Which one do you like best? Have your feelings changed since the show began? And who do you want to win at this point?

At first I thought I liked Gretchen best, but she was too humorless for me. Against all my initial inclinations, I wound up liking Jenna best. I can certainly sympathize with a woman who got voted off an island for talking too much. Plus -- hottie. (I don't get the Colleen appeal, and all the men are toads.)

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

Answers

I've been a Sue fan almost from Day 1. I know she can't spell, I know her husband is less than easy on the eyes, but I like her. I like her directness, I like her ambition, I liked seeing her show (seemingly) genuine emotion last week. She isn't quite as manipulative or arrogant as Richard.

I don't see her winning, though. Honestly, I'm not sure who I want to win that I think has a real chance. Coleen gets on my nerves, Rudy is just too offensive, Sean is an idiot, Kelly is a follower.

I'm good and obsessed, though. MBTV is open on my computer almost all day. I can't decide if I'll be miserable when August 23 comes, or if I'll be relieved to have my life back.

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

hey b! i figure i'm long overdue to post about survivor since i asked you about it quite a while ago. i started watching by force, since my house is my boyfriend K's only tv access, but since then i'm terribly hooked. it 's like soaps--i'm yelling at these people the entire time the show's on. i don't have a favorite cuz i think they're all warped. even K got all disillusioned once they voted gretchen off. anyway, i just wanted to throw out an observation he made: Kelly has never received a vote at council. Everybody else has gotten votes at different times, but not Kelly. Ever. Hmm....?
--m.

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

I have to say, I'm a Sue fan myself. Her accent, the fact that she's not some willowy thing who can wear a bandana as a dress and a hat at the same time, and she understands the rules and limitations of the game. I dig Sue. Lovelovelove her.

Kelly didn't get any votes, but I'm not sure the rest of the tribe is aware she even exists. She's like Jamie on "Big Brother." Just there, with nothing to say or do.

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

I'm told I would like Sue better if I had seen the last episode. I'll just stick with not liking her, since I didn't see it. Maybe she can change my mind next week.

Here is a transcript of an interview with Gervase. He dishes some dirt about the others -- he liked Rich, hated Sue.

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

I liked Gretchen a lot, I miss her. Susan has won me over, dispite her membership in the evil alliance. She's smart and tough. The Pagoons are so clueless that I can't plan the Tagi for eliminating them.

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

Sue has always been my favorite, although I haven't been as fond of her in the last two episodes. I'm beginning to really like Kelly. Not only do I think she is way hotter than all the other women on the island, but she seems to be both genuine and nice. I was surprised to see so few people voting for her in the playboy poll.

I don't really see the appeal of Colleen, but that's because dumb girls are REALLY unappealing to me.

I like Sean a lot more than I used to. I think he's really cute and I like his sweet "I don't want to hurt anyone" attitude.

I hated Richard for being a scumbag, but I'm beginning to like him for being such a scumbag.

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

I've found myself becoming very emotional on the past three episodes. Although some of them make me mad at times I've gotten attached to them and find it hard when any of them are voted off. I was extremely upset when they booted Jenna. That night I couldn't stand Richard and was hoping he would be the one to go.

I'm hoping Rudy or Sean wins, but that could change by next Wednesday. Sue showed a bit of her soft side this time and that was touching.

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

Sean. I have adored him from the first day he was on the show. I want him to win the million dollars. He is honestly the only person on the entire show that has any amount of class, dignity and intelligence.

-- Anonymous, August 04, 2000

Jenna was the only one so far that I dug. She seemed like a really decent person - I could see myself as friends with her if she weren't on that show.

Now, for the rest of them - I think they're all bumbling idiots. except for Susan (she's a blunt and witty person, which I dig). Rich is manipulative, Colleen may be smart somewhere in that brain of hers, but for the life of me, I just don't see it, Rudy is a cantankerous bastard, Gervase was slick, Greg was just out of it, and Sean? Smart? For a guy who's a doctor, he sure comes off as very bimbo-ish.

Who do I want to see win? I don't know - I don't like any of the ones who are left enough to even say.

And, on a survivor-ish tangent - does anyone else out there hate the fact that they watch this show? I get so frustrated with myself when I watch it because it grates on my every nerve, but also keeps me in delightful suspense until jeff probst comes along with his self-righteous tribal council. I'm hooked, unfortunately. Damn. I felt the same way with Who Wants To Marry a Multi- Millionaire. I couldn't help but watch it.

A sucker born every minute? Hi, that would be me :)

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2000

I too wish Pagong had been a little less clueless, but as the series progresses I find my distaste for Tagi lessening. I really dislike Sue for the reasons Gervase gave: she's bossy and a pain in the ass. Anyone who makes life in a survival any less tolerable than it already is (rice rations are getting very small) is a threat to sanity. And that whole "I'm just pretending to be a white trash hick" bit is just laughable.

I am a sucker for the innocent. Colleen is a little thick, but sweet and seems to have a joyful spontaneity that is refreshing among that group. Sean, while seeming to be dense, has an innocence that is appealing. Unfortunately, they will be among the next to go.

Oddly, I find that Rich's scheming consistency is slowly winning me over. But he is also a certain target.

Somehow I believe Sue and Kelly end up in the final and Kelly will win, however Rudy has an outside shot.

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2000

I too am appalled that I have become hooked on this show. I wait all week for it, I got to have it. I was delighted Gervase finally got the boot because his smug attitude and lack of effort inthe early competions upset me. I like Susan she is smart enough to do what it takes like Richard but not to brag about it to the camera. Since the others vote on the winner it will one of the people at least pretending to be nice. So it will be one of the women or Sean. My guess is Kelly. But I could be wrong.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2000

only 3 more shows

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2000

I'm not at all upset that I'm hooked. This show rocks.

I just finally saw part of the last episode -- I checked the end of my tape and discovered that I did get the first 15 minutes (up to about the point where Sue started crying about how she wasn't going to burn Kelly). It was enough for me to make a prediction, which you can put right up there with all my other predictions -- I've been wrong every time I've made a guess about this show:

At the beginning when Sue and Kelly are talking about "taking him down," there is weird editing to make it look like they are talking about taking down Rich. It makes it sound like they want to get down to the final three of them and Rich. I think the editors are messing with us, though, because the first time Sue says something to Kelly about how it would be cool if it got down to three and Sue and Kelly took "him" out, Kelly very clearly says, "Sean?" and Sue says, "Yeah." And to me, the only way the tears make any sense is if someone else (i.e., Rich) was targeting Kelly and pressuring Sue to vote her off.

It makes sense that Rich wants Kelly gone -- she's fairly athletic so she could win challenges, he questions her loyalty, and the Pagongs on the jury may like her better. But if he targets Kelly this week or next, I wouldn't be surprised if Sue goes behind his back with Kelly and Colleen to take him out. Then they nail Rudy or Colleen the next week, and the comments about taking Sean out at the end make more sense. (I don't think Kelly and Sue have ever liked Sean.)

Of course, I think Colleen is gone this week. A different result would keep the game more interesting, but this isn't fiction, and I think the most predictable Tagi plan is to take out all the Pagongs before they even think about each other. (Then again, a few episodes ago Rich did propose taking out Sean before Jenna.)

Of note: if the final 2 is all Tagi, then the Pagongs have a majority on the jury. If Colleen is one of the final 2, then the Tagi have a majority. Thus, it's in Rich's interest to be up against Colleen at the end -- although he may be too weak from hunger to see it that way, or he may see this strategy as too risky.

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2000

If Richard doesn't win immunity, I expect to see him go. I expect to see a landslide vote in his favor, actually.

Without immunity Richard the logical choice is Sean. Pretty much everybody seems to be tired of his stupidity.

But Sean's lameness could work in his favor. If Richard was smart he should go after Colleen, as I think she is going to win it all if he's not careful.

I love this show.

(An aside: the losers get quite a bit of money, too. Jenna got $27,500, iirc. Not a million, but a nice piece of change for a few weeks' work. The runner up gets $100,000.)

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

ooou, did you see Colleen's scab covered legs?

Well, she has time to heal now.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

Hey Cory, the show hasn't aired in the Pacific Time Zone yet! Luckily, I am vacationing in the lovely Mountain Time Zone and watched the show 2 hours ago. But people might want to at least be warned before you make that kind of spoiler post.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

oh, sorry. I forgot about time zones.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

I think Colleen has scurvy.

It annoys me that nobody is foraging for food. I would so totally have brought a guide to edible plants as my luxury item, and be eating greens.

I think maybe Rudy will win - he seems to be very , very quietly quite crafty, and nobody dislikes him.

How is the final jury vote going to work, anyway? Is it just a straight vote, or what?

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

Joanne: I read somewhere, can't remember where now, that the tribes were given a laminated, water-proof book about the plants on the island. Apparently they were only allowed to eat or uproot certain things (most of the flora and fauna are protected on the island), the yuca root, tapioca (hence susan's obsession), and almonds being among the few things they were allowed to touch. These things were really hard to find, according to the tribe members, which is probably why you only see them consuming rice and manta ray.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

what??

lol... that's ridiculous. they can't even make a pretense of it being a real case of survival can they. Like in a real situation, someone's going to avoid something - not because it's bad for them, but because it's protected.

I think that tops it all.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

Yes, it's bizarre, but true. In fact, there are tons of animals on that island -- so why are they eating rats? Because everything else is protected! I supposed the network had to make an agreement in order to use the island: no butchering of the native wildlife. Besides rats and fish, of course.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

And I just remembered where I heard about them only being allowed to uproot certain things: Stacey's morning-after interview with The Early Show.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

I was surprised to see Colleen go, as I thought she had a good shot at winning it all. Of course I realize now that's precisely why she went. That Richard is no dummy. In fact, if Richard is going to win it, he has to ensure that the least liked person is there with him at the end. That might be a good reason to keep Sean around, dontcha think?

In fact, Sean showed a little brilliance by inviting Richard to be his mate for breakfast. Good move. We could very well see a Sean/Richard final two, although that would mean the alliance turns on itself before the end, something that no longer seems all the likely. You never know, I guess.

I just had to laugh and laugh about how bitter Kelly was for not being selected for the breakfast. She's as much to blame as Sean. He gave her the opportunity to say she wanted to go but she blew it off. Tough luck, you whiner.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

1. I sat across from Stacey on the bus last week. She is very pretty.

2. If Sean hadn't won the challenge yesterday, would they have sent his Dad home?

3. Is Sean precluded from offering medical advice to the other players? Why didn't he help Colleen with her leg infections?

4. Sue's sure changed her tune about her good buddy Kelly.

5. Richard's spiel about his "place in the world" made me want to hurl. And how come he's the only one not to lose weight on the island?

6. I'm putting my $$ on Rudy.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

I agree Stacy is very pretty (not so much on the island, but in interviews -- the opposite of Jenna). Judging from the Reebok ad, though, she has some mighty thick ankles.

The CBS site explained the deal about Sean's dad. A significant other of each contestant was on standby at LAX ... as soon as they found out who won the challenge, they flew the winner's family member to Malaysia and put them on the yacht. So it wasn't like he was hanging out there waiting to see if he'd get to see his son.

And I read that Richard lost 45 pounds on the island. I think he's much thinner than he was at the beginning. He just had a lot more to lose than the others.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

Colleen said Sean gave her info on her "infestations" but of course had no aid to offer, and Colleen also said if she hadn't got booted that episode, the medical team might have provided some help for her further stay -- but I don't know if that last part was just her speculating or true.

I was curious about the Sue & Kelly thing they previewed. I was thinking if only the cameras were around when it happened, it was probably real, but possibly if Richard was within earshot perhaps it was a show for his benefit.

ah, but who knows

The immunity thing makes it difficult to pick a winner as anything could happen there.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

...rays, rats and rice -- yeah there's a diet book waiting to be written

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

Colleen, Colleen, Colleen! She was always my favorite, but esp. after Greg left. I think she's quite a smart one-- she's one of the few that attempted to influence the rest of the Pagong's votes. The rest of them were just too clueless to realize how much it mattered to figure out which way everyone else would be voting. If Gretchen and Greg hadn't been such doofuses about allying, or if the other Pagong had voted off one of them instead of Joel (who I didn't like, but who would've certainly helped Pagong's chances after the melding of tribes) or if ONLY silly Kelly had lost HER balance instead!!!

:P

Oh, well. No more Colleen. I think I'll root for Rich, because he knows how to win, and was the only one who seemed remorseful about voting Colleen off.

(Oh, and Beth, how can you not have thought Colleen to be the best and most adorable when Jeff said, "Well... there's a lot of food there--" and Colleen shouts out "EVERYBODY!!!!" Everyone's faces just lit up! Ahhh, but what can you do when they plan every detail to breed contempt.)

-- Anonymous, August 11, 2000

Oh, she grew on me. Especially after she got booted. I watched her on the Early Show (they put the clips on the website, in the video section for each contestant), and last night I caught her on Letterman. She's goddamn adorable. And not even in a way that makes you want to kick her. She's not stupid, and she's nice but not revoltingly so. I'm going to miss her Greek chorus on the show.

And I just really don't like Kelly. Somehow I think she's come around to being my least favorite. I'd rather see Sue or Rich than her.

-- Anonymous, August 11, 2000

Colleen was the Last Likeable Person.

Sue deserves nothing simply because of that accent.

Rich, while semi-clever, is too clever by half.

Kelly, well, it's a wonder Kelly can make it in the real world.

Sean? Didn't think so.

Jeeeez, that leaves me with the Talking Rudy Doll.

Go, Rudy. How 'bout that rampant lesbianism and naked queer?

Yeesh.

-- Anonymous, August 11, 2000

Okay ... not to get all politically correct and all, but when I finally got the gist of what Rudy said about Gervase's kids in the episode I missed, I decided he is no longer my least of five evils choice. I have to go with Sue, that conniving bitch, or Rich, that conniving bastard, because ... well, because they aren't as stupid as Kelly and Sean, and they might be perfectly decent people if there weren't a million bucks at stake. Rudy, eh, I don't think his obnoxiousness has a thing to do with money. If anything, I think he's toned it down because of the money.

-- Anonymous, August 11, 2000

I liked Colleen the best, too. Now I'm rooting for:

1. Richard 2. Sean (tie) 2. Sue (tie) 4. Rudy 5. Kelly

I hate Kelly. She's duplicitous in a duplicitous way, and she keeps smarming about how she's being "true to herself". At least Rich is like, "Fuck, I want the money." Sue too. And Sean is a loveable idiot. (If his book gets published, though, I'm killing myself.)

-- Anonymous, August 11, 2000

I mean, I hate for Rudy to win the same way I hate for someone who's 89 winning the next Powerball lottery. It just ain't right. But damn, the alternatives are just too scary. You really want Sue to have more than gas money for her truck when she gets back? (so to speak).

Ah well, I'm goin to hell anyway, but go Rudy.

-- Anonymous, August 11, 2000

Okay, here is a better question: who is your least favorite Survivor?

I can't decide between Kelly and Sean, but I think I'm going to go with Kelly because she plays with her tongue piercing, whereas Sean seems to leave his nipple piercing alone. I kind of liked Sean for a while because he seemed genuinely nice -- a doofus, but a nice doofus. But he's an idiot, and a duplicitous one at that. I have more respect for conniving Richard and backstabbing Sue than I do for Sean.

But Kelly is just ... oh, I just want to ... errgghh, if she were here right now I'd ...

Ahem. I don't like Kelly.

-- Anonymous, August 12, 2000