Survivor Phillipines Season Finale December 9/12

Well, it's late and I am a little bit under the weather so I will keep this short (please hold your applause).

The Survivors have returned from Tribal Council having sent Abi to the jury. Skupin says that having Abi gone was the best feeling...that she sucked the life out of him. Malcolm is wondering why everyone who wants to go out with a bang, does so by throwing him under the bus. Malcolm and Skupin confirm their alliance but Skupin tells us that he needs to figure out who he can beat. He doesn't share everyone else's opinion, though, that nobody can beat Malcolm once they are before the jury. Skupin figures he has a pretty good story and could convince the jury to vote for him.

At the reward challenge, Survivors must run an obstacle course and collect three bags of puzzle pieces along the way. Like last week, Malcolm falls off a beam, falls behind them goes on to win on the the puzzle bit. His reward is an "advantage" in the final Immunity Challenge.

The final four do the obligatory torch walk, where they honour the Survivors who have had less success than they. Boring. Then they come to the final Immunity Challenge. There is a wooden dowel that has been cut into various lengths. On the top of the centre piece is a little groove. The goal is to hold the wooden dowel between two handles while balancing a ball bearing in the groove. At regular intervals a new piece of dowel is added so that the number of pieces of wood, and the distance between the handles, progressively becomes greater. When you drop your ball you are out...except for Malcolm. The advantage that he won in the reward challenge gives him one "do-over". Except it doesn't do him any good. Almost immediately he looses control of his stick/ball. He sets up again but is the first to go out a second time. I have to say this seemed a little staged to me except that why would anyone throw a challenge with a million dollars so close? Instead we learn that Malcolm has some sort of congenital shakey hands things. The challenge comes down to a duel between Skupin and Lisa and Skupin eventually wins immunity.

Back at camp, Skupin is thinking there would be more honour in beating Malcolm so maybe Malcolm should stay and Denise should go. Lisa, very practically, points out that you have to win first. Lisa thinks Malcolm will win if he goes to the final three. Lisa wins out and Malcolm is sent home at Tribal Council, taking our Mitzie with him. After a day of feasting and hiking the final three finally face the jury at Tribal Council. There is obviously quite a lot of bitterness on the jury and it is not at all clear who is going to win this one (at least not to me). However, when the votes are cast and we are whisked off to the Hollywood Studio we learn that Denise has won the million dollar prize. Debbie and Kathy were sharing Denise so both will get 75.00. Roberta picked Denise to win so she gets the $20.00 secondary prize.

During the reunion show I learned that:

1. my Abi has realized why she wasn't liked during the show is is going to make some changes.
2. Malcolm is single
3. I barely remember some of those people

The next Survivor series is a Fans vs Favourites located in thge Caramoan Islands (also located in the Phillipines). We are entering season 26 of the Survivor franchise. Rick is condidering lobbying for an Americans vs. the World series...whatdya think?

That's it folks. I am off to bed. I will be in touch with those of you that will be getting money. The rest of you, have a safe and happy holiday season. I will even be so politically incorrect as to wish you a very Merry Christmas. Until next season...

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi so that's why you didn't like me Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines - December 12, 2012

It's night 33. Carter is gone and Abi has taken a niceness pill. She thanks everyone for keeping her around..says she is over the moon with happiness. People are not concerned with Abi though. Even the next morning they are still feeling bad about voting Carter off. He was such a nice guy, they say. Malcolm is mulling over something that Lisa said at Tribal Council. She said she would rather go to the final three with someone she could beat. "What"? Says Malcolm. "Lisa is playing strategically"? Malcolm thinks he may have to reconsider his alliance with Lisa. Abi has wandered off into the woods, announcing that she is going to get "water" but everyone knows she is going to hide her imaginary idol. No one is really buying her story any more though, judging by her relief at not being voted off last night. They reason that if she was that insecure at Tribal Council, she would have played an idol if she had one. Knowing Malcolm has an idol and is safe, Abi starts to stir up a movement to get rid of Denise. She starts by telling Lisa that she is at the bottom of her alliance of four...after Abi, goes Lisa. Lisa tells us that she doesn't trust Abi but needs to stay on her good side.

At the Reward Challenge Survivors are asked to run up a ramp then slide down the other side and into the ocean where they will collect two bundles of rings. Once they have collected both bundles they must toss the rings and try to get five of them over pegs. Skupin wins this one in a last minute shoot out with Malcolm. Of course he gets to take two people with him. He chooses Malcolm and Lisa, leaving Denise and Abi to return to camp alone. Denise is philosophical about not going...Abi, not so much. She rants and rales about being the swing vote and nobody recognizing it. Denise settles in for a long day saying she would rather hang herself or have her eyes gouged out than spend the day with Abi. Abi isn't thrilled either. Denise is a "terrible person" according to Abi who apparently is not impressed by gracious, polite women.

Skupin, Lisa and Malcolm are whisked away by helicopter to a boat in the ocean. Here they enjoy pizza, cookies and soft drinks. Apparently Skupin avoids sugar and hasn't had a soft drink in over 30 years. The pop gives him a bit of a buzz, leading Malcolm to comment that Skupin is "suddenly fun". After they eat, the trio dons snorkelling fins and masks and dives down to swim with a whale shark. The shark seems to enjoy the company, even head-butting Skupin in a good natured "give me some treats" kind of way.

Back on the boat, Malcolm begins to lobby against his staunch ally, Denise. "She hasn't betrayed anyone and none of us could beat her", she tells Lisa and Skupin. "The three of us should go to the final three together". Skupin is all over the idea and Lisa agrees, only to tell us later that she might change her mind if the deal doesn't work for her later on. Lisa, you are such an animal!!

On Day 36 Denise awakens with a firey burning on the side of her neck. The painful sensation is accompanied by what appear to be fang marks on the side of her neck (Phillipine Vampire?). Denise tells herself that she should just suck it up (no pun intended) but ends up crying while Lisa and Skupin pray for her (also works for Vampires). Abi and Malcolm look on, both obviously calculating how easy it would be if Denise just went home.

Denise recovers enough, though, to go to the Immunity Challenge and put in a respectable effort. Survivors must lay planks across two parrallel ropes to build a rope ladder. Advancing across the ladder they collect pieces of a table maze. Once they have all the pieces, they assemble the maze and roll a ball through it to win. Malcolm falls off the rope ladder and has to start over. It looks like he is out of it. But while the others struggle constructing their maze, Malcolm throws his together in record time and goes on to win. Malcolm already has an immunity idol and has to play it at the next Tribal Council. Denise asks him if he might give up the one he just won. But he declines. Privately he tells us that he dosn't have to give it to Denise because Denise is safe. Wait a minute. Didn't you say you wanted to get rid of Denise?! Abi, of course, is busy working the crowd, trying to get them to vote for Denise, rather than her. Lisa likes the idea...a lot. At Tribal Council Abi makes one more last ditch effort to change the vote by trying to tell the group that Denise is too much of a threat. When Skupin tries to talk she inexplicably interupts him and calls him an idiot, then a moron, then an idiot. Whether it was pre-arranged or a result of this last bizarre outburst, Abi is finally sent packing. I am Abi's alter ego but even I am happy to see the end of the obnoxious wench.

Sunday is the two hour season finale. Mike Skupin (Grace), Denise (Kathy and Debbie), Malcolm (Mitzie) and Lisa (Jeff) are still in the running for the grand prize. Jack, Jeff and Donna (who all voted for Malcolm to win), Roberta (who voted for Denise) and Lorelee (who voted for Skupin) still have a shot at the 20.00 secondary prize.

Until Sunday....

Outwith, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi I can't understand you people Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines - Dec 5/12

I'm typing this to a background of the movie Black Christmas. If I suddenly disappear, look in the attic. I'll be the one wrapped in a dry cleaning bag. Now on with the update.

It's Night 30 in Survivorland. Penner has joined the jury. Abi talks to Carter and asks him how he feels about the alliance that he isn't a part of. She goes on pretending that she has an immunity idol and privately asks "who will they choose...a guy from Kansas or a girl from Brazil that no one likes because she is too honest?". Right Abi. It's only your honesty that is standing in the way of a big group hug. While Abi tries to stir a fire under Carter, Lisa is realizing that Malcolm is playing the game brilliantly. For her part, she knows that going to the end with Malcolm and Denise is not great strategy, but if she betrays them her poor little head is going to explode. Actually Lisa didn't say that, that was me.

Day 31 brings a reward challenge and it turns out to be the tear jerking, gut wrenching, snot inducing loved ones challenge. Skupin's son Mike is there. So is Lisa's brother Justice and Malcolm's brother Miles. Denise is overjoyed to see her husband and they have even flown Abi's bewildered mother in from Brazil. Lisa wins the All Time Survivor Break Down Award for her hysterical sobbing when she sees her brother. The challenge involves the Survivor throwing bags soaked in mud to their loved one. The loved one must then toss the bag and knock over six wooden pegs balanced on a platform. Someone forgot to translate the rules into Portugese for Abi's mom because she doesn't seem to understand that she is supposed to catch the bag, not avoid it. Malcolm and his brother Miles win the challenge, meaning that Miles gets to go back to camp with Malcolm for the afternoon and over night. Of course Malcolm gets to pick two other pairs to share the reward. He picks Skupin and his son, and Lisa and her brother. His choice, he tells us, is strategic...to reward those who stayed loyal to he and Denise at the last vote.

At camp Lisa's brother is very interested in her strategy (m'thinks he REALLY wanted to do Survivor and probably shook his head when they picked his straight-up sister). Nonetheless, brother Justice has advice for Lisa. Get rid of Malcolm. "But, but I gave him my word", she splutters. "If he is a game player he might respect you for it", responds Justice. Lisa is ecstatic. She has permission to lie...on Survivor. How "on the edge" is that? From this point forward everyone is going to want to do it. A perceptive Malcolm is watching Lisa and her brother and is correctly analysing what is going on. Lisa's bro has snapped her back to her senses.

The immunity challenge involves running across a balance beam to a platform in the water. They must use a hook to snare three underwater bags. In each of these bags are pieces of rope and a bundle of sticks. Back on shore they must assemble a stick long enough, and sturdy enough, to knock over a target. Malcolm wins immunity which tops up the immunity idol he already has. Looks like Malcolm has a firm hold on at least the final four. While Malcolm is happy Lisa is less so. Just when she got herself all psyched up to play dirty, Malcolm wins immunity and ruins her plans.

Now, of course, all eyes turn to Abi and Carter. They are both outside of the alliance of four. People like Carter and keeping him would fit with their goal of keeping people who deserve to be there, while getting rid of Annoying Abi. On the other hand, practical considerations must also be considered. No body, no how is going to vote for Abi if she goes to the final three. Carter walks up on a discussion between Lisa and Mike and asks them, if they respect the game, to keep him. All the while Abi is running around talking about her phantom immunity idol...even heading off into the woods to retrieve a pretend idol from a pretend hiding spot. Abi also has another go at mouthing off and annoying everyone, leading Malcolm to tell us that she is like one of the Dementors from Harry Potter and that if she goes home tonight it is because she is a bitch. Lets not beat around the bush Malcolm. Mike says that Abi has every known psychiatric condition all rolled into one.

At Tribal Council, Carter tells the group that he doesn't deserve to go. Still, it is Carter who will be joining the jury. With Carter goes Georgia from our pool thereby seriously curtailing Georgia's Christmas shopping plans. Sorry about that Georgia. We have five Survivors left. Abi has another week to become loveable. Malcolm has another week to to become more gorgeous, Lisa has another week to determine God's will. I have another week to figure out another word for "meanwhile". Until then...

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi why don't you lying untrustworthy losers like me Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines - November 28/12

Our Survivors are back at camp having sent Pete to the jury. Abi is bitter about her treatment at Tribal Council but Denise has little sympathy. Unless Abi wins immunity she is the next to go. Abi is still smarting when she and Malcolm go to collect tree mail. She begins to cry, and Malcolm feels his heart going out to her. He ends up giving her a hug telling us that, last night, the truck ran over Abi then backed up and ran over her again. *Editors note: could we just crank up that Mac truck one more time...for me?

The reward challenge involves bidding on food. Each Survivor starts with 500.00 .Dimples uncovers the first plate and Denise immediately bids her entire $500.00 on the pancakes, bacon, maple syrup and OJ. Skupin bids all of his money on a plate of crackers and cheese and a glass of wine (Skupin doesn't drink - WTF!). Malcolm buys iced coffee and donuts and Penner gets a bargain, spending $100.00 on a mystery plate that turns out to be fried chicken and fries. Carter buys another covered dish for $200.00 which turns out to be a baked potato with all the fixin's. There is a twist on this one though, in that Carter can keep the potato or trade it for a bag each of rice and beans for the tribe. Carter selects the rice and beans, earning several attaboys from his tribe mates. Lisa spends $320.00 on two subs and a coke. When Dimples announces that the next item is an advantage in the next challenge, Abi wastes no time in bidding her full $500.00 wad - this is exactly what she was hoping for. The last item is another covered item purchased by Carter. Again it turns out to be a purchase that benefits the tribe - a veal shank. The entire tribe gets to share it and they have 60 seconds to eat as much as they can. And so the auction ends with Carter earning his tribe more food.

They return to camp with joy in their hearts and veal hanging from their teeth. The exuberant mood is dampened, though, when Abi demands that Penner apologize for being mean to her at Tribal Council. Penner makes an apology of sorts, but tells us that the more toxic Abi is, the better it is for him. Abi tells us that others will have to start to work with her now, since they don't know what "advantage" she purchased at the auction. When she reads the note it tells her that she has won a free entry into the final round of the next immunity challenge. Given Abi's none-existant to poor performance at challenges, this is hardly a gimme. However, Abi decides to try to trick her tribe mates into believing she has found another idol. She wanders around all day, then tells Malcolm that she isn't going home and that she has an idol. "You guys are going to have to make some decisions", she tells him. Malcolm says that Abi is like the girlfriend that you have broken up with, who won't leave.

The Immunity Challenge is a three parter and Abi gets to sit out the first two parts (as she has sat out virtually every challenge to date). Before the challenge begins, Dimples asks her to read the paper that she purchased in the auction. She says it is a two part note and that she is only obligate to read the first part. She tells them she has won a bye into the final round of the challenge. She then quickly tears up the note, implying that there is something there she doesn't want them to know. If I were Dimples I would have blown her cover, but Dimples never lets on that there is no second part to the note.

For the challenge Survivors wear a belt attached to a rope. The rope is wound around a balance beam type of thing. They have to move over and under the beam to reach the end of the rope. At the beginning of each round they are asked a question. An incorrect answer means that they have to carry 5% of their body weight during the challenge. In spite of carrying some extra weight, Denise wins the first round. She, Carter, Skupin, Malcolm and Penner all move on. Round two involves a three dimensional maze that they must follow their rope through and around. Denise now carries 10% of her body weight, while Carter and Skupin carry 5%. Penner and Carter win this round and join Abi for the third and final round. This round is less physical and involves untying knots to move through a course. In some sort of weird freakish distortion of the natural order, Abi wins. Malcolm tells us that hell has frozen over and Abi has won a challenge. But, unlike the others who were counting on getting rid of Abi, he isn't really that upset. This gives him the perfect opportunity to get rid of Penner, who he considers a much greater threat.

Abi's win has a much more profound effect on Lisa. Because Penner is now the target, Lisa is stricken. She has an alliance with Denise and Malcolm, but she really likes Penner. She and Penner go for a walk and she tells him her conundrum. "I've been told to write down your name", she says. "Well what are we going to do about it?" asks Penner. "Work your magic", says Lisa, "because I really want to go to the final three with you".

Penner does his best. He sees his earlier error in not agreeing earlier to ally with Lisa, Denise and Malcolm. He tries to start a movement to oust Denise. Skupin becomes the swing vote. But when the votes are counted, Penner's last minute push has failed and he is heading (somewhat ungraciously) over to the jury. Too bad, as your faithful scribe had become kind of fond of Penner, whose voice sounded just like Hawkeye on the old MASH shows. With Jonathan Penner goes Jack from our pool. With the closing music from MASH playing in my head we wave goodbye to Jack. No one voted for Penner to win so Jack is alone in his misery.

until next week..
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Marie I can't understand why you all hate me Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines - November 21/12

You know I'm dedicated to the cause when, driving home from my class this evening I come across and overturned vehicle and my first thought is, "crap, I'm going to miss the beginning of Survivor". However, all five of the young occupants were in good health, the police were on their way and no one was in imminent danger of frost bite. I judged that it was safe to move on. They wanted me to drive them home, but I persuaded them that they really should stay with the vehicle since the next car to come along would be digging in the snow trying to see if anyone was pinned in the vehicle. They agreed that perhaps it would be a good idea to stay until the police came. Whew, Survivor crisis averted.

As we rejoin our intrepid band of Survivors, Artis has joined the jury and Abi and Pete are trying to think of a new strategy. Abi seems shocked that the former Tandang hasn't stood firm. Puleeez.

The next morning Abi has a chat with Lisa who tells her that she never waivered from their alliance but is hurt that she was not trusted. Privately Lisa tells us that breaking up is hard to do and that she has lived a lifetime where it feels comfortable to be used. Not any more though. Lisa is preparing to take control of her own destiny and is feeling a new pride in herself.

Dimples has planned a little Reward Challenge for the group. there are three circles, each with two drums, one red and one yellow. One member from each of the red and yellow teams must run about flipping drums. The tribe to get all three of their drums upright at the same time score a point. The first team to score four points wins reward. There is a lot of flipping and running, running a flipping. Abi (competing in her second challenge ever I think) doesn't really know the rules and flips over her own drum. Even that doesn't guarantee defeat though, since Skupin does the same thing, bringing defeat to Team Yellow. The result is that Carter, Malcolm, Pete and Abi get to go to have a spa day with baths, massages, umbrella drinks and a feast of beef, chicken and calimari. Mike, Penner, Denise, Malcolm and Lisa have to go back to camp dirty and hungry.

As the young punks are enjoying their reward, Malcolm suggests that they put the game aside and just enjoy the moment. It's strategic, he tells us later. All the people that he wants to go to the final four with are back at camp. Pete agrees that not talking game is a good idea. He needs time to think things through. He is fit and smart so the extra food can only help his chances of surviving a while longer.

Team Red arrives back at camp with a Pantene shine to their hair and a telltale bulge to their bellies. Now Survivor etiquette suggests that reward winners should downplay the wonderfullness of their reward for the sake of those who didn't get to go. But not my Abi! No. Uh uh. She goes on..and on...and on, leading Malcolm to comment that she has all the social grace of a Mac truck. But Abi isn't quite done yet. She stretches out on her bed and announces that she is done cooking for the rest of her time there. She has cooked for 26 days and now is done. Oh yes, she still wants to eat. She is just done cooking. (Oh God. Let me at her!!).

While Abi is making friends and influencing people, Malcolm is trying to cement his final four. He wants Mike Skupin, Lisa, Denise and himself to take it to the end. Mike is all for the deal but Lisa hesistates. She trusts Penner more than she trusts Malcolm. However, when Lisa and Mike pitch the idea of final four to Penner he balks. "Its too early", says Penner. Lisa, on the other hand, thinks that Penner has missed an opportunity. As a result, the next shot sees Mike, Lisa , Denise and Malcolm shaking hands on a deal to go to the final four together. Privately Mike tells us that he is uncertain about the deal but felt that he couldn't refuse. Malcolm is too much of a "gamer" to be trusted. The only sure way to be secure is to win immunity.

Speaking of immunity...how about we do a challenge? This is a three parter. The first part involves sliding a buoy attached to a rope that winds around some hurdle type things. The first five to complete this move on to round two where the buoy must follow a rope wound around a balance beam. Skupin, Carter and Denise move on to the final round where the rope and buoy are wound around a boat. This is a tough one involving much jumping into and out of the boat, along with a neighbouring dock. In the end Carter wins immunity by a narrow margin over Mike Skupin.

So the final pre-Tribal Council strategizing begins. Penner floats a plan to split the votes and either get rid of Abi or her idol. In a last ditch effort to save themselves Pete and Abi try to turn everyone on Mighty Malcolm. Lisa and Denise are firm but Mike gives the idea serious consideration.

At Tribal Council Dimples is brutal with Abi. Denise tells her she is abrasive and unliked. By the end she is in tears and even your hard hearted scribe is feeling a little sorry for her. But she plays her idol, ensuring we will have another week to get over our sympathy for her. When the votes are tablulated, and Abi's are subtracted, it comes down to Pete and Malcolm. Malcolm looks edgy since, you will recall, he also has an idol that he opted not to play. However, it is Pete who is joining the jury, and, with him, Cheryl from our pool. Cheryl also voted for Pete to win so she is in double despair this evening.

We are now down to seven Survivors. Denise (Kathy and Debbie), Malcolm (Mitzie), Abi (Pat and Barb), Mike (Grace), Carter (Georgia), Penner (Jack) and Lisa (Jeff). Who will be the next to go? I'll let ya know next week! Until then...

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi I'm a *#@* princess Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines - November 14/12

Thank you Donna, for doing the update.



Well, there is no Saskatchewan Roughrider football and so without anything else to do, Pat has given me the daunting task of doing the Survivor review. How does one follow up after such a tough act? Pat does them so well! Anyway, mine will be more factual but at the very least I will try to summarize it all. Pat please feel free to edit and forward on to the group!



We begin at Night 22 after the last tribal council. There’s the usual gibber jabber about who voted for whom but at one point Penner realized there really was ‘no plan’… he screwed it up by voting for Abi! Abi, needless to say, wasn’t happy, but then I don’t find Abi very happy any of the time anyway.


Lisa and Malcolm talked and made up. Big hugs all around a warm and fuzzy moment. He realized she was just doing her best to ‘play the game’.


On the morning of Day 23 Penner is still worrying about being the next to go home. He recognized that there are a lot of crack in the alliance though. His plan is to play on divisions and get in with Lisa and Mike. So, he shmoozes Lisa to get into psyche. He tells her all about her ‘trying to please’ ways and why she is the way she is and he comments that it’s his business to know these things about people. He comments to her that she is a ‘pleaser’, avoiding confrontation, being loyal and just generally trying to place people and be a good person. There are more hugs… more warm and fuzzy moments.


The challenge consists of two teams. Team Yellow is Skupin, Artis, Lisa and Pete, Team Red is Denise, Malcolm, Penner and Carter. Nobody chose Abi so she sat on the sideline, looking miserable, no reward for her!


Each team must crawl through mud, over an A-frame finding bags of balls hidden in the mud, then through a sandbox size container of rice (all I kept thinking is why don’t they stash some for lunch?) But I digress. Anyway, the 1st team to gather all the bags of balls, 12 in total, and sink them in a metal ‘basket’ wins reward. It’s a Give and Receive reward. Survivors go to a local village to bring school supplies and toys for the kids. In return the villagers will cook them a feast.


Penner is the first up for the Red and Skupin for the yellow. Penner gets to the mud pit and digs up all the bags of balls for everyone, so they don’t have to dig themselves. He takes one bag and completes the course behind Skupin. However, since he’s dug up all the bags of balls the other members of his team fly through the course and they end up with a huge lead. The yellow team does make an effort to catch them, but in the end it’s Red that wins reward.


The winning Survivors go to the local village where they are met by all sorts of happy children. Malcolm has discovered something that is missing in life. “Why am I pouring drinks for young women, when I so enjoy working with children?” Apparently he taught English in Micronesia for a year. That said, I wouldn’t mind seeing him as a bartender! More warm and fuzzy moments.. it kind of was a warm and fuzzy show tonight.


While at the village of course some strategy was discussed. The plan was to try to get Skupin and Lisa to join forces with Denise, Carter, Johnathan and Malcolm. Penner talks to Lisa and says he isn’t trying to get into her head… but really.. he tries to get into her head. Why is she in an alliance with people who don’t trust her, come over to the dark side.. he tells her. Change the game, make it your game, that’s what the audience wants to see.


Meanwhile.. after one of Abi’s rants to Lisa about disloyalty, the next words out of her mouth are that still want to get her and Skupin to stay with Abi, Artis and Pete. But then they say they don’t trust her, Abi does need to learn to shut up and as Artis said, she’s a loose cannon.


The Immunity challenge is to roll a ball, one at a time, down the end of a paddle to the end where there are six divits for the ball to rest in. The idea is to get the ball to rest on the paddle in one of the divits. First person to have 6 balls secure on their paddle wins immunity. At first it didn’t look like anybody was going to get this, then all of a sudden Skupin has 1, then 2… 3 and 4 quickly. Peter runs a close second, but loses a few and in the end Skupin wins immunity.


With the vote comes more discussions of course. Johnathan feels that they need to ‘break up Tandang’ and that hinges on if he can convince Lisa and SKupin to flip. He talks to Lisa to flip and get rid of either Artis, Pete or Abi. Then Lisa and Skupin talk. Skupin brings up a couple of good points. Who do you go further with? And who would you rather play the game with? During that conversation it seems like they are both convinced, but due to clever editing we never really know, do we?


At tribal council Denise said that big moves come at any point in the game and it naïve to sit comfortably with your perceived numbers thinking that everyone is on board. Abi confesses that she is not sure about Lisa at this point, she’s afraid Lisa will flip. At that point it’s time to vote. After everyone has voted in a 5-4 decision, it’s ARTIS who goes home, and with Artis goes one of our own, but because I don’t have the list handy I have no clue who that is. Whoever it is stand up and wave or something. (Editor-on-vacation's note: That would be Rick who is leaving the pool this evening.)

Ironic thing is, Lisa did not flip on Artis, it was Skupin who joined forces with Penner, Malcolm, Carter and Denise! Lisa better get on board with them cause that other ship is sinking!

Until next time, what does Pat say??? Oh ya.. outwit, outlast, outplay


Donna (a.k.a. Sarah, I know my baseball players, but don’t know when to keep my mouth shut, Dawson)

Survivor Phillipines - Nov. 7/12

Night 19. RC has moved on to do jury duty and Penner is pissed that (but for playing the idol) he would have been gone, Jeff is still gunning for Penner who is not yet resigned to going home, but does think he might have to climb in the back seat for a while and put a blanket over his head. He no longer has any allegiances.

The next morning Penner goes out fishing and the anti-Penner scheming continues. Lisa is still feeling her allegiance to the old Tandang tribe and feels Penner should go next, followed by Mike, then "the three that no one likes", namely Peter, Abi and Artis (editors note: Abi is my girl and I voted for Artis to win...SOMEBODY STILL LOVES YOU GUYS!). Jeff isn't one of them though. He thinks it would be fun to split up the Abi/ Peter/Artis trio.

For the reward challenge, the tribe is randomly split into two teams. I say the split is random, but really it appears to be nice people vs not so nice people (with apologies to Carter who seems to have no personality at all). Team members take turns running into the water and swimming out to a submerged fish trap. They must unhook the trap and signal the other team members to pull them to shore with the trap. Once they have collected all four traps, another tribe member must dig in the sand to locate a key. The key opens a box. I never did really figure out what was in the box, but ultimately they must pull 8 banners out of the fish traps and put them together to make a design. Lisa slows her team down and it looks like their cause is lost. However, Mike can't find his team's final fish trap and while he is looking for it a powerhouse Denise front crawls her way to team victory. As a result, Mike, Abi, Peter, Artis and Carter head back to camp, while Lisa, Penner, Denise, Malcolm and Jeff head off on a river cruise. The mood is very upbeat. Not only do they have all kinds of great food, but everyone seems to agree that this is a great group of people. Lisa feels like a good vs evil dynamic is beginning to appear and Penner takes advantage of it by trying to turn the cruisers attention away from him and onto Pete, Abi and Artis.

At camp Abi is shooting off her mouth again. Even Pete concedes that he would like to get rid of her (noooooooo) but knows she is a fabulous person to take to the final three since no one ever, anywhere, in any galaxy, will vote for her.

Once the cruisers return from their trip, Lisa floats a plan by Mike. She tells Mike that Malcolm has an immunity idol. If they can organize a 5-4 alliance, they can blindside Malcolm, a powerful player, and get the idol out of play at the same time. Penner arrives during this conversation and is on-side, but knows he still needs to win immunity to ensure his survival. Unfortunately Penner has never won an individual immunity challenge so the cards are stacked against him.

Well, speaking of Immunity Challenges, here comes one now. Survivors must climb under and over wooden bars and untie knots to release bags of puzzle pieces. The first three to collect their puzzle pieces move on to the second round in which they actually assemble their snake puzzle. Penner Jeff and Pete move on to the second round and, despite a slow start, Penner solves his puzzle first. Now there is turmoil. Penner was first on virtually everyone's list for eviction. Now they have to find someone else to vote for. Since Mike was second on everyone's list, he is looking pretty dejected. Malcolm is irate that his plans have gone awry. Lisa decides to float her plan about getting rid of Malcolm past Pete. Pete promptly goes to Malcolm and asks him if he has the idol. Malcolm denies it and wants to know who is spreading such malicious gossip. "Lisa", says Pete. Malcolm feigns righteous indignation. Later Lisa asks Pete if he told Malcolm that she said he had the idol. "No", says Pete. "It's hard work being a mastermind", Pete tells us. They go on to decide that Jeff should be the next to go (not sure what happened to the Mike plan. Perhaps I blinked). Jeff walks up during this discussion and discovers that he is being targeted. The vote is hardly a given, though. Even as the group is leaving for Tribal Council different options are being tossed around. Pete should go. Jeff should go. It's more confusing than the U.S electoral system (with apologies to our honourable representatives from New Hampshire).

At Tribal Council Lisa breaks the news that Malcolm has the idol. Malcolm pulls the idol out saying that he will play it to clear the air and remove the target from his back. When Dimples asks if anyone else has an idol, Abi dutifully digs in her bag and pulls hers out. WTF? Is this woman some new kind of stupid? In any case, the votes are cast and when Dimples asks if anyone wants to play their idol, neither Malcolm or Abi play theirs. When the votes are tabulated Malcolm gets none, Abi gets one and the rest are distributed between Jeff and Pete. Jeff comes out on the short end though, and is heading off to the jury, along with our pool-mate Marie. Malcolm looks confused and Jeff spouts a lot of baseball analogies, but the result is still the same.

Who will be the next to go? Will my Abi hang in until the final three just because she is so obnoxious? Is Pete really the mastermind? Will the gorgeous Malcolm eventually arrive at Pasqua Lake and sweep me off my feet. Oh sorry. Private fantasy.

Until next week,
Outplay, Outwit, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi It's not paranoia if everyone really is out to get you Gomez

Survivor Phillipines - October 31/12

Gooood evening. I trust you all had a ghoooulishly good Halloween.

In Survivorland it's not Halloween...its just Night 16. Kalabaw is home from Tribal Council minus Katie who was blindsided. Denise is happy that she survived her 6th consecutive Tribal Council and Penner is miffed that someone had the gall to write his name down. He forgets, he tells us, that others are lying.

The next morning at Tandang, Mike is recalling how this is the day that he fell in the fire 24 seasons ago. For him this is new territory. Mike's reveries are interupted by an approaching boat carrying news about an upcoming merge. Survivors have exactly 10 minutes to collect what they want to bring with them. Over at Kalabaw they are receiving the same news, sending Malcolm scurrying to dig up his hidden immunity idol. Both tribes are carried to their new beach on the outriggers that brought the news of the merge. They are greeted by baskets of fruit and other food, along with bottles of wine. The merge sets everyone's mind to working (only slightly clouded by the wine). Denise is hoping she can resume her alliance with Malcolm. Mike decides that he and RC are free agents and that they owe no loyalty to their former tribe. When Abi suggests RC should act as a spy, RC says she is reluctant to do so since they "aren't exactly one big happy family". RC does think she might be able to connect with Denise, though. While all this chit chat is going on, Lisa decides it would be nice to hang up everyone's wet clothing. She goes through Malcolm's bag and finds his immunity idol. Denise sees it happen and tells Malcolm who promptly rushes Lisa off into the jungle. She immediately begins apologizing and swears she will keep his secret. "You, me and Denise to the final three", promises Malcolm. Hmmm. Maybe. Maybe not. thinks Lisa.

The following day finds more strategizing. Penner and Lisa hit it off. He knows she was a child actress but promises to keep her secret. He thinks Lisa might go far in the game, given that she is non-threatening and likely to go under the radar. Penner is also trying to find cracks in the former Tandang tribe. He approaches Mike to see if he is ready to slit the throats of his former tribe. Mike assures Penner that he and RC are solid but that neither are loyal to Tandang. While Penner works the crowd out on the water, a faction led by Jeff and Pete are figuring out how they can get rid of Penner. They suspect he has an idol so decide to split the vote with four votes going to Penner and four to RC. If Penner plays the idol RC is gone and they can get him next time. Of course, for all this to work neither Penner nor RC can win immunity.

They are in luck. At the immunity challenge there are two individual immunity necklaces up for grabs...one for the men and one for the women. Each survivor has a bucket filled to weigh 25% of their body weight. The bucket is slung over a bar with a rope. The end of the rope is wrapped around a metal roller. The Survivors must hold on to the roller to keep it from turning and releasing the bucket. Mike is out almost immediately, followed by Pete and Penner. They continue to drop out until Denise is the last woman. A very happy Denise has just received immunity for the very first time. The men continue to duke it out until it is down to Jeff and Carter. Jeff makes an attempt to deal with Carter but Carter is halfhearted about throwing the challenge. In the end Jeff gives up and Carter wins the jewellery.

And so the plan to split the votes between Penner and RC can proceed. RC is feeling secure, but Mike knows he is a target. He promises to vote with Jeff and Carter if it means Penner goes home. Of course Penner is busy professing his loyalty and thinks Pete should go home. They finally head off to Tribal Council where the members of the former Tandang Tribe learn that they have made Survivor history. Never before has a tribe avoided Tribal Council until after the merge. The votes are cast, Penner plays his idol (negating any votes cast for him), and Dimples (in green tonight!) tabulates the votes. It turns out that Penner got 5 votes, but all it means is that Penner is going to be pretty pissy back at camp since the votes don't count. Instead it comes down to a race between RC and Pete with RC getting 4 votes to Pete's 2. And so RC and our own Pam are heading over to become the first members of the jury. Pam and Grace both voted for RC to win the million. Sorry, ladies. Not this time.

Until next week,
Outplay, Outwit, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi I'm not the most likeable Survivor of all time Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines - October 24/12

Night 13 sees Kalabaw returning to camp minus Dawson. Katie realizes that she is at the bottom of the totem pole now that her "girls" are gone. All she can do is work her magic. She sets off to discredit Penner by convincing Denise that Penner has the immunity idol. A guy with an idol, by Katie's reckoning, is a bigger target than a lazy but beautiful woman who does poorly in challenges.

The next morning Tandang discovers they are low on rice. The reason? It seems Mike has been eating handfuls of raw rice. Apparently he thinks it will cook inside of his body due to the hot environment. Mmmmm. The others comment on Mike's rice consumption but Artis is downright angry. He says his tribe is Tandang + 1 (Mike) and that Mike is expendable.

At the Reward Challenge, tribes must go out three-on-three and try to move a giant wicker ball across a field and into a goal. The winning team needs to score three goals. The field is actually a mud pit and within seconds the contestants are all but unrecognizable. They pin each other down in the mud and the ball moves nowhere. The challenge has become an endurance event based on who can last the longest with their nose buried in the mud. After an hour Penner floats a suggestion. If Tandang agrees to give Kalabaw the victory, they will give them all their rice. Not everyone on Tandang is happy with the plan (especially Artis) but in the end the deal is done. Kalabaw heads off to a hut where they shower, enjoy a picnic of sandwiches, juice and brownies and also get some letters from home (something that wasn't mentioned when the deal was done).

Back at camp Artis is angry with the decision to concede the challenge. He says that the deal was a brilliant move by Penner. Meanwhile Mike and RC try to convince the others that the deal was a good one. RC and Mike have also decided that Artis is too negative and that he should be the one to go if Tandang ever actually gets to Tribal Council.

On Day 16 Kalabaw is home from their reward picnic. Not everyone on Kalabaw is happy with the deal made at the reward challenge either. Apparently the food from the reward is all digested and hunger is setting in. There is no rice...nor food of any kind. No problem. They have fishing gear and Penner is going fishing. He tries to spear a stingray who niftily eludes the spear. Next Penner dons the snorkelling gear and goes into deeper water. He returns with two tiny fish. The tribe wonders how they are going to divide what amounts to about 6 ounces of fish. Penner tries to stay positive in front of the others but admits that they need to win the upcoming immunity challenge.

The aforementioned challenge arrives right on schedule. One tribe member must shoot a ball from a giant slingshot. Three other tribe-mates must try to catch the ball in a net. They can catch a ball of any colour. Abi sits this challenge out again, meaning that she has sat out 6 of 8 challenges (a fact pointed out by Dimples, of course). Lisa and Denise both do an admirable job launching the balls from the slingshot. Jeff does well catching for Kalabaw and Malcolm shines as he catches for Tandang. Katie is ineffective (also pointed out by Dimples). Tandang wins the challenge, sending Kalabaw back to camp to think about who they are going to send home.

There is nothing like losing a challenge to bring out the worst in people. Jeff questions his alliance with Penner because he doesn't want a veteran to win (I'm with ya there Baseball Boy). On the other hand Katie is worthless. On the other other hand Carter thinks it might be better to go into a merge with Penner than with Katie since he is a bigger target. Jeff thinks it might be wise to blindside Penner so that he doesn't play his idol. Carter is willing to follow Jeff's lead. Penner believes everyone is voting for Katie. Katie believes everyone is voting for Denise. Denise is worried everyone is voting for her. But when Dimples earns his millions by tabulating the votes at Tribal Council, it is Katie who is heading home. Along with Katie goes Lorelee from the pool. No one voted for Katie to win the grand prize so Lorelee is alone in her suffering.

We are in a countdown to a merge. Will it happen next week? I'll never tell!

Until then,
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi I might be a little hotblooded but I'm still in the game Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines - October 17/12

Night 10 at Camp Matsing finds Denise and Malcolm returning to their lonely little camp. Russell is gone and they are the last two Matsingers standing. They speculate about what will happen next. Will one of them go to each tribe? Or will there be a complete mix- up of tribes. They don't have to wait long to find out. Along with more rain and flies, the dawn brings tree mail announcing a reward challenge. Before they head off for the challenge though, Malcolm and Denise decide that it is now or never to find the immunity idol. They don't have much by way of camp furnishings and keep coming back to the rice basket. They look in the basket. They look under the basket. They look around the basket. Finally, on the verge of giving up, Malcolm pulls the handle off the basket to (finally) discover the idol. Denise is ecstatic but knows that if she and Malcolm go to different tribes, the idol will be of limited value to her.

At the Immunity Challenge, Dimples asks Malcolm and Denise to drop their buffs and pick new ones. Based on the drawing of the buffs, Denise goes to Kalabaw and Malcolm joins Tandang. They then move on to the challenge itself, the winner of which gets coffee and tea with all the fixings, as well as biscuits, cookies and muffins. Malcolm shines for his new team in a challenge where, one on one, Survivors must try to knock a little statue off the other guy's tray. Malcolm is delighted at the win. He has found an idol in the morning and won a challenge in the afternoon. His new tribe is happy too. Lisa tells us that Malcolm brings a wonderful energy to the tribe. The only one who doesn't seem thrilled is RC, who feels she would have fared better if their team had gotten Denise. Malcolm is busy bonding with Pete and Mike and RC feels things slipping even further out of her control. RC needs to pull out all the stops and stop #1 is flirting shamelessly with Malcolm when he lights the fire. "Ooooooh Malcolm, you are such a manly man. Hug hug". Gag gag. Meanwhile Pete is so taken with Malcolm that he tells them he has the idol. Pete is happy that Malcolm has arrived, his reasoning being that, now that another strong physical player has arrived, Pete can now get rid of Mike.

At Kalabaw there is no victory and no reward but Denise is still happy to be in her new tribe. Dana, Dawson and Katie are hoping to get her on board in their girl alliance but the guys are also impressed with her competitiveness. But speaking of Dana, she seems to be a little under the weather. She is a tiny thing and she is cold. In fact she can't stop shaking. Then she begins vomitting. She has a fever. She curls up under a tarp on Penners lap. Medics are called. It isn't judged to be life threatening and they are willing to let her stay another 12 hours. Dimples leaves the decision up to Dana....do you want to stay or do you want to go? A tearful and distressed Dana decides she can't stay any longer so the rest of the tribe is brought in to say their goodbyes. She keeps apologizing for letting her team down but her tribe mates are kind and supportive, particularly Jonathan Penner who is particularly...well...nice. Back stage Katie is feeling a little tense. Her best ally is going home. How will she survive?!

The immunity challenge consists of the tribes helping each other through an obstacle course, co-operatively untying 4 sets of knots to release a drawbridge, going through the drawbridge to get an ax which they use to chop through a piece of wood to get to a peace of rope. Cutting through the rope releases puzzle pieces which must then be assembled into a five word phrase. My Abi Maria sits out for Tandang, causing Dimples to ask her how many challenges she has actually competed in. Two, says Abi. Is Dimples prepared to let this go? No. He is not. Normally I would be all for pointing this fact out ad nauseum, except that Abi is my girl. Yikes. Abi and I are in a heap 'o trouble. Fortunately for us, Katie has trouble on the obstacle course, slowing Kalabaw down. Then Dawson gets a little possessive with the puzzle pieces at the end, helping Kalabaw lose by just a second.

Katie is embarrassed. She apologizes profusely for her performance in the challenge. Helpfully, Dawson assures her that, yes, she did suck. While Katie is busy apologizing, Jeff is recruiting her girl Denise for the guy's team.Denise is still worried, though. She is the new kid on the block and she wonders whether the tribe will vote on the basis of logic or loyalty.

In spite of her concern, Denise is safe. The tribe's only question is whether they should send Katie or Dawson home. In the end Dawson is blindsided. She has a pretty obvious crush on Dimples though, and after he snuffs her torch she gives him a long lingering hug. As she walks away from Tribal Council her only comment is "Wow". "Wow I have just been sent home?" or "Wow I just hugged Jeff Probst?" We may never know. With Dawson goes Donna from our pool. I hope you enjoyed the hug Donna, cause you ain't getting the money this time.

Until next week.
Outplay, Outwit, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Maria oh crap I'm doomed Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines October 10, 2012

Day 9 in Survivorland. It's cold and rainy...a continuing theme for this season. At Camp Matsing there are only three lonely souls left and hunky Malcolm has lost his snuggle buddy. However will he keep warm? Russell? Denise? No, Malcolm just has to shiver like everyone else (especially since he is unable to get a fire lit). But talk is cheap and Malcolm tells us that they just need one win to turn things around. Russelll, who is just a tad bit more delusional than Malcolm says that his plan is to mount the greatest comeback in Survivor history. Malcolm feels that Russell "lacks self-awareness" but that Malcolm needs him for "muscle mass". As time goes on Russell is becoming (rightfully) concerned that no one is talking to him and that he may be in danger. He needs to find the idol but when he begins hunting around camp, Denise catches him poking around under the shelter. Denise knows something is up but thinks Russell may have already found the idol. When she shares her concerns with Malcolm they decide to go through Russell's possessions. Of course, they don't find the idol because Russell doesn't have it. But Malcolm still feels that the safest option is to blindside Russell and get rid of him.


At Tandang they are somewhat better off, but their roof is leaking and their fire is also out. Artis manages to get a fire going, leaving Peter free (and warm) to plot. He wants to create chaos in camp. His handiwork shows up almost immeditately when the clue to the idol slides out from among Roberta's (RC) possessions. Now you will recall that RC found the clue, shared it with Abi, who then went on to tell Pete about it without RC's knowledge. Pete has now planted the clue among RC's stuff, hoping it will be seen. RC has no idea how it got there, Abi is pissed at RC for "betraying" her (now remind me who told Peter about the clue??) and Pete is smug about his accomplishment. It would appear that any friendship between Abi and RC is over as Abi goes into full blown "don't talk to me" mode. Lisa sees the opportunity in this, and tells us that she hopes to blow 02 on the fire and let both Abi and RC "flame out".

At Kamp Kalabaw Jeff and Jonathon are bonding. Carter is with them so he throws his lot in with the older men (cause, like, ya know, it's, like, probably a good idea). With the three men in an alliance the women of the tribe are on the chopping block. Not being stupid women, they are sitting on shore, watching the men talk for hours on end, knowing full well that they will be one of the topics. They decide to stick together and to try to round up more women after the merge. Thus a girl alliance enters its embryonic stage. Dana warns that the men of the tribe should never underestimate a woman.

For the Immunity/Reward challenge the tribes must, one at a time, carry two pots full of rice on a bamboo pole balanced across their shoulders. They must take the pots over an obstacle course and place them atop a bamboo post, then return to the start before the next person can go. Once all six pots have been properly placed, one team member must break all six pots by swinging a wrecking ball. Matsing takes an early lead and it looks like Underdog might finally win a challenge. However, their lead slips a bit when Denise has to carry the rice (the other two tribes both sat out all their women) and Malcolm has trouble breaking the last pot. When all the rice grains have settled Tandang has won (winning immunity along with some steaks, veggies and spices) and Kalabaw comes second (winning immunity along with some veggies and spices which they decide to trade for a tarp). At the end of the challenge there is the sound of pots smashing. All three tribes turn to find the source of the ruckus. It is Russell. He is breaking pots and ranting at God wanting some clarification on why he didn't let them win. Dimples tries to tell Russell that he isn't superman, just a guy. I want to tell him that maybe God is busy working on world peace or something and wasn't really that concerned about a flippin Survivor challenge. But perhaps I have a skewed notion of religion. Anyhoo, Russell is pissed and Dimples tries to reason with him while the other tribes look on with a mixture of embarassment and amazement. Back at camp Denise and Malcolm agree that Russell will go, but want him to feel secure so that he doesn't play the idol he doesn't have (I never said this wasn't complicated). Denise tells Russell that they will vote for Malcolm, while Malcolm tells Russell they will vote for Denise. When Dimples tabulates the votes (all three of them) Russell is gone. With Russel goes Lisa from the pool. Rick voted for Russell so he is disappointed too *See editor's note below*.

Until next week,
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Maria don't even talk to me. No. Don't. Talk. Gomes)

Editor's note - Rick voted for Russell to win. As tonight's episode drew to its inevitable conclusion he asked if he could change his vote. I said that if he got me a glass of wine I would enter into an alliance with him and exercise my considerable power to alter his vote. He got me the wine. I'm not changing his vote. That's Survivor, Babe.

Survivor Phillipines - October 3/12

Night 6 finds Matsing discussing the loss of Roxy. Angie is happy she is gone. "She wanted to go out with a bang so she threw Malcolm and I under a bus". Russell is mourning her loss for strategic reasons, and says that Roxy was absolutely right when she said that Angie and Malcolm are dangerous because they are too close.

The following morning we find RC and Abi Maria lying on the Tandang beach. RC has found the clue to the idol's whereabouts and confided that fact to Abi Maria. You might think that would secure Abi's trust but nuh-uh. Abi Maria says she isn't trusting RC much any more and RC feels that Abi's paranoia is getting to her. While RC is confiding her problems to Mike, Abi Maria is confiding in Peter - in fact, is telling him that she and RC have the clue. Together they set off to find the idol before RC has a chance. Abi Maria tells Peter that she would like Lisa gone but Peter has a soft spot for Lisa and would prefer they send Mike home. Lisa, on the other hand would prefer to see RC go, but is willing to follow Peter's lead and vote for Mike.

Over at Kalabaw, someone notices that the handle of the rice container is missing. Jeff deduces that the decoration on the lid was also the idol, and that Jonathan probably has it. He undoubtedly figures this out because, while everyone is skittering around concerned about the missing decoration, Jonathan is calmly sitting by the fire looking like the cat that swallowed the canary. Jeff is disgusted that they all missed something so obvious. The job now is to blindside Jonathan so that he doesn't play the idol.

At camp Matsing their misery continues when they realize that their raft has floated away. How fortuitous is it that the cameraman was able to get an overhead shot of the raft drifting away? Denise and Malcolm have a chat. They are still tight and agree that either Angie or Russell must be the next to go. Denise isn't convinced that Malcolm will vote for his snuggle buddy.

The Immunity/Reward challenge rolls around (good thing Matsing didn't have to go to the challenge by raft!). Four members of each tribe must, one at a time, dive into the water and retrieve a puzzle wheel tethered to the ocean floor on a rope. Each wheel is deeper than the previous one. The wheels (pardon the pun) fall off for Matsing early. Angie has trouble retrieving the first wheel which is only two feet under water. She tells the tribe she can't do any more. When Russell's turn rolls around he has difficulty climbing back onto the platform, losing several seconds. On his second turn he gives up and returns without the wheel. Denise turns in an amazing athletic performance and she and Malcolm end up getting six of the eight wheels. However they are in dead last place. Kalabaw wins the challenge and gets immunity as well as a huge fishing kit, a canoe and a paddle. For their second place finish Tandang gets a smaller fishing kit and immunity. This, in spite of the fact that the team's diving mask shattered on Mike's face, leaving him with blood streaming down his face.

After the challenge all the tribes return to camp. Jonathan knows that Jeff is wary of him and decides to confide that he has the idol. Jeff agrees to "ride in Jonathan's boat" for a while, but the game is about me, not we, he tells us. At Tandang Artis is upset that they didn't win the challenge. He claims that Mike dived with the mask on after telling others not to do that. The incident has put Mike squarely in Artis's sights. Meanwhile, while everyone else goes crab hunting, Abi Maria and Peter go looking for the idol. Abi Maria makes the discovery on the top of the rice container (though Peter kind of acts like it is his idol). Peter thinks he can get Lisa and Artis on board to help him get rid of Bloody Mike. At Matsing, Malcolm is wondering how he got stuck with the "goon squad". The only bright light is Denise. Angie is busy telling everyone that she never once said she couldn't do the challenge (she did) and that she would never give up on a challenge (she did). But Russell also did poorly in the challenge so the poor decimated Matsingelians have a tough decision to make. Russell heads off to Tribal Council after telling us about his ancestors who came before and suffered so much more than him. The speech is wasted on the viewing audience. He should be talking to his tribe-mates! In the end, though, Russell gets off lucky. Angie is determined to be the weakest link and is sent on her way along with Lynn from the pool (everyone wave to Lynn!).

The Matsing tribe is down to three members while the other tribes remain intact. Stay tuned to see if Matsing continues to dwindle or whether one of the other tribes will slip into the basement. Until then,

Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Abi Maria I found the idol I found the idol I found the idol Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines - September 26/12

First off, thanks to Lynn for a great update of last week's episode. I personally think she should do it all the time...look at the drive and determination the woman has, battling through torn stockings, dangling hems and forgotten keys to get the job done. Unlike me, who was faced with the following befuddling situation today. Last season Selina won the $20.00 prize for guessing the correct winner. She suggested I keep the money and use it to pay for her and Jeff for this season. Done. Then Selina is voted out first this season, meaning I now owe her $10.00. But Jack says he will give Selina 10.00, thereby paying his dues and saving me the trouble of mailing Selina money. Jack usually mails money for all of the New Hampshire folk so now there is is only Kathy who owes money. Except Kathy only owes 5.00 because she is sharing a Survivor. Jack wants to know how much money to send me. I had a flashback to those problems in high school. You know the ones. If a train leaves New York travelling at 80 mph, how long will it take Johnny to eat the 8 apples he stole from little Susie? In the words of a wise man "it made my hair hurt". A quick update on who voted for whom to win: Grace and Pam voted for Roberta Cheryl voted for Pete Lisa voted for Dana Pat voted for Artis Barb, Jack, Jeff, and Donna voted for Malcolm Selina voted for Dawson Lorelee voted for Michael Rick voted for Russel Roberta voted for Denise I was a little bit lost this episode since I was still trying to figure out who was who. However I will do my best to sort it out as I go (more hair hurting). The Matsing tribe has returned to camp following Tribal Council where Zane has been ousted. Russel is relieved that he wasn't sent home. It is the first time he went to Tribal Council feeling he might be sent home and the sensation didn't sit well with him. He decides that playing the whole Tribal Chief things isn't a good plan and resolves to step back and let the tribe sink or swim on their own. As Russel is doing his soul searching Roxy is noticing that Angie and Malcolm have gotten very close. We are talking bedtime snuzzling close. Roxy tells us that the booby trap happens all the time. Women show cleavage and some man will fallo face first into it. In Roxy's view, pairs are dangerous. Even Malcolm recognizes this is not a great situation, telling us that he needs to be careful not to get "booty blinded". However Malcolm is more is more useful to the tribe and Angie must go (in Roxie's opinion). First she needs to get Russel on-side. In turn Russel goes to Denise. Denise finds herself in a difficult situation since she already has an alliance with Malcolm. Besides, Denise isn't exactly happy with Roxy either. She doesn't do much around camp. She whines about the weather and she talks out loud in some strange language to her God. Denise says that when its challenge time she doesn't talk to God she talks to herself and tells herself to dig deep. At Tandang RC discovers a clue to a hidden idol in the bag of rice. She shares the clue with Abi Maria thinking this will shore up their alliance. Abi though, tells RC that she might be getting too close to Mike. RC responds by telling Abi that she might be getting too close to Peter. At best the alliance between these two can be described as shakey. Lisa, we learn, is actually an introvert when not on stage. She can't make small talk and prefers to head off by herself to cry in the jungle. The others in her tribe believe she is going off to look for a hidden idol and therefore don't trust her. At Kalabaw Kent admits he is struggling. Maybe being a professional baseball player wasn't as hard as he thought. Will he be able to make it to the ninth inning? Will he be able to make it through the arduous sixth month season? Will Pat survive one more baseball analogy? While Kent tries to pump himself up Jonathan is hoping for a break in the rain. With everyone staying in camp he hasn't been able to search for the idol he knows must be hidden somewhere nearby. He finally gets a break when the rest of the tribe decides to sit out the rest of the storm in a nearby cave. While they are gone Jonathan crawls over and under every surface looking for the idol. At one point someone returns and asks him what he is doing. Looking for a contact that washed out in the rain, says Jonathan. Left alone again Jonathan has a eureka moment. The box of rice has a very strange handle, featuring a bull. He pries the handle off and discovers that the flip side is the idol. For the immunity challenge, two members of each tribe must pull a heavy sled over a course,load up bundles of puzzle pieces and return to the start line. A second pair of tribe mates must then assemble three puzzles, under the direction of a fifth tribe member. First prize is immunity, along with a tarp, blankets and pillows. Tandang wins this collection of swag. Kalabaw takes second place winning immunity and a tarp. Poor Matsing loses again, causing Russel to go on a tirade about the committment of the tribe members. Now that Matsing must go to Tribal Council for a second time, nerves are taut. Russell needs the support of Roxy but Roxy is a major target. Roxy still wants Angie gone but Malcolm is nervous too. He knows his relationship with Angie isn't a good idea but he is "only flesh and blood". Denise is caught in the middle and knows she will likely represent the swing vote. When the votes are cast Roxy is heading home. With Roxy goes Jan from our pool. That's it for this week. If you haven't already sent me your money, please do so as soon as possible either by an e-transfer or by mailing a cheque to me at Box 1196 Fort Qu'Appelle, SK. S0G 1S0. Until next week Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Pat (aka Abi Maria don't @$%& with me Gomez)

Survivor Phillipines - September 19

It must be fall because that old familiar Survivor music is playing. Hope everyone had a wonderful summer. We begin the update with a story of survival (in Calgary). Your pinch hitting scribe had a bad day, a very bad day. I'll spare you the gory details but suffice it to say it included a ripped hem, blisters from inppropriate shoes, a ladder down my cute brown tights, a complete Outlook breakdown at work, and train delays on the commute home. Finally, I reached the train station. I sprinted to my car intent on my Survivor duties. And the piece de resistance of my day...my car keys were back at my office. So hem dragging, with shredded pantyhose, your intrepid Survivor reporter limped through the heat all the way home. Thank god someone invented PVRs. And so another season of Survivor begins: This season, the location is the Philippines. As the show begins, our Survivors are wending their way by boat to camp when lo and behold here comes our beloved Jeff Probst. The first twist of the season - there are three tribes - Matsing, Kalabaw, and Tandang. Why three, you ask? Well, funnily enough, that's because we have three returning Survivors that had to leave their games early because of illness - Jonathan Penner due to an infection, Russell Swan due to dehydration, and Michael Skupin due to a fall into the fire. Each returnee is assigned to a tribe. Jeff announces that the tribes will be leaving by raft. They have only a couple of minutes to gather up any supplies they want and get them on their raft. A mad scramble ensues and Matsing overturns their raft, dumping much of their booty into the water. Jeff, the retired baseball player, from Tandang lands awkwardly on the raft wrenching his knee. Before long the group is on land. At Matsing, Russell asserts that he's not the leader, while he is giving orders.... Strike one. At Kalabaw, Jonathan is very emotional about his comeback chance in the game he loves. It brings a little tear to my eye, but not his team mates'. Jonathan barely finishes his speech before the plotting begins. Michael seems to be faring a little better with Tandang. Right now, the young folk seem to think he'll be useful. They form a quick alliance and invite Michael in as the token old dude. Michael is happy somone wants to play the game with him, but he is more interested in another player. Unlike the twenty something crowd, Michael recognizes D list celebrity Lisa Whelchel aka Blair from the Facts of Life. He encourages Lisa to play the celebrity card thinking the other players will be starstruck. Lisa is wise enough to know that a) they won't have a friggin' clue who she is and b) it will paint a big target on her back. Over at Kalabaw, the other minor celebrity, retired baseball player Jeff Kent, is on Dawson's radar. Her ex-boyfriend was a baseball fanatic and she recognizes Jeff. See, ex-boyfriends are good for something! For now, Dawson is going to play it cool but the information is stored as a future bargaining chip. Meanwhile at Matsing, Zane is busy making alliances with everyone. And he seals his final alliance with Russell and Malcolm, by sharing that information with them. Because really, that's his true alliance. No, really. Would he lie? At the challenge, the Survivors arrive looking like citified warriors with their face paint. Each tribe will complete parts of the challenge in teams of two. The first pairs are tied together and must run into the jungle to retrieve a set of paddles. Pair #2 then paddles out to recover a submerged chest from the water, and the final pair will complete a puzzle. Russell, not the leader of Matsing, assigns everyone roles. Russell and Zane will complete the run, Malcolm and RC will paddle out and Angie & Roxy will complete the puzzle. Wait a darn tootin' minute says Angie. I ran track in high school and I'm terrible at puzzles. No, says Russell not the leader, you must obey. Well guess what. Russell has to drag Zane behind him on the run because Zane can't run. And yes you've probably figured this out, but Angie really is terrible at puzzles. Kalabaw wins first prize, a full fire starting kit, Tandang wins second place and a flint, while Russell's team is dead last and wins a trip to Tribal Council. Strike 2. A scowling Angie and Roxy head back to camp with thunder clouds brewing over their heads. You got to figure Strike 3 is coming for Russell. But wait, Zane is going to make a big move. He tells everyone he sucked at the challenge and is obviously not physically fit enough to compete. He's very sorry and understands that he should go home. In private, Zane tells the camera that he is using reverse psychology. He figures everyone will like him so much for offering to be the fall guy that they won't be able to bear to vote him out. Oh, he's a trickster. So tricky that before he could say Jeff Probst has great dimples his sojourn at Survivor was over. To borrow one of my favourite British words, the boy was gobsmacked. Sadly, Zane tricked himself and our own Selina out of the pool. Bonne nuit Survivor fans, Lynn aka Angie (dammit I can't do puzzles) Layton

Survivor Phillipines - Your Alter Ego revealed

Whoo Hoo. Another season of Survivor is about to begin. Three survivors who were medically evacuated in previous seasons are coming back to try again. The best thing about this is that none of them is Colby, the icky little fellow from last season that we all loved to hate. We needed to create two pairs in order to make the numbers work as there are only 18 Survivors this time around. Lynn and I drew numbers randomly to figure out the pairs. I will be paired with Barb, and Kathy will be paired with Debbie. Below is who was drawn to be your alter ego for the next few weeks. The first person eliminated doesn't have to pay the $10.00 so watch the first show then get your 10.00 to me as soon as you can. You can mail it to Box 1196 Fort Qu'Appelle, SK S0G 1S0 or you can do an automatic transfer if you prefer. Finally, don't forget to have a look at the CBS website http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/ to decide who you think will be the ultimate winner. As usual you have until the beginning of episode #2 to let me know who you think will win the $1,000,000 grand prize. The person guessing the ultimate winner will win $20.00. And now the moment you have all been waiting for: Grace will be burning up the screen with Michael Skupin, a 50 year old from White Lake, Mich. Michael was evacuated from Survivor Australian Outback in 2001 with severe burns after passing out into a fire from smoke inhalation. Jack will be limping toward the finale with Jonathan Penner, a 50 year old from Los Angeles. Jonathan was evacuated from Survivor Micronesia - Fans vs Favourites in 2008 after a knee infection. Lisa will be dying for a drink after she spends time with Russell Swan, a 45 year old from Glenside, Penn. Russell was evacuated from Survivor Samoa in 2009 due to dehydration. Pat and Barb will be looking great in their string bikinis, along with Abi-Maria Gomes, a 32 year old student from Los Angeles. Lynn will be studying human behaviour alongside Angie Layton, a 20 year old student from Provo, Utah. Rick will be computing new ways to win with his partner Artis Silvester, a 53 year old computer engineer from Terry Town, Louisiana. Georgia will be sprinting to the finale along with Carter Williams, a 24 year old track coach from Shawnee, Kansas. Pam will be investing some time with Roberta (RC) Saint-Amour, a 27 year old investment broker from New York, NY. Jan will be taking a theological approach to the game as she travels with Roxanne "Roxy" Morris, a 28 year old seminary student from Brooklyn, New York. Donna will be looking for a big payout with Sarah Dawson, a 28 year old Insurance sales person from Silver Spring, Maryland. Selina will be aligning with Zane Knight, a 28 year old tire repairman from Danville, Virginia. Roberta will be looking good with Dana Lambert, a 32 year old cosmetologist from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Kathy and Debbie will be sharing "insights" with Denise Stapley, a 41 year old sex therapist from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Marie will be looking to strike a home run with Jeff Kent, a 44 year old retired ML baseball player from Austin, Texas. Lorelee will be adjusting her tiara as she plays the game with Katie Hanson, a 22 year old former Miss Delaware from Newark, Delaware. Jeff will looking for the Facts of Life with Lisa Whelchel, a 49 year old former TV teen star from Dallas, Texas. Mitzie will be mixing it up with Malcolm Freberg, a 25 year old bartender from Hermose Beach, California. Cheryl will be calculating a fool proof plan with Pete Yurkowski, a 24 year old engineering graduate from Holm Del, New Jersey. There you have it. I am away the for the first episode so Lynn has agreed to do the update. I look forward to catching up on everything when I get back.

Survivor One World Season Finale May 13/12

We begin the final show of the season with a shot of the first ever, all female final five. Tarzan is gone and the mood is buoyant. They reminisce about how far they've come from the first few cold, wet fireless days of the competition. Kim and Sabrina go for a walk to collect tree mail. Sabrina wants to get rid of Alicia next but Kim wants to go with Chelsea. What they both agree on is that Christina is the logical third to take before the jury. The tree mail promises a challenge involving strength, balance and memory. When they assemble in front of Dimples he explains that they will be unknotting a rope in order to remove a board that will release a gate. They go through the gate and travel over a balance beam maze. When they have successfully negotiated the maze they run over a suspended net, locate each of five bags, untie them and carry them to a table. In each of the bags are (wait for it) puzzle pieces. They must assemble the puzzle, then figure out the numerical answers to three clues hidden in the puzzle. Finally they must use these three numbers to unlock a combination lock. Kim falls behind Chelsea early on but smokes the puzzle to win her third consecutive immunity challenge. When the five women return to camp they are still one big happy team. Kim tells the others that she likes them all. Privately she tells us that she has many options (remember she still has an immunity idol) and that she needs to determine which is her best course of action. Chelsea tells Kim that she can win no matter who she takes with her to the final three. She also thanks Kim for always having her back and being someone she can trust. Chelsea also makes it clear that she expects Kim will give her the immunity idol. Oh ouch. Wasn't Kim just talking about voting Chelsea off? To keep her optons open, Kim set it up so that two women will be voting for Alicia and two will be voting for Chelsea. That way Kim can cast the deciding vote, as soon as she figures out who it is to be. At Tribal Council we learn that Kim has spared Chelsea (but made no move to turn over the idol) and Alicia is joining the jury. With Alicia goes Lorelee from our pool. After Tribal Council Christina realizes she has been lied to. She is still the strong choice for third but she is no longer sure that she can depend on what she is being told. She tells us she has been "holding back" at immunity challenges but now she needs to go "full throttle". Before that, though, the remaining four must do the obligatory memory walk culminating in burning the names of their former team mates. They didn't do this last season and I, for one, didn't miss it a bit. But it looks like it's back. Day 38 brings the final immunity challenge. The women must use a long fork to lift a clay bowl. They must then use the fork to move the bowl along a narrow metal channel. Once they accomplish that they stack the bowl on top of the metal frame. The frame is on a spring so the whole gizmo is bouncy and not at all stable. In total they must move 10 bowls through the apparatus and stack them one on top of the other. Kim and Christina duke it out on this one and Christina does seem to have found some new inner strength. However, Powerhouse Kim wins again, making this her fourth consecutive challenge win. At camp Christina tells Kim that she doesn't want to be blindsided. If she is the next to go she wants to be told outright. Kim obliges by telling her that she is the next to go. Kim has apparently decided that she can win against Sabrina and Chelsea. Even when she is ready to go to Tribal Council though, Kim is having second thoughts and wondering if he choice to keep Sabrina is sound. She does keep Sabrina though, and the votes goes against Christina who takes her eviction with an air of resignation that even Dimples can't shake her out of. Christina takes pool members Roberta and Cheryl with her to the jury. Day dawns on day 39...the last day in the Survivor calendar. We see Sabrina having a pre-dawn cry on the beach. She tells us she was laid off from her teaching job at a tough New York school. She wants to be able to share her Survivor experience with her school kids but won't have the opportunity. We also learn that Kim has recently divorced and that the success she has had in Survivor has helped her learn to trust her decisions and her instincts again. Both women get their game face back on in time to join the others for the traditional last day Survivor champagne breakfast. Then it's off to face the jury. As usual, each gets an opportunity to address the jury and tell them why they should win the million dollar prize. The opening speeches are all a little lacklustre (in my opinion). Each of the jury members then has an opportunity to ask questions of the three finalists. There is little venom in this group. Everyone is quite respectful. The biggest surprise is Kat who, rather than being angry with Kim, tells the rest of the jury that life is too short to be angry. The votes are cast and whisked away to Los Angeles for the live unveiling of the winner. Kim's gamble to take two strong women with her to the jury and trust that the jury will vote for her based on her game play pays off. She is the winner of the million dollar grand prize as well as the 100,000 prize for the most popular player based on viewer's votes. Donna has been a faithful member of our Survivor pool from the outset but has never won until tonight. Congratulations Donna! The next Survivor will take place in the Phillipines. It will include several Survivors from past seasons who had to be medically evacuated. To this group will be added some new faces. This means Colton will be back. Sigh. I will send you a note when the next season is due to start. Until then, enjoy your summer and... Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Pat (aka Kat I'm a big girl now Edorsson)

Survivor One World - May 9/12

Six survivors are left. Kat has joined the jury. Tarzan is the last man standing. He has a "subplot" that he believes will take him to the final four with Kim, Alicia and Christina. He tells Kim that if he gets to the final four he thinks he can then convince the jury to vote for Kim. He tells Alicia that he thinks he can convince the jury to vote for Alicia. Convince the jury?! Hell. No one can even understand what the man says! The next day, despite a dwindling supply of rice, the scheming continues. Chelsea, seeing a clear 3 on 3 split, tries to swing Christina over to side with her and Kim. She tells Christina that Tarzan can't go to the final three because all the men will vote for him. Christina promptly goes to Kim and Alicia and tells them about her conversation with Chelsea. If Alicia needed any more convincing to get rid of Chelsea, she now has it. Kim also knows that Chelsea isn't a good choice to take to the final three but tells us that the day she has to vote out Chelsea will be a sad day for her. The reward challenge involves releasing three discs from the top of posts by spinning around. Dizzy competitors must then stagger over to a puzzle table with each of their discs, put them together and turn them in such a way that three numbers are revealed. These three numbers, put in the right order will open a box and release a flag to signify the winner. The reward is an overnight trip on a yacht, complete with showers, clean clothes, cocktails and a three course meal. Chelsea wins the challenge and gets to select two others to go with her. Trying to learn from Kat's mistake, she choses Sabrina on the basis that Sabrina has not had much food and has not been involved in any rewards. For her second choice though, she goes with her buddy Kim. While on board the yacht, the three women bond even further. Kim and Chelsea proclaim their girlie love for each other. Back at camp Tarzan is stirring the pot. He tries to turn Alicia and Christina against Kim. Alicia is angry that Chelsea chose Kim when she was all about "fairness". After all, Kim has participated in more than her share of rewards. She feels the next vote must be for Chelsea but in order to accomplish that, they will have to force Kim to stick by her word and vote with Tarzan, Alicia and Christina. As this is going on, Tarzan is trying to position himself as number three amongst the women. Alicia believes this is a good idea but it all hinges on whether Kim still wants to get rid of Chelsea when she gets back from the reward challenge. On Day 36 a crusty Tarzan insists on cooking rice "his way" which seems to involve using someone's dirty buff. While Tarzan is busy grossing out the women, Alicia tells Kim that Tarzan was talking smack about her. The two compare notes and, as the story unfolds, they learn that Tarzan promised both that he would try to convince the jury to vote in their favour. They also learn he made some similar promises to Christina. So Tarzan moves back up the the top of the hit list, with Chelsea holding down the number two spot. Meanwhile Alicia tells us that she is the most powerful player in the game and that she will remain the most powerful. Sure. For the reward challenge, Survivors must take giant fish hook, hook three of them together and use that chain of hooks to hook a bag of puzzle pieces. They must collect three bags, then assemble a puzzle...a three dimensional fish skeleton. They must do all of this with one hand tied behind their back. Alicia narrowly wins this challenge over Kim. After the challenge Kim struggles to keep Chelsea in the game. Her efforts are made easier by the fact that Tarzan continues in his odd ways. He calls Alicia a bitch for winning the challenge (albeit with a smile on his face). Not only does Tarzan use a pair of Kat's forgotten and dirty underwear as a headband (Kat learns this at Tribal Council and her expression was well worth the price of admission) but he also wears her tank top to Tribal Council. So Tarzan seals his own fate and when Dimples tabulates the votes it is he, along with pool member Marie, who is heading over to the jury. All the men are now gone. Kim seems to be wielding the power, while Alicia believes she is wielding the power. Christine is no longer a target because she is safe to take to the final three. Chelsea and Sabrina are both too smart (and therefore too dangerous) to take to the final three. Will Chelsea and Sabrina be picked off next or will they make a move to overthrow Kim? Sunday May 11 (this coming Sunday) is the two hour season finale. Cheryl/Roberta (Christina) , Mitzie (Sabrina) , Debbie (Chelsea), Donna (Kim) and Lorelee (Alicia) are still in contention from our pool. Watch the finale to see which of these lovely ladies wins the grand prize. Until Sunday, Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Pat (aka Kat he wore my what?! Edorsson)

Survivor One World May 2, 2012

As we rejoin our intrepid group of Survivors we are reminded that Troy is gone. Kim tells us she is physically relieved that Troy is no longer part of the equation. The talk around camp is that Christina's answers to some of the questions at Tribal Council were dumb and showed she has no concept of strategy. Ironically, that is the reason that Alicia is thinking that maybe Christina should stay. After all, reasons Alicia, Sabrina is is intelligent and articulate and would be able to talk to the jury. Alicia goes on to tell us that no one knows that she (Alicia) is in total control of everything and everyone. Good to know. I wasn't aware of that either. Tree mail arrives containing a box marked "Sprint". The word alone brings the tribe to near hysteria. These guys have watched a few episodes of Survivor. They know that a Sprint phone represents messages from loved ones. Sure enough, there is a video message for each of the Survivors from a loved one. Even better, it is clear from the messages that the loved ones are on the island. At the reward challenge each of the loved ones is brought out of the jungle for a tearful reunion. I cry. I wipe my eyes on my shirt. To win the challenge and the coveted visit with their loved one, the Survivors are tied together with their loved one and attached to a rope. The rope is woven through and obstacle course. Together the two must negotiate the course. Kat and her cousin Robbie win the challenge. Needless to say Kat gets to pick two other Survivors to accompany her. Without hesitation she picks Kim and Alicia and their respective sisters. Kat explains that she has been wanting to just hang out with these two women and get drunk. Her choice is not well recieved. Christine's dad has recently had a kidney transplant and doesn't have long to live. Tarzan and his wife have missed each other terribly. The consensus is that these two pairs should have been chosen. Even Kim feels Kat made the wrong choice and comments that she will have to do damage control when she gets back to camp. So off go the victors to their feast. Kim confesses to her sister that her best bet likely lies with Alicia and Kat...not because they are her best friends, but because she can win against them. At camp everyone is PO'd at Kat for not picking Christine and Tarzan. Her selfishness, together with Troy's whispered advice to "do it" at Tribal council has Chelsea thinking that Kat should go. She suggests that she, Tarzan, Christine and Sabrina band together to vote her off. Tarzan is reluctant though, reasoning that Kat is not a thinker and so is good to keep around. When Kim and the others return from the reward meal, Kim tries to put the focus back on Sabrina. All of the stragegizing is interupted by the immunity challenge. Survivors must stand on a ledge, holding a handle behind their back and leaning out over the water. Every few minutes Dimples turns a winch and lengthens the rope attached to the handle, thereby causing each of them to lean out further over the water and increasing the strain on their arms. Sabrina is the first to go after 10 minutes, followed by Tarzan, Alicia, Chelsea and Christine. At one hour only Kim and Kat are left. Kat whines that she should win because Kim wins everything and she (Kat) never gets to win (guess she forgot that she just won the last challenge). Eventually Kat can't hold on and Kim wins immunity. When Kim tries to high five Kat, Kat refuses and sits on the dock pouting. Back at camp Kat is still upset. She is embarassed, she tells us, at being beaten by a woman six years older than her (gasp). In another ironic turn, Kat's toughness during the challenge has made her a target again (at least in Alicia's eyes). Alicia tries to convince Kim that they should vote for Kat but Kim still feels Sabrina is more of a threat. Chelsea, though, feels loyalty to Sabrina and is leaning more towards voting for Kat. As they leave for Tribal Council Kim tells us that whatever decision she makes it will be a game changer. It is also going to be a blindside no matter which way it goes. At Tribal Council Kat foreshadows what is to come. She tells Dimples that a blindside is always exciting and fun. A few minutes later Dimples is snuffing her torch. Apparently a blindside isn't as much fun as she thought because Kat leaves the Tribal Council area sobbing loudly. Since Kat was my alter ego I was feeling her pain (but only a little bit). Sniff. So who is left, you wonder? We have the lone surviving male Tarzan (Marie). Along with Tarzan we have Kim (Donna), Chelsea (Debbie), Alicia (Lorelee), Christina (shared by Roberta and Cheryl) and Sabrina (Mitzie). Find out which of these will be the next to go.. Until next week, Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Pat (aks Kat still wondering what hit me sob Edorsson)

Survivor One World - April 25, 2012

The Survivors return to camp on night 27. Leif has joined the jury, eight are left and Troy is feeling very alone. Even though the women are picking off the men one by one, Tarzan still feels his best hope is to win immunity or to side with the girls. Since the immunity thing isn't likely to happen...well lets just say that is one really hairy girl. Morning comes with tree mail. This one announces a challenge that is not physical but where skills of perception will help Survivors "get away". When they enter the challenge area they find an effigy of each Survivor, suspended by three ropes, over a fire. Survivors must answer a series of questions about their tribe-mates. The answers are all compiled by Dimples. Individual answers must agree with the majority of the tribe to score a point. Each correct answer wins the right to chop one rope. Once all three ropes supporting a players effigy have been cut they are out. The answers to the various questions are not surprising to us, but definitely catch some of the players off guard. Christina is voted as the one who least deserves to be in the game. Kim is voted as the one everyone would trust with their life as well as the one most would want to be stranded with on a deserted island. Kat is voted to be the one most in need of a wake-up call in life. Troy is voted the biggest poser. Sabrina is voted as the one who does the least for the tribe. Most tellingly, Troy is voted as the one most would never want to see again. One by one the effigies fall in the fire. Who chops whose rope is a clear indicator of where allegiances lie. In the end Kim wins reward. To further inflame hurt feelings, she has to choose two people to go with her. She chooses Chelsea and Alicia, leaving Kat devastated. Troy is quick to jump in and pronounce the trio as the final three. Kim tries to put the game behind as she, Chelsea and Alicia fly in a helicopter to a remote beach where they lay out a picnic lunch. But Kim is scared. Winning the challenge was a disaster for her. She has been outed as the one everyone likes and trusts. Not picking Kat was her first non-strategic move and she feels it may come back to bite her. Back at camp Troy is busy sowing seeds of unease with Kat, Sabrina and Christina. He works particularly hard on Kat who becomes quite upset when Troy tells her she isn't in the final three and that she is a follower. Sabrina follows Kat and tries to soothe her. Rejoining the group, Sabrina is interested to see where the weak links are. She asks Troy what his master plan is, and suggests that all they have to do is get two of the women to turn. Christina takes the bait and is ready to throw her lot in with Troy. Privately Sabrina tells us she has no intention of reneging on her promise to the other women, but Christina has just become even more of a liability. When Kim returns to camp an angry Kat can't even bring herself to talk to her. Kim take Kat aside and begs her to look at the bigger picture. Kat is afraid she will go down being seen as a weak player and the thought obviously scares her to death. Day 29 brings rain and a pig. The sow wanders into camp. Pandemonium ensues. Ropes are flung in a vain attempt to lasso the pig, who, though adept at escaping the rope, seems fairly unconcerned by all the mayhem. In the end Kim pronounces that she couldn't kill and eat the pig anyway and that they should keep it as a pet. Since they never actually are able to catch or restrain the pig, it appears the pig will decide whether to stay or go. We see it laying in the shade in a later shot, so it seems likely that pig has decided life in Survivorland is way more exciting than whatever farm boredom she has escaped. The immunity challenge involves slathering oil on Survivor bodies and sliding along a slippery surface to retrieve a ring. The ring then has to be thrown onto a peg. The first four to do this move on to round two, the same contest but with two rings. Chelsea, Kat, Tarzan and Kim move on to the second round and Chelsea and Kim battle it out in the third round. Kim is the ultimate winner but the big news is that Troy was ousted in the first round. He is mad. He pouts. He turns his back. Back at camp he admits he is disappointed but will never say die. Kim has a plan to split the votes with two people voting for Christina. The thought is that, if Troy really did find another immunity idol in the jungle, they will still be able to get rid of Christina. Sabrina explains the situation to Christina as a courtesy, but Christina does not seem to get the concept that, if Troy has an idol, she will be gone. Troy, not surprisingly, approaches Christina and suggests that the two of them should vote for Chelsea, just to mix things up. Christina uses the opportunity to tell Troy that she will be receiving some of the votes. Hmmmm says Troy. Now here is information I can use. For her part, Kim is scared. She knows Troy is playing hard, that Kat is angry and Christina wishy-washy. She is savvy enough to know that things could turn quickly. But when the votes are tabulated at Tribal Council Troy is the one heading over to the jury. With Troy goes Jeff from the pool. No one voted for Troy to win overall so Jeff is the only one crying in his beer this evening. There are seven Survivors left - Tarzan, Sabrina, Kat, Alicia, Chelsea, Kim and Christina. Will the women stick together and get rid of Tarzan? Or will they finally put Christina out of her misery? Or will an angry Kat make a move to upset the proverbial applecart. Stay tuned. Until next week... Outwit, Outplay Outlast Pat (aka Kat what do you mean I'm a follower not a leader Edorsson)

Survivor One World - April 18/12

Night 25 in Camp Tikiano. Jay has been sent over to the jury, a victim of the belief that cute girls that he likes wouldn't lie. Troy knows he is next unless he can work some magic. In front of the other women he asks Christine why she voted with the women when she could be one of the next targets. This puts the women on the defensive and there are heated "words". The exchange ends with Troy saying he is PO'd and that he is determined to win every challenge from this point on. The next morning Troy tells the women that people have been sent home who deserve to still be in the game. Maybe so, says Chelsea. But that is the game. She tells him to take a lesson from Jonas and take it like a man. Privately Troy tells us that the women are behaving just like they do in real life. They get their house and everything they need, then decide they don't need the man any more. Sure. That happens a lot. Tree mail arrives suggesting that they will spend cash in clever ways and their hunger will be done. They each get a "wallet" containing 500.00. At the reward "auction" Dimples is resplendent in (WTF!?) black. The first item up for auction is three donuts and an iced coffee. Chelsea picks this up for 160.00. Various items go on the block, including a shower purchased by Kim for $40.00. Dimples then produces a sheaf of letters from home. Without hesitation Alicia spends her entire 500.00 to purchase her letter from her dad. She reads it out loud and has the entire group in tears. Dimples opens the offer up to other survivors but few have all of their 500.00 left. Tarzan takes the deal but Troy is holding out for something that is going to help him survive (and it ain't food). His chance comes when a letter promising an "advantage" come up for sale. He bids against Christine who, in spite of urging from the other women refuses to go over 460.00 (apparently thinking that extra 40.00 is going to buy her some sort of goody). Not surprisingly Troy has no such concern and walks away with a leg up in the upcoming immunity challenge. Back at camp Troy reads the note which tells him he will automatically move to the second stage in the immunity challenge. He decides that his security would be further enhanced if he could find a hidden idol somewhere around camp. The girls see him looking and decide that they should look too. Amidst all this heavy traffic in the jungle, Troy fakes finding the idol by rolling up a piece of cloth and putting it in his pocket when he knows Kim is watching. Stage one of the immunity challenge involves untangling a length of knotted rope to retrieve a ring. This is the part that Troy gets to sit out. The first three of the other Survivors to retrieve the ring will move on to the second stage. Tarzan, Kim and Christina move on. In the next stage they must stand on platforms, bounce coconuts off a trampoline and try to knock out a total of three targets. Tarzan and Troy finish first and move on the the final stage. Here they must use a slingshot to lob coconuts at at board made up of 9 squares. The first to knock out three squares in a row wins immunity. Tarzan keeps it close but Troy is desperate and angry. He eventually wins immunity. On winning he throws out a lot of trash talk, causing Tarzan to take him aside back at camp and suggest he should be a more noble winner. So Troy is safe but has not made any new friends. He lobbies to get rid of Kim by trying to convince Leif, Tarzan, Christine and Alicia that they should vote with him and use the opportunity to get rid of some of the strong women. Alicia considers the offer, knowing that it makes sense. At Tribal Council there is another shoulting match, this time between Troy and Sabrina. Troy again urges the outsiders to vote for Kim. But when Dimples tabulates the votes, Leif is the one leaving along with the much taller Rick from our pool. So the women have stayed true to the girl alliance, the remaining men are in great peril and Kim, at least for the moment, seems to be in the driver's seat. Stay tuned next week to see if the women can hold it together to take out the rest of the men. Until next week, Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Pat (aka (Kat if we are bidding in multiples of 20, what comes after 20? Edorsson )