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‘Survivor’ Summer Book Club – ‘Survivor: Cook Islands’ Episode 1

May 29, 2013

Let’s hit on a couple of things before we jump into this…

First of all, I think it’s pretty safe to assume that anyone willing to participate in something this nerdy is well aware of how “Survivor: Cook Islands” turned out. If you’re looking to avoid spoilers on a TV series that happened seven years ago, this might not be the place for you.

Second, “Survivor: The Amazon” came in a very close second place to Cook Islands in our re-watch poll. If you’d like to tackle that season by yourself, Mr. Rob Cesternino is very generously offering his “Survivor: The Amazon – Unauthorized DVD Commentary” at an exclusive DISCOUNTED RATE for Summer Book Club members.

Third, our friends at True Dork Times are once again getting in on the fun with stats, awards, and more.

And finally, this whole Book Club thing is kind of a work in progress. If you have ideas on how to improve the proceedings, please let me know.

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Tags:jonathan penner, ozzy lusth, parvati shallow, survivor, survivor cook islands, survivor summer book club, yul kwon
Posted in TV Whatnot | 57 Comments »

Let’s Play ‘Survivor: Caramoan – Fans vs. Favorites’ BINGO!

May 9, 2013

All good things must come to an end, and so too must “Survivor: Caramoan – Fans vs. Favorites.” But how do you celebrate this Sunday’s finale? Throwing rice on the floor? Giving your loved ones code names? Hiding idols around your living room? Voting for which season we should watch during the “Survivor” Summer Book Club?

Well…yeah. Totally do all that stuff. But, play “Survivor” BINGO too!

How to Play: Print out the BINGO game boards below. During the finale, fill in your spaces. The first person to complete a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal five-square line wins!

Click to Enlarge	Click to Enlarge
Click to Enlarge	Click to Enlarge

Even More Whatnot…

Tags:jeff probst, survivor, survivor caramoan, survivor fans vs favorites
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Would You Participate in a ‘Survivor’ Summer Book Club (Again)?

May 2, 2013

UPDATE: Alright, seems like enough people are into this to make it fun. So, pick up your copy of “Survivor: Cook Islands” from Amazon or iTunes or whatever. Then watch the first episode. I’ll post my thoughts and some discussion points on Wednesday, May 29th.

Survivor: Cook Islands – The Complete Season (5 Discs)

(Recycled from last year) I’ll never forget that hot June evening; drinking cold beers outside of a tent in Gabon, Africa, listening to members of the press corps who knew way more about “Survivor” than I did.

I remember thinking, “Holy s$%t, I’m out of my league.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been a fan since day one. But I’d never watched the show with a hyper-critical eye. To catch up I started rewatching seasons whenever I had downtime. Borneo, Palau, Micronesia, Australia, Guatemala…

(New for this year) So, last year I launched the “Survivor” Summer Book Club where every Wednesday I would post my thoughts on an episode of “Survivor: Vanuatu.” Then, like-minded “Survivor” fans discussed the episode in the comment section below. I found the project very rewarding as many of the participants were hitting angles that I’d never considered.

Interested in a second round? Vote in the poll below to let me know which season we should do. This will give me a feel for how many people want to participate. If enough people are into it, I’ll announce the winning season the day after the “Survivor: Caramoan” finale and we can get started on May 29th.

Note: These seasons are the ones I haven’t rewatched recently…

Tags:survivor, survivor summer book club
Posted in TV Whatnot | 10 Comments »

My Valentine’s Day Gift to ‘Survivor’ Fans

February 14, 2013

“Survivor” is a game that seems to encourage lying, backstabbing, and bad behavior. It’s fun to watch, but it can lead to some bad blood. So, in the wake of last night’s heartbreaking “Survivor: Caramoan – Fans vs Favorites” premiere and in honor of Valentine’s Day, I decided to take a minute to send out some love to everyone in “Survivor” nation*.

*Is “Survivor” nation a thing?

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Tags:francesca hogi, jeff probst, malcolm freberg, phillip sheppard, survivor, survivor caramoan, survivor fans vs favorites
Posted in TV Whatnot | 2 Comments »

‘Survivor’ Hall of Fame 2012 Post-Mortem

December 21, 2012

The Hall of Fame votes have been tabulated, the Power Rankings are done, and the exit interviews are all transcribed. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. Now that another induction season in in the rearview mirror, I’d like to take a quick minute to reflect on everything, answer some questions, and discuss some potential changes.

But, before we get into it, I want to thank everyone on the voting committee, the amazing team at CBS, our crack vote tabulating crew, and all of the voters for making this year’s induction by far the most successful one to date.

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Tags:survivor, survivor hall of fame
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‘Survivor’ Summer Book Club – ‘Survivor: Vanuatu’ Episode 14

August 29, 2012

Image by @Survivor_BUFF

My Big Question: Back in 2008, Jeff Probst and I did a video segment called the “‘Survivor’ Question of the Week” where we’d debate the merits of a specific topic. One of those topics was, “Who was the least deserving winner in ‘Survivor’ history.” I chose Chris Daugherty because I felt like he was lucky that the female alliance fell apart when it did and I didn’t like how he misled people like Eliza before voting them out. The lying struck me as very unnecessary.

However, that was based on a four-year-old season I had watched before yapping about “Survivor” was my actual job. So for this rewatch, my main goal is to critique Chris’s performance to see if he deserved my worst-ever ranking.

And with that, lets wrap this business up…

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