5/16 Finale Show Discussion *Spoilers*

[jadewarlock]

I figured Sandra was going to win.
And, I was happy about it.
Would have been fine if Parv had won. Anyone but Russell.
Russell is just a very mean spirited, immature and egotistical little man.

On another note, my understanding is that the runner up in this game (in this case - Parvati) gets $100K as their prize. That would be the same amount that Russell got when he won America's favorite, correct?

And, did Russell win the $100K for America's favorite last year, too?

Sandra got her million dollar check on te Early Show today. Parvati handled herself like a lady (I do give her a lot of credit for that) and Russell handled himself like the 5 year old sore loser he comes across as being!!

I think the prize was $10,000 last season, and I thought it was that this season.

Yes, Russell did win America's favorite both seasons.

Parvati - like her or not is really classy here and I think speaks volumes. I actually have grown to like her - currently, IMHO she seems to be a bit of Jerri in her earlier days (she's around Jerri's age in Australia I think), and just needs to grow and mature more.

I'm HOPING CBS gets a light in their attic heads right now and decides that Russell coming back a THIRD time would be a bad idea.

Or that Probst raises a HUGE Stink about it like he did with Fairplay...

But, unlike with Fairplay (to a point), I will really say Let Probst make the stink all he wants.

[ActMax]

I have to disagree. I would want Russell back, he is in my top 3 of most entertaining Survivors. He's a real villian, but makes for very entertaining TV, which is the point. Most of the others are just yawwwwwn boring. At least Russell is entertaining and unpredictable. 2 things I really like for Survivor. I mean like Sandra, a great player, but 90% of the time just boring, with a few really good zingers here and there. Colby BORING, Jerri, BORING, I could go on and on and on.

Give me the whackos like Coach, Rupert, Russell, Shane, Fairplay at least they are doing something entertaining most of the time.

[Big E]

I'm HOPING CBS gets a light in their attic heads right now and decides that Russell coming back a THIRD time would be a bad idea.

Yes, Russell did win America's favorite both seasons.

Based on the second statement there, wouldn't it be a good business decision to bring him BACK?

[MamaAmyG]

I think the prize was $10,000 last season, and I thought it was that this season.

the Sprint prize is always $100,000.

perhaps you may have confused it with Russell offering to purchase the title of Sole Survivor from Natalie for $10,000?

[ironcat]

I have to disagree. I would want Russell back, he is in my top 3 of most entertaining Survivors. He's a real villian, but makes for very entertaining TV, which is the point. Most of the others are just yawwwwwn boring. At least Russell is entertaining and unpredictable. 2 things I really like for Survivor. I mean like Sandra, a great player, but 90% of the time just boring, with a few really good zingers here and there. Colby BORING, Jerri, BORING, I could go on and on and on.

Give me the whackos like Coach, Rupert, Russell, Shane, Fairplay at least they are doing something entertaining most of the time.

I agree that for many fans (not me), Russell is very entertaining to watch, and I suspect many of his votes for "Player of the Season" were based on that, and not that he is the best or most deserving player in the game. And certainly, when the jury votes, they are not taking Russell's, or anyone's, entertainment value into consideration, and certainly they shouldn't, since that would be totally ridiculous. Yet another reason why having the audience vote for the winner instead of the current system would be equally (if not more) "flawed" as a way of choosing.

[CuckoosNest]

Yet another reason why having the audience vote for the winner instead of the current system would be equally (if not more) "flawed" as a way of choosing.

Amen to that. I mean, how many times has America gotten it wrong on "American Idol"? (Taylor Hicks over Chris Daughtry??? C'mon!)

[jadewarlock]

Based on the second statement there, wouldn't it be a good business decision to bring him BACK?

Not really - from what I'm seeing in the case of the audience's reaction, it was not a joking "boo," but a really mean undertoned one. The kind that makes you think twice about bringing someone back over ratings debate.

Remember - only Sprint Customers really got to text to vote, and Russell's number I think regardless was an easy one to punch in. AND they didn't mention you could vote on CBS.com - at least all the time, which could've affected the outcome as well.

There is no real data as to if Russell is really a value to this game.

CBS is not 100 perfect, but they do have smarts - Russell this second go round was not really the "poor luck tramp" of sorts that should've won: he bullied, Constantly threatened players with voting them out over things that really had no relevance in this game (Sometimes I think too things they have no control over). At times watching him, had I been on the island, I'd been trying to get him kicked off the show because I'd feel my safety was at risk.

I know Jerri also received a lot of boos during All-Stars reunion, but at the same time she was right - we do judge the contestants a lot on the editing. That said, Jerri even then was starting to grow up, while with Russell I'd be surprised if he ever won.

IMHO they brought Jerri back because like Sandra, Russell, Rupert and a couple of others she does show raw emotion - which did show her previous season. And - she is unpredictable, bringing interest. Russell we already know.

Then there's the money issue:

There is no way a tribe would let this guy last until the final two again - you'd have to get people from towns with no electricity or TV before you'd find enough to not know who this guy is.

Why pay him what $2,500 to be there three days? It's too much for such little time from an "entertaining" villain.

I also sincerely worry about his safety - Russell could easily be taken down by a James-type or any of the stronger contestants. If he came back, I could actually see people try to get him medical evacc'd if they chose a full body contact challenge. I know extreme here - but we saw the first game this season how rough it can get.

Now, I wouldn't mind a Russell type crossed with a Rich Hatch type - able to do stuff Russell does but have Rich's charm. I think if Russell had actually paid attention to that aspect of Rich, he'd won. but he plays too brash and backstabs everyone. Rich did not, even going so far as to intentionally remove his hand from the pole at final three - he knew either Kelly or Rudy would vote for him and he didn't have to make the vote in front of the jury - potentially backstabbing Rudy, who would've probably won had he been in the final two.

[KeepItReal]

It's not even a question about how ridiculous Russell's idea of letting the public vote for Sole Survivor is. Just what we need, more people mugging for the cameras instead of playing the game with the people they are actually stuck out there with. Nope. Survivor is just fine. If you can't play the game and win the way it was designed stop running around proclaiming you're the best. The best wins the game they are playing without ammended rules, or at the very least leaves themeselves a reasonable chance at a win. He closed that door in his own face with his gameplay.

[jadewarlock]

It's not even a question about how ridiculous Russell's idea of letting the public vote for Sole Survivor is. Just what we need, more people mugging for the cameras instead of playing the game with the people they are actually stuck out there with. Nope. Survivor is just fine. If you can't play the game and win the way it was designed stop running around proclaiming you're the best. The best wins the game they are playing without ammended rules, or at the very least leaves themeselves a reasonable chance at a win. He closed that door in his own face with his gameplay.

The only way they should ever let America vote is if either a. they're stupid enough and actually have a potential tie - and they do constantly with a final three and odd number jury (either 3 finalists - 8 jurors or 2-7 or 9 works better), or b. They have an ejection from the game and instead of letting a member who was voted out prior to jury move up, they let America vote.

Out of these -

A. Is indeed possible, but the downside is if they let America have a vote prior to the final episode, they'll KNOW someone tied and that there are three in the final.

B. Sounds odd, but probably a more logical one. Jurors I believe may get an extra stipend on top of their elimination order prize money (I can't verify this, but it would be similar to "Big Brother"), and therefore, instead of spending that money for the bump up, they institute the tiebreaker (just in case), where people pay them and Sprint to text in the vote of who wins.

[KeepItReal]

Thing is, let's face it, a large part of America just isn't into the voting thing. They just aren't invested enough to start texting, phoning, or going over to websites and clicking links. It's also the reason why many just don't care if Russell won fan favorite. How many people actually took the time to vote for that? I'm sure, by comparison, it's a small fraction of the actual viewing audience.

We live in a time when you can barely get people to fill out their census form. You think some of these people want the added responsibility of choosing a sole survivor? Some are just not into the interactive tv thing. They want to sit down for an hour, be entertained, and hopefully like the outcome in the end. They don't want to have to vote every ten minutes for yet another reality show contestant. Sadly, many of us watch far too much reality tv to vote for contestant after contestant on show after show.