Survivor 20: Episode 06: Banana Etiquette

The tribes have spoken and Karen R. and Brandon are asked to leave the pool immediately. 

Wednesday night, on Survivor Amanda vowed to get Candace out after she gunned for James at the last tribal council. Apparently, no one seems to care that James has a busted knee and can't physically compete anymore. In case you were wondering, two weeks later, yes I'm still bitter that they sent Tom home. Over at the villains' camp, Russell tries to make Rob think he's calling a truce with him but Rob is much too smart for him. He tries to get in his head and convince him to play the idol or he'll be the one headed home next.

Tree mail arrives at both camps and it's quite vague. It doesn't say whether they'll be playing for immunity, reward, or both. When they arrive at their challenge, Probst tells them they'll play for immunity... individual immunity, that is... because both tribes will be voting somebody out.  Players will face off against members of their own tribe. They'll be hooked onto a rope that is tied to an obstacle course and they'll need to get through it the fastest in order to wear the immunity necklace. Tyson, Coach, and JT all competed in this challenge during Survivor: Tocantins and Tyson ultimately won. Little fun fact for ya.

The heroes are up first and Candace ends up winning, which dashes Amanda's dreams of watching her torch get snuffed out later on. James put on a pretty good performance, despite that injury, while Colby came in dead last. The guy does know his head is on the chopping block, right? He doesn't even seem to care! The villains are up next and I have to love them because everybody has a fight in them (with the exception of Sandra, who is out of the race pretty early on). Boston Rob walks away the winner and thankfully, he won't have to worry about Russell gunning for him, at least for now. Rob and Candace face off in a final battle, in a course that is three stories high and much more difficult than the first round. The winner will get hot dogs and soda for their tribe and they'll get to listen in on the other tribal council. Rob is the winner... are you surprised? The guy is so dominant!

At the heroes' camp, Colby tells everyone that he knows he's headed home so there's no need to scramble because he just wants to enjoy his last day in the game. The game ain't over yet for the Australian Outback all star. The heroes want to make sure that James is okay to compete so they ask him to participate in a race against JT in order to decide if they should keep him or not. Oh sure, they couldn't have done this when Tom was still there? James hobbles along while JT runs backwards... yeah, James can't compete physically right now.

While there was hardly any scrambling at the heroes' camp, the same can't be said for the villains - but would you expect any less from them? Rob tells Russell straight out to play the idol but then wonders if he took him seriously. In the event that Russell or Parvati play the idol, Rob comes up with a fool proof plan of splitting the votes to ensure that one of them goes home. This is why we love Rob. Great physical player, great personality, great strategist. He never played this game with hidden idols, yet took that into account this season and planned ahead.

At the very last minute, Russell grabs a hold of Tyson and convinces him that he'll be writing Parvati's name down. For no reason whatsoever, Tyson actually believes Russell, votes with him at tribal, and gets sent home. As Rob predicted, Russell gave the idol to Parvati. If the votes were split, it would've been a three way tie between Russell, Parvati, and Tyson. Parvati's votes wouldn't count, they'd re-vote and the majority would have sent Russell home but Tyson screwed it all up. Russell doesn't get credit for being such a great strategic player because Tyson was just so STUPID!!

The villains enjoy their hot dogs, sans Tyson, and the heroes head in to face their fate. Colby continues to admit defeat and James tells him that he was once one of the baddest Survivors of all time and is now like Superman, but when you get up close, it's just a fat suit. God, that has to hurt Colby's ego a little bit, wouldn't you think? Hopefully, Colby will prove that he's still a superhero because the tribe decided to send James and his injured knee packin'. Uh oh, who will protect Amanda now?

Quote of the week: 

James to Colby: You got slammed by the Dragon Slayer. …[You] got beat by a cripple and a fat dude on the obstacle course. It’s like finding out Superman was in a big girdle. You seem them muscles and you get up close and it’s nothing but a fat suit.

Heroes				Villains
Amanda	~	Warren		Coach	~	Dick
Candice	~	Maureen		Courtney	~	Eric
Cirie	~	Karen D.		Danielle	~	Pat
Colby	~	Christi		Jerri	~	Lauren
J.T.	~	Erin		Parvati	~	Cara
James	~	Karen R.		Randy	~	Sandy
Rupert	~	Brendan		Rob	~	Tonya
Stephanie	~	Colin		Russell	~	Kim
Sugar	~	Cheryl		Sandra	~	Linda
Tom	~	Nick		Tyson	~	Brandon

Season 20: Episode 05: Knights of the Round Table

The tribe has spoken and Nick is asked to leave th pool immediately.

At Tribal Council, host Jeff Probst points out the obvious fact that James presents a huge liability to his tribe due to his injury.  His tribemates stand up for James with the exception of Tom, Colby and Candice, who contend that he is only being kept for a loyal vote for his allies.  James accuses Tom of being the sole reason why their tribe continues to lose challenges, and proclaims that he is much stronger with a bum knee than Tom is without any ailments.  With this, the Heroes cast their votes, and with five out of the seven votes cast against him, Tom was voted out.  Tom Westman, the 45 year-old from Survivor: Palau became the fifth person voted out of SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS.

Quote of the week is the exchange between Russell and Parvati:

Russell: Just grab onto my coattails.

Parvati: I don’t ride coattails, baby.

Russell: You’ll ride these.

Upcoming Survivor programming: 

• Thursday, March 18: Due to the NCAA college basketball tournament, SURVIVOR WILL NOT BE ON 
• Wednesday, March 24: Survivor will be on for a special Wednesday night episode   
• Thursday, April 1: Survivor will return to it's regular time slot

Insight from Jeff Probst about the Reward challenge – SCHMERGENBRAWL

This is a challenge that was created by our grip department.  These are the guys who build the scaffolding that makes it possible for us to shoot out in the water or put cameras high in the air.  These guys are hard working and keep us all safe.

During a day off they created a simple game they named Schmergenbrawl.  It evolved into a major day-long tournament where our crew divided into teams.  They had T-shirts made and some even had their own mascots.  It was full-on.  The game was so popular with our crew that our challenge department stole the idea and with a few modifications turned it into a Survivor challenge that we premiered in Survivor: Samoa.

You may remember it as the challenge that resulted in me tossing somebody (Ben) out of the challenge for unsportsmanlike behavior and also resulted in the evacuation of Mike Borassi due to dehydration.  We should have known that it was too rough, even for Survivor.

But instead, we brought it back again this season. Once again it was physical and once again it resulted in a major injury as James was removed from the challenge after wrecking his knee.

This challenge will NEVER be played again.  It was officially retired after last night’s challenge and those of you who love justice being served will be happy to know that the grip that created the challenge was fired.

He wasn’t really fired.  He was sacrificed.  It turns out the Samoans have an ancient ritual that saved our season from becoming a disaster.  We gave him over to the Samoan gods to do with him as they must and in exchange they were able to bless us and insure us a very good finish to our 20^th season.  A small price to pay if you ask me.

One grip in exchange for a really good season of Survivor.  We’ll make that deal every year.  Plus, one of the younger guys in the grip department got to move up and take his spot.  That’s what you call a “win-win.”

Heroes				Villains
Amanda	~	Warren		Coach	~	Dick
Candice	~	Maureen		Courtney	~	Eric
Cirie	~	Karen D.		Danielle	~	Pat
Colby	~	Christi		Jerri	~	Lauren
J.T.	~	Erin		Parvati	~	Cara
James	~	Karen R.		Randy	~	Sandy
Rupert	~	Brendan		Rob	~	Tonya
Stephanie	~	Colin		Russell	~	Kim
Sugar	~	Cheryl		Sandra	~	Linda
Tom	~	Nick		Tyson	~	Brandon

Season 20: Episode 04: Tonight, We Make Our Move

The tribe has spoken and Karen D. is asked to leave the pool immediately.   (What the hell?!?!?!)

At Tribal Council, Tom and Colby reveal that members of their tribe are being voted out solely because they are on the wrong side of the numbers and not due to their ability to win challenges.  Rupert stumps Jeff Probst when he admits that he would rather keep his word rather than vote for the person he thinks deserves to go.  After the vote, Tom plays the hidden immunity idol, and J.T. kept his word with Tom and voted for Cirie.  With the three votes cast against Tom being null and void, Cirie is voted out with three out of the remaining five votes cast against her.  Cirie Fields, the 39 year-old from Survivor: Exile Island became the fourth person voted out of SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS.    

Quote of the week:  Boston Rob approaches Coach and assures him that he's not on the outside, that everything's OK. They exchange a hug and words of trust, but Coach isn't quite buying it. "Pick your #*%!@  head up and act like a man," Boston Rob tells Coach.

                      

Heroes				Villains
Amanda	~	Warren		Coach	~	Dick
Candice	~	Maureen		Courtney	~	Eric
Cirie	~	Karen D.		Danielle	~	Pat
Colby	~	Christi		Jerri	~	Lauren
J.T.	~	Erin		Parvati	~	Cara
James	~	Karen R.		Randy	~	Sandy
Rupert	~	Brendan		Rob	~	Tonya
Stephanie	~	Colin		Russell	~	Kim
Sugar	~	Cheryl		Sandra	~	Linda
Tom	~	Nick		Tyson	~	Brandon

Season 20: Episode 3: That Girl is Like a Virus...

The tribe has spoken and Sandy is asked to leave the pool immediately.

At Tribal Council, Sandra brings up the fact that Parvati is more prone to flipping alliances after a merge due to her alliance in her previous season.  Sandra insults Coach when she accuses him of not being around camp when he is needed.  Coach takes great offense to this, and proclaims that he is the one who is always out collecting firewood for hours.  “You made it sound like I’m an ass that sits there that wants to be a leader and then doesn’t do any work,” Coach fumes.  Sandra vents that the tribe has been without a machete all day.  “It grew legs and walked off,” says Sandra.  The tribe’s dysfunction becomes more and more apparent as each member reveals that a weak shelter and lack of cohesion amongst the members have plagued them since day one.  The Villains cast their votes, and with nine out of the ten votes cast against him, Randy was voted out.  Randy Bailey, the 50 year-old from Survivor: Gabon became the third person voted out of SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS.

 Quote of the week: Coach: “There’s nobody out here that’s honorable anymore…except for me.”

Match of the week: Parvoti vs. Jerri

• Jerri: "Every time I’m around her I want to punch her in the face."
• Parvati: "She’s just a bitter old cougar."

Heroes				Villains
Amanda	~	Warren		Coach	~	Dick
Candice	~	Maureen		Courtney	~	Eric
Cirie	~	Karen D.		Danielle	~	Pat
Colby	~	Christi		Jerri	~	Lauren
J.T.	~	Erin		Parvati	~	Cara
James	~	Karen R.		Randy	~	Sandy
Rupert	~	Brendan		Rob	~	Tonya
Stephanie	~	Colin		Russell	~	Kim
Sugar	~	Cheryl		Sandra	~	Linda
Tom	~	Nick		Tyson	~	Brandon

Season 20: Episode 02: It's Getting the Best of Me

The tribe has spoken and Colin is asked to leave the pool immediately.

At Tribal Council, James argues with Stephenie for telling people what to do during the challenge when J.T. was the only person who should have been giving orders.  The argument heats up when Stephenie takes offense to James’s abrasiveness towards her, and her allies, Colby and Tom, each take a stab at James.  “Just let it be, bro,” says Colby.  Colby is shocked to see that his tribe has shifted from a cohesive team to a tribe of individuals so early in the game.  When Jeff questions the tribe about their concerns regarding alliances from previous seasons, Cirie claims that she does not have an alliance with Amanda due to her past experience with her during Survivor: Micronesia, because Amanda betrayed Cirie in the end.  Ultimately, Candice and Cirie stuck with J.T.’s alliance, and with six out of the nine votes cast against her, Stephenie was voted out.  Stephenie LaGrossa, the 29 year-old from Survivor: Palau, became the second person voted off of SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS.

Insight from Jeff concerning Rob's illness: even Boston Rob cannot stomach the Samoa flu. Turns out that’s all that was wrong with Rob, a bout of the local Samoan flu.  But hear me when I say this was no ordinary flu.  During the season it took out a lot of our crew members and a lot of the locals on the island.  It hits the body very hard and according to our doctors, one of the worst parts was the accompanying headache which felt like a nail being repeatedly pounded into the back of your head.

When the doctors and I first got to Rob at camp, he was flat out on his side.  Flat out. He was shaking uncontrollably and he was slobbering from the mouth.  I knew it was bad because Rob is not the kind of guy who ever complains about physical pain.  He’ll complain about damn near everything else, but he’s pretty self-contained when it comes to pain.  He was out of it.  Before the docs diagnosed it as merely the flu, I thought he was going to have to be evacuated. I doubt Rob has any idea how bad it really was, I don’t think he remembers much of what happened.

After the doctors had run their tests and determined that he was okay to continue, he and I sat and talked for quite a while.  He just needed time to get strong enough so that he could stand up and walk back over to the rest of the tribe.  It was a pretty funny, and at times emotional, exchange.  He kept repeating that he didn’t want to “let anybody down” because he loved the game so much.  But as his mind cleared up a bit, those noble feelings were replaced by a more familiar Boston Rob refrain: “Screw it.  I’m gonna win this damn game.”  I half expected him to stand up, staggering to maintain balance and yell to no one in particular: “Adrienne!  Adrienne!

This week's quote is from Rob: “Again I’m on the buffoon tribe”

Heroes				Villains
Amanda	~	Warren		Coach	~	Dick
Candice	~	Maureen		Courtney	~	Eric
Cirie	~	Karen D.		Danielle	~	Pat
Colby	~	Christi		Jerri	~	Lauren
J.T.	~	Erin		Parvati	~	Cara
James	~	Karen R.		Randy	~	Sandy
Rupert	~	Brendan		Rob	~	Tonya
Stephanie	~	Colin		Russell	~	Kim
Sugar	~	Cheryl		Sandra	~	Linda
Tom	~	Nick		Tyson	~	Brandon

Season 20: Episode 01: Slay Everyone, Trust No One

The tribe has spoken. Cheryl is asked to leave the pool immediately.

At Tribal Council, the Heroes address how prior relationships in the game may influence who is voted out.  While Tom dismisses it as not being a factor, Sugar disagrees.  When the issue of the immunity challenge loss is brought up, Sugar is singled out as the sole person who blew it on the puzzle.  With this, the Heroes cast their votes, and with nine out of the ten votes cast against her, Sugar is voted out.  Jessica “Sugar” Kiper, the 29 year-old from Survivor: Gabon, became the first person voted off of SURVIVOR: HEROES VS. VILLAINS.


Insight from Jeff: We had to get special permission from the New Zealand government to get the use of the Huey’s and the Air Force personnel to fly them. We came to an agreement that allowed the RNZAF to use our rehearsals (without the real Survivors on board) as an opportunity to also practice various mission maneuvers for which they needed a location and situation to conduct them. It was a win-win.
 

If you watch it again you can see that when we did it for real with the Survivors on board and the Huey’s approaching the beach, it even resembles a mission. Two come in and land, sand flying around. They depart and the other two come in. It’s also worth mentioning that it went off without a hitch. Everybody hit their marks, it was magical.

As a thank you we had the RNZAF personnel rehearse one of our big challenges against our dream team. It was a great day in which I swapped one of my Survivor baseball caps for one of their RNZAF caps.

 

Quote of the week: “Watching these guys working together, I’m ecstatic coming back into Survivor,” says Rupert.  “It’s good to be a hero.”

Heroes Villains Amanda ~ Warren Coach ~ Dick Candice ~ Maureen Courtney ~ Eric Cirie ~ Karen D. Danielle ~ Pat Colby ~ Christi Jerri ~ Lauren J.T. ~ Erin Parvati ~ Cara James ~ Karen R. Randy ~ Sandy Rupert ~ Brendan Rob ~ Tonya Stephanie ~ Colin Russell ~ Kim Sugar ~ Cheryl Sandra ~ Linda Tom ~ Nick Tyson ~ Brandon

top ten

The Survivor cast made an appearance on Late Night.  Click here to see the Top 10 list.