Archive for Richard Hatch
We’ve already had epic hype for an epic season of ‘Survivor.’ More intense than a typical ‘All-Stars’ version, this season pits the (supposedly) best of good and evil in a battle to be the sole survivor. It’s kind of like the Stephen King novel, ‘The Stand.’ Forces for good and evil, perhaps with a few shades of gray in-between, ready to duke it out for the win. Well, I could see Evil Russell being Randall Flagg, can’t you? The casting is right for both sides. I would have liked to see Richard Hatch and Yau-Man Chan in there, but it wasn’t my decision to make. I’m just a witness to the chaos.
Due to the 20th season hoopla, as well as the casting, they changed up the format for the premiere a bit. Usually, in a two-hour premiere, we’d see two people voted out. This time, just the basic intro for the cast took up fifteen minutes. Mind you, I’m not complaining. It was interesting to revisit the castaways and get their take on being on the show once again. Russell was star-struck. Most of the female villains think they’re heroes. I agree with them. With the exception of Jerri Manthey, most of the women are just strong competitors and good strategists more than they are actual villainous evil people.
Judging by the reward and immunity challenge tonight, it looks like we’re in for recycled, yet made a bit tougher, challenges for the season. Okay, I’m game with that. Just make ‘em tough on them! Um, well … perhaps it’s not a great idea to literally kill the castaways off in the first reward challenge, though. Sheesh, Stephenie’s dislocated shoulder made me feel the pain. I can’t believe she didn’t shed a tear! And, Rupert’s broken toe is going to haunt him for the rest of the time he’s there.
Overall, down and dirty and physical right off the bat in the first challenge. The high point for me was Sugar racing to the finish, scoring, and shooting the bird all while topless. The low point was my man Colby being trounced by Coach. Yeah, Coach, of all people! I’m no Tyson fan, but he called it right — “Owned by Coach, he may as well be a woman.” (Nothing against women, of course. I’m a woman. Meow.)
Although the ginormous amount of time spent in the camps dragged a bit at times, I can understand why they did it. After all, they have the 20 greatest players of all time (according to them), and to throw one out to sea really soon would be such a shame. It’s too bad they don’t use this format during regular seasons where we barely get to know the first one out. Each tribe had their high moment — Rob made fire to the awe of all who are in awe of him; the heroes managed to work together to net three hens and a rooster roaming about their camp.
And then there was the showmance angle. Coach and Jerri? Say it ain’t so! He’s a loon! While she’s an evil so-and-so, I never thought she’d fall for his delusional ways. It’s definitely unrequited love for Sugar and Colby. I don’t know what was up with that. He was giving all kinds of go-away hints, and she wasn’t taking them. Not a showmance per se, but the alliance building between Boston Rob and Sandra is one to be watched.
So many of them told us they were changing up their games, and I don’t see them doing much different than they did before. Russell is still way too full of himself and going into final two deals with many people. Coach is still delusional and thinks he’s out there slaying dragons while he’s better at tilting at windmills. Rupert is still a furry man-child caveman. Tyson is still mean, as is Randy. Most of the guys on the villains tribe tend to be more character and buffoonery than strategy. On the heroes side, Tom is already delving into strategic moves. JT is switching up a bit and won’t be the nicey-nice boy this season. We’ll see him do some backstabbing.
You notice I’m not saying much bad about the women on either side. With the exception of Sugar, both tribes have the best women strategic players and the toughest physical competitors, too. If a good amount of women remain after the merge, they can rule the roost. Actually, after the merge, this show might get more intriguing than it is already. If memory serves, Sandra and Rupert were tight — she threw out the fish he caught when his tribe voted him out. Jeff made it out to be evil, but it was because Rupert was her ally.
Dreams crashed and universes collided when the heroes lost the immunity challenge after starting off so great. I’m really not sure why they put Rupert on a puzzle, but his fellow puzzle people weren’t anything to write home about either. I tell you, it’s that Sandra and Rob combination working the puzzle for the villains that made for the win. They need to be watched. I might just have to get on the Boston Rob train this season.
My heart skipped a few beats when the heroes went from talking about taking Sugar out to taking a stronger player out. Yes, they have a point — keeping a stronger player in makes it hard to get rid of said stronger player down the road. But, dang it, they’re ALL strong players except for Sugar! While I really enjoyed Sugar at times in her season, she’s not in the same league and needs to get out of the ball park! What Tom said about getting Cirie out, what Cirie said about getting Stephenie out … that could be said for each and every one of them … except Sugar. The first person out isn’t the time to start getting rid of the best players.
I’m glad they came about to my way of thinking. Sugar, the tribe has spoken, don’t let the palm frondle you on the way out. The vote was unanimous for a Sugar ouster with the exception of Sugar’s vote for Amanda. Do you think they made the right decision, to get rid of the weaker rather than the stronger at this time?
Watch ‘Stay Everyone, Trust No One’ Episode Online
[source]
Colby Donaldson is a Survivor icon. It’s a shame Richard Hatch wasn’t able to do Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, as the series’ original villain. But they did bring back the original hero.
The best part is, I kind of feel like we’re seeing Colby for the second time. Sure, he came back for Survivor: All Stars; but his heart wasn’t in that, and it showed. The humor and energy just wasn’t there.
Colby has vowed to fully commit to this season and play to win it all, which will be great for the series if the other contestants let him get very far. But remember, Colby wasn’t just a good looking guy in a cowboy hat. He was an action hero. Can he still own a monopoly on the challenges 10 years after the Outback?
I asked him that, and we talked about some of the things that have changed since he played the first time.
Can you still dominate in the challenges?
Well, I’m not as young as I used to be. I’ll tell you that. It was one of those things where CBS gave me the opportunity to come back and I really felt like I could at least be competitive. I never said I could go back and pull this thing off. I mean, I believe I could. But I’m not so bold as to say I’m as dominant as I used to be. This is All Stars. You’ve got a lot of alpha males in
there. We’ve all got a fair shot at it.
Were you looking for a partner like Tina from Australia?
Anybody that tells you that they can do this game without an alliance is full of #%$@. You absolutely have to have an alliance. It takes so much to navigate through this game. So yeah, you’re going to have to tag up with somebody. It’s more important now than it’s ever been.
How so?
What surprised me was how aggressive it was from the beginning. It used to be that you had at least five minutes to reminisce, find out how people are, how their families are doing. That’s not the case anymore. You have to go into this game and immediately start plotting and planning and trying to strategically place yourself in the game. Part of that is finding an alliance.
One of the things that does seem different about the series now is that there’s so much less background about the contestants. Their real life identities are really de-emphasized in favor of constant strategy. Would you say that’s a reflection of the editing or the actual game?
It’s an evolution, is what it is. In this case, you don’t need to show all that background because people already know it. So you don’t have to get into all of the minutia of who people are where they’re from. Let’s get straight to the game, and that’s exactly what happened.
Are you a bigger threat than an under the radar player like Danielle here?
[Danielle laughs] We’re all privy to everyone else’s strategy. We’ve all seen each other play. I think the key to this game is coming in with a different strategy – taking it 180 degrees from the way you played the game previously. I don’t know that that’s going to work but it’s what I would suggest would be your best bet; because I know Boston Rob. I know exactly how he’s going to play the game. He’d better pull some new rabbit out of the hat if he’s going to fool me. That sort of thing. It adds a whole other level of challenge to the game, but it’s also the intrigue of it. It’s why we want to come back. To win you’ve got to be the best.
Whetting our appetites for next week’s ‘Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains‘ season
premiere, this evening’s ‘Surviving Survivor’ was definitely an hour worth watching for any true fan of the show. So often clips shows tend to tread the trodden path, but not so much with this one. The focus wasn’t merely on the castaways we’ll see in the upcoming season, but a look back at the show’s history and a peek at what’s happening in the lives of some of our favorite ‘Survivors’ over the years.
I’ve watched since the first season, and it brought back memories of the phenomenon that was ‘Survivor: Borneo.’ Fifty-two million viewers, extreme watercooler chat, and the start of the reality competition genre.
I think what I enjoyed most was the update on Ethan Zohn’s (winner ‘Survivor: Africa’) battle with Hodgkin’s Disease. While I’ve been following his progress through December, it was great to see him looking so much better. Ethan won’t be on the upcoming season, but he’s always going to be a hero.
Another bit I enjoyed was the rivalry between my two favorite villains ever — Richard Hatch and “Evil” Russell Hantz. For me, hands down, Richard Hatch is the epitome and Big Daddy of the reality television villain. It was only fitting that they credited him with starting the idea of alliances, a trend which continues into the 20th season. Of course, due to his tax evasion legal issues, he won’t be in the new season. It’s a shame because he and Evil Russell are a hoot together.
But what I thought was best was the trip down old Memory Lane — Sue Hawk’s snake/rat speech to Richard Hatch and Kelly Wigglesworth, Kimmi Kappenberg and Alicia Calaway’s finger-wiggling brouhaha in Australia, the “I’d strip for chocolate” bit with Jenna and Heidi, and the other various clips of seasons gone by. What was your favorite part of the show?
Watch “Survivor” Episodes Right Now!
[source]
For those who wonder how and where the past winners and contestants of “Survivor” are, they can relinquish the thirst with “Surviving Survivor”. From season 1 winner Richard Hatch to Russell Hantz who participated in last year’s “Samoa”, the special will give an update of their well-being.
Some like Hatch, would give never-before-heard stories of their experiences while on the show. These bunch include also James Clement (”China”, “Micronesia”), Colby Donaldson (”Australia”, “All-Stars”), Cirie Fields (”Panama”, “Micronesia”), Russell Hantz (”Samoa”), Stephenie LaGrossa (”Palau”, “Guatemala”), Jerri Manthey (”Australia,” “All-Stars”), Parvati Shallow (”Cook Islands”, “Micronesia”), Benjamin “Coach” Wade (”Tocantins”) and Tom Westman (”Palau”).
The special will also recount what happen to some of the cast after the show ended. There will be the compelling story of Ethan Zohn (”Africa”, “All-Stars”) and Jenna Morasca (”Amazon”, “All-Stars”) who become lovers after meeting and how she helps him fighting cancer. Also, updates on Elisabeth Hasselbeck (”Australia”), Rupert Boneham (”Pearl Islands”, “All-Stars”), and Yul Kwon (”Cook Islands”).
“Surviving Survivor” will air on Thursday, February 4. A week later, the 20th season will begin in the form of “Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains”. Familiar faces who are known for fierce gaming strategy and their courageous effort are reunited in Upolu, Samoa to prove who will be the toughest of all.
So you read Jackie’s review of last night’s Survivor finale,
and the show had their usual preview of the next season of the show (which starts February 11 so there’s hardly any wait at all) which will be a “Heroes & Villains” edition, former players coming back for another try at the $1 million.
Not sure if we can make out who is on the show from the clip below. For the villains, I’m sure we’ll see Johnny Fairplay, but Richard Hatch was probably in jail when they started to film it. For Heroes, maybe Tina and Colby?
Also watch any Survivor episode that you want here.
