Survivor 26: Everything's Coming Up Milhouse -- Finale Recap/Analysis

We've spent the last three months complaining about highly questionable casting, lopsided edits, shameless pandering, the lack of respect CBS has demonstrated for its audience, and Jeff Probst's tenuous grasp on his job description.  Now that Survivor: Caramoan has officially come to its foregone conclusion, we're back one last time to discuss the finale with the mental inflexibility and unearned sense of entitlement we both so unequivocally enjoy.

Friend of the show John Cochran has not only won the hearts of the jurors, but also several lead actors across NBC's primetime comedy block.  How does his march to victory rank in the pantheon of Survivor greats, and what lessons can we learn from his evolution as a player? How does the season as a finished product stack up among the rest? What can we say conclusively now about players like Dawn, Andrea, Brenda, and Malcolm? And what generous compliments do we have for the producers pertaining to the reunion?

Find out when you listen to this episode on the player below, find the direct link here, and find us on iTunes here.  Due to jam-packed social calendars, we'll be gone for a bit, but back in June with more Survivor coverage as we try to cope with the fact that the next season doesn't start until September (Blood vs. Water!!!) (*wanking motion*). 

Show links: Rob Cesternino's article about Reality TV & Social Media

Survivor 26: #TeamDawn -- Pre-finale Recap/Analysis

Everyone's excitement about the finale, and Colin's excitement about the tragic loss of Brenda, was marred on Wednesday night by the backlash against the episode; apparently there were more Brenda fans than previously thought, and they emerged from the woodwork to hurl invective at Dawn. Amidst this fallout, the fanbase has had to confront some uncomfortable questions, which we try to tackle today after a happier discussion of the episode, predictions for the finale, and communication industry titans Sprint. As always you can listen below, here, or on iTunes here.

Survivor 26: Dear John -- Episode 12 Recap/Analysis

In less than a week the winner of Survivor: 'Fans' vs. 'Favourites' 2 will be crowned, and in the absence of suspense about who that's going to be we have to find other topics to talk about. Is Eddie seriously a threat if he somehow derps his way into the finals? Is Erik playing such a masterful UTR game that tribemates and viewers alike are blind to it? And just how insufferable will Colin be when Brenda inevitably meets an unfortunate end? All this and more on this week's show, available below, here, or on iTunes here.

Survivor 26: Are We Having Fun Yet? -- Episodes 9-11 Recap/Analysis

As one might expect, the episode we weren't able to talk about was the most interesting in a long, long time. Now, as this season's midgame and Malcolm's relentless hustling come to an end, we're back to discuss everything we missed. Did Malcolm's double idol gambit really change anything? What kind of wizardry could he have pulled instead? And can anything stop Cochran's seemingly inevitable victory? All this and more (but mainly this) on a feature-length recap, available below, here, or on iTunes here.

Rough start times for each segment:
0:00 episode 9, pre-TC episode 10
1:15 discussion of the double idol play
2:20 episode 11 & looking ahead

Survivor 26: Max Dawson talks about Episode 9

After discussing reality TV as a genre with us a few weeks ago (here ICYMI), former #rtvf330 professor and current media consultant Max Dawson returns to get into the specifics of an episode that's certainly the best of the season and generally one of the best in recent memory. You can listen on the player below, here, or on iTunes here.

You can find Max on Twitter here.

Survivor 26: Stop Corinne and Get Over It -- Episode 8 Recap/Analysis

(Check out our check-in with Albert Destrade here)

In an uncertain world, there were a few things we knew: Cochran could never win a challenge, this season couldn't deliver, and the podcast would never be up with more than 48 hours to spare. Now, all we know is that we know nothing. Thankfully, there are still a few constants: Phillip's spying, Cochran's frying, and Dawn's crying (and the tribe name makes us want to), and we're here to talk about it. Where did everything go wrong for Corinne, and can Malcolm pick up the pieces now? How much responsibility did he have for this self-sabotage? And we have some new and unlikely players, whose names we're not quite sure about yet. With them never being shown, what can we baselessly speculate about their motivations? All this, and more, on this week's show, available on the player below, here, or on iTunes here.

Survivor: Merge Discussion with Albert Destrade

We waited patiently as CBS fed us episode after episode of Survivor: Who Cares Island and at long last it appears we've hit the tipping point.  Gone are the days of rice dumpings, lopsided tribes, "which one was she?" and carnival games (well, we hope).  At long last shake-ups, betrayals, scrambling, and blindsides are upon us, and today we're back to get first-hand insight on life at the merge from our old friend Albert Destrade (in addition to our regular show this week).

Drawing from his time spent studying and playing the game, Albert talks us through the fundamentals of optimally approaching a merge, addressing both the tribally-divided situations he faced himself as well as more unpredictable merge dynamics like we're seeing play now, focusing  on the very different but equally interesting positions facing Cochran and Malcolm.

Plus, what was Albert's take on seeing three of his former tribemates return to the game?  What advice did he have for Cochran before the season began filming? What was the catalyst for Corinne's game-ending error?  And how might the game progress from here? All this, and more, on this week's show, available below, here, or find us on iTunes here.