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17. Survivor:Thailand

"They were like lost sheep, longing for their master(s)"

I know, I know. How could I possibly like this season? Its dull, filled with unlikable cretins who are more uncomfortable to watch then to talk about? Is Survivor:Thailand is slow, where nothing interesting or entertaining happened? No, it isn't. At least to me its not. Not only do I find it underrated, but I find it supremely entertaining and watchable in its own right. Granted, it is a very predicable season, and many people see Survivors only merit as a group event where people speculate who wins, but I don't see it that way. I watch Survivor episodes over and over again because I find them entertaining and someties informative. Survivor:Thailand to me was very entertaining, the very definition of a solid season of Survivor.
Whos that man in the picture? Survivor Sucks' regular golden calf, Brian Heidik. Aside from Jonathan Christ(who,lets be honest, is just a pretender to the throne), the Lord and Master Brian Heidik is the narcissistic and cruel(he shot a puppy!) hero of the entire forum. Hes a porn star, hes a used ar salesman, he seems to be well to do, hes an icon around here. While I debate myself constantly over whether he truly is one of the best players ever(if not THE best), he left an impression on us. I thoroughly enjoyed him walking all over everyone in Thailand, a "good game" doesn't matter to me as much as whether I enjoyed it, and I did, very much so. Actually, aside from that awful puppy incident and him being drunk while his infant son needed him a few days before the finale were bad, we know nothing about him. He may very well be an affable guy, but his "Mr. Freeze" was one hell of a character. Pithy quips, good commentary, delicious arrogance and a touch of menace make him rememorable.
What about the rest of the cast? I LOVED them! I think it's interesting how a lot of the rationalization around Thailand hate comes from peoples prejudges. Before I started reading Sucks regulary, not for one second did I ever find Clay to be a racist, sexist or asshole. He was a funny, funny character,who I'm suprised isn't as popular as he should be, and he had a top notch goat stratagy(*Clay said Brian told him to "take it easy" on the work load, so he was never lazy on purpose, and his arguments with Jake are irrelevent since Jake was probably going to vote for Brian anyway. Not to mention he was thrown a curveball by Helen telling Ted that he was a racist). The Chuay Ghan tribe in general is one of my favorite tribes. If you notice, unlike many tribes, they actually enjoy each others company and laugh and sing and party together, instead of different factions. I like that, I was smiling many times throughout the episodes because you could see these people were actually having fun when they busy out toughing it out. All this nonsense about Thailand being depressing is refuted by just that, or am I hallucinating? You can see Jeff smiling at the castaways and enjoyg himself as well, which is puzzling since it's supposed to be one of his least favorite seasons too.
I also liked everyone on Sook Jai, maybe sans Penny and Erin when it comes to personality. Again, I didn't pick up on the whole "Shii Ann is being mistreated" thing. She was disliked, there was no evidence of xenophobia at all. I played in an online game as Bobby Mason where I was practically hated by the whole cast, but I always knew it was my fault. No, Shii Ann was just disliked, whether or not it was fair is also irrelevent. That, as well as there disenfranchisment of Jed and Stephenie, its a game, and someone must be scapegoated. Other then the unpleasentries, Sook Jai was a lovable group of morons, save Jake, who had just as much bad luck as one can have in the game. Robb is a great choice to have on, and his "rebirth" of sorts was genuinly touching. Ken seems like an asshole, but I like him, and I liked the rest of the tribe as well. All in all, this was a great season. Now treat yourself after my longwinded diatribe to a viewing of "The Virgins of Sherwood Forrest".

16. The Amazing Race 7

It doesn't get much more epic when it's literally 2 people against the world. Tha Amazing Race 7 was the apex of Rombers "career" in the reality genre, and they delivered big. The Amazing Race 7 was the highest rated season of the entire series, carried the most buzz, and TAR forum here at Sucks was abuzzing more then it ever had before or since then. The reason was obvious:a lot of people hate Rob and Amber, but how can you hate them when they so obviously pwned the entire show? The detractors said thats because the cast was weaker then usual, then the defenders poked holes in that theory. The detractors claimed that Romber tainted the "purity" of the show, Rombers defenders showed that the show already had lost its "purity" long before Romber showed up, besides, the producers didn't have to pick them anyway. When it comes to Rombers haters and gushers, I'm obviously in the latter camp. I like Rob, I tolerate Amber, I think they were one of the best racing teams ever.

I don't think anti Romber arguments hold much weight. First off, people say, "get off my television"! Why should they? It's not their fault that people today are put on pedestals for ridiculous reasons. If people "love" Romber just because they were on tv or look cute together or whatever, blame them. I never saw either one of them doing anything or acting in anyway that I would consider to be unethical or immoral or even "mediawhorish". They haven't done anything that the majority of us wouldn't do. If you think Boston Rob is a jerk, Amber is a bore or what have you, fine, but I think most of the hatred Romber got was out of a combination of misplaced righteousness and, not a cop out here, envy.

Is it Rombers fault that season 7 was all about them? No, it was the producers decision and the others teams decision. One of the things that makes this season so interesting to me is trying to comprehend the overwhelming hatred of Romber by the other racers, and by the public. Take Susan, she seems like a nice sensible lady. When she posted at Sucks, ridiculous anti Romber sentiment. I watch all the pathetic teams who hate Romber and all their petty bitterness and I think, WHY? Don't you have better people and things to focus your rage on? "Romber were loners. Romber ignores people when their cars flip over." It could be because they're treated like shit wherever they go. If it's envy at all the help they got, frustration at them getting so much attention post All Stars(which John Vito lamented about on All Stars. The difference is, with him it was a mild annoyance, what I'm talking about are the blowhards like Patrick who hate Romber for no good reason), I understand. What I can't uinderstand is people who dom their own chances at winning just so they can "get" Romber. Amber is a stick in the mud, and Rob is a slightly immature 32 year old, grow the fuck up Lynn and Alex.

Unfortunatly, season 7 WAS all about Romber. Good thing I like Romber, because the rest of the cast was mediocre. I liked the brothers, Uchenna and Joyce seem like a nice enough couple(but even they aren't immune to irrational Romber anger) and the insane Lynn and Alex, Patrick and others who hated Romber provided entertainment to varying degrees, and their insane ramblings provide food for thought. I wish Ryan and Chuck had lasted longer, and the rest of the cast is ok, but not amazing.