100 Most Entertaining Survivors #75 James "Rocky" Reid

James "Rocky" Reid got 12th in Survivor Fiji.






For those of you who don't remember, this is James (left).

Rocky was known for his boisterous attitude towards the game. He is a Bostonian, and a true "manly man."

There are two moments that really get me about Rocky. The first one is during episode 7, when Edgardo sits next to Rocky. Rocky doesn't like this and responds "Scoot over a little man, unless you wanna make out or something."

It's great moments like these that make Survivor so amazing. But Rocky isn't done. In episode 4, he gives one of the greatest quotes to ever be heard on season 14.

After losing a reward challenge, Rocky is visibly angry. He is tired of losing, and he wants to just be done with his tribe. So he decides to go on a rant. He proclaims "If we're gonna lose like this, why don't we just call up Jeff, on the Jeff phone, and tell him, 'Hey, we're ready to go to tribal council'" Call up Jeff on the Jeff phone. Now, as someone named Jeff, I wanted to know why I didn't get a Jeff phone. But that is beside the point. Rocky's quote was great, but especially when it was followed up with a bit of cross dressing.



That's right. After going on his rant, Rocky decided to cheer up his tribe with a little bikini that belonged to (I think) Michelle. Rocky really knows how to make good TV, it's a wonder he hasn't been back.


These are really the two moments that I notice about Rocky. He was incredibly funny throughout the season. His attitude, while at times hostile (especially towards Anthony), was the reason why the first seven episodes of Fiji was so great. Every time Rocky was on the television screen, you knew it.


Thanks for reading, please rate and comment.


Jeff

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #76: Shambo Waters

Shambo got 6th place on Survivor: Samoa.




For those of you who don't remember, this is Shambo. She was on Survivor: Samoa the preview for Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains. I have a lot to say about Shambo, some good, some bad. But one thing is for sure, she was entertaining.

The second Shambo stepped on to the Samoan beach, everyone knew she would be a hoot. While many on her tribe didn't like her, she was definitely fun to watch. I mean, who doesn't look at a train wreck when they drive by? The first thing that Shambo did was ALMOST become leader of her tribe. Fortunately for them, they picked the other Russell, and he made all the right choices.

In episode 2, Shambo's tribe won the reward of fishing gear. This is great, they will be literally eating fish all of the time. This wasn't the case, as Shambo lost the mouthpiece on her first trip out with the fishing gear. It was all Ok, though, as Shambo reported one amazing thing about the ocean: There are fish. This, of course, leads to one of the best confessionals of the season:

That's right folks, I can use gifs now. I could even embed a video of the confessional. But I couldn't find one. I'm just soooo technologically savvy.

This is Laura saying "You'll never believe it, there's FISH in the ocean!"

One of my favorite things about Survivor is when they use another contestant to point out someone's stupidity. They really are masters of that. Even if they don't know how to edit a season, they will never outdo themselves on some of these wonderful little moments.


However, Shambo's ridiculousness doesn't stop there. She is basically crazy the entire season. The next thing that Shambo does is ruin Survivor: Samoa. She gets on Russell's good side and swings the votes his way come the merge. Shambo is so upset with her Galu tribe, that she hands the game to the hobbit from Houston and his little minion gang. I wouldn't necessarily say that I would call this "entertaining" as much as I would "influential." Without Shambo, Survivor: Samoa is a completely different game. Maybe (hopefully) Dave Ball wins. Maybe it's Laura. But what I can say is that it would be different. It would probably even change the course of Survivor history. Or as Russell would say "his-tree".

To be honest, however, Shambo's post-merge game isn't terribly executed. She doesn't expose herself on the first vote (Erik). She doesn't expose herself on the second vote (She knew Russell would use the idol, so she voted for him), and when she exposes herself on the third vote (Laura), everyone is more mad at John because he was the one who flopped in the tiebreaker. By the time her tribe has a beef with Shambo, Russell has the numbers and can do whatever he wants with the game. So, of course, he decides to screw it up and cost himself a million dollars. But that is besides the point. The truth is that Shambo played a pretty good (But not flawless) post-merge game for those 3 rounds, which is really all she needed until the final 6. She wasn't making the decisions, no. But she was conspiring with Russell to make sure that her subversive activities were vieled enough to get her alliance the majority. For that, I give her credit. Now let's talk about Dave Ball.


For some reason, Shambo always had a beef with Dave Ball. Few people had beefs with Dave Ball. In fact, in the his-tree of the world, only one person may have ever been mad at Dave Ball, and that would be Shambo. Dave Ball is an awesome guy. He is (in my opinion) one of the funniest people to ever play Survivor. How could anyone possibly hate Dave Ball? Well, Shambo believes in dream interpretation, that's how.

It's scenes like this that show me that Survivor's editors really do know what they are doing. They simply choose to do the opposite of what they were taught. The Shambo-dream sequence was incredibly well done. Here is a play-by-play of what happened:

Basically, Shambo was cooking her beloved chickens. Dave came up and informed her that cooking a chicken for 2 hours is a really good way to make penny loafers, but not a good way to make edible food. Shambo basically said "I'm really pissed off right now, so shut up." Now, any smart person knows that Dave was correct. Cooking anything but a pot roast for two hours is usually a death sentence. But Shambo was shaken up. So shaken up, in fact, that she got a vision from God that Dave was voted out the next night. Of course that means that God has called upon Shambo to carry out his will of Dave going home. Russell didn't quite agree. And as we all know, Russell's job is to shit on anyone else's good strategies. Shambo's strategy, albeit oddly derived, wasn't a bad idea. Dave was likeable, Dave was good in challenges. Dave was a threat to win the game (my opinion). But Russell can't have someone else calling the shots. Dear God, that's almost like what's going to happen to him a few months later! (Or a few days, as the jury calls the shots, a concept which he never really understood). So Russell took Shambo's idea, took a crap on it, and handed it back to her. The vote was 7-2 to get rid of John. Shambo voted for Dave.


Shambo's jury speech is the last reason that I am writing this post.
First, she calls Mick's game "feckless," which Mick has to look up. That's humorous, but it's nothing compared to what she says to Natalie. "I'm thinking of a word that starts with 'c', can you finish it?"

Now, at this point, everyone in America is thinking the same word. I won't say it here, because this is a public blog that my mom can access, but we all know what is going to come out of Shambo's mouth....

Then she says "Coattails" and everyone in America breathes a sigh of relief.

This is just one of the humorous moments that Survivor (in my mind) has become known for. I suppose what is happening here is that I'm trying to grasp onto anything in an otherwise terrible season that I find enjoyable. If the Survivor editors had given Survivor: Samoa a chance, it really could have been a great season. There are glimpses of brilliance within it, but they just had to focus so much on Russell that it really didn't do justice to the other 19 people on the island.

Ok, rant over. What I'm saying is that you should give Survivor Samoa another chance and look for these little moments that still make it what Survivor is all about.

Anyway, thanks for reading, please rate and comment.


Jeff

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #77: Jason Siska

Jason Siska got 8th place on season sixteen of Survivor. (Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites)



For those of you who don't remember, this is Jason. He is famous for two things on Survivor. One is being a complete idiot. The other is being a complete idiot again. We will talk about said instances chronologically.

The first instance of Jason's idiocy was sparked by Ozzy. Ozzy had been to exile island and had found the Hidden Immunity Idol within about 7 seconds. Because fake idols were the order of the day in season 16, Ozzy had to try out his hand with them. Unlike his successor, Bob, Ozzy's fake idol was.... sub-par to say the least. It looked like this:


Yes, it looked like a stick that got dented when someone dropped it. Of course no one would be fooled by this piece. Of course, as soon as every audience member was thinking that, they saw this:



Jason, exclaiming in joy that he had found the Hidden Immunity Idol. This joy was accompanied with the realization that CBS must have cut Survivor's budget. But he didn't mind, he was safe in the game.

The story doesn't end there, however. As Jason had an ally named Eliza. Eliza is quite a prudent, observant Survivor player. Of course she wouldn't fall for this ruse. Right? Right?



Right. Eliza knew that it was "just a f***ing stick." She made sure Jason knew too. The best part of this whole thing isn't Eliza's new catch phrase. It's Jason's reaction. His indignancy throughout the whole process makes Eliza believe that he is trying to (unsuccessfully) dupe her. No, Eliza, he really is just that daft.

Jason's idiocy, in this instance, didn't cause someone to directly be voted out. Eliza would have gone home with or without a stick. The other thing he is known for, however, did cause in his direct exit.

It was episode 10 of Survivor: Fans Vs. Favorites. The season was good, pretty good actually. But it was about to become great. The immunity challenge was the cliche'd "put your hand over your head for a few hours. Maybe there will be food." Jason and Parvati were the final 2 when Jeff Probst brings out a huge plate of food. The caveat? Someone would have to drop in order for everyone to get the food. The deals start flying. By the end of it, Jason has gotten everyone on the tribe to agree that should he be the one to drop, they wouldn't vote him out. He drops, Parvati gets immunity, and they gorge on candy.

Jason, knowing that no one in Survivor would ever break their word ever, is completely safe. Right? Right?



Right. Ozzy was voted off because of Jason's dumb move. Right? Wrong. Ozzy was voted off because Parvati decided Ozzy should be voted off. In fact, she made it quite clear in a confessional that Ozzy's vote off had NOTHING to do with Jason, but rather with the fact that she wanted Ozzy gone (idol in pocket).

So while that "dumb" move didn't cause Jason to be voted out, it did pave the way for his exit the next episode. Since Ozzy was out of the game, the idol was rehidden. During the auction, Natalie sent Jason to Exile Island. She knew that he would find the idol (which he did) but she wanted him to trust her. And what fun was this game if the person going home doesn't have an idol? I mean, come on.

When Jason gets back from Exile, he is mad at Natalie because he wanted food. She explains to him that he had the f***ing idol and that he should stop being a little b***h. Or maybe she said it nicer than that. Anyway, he now feels comfortable because Natalie likes him, the tribe didn't vote him out last night, and he has an idol. What could go wrong?

Jason loses immunity, and is planning on playing his idol. Until his best friend (spoiler alert: not best friend) tells him that the tribe is planning on voting for James. Oh! Happy Happy Joy Joy. Jason now has a spot in the final 7 with a Hidden Immunity Idol. It almost seems like poetic justice that Jason was voted out with an idol in pocket while attempting to vote James Clement out, a man who was famous for being voted out with an idol in pocket.


All of this lengthly discussion has been a roundabout way to show that for those 3 episodes, Jason Siska was the focus of my attention. He provided us with enough laughs and eye-rolls to last an entire season. It is why he is one of the 100 most entertaining Survivors of all time. It is also why, if I ever go on Survivor, I will never make a deal with Natalie Bolton.


Thanks for reading, please rate and comment.

Jeff




Clue to #76: This person seems to love fish. And Russell Hantz.

Welcome Back to Jeff's Survivor Blog

Hello everybody! I'm back.

As many of you may know, my blog was on hiatus for a while so that I could work on that thing called a job. But, once again, Survivor proves its importance in my life as I miss the blog quite a bit. Since going on hiatus, I have become to co-host of David and Jeff's Survivor Podcast, as well as an Apprentice Podcast that is yet to be named. It's been really fun and I hope that we can talk about the blog a little on the podcast.


If you are new to this blog, I am currently working on a list of the 100 Most Entertaining Survivors. I'm currently working on the entry for #77.

Please puruse, comment, rate and do all of those fun things. Here is a list of the top 100 so far:

#100: Ian Rosenberger
#99: Stephen Fishbach
#98: Terry Dietz
#97: Crystal Cox
#96: Jeff Varner
#95: David Murphy
#94: Gary Hogeboom
#93: Boo Bernix
#92: Paschal English
#91: Christy Smith
#90: Ozzy Lusth (South Pacific)
#89: Sugar Kiper (Gabon)
#88: Sierra Reed
#87: Rodger Bingham
#86: Yul Kwon
#85: Ami Cusak (Vanuatu)
#84: Rory Freeman
#83: Dave Cruser and Sherea Lloyd
#82: Jud "Fabio" Birza
#81: Stephanie LaGrossa (Palau)
#80: Stacey Powell
#79: Clay Jordan
#78: Ethan Zohn (Africa)


Thanks for stopping by the blog. Make sure to leave a comment, rate a post, or disagree completely with me.

Jeff

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #78: Ethan Zohn (Africa)

Ethan Zohn was the winner of Survivor: Africa. He also participated in Survivor: All-Stars, but this post is solely for his appearance on Survivor: Africa.

This is Ethan. As I stated before, he was the winner of Survivor: Africa. He was the first winner who, I believe, was well-rounded on all aspects of the game. His social, strategic, and physical games were all equally strong. Until Africa, we hadn’t seen such a contestant.

One of the reasons that I loved Ethan so much was because of his alliance. His alliance included four people: Big Tom, Lex, Kim, and himself. The fact that Ethan was able to put up with this alliance is astonishing. He had Big Tom, who didn’t say one discernible sentence the entire game. He had Lex, who made decisions with his heart rather than his head and almost cost their alliance the game. And finally, he had Kim. The invisible one who seemed to just be along for the ride. However, these four together made for incredibly entertaining television.

Now, one of the moments that, in my opinion, made Africa entertaining was Ethan and Lex on a reward trip. This, in my opinion, is the most entertaining reward in ANY SURVIVOR SEASON. For those of you who don’t remember, Ethan and Lex won two goats and a trip to a nearby town (of course, in the middle of Kenya, nearby means about 3 hours away). They could barter these goats away so they could buy various goods from the town. This became one of the best scenes in the first three seasons. We had Lex talking about pooping. We had Ethan talking about butchering his goats. And they even ended it with an inspirational moment where Ethan gives his luxury item to some of the local kids. They need to do more rewards like this nowadays. As opposed to “go have a meal on a boat”.

Eventually, Ethan became the “nice guy” winner of the first 9 seasons. Eventually Tom did also win that label, but Ethan did it first and some say best.

This win wasn’t without its moments, however. Ethan provided us with laughs and inspirational moments along the way. As I’ve said, I honestly believe that he is one of the most well-rounded players to ever play the game. It is unfortunate that he is fighting cancer right now. However, everyone in the Survivor community will always remember his long, curly hair and his fun attitude.

Thanks for reading, please rate and comment. 

Jeff

Clue to #77: Karma doesn’t work so well in Survivor.

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #79: Clay Jordan

Clay Jordan was the runner up in Survivor: Thailand.

Clay was known as the hero of Survivor: Thailand. The funny thing about Clay, you see, was that everyone loved him. He was truly one of the most kindhearted people to ever play Survivor. His kindness emanated from every pore in his body. It is truly a shame that he didn’t win.

If you believed a word of that, then you need to watch Survivor more. Clay was kind of a despicable human being.

In Survivor: Thailand, Clay was known for being a sexist Southerner. If he had the chance, he probably would have been racist too. Oh wait, he loved Ghandia. Nevermind.

Clay was the king of making me laugh at truly terrible things. The thing about Clay, you see, was that he was a despicable human being. He is one of those people who doesn’t joke about women being in the kitchen, he TRULY believes that is their place. (Well, the bedroom too, but we will get to that). So you would think that as a moral being, I wouldn’t find Clay the least bit humorous or entertaining. But dammit, every time that guy opened his mouth I was laughing. But let’s start from the beginning.

Clay began as the underdog. He was the last person picked from any tribe. He was clearly a physical outcast. He was older, he was shorter, and let’s face it… he had a bit of extra largeness on him. Nothing about him SCREAMED challenge dominator. But hell if he didn’t win the hell out of that game just as much as Crystal Cox (yes, sarcasm).

To further his underdogness, in the reward challenge in episode 3 reward challenge, Robb decided to have some fun with Clay. You see, in this challenge, the Survivor’s could attack one another in Jeff’s beloved “Attack Zone”. Robb decided that “attack” meant “Grab that old Southerner by the throat and throw him to the ground!” Well, Jeff was less than pleased (especially since Robb stepped out of the “attack zone”). Clay completed the run, and Robb got angry. This provides with one of the best moments of the season. Robb’s impression of Clay. But, that is for Robb’s entry, not Clay’s. Therefore, I will use this paragraph to further the fact that Clay is an underdog.

But, Clay isn’t an underdog. He makes an alliance with Brian. This provides Clay with safety. And more opportunities to entertain me  .

This is about the time that one of the best fights of the season happens. Or as I like to call it, “Grindgate.” (This name may have come from Mario Lanza, I’m not actually sure. It just popped into my head. I don’t want to take credit when I don’t remember where it came from). Clay is great in this sequence. He stays completely quiet throughout the whole thing. Anyone who knows Clay knows that he is already on Ted’s side. Even if Ted did do something, Ghandia was probably asking for it. Right, Clay? Anyway, Clay stays quiet until Ghandia decides to throw a tantrum. This is, in my opinion, one of the most overused clips of the season. But we all remember it. Ghandia goes to a “secluded” spot and screams at the top of her lungs. Then the editors provide us with a great shot of Clay looking towards Ghandia as she is screaming. Then we get the quote. “If one of my kids did that, I would have whooped its ass and put it back in bed.” There are so many things that go through your mind when you hear that quote. First, humor. You laugh because Clay has said something funny. Then, fear. “Oh crap, Clay probably would do that… he is the type of guy who would “whoop” his kids”. Then, humor. It’s still pretty funny. Admit it.

Another great thing about Clay: he is the first person to get yelled at by Probst for being an idiot at tribal council. When Clay finally gets the chance to vote out Ghandia, he writes “Bye Bye Denver Diva”. Probst isn’t happy because Clay didn’t write a name down. It isn’t huge, but it is one of the funnier moments in Clay’s tenure.

Clay is mainly remembered as being one of the most openly sexist castaways to ever play Survivor. He provided the viewers with a ton of laughs, and he was one of the best characters in Thailand. Honestly, I think he should have made All-Stars. He truly made All-Stars watchable after Robb left.

Thanks to all for reading. I hope you continue!

Clue for #78: Unlike Rob M, this guy sold the goat before the final tribal council

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #80: Stacey Powell

Stacey Powell got 16th place on Survivor: South Pacific

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Stacey. She looks like a happy go lucky person, right? Well that picture is pretty misleading. Stacey is one of the most unintentionally funny people in the history of Survivor, at least in my opinion. Among my friends, she is also one of the most quoted Survivors. Her demeanor and style of speaking is just so damn hilarious that even though she was only on Survivor for five episodes, she makes the list.

Stacey started Survivor as a somewhat normal person. Her first confessional was funny, but it was nowhere near her Redemption Island rant. If you want my honest opinion, I think she just started to go crazy. Her voice got more and more unintelligible, and her comments funnier and funnier. The Survivor producers had to love Stacey because she provided all of the necessary sound effects for the first half of the season. They didn’t even need to hire someone to do that in a studio! She did it all the way from the South Pacific. When ever someone said something surprising, Stacey would punctuate there statement (a la Batman) with some onomatopoeia. For example, when Brandon revealed that he was Russell’s nephew, Stacey waved her hands in the air and exclaimed “BLAM!” It is things like this, the little gems, that truly make a Survivor season enjoyable.

I would be remissed if I ended this entry without  this analysis: Stacey got more and more unintelligible as her time on Survivor continued. I was so angry when she lost, because I wanted to see her at the FTC. Imagine an extra 25 or so days for her! She would have been speaking a different language… Here is my call to Mark Burnett:

Mark, make a Second Chances season. Bring back Stacey. Rig it so she is in the Final tribal. I will pay you.

The one reason that Stacey is on this list is because of her “rantics” at Redemption Island. (I’ve devolved to quoting Kat now…). Here are her speeches transcribed in case you couldn’t understand her slurry talk:

To Christine: “They acting like it’s all hunky Dory. It ain’t hunky dory”. This one is only funny when read in Stacey’s voice.

This one was said in front of everyone.

“Those Those are liars so red team look out for those right there. It wasn’t a team. It is Benjamin, Albert, and Sophie. But who is the ending two? Benjamin and Albert. But Benjamin is running the team. Benjamin is running the team. Makes ALL the decisions.”  (Jeff Probst asks, “Coach?”) “No Benjamin. Adults call him Benjamin. So I’m not gonna call him Coach. What’s his name? What was his birth name? It wasn’t Coach, it was Benjamin. And you know, they’re children. 26, 22. They go listen to all of Benjamin’s Halloween jokes. Chuckee the Cheese jokes. They want it.” (this next part I can’t understand, but I will try.) “He go off the Lord take them off their feet. ‘Oh Benjamin! It’s so loyalty’. C’mon. Everyday he got a story. I wasn’t buying it. (rolls eyes, fake laughs). No. So they try like yesterday like the tribe was all cahoots. Benjamin let’s give a hug. PSHT! Keep that hug. (points a “gun” in the air) BOOP! For me. Cause it wasn’t real.”

Writing this speech doesn’t do it justice. If you boycotted season 23, I urge you to go watch the first 15 minutes of episode five. That is about all you need to watch to realize that Stacey is easily one of the most entertaining early boots to ever play the game.

I don’t know that there is much more I can say. I can only attempt to describe the amazingness that is this speech, and I have neither the willingness nor the ability as a writer to capture the true genius. Just go watch episode five. Please. For me. I couldn’t find a version of it on youtube, but please dig. Please look. Please find it. BOOM. The gauntlet is thrown. BLAM. It has been said.

Thanks for reading. Come back soon.

Jeff

 
Clue to #79: As one of the first generation Survivors (seasons 1-8), this man was able to use his Southern “charm” to get himself far in the game.

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #81: Stephanie LaGrossa (Palau)

Prepare the cannons. Send me all of the hate comments now. Come on, I’ll take it.

I expect death threats for this one, but I am placing Stephanie LaGrossa from Survivor Palau at number 81 on my list. She got 7th place because Probst convinced Janu to quit. Otherwise, she would have gotten 8th.

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Stephanie. She is one of the most liked people in Survivor history. Since playing in Palau (where she is at her most entertaining) she has played twice more, in Guatemala and Heroes Vs. Villains.

Stephanie began Palau as one of the standout characters. Within minutes of the game starting, she had exposed herself as a threat. The 20 people in Palau were given the instructions that on the beach, almost a mile away, there were two immunity necklaces for the first two people (one from each gender) to get to the beach. Stephanie was one of the first two  people to jump off of the boat and try to outswim it. Needless to say, she could not outswim the boat and she began the game with a huge target on her back.

Sensing the fact that she was in danger, Stephanie made an alliance with the seemingly strongest person in the game, Tom. Unfortunately, she didn’t stay with Tom long because of the way that the tribes worked out.

So Stephanie is on the Ulong tribe. This is clearly the younger, fitter tribe while Koror is the older, seemingly wiser tribe. All of the smart money in the game of Survivor is going towards the Ulong tribe. While it is expected that Koror will win many of the more mentally taxing challenges, there are many challenges that are purely physical (such as pushing each other off of a platform with pillows). Unfortunately for Stephanie, Ulong loses EVERY immunity challenge. You read that correctly, every single one. In fact, no tribe in the history of Survivor has lost EVERY immunity challenge. (Actually, that is untrue. Ravu in Fiji lost every challenge, but Moto gave up one of their wins to keep their camp.)

When it is down to the final 2 on the Ulong tribe, Stephanie and Bobby Jon had to compete against each other in order to see who would be the sole Ulong member. Stephanie wins, and the fans of Survivor have their underdog. Stephanie has to endure one night on the Ulong beach alone, and she eventually gets to join the Koror tribe.

All looks dead for Stephanie. She outnumbered 8-1. Tom doesn’t look like he is interested in rectifying his alliance with Stephanie. She does make it through one vote when Koror sacrifices Coby. But all looks lost for her now. Tom and Ian are dominating the challenges, and Stephanie doesn’t have a chance.

Then comes Janu. Or as I refer to her, Stephanie’s saving grace. Janu is tired of the game. She doesn’t want to play anymore, and she mixes no words. I am a personal believer in that Jeff Probst actually persuaded her to quit at that tribal council. The feelings were there, don’t get me wrong. But I believe that Janu wouldn’t have quit without Jeff’s prodding.

What happens next is one of the reasons that Stephanie is one this list. It is the look on her face. She expresses a look of pure joy. There is no filter to it, her face is emoting an absolute and unadulterated happiness.  This is something that is missing from Survivor nowadays. This is something that was missing from Survivor in season 10. No one was playing with their heart. There was no emotion left in the game (keep in mind this is coming off of Chris winning. He is one of the best winners ever, but still). Nowadays, people seem way too entitled. Especially when they bring people back, they have egos. They feel as if they have a right to be on the show, rather than they have earned the privilege. When someone shows that they are thoroughly happy that they have been given the opportunity to be on the show for another three days, it is endearing. I was incredibly happy for Steph, because she was so happy.

Steph was a thoroughly entertaining character throughout the entire season of Palau. Her personality and status of the underdog endeared her to viewers. While she couldn’t make it all the way through the game, she stuck with people and she is one of the people that people remember from Palau. She had one of the craziest rides of anyone on Survivor. Unfortunately, when she came back for Guatemala she was simply there to play the game and not enjoy it. And Heroes Vs. Villains was a total mess. (I was on James’ side. He may not have displayed his message the right way, but his message was correct.)

Anyway, that is the story of Stephanie LaGrossa. I hope you enjoyed reading. Please rate and comment!!

Jeff

Clue for number 80: This person didn’t make it far, but she did make a big impression on the viewers. In fact, she is one of the most quoted Survivors that I have seen in the past few years.

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #82: Jud "Fabio" Birza

Fabio Birza was the winner of one of the weirdest seasons of Survivor, Survivor: Nicaragua.

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Fabio. He was one of the biggest “surfer dudes” to ever play Survivor. In other words, he was clueless the entire game, almost to a laughable point. Ok, it was completely to a laughable point.

One of the first shots that we get of Fabio was him hurting himself on the beach. He stepped on a rock or something and hurt his foot. Not soon after he cut himself with the machete and ended up with a nasty looking thing on his hand. The entire time, he just laughed through it. Come to think of it, he was quite a bit like Robb Zbacnik from Survivor: Thailand.

One thing has to be asked about this season is “How the frick did Fabio win?” It is an interesting question that I often ask myself. The obvious answer is that he made enough friends on the jury to vote for him, I’m sure that there is a more complicated answer, however. I just don’t know what it is.

From the beginning of the game, Fabio had a huge thing going with NaOnka, for some reason she just didn’t like him. She wasn’t able to verbalize the reason; just that she didn’t like him. She even stole his socks at one point, which was overshadowed in that episode by Holly stealing Dan’s $1600 shoes. (Btw the most expensive shoes I own are about $30 and I thought that was pretty egregious when I was at the store).

The way Fabio played the last half of the game completely confused me. He somehow made it through without an alliance whatsoever. This made it even more entertaining when he won, because it surprised everyone that he even made it that far. The obvious reason that he made it that far was because of his immunity streak. He had to get to the final 7 before he got to this point, however. He was able to navigate the first part of the merge without an alliance whatsoever. Even once he started his immunity streak, he had no alliance. He made it to the final 7 and voted alone. He made it to the final 6 and turned down an almost guaranteed final 3 spot. At the final 5, he voted off Dan in order to attempt to save his own hide, and at the final 4, the other 3 people would have almost assuredly voted him off if it weren’t for immunity.

Whatever the reason, he did it. He even won the necessary 5 jury votes, one of which was from NaOnka, his supposed arch enemy. I am still confused by this jury decision. Moreso than any other I would say. If I were on the jury, I would have voted for Sash to be honest.

A lot of people don’t know this, but Fabio is also an expert on Freud. This came out at one of the tribal councils where Sash made a “Freudian slip”, which meant that Jeff needed to give a psychology lesson. But alas, Fabio already knew this material, and he explained it to the Survivors.

Fabio is arguably one of the most fun-to-watch winners of all of them. I loved watching him. Everything, from his voice to his performance at Tribal Council’s, was entertaining. I would not be surprised if we saw Fabio back on Survivor. While everyone was surprised he won, no one was disappointed.

Jeff

Clue to #81: This person was the best of the absolute worst.

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #83: Dave Cruser and Sherea Lloyd

This is the first dual-entry. That is, this is the first entry where two people are congratulated on being entertaining only because of each other, and for no other reason. Dave Cruser got 13th place on Survivor: China. Sherea Lloyd got 11th, just missing the merge.

       

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Dave and Cirie… I mean Cassandra… Crap! I mean Sherea!
Dave and Sherea were wonderful characters on Survivor, because they fed off of each other so well. It wasn’t intentional, but it sure was entertaining. It seems like the fighting between them began on day 1. They were always bickering about doing work vs. saving energy for challenges. I firmly believe that Dave is in the right on this argument (That work needs to be done). But I don’t believe that you need to do as much work as he was insisting on. I also hated the way in which he argued, which made me root for Sherea all the more.

The two constantly argued about the mud bricks and the fire and the challenges and the water and the food and the list goes on and on. At one point, Dave had left a bucket of shells out so he could take them home to his family. Sherea, being Shereatastic, decided that she didn’t want them smelling up her camp. Thus, she tried to throw them back into the water, which gave us a hilarious scene that I think everyone should watch. It starts at :50 in this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPbaZ-2sbcQ.

Words cannot describe…  This clip basically describes the relationship that existed between Sherea and Dave. It was basically both of them acting like young children, while everyone else in their tribe just watched… and presumably laughed.

Overall, I did not find Sherea entertaining. I did not find Dave entertaining. I only found the wonderful combo of Sherea and Dave together entertaining. Survivor casting did a wonderful job on this one, and then they put them on the same tribe. Bravo to Burnett and Probst (and CBS)…

If you haven’t watched Survivor: China, you need to go to itunes right now and buy it. And watch it. It is one of the best seasons of Survivor yet. I personally would put it in my top 3 or 4 seasons. Sherea and Dave make the beginning of this season enjoyable, while Amanda’s amazing FTC performance makes the end laughable.

Thanks for reading once again, please comment and enjoy.

Jeff

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #84: Rory Freeman

Rory Freeman got 10^th place on Survivor: Vanuatu

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Rory Freeman. He was on the 9^th (and possibly best) season of Survivor. He didn’t have a long stint on the show, but he definitely made an impression on the viewers. Rory was a very loud person, and for some reason was disliked by most of the people on the show.

Rory was a founding member of the “Fat 5.” This was the five men on the original Lopevi tribe that were deemed as the “older” and thus “weaker” men. Seeing as there were five of them, they decided to get rid of the physically superior younger men. No wonder the women ran this game like no other until the end… The “Fat 5” successfully disposed of 3 out of the 4 younger guys, but then they hit a road bump. They had to switch up the tribes, and the “Fat 5” was split 2 and 3. Rory and Bubba were on the Yasur tribe and Chris, Sarge, and Chad were all on Lopevi. Bubba was quickly disposed of on the Yasur tribe, leaving Rory and a bunch of women. Thus, our story begins.

Rory Freeman is a man alone. He is on a tribe with five women (which is something that no man wants, believe me.) The five women have a pre-existing relationship and Rory’s only friend, Bubba, was voted off unanimously by the women. Rory needs something. He needs an in with the women. This could be small, but there had to be something. Some might say all he needs is a “little crack.”

Rory is doing everything wrong. First, he yells at the women, threatening to burn down the camp if they don’t give him a chance at making it through the next vote. He is also a huge whiner. All of these things are a recipe to piss off women enough to make them not want to keep you around an island for much longer.

But alas, Rory does find his “little crack” and he exploits it. He watches a fight explode between Eliza and the “older folk” of Yasur. He is then successfully able to navigate his way through this crack and emerge on the other side victorious (please try to get that out of your head). Lisa is voted off, and Rory makes the merge.

Rory is an incredibly entertaining character. First, anyone who watched Survivor: Vanuatu knows why the above was funny. However, convincing those of you who didn’t watch the season might be a hard sell. Rory was just an entertaining guy, and I advocate that everyone read Mario Lanza’s number 47 entry about Rory and his “little crack.” If anyone can convince you, it is Mario Lanza.

Rory was just an overall entertaining guy. From what I have heard of Survivor: Vanuatu,  Rory just might be the most annoying person to ever make the merge. According to a podcast with Chris, everyone hated Rory, especially Sarge. However, we didn’t see any of this on the show because of the glory of editing. What we saw was a Rory who was the whitest black man I have ever seen on TV. He is from Iowa, which is interesting because I am from Nebraska and therefore should hate him. (Nebraska/Iowa is a lot like NYC/Jersey).

Rory was actually my pick to win (WAIT BEFORE YOU STOP READING GIVE ME A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN). I came into Survivor: Vanuatu halfway through the season because I wasn’t allowed to watch Survivor (Look at the previous entries to get that story) until that time. I may be wrong, but I came in about the time that Rory was in an alliance with the women to get rid of Lisa. With the exception of Eliza, I didn’t see anyone else in that alliance that I liked enough to make them my pick to win. I didn’t realize the relationship between the women when I came in, I thought that Rory+4 was a well-established alliance at the time. Imagine my surprise when Rory was gone at 10^th place.

 
Well, that is that about Rory. There is no adequate way to explain the awesome that is Rory Freeman. Please watch Survivor: Vanuatu if you haven’t and you will see what I am talking about.

Thanks for reading and please comment.

Jeff

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #85: Ami Cusak (Vanuatu)

Ami Cusak got 6^th place in Survivor: Vanuatu, one of my favorite seasons.

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Ami. She was the leader of an all-girls alliance that made it all the way to the end of the game. OH WAIT…with one exception…. But more on that later.

Ami began the game on an all-girls kick. She was convinced that she needed to take a group of women to the end of the game, simply because no one else had done it before. While Ami was all gung-ho about the girls alliance, she was more than willing to get rid of Lisa instead of Rory simply because he complained a bit (There was more, but that explanation really sums it all about up.)

Ami’s personality is really the reason that she was put on this list. She seemed fun-loving and truly nice (with the exception of hating all men (apparently)). She was nice all throughout the season, and I think that she would be cool to hang out with (if I was a woman).

Ami’s insistence on the all-woman’s alliance bordered on the tragic. She was even willing to vote for Twila (that is right, Twila) for the 1 million dollars at the end. It seems a bit ironic that this is the case, because in season 16, half of the (not-yet-formed) woman’s alliance voted her off after she tried to flip on them (with Tracy).

Back to the “But more on that later”: Chris was successfully able to infiltrate the women’s alliance. That is funny right there. When I write the entry about Chris, I will elaborate on this beautiful comeback.

While this is not the longest entry, I beg your forgiveness. I have a few reasons. The first is that Ami’s personality is what made her quite entertaining. The second reason is that I am trying to keep it short because I made you all read too much on the entry for Yul. Sorry about that.

Thanks for reading, please rate and comment.

Jeff

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #86: Yul Kwon

Sorry for my longest entry yet, I just have a lot to get off my chest from Survivor: Cook Islands.
Yul Kwon is the first winner that you see on the list. He won one of the least auspicious seasons of Survivor to date, Survivor: Cook Islands.

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Yul Kwon. He was the winner of Survivor: Cook Islands. He played arguably one of the best strategic games in the history of Survivor. He was able to maneuver his 4 person alliance to the final four despite being outnumbered. He did this with a Hidden Immunity Idol, but unlike Russell Hantz, who achieved the same feat, Yul was able to get his four through the game without actually using the Hidden Immunity Idol.

Survivor Cook Islands became famous for being the first season where contestants were divided by race. There were four tribes, Aitutaki (Hispanic), Puka Puka (Asian), Rarotonga (White), and Manihiki (Black). Survivor fans did not know how to approach this twist. Survivor producers were probably shaking their heads because they were losing sponsorships and viewers. Then we see Yul, a member of the Asian tribe, make some of the most apropos and astute comments ever made by a Survivor contestant. The comments that he made were about how the Puka Puka tribe was racially diverse within itself. He also said that this was going to be an interesting social experiment. I believe that this legitimized this season. Viewers saw a well-spoken Asian man discussing legitimate social issues and advocating for what the Survivor producers were doing. I honestly believe that Yul is the sole reason that many people continued watching this season of Survivor. It is no wonder that he is now a politician.

Yul found the Hidden Immunity Idol incredibly quickly in the game. Once he found the HII, I knew that he was going to be a huge threat within the game of Survivor. The HII this season had different rules than it does now. At this time, you could play it AFTER the votes are read. This means that it is basically complete power over the game. There is no chance that you could play it uselessly. This made Yul an incredibly powerful person in the game of Survivor.

When there were twelve people left, Jeff announced a mutiny. This meant that anyone could leave their tribe and join the other one immediately. The tribe count was 6-6 at this time, but Candice and Jonathan left Aitutaki and went to Rarotonga. This left Yul’s tribe at an 8-4 disadvantage. Ozzy, Sundra, Becky, and Yul were left alone.
The next few episodes were tense. Everyone liked some of the people on  the Raro tribe, but the Aitu tribe provided a wonderful underdog story to be told. Never in the history of the game had such a disparity been overcome. And never until Russell would it be overcome again. There were two more tribal councils for the Raro tribe before the merge. However, at one of those tribal councils, there was a twist and they were forced to vote off two people, Rebecca and Jenny.

Aitu made what they thought was a very strategic move at this point in the game. I, however, disagree.  (Yul was the obvious strategist in the Aitu alliance, which is why this is going in his blog post.) This is the only point in which I believe that Yul played with his heart rather than his head. It seems obvious to me that there was no way in hell that they were going to merge with 8 people (which would, in a perfect world, mean that there would be a 4-4 tie. Yul sent Candice to Exile Island twice before the merge happened. This left Jonathan incredibly vulnerable to being voted out by Raro. Yul should have known that his best bet of getting someone to flip at the merge would be Candice and Jonathan, as they have friendships and they both have wronged the Aitu in some way. However, he sent Candice to Exile Island, which meant that she wasn’t getting to bond with her tribe, and he left Jonathan vulnerable because Candice wasn’t there to go to bat for him. I think that Yul should have sent one of the original Raro people to Exile Island to give Candice and Jonathan the best possible chance to stay in the game until the merge. I know that this isn’t a reason that Yul is necessarily entertaining, but it is something that I have had on my chest for a while now. Thank you for letting me rant. Back to the fun stuff.

Yul obviously has a way with words. He is a natural speaker, and it seems that he could sell condoms to a nun (One of my favorite sayings). This made for a very entertaining moment as he attempted to persuade Jonathan. He was so persuasive, in fact. that I, as an audience member, wanted to jump up and vote with Yul. The man has a way with words. This is probably why he won, he was able to articulate his points very well. Anyway, he pulled out his Hidden Immunity Idol for the first time in the entire game and showed it to Jonathan. This provided us with literally the only suspenseful moment in the entire season: would Jonathan flip to AItu or not. He was ultimately successful, of course. He also illustrated a brilliant move in sacrificing Jonathan when he was no longer necessary in order to appease the Raro tribe. Although this probably should have been done one tribal council earlier, it was enough to get the votes from the jury.

Ultimately, Yul was the mastermind behind the entire season. Anyone who was voted off, Yul had a hand in. In fact, Yul has a rare distinction (I haven’t officially counted, but I believe that about 15 people have done this EDIT: I did do an official count, the total number of people who voted the correct person out every time is 38. However, there is a caveat to most of these, leaving only 15 people to do it legitimately (Yul is one) to see the whole list, look at the thread on Previously on Survivor or e-mail me) to have cast his vote for the person leaving at every tribal council he attended. This simply goes to show just how flawless his game was. In fact, I would argue that his only shortcoming was the fact that Ozzy won all of the challenges. If there wasn’t a huge physical player sitting next to him in the final three who was much more visible throughout the season, I believe that he would have swept the jury a la Earl or JT.

Thank you all for reading, please comment.

Jeff

PS: Clue to Number 85: This person was the biggest proponent of a specific alliance I have ever seen. Unfortunately for them, the entire alliance was smuffed in the end.

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #87: Rodger Bingham

Rodger Bingham got 5^th place on Survivor: The Australian Outback.

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Kentucky Joe AKA Rodger Bingham. It is people like Rodger which made me excited about the top 100 Most entertaining Survivors. Everyone remembers Coach and Russell, but it’s people like Rodger who tend to get overlooked, I hope to change that.

Once Rodger landed in Australia, nearly instantly he formed an alliance with Elisabeth. Actually, this was less of an alliance than it was a friendship. Rodger and Elisabeth kept this alliance for the entire game, until he got voted off at 5^th. Rodger also had a great Southern accent. Whenever he talked, you smiled because he was kind and seemed to be just one of the most genuine people to ever play the game.

Rodger played at a time before there was a lot of strategic gameplay. Today, he wouldn’t last very long in the game. However, at the time you could go a long way by being a nice person. Rodger also gave us a great story arc in the second episode. In this episode, the entire tribe had to jump off a cliff, into the water. Rodger had never swum in his life. However, he was able to get over his fear and jump off of the cliff. His tribe was proud of him, and the challenge continued.

There wasn’t any defining moment for Rodger in the game of Survivor. With the exception of his relationship with Elisabeth, there wasn’t one thing that you could point to and say “That is why he is entertaining.” However, if you have watched season 2, you know exactly what I am talking about. Rodger made this season fun. His overall demeanor and willingness to just be everyone’s friend and be on the game just to survive made him incredibly fun. At a point in time where NO ONE comes on Survivor “just for the experience,” Rodger seems like a fish out of water.

Overall, Kentucky Joe was incredibly fun to watch in Survivor: The Australian Outback. He made the season enjoyable to watch. While this isn’t the longest entry because he didn’t have any amazing moments, I don’t think that anyone will deny the fact that he was an incredibly entertaining person.

Thanks for reading. Please comment and rate!

Jeff

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #88: Sierra Reed

Sierra Reed got 7^th place in Survivor Tocantins, one of the most represented seasons on this list.

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Sierra. She was one of the most hated players in the game by some people, while some people rooted for her to win the entire thing. One thing, however, was for sure: She was entertaining.

Sierra began her Survivor experience in a way that only two people ever have. The producers decided to begin the game of Survivor: Tocantins by immediately “voting” two people off the second the game started. Seeing as Sierra had a fever and was a smaller girl, Timbira quickly “voted her off”. In all actuality, this simply meant that Sierra (and Sandy who got “voted off” of Jalapao) did not have to participate in the first hike to camp, the got a helicopter ride.

This ended up giving us the first reason why I loved Sierra. When she and Sandy got back to camp, they had the option to either look for the hidden immunity idol or begin building camp. While Sandy decided to look for the hidden immunity idol, Sierra thought that she would try to improve her stock in the tribe and begin to build a shelter. I immediately knew after this that I would like Sierra. This move showed me that she was conscious of how she was perceived and that she had a social conscience.

The next thing that Sierra did was something that she didn’t actually do: The Exile Alliance. I thought that the Exile Alliance was the most interesting prospective move in the game for a few seasons. I know it didn’t pan out, but the editors gave it so much screen time that everyone thought that it would. The Exile Alliance consisted of Taj, Brenden, Stephen, and Sierra. The alliance was possible because Exile Island included a twist where two people (one from each tribe) would go to Exile together. This alliance was amazingly entertaining while it lasted, which wasn’t long.

Another entertaining moment for Sierra was a moment that she, Brenden, and Debbie perpetrated. Brenden and Sierra were looking for the hidden immunity idol. They were digging a HUGE hole in the middle of the beach (away from camp). Debbie stumbled upon this, and asked what was going on, Sierra quickly responded “We are building a fire pit”. This led to Debbie advocating for the fire pit more than Sierra or Brenden. This moment was played out pretty heavily because it actually led to some controversy within the Timbira tribe. And it all began because Sierra had to cover her ass.

Finally, Sierra was entertaining because of her constant bickering with Tyson. While there was never a full on fight, we did often see Tyson hating on Sierra for reasons that were never really understood by the audience (or at least by me). This made the character of Sierra incredibly entertaining, but we will get to the specific comments made by Tyson in his entry (oh you bet he is on this list).

Overall, Sierra was an entertaining person to be on Survivor. I feel like she doesn’t get much credit, however, because she was overpowered by some incredibly entertaining people on that season (I haven’t done an official count, but I believe it to be the most represented season on this list). Coach and Tyson may have overshadowed Sierra, but she will always have made Tocantins more entertaining in my book.

Thanks to all for reading, please comment. I hope you enjoyed.

Jeff

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #98: Sugar Kiper (Gabon)

Sugar Kiper got 3rd place in Survivor: Gabon.

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Sugar. She is famous for a few different things. One, according to her best friend, Corrinne, is crying. A few more records she holds: She was exiled five times, more than any other Survivor, she is one of only a few Survivors to never have her name written down (literally, at regular or final tribal councils), she also had one of the quite possibly worst Final tribal council performances of all time (in my opinion).

Sugar is on this list for a few reasons. She was not originally on this list, but after a while I decided that she needed to be here. She began her time on Survivor by getting into an alliance with one of the most annoying people to play the game, Ace. Everyone was rooting for the two of them to be voted off when she decided to make a move that made her wildly popular: voting him off. In fact, it was her vote that got him voted off.

Some people were incredibly annoyed by Sugar despite her move to get Ace off, and that is fine, however I really liked her. She was my fourth pick to win for the rest of the season (behind Randy, Corrinne, and Bob). She beat all of the odds and ended up finding the hidden immunity idol on one of her stays on Exile, beating out the phenomenal legal mind of Dan Kay, who didn’t realize that “A sandy crater” didn’t mean “the bottom of the lake”.

While Randy was by far my favorite person in Gabon, I have to give Sugar entertainment points for what happened at the auction. For those of you who don’t remember, Randy uncharacteristically bought cookies for the entire tribe. He offered one to everyone and Sugar declined. After Randy had given everyone else on the tribe a cookie, he offered Sugar his cookie as a nice gesture. She took the cookie and gave it to Matty. While this might not seem like a big deal, Randy was incredibly upset. You read that correctly folks, Sugar is the only person in the history of Survivor to get a 49 year old man upset over a cookie. The moment was pure magic.

The next reason why I love Sugar is something that is purely personal. She saved Bob. Bob is historically one of the most disliked winners in Survivor history, but I completely disagree. He is one of my favorites, by far. The situation is thus: the final four is Susie, Sugar, Matty, and Bob. Bob, after a huge immunity run, loses immunity and it seems like his life in Survivor is over. He decides to play to the emotional side of Sugar and plea for her vote to make it a 2-2 tie. She obliges, Bob wins the tiebreaker challenge, and eventually the game. It isn’t a big moment for Sugar, but it is one of the reasons she will always have a special place in the Survivor cockles of my heart. If Matty had won, I would have disliked Gabon a lot more.

The final reason that Sugar is on the list is because of Corinne’s jury question. I know that it was not because of Sugar that this moment was entertaining, but Sugar didn’t detract the moment whatsoever, she actually added to it. Corinne, being what Sugar would call a “not nice person” , decided to insult Sugar in just about every way in her jury speech. She even brings up her recently deceased father. How does Sugar respond? She doesn’t break down into a blubbering mess of a person, she just very politely flips Corinne off.

The story of Sugar doesn’t end well, however. She eventually ended up on Heroes Vs Villains where she was quite possibly one of the most annoying Survivor contestants ever. She then decided to get into the drug game and ended up on Celebrity Rehab. This is the last we have heard from Sugar, and that just might be for the best.

Thanks for reading I hope you all enjoyed and please comment.

Jeff

PS: no clue this time, I am working on re-ordering the rest of the list

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #90: Ozzy Lusth (South Pacific)

Ozzy Lusth has played Survivor three times. He received second place in Survivor: Cook Islands, he received ninth place in Survivor: Fans Vs. Favorites, and he received fourth place in Survivor: South Pacific. This specific entry is for his appearance on Survivor: South Pacific. Ozzy will appear on this list once more a bit later.

For those of you who don’t remember, this is Ozzy Lusth. He is arguably the best physical player in the history of Survivor, as was evidenced by his Redemption Island run, but more on that later.

Ozzy appeared on Survivor for the third time along with Benjamin “Coach” Wade. He began his third appearance on Survivor continuing his physical dominance from his previous two seasons. He won the first challenge between Coach and himself. While his tribe as a whole didn’t dominate physically, Ozzy was a powerhouse in almost every challenge.

However this list isn’t about people who can dominate challenges physically, it is about people who are entertaining in some capacity. The first and most obvious reason that Ozzy is on this list: his move right before the merge. Ozzy decided to use Redemption Island to his advantage. His team was going to be down one person because they lost the immunity challenge. Ozzy didn’t want to go into the merge one person down, so he decided to take quite possibly the biggest risk in the history of the game of Survivor: He decided to ask to be voted off so he could (hopefully) win on Redemption Island and come back to make the numbers even for the merge. This, of course, was incredibly stupid on face. There are a few assumptions he makes here that are dangerous even for a rookie of the game of Survivor. The first assumption was that there would be a merge right after that vote. The next assumption was that someone would come back from Redemption Island after the next duel. The third assumption was that Cochran would be willing to give back the Hidden Immunity Idol (Ozzy gave it to him in case he didn’t end up winning the duel). He also was assuming that Christine was planning on going back with the Upolu tribe. The final assumption was that he would win the duel. Ozzy may be the most physically dominating character in the history of Survivor, but there are challenges even he can be beat at.

This move was entertaining in its stupidity, but it was also entertaining in the fact that Ozzy was the first person to take a risk in Survivor for a long time. I remember being on the edge of my seat for two episodes because I wasn’t sure if Ozzy would take the risk, and then there is an inherent tension after someone takes a risk to see if it works out for them. While I still regard this as one of the stupidest moves on Survivor (I tend to weigh stupid moves on Survivor not on their outcome, but on the stupidity when they are actually taken. I think “What are the risks” and “what are the potential rewards” and decide whether it is stupid before I see the outcome.) it did work out for Ozzy.

Ozzy did come back from Redemption Island and he lasted two more votes, where he was voted out by the Upolu tribe and Cochran (Dawn and Whitney also voted Ozzy out, but that doesn’t really matter…) He then tied Matt for the most Redemption Island duel wins in a row (Matt won 6 in row, as did Ozzy. Matt did stay on Redemption Island for more duels than Ozzy, but he did not win most of those duels, he often got in second or third but stayed on Redemption Island because there were sometimes 3-4 people on Redemption Island in season 22).

Ozzy eventually came back from Redemption Island a second time after winning an oddly tailored-to-him challenge between himself and Brandon Hantz. He came back into the game with five people left, and won the immunity challenge.  Ozzy had made it to the final 4 and he was one immunity challenge away from most likely winning Survivor. I have to say right here that I wasn’t rooting for Ozzy or Coach this season. I love seeing returning players in Survivor, but I don’t like the “bring back two players to face a bunch of new people” twist. I think it is unfair and the editing and gameplay is completely biased towards the returnees. I was rooting for Sophie this season (only after Cochran got voted off of course). This means that during this immunity challenge, my friend Taylor and I were screaming and jumping up and down rooting for Sophie. My parents thought we had won the lottery or something. We were incredibly happy when Sophie won that immunity challenge, and I was happy that there was finally a season that (I felt) was entertaining from beginning to end.

So why does this story relate back to Ozzy? He gave me someone to root against. Sometimes, without someone to root against, you can’t really enjoy a season because you are just always happy. There is no dichotomy or stressful moments where you feel the person you hate might actually win or make it further in the game. Ozzy gave me that in South Pacific, and I can’t thank him enough for that.

Thanks again to everyone for reading, please comment as I love to read your thoughts,

Jeff

PS: Number 89 on the list gave one of the oddest final tribal council performances ever in my opinion.