… my obsession with Survivor continues to intensify. And I couldn’t help but think the other day about how some of the weakest seasons of the show all pretty much had one or two aspects that pretty much spoiled the whole thing. So here’s how some of my least favorite seasons could have been sooooo much better.

Pearl Islands: The horrible Outcasts twist. Why did this happen? At least the whole Redemption Island twist never changed the final outcome of a season (aka: the winner). Now, this season is generally considered one of the five best, but I’d absolutely put in the bottom five based on how painfully stupid this twist was. The cast is absolutely awesome, and I would have loved to see how things would have gone in a 5-5 post-merge situation. Had potential to be at least a top ten season for me, if not for the stupid Outcasts. 

Cook Islands: The Hidden Immunity Idol should never have been able to be played after the reading of the votes. Either that, or it should never have existed. Period. Yul having it was too much power and him being voted out was practically impossible before the final five. Now I’m not sure how the season would have turned out otherwise, because the Aitu 4 were just so irresistible to root for, and post-merge Raro was filled with some of the worst and least likable players of all-time. Come to think of it actually, either way: this season was probably doomed from the start, and it’s probably better that it turned out the way that it did. Also, Panama: Exile Island (the season before CI) had this same problem with Terry Deitz having way too much power because of his HII. The difference though, is that that guy was tanked out and won five immunities anyway, and by the time he was finally voted out, the HII had only moved him up from fourth place, to third. No big loss, except maybe that Cirie went home in fourth. 

Fans vs Favorites: Better casting for the Fans. I mean seriously, this season is so clearly rigged in the favor of the Favorites. Not only have they played before, but they’re also playing against one of the stupidest tribes ever on Survivor. Pathetic. 

Samoa: Could have perhaps been the greatest season of all-time. This cast is so excellent. The trouble is Russell fucking Hantz. Never has one person ever dominated a single season’s edit, the way Russell did in Samoa. In fact, from the beginning, all we ever saw was Foa Foa, despite getting absolutely demolished pre-merge, and we never got to know Galu. So post-merge, when Foa Foa returns from an 8-4 disadvantage (thanks entirely to Russell), it doesn’t even matter because the only person we actually know IS Russell. Too bad, between the cast, the total self-destruction of Galu, the big-time strategy and a MUCH subtler presence of Russell, this could have been SO great. But, sadly, the Worst-Edit-in-Survivor-History Award goes to Samoa. 

Heroes vs Villains: Now this isn’t really one of my least favorites, but what holds it back is the fact that Russell had the unfair advantage of going into the game with no one being able to see Samoa. Flash-back: season 8, All-Stars. Boston Rob removes Rob Cesternino from the game IMMEDIATELY, because he was the only player who could give BR a run for his money. Okay, back to HvV: Samoa hasn’t even aired yet while HvV is being filmed, and no one has a clue who Russell is or what kind of game he played. But everyone else is familiar with each other. Number one: just not fair. Number two: BR would have kicked his ass out of there so fast. Changed the outcome of the whole season.

Redemption Island/South Pacific: Now, I’m most definitely one of the many people who believe that RI is the absolute worst of all Survivor seasons. I don’t even think it could have been saved the way South Pacific (they both share the exact same twists) could have been, mainly because RI has one one of the stupidest casts ever. So onto SP: eliminate the Redemption Island twist and the two returning players (and maybe Brandon Hantz), and this cast could have given us one of the best seasons ever. But no, producers are so obsessed with returning players and keeping them around as long as possible, that actual game-play, great new players, reward challenges, and fair edits come second to that. 

One World: THE stupidest cast of all-time, and there’s no competition. Yet again, the major flaw here is casting a bunch of mindless sheep.

timeonmars:

LOST - Season 4

I started writing out a list of a few pet-peeves on here, but I ended up typing a LOT (and I wasn’t even half-way done!) It got to be a bit much to type on an iPod, and I found myself getting progressively angrier.

I’ll probably finish the damn thing up tomorrow.

Freud’s middle name was Schlomo…. this information makes today good. Yes. 

I just finished episode 10. I’ve always said that the Heroes are probably one of the worst tribes in Survivor history, and I stand by that statement after rewatching well-over half of the season. Between the early boot of Stephanie (a huge physical force) instead of Cirie (a lackluster physical player, but a huge conniver ), to keeping a hobbled James over one of the biggest challenge dominator’s of all-time, Tom Westman. Then we come to the merge episode (10). And JT has put all his faith in Russell, despite warning from Sandra and obvious, poor attempts to convince the Heroes (most notably: immediately swearing on his children’s lives that he was with them). 

Now let’s take a second here and think about this. Sandra hates Russell, wants him gone. She goes as far as to warn the Heroes about him, risking losing the Villain’s edge in the game. So why exactly do the Heroes need Russell? Even if Russell was honest with the villains, his job is done. Now we have five Heroes, five Villains, and one of them has to go. Why not Russell? Sandra is on board, so that gives the Heroes a 6-4 edge at tribal. And even if Sandra didn’t switch her vote to Russell, he would never have an idol. From the Heroes’ perspective, if he were honest with them, then they could have told him to vote Parvati (5-4-1, in the Heroes’ favor), and if he was lying, worst case scenario: tie and pull rocks. Or talk to either Sandra or Jerri beforehand about a tie, and convince them switch their vote if a tie were to happen.

I never thought I’d see the day where Rupert is giving JT strategic advice that I could get behind, but what JT did here was just flat-out stupid. Not giving Russell the idol, that would have been a brilliant move, had it worked out. And even if it didn’t, worth a shot, and Russell should still have been gone. The true blunder in JT’s game was investing so much into Russell post-merge. And this saddens me, because I’d still rank JT as a top five winner (though, having not seen Tocantins since it original aired). 

But of course, all of this could have just never happened, had Russell not had an unfair advantage going into the season. No one had seen him play before. No one knew a thing about him. I firmly believe that if no one has seen you play on a returning players season, then you shouldn’t be there. Period.

If the Heroes were smart, I think JT probably would have become the first repeat winner instead of Sandra. Without Russell there, or given that everyone had the chance to see Samoa, I have a distinct feeling that either Boston Rob (imagine: we could have been spared Redemption Island) or Sandra (still) would have won.

“To remember and to let go.”  23rd May 2010 

If this isn’t the best film of the year, I’ll be very shocked.

fuckyeahmovieposters:

Shame

Sent by Nightswimming

I’ve been trying to write a novel for a little over a year now, and trus me, I’m aware of what an ambitious statement that is. I feel like I’m coming off as really cocky by saying such a thing, but know that I fully expect absolutely nothing to come out of it, if it ever even gets finished.

But writing it does make me wish something would come out of it in the long run. Just like anyone else, I want to be heard, and want to leave my mark on the world. And as a result, I often find myself steering my thoughts away from any kind of unrealistic hopes and dreams. I can’t help but think of the Expectation/Reality scene from 500 Days of Summer. Expectation: The Great Gatsby/Reality: a binder sitting on the bookshelf in my bedroom.

The story is of a man named Graham who is not satisfied with what has become of the bathroom in his small apartment.

I just signed onto netflix to find that my brother has yet again watched Midnight in Paris. Curious to see just how many times it’s been now, I check our history and found that since January, he has watched it 12 times. Yes…. 12 times in about 5 months. 

When he said he loved the movie, he wasn’t kidding!

Me and my brother went to the movies tonight, just the two of us. We walked into a quiet theater, in the row behind a small old man, but three seats to his left. My brother claimed that he chose this spot for us to sit “strategically”, so he could always have his feet up on the seat in front of him. I didn’t quite understand the logic, but it made sense to him so I didn’t ask. 

Soon, after discussing Hamlet and The Great Gatsby (both of which I’ve studied this year in my english class) and watching as the once seemingly dead theater began to fill, my brother stood from his seat and went to the bathroom, still 15 minutes before the film would begin. He was gone two minutes, and a family of three slip into the theater. A father, a mother, and a late-teenage daughter all sat in the row in front of us, the father leaving an empty seat between himself and his wife, only to claim the seat directly in front of my brothers.

As he walked back into the theater, he trailed a little old lady who could barely walk up the stairs, leaving him plenty of time to look up from he was doing and notice the man who had sat in front of his seat. And I will never forget his face. He walked up to our row, inched passed my knees and said “that strategy was shit” as he sat.

After a good laugh, we both sank into our seats, both crossed our legs, and both waited in anticipation after the preview for Brave ended. Then A Streetcar Named Desire blasted on the screen, and during its opening credits, he whispered to me “isn’t this surreal?” And it really was.

I had never seen a classic film like that on the big screen up until tonight, but based on how special it was, it certainly won’t be the last. Tonight was very special.