Board 8 > Reality TV Discussion Topic: Delayed by the Writers' Strike

(+) Yeah! (+)

Mewtwo59 posted...

Who's Matt?

Frannie's boyfriend from last season. Matt/Kane/Carson last season. Drew/Brando/Brandon (TWO OF THEM ARE NAMED BRANDON, FOR FUCK'S SAKE!) this season.

Wait, you couldn't tell Matt was Asian? I noticed right away.

Oh, I missed that you said last 2 seasons. I was looking at the cast and wondering who you were talking about for a bit there.

Underleveled posted...

Wait, you couldn't tell Matt was Asian? I noticed right away.

Genuinely thought he was white until I was informed otherwise.

Also holy crap, I was recently going through last season's jury in my head and couldn't come up with one person no matter how many times I tried to go through the boot order. I legit forgot Kane existed.

What in the god damn hell was this hot mess of an episode? WOW.

The casting has really goofed this one up. Dude can't survive without medication. How did he pass physical???

Yeah, I figured it'd be them or the mom/daughter. Both of them were giving off heavy trainwreck vibes from the very beginning.

That's a real shame. I liked them both a lot.

Katurah and Kellie early faves. Katurah probably my early winner pick. Bye quitter.

how was the premiere, without spoilers? i'm really debating whether i want to watch. well, i don't want to , it's moreso if habit/fomo makes me watch anyway. any signs of toning down on stuff like jeff/the contestants talking non-stop about how being on survivor is the most life-changing thing ever, tribal councils being an analogy competition instead of talking about the actual game dynamics, the non-stop tragic backstory segments, and (this one i know there's no chance of) everything being about advantages and a million idols?

Dels posted...

any signs of toning down on stuff like jeff/the contestants talking non-stop about how being on survivor is the most life-changing thing ever

No

Dels posted...

tribal councils being an analogy competition instead of talking about the actual game dynamics

Difficult to judge from this tribal. Tough to say why without spoilers.

Dels posted...

the non-stop tragic backstory segments

We didn't get too many.

Dels posted...

everything being about advantages and a million idols?

Looks like this COULD be a relatively moderate one by new era standards but I'm not holding my breath.

Dels posted...

how was the premiere, without spoilers?

Honestly kind of a trainwreck overall.

extra comment: did we only watch what like, one alliance actually form this episode?

edgic comment: can the winner be anyone other than the 3 belo girls since theyre literally the only ones who we saw align ep1?

Well, it depends on how seriously we're supposed to take Emily's assertion that Kaleb and Sabiyah are aligned.

Mewtwo59 posted...

Well, it depends on how seriously we're supposed to take Emily's assertion that Kaleb and Sabiyah are aligned.

I dont really view another player labelling a pair as an alliance forming but yeah

Being in an alliance or even having any meaningful strategic content in episode 1 is not a prerequisite for edgic and there have been a handful of winners who did not, most notably Tina, who got 0 content in episode 1, and Fabio, who was made to look like a dunce in the premiere.

Also, given that Probst has confirmed in interviews that the editing has shifted focus from telling a story over the course of the season to telling a story each episode, I wouldn't put much stock into it.

Heck, you only have to back two seasons to see Gabler get treated like an idiot in the premiere.

So apparently for tonight only, Buddy Games is on at 8 and Big Brother is back to its old 9 timeslot. Next Thursday it goes back to Big Brother at 8 and Buddy Games at 9. I honestly don't know why they didn't just put Buddy Games on at 8 to begin with. Literally the entire schedule changed mid-season. Kinda reminds me of when TAR29 and 30 episodes aired whenever-the-fuck. Sad part about that was that those were top 5-ish seasons of that show.

Okay, watchnotes...

-Emily challenging Bruce is a great way to attract a lot of attention to herself. Belo isn't gonna work with her now. Bruce's advantage ends after the marooning.
-I was privy to Brandon's challenge struggles... but man, that was even worse than expected
-The Jeffing was REALLY annoying. "It's the same game as it was in season one" in particular got a cringe out of me. The current game is more fast-paced and random, even if the rules are similar. And that's because of things he's changed. Did like how few trinkets there were.
-Is Drew the first contestant to have Dissociative Identity Disorder? That sounds like that's what he was describing, in a very know-it-all kind of way. I can see why Inviso hated him after one sentence.
-Bruce's approach here reminds me of Swan in Philippines. They need to keep him as a shield.
-The Belo girls are quite redundant - they might as well all be one person, and they're all on the same tribe! I honestly can't differentiate most of the women this season aside from appearance, save for not-an-art-teacher Julie, get-rid-of-me Hannah, and I-lost-it-already Emily, who is a very sane person. Very, very sane! /s
-Sweat/Savvy... I liked that they were in the dark, but Jeff should've 100% told them they'd have to do both, not either, and rewarded both tribes if they both finished on time. There should have been an additional reward for whoever won the showdown (also given to Reba). Did like that they had to do both, but the time limit on top of it being competitive was too short.
-Lulu on Day 1 was a shitshow. A beautiful, glorious shitshow. Strong Matsing or Ua vibes.
-It feels like they went out to find psychopaths and emotionally fragile people this season. I love it.
-I hate how redundant tribe colors have been in this "New Era" - all red, blue, yellow, and green. Why can't there be something like purple, green, and light blue? Or yellow, orange, and red?
-Using the buffs (which are pretty indestructible) as a handhold was brilliant.
-Hannah volunteering for execution was... rough (the nicotine explains a lot). Brandon volunteering as well made it rougher. Counting Emily, there were three people trying to out-crazy each other.
-Jeff LOVED this Tribal. Because he likes meltdowns and they're even better when he facilitates them.
-My dad said Hannah was "too normal" for Survivor. Makes sense.

Great premiere. Loved that we had some unstable people - those make for better TV every time!

Cameron's cockroach story continues. That challenge kinda seemed like the Kaitlyn puzzle in BB20 that was designed to be an auto-win for anyone who was even remotely competent.

> find Kellie cute, decide to root for her
> just watched this pre-show interview from her, getting lost in her eyes
> "I cannot believe a lesbian's never won the show, I intend to be the first"

....MartinFF7, confirmed supporter of the LGBT community

If last night's any indication, these extended hours are going to make them all next-day viewings for me, I swear I almost clicked this topic like 20 times before watching them. I'll probably need to hide it Wednesday nights so I don't accidentally stumble in.

Edit: ok one other thing. Watching an interview w/ J. Maya and she mentions giving up going to Harvard Law School to pursue her singing career. Don't we already have like 3 lawyers in this season, and she almost went to law school? Are there more legal eagles in this cast I'm not aware of, have there always been several and I never noticed before? Feels a little odd to me to have so much of one profession tbh, but I guess lawyers have the gift of gab which is needed for a reality show...

BlueCrystalTear posted...

Hannah volunteering for execution was... rough (the nicotine explains a lot).

I mean, as much as I would rather none of them had smoked in the first place, it's hard to deny that nicotine withdrawal has historically resulted in good Survivor characters (Shane, Rupert, Mad Dog, Zane, and now Hannah).

Jesus Christ I hate Cameron, and I hate him being the central figure of the season.

Cameron being this season's cockroach is hilarious to me, especially since the fanbase hating him feels incredibly forced and hypocritical to me.

The fanbase doesn't even hate him for the right reasons. Him returning to the game via a twist is shitty, but he's such an obnoxious person on top of that. He's a creeper, he's arrogant, he thinks he knows everything despite having an astonishing lack of information (what with how most of the house didn't talk game with him until recently), and he's been trying to play up this badass, chaotic space cowboy for his entire stay in the game which comes off as fake, yet catches nowhere near as much flak for that as say, Blue does for her TikTok girl persona.

Add to that the fact that Cam seems hell-bent on this alpha male comp beast alliance (which we haven't seen year after year ever since BB16), and it's just supremely disappointing that he's the central character of this season, and has been for what, 70 days at a minimum?

We know final noms in the second episode of the cycle, right? Did Cirie avoid it and make jury? (I think that starts after this one? I dunno, it's been so long since you said they shrank it that I think it does?)

Incidentally, the episode ended on a cliffhanger with the Veto meeting incomplete, as happens once or twice per season to build drama. So we don't know the final noms except through the live feeds. But on TV, Cirie is not on the block, nor is she the intended replacement if the Veto is used.

But yes, barring an unprecedented third pre-jury buy-back, jury starts after this week's eviction.

On the subject of Cameron, I'm of two minds. I don't love him, and there are things about him that bother me, but I also don't hate him. What I do know is that the Reddit/Sucks/Twitter/YouTube/etc faction of the fanbase was NEVER going to give him a chance and I saw them ripping him to absolute shreds before he even opened his mouth, and as a fan he knew that faction was never going to like him, so I don't really have a problem with him playing up the aspects of his personality that cater to the type of fan that would like him and am enjoying seeing those fans writhe with every challenge he wins.

Hell yeah recap
Hell yeah full intro

Thet are making the most of these 90 minutes

This episode is GOOD. And we aren't even halfway through.

And I jinxed it

Brandon is a disaster.

Oh good, safety without power. I actually really like that advantage. Has a genuine risk/reward without being too disruptive.

Full intro FUCK YEAH - that was awesome. Poor Hannah, though, getting humiliated like that for quitting.

I think Belo wants to keep Bruce because his celebrity makes him a bigger target than anyone else. Katurah doesn't seem to understand that and will only serve to alienate herself. Bruce is a lot of fun, and that's why he's so liked.

My guess for why Brandon didn't want the idol wasn't that he didn't want to lose his vote - it was that he didn't want to have an idol everyone knew about. If he didn't complete the task right away, everyone would know, and he'd be targeted. Sabiyah having it may be Emily's one way out.

While Drew was right that Bruce holding his cards so close to the vest was poor gameplay, because it doesn't give him connections to either Drew or Brandon, but Brandon was also an idiot for saying EVERYTHING. I also don't get why Bruce walked away since there was nothing to lose except one vote.

Drew's Tribal Council Pass expires at F10, which is... very interesting. I like it better than having 17 things left at late merge. AND only one got a toy, which is nice.

When I saw Austin and Drew having that conversation, my first thought was JT and Stephen. And then that's exactly what Drew compared it to.

Okay, this HAS to be Brandon. Dude just can't play this game.

"Socially, I am the bomb." I wouldn't go that far.

Underleveled posted...

"Socially, I am a bomb.

Fixed that for him.

This tribe reeks of Matsing. They need to get rid of Brandon now so they can stand a chance to win their flint and not be down to 2 before production has to absorb them into the other two or merge.

Also why can't Sabiyah use her torch at Tribal to melt out her idol?

And JEFF PROBST CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OMG

Brandon is the type of person who buckles under any pressure. He ain't cut out for the real deal Survivor. Lower-pressure ORGs are a better fit for him.

Thank god that outcome happened. Dude is one of the biggest losers they've ever cast.

That's putting it too harshly. Just because he sucked at challenges to Chet levels and was rather defeatist doesn't mean he deserves to be called names.

That's not a name, he literally lost everything he competed in. Even when it was just himself and a timer. It's more of a title then name calling.

So last night was more or less an experiment in "should these shows stay at 90 minutes permanently?" Premieres are hard to judge because there's lots of introductory stuff.

Survivor sustained itself well with a 90 minute regular episode. They got in plenty of game and plenty of non-game content, plus brought back the long-gone and sorely-missed recap and full intro.

Amazing Race did not. That episode dragged so badly.

Underleveled posted...

When I saw Austin and Drew having that conversation, my first thought was JT and Stephen. And then that's exactly what Drew compared it to.

I like that Drew inserts himself into the Stephen role while passing over how things ended for Stephen then, lol...

just finished watching ep, great ep and also agree w/ darkx, wasn't impressed w/ Amazing Race this week, it felt like another of those episodes when only two challenges. Were there literally only two challenges? but yeah just not a great leg, hopefully next week's better.

Two challenges plus whatever you want to call that elephant thing. But just having that elephant thing is more than we've had than the last few seasons.

I think I got spoiled by the amount of stuff they'd do in the latest season of Amazing Race Canada, yeah they never leave the country but there's enough variety in locales & they would always do like 5 things an episode. Never a dull moment.

Just caught up on Survivor and Amazing Race from last night. Really glad Brandon went out, and honestly, I like the guy. I appreciate that Brandon is basically what Survivor superfans would ACTUALLY be on the show, instead of these super-smart masterminds I imagine a lot of them think they'd be. That's part of what makes Drew annoying, because he's more of the "I'm a mastermind!" superfan in the most obnoxious way possible. Anyway, glad Emily has a chance now. Kinda hoping Kaleb decides to weaponize her if they fail to get fire, because Sabiyah's lost vote suddenly makes this tribe a lot more complicated. Imagine Kaleb using Emily to take out Sean, and then it's him and Emily, and Sabiyah STILL doesn't have fire to get her idol.

Underleveled posted...

Amazing Race did not. That episode dragged so badly.

I watched it to see if I was interested in following this season, with the hope that the extra time would allow for the show to have a soul again. They failed with that. It just felt like more of the same, only longer.

Survivor is way better with 90 minutes and I expect that to continue. I feel like I know some of these people already. Meanwhile, Amazing Race was worse with extra time. Whatever happened to people exposing themselves to other cultures?

Blaziken posted...

Anyway, glad Emily has a chance now. Kinda hoping Kaleb decides to weaponize her if they fail to get fire, because Sabiyah's lost vote suddenly makes this tribe a lot more complicated. Imagine Kaleb using Emily to take out Sean, and then it's him and Emily, and Sabiyah STILL doesn't have fire to get her idol.

I think this would be a very dumb move on Kaleb's part. In that situation, the best move for both Kaleb and Emily would be to vote each other unless they absolutely trust each other to vote for Sabiyah. Otherwise, one could just vote for the other and vote them out on the revote as the sole vote.

I don't understand how he was not deemed medically unfit after that marooning challenge.

Seems like a great dude but a horrible addition to a show where you are tested to your limits.

And with all this mentioned, he was still a better player than Hannah. At least the dude got voted out by parchments and tried to make an impression on the game. Hannah gave up immediately and her slot could have gone to anyone else. Complete waste of time.

As for the eviction, I'm glad it was Mecole instead of Felicia. I don't dislike Mecole, but she doesn't bring nearly the entertainment Felicia does, and after the events of this week, Felicia staying in the house is sure to cause lots of drama. Plus it's the rare occasion where the target started to flip during the eviction episode and it actually happened instead of being pointless drama that went nowhere.

Ugh, I fell asleep during the last 20 minutes of Big Brother last night, and almost fell asleep during the last 20 minutes of TAR last week. These shows are on way too late for me now haha.