Survivor Cagayan: Ep1: Yes... All the Rice...

What a fun Survivor premiere! I’ve already given some of my thoughts on the first two episodes of Survivor Cagayan Brains vs. Beauty vs. Brawn… Could that name BE any longer? Really, though. It’s ridiculous. Anyway, I’ve already talked about the premiere a bit and if you’re reading this, you should definitely be watching the Your Reality Recaps live shows, even if you can only watch the edited, and unedited, versions later. Don’t forget to “like” and subscribe on YoutTube and if you really like the content your seeing, you should help the Kickstarter to send our hosts to Reality Rally, which you can do by following this link: Your Reality Recaps Kickstarter!

Let’s get to it! After the obligatory introduction of the tribes everyone takes a place on their mats and Jeff welcomes the players to the game. While they are separated, no one knows what kind of “B” they are yet and Jeff asks Morgan of the Beauty tribe which “B” she thinks she is – obviously she’s a “Beauty”, right? Jeff moves over to the Brains tribe and asks Spencer the same question, he knows his place in the game as well because look at Cliff and the other muscle over in the Brawn tribe! Kind of a boring way start things off, why not mix up the tribes then shuffle them into the right order after Jeff calls them to the starting mats? That would have really thrown people for a loop; especially since this opening was chock full of twists - why not throw in one more?

The twists I’m talking about are the choosing of a tribe leader, that leader having to turn around and choose another tribe member as the weakest, those three deemed the weakest given a ride to camp while the others hike and upon arriving to their camps, the weakest players have to choose between a tribe reward or a clue to a hidden Immunity Idol. Long sentence, I know, but Survivor is hitting the ground running this season so it’s only fitting that I use a run-on sentence to break down the beginning twists of the season.

Let’s start with the Beauties. LJ chosen as the leader of the tribe and he chooses Morgan as the weakest, but in reality he is threatened by her hotness and rightfully so. If you’ve read about Morgan in my cast preview or at the CBS website, you know she’s poised and ready to play. On the Brawn tribe, Trish explains that Sarah’s confidence will make her a good leader for their tribe then Sarah turns right around and picks out Trish as the weakest player. What a terrible way to start the game – making an enemy of someone who would have been an ally. Finally, the Brains are convinced that David’s blazer, (no Twitter account created for it…yet), makes him the leader of the tribe and he strategically taps Garrett’s shoulder to mark him the weakest player.

So yada, yada, yada… Garrett easily finds his Immunity Idol before his tribe finds their way to the Brains camp. Trish wants to look for the Idol, but she’s conflicted because she’s a team player and ultimately chooses to help her tribe instead of find herself some safety. Not a smart move! You always take an advantage when you’re offered one in a reality competition show. Morgan’s decision is also easy, she’s looking for the Idol and while she’s gone, the rest of the tribe shows up at the Beauty camp. When she returns from a failed attempt at finding hidden Immunity, she does a great job of covering her tracks, but LJ is suspicious because he knows better, because they are playing Survivor, because Morgan was left alone at camp as the weakest tribe member, and duh, of course there is a hidden Immunity Idol, and of course she was given a crack at finding it.

So, the Beauties are the only tribe that seem to have it together before the Immunity Challenge; they’ve got fire, they are working together to build their shelter – good for them! The Brawns are on it as far as shelter is concerned, but I didn’t see anyone trying to make fire – you can get my thoughts on that in the Survivor recap with Eric and Missy here. You can also hear what I think of Tony not telling Sarah that he’s a cop… In the Brains camp, J’Tia takes the reigns for building a shelter, she has it all planned out; however, things do not go so well with the execution of her design. When Tasha tests out the balance, all of their work collapses.

Immunity Challenge 1: As a very studious viewer of Survivor challenges, the first one is pretty typical of the first leg of the game. There is always a physical element that encourages teamwork and a puzzle at the end to round out the competition. The first challenge in Survivor BBB does not stray from a formula that works and we probably won’t see a change up until episode four or five, especially if we see a tribe switch before the merge, which I’m sure we will. All of this has been chatter because it was pretty obvious early on that the Brains were going to lose this one, they couldn’t even keep their puzzle pieces in their chests! It is surprising that the Beauties came in first, though! <wink>

Since they lost the challenge, the focus is all up in the Brains camp for the rest of the episode. David wants to get rid of Garrett, but Kass wants to get rid of J’Tia and isn’t shy about telling her that it’s because she doesn’t pull her weight around camp. When Tasha approaches, J’Tia lets her know what’s up then Garrett joins the party and he tells them that he would rather get rid of David since he’s a bigger threat. Garrett’s going to have a little chat with Spencer before Tribal Council… But first… Here’s some freakin’ SPIDERS! Come on, guys… I have arachnophobia and I’m tired of my nightmares flashing through my mind every time you nature shot it to spiders… You’ve got to stop. I can handle the snakes, but cool it with the eight-legged freaks.

Tribal Council 1: The Brains arrive at the Tribal Council area, light their torches and settle into place, well, Garrett tries, but he doesn’t do so well with spiders either! Once the offending arachnid has been swept away, Tribal begins. J’Tia immediately tosses herself onto the fire pit to be grilled by Jeff because she knows that Jeff knows that she knows she’s on the chopping block. Jeff proves that he knows what’s going on back at camp by addressing David next. For the rest of Tribal Council, David, J’Tia and Garrett are the center of Jeff’s attention and all are trying to swat the attention away from them until Jeff announces that it’s time to vote. And hashtag blindside! First episode! David is called by Jeff to have his torch snuffed and the President of the Miami Marlins... is... outta here!

The Survivor action isn’t over yet, though, because premiere night is a double header – two episodes! After David gives us the yada, yada, yada about being voted out we dive into more Survivor action. At the Brains camp, Garrett is not having any fun playing Survivor. He doesn’t want play Survivor to survive, he wants to out-wit and manipulate people like he does around the table as a professional poker player. Boo! Hiss! Ugh! THIS GUY! Seriously, why are dudes like this cast on Survivor? Surviving in the wilderness is part of the game, Garrett, that’s why it’s called Survivor. Anyway, Garrett speaks with Spencer and they feel comfortable where they are in the game; Kass is in the minority and J’Tia will always be an easy vote. Kass doesn’t feel quite as secure, but knows that she is the swing vote between the boys and girls and she doesn’t know where to put her loyalty.

Cliff and Woo are becoming fast friends over on the Brawn tribe. If you keep up with my blog and if you’ve watched the recap show you know that Woo is my pick to win it all and I think that this Woo Tang Clan, which is what I’m calling them from now on, could go far together. Just not in a boat that they have to paddle.

See? Just because I don’t like that Cliff was cast, doesn’t mean I don’t like him! And guess who is threatened by him? Sarah and Tony! Everyone else just loves Cliff so I think that the Woo Tang Clan is safe for now. Plus, it’s not like the Brawns are going to have trouble winning Immunity for awhile, especially since there are two Immunity spots to claim. It’s also not like they have a lot of competition. The Brains are down a member and have already blindsided someone off the island so – trouble in paradise there. At the Beauty camp people don’t even know how to open a coconut with a machete safely, or don’t want to speak up as the “smart” one.

Bryce is pretty tired of all the fakeness too. Bryce is hip to Alexis’ game of playing dumb and flirting with the guys, but he’s pretty sure Jefra isn’t playing with a full deck. Jeremiah and Morgan’s bond doesn’t sit well with Bryce either, but he’s not above forming a loose alliance with them; country folk have to stick together. And things are not looking good for Trish and Lindsey back in the Brawny camp. Something about firewood? It may or may not matter and either way, we’re jumping to the challenge. I don’t care about Tony’s hashtag Spy Shack. That’s some Phillip madness right there.

Immunity Challenge 2: (with fishing reward): Another classic challenge for the beginning of the season. Teamwork required with lots of stuff to do in the water and a puzzle to round out the competition. Jeff is quick to point out who the slow swimmers are and how quickly folks are climbing up the bamboo structure; they cannot dive to untie their puzzle piece containers until everyone is together inside. Maybe I missed something, but I don’t know why everyone wasn’t diving down to untie knots, but before you know it, the Brains and the Brawn are back on the beach working on the puzzle. Sarah has cut her finger and it’s bleeding, but she is working quickly on the puzzle for the Brawns. J’Tia is the puzzle solver for the Brains and she is not having as much luck. When Sarah is about half way through, LJ begins to work on the puzzle for the Brains, but within minutes, Sarah is finished. Brawn wins the first Immunity Idol. LJ is making swift progress and it’s not long before he places the final piece; the Brains will be off to Tribal again.

When they get back to camp, the Brawn tribe is all high spirits and Tony is on the hunt for an Idol clue. Reward basket in hand, Tony finds a quiet spot and locates a piece of paper in one of the containers – Yup! Tony found an idol clue and he thinks he knows where it is. Dashing off to the pond behind their camp, Tony quickly spots the markers from the clue, dives in the water and fishes out Immunity. From his reaction, you’d think Golem had just found his Precious.

On Brainy Beach, Garrett leads the charge in discussing who is going to be voted off the island; Garrett thinks that by instigating a conversation of this nature that Kass will show who she’s loyal to in the game. Kass is all about J’Tia again because she doesn’t contribute at camp or in the challenges; Spencer and Garrett agree. When Tasha doesn’t want to discuss her thoughts in front of the group, Garrett is annoyed. Garrett wants everyone to sit together until Tribal and not run off to have private conversations, which frustrates Tasha – and me! Didn’t we just hear Garrett whining about wanting to play the game? So now that they’ve lost the challenge and that he’s out numbered by the girls he just wants to sit around? What a … Really, though… This guy! What a piece of work. Spencer agrees with me – Garrett is a Class A Moron.

Tasha and Kass find some time to talk on the beach, though, and Tasha makes an emotional plea, promising that they will get rid of J’Tia the next time, but right now the girls have the numbers. Before they can further discuss the votes, Garrett and Spencer join them; Kass is immediately concerned because they’ve left an unstable nuclear reactor unsupervised – J’Tia is alone at camp. Garret doesn’t know why she’s anxious, there is nothing to be worried about, there are no shenanigans back at camp, J’Tia is fine; he doesn’t want his group of four to be separated. His paranoia is misplaced in this instance because back at camp the meltdown alarms are sounding as J’Tia dumps all of the tribe’s rice into the fire! Then she tries to act like she doesn’t know what happened when everyone knows what happened.

Tribal Council 2: “Noticing” that the Brains look upset, Jeff questions Spencer on what happened and everyone on the tribe “fills Jeff in” on what has been going on at camp. Clearly, everyone is annoyed that J’Tia dumped all the rice into the fire, but clearly everyone is also annoyed that Garrett’s paranoia won’t let them play the game. Trying to defend himself against Tasha’s allegations that he is stifling her game, he let’s everyone know that he thinks he’s in an alliance with Spencer and Kass. Jeff asks if he has it right, that J’Tia and Tasha are on the outs of that J’Tia is going home and Garrett says he doesn’t see it that way… And round and round he goes, this Garrett person who is supposedly a Brain, until it’s time to vote. And when the votes are in we have another hashtag blindside!

So your eye candy is gone, ladies (and gentlemen) and I say good riddance! Garrett definitely wasn’t qualified to be on the Brains tribe and he definitely should not have been cast for this show. All he did was whine and complain and you just know that Garrett is the kid that flipped the Monopoly board when he knew he wasn’t going to win. Maybe now the Brains can operate at maximum capacity to, I don’t know, win an Immunity Challenge before the tribes are switched up, maybe?

Survivor airs on CBS on Wednesdays at 8pm Eastern, 7pm Central. Don’t forget to tune in next week when this season’s players learn that they are not playing “Survivor Lite”. Because it looks like it’s going to rain. A lot. Until next time, may your torch burn bright and your rice stay dry, but not too dry, like, when someone dumps all of it into the fire. Oh yeah... One more thing...

King of the Nerds: S2E5: Should Have Used The Force...

And now back to your regularly scheduled program...

We’re just two fingers away from the hand of Midas’ (Zack’s) Bird Flip Attack on the Titans of Rigel; Nicole is gone leaving Katie and Jack alone with Zack, who has become decreasingly less volatile in that last couple of episodes. Now that I can't rely on Zack for drama, I am ironically finding it more difficult to write this blog*... Meanwhile, in the ladies room, Xander is dominating all bathrooms for all mankind wearing fabulous, fluffy unicorn slippers. (*No I'm not).

After another toast to their fallen comrade, all of the contestants, (except Katie, who must have been in the Diary Room), have sat down to eat dinner and as soon as Zack excuses himself from the room, Chris is the first one to address the group. What the heck? Why can they not get rid of this guy?! Jack admits that Zack is the man, but wishes he could channel all of that energy into helping Midas Touch Attack win Nerd Wars instead of using it all on himself in Nerd Offs. The Titans of Rigel have Jack to themselves and Kayla questions him on what kind of impact Nicole’s exit from the game will have on Zack since they were friends. Jack says that all Zack wants to do is win so if they are willing to take one for the “team” and throw a Nerd War... 

 

When Curtis calls all nerds to the courtyard I am immediately disappointed because he and Bobby have suited up and not in the funny way. Thanks, guys, for not giving me hilarious costumes to comment on this week. Wouldn’t it have been more fun to see them dressed up as Yoda and Spock? Because this week’s Nerd War is the 1^st Annual, (not the second annual because that indicates that you are doing something annually for a second time, thus making it the third time the event has been held and we are only on season two of King of the Nerds – you can thank my high school Advanced English teacher, Mr. Cound for that clarification, he was a stickler for grammar and word usage), King of the Nerds Debate. This year’s topic: Star Wars vs. Star Trek. So, yeah, some costumes could have come in to play even this week, gentlemen, and I think the rest of the fans agree that it is one of the highlights of the show each week. Am I right?

 

Zack wins Rock, Paper, Scissors for the third time in a row; MTA will is awarded the choice of which world to support. On the purple side, everyone is hoping for Star Trek because the majority of the team is Trek fans, the gold team is leaning towards Star Wars for the same reason. This is where the hand of Midas makes a mistake because while they feel more comfortable with Wars and choose it, they had a good idea that the Titans felt the same way about Trek. A better strategy would have been choosing Trek to transport the Titans out of their element. Sure, it’s a risk, but it would have been a risk worth taking. It’s more challenging and a bold strategic move if executed well. It also would have made for great TV because of the resentment the Titans most assuredly would have felt towards MTA.

This Nerd War will be played out in three rounds with three different topics: 1) The Empire in Star Wars is a more dangerous adversary than the Borg in Star Trek, 2) Star Trek’s USS Enterprise would beat the Millennium Falcon in a dogfight and 3) The Star Wars universe is better than the Star Trek universe. 

Chris of the Titans is pumped for this Nerd War because he a master debater, but Kayla is nervous. She hates debate and even though she’s got the most Star Trek knowledge of all of her team mates, Kayla is worried that instead of being an asset she will be a liability. One member of the team must sit out and Xander happily agrees to wear his red shirt proudly from the bench because he knows less about Star Trek than he knows about… … Ya know what? I’m not going to make the joke I was going to make here, but I want you to know that it was very inappropriate and involved another word for “cat”. Oops! Guess that pretty much gives it away! Love you, Xander!

Katie is also confident in her debating skills and Zack’s not feeling too bad about his abilities either then Jack drops a bomb: Jack doesn’t watch either Star Wars or Star Trek and has less knowledge about both than Xander does about… Well, you know. So what’s the most logical thing for Midas Touch Attack to do? Why not give Jack the most important topic of the debate! Yeah, that seems like a great idea! He doesn’t know anything about either universe so he will be able to tackle the topic from a completely objective view point! I’m actually only being half sarcastic here. In theory, Jack would be the best person for the final topic because he’s unbiased, but he’s supposed to be arguing in favor of Star Wars – this isn’t an outlet to voice opinions based on statistics, it's about the passion. The third round is the most important round and the best choice for the final leg of the debate would have been Katie since she loves Star Wars, but I’m getting ahead of myself…Oh well, let’s just go there. To the “not an empty seat in the house” auditorium! 

Once all of the nerds have settled into their chairs on stage, looking very sharp in their blazers and team colored polo shirts, Curtis introduces the judges. Up first is returning debate judge, Gordon Stables, head of USC Debate and Forensics. The second judge is comedian and host of Uber Nerdy Podcast’s The Indoor Kids, Kumail Nanjiani and finally, the third judge of this nerdy debate is Lando Calrissian himself, (from Star Wars, duh), Billy D. Williams. Jack isn’t familiar with any of the judges. 

Kayla and Katie will be taking a stand behind the podiums in the first round; Kayla is defending the argument that the Enterprise would beat the Millennium Falcon in a dogfight and she will face the judges first. Kayla will be using the Enterprise D, a lot of fictional technical terms that confuse Kumail and a good dose of humor in her presentation. Katie counters with an equal dose of humor while delivering sound logic and statistics at warp speed. After a little back and forth with the judges, Kumail announces that Katie is the winner, giving Midas Touch Attack the first point. Kayla is certain that she will be kicked out of all her Star Trek clubs when she gets home. 

Next up, Chris and Zack will be discussing the dangers of the Empire and the Borg. Zack begins the round and completely fails to mention that in addition to being a villainous group that people all over the universe actually want to be a part of, and that they have a lot more fire power, they also have support of the force-wielding power of Sith Lords! Come on, Zack! You’re in the Star Wars universe and you forget to use the Force?! Blowing up Alderaan pales in comparison to how dangerous Sith Force powers are! Do I even need to recap what Chris said in his rebuttal for anyone? Was his defining of the word “dangerous” even relevant? Maybe I do for Jack, but I would think that most people reading this blog know that you don’t mess with Darth Vader because he'll get cha! This point goes to the Titans of Rigel in my books and in the judge’s books as well. 

In the final round Brian and Jack are taking on the topic of which universe is better and Jack still doesn’t know what an Ewok is… And Jack is up first! What Jack does right in his argument to support that Star Wars is a better universe is use the gifts his momma gave him. Jack uses statistics; Curtis and Bobby approve and the judges are equally impressed with his numbers, but... Brian will be using… <sigh>… I don’t know who this guy is that he mentions (some nerd I am, huh - I'll google it and provide a footnote at the end), but his argument is based on that guy’s idea that science fiction should be a “realistic speculation about possible future events”. Star Trek definitely has that! Even Xander agrees. From future gadgets to modern day social ethics questions, Star Trek has it all as far as speculation on future events is concerned. And George Lucas only made Star Wars to make money. Then Jack does exactly what Zack told him not to do, during the question and answer period with the judges; he tells everyone that he hasn’t seen Stars Wars or Star Trek. <cue Pacman game over music>

So, yeah, the Titans of Rigel win their fourth Nerd War in a row and Midas Touch Attack will have to cut off another finger. As a reward, the Titans will get to hang out and have dinner with the original cast of Revenge of the Nerds! Talk about a Nerd Boner! While the Titans enjoy their nerdtastic dinner of Little Caesar’s Pizza, MTA is talking about the Nerd Off. Jack knows that he must align himself with Zack now and they agree to vote for Katie. After their private discussion they let her know of their intentions; Katie knew this would happen and once the purple team returns from their reward, she and the rest of her Titans have a little sit down with Jack, (Zack is welcome to sit in as well). Since they want to keep Katie in the game, ToR must vote for the weaker of the two golden boys and Jack is who they would rather see compete against her. Chris, (who has taken the reigns in this discussion), then proposes that Jack vote with Katie to put Zack in the Nerd Off instead. The purple team even sweetens the deal by offering to help Jack win; would he rather have them working for him or against him? 

In the Throne Room, Curtis reveals the votes: the Titans have voted for Jack as promised and Jack and Zack have done as they promised as well – Katie and Jack will be competing against each other in the ultimate Nerd Spelling Bee. After the nomination ceremony, the Titans barricade themselves in the T.A.R.D.I.S to help Katie study. In their War Room, Zack and Jack cram as many nerdy words into Jack’s brain as possible. When it’s time for the Nerd Off, Curtis informs everyone that there is a little twist in this competition. Katie and Jack will each have to pick someone to hold a buzzer; if they spell a word incorrectly, the person holding the buzzer will receive a little buzz via an electric shock. Katie asks for a volunteer and Brian happily steps forward. Jack chooses Chris and he’s not sure how to feel about this Nerd Off now. 

This Nerd Off is not just about spelling either. Each word they have to spell will be presented in question form so not only do they need to know to spell the word, they need to be able to identify the correct word Jeopardy-style. The competition goes back and forth for awhile until Jack is up by one point. If he can correctly spell “renaissance” he will when the Nerd Off, which I only know how to spell correctly myself because of a Renaissance Lit class. Jack spells it with two N’s, though, tying up the score. The final question/word is Chewbacca’s home world, which I only know how to spell from playing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic so I know that when Jack buzzes in first and spells "Kashyyyk", I know that when Chris presses the button on his buzzer – he’s not getting a shock. 

So our dear, sweet Katie’s strings have been slashed and her bubble has been burst and since we are down to only six nerds, I’m thinking that in episode six, the teams will be dissolved and the individual competition will begin. If not at the beginning, the “merge” will happen at the end of the episode and this is where things will get really interesting. It’s safe to say that even if they are competing individually, the Titans’ bond is going to stick until they can get rid of both Jack and Zack, but I think Zack is going to be one tough cookie to beat. He’s won every Nerd Off he’s competed in and it’s going to take an epic failure on his part for one of the Titans to win the crown. Good luck, Titans, you’re going to need it.

King of the Nerds airs on TBS at 10pm/9pm on Thursdays. You can check out the cast bios and loads of extras at the Official King of the Nerds Webpage. And don't forget to follow our nerds on Twitter! All of their Twitter handles are on their corresponding biography pages on the TBS website. Stay nerdy, my friends!

If you're not following me on Twitter you can @thedolphinpoet. I'm compiling a Top Ten List of things we learned from this season of King of the Nerds and I want YOUR suggestions for what should be on it. Tweet them to me whenever you think of something funny and I might use yours!

Oh! Here's the info on Robert A. Heinlein: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein.

Almost Time for The Amazing Race & SURVIVOR!

I have to interrupt this "broadcast" of King of the Nerds because we are days away from the premieres of The Amazing Race and Survivor. Literally, days away, like, less than a week. Let's not waste anymore time!

First up, The Amazing Race. The new All-Stars season premieres this Sunday, Sunday, SUNDAY at 8pm eastern, 7pm central. Want to know who will be arguing, aligning and possibly U-Turning each other this year? Let me give you the run down…

I don’t think this team needs any introduction. Unless you don’t watch reality TV whatsoever, you know who Brenchel is and if you’re reading this blog, most likely you do watch reality TV (or I’ve “coerced” you into reading it). After a quick skim through their posted bios what caught my eye the most is the fact that Rachel would love to have a “Race Baby”, which sounds offensive, but isn’t. Rachel just wants to have a really cool conception story to tell their kid later. I can already hear this kid in the future… “Moooom, no! I don’t want to hear this! Na na na na na na na na”.

Next up, Bopper & Mark from season 20 (Brenchel was also on this season). Both are excited to run the race again, but know where their problem areas are: focus, navigation, clue reading and communication. (These problem areas are becoming a running theme already in these bios). Family is still important to them both and as both men are unemployed they are really hoping to bring home the million dollar prize. Mark would also like to bring some much needed recognition to Clay County, Kentucky where they both live. Good luck, Mark! You’re on TV again so you’ve got that working for you.

My neighbors to the south, the McCoy brothers are cowboying up for another shot at the prize. You might recognize these guys from season 16 and 18. Jet and Cord are really looking forward to creating some new memories this year and will be working on consistency and paying attention to direction. These two might have some problems since Cord is annoyed with Jet’s promptness and in turn, Jet is peeved by Cord’s White Rabbit Syndrome. No matter what, you can all bet that these Oklahoma boys will be giving 100% the entire race. Good luck, neighbors.

Dave and Conner O’Leary will also be back on our screens for All-Stars. You remember Dave. He was injured during season twenty-two, finished the fourth leg on crutches. How could you forget that? Part of his strategy will be to not get injured again this season and Conner is all for that! Both also want to slow down, take their time and never finish a leg last (yeah, duh). Dave and Conner are ready to prove that they can race with the best and, of course, they are looking to create some wonderful memories to share with the family back home.

Guess who else will be scrambling for taxis… our favorite Harlem Globetrotters, Flight Time and Big Easy from seasons fifteen and eighteen. Both ballers agree that they need to pay more attention to details this time around the world, but neither will be making any big, strategic changes to their game play. Flight Time thinks bad luck will be their biggest challenge and they are both looking forward to enjoying the experience. Flight Time really hopes they do better than they did in previous seasons, though. Just pay attention to those details, guys! READ YOUR CLUES!

Texas girls Jennifer and Caroline (season 22) are also joining this All-Star cast. They are even closer as friends now, not as boy crazy and they know they have a lot of improvements to make in their navigational and driving skills. Jennifer knows they can’t be as nice and open with information this time around and Caroline knows they need maps! Both would love to see India during this season and both ladies are looking forward to seeing more of the world, experiencing different cultures and meeting new people. Good luck, ladies!

Joey and Meghan (also from season 22) are stepping up to the plate for a second time. They are concerned about racing with so many people that have done this thing twice and they are super focused on paying attention to directions, driving directions. Both want to have fun, challenge themselves and be more thorough. Strategically, Meghan wants to avoid alliances LIKE THE PLAGUE and Joey plans on packing lighter. No matter what happens, they will surely have a good time and we’ll just have to see if their map reading skills have improved.

ALSO from season 22, John and Jessica have signed up again for the adventure of a lifetime. Both competitors agree that they need to be less competitive and not think too far ahead. One leg at a time is their philosophy this season; the last leg is the most important. Jessica thinks their biggest challenges this year will be language barriers, taxi drivers and her tunnel vision. She’s not thrilled about any singing and dancing challenges that might pop up either. They too want to enjoy the experience and they hope to make it a little further to create more amazing memories.

Oh look. It’s the Afganimals…MOVING ON!

Mom and son team, Margie and Luke from seasons 14 and 18 are back. Maybe the third time will be the charm for this duo? Mom Margie knows she needs to be more patient with her son, he is grown man and she knows that they need to communicate, communicate, communicate. Luke agrees, especially when self-driving is concerned. Both would love to perform better than they did in their second season, but they are both eager to enjoy the race and have a great experience together. I love this team! BEST of luck to Margie and Luke!

 

Last,but not least… TWINNIES! Natalie and Nadiya from season 21 will be giving this year’s race the one, two punch. Strategically, Natalie thinks they are well-rounded as a team, but both agree that they need to be more focused and make smart racing decisions. Following directions, and going in the right direction, is what Nadiya will be concentrating on and they are both, of course, looking forward to making great memories and enjoying the race together again and both are hoping to keep it cool, calm and collected this year.

There you have it, folks, those are our All-Star teams!

Once again, The Amazing Race premieres on Sunday, February 23^rd at 8pm eastern, 7pm central on CBS. If you want to check out the full bios of our racers go to http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/cast/.

Now let's talk about Survivor!

First of all, let’s not kid ourselves. We all know that the next season of Survivor will be known as Survivor: Brains vs. Beauty vs. Brawn, not Survivor: Cagayan. We all know this. Survivor: BBB is way easier to remember, and spell. Now that we've got that out of the way... Survivor: Brains vs. Beauty vs. Brawn premieres on Wednesday, February 26th at 8pm eastern, 7pm central on CBS and instead of one hour, we get two! Survivors ready... let's go!

THE BRAINS

J’Tia, David, Kassandra (Kass), Latasha (Tasha), Spencer & Garrett 

David Sampson is 45 years old and he is President of the Miami Marlins. BOO! I actually like the vibe I get from looking at this guy’s picture, but… BOO! No more “rich” and/or “famous” people on Survivor please, CBS. I liked Survivor more when casting gave this opportunity of winning a million dollars, (and the amazing experience) to everyday citizens like me. I’m really sick and tired of all of these people who can afford to recreate the experience for themselves given the opportunity that my friends who have tried to be on the show since season one are denied. Don’t like it. Not rooting for him, even if he seems like a great guy.

Garrett Adelstein is 27 years old and he is a Pro Poker Player from California. Garrett is hoping to win some money to impress L.A. girls… I guess if that’s that kind of girl you want, Garret, that’s cool. I would think a brainy, straight guy would be more interested in girls that are more impressed with his mind and personality, but if you want a high-maintenance, shallow woman, Garrett – have fun with all that drama. And good luck with your mission of self-growth, I think you are going to need a lot of luck in that department. Not loving the vibe I get from Garrett, but maybe that’s just his p-p-p-poker face. Ba dum ching!

J’Tia Taylor is 31 years old and she is a Nuclear Engineer in Chicago, Illinois. Finally! A player deserving of being on the Brains tribe! I definitely dig the vibe I get from this girl. From reading her bio she seems very level-headed and if we see any cattiness from her, like we do a lot of women on Survivor and Big Brother, I’ll be very surprised. J’Tia could easily be on the Beauty tribe, but she confesses that she is ¾’s more brainy; I hope she doesn’t come off too brainy with the dudes on her tribe, though, because based on the two guys I’ve already talked about, they are totally going “bros before ho’s” if they have to go to Tribal Council first.

Kassandra “Kass” McQuillen is 41 years old and she is an Attorney from Tehachapi, California. I think J’Tia will be okay if the brainy boys decide to team up against the brainy girls in a first episode Tribal Council situation. Kass is “old” (David is older, though!) and a lot of times the older players are eliminated early on because of the young guns and their misconception that their elders aren’t as able as they are to compete in challenges. BAH on that! Hopefully this won’t happen to Kass because I like her. She’s a rabble rouser, I’m a boat rocker – we’d get along just fine. I just hope she can keep it together and be social with her tribe to avoid the outsider stigma because I can totally envision her not fitting in with the “kids”.

Latasha “Tasha” Fox is 37 years old and she is an accountant from St. Louis, Missouri. Good job with these brainy gals, CBS! If they do have to go to Tribal Council first, I hope these three intellectual ladies will be able to sway the final male member of their tribe to join their side and vote out one of those other boys. Hopefully, they won’t have to toss someone off the island first, though, and maybe Tasha’s athletic abilities will help them accomplish the goal of avoid the torch-snuffing ceremony in episode one. Combined with J’Tia’s self-proclaimed puzzle-solving skills, they stand a good chance of sending the Beauties or Brawns to Tribal Council instead. (I guess other boys are pretty athletic too…)

Spencer Bledsoe is 21 years old and he is an Economics student at the University of Chicago. Finally! A male deserving of being on the Brains tribe! I’m not really feeling a lot of love for Spencer, though. Maybe it’s because he’s super focused on money and I know there are more important things in life on which to focus. More likely, though, is that he doesn’t smile with his eyes, at least not in that picture, and if I can’t get a good read on someone from their eyes they usually aren’t the kind of person I like to include in my circles of friends. Spencer is smart though, I think, and if he plays his cards right, he could go pretty far in the game. He also respects Todd Herzog, winner of Survivor: China; I love Todd, even more so after being blessed and lucky enough to meet him, so Spencer gets a little respect from me for that.

THE BEAUTIES

Brice, Jefra, Morgan, Alexis, Jeremiah & LJ

Alexis Maxwell is 21 years old and is a student at Northwestern University. Miss Alexis is hoping to immolate Parvati’s sex appeal and strategy and will be using her background in psychology to manipulate the group dynamics in the game. This beauty could definitely double as a brain; she seems smart enough in her bio. She thinks the beauties have the advantage, though because no one will view them as a strategic threat nor will they view the pretty people as a threat in challenges. This brain wouldn’t undervalue the beauties! They would be my first target because of the fact that girls like Alexis can, and will use their sex appeal on all the boys. We’ll see just how sharp she really is when the game begins.

Brice Johnston is 27 years old and is a social worker from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Brice has a nice smile and kind eyes so I like him. He also says he’s most like Cirie, Ozzy and… Colton? I sure hope he’s not too much like Colton! I don’t know how anyone could him into a group with Cirie and Ozzy, but I’m not seeing anything remotely in the area of “I’m a whiny brat and a quitter” in his eyes, so, I guess we’ll find out if his self-proclamation is on point. Really, though, who wants to brag about being like Colton? Brice also thinks he’s a triple threat; beauty, brains and brawn. Like I said, though, we’ll see. He says he’s good at reading people, but, we’ll see.

Jefra Bland is 23 years old, she is from Campbellsville, Kentucky and she lists her occupation as being “Miss Kentucky Teen USA”. This title is also her personal “claim to fame”. No offense or anything, but “Miss Kentucky Teen USA” is not an occupation, especially when you are twenty-three years old. If she had listed “unemployed college student” as her occupation and “recovering addict” as her personal claim to fame, I would have a lot more respect for this girl and her strategy going into the game. I mean, come on, Jefra, you’re selling yourself short! I think there is more to your life than a pageant crown you won in 2009. You survived cervical cancer for crying out loud!

Jeremiah Wood is 34 years old and he is a Male Model from Dobson, North Carolina. I was wondering how many people I would get through on this Beauty tribe to get to the model. Not to demean what he does. I know some fine-lookin’ cowboys in Kansas (all married w/ kids…) and I know a nice country boy when I see one and Jeremiah seems the kind-hearted type. So I like Jeremiah. I had a crush on a bright-blue eyed country boy in high school named Jeremiah so how could I not? My only problem with Jeremiah is that he says he’s most like JT, but then says he wants to prove that a country boy can survive and win. JT already did that, though, so has he never really watched Survivor? He probably meant to put “again” at the end of that statement.

LJ McKanas is 34 years old and he is a Horse Trainer in Boston, Massachusetts. Oh, really, LJ, you think you’re most like Boston Rob? Hmmm… Wonder why you think that? I actually get a really nice vibe from LJ and I actually like Boston Rob. BR may be cut throat, but keep in mind it took him four tries to win Survivor so he’s not that good. Sandra has only played twice and how many times has she won the game? Twice. I think LJ is definitely a formidable foe to the other players, but if he plays up the Boston Rob role too much, he might have trouble getting to the end. We’re in a phase of the games of Survivor and Big Brother when it’s better to be a floater, which has always been a legitimate strategy to winning either game.

Morgan McLeod is 21 years old and she is an Ex-NFL Cheerleader from San Jose, California. Here we go again with these beautiful girls not knowing what the word “occupation” means. Not impressed with the rest of her bio either. I can read between the lines really well and she clearly used her fine manipulation skills when filling out the form. Read it. It’s ridiculous. I think Morgan is going to have a real problem meshing well with the other ladies because she’s used to getting what she wants and when she wants an alliance or a showmance with a dude and doesn’t get it, she’s going to implode. Girls who think they are pretty and spoiled because of it, freak out when they don’t get what the want. I think we all know that.

THE BRAWN

Sarah, Yung (Woo), Tony, Lindsey, Cliff & Trish

Cliff Robinson is 46 years old and he is a Former NBA All-Star living in Buffalo, New York. UGH! This again. Not only is “Former NBA All-Star” NOT an occupation, but ugh! Another former sports star? Is he broke and not relevant to basketball anymore or did CBS call him immediately upon learning he was interested because he would be perfect for this season of Survivor? Or did CBS just call him because they had some kind of quota to fill? I’m not going to hold this against Cliff on a personal level, I actually like the vibe I get from him too. He says he has experience and knowledge of camping and fishing, knows how to cook, so he could do really well. Cliff will might be fun to watch and get to know so I don’t like that he’s on the show, but that’s just because I don’t like this method of casting.

Lindsey Olge is 29 years old and she is a hairstylist from Kokomo, Indiana. I usually like the tattooed girls with crazy hair and I like Lindsey. She’s confident, but doesn’t come off overly so and we both like Jack Daniels. Lindsey seems pretty laid back, but I’m wondering how well she’s going to do with the other ladies in the game, especially if she ends up with some of the Beauties during a tribe switch. Those girls aren’t going to like Lindsey because her confidence is real. I also think Lindsey is going to get along much better with the boys and wouldn’t be surprised if she forms alliances with just men. Not sure why, it’s just the vibe I get. Us guy’s girls always know it when we see each other.

Sarah Lacina is 29 years old and she is a Police Officer from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I like Sarah too! I do have a problem with authority, I’m a boat-rocker like I said before, but Sarah is cool. She’s from the Midwest and usually us Midwesterners are pretty laid back, so as long as she can leave the badge at home, she’ll probably mesh well with the rest of the Brawn tribe. We’ll just have to see what happens, though, because she says she will destroy this game. Over-confidence is often ones undoing in the game of Survivor and if she’s aiming to destroy, she could come out guns blazing, which isn’t good. In Survivor, your tribe is your alliance until you have to go to Tribal Council. Until you lose an Immunity Challenge, you shouldn’t actively seek alliances – just relationships.

Tony Vlachos is 39 years old and he is a Police Officer from Jersey City, New Jersey. Now, you all just know that Tony and Sarah will be forming an alliance and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s made on day one. If this is what happens, they will need to keep it on the d/l and I’d even suggest they play off that they don’t get along well. I don’t even need to read this guy’s bio, by the way, I can see his personality very clearly in his picture. Tony might show the same “I’m a cop” mentality that most cops do when they are on Survivor, but he also seems pretty laid back as well. As I’m skimming the bio, these vibes are confirmed. Mentions of Boston Rob and Russell Hantz – pretty standard for his type of casting choice – lots of exclamation points; yup, this guy is pretty standard for this type of casting choice.

Trish Hegarty is 48 years old and she is Pilates Trainer from Needham, Massacusetts. She likes Danni Boatwright – In. I’m probably biased because she’s from Kansas, but I love Danni Boatwright. She is super sweet in person so anyone that likes Danni I will probably like them too. From reading her bio, Trish seems like a very “Dawnesque” player, not exactly like her, but I think her game play will be in the style of Dawn. She says she has great intuition; she’s a team player, not a control freak, positive… Yup, sounds like Danni. Trish could do really well, especially if the Brawn team wins lots of challenges. This group seems to be the most cohesive (I really love that word if you haven’t noticed from reading my blogs) of all the tribes.

Yung “Woo” Hwang is 29 years old and he is a Martial Arts Instructor from Newport Beach, California. Yup, definitely think this Brawn tribe is going to get along really well. Tony might have some trouble if he’s one of those hot-headed cops, but if he’s not, I’m going for Brawn to be the tribe that gets along this season. Woo, I guess we’ll be calling him “Woo”, gives me another “nice guy” vibe. He’s in to surfing and you know those dudes are always laid back, man. Woo is an Ozzy fan who says he can adapt to his surroundings; he should do well when the tribes are shuffled, if they are shuffled. I think Woo definitely has a chance at the million dollars and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins the game. In fact, I think he’s my pick for winner.

And that’s our cast for Survivor: Brains vs. Beauty vs. Brawn. I love that we have all new players this season and I think we’re in for a lot of drama and fun. Once again, Survivor premieres on Wednesday, February 26^th at 8pm eastern, 7pm central. You can read the player’s bios for yourself at http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/ There are lots of other goodies at the CBS site so be sure to click on over there after you read all of my King of the Nerds blog posts. Then come back and read the rest as I write them, even if you don’t watch the show; you’ll feel like you have. Thanks!