Survivor: Generic Thread (No Spoilers)

For those of you interested, cbs.com has videos going head-to-head that you can vote for the better Survivor moment. Today is Randy playing the fake idol in Gabon vs John's flip to get Laura voted out in Samoa. (How those are even comparable, I have no idea...)

On CBS' website, the challenge producer John Kirhoffer has been gradually listing his top 10 challenges and providing commentary as they are replayed. They don't have all of them up yet, but here's the first 6 (and I provided a brief recap in case you don't remember): 10. "Simmotion", the final IC from Survivor: Tocantins. Won by JT. Each Survivor was given balls which they had to place in a chute, which spirals through a course. They must catch the ball with one hand at the bottom and place it back in the chute. After time, more balls would be added, and no balls could hit the ground. Named after one of the pyro guys who came up with the challenge. They had to actually tie one hand behind their backs so that they would not be tempted to use it and DQ themselves. 9. "Touchy Subjects", the IC from episode 10 of Survivor: Amazon. Won by Rob C. Each Survivor was given a questionaire and had to guess what the majority of the entire tribe said as their answer. This has been done almost every season. Not exactly sure why he picked this season in particular, as he mentioned All-Stars and Exile Island as having great moments while playing this game. He said that "it never fails to get people riled up". 8. "Cat and Mouse", the RC from episode 5 of Survivor: Fans vs Favorites. Won by Airai. Two Survivors were tied together and each tribe put in one team at a time. They were put into a maze of sorts where they had to either escape being "captured" for a minute or "capture" the other team. Kirhoffer said they'll never do it again because they had too many injuries (Penner, Parvati, Ami). He also wasn't pleased with the way that Joel treated Chet during the challenge. This is the challenge where Penner busted up his leg, which would eventually result in him being medically evacuated from the game. 7. "Gate Crasher", the IC from episode 2 of Survivor: China. Won by Fei Long. Each tribe had a battering ram which they had to send through two door barricades and then maneuver the ram through a puzzle. Kirhoffer thought this was a "super fun" challenge and thought it was pretty funny that Dave was giving people at camp a hard time for not working and then fell apart during the challenge because he was so exhausted. 6. "Smash n Grab", the RC from episode 8 of Survivor: Cook Islands. Won by Aitutaki. One at a time, one member from each tribe would swim out to a dock, climb up a set of stairs, and then smash a box suspended above the water, releasing a key. After retrieving all the keys, the remaining Survivors would unlock a chest and put together a puzzle. This has been redone many times (pretty much any season with water). This is one of Kirhoffer's favorite casts and season locations. He said they had lots of fun testing this challenge. 5. "Sumo at Sea", the IC from episode 4 of Survivor: Palau. Won by Koror. Another one of Kirhoffer's favorite casts and seasons, and mentions that Tom Westman is one of his favorite winners and that Jenn and Steph are the two hottest girls ever to play. Tribe members go one on one in a sumo battle in an attempt to knock their opponent off the platform and into the water. Interesting fact: in challenges like this, they do two out of three, but limit the editing to one. He said he loved the matchup between Coby (the guy people picked on in high school) vs James (the guy who picked on people in high school), which Coby won twice including the deciding match.

Here's the #4 challenge from Kirhoffer: 4. "United We Stand", the episode 5 IC from Survivor: Cook Islands. Won by Aitu. Teams raced to assemble stepping poles, which they would then use to transfer two tribe members from one platform to another. After both members are across, the entire tribe must gather together on a smaller platform and hold their feet above the platform. Kirhoffer said he loves Yul, Candice, Ozzy and Parvati (who he likened to Amber) and that Penner is one of his favorite Survivors ever. This was redone in Fans vs Favorites.

[QUOTE=salt&vinegar;169335]I love both shows equally:D I really don't think I could choose! My only complaint with Survivor is I don't think we get enough time! I wish they would do like a couple of the other big reality shows(The Bachelor, Celebrity Apprentice) and make it 2 hours! [B]I really think they'd have enough content to fill the time[/B]![/QUOTE] What do you suggest they show? Because I feel like watching them lounge around on the beach would not be fun. I think Survivor is fine just the way it is. It doesn't need to be tweaked. I'd rather have an hour full of good content than two hours spotted here and there with good content with the rest being taken up with boring conversation or uninteresting confessionals.

Does anyone else watch Man vs Food? I am pretty sure I saw Courtney from Exile Island on the LA episode where he was on the beach with some flame dancer people (or whatever they're called)...she was the one all the way to the left.

Here's the #3 challenge from Kirhoffer: 3. "Butch Cassidy", the RC from Ep 2 of Survivor: Australian Outback. Won by Ogakor. Each tribe member would jump off a cliff and swim to a crate floating in the water. Once all cast members are at the crate, they would unclip the crate and swim it down the stream to the beach, where they would then carry the crate to the finish. One of Kirhoffer's favorite seasons. Said that Jerri was "the original *****" but is one of the nicest contestants they have ever had on the show.

#2 challenge from Kirhoffer: 2. "Vertical Maze", the IC from Ep 14 of Survivor: Vanuatu. Won by Chris. Each cast member would climb through a vertical maze to retrieve ten sets of tiles and bring them back to the front of the maze. After retrieving all tiles, they must assemble a two word phrase with 10 letters to win immunity. Kirhoffer originally wanted to do something similar to "Chutes and Ladders", but his challenge producer said it would be a logistical nightmare. He then showed Kirhoffer a drawing of this. Kirhoffer said Scout was one of his favorite contestants of all time. Also really liked Eliza and Chris' demise of the women's alliance that season.

Kirhoffer's #1 challenge: 1. "Boulder Dash", the RC from Ep 3 of Survivor: Africa. Won by Boran. Teams must navigate a giant boulder through an obstacle course. One of Kirhoffer's favorite seasons because the scenery was so beautiful even though it was extremely difficult to film. Said the terrain was extremely rough, and the ball was coarse and heavy (6-700 pounds) so it took its toll on the tribe members. He loved Lex and Ethan.

[QUOTE=Lamb Chop!!!;177675]So now that Heroes VS Villains has wrapped up, where does it rank for you? For me, it would definitely be top five, if not top three. I'll have to go back and watch some of the more recent seasons ([B]Gabon and Tocantins[/B] in particular) because I'm sort of spacing on how those seasons were.[/QUOTE] Don't waste your time. I don't think I'd rank either of those in the top 10.

[QUOTE=Lamb Chop!!!;177719]Yeah, I don't remember caring for either of them myself. Tocantins was okay, but I remember Gabon was a bit of a snoozefest. I do think I'm going to give Cook Islands another watch though because I don't remember caring for it, but I've heard mixed thoughts on it.[/QUOTE] Gabon had some of the most insufferable people to ever be on Survivor. I was so disappointed since it was the season after Fans vs Favorites (one of my favorite seasons). I really really liked Cook Islands. Beautiful location, some of the best castaways, and a winner I could agree with. Actually...I think that Cook Islands was one of the only seasons where I would have been happy with either Yul or Ozzy winning. Normally by the time the final comes around I'm specifically rooting for one person.

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[QUOTE=misspretty;179529]Hey all! So is there a Survivor Casting thread or is this supposed to be it? Anywho. I just rewatched Pearl Islands and I still think it's the best season EVER. On another note, I think we should have a thread or use this thread so that ppl can tell us about their experience with Survivor casting. It hear mixed reviews about what exactly the casting is about and tape auditions and stuff. I want to start on my tape so it can be super sexy for casting! I assume like next year or something. So anyone every apply and get a callback, please dish?[/QUOTE] There is no Survivor casting thread and I don't really think one is necessary. At this point, 95% of people are being recruited.

[QUOTE=misspretty;179547]Moldsy don't break my heart :( I know a lot of them are, but like seriously, I doubt ppl like Cirie, Sandra, and Rupert were recruited. I am just curious how one becomes part of the 5% i guess lol and if there are any success stories.[/QUOTE] Back in the day, no they didn't need to recruit people like Sandra and Rupert. I know that the entire Fiji cast with the exception of (I think) Yau Man were all recruited. Randy was also someone who applied a lot before he got on. But for the most part...people are recruited. Even some of the "favorites" were recruited for their season.