Survivor season 31

I didn't remember some of the players from long ago seasons but the annoying ones always stand out and Ari is one of those. I was surprised that she didn't get booted, first out, just because no one likes her. But she managed to skate because Vytas' 'smarminess' in  the eyes of the other women, caused him to be booted first. No big loss. He was not overtly annoying in the vein of Ari or Kass, but his attitudes and 'attentions' toward the women got pretty fast, like 2 days....  So now we have to put up with Ari for another episode, or longer, somehow she can skate beyond reasonable times.



'Survivor: Cambodia' Premiere Recap: Whose Second Chance Will End First?
Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Gina Pusateri
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

It's Season 31 and this is going to be a special one: Survivor: Second Chances. We all voted for 20 people from the past 30 seasons to make up the cast; our first full all star season since Season 20: Heroes vs. Villians. That's going to be a tough one to top, but I for one, have high hopes.



Back at It

It's crazy to see some of these people back here. Kelly Wiglesworth was one vote away from being the first winner ever back in Borneo! Jeff Varner is still haunted by jumping off a pole for peanut butter back in Season 2. And remember Kimmi? She named the chickens and wouldn't take a bath in that same season.

Andrew Savage says he has a happy life now. He has a great job and a great family. But the only thing bad about it is how he parted ways with the game after Pearl Islands. It's that outcast twist that did him in. I'm sure Boy Scout leader Lil still haunts his dreams.

Fan fave Spencer says that he was too cocky his first time around. That's something I can get on board with. But now he says he's done a lot of maturing and he has to work on building more personal relationships because you can't just treat people like chess pieces.

Both Kelley Wentworth and Jeremy played the first time around with their loved ones, and they both think it was a big distraction. I'm not sure how Jeremy's wife distracted him since she was voted out second, but okay, Jer.

Ciera said she only just started getting the hang of playing the game when things ended for her in Blood vs. Water. Now she has a lot more confidence and she's going to come out of the gate playing hard.

Kass likes being known as Chaos Kass, but she knows she has to reign it in if she doesn't want to be a target. She says the only thing that needs to change is other people's perception of her. But she promises that if she makes the merge, that's when her game will really start. Getting to the merge is going to be tough for her I think. She seems a likely candidate for the first boot, which I hope isn't the case. Life is more interesting with a little Kass in it.

Jeff Probst welcomes the 20 contestants to Second Chances! Ciera says that there's a lot more pressure now that they're playing to make the fans who voted them in happy. Joe is thrilled to be playing the game with people he grew up watching but the people he grew up watching aren't so thrilled about being called out as being old. Jeff Varner is visibly very emotional. He can't believe he's getting another shot after 14 years.

Next comes a typical marooning. The contestants are separated into the Ta Keo tribe and the Bayon tribe. They have to gather as much supplies as they can from the main boat and then whoever can swim 100 yards to another boat and get a large bag of rice will win it for the tribe.

It's mass chaos, as usual, gathering the supplies. Then Wiglesworth jumps into the water to swim over to the rice. But she gets tired and Joe and Woo jump in and pass her. It's a battle between Joe and Woo, too massively athletic challenge competitors (and "No Collars," if you want to use the Worlds Apart classification). Woo beats Joe to the boat and gets the rice for Ta Keo.

Ta Keo

The Ta Keo tribe is wearing blue buffs and is made up of Woo, Abi Maria, Vytas, Jeff, Kelley Wentworth, Kelly Wiglesworth, Terry, Shirin, Spencer and Peih-Gee.

Everyone is happy to be at the beach and they spend a few minutes celebrating. But time to celebrate is short. Kelley Wiglesworth, Terry, Spencer, Woo and Vytas get to work on building the shelter.

Terry knows that he's an old school player and he wants to play the game with other old school players. But he and Spencer have a connection. They shake hands and say they'll watch one another's back. Terry knows he has to focus more on his social game this time around and Spencer wants to have more one-on-one conversations with people on Day 1 this time around then he did the entire time on Cagayan.

One thing Abi learned from playing Survivor is that she has to keep her emotions in check. Knowing how something should be done and actually doing it are two different things however. She immediately starts getting irate when she thinks someone stole her bag with her bracelet in it. And when she finds her bracelet in Peih-Gee's bag, she doesn't know what to think.

Peih-Gee sits Abi down and insists it was just a mix up. Abi says she'll give her the benefit of the doubt, but it seems like Peih-Gee might be on Abi's list now. Not the greatest place to be. Hopefully Peih-Gee will play smart enough to work her way off it.

Vytas is already trying to work his swarmy charm on the ladies but Shirin sees right through it. She tells Spencer and Jeff that she wants Vytas out first. She thinks that he's too well connected both here and on the other tribe.

Jeff is taken aback by how hard Shirin is playing. It's hard to be an old school player in a new school world. But he's embracing that this adventure is going to be different than his adventure in the Outback.

Vytas and Kelly Wiglesworth do yoga on the Cambodian ruins which is really pretty cool. But Vytas's yoga moves are turning everyone else off around camp. He's walking around massaging shoulders and thrusting his hips. It's not a good look and the ladies do not appreciate it.

Kelley Wentworth wants to take some time to look for the idol. She looks for a long time before she finds something in the tree. She celebrates prematurely because it's just a clue. Not only is the idol hidden this season, but it's hidden at the challenge! That's an interesting twist. Now she's going to have to be extra sneaky.

Bayon

The Bayon tribe wears magenta buffs and is made up of Keith, Jeremy, Joe, Tasha, Ciera, Kimmi, Kass, Monica, Stephen and Andrew Savage.

Jeremy takes some time to talk to Keith to make sure that the air is clear between them. He wants to make an alliance with the strong people on his tribe (Tasha, Savage and Joe) but he wants to make sure Keith has his back too. Sounds like a solid plan. Only it's leaving some of my faves on the wrong side of the numbers which is a bummer.

One of those faves is Stephen and he's already feeling out of place. He doesn't feel comfortable with the rest of the alpha males on his tribe so he's still trying to find out where he fits in. He decides to spend some time looking for the idol, (he even dives into a nasty swamp), but he doesn't have any luck. Which is unfortunate because his tribe mates notice his absence which puts a bigger target on his back.

While Stephen is messing around in a swamp, Joe makes fire and Savage's man crush on Joe intensifies. It's currently at full throttle, which is impressive because it's only day one.

Before the challenge, Savage gives a very Savag-ean pep talk like he's back in the Pearl Islands talking to the Morgan tribe. Let's hope for their sake that they're better at challenges than Morgan was.

Joe leads everyone in morning yoga (or Joe-ga, as Tasha calls it). Keith opts out of the yoga session because he's not about that life. He also calls Joe a free spirit pretty boy, which is kind of hilarious.

Immunity Challenge

It's the first immunity challenge and Kelley Wentworth is already on high notice about where she'll have to look for the idol.

For the challenge, the tribes are repeating the first ever challenge from Survivor: Borneo. Each tribe will race on a raft through the water to light a series of fires with a torch. When they've made it to the beach, they have to set their rafts down on a platform (where the idol is hidden) and then one person will construct a pole to reach beyond a gate for a key. Whoever opens their gate and lights the final fire first wins immunity.

The Te Kao tribe is off to a fast start. They maintain their lead while Keith struggles to light the torches for Bayon, even dipping it once in the water and losing the fire.

On the beach, Kelley Wentworth tries to find a moment to grab the idol but misses her chance. Kelly Wiglesworth works on the pole for Te Kao and Joe works on the pole for Bayon. Kelly Wiglesworth goes for the key first but her pole isn't long enough so she has to reconstruct it. Meanwhile, Joe's slow and steady approach pays off and he's close to grabbing it.

While everyone's on the edge of their seat watching the survivors with the poles, Kelley Wentworth takes advantage of their attention being elsewhere and grabs the idol. (Wow, Kelley Wentworth is really here to play! I didn't really know that much about her coming in, but she's already grown on me more than she did the entire time in San Juan del Sur.)

Spencer tries to take over for Kelly Wiglesworth, but by then it's too late. Joe's grabbed the key for Bayon and they've opened their gate to win the first immunity challenge.

It's a huge relief for everyone on Bayon; no one wants to be the first person voted off.

It gets worse for Te Keo though. Jeff tells them that they will not be returning to their beach before the vote. They'll have no time to scramble before Tribal Council.

Tribal Council

Woo doesn't really seem to know what's going on, (shocking), but he says there's a clear division of old school vs. new school players. Terry says it was an eye opener getting to the beach and seeing everyone play so hard.

Peih-Gee says she's trying to learn from her mistakes and correct them and split the difference between being a hard worker and being a social player. Abi says she's trying to reign in her temper and this game is about personal growth for her.

Varner thinks that he sees the division in the old school and new school players too, but he's here to play "balls to the wall" (gross). (there's nothing "gross" about this comment. It is universally misunderstood now days simply because people know nothing about steam engine speed regulation engineering techniques in the 19th Century, where the phrase originated. I would encourage them to learn a little history !)    He says tonight's vote will set the tempo of the game.

Abi reads the situation around her and suddenly gets very uncomfortable. She says she's not ready to go home but she feels nervous that a male alliance could be targeting her. Vytas says it isn't about gender, but about keeping the tribe strong.

To the vote! Here are the votes we see: Woo and Vytas vote for Abi. Abi and Kelley Wentworth vote for Vytas.

And it's Vytas who has the unfortunate distinction of being the first boot. Vytas wishes them all well, while barely masking his contempt. He says in his final words that he would have rather not have made it back at all then be the first boot. Now the Baskouskas brothers get to join the Twinnies in the category of having been first off and sole survivor in the same set of siblings.

Next week: Abi is not happy about getting so many votes. I knew that old Abi couldn't be too far gone!

ARE YOU SURPRISED TO SEE VYTAS LEAVE SO SOON?
No. He came on too strong.
60%
Yes! I was sure he'd go far.
40%
Total Votes: 126

http://www.buddytv.com/articles/survivor/survivor-cambodia-why-abi-mari-57718.aspx

It would be very unpopular with the fans if Abi won. Also, I don't think the rest of the Survivors would sit around and let her act crazy and go all the way. Eventually they will tire of her antics and vote her out.

That last immunity challenge was the worst type that they ever do. They've used it 14 times in previous seasons but if I was ever on Survivor it would be the one that I couldn't do.....eating "native" food......roasted Tarantulas, scorpions, pig snouts and brains, etc. But then Woo was booted after doing well in the 'eating' challenge.

Abi was booted on Wed. so with 6 left there will have to be 3 more booted on this Weds. finale in order to get down to the final 3. The jury will then pick the winner. I'm rooting for Kelly, but Spencer has a good chance too....

http://survivorfandom.com/who-is-left-on-survivor-2015-second-chance-week-12-316073/

http://survivorfandom.com/kelley-wentworth-survivor-2015/

While I'd prefer that Kelly win, I think he's right about Spencer.....




Wednesday, December 16, 2015
'Survivor: Cambodia' Predictions: Who Will Win Season 31?
Derek Stauffer

Contributing Writer, BuddyTV

Survivor: Cambodia, one of the craziest Survivor seasons ever, is coming to an end. The two-hour finale will probably have as many surprises, if not more, than any other episode this season. Yet I don't think naming the winner of Survivor: Cambodia will be as much of a stab in the dark as predicting whoever is going home in a given week. There is enough evidence that we can accrue throughout the season about who will be the sole survivor for this season. Of the six remaining castaways, here are our best guesses for who will be the winner of Survivor: Cambodia.

Survivor: Cambodia Recap: Spencer in the Middle >>>

Who is Not Going to Win?

Keith is an entertaining presence, to be sure. As a Survivor viewer, we can all be happy that Keith has made it this far in the season because his confessionals are gold. He's also really good at competitions. There is no way Keith is going to get enough votes to win Survivor: Cambodia. He might get to the final Tribal and he may get one or two votes honoring his skill in physical challenges, but that's all. The jury does not seem like a bitter jury and will probably award the player with the best strategic game play. This is not Keith.

You can similarly count Kimmi out of the running. Kimmi has tried more than Keith to get something going strategically, but she's failed nearly every time. No one is going to award her a Survivor "You tried" sticker in the form of a million dollars. Keith and Kimmi are probably the two castaways most likely to get to the finals because everyone views them as "goats." They just stand no chance of actually winning.

Tasha's only chance of winning is if she takes Keith and Kimmi to the finals. If you have been watching the Ponderosa segments with the jury, which can be found on the official Survivor YouTube page, you know Tasha isn't too popular with the jury. She has her defenders -- Savage mainly -- but it's hard to see the majority giving her the title of sole survivor. There's no way that any of the women, besides Wigglesworth, would vote for, her so right off the bat Tasha has lost nearly half of the jury.



It's Down to Three

So that just leaves Jeremy, Kelley and Spencer. Kelley has played one of the best games this season. Kelley's ability to survive and even control some votes while being on the bottom is extraordinary. She's also never been seriously targeted. No one is really whispering about eliminating Kelley behind her back. Plus, she had a seriously devilish gleam in her eyes when Abi was eliminated in the penultimate episode, which can only mean Kelley is plotting to stir something up.

The problem is that many of her fellow survivors see Kelley's under the radar and devious game as being a "goat." Kelley has done such a good job of making herself not seem like a threat that she doesn't have much respect of her fellow castaways. She certainly does have as much respect as Jeremy or Spencer. She can easily make a passionate final Tribal speech to sway people, but she is fighting an uphill battle to get there.

Even though he has strong allies in Spencer and Tasha, it's insane to me that anyone would bring Jeremy to the final Tribal Council. Jeremy has that hidden Immunity Idol and he will use it, but that only works for one Tribal Council. If Jeremy makes it to the final Tribal Council, he will more than likely win. He's smart, charismatic and has played a great game. I just don't think anyone will take him to the final Tribal Council, which means he'll have to win Immunity to get there. This isn't likely because Jeremy's success in challenges this season have been rather subpar.


Who is Going to Win?

Whether he has played the best game or not, this is Spencer's game to lose. I already detailed earlier in the season how Spencer was getting a pretty clear "winner's edit". Survivor has been sure to tell us where Spencer is in relation to the other players and what moves he has made all season. The other contestants have not been nearly as present.

Spencer is in a good position going into the finale as well. He has two final three deals on the table. Jeremy's hidden Immunity Idol could ruin Spencer's plans a bit, but if Spencer can survive to the final Tribal, he stands a really good shot. Spencer's eloquent enough to sway people with his answers. He has the resume to back up a win with challenge wins and strategic moves. He's also paranoid enough to remove bigger competition like Jeremy as soon as he has a chance.


The Survivor: Cambodia finale airs Wednesday, December 16 at 8pm on CBS.

(Image and video courtesy of CBS)

Who do you predict will win?
Spencer
53%
Jeremy
22%
Kelley
20%

So most peeps were wrong. Jeremy won the million with all 10 votes from the jury. That doesn't often happen. But he is a firefighter from Boston with 2 kids and another on the way and his 'campaign' speech to the jury was the best, so he deserves it.

Next season, Feb. '16, will have Caleb Reynolds from  Big Brother 16,  "Beast Mode Cowboy". The crossover Survivors historically don't do that well. None of them have ever come close to winning.

It looks like it will still be in S.E. Asia either Cambodia again or Thailand, can't tell from the name, but it's supposed to be the most brutal season.

http://bigbrothernetwork.com/big-brother-caleb-reynolds-survivor-2016/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BigBrotherNetwork+%28Big+Brother+17%29