» 18-XX: "Reunion" 2009.05.17 (recap) Options

[sienna gold]

I just wanted to get question answered before it got too crazy
(and now I'm editing this because I forgot some key information). I'm not going to include the other voting records (though that was cool). But Jeff said that JT was the second person to win and never have a vote cast against him. as we can see looking at the records:

Borneo: Richard had 6 in game, and won 4-3
Australia: Tina had 0 in game and won 4-3
Africa: Ethan zero during the game (won 5-2)
Marqueases: Vecepia had 2 in game (won 4-3)
Thailand: Brian had 0 in game and won 4-3
Amazon: Jenna had 3 in game and won 6-1 (first landslide vote)
Pearl Islands: Sandra had 0 in game and won 6-1
All Stars: Amber had 6 in game and won 4-3
Vanuatu: Chris had 3 in game and won 5-2
Palau: Tom had 1 in game and won 5-2
Guatamala: Danni had 1 in game and won 6-1
Exile Island: Aras had 9 in game (a record for winners), and won 5-2
Cook Islands: Yul had 5 in game and won 5-4-0
Fiji: Earl had 1 in game and won 9-0-0 (the first Unanimous decision as stated)
China: Todd had 5 in game and won 4-2-1
Fvf: Parv had 4 in game and won 5-3
Gabon: Bob had 2 and won 4-3-0

So Jeff was actually wrong. JT is the first person ever to have NO ONE VOTE AGAINST him. Zero votes for, Zero votes against him winning the million dollars, second person ever to win the million dollar vote unanimously. (The first, being Earl). I really think people are going to be VERY hard pressed to play this game and win it with a perfect record. JT never even went to Exile Dune which makes it even more wow-ee. Great season :)

This post has been edited by sienna gold: May 18, 2009 @ 9:43 pm.

[SunShine Gal]

I had that impression too; he was laughing along with all of Probst's digs at him and somehow seemed less pretentious than he did on the show. I was half expecting him to say that the "Coach" we saw on the show was just an act. Then he pulled out that dubious polygraph test ... ugh.

I too thought "Coach" might try to straighten himself out during the reunion by saying he was just playing a "character" so people shouldn't hate the real him. But he slipped. Stephen had just explained how Tyson would tell "Coach" stuff, then "Coach" would tell JT, then JT would tell Stephen. Jeff looks at "Coach" and says "you're so instrumental". "Coach" then says "I'm the Gift that keeps on giving." Still playing up the I'm-really-Jesus-in-the-witness-protection-program image. "Coach" is referring to himself as "the Gift". Ben, you AIN'T God's gift to the world. If this had been the first reference he'd made, we'd give him a pass but delusional Ben likes to constantly make those references about himself.

It doesn't bother me that Sierra felt the need to be vindicated at reunion. We never did find out why she was being hated on by so many if only it was the reason that Erinn gave us in a confessional. Erinn said that "Sierra always told the truth. Absolutely, but no one on her tribe wanted to hear it." The Timbura tribe liked living with the lies. Another reason why they loved "Coach". I have no problem with Sierra. Also, to the poster who implied that Sierra was showing her boobs... I just watched the reunion again and Sierra is not improperly dressed at all. No nips showing, no boobage showing, no nothing.

I too think "Coach's Lady Friend" was a hired friend for the evening. Probably "Coach" made a stink about his edit in the season maybe implying that he was gay so he told Burnett that he wanted that cleared up pronto at the reunion. Notice when Jeff introduces "Coach's" friends that the woman already has a microphone in her hand. Of course, they were going to talk to her. "Coach" got his way by having her play up a relationship but ole Burnett didn't put "Coach's Girlfriend" under her. He put "Coach's Lady Friend", which made it look totally awkward so we'd snicker and think something's amiss. Hehe.

JT and Stephen really didn't look like themselves. Wow. Stephen looked really cute though and JT looked a bit older. JT got his tooth fixed. I'm so glad that they're still good friends. That's really nice.

Other thoughts: Taj looked great. Erinn I thought would look better especially since she's a hairdresser. Sydney's having trouble getting modeling gigs, go figure? Debbie, did you really need Botox to go crawl back under the rock you came from? Brendan should have gotten his haircut 10 days ago so his hair wouldn't make him look like a little kid who just got his haircut yesterday. Rather doofy looking. Tyson is still an ugly asshole. WAY TOO MANY COMMERCIALS!

[Masem]

It is supposed to be somewhat of a consolation prize, I think if the winner also wins the Fan favorite they can announce but give the money to the person that came in second in votes. It's one reason I don't vote.

The problem with this is that *someone* (whether it be a slighted player or a voter) would call shenanigans if votes for fan favorite were discounted if that player won, but obviously something that could not be revealed until Peachy reads them off.

While the Rupert show was a gross injustice (the extra million), I would not mind seeing the FF voting after the reveal of the winner with the winner of course ineligiable, making all the tables even. It may not be a separate show - just an Early Show announcement.

Also, someone asked what the prizes have been for this. The first time was the Rupert show after All-STars, and that was $1m, but since then it has either been a car or $100k (like it was tonight).

I will say that was a less-than-painful reunion. Yes, a bit too much Douche, but fully expected that. (Loved that Douche's lady friend was subbed "Coach's Lady Friend". Yes, it's live, but I'm pretty sure that they were planning on panning to Douche's support team at some point.

Eddie George for S19! He and Taj look great together.

Also, a technicality (but it doesn't apply here): I always consider that the voting at F3 includes implicit votes for the non-II winners, they just don't write them down. Of course, this still makes JT at 0 votes for the entire run, which is quite impressive.

This post has been edited by Masem: May 18, 2009 @ 1:09 am.

[bagatelle1]

I will never be convinced that wasn't intentional. Not only do Coko and Taj look nothing alike whatsoever, Peachy had six months to look at ANY number of SWV photos, interviews and music videos and learn which one was Taj. Jackass to the end, that Peachy.

Taj doesn't look like her SWV days, I think she looks much prettier now without the bad hair and all that make-up. When I see a SWV video, I also have trouble identifying her and have to look for the high cheekbones to be sure.

[alapaki]

Lastly, who's watching the 19th season in the South Pacific? "Fierce warrior culture?" Oh no. Is Coach gonna be on this season too???

Any island named after a Girl Scout Cookie can't be that fierce, can it? Come to think of it, just like Coach.

[Jazzy1]

The winner should not be eligible for the Rupert prize. Dumb.

I agree. But then, they don't know who the winner is yet...Also agree that the 2nd runner up should get the prize in that case. I knew JT was gonna win Fan Favorite.

I'm glad that JT acknowledged the role that Stephen played in his win. Bob could have used the same awareness.

Maybe JT learned from his mistake and is just being a good politician. But still, credit to him for going out of his way to make the point.

Yep. JT has the personality of a politician. And I mean that in every good and bad way possible. I still don't like Bob.

turn2theriiight, your posts had me cracking me up.
"Hello, this is Vandelay Industries Lie Detector Agency. How may I help you?" lol

And Douche of course said the videotape of his stupid lie detector test was available and then just had to tack on "to anyone in Hollywood." Of course he passed the silly thing. He doesn't think he's lying!

Exactly. Clearly a sociopath/wanna-be F-list star

This post has been edited by Jazzy1: May 18, 2009 @ 1:36 am.

[noisack]

If he's telling the truth he may deserve an emmy, because he had tears in his eyes.

Agreed. I don't believe he was acting as much as he now claims. If there is a major flaw in JT's game -- although I love him for it -- it's that he tended to allow himself to get too emotionally invested in the game. Stephen was the one who was there to keep reminding him to keep his distance and do what needed to be done.

So I think JT was genuinely hurt by some of the things that were said during FTC, and he clearly lashed out a couple of times, although without losing control. This visible pain clearly worked in his favor, but I'm not at all convinced he was faking it.

I think it's now easy for him to make the claim that he was acting, partly because it's a bit self-serving, and partly because he feels badly about some of things he said against Stephen during FTC. But I'm pretty convinced that most of what we saw from both JT was very real. And the jury sensed it. Stephen was being completely honest, but filtered through the layer of his intellect, his reactions just didn't come across as real to the jurors.

This post has been edited by noisack: May 18, 2009 @ 1:15 am.

[O2Sean]

I like the idea of JT and Stephen being business partners far more than I should, as it certifies my delusion of reality show people I like being BFF! and closer than close after the show is over. In many ways they reminded me of Dan and Memphis from this past Big Brother, although I can't see JT and Stephen going into some T-shirt thing (is that still around?).

My actual position: it's a bullshit prize because the editors play such a major role in it. I mean sure, they probably can't make Attila the Hun look like Mother Teresa, but still, they have an awful lot of input into what the audience is being asked to vote on. The Sole Survivor title is decided on by people who aren't being influenced by editing (though maybe a little bit by the questions in the confessionals). The Fan Favorite is mostly about the power of editing (some of which blatantly misrepresents what people said and did in the game).

Editing plays a part, but so do mitigating factors. I don't know if anyone expected Bob to win last season's Fan Favorite. He was barely even in most of the episodes. I think he won because many assumed he had no chance at winning the actual game. This season, I think JT's own appeal may have helped, but the idea that he wasn't a likely winner (since many may have assumed he would either be voted out before the end or lose to a more eloquent opponent) may have helped him in the voting.

So I think JT was genuinely hurt by some of the things that were said during FTC, and he clearly lashed out a couple of times, although without losing control. This visible pain clearly worked in his favor, but I'm not at all convinced he was faking it.

The one constant in JT's game was how fond he was of Stephen. So I agree he was probably genuinely hurt, because for whatever reason he often seemed to be playing for himself as well as for Stephen, whereas Stephen (understandably of course) was just playing for himself. I'm kind of glad JT played it off as faking, because I think he may have come across as sanctimonious if he'd tried to tell them he was hurt.

This post has been edited by O2Sean: May 18, 2009 @ 1:21 am.

[gifthorse]

Based on a couple things JT said tonight, I'm very concerned that he might either give some of his money to Stephen or let Stephen invest it for him. That seems like a very bad idea to me since my impression of Stephen is that he's an extremely self-serving and petty guy. I hope JT finds someone reliable to help him invest his money wisely so he doesn't lose it all. Never mix money & friendship JT!

[SunShine Gal]

Wow, Sierra really hates Coach...and wants credit for his downfall? Sweetie, he outlasted you remember? They voted you out the night you exposed his lies.

When Sierra said that she slayed the dragon, I think she was referring to when she outed "Coach's" lies during that 1 episode. Not that she somehow got "Coach" voted out.

[noisack]

Stephen is that he's an extremely self-serving and petty guy.

I don't know that he was ever shown to be petty, but "self-serving" is a good quality to apply to playing Survivor. That has nothing to do necessarily with Stephen's qualities as a business person.

Stephen did display many other qualities that would be useful outside the game of Survivor, so I can see JT being impressed by those above and beyond the genuine connection he feels to Stephen.

Of course, Brendan appeared to be a big fan of JT's, and he has more of a track record than Stephen, so I hope JT will also approach him for his advice.

[Jazzy1]

Taj and Sierra need to go sit at the bitter table and chill. They're never going to get over it. I so wanted Jeff to call Taj and Brendan out for "having money" and trying for a million bucks. That would have brought up a pretty cool argument between everyone. But Jeff would never do that because he was clearly ga-ga over Eddie George and the fact that Taj has said that she was recruited for the show as an NFL wife.

The show isn't just about the money. People have different motivations for applying...Maybe Taj wanted to test her limits. Brendan got great publicity for his company and he's a naturally competitive guy. Some people actually think the show is *gasp* for fun.

[bagatelle1]

Based on a couple things JT said tonight, I'm very concerned that he might either give some of his money to Stephen or let Stephen invest it for him. That seems like a very bad idea to me since my impression of Stephen is that he's an extremely self-serving and petty guy. I hope JT finds someone reliable to help him invest his money wisely so he doesn't lose it all. Never mix money & friendship JT!

I doubt JT will give Stephen his money to invest. Stephen is an Internet marketing director and JT has a degree in business administration. JT is no dummy, I think he has a plan and that plan is to work with Stephen, not be told what to do by Stephen.


JT did outplay Stephen at TC though. He put on that hurt look, it was heart-breaking to watch and then said at the reunion, "I was playing for votes!" He's a very smart guy!

[Jazzy1]

Wow, Sierra really hates Coach...and wants credit for his downfall? Sweetie, he outlasted you remember? They voted you out the night you exposed his lies.

When Sierra said that she slayed the dragon, I think she was referring to when she outed "Coach's" lies during that 1 episode. Not that she somehow got "Coach" voted out.

Yep and I still don't think that qualifies as "slaying the dragon". His lies were obvious on their own. She came off really abrasive. And now I see why she was immediately despised by the rest of her tribe and this journalist who interviewed her for 30 minutes pre-show. She's extremely obnoxious and doesn't even know it which is pretty damn sad. She'll find out soon enough...

I guess I feel completely differently about Fan Favorite. If they want to award an extra $100,000 to any of these people, just because people watching them on a heavily edited television show like them, then so what? More power to them! It's not like they're taking money AWAY from anyone, it's just a free gift. And it's a gift for Fan Favorite, or Player of the Game, or whatever nonsense they're calling it now. It's not "fan favorite loser". So if more people voted for JT, well, good for JT. More power to him. No one else 'deserves' it more, that to me is kind of ridiculous, considering at the end of the day, it's just a cheesy game show.

It's overkill.

[O2Sean]

I think Fan Favorite is almost impossible to be happy with because no one is universally liked, so one of us will be annoyed. I was more annoyed when James won because I never thought he did anything in the game. In both his seasons. All I remember him doing in the second season was being bratty to Parvati and then having to leave because of an injury.

I don't see Stephen as being petty. One of the reasons I came to care about Stephen was because he was in a perfect position to act like Rob Cesterino and take cheap shots in confessionals, turn the game into some need to make up for insecurities, and he never did that, not even with Coach. He was often funny and good-natured and unfortunately I don't think this came across to those in the game as well as it did for some of us at home.

[Jazzy1]

I never thought Tyson was good looking on the show, but he looked better at camp than he did at the reunion. I've wondered every week, why he keeps wearing that v-neck t-shirt? It looks so odd to me. It looks like a woman's shirt. And then he had a new one, almost the same, at the reunion.

Yeah, that's a really unflattering and weird look for him. I wonder why he insists on wearing it?

He can't tell what doesn't look good on him because that would take some self-awareness. He's a douche just like Coach but at least Coach entertained me for a little while. Tyson was just plain nasty (especially in his CBS videos).

This post has been edited by Jazzy1: May 18, 2009 @ 2:01 am.