"I'd like to talk about anything other than Survivor."

While episode two of Survivor 27 didn’t have the same punch as the first episode, it was still a pretty good one. We had a Colton meltdown (he came here to play Survivor, not Red Rover, in case anyone was wondering), serious strategy on Tadhana, a power alliance forming on Galang, and an epic first boot.

So let’s not bury the lead. Rupert Boneham, four-time Survivor contestant, did not follow in the footsteps of Boston Rob during his fourth outing. Instead of winning it all, he was walking out of the game with the honor of “first boot.” Who saw that coming? Certainly not Rupert, who promised us last week that “time after time after time” he would win, until he could reenter the game.

The Redemption Island duel was emotional, as expected. John Cody cried, and Candice winked at him to let him know everything was going to be OK. Tina, Laura M., Kat, and Monica all cried when they saw their loved ones hadn’t been voted out. And Gervase kind of shrugged and told Marissa “handle your biz” when given the chance to switch with her, but not before promising Brad Culpepper and crew that he was going to keep winning immunity challenges, and keep rubbing salt in their wounds.

The duel (if you can call a three person competition a “duel”) really seemed to favor the female competitors. It required patience, balance, and accuracy—three things Rupert was really lacking. Before Rupert’s stack fell, he was rushing through the challenge. His thoughts were never on just staying in the game, but instead on beating Candice so he could get Laura that idol clue. His cockiness and certainty that he could not lose is really what cost him this challenge, where he had a huge lead on Marissa and could have easily finished in second place.

Candice actually couldn’t lose this challenge. She was a woman on a mission, and was completely unfazed by anything going on around her. I am in no way a Candice fan, but man—she was impressive during that duel. Her time on Redemption Island has turned her into a stone-cold assassin, and I am not gonna lie—I was almost rooting for her.

So, Candice kicked some ass, and we were left to watch Rupert compete against Marissa, while Laura B. and Gervase just so happened to be seated next to each other watching along with us. Gervase cheered on his niece, while Laura teared up watching the downfall of her husband.

So, Marissa will continue on another week (much to my surprise), Candice got to give her hubby a clue to the immunity idol, and Rupert said goodbye to his wife, leaving the Boneham Survivor legacy in her hands. I am sure he was not thrilled about this.

At least one person still in the game was thrilled with the outcome of Redemption Island, and that was Dr. John Cody. With the clue to the immunity idol and his decision to “be private about it,” John guaranteed himself a lot of airtime this week, along with the strong possibility that he is about to have a serious downfall. But a little more on John later.

While John was busy worrying about his idol clue and his wife’s fate in the game, Vytas was busy becoming the strategic mastermind of the Brolliance. Culpepper may be the face of it, but it is now clear that Vytas is calling the shots. He suggests voting out Rachel, in the hopes that Tyson would swap out with her at Redemption Island, seriously weakening the Galang tribe. Now, I don’t honestly think there is the slimmest chance that Tyson does this. He is in a good position to go far into the game, and even being a challenge beast—Redemption Island is very risky. But Vytas still gets points for considering all the options, and coming up with an idea that is very outside of the box. If it works—he is brilliant. And if it doesn’t, losing Rachel isn’t the worst thing ever for the Tadhana tribe.

Vytas Baskauskas: Strategic Mastermind

In the meantime, Rachel is trying her best to bond with the guys, under the correct assumption that the woman of Tadhana are on a sinking ship. She doesn’t want to go down with it, so strategizing with Ciera and Katie is pointless. Ciera may disagree, but in all truth, Rachel has the right idea. And if it wasn’t for Tyson, her attempt to bond with the Brolliance probably would have bought her at least six more days on the island.

While Tadhana was busy strategizing and trying to figure out what needed to be done in order to weaken the Galang tribe, Galang was busy doing anything other than worrying about the game. In fact, they were busy giving each other massages, and cuddling by the fire. 

This Rotu-like love tribe was working out well for everyone on it—well, almost everyone. Because Colton Cumbie has no interest in love, or kumbiyah, or Red Rover. He wants to play the game of Survivor, and somehow in Colton’s mind, playing the game of Survivor translates to acting like a complete psychopath. So much for Colton’s redemption story. So much for being a back stabber that changed his ways. After three days of being almost likeable, Colton is back to his old tricks.

He said that Laura wanted to vote out Gervase, Tyson was against Monica, and Aras definitely wanted Gervase gone. He told Kat “you’ve gotta calm down or you’re gonna be in that duel,” when she tried to help him by letting him know his over-strategizing was scaring people off. Tina just had to sit by and watch while Colton attempted to throw Kat under the bus, and basically berated her when all she was trying to do was keep Colton from self-destructing. He is convinced that chaos is what he needs to somehow take charge of the tribe, without ever stopping to realize the fact that he is playing with returnees. He tells us, “These people need to experience tribal council and realize this is a game!” Newsflash, Colton. They all have. And most have experienced a lot more tribal council then you have. I think they know what they’re doing.

After all his insanity, Colton also has the audacity to say “everyone is being super sketchy and I don’t know why.”

Let me tell you why: everyone thinks Colton is the “gay Russell Hantz,” and they are now forming an alliance against him. One that includes Monica Culpepper, who Colton thought was his ally. Galang now has a majority alliance that consists of former winners Tina and Aras, along with Monica, Gervase and Tyson. This clearly leaves Colton on the outside, and a likely first boot for the Galang tribe when they lose immunity. Suddenly Laura Boneham doesn’t seem to be at the bottom on the totem pole anymore—it’s Colton Cumbie.

The immunity challenge was another close one that came down to Gervase versus Hayden in a skeet ball competition, after both tribes finished the more physical part of the challenge neck and neck, and Katie redeemed herself for a poor performance last week by really leading the team and helping them to take a slight lead during the first part. 

In the end, Gervase managed to just beat out Hayden and bring immunity to Galang once more (along with taunting Brad by yelling out “Marissa!!” after he sealed the deal). Kat stared at her boyfriend teary-eyed, not realizing there is a Tadhana Brolliance, and Hayden just gave her a wink. Hayden could’ve just stood there not even attempting to win the challenge and he still wasn’t going to go home.

Vytas had already come up with the plan to vote out Rachel, and although the producers tried to give us a red herring (voting out John in case he had the idol), it was pretty clear what was going to happen at Tribal Council. But the time leading up to Tribal gave us some good information.

John trying to go against the Brolliance’s plan showed that his loyalty is not to the five guys—but it isn’t to Rachel either, as Vytas speculated. John is loyal to his wife. He wants to have “as many weak people around Candice as possible.” Clearly, this would not include Tyson. And worrying about what is going on at Redemption Island instead of on his own tribe will cause problems for John in the future. His hesitancy to completely open up to his tribe has not gone unnoticed. To put it simply: “Right now, John is with the five guys. We’ll see how long it stays that way.”

We also got to see strategy from someone I was convinced would be a nonentity in this game—Ciera. Upon being told that Rachel was going home, but Rachel would think it was Ciera, she decided it was just a little too risky for her game. She made it clear to not only her main ally, Katie, but to the boys as well that John was aligned with Rachel, and couldn’t be trusted. Especially since he had the idol clue. So rather than take the chance that John would save Rachel with an idol and Ciera would be sent packing with only one vote against her, she and Katie voted against John (much to his complete and total shock). Yes, she was showing her cards a little early. But I liked the fact that she was thinking about all possible scenarios, and I think her insistence that Dr. John could not be trusted on top of the fact that the guys were already suspicious of him might really help her to get a little further in the game. Even if it’s only an extra three days.

And with that, Rachel joined Marissa and Candice at Redemption Island (making sure to tell Candice that people also voted against John). It’s not looking good for Rachel in this game, and my bet would be that Tyson sticks with his tribe (I don’t care what the editors are trying to make us think in the scenes for next week, he is not going to switch), and Rachel loses the duel. Then Tadhana has a pissed off Tyson going against them, and they have weakened their team (even if it was only slightly) but voting off the strongest of the three girls.

So whose stock has risen this week, and whose has gone down?

Week 2 Winners

 Laura Boneham is not going to win Survivor 27. But between Colton’s meltdown, and Rupert’s elimination, she probably isn’t going to be Galang’s first boot either. Upon returning to camp after watching her hubby lose the duel, Laura stayed positive. “I’m surprisingly OK. It’s a little bit of a sense of relief. I don’t have to worry about him,” she explained to her tribe. “It’s gonna empower me.” And in addition to being empowered, Laura also realized that not having a partner in the game makes her a valuable ally for someone. She is not going to be able to run to someone on the other tribe at the merge. All she has is the relationships she establishes on Galang. And if she can prove to be an asset and a swing vote, why get rid of her? She is alright at challenges, she hasn’t had an epic meltdown like Colton, and in addition to him there has also been talk about voting out Kat early. No one has mentioned voting out Laura. She may be in a minority, but at least she has bought herself some time before she joins Rupert at Ponderosa.

Gervase also goes from being a Week 1 Loser to a Week 2 Winner. In the three days after he almost drowned, almost lost his team immunity, and then celebrated Galang’s victory making his niece a target, Gervase has made some big strides. First, Marissa didn’t lose her duel. She still might hate her uncle’s guts, but she’s still in the game, and Gervase is the only ally she really has. In addition to Marissa, now Gervase also has a real alliance of his own—a majority alliance at that. So even a poor performance at a challenge won’t threaten his game anytime soon. Besides, Gervase made up for his lousy swimming (as best as he could anyway) by kicking ass at skeet ball, and beating out Hayden for an immunity win. All in all, a good episode for Gervase Peterson.

But the castaway with the best episode is yet again Vytas Baskauskas. Last week he was sharing personal stories and making a connection with everyone on his tribe. This week he was taking control of the Brolliance (while still letting Brad seemingly be the leader) and coming up with some big strategy plays not only for this vote out (Rachel in the hopes Galang will lose Tyson), but for future ones (John, who is no longer trustworthy and may or may not have an immunity idol next time they have to go to tribal). Vytas is clearly running the show at Tadhana, but he is doing it in a way that he seems to be well-liked by everyone, and he is covering all his bases. Vytas is playing a strong game, and should be able to continue calling the shots up until the merge.

Week 2 Losers

We have to pay homage to our tie-dyed friend, Rupert Boneham. Love him or hate him, he is a huge part of Survivor history. He is also now the only person to win a million dollars without winning the game (America’s Tribal Council) and one of only three people who did not quit or leave due to medical reasons that left the game without ever having gone to Tribal or having a vote cast against them (along with Wanda and Jonathan from Survivor: Palau). None of this can really help Rupert’s Survivor legacy. I would also assume (and hope!) that it’s the last time we ever see Rupert play this game—what a way to go out.

After this week, John Cody may not be far behind Rupert. His decision to keep the idol clue private, and then speak against his alliance when they came up with the plan to vote out Rachel really hurts his chances in the game. The second Candice gave John the clue to the idol, his downfall had begun. It may play out over a couple of episodes, or it may end next week, but John’s game is in serious jeopardy. The guys can easily vote him out the next time they go to Tribal and keep the majority, so why wouldn’t they? No one trusts him anymore, and they can’t take the chance of him finding that idol and using it to blindside them. Better off to blindside him first and let him go be with the only alliance he cares about—his wife over at Redemption Island. I know this game changes week to week, but as of now I would put my money on Dr. John Cody being the next person voted out from the Tadhana tribe.

But Colton Cumbie obviously takes the title for Biggest Loser of episode two. I am not sure if Colton is bad at this game, emotionally unstable, insane, delusional, or all of the above. He is on a tribe that keeps winning, and he actually even had two people (Monica and Kat) looking out for him. Instead of taking his luck and keeping his mouth shut, he was actually trying to cause chaos on the tribe. I don’t know why Colton wanted to come back on Survivor to play like this. He was hated before the season began, and none of this is making him look any better. I am actually ashamed that I was excited to see Colton play this season, because I thought we were going to get an upgraded version that learned from his poor game play the last time. Clearly, I was very, very wrong. When I am watching Colton run around and try to turn people against each other while the tribe actually had immunity, I am embarrassed for him. Clearly, Colton is not long for this game. I was actually praying Galang would lose immunity so they could vote him out this week but alas—no luck.

And with that, I am done rambling about episode two.

Does Colton become the most hated Survivor of all time by quitting next week? And if so, what the hell happens with poor, normal Caleb? Will Tyson switch places with Rachel? Is Candice about to go on an Ozzy-like run of domination at Redemption Island?

We shall see!  

"I so wish your husband was here."

The first episode of Blood vs. Water has aired, and after a few days of reflection, it’s time to talk about how Season 27’s new theme played out. Surprisingly (to me, and many other Survivor purists I have come across via social media), it was a good one.

The game began with “Day 0,” which allowed the pairs to have one last night together, not knowing that it would be their last night together. This was a great way to give the whole cast airtime (something editors don’t seem to care about as much in these later seasons), so I liked it for this reason, although we didn’t get too much important interaction. We did see Laura Boneham complain that it was all about “Rupert, Rupert, Rupert” and that she wanted her time in the spotlight, along with watching Candice “Formerly Woodcock” Cody tell her husband cockily, “Welcome to your first night of Survivor.” Little did Candice know, it was about to be her last (at least for now).

After Day 0, Survivor tried a twist they had shied away from after using it in Palau (where members were actually voted out and sent packing) and Tocantins (where members actually got the advantage of taking a helicopter to camp instead of having to participate in a group hike). I am normally not a fan of that immediate boot, but with Redemption Island in play I can see why it works here.

The Tadhana tribe proceeded to vote Laura Boneham in a landslide without much fanfare. There was a bit more of a back and forth between Laura Morrett and Candice on the Galang tribe (along with a random vote from Aras for Gervase, that actually looks like it could’ve originally been for Colton or Candice, but was then crossed out). Candice was ultimately the one with the most votes—which may or may not have had something to do with the fact that she and John were a last minute replacement for RC and her dad so no one really got a chance to form any pregame alliances with her. Or the fact that she is a known traitor. Either way, she has her kill list just like Arya Stark, and Colton, Tina, Monica, Kat, and Laura better watch out if she ever manages to make her way back into the game. Candice has already slaughtered a few coconut voodoo dolls to prepare herself for battle.

In addition to those that voted against her, Candice might be chanting John’s name over and over every night before she falls asleep on Redemption Island as well. Because after Jeff basically baited Rupert into switching places with Laura—calling Rupert heroic, saying didn’t he love his wife, wouldn’t he do anything for her?—John Cody decided against doing the same thing for his wife. Apparently he is not as heroic as Rupert, and certainly doesn’t love his wife as much. Could there be a post-Survivor divorce in the works? I wonder what Adam Gentry thinks about all this?  

Still not John Cody.

Anyway, I will have more to say on Rupert and Laura’s decision in a little bit.

We didn’t see as much of the Galang tribe as we did of the Tadhana tribe, but we did get some good character building (and a mention of Boston Rob at minute 24 when Tyson explained how he could definitely make fire). Laura B. tried to act like she fit in, and Aras told her “I so wish your husband was here,” which was possibly my favorite line of the episode. We had a nice fireside scene where Colton opened up about his past that seemed very genuine (at least mostly). Now that he made it past the first vote, I am excited to see Colton 2.0. Even if he acts like a total jerk, it makes good TV. And if he can somehow curb his craziness, we could see a nice redemption story. Although, I don’t think anyone should really be trusting Colton Cumbie. I am sorry to tell Monica, but a backstabber never changes his stripes. They just get better at it. 

Fool me once...

We also got a great montage of the tribe working together to upbeat music—always a good sign of things to come. The tribe that gets the working together montage tends to do well when challenge time comes.

Now, there was a lot more going on over at Tadhana.

We have Brad Culpepper apologizing for saying he might consider losing a challenge so Monica could benefit (bringing attention to saying it in the first place, which wasn’t necessary). He then decided to form Survivor’s version of the Brigade (I am sure Hayden was thrilled), because five with nine apparently equals in. Also, Culpepper (as he has been dubbed by fanboy Jeff Probst) was certain to correct himself—it’s not really five guys in his alliance. It’s four guys and a gay guy. Get it right, people.

Brad also tried to sell his Brolliance by reminding everyone of who wins Survivor nowadays. And who is that you ask? Well, “weak women (and) John Cochran.”

One of these things is not like the other.

Not sure how Denise, the oldest woman to ever win Survivor and winner of one individual immunity, Sophie, the winner of three individuals immunities, and Kim, who won four, feel about this. I am guessing they are not the biggest Brad Culpepper fans right about now.

Of course, we didn’t just get to know Brad (although he really dominated the Tadhana airtime, and I already know more about him from one episode than I got to know about his wife on her whole season). Ciera and Vytas sharing their life stories was a really powerful scene. It was nice to see the tribe bonding and being able to share such personal stories with each other so early on in the game. It was also nice as a viewer to get to know these people a little better (especially Ciera, who I was down on in my pregame rankings).

More on Vytas later.

We also had Katie and Ciera really excited to beat their moms at puzzles. 

The first Survivor: Blood vs. Water immunity challenge was a good one. It involved a lot of swimming, getting over obstacles, rowing, and the game changer at the end—a puzzle.

Tadhana got out to a huge lead because lets face it—physically, their team can probably beat Galang everyday. They are just a younger tribe with more fit guys. What didn’t help Galang was the fact that Gervase didn’t think a swimming lesson was a good idea in all that time off he had between Borneo and now. And also, Galang was stupid enough to let him be part of the swim team. Let’s be smart here—if a guy cannot swim, put him on the puzzle team. If he sucks at puzzles he can just stand there and watch, like the third person on the puzzle team normally does anyway. It’s a better bet than sending him out in the water, where he practically drowned and almost lost his team immunity.

Bonus points to Aras for saving Gervase’s life.

But as usual, this challenge came down to the puzzle. Tina vs. Katie. Laura vs. Ciera. Caleb and Monica along for the ride. And experience won out, with Galang taking immunity despite Tadhana’s huge lead, thanks to the Puzzle Moms.

Gervase, having recovered from almost drowning, had some choice words for the Tadhana tribe (“That’s how you do it!”). This pissed off basically everyone on the tribe, including niece Marissa, who had held her own in the competition. When her tribe brings up Galang’s gloating, Marissa explains that “the lion doesn’t roar after it kills it’s prey.”

Unfortunately, Gervase didn’t follow that rule. And even more unfortunately for Marissa, who was definitely not Tadhana’s weakest member, she was sent packing for Gervase’s mistakes.

So much for working together!

I have to say I am excited for Redemption Island for the first time ever. I think it is going to be really emotional for the loved one watching, making the duels actually meaningful. Don’t expect Gervase to switch places with Marissa or anything, but he will probably feel guilty she got voted out. And I definitely expect a lot of tears from John “Woodcock” Cody and Laura Boneham.

Also, I know there are a lot of Marissa fan outs there, so don’t hate me for devoting so little time to her. I just really feel that experience is going to win out at Redemption Island, and although she is a good competitor (better than I originally thought she would be), I have a feeling episode 2 will be the last we see of Marissa until the finale.

And now, I would like to present you with my Best and Worst of episode one!

I don’t want to do complete Power Rankings with so many people (especially after a pretty lengthy recap), but I’d like to make note of which players had the Best episode, and which had the Worst.

Week 1 Winners

Brad Culpepper may have sounded a little bit like a chucklehead, and he may be stepping into the leadership role a little early, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he has set himself up pretty well—at least for now. If his math about four guys and a gay guy is correct, he does have the majority vote for as long as he can keep his alliance together. And once there is some type of tribe swap or a merge, we can probably expect an epic Silas Gaither or John Carroll type fall from power.

We didn’t see much from Tyson this episode, but what we did see was overwhelmingly positive. Tyson seems to be liked by his tribe so far, and why wouldn’t he be? He started fire within the first few minutes they were at camp (and mentioned Boston Rob), and he is a beast when it comes to challenges. Tyson could be the most annoying person in the world to the people on his tribe and it would still be almost impossible to vote him out because he is just so good.

The person I thought had the best episode was my pregame pick to win it all—Vytas. Vytas also laid low with Brad dominating the airtime, but what we saw of him really points to a long game. We got to hear about Vytas’ time as a teenage drug addict, his year in jail at the age of nineteen, and his fourteen years sober. If that doesn’t make you root for the guy, what will? It is definitely something that will help his tribe to trust him. He also made sure he kept up lines of communication with everyone. Yes, he is in Brad’s Brolliance. But he is not stupid—Vytas realizes this probably will not last forever. So he made sure to establish relationships with all the women on the tribe as well, even going so far as to fill them in on the vote—something that leader Brad didn’t think to do.

So keep up the good work, Vytas!

Week 1 Losers

And now onto the worst of the worst.

We realize that Rupert loves his wife. And would do anything for her. And he is very heroic. But he should not have switched places with her! Just ask Tina Wesson, who told him point blank not to do it. Rupert now left a tribe of people he knows with his wife, who doesn’t have three seasons of experience like he does. And he sounded extra heroic telling Jeff he will win Redemption Island—“time after time after time and I will!”—but let’s face it. Rupert is a decent competitor, but he is no Ozzy. Eventually there will be a challenge where he will come up short. And then that will be the end of Rupert’s fourth stint on Survivor.

It’s not really Laura Boneham’s fault that she is in the position she is in. The woman has lived in her husband’s shadow since Pearl Islands and she wanted her turn to compete. When Rupert was being all heroic, she sure as hell wasn’t going to turn him down. But now she is on a tribe of people that don’t want to play with her, and that probably told their loved ones to vote her out in the first place. There is a good chance that she could get voted out the first time Galang goes to Tribal Council, and then she will be facing her hubby in a duel.

Overall, it is not looking good for the Boneham’s.

But, lucky for them, they are not the absolute worst this week. That honor goes to Gervase Peterson. It saddens me to write this, as I was so excited for Gervase’s return to the game. But this is not what I expected. In his first episode back, Gervase managed to almost die during the first immunity challenge, gloat after winning in a manner that embarrassed me as a viewer, and also got his niece voted out of her tribe. How does it get much worse than that? Maybe seeing Marissa compete at Redemption Island will teach Gervase to be a little more humble. Maybe Aras can give him some swimming lessons on their off days. But I get a feeling season 27 may not go as well for Gervase as we all hoped.

So that’s it—episode one of Blood vs. Water.

Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Does anyone think we will see a member of the Boneham family around come merge time? Is a Colton meltdown just around the corner? How long can Kat stay this quiet for? Is it possible to mention Boston Rob once an episode?

I’ll see you next week!

The Best Player Wins BB15

Ladies and gentlemen, Andy Herren is the winner of Big Brother 15. He beat Ginamarie in a landslide 7-2 vote to become the first gay winner in 15 seasons of Big Brother.

In a season filled with racial controversy, everything exciting happening prior to day 25, and a cast full of very unlikeable characters, it’s easy to forget about the simple fact that Big Brother is a game, and someone is going to win. It may not be America’s favorite (and it certainly wasn’t in this case), but we always hope it’s the best player. So… was Andy?

Now, the most common things I have heard Big Brother fans say about Andy are boring, rat, and floater. I think this is a little harsh—although each complaint about him does have some truth to it. But what people seem to be overlooking is where Andy ranks in the history of Big Brother winners.

So I ask all you anti-Andy people to read this with an open mind. I am not trying to make you like the guy, but I think his game should get the credit it deserves.

But before we can talk about the way Andy played the game, we need to take a trip down memory lane to the summer of 2003 and talk about the winner of Big Brother 4, Jun Song.

The original floater.

Long before Rachel Reilly told floaters to grab a life vest, Jun Song was floating her way through the BB4 house in a way that was considered strategy. In fact, she floated her way right to the final 2, where she beat out the hated Allison Irwin for the $500,000 grand prize.

I know newer BB fans are screaming that floaters are useless! Floating is not a strategy!

I am sorry, but I am going to have to disagree. Yes, doing NOTHING all season is not a valid strategy. But becoming friendly with all sides of the house, keeping up lines of communication, making everyone think you are on their side—now that takes strategy. That takes hard work. But sometimes people don’t realize it as much, as it isn’t as exciting to watch on TV.

Season 4 was the “Ex factor” and Jun was one of the houseguests who was unfortunate (or fortunate, depending on how you look at it) enough to have her ex, Jee, in this house. With this, she was able to form an alliance with the eight original houseguests before he exes came into the game. She also kept up a relationship with Jee, using that to her advantage in the game until she didn’t need him anymore—then she was the one to nominate him as HOH the week he was evicted. As the competition continued, Jun made a secret alliance with the most disliked houseguest, knowing she could beat her at the end. And just to go the extra measure, Jun threw the final HOH competition so Allison would have to evict Robert at the final three, ensuring that Jun would get his vote. Not that she needed it—somewhat like Andy Herren, she won in a 6-1 landslide, losing only the vote of Allison’s showmance.

No, Jun didn’t win a lot of competitions. She was also rarely on the block, so she never really had to scramble for votes. She wasn’t exciting. But she was brilliant, and a very deserving winner. One of the best, in my opinion.

So what does this have to do with Andy?

Well, I am not the first, and I certainly won’t be the last to compare the gameplay of the two. I know Andy was pretty upset when the Zingbot called him a floater, but let’s face it. He floated through this game with the precision only a brilliant BB player could.

Early on, when the season was still fun, all everyone would talk about was how Andy was on the live feeds. That literally every time there was strategic conversation going on, Andy would bust into the room. He’d be in the HOH room one second, and by the time you started paying attention to the contestants talking strategy in the backyard Andy was now with them. It’s impossible to be involved in every conversation, but Andy made sure that he was in the middle of whichever ones he could be. And the best part? None of the houseguests were even concerned about this fact. Everyone had to notice that Andy was always around, but they all just let it happen.

Not only was Andy involved in everyone’s conversations, but he was socially attached to every houseguest. Until they were walking out the door realizing Andy had voted against them, everyone thought Andy was their best friend, and that he was 100% on their side. Elissa actually thought McCrae voted against Amanda, she was that convinced that Andy wasn’t lying to her.

And the final portion of Andy’s game of floating was the fact that he not only involved himself in every conversation, he not only convinced everyone that he was their best friend, but he was able to do all of this for 90 days, spending almost no time of the block, and never really being in any danger of being evicted from the house. Andy was always in a position of power by convincing those in power that he was aligned with them. And when he decided those in power weren’t really helping his game anymore? He shifted to another group to get out his original allies. Andy’s loyalty to Amanda and McCrae got him to a certain point in the game—then he switched his loyalty to the Exterminators (who were overall weaker competitors than Andy) to take out McCranda. This move basically ensured Andy a place in the final 2.

I am sure it’s not easy to be a target every week and have to win HOH competitions and Vetoes. But having a position in every alliance in the house, being everyone’s best friend, and keeping that all straight—that is just as hard, only in a different way.

And if any jury was going to be bitter, it was going to be this one. I could imagine everyone sitting on the jury deciding to vote for the lesser of two evils, or the person they liked more. But for some reason they didn’t. Maybe I wasn’t giving this cast enough credit, or maybe Andy was just that good, even in the final minutes of his time in the BB house.

As the show was drawing to a close, Andy, the floater who didn’t want to be a floater, took ownership of the game he played. He answered the jury questions honestly (with the exception of the whole “alliance-with-GM-from-day-one” thing—that seemed to be a bit of a stretch), and in a manner that you couldn’t help but agree with. There isn’t much as you can complain about as far as his game is concerned. It was nearly flawless, and it was the type of gameplay that can never be repeated in a follow up season.

I think Andy was, by far, the most deserving to win Big Brother 15. And not even just out of the final 3—you could argue he was more deserving than a good chunk of the house guests if you are basing “deserving” on being a good game player. Which Andy, a student of the game, clearly was.

In closing, I’d like to go beyond the scope of BB15 and talk briefly about Andy in regards to Big Brother house guests of the past. Because let’s be honest—there are not a lot of great BB players. Yes there are a select few—Dr. Will, Dan, Danielle Reyes, Janelle. And there are even fewer great Big Brother winners. If Andy had not won BB15, he would be a middle of the road player. But by winning, Andy had put himself in the top 20 of best BB players ever—maybe even in the top 5 for BB winners.

It’ll take some time to move on from your personal feelings about him betraying basically everyone, and talking bad about Elissa, and not being super exciting. But in time—people will be putting Andy on their lists.

People didn’t love Jun Song back in 2003, but now she is considered one of the greats. Not the greatest—but up there. Eventually, Andy will be joining her. 

Floater for a new generation.

Is it Time For BB Canada Yet?

OK, maybe that is a bit of a stretch, but man were those much more likable houseguests.

Anyway….

As Big Brother 15 draws to a close with the worst final three we’ve seen since Sheila, A-Baller, and Ryan during season 9, I find myself looking back and wondering how we got to this point. Where did it all go wrong? The season started out pretty promising, after all, with all new houseguests, a house divided, big blindsides, and the “bad guys” going down. 

My pick to win Big Brother going in was actually Andy, but I was a big McCrae fan immediately. Who wouldn’t be? The awkward guy who was likeable to the audience, but maybe not so much to other houseguests. When this geeky underdog won the first HOH, I was ready. This season was going to be good. And when Amanda made her way up to McCrae’s HOH room, their showmance also made its way into our hearts. Don’t lie, folks. You loved McCranda at first. 

Of course, McCrae’s HOH really didn’t matter, as the MVP (aka Rachel Reilly’s sister, aka Elissa) got to make the third nomination (a Big Brother twist worthy of being spoken of along with other strokes of genius like the Saboteur). Although it took a few weeks for BB to really hit the lowest of the lows, the fact that the MVP twist even existed in a season where one houseguest would have such a huge advantage was a clear sign of things to come.

But first we saw the end of David.

A potential half million dollar winner.

After David’s eviction, we saw the best week of the BB season. Elissa should have been a shoe in to go home, but Jeremy’s bullying antics suddenly made him a big target in the house. It was looking like the “good guys” were going to take control. Sure, Elissa wasn’t exactly smart enough to try and backdoor Jeremy, so he got off the block. Sure, they had to go for their second target (Nick), who I think could have become a fan favorite had he stayed a little longer. But still. For the first time in a long time, I think even those of us who follow the live feeds were uncertain of what would happen at the live eviction. Ginamarie certainly was. 

Soon Jeremy followed Nick out the door, and suddenly the “good people” were in complete control of the house. Another Big Brother season was going to continue without much excitement, but at least the cast was likable.

And then, the racism began.

And let’s be honest, non-live-feed-followers. It wasn’t just Aaryn being racist (although she was pretty awful). It was also Amanda being racist, and McCrae sitting by and laughing about it. Ginamarie being racist, cruel, and completely without conscience (telling Candace that her birth mother must not have wanted her was really crossing the line). Spencer being racist, and sexist, and homophobic. Fan-favorite Judd being sexist. Andy bashing houseguests behind their backs.

The awful comments being made on the live feeds (and being ignored on the CBS show other than scapegoating Aaryn) made half of the houseguests impossible to like. In fact, it became impossible to do anything other than really dislike these people—and all you could do was root against them.

Those who didn’t make any comments weren’t really fan favorite type characters either. Sure, there was Elissa with the Brenchal Army behind her. But other than her? There was Helen of the Mom Squad, who was commonly referred to only in the context of “STFU Helen” and not much else in social media. Howard seemed like a good guy who was evicted pre-jury, so there wasn’t much time to root for him. Candace had potential but unfortunately it’s hard to really like someone who calls everyone “boo” and refers to herself as “Candyland” (although I’d still prefer her in the final 3 over anyone else there). Jessie started off the season pretty annoying, but by not being a bigoted human being she suddenly became one of the better houseguests. I guess I’d vote for her for fan favorite if you put a gun to my head. Not because I really liked her. But because I disliked everyone else more.

Having a bunch of bigots in the final 3 is one thing. But unfortunately we are stuck with three that didn’t really have any redeeming qualities in their edits. 

CBS watchers may not know Ginamarie as probably the worst racist out of the whole cast, but they do know her as a psychotic stalker who couldn’t give a speech to save her life, and didn’t even think about strategy until she had a week left in the house.

Spencer was racist, boring, and even called himself “disgusting.” His claim to fame is that he was nominated more than anyone else in BB history. Now, some people could probably make this into a really redeeming quality, but I can’t imagine Spencer telling the jury that the fact that he was nominated so many times and managed to survive makes him a deserving winner. In all honesty, Spencer was nominated 47 times because no one in the house cared about him. And no one on the jury cares about him now either.

Andy wasn’t racist. But he was completely out of line in the way he talked about the other houseguests, especially Elissa. And he could have been the nicest guy in the world on the live feeds, but that wouldn’t have mattered to America. Although Andy is probably (no—definitely) the most deserving to win out of the final three, he is also probably the most hated by America. He is considered a rat, and a floater. Fans of basically anyone else in the house other than Andy blame him for their preferred houseguest’s eviction.

So where do we go from here? 

Most viewers are going to be more interested in seeing if Ginamarie attacks Nick onstage than they are in the actual winner of the show. Can Big Brother redeem itself after a season full of houseguests with no redeeming qualities?

I guess I will continue to keep my fingers crossed for an All Stars season. One starring actual All Stars like Eric Stein, Matt Hoffman, Ragan Fox, Michelle Noonan (I think she’s underrated, deal with it), Frank Eudy (I think he is overrated but know he is a shoe in), Ian Terry, and hell even Shelly Moore (rather than having to sit through another three months of Big Jeff). And maybe better casting when they go back to newbies. (I was begging for an all newbies season and this is what I got—do I have bad BB karma for some reason?)

In the meantime, Andy was my pick preseason to win it all, so here’s to hoping the little rat can win the final HOH and take come the five hundred grand. 

Survivor 27: Pregame Power Rankings

This is my first season attempting to chronicle three months in the life of a Survivor fanatic. And with the premiere two days away, it’s time to begin with my first ever Power Rankings for Season 27! Here’s to hoping I am not completely wrong.

I do want to give one quick aside first—I didn’t really think much about how the Redemption Island twist will affect the game with loved one swapping in and out and switching tribes and all that. That would just be impossible. So these rankings are based on the tribes as they will be starting the game without imagining players being able to come back in, or swap out with other players, or switch tribes, or whatever other crazy twists they have going on. 

1. Vytas Baskauskas: That’s right, I am calling it now—a Baskauskas brother is going to win season 27. I think Vytas has a lot of the qualities that Aras had that helped him to get to the end. He is athletic and will be helpful to his tribe in challenges, and he also seems very personable. There will be much bigger targets than Vytas. And I also think he has a lot of other things going in his favor. He has mentioned overcoming a heroin addiction, and I think anyone who can go through something like that should be able to make it through the game of Survivor. I also think being a self-proclaimed flirt won’t hurt him either. Vytas will be easy to get along with, a hard worker, a great competitor, and someone you will feel good about voting for at the end.

2. Hayden Moss: I am a Big Brother fan. But it isn’t Hayden’s Big Brother success that makes me think he will be a good Survivor. Plenty of Big Brother greats would crash and burn if they were on the island. But not Hayden. Hayden is athletic, strategic, and a brilliant social player. He is going to get along with everyone, keep quiet and not make waves, and win immunity when he needs to. If Vytas doesn’t take the title, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hayden managed to win both of my favorite reality TV shows.

3. Aras Baskauskas: I will say now that I do not think a returnee will win Season 27. My money is on a loved one taking it all. But if any returning player is going to win (and if any winner other than the Queen is going to win twice) it will be Aras. I think Aras is a really underrated winner, which will really help his case. People tend to forget about Exile Island. It was fifteen seasons ago. It was in the middle of one of Survivor’s big experimental periods, so a lot of people really don’t rate Aras’ win high. That is unfortunate for them—since Aras could easily play another quiet, strategic game, winning challenges when needed, and find himself sitting in the final three.

4. Rachel Foulger: People are ranking Rachel so low, and I am not sure why. Yes, she seemed more Team Tyson then Team Rachel during her interviews. But I think when she is separated from Tyson we will see a whole different Rachel. She may be one of the players who floats through the game by sticking to strong allies, but there is nothing wrong with that. I think Rachel will be one of the better female challenge competitors on the loved ones tribe, which will get her through to the merge. She will be able to make an alliance on her original tribe, which will only make her stronger when she is reunited (hopefully) with Tyson and whatever alliances he has made at the merge.

5.  Gervase Peterson: I am so excited to see Gervase return 26 seasons later to the game that he helped begin. And I think that even with the changes the show has been through in the last 13 years, Gervase will be able to play a decent game. I think the fact that it’s been so long since he played we make him so much less of a target than other returnees. No one will think Gervase can win—maybe he can’t—but this fact will get him close to the end of the game. Closer than he did back on Pagong.

6. Caleb Bankston: So, I am not a fan of Colton. (Who is?) And I guess opposites attract, because I really like Caleb. He just seems like a good ol’ farm boy. His reason for being on Survivor is “showing America how farm boys from Alabama do things.” He seems laid back, calm, and collected. He seems like he will be good at things around camp, which is always a plus. If you can make fire, and catch fish, and are willing to be a worker bee this will get you further in the game. Being separated from Colton will be a huge plus for Caleb’s game, and the fact that I highly doubt they will be reunited will make him much more likely to make it further in the game.

7. Laura Morett: Laura makes it this far in the game not because she is a brilliant player, but because she is not seen as a threat. She talks a lot about wanting to play this game with her daughter, but I do not think she is going to have the chance, as I think Ciera will be voted out pretty early on. This will make Laura a free agent, a useful swing vote, and basically just a player that can float along until she makes the jury.

8. John Cody: Dr. John could have easily been a lot higher on my list, but I guess I just need to see a little more from him first. It’s clear that he is very smart, and I think he is another loved one who will really benefit from not having to play with his partner. And I think he is competitive enough that he will not let something like Candice getting booted somewhat early affect his game negatively.

John Cody.

9. Tyson Apostol: I think Tyson can go one of two ways—he forms a strong alliance, doesn’t do anything dumb, and makes it far, or he annoys a lot of people and goes out early. I am leaning toward the former though. I am pretty sure the people that annoy Tyson will also annoy the rest of the tribe, so he won’t be going against the majority. Also, Tyson is a great challenge competitor. If I was taking Redemption Island into account, I’d have Tyson much higher, as I think he could pull an Ozzy and basically get through the whole season out there.

10. Tina Wesson: Tina is not going to win Survivor again, but she isn’t going to be the first boot either. No one is going to be targeting winners like they were in All Stars, and I think Tina will be able to make a decent alliance on the returnees tribe which will get her pretty far in the game. Of course, everyone saw what happened to Colby in Australia, and no one is going to let that happen again. Tina’s alliance will only get her so far.

11.  Brad Culpepper: Brad is going to do well on the loved ones tribe, mainly because he is going to excel at challenges. This will also be part of his downfall, as people will want to vote him out before the merge when he will become an individual immunity threat. He won’t have any alliances that are strong enough to keep him any further in the game, out of the fear that he will abandon any alliance once he is reunited with Monica. Everyone is going to want to get back with their loved one, but there is a way to do that without completely screwing your original alliance. Brad will not be able to do this.

12. Katie Collins: I think Katie is going to be a surprise in this competition and get farther than most people expect. I don’t really know how to put it into words—it’s just a feeling that I get. She may not make it to the merge, but she is going to outlast the other young girls on the loved ones tribe.

13. Monica Culpepper: I haven’t watched One World in awhile, and Monica isn’t really part of any of my memories of the show. The obvious truth is that Monica was only cast because her husband is an ex-NFL player, and nothing else. She was the fifth person voted out on her season, and clearly not memorable enough for me to even recall anything she did. So Monica will float along for awhile because there are bigger targets, and tribe members that are more annoying. But that’s it.

14. Kat Edorsson: I think Kat is probably a sweet girl. But all the “life experience” everyone talked about, that Kat didn’t have the first time around? I still don’t think she has it. If she maybe waited five years before playing again, I think she could be a decent player. But not yet. My guess is that she comes in playing too hard, too fast, trying to over-correct from how she played during One World. This is only going to get her an early boot.

15.  Candice Cody: The fact that Candice was asked to play Survivor a second time baffled me. So imagine my shock when I heard I was going to get to see her for a third time this fall. Candice is not good at making alliances, and she is definitely not good at sticking with them. (The mutiny in Cook Islands, anyone? Turning against her tribe in Heroes vs. Villains?) I am pretty sure Candice’s reputation precedes her, and no one is going to trust her for a second during this game. Plus, I think she is going to have a similar problem to Kat and come in guns blazing to make up for her two previous performances. Unfortunately, this is not going to work.

NOT John Cody.

16. Ciera Eastin: Ciera was crying in her pre-game interview about missing her family. Let’s just hope she gets voted out early enough that we don’t have another Kathy Sleckman-esque situation on our hands. I don’t think she will do well in challenges, and I don’t think she is going to be able to form any bonds with the people on her tribe. I could be totally wrong on this, since Jeff Probst said they basically cast Laura for Ciera, but I just don’t see it.

17. Rupert Boneham: The only reason Rupert isn’t my pick for first returnee boot is Colton. I think fans are sick of Rupert, and other Survivor players are sick of Rupert. He was entertaining back on Pearl Islands, but 20 seasons later this is getting a little ridiculous. No one should play Survivor four times.

18.  Marissa Peterson: I don’t think Marissa really knows or cares much about Survivor. I think she is a recent college grad who was asked to do the show by a family member she is probably not even that close to. Overall I think she will be unprepared for how tough it actually is out there, and is likely to be the first person actually voted out of the loved ones tribe at tribal council.

19.  Laura Boneham: Laura is going to fall victim to the Curse of Rupert. People are sick of him, so be default they are also sick of Laura. She’s actually been on more seasons of Survivor than most of these returnees. When the loved ones tribe has to vote someone out right off the bat, I can’t imagine it being anyone other than Laura.

20. Colton Cumbie: Along the same lines as Laura, when the returnees have to vote someone out right off the bat, I can’t imagine it being anyone other than Colton. Which is kind of unfortunate. Colton said a lot of awful things during One World, and he didn’t play the game in a way that could ever end with him winning. But Colton is a kid. I think watching himself on the show really taught him something, and he might have learned from his mistakes. He might have grown up a little. But I don’t think we are ever going to get a chance to really see Colton 2.0.  

So that’s that—my pregame rankings. Am I right? Wrong? Does Rupert still have fans out there? Am I biased toward the Baskauskas brothers due to my major crush on Aras?

I guess we will see on Wednesday!