Wednesday, January 6, 2010

SOUTHERN PARVATI LAW CENTER (HT: FIENBERG): The Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains cast is revealed, with 9 of the 20 making this their third chance for $1M. (Well, fifth for Boston Rob if you count his two Races, though Rupert's stint as a rent-a-magical-native reward on Israeli Survivor doesn't count.) Four former winners in the cast -- under-the-radar Sandra Diaz-Twine, Fireman Ton Westman, J.T. Thomas and the subject of this post's title -- as well as a few runners-up (including Colby and Stephenie). Hopefully, we'll see a smarter multi-faceted strategic game than Rob's domination of the original All Stars season (really, Lex, you trusted him?), and I'll certainly give this season a chance.

added: EW talks to the competitors about their strategies.

16 comments:

  1. Rupert, argh, blech.
    Boston Rob, yay!

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  2. jcpbmg7:02 AM

    how many people read this as "Southern Poverty Law Center" and thought oohh West Wing post?

    I sure did

    (sorry for the temporary thread jacking)

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  3. Pretty good cast though some of the hero/villain designations are puzzling. They thought up the concept and had the cast fit as best they could I'm sure. Not happy to see Courtney. I freaking hated her.
    Happy to have the show back and see how quickly they boot Russell. This isn't his dumb blonde alliance (I loved Russell but I think he won't make it far this time.)

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  4. Alan Sepinwall9:17 AM

    Someone please explain to me on what planet Candice - who was despised by the likable, victorious alliance on the Race Wars season qualifies as a "hero"? Or how Sandra - Rupert's BFF, the one who set up her team for such dominance with her kick-ass shopping skills in the first episode - is cast as a "villain"? Or how Danielle qualifies as worthy of being on the show at all, on either team?

    (Watch: just like Amber was a WTF? pick for All-Stars, clearly put there because they needed more attractive women, Danielle will fly under the radar and win the whole damn thing because the alpha dogs will be busy picking each other off.)

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  5. Just a note that the SPLC is not a Sorkin-created organization--it's real, and has done a lot of good work over the years.

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  6. Awesome!  I have not watched since my fellow Tonganoxie High School survivor* Dani won Gautemala.  I will definitely be watching this and rooting for Boston Rob. And Rupert! And Colby!

    *Surviving a small, close-minded Kansas town should be worth $1million. Bitter much?  NOT ME.

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  7. isaac_spaceman12:28 PM

    I've said it before and I'll say it again:  Burnett & co. love particular types of cartoon characters too much.  They think Coach and Rupert make great TV; I think they make unwatchable TV.  I skipped last season for no good reason other than Survivor fatigue, but their presence (and that of Randy, who was sometimes an amusing prick but usually just another irritant) will keep me on the sidelines for another season. 

    Incidentally, I don't get the "Heroes vs. Villains" concept at all, whether here or in RW/RR challenge.  In addition to the weird Sandra-Candice placement Alan mentioned, I would argue that Rupert was a hero to nobody other than Probst, that James didn't do anything heroic other than looking like a superhero (and was an asshole to a lot of his competitors), and that there is no difference between Parvati and Sugar's conduct in the game other than that Parvati was a much smarter player.  And Westman psychologically abused his confused protege. 

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  8. Why not have an actual heroes v. villains Survivor -- ten people in law enforcement, first responders or the armed forces; ten convicted white collar criminals out on work release?

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  9. spacewoman12:39 PM

    I don't think I can take another season of Stephenie.  Bleeech.

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  10. bella wilfer1:03 PM

    Love getting a Survivor thread on my favorite site... I agree with a lot of what's said above re: the "heroes" and "villains" distribution (as someone said on Twitter, Candace seems to be a "hero" because she is blonde and pretty).  I also agree that the Coaches and Ruperts of the world get way too much love and camera time from Burnett, but for those of you who didn't watch last season, Russell H is the guy that Coach WISHES he were and I think is going to make for another entertaining season.  Excited to see him and Boston Rob face off...

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  11. Interestingly, at the time they filmed it, the others may have only seen a handful of Russell episodes, and Russell didn't yet know that he lost the final vote so resoundingly.

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  12. bella wilfer2:06 PM

    My understanding is that season 19 hadn't aired at all yet, so they have no clue who Russell is.  And you're right that Russell had no idea at the time how much he misjudged his treatment of the jury.  (Interestingly, that was Amanda's downfall in doing back to back seasons on China and Fans v. Favorites). 

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  13. jcpbmg2:23 PM

    Thanks Matt- I didn't know that

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  14. Renee7:19 PM

    I didn't realize that they filmed before the Russell ones aired.  That should be really fun to watch now.

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  15. Renee7:20 PM

    As someone who has only watched the last three seasons of Survivor, what are the must knows for the Heroes v. Villains deathmatch?  Who should I really be paying attention to?

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  16. bella wilfer2:47 PM

    If you watched the last three you're probably pretty set on contestants, as they drew largely from that pool.

    Some notables from past seasons:

    Rupert - Pearl Islands and All-Stars - big dude who was amusing on his first season, then got WAY too excited about being a supposed star/hero and has annoyed most of us ever since with his "I'm so awesome"-ing.  Similar to Coach, though Coach seems more self-aware (if that's possible). 

    Candace - probably the oddest choice for the "all-star" show - she was kicked off midway through the Jonathan Penner season that Yul won (where was that one?), notable mostly for a) initiating the "mutiny" - switching from her tribe to the other one when Probst gave them the option and b) unwittingly inviting the attraction of a chubby guy named Billy, who thought they were meant to be.

    Tom - won Survivor Palau - was a really great guy until the final challenge, where he basically bullied Ian, this cute skinny kid who idolized him, into taking third place and sending him into the finals with Katie, this girl who no one liked.  Said he didn't want to go on all-stars the first time he was asked b/c he didn't want to "hurt his reputation."  I'm not sure his reputation was ever as good as he assumed...

    "Boston Rob" - probably the best Survivor player ever who, of course, lost to his now-wife Amber due to a bitter jury.  Redux of the Russell/Natalie showdown we just saw.  He's quite a character and very smart.  I love him.  Eager to see him v. Russell, as I said upthread. 

    Stephenie - talk about ruining a rep - she was great on her first season (same one as Tom) - kicked ass in challenges and basically survived on her own after her entire tribe was decimated by Tom's.  Then returned a season later and was HORRIBLE - again, sort of a Rupert thing where she'd read too much of her own press.  (Though honestly Steph was at least lovely in her first season, while Rupert was always a bit much). 

    Those are some of the people I'm curious to see back - if you google around you can find a rundown on who everyone is, I'm sure. 

    One of these days I'll actually win some Super Bowl pool or something on here and force another Survivor post... :)

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