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Saturday, September 17, 2011

TGI...S: Jack Tripper from Three's Company

Today is September 17, 2011, and because it's Saturday, I should be talking about Saturday Morning cartoons, right?

Not this week.

This happens to be the first day of the September Switcheroo. For one week, I take the theme days and mix them all up, to keep you readers guessing as to what the possible topics could be. This week will last from the 17th to the 23rd and here are the switches that will be happening this week.

Saturday Morning Cartoons changes to TGI...S.
Sunday Jukebox changes to A Sunday Across The Pond
Monday Matinee changes to Just Another Arcade Monday
Tuesday Leftovers changes to Tuesday Night At The Movies
Across The Pond And Beyond changes to Wednesday Afterschool Cartoons
Thursday Night At The Arcade changes to Anything Goes Thursday
TGIF changes to Friday Night Videos

These changes will only last for ONE WEEK and then will go back to the regular schedule beginning September 24.

So, for now, let's continue on. We had a feature on one sitcom star yesterday...we may as well have an encore of it today.

It's fitting that I am posting the first day of the September switcheroo on September 17, because it happened to be the birthdate of the actor who played today's featured character.



It seems hard to believe, but if he were still alive, John Ritter would be 63 years old today. The actor passed away eight years ago, on September 11, 2003 after suffering a heart attack caused by an aortic dissection. At the time of his death, he was filming episodes for the sitcom '8 Simple Rules (For Dating My Teenage Daughter), and his death was such a tragedy for those who worked closely with the actor, and knew him. What made it even more tragic was that he died on the same day as his daughter's fifth birthday. 8 Simple Rules continued on the air until 2005 with new characters added, and some of the film projects that he completed prior to his death were dedicated in his memory. Ritter's widow, Amy Yasbeck, has also spearheaded a research study to determine the factors that caused her husband's death, so that they could find a way to prevent aortic dissections from causing any further deaths.

Although John Ritter has been gone for eight years, his talent and his humour will continue to live on from his recurring role on 'The Waltons' to his last role in the movie 'Bad Santa'. He even had roles that attracted young children, as he was the voice of Clifford The Big Red Dog in the PBS series that aired from 2000-2003.

All of those roles certainly contributed to the success that he had as an actor, but his most famous role was one that he played on one show from 1977-1984, and then again in a spin-off that ran from 1984-1985.



When Three's Company first debuted on ABC on March 15, 1977, nobody knew how much of an impact the show would have on prime-time television. Almost immediately, the show skyrocketed in the ratings. The show first hit #1 on the Nielsen ratings on Valentine's Day, 1978, and the show as a whole hovered in the top ten for six of its eight seasons.



A large reason why the show worked so well was because of the chemistry between each of the cast members, although there were a couple of memorable ones in the show's eight season history. In 1979, the Ropers moved on from the show to star in their own short-lived sitcom, and were replaced by Mr. Furley (Don Knotts). And I'm sure everyone remembers the scandal surrounding Suzanne Somers' exit in mid-1981, which lead to her role being replaced twice (first by Jenilee Harrison, and then by Priscilla Barnes who played Cindy Snow and Terri Alden respectively).

There were two constants on the show that seemed to link everything together. One was Janet Wood, played by Joyce DeWitt.

The other one was the character that John Ritter played.

And what a character Jack Tripper was!



When Jack first hit our screens, we actually met him in the bathtub. And he wasn't in there getting cleaned up. He had actually passed out in the bathroom of the apartment that Janet Wood and Chrissy Snow shared. He had actually been snuck into the apartment by a friend who knew one of the gate-crashers. At the time, the girls had thrown a party for their departing roommate Eleanor. When Jack was found sleeping in the bathtub, Janet and Chrissy were shocked to find him there in the first place, but thanks to Jack's charm and the fact that the girls needed another roommate to keep paying the rent, they decided to let Jack move in.

There was one problem. The landlord at the time, Stanley Roper, would have had a major issue with an unmarried man living with two unmarried women, so to keep him from being an issue, Janet tells Mr. Roper that Jack is gay, and Mr. Roper backs off, even though the very conservative Mr. Roper often made jokes at Jack's expense. Stanley's wife, Helen knew the truth, and unlike her husband was okay with Jack, Janet, and Chrissy sharing an apartment together.

Now, Mr. Roper certainly gave Jack a lot of grief for the way he lived his life (not realizing that it was all a ruse), and he often kidded around with him because he displayed personality traits that were in his opinion not 'masculine' or 'manly', or 'tough'.

Though if you really want my honest opinion, I thought that it was those very qualities that made Jack Tripper the great person he was. In fact, I would have to say that Mr. Roper couldn't be further from the truth when it came to his overall impressions of Jack Tripper.



Let's start with one quality right off the bat. Jack Tripper loved to cook. Part of the reason why Janet and Chrissy agreed to take Jack on as a roommate was because of his cooking skills. Jack loved baking and cooking. His hobby soon developed into a passion, and he enrolled in cooking school. A lot of the early episodes of Three's Company were centered around Jack's ability to cook, and his adventures during cooking school, which lead to him eventually opening up his own bistro. In most cases, Jack was incredibly confident about his cooking abilities and he often had great success with it. There were a few blips along the way though. It's hard to forget the time where he was in a cooking contest dressed as a woman (as the contest was only open to women), and he ended up making cookies that were flavoured with cough drops. And then there was this mishap that occurred when Jack entered a pie-baking contest. Clicking on this link will take you to a clip of the episode 'The Bake-Off', originally airing on February 27, 1979, where you'll see one of these mishaps in action.

The point is that while Mr. Roper may have dismissed a man knowing how to cook as being feminine, in all actuality, it make Jack more of a man. Certainly any of the women who he dated over the show's eight season one appreciated the fact that they were dating a man who knew his way around the kitchen. Sure enough, in a few cases, Jack wooed them over with the promise of a gourmet dinner, or a dessert, or what have you. He certainly did a better job of attracting the women, whereas Mr. Roper likely hadn't had any sort of intimacy with Mrs. Roper since 1957 (much to her chagrin).

In all honesty, I wish I had as much talent as Jack did in the kitchen. I probably would find a way to burn ice. But, hey, Jack Tripper gives all of us guys hope that we all can become great chefs, and be respected for it.

Another thing that Mr. Roper used to chide Jack on was the fact that he avoided conflict to the point where he was seen as being wimpy.

I actually don't believe this to be completely true.

Yes, it is very much true that Jack would rather not deal with conflict through physical means. When one of Jack's 'buddies' from the Navy came by for a visit, Jack was shocked to find that he had become blind. He was even more shocked to find that his 'buddy' wouldn't leave until Jack hit him! For the whole length of the episode, Jack waffled on the idea, which of course made the audience howl with laughter. Finally, when Jack developed the courage to finally try to hit him, he was flattened by the guy!

With 'buddies' like him, is it any wonder he avoided resolving conflicts with physical force?

The real irony of this is that while Jack served in the Navy, he took up the sport of boxing! Yet he hated having to use physical force in order to defend himself.

According to Mr. Roper, Jack Tripper was a wimp.

According to myself, Jack Tripper is a lot like me.

I am what you say a fairly big guy. 6'2”, around 230-ish. By all accounts, I should be a powerhouse. But I actually don't like physical violence to settle a score. It's just not my thing. I much prefer the art of conflict resolution through spoken word, or by writing it out.

Mind you, as a result of not fighting back, I tended to get beat up in the schoolyard where kids tried to give me wedgies and 'Hurtz Donuts', but that was who I was. I certainly don't consider myself to be a wimp for that. I just prefer not to resolve conflicts by force.

And neither did Jack.

Though one thing I will say about Jack (and this is a fantastic quality to have in my opinion) is that he is fiercely protective of his female roommates. Certainly he wasn't possessive or hovering...he did let them have their space. But if someone tried to hurt them, Jack could be set off.

Sometimes, it backfired on him. Jack attempted to subdue a drunk person at the Regal Beagle, but when he failed, Terri ended up taking care of the goon with her newly acquired karate skills. Had Mr. Roper still lived at the apartment complex, he probably would have never let Jack live it down.

Or, there was the time when Chrissy came home in tears because her date mistook her friendliness for something else, and the 'guy' happened to drop by the apartment. Jack wanting to protect Chrissy ended up punching the guy in the face. What Jack didn't realize was that the man he punched was a police detective. Ironically enough, Mr. Roper convinced the detective to drop the charges.

So, Jack's intentions were good, but his klutzy nature kind of worked against him. Still, there were other times where his protectiveness towards Janet and Chrissy was receptive. He helped Janet a few times by making her see that some of the guys that she was interested in were using her. This included a high school friend that Janet had a crush on, but who ended up treating her like nothing more than a big score. Jack and Chrissy sent him on his way fairly quickly. There was also the time in which Janet was interested in taking a dance class, and how she had a teacher build up her confidence to the point where she was going to quit her job as a florist to pursue dancing as a career. But when Jack discovered that her instructor was a sleaze ball, he made Janet see that he was a jerk, and he ended up being a real friend to her.

I mean, certainly Jack could have just punched them out, but that wasn't his style. You could see that the only way Jack even would remotely use physical force is when he believed that someone physically harmed one of his roommates. Instead, he chose to focus his attention on trying to help his roommates feel better. For as much as he drove his roommates crazy, he really did love them, and wanted them to feel better. That took precedence over anything else. And, that was a quality that made Jack stand out in a good way.



And, sometimes, Jack ended up embarrassing his roommates (though in most cases it was not intentional), and quite often than not, Jack would have to eat a lot of humble pie in order to make it up to them. I cite May 4, 1982 as a prime example of this. That was the episode in which Jack was dragged to a stuffy cocktail party by Janet, and Jack decides to have a drink to loosen up. Well, he certainly did that.

After the party, Janet was deeply embarrassed, and it took a while for her to look Jack in the eye. But Jack somehow ended up getting her forgiveness because he really didn't feel good about himself when he hurt those closest to him.

He wasn't weak. He was sensitive. And, really, that's a quality that I think more men should have.

Of course the one thing that made Jack Tripper most memorable was the actor who played him. Through his physical comedy and his quick wit, John Ritter was truly the embodiment of everything that Three's Company stood for. He even brought his quick wit on times when they screwed up with bloopers...



...and he even poked fun at his most famous role on what would be his final sitcom.



John Ritter will never be forgotten, and he is sadly missed. A life taken far too soon. However, if there is one thing that is of comfort, it is that he brought us a character that was well-rounded, kind-hearted, and incredibly clumsy.

Jack Tripper will continue to live on.

Thank you, John Ritter. Thank you for the memories.



Friday, September 16, 2011

TGIF Episode Spotlight: 'The Puppy Episode' from Ellen

I have always admired people who have natural courage.

I also admire people who are absolutely true to themselves and who aren't afraid to admit who they are, even if they may suffer public backlash as a direct result of it.

In the case of today's subject, this woman was faced with exactly that.

Imagine having a very successful sitcom airing on one of the big three networks. Having millions of people tuning in to watch you act in a sitcom, and you're enjoying the fruits of your creation. And then something happens where you decide to let the world know something about yourself that may be considered taboo, and before you know it, your sitcom is being cancelled. And somehow you have to start all over from scratch.



The above situation happened to stand-up comedienne and current talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

And Ellen DeGeneres is the subject of the very first 'episode spotlight' for this edition of TGIF.



Watching Ellen on television now, it seems a little hard to believe that she could ever have been on the forefront of a maelstrom of controversy and criticism. Her talk show recently debuted the premiere of its ninth season on daytime television, and currently pulls in millions of viewers all over the world. With a mix of witty conversations with A-list actors, the various games that she plays with her audience and her snappy, hilarious monologues that she performs at the beginning of each episode have helped make it the great talk show it is. Especially compared to some of the other ones out there that deal with chair throwing, hair pulling, and dozens and dozens of paternity tests.

I mean, with spontaneous moments like this one appearing on her talk show daily, it makes the show even more fun to watch.



But what some people may not realize was that Ellen DeGeneres' big break came years earlier, when she was a young woman.

Ellen DeGeneres began a career in stand-up comedy shortly after she graduated from high school in 1976. Like most people wanting a career in comedy, she started off performing at small local clubs and coffee houses around her hometown of New Orleans. By 1981, she had already become the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans, and in 1982, she was awarded the honour of being named Showtime's Funniest Person In America. Four years later, Ellen DeGeneres appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and she proved to be such a hit that Johnny had asked her to sit by his desk for an onscreen chat (the first time that a comedienne had been given the honour). Below is a clip of that memorable appearance, which first aired on November 28, 1986.



That appearance on Johnny Carson's show was her very first appearance on network television, but it certainly wouldn't be the last. She would make several appearances on comedy specials, and had small roles in the movies Coneheads and Wisecracks.

By 1994, Ellen DeGeneres' star continued to be on the rise, and it was in that year that the opportunity for her to star in her own sitcom would come up.

On March 29, 1994, Ellen's sitcom debuted on ABC, under the original title of 'These Friends Of Mine'. Set in Los Angeles, Ellen played the character of Ellen Morgan, who worked at a bookstore called 'Buy The Book'. Ellen was considered by everyone around her to be cheerful and likeable, but she had a tendency to be clumsy. She also tended to ramble on and on when nervous or embarrassed. As the original title suggested, the show focused on Ellen and her friends. These friends included Holly (Holly Fulger), Adam (Arye Gross), Joe (David Anthony Higgins) and Anita (Maggie Wheeler).



After the first eleven episodes that made up season one, the show was retooled, and Holly and Anita were phased out, with Adam leaving at the end of season three. The show's name was changed to simply 'Ellen', and new cast members included Joely Fisher, Clea Lewis, and Jeremy Piven. The show did very well during its run, scoring within the top 20 shows watched during the 1994/1995 season alone. The show averaged over eleven million viewers per season, and helped catapult Ellen to success.

But then The Puppy Episode aired, and with the airing of The Puppy Episode came a time that was filled with many personal highs and lows for Ellen DeGeneres. One may end up calling the whole episode a bittersweet one for Ellen, as it provided her with the most viewed episode of the entire series.  At the same time it ended up making her the target of some rather unfortunate and unfair criticism as a direct result of this episode.

The Puppy Episode's concept was born during the filming of the show's fourth season. During a meeting in late 1996, Ellen DeGeneres began negotiating with the ABC network to have the character of Ellen Morgan come out as a lesbian. Word got out about the negotiations, and soon she found herself in the middle of intense speculation. People wondered whether Ellen's character would come out on the show, or whether Ellen DeGeneres would come out in real life, or possibly both.



As we all know, in the real world, Ellen DeGeneres did come out as openly gay in early 1997. She disclosed this information in an interview in TIME magazine, as well as talking about it on the Oprah Winfrey show. And in March 1997, production of The Puppy Episode began, confirming the rumour that Ellen's character would come out as a lesbian.

Already even before the episode aired, the backlash began. Conservative groups like the American Family Association pressured ABC to drop the coming out storyline, and a couple of advertisers decided not to have their commercials air during commercial breaks of the episode. The studio where Ellen was filmed received a bomb threat, and critics of the storyline claimed that it was nothing more than a ratings stunt.

To her credit though, Ellen DeGeneres stood firm on the decision to have The Puppy Episode go ahead. To the critics accusing her of doing it solely for ratings, she had said this at the time, “I did it selfishly for myself and because I thought it was a great thing for the show, which desperately needed a point of view”.

And this was true. As much of a success Ellen was, the show was often criticized for having a lack of focus, and Ellen Morgan was criticized for having a lack of interest in romantic relationships. When the suggestion was made by a producer that Ellen should get a puppy to compensate for her dry romantic life, executive producer Mark Driscoll had stated that the suggestion for Ellen to get a puppy was just one of the many indications that the show had lost its focus.

So when the coming out episode was being planned out, the producers decided to give the episode the title of “The Puppy Episode”, in response.

When the green-light was given by ABC to go ahead with the episode, many guest stars were desperate to get a role on the episode.



As it so happened, lots of famous faces ended up being on the show. Probably the biggest name to sign on to be a guest of the show was Oprah Winfrey, who had the first interview with Ellen on her show since coming out as a lesbian. On the show, Oprah played Ellen's therapist who helped her come to terms with the revelation. Other famous faces who guest starred on the episode included Laura Dern, Steven Eckholdt, Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore, Gina Gershon, Melissa Etheridge, Dwight Yoakam, Jorja Fox (before CSI fame), Jenny Shimizu, k.d. lang, and even Ellen's mother Betty made a cameo appearance.

The Puppy Episode debuted on April 30, 1997, and the episode started off just like any other episode of Ellen. In the episode, she goes out with an old friend named Richard (Steven Eckholdt), who happens to be in Los Angeles to cover a news story. During dessert, his producer comes to join the couple. The producer happens to be a woman named Susan (Laura Dern), whom Ellen seems to strike an instant friendship with. After Susan leaves, Richard invites Ellen up to his room, where he immediately tries to come on to her. Ellen, however, is uncomfortable with the idea and leaves the room. In the hallway, she happens to run into Susan, and Susan invites Ellen inside where the two of them enjoy each other's company. Things take a sudden turn when Susan tells Ellen that she happens to be gay, and she just assumed that Ellen was too. Ellen is taken aback by Susan's comment, and outrightly accuses her of trying to 'recruit' her. Susan sarcastically retorts that she would call the national headquarters to let them know that one more got away, and that she was just one away from getting a free toaster oven.

Ellen is left even more confused by this encounter, so she quickly leaves Susan's room and makes her way back to Richard's room, determined to prove to herself that she isn't gay. The following day, she's telling her friends that the date with Richard went extremely well, and that they had a fantastic night together.

But to her therapist, Ellen reveals the truth. She didn't sleep with Richard. She couldn't go through with it. Deep down inside, she wanted to be with someone that she really clicked with. And that person happened to be Susan.

So when Ellen gets a message from Richard, saying that he is being forced to leave Los Angeles ahead of schedule, Ellen rushes to the airport. But not to see Richard. Rather, she wants to try and get a hold of Susan before she leaves with Richard. It is here that she finally admits the truth once and for all.



Okay, so maybe it wasn't the most ideal way for Ellen to reveal such personal information. But that wasn't what mattered. The truth was finally out. And Ellen had felt much better for admitting it once and for all.

The rest of the plot involves Ellen coming to terms with who she is now, and what was next for her. She had to tell her friends that she was gay, though for the record, all of them were accepting of it with exception of Paige who was hesitant to accept it. This didn't last long though, and by season five, even she had come to terms with it. She also had to deal with her feelings for Susan, and what the future might hold for both of them. Although the ending for the two women wasn't a happy one, Ellen still felt good about her decision to finally admit that she was gay once and for all.

In a case of life imitating art, Ellen DeGeneres was feeling good about her decision as well.

And why shouldn't she? Let's forget about the fact that The Puppy Episode was the highest rated episode of the season, as well as the whole series. An estimated 42 million people tuned in to watch The Puppy Episode (and I'll admit to being one of those who watched the episode when it first aired as well). The episode ended up winning a Peabody Award, and Ellen herself won a GLAAD (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) award in 1998. The Puppy Episode was seen as paving the way for television shows such as 'Will & Grace', 'The L Word', and 'Ugly Betty' (all shows having at least one character who is openly gay or lesbian), and many people believe that this episode was pivotal for reducing the social prejudice against people who are in the LGBT community.

Sadly, for all the positives that this program had to offer, there were some negative media associated with this episode. Although Ellen was renewed for a fifth (and final season) in 1997, ABC began prefacing each episode of Ellen with a 'Parental Advisory' warning, a move which Ellen herself strongly criticized. Jerry Falwell referred to Ellen DeGeneres as the rather cruel and uncouth nickname of Ellen 'DeGenerate', but Ellen took the insults in stride, saying this about the remarks, “I've been getting that (name) since the fourth grade. I guess I'm happy I could give him work”.

Some conservative groups took great steps to try and boycott 'The Puppy Episode'. An ABC affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama, for instance, said that the episode was an attack against 'family values', and they lobbied to have ABC show the episode in the late night slot as opposed to the prime time slot it usually aired in. When ABC refused to budge, the affiliate refused to air the episode at all. This decision did not stop a LGBT organization based in Birmingham from arranging a satellite feed of the episode, and hosting a viewing party of the episode. Five thousand people showed up to the event in Birmingham the night the show aired.

Something similar was attempted in Abilene, Texas, where a group of people protested the affiliate airing The Puppy Episode, but the network went ahead with broadcasting the show anyway.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of the fallout after The Puppy Episode aired on television was the fact that after it aired, Ellen's show only lasted one more season. After the episode aired, people accused Ellen of being 'too gay', with every episode featuring Ellen looking for a romantic partner, or learning more about the LGBT community. After the initial buzz of The Puppy Episode, ratings took a nosedive, and the show was finally cancelled in May 1998.

Ellen's career seemed to stall after her show was cancelled, largely because of the criticism she still faced from right-wing and religious groups for having come out. Even guest star Laura Dern was blacklisted in a way, telling Ellen in an interview on her talk show that she didn't work for a year and a half after appearing on that episode. Nevertheless, Laura Dern also admitted that she was grateful for the opportunity of even being a part of that episode.

And after rewatching the episode on video-sharing sites, I have to say that the episode was a fantastic one to watch. I was barely sixteen years old when that episode first aired, and I found it quite funny. Yes, one might argue that The Puppy Episode could be held in the same regard as the tired old television cliché of 'very special episode'. But I think it was a brilliant episode myself. I know that there was talk of boycotts and lots of negative attention flying towards Ellen DeGeneres at the time, but I didn't feel that any of it was warranted. In fact, I was quite proud of Ellen for having the courage to look inside herself, accept that she was who she was, and OWN it.

The whole episode may have been a political maelstrom in the making, but the end result was something quite beautiful. The episode wasn't overly campy (well, aside from the grocery store dream sequence), and had some rather witty moments. It was even ranked at #46 on TV Guide's list of 'Top 100 Episodes Of All Time'.

Most importantly, I think the episode was trying to get the point across that whether a person is straight, gay, or bisexual, they are still people, and they are still worthy of getting respect and love. Ellen's friends and family accepted her regardless, and in the end, Ellen's life (on the sitcom at least) didn't really change all that much as a result of her coming out. Ellen even said this about the episode.

I think people sensed the honesty in it. I think it helped a lot of people, and to this day I hear about parents and children being able to have an honest conversation through watching that show. That's ultimately what television can be. It can get conversations started.”

Bravo, Ellen. You could not have said it better yourself.



It has been almost fifteen years since that episode aired on television. Since then, Ellen tried once more to get a sitcom up and running with 'The Ellen Show' in 2001, but the sitcom didn't last. On September 8, 2003, The Ellen DeGeneres talk show debuted, and has been on the air ever since. So Ellen has rebounded quite nicely, and is now thriving in her career.

And Ellen has become a real role model to the LGBT community by supporting such organizations as 'The Trevor Project' and filming promos for the 'It Gets Better' campaign against the bullying of LGBT teenagers in schools.


And although Ellen Morgan never did find real lasting love on her sitcom, Ellen DeGeneres managed to find love with former Ally McBeal actress Portia de Rossi. During the time when gay marriage was legal in California (before the passing of Proposition 8 in November 2008), Ellen and Portia got married on August 16, 2008, and have remained together ever since.

The Puppy Episode was one of those episodes that whether you loved it or were against it, still went ahead as planned. Ellen DeGeneres would not have wanted it any other way. It was of great importance to her that this episode came forward so that it could help people come to terms with who they were, be it gay, straight, bisexual, or transgendered. The episode showed people that they didn't have to be afraid of who they were. They could embrace who they were, and own it just like Ellen Morgan did on the episode (and the way Ellen DeGeneres did it in real life).

If anything, The Puppy Episode was a risky episode to air at the time, but Ellen DeGeneres thought the risk was worth it. In the end, not only was it a rather enjoyable episode to watch, but it also showcased the bravery and the passion that Ellen DeGeneres had for the episode. She was very proud of the way the episode came together, and even years after it aired, it remains probably one of the best things that Ellen DeGeneres has ever filmed, if not the most personal.

I know that I respect Ellen DeGeneres immensely because of it. She stood up to the critics and the bullies, told them all who she was and made absolutely no apologies about it because there really was nothing for her to apologize for.

If only everyone in the world could feel as secure and as confident about themselves as Ellen DeGeneres does, I have to think that the world would become a lot better of a place.

The Puppy Episode was a fine first step for a lot of people. I just hope Ellen DeGeneres knows just how many people she helped along the way by filming it. She probably helped a lot of gay and lesbian people come to terms with who they were. But in addition, I think the episode taught people of the straight community some lessons as well.  I know she taught me that no matter who tries to bring you down, as long as you stay true to who you are on the inside, it doesn't matter what other people think.

And that is one lesson that for me personally is worth its weight in gold.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Thursday Night At The Arcade: Deja Vu

In all of my thirty years of living, I have not yet encountered anybody who has been afflicted with the condition known as amnesia.

Or if I have, I clearly don't remember...

When most people hear about amnesia, they automatically think that it's a condition that people on soap operas get, or that it's a medical condition that seems so farfetched that it can't possibly be gotten in real life.

But it can.

Amnesia can come in two recognized forms. There is anterograde amnesia, which is short-term memory loss, and retrograde amnesia, which is the condition that causes people to forget people, places, events, etc.



It's also the name of a forgotten song by Chumbawamba.

There's many ways that a person can be afflicted with amnesia as well. Drugs and alcohol consumption is one way that it could be inflicted (mostly the anterograde variety). Look at all the people who have blacked out after too much booze. It happens all the time.

There is also the science of repressed memories, where a memory might prove to be so traumatic for someone that they forget it even happened. Childhood amnesia is the inability to recall certain events from a person's childhood. Source amnesia occurs when a person can remember a specific piece of information, but is unable to remember where they got the information from in the first place. And lacunar amnesia is the inability to recall a specific event that happened to them in their lives.

Truth be told, almost all of us have been afflicted with some form of amnesia in some point of our lives, and we might not even realize it. In most cases though, this proves to be a mild inconvenience and doesn't affect our lives at all.



But what happens if you end up, say, waking up in a bathroom stall with a head wound and a gun in your pocket? And say you happen to exit said bathroom with a dead body on the second floor and your fingerprints are all over the gun in your pocket.

And you can't remember a thing.

Getting amnesia via a head wound is a definite possibility. It's a condition known as post-traumatic amnesia, and depending on the severity of the blunt force trauma one receives, the memory loss can last from a few hours to having it be permanent.

In the video game that I plan on spotlighting in today's trip to the arcade, we try to help one person suffering from post-traumatic amnesia get his memory (and in the process, his life) back.

In fact, I'll even provide the link to the online version of the game so you can play the game yourself, if you like. Don't you just love Internet technology?


Okay, so now that you have the game in your browser if you've chosen to play it, we can go on.



Right off the bat, you can tell from the title that the game would have something to do with memory, as the phrase 'deja vu' is French for 'already seen'. It's a term that is used to describe the feeling one gets when they cannot remember where they've seen or did something before, but can remember seeing or doing it. In this game, our main character will experience this more times than you could even count.

Picture it. The year is 1941. December 1941 to be exact. It was the month that Pearl Harbor was attacked. It was the month that the first appearance of Archie Andrews graced the pages of Pep Comics #22. It's also the month where the game is set.

And the above situation I described about waking up in a bathroom stall with a head injury and a gun in your pocket? That's the opening scene of the game.



Your name is Theodore 'Ace' Harding...but you don't know that. In fact, you don't know anything about who you are, how you got there, or why you are here in the first place. And as you progress through the game, you do encounter a dead body upstairs, and all evidence points towards YOU as being the guy's killer.

And you have absolutely no idea what the truth is.

So there's your mission. You have to figure out who you are. Then you have to figure out whether you really killed the man upstairs or not. And then you have to find a way to clear your name. But the road to finding the truth is not going to be an easy one. With muggers desperate to steal your money, women hiding handguns in purses, and stumbling onto a kidnapping plot, your search for the truth could cost you dear.

As it so happened, there are several possible endings that can come from this game. You obviously want the best one possible, which is to remember who you are, and clear your name in the process. But one false move, and you could end up sleeping with the fish.



The game Deja Vu first appeared on Macintosh computer systems in 1985, and was ported to several consoles over the next few years, including the Famicon in 1988, the NES in 1990, and the Game Boy Color a few years after that.
The game is your basic point and click venture. You move from screen to screen to search for clues, find the truth behind your unfortunate circumstance, and make your way through the dangerous streets of Chicago. All you have to do is move your arrow cursor to the command you want to do and click on it. If you want to open a door, you click on open and then click on the door. If you want to use some capsules that you found on yourself (because apparently ingesting foreign substances is encouraged in this game), just click on the self button after you click on the capsules in your inventory.

And if you decide to actually punch someone in the face in your travels, you can just click on that hit button, and they'll go down like an inflatable clown doll.

(And, I'll let you know that there are two people in the game that you will have to punch out. One repeatedly. Doesn't that sound like fun?)



But as I said, you really want to make your way through the game as carefully as possible, because one false move can make you lose more than your memory. You can also lose your life. Or get arrested. Neither choice sounds appealing, really.

Therefore, it's important that you keep a close eye on the clues you locate, and that you end up keeping only the ones that will prove your innocence. For if you go to the police with even one piece of incriminating evidence against you, then it is an automatic game over.

Fear not. There are dozens of clues available in the game that will help you remember who you are, as well as the reason why you are in this position in the first place. This is why it becomes so important to look at EVERYTHING in the area that you are in. Filing cabinets, desks, portraits on the walls, even something as simple as a garbage can will help you out. Maybe you'll see yourself in a photo, or maybe you'll find a key that will unlock a door, or maybe you can get an address to a place that you need to go.

(Just make sure you have the loose change to pay a taxi cab before you hail one, or else you could end up on a one-way ticket to jail as a result. You have been warned.)

In all honesty, I really get hooked on games like this one because you never know where you will find your next clue or where the game will take you. You could end up at your own office where you come across an intruder. You may end up looking in the trunk of your car and finding a surprise inside. You may even find yourself in an underground sewer where if you avoid any nasty creatures that live down there, you may find that illegal gambling runs rampant in Chicago!

Okay, enough spoilers. If you read this blog carefully, I've given you some tips as to how to get through the game, should you wish to play it. Just remember a few things. Twenty dollars is expensive in 1941, so you may want to try and protect your wallet from gun-wielding thugs. You may want to find a way to read about popular medicines before attempting to swallow them. You may also want to ditch that gun in your pocket somewhere where people won't be able to find them. I hear that black cars in Chicago have been recalled for faulty ignition switches, so you best not try to start one up. And never...NEVER...take a right turn near the police station. Trust me on that one.

Why? Well...I can't remember. Sorry. You just have to take my word for it.

If you survive, you might even get a chance to play the sequel...


Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Across The Pond And Beyond: Neighbours

Neighbours.



Some people can't live with them. Others can't live without them.

Some neighbours become best friends, and they often host pool parties, barbecues, and parties as an excuse to socialize. While other neighbours become such a problem that they have the people around them dialing up their nearest real estate agents desperate to move away.

This is the topic of the day for the blog, and as I talk about some of my experiences with my own neighbours, I'll be talking about a show that has been running in Australia since 1985, that ironically has to do with the same subject that I am talking about.



Neighbours is a soap opera in Australia that debuted on March 18, 1985, and over the last 26 years has continued to air story after story, keeping viewers all over the world entertained by either cheering for their favourite couples, or screaming at the television at their favourite baddies. It's a show that has kickstarted the careers of several relevant stars. Kylie Minogue, Natalie Imbruglia, Delta Goodrem, Jesse Spencer, Russell Crowe, and Guy Pearce all had roles on the soap opera, and in many cases, it was their breakout performance.



What made Neighbours different from a lot of soap operas that have aired over the years is the fact that all of the characters lived on the same street. They all lived on a cul-de-sac type neighbourhood called 'Ramsay Street', kind of similar to that of Knots Landing's Seaview Circle. If my research serves me well, it was very unusual for most of the action of a soap opera to take place on the same street. Certainly EastEnders takes place in the neighbourhood of Albert Square, but there are at least four or five different streets in that area. And American soap opera 'The City' (which was a reworking of the soap opera 'Loving') took place largely in a building on Greene Street in New York City, but that serial lasted a little less than a year and a half.

Therefore, Neighbours success is rather unique in that aspect.



Of course, over the years, more and more locations have shown up in the show's setting, the fictional Erinsborough (which is ALMOST an anagram of Neighbours), but the heart of the show is with the neighbours of Ramsay Street. There are six houses in total on the street (22, 24, 26, 28, 30, and 32), and dozens of families have moved into the six houses where they are faced with temptation, lust, envy, and even murder. Some of the houses have stayed the same, while others have burned to the ground and were rebuilt. Whatever the case, there's been a lot of friends and foes on Ramsay Street over the years.

Just like in my case. Sometimes, my neighbours and I were like the theme song for Neighbours...good neighbours becoming good friends. In other cases, my neighbours and I steered clear of each other. In some rare cases, I hated who happened to live near me, and wished I could hop in some hot-air balloon and fly away. But I suppose life would get pretty boring if we all got along with our neighbours.

But, as I said, sometimes, neighbours can become good friends. My experiences with my neighbours at the school residence when I went off to school were mostly positive (aside from a couple of people who were so narcissistic that they couldn't so much as say a simple 'hello' to you as you walked by). It was pretty cool to be able to walk down the hall, and just visit people in their rooms at whatever time of day you wished. Of course, they were student dormitories and not a full-fledged apartment building, but the fact that I had people my age who accepted me for who I was certainly helped me out. I'm sure that some of the teenagers who have lived on Ramsay Street over the years have felt the same way about new teenagers who have moved onto the street. They do the neighbourly thing, and welcome them to the street, and show them around the fun places.

Well, until one of the teens steals another guy's girl, and fights break out. But that's a soap opera world. I never ended up having that happen with me...yet.

Going back to the college experience, I was thrilled to finally have a chance to have neighbours that were fairly close to my age, because in my childhood, I never really managed to have that.

Most of the homes in my earliest childhood years were ones where we only managed to live in a few months at a time. I think a huge part of that was the fact that my parents never had the money to actually buy their own home, so we ended up moving a lot during the first three years of my life. So, I never really had much of an opportunity to know neighbours long enough to actually form any sort of bond with them...good or bad.

The childhood home that I ended up living in from age three to age five was a decent house. And there were a couple of kids who lived two doors down from me that used to play with me all the time. Actually, come to think of it, the neighbourhood that I used to live in at the time was a really nice one. It was by the waterfront, close to the downtown area (which at the time was worth going down to), and the house was a lovely one.

Which is why when the whole neighbourhood was torn down by a greedy developer and all of us were left homeless as a result of this, it broke my heart. I hated to say goodbye to that house, and all the great people who lived near that neighbourhood. All in the name of progress. All in the name of a state-of-the-art shopping plaza that would be built. A state-of-the-art shopping plaza that we've been waiting for now for...oh...about twenty-five years now.

Needless to say, the person who authorized the neighbourhood purge all those years ago owned a furniture shop downtown. A furniture shop my family and I have boycotted ever since. I doubt he misses the business though.

Going back to the television show, Neighbours, a similar fate almost occurred on Ramsay Street.

Keep in mind that I am not Australian, and I've only managed to see a grand total of maybe six episodes of Neighbours total, so a lot of this information about the show is from research that I have done prior to writing this blog entry.



Anyways, one of the main characters on the show (who also happens to be the only original character left from the show's beginning) is Paul Robinson, and at first, he was a fairly decent character, working as a steward for an airline. But then Paul discovered his business side, and started becoming more ruthless and arrogant. He actually was spearheading a plan to bulldoze Ramsay Street to build a supermarket in its place. Fortunately, the plan fell through, and Ramsay Street was spared, although the neighbours never really trusted Paul after that. Over the years, Paul's behaviour grew even more twisted, including embezzlement, womanizing, and he even set fire to a commercial plaza so that he could then buy it back to have more control.

Of course I don't mean to compare Paul Robinson to the person who ripped apart the street that I used to call home. Paul was an over-the-top character. But there were similarities as in both cases, a respected member of the community had an idea that was filled with greed and the idea would end up wreaking havoc in certain areas of the community all for big business. In one case, they were successful in getting what they wanted, but in the end, it was all smoke and mirrors, and nothing came out of the deal.

So from there, I moved to my next home, which is where I spent the most time out of my life. The home itself was huge, but as far as the condition goes, the place was a wreck. Still though, the place was fixed up as best as it could be, and for fourteen years, it was home.

One thing that bugged me about living there though was the lack of children in the area. There wasn't anyone remotely close to my age who lived on my street. Most of the neighbours were elderly (which made sense, since the hospital was a block away), and it was hard for me to find my place there.

Though to their credit, most of the neighbours on that street were kind. There was one lady in particular that I would like to single out. Her name was Sarah, and she lived in house number 30 (my family was in number 11). She was an elderly lady who kept to herself. This was evident every Halloween night, as she would often close her door to trick-or-treaters, so I would often bypass her house on my trick-or-treating route.

The following November 1 (or if Halloween was on a weekend, the following Monday), I would be off to school and Sarah (as if she knew that I was coming) would often be outside to greet me (keeping in mind that in my younger days, my mom would walk me to school). It was there that she would hand me a plastic bag, and inside the bag was a package filled with Halloween candy! She later explained to my mom that she didn't really like the fact that high school kids would come to her door, asking for treats. And actually, I could see what she meant because often if the nearby high school had football practice, they would go trick-or-treating in their football uniforms. Because I was one of the few kids on the street, and because she liked me and my family, she wanted me to have some Halloween treat from her. I thought it was a nice gesture, and I thought she was a one of a kind lady.

There were other neighbours on the street that I mostly liked. The man who lived next door to us at number 15 was a nice guy. The man who lived across the street from us at 12 was an okay guy too, though his wife was kind of nasty with me. Long story there. And don't even get me started on the freaks who lived at 14 and their evil demon dog they called Sparky. I actually threw myself a celebratory party the day they got rid of that nasty, nasty furball.



But, really, the gang on the soap opera Neighbours had all sorts of backgrounds and personalities like the street I lived on. Some of them were really nice, down-to-earth people like the Kennedy family. Some like the Scully family were loud and brash, but deep down inside meant well and had a good heart. And some like the Robinson family had one bad seed right after the other. It was just part and parcel of any neighbourhood that you would have some good and some bad neighbours.

Oh, and like every neighbourhood, there always has to be some gossipy person who cannot leave well enough alone. On Neighbours, the person in question happens to be one Mrs. Mangel. Mrs. Mangel was gossipy and she loved to spread around the secrets of the residents of Ramsay Street and sit back to watch the fallout from the bombshells she dropped. One person she seemed to really get under her skin was Madge Ramsay, and here's a clip of the two of them in a heated argument.



And the only reason why I bring Mrs. Mangel up in this blog is because the conflict she had with Madge greatly resembles some of the conflicts that my current neighbour across the hall seems to have with a lot of the people in my building. She would knowingly cause a lot of problems with her huge mouth, running around the building, spreading half-truths and gossip around. And when the gossip was spread, it got people angry, and while people fought with each other, she sat back and played dumb as to how the gossip had spread in the first place.

Like I said, every neighbourhood has one person like this. Mine is no exception. In my old neighbourhood, the wife of the nice guy at house 12 was that nasty gossip...but of course, I just ignored her. And I ignore the current one, because really, I wouldn't resort to the silly argument between the two of them. Although, looking back on that clip, Mrs. Mangel was all bark and no bite.

Of course, I would like to think that most of us will remember the times in which the neighbours would come together to help someone in need. I can remember during a terrible ice storm that we had back in the winter of 1998 here that the neighbours around my grandfather's place came together to see if he was getting through the storm just fine. I can also remember instances in which our neighbours at 15 and my family would have food exchanges (where he would give us some apples, and we'd give him apple pie...although it dawned on me that maybe he was just doing that TO get the apple pie, but whatever, it was still a nice gesture).

And on Neighbours, people came together on that show through weddings...



...funerals...



...disasters...



...and celebrations.



And really, isn't that what a good neighbour does?

Well...within reason, such as this screenshot from Damn You Autocorrect displays...


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Outwitting, Outplaying, Outlasting Survivor



Whether you love it or loathe it, many people have likely seen at least one episode of the reality television juggernaut Survivor. The show, which premiered in May 2000 has now visited several different countries, and will be airing the first episode of season twenty-three tomorrow night.



I know what you're thinking, those of you who hate everything to do with reality television are probably baffled that the show has lasted ONE season, let alone 23. I'm honestly a bit surprised that the show has gone on as long as it has myself. But I suppose as long as people watch the show, it will probably continue on as long as host Jeff Probst has a pulse.

I will say that for all the years of repeated challenges, volatile contestants, and luxury and reward challenges that the initial concept of Survivor was a decent one.

Certainly, almost everyone has thought about what they might do if they were ever stranded on a deserted island with nothing but the clothing on their backs. I know I have at times. And yes, there are times and occasions where I wonder if I would be able to survive as long as thirty-nine days on a deserted island (the average length of a full season of Survivor if a contestant makes it to the final round).



Survivor basically takes that 'what if' question and puts it to the test (well, as much as they can take it considering that at the heart of it all, it's still a game show with a million dollar prize at the end). They take no less than sixteen people from all over America in all walks of life and throw them on a deserted, desolate stretch of land. Sometimes, the show takes place on an island nation (like the Marquesas Islands or the Cook Islands), while in other cases, the area is landlocked (such as in the two seasons the show shot in Africa). Regardless, the castaways are left with very little aside from what they are wearing, though in the earliest seasons they were allowed one luxury item.

The people were often divided up into tribes of two (though sometimes they had divided them into four), and each tribe were given a tribal name. On every episode, these two tribes would compete in two separate challenges. The first challenge was usually a reward challenge where the winning tribes would get supplies to help them catch food, build shelter, make fire, or sometimes they were special outings where the tribe members would take part in once-in-a-lifetime outings, like swimming with jellyfish or having a picnic near a volcano.

The second challenge was an immunity challenge. If the tribe won, they were safe from being booted from the game. If not, the whole tribe would go to a ceremony known as 'Tribal Council', where Jeff would poke and prod the castaways into telling him what the dynamic was, and where they were feeling in terms of who they wanted out.

Each of the tribe members would vote on who they wanted out of the game, and the person with the most votes would have their torches snuffed out. Over the years, there have been some twists to the way people are voted out (tie-breaker challenges, the Redemption Island twist) but for the most part, once your torch is out, the tribe has spoken, and you are out.

Halfway through the game, the tribes merge into one larger tribe, and the competition becomes an individual game. The rewards and immunity are still in play, but only one person can win each. The people who make up the merged tribe choose their own tribe name, and go to Tribal Council as a group to vote an individual out. In most cases, these tribe members go on to form the jury that will decide which of the final two (or three) is more deserving of the million dollar prize. Depending on how the jury was voted off, their reactions can range from mild irritation to total disgust, so endgame players would really have to mind their P's and Q's in order to sway the jury in their favour.

The votes were tallied and the winner announced live in front of a studio audience, and the sole survivor would get the million dollar prize.

Over the last 22 seasons (they air two seasons a year, one in February, one in September), there has been hundreds of contestants that have played in the game, and hundreds of moments in the show that range from the brilliant to the bizarre. Some moves were incredible, while others were incredibly stupid. Some rose to the challenge, while others fizzled out. Some tried to play an honourable game, while others told so many lies that they couldn't keep them straight.

So for this blog, I thought I'd reminisce about some of the biggest game-changing moves, the dumbest players ever, and some of the most shocking moments that have aired on this program the last eleven years. After all, I'm sure that there must be some fans of the program who read this blog, right?

Why don't we begin with...

FAMOUS FACES



I'm not just talking about contestants who have appeared on more than one season of Survivor here. I'm talking about contestants who actually kicked off their careers by being on Survivor. There aren't a lot of them who have made it big, but the one that most people would probably recognize is Elisabeth Hasselbeck. She was on season two of the show, which took place in the Australian Outback, and she made it to the final four, despite being so plagued with malnutrition that her hair started falling out. She has since made a name for herself by becoming one of the panelists on the ABC talk show The View. Unfortunately, she has been linked to controversy on the show, and it's hard to forget the argument that she had on the show with Rosie O'Donnell. Still, on Elisabeth's original season, she was nice and sweet, and I was actually wanting her to win that year.  And sometimes, famous faces come onto the show to play as contestants (examples being Gary Hogeboom and Jimmy Johnson).

WHO NEEDS THE BACHELOR?



It seems a bit odd that more couples would find love on Survivor than most of the people who appeared on the Bachelor/Bachelorette show. I mean, after spending 39 days on a deserted island, the last thing I would probably be to someone would be attractive. But yet, the show has spurned a couple of love connections over the years. 'Boston' Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich fell in love during the All-Stars season, and both of them made it to the final two where Rob proposed to Amber. They've been together ever since. Another couple that fell in love that had Survivor ties were Ethan Zohn from Survivor Africa, and Jenna Morasca from Survivor The Amazon (who will be competing on the Amazing Race soon). Even Jeff Probst ended up falling in love with a former contestant (Julie Berry from Vanuatu), but that relationship did not last.

SUE'S 'SNAKES AND RATS' SPEECH

On the very first season of Survivor, we saw Richard Hatch go against Kelly Wiglesworth in the battle for the first million dollar prize, and Sue Hawk was still bitter at Kelly because Kelly betrayed her, which inspired one of the most venomous, hate-filled speeches by a juror. There have been many angry jurors over the years, but Sue set the precedent for the template of angry jurors. You can see her famous speech below.



DON'T TELL JON, HIS GRANDMOTHER'S DEAD...OR IS SHE?

Love him or hate him, Johnny Fairplay (born Jon Dalton) was quite the character on Survivor Pearl Islands. He was sneaky, smarmy, overconfident, and arrogant. He also told a few lies during the course of the game, but none could compare to the lie that he told midway through the season.

It was at a reward challenge. Specifically the reward challenge where the castaways were reunited with each other. The plan was for Jon's grandmother to come onto the show, but instead his friend came on to deliver some tragic news.



So you saw that, right? Where Jon told everyone his grandmother died while they were on the island, and how everyone basically let Jon win the challenge so that his friend could share her final moments with him. It would have been a really sweet moment.

If it were true.

The whole thing was a lie that Jon had arranged prior to the filming of the show as a sort of strategy. It seemed to work, as the remaining castaways felt bad for him, and for leverage, he would tell them that he would swear on his dead grandmother that he was telling the truth.



For the record, the lie was exposed, and Johnny Fairplay did come back to play on the Fans vs. Favorites season, but didn't last long.

QUITTERS NEVER WIN...WINNERS NEVER QUIT

Sometimes on Survivor, the conditions can be treacherous, rough, difficult, and torturous. At some point, I would think that almost every contestant had thought about quitting the game at some point, even if for a microsecond. Most of them seem to manage to get through okay.



Well, unless your name happens to be Osten, Kathy, NaOnka, or Purple Kelly. Those four quit the game for a number of reasons...they couldn't deal with the rain, they didn't like the people, they got chased by pelicans. With so many people wanting the Survivor experience for whatever reason, to have these people walk away from their experience knowing that someone else could have made the most out of their spot is somewhat shameful.



I must note that there are exceptions. Both Jenna Morasca and Sue Hawk had reasonable grounds for walking away from the game during the All-Star season. And that isn't counting all the people who were forced to quit because their bodies quit on them or because of an injury, which brings us to our next moment.

THE FIRST SURVIVOR MEDICAL EMERGENCY

The first Survivor contestant to be evacuated from the game for a medical emergency was Survivor The Australian Outback contestant Michael Skupin. You can see what happened below.



For the record, he had no long-term damage from the accidental burn.

WORST. TRIBE. EVER.



Poor Ulong. Prior to their existance, the tribe with the worst losing streak was the Pagong tribe way back in season one, with all the members getting picked off by the Tagi tribe members after the two tribes merged. At the very least though, Pagong and Tagi were dead even with five members a piece before they became the merged Ruttana tribe.

At least until the Ulong tribe came along in Survivor Palau.

Initially, there were nine members on each tribe after Jonathan and Wanda the singing Survivor were sent home after not getting chosen for either tribe. The Ulong tribe was in blue, Koror in brown.

Before the merge happened, there were eight Tribal Councils. One of them was a double-elimination. Willard from Koror was one of the eliminated contestants.

The other eight were from the Ulong tribe.

One by one, each of the Ulong tribe members were voted out because the tribe lost EVERY FREAKIN' IMMUNITY CHALLENGE. Every single one. The tribe was unable to form a coherent bond like Koror did, and as a result, each member was voted off. The only survivor of Ulong by the time the merge happened was Stephenie LaGrossa. By then, Stephenie's fate was more or less sealed, although she did manage to outlast Janu and Coby before being voted out.

Stephenie and her tribemate Bobby Jon Drinkard were invited back for the following season to compete (where Stephenie placed second), but neither one of them will forget their time on the tribe that lost the most challenges in a row.

GOODBYE ROTU, HELLO FINAL TWO!



By the time the merge occurred on Survivor Marquesas, the self-dubbed Rotu 4 (Tammy, Robert, John, Zoe) were well on their way to becoming the final four players. With Paschal and Neleh firmly on their side, and Kathy, Sean, and Vecepia clearly on the outs, the Rotu 4 thought that they were invincible, and acted quite cocky about it.

So cocky that they made no attempts to hide their desired pecking order. During a reward challenge, where the player had to answer questions and cut the ropes of opponents eliminating them from the competition, they made their move. They eliminated Sean first, followed by Vecepia, Kathy, Neleh, and Paschal. And when Tammy won the challenge, the Rotu 4 made such a big show of celebrating their victory that Neleh seemed to think that there was more to their celebration.

In fact, Neleh cleverly deduced that the Rotu 4 were telling them the order in which they planned to vote everyone out so that they could win the game...and Neleh was NOT settling for sixth place.

Convincing Paschal and Kathy of this theory was simple enough, but Neleh knew that she needed Sean and Vecepia to join up with them to have the numbers to go after the Rotu 4. Once they had their numbers, they teamed up against their first victim, John, and voted him out with the Rotu 4 in complete shock. Zoe, Tammy, and Robert were quickly snuffed out after that.

This was a pretty powerful move by Neleh, but it helped bring both her and Vecepia to the final two. For the record, Zoe understood Neleh's plan, and held no grudges, but the other three jurors...wow...they certainly played the Sue Hawk angry juror card against Neleh.

ROGUES GALLERY

There are some Survivors that just end up irritating a person for whatever reason. Whether it's because they aggravate their fellow castaways or viewers themselves, they somehow end up making the show. You already know about Johnny Fairplay, but here's a few more examples of these rogues.



RICHARD HATCH

Richard was the first winner of Survivor, but how he got there wasn't without controversy. He walked around nude and made no apology about it (his nudity triggered Sue Hawk's exit from the All-Stars season, matter of fact), and he was very arrogant and hard to stomach. But if there is one lesson we can learn from Richard Hatch it's this...if you win the million dollars, PAY THE TAXES! He's been in and out of prison as a result of this missed step.



JERRI MANTHEY

Probably one of the first female villains of the whole series, Jerri managed to manipulate her tribe into getting rid of Kel when she fabricated a lie that he smuggled beef jerky into the game.  She also played mind games with Colby and she tried to scheme her way further into the game with her wicked ways.  Although she has softened in return appearances, she is still worth mentioning because she was the first in a long line of people who flirted their way to endgame (Parvati Shallow, for instance).



RUSSELL HANTZ

In the last five seasons of Survivor, Russell Hantz has played on three of those five seasons, and has lost every single time. In two of those seasons, he ended up making it to the finals, but it was hard to feel sorry for him since he was already a millionaire, and since he had the idea that people would respect him for his bold moves and not his personality. Which is why Natalie and Sandra ended up beating him in the finals of the two seasons he did make it to the final three. I'm not saying that Russell was a terrible player who made terrible moves. As a game player, he was brilliant. But one needs a great social game to have a shot as well, and while Richard Hatch managed to balance these factors out, Russell couldn't do this. We'll see if his nephew can do much better, as Brandon Hantz is one of the contestants in the newest season.

PHILLIP SHEPPARD

Every time I think of him, I have the song 'Secret Agent Man' playing through my head. Though, with a question mark after that occupation every time you saw the typeface under an interview session. Phillip from Survivor Redemption Island was one of the craziest Survivors ever. Phillip would tell you that his crazy behaviour was all an act, and maybe it was. At least I hope so, because his allegations of racism against his tribemates and his volatility towards the females of the tribe certainly didn't win him any favours.



Did I mention that he wears tighty-pinkies? Nothing wrong with that, I suppose, as you can buy men's underwear in almost every colour under the sun. But, I doubt that I myself would be caught wearing pink briefs (unless there was some mishap involving a red sock in the wash), and I'm sure his tribemates didn't appreciate his choice in undergarments either...especially after 38 straight days without laundering them. Yuck!

ON THE FLIP SIDE...



I was such a fan of Rupert Boneham. I even had him in the Heroes vs. Villains Survivor pool at work. I think part of the charm of Rupert was that he was clearly at his element. He loved fishing, collecting wood, building things. That, plus he had such a childlike way of looking at the world. Very refreshing to watch. Especially on his original season. How could you forget him stealing the shoes of the other tribe and using them to get more supplies for their own tribe during their shopping excursion at a remote village before the game began?

Whether you love it or you hate it, Survivor has been on the air a long time, and while some feel it has passed its best before date, others can't get enough of it.

Because ultimately, the show provides a valuable lesson in self-preservation, as well as a life lesson against those who stand in your way of getting your dreams.

Outplay. Outwit. Outlast.

And now, one final moment.