Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Episode 4 Recap/Live Blog

I've mentioned them before, but I must again recommend that you check out The Movie Encyclopedia's interviews with the castoffs that are posted on Fridays. Upon learning that he was doing these, I told Travis to watch out, as now I would seize the opportunity to recommend questions for him to ask. Well, last week, after Grumpy Gus Randy was ousted, I initiated my premier official Question Request, suggesting that he please ask him if he would play Gary Busey in a biopic were he offered the part, based on a passing resemblance between the two, though the question was totally tongue-in-cheek. But he did it! Sweet! See the link at the bottom for it and other exchanges.

Crap, I almost forgot - this is the Crying Coach episode. This oughta be spectacular. Let's do it...

7:00: And here it is, right at the beginning of the show! I almost wish they'd made us wait a bit longer. The real shocker? Tyson being there as a shoulder to cry on for Coach. Meanwhile, I can't even remember what Sandra said that bothered the weirdo so much, and yet here he is ready to quit the game. Huh?

7:04: Dang, Russell has lost a ton of weight. He's practically thin.

7:05: Seriously, I have like no words. Coach is the gift that keeps on giving.

7:07: Product placement is back - woo hoo! This blog post officially brought to you by Sears.

7:09: Aww, who am I kidding? I could never be sponsored by such an esteemed corporation such as Sears. Discover, maybe, but not Sears.

7:10: Courtney must be going far in this game, because she has to be the most invisible player through 3 episodes.

7:11: Survivor producers: "How can we amp up the sex factor on this show? Oooh, I know - let's lather up the players in cold water!" It might not be too effective for the Ciries and Ruperts of the world, but christ, this episode ought to be rated PG-13.

7:13: Danielle's Massive Breasts Villains win the Sears reward!

7:18: And who but Russell would accidentally stumble upon a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol? Better yet (for him), none of these people are wise to his HII-finding skills - it should be as good as his.

7:21: Then again, it seems as though his good fortune might just be up, having pissed off his entire tribe by looking for the idol. At the very least, he ticked off Rob, and we all know he's pulling the strings at the Villain camp.

7:23: I've got my money on Cirie to find the Heroes HII - that's just the kind of blind, dumb luck that she has happened upon in her prior two seasons.

7:24: Of course, as I'm typing that, Tom found it.

7:25: I understand how Tom, the oldest player out there, might be on the outs with his tribemates, but what's the deal with Colby? Doesn't it say "Golden Boy/Leader" as his occupation? This has got to be a weird feeling for him being on the outside looking in; I can't imagine it's happened much in his life.

7:25: WATFO? A Sears commercial! I would have never guessed. Think they got a discounted rate?

7:31: I think the most impressive thing about this challenge is the job they did hiding the cameras that are inside the giant rolling balls.

7:32: I thought that was creative editing, but perhaps not - that looked like an incredibly close challenge. As in millimeters made the difference. A nice win for the Villains.

7:38: It's right about this point when you wonder to yourself, why are there 20 minutes left in the show - it seems like a slam dunk for the six people not named Tom or Colby. They have a good plan, an easy to accomplish plan, and at the end of the show, either Tom or Colby should be gone.

But there's always that itch, and it appears as though JT is the one that's got it, as he's taken a disliking to Candace. Will it be enough or is this all a smokescreen? I have to assume it's the latter, but this is one of the best things about Survivor: even when the outcome seems obvious, it never is. Anything is possible.

7:44: C'mon, JT - shake up the game - it'll make for a hell of an interesting beginning to next week's show. Moreover, it's hard to root against Tom, even though Cirie's logic is absolutely sound.

7:46: I hated the guy back when he was hosting Rock 'n' Roll Jeopardy! and I was jealous that I wasn't a contestant, but it can not be understated how important Probst is to this show; though I think he does sometimes go a bit too far with the questions at these Tribal Councils, the display he put on in this show just illustrated his value to Survivor. If and when he's had enough, the show needs to end, because it's hard to imagine anyone touching the job he does (easy as it seems sometimes, it ain't - he's a master interviewer, for starters).

7:49: Poor Colby. Champ to chump? (Ok, so he was never a champ, but you know what I mean.)

7:51: Nay! The Hero Alliance pulled it off, via a JT flip and an early HII play. Can't say I'm not pleased, or a bit surprised. So often we see the threat of something interesting like this happening only to see it end just like you'd think. Next week oughta be great.

7:54: Lest I forget, before I go, I must come up with my official Question Request for Travis to ask Cirie. Interestingly enough, we share the same last name, but that's neither interesting nor a question.

After a bit of research, I rediscovered that Cirie was on a season of Survivor with not only this season's own Danielle (potential question: "How many times bigger are Danielle's boobs now than on her Panama season?"), but one of my favorite real villains of all-time: insane Shane, he of the love that dare not speak its name with his son and the wooden Blackberry that he fashioned. I must ask this, then: "Have you kept in touch with Insane Shane at all since Panama, and is he half as nutty in real life as he was portrayed on the show?"

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Interviews with the castoffs at The Movie Encyclopedia