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Episode 1 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

Sonja: OTTP4 We were meant to admire her spirit. The 60something cancer survivor who tries to compete in a harsh environment (shot of Sean tending to her leg wounds), who serenades the troops to keep their spirits up, who admits her shortcomings (taking responsibility for losing the IC), and who, even after being voted off, is supportive of the team ("go get 'em"). We even had the now-obligatory foreshadowing statement (at TC she says that she was going to hang in there as long as possible). Would have given her a double PP except that she was the cause of Tagi losing the IC.

BB: OTTN5 The audience is shown the contrast between BB and Rudy, which sets up why Rudy goes far and BB doesn't. We can respect his work ethic, but not his stubbornness or his authoritarian behaviour. Ignoring Gretchen's sensible advice - not good.

Stacey: UTRN2 The least visible Tagi member in the episode - her only confessional is about feeling secure, having bonded with Kelly, and having a voting agreement with Sue. This is immediately followed by Sue contradicting Stacey and knocking her. Rich also votes for Stacey for reasons that are unclear at this point (probably the only vote he wasted in the whole show).

Ramona: OTTN3 What is the opposite of a fish out of water? Ramona! Shown as the contestant having the hardest time adapting to the environment (her troubles on the raft, lying exhausted on the raft after they made land, her confessional about not sleeping the first night). Her trek with BB to find water, and their joking about not telling the others where the water is to protect themselves was prescient (they end up being the first 2 voted out - MB does like his little jokes).

Dirk: OTTP3 Shown as a hard worker, particularly in his efforts to make fire. His bible reading / praying was treated very positively (e.g. the background music when he was praying). This was somewhat offset by his only confessional where he both admired Rich's skills, but was irritated by him.

Joel: INVN2 Gets a 2 for having a confessional, inconsequential as it was, and an N for the conflict with BB.

Gretchen: OTTPP3 The voice of reason at Pagong (not that BB listened to her). Shown as a worker, but not excessively so - by far the most attractive member of Pagong in Ep1.

Greg: INV1 One of several Pagong survivors having a non-speaking role.

JennaL: INVP1 It's hard to get a P or N when you're rated Invisible, but I'm giving her credit for all the bathing suit shots at the IC.

Gervase: INVP1 He did have a nice yell of triumph when Pagong landed, earning him the coveted P.

Colleen: INVN1 Another one in a non-speaking role, but singled out by name by BB for being lazy; hence the N.

Sean: OTTP3 Tagi's loveable putz. Comes across as a nice guy (bandaging Sonja's wounds), an eccentric (a doctor with a nipple ring) and slightly clumsy (breaking the machete). His only confessional was about Tagi's inability to make fire, and wishing that they had got fire. The audience will like him, but not consider him to be a serious contender to take the $1M.

Sue: OTTNN4 Although we would not have known it at the time, this was one rotten edit! Rich is shown trying to organize people and have a plan. Sue is the redneck that wants action without thinking. More important are her confessional about backstabbing Stacey and Kelly on the vote (with the smirk at the end - she's proud that she's misled them), and the cut to her at TC after Sonja is voted out (Sue's look is almost malevolent). People who win at Survivor never get that personal (they vote people out because it's part of their strategy to win). Rich and Brian exemplify that and I sense that MB thinks that this is the way the game should be played, and edits accordingly.

Rudy: CPP5 The audience is supposed to like Rudy, but not in a Gretchen-kind of way. Yes, he's authoritarian and he rubs some of the others the wrong way. But a crusty, old military vet can do it and get away with it. His MTV / fitting in confessional is key (this is why he lasted 38 days and BB lasted 6 (the theme of Ep1 for Pagong was BB, and how he went about things the wrong way versus Rudy who quickly learned he had to adapt). Also key is his confessional about forming impressions, but changing them as he got to know people better (e.g. Rich).

KellyW: MOR3 Not a huge role, but she's always around the action in Tagi. Was the spokesman for the young 'uns that weren't going to be ordered around by Rudy. The shots of her leading yoga and working with Stacey reinforce this image and form part of the backdrop to Rudy's "fitting in" confessional. Kelly also gets more visibility by doing an explanatory confessional on going to TC and voting someone off. Overall, the editing was neutral in tone.

Rich: CP5 He's arrogant and cocky (the $1M cheque confessional), but at times he's a slightly forlorn figure, sitting up in his tree trying to get people to listen to him while they all want to charge off and do something (anyone who has ever participated in team building exercises will recognize this behaviour). This softens his edit and pulls him back to neutral rather than "N" in tone. This episode sets the foundation of his portrayal as a strategist (even though his voting choice, Stacey, in retrospect is odd).

comments

debatable whether we should use P or N ratings with INV (they're not material)

tried to Bell curve visibility ratings (average visibility rating should be close to 3)

CPP and OTT should have visibility rating of at least 3

INV visibility rating should be 1 or 2

UTR visibility rating should be 2 or 3

PP and NN ratings will usually be with OTT ranking

Episode 2 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

BB: OTTN5 Of BB, Colleen said "he's out of his element and doesn't know how to fix it without being a little bit aggressive". Greg said "BB feels the age difference, but doesn't want t bridge that gap, but simply be who he is". There could be an argument that he was CPN in this episode, but these 2 quotes represent the thrust of the editing. Interesting that the first 2 people he wanted to vote off were Joel and Ramona (a little MB foreshadowing there). With all the fighting (even with Gretchen!), still only an N because of the positive comments on his work ethic from Gretchen, Jenna, and Greg.

Stacey: UTRN2 Winning the IC for Tagi and getting kudos from Sean wasn't enough to offset the negative editing in the rest of the episode. During the fishing trip, when Rich opens the trap to find it empty, she flashes the most insincere smile. She complains about Rudy; Rudy complains about her. There's only one side of this argument that the audience is supposed to take. After getting the tree mail, but before the IC, there's a long shot of her walking up the beach by herself, representing her isolation from the rest of Tagi.

Ramona: OTTN4 Well, let's see. She's sick - that's bad; she's lazy (laziest one in the tribe per BB) - that's bad; she's a self-describe finicky eater - not so good when you're playing Survivor; we get to see her puke - wonderful; she's a control freak - you're not in control in this game. While there were a couple of apologist confessionals from Gervase and Gretchen to soften the edit somewhat, there wasn't much here that Ramona would want to include in her Christmas video to her grandchildren.

Dirk: INV1 He didn't look all that thrilled during the group discussion of Richard's homosexuality. And that was about all we saw of him.

Joel: OTTN3 BB's line really summarized Joel (buy him for what you think he's worth, sell him for what he thinks he's worth). His confessional about BB (whether the sky was blue or green) underlines their conflict, but ends up tarring them both with the same negative brush (as pointed out by Greg).

Gretchen: OTTPP5 You just have to love and admire her. She works hard; she understands where BB is coming from; she empathizes with Ramona; she was a team player over the shelter location and didn't bitch because it wasn't put where she wanted it; her sense of integrity was offended when BB suggested throwing the IC; her comments at TC were team oriented. If the public voted on who to give the $1M to, she'd probably get a higher percentage of the vote than Rupert did!

Greg: CPP4 One of the workers (love the shot of BB grabbing him by the hair and shorts while he's working on the shelter). His insight into BB's character (quoted above) was right on, as was his assessment of Joel / BB. So, while he can play the game show master of ceremonies around the campfire, he's certainly got his finger on the tribe dynamics. Interesting that he voted for Ramona because she was struggling to fit into the group. So, for all his joking, he must have respected BB's work ethic and taken the game a little more seriously than he let on.

JennaL: MORP3 Positive for her work ethic (passing the BB test is high praise indeed), respecting BB for his work ethic, and her TC comments that voting someone off was like losing a family member. One of the least visible Pagong members this episode, but nothing negative in what we did see.

Gervase: OTTN4 Watching him eat the bugs was riveting in a car-crash kind of way, but in the end he cost his team the IC and you do expect an athlete to suck it up and take one for the team. The argument with BB did neither of them credit. His empathy for Ramona and taking responsibility at TC for losing the IC redeemed him somewhat, but still overall negative this episode.

Colleen: OTTP4 America's sweetheart emerges. Love the concept of a BB action figure. The whole friendship / romance thing is played up, which earns her the sought after "P" rating, but Greg says all the interesting stuff. Her comments at TC were unremarkable.

Sean: UTRP2 The famous Superpole 2000 makes its debut appearance! You have to laugh with him, but at the end of the day he's a minnow swimming among the sharks. They'll keep him around as long as there are bigger fish to fry.

Sue: INVN1 One short confessional where she bitched about Sean not being able to catch fish. This was put next to a Rich confessional where he empathized with Sean's failure (i.e. Sean's failure to catch anything is eating him up). Just one of those little editing techniques to contrast Sue and Rich.

Rudy: OTTP4 Some of the classic Rudy lines & scenes in this episode: he's not hungry enough to eat rat, yet; Richard, for a queer he's a nice guy; Richard and he are good friends, but not in a homosexual way; Rudy being teased by Sean when he applies sunscreen to Richard's back. What could have been shown as negative (i.e. homophobic) instead as crusty, but honest. Richard's comments on the situation also spin it in a positive way.

KellyW: INV1 One brief comment on fishing techniques and that was about it.

Rich: CPP4 A strategic Gulliver in the land of Lilliput. Sizing up Stacey (future partner or next victim?) (of course he doesn't correct her misconception that Rudy voted for her) and Rudy (again, future partner or next victim?). He is able to see Rudy's good points and not be offended by his views on homosexuality. I thought he was edited positively during the scene showing the discussion of his homosexuality with his tribe mates. Clued in to Sean's concerns about not being able to catch fish. You have to admire just how much into the game Richard is at this point.

Comments

Lots of material in this episode pointing out who will be the first 3 Pagong boots.

Richard's editing has been more positive than I expected.

Episode 3 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

Stacey: OTTN5 Maybe she's suing because of the way she was edited. Her comments about Dirk's chances with Kelly was bitchy. She schemed and plotted badly to get rid of Rudy, and she knew she could not trust Sue - for other people, this could have been edited to have the audience feel sympathy. Not with Stacey - we're glad to see her gone.

Ramona: INV1 We know that if a picky eater is hungry enough, he/she will eat rat.

Dirk: MOR3 A series of vignettes that are mixed in tone. We can respect his religious beliefs, but realize that his tribe mates have a limited appetite for his preaching. We can respect that he does not hit on Kelly, wonder at his beliefs on virginity, but not respect his irritation at Rich being gay. He did a good job helping Sean not catch any fish.

Joel: UTRP2 A low key episode for Joel now that his sparring partner is gone, but kudos for his ability to cook rat and being the first one to taste them.

Gretchen: UTRP2 Slid under the radar this episode since it was focussed on Tagi. She was part of the tapioca hunt, and mud volcano celebrations, but that was all.

Greg: CPP3 More character development: playing in the mud volcano; showing off his survival / hunting skills with his rat trap; the issues people have surrounding eating rats; the lack of the right gravy to accompany their rat. The lad is smart and just a little quirky. Not sure of the symbolism of an editing Greg brushing his teeth before and after Joel cuts off the rat's head.

JennaL: OTTP3 Lots of her bubby personality this episode: her need for food and her enthusiasm for eating rat; her appreciation of the mud volcano; leading the Pagong conga line when they come to the RC. For the Pagong tribe, Jenna is the Yang to Ramona's Yin.

Gervase: OTTP3 He admits that he's a lousy swimmer, so we don't hold it against him when Pagong loses the RC. The whole rat eating sequence, culminating in his wanting to kill some more rats, is overall positive.

Colleen: MORP3 The spokesman for the impact on Pagong of losing BB and the grind setting in (the oomph is gone) and a key person in the mud volcano sequence. Also highlighted in the RC which was odd since she was the smallest, and presumably the least strong, member of Pagong.

Sean: UTR2 More of the likeable but ineffective Sean. He can't fish and he isn't always gracious about acknowledging that Rich can deliver on his promises.

Sue: OTTN4 The overall negativity continues. Complains about Rudy not getting water on the fishing trip, but then wants to vote out the weakest person (Stacey) (this is an odd sequence since it is set up with a shot of Sue, Kelly and Stacey out fishing & discussing Rudy, whom all we've seen do is cook and eat extra food - so where is the evidence that Stacey contributes less than Rudy). Complains about Dirk's preaching (and here she is contrasted to Rich, who is much more tolerant of other's behaviour). Before going to TC she admits that she lied to Stacey about voting for Rudy when she is actually going to vote for Stacey. This is softened because she says that she is doing what is best for the tribe.

Rudy: MOR3 We heard more about Rudy than saw of him this episode. He's not a fan of bible readers and he knows that he irritates the young 'uns (which mirrors the discussion on the raft when Kelly and Stacey bash him). His voting rationale is simple - he doesn't like Stacey, so he votes for her. There is an argument that this could get him an N rating for this episode.

KellyW: CP4 A lot of character development this episode. Further reinforcement that she is annoyed by Rudy giving orders around camp (not surprising when you consider their respective ages and backgrounds). Frustrated by their lack of survival skills (not being able to catch fish). Not interested in Dirk, but tolerant of his choices in life, even though it's not a path she has chosen herself. Finally, discussion about the game; that it will get harder and she didn't come there to make friends.

Rich: CP4 Understood the importance of being a food provider and determined to be successful in that role (and understood that it was critical to back up his talk with action). Not judgemental about Dirk's lifestyle choice, but sees it as useful strategic information. His final confessional about prioritizing people (for boot order) and wanting to discuss this with the entire tribe, but pulling back when he saw the reaction is classic Rich - has his head in the game, and is flexible enough to adjust to the situation, regardless of the merits of his suggestion. Yes, it's outwit, outplay, outlast (and Rich is way out in front in this race).

Episode 4 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

Ramona: OTT4 We saw some bad things (complaining about the weather, looking disgruntled when the tribe decides to move the shelter, admitting to being a momma's girl), we saw some good things (starting to work around the camp, bonding with her tribe mates, particularly Jenna), but, in the end as Jenna said: too little, too late.

Dirk: UTRN2 He came across as being a bit prissy about "tasteless" suggestions for the RC. Lighten up boy!

Joel: UTRN2 What little we saw of him wasn't that appealing. Disagreeing with Gretchen about moving the shelter, sorry, she's the alpha male now. The sarcastic comment about getting organized before Pagong went to the IC - that's a Tagi comment, inappropriate for the Pagong love fest.

Gretchen: MORP3 The mother hen took charge and got the camp organized, silencing the opposition (Joel) while doing so. Good insight into both Greg and Ramona (their position in the tribe).

Greg: CPP4 How can you not love the coconut phone, including his sales pitch regarding its attributes? Gretchen's assessment of him (as a leader / manipulator) was right on. Perceptive about Ramona and her issues. The only thing missing was the background regarding why he voted for Jenna.

JennaL: OTT4 The cheerleader with an edge this episode. Ramona describes Jenna as someone who could be her first white friend since high school, yet Jenna has no reservations about voting Ramona off. Being excited to move the shelter, being the tribe representative (and seemingly annoying Dirk), pissed over losing the garlic in the RC, pissed over losing the IC (Gretchen: we did our best; Jenna: it's not good enough); verbalizing about the vote at TC (taking a piece of the family away). Overall, a real mixed editing bag.

Gervase: OTTP4 The Teflon man gets by with his charming personality. We can forgive him dogging it during the IC - there was even a (rare) shot of him working when they moved the shelter. P for being supportive towards Ramona and for the entertainment value he provided at TC (being simultaneously the most invincible and most vulnerable member). If he put his mind to it, could probably sell freezers to Eskimos.

Colleen: OTTP3 I know she's America's sweetheart, but this edit is all froth, no substance. She had a string of light-weight, sound-bite confessionals, the most substantive of which was about feeling nervous about going to TC because she doesn't know what is going to happen.

Sean: UTRN2 For once I have to agree with Sue - a bowling alley??? There's a fine line between eccentricity and stupidity, and Sean went over it this episode. Sue was right to bitch, and Sean earned himself an N.

Sue: MOR3 The worker bee / tapioca hunter appears. No patience for slackers like Sean. Comes off as the third wheel in the Rich / Kelly / Sue triangle. Mixed positive and negative aspects to the edit, hence neutral overall.

Rudy: UTRP2 Doesn't want any part of ganging up on people - yet! So, a P for ethical behaviour.

KellyW: CP3 Her key moment was the multi-part confessional about the formation of the Tagi alliance. Interesting in retrospect that she was the lead narrator for this plot development (MB having another one of his little inside jokes?). Also interesting that she explained it as her and Sue approaching Richard (not sure that Richard would have characterized it that way).Kelly comes across as less of a schemer than Rich, and respects Rudy for his honest nature, hence the neutral not N rating.

Rich: CPN3 The schemer emerges, and looks damn proud of himself in that role. Not unhappy to see conflict on the tribe because he can use it to get further in the game. Still very noticeable that aside from the sound-bite narration type confessionals, how focussed he is on the game (and the game he's focussed on is not bowling).

Episode 5 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

Dirk: OTTN3 In the end he came across as incompetent (inability to catch fish or find tapioca - I'm not too good at this jungle thing), clueless (his comment that he would be there tomorrow as he was getting ready to go to TC), and not too bright (his comment at TC about not thinking about how he was fitting in). His confessional about being there to have a great time and increase his faith in the Lord - an absolute kiss of death in Survivor terms. Can't help thinking that MB doesn't have a whole lot of respect for Dirk.

Joel: UTRP2 Positive for being modest about his spear throwing skills going into the RC, then winning it for Pagong.

Gretchen: MORP3 More character development as the leader of Pagong (since Greg won't take the role) through her comments on the state of the camp (by the end of the show the banner has been raised) and by her sensible attitude towards the chickens (no pie-in-the-sky fantasies of omelettes for breakfast).

Greg: CPP3 The guy is smart and very camera-savvy. Can move from leadership discussions & why my nesting instincts make me want to sleep in the forest to improv Broadway dance routines (when the tribe was discussing the IC tree mail). Would have been a great player if he had the inclination to take the game seriously.

JennaL: MORP3 Was the principal tribe narrator this episode (commenting on the state of the tribe before and after the RC win, on Greg's health, on the Greg/Colleen relationship and on Gervase / people's varying skills). There's little snippets of her competitiveness that ooze through the cheerleader persona (e.g. at the RC when she missed with a dart) that give her edit a bit more depth.

Gervase: UTRP2 Had very little face time except in the run-up to and during the IC, but have to give him his due for leading Pagong to a decisive victory. We were meant to enjoy it.

Colleen: UTRP2 Helping to define what the "America's sweetheart" role means in Survivor.

Sean: OTT4 How can someone who is obviously intelligent (after all, he is a doctor) come across as so clueless? And yeah, all America is proud that you had a bowel movement.

Sue: OTT4 Failed in her attempt to beat a guy on national TV, but gave it a good effort in a losing cause. Again at the centre of the work/lazy conflict on Tagi, and not very subtle in expressing her opinions.

Rudy: UTRN2 In his "grumpy old man" role this episode. N for his comment on uses for the bible.

KellyW: CPP5 This was borderline between neutral and P, but came down on the P side because of the amount of post-IC coverage (a confessional, a discussion with Sean, and at TC) where she got to eat humble pie. Pride goeth before a fall is one of MB's favourite editing themes, but when the guilty party is given several opportunities afterwards to atone for their sins, and handles it in a mature fashion, then there is direction being provided to the audience.

Rich: MORN3 The arrogant and cocky Rich was on display this episode. After losing the RC, he boasted that although Pagong won the fruit and chicken, he would match that through his fishing. So, he catches an eel that the tribe find virtually inedible (and after 14 days, their standards on edibility were much more relaxed). The snake-catching episode also showed him as cocky (my childhood skills playing with garter snakes mean that I can do what I want with a poisonous tropical snake). Given what we saw earlier when he, Sue and Kelly were discussing voting strategies, his response at TC to JP's question came across as disingenuous.

Episode 6 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

Joel: OTTN5 At the end of the day, we were supposed to take the ladies side over his (culminating in Jenna's famous moooo). This was underlined by all the cuts back and forth between Gretchen's, Colleen's and Jenna's comments and his behaviour around camp (how dare he tell Gretchen how to cook rice). Finally, his long explanation of how he is not a chauvinist culminating in the wink - good TV, and positioning the audience for a satisfying boot. His strategizing with Gervase about group voting, and being unhappy that Gretchen has not said that she would do it - well, we're early in S1 and while we know in retrospect that this is the way things should be done, it comes across as too scheming versus the "integrity" being shown by Gretchen.

Gretchen: CPP4 More character development in this episode - we see her as pragmatic about the chickens and the dog food, and principled about her voting strategy (as irrational in retrospect as it is). As mentioned in the Joel comment, the audience is supposed to be on her side in the Joel / Gervase chauvinist debate.

Greg: UTR2 Huge drop in face time this episode, particularly given that this was a Pagong-dominated show. Was nowhere to be found when the tribe ate the first chicken, and several other shots reinforced his isolation from the rest of the tribe. Our only good snippet was his not eating dog food because it would mess up the chemical balances in his body. Zero confessionals this episode.

JennaL: CP4 Her editing has more of an edge than either Colleen's or Gretchen's. This combined with being targeted by Tagi, and getting 2 votes (why her and not Colleen?) makes her neutral this episode. We saw a number of different aspects this episode: her competitiveness (led off both the RC and IC for Pagong); her work ethic (one of the chicken processors); her flexibility (eating the dog food). Still meant to be below Colleen and Gretchen on the Pagong fan favourite list.

Gervase: OTTP4 Charming, chauvinistic, and lazy. And the rest of Pagong (and the audience) like him in spite of it (unlike Joel who is a worker but doesn't have the charm).

Colleen: OTTP4 Nice girls don't chop the heads off chickens? Most of her confessionals were about Joel or Gervase (sort of a compare and contrast exercise) to build the storyline for why Joel was booted instead of Gervase.

Sean: UTR2 Borderline invisible other than his contribution to both the RC and IC.

Sue: UTRN2 Also borderline invisible. N for her snarkiness about Pagong

Rudy: UTRP2 Positive for his comments about respecting Rich's being different and understanding the need to work together (against Pagong) and hence joining the alliance.

KellyW: UTR2 Had the most insightful comment with her assessment of the dynamics on Pagong and the differences between the 2 tribes.

Rich: UTRN2 The nudity comes off as self-indulgent and like a child trying to shock its parents.

Episode 7 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

Editorial comment: a tremendous episode for both plot and character development After watching this episode, all the signposts of how the balance of the series was going to unfold were there. Nice quick shot of a snake eating a rat in the lead-up to TC (Tagi eating Pagong and foreshadowing of Sue's famous speech).

Gretchen: OTTP4 There should have been a warning that Kleenexes would be required when watching TC. Typical that MB would include her speaking at TC (unknowingly) about the strategy that would result in her demise. Could be an argument that she should be CP this episode, but since we're supposed to love and admire her, and her character is presented as being so straightforward, OTT is a better fit in my opinion. Nice foreshadowing in her early confessional about initially wanting to be on the other tribe, but now being happy on Pagong because they have fun and don't bust their butts (nor strategize effectively, unfortunately).

Greg: CPN4 The smartest one out there and maybe the most selfish. So much of what we saw of Greg this episode reflected that. He wasn't going to waste energy wondering what was going on with Sean and Jenna at the merge talks. He was irritated by the lengthy description of the meal that Sean and Jenna had. He wanted to leave behind the emotional baggage at Pagong beach. He found Sue's accent irritating. He wanted to be entertained by the way Rich was playing the game. He was excited about the banquet of new stories. He doesn't want alliances and have the weak beat down the strong because it would be boring. You can understand how Jenna would get on his nerves. In retrospect, Greg's unwillingness to put the team first was a cancer for Pagong - they would have been better with Joel at the merge rather than him.

JennaL: OTT4 Typical Jenna this episode, except we didn't get to see her competitive side. Neutral rating because of the unfavourable comparison to Kelly, being an early target of the Tagi alliance and Greg's irritation with her. Also got chosen to be the spokesman for Pagong's voting approach (I'm sure she cringes at her naivety when she watches that confessional today).

Gervase: UTRN2 Charming and lazy this episode get you and N when it's the women building a new shelter and you sitting on your ass playing cards. We're unsure whether he did let Rich win, but the ambiguity of the situation doesn't reflect well on Gervase. Also, taking what Sean said at face value about the alliances at Tagi didn't make him look too bright.

Colleen: UTRP2 More of the eye-candy / sweetheart role. Her 2 non-fluff confessionals were on how intelligent Sean is (which was a nice contrast to Sue's assessment of Sean as dumb (and we know, at least in terms of Survivor-style intelligence who is right) and on women being competitive while working together, but men can talk for hours and walk away friends. Huh? We then cut to Rich playing cards with Gervase - Rich wasn't there for friendship.

Sean: OTT3 We really had dumb Sean (dumb in Survivor terms) shoved down our throat this episode. Not only does he have no clue what's happening on Tagi, but his cluelessness combined with his sincerity lulled Pagong into a false sense of security. No ladies man (no spark with Jenna, and his discussion with Colleen on the types of men that attract women). In retrospect, the perfect ambassador for Tagi because there was no chance that he would give any secrets away. His TC speech nicely summarized how game-clueless he was at that point.

Sue: UTR2 Neutral, because her work ethic is offset by being part of the evil alliance and by her grating accent.

Rudy: OTTP3 More of the crusty old man we've come to know and love. After Pagong come to Tagi beach and Sean is droning on and on to Colleen, there's a great shot of him sitting, holding his head, and looking like he wished they'd all go away. His various confessionals (the house is getting smaller and it's a pain in the ass; not liking all the sex stories around the campfire; not liking sleeping with all the women) - we're supposed to empathize with him. Even his confessional about joining the alliance and having to get a little dirty to earn the money - it's okay coming from Rudy.

KellyW: CP3 Kelly, with a straight face, described Rich as a sweetheart. Wonder how she is playing poker? Her confessional associated with the rebuilding of the shelter roof are intended to make the audience empathize with her when things go wrong (i.e. she gets points for trying). Finally, her confessional during the walk to TC about voting and alliances is key because it reflects her ambivalence about the alliance and foreshadows her voting a different way in future episodes.

Rich: CPN4 The cockiness was oozing out this episode. Discussing the merge and how there would be a new set of interpersonal dynamics that will be fun for him to watch made him sound like a researcher doing experiments on lab rats. The alliance (led by Rich) discussing Pagong members and what the vote order would be - arrogant. Rich gloating that Greg didn't find spear fishing to be easy - cocky. Still, the lad has his head in the game (knowing the value of 4 solid votes when there are 10 people) and did a great job at TC giving a BS answer to JP's question.

Interlude - Pagong Voting Strategy in Ep 7

Actually, it should be "strategy" (because anyone who can both explain and defend it also must understand the deep mysteries of the universe). What makes it so fascinating is to that point their voting had been, by Survivor standards straightforward (with the exception of Greg).

Looking at previous episodes:

Ep 2 Colleen, Gervase, Gretchen, Jenna, and Joel - BB; BB and Greg - Ramona (nothing noteworthy here except Greg who voted for Ramona because he felt she wasn't participating enough in the tribe).

Ep 4 Colleen, Gretchen, Jenna, and Joel - Ramona; Gervase, and Ramona - Colleen; and Greg - Jenna (the Jenna/Greg conflict was not shown but was apparent in Greg's voting pattern).

Ep 6 Colleen, Greg, Gretchen, and Jenna - Joel; Gervase, and Joel - Jenna; (what is a bit bizarre, in light of what he did before and after, is that Greg voted for Joel and not Jenna (based on instructions from the nature phone - however the nature phone should have told him it could have been a 3 to 3 tie, so he missed his best opportunity to vote out Jenna).

While Gervase also didn't vote with the majority in Ep4 and Ep6, his reasons are more easily understood - he was not going to vote against Ramona, and I think he felt Joel would be better to keep than Jenna.

So, we come to Ep 7 where the 5 Pagong members vote as follows:

Colleen - Richard

Gervase - Susan

Greg - Jenna (either be here or be gone, whatever that means)

Gretchen - Rudy

Jenna - Gervase (mooo again - get rid of the other chauvinist)

They may have voted "better" had Joel been there since Joel seemed to be at the centre of the strategic voting discussion in Ep 6. As it was, the 2 Pagong leaders (Greg and Gretchen) had no interest in voting as a bloc, and the remaining 3 couldn't get themselves organized to do so (or bought the story that Sean gave them). As a result, they started down the road to extinction and gave us the term "Pagong" in the bargain.

Pagong Voting - Ep 8

More bizarre voting by our favourite tribe. Jenna's vote (for Greg) can be rationalized if she believed a women's alliance could be formed (not knowing that Sue was playing her). As for the rest, well, after going on a water run with Sean and Gervase during which they talked voting strategy, Colleen said "We have the upper hand right now, easy. We have 4 people that could come together, have a vote, and get the next person off." This is a bizarre comment for a couple of reasons.

First, since there are 9 people left at that point, you could get outvoted 5 to 4. Second, who are the 4 people she was referring to? If the 4 remaining Pagong members, how would they counteract Sean employing his alphabet strategy and having the Tagi alliance simply vote as they know Sean will vote - bye bye Greg (as what indeed happened). If the 4 people were Colleen, Gervase, Greg, and Sean, then how would they get Sean to abandon his alphabet strategy, and second, why would they go after Jenna? Presumably initially she could be an ally to give them the fifth vote, then cut out later once the 4 of them had control.

I would love to know what Colleen's comments were when she voted Jenna - maybe it would clarify what otherwise seems to be a very dumb statement.

Episode 8 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

Greg: CP4 Kelly said it best - Greg's a chameleon, and the audience is left scratching its head and wondering what to make of him - did we ever see the "real" Greg, or was he simply playing various roles? Arguably an N this episode for his Colleen / kitten comments (nobody says that about America's sweetheart).

JennaL: OTTP4 She actually had several good quotes and insights, but this was all overshadowed by the missing tape at the RC, which MB played to the hilt. The #*%%$, the leaving to practice archery again on her own, the blisters and bruises from practicing, the confessional - this was major tearjerker material. Arguably could have been rated PP, but I left it as a P because the rest of her episode was not this extreme. Lots of good material on strategy (the proposed girls alliance, Greg's sparring with Rich, and on targeting the leaders at the merge).

Gervase: MORN3 The charm is starting to wear a bit thin, and the laziness is becoming a more dominant theme (as we had more of the female workers versus the male parasites). At least he is trying to strategize a bit, although doing it very badly

Colleen: MOR2 This is tough because she made comments and had an approach that nobody has had since season 1 (e.g. her attitude towards the money and the game). Downgraded to neutral because of Greg's kitten comments, which covered neither of them in glory (and Jenna was getting all the sympathy vote this episode). Am I the only one who found her TC comments incoherent?

Sean: UTR2 Close to invisible and not part of the main storyline of this episode, other than the Tagi alliance leveraging his vote. MB seems to love showing his TC voting comments to reinforce how clueless strategically he is.

Sue: OTTN3 Sue, unfairly perhaps, gets to wear the black hat in the Tagi alliance. She's the one shown as being duplicitous with Pagong (leading Jenna on to think that there could be a girl's alliance) and lying at TC about the alliance. She bitches about Gervase not doing enough work. She has no sympathy for the ethical struggles that Kelly is having. Of course in the great MB editing tradition, when Sue is shown talking about wanting to conserve food because she plans on staying to the end, we know she won't make it.

Rudy: MOR3 You want the straight goods, you talk to Rudy. He's formed a great editing contrast to Greg, because the audience always knows exactly where Rudy's coming from. A more cantankerous episode (taking the credit for the idea to boot our beloved Gretchen, bitching about the food and living quarters, wondering if Greg has an incestuous relationship with his sister, threatening to kneecap anyone who breaks from the Tagi alliance), but not enough to rate as an "N".

KellyW: CPP4 Slowly but surely we are supposed to start cheering for her (at least against Rich). The bookend comments about friendship (if they came here to make friends they should have gone to summer camp versus being conflicted about voting for people she likes) and her soul searching about playing the game with integrity are included to make us empathize with her situation. All this is positioning for the future break-up of the Tagi alliance. By commenting on Jenna's missing her children, she shares in the audience's sympathy for that situation.

Rich: CPN4 The resident evil genius just keeps rolling along. The sparring between he and Greg is fascinating, but you know there will be only one winner in this contest (at least in Survivor terms) (and Rich is arrogant enough to let us know who it will be). He's just so damn smug about the importance of his fishing and how it makes him valuable to the rest of the tribe. Once again shown being economical with the truth at TC.

Episode 9 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

JennaL: OTTP3 Looking back, a fairly low key boot episode. Gets the P for the obligatory #*%%$ at getting her letter from home (complemented by background music).

Gervase: UTR2 He was there; he strategized a bit (but wasn't shown as the instigator); he did a bit of Sean bashing.

Colleen: CPP5 This episode, she shone out like a shaft of gold, when all around was dark (for all you Monty Python fans out there). We saw the complete package this episode: her prissiness about killing the fish; her goading of Rich and her finding his superior attitude irritating; her views on the situation (the most deserving person won't win - foreshadowing); why Rich wanted to walk around naked; how Rich was uncomfortable with Kelly associating with her and Jenna, and on the ongoing shift in Kelly's loyalties. Her breakout episode from an editing standpoint.

Sean: UTRN2 Could they edit him to look any more stupid? Three times (including his voting comments) he talked about voting for Jenna, but didn't think she'd be in any danger. Duhhhh! That plus the ongoing trashing of his strategy by many of the others (e.g. Sue at TC) gives him a big fat N this episode. His confessional about Rich being immature and insecure because Rich keeps bringing up his catching of fish was followed by Rich explaining why his staying had nothing to do with catching fish (again reinforcing how clueless Sean is in the game of Survivor).

Sue: MOR3 Sue always has enough of an edge to make it hard to give her a P, although in this episode she was on the "right" side of the issues (e.g. Sean's alphabet strategy, Rudy's cooking, the girls catching fish). You had to like the way she skewered Sean at TC - she cut through all the crap and got to the heart of the matter. I sense MB liked it too.

Rudy: UTRN2 The crusty old man wasn't so adorable this episode for screwing up the cooking of the fish and being stubborn about taking guidance. Since we were supposed to laugh along with Jenna / Colleen/ Kelly being playful, his lesbianism comment reflected poorly on him.

KellyW: MOR3 More plot development of the breakdown of the Tagi alliance. While we got more of her misgivings about the alliance and wanting to win it her way (on her own), we were also given alternate viewpoints that characterized her as being wishy-washy (setting us up for the final TC).

Rich: CPN4 We saw a grouchy Rich this episode (over the cooking of the fish) who went from boasting about how bright he was and not letting people vote him off to coming close to being voted off (or at least we were meant to think that until the final Jenna vote was shown). The whole "naked Rich on his birthday" ended up being a negative due to the coverage given to the people who didn't like it (particularly Colleen, since she was the star of this episode).

Episode 10 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

Gervase: OTTP4 In the end his storyline for this episode, which could have been "black males who father children by different women then evade their responsibilities", was edited very sympathetically towards Gervase (with only Rudy providing the obligatory opposite viewpoint). In the end, all the talk of forming a counter-alliance came to nothing (and why he and Colleen picked Sean of all people to vote for is a mystery - Rudy was the only one that they might have persuaded both Kelly and Sean to vote for).

Colleen: UTRP2 Major drop in face time as she was overshadowed by Gervase and Kelly. Only 2 confessionals and both were about other people (Sean, Kelly). You have to love the "Sitting Duck" routine.

Sean: UTRN2 Good to know that he finally decided to start playing the game, but an N for the ongoing reinforcement of how clueless he is (e.g. Colleen' early confessional, his questioning by JP at TC, and for being targeted by the 2 remaining Pagong members). Like Rudy, totally incidental to the main storyline this episode.

Sue: CP4 I could never give Sue an N in an episode in which she cries. We got a good understanding of her strategy this episode (i.e. playing the redneck and then burning Rich the city slicker), and of her feelings about Kelly (which sets us up for how extreme Sue's reaction will be when she considers that Kelly betrays her - from both a trust point of view and not beating Rich). Good defence at TC of the principles behind alliance building. More tolerant towards Gervase and his personal situation than one might have expected.

Rudy: UTR2 The spokesman (naturally) for traditional family values during the exploration of Gervase's family situation (versus the more tolerant viewpoints expressed by the others). Had zero impact in this episode from a story-telling point of view so arguably could be rated INV. Given what we know today of MB's editing style, it's obvious by this point that Rudy would not win.

KellyW: CPP4 If the show's ending had been scripted, Kelly would have won. We the audience are supposed to empathize with her moral / ethical quandary (her long, long confessional about the game, about the alliance, feeling like Luke Skywalker going over to the dark side, wanting to beat Rich at his own damn game - this was further reinforced by Colleen's comments). It would almost be a Dickens like storyline (young person overcomes obstacles, including evil older people (Rich, Sue) to triumph in the end). Nice editing contrast to let us know that Kelly would have been happier on Pagong, with other young people, while Rich and Sue in retrospect were very happy to be on Tagi.

Rich: CP4 Rich was a little more humble this episode (despite Gervase's comments) As always, it's about strategy with Rich (e.g. cutting back on fishing until only the Tagi members remain). The cutting back and forth between Sue and Rich early on made him appear more vulnerable, less arrogant, and more appealing to the audience (given that he would congratulate Sue if she burns him because she would have fooled him). Also (not unexpectedly) not judgemental towards Gervase's family situation. Like any good Machiavelli he has his finger on the pulse of things, and realizes that Kelly is wavering.

Episode 11 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

I wonder if a well known, well respected poster in Edgic and similar threads can bear to watch this episode? If so, does he fast forward through the IC?

I can't think of another instance where JP eulogized a contestant after they were voted out.

Colleen: OTTPP4 Did Kleenex consumption in America spike after this episode? The music and the lingering shot of her extinguished torch at TC; telling all the others to be nice and play fair (losing with grace and dignity); the shots of how badly bitten her legs were; she misses her (nice) Pagong tribe member; a heroic failure at the IC (missed it by that much) - well, you can't get a much more "PP" edit than that. Overshadowed was a lot of good narration on the state of the Tagi alliance. And finally we got one of MB's classic edits (Colleen after getting the care package saying she can do this for 6 more days)

Sean: OTT4 Sorry Sean, all the positive impact of the family visit and loving your father were cancelled out by your poor decision to take Rich over Kelly for breakfast. Man, we had that pounded and pounded and pounded into us (e.g. shots of Sean and Rich chowing down on a great breakfast while Kelly eats rice). Even JP got into the act at TC, where Kelly summarized it nicely - it wasn't about the food, it was about the broken promise. Sean could probably write a book about Survivor strategy - watch what I did and do the exact opposite.

Sue: MOR3 Always around the action, but not one of the key people this episode. Did a lot of narration on Sean's father's visit (like father like son), and surprised us by asking questions about the stock market (not what one expects from a truck driver). Her comments about Kelly set us up for what is about to go down between them over the remainder of the series. Another classic MB edit was her confessional on day 33 of only having to eat rice for 6 more days and deciding to skip the last day. Now that we know MB's style, confirmation that Sue would not be F2.

Rudy: UTR2 Again, borderline invisible this episode (Colleen pointed out how he sat back and let the rest of Tagi scheme). We did get set up for Rudy staying loyal to Rich until the end.

KellyW: CP4 Colleen swallowed up most of the positiveness from this episode, and while we were meant to be happy that Kelly dodged a bullet, there was a much harder edge to her comments (e.g. not giving a shit about being nice or worrying about what she says), and Colleen's and Sean's comments on the lead up to TC are quite negative (positioning us for Sue's famous rats & snakes diatribe). This all drags her back to neutral, even though we were on her side when Sean reneged on his promise. Does get credit for being honest with Colleen when they were the last 2 standing during the IC.

Rich: MORN3 With Rich being Rich, it would be hard to rate him OTT, but this probably comes close. The little snippet of him reading his letter and looking forward to returning to his real life was positive, but this was offset by his arrogance after being eliminated from the IC (sitting on the beach, doing the mock play by play, being the puppet master (Colleen is safe, but she doesn't know it; Kelly is going home, but she doesn't know it; Sean is "outa here") and his arrogant voting comments at TC. So much a contrast to Colleen, that you just have to give Rich an N.

Episode 12 Edgic Ratings & Commentary

Sean: MOR3 Sean, never say that you're going to win this thing immediately before the TC where you get voted off (unless you know that MB will take pity on you and not show that clip and embarrass you before a national TV audience). As he said at TC, he did behave differently than the other 4 - for most of the game he was clueless as to what was going on. In the end, Sean was totally irrelevant to the story line, and once Kelly won immunity, his fate was sealed. Yawn.

Sue: MOR3 The negatives associated with the fight with Kelly were offset by their patching things up and agreeing to behave and compete fairly because it's just a game. (Of course, had we known how things would turn out, including the infamous "rats and snakes" speech, this would be a huge N for Sue since it makes her come across as a huge hypocrite (particularly her confessional about she and Kelly treating each other civilly and that thee was no sense making it hard on anybody).) Her editing was also softened by her feelings for home and being stung by the ray (and toughing that out).

Rudy: UTRP2 A "P" for being a man of his word (unlike the other schemers in the Tagi alliance). Lets them do all the plotting, but in the end is a key figure for Rich because Rich knows he can count on Rudy not to backstab him. Despite what Sean said, Rudy was the one honest person left.

KellyW: CP4 Like Sue, initially negative because of their fight, but enough positives and softening later to drag her back to neutral. We saw that she can lie with the best of them, but also that she had good insight into the dynamics of the balance of the Tagi alliance. Tried to patch things up with Sue in a mature manner, and, in this episode at least it appeared to work (we saw much more of Kelly's perspective on the Kelly / Sue relationship, which helped push Kelly to the CP rating). Humble and appreciative of her success in challenges, which usually gets you a favourable edit (her comme