be a fashion model. She lost weight and learned to accentuate her strong areas over her weaknesses to fit the model mold. No contestant has been as much a student of fashion or the show as Yoanna.

THE BEST PHOTOSHOOTCHALLENGE: In the third episode, the girls were suspended over a hole in a warehouse. Some girls were brought to tears with the height.

BIGGEST DRAMA: Camille McDonald hated Yoanna House from day one. Yoanna tried to understand why Camille hated her and patch things up. As soon as they made peace, Camille fabricated concerns to Tyra about Yoanna being anorexic which ended any truce.

WORST MOMENT: The moment Shandi’s boyfriend realized his girlfriend cheated on him.

BEST MOMENT:  Jenascia Chakos didn’t last to the end, but she had the funniest moments at the beginning. In her first talking head, she said she just wanted to eat. When the bus took them to an impromptu runway show, all the girl talked about their nerves and excitement to compete, but all Jenascia could say was, “I guess we aren’t getting any food.”

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Samoa

This season can be summed up in two words: Russell and rain. It seemed like Russell sucked up hlaf of the screentime bragging about how easy the game was and how stupid everybody was to trust him. When Russell wasn’t scheming, it rained and rained and rained. Contestants survived weeks of storms and even worse- Hurricane Russell. 

BEST MOMENT: Erik Cardona used his jury time to make a case for how  Russell’s negative gameplay shouldn’t be seen as more of a strength over Natalie’s positive attributes.

WORST MOMENT: Russell Swan worked so hard in such difficult conditions that he collapsed during a challenge. He later described an out of body experience and how he was at death’s doorstep. Jeff Probst stated that it was the most scared he had ever been on the show.

BEST CHALLENGE: The first reward challenge established first impressions. Without any conversation, the tribes voted on a leader then that leader picked tribemates he thought were the best swimmers, strongest, and the fastest. This showed how some first impressions were spot on while others were off base.

THE MOMENT THE GAME CHANGED: Natalie White planted seeds of doubt about Erik in Galu and everyone but Shambo voted him off. This shift flipped Shambo to the Foa Foa side and led to the total erosion of the Galu tribe.

BEST SURVIVALIST: Russell Swan never stopped working around camp, even through weeks of heavy rain. He was a great tribe leader for Gula, but it drove him near death.

WORST SURVIVALIST: Yasmin Giles worked hard in challenges but did nothing around camp. She compained and slept all day. At one point, she sat and drooled over a coconut that a tribe mate had worked on peeling for an hour.

FAVORITE PLAYER: There were several pleasant and enjoyable contestants, but no one stuck out. Natalie White gets the edge because she used friendliness and positivity to defeat Russell’s scheming.

LEAST FAVORITE PLAYER: Ben Browning showed the difference between a villain on a show and genuinely terrible person. I hated Russell and thought he was evil until I saw Ben manifest hostile violence in challenges, ignorant racism, and pride in his wrongdoing. He became the first survivor to be removed from a challenge when he immaturely kicked a competitor from behind. He had niether integrity nor shame.

BEST STRATEGIST: Russell Hantz was without a doubt the best strategist. He made a final two with anyone who would talk to him, but the minute anyone questioned him, he got them voted off.

WORST STRATEGIST: Ben Browning was nasty to everyone and when confronted got nastier. Making everyone hate you from the start is the worst possible strategy.

BIGGEST TAGALONG: Mick Trimming was elected leader of Foa Foa, but he never showed an ounce of leadership. His team lost almost every challenge pre-merge and he let Russell fracture his team completely. Russell drug him to the end hoping Mick would beat Brett in some challenges, but Mick only won one individual immunity challenge and two team challenges.

PLAYER WHO DESERVED TO GO FURTHER: Betsy Bolan knew right off the bat that Russell was bad news which got her the boot. It would have been fun to see her give Russell a run for his money.

PLAYER WHO THOUGHT THEY CONTROLLED THE GAME (BUT DIDN’T): Shambo thought she was elected leader but was really elected head puppet. She rode coattails to the top six, but was on the wrong side of the vote unless Foa Foa needed her vote.

BIGGEST GAMER: Brett was on the chopping block three straight times and won immunity to save his skin. Unfortunately, that loss was his demise.

PLAYER WHO SHOULD HAVE WON BUT DIDN”T: I am glad that Russell Hantz didn’t win, but he worked harder than anyone else and was devasted when he came in second.

ACTUAL WINNER: Natalie White let Russell take all the bullets for their big moves. She was responsible for the biggest move when she convinced Galu to vote out Erik. Her biggest assets were letting Russell think she was stupid while befriending his victims.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID WRONG: The rain was torrential and miserable. It made the middle part of the season difficult to watch.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID RIGHT: Good overcame evil. Survivor is infamous for rewarding deceit, but in this season, kind Natalie handily defeated conniving Russell.

[thetimesbehind]

America’s Next Top Model Cycle 1

This first season is a strong opening for this long running series. This season only had 10 girls, so the audience got to know them all, and they didn’t know what to expect as contestants in later seasons. The drama between girls in the house arcs through the season as a whole between lovable personalities and a classic diva villain. Each episode plays well on its own as well. Despite the show being about the NEXT top model, Tyra is the star of the show and the series cements her as the dominant face of modeling in America.

The girl who everyone loved: Kesse Wallace was everyone’s best friend. She did Bible study with the Christian girls, but she also let loose and partied with the women of the world. Her likeness to Tyra helped with the judges. As the competition got tight, her will to win lagged behind the rest, and she was eliminated.

The girl who everyone hated: Robin Manning was the clear villain. She was a beauty queen diva from day one. She never showed an ounce of her true personality and weaponized her self righteousness against almost every other girl in the house. She was the worst representative of Jesus Christ.

The girl who wanted it the most: Adrienne Curry saw this as her opportunity to change her destiny. She worked harder than every other girl in every aspect. During fitness sessions she exercised with the face of a mighty warrior even while ill. She let the drama in the house slide right off her back. She took the judges criticism to heart and responded with greater effort. When she was sexually assaulted on the street in Paris during a challenge, she took a few minutes to collect herself and then continued with the competition. She didn’t even bring up the topic when judges criticized her for taking to much time on the challenge..Nothing could stand in her way.

The girl who thought she wanted it the most (but didn’t): Giselle Samson stated incessantly how she wanted to win more than anyone else. She said this was all she wanted with her life. She did her best in the explicitly model activities, but she spent the rest of her time whining and making insecure statements about her perceived failure.

The girl the judges wanted to win: The judges loved Elyse Sewell’s unique, androgynous look. Elyse exuded apathy most of the season and even stated outright that she didn’t care to be there. Just when she really bought in to the competition, she was eliminated winning second runner up.

The girl who underachieved: Nicole Panattoni fit the mold of a top model better than any of the other girls, but her immaturity and distractions with her boyfriend kept her from producing the results everyone expected.

The girl who overachieved: Adrienne Curry had the toughest back story and least pedigree to be a top model. She didn’t present herself or speak like a top model when the show started. When she won, her rock hard exterior melted in surprise and excitement.

The girl who won: Adrienne Curry remained focus and driven throughout the competition and slowly climbed from the bottom to the top.

The best photoshoot/challenge: The models posed with snakes. Some girls rocked it, but others freaked at the sight of their slithering props.

Biggest drama: Robin Manning was reading the Bible with Shannon Stewart and they came across a verse regarding unbelievers. She immediately called Elyse in the room and coldly asked her what she thought of the verse. Elyse was an open atheist, but she handled the situation more graciously than anything Robin ever did.

Worst moment: While on go-sees in Paris, Adrienne was asking for directions from a passerby and he tried to slip his hand up her skirt. I was sick to my stomach and loathe to imagine how Adrienne felt.

Best moment: Shannon Stewart cut out a male model’s photo and raved about his looks and how he listed the Bible as his favorite book. As they prepped to pose in lingerie, the same male model walked onto the set to pose with them and Shannon lost it. She had minimal experience with boys and looked like a giddy and nervous middle schooler.

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Tocantins

This season was a great showing of likable underdogs demolishing their competition post-merge. A few plucky Jalapao members took advantage of a larger but fractured Timbira tribe. All three Jalapao members were smart and pleasant people. The six members of Timbira were stronger personalities with strong notes of arrogance, whininess, or meanness.

BEST MOMENT: When Coach Wade was voted, I no longer had to listen to his voice rambling in confessionals or patronizing tribe mates the rest of the time.

WORST MOMENT: When JT Thomas and Stephen Fishbach seemed to lose faith in each other during the final jury. They were so committed to their final two alliance until the end of the jury questioning when Stephen admitted he probably would have taken Erinn to the final two if the choice were his. JT looked like the statement broke him.

BEST CHALLENGE: The fifth immunity challenge was a battle to catch balls shot from slings with nets on poles. Jalapao took an early lead with JT dominating, but the tide shifted and Jalapao lost the challenge along with half of JT’s tooth.

THE MOMENT THE GAME CHANGED: Tyson was blindsided after his first loss in an individual immunity challenge. The move took out the strongest physical competitor and initiated Timbira’s ultimate crumbling.

BEST SURVIVALIST: JT was a hard worker around camp and the group’s best fisherman. He never went to exile island, but was the backbone of his original Jalapao and the merged tribes. Everyone voted that they would trust him with their lives. He left everything on the field, including half a tooth.

WORST SURVIVALIST: Coach bragged about his expertise in the field, but I didn’t see him make a single fire. He avoided exile until the end, and when he was ultimately forced to the “island,” he bemoaned physical ailments before and after two days of laying around with no attempts to procure food, fire, or water.

FAVORITE PLAYER: Taj Johnson’s cheerful personality paired with an infectious smile and laugh made her the most lovable tribe member, but her love for her family and emotional outburst when she got a chance to see her family video put her over the top. I celebrate with her when she made her first fire and caught fish.

LEAST FAVORITE PLAYER: Coach Wade was the worst villain I have seen in survivor because he thought he was the hero. This man is self-aggrandizement personified. He constantly spoke in third person and correctly quoted diverse historical figures at incorrect times. I hated everything he said and how he said it. He talked the biggest game with zero evidence of his claims.

BEST STRATEGIST: Stephen Fishbach successfully maneuvered three intersecting alliances without getting burned. He deserved to win, but he couldn’t overcome JT’s southern charm.

WORST STRATEGIST: Coach got played, and he unwittingly betrayed his own alliance. He made it futher than most of the Timbira tribe because JT and Stephen could outsmart and manipulate him.

BIGGEST TAGALONG: Erinn Lobdell’s only move was jumping ship when the merge occurred. It was a good move, but she rode JT and Stephen’s coattails to the final three.

PLAYER WHO DESERVED TO GO FURTHER: Taj Johnson went one vote too early. She was loyal to Jalapao, but they chickened out. JT stayed loyal to the end to Stephen, and Taj deserved the same respect and chance to the end.

PLAYER WHO THOUGHT THEY CONTROLLED THE GAME (BUT DIDN’T): Coach talked endlessly how he was changing the game, but he only caused everyone around him to hide their giggles every time he spoke.

BIGGEST GAMER: JT Thomas won almost every reward challenge and the final three individual immunity challenges. He was the fastest and most driven competitor.

PLAYER WHO SHOULD HAVE WON BUT DIDN”T: Taj Johnson did everything JT and Stephen did except betray the Jalapao tride and sit at the final jury vote.

ACTUAL WINNER: JT Thomas played a great all around game. He won challenges, charmed everyone, and played a great strategic game. No one voted for him until the end when he got all their votes.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID WRONG: It appeared that the idol would play an interesting role with the exile alliance and a fake idol, but once Brendan was voted off, the idol disappeared from consideration.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID RIGHT: Producers developed well loved and hated characters. Taj and JT couldn’t have been more lovable, yet Coach was as despised as possible.

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Gabon

Survivor is infamous for promoting conniving and treacherous players, but I was happy to see the final four players all be decent to each other. No players get through the game without some lies or scheming, but none of the cruelest players made it to the top. The jury was still bitter, but most of the jury members were sour and miserable people before they were voted off.

BEST MOMENT: Marcus Lehman threw an immunity idol into the ocean. His alliance was so confident they were safe that they didn’t need it, they just wanted to get it out of the game. Minutes later, they found out they weren’t merging and Marcus was voted out.

WORST MOMENT: Corinne Kaplan made an embarassingly mean and hurtful attack on Sugar for being a leach on society and implying her tears over her father’s passing were fake.

BEST CHALLENGE: Kota dominated Fang in most challenges, but there was a water lacrosse game where Marcus weaved through all of Fang with ease and tossed it over to Randy for an easy score three times in a row. Fang barely tried and it showed.

THE MOMENT THE GAME CHANGED: There were two major momentum swings. The first and most impactful was when tribes walked away from the merge feast in two new, shuffled tribes. Kotas carefully crafted strategy was washed away as the king of Kota, Marcus, was voted out when Susie flopped back to the original Fang tribe members.

BEST SURVIVALIST: Bob Crowley worked every moment he wasn’t sleeping. He rebuilt huts, built benches, made multiple fake immunity idols. The jungle was like a hardware store for this guy.

WORST SURVIVALIST: GC asked his team to vote him off because he couldn’t handle it. He was always eating more than his tribe had to eat. He almost missed a challenge because he was off in a canoe searching for food.

FAVORITE PLAYER: Bob Crowley was the oldest guy in the game and the quirkiest. Despite his age, he won the most individual immunity challenges. He bow-tied his buffs around his neck and was the father figure for his younger tribe members.

LEAST FAVORITE PLAYER: Randy Bailey was nasty, bitter, and cruel, but most of all he was pitiful. He had no friends in the game, and sadly no friends at home either.

BEST STRATEGIST: Sugar Kiper played the dumb blond and hid behind a dominant and irritating man. She let Ace be the target and think he was controlling her and then blindsided him once she was in a strong position. She never had a larger alliance which turned out to be serendipitous in a season where twists turned alliances into liabilities. She also found the idol and used it perfectly at several turns. Her fatal error occured when she chose to save the “good people” and vote out less likable players because she would rather lose to a nice person than give bullies a chance at the million.

WORST STRATEGIST: Gillian Larson started the game with a school yard pick selecting weak players first which allowed Kota to stack the deck in their favor which led to their challenge domination.

BIGGEST TAGALONG: Matty Whitmore was the nicest guy there and a good competitor, but he was too nice to make move, so he followed along with his tribe mates at every council. He made it to the top four but only by Sugar employing her idol to save him.

PLAYER WHO DESERVED TO GO FURTHER: Jacquie Berg showed strength in the social, strategic, and physical aspects of the game. After being the only new Fang member to really try in the water lacrosse game, they quickly voted her out in favor of Kelly who was weaker in every aspect of the game.

PLAYER WHO THOUGHT THEY CONTROLLED THE GAME (BUT DIDN’T): Crystal Cox should have been a dominant force in challenges, but she did well in just and was an embarassment in most of the rest. Strategicly she followed along with Kenny’s strategy.

BIGGEST GAMER: Marcus didn’t get a chance to do any individual challenges, but he owned at almost all the team challenges except the final one after which he was eventually eliminated.

PLAYER WHO SHOULD HAVE WON BUT DIDN”T: Sugar played a skilled strategy and social game. Bob rocked the challenges, but didn’t play much of a rounded game. The jury was more concerned about being bitter than choosing the best player. She controlled the game generally and was the decisive actor in almost all the important moves.

ACTUAL WINNER: Bob was a fun person to watch and I felt good about him winning. His biggest error was needlessly promising to give Ken his individual immunity necklace. 

WHAT THIS SEASON DID WRONG: They casted some pitiful players. It is normal for survivor to seek out some villian types, but Randy and Corinne were plain mean. The game requires some backstabbing, but these two were miserably hateful. It wasn’t something they did out of stress or strategy, they boasted how it was part of their personality and character.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID RIGHT: The tribe mix ups were entertaining. The first shuffle took place after each tribe ranking their members allowing the schoolyard pick to be informed of the opposing tribe’s heirarchy. The second transfer was almost a blindside in itself. Faking out the surivivors at the false merge feast was a great twist to pull the floor out from under the players and destabilize a seemingly indestructable alliance.

[thetimesbehind]

Survivor Season 1

I really enjoyed watching the original Survivor season more for the historical value than the actual game play. I have seen tid bits of a few Survivor seasons and much of the last few seasons. It was a shocking when survivors bemoaned the immorality of alliances and voting tribe members off for social strategic reasons. In current seasons, strategy and alliances commence on day one. I had to adjust my mind to how people really would play the game rather than build on game play they had seen on previous seasons.

BEST MOMENT: When Gervase ate rat and liked it.

WORST MOMENT: Sue’s rant and personal attack on Kelly during jury question and comment period. We get it, you’re mad at Kelly for flip flopping and making it farther than you.

BEST CHALLENGE: When Gervase out-rowed Kelly, a river guide.

THE MOMENT THE GAME CHANGED: When Gretchen Cordy was voted out, Tagi removed the only Pagong member with the ability to challenge the alliance.

BEST SURVIVOR: Greg Buis was the only player who seemed to enjoy living on the island. He preferred sleeping in the woods alone and mastered the mental game with his coconut phone. He was so chill that he didn’t really mind getting voted out. 

WORST SURVIVOR: Ramona Gray didn’t help around camp at all and was voted out while sick.

FAVORITE PLAYER: Colleen Haskell wanted to have fun and get along with everybody. She was a good foil for Richard and gave me someone to root for as he Pagonged everyone out of Rattana. She lightened the mood from the Tagi brutality by joking about a relationship with Greg and smiling through a week of her friends getting voted out.

LEAST FAVORITE PLAYER: Sean Kenniff was clueless about everything. He is a doctor, but he was the least adept player in every aspect of the game especially with his alphabetical voting strategy. Most of his thinking went into building a “superpole” which didn’t catch a single fish.

BEST STRATEGIST: Richard Hatch controlled the game Day 1-37.

WORST STRATEGIST: BB Andersen barked orders at everyone and didn’t care that it annoyed his whole tribe.

BIGGEST TAGALONG: Rudy Boesch had no social game beyond sticking with Richard. He let Richard make all his game decisions and had few positive interactions with anyone.

PLAYER WHO DESERVED TO GO FURTHER: Gretchen Cordy was a gentle leader in Pagong with good strategy, work ethic, and social game.

PLAYER WHO THOUGHT THEY CONTROLLED THE GAME: Sue Hawk was part of the alliance that led to Richard’s victory, but she wrongly thought she was choosing who to vote out. Additionally, she didn’t win any immunity challenges.

BIGGEST GAMER: Kelly Wigglesworth won the final four individual immunty challenges when she was on the chopping block each time.

PLAYER WHO SHOULD HAVE WON: Kelly Wigglesworth had good strategy with making an alliance early, had good social game befriending Pagong members, and she competed well in immunity challenges. 

ACTUAL WINNER: Unfortunately, I knew from media references that Richard Hatch would win the game. I was confused when he started off awkward and weak, but he was the only player who really understood what it means to Outplay. As much as I hated his arrogance, he was correct when he said he controlled who stayed and who went. His only real error was giving up on the final immunity challenge putting his fate in the hands of Kelly who was no guarantee to pick him. Despite wining the game, his strategy in life failed when he evaded taxes and ended up in jail.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID WRONG: Most players didn’t seem to know they were playing a game. Talking about alliances was almost taboo. Everyone wanted to win the million dollars, but no one outside the dreaded alliance had a clear idea of how to get there.

WHAT THIS SEASON DID RIGHT: Almost all of the challenges had something to do with survival. It really lived up to the name Survivor. Later seasons have morphed more into a jungle Big Brother.

[thetimesbehind]

Living in the past

I didn’t grow up watching much TV. That’s not true; I didn’t grow up watching popular, current TV. I never had the commitment to watch a weekly episode, so I only experienced the rise of reality TV through cultural references and caught onto great sitcoms and dramas through syndication but in a confusing and disordered timeline. My biggest regret in life is not watching The Office in order; I already knew Jim and Pam would marry, Michael would become lovable, and Jim would befriend Dwight. It was a great show, so I had to watch whatever syndicated episodes I stumbled across, but I had no convenient way to start from the beginning and work my way through the timeline correctly. With the development of Netflix and Amazon Prime, I can now go back in time and watch series from beginning to end experiencing the highs and lows as the producers intended.

I am going to review old seasons as I watch them. I know everyone has already watched these shows and may be over them. That’s okay.