I’m a total monogamist. I’ve been with the same guy since I was 21 years old. Red has always been my favorite color. When I was thirteen, I decided that Harold and Maude was the most brilliant movie ever made and haven’t seen anything since that’s changed that opinion. And when it comes to reality TV, I’m just as loyal. I have my old standbys and will accept no substitutes. Which is not to say that I haven’t changed my mind about a few shows.
As a case in point, The Amazing Race no longer interests me. I watched about three seasons of it and realized that I’d had my fill of people running through airports, hauling around bags of sand, and yelling at cab drivers to go faster. Even when players manage to be strategic, such as Boston Rob bribing a bus driver to only open the front door of the bus so that he and Amber could get out first, the gains are always temporary and the playing field is leveled when everyone waits outside some fortress that doesn’t open until 10:00 AM. Boring, boring, boring. I threw in the towel after last season’s premier episode when Phil Keoghan had to tell people under the age of 12 that they were eliminated from the race. It was too depressing for words, and I decided that enough was enough.
And even though the quality of Survivor seasons has ebbed and flowed greatly since its 2000 inception, I would never stop watching the show. I was less than impressed with last season’s turn in Guatemala, especially since Burnett made the foolish decision to bring back Stephenie and Bobby Jon. However, even a mediocre season like that could still hold my interest, what with Judd’s failed sneakiness, Jamie’s tirades, and Cindy’s moronic decision to keep that new car. The Amazon it was not, but just like pizza and sex, even when Survivor is bad, it’s still pretty good.
Of course, Exile Island is proving to be more than adequate in its entertainment value. What’s not to love about the latest gang of castaways, especially with Shane spazzing out on Courtney and Danielle, Sally sticking around, Austin chowing on minnows, and Cirie laughing at everyone and everything. I have to say that Cirie is one of the funniest survivors to grace the show in a while. It’s obvious that she thoroughly enjoys the game and looooves it when conflict breaks out. The brilliance of Cirie is that she is never at the center of that conflict, which puts her in an excellent position in the game. I have a sneaking suspicion that she’s not going to win, but I will be appalled if she’s not part of the final four. She totally deserves to be. Hopefully she’ll find a way to dethrone Terry once the merge hits, but until then, her tribe has bigger fish to fry.
Like Shane. While his insanity makes him admittedly quite entertaining, there’s nothing endearing about him. Even when he gets all sentimental about his son, I still don’t believe that he has much heart, given the way he treats those around him. He and Danielle are always going at it, which isn’t much of a shocker considering Danielle’s take no crap attitude toward life. I love the fact that she’s constantly telling him where to shove it. And it was so satisfying when Courtney called him out on his disrespectful behavior.
I can’t quite figure her out. I was surprised that Shane’s behavior even bothered her, since she sometimes appears oblivious to how others are responding to her. She seems to have no idea how irritating her tribemates think she is. In the past, I would have predicted that someone with this kind of personality would be out of the game early, but I know that many contestants with serious likeability issues (Rudy, Matthew Von Ertfelda, Johnny Fairplay, and Twila Tanner, to name a few) have gone far in the game. But they don’t win.
I’ve been watching Survivor Live and I have to agree with Dalton Ross’s winner pick of Sally. A combination of luck, good-natured camaraderie, and athletic ability have kept her in the game thus far. She got a huge break this week when Casaya decided to exile her, leaving the Boys’ Club in her tribe to eliminate one of their own. And as Dan predicted when he pleaded with Terry not to vote out Ruth Marie, I think she’s going to jump ship when the two tribes merge.
I don’t have a lot to say about the show’s latest reject. He was too moral and kind for this game. I knew he wouldn’t last long, and I don’t think that his admittance about being an astronaut really hurt him in the end. He was gone anyway. Dan’s a gentle soul, which is something that rarely gets a person ahead in Survivor. Fortunately, he’s already had a lifetime of cool adventures, so I don’t think that getting voted out was as devastating for Dan as it might be for, say, Nick.
So far, I haven’t glimpsed much of Nick’s personality. He seems nice enough and is definitely a treat to look at, but is that the only reason this guy got on the show? He never has anything interesting to say and, aside from getting sick from eating beans, he hasn’t done anything especially noteworthy in the game. Nick reminds me of stealth players like Darrah Johnson. He’ll probably be around a while.
And so will I, waiting for a new episode of this show. Next week is a recap, which always ticks me off. They never show anything interesting enough in the outtakes to justify interrupting the season like this. And then the next week, there’s no show at all! What’s up with that, CBS? When it finally airs again in three weeks, I just hope I can remember everyone’s names and all the dumb-ass things they’ve done. So until then, I guess The Apprentice will have to tide me over.
