More Whatnot

An 0-and-2 record in the “Survivor” Power Rankings Challenge isn’t something to brag about. But, whenever I start to feel too down about it, I’m reminded of a quote from a great American…

“Face your fear. You have a fear of heights? You go to the top of the building. You’re afraid of bugs? Get a bug.” – Joey Tribbiani, “Friends”

So here I am facing my fears. Instead of facing off against a single former “Survivor” contestant for this season’s Power Rankings Challenge I’m facing an entire All Star team full of them.

Who’s first? None other than the winner of “Survivor: The Australian Outback,” the lovely and gutsy Tina Wesson.

The Rules: Each week a member of our “Survivor” All Star team and your beloved “Survivor” recapped Gordon “Truth Seeker” Holmes will create separate power rankings. The ranking of the person who is voted out of that Thursday’s episode will determine the number of points the two combatants will earn. For example, if Stephenie is voted out this week, Fancast’s “Survivor” All Star Team will receive 3 points and Gordon will receive 15 points. At the end of the season, the person (or team) with the most points will be named the “Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains” Power Rankings Challenge Champion.

But before we get into the battle, let’s check in with my brave opponent…

Gordon Holmes: Tina, you’re the first female champion, you’re the first champion who could be considered a hero. Why weren’t you asked to be on the Heroes team?
Tina Wesson: I must admit I was heartbroken that CBS put Amanda, Sugar, and Candice on the show as heroes before me (though I never had a vote cast against me on my season).  I realize I don’t make for as good T.V. with body or personality as those three.  I do however have the strongest will and no one but Colby knows how deep my competitive nature goes. But unless you’re eye candy or a good character for T.V. you get stuck at home watching pretty people play a game while you mourn their adventure!  But no sour grapes, I had an amazing time on my two times up at bat and am thankful for the chance to play and for the challenge, and for the adventure.

Holmes: What’d you think of the premiere?
Wesson: Not a shocker that Sugar was the first to go.  Sweet girl but on this tribe of “heroes” where Stephanie is getting her shoulder re-located, there is no room for weakness.  Tears on day three won’t fly.  You are in battle, girl. Come on! This is “Survivor” HEROES not kindergarten!

Tina Wesson’s Picks:

Rank	Last Week	Contestant	Comment
1	–		James: Congrads ole’ boy.  You are crazy strong so that will keep you safe the entire first part of the game. (A huge advantage most players don’t have). You are personable so people like you, that helps in the end. You have a strong work ethic and don’t tick people off.  You would have a hard time winning against Tom or JT but since they won’t make it to the end due to their prior wins, I believe all things considered you will take it all.
2	–		Russell: Once again always the bridesmaid never the bride.  Russell thinks he is the greatest player ever, but he totally neglects the most important aspect of the game, human relationship.  You CANNOT win if you are out there hoo dooing everyone on the island.  Dummy!  He didn’t learn it the first time (even with Jeff trying to tell him why he lost) and until he does, his game play will take him far but NEVER as soul Survivor.
3	–		Stephenie: I think in the end James and J.T will ax her because she doesn’t have another strong female to align with.
4	–		Jerri: I think she will form the right alliances and go far but she can’t beat Russell.
5	–		Coach: Coach will go before Jerri because she will sell him out.  Remember, she isn’t called “Man Eater Manthey” for nothing.
6	–		Colby: Though it BREAKS my heart, he can’t win.  Because he is too nice!  If the villains have any numbers they KNOW they can’t win against someone as HEROIC as Colby.  He is unbeatable against any villain!  Don’t think they don’t know that!
7	–		J.T: For the same reason Tom has to go, so do you.  You could have won if you hadn’t already.
8	–		Tom: The only reason why you won’t win is because you already have.  A previous winner cannot win “Survivor” when played with non-winners.  I’ve seen how much non-winners don’t want previous winners to win.
9	–		Sandra: GREAT player, love the woman power, but Coach, Jerri, and Russell won’t let you stick around.
10	–		Boston Rob: Rob or Sandra?  I’ll go with Rob because Sandra will outwit you!
11	–		Tyson: Maybe you and Parvati could hook up and just lust yourselves into oblivion since you both think you’re so hot!!!
12	–		Parvati: Regretfully she’ll last longer than I want.   I’d rather watch Sandra and her sneaky ways go further in the game than a girl selling sex to advance.  I’d like to think we have evolved a little since those days.  She reminds me we have a long way to go still!
13	–		Rupert: Rupert will last a while as long as he is producing.  But he isn’t aggressive enough with his “game” to win.  He just waits on people to come to him to form alliances (I found that out on “All-Stars”).  You aren’t aggressive enough and that is going to cost you.
14	–		Randy: He doesn’t have a chance because he simply doesn’t know how to relate to people. A huge part of “Survivor” is about your ability to be relational.  That is why Russell will NEVER win “Survivor!”
15	–		Candice: She is up a creek because she formed an alliance with the wrong people.  She will be left without the numbers on her side.
16	–		Danielle: She’ll go pretty early.   I didn’t even remember who she was.  How can someone I can’t remember have a chance with Villians like Russell, Jerri, and Rob?
17	–		Cirie: She goes if the Heroes lose because she has a target on her back.  People know she will cut your throat and don’t trust her.  She won’t last long because she plays at all cost.
18	–		Amanda: Amanda will go early because she formed alliances with the wrong people.
19	–		Courtney: She’s next to go if Villains lose.  There is no room for 1/2 pints in the beginning of the game.  It is all about strength early on!  If you can’t advance as a tribe you can’t advance as individuals and she has nothing to offer to help her “team” advance.

Gordon Holmes’s Picks:

Rank	Last Week	Contestant	Comment
1	–		James: Right now I’m feeling James is the safest guy in Samoa. The only real risk he has right now is if some people are afraid of a Micronesia alliance. But, if that’s the case, Cirie or Amanda will go well before he does.
2	–		Coach: Coach really proved his worth last week when he was able to utilize his Dragon Slayer chi to get the best of Colby. He might not be everybody’s favorite person, but right now he’s too useful to send home.
3	–		Jerri: I think Jerri’s in a great position in this game. Everyone knows her from the ratings monster Australian season, but nobody is particularly afraid of her game play. However, if she becomes the Slayer’s Sweetheart all bets are off.
4	–		Tom: Tom and the other winners are always in trouble when they come back. I’m sure he won’t have a chance to get too far into this game. But, they’ll want to keep the tribe strong for challenges, so he’ll be safe for a while.
5	–		JT: If you remember from Tocantins, JT is a challenge monster. He’ll be safe for a while, but unless there’s some kind of millionaire alliance I can’t imagine a former winner winning again.
6	–		Sandra: After watching the premiere, I’m starting to think that Sandra is an extremely underrated winner. Did you see her buddying up to Boston Rob? She could make a run in this thing.
7	–		Colby: Colby is in the same boat with Jerri. He’s a “Survivor” legend, but he was marginalized during “All Stars.” This gives him more room to maneuver. Being slain by Coach may have been the best thing that ever happened to him.
8	–		Tyson: Tyson is young, strong, good at challenges, and he knows when to keep his mouth shut. He’ll be safe for a while. Unless he busts out the Tocantins loin cloth, then he may be in trouble.
9	–		Danielle: I still don’t think Danielle deserves a spot on an all-star season, but in her favor, the last person to win an all-star season didn’t belong there either. Sorry, Amber.
10	–		Parvati: Some people like to think that Parvati’s dumb, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. She doesn’t know anything about Randy, but she can read him well enough to know that she doesn’t want to cross him.
11	–		Randy: People hate Randy for what he says during his confessionals, but the fact is he must be a likable guy. The former Onion Alliance in Gabon was crazy about him. I expect him to play under the radar for a while and adopt an “Anyone but me” strategy.
12	–		Russell: I don’t know if Russell’s bullying tactics are going to fly with people who aren’t excited just to be on “Survivor.” If he’s too aggressive and makes too much noise he could find himself out early.
13	–		Candice: In a tribe that seems to be digging for swing votes, Candice may be the most likely candidate. She has no prior show-oriented affiliation with any other players, so she can pick and choose her alliances.
14	–		Boston Rob: Boston Rob seems very off this season. I think he’s a tremendous player, but is his heart in the game? That, and next week’s preview points to him having a serious medical situation. I hope everything turns out alright.
15	–		Stephenie: She might have a target on her back for the sole reason that she was in Palau with Tom. If that’s the case, she’d better hope that Tom, JT, and Colby argue the case that she’s tough as nails and great in challenges.
16	–		Rupert: I think Rupert is in big trouble. He doesn’t seem like himself ever since he broke his toe. He’s down on himself, he couldn’t start the fire. Maybe he senses that he’s not long for this game?
17	–		Amanda: There are four players this season that were on “Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites” together; Amanda, Cirie, James, and Parvati. You can rest assured the other players know this and want to split them up as soon as possible.
18	–		Cirie: See Amanda.
19	–		Courtney: I’m putting Courtney at the bottom of this list for one reason: I don’t think she’ll be willing to play along when Russell swings over and gives her his “I want to go to the final two with you” speech. That always spells trouble.

Tags: jeff probst, rupert boneham, Russell Hantz, survivor, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, tina wesson

This entry was posted on February 16, 2010 at 1:22 am and is filed under survivor, TV News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.