Opinion
Even though everyone acts nice to each other it is vital to remember that they're all competing against each other for a million dollars. Of the two teams, Tagi and Pagong, Tagi seemed to have the wider variety of people. Pagong had the young beautiful people, and one old guy. Guess who got voted off first. I'm rooting for the Tagi. They vote off people who would be liabilities to the team. Pagong votes people off if they don't like them.
Also the segements with the Tagi do not seem like the Real World on an isalnd. The Pagong segements do.
Since Tagi was comprised of a wide variety of ages and backgrounds the relationships that formed were instantly more interesting than those in Pagong. Tagi seemed to form a team of people who were trying to survive and stay competitive against an opponent. Pagong, on the other hand, took the form of a bunch of guys on a camping trip. If someone was kicked out it was because they were bringing down the atmosphere. Although they had the advantage of youth they were also annoying as hell.
Cool things:
As the episodes air I will keep a running tab on all the cool things that happen.
Episode One:
Tagi kick the sweet old woman off the island.
Episode Two:
The old Navy SEAL says he and the gay guy are getting along well. But not in a homosexual way. Pagong kick the cranky old man off the island.
Episode Three:
The gay guy and the devout christian guy gets on each others nerves. Tagi kick the manipulative bitch off the island.
Episode Four:
The women walk around in swimsuits. The old guy and the gay guy kick Pagong's ass in a buried treasure challenge. The Christian stops preaching unless asked. Pagong kick the girl who was sick the first week off the island.
Episode Five:
Two of the Pagong shack up, the cute girl and the crazy "I'm too cool for this shit" guy. The Tagi compare the Christian's sudden skinniness to a Holocaust victim. It may be unhealthy. They kick him off the island.
Episode Six:
Lizards eat the chicken Pagong won last week. The black guy compares women to cows. The older and slower Tagi beat the Pagong in an obstacle course. The white, athletic, cocky guy is kicked off the island.
Why the Pagong should lose. Because they act like they're on the Real World.
Greg: He made a coconut phone. He seems to think he's cooler than everyone else, and that his life force is different. Rather than sleep with the others he goes off on his own to sleep in the forest.
Gervase: He can't swim. And he is supposed to be a survivor on an island. Also one of those guys who seems to light hearted for his own good.
Colleen: Besides looking like a cuter version of Natalie Imburglia, she offers nothing to help survive. Personality wise she admits she's a little spacey. It seems in order to survive she shacked up with Greg.
Jenna: She doesn't really stand out. She's like scenery. She says stuff but I easily forget about her.
Gretchen: Maybe she should win. They keep refering to her as a housewife and a teacher, but ignore the fact that she taught survival training in the Air Force sor six years.
Joel: Besides being Hitler's ideal uber citizen he was kicked off because the women found him annoying.
Ramona: Kicked off. She was sick the first week. By the time she was better and able to kick ass with her martial arts training and understanding of science her tribe didn't like her.
B.B.: Annoying old guy. Kicked off first in Pagong. Which was a shame since he was the one who basicly did all the hard work for the Pagong. He built their shelter and found their water supply. He was also a bitch, declaring himself the winner and expecting his orders to be followed.
The only reason I can watch the Pagong segments and not gag:
Why Tagi should win They're trying to win.
Rudy: Cranky old guy. He was one of the first Navy Seals until his retirement in 1990. Since then he's stayed active. He takes no crap, and may be a little slow to help, but he knows what he's talking about and is still in great condition.
Richard: A gay buisness consultant, he has adapted best to the island. He captures most of Tagi's food and is almost always one of the competitors for the team challenges. Plus, since he understands interpersonal relations, he has formed alliances to prevent himself from getting kicked off and is just a nice guy to everyone.
Susan: The only woman who takes the contest seriously, she's in it for the hundred dollars. She doesn't take crap from anyone either, but knows when it's not a person's fault. She puts in as much as she expects to get out.
Kelly: The only one of the younger women to realize that they're supposed to try and survive.
Sean: I wanted him to get kicked off before Dirk. He wanted to build a bowling alley. He's tried to contribute but most of his contributions have failed.
Sonja: She was nice, but old and not very fit. She was the first one to ever get kicked off the island.
Stacey: Enthusiastic, she tried to create alliances, just like Richard, but was too manipulative about it. Came off as a two faced bitch. But then, she's a lawyer. The second Tagi to get kicked off.
Dirk: Poor Dirk. Prejudice was there against devout Christians. Also a began to lose weight at an unhealthy rate. Began to become a liability. The third Tagi kicked off the island.
The official site Despite being an official site, it is incredibly intelligent in regards to how it sees things happening. It's episode guide documents the changes in the group dynamics rather acuratley, and evaulates why each person is voted off with a keen insight. It tries to be fair to it's contestants, but it doesn't beat around the bush. They admite that Joel getting voted off was a surprise, but don't sugar coat it. They also inform us that Susan made love at Disney World.
Coolest Guy on the Island: It's a toss up between Rudy and Richard. Rudy took no shit, knew the best way to do things, and knew he was a liability in the physical team challenges so he tried to minimize his damage. Richard did everything right, knew how to get the fish, who to talk to to form alliances, and how to be nice to people without bull shitting them.
Coolest Girl on the Island:Kelly. After Stacey was kicked off Kelly began to flourish without the manipulative lawyer trying to push her into stuff. She lost the paddle race, a big upset since she's a river guide and was up against the guy who couldn't swim. It upset her a lot. Less vocal than anyone else on her team, she and Rudy quieted down after the first few days, she nonetheless comes off as pretty intelligent. Maybe it's because she's surrounded by older people, but she also comes off as having more dimensions than any of the women on the Pagong tribe. (Whose main objective seems to be walk around in bikinis.)
