survivor - heroes vs. villains

Before the last season, this was who Rob C ranked as the top three players ever. He made a point to say the list of the three best players and the three most entertaining players would be vastly different.

3. Earl
2. Yul
1. Brian (Thailand)

I think he said the three most entertaining were Boston Rob, Richard Hatch and Russell.

 

I've always wondered how Richard Hatch would have done had he not been on a season full of nitwits originally. Like had he come about in seasons 10-15, when the show had been on for a while, how would he have done?

I don't think he would have gotten very far. Then again, I don't know, maybe it's his desire to always be naked that has me questioning how great a player he really is.

 

Hatch wasn't the best, but he was the first. His game was absolutely brilliant. I still maintain that if Kelly wins that season, the show is nowhere close to as popular today as it is.

I just remember when they were in the Final 3 and had to hang on to the tree or whatever for immunity and he let go, and then told both of them they would essentially need to take him to the Final 2 if they were going to have any chance to win. It was also his way of getting rid of Rudy, who would have destroyed him in jury, without having to doublecross him. He also knew he'd be getting Rudy's vote. He also got rid of the players who were the biggest threat to him, Gretchen and Greg, very early because he knew they would be the biggest threat to keeping him from doing what he did.

Yes, he was playing against idiots, but it's not like the casts these days are that much different, with the exceptions of the all-star seasons.

 

How would other players have fared in subsequent seasons if Hatch hadn't provided a blueprint for them? Would the game be played any differently? Hatch is a prick, yes. And he likes to show his off.

But he figured out the game, or at least the model to which everyone else since has tried to duplicate. He also flooded the use of the word "alliance" into everyday lexicon.

He is deserving as one of the best to ever play.

 

Exactly. In Season 2 people were talking about alliances in the first episode. He was also smart enough to align himself with people completely different from him so as to not be obvious about it. One of the reasons that season was so great is you had a couple votes where nobody seemed to know there was an alliance until Greg and Gretchen were picked off.

 

Hatch was smart in that he used peoples vulnerablities and insecurities to make them loyal to him. Reminded me of that seen in Hoffa where Nicholson fires half the staff and figures the rest will be scared into being loyal to him.
That's the beauty of the game. No one can expect to power through the challenges to the end, and even if you establish yourself as a protector - the people you are protecting will turn against you.
And as much as I hated the introduction of puzzles as a challenge - it's proven to be a great equalizer between the genders.

 

I sometimes wonder why Earl doesn't get the respect he deserves. At the risk of lobbing a grenade into the hold, I wonderi if it has anything to do with Fiji having an all African-American final three.
He won unanimously, and controlled the entire game without being obvious about it. He made sure he took the right people to FTC with him (Cassandra, a complete nonentity, and Dreamz, who screwed Yau-Man on the truck prize). Earl was smart and cuttthroat enough not to let Yau-Man, who also might've won unaimously, reach FTC, and still got Yau-Man's vote. I wish he had played All-Stars, because he had sneaky game.

 

Earl lacked charisma, same with the guy who won when he was the last guy left, same with Brian. You never really saw them sweat.

 

I felt like Earl and Yao-man were pretty much neck and neck for best player in that season, and once Yao was gone, Earl was the only real choice. Obviously he deserves a lot of credit for being there still and for pulling the strings he did pull, but I don't think he was the master puppet master the way some others have been.

 

Agreed. Earl doesn't make it as far without Yao and vice versa. The best players in the game were the clear choice in their season, even if they don't win unanimously (someone is almost always vindictive). If Yao and Earl were in the finals it would have been close, but I think Yao wins. Earl was a great player on a kind of boring season. He lacked charm and Yao stole the show for the most part. Add in the craziness of Dreamz and Earl just doesn't stand out from Fiji.

 

I think Earl was the first unanimous win. Granted, if Dreamz didn't screw Yau Man over, Yau Man probably would have won, but being a unanimous jury pick is pretty impressive.

That was a really boring season though.

I would argue that the best any player did in a single season was Fireman Tom. He kicked everyone's ass and did so without making everyone hate him.

 

I always thought Earl was underrated as a winner too. I thought he did a great job finessing the jury and played a strong physical and mental game. He also knew when it was time to get rid of Yau, but managed to do it without totally turning Yau against him. Of course he was helped by Yau, but everyone who survives the first few eliminations is usually helped by someone.

Russell, the self-proclaimed student of the game who wants to change how the game is played because he can't figure out how to win, could have learned something from Earl, IMO.