Survivor - Guatemala: The Official Thread

Various Websites and my fertile brain | August 11, 2005 | Cuz_it_aint_their_money

[rintense]

StepheME has a really big lesbian following... maybe they know something about StepheME we don't. ;)

[MomwithHope]

Steph did make a huge mistake in voting off Judd, not that I wasn't happy to see him go. I laughed when I saw him wince when Jeff announced the reward challenge was a mental one. He knows his weaknesses!
Steph must have felt vulnerable herself as Danni and Rafe are strong and do well in the challenges. I don't think Steph has won an indivisdual immunity yet. She must have felt it was either Judd or her. Either way she or Cindy are toast next week.

[codercpc]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1534270/posts

Here's one for the ping list, a story about the "Gay Mormon".

[countess]

marking for later

[cuz_it_aint_their_money]

Howdy all! Its time for your:

SURVIVOR RECAP ! ! !

The Xhakum Tribe: (Red buffs)
Cindy, Danni, Lydia, Rafe, StepheME

The Jury:
Bobby Jon, Jamie, Gary, Judd

The Losers:
Jim, Morgan, Brianna, Brooke, Blake, Margaret, Brian, Amy, Brandon

The show opens the day after Gary’s booting. Not wanting to re-hash all the finger pointing that went on at last night’s Tribal Council, the tribe acts as if nothing unusual happened. Of course, watching Judd doing cartwheels with the ladies is “nothing unusual” at all! Is it? Danni sums it all up with a "This perfect little alliance is going to have to start attacking each other. They can't all go to the final spot."

The tribe is called to the typical “Let’s feed them before they start eating each other, food auction masquerading as a Reward Challenge.” Each tribemate is given $500 to spend as they see fit, with the understanding the auction could end at any time. After a some beef jerky, chocolate chip cookies, milk, a personal mosquito net and a Philly cheese steak (big enough to choke a horse) were won, Jeff offers a sealed envelope which “would benefit the winner in the next Immunity Challenge.” Danni outbids StepheME for this envelope and as she pays for it, Jeff instructs her that the envelope must remain sealed until she is instructed to open it at the next challenge.

Jeff then introduces the loved ones as the next item up for bid, as from behind the ruins appears Judd's wife, Lydia's brother, Stephenie's boyfriend, Cindy's twin sister, Danni's brother and Rafe's mother. Jeff points out that during the bidding, only two people can “pool” their money, and only one of the two will win a visit from a loved one. The bidding is hot and soon forces the tribes to pair up and pool money. StepheME all but steals Lydia’s money while Judd sweet talks Cindy out of what she has left. StepheME soon learns that she still doesn’t have enough as Judd wins the auction and a visit from his wife. (And what a looker she is!)

Jeff then informs Judd that he can select two additional players to share visits from their loved ones, while the remaining three players will spend the night at the old Yaxha camp. Judd, in a remarkable example of clear thinking, first picks Cindy, since her added money helped him win the auction. Of course he then blows it by also picking the one person who tried to outbid him in the auction, StepheME.

Jeff announces the auction is over, sends Judd, Cindy and StepheME (along with their loved ones) back to camp, and sends Rafe, Danni and Lydia off to spend the night at the old camp.

Back at camp, Judd quickly plays up the Macho Man role by giving everyone a guided tour of the camp. His wife is shocked to find out that her “city boy” husband can actually make fire and boil water. Soon each of the three, pair off with their loved one/family member for a little “quit time.”

Meanwhile, over at the old campsite, Danni make good use of their time alone to work on Rafe and get him to see things her way. Rafe admits that he wants to find a way of getting rid of Judd, because he doesn’t trust Judd. Danni continues to play upon this distrust as the sun sets.

Back at the Xhakum camp, StepheME confides to Judd’s wife, Kristen, that she and Judd had a tight bond and were planning a final two finish. Later, Judd confirms a StepheME, Judd, Cindy, and Rafe final four. Danni would be voted out first and if she had Immunity, then Lydia would take her place.

The next morning Danni, Rafe and Lydia return to camp and are surprised to see the loved ones still there. After a morning of chit chat, the loved ones leave among tears and farewells. Judd comments "I haven't been eating, so she made me full just by looking at her. It's like eating twenty-five White Castle cheeseburgers, man." (I still can’t understand how a slob like him landed a looker like her.)

Later Lydia approaches Judd, hoping to get him to switch his alliance. Thinking the only way to guarantee himself a spot in the final two would be to get rid of the strongest players, Judd says he’ll think it over, but makes no commitments.

The tribe is called to the Immunity Challenge. Jeff explains that one at a time, players will move on a giant multi-level playing board. They will flip a tile over to the red side and then move onto it. Once a tile has been flipped and stepped on, it cannot be used again. Players may move forward, back or to the side, but they cannot move diagonally. In addition, the top level is a spinning platform to be used for strategic repositioning on the board.

Before starting the game, Jeff asks Danni if she still had her envelope. Danni produces it and confirms that it is still sealed. Danni is then instructed to open the envelope which reveals a note that reads "Switch positions with any player." Jeff explains that this will allow Danni to trade positions on the board with anyone at any time during the game, but it can only be used once.

After a few rounds of tile-flipping, Cindy is the first eliminated. A few plays later Danni chooses to switch places with StepheME, which worked to her advantage. Soon it comes down to StepheME and Danni competing for the ugly necklace, which was won by Danni.

Back at camp, with the “Vote out Danni” plan spoiled by the ugly necklace adorning Danni’s neck, the talk quickly switched to “Is Lydia the correct choice for tonight?” StepheME is interrogating Danni about what Judd was talking with Lydia about earlier in the day. Danni tell StepheME that Judd was talking about voting off the strongest players, which instantly brings Judd’s loyalty into question in StepheME’s mind. She comments "I believe Judd for the most part, but he has made it clear he is playing the game and is going to win. He's already been caught in quite a few lies, and Danni really hasn't lied at all."

A few moments later StepheME hints to Rafe what Danni said and proposes they vote Judd out. Rafe (to his benefit) plays the dumb guy and wants to talk to them both. They meet behind one of the ruins and discuss bringing Lydia in and voting out Judd. StepheME seals the deal with "Judd and I have been really close, but if someone is going to slit your throat because you like their company, hell no, they got to go."

Back around the other side of the ruins, Lydia again approaches Judd and offers her vote in exchange for not getting voted out herself. Later, she offers the same deal to Rafe, which Judd overhears. Lydia starts scrambling and basically says, “Who ever offers me a deal for my vote wins.” Judd, more confident as ever boasts "I'm glad someone's going home right now. As long as it ain’t me, I'll always have a smile on my face."

Unfortunately for Judd, the tribe turns it’s back on the alliance and votes him out with a 4-2 vote. As he is getting his torch snuffed by Jeff, Judd snarls "I hope you all get bit by a freaking crocodile. Scumbags!" He continues muttering “scumbags” as he stomps off down the walk of shame.

Well, the SeeBS webmaster seems to have his/her act together, so here are the comments the players made while voting and Judd’s final comments. (and believe me, he doesn’t hold anything back!)

RAFE: (votes Judd) Judd, I'm pretty sure it's one of us tonight. I hope it's you, but if it's not, then good job.

LYDIA: (votes Judd) You told me today that there was only one sure way to avoid being voted off, and that was to have an immunity necklace. But you also forgot that there's also an alliance that I tried to form with you, but I think you chose your own destiny.

DANNI: (votes Judd) You always say we're a bunch of squirrels trying to get a nut. Well, sorry I had to write your name down but I don't have an alliance and I had to do what I had to do today. Sorry.

STEPHEME: (votes Judd) I really did not want to do this, but some conversations have come up that you were turning on our alliance, and I've heard a number of things, so I feel that I can't trust you, and if I don't get rid of you, then I won't go to the end. I'm so sorry, I love you like a brother, and I hope you'll forgive me.

JUDD: (votes Lydia) Hey, Lydia, you sang and you danced your way right out of the jungle. Adios.

CINDY: (votes Lydia) Lydia, being who you are makes you a threat in this game. People love you, and you're so dang smiley. Like your recipes, you always bring a smile to my face, and I'll never forget any of 'em. Thanks a lot.

JUDD'S FINAL WORDS
Note: He is so ticked off that I doubt he knows what he is saying.

Well, unfortunately, my time's up, man. I'm really pissed off. I feel I was pissed on, pissed off, lied to, betrayed, and one thing I'll go home with, man, is my integrity and my morals. One thing I didn't do was lie to anybody, man. I never made a promise to anybody, never did nothing. They just kind of pissed all over me because they knew everybody on that damn jury liked me. Once they got rid of Jamie, that was my falling point. They knew damn well everyone else on that jury was banking for me. That was annoying the crap out of 'em. Get rid of the biggest target, and that's what they did. I'm really pissed off, was lied to...I can't wait for the final 2, I hope one of these...I'll have a lot more to say than that, man. Unfortunately, I could have really used the money, but I tried my hardest and played my hardest. I'm proud of myself. That's it.

Evidently, they weren’t going to let him off with just that. They must have asked him some questions to get him to open up even more.

Not bad at all, man. I've never even went camping before. Lasting out here 33 days, I barely ate, just drank lots of water, built fires, 2 quarters of a mile to get water, lost 40 pounds; that's probably the best thing that happened to me down here, actually, is I lost 40 pounds. Everybody should come out here and try the jungle diet. It works pretty damn well; about 1 or 2 pounds a day. So I would suggest everybody back home come to the Guatemalan jungle and lose a lot of weight. I did.

< snip>

I learned a lot about myself, man. I think this whole experience, man, made me a better man. I mean, back home, what I take for granted is just unbelievable. The little quarrels that you have with people, the little fights and all that, are just useless and meaningless. When you're stuck out here for 33 days, it's a lot to think about. I was actually blessed to get this experience, and more than anything it was a mental rehab for me. It probably was one of the best experiences of my entire life, and I'm very proud to have been a part of it, and I definitely feel I came out of it a better man, for sure. I needed it.

< snip>

I tell you what, I would've never expected to be blindsided like this. I'm in shock. It's not like I can't believe it, I mean I am a big threat. It comes down to the jury. I was tight with Bobby Jon, Gary and Jamie. That's what their vote was based on, man. Cause it's coming down to the end. They looked at that and they were like, 'This dude was close to them, right now Judd's got 3 votes, man.' That's why I think I was blindsided. It doesn't feel good being blindsided and it sucks being lied to. In this game I made one promise and I didn't lie to anybody, I just went with the flow. I never really gave anybody a direct answer. I went beating around the bush. To be lied to in your face, 'Am I getting voted out?' on the way here, and everyone says, 'No, we're gunning for Lydia, we're gunning for Lydia,' then it's me - I'm really pissed off man. But like I said, what am I gonna do? Can't cry over spilt milk. There's been worse things in my life. Gotta move on and accept it. I'll get over it. Hopefully I won't put the weight back on. I'm glad I lasted 33 days, that's very important to me.

< snip>

My tribemates back there - I really believe you're a bunch of scumbags, and believe me when I say I hope you do get bit by the crocodile. I hope there's 5 crocodiles out there, one for each of you because right now, to me you're nothing but a piece of damn dirt. Actually, you're nothing but a minnow (?), and that freaking crocodile is looking for you. If you think I'm gonna say something nice to you, you're dead wrong. I got nothing nice to say to you. Thanks for blindsiding me; believe me baby, your day will come. There's only one person out there that didn't blindside me, and I know exactly who it was.

I was able to catch Judd’s interview Friday morning and either that was an act worthy of an Oscar, or he is still ticked off at StepheME and the rest. So, needless to say the final tribal council is going to be very interesting.

I’ll be back Thursday with my Weekly Picks and will post my recap Friday morning. Then Sunday, I’ll post my final picks for the season finale Sunday night.

Till then, take care,

FReepmail me if you want added to, or removed from the one, the only, Official Survivor Ping List.

[ken5050]

Wel, reading Judd's last comments, I finally realized who he reminded me of..In fact, has anyone ever seen Judd and Susan Hawke at the same time?

[Tatze]

I was thinking that any of the remaining Survivors who may have felt guilty about booting Judd should have gotten over that guilt as soon as Judd opened his mouth.

[girlscout]

I just had a flash thought. Do you suppose that Judd mistook Cindy's vote for Lydia as StepheME's? I as well as others have just assumed that he knew Steph was one of the ones who voted him out, but suppose he didn't think that? ... hmmmmm ... Guess we'll find out in the next couple of weeks.

[cuz_it_aint_their_money]

According to the transcript of his morning after interview in NY City:

Rene: Who's responsible for you being here?

Judd: Umm, Stephenie. I mean, I was in a great, strong alliance with her. I thought she had my back and evidently she didn't.

[cuz_it_aint_their_money]

Good Morning FReepers and FReeperettes! Yes, its only Tuesday morning, but this Thursday’s show will have the last reward challenge of the season. And the winner of the challenge faces a dilemma.

Ah yes, we are talking about the dreaded “Survivor Car Curse”. What is the Survivor Car Curse you ask? Well read on.

The winner of the final Reward Challenge (in which a car was part of the Reward in all but the first Survivor) has NEVER gone on to win the game of Survivor. For example, the winners in past seasons are:

Survivor; Borneo – Kelly, placed 2nd in the game (no car was awarded)
Survivor; Outback - Colby, placed 2nd in the game
Survivor; Africa – Lex, placed 3rd in the game
Survivor; Marquesas – Sean, placed 5th in the game
Survivor; Thailand – Ted, placed 5th in the game
Survivor; Amazon – Matthew, placed 2nd in the game
Survivor; Pearl Islands – Burton, placed 5th in the game
Survivor; All Stars – Boston Rob, placed 2nd in the game
Survivor; Vanuatu – Eliza, placed 4th in the game
Survivor; Palau - Ian placed 3rd in the game.

Now, this time, Mark Burnett productions has added yet another twist to the game. The winner of the final Reward Challenge can either:

Accept the car, (in this case a 2006 Pontiac Torrent) and face the curse head on, OR
Refuse the car, and in doing so, give each of the remaining players in the game their very own car.

Now, put yourself in their place, you have just won the final Reward Challenge.
Having studied the game of Survivor, you know about the curse.
You have been out in the jungle for the last 35 days.
You have outwitted, out played and out lasted 13 other players so far.
You know that the winner of the game will be awarded a new car along with the million dollar prize.
And you know that you have a 1 in 5 shot in winning the game.

Jeff has just awarded you the car and reminded you of the Dreaded Survivor Car Curse. But he has also offered you an out. You can refuse to accept the car but if you do so, each of the remaining 4 players will receive a car instead.

You must give him your answer right now!

What will you do?

Post your answer.

Take care,

FReepmail me if you want added to, or removed from the one, the only, Official Survivor Ping List.

[RobFromGa]

The reason for the "curse" in my opinion is that people feel that the winner of the car has already been compensated with a big prize and thus doesn't need the $1 million.

If I have any chance at all of making it to the Final Two, I give up the car, and let the others have the cars. The jury is key at this point, and there are four votes to be bought by this maneuver. Plus it "curses" all four of them.

[ken5050]

You turn down the car....if you make it tot he final two, your largesse may just be the deciding factoid in getting you a vote, or two..

[ken5050]

additional TV moment..Cindy wins the reward challenge, then announces that she is giving up the car so that the others can each have one, because, a "Pontiac is a big POS!"

[MomwithHope]

I would make a nice speech and then give everyone a car. Cars=votes. If you come to play and win a million a car is nothing.

[tob2]

Yeah, did he think he was entitled to win just because he was on the show! Nothing can compare with Sue Hawk's tirade in the first edition of Survivor.

[Central Scrutiniser]

Cindy wins the car, the useless Lydia, champion of nothing, and master of coattail riding goes home.

[kingu]

It would depend upon my position.. If I'm the next sacrificial lamb and on my way to the jury anyway, I'll take my car and enjoy it.

If there is any reasonable possibility of me going on, I'll do an Oprah. CARS FOR EVERYONE! You get a car, you get a car, and YOU get a car! And hopefully the three I give cars to will vote my way.

Interesting twist, by the way.. Though, like many of the twists in this came, handled the wrong way. It shouldn't be 'everyone else gets a car', it should be 'pick two to give cars to.' With five left, folks have to be wondering who is going to be in the final three. You are in effect declaring your intentions, and putting two other players on notice where they stand.

I still can't figure out where this Cindy came from.. This is like watching a marathon and all of a sudden someone from the crowd starts running. Danni... I think she's playing Survivor, but I'm not sure. Lydia - time to cut bait.

Rafe... The guy continues to surprise me. I'd put him into the final three with Steph and the random background chuff. Who makes it to the final two? The last one onto the jury will likely be completely random - I'm feeling a Thailand type final immunity challenge, something rather short.

[tear_down_this_wall]

I would take the car. I would feel less stupid by taking the car and losing - than I would feel if I gave everyone a car - and still lost.

Would I spend 23,000 for a raffle ticket worth 1,000,000 - if I knew there were only 4 (or 3 or 2) other raffle tickets. I don't know. If I could do it 10 times - sure. But maybe not just once.

tdtw

[cuz_it_aint_their_money]

Good Morning FReepers and FReeperettes! Its Thursday, so that means its time for your:

SURVIVOR PING ! ! !

The Xhakum Tribe: (red buffs)
Cindy, Danni, Lydia, Rafe, StepheME

The Jury:
Bobby Jon, Jamie, Gary, Judd

The Losers:
Jim, Morgan, Brianna, Brooke, Blake, Margaret, Brian, Amy, Brandon

First, lets all give a big ‘ol FReeper welcome to new pingees: Alice in Wonderland and LilyBean – HOWDEE!

Now, let’s get to it shall we.

Tonight’s episode is titled "Big Win, Big Decision... Big Mistake?" Or as I would call it “Cindy’s swan song.”

From the official SeeBS website:
Feeling deceived after a tribemate's ousting, one Survivor confronts the Tribe. Well lets see, who is the only one that did NOT vote for Judd at the last Tribal Council? Yep Cindy! Must be her.

After a big win, one Survivor has a big decision: try and break the "car curse" or risk it all to drive away with a new car. Well we know from the promos that the winner of the final Reward Challenge has a choice. Keep the car and risk the “car curse” or refuse the car and in doing so, give a new car to each of the other four players. In addition, being the final Reward Challenge, odds are very good that this is the “Super Challenge”, that is, a mish-mash of bits and pieces of previous challenges all rolled up into one obstacle course type race. Gotta go with Cindy winning this one. Now the question remains, does she keep the car or does she give a car to everyone else? Keep reading friends.

One Survivor's car decision creates a rift at camp. Will this affect who goes home next? You know that someone in camp is going to rag on Cindy regardless of how she decides. If she decides to keep the car, I’m quite sure that at least one (cough-StepheME-cough) will criticize her for not being generous and sharing the wealth. If she decides to give everyone else a car, then others will think she is trying to bribe them into not voting her out. Either way, if she doesn’t win the Immunity Challenge then its good-bye Cindy.

Now, as I said above, the Reward Challenge, (being the final Reward Challenge) will be a mish mash of bits and pieces of previous challenges pieced together into an obstacle course type race. And like I said Cindy appears to win this Challenge. And my guess is, she can see the handwriting on the parchment, knows that her days in the jungle are numbered and decides to keep the car for herself. The queen witch StepheME gives her grief back at camp, which drives the wedge further into the crack in the alliance.

The Immunity Challenge appears to be another race. This time the players are tethered to a rope which is wound around a series of posts. The players are hand cuffed around the first post which must be unlocked with a key. The players then proceed to the next post where they must unlock another lock to free the rope which allows them to proceed to the next post, etc.etc. The vidcaps show a frustrated Cindy. Which leads me to believe that StepheME wins the Immunity Challenge.

Well there you have it,

”Cuz’s weekly Survivor Picks!”

Reward Challenge Winner: Cindy, who chooses to keep the car
Immunity Challenge Winner: StepheME
Tribal Council Bootee(s): Cindy

Now as a reminder, the 2-hour season finale will be aired Sunday night, starting at 8:00 pm (East Coast Time) followed by a cast reunion show hosted by Jeff Probst. So set your TiVos and VCRs accordingly.

I’ll be back tomorrow (after I’ve dug out from the 5 to 10 inches of snow they're calling for) with my recap. Then, I’ll be posting my final picks on Sunday morning.

So till then, take care,

FReepmail me if you want added to, or removed from the one, the only, Official Survivor Ping List.

[ken5050]

Well, ahem..about a thousand posts back..I predicted Cindy would win....then she and her twin sister will do a spread in Playboy..