Is This Getting Good or What?
Survivior: Fiji – Is This Getting Good or What? by Ken Kellam III -- 05/08/2007 As the countdown to the end of the game nears, things are about to get awfully interesting now that the last of the amigos is officially in the jury. First off, let me say that I’ll miss Alex. Early on, when he was part of the core Moto five, he seemed to grasp the concept of being nice to those outside your alliance. And the week before his ouster, when he and Mookie kept shooting themselves in the foot, he was at least fun to watch while he was doing it. This week, when he knew he was on death row, he vowed not to go down without a fight, and like any good lawyer, he was going to fight with all his might until all his appeals were officially exhausted. And fight he did. But alas, it wasn’t enough. When it was time for the immunity challenge, you just had to know he would dig like a maniac, and that’s exactly what he did, practically willing himself into the finals. But once the finals started, I feared he had exhausted too much energy and would be no match for a well-rested Boo. Yet those fears seemed unfounded, as he went up the pole with reckless abandon, and looked like he would pull it off. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep his grip, and eventually Boo won immunity and effectively ended Alex’s chances at sticking around at least another week. While watching, it looked as if his inability to “get a grip” was a bigger factor in his loss than fatigue. However, in his RNO interview, Alex admitted that his arms gave out after digging, and he was dealing with a back injury. Given these circumstances, maybe it was just as well he went out when he did. Of course, Alex wasn’t finished pleading his case. Although he knew it would probably be to no avail, he still intended to plead his case. But like my hapless Dallas Mavericks after the third quarter on Thursday night, Alex’s chances at that point were too far gone, and it was game over. Just as the Mavericks had the best regular season record in the NBA and had set their sights on the league title only to exit in the first round, Alex had at one time arguably the strongest position in the game. But through a series of events, his position eroded, eventually culminating in his ouster. Here’s something to ponder: I’m sure most of you remember how early on, Alex tried to stress to Stacy and Boo (and Lisi) the importance of being nice to those outside your alliance, in this case Cassandra and Dreamz. So how ironic is it that Cassandra and Dreamz, and for that matter Stacy and Boo, are still in the game while Alex and Edgardo are relegated to jury duty? Finally, let’s ask this question regarding Alex: Instead of working Cassandra and Earl, should he have instead tried to work Boo, Stacy, and Dreamz, as suggested in Jeffrey Sadow’s article? To be honest, I’m not sure it would’ve made a difference. After all, if Stacy and Boo couldn’t understand the importance earlier in the game of being nice to outsiders, who’s to say they would’ve understood whatever Alex told them regarding strategy? And as for Dreamz, given his track record, I would expect him to immediately run to Earl and tell him whatever Alex said, despite his assertion that Alex was his friend. Incidentally, I have a theory about where Boo got his name: It’s actually a shortened form of “Big Moose,” as in the Archie comics character. That is, all brawn, and seemingly no brains. Too bad Boo doesn’t have blond hair, or it would be easier to see. Here’s a question regarding Boo: How fitting is it that after he won a reward challenge based on food, the others started to complain about his big mouth? Did he act the way he did in the helicopter because he was the overall winner and thought that gave him the right to act however he wanted? Would he have been so obnoxious and giddy if he had only come in second or third? Does he even have a clue as to how much he was annoying the others? And how much trouble would he have been in if Alex had won immunity? Despite the rumblings about getting rid of Yau-Man, I believe Boo would’ve been saying “boo-hoo” from the jury box. Finally, let’s ask a few questions about Stacy. First of all, did she really think Alex would buy her attempts to make nice after the Tribal Council that saw Mookie get booted? Her efforts were interesting for two reasons: One, she previously stated she didn’t care if Alex and Mookie starved, and throughout the game, she had shown no inclination to be nice to those in the minority. When she finally did, not only was Alex not buying it, but it caused problems within her own alliance, as Boo was dispatched to bring her back, at which point Earl questioned her about the conversation. My question is, did the producers do a confessional with Stacy regarding this conversation? It would’ve been interesting to hear that she had to say. Maybe she was just trying to court Alex’s vote in final Tribal Council, as she already knew not too many people liked her. Well, now that the Earlliance has to turn on itself, it will be interesting to see what transpires.
Survivior: Fiji – Is This Getting Good or What? by Ken Kellam III -- 05/08/2007 As the countdown to the end of the game nears, things are about to get awfully interesting now that the last of the amigos is officially in the jury. First off, let me say that I’ll miss Alex. Early on, when he was part of the core Moto five, he seemed to grasp the concept of being nice to those outside your alliance. And the week before his ouster, when he and Mookie kept shooting themselves in the foot, he was at least fun to watch while he was doing it. This week, when he knew he was on death row, he vowed not to go down without a fight, and like any good lawyer, he was going to fight with all his might until all his appeals were officially exhausted. And fight he did. But alas, it wasn’t enough. When it was time for the immunity challenge, you just had to know he would dig like a maniac, and that’s exactly what he did, practically willing himself into the finals. But once the finals started, I feared he had exhausted too much energy and would be no match for a well-rested Boo. Yet those fears seemed unfounded, as he went up the pole with reckless abandon, and looked like he would pull it off. Unfortunately, he couldn’t keep his grip, and eventually Boo won immunity and effectively ended Alex’s chances at sticking around at least another week. While watching, it looked as if his inability to “get a grip” was a bigger factor in his loss than fatigue. However, in his RNO interview, Alex admitted that his arms gave out after digging, and he was dealing with a back injury. Given these circumstances, maybe it was just as well he went out when he did. Of course, Alex wasn’t finished pleading his case. Although he knew it would probably be to no avail, he still intended to plead his case. But like my hapless Dallas Mavericks after the third quarter on Thursday night, Alex’s chances at that point were too far gone, and it was game over. Just as the Mavericks had the best regular season record in the NBA and had set their sights on the league title only to exit in the first round, Alex had at one time arguably the strongest position in the game. But through a series of events, his position eroded, eventually culminating in his ouster. Here’s something to ponder: I’m sure most of you remember how early on, Alex tried to stress to Stacy and Boo (and Lisi) the importance of being nice to those outside your alliance, in this case Cassandra and Dreamz. So how ironic is it that Cassandra and Dreamz, and for that matter Stacy and Boo, are still in the game while Alex and Edgardo are relegated to jury duty? Finally, let’s ask this question regarding Alex: Instead of working Cassandra and Earl, should he have instead tried to work Boo, Stacy, and Dreamz, as suggested in Jeffrey Sadow’s article? To be honest, I’m not sure it would’ve made a difference. After all, if Stacy and Boo couldn’t understand the importance earlier in the game of being nice to outsiders, who’s to say they would’ve understood whatever Alex told them regarding strategy? And as for Dreamz, given his track record, I would expect him to immediately run to Earl and tell him whatever Alex said, despite his assertion that Alex was his friend. Incidentally, I have a theory about where Boo got his name: It’s actually a shortened form of “Big Moose,” as in the Archie comics character. That is, all brawn, and seemingly no brains. Too bad Boo doesn’t have blond hair, or it would be easier to see. Here’s a question regarding Boo: How fitting is it that after he won a reward challenge based on food, the others started to complain about his big mouth? Did he act the way he did in the helicopter because he was the overall winner and thought that gave him the right to act however he wanted? Would he have been so obnoxious and giddy if he had only come in second or third? Does he even have a clue as to how much he was annoying the others? And how much trouble would he have been in if Alex had won immunity? Despite the rumblings about getting rid of Yau-Man, I believe Boo would’ve been saying “boo-hoo” from the jury box. Finally, let’s ask a few questions about Stacy. First of all, did she really think Alex would buy her attempts to make nice after the Tribal Council that saw Mookie get booted? Her efforts were interesting for two reasons: One, she previously stated she didn’t care if Alex and Mookie starved, and throughout the game, she had shown no inclination to be nice to those in the minority. When she finally did, not only was Alex not buying it, but it caused problems within her own alliance, as Boo was dispatched to bring her back, at which point Earl questioned her about the conversation. My question is, did the producers do a confessional with Stacy regarding this conversation? It would’ve been interesting to hear that she had to say. Maybe she was just trying to court Alex’s vote in final Tribal Council, as she already knew not too many people liked her. Well, now that the Earlliance has to turn on itself, it will be interesting to see what transpires.