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by Jim Van Nest Published: December 28, 2001
REWARD CHALLENGE #11 Though we had about 2 or 3 minutes of footage prior to the reward challenge this week, they pretty much dove right in and so will I. As the previews for this episode indicated, this was the "message from home" challenge. Only it was a little different than the other Survivors. This time, they didn't win a video of their family, or an internet chat session with them. This time they needed their family's help to win the ultimate reward. A trip to Masai Mara (an exclusive African resort), an African safari which includes the migration of thousands of wildebeasts. Food, drink, a bed, a toilet and a shower. And they will awake to a balloon ride at sunrise. To top it all off, they'll pay for it all with Jeff Probst’s personal Visa. Writer's aside: Hey, you want Jeff's Visa #?? It is 4000-1234-5678-9010. Oh wait a minute...that can't be a right number, can it? Anyway, the reward still sounds pretty darn cool, doesn't it? The challenge was pretty simple. The family of each of the remaining Survivors all put together video taped greetings, fairly short but powerful nonetheless. But that's not all they recorded. They recorded their answers to 4 questions about their Survivor. The person that matched the most answers with their family wins the reward. Plain and simple. Question 1: What is your most embarrassing moment? Lex (1) and Kim P (1) both get the match on this one. Everyone else misses it. Question 2: What is the physical trait of yours that you like the least? Kim J (1) and Tom (1) each get that one. Everyone else misses. Question 3: What is your greatest fear? Ethan (1) and Lex (2) get this one. Everyone else misses. Question 4: What is your greatest achievement? Kim J (2), Tom (2) and Lex (3) get this one. So, Lex wins the reward. And it wouldn't be Survivor if he didn't have to make the split second decision of who to take with him. In what I consider to be a VERY wise, VERY strategic move, he takes Big Tom. The rest of the tribe heads back to boiling water and corn meal, while Lex and Tom head off for the adventure of a lifetime. COME ON AND SAFARI WITH ME Since some of my readers may not have actually seen the episode tonight and could possibly be relying solely on my words to convey the thoughts and emotions of the Survivors, for the next segment I will type all of Lex and Tom's safari notes in Boldface type and the rest of the tribe's experiences in Regular type. Because I think it's the best way I can show the incredible difference in moods, tones and emotions in both places. So, Lex and Tom are whisked away in a private plane and dropped off at their resort. Basically, it's a tent set up in the middle of the jungle with very nice accommodations. An incredible array of fruits, snacks and beverages. The guys waste no time in stuffing themselves with everything they possibly can. Tom checked out the bed and the toilet, while Lex did very little besides eat. After a short while, their ride came to take them on their Safari. Meanwhile, back at camp, the girls are using paint and parchment to make a deck of cards. Ethan is sitting by himself while they work. Not one of them seems very excited for Lex and Tom. However, seeing their families has seemed to perk them up a bit. Back on Safari, Lex and Tom are treated to a close up view of pretty much every bit of wildlife Africa has to offer. Lions, zebras, wildebeests, elephants, boars and giraffes. It is absolutely stunning. The migration of the wildebeests is incredible. I couldn't help but think of The Lion King watching them run all over the place like that. Quite an amazing sight. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like to actually be there. You can tell by their faces that are on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and they are soaking it in. After the safari, they are brought back to their "room" to find a few liquor bottles left out for them. Gin and Bourbon were the two I could make out. Tom wasted no time breaking the bourbon out. Shortly after opening the bottle, a waiter arrived with a couple frosty beers for both of them. Tom was enjoying it so much; he tucked that bottle of bourbon into his pants and took it to dinner with him. Dinner was made right there for them and included chicken and lamb. For throwing this thing together in the middle of the jungle, I must say, Survivor really pulled out all the stops on this one. This has to be one of the nicest rewards in any of the 3 shows. Well, it's dinnertime back at Motomaji and we're treated to "Bubba" Powers listing out all the different kinds of corn she will never eat again. "There's corn chips, corn flakes, corn bread, corn on the cob, corn chowder, shrimp kabobs, shrimp salad, shrimp stew..." When we return to Lex and Tom, Tom is now completely drunk. The bottle of bourbon has gone everywhere he has and he is getting even more loud and obnoxious than he normally is. He's singing and laughing and having a grand ole time. In fact, Big Tom drank enough that he needed Lex's help to even get in bed. You have to believe that under these conditions, drinking like that cannot possibly be a good idea. I'll also take a second to mention that this night is the first time they've had any kind of rain while they've been there. Morning arrives awfully early for Tom, who's "hanging" real bad. He has some water and some cookies and gets up ready to go on a balloon ride. They get to the balloon right at the break of day and off they go. The ride seems quite breathtaking actually, seeing all the wildlife and all the plant life (remember where they've been living for a month) and all of this as the sun comes up. The highlight (or lowlight depending on your point of view) came when they noticed 2 wildebeests traveling alone. In an instant a lion had jumped out of the brush and began chasing after one of the wildebeests. She chased it right to another waiting lion that after a short race took the wildebeest down. Sure, it was brutal, but I imagine seeing that unfold right in front of your eyes, with an aerial view of the entire situation must have been an incredible sight. After the balloon ride, the fact that they actually have to leave this place begins to sink in. Lex is REALLY bummed about having to go back and get back in the game. For almost 2 days he's not thought one bit about strategy or Survivor, and just soaked in this experience. I bet going back would be a drag. IMMUNITY CHALLENGE #11 Since so much time was spent on the reward challenge, there was very little between the reward and the immunity challenge. The immunity challenge looked like a fun one. Each of the players have 3 clay pots with their names on them hanging from a rope. Everyone will get to throw a "ringa", an African hunting weapon, at the pots. The object is to knock out everyone's pot but your own. Last person with a pot hanging wins immunity. Round 1 - Tom hits Teresa (1) Round 2 - Tom hits Kim P (1) Round 3 - Tom hits Lex (1) Round 4 - Kim J hits herself (1) Round 5 - Ethan hits Kim P (2) Round 6 - Ethan and Tom hit Teresa (out) Round 7 - Lex hits Kim P (out) Round 8 -Lex hits Ethan (1) Round 9 -Kim J hits Tom (1) Round 10 -Tom hits Ethan (2) Round 11 -Lex hits Kim J(2) Round 12 -Ethan hits Lex (2) Round 13 -Tom hits Ethan (out) Round 14 -No hits. Round 15 -Tom hits Lex (out) Round 16 -Kim J hits Tom (2), Tom hits Kim J (out) Tom wins immunity!! IS A BATTLE OF THE SEXES BREWING? The first thing we hear after the immunity challenge is Lex thinking Teresa is pretty desperate and might be willing to try just about anything to stay in the game. And right on cue, we see Teresa talking to Kim J...again...about forming some sort of female alliance and voting out Lex. Teresa seems to have a real problem with a man winning this game for some reason. Either way, she is telling Kim that she's pretty sure she could get Tom's vote for Lex as well. Then we're treated to Tom discussing how much he owes to Lex for the safari trip, but that he hasn't forgotten the way Lex stabbed him in the back over the Brandon thing. TRIBAL COUNCIL #11 Writer's aside: Right off the bat I have to ask, "What in the hell was Brandon wearing to the Tribal Council??" Skirt or towel?? You be the judge. Anyway, so we get to TC and Jeff does the usual small talk before the vote. This talk consisted mostly of home and whether or not the players’ families would be proud of them for making it this far. Also, are they proud of themselves for making it this far? Pretty much everyone felt they had played admirably and everyone, including him or herself, should be proud of the way they've conducted themselves. Actually, this TC was quite boring and I was just waiting for the vote. As they voted, the only vote they showed us was Teresa voting for Lex. I'll go tally the votes. First vote is for Lex. Second vote is also for Lex. And the third through the sixth vote all came in for Kim P (the young Kim, for those who still aren't sure which is which.) Where she came from all of a sudden, I do not know. I thought surely, Lex would get rid of Teresa because she has been scheming against him, but it didn't work out that way. So, Kim becomes the 4 member of the jury. QUOTE OF THE WEEK Well, this week's QOTW was a pretty easy one, in my opinion. It came right after Tom won immunity and actually, some folks may have missed it, as we all know that a commercial is on tap right after anyone wins any challenge. Anyway, Jeff comes over to put the immunity necklace on Big Tom and you hear Lex chime in, "Hey, watch Buster the Boil there." You knew it was only a matter of time before they'd name that boil on Tom's neck. Ok, kids, that about does it for me. I've updated the voting history charts for this week and that should be the last of my work here. So, please be sure to come back next week and check out our S-Rating predictions for next week's victim. And with New Year's Eve right around the corner, just a quick reminder to please have a very fun, very happy, very SAFE New Year. God bless.
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