May 10, 2007

Yau Man, the greatest "Survivor" contestant of all time!

Did you see that?!

MORE: Oh, Dreamz, how could you say that? Well, credit to you for knowing the game is not about love. It's about strategy. Yau Man had a strategy, and you were right to detect it. Let's see what everyone does with what they know. I love this show!

YET MORE: Wow! Yau Man! Here's the link to the Television Without Pity discussion of this incredibly great episode in case you didn't watch and want to know what got me so excited.

18 comments:

Methadras said...

Ann,

I have to tell you that I've never seen a single episode of survivor. I've seen the commercials, but never sat down and watched it. Should I be worried?

Ann Althouse said...

Worried about what? Someone will get a million dollars. I'm stunned at the brilliance of the set up for the show and impressed by the way diverse individuals figure out a way to use their assets to try to win. It's very creative what the good players do. Very surprising to see it play out. This is a great season of the show.

Christy said...

Great episode! I do love Yauman. I would vote the first half of the season, however, as the worst ever. The haves vs. the have-nots was totally boring. The last half has been strategy-licious and lots of fun.

Christy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Methadras said...

Ann Althouse said...

Worried about what? Someone will get a million dollars. I'm stunned at the brilliance of the set up for the show and impressed by the way diverse individuals figure out a way to use their assets to try to win. It's very creative what the good players do. Very surprising to see it play out. This is a great season of the show.


Sorry, I didn't clarify. Should I be worried that I'm missing out on a good show and start to watch it from season 1 to now? I've heard things about it, but never had the will to dedicate actually sitting down and watching this particular type of reality/game show tv.

If you think it's worth it. I'll go out and buy the episodes if they are dvd and start to catch up. I'm always up for new stuff.

Ann Althouse said...

I'd just say, watch the finale this weekend. It's a 2-hour show on Sunday. This season got good about half-way through. You can watch ALL the episodes on-line here. I'd recommend the last 2 to get up to speed. There's some great stuff going back to the last 4 or 5 too, but tonight's episode is especially good. And there's an intro section giving the story so far. So it's totally possible to jump in now.

Unknown said...

Methadras:

"If you think it's worth it. I'll go out and buy the episodes if they are dvd and start to catch up".

Dude, get a life. Based solely on some blog, you'd drop hundreds of dollars on a dvd of a reality show? Wow.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

Is Bissage's masthead quote permanent or temporary [like Icepick's]?

Ann Althouse said...

Probably temporary because it seems.... dirty!

Galvanized said...

I hope things go as Yau-Man plans. I like him as much as liked...Rupert? Yeah, as much as Rupert. :)

Methadras said...

Methadras:

"If you think it's worth it. I'll go out and buy the episodes if they are dvd and start to catch up".

Dude, get a life. Based solely on some blog, you'd drop hundreds of dollars on a dvd of a reality show? Wow.


I have a life, thank you very much. It's not just this blog that I've heard that this survivor is a good show, but from others as well. However, I didn't have the luxury of asking those others if it was worth it to at least plunk done a few dollars at blockbuster and rent/buy them. I'm sure previous episodes are pretty cheap. Even still I'm just more interested in how the game is played and the different strategies that are involved with the varying personalities more than anything else.

I understand that there are challenges within the game that confer immunity from being voted off, but i don't understand the mechanics at all of the game to get enough people to vote at the end to give someone a million dollars. It's the sociological point of view I'm more interested in. Besides, I don't watch that much tv and I have a fairly decent dvd collection of past shows that I've enjoyed very much and watch on a regular basis.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

amba said...

Bissage's masthead quote sounds "dirty" in the sense that it sounds like somebody threw up all over you. Ugh! Even if it was a god!

Fen said...

Greatest contestant of all time:

1) Yule & Ozzie

2) Rob & Amber

I'm kinda ticked at Dreamz. Yes, I know that Yau traded away the new truck for the speculative value of Dreamz winning immunity [when they are at four] and handing it over. Just seems dishonorable to accept a lopsided deal to get your hearts desire [Dreamz begged for a car] and then turn around and undermine the deal.

Then again, Yau made a mistake in offering the deal publicly. He skylined himself. I would be thinking; "if we don't vote Yau off now, he'll soon be in a position to strong for us to manage". Hmmmm.

Nice play of the immunity idol though. Didn't waste it, made it count. But what was Stacy thinking? She basically outed her plot by talking about a "divided vote" at council - both Yau and Earl were like: "say what? where is this coming from? from what we discussed earlier , you're fully expecting/accepting the vote to be unanimous against you". She freaked Yau out and tipped him into playing his immunity card.

mikeski said...

Then again, Yau made a mistake in offering the deal publicly. He skylined himself. I would be thinking; "if we don't vote Yau off now, he'll soon be in a position to strong for us to manage". Hmmmm.

Nice play of the immunity idol though. Didn't waste it, made it count. But what was Stacy thinking? She basically outed her plot by talking about a "divided vote" at council - both Yau and Earl were like: "say what? where is this coming from? from what we discussed earlier , you're fully expecting/accepting the vote to be unanimous against you". She freaked Yau out and tipped him into playing his immunity card.


I disagree. Yau was already "skylined" last week when Dreamz tried to make the same pitch to Cassandra and Earl prior to Alex being booted. If you've watched all season, do you really think there's any situation that could ever occur in which Dreamz would outwit Yau? Yau, as always, knew exactly what he was doing.

The whole time, Yau has been talking and thinking in the long-term, always five moves ahead of everyone else. Last night even Earl was skeptical when Yau told him that he was feeling some bad vibes, but Yau was right, as usual. He knew that something was up (he spoke specifically about having to be very careful in last night's and the next round) and only had to wait to have it be confirmed by Stacy, who doesn't know enough to just sit still and shut up, let alone play-act for Jeff and tell him that she knew her time was up, what could she do, etc. Yau played the idol when he needed to and wasn't "freaked-out" into doing so. Plus, now Earl knows that Cassandra and Dreamz aren't fully on board with him while Yau is.

Having watched the show since Season 1, Episode 1, it's hard to argue with Althouse's conclusion. Yul was awesome, but Yau is The One. Or, as my son calls him, the Yauster.

Fen said...

Fair points, but I'm still partial to Yul.

How do you think Yau will make it past the next elimination? I see it as Yau/Earl vs Cassy/Dreamz, with Boo as the swing.

And I think Boo makes it to the final two - only because the editors won't show us why the others dislike him so much.

Ann Althouse said...

Yul looked great and was one of the most physically able players. +smart. Yau is small and old. He has some physical skills, like the ability to stand on a tiny ledge for hours, but he has to use his head to overcome many disadvantages.

Fen said...

Yul looked great and was one of the most physically able players.

I never thought of Yul as a physical player. Ozzie was part fish, part monkey. Yul excelled as a team leader: keeping his peeps on, calling all the shots, while surviving the huge bullseye that placed on his back.

I'm impressed with Yau, but he's playing more under the radar than Yul, letting Earl take point.

Ann Althouse said...

Ozzy was better physically, but Yul had a fabulous torso!