LAST EDITED ON 03-30-12 AT 01:53 PM (EST)

LAST EDITED ON 03-30-12 AT 01:49 PM (EST)

Help me here. I am trying to figure out if Mark, and the others, have been coached by the producers about their image problem. This was based on Mark's comment to Jeremy and Conda during the challenge week 12 ("this is why America hates you two").

According to the article (link posted by Estee) we can figure out that February 22 was week 8 for us, possibly week 14 (we think) for them (we will find out next week).

Week 8 for them was therefore around Christmas-time, maybe early Jan. That would be 6 weeks.

Their week 9 would have been early to mid January. That is when they would have been told stuff, that is when the producers changed the show, and started the sedated and sanitized second half.

Importantly, the producers would have had to have time to get feedback. We started posting 1/4. So, they would have had 2-3 weeks (2-3 episodes)plus 18 days (2-3 more episodes) of feedback (from wherever they get their feedback from).

Likewise, since week 8 for us = week 14 for them (we think) that is another way to calculate that the producers had a six week period to make their decision to change the direction of the show.

Week 2 is when we all began complaining that it was looking like a rough season. Week six is when Nap time was yelling "shut up" at the TV and Jbug was fed up, and Adrian got voted off.

In hindsight, I think I have learned that the producers took the 18 days off in order to get 3 more shows aired, and get feedback from these episodes, in order to make a decision about the show's direction.

During Week 12, Mark says his "America"...comment, which implies that he may have heard some feedback from the producers at some point in time.

I am thinking they were informed of the change of direction by the producers week 9 based on 6 weeks of episodes with feedback. Changes were made week 9. Mark (and everybody else) therefore had feedback since that time.

I think we would all agree that the last half has been both edited with a different goal in mind, and the players themselves seem to me to be increasingly careful about how what they say in front of a camera affects their image from their point of view.

(Also, as has been noted, the time gap at home seems to have closed. Megan did not lose much weight since going home. I think the 18 days closed the gap between us and them by about 3 weeks which helps explain her lack of additional weight loss).

I believe my reasoning is sound, what do you think?

On the other hand, maybe I am just a closet paranoid, lol.