100 Most Entertaining Survivors #72: Taj Johnson-George

Taj Johnson George was 4th place on Survivor: Tocantins.




For those of you who don't remember, Taj was one of the breakout characters of Season 18 of Survivor. She came in with a lot against her:

• She was clearly cast to fill an archetype. On Season 17, we had Susie, who sucked. On season 15, we had Sherea, who arguably sucked. On season 14, we had Cassandra, who sucked. On season 12, we had Cirie, who didn't suck but who was afraid of leaves. Taj was cast to be the older ethnic woman who wouldn't make it far. 
• She was rich. Not only is she rich, but she is rich, rich, rich. Her husband is Eddie George, former Heisman winner. Taj was also in a pop singing group. No one was going to award her 1 million dollars. 
• This season's theme was "First Impressions" (or at least it was for a while.) So you have Taj, an older woman who isn't good at challenges and doesn't need the money. If you haven't seen an easier first vote, you're wrong. 

With all that against her, Taj still managed to make it 37 days and be a legitimate threat to win Survivor: Tocantins. She also won the heart of all fans. I'll be the first to admit that I was anti-Taj prior to the season. But man, when she looks realizes that Eddie was coming back to camp with her for a while, if you didn't get the feels when that happened, you have no heart. 

I'm talking, of course, of the auction. At the auction this season, Jeff gave away a video of a family member. The video ended with "See you back at camp" Taj has one of the most heartwarming and most genuine reaction to this. She jumps up and down ecstatically. Unfortunately, I cannot find a .gif of this moment. If anyone knows where I can get one, let me know. 

Basically, that sums up why Taj is so awesome. She is truly one of the most genuine people to play Survivor in recent history. All of her reactions are real. All of her strategy is from someone who isn't a master of the game. All of her "survival" gives off a very "real" feel. Of course JT could Survive on an island, but could someone like me do that? Well, Taj proves that, yes, someone like you could do that. (Of course, Taj wasn't the first one to do this, but on a season with all of the weak people going home early, and leaving all of the young, athletic people, it's nice to see someone who I can relate to get far.)

But, we haven't even gotten to Taj's magnum opus yet: The Exile alliance. 

Before I begin, I recognize that the Exile Alliance never came to fruition. I honestly believe that it is the biggest fakeout in Survivor history (Thanks, editors). Whether they were trying to fake us out, or trying to justify their terrible Exile Island in Tocantins has yet to be seen. However, for about 5 episodes, everyone was thinking "Taj, Stephen, Brendan, and Sierra have a legitimate shot at the final 4."

Anyway, the story goes like this: Exile Island is terribly done this season. The winning team picks someone from the losing team to go to Exile Island, then that person picks someone from the winning team to join them. The two go together. However, Taj and Brendan realized that it became the two of them on Exile Island over and over again. So they take advantage of this. They decide to align. This is smart because A) no one would probably expect it. and B) they have the shot to have two idols. They know that they need some more people, so Taj gets Stephen, and Brendan gets Sierra. The four are agreed to take it to the end. (Now, we know that Stephen was never really with the Exile Alliance, but he did cite it as a possibility). And they got the two HII's. 

Now is the time when the alliance comes to the end. At the merge, Stephen and Taj decided that the alliance wasn't in their best interests. They decided to go with JT and try to take this one on their own with Coach. 

As I stated before, this might be the biggest fakeout in Survivor history. For 5 episodes, the editors shoved this Exile Alliance down our throats. It made people root for Taj and Sierra, two people who had very low popularity among the fans. But, it didn't work out and everyone was sad. 

Oh, also, Taj put up with Coach for 36 days. That right there deserves a million dollars. 

Anyway, thanks for reading. Please rate and comment. 

Jeff

Clue for #71: A person who is mostly remembered for their jury presence, not their gameplay. 

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #73: Natalie Bolton

Natalie Bolton got 4th place on one of the most popular Survivor seasons, Survivor: Fans Vs. Favorites.

She was also a member of one of the most successful alliances in Survivor history.




This is Natalie. She was one of the fans on the original Fans Vs. Favorites. She was also the fan who did the best in the entire season, as the rest were obliterated by the favorites.

Natalie was not only a great strategist in Survivor, she was also a comedy gold mine. Her sadistic attitude and her ability to always stay energetic and strategic made her one of my favorites from the season.

The moment that I knew I was going to like Natalie was in her confessional within the first few episodes. She was talking about how, for the first few days, she was just "going to put her head down and work." It was here where I thought that she was going to do well in the game. In a tribe that was completely falling apart, Natalie knew to let someone else take the reigns, and she would do whatever that person told her to do. Now, many of you are probably saying "But Jeff! What about people like Julia. Julia sucks!" I will say that yes, I know that Julia sucks. The difference here is the confessionals. When the producers actually gave Natalie confessionals, she was dynamic, funny, sadistic, and just an overall great character.



Here is a prime example. Ozzy has just been voted out. Natalie has secured her place in a dominant alliance, and she wants Jason's blood. So she gives quite possibly the best confessional of the season: "I want to rip out his jugular and floss with it."

Now, if certain people say that, I get scared. If Joel were to look at me and say that, I would legitimately be scared for my life. However, when Natalie says it? It's pretty endearing.

Of course, Natalie would get her jugular, as this picture shows:


It's even better when you find out that Jason had the idol. :)

But this isn't even the best of Natalie. She has the auction, which everyone remembers because of amazing screencaps like this:


And this:


During this auction, Natalie sends Jason to Exile Island, and eats more cake than a human should consume.

But we have yet to see the best of Natalie. The best of Natalie comes between two moments, both of which are amazing, and both of which could be considered funnier than the other.

The first is at the final 5. Erik, having won immunity, was going to finally cause a rift in the alliance of four women. That is, until Cirie comes up with the most ridiculous idea ever: See if Erik will give Natalie Individual Immunity. It really is almost laughable when you think about it. But then again, these women got Ozzy voted out with an idol in his pocket. Then they did the same thing with Jason. Then they broke James's finger (ok, not really, but it makes for a better story). And finally, they were able to blindside Alexis with an idol. If there is a group of ladies who are able to pull this off, it is them.

So, Natalie goes and tells Erik that he should give her Individual Immunity. Erik is skeptical, but naive. Natalie keeps pushing him. Going into Tribal Council, no one knew if Erik was going to give it up. But, the four ladies give quite possibly the most amazing tribal council performance I've ever seen on the show. Seriously, the final 5 tribal council in Survivor: Micronesia is up there in the top tribal council ever. It is up there with Episode 2 Nicaragua, Episode 8 Philippines, Merge Episode in Heroes Vs. Villains, and, dare I say it, Episode 7 Borneo and Australia. If you take cultural context out of it (where Australia and Borneo shine), this tribal council is truly amazing. And of course, it works. Which leads to:




Natalie, Parvati, and Cirie laughing while Amanda doesn't know what is going.

Oh, and of course, you can't mention this moment without this picture:


Really, this is an amazing moment in Survivor history. I love it.



But we still have Natalie's jury speech to talk about. Now, to be honest, I could give an effort to tell you just how hilarious Natalie's jury speech is. It's great. However, I know that I won't be able to do it justice. So please, just watch it.



And with that, Natalie's Survivor legacy is (probably) over. She really was a wonderful character in Survivor: Micronesia. Next time you watch it, watch for her little moments. She really makes the season quite enjoyable.


Thanks for reading, please rate and comment!

Jeff

Clue to #72: Her alliance, should it have panned out, could have been one of the best things to happen in her season. But alas, it never came to fruition.

100 Most Entertaining Survivors #74: Ralph Kiser

Ralph Kiser was one of the people on the minority alliance in Survivor 22: Redemption Island. I honestly cannot remember what place he got off of the top of my head, because him, Steve, Julie, and Mike all run together at this point when it comes to the post-merge. Further inspection leads me to see that he was 9th place.




This is Ralph. He is a rough, hairy, brute of a man, and you can't understand a word he says. However, by all objective measurements, he is better at Survivor than Russell Hantz.

The best part about Ralph is that ALL of his dialogue is subtitled throughout the entire season (Note: This might be an exaggeration.) But seriously, a good amount of his dialogue is subtitled because the editors and producers know that you won't be able to follow him. It's nice that the editors were at least self-aware during this horrid season.

I am speaking, of course, of the fact that Ralph found the Hidden Immunity Idol while the self-proclaimed "King of the Hidden Immunity Idol" was waddling around his camp.

See? I told you I could do videos now. Aren't you happy?

Anyway, Ralph walks into Survivor, no one is expecting him to be able to find his way ass backwards into a Hidden Immunity Idol. Not only does he find one without a clue, but he insults Russell in the process. That is a two for one that will melt the heart of any Survivor fan. Note to future Survivors: insult Russell, everyone loves you. (Except Russell). Or "RESTLE" as Ralph called him.

Ralph was also one of the people who orchestrated Russell's exit from the game. If I were Ralph, I would've waved the idol in Russell's face as he left. But that's just me.

The legacy of Ralph doesn't end so happily, however. Ralph ends up becoming a victim of Rob's alliance. He makes no move to try to improve his position in the game. He, along with his alliance, simply accept their fate and try to win at Redemption Island. Note to future Survivors: That is the wrong strategy.

Like many people on this list, it is hard to write about Ralph. Ralph's entertainment came not from a single event, or a multitude of events. Rather, Ralph's entertainment came from his backwoods hick character. And, of course, the almost illegal amount of hair on his body. Next time you watch Redemption Island, please look for the small things, like Ralph, rather than the season as a whole. You just might enjoy it.


Mind you, I said might. Redemption Island is pretty terrible.


Thanks for reading, please rate and comment!

Jeff