Survivor - The Year of the Russell

[Iceaxe]

Anyone else watching this show?

This Rusell guy rocks.... Win or lose, he has taken the game to a new dimension.

[erial]

He's like a Jack Russell sniffing out those immunity idols. Maybe it'll be his turn to get blindsided this coming week.

[Deeps]

Russell knows the game. He's been given an edit that is fun to watch (love him or hate him), and makes it him appear to be the only one familiar with the game, at least based on how past seasons have played out.

Survivor Samoa is a fairly classic version of the game, there haven't been any tribe swaps or extreme twists to shake up play. Even the concept of exile is tame, since an individual is sent to the opposing tribe's camp vs. having to rough it with little isolated from others. In that type of game, guys like Russell can anticipate the natural ebb and flow of the 39 days based on past seasons.

The first few hidden immunity idols were hidden in logical locations. He knew that there was a good chance they were near and went looking. The cast is fairly limited on where they are and are not allowed to go around camp. Lots of off-limits production areas are just out of camera shot. Most of the early game idols were hidden in fairly predictable locations, with the exception of the most recent one (under a rock) which players on the reward trip were shown a photo of. Remember Gary running through the woods in Guatemala looking for the hidden idol there? That was crazy tough. Same with the multi-clue idol on Exile in Micronesia. The producers began making the idol much easier to find after that to increase the likelihood it would be played. Todd found the idol on the pagota structure in China, and Bob Crowly in Gabon easily found idol stashed at camp. He even created a fake idol to replace it, taking a page from Ozzy. Still, kudos to Russell for being proactive and anticipating that an idol would be hidden at camp from the get-go.

While Russell has bee adept at playing the game, he's lacked in playing people. He's playing a character, and he can't seem to stay in it. His lie about being in New Orleans during Katrina and losing his dog, then slipping last week about being a millionaire, covering it up, and then coming clean to Mick about his career success? People see through that. And then talk to each other about it. Another oops was telling John about/getting cornered with the idol this week. Sure, he was smart enough to vote John out last night, but at a price. Going against Shannon may have rocked the boat too early, she's his best bet to take to the final two. The mostly Galu jury hate her for flipping. And I think John probably told at least Brett (Brett who? Oh right, that guy who NEVER speaks... the t-shirt designer) or Dave that Russell has the hidden immunity idol before being voted off.

We saw Russell make alliances with pretty much everyone from Foa Foa. The editing would lead one to think none of those players compared notes, but they all did. Post-boot interviews show they all knew what Russell was up to. Even the Galu that have been voted out talk about how powerful Russell is in the game. His edit implies stealth and the ability to play people, but the only real success he's had turning someone was with Shannon. And after the way Galu treated her, John was right to flip on Laura

[erial]

I'd like to see a showdown between those former contestants and the Bogley Allstars. I think Tanya, for example, would look just terrific in a Survivor buff.

[Don]

[quote=Deeps]Russell knows the game. He's been given an edit that is fun to watch (love him or hate him), and makes it him appear to be the only one familiar with the game, at least based on how past seasons have played out.

Survivor Samoa is a fairly classic version of the game, there haven't been any tribe swaps or extreme twists to shake up play. Even the concept of exile is tame, since an individual is sent to the opposing tribe's camp vs. having to rough it with little isolated from others. In that type of game, guys like Russell can anticipate the natural ebb and flow of the 39 days based on past seasons.

The first few hidden immunity idols were hidden in logical locations. He knew that there was a good chance they were near and went looking. The cast is fairly limited on where they are and are not allowed to go around camp. Lots of off-limits production areas are just out of camera shot. Most of the early game idols were hidden in fairly predictable locations, with the exception of the most recent one (under a rock) which players on the reward trip were shown a photo of. Remember Gary running through the woods in Guatemala looking for the hidden idol there? That was crazy tough. Same with the multi-clue idol on Exile in Micronesia. The producers began making the idol much easier to find after that to increase the likelihood it would be played. Todd found the idol on the pagota structure in China, and Bob Crowly in Gabon easily found idol stashed at camp. He even created a fake idol to replace it, taking a page from Ozzy. Still, kudos to Russell for being proactive and anticipating that an idol would be hidden at camp from the get-go.

While Russell has bee adept at playing the game, he's lacked in playing people. He's playing a character, and he can't seem to stay in it. His lie about being in New Orleans during Katrina and losing his dog, then slipping last week about being a millionaire, covering it up, and then coming clean to Mick about his career success? People see through that. And then talk to each other about it. Another oops was telling John about/getting cornered with the idol this week. Sure, he was smart enough to vote John out last night, but at a price. Going against Shannon may have rocked the boat too early, she's his best bet to take to the final two. The mostly Galu jury hate her for flipping. And I think John probably told at least Brett (Brett who? Oh right, that guy who NEVER speaks... the t-shirt designer) or Dave that Russell has the hidden immunity idol before being voted off.

We saw Russell make alliances with pretty much everyone from Foa Foa. The editing would lead one to think none of those players compared notes, but they all did. Post-boot interviews show they all knew what Russell was up to. Even the Galu that have been voted out talk about how powerful Russell is in the game. His edit implies stealth and the ability to play people, but the only real success he's had turning someone was with Shannon. And after the way Galu treated her, John was right to flip on Laura

[accadacca]

[quote=Don][quote=Deeps]Russell knows the game. He's been given an edit that is fun to watch (love him or hate him), and makes it him appear to be the only one familiar with the game, at least based on how past seasons have played out.

Survivor Samoa is a fairly classic version of the game, there haven't been any tribe swaps or extreme twists to shake up play. Even the concept of exile is tame, since an individual is sent to the opposing tribe's camp vs. having to rough it with little isolated from others. In that type of game, guys like Russell can anticipate the natural ebb and flow of the 39 days based on past seasons.

The first few hidden immunity idols were hidden in logical locations. He knew that there was a good chance they were near and went looking. The cast is fairly limited on where they are and are not allowed to go around camp. Lots of off-limits production areas are just out of camera shot. Most of the early game idols were hidden in fairly predictable locations, with the exception of the most recent one (under a rock) which players on the reward trip were shown a photo of. Remember Gary running through the woods in Guatemala looking for the hidden idol there? That was crazy tough. Same with the multi-clue idol on Exile in Micronesia. The producers began making the idol much easier to find after that to increase the likelihood it would be played. Todd found the idol on the pagota structure in China, and Bob Crowly in Gabon easily found idol stashed at camp. He even created a fake idol to replace it, taking a page from Ozzy. Still, kudos to Russell for being proactive and anticipating that an idol would be hidden at camp from the get-go.

While Russell has bee adept at playing the game, he's lacked in playing people. He's playing a character, and he can't seem to stay in it. His lie about being in New Orleans during Katrina and losing his dog, then slipping last week about being a millionaire, covering it up, and then coming clean to Mick about his career success? People see through that. And then talk to each other about it. Another oops was telling John about/getting cornered with the idol this week. Sure, he was smart enough to vote John out last night, but at a price. Going against Shannon may have rocked the boat too early, she's his best bet to take to the final two. The mostly Galu jury hate her for flipping. And I think John probably told at least Brett (Brett who? Oh right, that guy who NEVER speaks... the t-shirt designer) or Dave that Russell has the hidden immunity idol before being voted off.

We saw Russell make alliances with pretty much everyone from Foa Foa. The editing would lead one to think none of those players compared notes, but they all did. Post-boot interviews show they all knew what Russell was up to. Even the Galu that have been voted out talk about how powerful Russell is in the game. His edit implies stealth and the ability to play people, but the only real success he's had turning someone was with Shannon. And after the way Galu treated her, John was right to flip on Laura