CANOE -- JAM! Television - TV Shows - Survivor3: Africa: Episode Three: Carl crushed

After drinking blood last week it was time for the 'Survivors' to eat the rich. At their first trip to Tribal Council, the evenly divided Samburu Tribe saw dentist Carl Bilancione flub a trivia question and in doing so, forced his own exit from 'Survivor: Africa'.

Split into two alliances based on age, Samburu's first and second Tribal Council votes ended in ties with the young folk casting their ballots for Carl while the older members targeted former advertising account executive, Lindsey Richter. Since the tribe was deadlocked and there were no past votes to draw upon to tip the scales either way, Lindsey and Carl competed in a trivia challenge. The questions came from a survival guide every contestant was given to read. After several ties, host Jeff Probst asked if warm water would cause a tick to release its hold on a human. Lindsey answered "True". Carl answered "False". Carl was wrong and had to head home.

Bilancione becomes only the second contestant in the history of the reality show to be eliminated without technically being voted out. In the Australian edition, player Michael Skupin had to be evacuated from the show after inhaling smoke and falling into his tribe's campfire. Suffering from serious burns, Skupin was taken away by helicopter to a nearby medical facility. His injuries left him in no condition to return to compete in the game.

The remaining Survivors at the start of the broadcast were:

Samburu Tribe

Boran Tribe

Boran Tribal Happenings (Night Six)

The ineffective Boran (Moron?) Tribe are awoken by a strange growling outside their security fence. Attracted by the scent of weak prey, two female lions survey the perimeter as Boran freaks out inside. Having apparently watched too many episodes of 'Beastmaster', Kelly commands the lions to "go away". Her pleas have no effect. Lex says the close encounter made his "blood run cold". Tom comments that his feet wanted to flee but his mind told him to stay. Sadly, this is not an episode of "When Animals Attack" and the felines pad off leaving Boran without so much as a scratch or nibble. Darn it! Burnett should fire those disgraceful lions and revoke their union cards based on their poor performance.

Samburu Tribal Happenings (Day Seven)

The Geritol Gang (Carl, Frank, Linda and Teresa) get up early in the morning and ready themselves for a water run. The Gen-X Gang stirs from their slumber. Linda asks if they would like to join them on the hike. They decline. Brandon offers to cook breakfast for everyone. Carl bitches to us that the Gen-Xers need to "get off their asses" and do something productive.

At the water hole, the Geritol Gang discuss whether they can truly trust Silas as he stayed behind with the Gen-Xers. Teresa believes that Silas is "playing both sides". Linda yammers on about the "spirits of the motherland" and how they should revel in them.

Back at camp, Brandon says he is happy to cook because that means his "friends" get more food. Let the old people starve. He doesn't care. The Gen-Xers pig out. A thoughtful Brandon leaves Geritol's portions on the fire to smolder into cinders. When the Geritol Gang arrives back they look none too pleased with having to chow down on scrambled soot and ashes.

The Gen-Xers make friendship necklaces for each other. They exclude the Geritol Gang from the activity. Silas says that he has chosen to side with the Gen-Xers and he doesn't care what the Geritol Gang thinks about that. Silas tells Carl he would like to borrow 20 grand from him to buy a vehicle. Of course, it never entered Silas' head to actually earn the money himself. Silas explains that he has an ulterior motive for instigating the conversation. He wanted Carl to admit to everyone how filthy rich he is. Carl does own up to the fact that he owns a Mercedes and a Porche. The Porche doesn't count though because his wife bought it for him as a "present". Brandon admits to us that it pissed him off to learn that Carl is in the game when he doesn't really need the money at all. Carl complains again about Gen-X's lack of a work ethic.

Reward Challenge

Each tribe must push a huge boulder along a course to a special resting place.

Reward

The first tribe to complete the task wins 100 gallons of purified water and some nifty organic shampoo. Probst informs the tribes that the water is enough to last each tribe member until the merger occurs. That means no more water runs for the winning tribe.

Result

Because the teams aren't even, Samburu sits Kim and Brandon out. When the flag drops on the challenge Probst does his best Indiana Jones as he scurries away from the boulders which are rolling towards him. Kelly comes close to being crushed when she trips and falls as does Frank. Nearing the end of the run and in the lead, Silas muscles the boulder on his own. He gets the boulder really rolling but can't maintain control and it goes down a hill. Taking it slow and easy, Boran is victorious. Tom pukes. To their credit, Samburu finished the challenge though they didn't have to.

Winners: The Boran Tribe.

Boran Tribal Happenings (Day Eight)

The tribe celebrates their new water supply. "How beautiful is this?", says Kim. In case you didn't quite catch it the first fifty times it was mentioned, a 'Survivor' contestant (this time Tom) reminds us that water is the key to enduring Africa's climate. Point made and taken already. Geesh.

Samburu Tribal Happenings

A mysterious dust storm forms right outside Samburu's shelter. It swirls around knocking over the Immunity Idol. Could the gods be angry with Samburu's in-fighting or is it just a coincidence? You decide. Lindsey goes to gather the tree mail and bonks her head on a branch. Ouch! Doh!

Immunity Challenge

Ripping off an idea from the very first 'Survivor', the tribes have to fashion a distress signal that has to be noticeable by a plane flying overhead.

Reward

Immunity from Tribal Council.

Result

Samburu chooses to build their signal close to their camp using a tree as a letter "O" in "S.O.S.". This is at Silas' urging. Frank doesn't agree with the decision. He contributes but won't "drain his energy for the kids".

Over at Boran, Kim Johnson remembers that she brought paints as her luxury item. Boran soaks nets in the brightly coloured paints to help create their signal which they situate on a barren piece of land outside their camp. So much for Clarence's theory that the Boran women are their "weakest links", eh? Tom puts a feather in his pants and dances around like a goofball. Okay. Methinks this man spends way too much time with his animal friends.

Lindsey does her interpretation of 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' on a tree, beating it to a pulp. Lindsey suddenly collapses on the ground. The tree wins the bout by T.K.O. Kim rushes over to help. Lindsey is crying and holding her gut. She is in excruciating pain due to dehydration. She says she would rather die than endure the pain. She doesn't want to depart the game before they have a chance to vote Frank out. Linda offers her assistance. Lindsey orders Linda away. Linda tells us that Lindsey always acts so strong but found it out the hard way that she is not as strong as she thinks.

Tom describes for us Boran's approach. Kim has stripped down to her bra and a thong. Clarence is parading around in white underwear. Kelly is "shaking her bacon" in her bathing suit.

Cut to said plane. Jeff Probst rides with an experienced search and rescue scout. Flying the plane is a seasoned drop pilot. The scout will determine whose signal is the most discernible and the pilot will then send off the Immunity Idol to the winning tribe in a crate to which a parachute is attached. Flying over Samburu's the scout says that their signal is too close to their shelter and is too similar to many of the communities in the area. He wouldn't be able to tell that Samburu was in need of assistance. When the plane arrives over Boran's the scout is pleased. Putting their signal in an open area has really caught his attention. The Immunity Idol is sent to Boran. At Samburu, Linda see this and says the gods have moved on to some place peaceful because of all the fighting they are doing...or it could be that Boran just built a better distress signal. Hmmmm.

Winners: The Boran Tribe.

Samburu Pre-Tribal Council Happenings

Lindsey says she is feeling fine and will just take it easy until her strength returns. Silas thinks the Geritol Gang is loving the fact that one of Gen-X appears weak and vulnerable. Frank tell us that tensions in the tribe are high and that they need to boot the "excess baggage".

Tribal Council

Probst welcomes Samburu to their first Tribal Council. He asks Brandon and Lindsey how the tribe is working together so far. They claim everything is fine. According to Carl some think 'Survivor' is time to party. There are no clearly defined roles at Samburu and many times they aren't on the same page. Silas agrees with Carl. Silas says that you have to adapt to situations to survive. You must bend or you will break. Probst asks why only some people have friendship necklaces on and others don't. Brandon shrugs off the mention of them saying the Gen-Xers have a different kind of relationship. Linda asks where her necklace is. Lindsey talks about being dehydrated. Frank thinks he is a target because he can be too aggressive.

Lindsey votes for Carl because he doesn't need the money. Frank chooses Lindsey because she isn't carrying her own weight with the tribe. Linda votes Lindsey. Lindsey puts forth a lot of effort but the god and goddesses are watching.

Final Voting

Carl and Lindsey are given an opportunity to plead their cases before the revote. Carl says he has worked hard from the start, never slacked off and is a man of honour. Lindsey admits that she can't cook or start a fire but she is willing to learn. She really puts in a lot of effort when it comes to the challenges too. In front of everyone, she states that Carl is wealthy and therefore he isn't as deserving of the prize money.

Revote

Tie-Breaker Q and A

With the vote deadlocked, Lindsey and Carl are asked questions about what they read in the survival manual they were given by the producers. The first one of them to get an incorrect answer is eliminated. After numerous ties, Jeff Probst reads a question about whether hot water will cause a tick to release its hold on a human. Lindsey answers "True". Carl answers "False". Carl is incorrect and must split with his bags.

Parting Comments

"Unfortunately our tribe is split and it is an obvious split. It was a generation gap. We had four people who were in their forties and have a sense of responsibility. Then, you have four people who are confused in their lives. Kinda sad. Kinda worried about that generation. Maybe they outwitted me in that sense of sportsmanship but I have no regrets." - Carl Bilancione.

Episode Rating: C.

Powell's Comments

Not much shown in the preview. More generation gap troubles in Samburu. Footage is shown of Linda mocking Gen-X by dropping to her knees and bowing to them. Boran runs into some sort of bison or bull during a water run. Silas has positioned himself to be the most powerful force in the Samburu Tribe. If he does not waver from his decision, expect more members of the Geritol Gang to fall. The switch in allegiances is smart gameplay on Silas' part. Most of the Gen-Xers aren't a threat to him. By jumping ship, he has the chance to eliminate Frank and form a separate alliance with Lindsey. These are two players who could possibly beat him at a physical Immunity Challenge. It is looking more and more like Silas is a smarter and more conniving version of Colby. Linda's defiant stance against the Gen-Xers may do her in. The 'Survivor' rumour mill is rife with news that the next episode is one not to miss. Word is that a wrench is thrown into the works turning the game upside down for everyone.