Top Ten Memorable Moments

When you think about the most memorable moments in Survivor history, you might not think of every good moment as some memorable moments aren’t good at all. But you do think of moments that are quite iconic and part of Survivor’s history. You may think a lot about this show by thinking about any of these moments in the end. Here are my top ten choices for memorable Survivor moments.

#10 Phillip’s blindside- Some may hate this moment for thinking that it was rigged, but I quite enjoyed it and think it is one of the most memorable moments in Survivor history. After making the dumb choice to sit out of an immunity challenge for little to know reason, Phillip had more to worry about when the other alliance pulled out their idols are were safe from being voted out as a result. It was one of the best tribal councils in the show’s history.

#9 The purple rock- Many hate this twist and I’m one of them. But it was also quite memorable to have this as a huge part of the game going forward. It affected a lot of the game going forward and we saw a lot of different moves that we wouldn’t have otherwise, eliminations we wouldn’t have otherwise seen, and game play that never would have existed.

#8 Manono giving up immunity- In my mind, this was the most shocking moment in all of the history of Survivor and might even make my list of most shocking television moments too. It is one of the most hated moments in the show’s history and leaves many bum puzzled. It was a moment of pure “what just happened?” I had barely been able to have an expression other than one of pure shock from the time that Colton first suggested that immunity be given up to the end of this episode and I started this blog as a direct response to this episode. That’s the affect it had on me.

#7 Taking clothes off for chocolate and peanut butter- While this is very random, nearly every Survivor fan would know about this event. Two of the women contestants wanted chocolate and peanut butter so much that not only would they give up a chance at winning immunity, they would take off all of their clothes on the way to get it. And that’s how we got to fandom that we all know.

#6 The blindside of James- This poor guy will never live this down. All he needed to do was play one of his idols. It wouldn’t matter much if he wasted it as he had another one. But people knew that he had the two idols and wanted to get rid of him. A majority of people voted for him and he was none the wiser, keeping both of them until at least one went to Ghost Island.

#5 Michael’s evacuation- Of all of the medical evacuations, his was one of the most serious and the very first of them all to happen. Him falling into the fire was so serious that they had to air a content advisory warning when that episode aired due to the serious nature of his burns. It is remembered very well in Survivor history as a result.

#4 The first tribe swap- Three people from each tribe have a secret meeting with Jeff and no one has any idea about what is going on outside of Jeff and the producers. The way that it went on was such a huge part of what would now be known about the game.

#3 Erik giving up the necklace- It would seem that the rule that the immunity winner being able to give up their immunity would become something that never comes up in the future. It is a twist that I’m pretty sure is still part of the game, but Jeff never asks about anymore. But this rule was in place and the women of this season knew it. They convinced a skeptical Erik to give up his only form of immunity and was promptly voted out as a result.

#2 Stealing shoes- Within the first eight seasons, this was picked by fans as the best Survivor moment at America’s tribal council. I almost had this as number one until I realized what truly belonged there. After the tribe Morgan left their boat of stuff right next to where Rupert was and left it there with no one to protect it, Rupert did the pirate thing and took all of the shoes from them. Who doesn’t remember such a thing like this? You'd have to be a very new fan.

#1 The snakes and rat speech- There’s almost no real good way to describe this and it might be better if I just quoted the speech verbatim. No one knew or quite understood what all the final tribal council will hold in the future and this is a speech that still can’t be topped. I had to pick something from the very first season and this, I believe, best tops the list.

Well, that’s all for this list. I almost had Rob’s proposal on this, but I decided to cut it at the last minute. I do wonder if I should give up doing these random posts and I’m not sure that I can write all that I want to and should. I’ll do my best to come up with some post until the hiatus of this show ends next month. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Top Ten Entertaining Players

When it comes to who I think are entertaining Survivor players, I don’t think that all of them are good players or players that most fans would like. But I think about who has valuable time when they are on the screen and their story arcs are often not wasted on us. In this post, I put who I think are the most entertaining players in Survivor history. Full discloser: I may not like all of these players, but I think that in at least one of the seasons that they played, if not all of them, they did a good job entertaining us and deserve their place on this list. A lot of them aren't even good players. But I felt that they were entertaining in some way and that is why they are on this list.

#10 Jonny Fairplay (Pearl Islands, Micronesia): I still despise the guy, especially after his pathetic time on the game the second time around. But I still think that he’s the type of player that you don’t even know that you need from time to time: a player that you love to hate.

#9 Zane (Philippines): Maybe you are correctly questioning why I’d put a first boot on the list. For the one episode that he was on, he was the star of it and was quite likable for some people like me, despite him being a relatively crazy person. How could you not like him?

#8 Greg (Borneo): Every time he was on the screen, he was often giving people reality gold. This is quite odd considering how he had no idea what the show would be like long term since reality TV like Survivor wasn’t around at the time as he was in the very first season of it. It’s a shame that we will probably not see him again on the show. But if you don’t think that he was entertaining, then you must not have seen this season of the show.

#7 Coach (Tocantins, Heroes versus Villains, South Pacific): While I originally hated him, I think that I like him more than I used to. He probably intentionally plays the crazy stereotype just for the airtime that he knows that he’ll get. He’s such an oddity that people might not understand his ways. I still don’t like how he treated Sierra, but I think that he’s still entertaining.

#6 Eliza (Vanuatu, Micronesia): I feel kind of bad that she’s the only woman that I find worthy of this list. If you don’t remember her, you’d remember her facial expressions as she always loved to express her shock at every moment in the game that she wasn’t expecting. And that wasn’t all the greatness that she brought to the game as she brought over great moments like her reaction to the fake immunity idol that her ally tried to give her. What's not to like?

#5 Tyson (Tocantins, Heroes versus Villains, Blood versus Water): He’s on here for his winning season, if no other reason. He proved to be such a likeable character that it was maybe too clear that he was going to do well this time in the game. From his bulge to him actually caring about finding an idol, he did well as was very entertaining that time around.

#4 Coby (Palau): One of the most moody players to ever play Survivor, it was clear that despite possibly seeming like he wouldn’t win, people voted him out because they were afraid that he would win. He did such a good job telling us about the other people in the game and he didn’t come off as terrible in his ways like some other shade throwers are.

#3 Tony (Cagayan, Game Changers): He might be the most entertaining winner in my mind. He was such a fun thing to watch and you couldn’t even be sure that his cockiness wouldn’t get the better of him the first time around. No, he was such a good player that he got a well deserved win out of it. He was far too crazy the second time around for his own good, but at least he proved that there are some ways that one can play the game and still win as a result.

#2 Rupert (Pearl Islands, All-Stars, Heroes versus Villains, Blood versus Water): Fuck the haters, this guy is freaking awesome. He was a lovable pirate who stole shoes, helped treat a snake, and did so many other loveable things. He was such a great person that no one would ever let him get to the end as they probably couldn’t think of why they shouldn’t vote for him as a result.

#1 Philip (Redemption Island, Caramoan): This might be my most controversy pick on the list and he is the number one choice for me. I never said that these people were good players. I just said that they were entertaining. He never stood a chance of winning with his terrible game play, but he was great for me to watch his debut season and even the second time around when he wasn’t someone else’s mere puppet and might actually have good control over the game.

Well, I think that I’ve hopefully come up with another good idea for a blog post. I have a lot of ideas for them, but I’m not sure if all of them will be written as I might not have as good an idea for them after all. So I hope that you liked this post. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Survivor Contestants who are Probably Ineligible from Becoming Returning Players

You might want an explanation as to what I mean by this type of post. I’m not entirely sure why I’m doing it, but I figure that I might as well come up with a post of some sort each week to keep fans of this show entertained while this show is on hiatus. I think that it might be notable to think of all of the past contestants who, for one reason or another, might be ineligible from playing again.

The one that is most obvious to me is that most quitters would be on the list. Maybe not all of them, but I’d think that Osten from Pearl Islands, Sue from Borneo and All Stars, Janu from Palau, Melissa from Fiji, Kathy from Micronesia, NaOnka from Nicaragua, Kelly Shinn from Nicaragua, Colton from Blood versus Water, Lindsey from Cagayan, Julie from San Juan del Sur, and Bi from David versus Goliath are more than likely not playing again in any future season. This doesn’t include all of the quitters as maybe some that aren’t listed would be considered to be brought back or are mentioned in a different group.

Next comes the group of those that were close to being quitters, but might not be considered that way to all, like me or others. I’ll explain more. They are Gary from Fiji, Dana from Philippines, and Terry from Panama and Game Changers. The first two were more like medical evacuations than anything else. It was the second one that retroactively changed the first one. But I don’t see them as true quits. Terry was an odd exit unlike any other. Still, it might be considered a quit to some. Whatever the reasons, if they are considered quitters to the producers, they won’t be coming back.

Speaking of people who would be considered quitters but might not be, there are a lot of people who had asked to be voted out. Some of these were stated by other players in interviews afterwards and might not be what some think they are. Thus, those players are Shawna from Amazon, Jonny Fairplay from Pearl Islands and Micronesia, Ashlee from Palau, Jeff Wilson from Palau, Willard from Palau, Chet from Micronesia, GC from Gabon, Jimmy Johnson from Nicaragua, and Zane from Philippines.

Now there are other people who for one reason or another would have been put on a hypothetical list of banned players to never be considered for playing again. I will go into what makes them unique and not to be grouped with the other players listed above.

If anyone were to start a banned players list, it would be Stacey from Borneo. After the show was over, she sued it, saying that the producers affected the game and convinced other players to vote her out instead of another player. I, personally, think she was out to make a quick buck and didn’t realize that she would be countersued by Mark Burnett for up to five million dollars. If you spoil any season, that is how much you would have to pay if they could prove that you did it. You would have to win the show 5 times just to break even. And nobody has played that much. Stacey is the reason that contestants are paid for being on the reunion show. Still, much mystery remains with the case that was settled out of court in some way. I just know that she ain’t coming back.

Something that I’m not quite sure of is if a member of a dream team can play Survivor as they might have insider knowledge on how challenges are played and know secrets about how to win them that ordinary contestants might not know. Hunter from Marquesas was once part of Survivor’s dream team. I do not know which season this might have been and it could have easily been more than one. So maybe he could play again, but I’m not entirely sure if he can.

Speaking of insider knowledge about the game, Jeff Probst once dated a contestant, Julie from Vanuatu. She has admitted that she thus knows more production secrets (whatever that means) than any other contestant on the show. Thus, she might not be able to play again.

There have been cases of contestants causing controversy whether they mean to or not. Denise from China caused issues when she said at the reunion show that she was demoted because of being on the show. Mark then gave her a special amount of money because of it. But it turned out that the change in her job was agreed upon before she left. She gave the money to charity as a result. Still, this whole mess of things, while brief, could make it unlikely that she could play again.

Sometimes, a contestant gets too full of themselves and very angry at things in general. One of the most notorious contestants in Survivor history was Russell Hantz from Samoa, Heroes versus Villains, and Redemption Island. I think that it is likely that he is banned now from the show. His family isn’t doing good on their reality show appearances. It is likely that they will part ways with him now as a result.

One of the most important rules of Survivor is that you can’t split winnings or potential winnings with other players in order to advance in the game. Sash from Nicaragua might have done that. But we do not know for sure if he did or didn’t as it all came down to he said/she said and apparently the cameras did not catch any potential real deal. Thus, it is likely that he might not come back as a result.

Here’s another example of something that might be based on conjuncture. There is a rumor that Steve from Redemption Island had thrown his duel. You’d think that intentionally throwing a duel would be considered a quit and thus, he wouldn’t return as a result.

One of the most explosive exits ever seen in Survivor history related to the departure of Brandon Hantz from South Pacific and Caramoan. The second time he played led to a meltdown that got him voted out after his tribe gave up immunity before any challenge took place. He might have been banned from the reunion show as a result, although I’m not entirely sure if he was or wasn’t. Still, a person of his quite bad temperament probably shouldn’t be on TV and given a platform. Have we learned nothing from the 2016 presidential election?

Another contestant who might have violated the rulebook was Bill from One World. For reasons that are unknown, he took Colton’s hidden immunity idol and threw it into the sea. The idol was returned to him as idols can’t be stolen and discarded of like that. Whether or not this lead to the now infamous giving up of immunity that production allowed, I’m not sure. (It was said to be why Colton hated Bill.) I do not think that they gave Bill much crap since he later hosted the Survivor live after show. But there is a huge difference between playing on the show and merely talking about it.

Regarding contestants who might have caused issues with production, Vytas from Blood versus Water and Cambodia accidently somehow spoiled that he was premerge on his second season. He thinks that it was a mistake that someone else had caused. Still, he was banned from the reunion show that season and it’s likely that he might not ever play again as a result.

Alec from David versus Goliath was the most recent person who caused issues with production when he had spoiled himself to be a contestant on that season and was banned by production. I do wonder if they are getting to be too serious at times, production, that is. Who knows? Maybe it won’t be too long before a contestant is officially expelled.

There might be more, but probably aren’t. These were all of the people that I could think of at least. I do not know much about who else I could have missed potentially. That’s actually a lot. There are more than you might think that there should be. In fact, probably no one should be on the list in the end. But there are a lot of people who might not be playing Survivor again.

Well, I need to give myself more time to write posts in addition to what’s going in the rest of my life and I can only hope that this blog can continue no matter what. I hope that you enjoyed this post and I will let you know if there are ever any changes in this blog. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

The Ten Saddest Survivor Moments

Ever since doing a podcast called Survivor Showdown, I was wanting to do a post based on one of the questions that the host had asked. He wanted the most heart breaking moment in Survivor history, but I have decided to call this the saddest moments in Survivor. Originally in the podcast, I might have picked Michael’s evacuation, but I felt it wouldn’t be a good choice anymore since he had all the legal problems and that’s why he’s not on this top ten either. While my number one from that podcast remains on this list as the number one choice, I did think that you would want to know the other numbers too. All of these moments relate to Survivor, even if they weren’t on the air.

#10 Paschal drawing the purple rock- Not even Jeff was understanding the dumb new rules of the game when the very first rock draw happened. It was such a tragic event that someone who had never had a vote against him throughout the entire game was suddenly gone from it simply by drawing the wrong rock. It was tragic yet not the only time a finale caused controversy.

#9 Jonathan and Wanda not getting picked for tribes- You take off over 39 days of work and your whole personal life and whatever else is going on to play Survivor. But then there is a twist that wasn’t fully explained until later. The first man and woman to the beach won immunity. But then tribes were picked and the two people who weren’t picked were immediately eliminated without the chance to ever play the game for real. Now they were planned for being put on the next season if certain sources are to be believed, but one of them no longer wanted anything to do with the show. It’s understandable as it was one of the worst twists ever. And it was also sad.

#8 Neal’s evacuation- While I almost question whether or not it should be on the list at all, I do feel sad at his departure from medical issues. It even seemed like such a strange way that all of the contestants were checked out by the doctor and he was pulled from it. Perhaps even more tragically, he was voted out of the jury and never got that final decision in the game.

#7 Jennifer Lyon’s death- The first of the former contestants who died left us after a battle with cancer. If you aren’t saddened by her death, well, you might not have known about it. She might not have been seen that much in Survivor, but she’s gone from us now and we’ll never see her again.

#6 Russell Swan’s evacuation- His departure from the game was quite serious. They didn’t even get to finish the challenge where these issues happened at. He didn’t want to leave from the game like this or any way. But he had to and it was sad.

#5 Jenna Lewis not getting a loved ones video- This must have been sad for Jenna that everyone else had gotten to see what their loved ones were doing in relation to the challenge, but Jenna didn’t get to see her video since it wasn’t there for her to see. This might not be on the list had another person not thought of putting it as what they thought was the most heartbreaking moment. Although, I don’t think that I wouldn’t have put it on without it anyways.

#4 Zeke is outed- I wasn’t entirely sure if I had ten choices for this list or not, but then I thought that this would be a fitting moment for this list. He had no idea going into this season that anyone would have guessed that he is transgender and used it against him. Now, it is out there for every Survivor fan and everyone else who cares about it whether he likes it or not (probably not). This was a sad moment for sure and one that changed at least one life forever.

#3 Pat’s evacuation- The most recent medical evacuation might have been one of the saddest. Can you think of not doing anything wrong and a freak accident when being taken from one place to another was why you were taken out of the game? It was tragic to see things go this way for him.

#2 Caleb Bankston’s death- While it might not seem like such a sad thing, it was. A work related accident took his life leaving a lot of us devastated. It makes you feel bad for Colton, which makes you realize just how sad the event must be if it makes you feel bad for a person like Colton.

#1 Jenna Moresca’s dying mother- Her quit from the game to be with her dying mother was, in my mind, the saddest moment in all of Survivor history. She somehow knew despite hearing nothing about her mother that she should be with her and she was right to go there. She lost her mother and that’s sad. Can you think of something sadder than this?

Well, I hope that I picked good choices. Sorry if this is more of a bummer of a post than usual. I could have put Adam Klein’s mother on this list, but I’m not sure that we got enough of the story outside of a whole lot of emotion from him throughout that season. I think that’s all for this post. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Edge of Extinction Returning Players

This post might be considered a spoiler in some way, but I don’t think that it is. You see, they have said already who the four returning players this season are so I might as well get to explaining who they are so that you’ll understand in time for when the season starts. Most of you would probably know who these people are anyways, but I still thought that I would explain in case you don’t.

Joe originally played in Worlds Apart. He was a standout good player in a season with tons of terrible people in it. In fact, he might have been playing too well. Due to his strength in challenges, he was the target of other players as a result and was voted out when he didn’t win one.

He returned to play Cambodia, making a sort of back to back appearance. The fans really liked him. He then went on what I believe was the longest streak from the beginning of the game while being immune in some way, shape, or form. Again, due to being considered a threat, when he wasn’t immune, he was then voted right out of the game.

Aubry played Kaoh Rong at first and I might never understand why she was such a well liked player that season. Too many different things didn’t go her way and the edit culminated in her getting second place, which for me was the only ending to her game that made any sense. Still, some were really upset that she didn’t win over Michele. But I like Michele way more than Aubry.

Aubry returned to play Game Changers, although I’m not sure how being self-entitled made her one nor can I think of why she was considered a game changer. Still, she made it as far as the finale before she was voted out of the game.

Kelley Wentworth originally played San Juan del Sur and didn’t make it that far that time around. She was seemingly obscure in her exit that time around. She didn’t even make the merge. But she was at least liked by the fans and considered notable enough to be voted onto a different season.

When she played Cambodia, she made it very far and might have even been in danger of winning the game. But she was the last person voted out and the last person left from her alliance standing. I’m not sure why she’s being brought back to play this season, but I guess that defines everyone in any season that I can think of. You won't always know why they played instead of someone else.

David was originally on Millennials versus Gen X. He is the only person on this whole season to only be playing the second time as everyone else is either playing the third time or the first time. He was quite a strong player, even if he struggled a lot through the game. But he was notable for being the last person who was voted out and might even be the reason that they do the forced fire making tie-breaker instead of the traditional vote that they should still be doing.

Well, I hope that I did a good job saying who these players are, even if my opinion might not match what yours is. I hope that I can find enough good posts to write until the show comes back or I can start with the blog posts on Survivor: Gabon in the future. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.