Good ol' Richard Hatch, winner of the first series of "Survivor" back in 2000 was found guilty of tax evasion for not paying taxes on his $1 Million prize (not to mention of evading taxes on $327,000 he earned as co-host of a Boston radio show and $28,000 in rent on property he owned). He had seven bank, mail and wire fraud charges that he was acquitted of. He was deemed a flight risk an immediately taken into custody.
His future? Possible maximum 13-year prison sentence and $600,000 fine.
I mean, this guy had a deal on the table last March and he rejected it.
What an idiot. Outwit? I don't think so...
Somewhere, Susan Hawk is laughing her ass off...
]]>Would you believe Gary Hogeboom? You know, former NFL quarterback from the '80's?
CBS ANNOUNCES 16 NEW CASTAWAYS FOR "SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire"Former NFL Quarterback Gary Hogeboom Among The New Castaways Set To Compete When The Eleventh Installment Of The Hit Television Series Premieres on Thursday, September 15
CBS today announced 16 new castaways to compete in SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire. The castaways will begin their adventure with a grueling 11 mile hike through the jungle when the eleventh installment of the Emmy Award-winning hit series premieres Thursday, Sept. 15 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT), on the CBS Television Network.
SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire takes place amid the ancient Mayan ruins and ceremonial sites (some as many as 2,000 years old) located in the northern area of Guatemala. Amid the excruciating triple-digit heat, crocodile infested waters, relentless mosquitoes and terrifying sounds of the howler monkeys, these new castaways will attempt to "Outwit, Outplay and Outlast" in hopes of winning the $1 million prize and title of "Ultimate Survivor." In addition to the grueling overnight hike, the castaways will be faced with two additional surprises in the first episode that will dramatically impact how they play the game.
Castaways that will be competing in SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire (in alphabetical order) are:
BRANDON BELLINGER
22
Manhattan, Kan.
Farmer/RancherDANNI BOATWRIGHT
30
Tonganoxie, Kan.
Sports Radio Talk Show HostMARGARET BOBONICH
43
Chardon, Ohio
Family Nurse PractitionerBRIAN CORRIDAN
22
New York City (originally from New Milford, Conn.)
Ivy League StudentCINDY HALL
31
Naples, Fla.
Zoo KeeperGARY HOGEBOOM
46 (turns 47 on August 21)
Grand Haven, Mich.
Ex-NFL Quarterback/Real Estate DeveloperRAFE JUDKINS
22
Providence, R.I. (originally from Pittsburgh)
Ivy League StudentJIM LYNCH
63
Northglenn, Colo.
Retired Fire CaptainMORGAN McDEVITT
21
Decatur, Ill.
Magician's Assistant/WaitressLYDIA MORALES
42
Lakewood, Wash. (originally from Okinawa)
FishmongerJAMIE NEWTON
24
N. Hollywood, Calif. (originally from Douglas, Ga.)
Water Ski InstructorAMY O'HARA
39
Revere, Mass.
Police SergeantJUDD SERGEANT
34 (turns 35 on September 13)
Ridgefield, N.J.
Hotel DoormanBROOKE STRUCK
26
Santa Monica, Calif. (originally from Hood River, Ore.)
Law StudentBLAKE TOWSLEY
24
Dallas, Texas
Commercial Real Estate Broker/ModelBRIANNA VARELA
21 (turns 22 on Oct. 29)
Edmonds, Wash.
Retail Sales/Make-Up ArtistSURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire is produced by SEG, Inc. Mark Burnett and Tom Shelly are the executive producers.
For more detailed information on SURVIVOR: GUATEMALA -- The Maya Empire and the castaways, log on to www.cbs.com/survivor.
The line to meet him was enormous and really net letting up, so there was no way I was going to meet him personally. I sort of camped-out by his table, taking pictures, which allowed me to listen to him interact with everyone and get a good idea of his character.
When I watched Survivor Pearl Islands and Survivor All Stars as well as the America's Tribal Council, that I liked Rupert. He seemed real. He seamed to care, he seemed "honest", and he truly seemed to enjoy his time in the show.
I was wrong.
He is double and maybe even triple what I thought.
He was engaging. He took time with every single person going through that line. He made sure he shook their hands. He made direct eye contact. He talked to them by name. He thanked every single person for coming out. When he talked about his time in the game, it was as if he just got off the island yesterday, speaking about details that you know he feels in his heart. He speaks well of some people (Like Sandra, the Pearl Islands winner, and Rudy) and he still talks about issues he had with a certain Mr. Fairplay.
The way he treats kids is wonderful and magic, working hard to win their hearts if they weren't already won before stepping forward to the show's only legitimate Pirate.
I watched a handler briefly talk to him, talking about that people may have been upset about the amount of time he was spending with people in line. It's obvious that those weren't the people at the front of the line who were meeting him, for each and every one of them just soaked-up his energy and everyone walked away with a smile.
I can't say anything bad about the guy. He is real.
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The location is back at the last location - Panama's Pearl Islands, and the tribes are names after the islands where they camp. There are 18 people instead of the usual 16, and there are 3 tribes instead of the usual 2.
In the Chapera Tribe:
In the Saboga Tribe:
In the Moga Moga Tribe:
I never watch this show - I find it too... cheap. I don't know, I just don't "trust" it. Yes, I know it's voted on by the public (allegedly), but I don't buy it. Sorry. If it's not an industry awards show (Emmy, Oscar, Grammy, and I'll even "allow" the Golden Globes), I don't view it as a "legitamate" award.
]]>Now she's probably the first Survivor contestant with a "high profile" job - today she became one of the new co-hosts on ABC Daytime's The View.
I happened to TiVo today's show and it looks like she's going to fit in well. Elisabeth beat out some familiar faces - Rachel Campos (from MTV's "The Real World: San Francisco") and Erin Hershey Presley (who played Alison in the cancelled ABC soap "Port Charles").
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So, the new Balboa tribe wakes-up after their first Tribal Council. Rupert tells Lil that she's a Drake, not a Morgan and he actually talks her up and pumps her up a bit - something she has sorely needed. Burton and Ryan O. also talk. A lot of strategizing, which you would expect out of a new tribe. Burton goes fishing and spears a ray. It turns out that this stingray shocks Burton. Rupert comes over and, sure enough, it shocks Rupert! It's an electric ray of some sort! Cool! They eat it anyway. (As Rupert says, it's "a high voltage meal".) Rupert talks about enjoying being able to feed the former Morgan tribemembers. Balboa goes to their first individual Reward Challenge. It's a typical slingshot challenge (hitting plates with marbles), and they're playing for a complete breakfast meal. Rupert wins the challenge, but in typical Rupert style, since Burton gave him his immunity at Tribal Council last night, he gives the reward to Burton. Burton gets to take a partner to the meal. You can hear Rupert under his breath say "Take Lill" and he does. Well, I guess she's a fellow Outcast, so it sort of makes sense.
The next morning, Burton says he's not thinking about is Drake tribe any longer - he wants to win this for the Outcast tribe, and he has no loyalty to Christa, Sandra and Rupert. Burton and Jon talk about getting rid of Rupert. (What? Ye bastards! Not the Spirit of The Pearl Islands!) The boat picks-up Burton and Lill for breakfast. Over the huge breakfast spread, Burton pumps Lill to get rid of Rupert and Lill, basically, pledges her undying allegiance to Burton. Back at camp, Christa and Sandra and talking about the same thing - getting rid of Rupert. Sandra then gets Tijuana and Darrah and they go for a walk. Back at breakfast Burton is still working Lill that Burton, Lill and Jon will be the top 3. (ed: gag)
There's a discussion about how lazy the Morgan tribe is. Christa says they just lay around. Tijuana thinks the Balboa tribe works a "great deal more than is necessary." It's time for the Immunity Challenge. It's a local pirate lore test. Correct answers earn the players coconuts, which they then place in a bin in front of another player. When a player gets 5 coconuts in their bin, they're eliminated from the challenge. Though everyone seems to have talked voting out Rupert, they concentrate on other players in the game and Rupert wins Immunity.
Ryan O. gets the feeling he's the one that is going at Tribal Council tonight. He tries to swing a 5-on-4 vote with Darrah and Tijuana and maybe work Jon & Burton. Christa talks to Jon about voting Burton off (obviously without knowing about Jon and Burton's alliance). Jon says it should be Ryan. Burton joins them and concurs. Jon in an interview says he will stab anyone in the back if it benefits him. (I totally believe him. Such a prick.)
At Tribal Council, Balboa votes-off Ryan Opray, the 31-year-old electrician from Los Gatos, California by a 8-1 vote.
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I'm not sure how this week will top last week... all we seem to have to look forward to is dissent from the tribes when The Outcasts come back... but who will they be?
In another Survivor first, the Outcast tribe goes to Tribal Council to vote two people back into the game. Everybody makes their case to re-enter the game. The tribe votes. Burton Roberts, the 31-year-old marketing executive from San Francisco, California was voted-in first, and Lillian Morris, the 51-year-old scout troop leader from Cincinnati, Ohio, was second. Burton and Lill grab their torches and relight them. Jeff sends each of the other four off, one at a time. Lill then choses the Buff of her new tribe from a container... and it's Morgan. Each of the Outcasts goes back to their original tribe.
The storm has rolled in and Drake is talking in the dark about who could be coming back. Burton walks back into the shelter. Even though he was booted out, he came back to camp with an upbeat attitude and the tribe seems revitalized. At Morgan, Lill returns and it's just an OK reception. Lill seems a bit peaved (can you blame her?). Back at Drake, Rupert pulls Burton to the side and lays it out for him why he voted him out. Rupert viewed Burton as all the punks that teased him growing up. Burton felt bad and apologized and strategized, promising to vote out Jon at the the next council. Lill is back at Morgan, doing the work she's always done there, while everyone else has no energy left. Andrew seems bitter about the entire situation, having Lill back.
Burton, Rupert, and Christa go off looking for their lemon tree and talk about how decptive Jon has been and how much he's lied. It sounds like Jon is the target of the next Tribal Council. Back at Morgan, the tribe cooks the last of their rice - they are now officially out of food.
The tribes meet for the next challenge. Jeff asks Sandra about the food situation and she talks about the fact that there isn't a food situation - they have rice and corn and yesterday they had about 15 pounds of fish and refried beans at night and everyone went to sleep full. Andrew hangs his head in dispair. Andrew says they are surviving only on mussels and coconut.
Jeff asks if anybody came here today expecting a merge and counting on it to save them. Andrew says he disn't expect a merge or a big buffet under some table (huh? did he mean on a table? or under a tree?) Jeff says: "Once again the game changes when you least expect it. Drop your Buffs. You're merging." There's a lot of excitement, mostly from Morgan as Drake doesn't seem all that happy. Jeff passes out new black Buffs (fitting, don't you think?) Andrew takes his a burries his face in it as if he's hiding the fact that he's crying. The have to come up with a new name, paint a new flag (we never see that anymore on the show...) and they're going to live on Drake's beach. This almost means that they now compete for individual immunity, and that's what they're competeing for now. It's a variation on Keel Hauling, but they're swimming laps underneath piers in diffrent heats. Jon in his heat hits a cross at the end of the pier (like he's out of control) and falls in (he!). The final heat is between Rupert, Jon, Burton and Ryan O. The each have to do 5 laps, this time transferring gold medalions from a cross at the back of the pier to the front. In almost a photo finish, Burton wins over Rupert and wins immunity. Jeff tells everyone how this all works (like we all know already, I mean this is the seventh season of the show, but Burton already has immunity because he re-entered the game, so he can re-assign the immunity if he choses), and then Jeff says: "Oh, and one more thing, guys. Savage - that buffet you referred to? It's waiting for you back at camp." Everyone celebrates and paddles off.
The feast was ribs, lamb, bread, cheese, nuts, oranges, on a table with silver goblets (very Pirate Booty-looking), The new tribe is named Balboa (same as Rupert's dead snake). Then the game play begins... there's additional discussions about getting rid of Jon (by the Morgan tribe!) and Drake finds Lill is interested in "coming over" to Drake and vote off a Morgan. Andrew wants Lill to vote-off a Drake and she takes offense to this saying that that Morgan still wants her out.
At the Tribal Council, Burton re-assigns his immunity to Rupert since he's already immune. Andrew Savage, the 40-year-old attorney from Chicago, Illinois, is voted-out 6-4 over Jon.
Damn, I'm upset for two reasons... first, I think Andrew played the game so well, he "deserved" to at least be on the jury (now, he's not - he didn't survive long enough) and second, I really want that grinnin' Jon off that friggin' island and out of the game!
]]>BEST. SURVIVOR. EPISODE. EVER.
It's dark at the Drake tribe and out of the darkness you hear a booming "Who the hell voted for me? Who the hell voted for me? JON??? Who the hell voted for me?" It's Rupert and he's going after pissant Jon for voting for him at Tribal Council. Rupert is pissed, but he gets over it. How the hell is Jon still around??? The next day it's raining and Morgan looks like they're in bad shape. They haven't been getting any fish since rupert left. They're eating beans. Osten looks like he's checking out again. The damn bastard looks like he's tired and depressed... and like he wants to quit. Drake finds Tree Mail (or Sea Mail as they say) and they realize that there's a challenge coming up. The tribe decides they want coconut popcorn before the challenge (if you fry-up coconut meat it's supposed to taste like popcorn). Everybody except Shawn, that is. More verbal sparring ensues between Jon & Shawn about the damn coconut popcorn.
It's time for the challenge. When the tribes arrive, Jeff starts to talk:
Nineteen days, you've been out here in the Pearl Islands. You have survived the bugs, the lack of food, miserable living conditions and the ever shifting tribal dynamics. Together, you've voted six people out of this game - three from Morgan, three from Drake. The reasons you voted these people out vary. The only real common trait among the six people you voted out is that they're no longer in this game.And with that, you see the six former players literally come out of the bushes. They have purple bandannas and Burton is carrying a purple banner.But that may soon change.
Morgan, Drake - your past has come back to haunt you.
Come in, guys.
The six people you have voted out return now as a third tribe.The music comes up. Close-up shots of the existing tribe members' faces. And... commercial.Nicole. Skinny Ryan. Lill. Burton. Michelle. and Trish.
You guys have a tribe name?
(Burton replies) "We're The Outcasts."
The Outcasts. Not unlike the pirate days, they got tired of somebody, felt they were no longer worthy, they shipped them out to sea - left them for dead. Typically, they died. But every so often, they didn't, and when they came back they usually had one thing on their mind. I'm guessing it's the same with you. Michelle?
(Michelle replies) "Revenge, baby. All about revenge."
When we come back from the break, Jeff describes how this will work: (why is it that when they show Jon, he's always got that smile on his face that makes me want to smash him in the teeth to get rid of it?) the Outcasts will compete against Morgan and Drake in a Three-Tribe Challenge. If Morgan or Drake lose to the Outcasts, they will have to go to Tribal Council tonight and vote somebody out. The Outcasts will go to Tribal Council and vote somebody in to replace the member you lost. If both tribes lose to the Outcasts, both will go to Tribal Council separately, both will vote somebody out and two Outcasts will come back into the game. If any Outcasts make it back into this game, they are Immune at the next Tribal Council to give them a fair shot at integrating with their new tribe and getting back into this game.
The challenge is a rescue to get out of three different cages. It's a bit convoluted, so I won't go into details. From the start, The Outcasts take the lead, but Drake gets ahead. When it comes down to the end and getting a key ring with a pole, the Outcasts get the keys first and win. Drake and Morgan have to go to Tribal Council and vote people out, while the Outcasts vote two people back into the game for the first time in the history of Survivor. Holy crap, this is going to get interesting...
The tribes go back to camp, and everybody at Morgan feels the same way - the Outcasts must go at the first opportunity, ans everyone is frustrated. Then Osten tells everyone to vote him off. His body isn't functioning as well as he would like, so he can't compete as well, so he wants out. Huh? Have you looked at this guy??? What the hell is wrong with you, Osten? At Drake, a purple crab is crawling around their shelter (Hmmmm... purple? The color of the Outcast Tribe? Coincidence?) Sandra asks for volunteers to go home. To no one's surprise, nobody volunteers. Rupert, Christa and Sandra talk among themselves and Sandra says they should just ask the other two (Jon & Shawn) to make their case on why they should stay (!) and they agree!
Drake goes to Tribal Council first and votes off Shawn Cohen, the 28-year-old advertising sales executive from New York, New York, in a four-to-one decision.
Morgan then goes to Tribal Council. The weather has turned nasty - it's raining with lightning and thunder with heavy winds.
We are now treated to another historic moment in Survivor history - something called "laying down your torch":
Jeff: Well Drake has been here and gone. They were lucky with the weather. Unfortunately, you're not. Been a while since you guys have been here. Had a nice run. Savage - what happened when you guys got back to camp? Suddenly you're faced with an unexpected Tribal Council and you're going to have to vote somebody out.Andrew: Soon as we get back to camp, Osten steps forward, says that his mind and his body have shut down and that he needs to go. He can't take it another day. Absolutely insists that we put his name on the parchment and vote him out tonight.
Jeff: You had enough, Osten?
Osten: Ah... going into this I was like I want to go as far as my body would allow me go. And right now, my body is done. It's exasperated. (ed. huh?) Every bone in my body hurts. Ahh... I just can't go any further. I'll be more of a liability than an asset to my team, and I refuse to do that.
Jeff: Savage - how much of this experience is about finding out what you are made of?
Andrew: It's all about that, Jeff. It's all mental. Your mind controls your body. If your body is shutting down it's because you... in my opinion... it's because your mind is shutting down.
Jeff: OK. So, Osten, your body, although it appears to smack anybody's body that's still left in this game (shot of Tijuana smiling), I would argue probably that your mind has had enough as well. So, when you hear a guy like Burton come back and say today "You don't know what down is until you've been humiliated by being voted out," and yet he still has a burning desire enough to be back in this game that he'll risk it again, is there any part of you that questions your own will to go on when your body may be saying "I'm tired"?
Osten: Absolutely not. I equate my temple to a car. (yes, Osten refers to his body as a temple) If it has no gas it can not run.
Jeff: T - from what I gathered at the 2nd Tribal Council, it was Osten who was the mysterious person that wanted to quit. So this goes back to Day 5 or 6. What's going on from your point of view right now with Osten?
Tijuana: Um, I can't dictate to Osten or understand where he's coming from. This experience may not be enough of a sacrifice for him versus his health. It is for me. I'm willing to go until probably I'm dead here - either that or I'm voted out. But that's just me.
Jeff: Darrah - I'm watching your body shrink by the day - pulling your top up, nothing staying on. You want out of this game?
Darrah: No, I do not want out of this game. Like T said, you know, I guess you'll have to carry me away, because I'm going to leave this game until I have to.
Jeff: Rhino - What's your take on this happening tonight? Is it "You know what? Fine, Osten, you wanted to quit twice. Go home."
Ryan O: As far as I'm concerned, if was me, I would be clawing and scratching and have to have pneumonia and stuff but, you know, Osten is going to do his thing. That's... that's his wishes. I'm going to grant him his wishes.
Jeff: So, I'm going to go back to you, Osten. I think you know I'm not picking on you.
Osten: That's fine, if you are.
Jeff: So when you hear your four other tribemates, who obviously adore you, when you hear them say "I wouldn't quit. Not for nothn', Jeff", you can't tell me, somewhere in the back of your mind, there's a little part of that says "I am quitting"?
Osten: Take it for whatever you want. mean, if you want to say "quitting", you want to say "stopping". Yeah, I'm "quitting". My health to me is more important to me... ah... than a million dollars I guess right now. Does the means justify the ends? No, it doesn't.
Jeff: Let me ask you something, Osten. Have you wondered what the hell you're doing out here?
Osten: You know what? I'm clearly out of my element. As a situation I would of thought that hey, give it a shot. I can at least say that I went and tried it. I'd like to have been successful. Apparently I'm not going to be. But you know, I won't live my life saying "what if?".
Jeff: Savage - you're shaking your head.
Andrew: If were to do this I would have a "what if?" Flat out. What if what if I went another two days. What if I went one more day. And, then but that's just me. I don't pretend to walk in his shoes, Jeff. I can't... understand what he's going through. It's his decision.
Jeff: Well, Osten - I don't pretend to know what you're thinking either, but I know this: I've been to about a hundred Tribal Councils. Never, ever seen anybody lay down their torch. So, this is a first for me. Seems unanimous. I just want to make sure. Savage - you're going to indulge Osten, sending him home?
Andrew: Yes.
Jeff: Darrah?
Darrah: Yeah.
Jeff: Rhino?
Ryan O.: Yep.
Jeff: T?
Tijuana: Yes.
Jeff: No need to vote and waste any more time. Grab your torch>
(Osten grabs his torch and places it into the ceremonial holder. We then hear Jeff say something he never said before at Tribal Council)
Jeff: Osten - per your wishes - (he snuffs-out the torch) Go home.
(Osten leaves the Tribal Council area. Jeff pulls his torch out of the holder and throws it to the ground)
Jeff: All due respect to Osten, people work too damn hard to get in this game and fight to stay alive. If he wants to lay his torch down so it shall be.
Jeff: Who knows maybe this is the best thing to happen to the Morgan Tribe. All I know is you will head back to camp. Soon after, a new tribe member will arrive and I can promise you this: that person wants to be in this game.
Jeff: Grab your torches, head on back. Good night.
And with that, Osten Taylor, the 27-year-old equity trade manager from Boston, Massachusetts, becomes the first quitter in the history of Survivor.
Remember I had mentioned that Jeff Probst mentioned that there would be a big regret in this game. This was it.
Later, Mark Burnett in a print interview said that he had only made one mistake in casting Survivor over all these years - it was Osten.
Osten, unlike Shawn, was not given the privilege of recording any parting remarks.
Best. Episode. Ever.
Part II is next week.
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We start off with Drake re-hashing Tribal Council. Balboa the snake dies, and Rupert buries him (so he won't be used for bait). At Morgan, we see their new mascot - a pelican - that flies in from the water. Ryan takes to it, names him Pelican Pete, and the bird follows him around to the amusement of the tribe. Osten freaks out (like he does at all animals on the island) and starts sharpening his machete, threatening to kill the bird and ruffling the feathers of his tribe (did I really say that?). Drake decides to rebuild the floor of their shelter. Shawn disagrees, and an argument ensues between Shawn and Jon (Shawn may have been wrong, but you know Jon is just an ass...). The Reward Challenge is firing actual canons at targets for a grill, utensils, spices, 3 very large lobsters and 6 steaks. It was interesting to see cannonballs hook and slice! Drake wins and enjoys the food. They send Jon to plunder Morgan. Bad move. Very bad move. He goes over and is welcomed by Morgan. Things go well. He takes a cooking pot while Morgan thought they would have wanted the shower. In a nice diplomatic move, Morgan allows Jon to wash and shampoo his hair. As I said, Jon is an ass. He tells Morgan (after he takes a cooking pot) that Drake threw that immunity challenge. Holy crap. You are an idiot. Morgan is upset. Andrew, in a narration, calls Jon a "little pissant". They're pissed and fired-up now. The tribes show up for the Immunity Challenge. Christa looks like hell - her face is full of bug bites and Jeff mentions this. The challenge is strategy & endurance - Tribe members from each tribe would be forced to hold a pole up on their shoulders behind their neck. Periodically, weight would be added to the pole. Members of each tribe would determine to which of the opposing tribe members' poles the weight would be added. The last tribe standing would win immunity. Andrew, Osten, and Ryan with the strategy of Tijuana and Darrah go up against Rupert, Shawn, and Christa??? Oh, this is so wrong... Jon and Trish doing strategy? Osten is the first one out at 160 pounds in weights (plus 15 pounds for the bar), then Rupert loses his pole, Shawn goes down at 140, Christa finally falls at 160 pounds - giving Morgan the win. Bad, bad, strategy. Back at camp, Trish turns the tribe against Rupert to vote out tonight. Huh? Oh, oh... the title of the show is "Me and My Snake" - if the snake died, will Rupert go as well? Sandra talks to Christa about the situation, and Christa alerts Rupert. Rupert talks to Shawn, forms a little alliance and then set their sights on Trish. Jon talks to Shawn and he plays along with the unsuspecting Jon. at Tribal Council, Trish Dunn, the 42-year-old sales executive from Annapolis, Maryland is voted-out 4-2.
Next week: Holy Crap! The former tribemates come back! And compete! It's "The Twist to end all Twists"!!!
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We start with Drake talking about the after-effects of their first Tribal Council. Next it's time to see how Rupert is doing over at Morgan. Morgan decides to move their shelter away from the incoming tides. Rupert, of course, helps out. Osten doesn't want to move the shelter. He's easily outvoted. Rupert just takes it all in. Drake starts talking about their fears that Rupert is giving away secrets. Boy, you people just don't know Rupert. Rupert goes fishing and sort of teaches Ryan how to use the spear. Rupert catches some nice fish for lunch. During the Reward Challenge, we see that: 1) Rupert makes a difference 2) Drake can't work together paddling a canoe and 3) Jon is still a friggin' idiot and must be wiped off the face of the earth. Drake's canoe goes everywhere and actually goes off the course. It's not a contest - Morgan wins the reward. Rupert is given the option to partake in the reward with Morgan and go back to Drake later or to go back to Drake now - and he choses to go home with Drake. He is welcomed back and tells them how bad it is back at Morgan. Andrew comes over from Morgan to plunder Drake's camp for the first time (he brings two coconuts as gifts). Rupert quietly goes up to Andrew and says "You can take whatever the #$&* you want, but I'm going to show you what I want you to take." Rupert makes a great offer - knowing that Morgan only has about two more bowls of rice left for food, Rupert pours some rice into a bag for Andrew. Big kudos for Rupert. Man, this guy knows how to be a pirate and knows how to play the game. Rupert finds a snake floating in the water that's injured - and takes it as a pet and names it "Balboa". (Next week's episode is titled "Me and My Snake".) The Immunity Challenge is this season's gross food challenge - blending up multiple seafood items and drinking them. Everybody does well and it comes down to a tie breaker and Sandra looses to Darrah. Three straight wins for Morgan. At Tribal Council, Drake votes out Michelle Tesauro, the 22-year-old student from Pittstown, NJ by a 6-1 vote.
Oh, my... the Morgan tribe goes 0-6 as they lose the Reward Challenge and almost lose Osten in the process. Osten almost drowns and has to be rescued by Andrew and Ryan O. (or Rhino as they're calling him). Drake wins an old fashion manual sewing machine and fabric to make new clothing (though Rupert makes another skirt for himself). Drake gets the final clue for finding their Treasure Chest and they dig it up, full of odds and ends (candles, blankets, mosquito netting, honey, sugar, and even some chocolate), but some people complain that it's stinks. No, literally, it stinks - it got a little damp and some things were a little moldy. Some people didn't like it all that much (Jon, specifically... when are they going to get rid of him?) Trish plunders the Morgan Tribe and takes their lantern. Andrew and Ryan O. went searching for a good fishing spot and get into a dangerous situation by getting lost without any water. Worse yet, they eventually get back to camp without any fish. Drake is not really a happy crew, and some discuss throwing the immunity challenge just to get rid of other tribemembers. When the tribes arrive for the Immunity Challenge, Jeff announces how the game works and says there's also something else that goes with it that will be revealed later. Sure enough, Drake loses giving Morgan their first win. Then Jeff unrolls the scroll he was holding. "Chose one tribemember from the opposing tribe to come live with you until the next challenge. Here's what that means - you are going to chose a tribemember from Drake right now. They will leave with you right now. They will not go to Tribal Council tomorrow night. They cannot be voted out. They will participate with you in the next Reward Challenge and share in that reward if you win." Morgan picks Rupert. Drake has a bad day with lots of scheming. At their first Tribal Council, as Jeff talks to Jon, he realizes that Jon is drunk. I really thought he was going to tear him apart. In the end, Drake votes out Burton Roberts, the 31-year-old Marketing Executive from San Francisco in a 5-2 vote. This is going to cause lots of problems as there is betrayal involved (by the drunk).
The Morgan tribe has now started Survivor: Pearl Islands 0-5 in the challenges. The are plundered again, this time for the large pot they use to boil water. Losing the tribe's last fish hook seals the fate of Lillian Morris, the 51-year-old scout troop leader from Cincinnati, Ohio, who was voted out of the tribe in a 5-1 vote. In a Survivor first, we see Jeff unable to extinguish Lill's torch on the first try. Symbolic?
More later...
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