Survivor Blood vs. Water: Pre-Season Predictions Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my Survivor: Blood vs Water prediction post.  For those of you who missed the first part, don’t fret, it’s right here!  As a point of clarification that came up after my first post, when I say that a player will or will not make the jury, this is under the assumption that the jury phase of this season is going to start at the final 11 as it did the last two seasons.  If I say a person is not going to make the jury, that means I think they’re going to be one of the first nine people to be voted out of the game.  Everyone else is either in the top 11, or in the final 3.  To clarify things more, I’m going to put a complete list of my choices at the end of this post.

I won’t stall any longer.  Here are the final 10 castaways for the season.  Read on to find out who my picks for the final three are, as well as who I think is going to win this season!

COLTON CUMBIE & CALEB BANKSTON (ENGAGED)

Well, we’re opening part 2 with a bit of a doozy, aren’t we?  As you can see, Colton Cumbie, the notoriously bigoted gay Republican baddie who was medivaced from Survivor: One World, is back this season.  I could have sworn Probst said we would never see this guy again. Darn Probst and his technicalities.  Anyway, we’re stuck with him for a least two episodes because of the Redemption Island twist, but I am actually really intrigued to see how he will play this season.  Knowing that he was hated after playing his first season had to be a kick in the gut for him, and I would like to think he may have learned a thing or two about how to behave as a human being.  More so than any other returning contestant, I’m torn on how I think Colton will do.  On one hand, I think he’s in a good position going into the game because he is on a tribe with two other people from his original season, and Monica even expressly said in her pre-game interview on TVGN that she planned on aligning with Colton right off the bat because it’s better to play with the devil you know than the devil you don’t.  Also, his fiancé Caleb (who I will discuss more below) seems like such a good guy, and I think having an even-keeled influence like Caleb will prevent a number of potential outbursts that may come up.  On the other hand, Caleb is going to be on the other tribe, and his reputation is by far the worst out of any person who has played the game more than once, with Russell Hantz being the only possible exception, and I wouldn’t even be surprised if his tribe decided to vote him out in the first-impression vote.  So Colton put me in a bit of a bind here.  I’m going to say that Colton will not make the jury, and I only say this because I think other people are poised to do a better job than he is this season.

So why do I think Colton came back this season despite a not-so-ringing endorsement from Probst?  If I had to guess, I would say Caleb is the reason Colton is returning for this season.  Had Caleb applied for Survivor: One World instead of Colton, I can almost guarantee you he would have been cast instead.  In fact, Caleb probably could have made it very, very far in that season, or at the very least would have made things difficult for Kim Spradlin’s easy victory.  I would go as far to say that Caleb may be the single most likable new player this season based on his interviews.  Caleb is an outdoorsman and he hunts and fishes, so while he’s far from the gay-guy stereotype that has plagued many a reality show in recent years (*coughAndyBB15cough*).  This will serve him well with the male members of his tribe, all of whom seem to be pretty macho in nature.  Also, if past seasons are any indication, gay men easily align with the women of their tribes.  I don’t know if this is just in the world of Survivor or if it says something about society in general, but it is definitely a trend on this show.  Because of this, he is a great position to go any way he wants and vote for whomever he’d like.  I think he’s going to try and align with the guys of his tribe, and once a merge hits, he’ll turn against them and align with the returning players.  As I mentioned with Aras and Vytas in Part 1, Caleb has a great mix of social, physical, and strategic skills that will help him go far in this game.  His only downfall may be his relationship with Colton, but if his tribe can look past that, he’s golden.

KAT EDORSSON & HAYDEN MOSS (DATING)

This is a fun couple to talk about.  Let’s start with Kat.  She’s yet another Survivor: One World contestant who probably wouldn’t have been asked to play the game a second time if it weren’t for her interesting loved-one.  Kat is probably best known for three things from her season:  1)  Acting like a party girl during spring break and repeatedly jumping in the water during her second immunity challenge.  2)  Not knowing what appendicitis is.  3) Telling her tribe how much she enjoyed watching blindsides, only to be blindsided herself.  In other words, Kat is not known as the best Survivor player ever.  However, she is a barrel of laughs, and I think that will get her far in the game, because at least she’s entertaining to be around.  On top of that, she’s on a tribe with two people she has played the game with, and they will help protect her for at least a few votes.  In many of her interviews, she talked about how she was planning on floating through the game.  While the floater strategy may work on Big Brother, it rarely is rewarded on Survivor.  She’ll make it to jury, but she’ll be cut when people realize the easy ride she’s taking.

Speaking of Big Brother, for the first time in Survivor history, a former Big Brother player will be playing this game.  Not only is Kat’s boyfriend, Hayden, a BB alumn, but he’s also a well-known BB winner, having won the 12th season of the show as a part of the infamous Brigade alliance.  It seems to me that Hayden is hoping to bring a similar strategy to this game that helped him win Big Brother, and he could easily form a Brigade 2.0 alliance with the male members of his tribe.  Having watched Hayden play his game on the Big Brother live feeds, I would say his greatest strength is his personality.  He’s incredibly charming without being overly smarmy or fake, and I know there were several people from his season who still talk to him on a regular basis because he is just a nice guy.  This will help him a lot in this game, especially on his tribe where there’s many personalities that are either very abrasive or very passive.  The obvious question with him will be if his BB win will hinder his chances of getting far because he will be seen as a threat.  I think there are too many unknown entities on his tribe in Brad and John that people would vote out for being a threat before they voted for him, and as you know, I think both Brad and John will make it to the jury.  So, I think Hayden has a very good chance of getting far in the game.  He’s still probably going to be on the jury, but he’ll get close to the finals.

LAURA MORETT & CIERA EASTIN (MOTHER AND DAUGHTER)

I need to preface this part of the post by saying that I’ve thought for many years that Laura Morett should come play the game for a second time.  Had Russell Hantz not been a wiz at finding immunity idols during her first season, I think Laura had a very good chance of winning that year, and I’m fascinated to see how she’ll play a second time knowing how important idols are to the game now.  There was a big controversy that came up during her original season of Survivor: Samoa where she accused production of helping Russell find idols, which obviously helped him get farther in the game, and I’m shocked to see her on this cast because of that controversy.  All that being said, there are some things that irritate me about Laura this time around.  The first is that she seems to have a strange sense of entitlement about her this time around that I don’t remember her having the first time, and it almost seems as though she feels she deserves a place on this season.  The second is that she is clearly still bitter about her first season, and she can’t help but bring it up in every interview she has done so far.  The third is the end of the clip featuring her and her daughter that Dalton Ross posted on EW.com where SHE TELLS TYSON TO HIS FACE THAT HE’S NOT FUNNY!!!  Who does that in a game that is about social politics?!  More importantly, who says that to Tyson, who is in the top 15 funniest Survivors of all time?!  Knowing that this conversation will eventually happen in the game does not bode well for her standings.  She might find herself in a good alliance towards the beginning, but I don’t see a situation where her tribe would want to keep her around for long if she has that kind of an attitude.  Pre-jury boot.

Laura’s daughter, Ciera, is a strange one.  I have seen two separate interviews where Probst has stated that Laura is on this season because Ciera is so great, and Probst even predicted that Ciera would make it very far in the game.  Not only that, but my boy Malcolm Freberg from Survivor: Philippines and Survivor: Caramoan (Seriously Malcolm.  You’re amazing.  Hit me up sometime.) picked her as his number 1 seed in his power rankings for the season.  Maybe I’m crazy, but I do not see a chance on God’s green Earth that Ciera is going to get anywhere close to winning this game.  During two different interviews, Ciera started crying because she missed her children, and at that point, the game hadn’t even started.  Once she’s torn away from her mom, there’s no way she’s going to be emotionally stable enough to last more than a week without breaking.  I understand that her strength is that she had to grow up very fast having had her first daughter when she was 17, and I can’t imagine how much life experience she has because of that, but that doesn’t mean she has a grasp of who she is as a person like Malcolm and Probst suggested.  If anything, this girl is probably having an identity crisis because she’s away from her children who have completely shaped her adult life.  Ciera seems like a really nice girl, and probably someone I would like to meet and have a nice conversation with.  But as I mentioned, I just can’t see her winning, especially with the make-up of her tribe.  I see another pre-jury boot in her.

GERVASE PETERSON & MARISSA PETERSON (UNCLE AND NIECE)

Ever since Survivor: All-Stars, I have said the one person I wanted to see play the game for a second time was Gervase Peterson from Survivor: Borneo, the show’s first and most famous season.  In a season where there very few people who truly understood what the game was about, Gervase was the one person other than Richard Hatch who knew that it wasn’t going to be strength or survival skills that would get him to the end:  it would be his people skills.  Had he caught on a little sooner to the alliance part of the game and/or started off on the other tribe, I think Gervase could have won that first season, and I’ve always wanted to see how he would play with the knowledge he gained from watching other seasons.  And now, 13 years after he last played the game, we will have the chance to see him play again.  The producers were genius in bringing him back this time around, and it wouldn’t surprise me if many of the players this season look at him as a celebrity, maybe even more than Brad.  More than any other player, I’m excited to see how he plays because of the reasons I mentioned before.  My only concern about Gervase is that while he says he’s studied the game since his season and that he knows all the strategies that have given others the win, he also mentioned there were returning players this season who he did not know.  This is not a good thing.  He either doesn’t know the show as well as what he’s been saying he does, or he is saying that he didn’t take the opportunity to make any pre-game alliances, which, as I mentioned with Candice in Part 1, will hurt him.  However, Tina and Aras have both expressed interest in aligning with him, and I think he has enough friends on his tribe to get him to a position where he could charm his way to the end.  While I do think we’ll see him make it to the finale, I don’t think he’s going to be in the final tribal council.  Now that he’s playing the game again, how about we try to get Greg Buis out there for a second time, huh producers?

Gervase is playing the game with his niece, Marissa.  Out of all the people he could have possibly chosen, why would he choose his niece?  He has said in all his interviews that he chose Marissa because she’s like a young, female version of him.  If that’s the case, a young version of Gervase as he played in Borneo would be eaten alive in the game nowadays.  Other than that little tidbit, Gervase didn’t give Marissa much of a chance to talk during any of their interviews, and the only other thing I learned about her is that she is a self-proclaimed party girl.  Marissa’s 21-years-old, and young girls have not done very well on recent seasons of this show, with the exception of Sophie Clarke of Survivor: South Pacific, but Sophie’s demeanor was not that of a bratty young girl.  While she might get along with Kat, I don’t think Marissa will be given the opportunity to play on the same tribe as Kat, because she’ll be a pre-jury boot.  Looking at last season and the way the Fans tribe played will probably be a good indicator of how this season will end up:  the young women of the loved-ones tribe will be picked off unceremoniously, and the final few members of their tribe will be the big, burly men, give or take or a stray that can sneak to the end.  Speaking of which:

TINA WESSON & KATIE COLLINS (MOTHER AND DAUGHTER)

I know I’ve been started these with the returning player first, followed by the loved-one, but I’m going to start with Katie here.  Katie is Tina Wesson’s daughter, and she was actually seen during Survivor:  The Australian Outback during the loved-one challenge that season when she was just 13-years-old.  Half her life later, she’s playing this season with her mom.  I like Katie a lot, and she’s absolutely my favorite of the girls on the loved-one tribe.  Katie’s spunky and an adventurer, having moved away from her family to New York City so she could be around more exciting people.  She’s also expressed her love of traveling and outdoor activities, which I’m sure will help her in this game.  While all the other newbie girls this season are very girlie and seem to be home-bodies and/or haven’t gone away from their family that much, Katie is used to being on her own, and I think she would have done very well on a season with all first-time players.  Katie will make it farther in the game than any other girl from her original tribe.  In fact, I think she’ll be the only girl from her tribe to make it the the jury, as the boys will let her stick around, not thinking she’ll be a threat come the merge.  While I don’t see Katie winning this season, I do think she will do well, and she may have a good chance of making it to the finals if people don’t try to separate her and her mom.  Katie’s one weakness is that she is the only newbie to say they would be willing to vote their loved-one out, and in a game where you can rarely stand to trust anyone, turning her back on the one person she absolutely could trust would be a big mistake.  Her best bet is to trust in her mom, and let her take her as far along as she can.

Finally, we have Tina Wesson.  Tina will playing playing the game for the third time after having won Survivor:  The Australian Outback (the second and most watched season of Survivor ever) and after being the first person voted off of Survivor:  All-Stars (I still hate you for that, Jenna Lewis).  Because of this, Tina could find herself being in the Francesca Hogi club of being voted out first twice, or in the prestigious Sandra Diaz-Twine two-time winners club.  Let’s look back at a little bit of history first, shall we?  Tina during her first season played a masterful game, manipulating the biggest, strongest, most likable guy on her season into taking her all the way to the end, where she edged out a win by one vote against him.  She tried to recreate her strategy by aligning with Ethan Zohn during All-Stars, but that was a season where everyone was eager to vote out the previous winners, so she was voted out immediately.  Since All-Stars, seasons with returning players have gone very differently, most notably during Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, where two previous winners made it to the final tribal council.  The person who won that season, Sandra, was a previous winner who was very underestimated going into the game, and she got the win because she was likable and because she proved that she had been underestimated the whole time.  John Cochran used a very similar strategy last season, where he was incredibly underestimated, but he swept the jury vote because of his likability and by proving everybody wrong.

I think history will repeat itself for Tina this season.  Coming into the game, Tina has two people on her tribe that have expressed interested in aligning with her already in Rupert and Aras, a few other people  will probably want to align with her once they realize the make-up of the tribes, and she has a very capable ally on the other tribe in her daughter that will help get her to the merge.  After the merge, she won’t be a target, with the alpha-males being a shield against her.  Tina has also shown that she is prone to aligning herself with strong young men, and there are many to choose from this season.  Her southern charm will also help her in the game as it did the first time, where she was one of the most likable people on an already very likable cast.  Her strategic mind is also fantastic as she proved during The Australian Outback, a season where people were still figuring out what exactly the Survivor strategy was.  On top of everything, she is in incredibly good shape for a 52-year-old woman, and she’s probably one of the best female swimmers this season.  All these things added up, I predict that Tina Wesson will be the oldest woman to ever win Survivor and the second two-time winner in Survivor history.  Funny enough, I predicted Tina to win the first time she played the game when I was just 11 years old.  I hope she can help me keep my street-cred 13 years later.

Now that you’ve read my reasonings, here’s a recap of how I think the season will go:

Pre-jury Boots:
Candice
Ciera
Colton
Laura B.
Laura M.
Marissa
Rachel
Rupert
Tyson

Jury Members:
Aras
Brad
Gervase
Hayden
John
Kat
Katie
Monica

Final Three:
Caleb
Tina
Vytas

The winner of Survivor: Blood vs Water:  Tina Wesson

Those are my picks, and I’m sticking to them.  I’ve had a fairly decent record the last few seasons of the show, where I chose Cochran, Malcolm, Cheslea, and Coach to win, and all of them either won or made it to the final 3 their season.  We’ll see how I do here, and feel free to make fun of me for every choice I get wrong this season, of which I’m sure I’ll have many.  So now, you tell me:  Who do you think will win this season, and who am I completely off-base about?

Survivor Blood vs. Water: Pre-Season Predictions Part 1

With the 27th season of Survivor less than two weeks away, I thought I would sit down and give my thoughts on the 20 castaways that make up the cast of Survivor: Blood vs Water.  If you’re interested in what I think about the 83 new twists that are being introduced in this season, feel free to read about them here.  Before I jump right into my predictions, I would like to take a moment to say that when I first started hearing about the names back in May, I was incredibly disappointed with the group CBS had pulled together.  In particular, the fact that there are three returnees from Survivor: One World (which is  definitely towards the top of the list of worst Survivor seasons ever) really had me scratching my head, and the last three months I was really concerned about what this season was going to look like.  However, I failed to remember that each of these returning castaways were bringing along a family member, and that those family members could be even better characters than their designated loved-one.  If you take the time to watch some of the CBS.com interviews, or if you watch the interviews the pairs did with Dalton Ross from Entertainment Weekly the day before the game started, you’ll see that there are some potentially great characters in the loved ones that are on this season. While this realization has taken me from incredibly disappointed to just mildly intrigued, this season will have to work double time to impress me like Survivor: Philippines did (the only season in the last three years that I would consider “great”).

Now, without further ado, here are my predictions for the first ten players of the cast, which I’m sure will embarrass me come December.  In order to save the lives of people reading this, and because I know I’m going to babble, I’m splitting this post up into two parts, and I’ll get to the other ten players in the next week.  Instead of going through the contestants one at a time, I’ll talk about them in pairs, because let’s be honest, none of these pairs are ever going to seriously turn against each other.

As a disclaimer, these predictions are being made without any help from the spoiler community and based on the assumption that both tribes will do well at challenges, that there will not be any additional twists in the season, and that production doesn’t meddle too much in the game.  Basically, these predictions are almost certain to be wrong, but I have a good time speculating at least!

TYSON APOSTOL & RACHEL FOULGER (DATING)

Little known fact about Tyson:  he is my all time biggest Survivor man crush.  True story.  Since he first appeared on Survivor: Tocantins, I have admired the way that he could take an incredibly embarrassing situation and make it into comedy gold.  His reputation was slightly tarnished after his stint in Survivor: Heroes vs Villains where he essentially voted himself out of the game in what I still say is the craziest Tribal Council in the show’s history (take that, Survivor: Caramoan episode in which Phillip was voted out), but I still like him.  Tyson has a few things working for and against him this season.  The first is his physical strength, which is both a pro and a con.  Since there’s Redemption Island this season, his challenge skills could easily give him an Ozzy-like run if he’s voted out, but it will also make him much more likely to be a target early so he can be weakened while on RI.  The second thing is that he is one of the few returnees to have a fairly solid friend playing the game with him in Aras.  Unfortunately, Aras has the exact same strength that Tyson does, so they may be lumped together as a duo and forced to compete against each other early at Redemption Island to try eliminate at least one of them.  Tyson’s third strength is his social ability, and he’s always been able to fit into a number of different groups.  I think he would have had a great shot at winning Heroes vs Villains had he not screwed up and voted for the wrong person the Tribal he was booted.  Hopefully the third time’s a charm for this charmer, but I unfortunately see him as a pre-jury boot.  He just has too many things working against him.  I’ll be happy if I’m wrong though.

He’s playing the game this season with (or should I say against?) his girlfriend Rachel, who was probably cast this season for two reasons.  The first:  she’s very very pretty.  The second:  she’s an easy target for the first few weeks.  For those who have been paying attention to the way production casts this show, they normally throw in a few easy boots in the cast who also happen to be very very pretty so the “interesting” characters will have a little room to shine (i.e. Angie from Philippines, Hope from Caramoan).  I unfortunately think Rachel is intended to fit that slot, and from what I’ve seen, she’s already put a fairly big target on herself, because she’s made it known to the other contestants before the game starts that she’s terrified of bugs, leaves, and nature in general.  This didn’t hurt Cirie back in her first season, but I just don’t think that Rachel is going to have the same social skills Cirie had to shadow her fear of nature.  So for Rachel, I expect to see an early boot, definitely pre-jury.

ARAS BASKAUSKAS & VYTAS BASKAUSKAS (BROTHERS)

Here is one of the returning players I’m most excited to see alongside a potentially great Survivor newbie.  Aras (pronounced “Odd-us” for those of you who don’t listen to Rob Has a Podcast) has long been one of the most underrated Survivor winners.  He won the twelfth season, Exile Island, where he was overshadowed by two legitimate Survivor legends in Terry Dietz and Cirie Fields. However, Aras showcased in his season that you don’t have to be the best physical competitor or the best strategist or even the most likable person to win the game.  You just have to be the most well-rounded at all those things, and I would dare say that Aras is in the top two or three most well-rounded Survivor winners ever (maybe only behind Parvati Shallow and Kim Spradlin).  And these are all reasons why Aras will probably not last long in this game.  Again, as much as I would like to see him play and do really well, we have to look at history.  There have been four male winners to return and play Survivor before now (Richard Hatch, Ethan Zohn, Tom Westman, and JT Thomas).  With the exception of Hatch, each of those four were targeted almost immediately because they were winners who also happened to do well challenges.  Hatch was eliminated early because he was seen as too much of a strategist.  Aras is in both categories, and this group of returnees is going to want him out quickly because he’s so strong. As I mentioned with Tyson, he’ll be lumped together with his friend and forced to duel to the death.  I do think Aras has a slight chance of lasting longer than Tyson though, because he has proven himself as a great social player, and I think his team would get rid of Tyson before him.  I’m hoping he and Tina decide to align, but I don’t see many other people other than Tyson wanting to get together with him.  Because of this, I’ll say that Aras is going to be one of the first members of the jury.

Aras’ brother, Vytas, seems to have many of the same qualities as Aras, though Vytas has certainly experienced quite a bit in his life.  A recovering heroin addict, Vytas has proven himself to be able to overcome a number of huge obstacles that get in his way.  Like Aras, he is a yoga instructor, which is a great profession to have going into Survivor because it requires physical and emotional balance and an innate calmness.  Vytas also seems to just be an incredibly likable guy and possibly the most intelligent of the newbies (no offense to the rest of you).  As I mentioned with Aras, Survivor requires the perfect balance of physical, social, and strategic game, and if any of the newbies has those three qualities on wrap, it’s Vytas.  Mark my words, if a loved one winds up winning this game, it’s going to be Vytas.  I’m going to be bold and say that he makes it the final four, but I think he’s going to come up just short of a victory.  I do expect him to be a great character though, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he plays.

RUPERT BONEHAM & LAURA BONEHAM (MARRIED)

Blurgh.  Just looking at this picture makes me want to throw up a little.  Like most of America, I was fully on the Rupert bandwagon back in season 7 when we were first introduced to the gruff and tough pirate of the Pearl Islands, but something happened to him in between All-Stars and Heroes vs Villains.  I think he started believing a little bit of his own hype, and by the time he came back for season 20, he was almost unbearable to watch in his self-righteousness.  Three years after his last appearance, Rupert has been knocked down a few pegs, having run an unsuccessful bid for the Governor of Indiana (seriously, it happened) and losing the fan-favorite vote at the end of HvV to Russell Hantz.  I really hope he comes into this game more humble than he was before, but based on his interviews, he might be cockier than ever.  Again, he hopes to show America that a good guy can win the game, he doesn’t like mean people or bullies, blah blah blah.  Listen, this guy will never be able to win the game.  Ever.  This is a game that requires a great deal of self-awareness, and I think that’s the one thing that Rupert lacks the most.  I would love to hang out with him outside of the game, but I don’t think anyone could stand to play with him anymore.  I also have this very strange feeling that he’s going to make a sacrifice to try and save/comfort Laura, either by taking her place on Redemption Island, or by quitting if she is eliminated.  Either way, I don’t see this ending well for him.  Unlike Boston Rob, it’s going to take a lot more than four times to get Rupert a legitimate million dollar check (not that blood money that the fans threw at him after All-Stars).

Rupert’s wife Laura is also playing this season.  I kind of like Laura, if for no other reason than the fact that she puts Rupert in his place.  However, Laura is going to be playing the game on a different tribe as Rupert, and she is an older female.  This is never a good thing when you’re playing with a group of new players.  Since both tribes are going to make a first impression vote on the first day, I think Laura will almost unanimously be voted out before she gets the chance to play because she’s going to be the oldest person on her tribe.  And while she might last a few duels or be saved by Rupert once or twice, no way is she making it to jury.

CANDICE CODY & JOHN CODY (MARRIED)

Candice Cody (formally Woodcock), was one of the biggest head scratchers of the cast, and she was the only person I had not previously heard was going to be on this season before the cast was officially announced two weeks ago.  Probst announced on EW.com this was because Candice and John were not originally asked to be a part of this cast, and they were a last minute replacement for RC Saint-Amour of Survivor: Philippines when her father had to drop out due to medical issues, and they flew out to location the day before filming was scheduled to start.  I mention this story for a few reasons:  1)  Candice and John had the least amount of time to sit down and strategize with each other when compared to the other teams who had a week or two before hand to actually think about the game and how pairs would affect it.  2)  They didn’t have any time to make any pre-game alliances that I can all but guarantee you happened with each of the other pairs.  3)  They were clearly tired from traveling during their pre-game interviews, while the rest of the pairs had at least a little bit of rest before the game was supposed to start.  When you add in the fact that Candice isn’t exactly well known in the Survivor community and that she admitted before her stint on HvV that she doesn’t go to any events with Survivor alums, and I just don’t see her having a chance to win this season.  I do think there is a possibility that she will find herself in between two warring alliances of old school and new schools players on the returning players tribe, but we all remember how she handled being caught between two factions during HvV and when she mutinied in Cook Islands.  She’s probably just going to miss out on the jury.

John, on the other hand, has a bit of a better shot at getting far, because his tribe is going to need him for the the challenges.  I can easily see a bro’s alliance dominating the loved-ones tribe between Vytas, John, Brad and Hayden.  However, the bros are probably going to cut John first because he’s a little too all-American, and because his loved one is known for being wishy-washy.  I see John being voted out early to mid-jury.

MONICA CULPEPPER & BRAD CULPEPPER (MARRIED)

A lot of people saw Monica’s name on the list of returning players and asked themselves, “Which one was Monica?”  I’ll admit, she’s probably the one returning player in the history of the show that I actually had to stop and ask that question about.  Heck, I even remembered Francesca Hogi when the majority of the Survivor community had forgotten of her splendid quarrel with Phillip Sheppard.  After going through my memory banks, I finally remember who Monica was, and my memory awarded her with a resounding “Eh.”  Looking back on Monica’s five episodes during Survivor: One World, she actually had the potential to be a great player in any other season, but she was handed a few too many twists and turns because of the crazy One World structure, and she was voted out by Colton’s army just before his fantastic fall from grace.  It will be very interesting to see how she handles this season where she’s the least experienced of the returnees and one of only two people to never experience making it to the merge (the other being Colton).  I see her slipping through the middle, finding herself in an alliance with the new school players (Colton, Kat, Laura, and maybe Candice), but never really making a big move to help her win the game.  Mid-jury.

For anyone who was wondering why Monica was cast, look no further than her husband, Brad.  Brad is a retired NFL player (he played for Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Chicago), and he currently works as an attorney.  He’s the closest thing this season has to a celebrity player (though I think more people know Rupert, Tina, and Gervase, but that’s super-fan me talking), and he’s certainly going to get some heat from the newbies because of his background.  However, if Brad manages to get his tribe to look past his successes, he could become one of the greatest villains this show has ever seen.  He was the only newbie to take more attention than their returnee counterpart, and he seemed to revel at the thought of backstabbing, lying, and playing the game the way it was meant to be played.  While I’m sure a lot of people will compare him to Gary Hogeboom and/or Steve Wright, I see more similarities between him and Russell Hantz than any of the former-former NFL players to appear on the show.  I hope he makes it far, because it would be great to see the token celebrity of the season get portrayed as a villain.  As I said with John’s post, I think Brad will find himself in an alpha-male alliance and make it to the merge, but also like John, I think he’ll be too much of a threat for anyone to take him to the end, so he’ll probably be an early juror.

 

So there’s the first half of the cast.  I’m 2800 words in and, I haven’t even gotten to the most interesting returning and new players on the list yet!  Stay tuned to this blog for the second part to the post and to see who I think is going to win Survivor: Blood vs. Water.

 

Big Brother 15 – Week 10 Cast Assessment: And I Would Watch 500 Episodes…

Big Brother 15: It’s like West Side Story, only with less racial tolerance.

Spoilers for anyone who has not caught up on tonight’s episodes:  otherwise, no spoilers about the HOH competition tonight. 

Tonight was the 500th episode of the groundbreaking show, Big Brother.  (They had to break ground to build the house, right?)  Of those 500 episodes, I’ve seen every one of them, with most of them getting at least two viewings from me at some point, except BB1, because that season was full of the least interesting people this side of the cast of Criminal Minds (Zing!!!).  That being said, the last last 20-ish episodes of this show have been about some of the most intolerable this show has ever seen.  This cast (give or take one or two houseguests) have just been so uninteresting that you never see them on the show or the feeds (i.e. Jessie, Kaitlin and Andy), or so unlikable that you can’t stand to watch the few moments of drama they give the show (i.e. Amanda, Aaryn, and Spencer).  I’m contemplating writing a separate blog post later closer to the finale as an open letter to the producers, because while the show is getting high ratings this year, make no mistake that the hardcore fans despise this season.  Wasn’t this supposed to be the season where floaters would never going to make it to the end?  Wasn’t this supposed to be the season where America was going to have an actual hand in the game?  I love this show and the social experiment that it presents America every year, but I can’t handle another season of these kinds of players/people.  On top of that, the two most interesting people of the season were just evicted, and they’re getting dangerously close to having a very undeserving winner make it to the end.  I hope the producers throw either Rachel or Dan in the house next week, because with Rachel, she’ll just yell at every one of them for evicting her sister, and with Dan he’ll yell at each of them for playing dumb.  Either way, someone will yell at this people, which should have happened back in the first week of the live feeds.  Let’s get to the weekly cast assessment.  Thank goodness there’s only seven people to talk about now:

Amanda (evicted first week 10):  I have mixed feelings about her leaving.  On one hand, thank goodness she’s gone so McCrae can actually start playing and we don’t have to listen to her cry/yell/talk trash/repeat.  On the other hand, her leaving was meant the single most interesting person in the game left.  She played hard this summer, and I’ve gone back and forth from defending her heavily to turning against her like the rest of the crazy personal online trolls.  As she leaves the house for good (no way they’re ever going to invite her for another season), my feelings on her edge just over the positive side, because at least she went out fighting, unlike the rest of the crazies in there this summer.  She and McCrae could have been the final 2 if she would have taken McCrae’s advice and kept her mouth shut.  While I don’t necessarily mind her tormenting Elissa or GM this or last week (like I said, personal attacks are a part of the game, even if I would never play like that), they are probably what got her evicted, because Andy was terrified that she’d come after him eventually.  I hate to call her the most entertaining person this season, but who else would take that title?  90% of the fights in there either were started by or eventually stirred up by her, and when she wasn’t horizontal with McCrae, she was the only one doing anything interesting.  Props to her for giving us something to work with this season, even if it could have been wrapped in a prettier package.

Andy:  Yep.  He’s still there.

I kind of wanted to end his section of the assessment there, but there is one interesting thing to talk about with him.  If you look at Survivor, over the course of 26 seasons, two openly gay castaways have won the show (Richard Hatch and Todd Herzog), with several gay contestants having a legitimate shot of winning the game had circumstances been changed up a bit.  In 14 seasons of Big Brother, only one openly gay contestant has ever made it to the final vote (Ivette in BB6), and other than that, Kevin from BB11 was the only other “token gay” to make it close to the final, eventually coming in 3rd place.  Let’s look at a few other openly gay Big Brother players and their fine moments:  Marcellas from BB3, Dustin from BB8, Jenn from BB14 (literally the only interesting picture or clip I could find of her), and for the love of Pete, flippin’ Lawon from BB13 who asked to be nominated and evicted because he thought he would get a secret power in the game (I can’t find a clip, but it’s out there).  Basically what I’m getting at is that the BB producers have done a fairly horrible job of representing openly gay contestants on this show.  Even with Ivette and Kevin, they weren’t the best or most interesting players, with Ivette possibly being the least likable contestant her season and Kevin being practically invisible until the final 5 of his season.  I know they’ve tried in the past to put in interesting representations of the gay community (Steven from BB10 was a good casting choice, though he was evicted week 2 that season, and Ragan from BB12 was interesting on paper, even if he ended up being a big crybaby the whole season), but they can do a better job.  Andy is probably going to get to the final 3, but will anyone even remember him if he wins?  I’m sure he’s a nice guy in real life, and he’s one of four people I would actually want to meet from this cast.  However, the producers need to take a page from the old days of Survivor and not put in stereotypes and/or people who clearly have no chance of winning.  End rant number 2.

Elissa (evicted second week 10):  She had a good week last week, but this past week was possibly her worst.  I still have no clue why she decided to vote out Spencer this week (production had to have been in her ear), but it’s what got her evicted.  She came a long way from the first few weeks, with her following Helen and Amanda and listening to production on who she should nominate with her MVP nominations.  She’s probably going to win fan favorite at the end of the season as a part of some secret deal with CBS, but she’s clearly not the favorite of the season (that person is still in the house).  Elissa, if you read this, good work on making me eventually like you.  Your histrionics the first few weeks were pretty unbearable, but once you got comfortable, you became a person to root for, and you were possibly the most likable woman this season in the process.  You’re definitely not just Rachel’s sister.  Unfortunately for you, that’s probably what lost you game.

GinaMarie:  Who woulda thunk she would be the last woman standing in the house?  She said a few more pretty offensive things this week about Elissa’s kids that also happened to be pretty racist, but it’s to be expected at this point.  Here’s what I think has gotten her this far:  while the CBS edit makes her look like she starts fights for no reason (and that may be the case), she is the only person this season that has been in a major fight and realize her mistakes within 5 minutes of the fight ending.  Last night she got into another nasty fight with Amanda, but she ran in and made up with her literally seconds after the fight ended.  I still think she’s going to be gone at the final 4 vote, but I’ve been impressed with her social skills the last few weeks.  Goodness knows her strategic skills aren’t going to help her get to the end.

Judd:  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, but thank God for Judd.  He hasn’t been the most interesting person this week, but he always adds a good sense of humor to any tense moments.  I loved him yelling “I love you” to Elissa as she was walking out to secure an extra jury vote (she’s voting for him anyway if he gets to the end, but it didn’t hurt).  He also won a clutch veto to get out the person he needed to during the double eviction, so kudos to him for actually handling the pressure, which he hasn’t really done all season.  The longer he lasts in the game, the better it is for the producers to try and rescue this season from getting the absolute worst winner since BB6’s Maggie.  For that reason, and because he’s put himself in a great position to get to the final 2, Judd has now overtaken McCrae as my pick to win.  It’s funny since he was my pick to win from the beginning, and though I waffled on my loyalty for him the last few weeks, I’ve never stopped believing in him.

McCrae:  He’s an interesting one, because I do think Amanda’s eviction was a good thing for him.  However, his winning the Double Eviction HOH was not a good thing, and will probably be his downfall.  Had he not gone after Elissa tonight, he might have been in a good spot.  I can only assume that he thought Andy was the other vote to evict Spencer and that Elissa had turned on him, which is why he did it, and if so, my thoughts on him being a good social player were very wrong.  He hasn’t proved any ability to read what’s happening in the house other than the fact that the majority of people in the house eventually turned against Amanda.  His best move last week would have been to separate himself even more from her (and maybe even vote to evict her), but instead he spent almost every waking moment with her and isolated himself more.  Now he’s stuck in a house where every person is an alliance with each other except for him, and he has no shot of winning HOH.  I really think his only shot at winning will be to win, in order, this week’s veto, the final 4 HOH or veto (or both), and the final 3 HOH.  If he loses any of those competitions, he’s gone.  We’ve seen stranger things happen, so there’s still hope for him.  Just not much at this point.

Spencer:  My feelings on him are pretty much the same as last week.  Spencer is a shoe-in for the final 2.  I think every person left in the game is hoping to take him to the finals at this point, so he can pretty much relax for the next two weeks and pray that he’ll get the jury votes (which he won’t).  Interestingly enough, his best shot to win might be to take McCrae to the final 2, with the hope that the jury will attach all of Amanda and Aaryn’s nastiness to McCrae and vote for the “lesser” evil.  It’s possible that he’d even lose to GM since she’s at least proven herself in the physical competitions.  The less he opens his mouth, the better, unless he’s assuring whoever he’s talking to that he’ll take them the end.  In order to win this game, Spencer has to beast mode every single competition from here on out to gain respect from the jury.  I should note that I might be a little biased against him since I find his humor to be so abhorrent, but I would like to think the jury would agree with me that he has A) done nothing to get himself this far and B) is kind of a tool.

There’s my thoughts.  Oh, and to celebrate 500 episodes, here’s a link to my all time favorite BB episode ever:  from BB6, it’s the episode that changed Big Brother from an individual game where “floaters” were respected to a game where teams were required to win, and also noted for the formation of the most likable BB alliance ever, the Sovereign Six.  Hope you enjoy, and that it washes the bad taste of this season out of your mouth.  Big Brother 6: Episode 8.

Big Brother 15 – Week 9 Cast Assessment: The Most Awkward Eviction Ever

Possibly the last time one of these people will ever be seen happy again…three guesses who that person is.

As always, spoilers to those who haven’t seen the latest episodes, but I will NOT reveal who won the HOH in this blog, so don’t worry about spoilers there.  So you remember how I said last week that Amanda was almost 100 percent leaving, and that her only shot was the veto, but that there was no possible way that she would ever win the veto to save herself, let alone McCrae?  Yeah, I blame myself too.  I really thought I was getting close to figuring this game out, but I was making my predictions last week under the assumption that the people in the house were going to make choices that best benefited their game.  Lucky for Amanda, that’s rarely the case with this bunch, so she and McCrae both live to see another day.  So, after the craziness that was this week, who do I think has set themselves up in the best position to last a long time in the game?  My answer will probably surprise anyone who has been reading my blog since I started:

Aaryn (evicted week 9):  Again, this is what I get for trying to assume that people are playing intelligently this season.  I said in last week’s blog that Aaryn may be in the best position to make the final four out of anyone in the house, so of course she was evicted this week.  And oh, what an eviction it was.  I’m glad she’s up first this week, because I have an awful lot to say about that eviction interview.  Just to make things clear, I am completely ok with the way Aaryn was grilled by Julie tonight, and I’m glad an example was made of her.  We can only hope that people watching tonight that may have sympathized with her will think twice before saying anything remotely similar to the comments she’s made in that house.

However, I did feel a little bad for her.  Mind you, not a lot, because she’s clearly a mean girl at heart.  You have to remember, she is only 22-years-old, and it doesn’t sound like she’s had much of a life outside of the state of Texas.  In other words, she’s not trained to handle the kind of media pressure that was presented to her upon leaving that house.  This may be the first time in Big Brother history that the editors didn’t cut to inside the house just after the evictee walked out of the house and before the interview.  The show could have benefited from doing that tonight.  For one, they would have had the opportunity to calm the audience down and tell them to stop booing, and two, they could have warned Aaryn at least briefly what was about to come.  Look at what happened with Paula Deen this year.  Before she went on the Today Show to do her interview, she had a few days to prep with her team exactly what to say and how to present herself, and even then she completely fell apart.  Aaryn had none of that.  She had about two seconds to really comprehend what was happening to her, and she handled it the way a normal person would:  without a lot of grace.  Add to that the live audience who booed her on her way out and jeered her throughout the interview, and we had a recipe for a horribly awkward evening.  As I said, Julie did everything correctly, mixing hard hitting questions with an aura of compassion.  I do think they could have prepared Aaryn for everything first, and better yet, they could have forgone the live audience tonight like Big Brother UK did when a similar incident happened during Celebrity Big Brother 5 in 2007.  So Aaryn, like Julie said, I do hope that you choose to learn something from this, and I really do wish the best for you.  Let’s just pray CBS is willing to shell out a little bit for her counseling after all is said and done.

Amanda:  As I mentioned before, I probably jinxed her staying this week.  I will say that she was very, very entertaining this week and added a lot to the feeds (a relief after the completely dead last two weeks).  Do I agree with what she said?  Heck no.  Was it anything we haven’t seen before and a new low for the show?  Again, heck no.  Let me remind everyone of five people: Janelle, Jedi Howie, Evel Dick, and Joshuah and Chelsia (viewer discretion advised on all those clips).  They all did something very similar while they played the game.  And three of those five people are some of the most beloved BB players ever.  My only problem with Amanda fighting with everyone is that she is not throwing off Elissa like the others did with their respective targets, and she should have realized sooner that her strategy was actually making her a few enemies in the house.  The word bully is being thrown around a little too freely with her, and while I would never want to be stuck in a house with her for 70 days, there’s a difference between bullying in the outside world and antagonizing a person while playing a game.  It’s really just extreme heckling.  Would I ever use her tactics if I played Big Brother?  Probably not, but I would if I thought they’d get me farther in the game, because it worked for Evel Dick, and I’m all about learning from history.  I feel like a broken record, but barring another veto win or an HOH win by her, McCrae, or possibly Andy, I think Amanda is leaving this week, and I think production will work overtime to try to get her out during the double eviction next week.

Andy:  He’s still boring, and even a nomination didn’t change his fairly sulky demeanor.  I think the best thing that happened to him was the Zingbot calling him out for being a floater, because now he’s more willing to play the game than I’ve seen him since he first started.  I would respect him a lot if he flips on McCranda, and I’ll respect him more if he realizes that Spencer is the best person to take the end.  We’ll see how he does from here on out, but until he makes a move, he’s on snooze for the rest of the summer.

Elissa:  She messed up her HOH week, no question about it.  I still don’t understand why she didn’t put up McCrae and Amanda together, but at least she got out a person who was coming after her eventually in Aaryn, even if Aaryn would have made for a good ally in the right circumstances.  She’s put herself in a good position, because now the rest of the house realizes that Amanda isn’t untouchable.  I’ll give her huge credit for being one of the few HOHs this season to make a decision that was completely her own, and after my distress of her week 3 MVP nomination disaster, she’s redeemed herself in my eyes.  Elissa better pray that McCrae or Amanda don’t win HOH, because she’s almost certainly gone if they do.  Elissa’s best shot of winning is going to the end with Spencer or Amanda, but she’s not ever going to ally with Amanda after this week, so Spencer it is.

GinaMarie:  GM’s an interesting one, because she’s the only person I don’t exactly know who she would put up if she won HOH.  Now that she’s aligned with the “Exterminators” (and yes, it kills me for typing that), she could easily go after Amanda or McCrae, or she could say that she’s going after Elissa because she got rid of her apparent BFF Aaryn.  So let’s hope she wins!!!  Putting her under pressure would be great TV, and regardless of who she nominates, she’s going to tick off a few people, so it could be pretty amazing if she won.  If I were her, I’d put up McCrae and Amanda and try to go to the end with the floaters of this season.  She didn’t do much on the feeds besides get into a few small spats with Amanda, but she never stays mad at anyone for too long.  Again, she’s got a pretty clear path to the final 4 regardless of how the HOH goes tonight.

Judd:  His presence in the house is so amazing, and I hope he’s going all the way to the end.  He’s just so funny and dry in everything he says, and he’s really the only person that could have returned to the game without making any waves.  He won’t win HOH this week, because he completely crashes under pressure, so his shaky hands won’t help him.  However, he should be safe this week since McCranda is going after Elissa and everyone else is going after McCranda.  This week is all about positioning himself for the final 4 with every person left in the house and just relaxing and entertaining all of us in the meantime.  I swear, if he is voted out in the double eviction next week, I might be done with the show.  It’s still a little soon to call him my pick to win, but he’s absolutely the person I want to see win.

McCrae:  Good for him for getting off the block this week without getting any of the blood on his hands, and good for him for vocalizing how much Amanda is hurting his game in front of other people so he can align himself with them when he’s left alone without her.  He’s positioning himself for Amanda’s eventual boot, and since he’s a super fan, I’m sure he remembers that many a showmance survivor has gone on to win after their better half was evicted.  I still think he’ll be the Rachel of this season, and with Aaryn gone, he’s set himself up as the best challenge competitor left in the house.  Though he hasn’t won anything since the first week, he’s come second or third in almost every other competition he’s been a part of.  His best move this week is to let Amanda do whatever he wants while he sits back and continues to be the social butterfly he is.  If Amanda wins veto, however, he’s gone, and my predictions are officially worthless.  Side note: did anyone else notice how hilarious it was when Amanda and GM had their blow up, and he and the boys were just walking around the kitchen trying to pretend like they weren’t eavesdropping?  Comedy gold right there.

Spencer:  With the exception of Aaryn, Spencer has definitely been my least favorite houseguest this season.  He’s so crass and rude, and he just seems so skeezy, I can’t understand why anyone would want to be around him.  And with Aaryn gone, those are the exact reasons why he may have the best shot out of anyone to make it to the final 2.  I know, I’ve torn him apart repeatedly and said he has no shot of winning, and I really see no scenario in which he actually gets the jury vote, but I think he’s guaranteed himself a spot in the final 2 this week.  Hear me out:  Amanda is probably leaving the next few weeks, and I don’t think she’s making it to the finals.  Elissa is being targeted by McCranda, and she’ll be targeted by the Exterminators after McCranada’s gone.  Judd is a huge threat, so he would be voted out before Spencer.  Andy’s the same as Judd.  As I’ve said in the past, at some point GinaMarie will be seen as a threat because she’s such a non threat, a la Big Brother Canada‘s Talla.  That just leaves Spencer and McCrae, and in a final three situation, McCrae is going to be voted out before Spencer.  So, as painful as it is to say, I think Spencer is making it to the end.  Of course, having said that, I’ve now guaranteed Spencer’s eviction this week.  It’s all a part of my master plan, folks.

As always, feel free to leave your comments below.  Am I being too nice to Aaryn?  Am I being too mean to Spencer?  Does that leave Judd’s bear shirt as being just right?

Big Brother 15 – Week 8 Cast Assessment: Return of the King?

The Chenbot in her refueling chamber.

First, sorry about not having a BB15 post last week.  Travel plans got in the way (which you should totally read about in my NYC Broadway post…worth a read for any theatre fans who also happen to enjoy BB).  Anyway, the last two weeks have been fairly boring in the Big Brother house, so this week’s cast assessment will be a tad shorter, and I’ll have a Jessie post-mortem as well, though I won’t mention until I get further down if she won the returning houseguest competition or not.  I will say, as I’m writing this particular paragraph and the HOH/returners game is still going on.  I’m of course rooting for Judd to return since he’s possibly one of my top 10 favorite houseguests ever, but I wouldn’t be upset if Candice returns either, just so she can mess with GinaMarie and Amanda’s heads, which would be amazing to watch.  This twist is also really fun since this is the first time (barring Dan’s BB10 luxury comp win) where the jury has interacted with people in the house, so whoever returns can mess with the rest of the house royally if they want to speculate about how the jury is going to vote (it worked wonders for Gary Glitter in Big Brother Canada).  So, without further ado, here’s the skinny on the last two weeks of BB play.  This week, no gifs or funny pictures, because I don’t feel the houseguests have deserved them the last two weeks.  I only give gifs to those who entertain me.  As always, spoilers for those who don’t watch the live feeds, because I will reveal who returns in this post.  You’ve been warned.

Aaryn:  This is one of the toughest things to say, and I really hate myself for even thinking it, but Aaryn may possibly be playing the best game out of anyone left in the house.  She’s won competitions, she’s backstabbed people without actually getting blood on her hands, and she’s just unlikable enough that people think they could win against her in the final two or three, but likable enough to get a few votes over the majority of the people still playing.  I thought a few weeks back that she was absolutely toast, but she’s proved herself as a fast learner and tough cookie.  While she is still definitely a horrible human being, and she probably has been holding her tongue for the last few weeks to regain favor, she’s playing the game the way it’s meant to be played, and I can’t fault her for it.  While I still think she’s going to come up short of the money (no way CBS will let her get the votes, right?), she’s in as good a spot to win as I’ve seen at this point in the game.  Let’s hope her ugly side comes back out so we won’t have to root for her if she makes it to the end.

Amanda:  Did you see the look on her face when the twist was revealed to the house?  That’s the look of someone who’s scared to death.  Any of the four people who could have returned to the game would have fought tooth and nail to get her out of the game, and Judd even whispered to Elissa that he was gunning for Amanda when he first reentered the house.  Jessie notably yelled out to Amanda that she “F-ing hates” her when she fell during the competition tonight and left the game for good, which may be my favorite thing to happen on the feeds ever.  Even though her wedding with McCrae last week was fun, she’s just been playing too cocky for anyone with a set of ears and eyes to not know she thinks she’s running the house.  She probably is running the game, but no way is she lasting past the next two or three votes.  Her only real shot of staying this week is winning veto, but we all know that won’t happen.  By her getting rid of Helen, all the big targets are gone, except for her.  Let that be a note to future BB players:  having a threat in the house is not a bad thing if they shield you from your own eviction.

Andy:  I’m glad he won not only a HOH but a veto last week, but he faded quickly into obscurity.  He’s still in my top 3 houseguest left, but it’s kind of by default at this point.  I really wanted him to be a better houseguest than he’s ended up as, but who knows?  He might have a BB11 Kevin-like comeback and make me like him these last few weeks.  Until then, let’s pray drunk Andy makes a dramatic comeback to liven up what has been an incredibly dull two weeks of feeds (barring the Jessie blowup from last week).

Elissa:  The best thing that could have happened to this girl was Helen leaving.  She is now completely free to make her own decisions, and she’s not tied to any alliance, so she could make and break a ton of deals.  Her inner-Reilly came out this week, really showing her beast-mode during the veto competition, which was nice to see.  It also didn’t hurt that she had some physical comedy in there by pulling an Enzo on Andy.  What else am I forgetting…oh, right, she’s the new HOH!!!  She was incredible during that comp, completely blowing everyone else out of the water (Amanda came in second with 6 balls when it was only down to them and GM).  It’s weird to say this, but I think I might be on the verge of full-on rooting for her?  With the group of people left in the house, she’s really the only girl left that hasn’t said or done something completely despicable, so good for her.  Maybe Rachel taught her well on that front.  Her best move this week would be to form an alliance with Judd and Spencer, and do her best to get Andy back her good graces, because he could make or break her chances of getting to the finals at this point.

GinaMarie:  First of all, happy birthday, GM!  She’s been laying low the last few weeks, and other than a last minute attempt to save Helen, she hasn’t done much game wise either.  I do have to respect her for trying to get Spencer out knowing that Helen wouldn’t come after her until at least the final 4, but I wish she had the guts to actually pull the trigger.  Still, it’s better to keep Aaryn on her side with only so much room to maneuver between the alliances that are already in place.  She hung on a long time during the HOH comp, so she’s proven herself to be great during the endurance competitions, which may or may not come back to bite her during a final 4.  I’m still predicting a BB Canada Talla like finish for her, with her just falling short of the final 3.  Again, I hope she just keeps her mouth shut until then.

Helen (evicted week 8):  She cried too much, she was really self-righteous, and she was incredibly self-centered, but at least she wasn’t a bigot, which is better than half the current house can say (seriously, how pathetic is that to realize?).  The last three days saw her making her rounds and crying to every single person, with most of them just nodding and consoling.  She said tonight it was all strategy, but there’s no way her tears were strategy when she couldn’t get a sentence out with Julie without looking like her puppy was killed in front her.  I wish her the best in real life, because I’m sure she’s a great political consultant, and she wasn’t a half bad BB player, but she was pretty boring TV.

Jessie (evicted week 7):  Jessie made several mistakes in the game.  Her first not playing the game for six weeks, her second was playing too hard once was she started playing, and her third was being too pretty to have a legitimate shot of winning.  While Ian Terry may have been rooting for her on Twitter for seven weeks, he may have been the only one.  I appreciated Tropical Storm Jessie (thanks, Dingo, for the name) that happened right after she found out she was getting evicted, and I particularly liked her nickname for Elissa (Rachel’s Shadow, so perfect).  However, it died down before it even hit land, and she backed away before the going got good, which is a shame, because those feeds needed some juice in them.  I hope she finds a job, even if Helen isn’t going to give her a letter of recommendation.

Judd (evicted week 6, returns week 8):  Excuse me for a second…I have an announcement to make everyone:  THE KING HAS RETURNED!!!  Ok, now that my dance party is done, thank the good Lord in heaven that he’s back, because he’s exactly the shot of adrenaline the rest of this season needed.  I’m hoping he pulls a Gary Glitter and makes it all the way to the end so we can have some nuggets of Judd-dom slip from his mouth for the next 30 days.  The last two weeks have been miserable without him, and his return couldn’t have come at a better time.  Now that Elissa’s HOH, he’s probably safe this week, give or take a backdoor if Amanda wins veto, and he could find himself in the final 5 very easily depending on who wins the next few competitions and assuming he tries to align with Spencer.  He just needs to play his cards right.  While he’s not my pick to win (again), he’s in my top 3 to win, but he needs a lot of luck on his side to make it there.

McCrae:  He’s my pick to win still, but he needs to fight heavily to make me like him as much as I did the first few weeks.  He’s been one of the biggest culprits of the boredom that has settled on the house, and I really wish he would go back to talking to us like he used to.  All that aside, Amanda will protect him this week, not because she’s going to convince people to keep him, but because he’s not going anywhere when he’s eventually nominated next to her.  I’m pretty impressed that he’s made it this far without a nomination, but that’s almost definitely going to end this week, leaving Andy as the only non-nominated houseguest.  His best move this week is to distance himself from Amanda and regain some trust with Judd, eventually replacing Amanda with him in the 3 A.M. alliance.  McCrae could probably beat any of the others at this point, but we’ll see if he can make the right moves to get him there.

Spencer:  Judd’s revival is the best thing that could have happened to this guy.  There’s now one more big threat in the house, and Spencer can continue to slide into the background.  He may set a nomination record this season if he’s not careful, but I don’t think anyone is seriously considering voting him out.  However, they’re just as unlikely to vote for him to win, and anyone who goes against him in the final 2 other than Amanda would probably win.  If he steps it up in the competitions and stops being so vulgar, he could win me over to his side.  Any alliance he makes at this point will be a good one, so we’ll see how he tries to insert himself into the folds that have already formed.

So there’s the last two weeks.  How do you think the house is going to change with Judd back in the game?  Did BB give Elissa the same steroids they fed to Rachel this week?  Let’s discuss below.

Survivor: Blood vs. Water First Impressions – Here a Twist, There a Twist

All the pretty people before the eventually start withering away. It’s a shame no one warned them what they were about to get into…oh, wait…

Just this morning, Entertainment Weekly (the foremost news source on all things Survivor…and I’m not just saying that because I want a job), officially announced the cast of the 27th(?!) season of the best adventure show on television, with this new cast headlining Survivor: Blood vs. Water.  As this will be my first time recapping/blogging about a season, I am very excited to say that many of the twists that were announced today were not clued to us in the fan community who were looking for bits of information for months now.  Before I jump into the cast assessment (I’d like to read a few more interviews with some of the cast before diving right in to figuring out who will win), here’s a rundown of the twists this season beyond the addition of returning players and their loved ones, and I have to warn anyone who hasn’t read about these twists yet…this premiere will be a doozy:

1) Day Zero:  For the first time since season 2, the game will last longer than the normal 39 days.  That’s because in order to get the castaways in a false sense of security that they will be playing in pairs, the players will meet Probst at night on “Day Zero” and will immediately go to a remote location to spend the night together before the game officially starts.  I like this twist for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that it will give the viewers a chance to see these pairs interact with each other without yet worrying about “the game” and to see their relationships naturally develop.  I would imagine the couples who would be willing to vote each other out will probably find Day Zero harder than the ones who wouldn’t turn on each other, so look out for that.

2) Loved Ones Will be Playing on Opposing Tribes:  This is where the real genius of the Day Zero twist comes in.  After thinking for a whole day that they will be playing together, Probst will gather everyone and say, “What do you think this is, Big Brother?!  You ain’t playing in pairs!  Returning players, over there!  Loved ones, here!”  For anyone who pays attention to tribe names anymore, the loved ones will be on the red “Tadhana” tribe, and the vets will be on the yellow “Galang” tribe.  It should be fun to see the newbies scramble without their loved ones and to see who really are coming to play the game and not just have a honeymoon and/or family bonding time.  I can only hope this doesn’t end up like Caramoan where the first seven episodes only focused on the Favorites instead of the Fans, but I don’t think that will be the case since the newbies this season are a much more interesting group than the Fans were.

3) Immediate Tribe Vote:  After the tribes are split, the tribes will have to make an immediate tribe vote, a la Survivor: Tocantins.  Based on the make-up of this cast and what I’ve seen in Dalton Ross’s interviews, expect to see Rupert and Colton in trouble for the Galangs, and Tyson’s girlfriend Rachel, Laura Morett’s daughter Ciera, or Rupert’s wife Laura in big trouble for the Tadhanas.  Well, that would be a shame to see them leave so soon…

4) Redemption Island Returns, featuring TWO NEW TWISTS!:  …except that possibly my least favorite twist this side of the Medallion of Power is back, this time with a vengeance.  After the first impression vote, the two players voted off will be told they’re going to Redemption Island.  While I know a lot of people disliked the Outcast twist in Survivor: Pearl Islands, let me explain why that worked better than Redemption Island:  with the Outcasts, the audience didn’t see it coming.  We were right alongside the players when the twist was revealed, and there was no guarantee that any of the Outcasts would actually return to the game, so they had to work extra hard to come back.  Even better, we didn’t have six episodes of the Outcasts sitting around complaining about how depressed they were and how much they needed to win the challenge.  The two players who came back to the game in Pearl Islands were two of the most memorable players that season, and they made it very far into the game.  Compare that to Redemption Island seasons:  the players quickly figured out the strategy that would work best for Redemption Island (with the help of returning players to guide them through it), and the players who eventually returned to the game never lasted more than two tribal councils before being voted right back out.  So, those players who returned never actually had an impact on the final outcome of the game.  To top it off, each episode had the inevitable segment where we would go to Redemption Island that always sounded a little like this: “Well, it sucks that I’m not in the game.  I wish I was in the game again.  I have to win this next duel, or I’m gone.  Seriously, I wish I was in the game again.”  Repeat ad nauseum until player returns to the game and is voted right back out.  Redemption Island was cool in concept, but it just never made for good TV, and I’m all about the entertainment.

As you can see, I really hated RI the first two times it happened, but I’m a little more optimistic this time around, because this season’s Redemption Island twist has not one, but two twists stacked on top of it that could make for some interesting game play.  The first is that, following the Redemption Island reveal to the cast, the player who was voted out will have a chance to switch places with their loved one.  At this point, I’m not sure if that means that the player going to Redemption Island will switch places regardless of how that affects the tribe make-up.  For example, let’s say that Laura Boneham is voted out and Rupert decides he would like to go to Redemption Island in her place (I can almost guarantee this will happen with those two at some point).  Does this mean that Laura would then go back to the Tadhanas loved-one tribe, or does she then join the Galang returning-player tribe?  Either way, it will be very interesting to see if a player is willing to make that sacrifice right at the beginning of the game.  However, the swapping won’t stop there.  After the immunity challenge and first official tribal council, three players will be on Redemption Island, where there will be a three person duel (truel?), and before the duel, any of the players who have a loved-one on RI will be able to switch places again after they hear what the challenge will be.  After the swapping takes place, the duel will happen, where the last place finisher will be sent home, and the other two will continue to the next duel and/or back to the game if a swap happens before the next duel.

I like this additional twist for a number of reasons.  One is that it allows for inter-tribe strategy to happen, which is always a good thing (think the Exile Island alliance from Survivor: Tocantins and the alliance building that would happen at Redemption Island duels).  The second, and biggest reason this will probably work is if and when a person switches places with their loved one, thinking they will win a duel, only to lose and be sent packing.  The only thing better than than good game play in Survivor is a player who thinks they’re making a good game move and are quickly sent packing (do I even need to mention Erik Reichenbach from Survivor: Micronesia?)  We could potential see the dumbest move in Survivor history this season if everything goes according to plan.

The second Redemption Island twist for the season is that the person who finishes in first place during the duel will be able to give anyone on any tribe a clue to a hidden immunity idol.  This is a fairly obvious twist in retrospect, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad one.  I’m sure it will inevitably come down to giving the clue to the loved-one remaining in the game, but what happens when the player’s loved-one is voted out and/or loses the duel?  Will they give it to a former alliance member, potentially exposing them to the rest of their tribe so that player becomes a target?  Will they give it to a person on the other tribe in the hopes that they’ll meet up with a new alliance come the merge if they return to the game?  They are so many interesting game play possibilities here, it makes my head hurt.  So let’s hope the players figure out some interesting and smart ways to use this twist to really help move forward the season.

So, there’s my quick assessment.  As I mentioned, I will be back eventually to do a cast assessment and try to pick a few winners and losers from this cast.  Until then, let me know what you think of this cast!  Here’s the official rundown:

• Tyson Apostol (Tocantins 8th place, Heroes vs. Villains 15th place) and Rachel Foulger, dating
• Aras Baskauskas (Exile Island winner) and Vytas Baskauskas, brothers
• Rupert Boneham (Pearl Islands 8th place, All-Stars 4th place and America’s Tribal Council winner, Heroes vs. Villains 6th place) and Laura Boneham, married
• Candice Cody (Cook Islands 8th place, Heroes vs. Villains 8th place) and John Cody, married
• Monica Culpepper (One World 14th place) and Brad Culpepper, married
• Colton Cumbie (One World medivaced in 13th place) and Caleb Bankston, engaged
• Kat Edorsson (One World 7th place) and Hayden Moss, dating
• Laura Morett (Samoa 10th place) and Ciera Eastin, mother/daughter
• Gervase Peterson (Borneo 7th place) and Marissa Peterson, uncle/niece
• Tina Wesson (Australia winner, All-Stars 18th place) and Katie Collins, mother/daughter

A Weekend on Broadway: My 4 Days of Broadway Fun, History, and (Unfortunately) Tragedy

The Great White Way

Anyone who has known me for a long time has known that I’ve always been a theatre geek, with musical theatre having a particularly strong place in my heart.  It’s probably surprising to to hear, then, that this past weekend was my first time visiting New York City, and therefore my first experience with actual Broadway theatre.  While the main purpose of the trip was to reunite with some friends that I haven’t seen in many years (and I am happy to report that I spent a great deal of time with them reminiscing and catching up), the Broadway scene was definitely in the forefront of my mind as my friends and I planned our itinerary for the week.  So, every night from Thursday, August 15 to Sunday, August 18, we did at least one activity revolving around Broadway and the world of theatre.  Each was certainly memorable (with one event we saw even making national news), and I was able to fulfill many of my lifelong dreams in the process.  So, here’s a quick recap of each night’s events, and few reviews of them for anyone who may be interested in seeing these shows or taking a Broadway tour in the future.

The Foxwoods Theatre before the Thursday night performance.

Thursday, August 15 – Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

That newsworthy event I mentioned?  This was it.  We were only able to watch the first half of the show, because immediately at the start of the second act, this show that has plagued with incidents since the very beginning saw another actor fall, this time a dancer.  I won’t dwell on the specifics of the incident, and if you’re really interested to know what really happened, my friend who saw the show with me and I had a perfect view of the fairly horrific accident, so we can give details if you ask.  Here’s what I am willing to say on a public platform:  obviously, the show isn’t perfect.  But we were able to see the entire first act incident free, and it was a very fun show to watch, even with its flaws.  That being said, clearly the cast, crew, and even the Foxwoods managing staff have been through a lot with this show.  As it was announced that the show was canceled, several of the ushers and Foxwoods staff were bombarded with people asking questions and/or complaining.  The staff at that theatre has been well trained, and my friend and I took the time to acknowledge two of them on our way out to express our gratitude with their professionalism, with one of them even seemingly on the verge of tears.  My thoughts go out to the young actor who was injured.  He was doing an amazing job up until the accident, and I truly hope this performance doesn’t stop him from performing again.  And again, congratulations to the Foxwoods Theatre staff and the Spider-Man cast and crew for handling a horrible accident with grace and dignity.

Allie from Inside Broadway Tours

Friday, August 16 – Inside Broadway Tour

Onto some lighter fare now.  Friday evening, after visiting the 9/11 Memorial and the Statue of Liberty, we took a 4:00 tour of the Broadway circuit through a company called Inside Broadway Tours.  Anyone who is a Theatre history buff, or even just a history buff in general, this is about as good of a tour as you can get.  From what I understand, the tour normally costs around $35 per person, but if you use a New York Pass while in the city, the tour is included with the purchase of the pass.  Our tour guide that evening was Allie Pares (hope I’m spelling your name right, Allie), a recent graduate of Northwestern University who wrote her senior thesis on Divas, and she was absolutely charming.  As a former tour guide, it was pretty impressive to see how Allie moved throughout the city with a group of around 20 people in the middle of a crowded Friday night in Times Square and Hell’s Kitchen.  Not only did Ms. Pares give us the history of some of the bigger shows to come to Broadway, but she gave a great recap of some of the events that helped lead to the creation of the Theatre district, the history that happened in the city of New York while big shows were premiering or in production, the famous faces and names who helped build and rebuild some of the theatres, and of course a complete history of all those Krapp theatres to feature legendary shows.  She even let my friend and me be a part of the tour as we told our story about what had happened the night before with Spider-Man.  If you have the honor of being shown around by Allie for this tour, you will be in for a treat.  She catered the tour to her audience, kept to her script without ever sounding phony or overly rehearsed, and was just delightful to listen to for two hours.  So, Allie, if you read this, you were amazing.  Allie’s mangers, if you read this, give her a raise.  And any producers in NYC who may be casting a show with a petite blonde girl, look her up.  This is definitely worth the time and money if you’re in NYC.

A spot-on review.

Saturday, August 17 – Once

I had been looking forward to seeing this show for a long time, and it certainly did not disappoint.  In fact, I think my expectations were even somehow too low.  Playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on 45th St., Once is based on the musical movie of the same name, and it delivers in every aspect.  It is, in fact, now my favorite musical.  A few highlights about my night seeing Once:  as recommended by a good friend, my friends and I arrived at the theatre early so we could go on stage before the show started.  You see, as soon as the doors open for this show, the bar that serves as the main set of the stage is opened to the public as an actual bar.  Slowly, the ensemble began to come out and play music while in character (as I walked off stage, I told Anne L. Nathan who played Baruska “Great job”, and she responded by looking at me strangely and saying “Thank you” as if she was actually Czech).  If you see this show, you definitely need to arrive early to experience this, because not only will you be on a real Broadway stage, but it’s a fun experience to see the actors perform up close to some wildly fun Irish and Czech music.  Another highlight was seeing Arthur Darvill (of which I am a huge fan being a Doctor Who convert a few years back) and Joanna Christie perform in the two lead roles.  Their voices and performances were mesmerizing (as was the entire cast, but they clearly stood out).  Once is a truly unique show with the ensemble serving as actors and orchestra, and the production is incredibly fun while still being elegant and emotional.  It is no exaggeration to say that I was in tears by the third song of the production, and my friends and I were sobbing by the end.  I plan on seeing this again when it comes to the Fox Theatre in St. Louis April next year, and any and every theatre fan who reads this needs to take the time to see it when it comes through their town.  Your life will be better for it.

Chilling with Zachary Levi. No biggie.

Sunday, August 18 – First Date The Musical

And while Once my be my new favorite production, there is only one thing that can top a great show, and that’s a nerd icon dancing to Robin Thicke.  But before I get to that, let’s talk about First Date.  Having officially opened on August 8th at the Longacre Theatre, this 90 minute one-act musical is less than two weeks old, and I truly hope it plays for a very, very long time.  Headlined by Zachary Levi from Chuck (or, as the girls I was with knew him as, Flynn Rider from Tangled) and Krysta Rodriguez from Smash, the show is about a blind date between an uptight and nervous guy and a free spirited and free willed girl, played by Levi and Rodriguez respectively.  Along the way, both perform a series of major first date snafus, including jumping into talking about religion way too early, the awkward silence that follows a bad joke, and of course the dreaded mention of past relationships.  The cast in total has seven people, with every actor besides Levi and Rodriguez playing several different roles, and sometimes even different characters within the same song.  The first 45 minutes was about as much fun as I’ve ever had during a musical, and the songs and performances were funny and witty.  There were a few moment in the middle that dragged a little, but the final 20 minutes picked things right back up with a funny, satisfying and happy conclusion.  The performances were pretty universally amazing, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see either Krysta Rodriguez or Zachary Levi get a Tony nomination next year, as they really carried the show and were likable and realistic all throughout.  If you see it in the next few weeks, tickets are still really cheap (we paid $35 dollars and saw a pretty great view of the stage), but even if prices go up a little, it’s still well worth the price.

So, about that dancing.  After the show, the entire cast came out through the stage door to sign autographs and take pictures.  And I mean literally the entire cast.  I have a playbill signed by each of the original cast members, and it may be my favorite thing I own now.  A few of the supporting actors came out to some big applause, but Zachary Levi wouldn’t make that small of an entrance.  Instead, right before he opened the door, he got his jukebox playlist in order and started blaring Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” as he danced out to an adoring crowd.  He then proceeded to sign literally every autograph of any person who wanted him to sign it, including people well in the back who I had to help pass playbills up to him.  After he signed all those autographs, he then helped form another line to take a picture with any and every person who wanted to take one with him.  Not only that, he actually had conversations and talked with his fans.  In my few years on this Earth, I have come across a few celebrities in events such as this.  I can say that Zachary Levi (with Krysta Rodriguez helping support his dance party) really was there for the fans, and he wanted to make it an experience for us.  He seemed like truly one of the nicest guys.  As I went up to take my picture, he called me big guy, and somehow in my picture with him, he seemed as though he was more excited to see me than I was to see him.  I can assure you this could not have been the case, being a Chuck fan since the beginning, but it was nice to feel like he wanted to see me as much as we all wanted to meet him.  So, anyone who is in NYC, go see First Date, either with your friends, on a date, with family, or by yourself.  We need to be encouraging this type of celebrity behavior.  Bravo, Mr. Levi, and thank you for helping end my Broadway weekend on the highest note it possibly could have.  Here’s the official website.  Get yourself a ticket.  Now.

Have any questions about these shows of the Inside Broadway Tour?  Send me an e-mail, shoot me a tweet, or leave a comment below!

Breaking Bad – My Top 10 Episodes (So Far)

Simply put, I believe that AMC’s Breaking Bad may be the single best television show from start to (almost) finish of my lifetime, and maybe even the best television show ever made period. What started as a tale of a desperate father doing everything he could to provide for his family when he thought he was about to die has turned into one of the great morality tales of the 21st Century, showing just how deep a good person can fall if pushed in the right direction. Since the series begins its final run of episodes tomorrow night, I thought I would put together a list of my personal favorite episodes of the series. This was not an easy task. Considering there have only been 54 episodes of the series thus far, it’s a true testament to the greatness of the show that no less than 25 of those episodes made it to my list of considerations. Before I start, I would like to reiterate: this is not a list of what I feel are best episodes of the series, because it would be splitting hairs to figure out which would be considered “greater” than the others. This is a list of the episodes that resonated most with me as a viewer and the ones I will think about most often as I look back on this truly amazing series.  And yes, there will spoilers for the whole series, so do not read if you have not caught up on the series for some strange reason.  So, let’s start with number 10, shall we?

10)  Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1)

How could I begin this list anywhere except the beginning? This is one of the all-time best first episodes to a series, and it sets the tone for the next six years from the opening moments.  There are so many great things to mention in about episode, from the frantic introduction to the character of Walter White, first seen in his signature tighty-whities, the first time we see Walt, Skyler, and Walt Jr. sitting at the infamous breakfast table, the introduction of Jesse Pinkman and the Winnebago, and their first ever shoot-out (which won’t be the last of the series by a long shot).  The characters are given distinct motivations from the start, and while those motivations have changed drastically since this episode, it’s great to see this episode again in retrospect and see that the core of each character has been carried along throughout the series.  It was the first of many A+ episodes.

9)  Say My Name (Season 5, Episode 7)

Breaking Bad has always had a knack for starting its episodes off with a bang and setting a tone for the episode (look no further than the aforementioned Walt tighty-whitey introduction), and I would say the pre-credits teaser of this episode may be the best of the series.   Watching this episode in relation to the pilot shows just how far each of the characters has come throughout the series, particularly Walt.  Bryan Cranston has won three Emmys for his work on this show, and this episode should (hopefully) win him another one, if for no other reason than the stellar exchange he has at the beginning, showing his mad path to power has reached its peak.  But the episode doesn’t end there!  This is also a great episode to show off the skills of the amazing Jonathan Banks (currently nominated for an Emmy himself for this episode), playing the fan-favorite character Mike in his last episode as a series regular.  Walt’s attempts to lure Jesse back into the meth world show more of Walt’s greed and just how likable a character Jesse has become.  From the adrenaline fueled opening moments to the heartbreaking final scene, this is a memorable episode with a quote that may go down as one of the best in television history.

8)  Peekaboo (Season 2, Episode 6)

Speaking of how likable Jesse is, this episode shows exactly why fans have rallied to support Aaron Paul’s two-time Emmy winning portrayal of Jesse Pinkman.  While Jesse started off as a spoiled-brat meth dealing kid (and lest many people forget, he’s only in his early to mid 20s when the series starts), this may be the episode where his humanity really started coming to the forefront.  While on a mission to reclaim stolen money from a couple of meth heads, Jesse sees just how far a junky’s lifestyle can fall into depravity.  For the first time in the series, Jesse is given the moral high ground, and he takes full advantage of it.  The B-story of the episode shows Walt trying to cover another one of his lies from Skyler (she begins to find out that Walt’s former fling, Gretchen, did not pay for his cancer treatment), and it again starts to unravel the parallel worlds of Walt and Jesse.  As Jesse begins to realize he has good in him, the seeds of bad in Walt grow larger by the minute.  This episode also shows off Jesse’s greatest weakness:  neglected and abused children.  It’s a great set up for what happens with his character into season 3 and beyond, and it makes you wonder why Vince Gilligan ever considered killing Jesse off in Season 1.

7)  Cornered (Season 4, Episode 6)

This episode showcases the war between Giancarlo Esposito’s Gus Fring and the Mexican drug cartel, and how Jesse is slowly being pulled away from Walt and getting closer to Gus and his team by the minute.  And those things are all great.  But this episode is, and always will be, known for this.  The single greatest monologue in television history.  It’s the moment that Walt actually starts believing that he is a drug lord, the moment Skyler realizes her husband is no longer the man she married, and the moment that Walter White becomes a villain.  Sure, he hadn’t yet launched a full scale attack on Gus at this point.  But in this episode, you learn that Walt believes he is the danger, and you slowly see how his perception becomes a reality.

6)  Dead Freight (Season 5, Episode 5)

Cinematic in its quality and scale, “Dead Freight” perfectly sets up the last half of the first half of season 5 (confusing, right?).  Starting with a wonderful interrogation scene with Walt, Jesse, and Mike trying to gather information from Madrigal executive Lydia, the dark comedy that was seen much more frequently in the first half of the series wriggles its head back into the fold.  The methylamine train heist is one of the best action sequences I can remember seeing on television ever, which is particularly impressive since Breaking Bad isn’t exactly known for its fast paced action, and rather its slow-building character study.  There’s even a nice moment in the episode that shows off Walt Jr., who has sadly been forgotten a bit in the series (though I wonder if he’s being avoided for a reason).  The final moments of the episode show what Breaking Bad has always done perfectly:  give our characters a fleeting moment of triumph and celebration, only to be crushed seconds later with the realization that their line of business will never have a happy ending.

5)  One Minute (Season 3, Episode 7)

And now, to acknowledge one of the most underrated characters in television history, I give you “One Minute”, or as I like to call it, “Ode to Hank Schrader”.  The episode starts off with Hank brutally beating Jesse to a bloody pulp, and it continues to escalate until the epic final showdown between Agent Schrader and the creepy cousins of the Mexican cartel.  As a self-contained episode, Hank’s arc is possibly the best in the show’s history.  He starts off the episode as broken emotionally and willing to give up the job he worked so hard to keep, and it ends with him broken physically, but as a hero.  Dean Norris has long stood in the shadows of some of the heavy hitters of the show, including Paul, Esposito, and of course Cranston.  But this episode shows why he deserves to be in the pantheon of great actors Breaking Bad has given the world.  Jesse has a few great moments as well, and the teaser features a memorable moment with Hector “Tio” Salamanca (who will show up on this list later), but this is Hank’s finest hour.

4)  4 Days Out (Season 2, Episode 9)

“4 Days Out” may not be one of the grandest or elaborate episodes of the series’ run, but it is one of the absolute best character episodes, and also one of the funniest.  The plot is simple:  Walt is waiting to hear tests results that will indicate if his tumor has shrunk, and he is almost certain the results are negative, so to take his mind off things, he invites Jesse to go on a marathon bake in the middle of the desert.  Of course, the Winnebago breaks down, and Jesse and Walt are stuck trying to figure out how to fix their broken vehicle and get back home.  It’s a simple screwball comedy set-up, but the results show the true wants and needs of the two:  Jesse wants to be loved (he misses a day trip with his soon to be dead girlfriend, Jane), and while at first it seems that Walt wants to get out of the meth business so he’ll stop lying to his family, the greater revelation is at the end, when it’s shown that he’s afraid of living any longer.  It’s another moment of relief followed by anguish.  The chemistry between Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston carries this episode into the top 4 for me.

3)  …And the Bag’s in the River (Season 1, Episode 3)

This was the episode that officially had me hooked on the series.  While the pilot was great, “…And the Bag’s in the River” showed off all the things that made Breaking Bad so special in its early run.  It starts off with one of the best dark comedy moments of the series, with a flashback showing Walt talking about the makeup of a human body, only to cut to the present day Walt flushing the dissolved remains of Emilio Koyama.  The rest of the episode is a morality play running through each of the sub-stories:  how far will someone go to protect their family?  For Skyler, it means investigating into the beginning of Walt’s lies.  For Hank, it means teaching Walt Jr. a lesson when he thinks his nephew is smoking pot.  For Walt, it’s a number of things, namely 1) Is keeping my cancer from the rest of my family actually protecting them? and 2) Should I kill another person to keep my family from knowing the truth.  It’s an incredibly intense episode, and you really don’t know how Walt will handle his situation with Krazy-8 until the final moments.  For me, Krazy-8’s death is the moment where Walt officially “breaks bad”, and from that moment on, there’s no turning back from him.  Definitely worth a rewatch to see the beginning of Walt’s psychosis and to remember how funny the show could be.

2)  Crawl Space, End Times, Face Off (Season 4, Episodes 11, 12, and 13)

Yes, I know I’m cheating here by putting three episodes in one post.  However, these last three episodes tell one cohesive and grand story, so I’m sticking with it.  These are the episodes that show the culmination of the battle between Gus Fring (arguably the greatest villain in television history) and Walter White (who may take Gus’s place by the end of the series).  I have to go through some of the amazing moments of this run of episodes:  the awesome ending to Skyler’s Ted Beneke storyline, Gus revealing to Walt that he’s after Hank, Walt losing his mind in the crawl space of his house when he finds out Skyler has taken all his money, Jesse thinking Walt poisoned Brock with ricin, the stand-off between Walt and Jesse where they finally team up again for the rest of the season, the tense scene of Walt trying to bomb Gus’s car, Saul Goodman’s secretary extorting money from Walt, the return of Hector Salamanca and his bell, Gus’s final moments, Walt and Jesse burning down Gus’s Superlab, Walt’s declaration to Skyler that he “won”, and the revelation in the final moments that Walt actually did poison Brock, only with a plant he had sitting in his backyard the whole time.  I’ve said it before, but I believe the final three episodes of Season 4 of Breaking Bad are the best run of episodes in television history for all the moments listed, plus many more.  And they would have made it until my number 1 slot if it weren’t for a pesky fly.

1)  Fly (Season 3, Episode 10)

There are two elements of Breaking Bad that I’ve never gotten tired of and that I’ve tuned in to watch since I was first introduced to the series.  The first is Walter White’s decent into madness, and the second is his relationship with Jesse Pinkman.  And that’s why this is my favorite episode of the series by far, and probably always will be.  I’ve always considered this a sequel to “4 Days Down”, with many of the same questions and themes popping up in this episode.  When a stray fly finds its way into Gus’s Superlab that he built for Walt and Jesse, Walt spends day and night trying to kill the fly so it won’t contaminate the meth he’s worked so hard to perfect.  As he and Jesse wait for the fly to appear, they discuss how their lives have changed since they first met.  With Jesse, he’s hanging onto guilt thinking that he was the one responsible for Jane’s death, and Walt is guilted by the mere fact that he is still alive. The vast majority of the episode is spent in the Superlab, with only Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston having any dialogue through the entire hour.  Directed by Rian Johnson of Brick and Looper fame, this episode takes its times and gets the audience reacquainted with the two most important characters in the series. There are a few lovely moments between Jesse and Walt where Walt nearly reveals that he could have prevented Jane’s death, and his inability to say so in conjunction with his guilt over what he’s put his family through show how Walter White is the single most complex and interesting character on television today.  The final moments of another fly circling around Walter as he sleeps show that all of Walt’s grief, pain, and misery may be for nothing.  If I only was allowed to show one episode of the series to show a friend why I love this show, it would always be “Fly”.

 

So there you go.  That’s my list, but with eight episodes left in the series, there’s still a lot of room for a few changes come the end of September.  What are some of your favorite episodes, and how do you think the series will end?

Big Brother 15 – Week 6 Cast Assessment: Good ‘Ol Blindside!

The one good thing about having a blog is that it keeps me accountable for my thoughts. For the most part, I think I’ve been a good judge of character of the houseguests this year (and in years past, for that matter). This week proved me wrong about one particular person though, a person I have been defending vehemently for the past three or four weeks. I’m going to own up to being wrong about that person tonight, and believe me, it won’t be easy. This was definitely a whirlwind of a week, which included a marathon fight, two more houseguests making the news, the announcement that the jury would be bigger than ever, and the potential for a returning houseguest twist. It seems like the producers may be trying to pull a twist a la Big Brother Canada 1 (which any and all BB fans must see…it was one of the best Big Brother seasons I can remember) and bring back a jury member, which I’m sure would an America’s vote, but we’ll wait to see if it actually happens. Also, this week saw two amazing evictions, including one nomination speech scorcher, and a blindside of one of the season’s few remaining favorites. Read on to find out how the double eviction shook things up, and my thoughts on the remaining houseguests. As always, spoilers ahead from the feeds and the episodes up until tonight.

Aaryn getting her game in Chex. Yes, you can yell at me for that joke later.

Aaryn: Hey America, remember that girl you overwhelmingly voted as the MVP nominee the first time you had the chance? You guys must forget as easily as the people actually in the house. She’s still the villain of the season, but she’s got competition in Amanda now. She kept a relatively low profile this week, especially considering the craziness that happened around her, though she did get into a few spats with Amanda yesterday. Tonight was a good(?) night for Aaryn, showing her challenge prowess and making arguably the biggest move of the season, even if Helen or Amanda probably made the nominations for her. She’s in a solid alliance with Amanda, McCrae, and Andy now, and I don’t think many people know they’re together, so she’s in a good spot alliance-wise. We’ll see how the big move turns out for her, and I still say she’s sliding through to the final four, unless people start thinking she’s a challenge threat, in which case she’ll still probably be carried to the final six.

How the tables have turned.

Amanda: There are two things I’m going to stand by in my opinion on Amanda. 1) She’s the most entertaining female houseguest this season. 2) She gives amazing diary sessions. That’s all I have left to defend with her. Anyone who has read these columns the last few weeks have known I have fought for her through all the stuff that was thrown at her, but her power and/or paranoia are starting to make her into a truly ugly person (and that’s before the spray tan disaster even happened). She needs to learn to keep her mouth shut in pressure situations, and she should take McCrae’s advice and just shut up altogether. The veto competition fight was really hard to watch, and I’m sure it was much worse than what was shown on TV since the houseguests were still talking about it before the live show tonight. While other people have made the same “Shanequa” comments (including, in no particular order, Aaryn, GinaMarie, Kaitlin, and Jeremy), hers was a direct attack, and she should really think about the stones she was casting at Aaryn a few weeks back. She did take the spray tan punishment well, and she indulged the rest of the house in a “Bachelorette” party, so at least she’s being entertaining. Here’s hoping this week will see the return of the entertainingly paranoid Amanda and not the offensive Amanda.

Because I couldn’t find another gif, that’s why.

Andy: This week, a new version of Andy appeared in the house, and I hope that he comes around more often now that he’s made an appearance. I’m speaking, of course, about drunk Andy. Drunk Andy is now my favorite houseguest after tonight’s double eviction, so good for him! Unfortunately, regular Andy was pretty boring this week, but he’s playing a great game, so I can’t fault him. My favorite thing to watch with him is how he jokes around with literally every houseguest about how he’s going to vote them out (with Elissa and Helen being his favorite targets), and while no one even thinks he’s being serious about it, I bet he’s not joking as much about Helen as much as everyone may think.  It’s a great way to being to plant a few seeds in their heads, and it may come to pass that his jokes turn into legitimate attacks. Spencer’s joke during the eviction tonight about him was funny, but that’s about all regular Andy did this week that was mentionable.

Somehow the earrings are the most ridiculous thing about this outfit.

Candice (evicted first Week 6): She had been threatening the nomination speech to end all nomination speeches all week, and she delivered. I’m not exactly sure why her comments were directed at GinaMarie over Amanda and Aaryn, but who cares? That was a great speech, with maybe only Ronnie from BB11 getting close to equaling the rage thrown at a housguest during the last minute plea. She had a lot thrown at her this week, and she seemed to take it all in stride, especially the clownitard. I’m wondering if maybe she was so calm knowing she was going out with a zinger. I had high hopes for her all season, but her refusal to actually play the game is why she’s now on the jury. Fortunately for her, she’ll join the elite ranks of  houseguests to be evicted in a ridiculous costume. Here’s hoping she is able to relax in jury and finally be herself: a truly nice and caring person.

Don’t be too happy…I can still turn you back into Rachel.

Elissa: That’s right, ladies and gentleman. For the first time, I am actually going to call Rachel’s sister by her god-given name. She hasn’t done anything to tick me off the last two weeks, so for now, Elissa gets to keep her identity. That being said, she’s still boring and a waste of space. I have enjoyed her spats with Aaryn, and it’s getting to the point that she’ll just say mean things with her in the room, but that’s all I have on her this week. She’s Helen’s puppet, and she’s just riding the waves until her eventual demise.

This would have gone great with Ian’s dog costume last year.

GinaMarie: As far as HOH weeks go, she actually had a pretty good one. She got out her big target, she had a veto punishment which she took in stride and that made her seem weak to the other houseguests, and she allowed herself to be made fun of during Helen’s GinaMarie impression contest (which I’m shocked they didn’t show on the CBS highlights). Her defense against Candice’s nomination speech will probably go down in BB history as being the most ridiculous and hilarious comeback ever (how does Nick’s hat make her look like less of a bigot?) I still think she has a great shot of making it to the end, and she’s starting to remind me a lot of Big Brother Canada‘s Talla, but her chances are lessened now that Aaryn has expressed that she is willing to turn against her. Depending on who wins HOH tonight, she might a nomination, but I’d be shocked if she leaves before final 5.

Helen needs hair dye even more than GinaMarie.

Helen: To anyone who reads this that was a fan of Survivor back in the day, I have an analogy for you. Helen is to Big Brother 15 as Vecepia Towery was to Survivor: Marquesas. Both excelled in the social game and were able to form alliances with much bigger targets while staying likable to the people who opposed those targets. Both were wives who fed off this status to show others that they were “above the drama”. And, most impressively, both  managed to cause almost all the major fights their season by getting everyone to “clear the air”, while they stood back and watched the drama unfold. As many people know, Vecepia went on to win the game. After tonight, I’m not so sure if Helen hasn’t set herself up to do the same thing. As of now, Helen is my new pick to win. She’s not the most exciting person in the house and she’s kind of a narcissist (re: the GinaMarie impersonation contest she started to pick the third person for her barbecue…that she insisted she compete in anyways), but she’s smart, and she’s playing a ruthless game. I’m a fan of her game, even if I’m not all that entertained, but hey, I didn’t like Vecepia at the time either.

The queen of crocodile tears.

Jessie: Jessie is the luckiest person left in this game. She has barely done anything to progress her game, and she escaped death tonight during the second eviction. I still have no clue what actually happened (I’m hoping things become clearer during Sunday’s show), but I really thought she was a goner until Aaryn used her veto (quick trivia fact: the veto has been used during every veto ceremony this season. Is this now a BB record?). Just before the live show tonight, Judd and Jessie got into a fight where she accused Judd of turning against her, and I think it was her trying to throw him under the bus to save herself in case there was a double eviction tonight. Hey, it worked out for her, so maybe she does have some game? She’ll probably be a target this week if she doesn’t win HOH, and I think she’s the next to go if that’s the case.

Party Daugherty has left the building.

Judd (evicted second Week 6): Oh Judd. I’m so sorry I chose you as my pick to win. Most of my BB winner pics have left around early jury (Daniele Donato, Matt Hoffman, Jen Johnson, and James Rhine both times), and I thought having picked Ian to win last year, my luck had turned around. I was horribly wrong, and I hope you don’t blame me for leaving. It was really sad to see every ounce of color leave his face after he was nominated, but at least he took his departure in stride with a funny interview with Julie. If I had to guess where he went wrong, I would say that he was too social and too likable, and it didn’t help that the America’s vote MVP paranoia landed squarely on his shoulders, with many people suspecting this week that he was the one to put up Amanda. The whole house was crying when he left, and even Julie seemed to be pretty miffed when he was nominated, which may be a first. Judd will probably be the star of the season for me, and I can only hope that the BB gods bring back a jury member to the house, and if they do, I can almost guarantee it’ll be him. God’s speed, Party Daugherty and your bear shirt. The rest of this season will sorely miss your presence.

Little Caesar’s prices must be really low in Michigan.

McCrae: Now that Judd’s gone and since drunk Andy only comes out occasionally, he is back to being my favorite houseguest, but only by default. I do have to give him credit for a great week, calling Amanda out on her stupidity, and doing it publicly so the rest of the house knows that he’s not putting up with her nonsense. He ended up back in her bed though, and I’m wondering how much he’s actually thinking with his head. His Bachelor party this week was fun, bringing out drunk Andy, so good for him for getting married (his drunk antics weren’t horrible either, but Andy’s were just way better).  With Judd gone and the target even bigger on Amanda’s back, he’s got a better chance at getting farther in the game than he did before this week, so good for him. I do hope he wins, because I always love to see the actual superfans win.

“The hole I dug for myself was THIS BIG.”

Spencer: Well…this wasn’t a good week for him, was it? All of Amanda’s hatred was overshadowed by his incredibly tasteless joke that had what I can only assume is his former employers calling authorities to do an investigation on him. I don’t  want to comment on his joke, but shouldn’t CBS sit everyone down that’s left in the game and call them out on their behavior? It’s starting to get pretty ridiculous. The megaphone was funny while it lasted, and he won a Bahamas trip, which I guess he’ll use to flee the country after this season is over. As for his game, I guess he’s in a decent spot, but there’s no way he wins, right? If Jessie is nominated and wins POV this week, he may be gone, but I’d say he’s lasting another week.

So, overall a very eventful week. Now that Judd’s gone, who’s got the best chance of winning, and who goes this week?

Elysium – Movie Review

Presented to you spoiler-free!

Somehow, with only two major motion pictures under his belt, Neill Blomkamp has carved a niche for himself in the world of science fiction. Following the success of his first big movie, 2009’s District 9, his new film Elysium will certainly see its share of comparisons to what many consider to be one of the greatest sci-fi films of the past decade. There are definite similarities between the two, and Blomkamp’s visual style translates well from the pseudo-found footage techniques used in District 9. The greatest similarity, and one that I’ve seen Blomkamp and Damon both deny vehemently in interviews, is the fact that Elysium is a political thriller disguised as a futuristic action movie. I don’t know why either would deny it, because the subtext doesn’t overshadow the heart of the picture, which is that of a simple redemption story.

Elysium is set in the post-utopian world of 2154, and Earth has become a polluted, disease-ridden, and overpopulated mess of a society. Those wealthy enough to afford a greater life live on a satellite that hovers over Earth called Elysium, a society which unmistakably looks like a slightly updated version of modern-day Beverley Hills. The citizens of Elysium are all given technology that cures them of any physical ailment or disease.  That means no colds, no flu, no cancer, nothing.  Clearly the people still living on Earth  would like to take part in that, with many risking their lives to take shuttles to Elysium to cure themselves or their family members of any sickness.  The film sees Matt Damon’s character, former thief and factory worker Max DeCosta, contract a life-threatening illness during an accident.  This forces him to team up with his former associates, who turn him into a half-robot (because robots are cool this summer) to steal information from a high ranking Elysium resident so Max can gain access to a shuttle that will take him to his cure.  However, Max finds himself accidentally caught in a conspiracy that was started by Elysium’s Secretary of Defense (the horribly underused Jodie Foster), and the film proceeds to go into the standard run-fight-repeat formula of modern action films.

Make no mistake about it, this film is meant to directly speak to a very modern debate as the best sci-fi movies do, with the citizens of Elysium very clearly representing the “one percent” just as the “prawns” of District 9 represented the underprivileged groups of South Africa. Inserting a healthcare debate in the film is also a rather obvious bit of social commentary, but it reflects the times, so I’m not offended at all. The real themes in this movie that will almost definitely be glossed over by more politically charged critics are represented through Max, namely the age-old question of “Is it too late for me to be a good person?” As a child, Max was told by a nun that he was destined to do something great and wonderful, but Max refuses to believe it all throughout the film because of his past as a con-man. As the movie gives the character a motivation to do good through a love interest (Alice Braga from the best foreign film of the 21st Century, City of God) and her so-cute-it-hurts daughter, Max spends the film battling over his desire to live versus his supposed destiny to change the world. It’s a simple story at its heart, and I’m sure many people will unfortunately gloss over it for the meatier and more controversial elements of the story.

Visually, I could have done without the shaky-cam action sequences that are now the norm for big budget action films, but the grit and texture of the scenes on Earth (very similar to District 9‘s alien camp) compared to the smooth and iridescent Elysium scenes show a wonderful contrast between the two worlds. While this movie has less foul language than District 9, the violence is as strong, with one particular scene getting a rather audible “ew” from the audience during my screening, so please be advised of the R-rating many people seem to have forgotten is attached to this film. Damon gives an admirable performance, especially considering he spends over half the film wearing a very uncomfortable looking metal contraption. The advertisements billed Jodie Foster as the second lead, and while she is the main villain of the movie, it’s hard to say she makes much of an impact on the overall story, and the film could have certainly spent a little more time giving her a motivation other than her lust for power. Sharlto Copley (another District 9 crossover) absolutely steals the show as the psychotic secret policeman of the Secretary of Defense, Agent Kruger. Copley is given the best action cues, the best lines, and the most memorable moments of the film. I also have to give credit to Blomkamp for the brevity of this film. Even sitting all the way through the credits, I managed to leave the theatre after an hour an 50 minutes, a nice departure from the marathon films that seem to bombard theaters during the summer.

Elysium is a commendable film, and it gives the audience a taste of the things that made Blomkamp’s previous film so wonderful. It ultimately falls short in delivering the same chemistry and heart that made District 9 so beloved, but it’s a hearty attempt. This film will begin to pave Blomkamp’s spot as a science fiction auteur, and with his next film already announced as a sci-fi comedy, I expect to see his style flourish in the future, past, or whenever he decides to set his films.

Grade: B+
After Credits Tag? No, feel free to leave after Blomkamp’s name appears