Survivor 43: Episode 9 Blog Party - November 16

 

Good evening, Survivor fans!

The Amazing Race is on at 9PM EDT, a separate post for that show will magically appear a few minutes before the end of this show.

As for Survivor, I will be live blogging the major events as the show airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the real party is in the comments section. I hope to see you there!

My apologies for the non-blog last week. I'm actually still in the same predicament. The television I ordered mysteriously got lost in transit and its replacement hasn't arrived. I was thinking I could stream tonight's TV shows on my old tablet, but no go. It's too old for streaming, I guess. So, I'm doing this split-screen on my desktop computer tonight. Please bear with me!

The Esteemed Lifeguard SueGee has updated the blog pool -- check it out to find your castaway!

Cody       Cheryl in NC, ChicMc
Noelle     MikesGirl, Tammy
Jesse       AprilW, Donna in AL
Dwight    Petals, Skyriverblue
Cassidy     Cherrypie, Kelsey NY
Karla       Glenn Allen, monty924
James     DonnaNY, Krysta Gibson
Ryan       John Cantrell, Jackie
Gabler     Donna in FL, Joanne Victoria
Owen    Mike Barer, SueGee
Sami      Brenda, Indiana Jane

Snuffed Out
Morriah
Justine 
Nneka  
Lindsay 
Geo
Elie

Jeanine

Survivor fans ready?

We open with them returning from Tribal. Sami wants to shake the game up and pick off the people at the top. He talks to Owen. Owen is upset with James as he told him they were sticking with the Ryan vote. Gabler is the one who told him otherwise. After all, James is not the Godfather, dude.

James is trying to work others against Owen. He does seem to think he's the Godfather after all.

We're right into the Immunity Challenge. Two teams of five, separate Tribal Councils. The last person standing wins reward -- PB&J for their team and they get to go to Tribal second. Two going home tonight. Red/blue.

They have to lift up a handle to keep a ball above them trapped. Ball comes down, so do they. Jesse out first for red. Cassidy out for red. Noelle out for blue. James out for blue. Gabler out for red. Owen out for blue. Sami out for blue. 

KARLA wins Immunity for Blue! She did it with a stitched-up finger even.

Karla out, so Red will win the reward. It's Ryan and Cody up still for Red. Ryan out.

CODY wins Immunity for Red as well as the Reward!

Blue goes back to the beach where they decide who will go home. Red goes back to camp to enjoy the PB&J.

At camp Ryan tells Gabler it's Cass tonight. They talk to Cody. Cody tells Cassidy that it's Ryan being voted out.

At the Vesi camp, Karla wants to vote out Owen with her ally James. Noelle talks to Sami about the Owen vote, too. I personally wouldn't mind if James went -- his voice always sounds like he has marbles in the back of his throat! Owen tries to confront James in front of the rest of the team because James is putting on a rather big jerk act. I don't know. If they keep focusing on Owen going in the edit, he just might not.

Day 17. The Red vote still seems to be between Ryan and Cassidy. Cody and Jesse are trying to figure out what ties the two have with others. They know James would want Ryan out. Cody likes Gabler, so wants to recruit him into his way of thinking. Gabler is finally finding a home! They figure Owen or Cassidy will go from Blue.

Noelle would prefer James go. She wants to make a big move. She is thinking of using her Steal a Vote advantage. Sami, Noelle and Owen want to vote out James. Woot! Uh-oh ... Sami is allied with Karla and gives her the idea they should vote James out.

Night 17 and Blue settles in at Tribal. Jeff recaps. They had no rice, etc. James says there was frustration at the beach. Sami talks about James and Owen having a heated discussion. Yes, there was yelling. 

Noelle uses her advantage Steal a Vote. She steals Owen's vote. She gets two votes. 

The tally -- Owen, James, James, James ... three is enough. Bye, James! He is sarcastic and tells them "see how far you get now."

The Red Team comes into Tribal. They see that James is on the jury with Jeanine. Jesse seems a bit shocked -- he knows James had the Knowledge is Power advantage. To their own questions, Cassidy loved the PB&J but the evil eviction is back. Ryan says the voting in a small group is a lot scarier.

Time to vote. Ryan votes Cassidy. Cassidy votes Ryan. And, that's all we see.

The tally -- Cassidy, Ryan, Ryan, Ryan ... there goes my pool pick. He tells them they will go hungry now. Unlike James, he really did keep them in food with his fishing.

Live-Blogging Television Update

Okay, my latest television (or lack thereof) update. The power cable fix was not a fix. I will be returning that to Amazon. I looked at all kinds of websites -- Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc. -- and ended up re-ordering the same television as the one that got lost in transit from Amazon. Only Walmart was selling the same television. 

While I could have it delivered much sooner from Walmart, they want $90 more for it. So, back to Amazon. I made sure to select that the option to put the TV box in a regular Amazon box for shipping. Hopefully, that will make disappearing in transit less likely. 

I saw others, cheaper even, but not quite what I wanted. I like the one I like because it's an Android television which comes with a voice remote, Google Assistant built-in, Chromecast built in. I can cast movies and shows on the TV from my Samsung phone or even my tablet if I get that up to snuff and I can load all my streaming kind of stuff, even my Xfinity cable site where I can stream live television and a plethora of back episodes on them, thus to the television. I would be able to hook up my computer to the television with HDMI, but cable placement would be awkward. Oh, and of course, it's Wi-Fi. Plus, it has the tuner in it that if I decide to cut the cable TV cord, I could get over the air channels on an antenna.

While they say you could control your home's smart technology over the television itself, that's not a selling point for me. I guess I live in a dumb apartment. My only "smart" tech I own is my smartphone. 

Since the delivery date is Friday, I once again won't have it on Wednesday for live blogging 'Survivor' and 'The Amazing Race.' I can't watch it from my larger TV in the other room because it's not in my sight view. I can't stream it on my desktop computer and blog at the same time -- I suppose I could figure out some sort of split screen or picture in a smaller window, but no. My phone is too small to really work out with blogging at the same time. My fix this week will be finding the charger for my tablet, then putting either Xfinity site or my Paramount + on it and setting that up nearby. It's not a huge tablet, but better than the phone.

On a sidenote: The tablet, like the now dead television, was a freebie work anniversary gift out of a catalogue. I think it was my 2016 gift. I didn't have Wi-Fi at the time, so it was basically unused. It was in a package with Bluetooth headphones, a charging pack and a few other things. I kind of miss getting cool free stuff every five years!

So, that's where I stand (or sit) with my television Tales of Tragedy.

Survivor 43: Episode 8 Blog Non-Party PLUS The Amazing Race 34 Non-Party - November 9

 

Folks, my apologies. I'm having technical difficulties with a dead television and a new one somehow delayed in transit (or stolen). I blog on my desktop computer with the now-dead TV nearby. I experimented with streaming on my phone and I just can't put it anywhere where I can see it clearly and it's not in the way of my keyboard.

So, I will be passing on blogging both shows tonight. All should be resolved by next week. Feel free to party in the comments, though.

SueGee has updated the blog pools -- here they are:

SURVIVOR

Cody       Cheryl in NC, ChicMc
Noelle     MikesGirl, Tammy
Jesse       AprilW, Donna in AL
Cassidy     Cherrypie, Kelsey NY
Karla       Glenn Allen, monty924
James     DonnaNY, Krysta Gibson
Ryan       John Cantrell, Jackie
Gabler     Donna in FL, Joanne Victoria
Owen    Mike Barer, SueGee
Sami      Brenda, Indiana Jane
Jeanine     Laura. Auntie Leigh

Snuffed Out
Morriah
Justine 
Nneka  
Lindsay 
Geo
Elie

Dwight

******************************

Aubrey & David -- Donna in FL, Dr Celine, Skyriverblue

Derek & Claire -- Beachbound Gmom, ChicMc, Donna NY

Emily & Molly -- Joanne Victoria, Judi Sweeney, Sharon N

Luis & Michelle -- Andi, Mikes Girl, RJMnSC

Marcus & Michael -- Brenda, Chrob61, Nickelpeed

Quinton & Mattie -- Donna in Alabama, monty924, Sharon C

PHILIMINATED

Aastha & Nina

Tim & Rex

Rich & Dom

Linton & Sharik

Abby & Will (Covid)

Glenda & Lumumba

Have fun!

The Amazing Race 34: 'It's Simply Medieval' Episode Blog Party - November 2

 

Yes! Yes! The Real Love Boat has been moved to only stream online on Paramount + and TAR has been moved up an hour earlier, directly following Survivor. While it will make me have to sit and blog two hours in a row, that's better than it starting as late as it has been.

I will be live blogging the major events as the show airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to get the latest news! As always, the real party is in the comments area -- I hope to see you there!

The Wonderful Lifeguard SueGee updated the blog pool for us. Are you still in it to win it?

Aubrey & David -- Donna in FL, Dr Celine, Skyriverblue

Derek & Claire -- Beachbound Gmom, ChicMc, Donna NY

Emily & Molly -- Joanne Victoria, Judi Sweeney, Sharon N

Glenda & Lumumba -- Glenn Allen, Indiana Jane, Petals

Luis & Michelle -- Andi, Mikes Girl, RJMnSC

Marcus & Michael -- Brenda, Chrob61, Nickelpeed

Quinton & Mattie -- Donna in Alabama, monty924, Sharon C

PHILIMINATED

Aastha & Nina

Tim & Rex

Rich & Dom

Linton & Sharik

Abby & Will (Covid)

Race fans ready? Let's GO!

We get a recap. Then Phil tells us the teams are flying from Jordan to the south of France. The teams start off in groups separated by fifteen minutes to start. The first group is having trouble finding the chateau they need for their next clue.

Grr. Derek is telling teams to follow them. He tells Claire (who is not happy that he's telling them to follow) that if they get lost, all the teams following them will also be lost. Um. Okay.

Lumumba/Glenda, the last from the last leg, leave all alone last for this leg.

Luis/Michelle first to the Roadblock. Who wants to climb the family tree? Rappelling to see five names for five family crests. Memorizing the information with 100s of names at hand in the beginning.

Michelle makes it through then Roadblock first and she and Luis are driving to the next clue.

Eep! Glenda tried to turn around their vehicle because they were heading the wrong way. The vehicle fell into a ditch. They cannot afford to lose any time -- they are forty-five minutes behind the first group! A neighbor pulls them out with a tractor. 

Meanwhile, Mattie is the next one completing the Roadblock. Then Emily. Then Derek. Marcus/Michael through but Michael left his keys and they have to go back for them.

Marcus/Michael to clue for Detour first. Walnut Cracker - crush walnuts, walnut oil to fill container. Medieval Gamer -- playing with knives and win three games. More and more teams are arriving. Lumumba and Glenda made it through the Roadblock and are on their way.

Michael/Marcus make it first through the Detour and are heading to the Pit Stop. Derek/Claire finish the games and they are second to head towards the Pit Stop. Other teams are finishing the walnuts. 

David/Aubrey crumbling as they head towards the Roadblock. Lumumba/Glenda doing well at the games and don't fight no matter how far behind they are. All the teams heading to the Pit Stop are having issues getting there.

Pit Stop Order

1. Michael/Marcus - won $7,500

2. Emily/Molly

3. Derek/Claire

4. Luis/Michelle

5. Quinton/Mattie

6. Aubrey/David

7. Glenda/Lumumba -- Philiminated

I figured they wouldn't win, but they were a joy to watch.

Survivor 43: Episode 7 Blog Party - November 2

 

Good evening, Survivor fans!

The Amazing Race is on at 9PM EDT tonight -- The Real Love Boat has been moved to just streaming on Paramount Plus -- and a separate blog entry will be up for that. Yes! That later hour was killing it here on the blog. Although I'm not all that thrilled blogging two hours in a row, it's better than the later hour. A separate post for that show will magically appear a few minutes before the end of this show!

As for Survivor, I will be live blogging the major events as the show airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the real party is in the comments section. I hope to see you there!

They're messing with our heads. The merge isn't really the merge or it's an incomplete merge. Whichever castaway it was that put it as Merge-atory definitely had it right!

The Esteemed Lifeguard SueGee has updated the blog pool -- check it out to find your castaway!

Cody       Cheryl in NC, ChicMc
Noelle     MikesGirl, Tammy
Jesse       AprilW, Donna in AL
Dwight    Petals, Skyriverblue
Cassidy     Cherrypie, Kelsey NY
Karla       Glenn Allen, monty924
James     DonnaNY, Krysta Gibson
Ryan       John Cantrell, Jackie
Gabler     Donna in FL, Joanne Victoria
Owen    Mike Barer, SueGee
Sami      Brenda, Indiana Jane
Jeanine     Laura. Auntie Leigh

Snuffed Out
Morriah
Justine 
Nneka  
Lindsay 
Geo
Elie

Survivor fans ready?

We watch Elie's torch get snuffed again. Jeanine was completely blindsided. She's trying to convince others that it's the best for her game that Elie got voted out.

Hmm ... they all seem dressed as if for late fall, if not winter. It must be cold there. And then we see Owen with practically nothing on. Gabler is still on the outs with people but now his idol has expired. 

Tree mail time! It tells them they need to split into six pairs to compete in the Immunity Challenge. No one really wants to publicly pick partners which would expose alliances and such. So, they make their own version of selecting rocks to decide teams.

Already to the challenge time. Day 14. They tell Jeff they pulled rocks. Challenge run in three stages. Have to make the cut to move on. Last two pairs in first stage out. Stage two, first two pairs move on to the final stage. Final stage is an individual game, last person left standing wins immunity.

First stage - through a rope net tunnel in mud. They have to roll to unwind it. Then they dig for planks. Noelle and Jeanine (separate duos) are both stuck in the "tunnel." Noelle even took her leg off trying to get through. 

Second stage - Taking planks up net incline, use the planks to cross rope bridge, then slide down ramp.

Cody/Dwight and Gabler/Owen make it to the final stage. It's an endurance comp with them holding a bar with a quarter of their body weight to keep a bucket hanging. Dwight out first. Owen out.

Gabler is dedicating each minute to things/people such as Noelle, war heroes, Idaho, his dog, etc. They are now at 38 minutes when the longest previous record for the challenge is 25 minutes.

GABLER WINS THE FIRST INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY!

Gabler tells us he is playing for veterans who are suffering from trauma and PTSD. 

Most of them have no idea who might be going up. Dwight, in front of Sami and James, finds an advantage. Word gets around. He gives it to James. The others think James got the advantage and now his name seems the most popular for the vote. Cody tells Jesse they should take out Dwight to weaken Noelle.

James's advantage is the Knowledge is Power one - the one where you ask someone if they have an idol, and they must tell the truth. Then you steal the idol. They all still think James has it. Noelle gives her Steal a Vote to Owen, so she won't lose it to James. Or Dwight.

They are heading off to Tribal. And we're heading off to a commercial. Make that commercials ... several of them.

Jeff tells them the challenge was built to make them each work for each stage. He asks them about previous tribe lines. Jeff asks many of them about how confident they are they will be staying tonight. All seem to be confident, yet we know someone will leave!

James, Dwight, Ryan, James, Dwight, Ryan, Ryan, Dwight, Dwight, Dwight, Dwight ... that's enough to vote him out.

Bye, Dwight! He apparently has Jeanine's idol which she gave to him to avoid the questioning.