Ever play six innings of a baseball game and have the umpire add a fifth
base? Ever see a hundred metre dash in the Olympics reduced to just 50
metres right before the starting pistol was fired? Good. Neither have I.
That would be unfair. It would be unjust. You can bet though that most of
the 'Survivor:Africa' contestants were thinking those exact thoughts when
producer Mark Burnett decided to invoke that clause in their contract which
states that the producers have to right to drastically alter the rules of
the game without warning the participants.
On last night's edition an unexpected monkey wrench was thrown into the
works when half of each tribe was merged with the other. On Day 13, the
Boran and Samburu Tribes were asked to select three of their members for a
"quest". The "quest" turned out to be a bogus reason to get the six people
to head back to where the players were dropped off at the beginning of the
game. Once there, 'Survivor' host Jeff Probst informed them of the switch.
The Boran members -- Kelly Goldsmith, Lex van den Berghe and Tom Buchanan
-- would now be a part of Samburu while the Samburu members -- Frank
Garrison, Silas Gaither and Teresa Cooper -- would now be joining the Boran
Tribe. The unannounced exchange crushed the alliances, friendships and
strategies the players had gone to great lengths to assemble during the
past 12 days in Africa. The first victim of the shake-up was bartender
Silas Gaither would was voted out by the new Boran Tribe who had grown wise
to his manipulative behavior and scheming.
If that one change wasn't enough to shake things up, another was alluded to
at Tribal Council when Probst inferred that either the scheduled merger of
the two tribes would be delayed or even axed altogether.
"Well, there has been a lot of assumptions made by you guys so far in this
game. One of them is that in three days there will be a merge," a cryptic
Probst told the Boran Tribe without going into any further detail.
The remaining Survivors at the start of the broadcast were:
Samburu Tribe
1. Brandon Quinton: Bartender.
2. Frank Garrison: Telephone Technician.
3. Kim Powers: Freelance Marketer.
4. Lindsey Richter: Former Advertising Account Executive.
5. Silas Gaither: Bartender.
6. Teresa Cooper: Flight Attendant/Real Estate Agent.
Boran Tribe
1. Clarence Black: High School Basketball Coach.
2. Ethan Zohn: Professional Soccer Player.
3. Kelly Goldsmith: Behavior Research Analyst.
4. Kim Johnson: Retired Elementary School Teacher.
5. Lex van den Berghe: Marketing Manager.
6. Tom Buchanan: Goat and Cattle Farmer.
Samburu Tribal Happenings (Night Twelve)
Following the Tribal Council vote, the Geritol Gang is grilled by Gen-X
back at camp. Lindsey wants to know why they didn't vote for her as they
were asked to? Pulling a pot-calling-the-kettle-black deal, Silas accuses
the Geritol Gang of being on a "power trip" and wanting to do nothing but
exact "revenge" on Gen-X. Brandon decides to play peacemaker asking
everyone to talk about it in the morning when heads are cooler. Silas says
that the Geritol Gang showed that they were "full of crap" when they
extolled the virtues of "loyalty" as they didn't display any at Tribal
Council. Of course, maybe Silas shouldn't the one to talk about "loyalty"
as he was the one who stabbed the Geritol Gang in the back by siding with
Gen-X.
Samburu Tribal Happenings (Day Thirteen)
Frank and Teresa are happy that they were able to screw Gen-X at Tribal
Council by giving all their votes to Silas and not Lindsey as they were
instructed to. Silas says that the Geritol Gang has demonstrated their
"maturity level" by doing what they did. Of course, maybe Silas shouldn't
be the one talking about being immature as like the rest of the Gen-Xers,
he shirks his responsibilities to the tribe, sleeps in and rarely does any
work at all. We are just a few minutes into the episode and Silas has stuck
not one but both of his feet in his mouth. That must be a 'Survivor'
record. It has to be.
Boran Tribal Happenings (Day Thirteen)
Lex and Kelly pick up the tree mail. The message tells them to select
three of their members for a special "quest". They are told they can vote
or draw straws. Yeah. Some "quest" this turns out to be. Kelly Goldsmith,
Lex van den Berghe and Tom Buchanan are Boran's choices. Frank Garrison,
Silas Gaither and Teresa Cooper are Samburu's. The aforementioned meeting
and swapping of tribal colours and alliances occurs.
The new tribes after the exchange are:
Samburu Tribe
1. Kelly Goldsmith: Behavior Research Analyst.
2. Brandon Quinton: Bartender.
3. Kim Powers: Freelance Marketer.
4. Lindsey Richter: Former Advertising Account Executive.
5. Lex van den Berghe: Marketing Manager.
6. Tom Buchanan: Goat and Cattle Farmer.
Boran Tribe
1. Frank Garrison: Telephone Technician.
2. Silas Gaither: Bartender.
3. Teresa Cooper: Flight Attendant/Real Estate Agent.
4. Clarence Black: High School Basketball Coach.
5. Ethan Zohn: Professional Soccer Player.
6. Kim Johnson: Retired Elementary School Teacher.
Frank and Teresa are sporting huge smiles. They realize that Mark
Burnett has assured that they are no longer doomed. They now have a chance
at winning the game. Silas feels like he has been "smoked". Lex, Kelly and
Tom are not pleased with having to join Samburu. They mock the name as they
march off to their new tribe. Kelly can't count the number of times she has
said that Samburu blows. Tom comments that if he knew this was going to
happen, he would've ran back to Boran as fast as his feet could carry him.
Kelly tries to fool herself into thinking the change will only be temporary
by saying that this is Boran's chance to discover Samburu's secrets like
who has the most votes against them and such.
Post Exchange Happenings (Day Thirteen)
Lindsey tells us that she panicked when she realized that Gen X had
just been broken up. When Ethan saw the Samburu members walking towards the
camp his first thought was that they were there to steal their flag or
something. Man, does Ethan have trust issues or what? Ethan states that
everything he has worked for is gone and that everyone has to start over.
Silas knew he shouldn't have gone with Frank and Teresa.
Samburu Tribal Happenings (Day Thirteen)
Lindsey claims that all the confidence she once had in the game has
went "down the drain". Tom will take the rule change like a man though he
doesn't like it one bit. Lex begins to understand that Gen X are a bunch of
lazy lima beans. He notices that the campfire is unclean and that there
isn't any firewood around. Lex asks Brandon about it. Brandon tells Lex he
can search around but there isn't much firewood available in the nearby
area. Two minutes later, Tom and Lex come back with enough to roast a whole
herd of elephants on. Tom and Lex ask Lindsey where their water source is.
Lindsey directs them without getting up from her resting place in the
shelter. When they all arrive at the waterhole, Lex exclaims...This is mud!
You do your laundry in this? While Gen-X does what they do
best...nothing...Tom and Lex try to restructure and clean the
waterhole.
Boran Tribal Happenings (Day Thirteen)
Silas is aware that his goose is cooked. Teresa and Kim chat. Teresa
gives Kim the lowdown on how the Geritol Gang was treated by Gen-X. Some
elephants are spotted. Frank marvels at the "magnificent creatures". Frank
and Teresa tell the remaining original Boran members about how many votes
Lindsey and Silas have against them. Silas stands off in the background
kinda staring at the ground.
Samburu Tribal Happenings (Day Fourteen)
Kelly, Lex and Tom hold a meeting. They may be considered Samburu
members but they are still going to stick together. Tom calls Brandon a
"queer". He believes Lindsey is a whiner and has to get the boot. Kelly
thinks they are safe because none of their trio has any votes against them.
Kelly says "Everyone thinks Lindsey is annoying." Imagine how we feel at
home, Kelly. Lex and Tom help Lindsey with a tick that has buried itself in
one of her butt cheeks. While Lindsey pulls her shorts aside and bends
over, Lex pours hot water on the tick and Tom digs it out with his fingers.
Tom slaps Lindsey on the butt when they are done yanking it out. Tom says
getting the tick out was the "nicest job" job he has had so far and that
his reward was "refreshing". The incident goes down as the most Lindsey has
moved her butt at camp during the game thus far.
Reward Challenge
From the who-planned-this-crap department, the Survivors have to guide
20 of their team's sheep from one pen to another. Brandon and Teresa are
selected as the "gatekeepers". Their responsibility is to make sure none of
the sheep escape once they are captured and put in their proper pen.
Reward
Three egg-laying chickens and a rooster.
Result
Silas, Clarence, Ethan and Frank grow tired of chasing the sheep and
begin carrying them to the pens. Clarence carries two at a time.
Winners: The Boran Tribe.
Samburu Tribal Happenings (Day Fourteen)
Lindsey comments that Frank must be in heaven because he has the option
of killing a chicken. Kim claims that Frank and Silas kinda cheated during
the challenge by blocking Samburu from reaching their pens. In speaking
with Kim, Lindsey alternates between bawling and complaining. She is
frustrated, drained, hungry, tired and not ready to leave the game yet. She
forgot one thing. She is also lazy. Brandon expresses his frustration at
trying to get Kim and Lindsey to agree on a plan that will ensure they
survive the game. He tells Lindsey that he might ask the others to vote for
him instead of Lindsey. Brandon states that he is glad he is gay because he
could never put up with such whiny women.
Boran Tribal Happenings (Day Fourteen)
Silas reveals to Clarence how many votes Lindsey has against her. Both
of the jocks feel that their athletic abilities make them targets at Tribal
Council. Kim and Teresa bond some more. Ethan proposes to Kim that they
throw the Immunity Challenge so they can vote out one of the stronger guys
on their team, namely Clarence. He's wanted to vote him out since Day
Three. Teresa is cool with the plan too.
Immunity Challenge
Another yawner of a challenge. The tribes must piece together a huge
jigsaw puzzle. Probst advises the players that if they don't work as a
team, they will certainly lose.
Reward
Immunity from Tribal Council.
Result
Silas and Lex do most of the directing of pieces. Samburu finishes
their puzzle first. Lindsey is shown kissing the Immunity Idol. Silas tells
his tribe "Don't worry about it. It was good work!".
Winners: The Samburu Tribe.
Boran Pre-Tribal Council Happenings (Day Fourteen)
Silas drags Frank's name in the mud when chatting with Ethan. According
to Silas, when they were part of Samburu, Frank "stabbed everyone in the
back". Ethan says he likes Frank. Silas tells Ethan that he can easily
convince Frank and Teresa to vote for Clarence. Kim says to us that she
doesn't buy Silas' schmoozing. Ethan and Silas meet again. Silas admits
that he doesn't have the pull with Teresa and Frank that he thought he had.
The deal looks like it is off. Silas is sure it is either him or Clarence
who will be booted out.
Tribal Council
Ethan informs Probst that he thought when the Boran tribe came to join
them that they were out to "steal from us". He was shocked by the turn of
events. Kim says they debated long and hard about who would stay and who
would go on the "quest". Silas declares that 'Survivor: Africa' is a new
game. Frank is happy that his position was improved by the exchange. He
likes Boran better. They are more mature and considerate. Clarence speaks
highly of his goat-carrying ability.
Clarence votes for Silas. He says "I love you, man, but I can't trust
you".
Final Voting
1. Frank Garrison: Silas.
2. Silas Gaither: Frank.
3. Teresa Cooper: Silas.
4. Clarence Black: Silas.
5. Ethan Zohn: Silas.
6. Kim Johnson: Silas.
Parting Comments
"The twist in the game was amazing. I kinda had my cards lined up the
way I wanted them going into the merge because I was with the two people we
were about to kick off. Yeah, I just couldn't recover from it. I was a
threat to Ethan and the rest of the group. It is tough to be sitting here.
I planned on winning the whole thing. I would play the game tomorrow. I
would play it next year. I mean, it is unreal." - Silas Gaither.
Episode Rating: F-.
Powell's Comments
I have seen them all (some even twice) and this in my opinion was the
worst 'Survivor' episode ever made. The manipulation of the rules may make
the show more interesting but it really destroyed what credibility the game
has as a whole. If the "rules" can be changed at the whim of a producer,
one wonders why anyone would play the game in the first place. Burnett
blindsiding the players like that was just plain wrong. Fair play is about
knowing the rules of a game and developing the best strategy as a player.
Anything else is inequitable. Putting those two tedious challenges in the
same episode was also a big mistake.
Mark Burnett has made it publicly known how angry he has been over the way
the "older" players have been targeted as "weak links" in 'Survivor'. In
'Survivor: The Official Companion Book', Burnett expressed his frustration
at how some of the younger players in the first 'Survivor' looked down upon
the older ones. One can't help but to think whether the "player exchange"
we saw tonight had anything to do with that or not. It could also be that
since Burnett wasn't pleased with how easily Ogakor dispatched Kucha after
the merger in 'Survivor: The Australian Outback', he decided to adjust the
rules to reduce the change of such predictable happenings from occurring
once again. Whichever the case, the decision has just given the people who
question the legitimacy of 'Survivor' as a true gameshow more ammunition
for their arsenal.
Next week, the players ponder what Probst meant about the merger comment.
Will Samburu also be told that piece of information? We will see. Ethan is
worried about whether they will have enough food to make it to the merger
if it is delayed.
