Category: survivor philippines

First a sick Dana left the island in Survivor: Philippines Episode 5. Then Dawson talked her way out of the game by not so cleverly dancing around Jeff Kent’s fame and wealth rather than just blurting it out.

Odd woman out Katie has found herself a target: returning player Jonathan.

Tandang is running out of rice, and they blame Mike. They already wanted to get rid of him anyway, so this is just another easy reason to justify it.

The reward challenge will have them pushing a large ball through the mud. Reward is food. RC and Artis sit out for Tandang. The physical challenge quickly becomes a mud wrestling match, one in which nobody moves very far or very fast. The first set of teams of three is sitting on the ground after an hour.

Mike and Jonathan finally start talking deals. Mike’s willing to trade the sandwiches for the rest of their rice. The other tribe is seriously considering this deal. They say they can get by without rice. Artis, who was whining about Mike eating all the rice earlier, doesn’t want any part of this deal. But the rest of his tribe is onboard. Deal struck, the challenge is over. Kalabaw wins reward in exchange for all their rice.

Despite the fact that giving away all their rice was clearly insane, Kalabaw does have a couple of things going for them. As the tribe down by two people, they may have just received some much needed momentum. They should also have more energy when they compete for immunity.

In addition to the food, they receive letters from home. They claim this is better than food.

Back at the other camp, Artis has a new problem with Mike. He doesn’t like that he got them rice and “is making decisions for the tribe” (that the tribe voted on and agreed to). Pete and Abi, who also were loudly complaining that they did not have enough rice before, are complaining just as much about their newfound bounty of rice.

Jonathan’s confident that his tribe can get fish, despite the fact that they apparently have not had much luck so far. His confidence does not translate into results. The couple of guppies does not help their spirits.

At the immunity challenge, they must launch and catch balls. Whether they catch their own or intercept the opposition’s, it counts as a point. bi, who is completely useless in all aspects of this game, sits out for Tandang yet again. Losing the battle of rock, paper, scissors, Mike does as well.

Jonathan scores for Kalabaw. Pete and RC score for Tandang to take the 2-1 lead. Jeff scores to tie. Jeff takes the 3-2 lead for Kalabaw. Jeff scores again. Taking Mike’s advice to go for Malcolm, Lisa targets Malcolm, who scores to make it 4-3. Malcolm scores again. Carter’s completely ineffective, so he swaps places with Jeff. Malcolm scores again, and Tandang wins immunity.

Now they have a choice between Katie or Jonathan. Katie’s useless, but Jonathan is a veteran. They’re discussing the merge as if it matters. With this loss, they’re now outnumbered 7-4.

Denise and Katie say they feel like they are in trouble.

Votes
Katie
Jonathan
Katie
Katie

With 3 votes, Katie has been voted off the island, an obvious conclusion from a tribe that desperately needs a win based on something other than a willingness to give away food.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recape of Survivor: Philippines Episode 7, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

The Russell meltdown concluded in Survivor: Philippines Episode 4 when he was finally eliminated.

Is there going to be a tribe shuffle today, or do we keep watching the losers and see the other tribes sit out four members each?

At least Malcolm finally finds the idol, making their tribe the last to find it.

Probst tosses them each a buff. Malcolm goes to Tandang, and Denise goes to Kalabaw.

Reward is coffee and baked goods. Each contestant holds an idol, which they must force their opponent to drop. Jeff beats Malcolm to take the lead. Artis stomps Dana. Katie (who are these people every week that nobody ever heard of?) beats Lisa. Mike beats Jonathan to tie it again. Denise beats RC. Pete beats Carter for another tie. Abi beats Dawson despite her hair pulling attempt. Malcolm beats Jeff, and Tandang wins reward.

Malcolm’s tribe is a lot happier to have him than Denise’s tribe is to have her, except for RC, who feels she has one more enemy.

Pete quickly tells Malcolm he has the idol. Of course, Malcolm does not volunteer the same information in return.

For Kalabaw, it’s men against women, and it will be up to Denise to decide whether she wishes to continue that trend.

Dana is struggling with the cold, and she is having sharp pains in her stomach. The medics will allow her to continue for another 12 hours if she wants because her life is not in danger. Given the choice, Dana decides to quit because she doesn’t think she’s going to get any better.

The immunity challenge is an obstacle course followed by a bamboo word puzzle. Abi sits out for Tandang. Again. She says she’s only participated in two challenges.

Tandang is first across the first set of obstacles. Katie has to be dragged up the hill. This allows Tandang to build a large lead. The rope untying portion in which Katie becomes moot allows Kalabaw to gain a bit of ground. Jeff struggles in the chopping task, so Jonathan bails him out, further extending Tandang’s lead. Both tribes have figured out the puzzle. It’s just a matter of who can get the pieces in place first. By seconds, Tandang wins immunity.

Without Dana, the women’s alliance is done. This makes Katie an easy target seeing as she sucked at the challenge. Her only hope is that Denise, who still has not won anything, will be voted out because she is new. But Denise agrees to be the fourth vote for the men.

Though Katie is the most logical vote considering how pathetic she was at the challenge, Dawson’s not out of the woods just yet. She’s not a great performer either, and being the only one who knows Jeff Kent’s secret is not helping her because he gets the sense she knows.

Votes
Denise
Dawson
Dawson
Dawson
Dawson

With 4 votes, Dawson has been voted off the island.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recape of Survivor: Philippines Episode 6, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

With her tribe unable to ever win anything, Angie was voted off the island in Survivor: Philippines Episode 3, allowing Russell to again narrowly escape.

Abi stumbles upon the clue to the hidden immunity idol in front of the rest of her tribe, the clue for the idol she already has. RC didn’t do anything, though. Pete was the one who put it in her bag. This provides Abi, the least pleasant ally ever, the ammo to pretend like she’s been wronged, as if she needs any. Meanwhile, RC is left wondering what she did wrong.

Jonathan makes deals with Jeff and Carter, putting the girls on the chopping block. In turn, the girls are plotting against them.

Realizing he’s the odd man out and doing himself no favors in breaking that trend, Russell continues his search for an immunity idol, which his tribe now suspects he has.

At the immunity challenge, they will carry two pots of rice on a bamboo pole through an obstacle course, collecting a total of six pots, then smash the pots with a wrecking ball. The first tribe to finish will receive steak, veggies, and spices. The second tribe will win that minus steak. Either tribe can opt for a tarp instead. Both Kalabaw and Tandang sit their three women out of the challenge to even things up against the decmiated Matsing.

Carter gets behind right away when he breaks a pot. Malcolm does something strange: he gives Matsing the lead. Even Russell doesn’t suck for his tribe for a change. The lone female in the competition, Denise, starts to fall behind as Tandang takes the lead and finishes retrieving their pots first. All tribes make their way to the pot smashing portion in what could still be anybody’s game. Tandang wins immunity. Kalabaw narrowly overcomes their disastrous start to place second. Matsing loses. Again. Time for another Russell tantrum.

As the second place team, Kalabaw ask for the tarp rather than the food.

Though Russell’s the most likely option, he’s been a high priority twice before as well, both times escaping because he is stronger. They’re already talking about who’s a threat to win the game, and it’s day 9.

Votes
Russell
Malcolm
Russell

With 2 votes, Russell has been voted off the island.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recape of Survivor: Philippines Episode 5, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

Roxy talked her way out of a spot on the island in Survivor: Philippines Episode 2.

He may have had no choice but to vote with the group, but Russell still agrees with Roxy that the Malcolm and Angie alliance is dangerous. He assumes he is their next target by default.

Abi has injured her knee twice, and she is making an extra effort to rub RC (who desperately wants to be her ally) the wrong way. She’d rather work with Peter, so she tells him about the clue RC shared with her.

Peter throws Lisa a lifeline. He doesn’t want to get rid of her. He wants to get rid of Mike, who was previously the fourth person in his alliance, instead. He also doesn’t trust the other person in his alliance, RC.

Jeff and Dana notice that the thing on top of the rice box is missing. They were staring at the idol the whole time, but they let Jonathan escape with it.

Matsing’s raft is missing. Yet another blow for the tribe that’s lost two competitions in a row.

For all the talk about how Malcolm and Angie are a pair, Malcolm says he really wants to stick with Denise.

At the immunity challenge, they will dive to retrieve puzzle wheels then solve a word puzzle. The first tribe to finish receives a fishing kit and canoe. The second tribe receives a smaller kit. Katie and Dawson sit out for Kalabaw; Abi and Lisa sit out for Tandang.

Kalabaw starts off with a lead. As usual, Matsing is losing, and Russell is more of a hindrance than a help. Injury prone Mike busts open his face when his team’s mask shatters. RC takes control of her team’s task, retrieving three in a row. Russell’s inability to climb a ladder is compounded by his inability to retrieve a piece, forcing him to return empty handed. Kalabaw is the first to gather all their pieces, and Tandang is not far behind. Matsing is two pieces behind, so far in dead last that it looks like they will lose yet another challenge. Kalabaw wins immunity. Tandang places second. Matsing loses for the third time in a row.

Jonathan admits what Jeff already knows. He has the idol. They make a deal with a four finger handshake, which Jeff tells us doesn’t count because it’s not a manly handshake.

Artis (who?) is mad about the challenge. He does not appreciate that Mike broke the mask and cost them the game, which they weren’t going to win anyway.

When RC goes hunting for clams, Abi starts her idol search with Peter, and she successfully finds it.

Malcolm and Denise have to decide between Angie and Russell, both of whom did not contribute to the challenge, though Russell was a far bigger liability, even if he would probably be more useful in other challenges, particularly if they need strength.

Russell says that Angie cannot make it 39 days, but he can. Last time, he nearly died after 15.

Votes
Angie
Russell
Angie
Angie

With 3 votes, Angie has been voted off the island. Hard to blame them for getting rid of her rather than Russell, but there’s a reason his name keeps coming up as a target.

Now that we’re done with the backstabbing and lying, it’s time for the Presidential debate.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recape of Survivor: Philippines Episode 4, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

Zane came up with a ridiculous strategy in Survivor: Philippines Episode 1. Tell people to vote him out. Needless to say, they did.

Russell’s big mouth damn near got him voted out. If not for Zane, he would have been eliminated. He tells us he’s learned his lesson: no more being bossy. Yeah, I heard that story last week.

Angie tells us the only reason she’s cuddling with Malcolm is because she is cold.

RC finds a clue in the rice, and she tells Abi. Then they read it out loud. RC says this is a sign of loyalty, but Abi says she only shared the information because she got caught finding it. Regardless, their alliance is hitting rough seas. Abi, who does not deny she is too close for comfort with Pete, accuses RC of being too close to Mike. That said, she warns her not to screw her over because if she does, she’s dead. Nothing like threats between friends and allies.

The rain keeps pouring, so Jonathan’s tribe heads for the caves, leaving him back at camp alone. This gives him the opportunity to scurry through the mud and look for the idol. As the others return to camp, he gets busted, but they don’t seem to notice what they just saw. For all his frantic searching, he takes a step back and thinks about the clue. It is right under his nose, or rather the nose on the rice container where the clue was. He runs through camp yelling “Yeah, baby. I’m on fire.” Still, nobody notices anything strange.

Roxy wants Angie out because she’s the useless half of the Angie/Malcolm showmance. This provides Russell with a lifeline because now they can aim for a new target. Denise, being in an alliance with Malcolm, is not as keen on this idea.

Lisa’s introverted and not so good with chit chat. Bad news since she’s in what’s largely a social game. The rest of the tribe assumes she must be off looking for the idol, but really she’s just sitting on her own and crying.

I don’t recall an episode with this much rain. They say it’s not stopping for more than half an hour, which is quickly taking its toll on the players, some more than others. Specifically, Roxy shares her breakdown with the tribe. She prays to the man upstairs, and the rain stops. It must be a miracle then. To give thanks, she starts speaking in tongues. Denise finds this objectionable because she doesn’t think asking a higher power for favors either works or is appropriate.

At the challenge, two tribe members will pull pull a sled with puzzle pieces, then one person will serve as a caller to help two others solve the puzzle. Reward for the first tribe is blankets, pillows, and a tarp. Reward for the second tribe is a tarp. Abi sits out for Tandang; Dawson sits out for Kalabaw.

Matsing falls way behind on the first lap. Malcolm evens things out in the second lap by ignoring Roxy and just doing everything on his own. Then Russell and Angie again bring up the rear to put Matsing behind heading into the puzzle. Kalabaw solves their first of three puzzles, and Tandang is right behind them. Tandang finishes their second puzzle. Matsing has managed to catch up to them. Kalabaw is the last to finish their second puzzle. Tandang wins immunity. Kalabaw places second. Matsing will be heading back to tribal council again. Russell proceeds to yell about how he’s angry. As hard a time as he gives Angie, he wasn’t any more use in this challenge than she was, despite being a lot bigger and stronger.

The question going into tribal council is which of their two young girls, neither of whom is contributing anything, needs to be sent home. With Malcolm and Angie in a showmance and Roxy and Russell in an alliance of lack of choice, Denise is the middlewoman to break the tie.

Roxy tells Jeff she doesn’t like that her tribe is working too much at camp. Angie’s response to one thing she could change: it would be nice if they could have some cookies. Even if it sounds silly, this is a fair answer, one that is seemingly harmless and couldn’t get her in trouble with anybody, but she gets more grief about it than Roxy saying they need to be lazy at camp.

Roxy points out that Malcolm and Angie are in an alliance… and then some. His defense is that he’s just cold, and she’s like a little sister to him. Roxy finds the concept of snuggling with a sister to be creepy. This all bothers her because it’s like a booby trap, one made out of silicone.

Votes
Roxy
Angie
Roxy
Roxy

With 3 votes, Roxy has been voted off the island. She probably should have prayed.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recape of Survivor: Philippines Episode 3, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

Lisa Whelchel (Blair Warner), baseball player Jeff Kent, and returning medically evacuated contestants Michael Skupin, Russell Swan, and Jonathan Penner round out the Survivor: Philippines cast of 18 contestants vying for the title of Sole Survivor. They will be split into three tribes as opposed to the usual two.

The premiere of Survivor gives us a welcome break from the standard two or three singing competitions that are on every night since every network has at least one. They’re going to keep driving that sub-genre into the ground until it dies, the sooner the better at this pace. Sorry, NBC and Fox, but I’ll be sticking to CBS for the night. I’ll watch Simon on DVR, though.

Jeff Kent is hoping people won’t recognize him. That’ll last two days, tops. Most people won’t know him, but somebody has to. As far as Lisa, I suspect she’ll last as long as the boat ride over before being recognized.

Zane’s the only newbie who is not famous that gets to speak before the theme song. He talks about his tattoo of Frankenstein, who gave someone a flower then strangled everybody.

They are already divided into three tribes before they even hit the beach.

Kalabaw (red): Carter, Dana, Jeff, Jonathan, Katie, Sarah
Matsing (blue): Angie, Denise, Malcolm, Roxanne, Russell, Zane
Tandang (yellow): Abi-Maria, Artis, Lisa, Michael, Peter, Robert

Roxanne discusses the most extreme thing she’s seen on this show, and she talks about Russell, who joins them now.

Michael immediately recognizes Lisa. That secret didn’t last very long. Her younger tribe members probably have never even heard of the show, though.

Red tribe gets off to a rocky start. Just getting into the water, their boat submerges. During this, Jeff hurts his leg, and they are left scrambling for the supplies they just gathered.

Unlike last time, Russell does not want to be a leader again. He wants some other idiot to accept that responsibility. Despite this, he’s the one giving orders.

Russell and Malcolm manage to get fire going within the first hour, which very rarely happens without man-made tools, let alone that quickly.

The injured Jeff is rallying the troops against Jonathan. They want to get rid of the veteran. Never actually happens, but good luck to you.

RC says she’s an executive assistant. She doesn’t want anyone to know she’s a banker. I don’t understand lying right off the bat about such silly things.

Abi, Pete, and RC already have an alliance in about five minutes, and they ask Mike to be their fourth.

Dawson knows who Jeff Kent is, which she believes is something she alone knows. She also guesses he’s probably made $30 million during his time in the majors. Unlike Jeff, Lisa’s been out of the spotlight for decades, and she says she lost all of her Facts of Life money in the 80s.

Zane fancies himself a people person, and he has an alliance with everybody on his tribe on day 1. Of course, he reveals this information, so everybody knows about his alliances.

Mike willingly takes on a leadership role and doesn’t try pretending otherwise. He’s already got blood dripping from his head, a cut on his foot, and blisters and cuts on his hands on the second day.

Jonathan goes off on his own to search for the idol, which is not lost on his tribe. His search in their bag of rice leads him to a clue. For all Jonathan’s searching, Russell just stumbles on his clue by accident as he’s cooking rice. Zane catches him both in his search and his lie.

At the immunity challenge, they are tied together in pairs. The first two tribes to win are immune. The winning tribe receives a complete fire making kit; the second place tribe receives flint. The first sets of pairs run and climb a rope ladder to retrieve paddles. The second sets of pairs led by Tandang will row a boat and dive for puzzle pieces. Matsing is right behind them, and Kalabaw is dead last after a slow run by Dana and Katie. Thanks to Jeff and Carter’s fast rowing, Kalabaw takes second place, but Tandang extends its lead. The final phase is to solve the puzzle. In a very close race that comes down to the last piece, Kalabaw overtakes Tandang to place first, while Tandang finishes second.

Matsing will be heading to tribal council. Russell’s overpowering of the first three days continued at the challenge. He barked out orders who was doing what and refused to listen.

Strangely, Zane throws himself on the chopping block. He says to go ahead and vote him out. But he doesn’t mean it. What kind of strategy is this? Adding insult to stupidity, he guarantees Malcolm 100% that Russell has the idol.

Zane compares Russell to an onion. The more layers you peel back, the more you cry.

Votes
Zane
Russell
Zane
Zane
Zane

With 4 votes, Zane has been voted off the island. He shot himself in the foot, but regardless the tribe is left weaker because they have a dysfunctional leader.

Stay tuned to dingoRUE for another live recape of Survivor: Philippines Episode 2, which airs Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS.

The Survivor: Philippines cast of 18 castaways features some well known names. Starting the list is Lisa Whelchel, who played Blair Warner on The Facts of Life. She will be joined by Jeff Kent, 2000 National League MVP who played with a variety of Major League Baseball teams before retiring in 2008. Personally I think they need to just go all in and have a celebrity Survivor, as we’ve seen in both South Africa and Australia, perhaps with a twist such as celebrities vs. all stars or celebrities vs. fans.

I assume Dana Lambert is not the eldest daughter from Step by Step.

Additionally, we will see something that fans have been asking to see for a long time: the return of contestants who had to be medically evacuated in a previous season. Michael Skupin fell in the fire in The Austrlian Outback. Russell Swan collapsed during a challenge due to dehydration. Jonathan Penner survived the lackluster Cook Islands but was removed from the awesome Micronesia due to a knee injury.

The cast will be rounded out by an additional 13 contestants to be split among three tribes, a scenario that worked out quite well in All Stars.

Abi-Maria Gomes
32
Los Angeles, CA

Angie Layton
20
Provo, UT

Artis Silvester
53
Terrytown, LA

Carter Williams
24
Shawnee, KS

Dana Lambert
32
Winston-Salem, NC

Denise Stapley
41
Cedar Rapids, IA

Jeff Kent
44
Austin, TX

Jonathan Penner
50
Los Angeles, CA

Katie Hanson
22
Newark, DE

Lisa Whelchel
49
Dallas, TX

Malcolm Freberg
25
Hermosa Beach, CA

Michael Skupin
50
White Lake, MI

Peter “Pete” Yurkowski
24
Holmdel, NJ

Roberta “R.C.” Saint-Amour
27
New York City, NY

Roxanne “Roxy” Morris
28
Brooklyn, NY

Russell Swan
45
Glenside, PA

Sarah Dawson
28
Silver Springs, MD

Zane Knight
28
Danville, VA