Survivor Live, Episode 9
Survivor: Fiji – Survivor Live, Episode 9 by Brian Towers -- 04/17/2007 Few thought Michelle was in a position of risk before special teams were formed to compete in the challenge. But this is Survivor! Can responding to an hour of largely supportive phone calls on Survivor: Live reveal any hidden facts? Survivor: Live is CBS’s webcast phone-in show that features an interview with the last player booted from Survivor: Fiji. Hosted by Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly and Jenna Morasca, the sole survivor of Survivor: Amazon, this week’s guest is the latest in a long line of players sandbagged by a new twist in the game, Michelle Yi. Beginning as usual with my trivia question, it is: In how many episodes this season have the teams been reformed? Okay, that’s not really my question, but what’s with all these constant alignment changes this season? Try this instead; it’s the real question: Although they are in the individual part of the game, the players were formed into two teams of five for “River Rats,” the immunity challenge. When was the first time players were teamed up during the individual phase of the game? Drag your cursor between the square brackets to see the answer. < The first time was Survivor: Africa when the “odd couple” of Frank and Brandon won the right to see an overrated movie before becoming the next two booted from the game. > The show opens with Jenna expressing doubt that she cares for team competitions in the individual part of the game. Dalton liked it but would have had the winners go to Tribal Council and enjoy the spoils of victory by being the ones doing the elimination voting. Jenna expected another competition to be held to assign individual immunity to a single player. Dalton liked the quick trip to Tribal Council, but as a former player, Jenna hated that. Jenna plugs an upcoming show of hers called “Pussycat Dolls of Comedy.” No, really. And she has a joke for us. This week she’s actually reading jokes off some candy wrappers. The first one goes like this: “What kind of shoes do mice wear?” It’s “Squeakers.” Jenna thinks that’s adorable but Dalton can’t even look at her and shifts focus to Michelle. Michelle comes on screen, looking essentially as we remember her, except washed up. Michelle is very upbeat and smiles for pretty much the whole hour. Dalton asks her how she felt being separated from all her alliance mates and she says, “It was a little scary at first,” to be separated from Earl and Yau-Man. However, she felt comfortable Mookie would vote with her but wasn’t so sure about Dreamz. Dalton asks if there was any subtle contact between any of them on the way to Tribal Council. Michelle confirms there was none at all as their separation was strictly enforced. The Tribal Council clip is run of Alex letting everyone know how he’s voting. So much for “no communication,” but I think Alex played it very cleverly. The hosts aren’t sure that was fair. Personally, I wish Probst would go back to hosting and stop trying to manipulate results. Michelle confirms that Alex was the only one Probst asked about every other player. She also confirms that it was right after that when Probst sent them off to vote. She regrets that she missed her chance to have a “Rocky outburst” at that time. The first caller today is Dawn from Jacksonville. She wants to know how they kept time out there so they knew when to go to Tribal Council. Michelle tells us they can’t keep proper time so they leave for Tribal Council based on the sun position. David in North Carolina asks Michelle to name her favorite challenge, and also, whom would she have taken to the finals with her if she’d had the chance? Her favorite challenge was the blindfold one, even though she fell. For her choice of finalists, Earl and Yau-Man are her emotional choices, but her logical choices are Cassandra or Dreamz. Michelle tells us that in that blindfold challenge she swapped out as caller because she was completely hoarse from all the yelling. They already had a big lead by that point. Dalton notes that Michelle is the first person they’ve talked to who went from nothing to everything and back again. He wonders how much having nothing affected their performance in challenges. Michelle says, “It was huge,” and that even a little food and some sleep made a big difference. Jenna asks if the possibility of the camp getting stripped was ever discussed. Yes, she, Earl, and Yau-Man talked about such a scenario. Jamie from Boston asks how “fair” Michelle feels it was that Jeff Probst asked such directed questions at Tribal Council. Michelle adds, “The game’s not fair, and you know that going in.” Good answer. Jenna reminds us Mookie is on the outs within the Four Horsemen, but he still holds a hidden immunity idol. It seems alliances are very fluid this season. Michelle claims she had “a hunch” Earl or Yau-Man had a hidden immunity idol but wasn’t sure. That day when Earl took them all fishing, she could see the freshly patted-down dirt where there had been digging efforts. Kyle (not Jerry) from California is the next caller. He asks Michelle what her motivations were to be on Survivor. Michelle says she’s an outdoorsy person who likes adventure and competition, so it seemed right for her. She says that when she usually goes camping, she has a lot more water than there was on Ravu, but it’s not as nice as on Moto either. It’s time to play Michelle’s “Time Capsule.” In this feature Dalton plays back a message Michelle recorded to herself before the game began. She says, “Hi, Michelle, this is Michelle, before you ever played Survivor. You’re really excited and I hope you didn’t do anything stupid!” Ever the record setter, this is the shortest Time Capsule ever. Dalton reassures her she didn’t embarrass herself as she adds, “Maybe, falling off a platform...” Michelle tells us she’s known for not being too coordinated, so a fall along the way was almost expected. Michelle reveals that Boo had another accident that wasn’t shown when a 2x4 fell off the shelter roof and hit him in the back. I think the world sees that red hat of Boo’s as one big bulls-eye! Dalton asks Michelle about making fire without a flint. She says it wasn’t easy but you have to understand the science. Prescription glasses are not the best lenses, and continuous sun is important. All of them got sunburned on their backs while trying to light the fire because they had to stay in the direct sun for so long. Dalton notes Michelle outlasted the other Ravu females and wonders if her fire-making ability might have saved her. Michelle laughs as she says, “No, it’s not a very grateful game. It’s like, ‘We got fire, so we don’t need her anymore.’” As usual, segment two begins with a graphic fact. In this one we learn Michelle enjoys fashion photography and traveling, and she is also a competitive rock climber. Jenna has another joke for us: “Why did the mother cat move her kittens?” “Because she didn’t want to litter!” The crew applauds but Dalton pretends he’s not highly amused.
Dalton comments that in the first part of the show, Boo was the target. He wonders why her group didn’t target new Ravu tribe members instead, as they were minority outsiders. Michelle thought they had a solid five, and that outsider Boo needed to go first. She knows that Four Horsemen in a group of nine are not a majority.
Jenna says Dreamz is hard for viewers to get a read on. Dalton comments that it’s okay to keep your enemies guessing, but not your allies, too. Michelle says Dreamz is tight with Cassandra and Earl, even more than the Four Horsemen. Michelle says everyone knows where Dreamz stands, with relationships on both sides.
Okay… I’m not getting this. First of all, is Michelle repeating Lisi’s error in thinking that somehow “our solid five” is more than half of a group of ten? Is Dreamz, whose vote effectively sent her home, supposed to be one of her five? Isn’t it probable that Boo and especially Stacy would vote with the Horsemen? And is she discounting Mookie so quickly after he voted with her and against Alex at the last Tribal Council?
The hosts still think the Alex-Edgardo-Mookie group seem like the logical ones to target first. Michelle counters that Boo was a much easier target.
Jenna figures that telling Dreamz about finding the hidden immunity idol so long after the fact is actually detrimental to their cause. She is sure too many people know about that hidden idol.
Discussion shifts to the Four Horsemen. Dalton says, “It looks like they’ve come unsaddled.” Jenna adds, “Remember the Four Horsemen from Big Brother?” What Dalton remembers is that a Horseman won that show, namely Drew. Jenna doesn’t think that’s right but can’t remember for sure. It’s right, and in fact, two of the four Horsemen comprised the pair who made it to the final vote.
Jamison from Massachusetts asks Michelle about her relationship in the game with Jessica and Erica. At the time they were voted out, she didn’t see it as a gender focus; it was more that Jessica did poorly in the first challenge and then Erica acted oddly at the second.
Jenna says she’s sick of seeing puzzles every week. Michelle says that with the water snakes, they are very limited with what they can do involving swimming in challenges.
Dalton has the clip run of the new Bula Bula tribe returning to an empty camp. Jenna has zero sympathy for a tribe bemoaning the loss of their bed. Dalton notes that at least they got fishing gear, which is more than is usually given out to start the game. I can add, also the flint. Jenna points out the cave will shelter them from rain.
Dalton asks how they decided who slept in the bed. They played rock paper scissors, but if the same person won too often in a row they skipped a turn to avoid upsetting friends. I think that for “friends” we should read “potential voters.” Three of them fit in the bed, sometimes four. The others had to sleep on the couch. Poor honeys, that’s positively primitive! Michelle also tells us no one ever washed the sheets. Charming.
Venessa from Toronto likes Dalton’s writing on EW.com. She asks if Michelle tried to share in her group’s hidden idol. Michelle says it didn’t come up because they didn’t think of themselves as targets yet. Jenna wonders if such talk might have evolved if they’d had time before the vote to discuss it. Michelle thinks they would have given it to her because it would guarantee they’d have five against four and control of the game.
Andrew in Georgia asks about the reason they decided to make Boo the target. Although he was an individual immunity threat, Michelle says it was more that they just weren’t sure where his loyalties were. After he was gone they were ready to target the Four Horsemen. She points out that the Four Horsemen felt they controlled the game, but without votes from Cassandra or herself, they didn’t have the numbers they thought they did.
Dalton asks if Michelle bonded with Stacy at all. Michelle says it wasn’t really bonding, it was just maintaining an open line of communication. Dalton asks Michelle her impressions of Stacy. Michelle says, “In regard to the Dreamz thing <“coffee-gate”>, I don’t think it was her intention to try and leave him out, but she just didn’t want to take the time or was figuring maybe someone else could do it.” Concerning Stacy’s allegiance, Michelle adds, “Stacy was hard to get a read on. She’ll tell you one thing and you know she’s not telling you the truth. Come on, just be real with me.” Well, it is a game of deception.
Kellen (an optimist from Kansas) feels Jenna can come up with better jokes herself. He turns discussion to the idea of voting for Stacy. Michelle says she knew Mookie and Dreamz had talked about targeting Stacy, and without Boo as an available option, Stacy was logically the next available target. Michelle says she knew the Four Horsemen had approached Stacy.
The next segment is called “Probst’s Thoughts,” where a message is played that Jeff Probst recorded for the departing contestant. Jeff says, “I wasn’t sure about you when the show started, I’ll admit it, because you were SO quiet, you’re so small, and you’re young, and I didn’t know if you were going to have enough life experience to really last. It showed me there was a lot more to you than I had seen in casting… I hope the experience was everything and more you had hoped for.” Michelle says she’s satisfied with her experience, even without the million bucks.
Jenna asks if the perception of her as “young and little” put her at a disadvantage. Michelle felt it did because they seemed to assume she wasn’t going to be good at challenges.
She felt she was one of three UTR people left and figured some of the others felt that was too many. I’m guessing that if it got noticed, you weren’t under the radar far enough.
Dalton asks what it’s like seeing herself on TV. Michelle says, “It’s pretty cool; it’s kind of surreal.” She says what surprised her most was seeing that everyone else was as paranoid as she was. Jenna says paranoia is the only common factor between all players.
Segment three begins with Jenna’s third joke. “Why did the ghost sing off-key? Because he left his sheet music at home.” Michelle doesn’t get it and Dalton suggests it’s her delivery.
Dalton’s “minus 10” feature is next. This is where he reads ten rapid-fire categories for the guest to comment on, each in ten words or less. Here’s how it went:
10. Making fire – With glasses, it’s hard
9. Bobcats – (Michelle corrects him; University of Cincinnati teams are called the Bearcats) Go Bearcats!
8. Curse of Ravu – When you don’t eat and you don’t sleep, it’s no wonder you don’t win (Buzzed, way too many words)
7. Rock climbing – Awesome! Everyone should try it!
6. Her fall in the blindfold challenge – Great calling, great falling!
5. Mario Kart – Favorite Nintendo-64 game ever!
4. Earl – Great guy, I love him!
3. When Harry Met Sally – Favorite movie ever!
2. Fiji – Beautiful place
1. Cincinnati Skyline chili – I could eat it every day
Dalton bemoans that he messed up Bobcats and Bearcats in number 9.
Dalton asks Michelle if she has any regrets. She wishes she had “a nice Rocky outburst” at her last Tribal Council. She was expecting Probst to come back to her for a reaction to what Alex had said, but he sent them off to vote right away and she realized she missed her chance. Dalton says Alex played Probst well. Jenna says she would have refused to give reasons or even name a name, to avoid any retaliation votes.
Jeff in Houston is smitten with Michelle. After a lot of that, he asks who she found the most annoying castaway. It’s “Sylvia, who didn’t do anything particularly, she just rubbed me the wrong way.” Very quietly, she admits that maybe she didn’t try to appreciate Sylvia very much.
Shawn in Pennsylvania was also crushed to see Michelle eliminated from the game. He wonders how a quiet person like her could stand to be around Rocky. She says she’s a firm believer in balance, but she liked Rocky and got along fine with him.
The next caller (Melyssa in Maryland) refers to Dreamz by his proper name of Andria in her question, and Jenna interrupts to ask who that is. Melyssa asks Michelle, Mookie, Rocky, and Rita were really a “Ravu Four.” She notes there was “a lot of physical action between you and Rocky.” Somewhat embarrassed, Michelle giggles. Michelle says there was no hidden love. She says it’s hard to decide whom you can trust in the game and she feels she can read people well.
Jenna tells us, “It’s also, there’s things you wouldn’t usually do to a male friend, you do out there.” Over Daltons attempted interjections, she explains further, “You would get more cuddly. It’s like… human affection. You’ll cuddle with them and hug them. It’s platonic, but it’s a little more, you know, touchy.” Reflecting on this last call, Michelle thinks it’s funny that someone noticed that. Jenna admits she noticed it, too. See, we all watch the same show and yet we see different things – that never registered with me.
It was discussed earlier, but a clip of the immunity challenge is run. It seems to me that Boo, a non-participant in the puzzle phase, was allowed to give important assistance to Yau-Man. Michelle says they didn’t anticipate that Stacy couldn’t get the puzzle pieces down or row the boat either. They did discuss if Stacy was tall enough to reach the pieces, though.
Jenna asks how far ahead the other team was. Michelle says they knew they had lost as the others had about five pieces together before her team even emptied their bags.
Diamond in Hawaii asks about the switching of positions during the blindfold challenge and wonders why the stronger guys didn’t row. They did! Michelle says that Alex had to do both functions (rowing and retrieval) and they lost a few seconds while he switched positions. What, like, three or four seconds twice? Did it really matter that much?
David from Lincoln asks Michelle what her favorite moment on the show was. Michelle says it was winning the blindfold challenge, because she solved the puzzle and then Earl scooped her up in his arms to celebrate. The Fijian reward after the Meke was also pretty special to her.
Michelle tells us they didn’t know about the political problems in Fiji until they were in the airport ready to come home.
Megan from Kentucky asks Michelle whose vote she’d have tried to change if there were time to talk before the vote. She says Dreamz, and doesn’t think it would have taken much effort. She suspects that because she talked to Stacy so much, Dreamz might have assumed she was not going to vote against Stacy.
Although the hosts aren’t nailing the exact title of the feature, it’s time for “Jenna Morasca’s Fan Question of the Week.” It’s from user “BirdLady,” who wants to know, “In hindsight, what do you wish you had said at Tribal Council?” After Dalton plays Jeff Probst to set it up, Michelle responds, “At this point in the game, you have to think about whom you can trust. Dreamz, I remember talking to you and telling you I wouldn’t vote you out. I think Stacy is someone you probably wouldn’t be able to trust in this game, and that’s who I’m going to vote for.” Jenna then pretends to be Dreamz, totally confused but buying what Michelle is selling.
Jenna tries to clarify her pick of Dreamz, saying he’s just her pick for final three and not her pick to win. Dalton thinks she’s trying to wiggle out of a pick that won’t play out. I went back to the archive and checked episode 6, segment one, and she’s right, she picked him for “final two or three.”
The network promo is run next. It tells us: Mookie confronts Dreamz over his vote, fireworks from Mookie over Cassandra, and Dreamz tells Earl and Cassandra about Mookie’s barely hidden idol.
As the show comes to an end, we learn Stephenie LaGrossa will be back as guest co-host next week while Jenna is at a charity event of Ethan’s. I don’t mind Steph as much as some, but there are so many others who maintain a link with the show, I’d like to see someone else get a chance.
CBS Website:
Here CBS’s promo items for this week.
The hidden immunity idol stirs distrust among tribemates.
At the reward, one Survivor works diligently to solidify an alliance.
One Survivor is caught strategizing with a member of another alliance. How will this double-dealing affect this Survivor’s game?
A cat-and-mouse game plays out at one of the most dramatic Tribal Councils in Survivor history, leaving one alliance shocked and the other gloating.
“Most dramatic in Survivor history”? Have we ever heard that before? Excluding the first time, have we ever believed it? Come on CBS, make me a believer again… I triple-dog dare ya!
Survivor: Fiji – Survivor Live, Episode 9 by Brian Towers -- 04/17/2007 Few thought Michelle was in a position of risk before special teams were formed to compete in the challenge. But this is Survivor! Can responding to an hour of largely supportive phone calls on Survivor: Live reveal any hidden facts? Survivor: Live is CBS’s webcast phone-in show that features an interview with the last player booted from Survivor: Fiji. Hosted by Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly and Jenna Morasca, the sole survivor of Survivor: Amazon, this week’s guest is the latest in a long line of players sandbagged by a new twist in the game, Michelle Yi. Beginning as usual with my trivia question, it is: In how many episodes this season have the teams been reformed? Okay, that’s not really my question, but what’s with all these constant alignment changes this season? Try this instead; it’s the real question: Although they are in the individual part of the game, the players were formed into two teams of five for “River Rats,” the immunity challenge. When was the first time players were teamed up during the individual phase of the game? Drag your cursor between the square brackets to see the answer. < The first time was Survivor: Africa when the “odd couple” of Frank and Brandon won the right to see an overrated movie before becoming the next two booted from the game. > The show opens with Jenna expressing doubt that she cares for team competitions in the individual part of the game. Dalton liked it but would have had the winners go to Tribal Council and enjoy the spoils of victory by being the ones doing the elimination voting. Jenna expected another competition to be held to assign individual immunity to a single player. Dalton liked the quick trip to Tribal Council, but as a former player, Jenna hated that. Jenna plugs an upcoming show of hers called “Pussycat Dolls of Comedy.” No, really. And she has a joke for us. This week she’s actually reading jokes off some candy wrappers. The first one goes like this: “What kind of shoes do mice wear?” It’s “Squeakers.” Jenna thinks that’s adorable but Dalton can’t even look at her and shifts focus to Michelle. Michelle comes on screen, looking essentially as we remember her, except washed up. Michelle is very upbeat and smiles for pretty much the whole hour. Dalton asks her how she felt being separated from all her alliance mates and she says, “It was a little scary at first,” to be separated from Earl and Yau-Man. However, she felt comfortable Mookie would vote with her but wasn’t so sure about Dreamz. Dalton asks if there was any subtle contact between any of them on the way to Tribal Council. Michelle confirms there was none at all as their separation was strictly enforced. The Tribal Council clip is run of Alex letting everyone know how he’s voting. So much for “no communication,” but I think Alex played it very cleverly. The hosts aren’t sure that was fair. Personally, I wish Probst would go back to hosting and stop trying to manipulate results. Michelle confirms that Alex was the only one Probst asked about every other player. She also confirms that it was right after that when Probst sent them off to vote. She regrets that she missed her chance to have a “Rocky outburst” at that time. The first caller today is Dawn from Jacksonville. She wants to know how they kept time out there so they knew when to go to Tribal Council. Michelle tells us they can’t keep proper time so they leave for Tribal Council based on the sun position. David in North Carolina asks Michelle to name her favorite challenge, and also, whom would she have taken to the finals with her if she’d had the chance? Her favorite challenge was the blindfold one, even though she fell. For her choice of finalists, Earl and Yau-Man are her emotional choices, but her logical choices are Cassandra or Dreamz. Michelle tells us that in that blindfold challenge she swapped out as caller because she was completely hoarse from all the yelling. They already had a big lead by that point. Dalton notes that Michelle is the first person they’ve talked to who went from nothing to everything and back again. He wonders how much having nothing affected their performance in challenges. Michelle says, “It was huge,” and that even a little food and some sleep made a big difference. Jenna asks if the possibility of the camp getting stripped was ever discussed. Yes, she, Earl, and Yau-Man talked about such a scenario. Jamie from Boston asks how “fair” Michelle feels it was that Jeff Probst asked such directed questions at Tribal Council. Michelle adds, “The game’s not fair, and you know that going in.” Good answer. Jenna reminds us Mookie is on the outs within the Four Horsemen, but he still holds a hidden immunity idol. It seems alliances are very fluid this season. Michelle claims she had “a hunch” Earl or Yau-Man had a hidden immunity idol but wasn’t sure. That day when Earl took them all fishing, she could see the freshly patted-down dirt where there had been digging efforts. Kyle (not Jerry) from California is the next caller. He asks Michelle what her motivations were to be on Survivor. Michelle says she’s an outdoorsy person who likes adventure and competition, so it seemed right for her. She says that when she usually goes camping, she has a lot more water than there was on Ravu, but it’s not as nice as on Moto either. It’s time to play Michelle’s “Time Capsule.” In this feature Dalton plays back a message Michelle recorded to herself before the game began. She says, “Hi, Michelle, this is Michelle, before you ever played Survivor. You’re really excited and I hope you didn’t do anything stupid!” Ever the record setter, this is the shortest Time Capsule ever. Dalton reassures her she didn’t embarrass herself as she adds, “Maybe, falling off a platform...” Michelle tells us she’s known for not being too coordinated, so a fall along the way was almost expected. Michelle reveals that Boo had another accident that wasn’t shown when a 2x4 fell off the shelter roof and hit him in the back. I think the world sees that red hat of Boo’s as one big bulls-eye! Dalton asks Michelle about making fire without a flint. She says it wasn’t easy but you have to understand the science. Prescription glasses are not the best lenses, and continuous sun is important. All of them got sunburned on their backs while trying to light the fire because they had to stay in the direct sun for so long. Dalton notes Michelle outlasted the other Ravu females and wonders if her fire-making ability might have saved her. Michelle laughs as she says, “No, it’s not a very grateful game. It’s like, ‘We got fire, so we don’t need her anymore.’” As usual, segment two begins with a graphic fact. In this one we learn Michelle enjoys fashion photography and traveling, and she is also a competitive rock climber. Jenna has another joke for us: “Why did the mother cat move her kittens?” “Because she didn’t want to litter!” The crew applauds but Dalton pretends he’s not highly amused.