Survivor: Samoa

Reality TV’s Rob and Amber welcome daughter
Lucia Rose Mariano was born on the fourth of July

Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Samoa': episode #2

Ben won’t get away with it. Plus his attitude and character are on parade now even after he gets (or got) home after the show.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You’re upset they didn’t invite you to the baby shower, aren’t you?

SURVIVOR RECAP!

Foa Foa Tribe: Ashley, Ben, Elizabeth, Jaison, Mick, Natalie, Russell H.

Galu Tribe: Brett, Dave, Erik, John, Kelly, Laura, Monica, Russell S., Shannon, Yasmin

Losers: Marisa, Mike, Betsy

MIKE MEDICALLY EVACUATED, BETSY VOTED OUT

In the aftermath of Foa Foa’s first Tribal Council, Russell is drunk with power after manipulating his tribemates into voting out Marisa. “Marisa’s gone for no other reason but me, and that’s a fact,” boasts Russell. “She’s a strong woman. You can’t have that out here. I can’t have it,” Russell continues. Russell then confronts Betsy on the shoreline about voting for Ashley instead of Marisa. He drills her for making the mistake of not trusting him, and judging his motives simply by physical appearance. “I think you made a huge mistake and you’ll see that later on,” Russell insists. Although Betsy easily brushes off Russell’s threats to his face, she clearly does not trust him. “I’m not afraid to stand up to him at all. He knows where I’m coming from. He knows that I have no faith in him. I used to, but not after getting to know him,” Betsy reveals.

As the Galu Tribe begins their morning duties, Yasmin whines about living in the wild. “Why do I look this bad!” Yasmin shouts. “Cause you’re funky baby,” jokes Dave. As the tribe calmly attends to their chores around camp, Yasmin stomps about, complaining at every turn. “Look at that bed! That bed is pitiful!” she says. “I’ve been told so many times, ‘Oh if you can make it in Detroit, you can make it anywhere,’” says Yasmin. “What? The hood? The hood’s not the woods.”

Back at Foa Foa, Jaison confronts Russell for his and Ben’s aggression towards Marisa at Tribal Council. “I thought she would be a real powerful player,” Russell explains. Jaison then asks Russell what his thoughts are on Ben and Russell replies that he trusts him a lot more. “You can’t do this alone. You’ve gotta have somebody, so if Jaison is the person that I can trust, then this is gonna be real good,” Russell decides. As the two trek through the jungle, Russell shares a close secret with Jaison. “I think there’s an immunity idol in our camp. You gotta keep that a secret,” says Russell. “If we could find that without even any clues, that would be wonderful,” he suggests. “In the history of Survivor, how many people have found the idol without a clue? Zero!” Russell proclaims.

Soon enough, Russell is on a mission to find the hidden immunity idol, which may not even exist, at his own camp. He explores the inside of a hollow tree while in plain view to the rest of his tribemates, who are sitting around the campfire eating a lizard. “I’m looking for the immunity idol,” Russell jokes to his leery tribemates. Unbeknownst to them, Russell really is searching for the immunity idol and, as he reaches up into the hollow tree, he makes the discovery that he was hoping for. Russell immediately stuffs the idol into his underwear and calmly leaves the campsite area. He meets up with Jaison in the woods and shows him the immunity idol. “When I looked up and seen it, I started shaking,” laughs Russell. Jaison’s excitement quickly turns into suspicion when he reads the note that accompanies the idol, which states that the idol belongs to Russell. “I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that he has control of it as opposed to me but, at this point, I think I can trust Russell a whole lot more,” Jaison reflects. Russell, however, plans to use the idol for the sole purpose of gaining Jaison’s trust. “Now I don’t have plans to give it to him. I just want him to think that I will if he needs it,” Russell reveals.

Later on Day five, Mike and Betsy leave Foa Foa’s main campsite to retrieve treemail. “I’m the oldest, but I’m definitely not the weakest,” Mike professes after Betsy expresses her fear of losing the upcoming immunity challenge. Meanwhile, the talk around camp is that Mike and Betsy are indeed the weakest and, in the event that Foa Foa loses at the next immunity challenge, they would be on the chopping block. Mike and Betsy return with treemail, which hints at a physical battle and instructs the tribe to paint their faces like traditional Samoan warriors. “I’m a mean motor scooter and a bad go-getter man when it comes to one-on-one stuff,” says Mike as he prepares for the challenge.

Galu and Foa Foa arrive on their respective colored mats as host Jeff Probst explains the rules of the challenge. Three members of each tribe will battle to retrieve three balls. They will pass those balls to three other tribe members up on a platform, who will attempt to shoot those balls into the opposing tribe’s basket. After every point, the tribes will switch positions. The first tribe to score three points wins immunity and fishing gear. In addition, there is a twist that will be revealed at the end of the challenge. Since Galu has one extra member and must sit out a woman, Monica volunteers to sit out of the challenge.

In the first round, the men are in the pit, and up on the platform the women are the shooters. The two tribes collide immediately, and balls are soon being thrown wildly throughout the course. The men in the pit become extremely physical with each other, doing whatever it takes to retrieve the balls. Liz shoots for Foa Foa and scores. In the second round, the women are in the pit and begin ripping each other apart. Shambo tackles Liz in the face, and Jeff Probst cries foul. “Easy on the face!” he shouts. John shoots and scores for Galu, tying the game one-one. Jeff Probst stops the game for a warning: “If I see anything resembling a cheap shot, you’re out of the challenge.” In the third round, male aggression amongst the tribes comes close to crossing the line. Ben shoves Yasmin into the fence, and eventually gets kicked out of the challenge for kicking Russell of Galu in the leg. With Foa Foa down one man, Galu is able to score easily when Erik makes a basket, pushing Galu into the lead at two-one. In the final round, Mike takes a hard blow from Erik, which leaves him stunned and out of breath. Laura scores for Galu, giving them their third and final point. Now that Galu has won immunity, Jeff Probst asks their leader, Russell, to accompany him as he reveals the twist. Russell must choose one member from Galu to visit Foa Foa at their camp, where they will gather information. That person will also sit in on Foa Foa’s Tribal Council. Russell chooses Yasmin to spy on Foa Foa. As Galu celebrates winning immunity, Jeff Probst orders Mike to see the Survivor Medical Team.

The Survivor Medical Team administers blood pressure tests on Mike, who appears in a weakened condition. As they attempt to stand him up, Mike nearly collapses on the ground. The Foa Foa Tribe watches with remorse as the medics determine that Mike cannot continue on in the game due to his extremely low blood pressure. Mike says his goodbyes to his tribemates, who are saddened to be losing yet another tribe member. “I wanted to go all the way, you know? I’m a little beat up, but those guys never got me down in the pit. I think I showed that I can be tough when I have to be no matter what age I am,” says a somber Mike. As Mike is loaded into a medical van, Foa Foa slumps back to camp with their spirits crushed more than ever.

Meanwhile, at Galu, Shambo insists that spear fishing is her thing, and she proceeds to scuba dive with her tribe’s newly-acquired fishing gear. “Shambo’s been gone a while, so hopefully that means she got some fish,” says a hopeful Kelly. Her statement could not be father from the truth, as Shambo is carelessly bathing in the waters of Galu. She returns to camp empty handed at the behest of her tribemates. To make matters worse, she lost the mouth piece that attaches to the scuba mask. Despite her recent mishaps, Shambo assures her tribemates that there is good news: “There are hundreds of thousands of fish on the reef.” Laura is livid at Shambo’s statement. “The good news is, you’ll never believe it: there’s fish in the ocean,” says Laura, facetiously. “You just signed your own death warrant is basically what you did,” she seethes.

Back at Foa Foa, Yasmin shakes things up by mouthing off to her competitors. “I’m here to help you guys strategize because, to me, I don’t like a not fair fight. It’s almost like why be matched up with people that’s not matched up with the right people cause then it’s like taking candy from a baby,” Yasmin lashes out as Foa Foa watches in disbelief. Russell reacts to the unfolding drama from a distance. “She’s gonna pay for that statement, I promise you that,” says Russell.

Yasmin reads the note she received after the challenge in private, which turns out to be a clue to a hidden immunity idol at the Foa Foa camp. The clue hints at the idol being in or near a tree, to which Yasmin reacts, “You know how many trees there are out here? Too many!” Yasmin continues to unleash havok on the Foa Foa Tribe as she pulls Ben aside to the shoreline to reprimand him for taking a “cheap shot” at her during the challenge. “Why would a dude as tall as you tackle me?” Yasmin yells. Ben immediately defends himself by calling Yasmin “Grammar School,” which offends her. Yasmin returns some name calling of her own, deeming Ben “ignorant.” Soon, the two are hollering at the top of their lungs to each other while the rest of Foa Foa listens from the shelter. “I think Yasmin is pretty close to being a hooker,” Ben says as he reflects on the situation. He soon paints a target on his back when his tribemates take note of his erratic behavior towards Yasmin. “Honestly I think what Ben’s doing is stupid on his part,” says Ashley. Russell sees the conflict between Ben and Yasmin as beneficial to him. “I love that. That just makes everybody not like Ben. You know I got some great plans set ahead and it’s gonna be real fun,” Russell chuckles.

Later that night, the Foa Foa Tribe’s sleep is disturbed when Ben proceeds to continually chop wood into the night. “It’s like a joke. He’s pounding over there,” Betsy complains. The next morning, with Tribal Council looming, Ben’s name begins to pop up around camp as the next tribe member to go. “I am just getting really annoyed by that guy and it’s really starting to drive me crazy,” Jaison vents to Mick. Betsy becomes paranoid when she recognizes that, with Mike gone, she is the oldest member of her tribe and thus, the biggest target. “I don’t want to go home at all,” she pleads. She targets Ben for his absurd behavior around camp and begins gunning for him with her younger female tribemates. “Go with your gut. Go with a woman’s intuition,” Betsy suggests. Ashley is on the fence after hearing Betsy’s pleas to vote out Ben. “I was stuck on voting out Betsy, but now that I think about it more and more I don’t know if that’s the right choice,” she admits. Ashley takes Betsy’s side and tries to persuade Liz to vote out Ben. Russell soon gets wind of Ashley’s campaign to vote out Ben and becomes extremely agitated. “Betsy’s going home tonight because, first of all, she’s the weakest link, and second of all, she doesn’t trust me,” says Russell. “Each time somebody threatens me, they’re going home. Ashley, she’ll be going home next. I want to keep Ben this time, and you know what? Ben’s gonna stay this time because whatever I want happens,” preaches Russell.

At Foa Foa’s second Tribal Council in a row, Yasmin watches from a side bench as Ben openly attacks her for being belligerent around camp. “She’s ghetto trash and I have no respect for her and she needs to go back where she came from,” Ben lashes out. Russell backs Ben up by stating, “If someone came to your house and disrespected your family, are you gonna turn the other cheek and go into the other room, or are you gonna kick ‘em out your house?” Jaison reveals that he does not approve of Ben’s brash comments towards Yasmin, and Betsy agrees wholeheartedly. “I don’t understand why my name’s on the chopping block and not his,” she says. Ben continues to sport his outlandish behavior when Jeff Probst asks him if he regrets his unsportsmanlike behavior during the challengs, to which he responds, “Not at all.” With this, Yasmin is asked to leave Tribal Council, and the Foa Foa members cast their votes. With seven out of the eight votes cast against her, Betsy is unanimously voted out. Betsy Bolan, the 48 year-old police officer from Campton, New Hampshire, became the second person voted out of SURVIVOR: SAMOA.

I'll be back on Thursday with next week's preview and picks.

For TAR fans, the 15th season of THE AMAZING RACE begins Sunday, September 27 at 8 PM ET/PT on SeeBS with a two-hour premier episode. Twelve teams will compete in a race around the world for the chance to win one million dollars, but only eleven teams will make it to Japan, the Race's first destination. One team will be eliminated right at the starting line.

It's pretty rare for a contestant to actually study Survivor before going on the show, and I think that's exactly what he did. For many seasons, they've hidden the idol either in camp, or nearby the treemail, well, that's a pretty natural conclusion. But he didn't just search in camp, they showed shots of him searching the cistern that the camp draws water from, and I'm sure he searched the treemail area first.

Just remember, he found the idol on day 5 or six, and while they showed him searching this episode, it's quite likely he started searching the moment they got to camp. After all, in Brazil, there was a second immunity idol hidden as well. The brazen searching of the tree in front of everyone could just have been frustration of hunting for days and days, and coming up empty handed.

But wow, getting the hidden immunity idol before the first clue is given out, that's playing the game kibbles to the walls, and I'm pretty amused by him. As for producers maybe encouraging him - game shows are extremely tightly regulated in the US, and all it would take would be one camera operator going to the tabloids, and he'd have money, and CBS would be paying out huge damages. Jeff's couple minute talk with survivors before the vote has long been known to sometimes be a multi-hour ordeal, and while his questions to us look like he's leading the tribe, it's editing choice to show us only the questions that matter to that episode.

That said, you say something stupid to Jeff, and he will be down your throat in an instant, again, confirmed by interviews by many survivors, and frequently, those idiot words appear on the show, mostly because someone's arrogant enough to believe that they're not going home, or dejected enough knowing that they're going home to fire some last minute shots at the others.

How did you know?

Check this out. LOL.

That’s funny.

Up next for Rupert, his new roll as the MGM Lion.

The Amazing Race 16 will be an All-Survivor season. Here are the teams:

Rob & Amber
Newlyweds, returning for a third Race

Silas & Lindsey
Mallrats

Todd & Spencer
Boyfriends

Jenna & Heidi
Best Friends

Jonny Fairplay & Russell H.
Team Evil

Charlie & Marcus
Gay & Straight Best Friends

Brandon & Frank
Gay & Straight, Not Best Friends

Parvati & Natalie
Bisexual Girlfriends

Dreamz & Yau-Man
Betrayer & Betrayee

Coach & Sierra
Dragonslayer & Dragon's Bride

Jeff Probst & Julie
Formerly Dating

Rupert & Stepheme
America's Favorites

BIG SPOILER (highlight to see):

A major argument erupted when the production crew couldn't agree on who to rig the Race in favor of: Rob & Amber or Rupert & Stepheme. A compromise was reached - Rob & Amber would be allowed to win the Race and the $1 million prize, while Rupert & Stepheme would be awarded a separate $1 million prize at an all-new special called "America's Vote on the Race."

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Relax, this is satire! The Amazing Race wouldn't really do this to us...I think.

I just wish that they would sell the rest of the seasons of The Amazing Race. They only sold season 1 and the first all star one. I have both, but I want the rest.

For survivor, I am gambling on a huge box set when they finally end the show, but hopefully that is still a few years away.

You so had me going. Especially the “spoiler”.

FWIW...I think it’s a brilliant idea.

Except for the Rob & Amber part.

Wouldn’t it be a great twist to have a Survivor with 90% of the players over 40?

Almost Race time (on the left coast).

Who else watched The Amazing Race?

LOL @ the annoying vegan yoga couple getting eliminated at the starting line. (Nelson Muntz voice)HA HA!(/Nelson)

I watched it and loved it. Carefully examining the clues is very important. If you noticed the passenger train above the river, that was Metrolink for those outside of California. They started in the L.A., River. If you noticed the construction just past their vehicles that is where they are building the overpass for the Metro Gold Line extension from Union Station (downtown L.A.) to East L.A.

I have been to Narita Airport in Tokyo and also Haneda Airport. I have been to Tokyo 5 times technically, but only once on leave. I went to one shrine while there, but am not sure if it was the one they went to. I visited between 1979 - 80 when I was stationed in Okinawa.

I have been to the final city too. I would bet that many freepers have been to the final city too.

Wouldn’t it be a great twist to have a Survivor with 90% of the players over 40?

I think it would be awesome, but unfortunately, it will never happen because most of those over 40 bodies don't look too good in a bikini.

I am soooooooo glad the Zen yoga people got eliminated first. I always like it when the uber left wingers, who are usually dumber than rocks, get eliminated early on so I don’t have to watch them.