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Original Message
"The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Estee on 09-18-09 at 07:48 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-18-09 AT 07:55 AM (EST)

Let's break down Misirussell's strategy step by step.

1. Sabotage your own tribe at every opportunity: physical, emotional, comfort -- everything. Make sure they lose challenges, personal possessions, mysteriously develop holes in the shelter roof -- whatever you can do to make them weaker, you do it.

2. A weakened tribe is going to be easier to dominate in all ways. Of course, a weakened tribe is also going to lose challenges, some of those challenges are going to be for Immunity -- and the weaker they get, the better the chances of going on an all-out Ravulong streak. But that just lets you get rid of the threats in your own group: since you have alliances with most of the pack and they'll be afraid to vote out a strong guy during the tribal stage, you'll be safe until the merge.

3. Make the merge as part of a very small minority (thanks to all those planned Immunity loses), joining a group that's had time to develop a very cohesive tribal identify because you gave them so much time to sit around celebrating their strength.

4. And what's the best way to keep that identity intact a little longer before having to cannibalize their own? They vote you out.

5. Spend a record-setting eighty minutes in Final Confessional screaming about how they had no right to do that to you, you're going to use your oil company influence to raise prices up to $300 a barrel just to get back at them, and that's assuming you just don't save a lot of time by killing them all in their sleep.

This is a reversal of the normal formula: 'good' may wind up triumphing over evil because evil is dumb. Misirussell may be the first contestant in series history who needs a tribal switch to stay alive: unless he can sabotage both groups, his such-as-it-is plan is doomed to failure -- and even if he gets to work his anti-magic on everyone, it just increases his chances of getting caught. And he's a bad liar: people are already becoming suspicious of his body language (note that he has trouble making direct eye contact) -- plus those who believe his sob stories see them as a reason to vote him out. Who wants to sit in front of the jury next to a Katrina victim? No one -- time to make him drown in a somewhat more localized storm.

Let's say for a moment that he's telling the truth about being a multi-millionaire oil company owner. (He cares nothing about the suffering of other people and just wants his cash no matter what it does to them. Natural match of industry and worker, don'tcha think?) He'd better hope every contract people have with him is lifetime with no escape clauses, because after getting a look at what he thinks of the world around him, anyone who can is going to be switching to natural gas. His attitude appears to be 'anyone stupid enough to share a world with me deserves to be victimized -- and that's everybody': is that someone you want to do business with? Misirussell hasn't shown any comprehension of 'consequences' yet, and I don't think this part's occurred to him either. He should be glad he's got his packet, because he's not getting much more -- and it wouldn't surprise me if his previous customers and partners were calling lawyers to inspect their deals, looking for the ways they'd been bilked. Ways they could sue over.

But for the Misirussell we're seeing on the screen, that time is later. Right now, he's about as protected as any coward on his level could ever wish.

Yes, I called him a coward. Give me the opportunity to do so and I'll say it to his face. He's indulging his urges in an environment where the only means of getting back at him involves writing his name down. As far as he's concerned, he can do anything he likes and it's just what people deserve -- but the instant anyone starts plotting against him, the natural order of the universe has been overturned and he must punish those who try to think. Only Misirussell is allowed to think. Or act. Or have money. (Still a natural match.) But he strikes in the dark: no direct confrontation, because that's where his real personality would come out, and he couldn't survive that. He can't even manage direct eye contact: how much internal fear does that need to continually avoid? No one can see how small and petty he is, so no one can get a chance to look inside.

But for now, he'll have his fun. He can destroy every piece of personal and tribal property he can reach, and guess what? The rulebook allows it. (No protection of items, no rules against searching them -- he could probably rip clothes off bodies and toss them into the ocean without fear of punishment, but it's too direct for his style.) He can dominate the women, and he needs to dominate women: it's payback for all the times they wouldn't let him get close enough to attack, and he's too afraid of the men. He'll contaminate the water supply to make people sick, rub his feces all over the food, and burn down the shelter, preferably while it's occupied. He just can't get his ultimate punchline.

Because he came out here to show how easy the game was to win, to keep the money away from other people, to have fun at the expense of others while never seeing a single bit of payback from the universe -- and he's going to fail at all of it.

He can't win the title. He can't take the million. He will see backlash. And in the end, all his self-described evil gives him the power to do is two things.

He can be a monumental waste of our time. And he can drive viewers right out of the series. Because if it ever does look like he might take the whole thing, or if people just grow tired of his antics -- well, look what happened to Big Brother's ratings this year: cut in half in one week when it seemed certain Natalie would claim the prize. The audience does become sick of this, y'know. That's a lesson MB and Jeff could stand to learn, and soon.

I know he's going to fail. It doesn't mean I have to be there when it happens.

'You don't call a man a coward if you intend to let him live.' I'm not seeing a man to begin with. Bullied kid emotionally locked in at seven who decided to put on a few pounds and make the world pay for every insult? That's closer to the mark.

Table of contents
Messages in this discussion
"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by dabo on 09-18-09 at 09:18 AM
I know he's going to fail. I'm just wondering if the tribe will catch on that one of them is playing dirty. The missing sock could be anything, a bird decided to take it, something like that. But all the canteens being emptied could only be by human agency. Enough of these type of things happening often enough should raise suspicions.

ARRRRRRR!!!!

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by nailbone on 09-23-09 at 04:09 PM
But all the canteens being emptied could only be by human agency

Here's what Marisa said in a post-boot interview:

And the canteens, at that point nobody was assigning canteens. We made sure all the canteens were filled, and it took two pots of water to fill all the canteens, so there were always people who didn’t have water and we wanted to make sure everybody stayed hydrated. I figured everybody had just drank all of them and we had to get another pot of water. It never came on my radar that somebody would pour out our water, especially from our own tribe.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by LFJ on 09-18-09 at 09:27 AM
It is fitting that Russell is in the oil business. The only word to describe him is UNCTUOUS. He must need solvents to take a shower, or risk polluting the atmosphere. The good news - he is entertaning in a perverse way. AND, Betsy is already onto him. I like her, and hope she survives his machinations long enough to make the merge.
"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by byoffer on 09-18-09 at 09:38 AM
How long before the producers make a rule against this sort of behaviour? They might think that having a villain like Russell is a ratings boost, but I disagree. While there may not be a specific rule against what he is doing, I think that most of us viewers like to think there are some general guidelines to protect the players.

I only watched one season of Big Brother, and the actions of Evil ##### turned me right off. I hope survivor doesn't go that way.


"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by mindy23 on 09-18-09 at 10:40 AM

>I only watched one season of
>Big Brother, and the actions
>of Evil ##### turned me
>right off. I hope
>survivor doesn't go that way.

I hear ya, and second that opinion!

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by samboohoo on 09-18-09 at 12:00 PM
All I could hear was Erin saying, "Who is this #####?"


Samboobree, brought to life by Arkie


"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Snidget on 09-18-09 at 12:07 PM
Almost makes me hope they don't do any switches and just let him self destruct his tribe right out of existence, especially if they don't realize what he is up to nor votes him out sooner rather than later.

Even more hope that people who know what he is up to (even if they can't get him out because the rest of the tribe is too stupid) let the InTheHouse tribe know what he does to his team-mates. That way if he gets to a merge they will be more than anxious to get him out before he can cause too much damage.

What I really hope is all his sabotaging makes it so he has to be medi-vaced out of the game. That would be sweet.

I know, I'm cute when I think I have hope.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Bursar on 09-18-09 at 01:35 PM
How JP and EPMB can possibly think that this is "good television" is beyond me. Ah well, I'll just ignore him like I ignored Benji when he got too far over the top.
"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Karchita on 09-18-09 at 02:40 PM
Anyone surprised that he's from Texas?



"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by jbug on 09-18-09 at 02:55 PM
LAST EDITED ON 09-18-09 AT 03:34 PM (EST)

LAST EDITED ON 09-18-09 AT 03:14 PM (EST)

using anywho.com this is what came up

Russell D Hantz
117 County Rd #4532
Dayton, TX 77535
****phone # removed

Anyone up to calling him?

myspace
http://profile.myspace.com/444386552

"Edit that?"
Posted by Estee on 09-18-09 at 03:26 PM
I'd remove the phone number. Writing him a personal letter is one thing -- but if this winds up with people calling him at all hours, it could lead to trouble.

"RE: Edit that?"
Posted by jbug on 09-18-09 at 03:35 PM
okay,
but anyone that wants it can just go look it up like I did
"Sure..."
Posted by Estee on 09-18-09 at 03:39 PM
...but legally, that should make them responsible for their subsequent actions -- not you.
"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by MissMyth on 09-19-09 at 04:52 PM
HEY! Don't be rude to Texans!

Listening to his accent makes me think he's not originally from these parts anyway.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by PepeLePew13 on 09-19-09 at 05:14 PM
Like, maybe, from New Orleans, perhaps?

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by nailbone on 09-23-09 at 04:11 PM
LAST EDITED ON 09-23-09 AT 04:12 PM (EST)

Anyone surprised that he's from Texas?

I resent that remark.

Seriously.



"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by CTgirl on 09-18-09 at 02:41 PM
I find it hard to believe that this man is married with four kids.


Lit up by Agman

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Estee on 09-18-09 at 03:28 PM
There's someone for everyone, y'know. (Plus it's amazing what some can put up with in the name of money.) What I'm having trouble with is his claimed age: thirty-six. He looks at least eight years older than that.
"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by finallytyping on 09-18-09 at 05:26 PM
There is no way he is 36. He's in his 40's for sure. (Not that 40's are old, mind you)
"He used to have oil in his hair..."
Posted by Estee on 09-18-09 at 03:53 PM
I've said it before and I'll say it again: who's vetting these people, the Republican National Committee?

http://community.realitytvworld.com/boards/DCForumID2/7245.shtml

Another reminder that VH1 and CBS share some common ground.

"RE: He used to have oil in his hair..."
Posted by LFJ on 09-18-09 at 08:29 PM
"I've said it before and I'll say it again: who's vetting these people, the Republican National Committee?"

Probably the same people who gave ACORN public funding.

"RE: He used to have oil in his hair..."
Posted by Estee on 09-19-09 at 03:14 AM
Hey, if it wasn't for their exhaustive efforts, RussHell wouldn't be here as our Pimp Of Tomorrow.
"RE: He used to have oil in his hair..."
Posted by LFJ on 09-19-09 at 08:32 AM
>Hey, if it wasn't for their
>exhaustive efforts, RussHell wouldn't be
>here as our Pimp Of
>Tomorrow.

You're dead on.

Without them, much of the of bigbigbig-time pimpin' wouldn't be going on today...

Russell is small potatoes, comparatively speaking.

It should be fun watching him pimp on a small scale.

And as for vetting, if the Tsars can get around it, so can EPMB.


"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by michel on 09-18-09 at 05:24 PM
Are you sure that plan can't work? Someone used RusHell's psychological warfare once before and made it all the way to F3. She didn't destroy anything but she kept her tribe as divided as she could. Can you guess who it is?
"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Colonel Zoidberg on 09-19-09 at 12:12 PM
Scout?

I more thought of Sandra from Pearl Islands and her destruction of Balboa's food supply. Sadly, she won. (Only not "an absolute travesty" because her vitcory was les repulsive than Lill's or Fairplay's.)

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by michel on 09-19-09 at 09:32 PM
You got it my Colonel. Scout knew that, if everyone got along, she'd soon be a target. By constantly feeding their animosity, by encouraging Twila to speak her mind, by preventing Eliza and Ami from really bonding, she controled how the tribe acted and saved herself.

Sandra destroying the fish wasn't done for strategy, just for revenge. And that happened late in the game. Scout started during the initial trek to camp, imposing her decision to stop for the night, knowing that it would irritate some women while others would come to her defense.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by emydi on 09-19-09 at 06:22 PM
Jan and her dead bat strategy?

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Brownroach on 09-23-09 at 04:27 PM
LOL emy.


A tribe glows in Brooklyn

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Survivorerist on 09-18-09 at 11:22 PM
Hi all! Back from a who-knows-how-long hiatus to weigh in on this.

I must admit that I found him extremely entertaining and he was one of my early favourites. I found it strangely enjoyable to watch him sabotage his own tribe for no apparent reason. Frankly, I've watched enough Survivor to know better than to expect a high level of gamesmanship, but doing stupid stuff like Russell? *That's* what I call entertainment.

Then...Tribal Council happened. Did you really have to gang up and rail Marisa like that, as if she wasn't already going to be landslided out? Honestly, you had her *this* close to breaking out in tears (Side note: Alright, let's get this out of the way. Marisa is a stone cold fox. From what I saw, she was just about the most perfect Survivor contestant ever...*except* for nearly crying like a little girl. No offence, but suck it up, buttercup). Anyways, congratulations Russell on going from entertaining imp to the biggest d-bag on the planet by making a girl nearly cry for no good reason. I hear Taylor Swift is winning a music award...you busy this weekend?

Finally, what is up with Russell's voice? I will tell you right now, I absolutely adore Texas accents. But I *cannot stand* hearing him talk. Every time he opens his mouth, I want to blow out both my ears with a pencil.

I feel much better. That is all.

-----------

~Erist

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Riordan on 09-25-09 at 12:10 PM
Hey stranger! Nice to see you.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by udg on 09-20-09 at 02:02 AM
>He can be a monumental waste
>of our time. And
>he can drive viewers right
>out of the series.
>Because if it ever does
>look like he might take
>the whole thing, or if
>people just grow tired of
>his antics...
>The audience does become sick
>of this, y'know. That's
>a lesson MB and Jeff
>could stand to learn, and
>soon.

Amen and amen. I'm already sick of him. Literally. This one ##### on TV managed to trigger an anxiety attack and give me a stomach ache for the rest of the evening. I haven't deleted Survivor from my Tivo list. Yet. I'm going to try fast forwarding through #####'s scenes this week. If that doesn't work, though, "Sayonara, Survivor."

And if 20 is another A.S.S, that could be permanent.


Slice n' Dice's Sigpic Chop Shop 2004

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Survivorerist on 09-20-09 at 02:29 AM
And you know they'll want him back for A.S.S. too.

-----------

~Erist

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by more_cowbell on 09-21-09 at 11:36 AM
Geez. My insurance only covers ten therapy sessions for Post Traumatic Delusional Putz Disorder. Coach used up my lifetime allotment. I don't think I can go through this again.

Either he's a bad actor pretending to be a multimillionaire oil company bigwig, or Charles Manson's really let himself go.

"On the plus side..."
Posted by Estee on 09-21-09 at 01:00 PM
...I was hoping the siren call of unjustified ego would summon you back.

Just do what I do and hedge against future incarnations.

"RE: On the plus side..."
Posted by more_cowbell on 09-22-09 at 09:53 AM
Aw, Estee...I missed your fabulous skewerings of teh_stupid and had to come back.

Besides, this place is much cheaper than therapy.

"RE: On the plus side..."
Posted by Estee on 09-22-09 at 12:21 PM
You should try summary writing. It's like an extended primal scream.
"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by weltek on 09-21-09 at 01:31 PM
I have to believe others on the tribe have his number. I think it's being carefully edited so that WE don't know ALL of them are suspicious of him. They, however, are smart enough to know he's strong and they need his strength to win challenges. If the sabotage keeps occuring however, he's pushing himself into the "more harm than good" category quickly. Of course, someone might also being saying "easy to win against" in the final two.

If he doesn't go soon, however, my stomach won't allow me to keep watching.


-A Tribetastic Creation

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by dabo on 09-21-09 at 03:18 PM
It is really much too early to be thinking about an F2 goat, but I agree that some may be letting him run his game for now in order keep themselves safe in the background.

The problem with that strategy is letting it go on too long and not having the numbers to correct course when the time comes.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by PepeLePew13 on 09-21-09 at 03:44 PM
It's the same thing with Coach last season. They all knew he was nuts and some of the exit interviews confirmed that they didn't know what to make of his stories and had suspicions.

Yet Coach made it to F5.

"Article/Blog entry."
Posted by Estee on 09-21-09 at 05:49 PM
Link brought over from Fanatics, discovered by TxMom 2011:

http://blogs.chron.com/peep/2009/09/we_love_survivors_evil_russell.html

Copying my own response, since part of it applies here:

He'd rather die than lose? Let's hope he gets the first wish: it's not exactly an unbiased article (so lying about being a Katrina victim is awesome, is it?), and seeing his brother trying to defend him gave me the same reaction Benji's sibling did: they can all go down together.

There might be a contractual issue here, BTW: while the brother obviously knows something of RussHell's future, he's not allowed to tell the press about it just yet. (But don't worry: following the clauses of a signed agreement is only for the people they bind.)

So it's a family business, huh? That means he didn't do all the groundwork himself with the help of his sparkling charisma: really, who knew? And this let me find the first mention of said business beyond show-investigation references -- but all it comes out to is a welcome to new members.

http://www.americanwaterways.com/press_room/newsletter/2009/02-27-09_non.pdf

It's not completely unusual for a mid-size business to have a P.O. Box as their primary address -- but it's not standard, either.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by more_cowbell on 09-22-09 at 11:05 AM
My problem with the dastardly "Operation Mustache Twirl" plan is that it's mainly about RussHole getting maximum camera time, not about strategic gameplay. He'll ham it up, strut around, say outrageous things, make ridiculous and flimsy alliances, and pull random pea-brained juvenile stunts. Anything to hog the editing. There's no intelligence behind it. The sock and canteen thing, the "dumbass girl alliance" (I think there's a missing slash there, BTW...it should be "dumbass/girl alliance"), going after Marisa -- all pure grandstanding. None of it had anything to do with the game.

The game becomes less about tribe dynamics, and more about which cast member is the most desperate for attention. When the villainy is so obviously faked and in-your-face, it's not very compelling TV. CBS keeps doing this more and more every season. I wish they'd get back to casting real people instead of preeners.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by michel on 09-23-09 at 06:36 PM
>My problem with the dastardly "Operation
>Mustache Twirl" plan is that
>it's mainly about RussHole getting
>maximum camera time, not about
>strategic gameplay...There's no intelligence behind it.
> The sock and canteen...all pure grandstanding.
>None of it had anything to do with the game
>I wish they'd get back to
>casting real people instead of
>preeners.

I disagree. As evil as he is, there is a plan behind his actions.

- Ben knows he isn't a crowd favorite ==> He needs RussHell.

- Mike is weak, Ashley was targeted ==> They need RussHell.

- There are players (Jaison, maybe even Liz and Natalie) that feel weaker than they thought they would ==> they need to keep the strong guy.

- The tribe has no idea that RussHell is a saboteur. That means the blame falls on everyone.

That's all good for RussHell's game. His chances of making the merge are solid.

The thing missing in the plan is that we don't know how he will deal with the other tribe. He needs the numbers after the merge. Can he win enough rewards to demoralize the other tribe? Can he keep his tribe strong enough to win immunities? That's all he needs.

Look, this is a crazy game and there have been many players (Rudy, Cirie, Yau Man, Taj being examples) that couldn't win the game because they were too well liked. A lot of hated players made it to the end. Clay was 1 vote away from a million dollars!!

The best alliances are the ones made with players you can beat in front of a jury and RussHell seems to have understood that. Ben, Ashley and Mike could all have problems getting votes.

And don't you think RussHell is real? I've seen a**holes like him in the real world.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by more_cowbell on 09-24-09 at 03:42 PM
Well, I'm not yet convinced he's for real...he seems a little too cartoonish and attention-mongering. (Ben, on the other hand, is a 100% believable jerk.) Random sh*t-stirring isn't an effective strategy unless there's some forethought behind it. He can't just impulsively unleash chaos on his entire tribe and then expect to keep control over the game.

SockGate might have played out the way he wanted if he'd deliberately targeted somebody physically weak, with insecure standing in the tribe - Mike, for example, or Liz, or even Ashley. Jaison was probably the worst choice. Jaison's not on the TC bubble, he's too mild-mannered and savvy to risk a tribal confrontation on Day 2, and his strength will be needed in tribal challenges.

That said, I agree with you that Russell will last quite awhile, but more because of how the game is structured than through his own genius puppetmastering. Early on, physically strong guys tend to be in the driver's seat, regardless of personality. Russell is in a good strategic position even without the weird sociopathic fraternity pranks. Why risk getting caught and exposed?

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by michel on 09-24-09 at 07:03 PM
"Early on, physically strong guys tend to be in the driver's seat, regardless of personality."

But many strong guys were voted out early because of personality clashes: Joel, Kel, Carl, Peter, Hunter, John, Daniel, Jed, Robb, Ryan, Burton, all the Vanuatu young guys, Jonathan Blake, Bobdawg, JP, Dave...

It takes more than strength.

"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by more_cowbell on 09-24-09 at 11:45 PM
There are always exceptions.
"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by toddE on 09-24-09 at 12:36 PM
Russ is miserable, watching him makes me miserable...why make myself miserable?


"RE: The flaw in the plan."
Posted by Estee on 09-24-09 at 01:02 PM
Ask that question of someone who isn't familiar with most of your reality watch list.
"Speaking of flaws..."
Posted by Estee on 09-25-09 at 06:25 AM
I give him all credit for realizing that past tendencies on this show can indicate future results, searching for the idol and finding it -- but there's one problem. The way the rules currently work, the idol for each tribe is hidden in the opposing camp. He's holding Galoot's token. There are no guarantees it would work for any member of Fugga Fugga ((c) Frisky) unless one of them directly gave it to him.

I can hear Jeff now. "This? Is an immunity idol. Unfortunately, it's not your immunity idol..."

Now there's an exit.

"RE: Speaking of flaws..."
Posted by Sunny_Bunny on 09-25-09 at 10:22 AM
LAST EDITED ON 09-25-09 AT 10:22 AM (EST)

True, the idol in the past has given the players longevity because those that know you have the idol, or think you have it leave you alone until it's to late. Russ wasn't privy to last season when somebody finally figured out that you force it into play to get rid of it - because he was filming his own show.

I so hope you get your Jeffy wish, because that WOULD be entertainment. LOL

I so tired of this show already. Loading the tribes with so many abrasive personalities makes my head hurt. LOL

"RE: Speaking of flaws..."
Posted by udg on 09-26-09 at 04:55 PM
As much glee as that would give me, whats-her-face was told she could share her clue (or not) with a member of Russ's tribe. I'm sure it's a "universal idol" usable by anyone.

Here's hoping whats-his-face realizes he needs to get Russ out sooner, not later, and blindsides his A.S.S.(2) before he plays the idol.

Hmmm. Well, I guess that says something about Russ. At least I know his name, unlike most of the rest of the cast. Shambo's name has stuck, too. Other than that... I think there's someone whose name starts with an L, and someone else with a B-or-was-it-an-R?

In other news, now that the cop (whose name I also cannot remember) is gone, I really don't care at all about Russ's tribe. He can be as obnoxious to them as he wants. *shrug* If they don't notice, they deserve to suffer.


Slice n' Dice's Sigpic Chop Shop 2004