Survivor 40: Winners at War Season Premiere Blog Party

Okay, we have 20 previous first place winners playing this season. They know how to outwit, outplay and outlast. They've done it before. While I'm eager to see them compete against each other, before seeing how things are going to go down, I want to whine about twists. Isn't it enough to have this bunch competing against each other?

Noooo ... they're dragging in Island of Extinction, some odd fire token twist and, if memory serves from something I read, although there are two tribes, it's one camp. I might be wrong about the last. I hope so! 

As the show airs, I'll do my best to update this entry during the two-hour premiere as it airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the real party is in the comments area feel free to join in on the fun!

A blog pool message from the beloved Lifeguard Laurie -- Nobody goes home tonight. They go to a team with only one person.
Nobody has a bad pick this time!!

And, without further ado, here's the blog pool:

DAKAL (Red tribe)
Amber Mariano - Delee, Glenn Allen
Kim Spradlin-Wolfe - Dr_Celine
Nick Wilson - Barbara BW, Judi Sweeney
Sandra Diaz-Twine - tbe
Sarah Lacina - SueGee, Cheryl in NC
Sophie Clarke - ChicMc
Tony Vlachos - Karen in CA, Donna in Alabama
Tyson Apostol -Janice
Wendell Holland - Nickelpeed, PDX Granny
Yul Kwon - Ed in Ohio

SELE (Blue tribe)
Adam Klein - Lifeguard Laurie, Petals
Ben Driebergen - Rbennie, Shannon
Danni Boatwright - Jennasmom
Denise Stapley - Becky, Jennifer
Ethan Zohn - Rochelle, Jackie
Jeremy Collins - Sharon N
Michele Fitzgerald -Terry is a Texan
Natalie Anderson - Nana in the NW
Parvati Shallow - Donna in FL
Rob Mariano - Auntie Leigh

Survivor fans ready?

Of course, starting off we're getting snippets from all the castaways.. They're cruising in to meet Jeff. The men arrive first, then the women. Jeff is making it sound like it's going to be men against women. Now we're getting snippets of each talking to Jeff.

They get an actual champagne toast to celebrate -- "A drink before war is always a good idea." Into the tribe reveal. (You can see the tribes in the pool listing above.)

Jeff tells them they each start with a fire token. If they're voted out they need to will their tokens to someone and then they're sent to Extinction Island. He gets cheers when he announces the prize is two million dollars. (Like they didn't know.)

They are already in a challenge. It's Reward (flint) and Immunity. Racing out in teams of two through water retrieving a ring and having to put hand on pole. The teams race and wrassle for control of the ring.

DAKAL wins Immunity!

Jeff tells Seles that Tribal Council will be the next night, not this night.

The fire tokens can be used as a bit of currency for food and more.

Uh-oh -- Denise and Adam put targets on their backs by wandering off together.

Tony plans on a more mellow approach and gaining trust. Amber feels she needs to find an idol. Rob and Parvati want to work together? Oh my. Ben spills the beans to Rob that Danni was throwing his name out. Rob goes to Danni and she does confirm it. Now will there be an Old School Alliance? Rob, Parvati, Ethan, Danni?

Ben warned Adam that his walk with Denise looked bad and now his name is out there. Adam thinks that Natalie and Jeremy should be split up because they're so close. So now it might be Adam, Denise, Jeremy or Natalie voted out. Rob and Parvati are shocked that they're not looking like the latest targets.

Tribal Council time is here! Jeff asks Ethan about the culture shock. Ethan says his season was glacier speed. Denise tells Jeff that she and Adam got lost looking for water and it looked bad. There were whispers with subtitles but I didn't catch them. Wah. Time to vote.

The tally after commercial.

Denise, Adam, Denise, Natalie, Natalie, Natalie, Natalie. Natalie

Like her sister, Nadiya, now Natalie is voted out first. She heads to Extinction Island. I'm sure she'll leave her fire token to Jeremy. Once there she reads that she can earn fire tokens to help her get back into the game. She also reads that she can quit and go home.

Sandra is so ticked that Rob lied to her saying he would never come back. She's willing to take revenge on Amber because Rob is on the other tribe.

Back on Seles it looks like the New Schoolers are going to challenge the Old Schoolers. And, yes, Natalie did leave Jeremy her fire token. 

On Extinction Natalike reads a list of what can be bought with tokens from idols to advantages. She finds a bottle with gives her directions to start looking for a token. She finds an immunity idol, no value on beach, but can trade for a token from someone coming to Extinction. If the idol does make it back into the game, it's good for three tribals.

Second immunity challenge time. Paddle out, retrieve bag of number tiles, back over obstacles, combination lock to retrieve rings to throw on paddles. Three wins. 

SELE wins immunity!

Yul thinks people should be civilized. Amber, Nick, Sandra, Tyson are some of the names mentioned. Wait, throw Tony in there, too. Whoa ... Sandra finds the Extinction idol and buys it with her fire token! Tony is trying to orchestrate a Tyson ouster. Yul tells Tyson that Amber or Kim are possibilities. It dawns on Tyson that his poker playing with buddies Rob and Amber might put a target on his own back. Kim was also part of that poker bunch. Uh-oh!

To the second Tribal Council of the night. The Jeff questions are similar to the last one -- asking about how fast the game is moving compared to more recent seasons. The Poker Player Alliance is brought up. 

Time to vote ... we only have seven minutes of show left. Hmm.

The tally ... Sandra does not play the idol.

Nick, Kim, Kim, Kim, Amber, Amber, Amber, Amber, Amber.

Amber is gonzo. 

Survivor: Winners at War - Tribes List and POOL OPENS!

Are you ready for these warring winners? Of course, that's much better than whiners, right?

The ever lovely Lifeguard Laurie has offered to run the blog pool once again this season. (A round of applause or brief standing ovation would be acceptable at this time.) As always, the winner of the blog pool does NOT win the million dollars. The winner gets to win something much more lasting -- bragging rights! If you wish to be in the pool, please sign up in the comment section below. If you're posting as an "anonymous" you need to have some sort of sign-off name. Lifeguard Laurie will make random matches to come up with your pool pick.

The show starts next Wednesday, February 12. The deadline for entering the blog pool is Tuesday 12pm ET (which is 9am PT!). Be there or be square.

Here's the breakdown of the tribes -- I only listed the castaway's winning season although many have been on multiple seasons and have also been on The Amazing Race.

DAKAL (Red tribe)
Tyson Apostol - Winner Survivor 27: Blood vs. Water
Sophie Clarke - Winner Survivor 23: South Pacific
Sandra Diaz-Twine - Winner Survivors 07, 20 : Pearl Islands, Heroes vs. Villains
Wendell Holland - Winner Survivor 36: Ghost Island
Yul Kwon - Winner Survivor 13: Cook Islands
Sarah Lacina - Winner Survivor 34: Game Changers
Amber Mariano - Winner Survivor 08: All-Stars
Kim Spradlin-Wolfe - Winner Survivor 24: One World
Tony Vlachos - Winner Survivor 28: Cagayan
Nick Wilson - Winner Survivor 37: David vs. Goliath

SELE (Blue tribe)
Natalie Anderson - Winner Survivor 29: San Juan del Sur
Danni Boatwright - Winner Survivor 11: Guatemala
Jeremy Collins - Winner Survivor 31: Cambodia - Second Chance
Ben Driebergen - Winner Survivor 35: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers
Michele Fitzgerald - Winner Survivor 32: Kaôh Rōng
Adam Klein - Winner Survivor 33: Millennials vs. Gen X
Rob Mariano - Winner Survivor 22: Redemption Island
Parvati Shallow - Winner Survivor 16: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites
Denise Stapley - Winner Survivor 25: Philippines
Ethan Zohn - Winner Survivor 03: Africa

Survivor: Island of the Idols - Season Finale Blog Party

Tonight will be the first taped reunion show ever in the history of Survivor. I guess they don't want any unexpected discussion. Hmm. While Jeff Probst has been saying Dan is the first one ever removed from the show, Russell Hantz and others disagree -- they claim Brandon Hantz was removed and that impromptu vote booting him was staged. It's been a season of controversy and, to be honest, I'll be happy to see it end.

I might have a few issues with live blogging tonight as I had an eye exam with the dilated pupils and all. I'm still having some problems with double vision as I prep this post. I will do my best to update this entry with the major happenings, though. Refresh the page to get the latest update! As always. the real party is in the comments area -- please feel free to join in on the fun!

The Lovely Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool -- are you still in it to win it?
Merged Team
Dean Kowalski -- CherryPie, Merrilee
Janet Carbin -- Donna NY, Sharon C
Lauren Beck -- Jackie, Sharon N
Noura Salman -- Jennasmom
Tommy Sheehan -- Karen in CA, Terry is a Texan

Jury
Jack Nichting
Kellee Kim & her idols
Jamal Shipman
Missy Byrd
Aaron Meredith
Elizabeth Beisel

Karishma Patel

Elaine Stott

Survivor fans ready? GAH! The Impeachment hearings are still on?!?!?! Ah, they're starting on time. We start out in Los Angeles with a Rob/Sandra reminisce session.

The five see a boat arrive. They're all instructed to grab their personal items and get aboard. They're all heading to the Island of the Idols. Tommy is the only one who hasn't been there before. 

For the rest of the game, the five will live in the house Rob built. They get new buffs, too. Rob and Sandra are OUT. Whoa … there's one last test if someone has been paying attention. 

Janet has an idol and believes she's guaranteed to be final four. Some are mentioning her name. though. Dean seems to be targeted. Tommy seems to be the only one thinking something is on the island to save him. He's finding machetes. one in a coconut. He thinks it was pink inside because he's colorblind. He tells Dean hoping he can trust him.

Tommy thinks Dean isn't being any help. Meanwhile, Dean is actually following the clues for his own nefarious self. And, it's Dean who finds the hidden idol.

Immunity Challenge time -- they retrieve rope rungs, build ladder, climb tower, maneuver bag of balls up ladder, toss on table maze. Also Reward -- steak dinner, vegetarian alternative.

DEAN wins Immunity for the second time in a row! He can take one person with him for the dinner and chooses Noura, a surprise to all. He claims it's to make amends. Of course, the others think jury management.

Dean is buttering up Noura to sit with her at the end. She realizes what he's doing but understands. They both think they need Janet out. She tells Tommy that all the votes except hers go on her while she plays her idol and votes Lauren, the one she thinks is the biggest threat.

Uh-oh. Tommy doesn't want Janet in the end although he adores her. He is tight with Lauren. Hmm. They want Dean to use his idol nullifier. Dean has to decide with whom he wants to sit at the end.

Time for Tribal Council. Fire making is brought up. That's not good for Janet because she's good at making fire. Jury management is discussed as well. 

The tally -- Dean does use the nullifier and Janet uses her idol to no avail. 

Lauren, Janet, Janet, Janet ...

She played the idol right and Dean nullified the right target. Sigh. Janet is gone. I liked her. 

Impeachment breaks in, Donald Trump is indeed impeached -- the third president impeached and I've lived through two. Supposedly, Survivor will be aired in its entirety.

Now we're sitting through all the saved-up commercials they didn't air during the impeachment news break.

Okay … we're back on the Island of Idols. Dean is thrilled with himself and his superiority at the game. @@ He thinks he has final two deals with both Moura and Tommy. He can't make fire. Meanwhile, Tommy tells Noura he cannot make fire. He can't really figure Noura out. Nor can we, so he's not alone.

Final Immunity Challenge -- Stack letter blocks on wobbly platform spelling out Island of the Idols. Winner picks one to accompany him or her to the final three. The other two face a fire challenge to garner the third place.

NOURA wins the final immunity! It's her third immunity win.

Back to camp and the others are really worried about Noura because she's so unpredictable. She tells them she wants to take a swim, has already made up her mind, will discuss it with them along with the psychological aspects. She tells Lauren she's her number one. Dean suave made good moves. Tommy didn't connect. 

She tells Lauren that she's the Queen so she needs to go to fire. Dean, your game is on fire right now, really fire. So, she's taking Tommy. Lauren is in tears -- she's never made fire. Dean has never made fire but is trying to act like he's not worried. They both practice fire. Tommy wants to help both of them because one will be on the jury. He's helping Dean more because he thinks he has a better chance against Dean and Noura. 

Tribal Council time … Noura tells her wacko thinking in making her decision. She tells her ideology that Lauren is her number one and that's why Lauren must go. She says she chose Dean to eliminate Lauren. So, Tommy is her choice to go with her and she really wants her number one Lauren out.

Lauren and Dean must make fire. Dean wins the fire challenge.

The final three are Noura, Tommy and Dean.

The guys think it's definitely one of them winning. Noura wants to work with Tommy to run down Dean. Noura and Tommy think Dean can't win. Noura does see through the guys.

Final Tribal for jury questioning.
Outwit -- Jack tells them they're all undecided and be clear and honest. Dean -- he tells his strategy not to be the smartest, social game. Noura -- haven't watched every season, not to be super, but don't be dead weight in challenges, she goes off on tangents. Elaine reminds her that it's not strategy she's talking. Tommy -- making real connections with others, play in the middle, get info from all, big moves. Lauren asks Tommy who he was most loyal to and he tells her it was her. Noura rats Tommy out about the extra help to Dean with the fire. Janet asks when he decided to betray her. He told her around eight because he couldn't beat her. Lines not willing to cross? Noura didn't want to make a move she didn't want to own. Tommy, no bullying. Dean never promise a final three if he didn't mean it. 

Outplay
Win final immunity, what would you do? Noura -- Dean because his game was weaker. What about Tommy? She doesn't think Tommy could beat Lauren. Approach to individual immunity -- Noura always tried her best, Dean gave all later in the game. Tommy says he controlled the game because he knew who had the advantages. Heh. Dean learns from Jamal that his advantage was fake. Sean shows them the idol he found in the final five. He had all the idols and advantages and never had to play them. Tommy claims that wasn't a game move. 

It's pouring along with lightning and thunder. 

Outlast
Tommy played hard, risky big moves, didn't win an immunity necklace but still got there. Noura you loved and hated me, wild card, weird, crazy, did whatever she could to win challenges. Dean jaw-dropping moments such as nullifier. on the losing tribe, etc.

Time for them to vote …

Back in LA

Tommy, Dean, Tommy, Dean, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy ...

TOMMY WINS! Congratulations to blog pool winners Karen in CA and Terry is a Texan!

I won't be posting much on the reunion show unless something strikes my fancy. 

Sia gives 15K to Jamal, 100K to Elaine! Wow! 100K to Janet! Okay, that almost redeems the season!

Time for the Kellee talk with Jeff. He tells her she was right and he apologizes. I won't be covering this in full.

Next season is 20 returning winners. Winners at War, return of Extinction, the prize is two million dollars. I don't usually like returning players but an all winners playing might be very interesting!

Survivor: Island of the Idols - December 11 Blog Party

Oh my … tonight is the penultimate episode and next week is the big finale and reunion show! It seems like there are too many castaways left. Hmm ...

As the show airs here on the East Coast, I'll be updating this entry. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments -- please feel free to join in on the fun!

The Lovely Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool -- are you still in it ti won it?
Merged Team
Dan Spilo -- Bizaro22, marthalight
Dean Kowalski -- CherryPie, Merrilee
Elaine Stott -- Cheryl in NC
Janet Carbin -- Donna NY, Sharon C
Lauren Beck -- Jackie, Sharon N
Noura Salman -- Jennasmom
Tommy Sheehan -- Karen in CA, Terry is a Texan

Jury
Jack Nichting
Kellee Kim & her idols
Jamal Shipman
Missy Byrd
Aaron Meredith

Elizabeth Beisel

Karishma Patel

Survivor fans ready?

We jump right into the action. All eyes seem to be on Noura. But Dean isn't really sitting pretty either. Noura is blaming him. Elaine now knows she wasted her idol and feels she must search out a new one. A bunch of the others have the same plain. Heh. Janet, who's not in with the in crowd found it! It's only good until the final five. Dean thinks Dan and Tommy found it.

Noura is crazy, but Elaine is worried that she would be targeted instead. She's trying to stir up things between Dean and Lauren. Dean and Dan try to convince Lauren she has nothing to worry about. 

A boat arrives. They must draw a name for someone to go to the Island of Idols. Dean goes. Dean shows Rob and Sandra his fake legacy advantage. The one he played before was a fake of the fake. He thinks it's real. Silly boy.

His lesson is about jury management. His test -- game of chance, a coin flip. He has a choice of three different advantages if he wins and lose a vote if he loses. He thinks Janet found an idol and wants to go for the idol mollifier. He actually wins the idol nullifier!

Dean lies to the others, telling them it was a coin flip and he said he lost his vote. He tells Dan the truth. Dan now thinks Dean has a legacy advantage and the idol nullifier … so he's dangerous. 

Immunity Challenge time -- Spin, unravel rope. collect puzzle pieces. go ove beam. solve puzzle. Seven word phrase read from top to bottom. DEAN wins Immunity! "This game will mess with your mind."

Elaine is sure she's going to be the target. In reality they're planning on splitting the vote -- Elaine target, Noura secondary if an idol is played. Meanwhile, many of the women are thinking of flipping to Noura as the target.

Tribal Council time! They're talking numbers. Elaine is talking about being the target. She says that they should keep her in to protect themselves a bit longer. She suggests Noura. Ohhh … Elaine is tugging at heartstrings! She just may have saved her butt? Time to vote.

The tally … No idols played.

Elaine, Noura, Elaine, Noura, Elaine, Elaine.

Nope. She didn't save her butt. 

WHOA! Here's the numbers issue -- DAN has been removed from the game. He won't even be in the jury. This is due to the earlier inappropriate behavior issues. Since the behavior was witnessed by show staff and filmed and we didn't see it all, it must have been downplayed some before this.

Survivor: Island of the Idols - December 4 Blog Party

Tonight is the family or loved ones visit show, either liked or annoying to show fans. I'm basically along with the latter crowd. While I'm sure it's great to see them, the schmaltz about it all is a tad too much. But they never listen to me. P think I'm looking more forward to see if Karishma keeps surviving.

I'll be updating this post with the major events as the show airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to get the latest happenings! As always, the real party is in the comments ares -- I hope to see you there!

The Lovely Lifeguard Laurie has updated the blog pool -- are you still in it ti won it?
Merged Team
Dan Spilo -- Bizaro22, marthalight
Dean Kowalski -- CherryPie, Merrilee
Elaine Stott -- Cheryl in NC
Janet Carbin -- Donna NY, Sharon C
Karishma Patel -- Ed in Ohio, SueGee
Lauren Beck -- Jackie, Sharon N
Noura Salman -- Jennasmom
Tommy Sheehan -- Karen in CA, Terry is a Texan

Jury
Jack Nichting
Kellee Kim & her idols
Jamal Shipman
Missy Byrd
Aaron Meredith
Elizabeth Beisel

Survivor fans ready?

The show opens with Jeff Probst calling the castaways in. He announces the loved ones visit. Tears and drama to go down with each. @@

Okay, to the challenge, they're drawing for pairs. Reward in the form of love. Obstacles, digging to get underneath log,

Tommy and Janet win Reward. They can invite one along -- Dan and his son Ryan who's only 13. They pick another -- Lauren.

Noura is rallying the troops back at camp. They are four against four. They think they should look for idols. They're not sure of the possibility of bringing one of the other four aboard. Elaine found an idol!

Time for the Immunity Challenge. Stand on a small block of wood stabilizing a ball on a block of wood. Drop the ball and you're out. It's the one where they have two handles.

Dean out, Tommy out, Noura out, Janet drops, Karishma out. Dan drops. It's down to Lauren and Elaine. ELAINE drops unexpectedly!

LAUREN WINS IMMUNITY!

The plan is to put four votes on Karishma, three on Janet (in case Karisma has another idol). Meanwhile the four that had stayed at camp decide they can control the vote if all four stick together. They're thinking Tommy. Sure enough, Noura is overthinking everything.

Tribal Council time. Starting off with the loved ones visit and how it affects those left back at camp. Lots of whispering going on. Noura calls out Dean, Elaine and Karishma … yikes! She tells all including Elaine's idol! She ends up caught in a lie and will we see the end of Noura tonight? Hmm.

The tally … Elaine plays her idol to save herself.

Karishma, Noura, Noura, Noura, Karishma, Karishma, Karishma, Karishma ...

Welp, they got Karishma out and Noura showed her true colors putting a huge target on her back.