Half Way Out of the Dark - Doctor Who A Christmas Carol

Every Christmas for the last six years Doctor Who fans have anxiously awaited the Doctor Who Christmas special. First we had the Tenth Doctor's introduction in "The Christmas Invasion", then we met Donna Noble in "The Runaway Bride", a trip on the Titanic in "Voyage of the Damned", another Doctor in "The Next Doctor" and then the farewell to the Tenth Doctor in last year's "The End of Time".
Each year I find that I am a little anxious as the episode starts. I think that it's because I want to like it so much and I am worried that it may disappoint. So far, I have not been disappointed. And this year we were treated to "A Christmas Carol".

My initial reaction to "A Christmas Carol" was positive. I liked it.

Watch my video review after my first viewing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u72SmTV06g

I do like to view episodes more than once. Repeat viewings will either confirm my initial reaction or temper it a bit. Plus it gives me a chance to really look for all the intricacies of plot and character that may have been missed the first time.

"A Christmas Carol" not only held up to repeat viewings but I actually liked it more. There is a lot that I do like about it, a few things that I found mildly silly and very little wrong with it. I will take you through the episode to point these out.

Before I do that, I just wanted to point out that Arthur Darvill appeared in the opening credits. I guess this means that he has been given official companion status.

On with the good bits.

The episode opened in dramatic style. A star ship is caught in a violent storm and is in danger of crashing. A distress signal has been sent by someone in the honeymoon suite. The Captain questions, "Who is in the honeymoon suite?" Onto the bridge steps Amy Pond in her police outfit. I think this is her best entrance in an episode yet. She is followed by Rory, dressed as a Roman. There are a few tense moments as they wait to see if the distress signal will be answered. Then a small ship is detected and a text message appears on the screen, "Come along Pond". It is, of course, the Doctor. Then we are into the title sequence.

When we come back, the scene is quite different. We are looking at a somewhat Victorian, yet not, street at Christmas. We hear what sounds like a narrator speaking of Christmas and how this time used to be celebrated as the winter solstice and it meant that we were, "half way out of the dark". I love that. And more on that later. Then the tone turns nasty when we see that the voice belongs to a Scrooge like character, Kazran Sardick. Actually this opening speech rather made me think of the beginning of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". It was as if he was talking about how the Whos loved Christmas but the Grinch did not.

I did like the art direction in this episode. We had the sleek and pretty star ship and then the almost steampunk planet below. There were even characters wearing goggles. Sardick's home and the great big round windows were great.

We get our first allusion to the Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" when Sardick makes reference to the surplus population, of which, Abigail, the frozen girl, would be one. A poor family is there to plead for the girl to be let out just this once on Christmas Eve. Sardick refuses. As the family is being led out we hear that fantastic sound of the Tardis materializing somewhere in the background. I love that sound. So glad that the Doctor leaves the brake on. The Doctor then makes a less than elegant, but pretty cool entrance down the chimney and into room, covered in soot. I won't rehash the plot here because if you are reading this you will have already seen it, but I will point out the moments that I thought were great.
The Doctor asks who the frozen girl is. Sardick says that she is, "no one important." The Doctor replies with, "I've never met anyone who wasn't important before." Wouldn't it be great if we all looked at people like that.
The controls to the cloud controlling device are isomorphic meaning they only respond to Sardick. The Doctor says there is no such thing. Then Sardick demonstrates. The Doctor takes a beat then, "These controls are isomorphic." as if it if was obvious all the time. This reminds me of a scene in a movie I'm sure very few of you have seen. It is one on Cary Grants later film, "Father Goose" where he plays a grumpy old man stuck on a tropical island with a school teacher and a bunch of school girls. The girls think that the teacher had been bitten by a snake so he had comforted her with alcohol. One of the girls in anger goes to find and kill the snake but finds that it was only a stick. She brings it back to show Cary Grant. He says, "That's not a snake, its a stick." The girl says that it looks like a snake. Cary Grant says, "no" then a beat later he exclaims, "that looks like a snake!" I know that is a very obscure comparison, but I love that movie and the scene with the Doctor had the same feel.

I love how the Doctor can recognize humanity in a person even if they can't see it for themselves. When Sardick tried but was unable to strike the poor boy, the Doctor realized that he was not beyond hope. The Doctor then looked around the room and went through a bit of Sherlock Holmes like deduction (interesting that Steven Moffat also wrote Sherlock), and deduced that Sardick was afraid of his father and scared of being like him, in fact was not like him, "and do you know why?" Sardick asks, "why?" The Doctor replies, "Because you didn't hit the boy." Here we first get a glimpse of some emotion in Sardick as he asks, why. Michael Gambon was great in this role.

I am so glad that this episode didn't just try to be an adaptation of, "A Christmas Carol". That would have been silly, especially because we all know that the Doctor has met Charles Dickens and so the story of "A Christmas Carol" exists in the Doctor Who universe. So it was great to see the Doctor realize that he could actually use the story to his benefit.

So the Doctor became the ghost of Christmas past. Time travel opens up all sorts of questions and paradoxes that it is probably best to accept that it is all just a bunch of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff. The Doctor tries to get Sardick to remember a time when he was young and innocent by playing back a video recording of himself as a boy. When that alone doesn't work, he pops back in time, while the recording is playing, and appears in the recording. His presence in the past is creating new memories in Sardick's head. I am assuming that he still has the old memories too but am not totally sure of that.

So we get to see more fish. I love the fish, especially around the lamp post and when we see them outside of the Tardis doors. We meet the shark. I didn't mind the shark although I did find the bit where it was pulling the rickshaw to be a little silly, but forgivable. I love the bit with the bow tie and then Sardick realizing that he too wears one.

We meet Abigail. I had not seen Katherine Jenkins before, other than on the Graham Norton Show, and thought she was great in the part. And what a great voice.

I enjoyed the many Christmas Eve's with Kazran and Abigail. I like how the one Christmas Eve they looked in on her family (essentially the Cratchits). But of course, Abigail's days were numbered, literally, and Kazran has to suffer the heartbreak of leaving her frozen so she will not die. Heartbreak leads to bitterness and we are still stuck with the Scroogy Sardick.

So Amy is employed as the ghost of Christmas present. I was a little surprised that Amy and Rory didn't have a larger part to play, but it served the story.

And then the Doctor finishes things up as the ghost of Christmas future. Sardick accuses the Doctor of making him fall in love then getting his heart broken. The Doctor counters, "Better a broken heart than no heart at all." That is so very true.

Here we expect that the Doctor will take Sardick to view the future, but what we get is much more subtle and effective. He has brought young Kasran to see what he will become. He will become what he feared, his dad. Kasran even says, "dad". This sets Sardick off and he lashes out but still cannot hit the boy. This was such a great emotional scene.

Now Kasran Sardick is a changed man. They go to save the ship from crashing but of course now the controls don't work for the new him. They only way to save the ship is to sacrifice Abigail.

Abigail sings and the ship is saved.

The song that she sings was quite beautiful. The lyrics could have multiple meanings. "When you're alone, Silence is all you know. When you're alone, silence is all you see. When you're alone. silence is all you'll be."
All apply to Abigail frozen alone in time. They can apply to old Sardick, alone with no friends. Of course it applies to the Doctor, the last of his species, often alone and often experiencing heartbreak. And then there is the foreshadowing of The Silence that will fall.

We also have that great phrase, "half way out of the dark". I wonder if that will crop up again. It is interesting that season six is to be split in two with a mid season cliff hanger. Could this mean that we will be led to a very dark place mid season where we will be half way out of the dark.

So that was "Doctor Who A Christmas Carol". I am really looking forward to season six.

Love Actually - Because it's Christmas

I just watched on of my all time favourite movies and thought that I would share my thoughts about it with you. If you haven’t seen it I highly recommend that you do.

“Love Actually” is one of the best romantic comedies, written by one of the best romantic comedy writers of all time. That’s quite a statement, but one that I stand by. It is a great film and a Christmas movie too!

Richard Curtis both wrote and directed “Love Actually”. It was actually Richard Curtis’ directorial debut. The film follows the love stories of a variety of different people over five weeks, all culminating at Christmas. It is book ended by touching moments of real people greeting loved ones at the arrivals gate at London’s Heathrow airport.

Richard Curtis is a great writer with a long history of writing for film and television. He is probably best known for his writing on “Blackadder”, “Mr. Bean”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Notting Hill”. Most recently he wrote an episode of the new Doctor Who series titled “Vincent and the Doctor” where the Doctor meets Vincent Van Gogh. It was one of the best episodes of the series.

Richard Curtis seems to understand people, their emotions and how they act when they are in love. So his stories, as far as the emotions and actions of the characters go, are really based in reality. Each of the stories in “Love Actually” contains elements that are very familiar to anyone who has been in love. And not every story ends in a happy ending. They are very much like real life.

The different characters we get to follow are:

Old rocker, Billy Mack (Bill Nighy, Davy Jones in “Pirates of the Caribbean” and made an appearance in “Vincent and the Doctor”) and his manager Joe (Gregory Fisher). The film opens with Billy Mack recording a Christmas version of Wet, Wet, Wet’s song “Love is All Around”. If you don’t already know it, “Love is All Around” was the hit song used in Richard Curtis’, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”. Billy Mack is looking to make a comeback and as Christmas approaches his song hits number one in the charts. Billy celebrates by attending a star studded party while his lifelong manager Joe sits alone at home until Billy turns up after realizing that Joe turns out to be the love (platonically) of his life. Such a nice story about the friendship between two people.

Jamie (Colin Firth) and Aurelia (Lucia Moniz). After Jamie, a writer discovers his girlfriend (Sienna Guillory) cheating on him with his brother he leaves for his French cottage to work alone on his book. There he meets Aurelia who is employed as his housekeeper. She is Portuguese and speaks no English. Likewise Jamie cannot speak Portuguese. This is a fantastic story of how love can grow and people can communicate even without speaking each other’s language. This story ends in the rousing march through the streets of Aurelia’s hometown by Jamie and seemingly the whole town as he (after learning some Portuguese) has returned and has plans to ask her to marry him. She accepts in English, which she learned just in case.

Daniel (Liam Neeson) has just lost his wife and now has to look after his step son Sam (Thomas Sangster) on his own. Sam seems depressed and Daniel is concerned. It turns out that while he misses his Mom, the cause of his depression is that he is in love with a girl at school, Joanna (Olivia Olson), who doesn’t even know that he exists. Sam has two of the truest lines in the film. The first comes when Daniel is relieved that Sam is just in love, thinking it had been something worse. Sam responds with, what could be “worse than the total agony of being in love?”

To get Joanna to notice him, Sam decides to become the drummer in the school Christmas concert where Joanna will be singing. The plan appears to work but Joanna is off to America immediately after the show before Sam can really tell her how he feels. Daniel convinces Sam that it is not over until it’s over and that they can race to the airport. Sam replies with the next best line, okay “let’s go get the shit kicked out of us by love.” They race to the airport just barely in time for Sam to breach security and say good-bye to Joanna. She gives him a kiss.

The story of married couple, Karen (Emma Thompson) and Harry (Alan Rickman) involves Harry becoming involved in an emotional romance with an employee and younger woman, Mia (Heike Makatsch). Harry does love his wife, and while nothing physical ever happens between him and Mia, it raises the question of which is worse, a physical or an emotional affair?

A storyline that did not have a happy ending was that of Sarah (Laura Linney) and Karl (Rodrigo Santoro). Sarah, who works for Harry and along side Karl, has been in love with Karl for years and finally the two of them get together. Unfortunately Sarah’s brother, who suffers with mental illness, requires a lot of her time. Sarah is torn between the love and the duty of caring for her brother and her love for Karl. Duty wins out in the end and we are left wondering if Sarah will ever find happiness in love.

Jack (Martin Freeman, who was Arthur Dent in “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) and Judy (Joanna Page) meet on a film set. They are stand ins for the sex scenes of the film they are working on. It is great to see how their relationship develops through innocent conversation while they are engaged in simulating sex.

Probably the most ridiculous and hilarious stories is that of Colin Frissell (Kris Marshall who played Nick Harper in the British sitcom, “My Family”). Colin has no luck with women but is convinced that he would be able to get a whole pile of women in the States because they would “dig” his English accent. He travels to Wisconsin where he meets Stacey (Ivana Milicevic), Jeannie (January Jones) and Carol-Anne (Elisha Cuthbert) in a bar. They invite him to stay with them in their house that only has one bed. There he also meets Harriet (Shannon Elizabeth) and has the night of his life.

This leaves my two favourite stories.

We meet Mark (Andrew Lincoln, Rick Grimes in “The Walking Dead”) who is the best man at his best friend, Peter’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor, the Operative in “Serenity”) wedding. He is about to marry Juliet (Keira Knightley, Elizabeth in “Pirates of the Caribbean”). Juliet has the best introductory scene in any film I have ever seen. It is simple but beautiful. She walks into focus like an angel coming out of the light. I love it.

It turns out that Mark has always loved Juliet, but could not admit it because she was with Peter. He even came across as disliking her. This was really a self preservation thing. Who hasn’t experienced unrequited love? It is an amazing and painful thing. There is a great scene where Juliet is watching the wedding footage shot by Mark and realizes that it is all of her and that he is in love with her. And then there is that beautiful moment where Mark shows up at her door Christmas Eve with the cue cards.

Let me say,

Without hope or agenda,

Just because it’s Christmas

(and at Christmas you tell the truth)

To me, you are perfect

And my wasted heart will love you

Until you look like this…

Picture of a mummy.

Mark leaves satisfied that he has done enough. Juliet runs after him and leaves him with a kiss. One simple kiss.

Finally there is the Prime Minister, David (Hugh Grant) and Natalie (Martine McCutcheon). The newly elected Prime Minister meets his staff including Natalie who is also new to the job. She is his “catering manager”. There is an instant attraction which David struggles with. After all he is the Prime Minister and doesn’t need any distractions. But he is smitten.

The President of the United States (Billy Bob Thornton) pays a visit. He demands more than he is willing to give to the displeasure of the Prime Minister’s cabinet. He also makes a move on Natalie leading to that great press conference where the David vows to stand up for what really matters to “Britain”.

After receiving a Christmas card from Natalie, David decides to go get her. He drives to

Harris Street

in the dodgy end of Wadsworth. His Police Officer asks him what number house and David realizes that he has no idea leading to him knocking on every door on the street. Finally he knocks on number 102. There he finds Natalie and her entire family just about to leave for the school Christmas concert. He rides with Natalie and an Octopus. Natalie tells David that she really loves him but is cut off as they arrive in no time at their destination. She asks David to come in but he protests until she gets them in backstage.

They watch from backstage as the Joanna begins to sing a great version of “All I Want for Christmas is You”. There is a moment here that makes my heart flutter every time. It one shot that is quick and easy to miss. David and Natalie watch through the curtain. David is behind Natalie. He is looking at her not the performance on stage. She turns her head just a bit to look back at him. That one shot conveys the awesome, butterflies in the stomach excitement and nervousness of two people falling in love. The scene ends with David and Natalie kissing (in secret so they think) as the concert ends. The curtains open and a spotlight reveals David and Natalie kissing for the whole audience to see.

The film is wonderfully shot. Scenes like those mentioned and many others use the camera creatively to tell the story and convey emotion. Additionally the use of music in the film is fantastic from the use of pop songs as well as scored music to highlight the emotion. Richard Curtis has said that he often writes to music. Perhaps this is why the scenes work so well with the songs that were chosen. Once you watch the movie, you will forever be reminded of the emotions of the scenes when you hear the music on its own.

So that is “Love Actually”. It is a brilliant and touching movie that should bring joy to your heart. I could go on and on about all the amazing moments but best if you just go watch it again for yourself.

Whenever I get gloomy about the state of the world I watch this film and I am reminded that love actually is all around.

The Winter Solstice Lunar Eclipse

It is very early in the morning on the first day of winter 2010. For those who stayed up or woke up and ventured outside into the cold winter air and looked up in the sky, you were treated to a beautiful, total lunar eclipse.

A lunar eclipse is when the Moon (always a full Moon) passes into the shadow of the Earth. It could be a penumbral eclipse, where there would only be a slight dimming of the Moon, or a partial eclipse where it looks like a bite has been taken out of the Moon, or a total eclipse where the entire Moon passes into the umbra or the darkest part of the Earths shadow. That is what occurred this morning.

Total lunar eclipses are not rare. They happen three or four times a year. What makes this one special is that it is the first time in 456 years that the total lunar eclipse falls on the winter solstice.

It is also beautiful. To watch the Moon go into shadow and then to turn red is pretty spectacular. It looks red because only the red wavelength of light is refracted around the Earth to hit the Moon. As cool as it looks from Earth, it must be really amazing on the Moon. Imagine standing on the Moon and everything going from grey and white to being bathed in red. Technically from the Moon's point of view this would be a solar eclipse.

Either way, it was worth staying up late into the night to see.

Now for those of you who slept through it or had clouds in the sky, here is what it looked liked.

Survivor A Fabiolous Ending

Another season of Survivor over.

This season started out slow. It seemed that there were a bunch of amateurs playing the game. No one seemed to know how to play. It was on dumb move after another. One person after another talking themselves out of the game. No real winners stood out. I found it hard to cheer for anyone.

But then the game matured and some people started to stand out. Sash stood out as a threat because he was devious. Anyone who put their trust in him was a fool.
Holly, after having a crazy person moment and almost quiting the game, became a likable and smart player.
Chase was, well, as he even admitted, was wishy washy beginning to end.
Dan, useless in challenges, became a likable guy. You knew things were right in the world because Dan was always there and it seemed would always be there. No one until the end even thought of voting him out.
Fabio went from being a likable buffoon to a really likable and good observer of what was going on around him. I think he will be remembered as a very underrated player. I found myself hoping that he would win and for once, in I don't know how many seasons, the winner of Survivor turned out to be the best player and most deserving.

The highlight of the final episode, I thought, was watching Fabio win three back to back challenges in a row. One last episode and two this episode. The the delight on his face back at camp as Sash, Chase and Holly scrambled. The looks on Fabio's face were priceless. And then the final tribal council. The only one who seemed comfortable and answered all the questions honestly was Fabio. Sash and Chase both were squirming. I have to admit Fabio talking about the time with his Mom was touching and it seemed to touch most of the jury. I was really surprised to see Naonka being sympathetic to Fabio.

Then the votes are read at the live reunion show. Fabio... Fabio... Chase... Chase... Chase... Chase... here I am thinking, oh no! Another season where who I want to win doesn't. Then... Fabio... Fabio... and the winner of Survivor Nicaragua is... Fabio!

A nice reunion show with some interesting moments. Holly buying Dan some boots. Jane winning the most popular Survivor. Jimmy Johnson's story. Naonka being nice, but still delusional about how she played the game. And that jackass Shannon proving once again that he is truly a jackass.

I was surprised that they didn't get around to talk to everyone. I am thinking that we didn't here from Tyrone, Purple Kelly, Jill, and Benry.

The new rules for next year, producers being able to stop quitters from being on the jury, sound like a really good move. Here is another rule change that should be adopted. Let Canadians play! Maybe even open it up to North Americans. I want to play the game!

So that is that. I look forward as always to next season. I'm not sure what to make of Redemption Island. Who knows, maybe it will be really cool.

Survivor Dumb and Dumber?

This year is full of dumb moves. Tonight's episode had a few. I'll go through them as I get to them, but first...

How did you like the commercial for Sprint's new 4G phone? I know that every year they have sponsors and show the products. This year it seems that they are going above and beyond product placement. First they had the preview of Gulliver then had each Survivor that watched it give a review. This time they went out of their way to advertise the phone. I love the insert shot of a hand (probably not even Jeff Probst's hand) holding the phone with a big 4G on the screen.

The reward challenge was the loved ones reward. The cynics among us probably groan when this reward comes each and every year. I, however, am not a cynic and have come to be surprisingly touched by these rewards. I have often thought that if I were on the show would I get that emotional. After all they have only been gone for a little more than a month. But I suppose, if you have been living in the sun and the rain with very little food surrounded by people who you really can't trust because you are playing a game, you might be emotional to see a loved one and have that piece of home with you.

Now, here comes another of Chase's dumb moves. Last week he pissed off Sash by not taking him on the reward and almost jeopardized his alliance. He survived that. This week, he told Fabio and Sash that if he were to win, he would take the two of them. Chase won. Chase chose Sash and Holly. Fabio was very upset. Crying like a baby even. But I think understandably so.

So this should have alerted Fabio as to where he stood in the pecking order. Dan was smart enough to see this. The big problem for Chase and company could have been Jane, who now clearly saw where she stood. So Chase, in his wishy washy way, made some incredibly dumb moves. But he was not the only one. Why on earth Jane, Dan and Fabio didn't decide to align, I don't know. Jane even said as much at tribal.

The immunity challenge is where things can really change even the best laid plans. The plan according to Chase, Sash and Holly was to get rid of Fabio next. Fabio knew this and Fabio won the challenge. I was surprised how close it was. So what to do. Chase and co. could not vote for Fabio. Should they vote for Dan or Jane? Chase didn't want to vote for Jane. Here is where Fabio worked to convince them to vote Jane. The logic is sound. Jane, if brought to final four, could conceivably win immunity and make it to the final three. They all believe, although I don't know if it would be the case, that Jane would win if she got to the end. So it is better to get rid of her earlier than later. The conundrum that I can't reconcile is why Fabio and Dan decided that that was the best move for them. If they had forced a tie with Jane and Holly then it's possible that Holly could have gone home. They then could have picked of Sash and Chase in the next two votes as they would no longer have their hidden immunity idols. It seems to me that this option would have best served Fabio and Dan. Maybe they know something that I don't.

So Jane was voted out by all. I did like how she put out the fire. They all deserved that.

Oh, and another thing, Jane was upset that her alliance lied and stabbed her in the back. I am always amazed that people get so upset when people lie. The whole object of the game is to Outwit, Outplay, Outlast. Just because someone that you have become friends with lies to you in the game or votes you out doesn't mean that they are dishonourable. If I am playing Monopoly against my best friend, I will play to win. I will make deals with other players that may screw my friend over. It doesn't mean we are not friends. It is the game. Survivors GET OVER IT!
I hope if I were ever to play Survivor that I would remember to take my own advice.

The final episode is next. I really don't know who will win. I think it would be a shame if the threesome of Holly, Chase and Sash were the final three. They are far too cocky. I would like to see Fabio win. The only chance I see for him is if he wins immunity again or if he can convince the guys that Holly is just as much a threat to win as Jane would have been. I personally would like to see Fabio and Dan get to the end. Dan would be perfect to take because it's very unlikely that the jury would vote for him (although you never know). It is going to be interesting and hard to predict. At least it looks like the season with the most inept players ever will finish with a bang (well, maybe not a bang but a loud pop).

Survivors Gone Wild

Last week we watched two people quit. This week we got to see a chicken named after said quitters because they were chickens. As much as I thought that quiting was a pathetic way to leave the show, it did open up the field of play so that anything could happen and it made this weeks episode quite enjoyable. I really didn't know who would be going home until the final vote was read.

The episode began with the last remaining chicken being named KellyNay or was it NayKelly. Either way, I hope we forget the names of those quitters soon. On a side note, following the outrage from the public and former Survivors at people quiting and still being allowed to sit on the jury, Jeff Probst pointed out in his blog that they felt that they had to allow Kelly and Naonka to stay on the Jury because a precedent had been set on Survivor Palau when Janu quit. She was allowed to sit on the jury. Also not allowing them on the jury could affect the way votes are cast for the winner if someone that was in their alliance were to be in the final three. Jeff also stated that they are looking at revising the rules, hopefully so that something like this doesn't happen again. I did like how they were introduced at tribal council, "and our two quitters..."
I should also mention that there are legitimate reasons for quitting. Jenna Morasca quit Survivor All-Stars in order to be with her dying mother. I know Jenna had taken some exception to people looking harshly on quitters but I'm sure no one was directing that harshness toward her. Kelly and Naonka quitting was lame and pathetic. Jenna quitting was honourable.

Okay, back to this episode. It looked like two clear three person alliances and Sash stuck in the middle. Both sides were wooing him. Now, I don't like Sash. I don't trust Sash. They also don't trust Sash. He did after all turn on his number one ally, Brenda. But he could be a very important swing vote. I am often surprised why when someone holds as much power as a swing vote has, why not just get rid of them. So the alliance of Benry, Fabio and Dan (yes, he is still there) thought they had Sash with them, although Fabio still was wary. Chase, Holly and Jane put up a good argument as to why Sash should join them. Chase added a sweetener, saying that if he were to win a reward challenge he would take Holly (who deserved it) and Sash.

On to the reward challenge. It was down to Chase and Benry. Chase won handily. Then Jeff told him that he could take two people on the reward with him. What did he do? He chose Holly (good for him) and Jane. Jane! WTF was he thinking? He put the futures of himself, Holly and Jane in jeopardy. Even Chase admitted to Holly that he made a bad move, that he had been wishy washy. Yes Chase, you are wishy washy.

So back at camp Sash was left to the other alliance. They did their best to get him to come over to their alliance. Sash was very non-committal in his commitment to the guys. But they seemed to believe that he would be with them.

After naming the chicken, the hungry boys ate it. Yummy.

When the others returned, Jane was upset that the chicken had been killed. "They didn't have to eat it." Yes they did. They were hungry. You had a nice meal, why shouldn't they? At least Jane got over it quick enough.

The immunity challenge came down to Sash, Benry and Fabio. The worst possible scenario for everyone was Sash winning. Guess what? Sash won. So the wheeling and dealing back at camp began. I think almost every one's name was mentioned as a candidate to go home. Oh wait, no one mentioned Dan. I think they forgot he was there. Talk about playing under the radar, Dan is a submarine. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes it to the end.
As the talk of who to vote out was going on, I found myself flipping back and forth as to who I would like to see go. As much as I like Jane, strategically it would be good to get rid of her soon or she could end up in the final three and then likely winning the game. For a moment I thought that maybe they would target Holly. Benry's name was mentioned but after he talked to the others it looked like Fabio was on the chopping block. I kind of like Fabio and wouldn't like to see him go. The only one who was clearly safe was sneaky Sash.

I really didn't know which way the vote would go. I thought that Fabio was doomed. I was surprised to see that Benry was voted out and even more surprised to see that Benry and Dan had been hoodwinked into voting for Fabio and Fabio voted for Holly while Sash, Chase, Holly and Jane voted for Benry. This was, "unbelievable" to Benry. Say good bye to the Girls Gone Wild cameraman.

So things have become unpredictable and much more interesting. Maybe we should thank the two quitters. Ummm... No.

Two more episodes left.


Read Jeff Probst's Blog http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/12/09/jeff-probst-blogs-survivornicaragua-episode-13/

Survivor - How the @#$& can you quit?

I have to say that this is one of the weirdest seasons of Survivor ever. They always say that anything can happen in Survivor and this season anything and everything has. Just when I thought we were starting to see good game play this happens...

Naonka and Kelly Purple QUIT!

WTF. How can you quit Survivor. I understand going out with an injury or playing so bad that you get voted out, or being on the wrong side of an alliance or being blindsided, but quiting?

While watching this travesty, I tried to put myself in the positions of the people involved to see how I would react. First, Jeff's position. As a host and producer you really don't want to hear the words, "I quit". It messes things up for the production. They have challenges planned and a schedule of when tribal councils should happen, and a certain number of episodes to air. Having one person quit puts a wrench in the gears, but to have two quit at the same time is like dropping a whole toolbox into the gears. I would be a little annoyed.
I do like how Jeff handled the situation. I like that he had them stop and think about it for the day hoping that they would change their minds. Then at tribal he challenged them. When it became clear that they were both going to quit, he rightly shamed them. I love that their torches are to be left at tribal for them to see at each and every tribal council from now until the end.

I can understand the elements and the hunger getting to you. I do a lot of backcountry camping and when it is cold and wet, and the bugs are biting you might rather be somewhere warm and dry. And while I take food with me it is not the same as having a real meal. But that is all part of the appeal. Pushing yourself. The satisfaction of doing it despite the hardships. Plus they signed up for this. They knew what they were in for.

I did feel a little sad for Kelly Purple, just in that she was down and despite the efforts of Holly was not able to pull herself back up.

I could not put myself in Naonka's head. I can't even conceive of doing the things she has done. She seems to be a selfish, angry person. I find it hard to even feel sorry for her. Who knows, maybe she is nicer in person although I doubt it. How could you not give up your reward knowing that you were going home anyway. She would never have won the game.

Holly is impressive. I can understand her selflessness in giving up her reward so that the tribe could have rice and a tarp although I don't know that I would have done the same. I would like to think that I would have. You'll notice that neither Benry or Fabio rushed forward either. I don't think that Dan was given the choice as he didn't run the challenge. Clearly Naonka should have done the right thing. Holly has certainly earned a whole big pile of respect. Actually her act may not have been totally selfless. She will now be sleeping in a drier shelter, but still.

Now if I was the rest of the tribe, I would have mixed feelings. I don't think anyone wants to see someone quit. There is little satisfaction in beating a quitter, however they are all still in the game and are closer to a million dollars.

I feel really bad for Alina, Marty and Brenda. They all got voted out. They all would give anything to still be in the game. To see two people quit has got to be infuriating. They could have voted out Naonka and Kelly and still been in the game. Marty looked pissed. And it was heartbreaking watching Alina. It's funny, but I like Alina more and more now that she is out of the game than in it. I don't think we really got to know her while she was in the game. After watching her in Ponderosa she seems like a really nice person.
Speaking of Ponderosa, it will be fun to watch what happens when Naonka and Kelly arrive there. I can't imagine that they will be received very well.

It's also annoying to see people quit when I would love to be on Survivor myself. But I can't because I am Canadian. CBS, you need to change your rules.

After all is said and done, I am happy that Naonka is gone. I'm afraid I won't miss Kelly Purple. And I think we are going to see some good Survivor play from here until the end. Looking forward to next week.