'Survivor': Russell is a jerk, Ben is a racist

October 4, 2009 8:31 PM

So far on "Survivor," we have two quite interesting characters named Russell and Ben.

Okay, so the "Survivor" recapping snafu has been straightened out and we will be covering "Survivor" this season. Sorry for the delay. Here's a quick summary of the first three episodes.

A lot can be learned from Thursday night's previouslies, when Jeff Probst informed us that Foa Foa is in shambles and Galu is sunshine, rainbows and puppies. Galu has won all three immunity challenges thus far and Foa Foa also lost someone to an injury, which means Galu is up 10 members to 6 on Foa Foa.

Galu also appears to be getting along great, which is easy to say when you're winning. I've heard so many baseball, football and basketball teams talk about how easy-going a locker room is when your team is winning and how awkward and short-fused everyone is when your team is losing, so I'm not sure Galu would be so hunky-dory if they weren't winning everything.

However, Foa Foa's attitude cannot be blamed solely on the losing. They also have to contend with both Russell H. and Ben. Oh lordy. What rock did the CBS producers find these two gems under?

First of all: Russell. If I had only seen the first episode, I would categorically say he is the biggest a-hole this show has ever seen. I don't mind strategy, I don't even mind lying (even if pretending you were in Hurricane Katrina is in REALLY poor taste). What I DO mind is him burning his tribemates socks and dumping out their water. That is just stupid and mean and dangerous and Russell is a complete jerk for doing those things.

However, if I'd only seen the second and third episodes, Russell might annoy me but I would think he was a pretty smart player. First, he found the freakin' immunity idol without any clues. He just looked for it and when people asked him what he was doing, he flat-out told them and apparently nobody believed him or something. Second, he has eliminated every person who has doubted him or been suspicious of him. He's playing a great game. I just can't get past what a pompous jerk he is.

Secondly: Ben. First of all, Ben is a giant wuss. In the challenge this past Thursday he was a defender in the water and both times the other team's male contenders blew right past him. I could've defended better than that.

Second of all, his argument was Jasmine was disgusting and racist. Jasmine is annoying as hell, there's no denying it. Her crying over getting tackled by a guy in a coed challenge was weak and whiny. I wanted to punch her. But Ben went beyond "you're annoying and whiny" to "you're a loud-mouth ghetto black woman" and that was pretty gross. I'm glad Ben got the boot the other night.

Thirdly: Jaison. I like Jaison so far, he could get extremely far in this game. However, I don't love his indignation over Ben's racist fight with Jasmine. Talk about too little, too late! Where was Jaison when Ben was being a total jerk to Jasmine? Why didn't he jump to Jasmine's defense and call Ben out? If the racism was SO offensive, why did he wait until the next day to say anything? To me, that's weak and it makes his righteous indignation a little harder to swallow.

Thoughts & Tidbits

I'm excited to watch this season play out. I'm not really rooting for anyone in particular so far.
Does anyone else think Russell with his scruff and missing tooth and hat looks like he should pack up his bindle and be a hobo on the railroad? Just me?

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in CBS, Reality TV, Survivor, Survivor: Samoa, Television

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| Comments (19)

19 Comments

So it's just been three weeks... never too late for a Survivor recap. Anyway, Ben was definitely one of the worst people on this show and it was about time he got ousted. Russell may be a bit shady, but come on if he can basically pick and choose who goes home AND find an immunity idol w/o any clues, he deserves to make it far (even if he is a little trollish.) If only Betsy had lasted a little longer. Oh, and not a big deal, but I think her name is Yasmin, not Jasmine

A-Rob | October 4, 2009 9:01 PM

I thought it was spelled with a J but pronounced with a Y. My bad.

Andrea | October 4, 2009 9:05 PM

Glad to see a Survivor recap back up!

Ben | October 4, 2009 9:24 PM

Thanks for sharing this reality story.
I find it very interesting and also downloads it from net today night.

eiweibpulver | October 5, 2009 3:44 AM

Yay! I'd been looking for Survivor recaps on Zap2it but figured they weren't interested in Survivor this year. I was going to send them an email begging them to reconsider and recommending someone who would be the perfect reviewer for this particular show(that person was you, Andrea.)No need, though. Here you are...serendipity!

I hope Russell stays for awhile because he is an interesting character. I'd love to see an elephant sit on him. Too bad there aren't any elephants in Samoa.

glori | October 5, 2009 4:38 AM

Yasmin was totally wrong and out of control. How rude too - to put them all down then tell him he 'hit' her too hard.

I did not agree with how Ben handled Yasmin in his face - but was it racist ? I do believe that she has referred to herself as being from the hood - cause she stated that being from the hood isn't anything like being out there on Survivor.

She was acting like she had no manners, no common sense, and her grammar was horrible.

So is it really racist when he said that she is 'ghetto trash' ??

I did not like Ben being so rude, nor did I like Yasmin being so rude either. Im glad Ben is gone - but I do think that political correctness goes to far, and I don't think that the phrase 'ghetto trash' is racist. I'm originally from NY - and there are lots of white people living in ghettos that are trashy, as well as latinos. So that is not a 'black' thing.
But Ben was a jerk and think the tribe will be better without him

MJJ | October 5, 2009 7:56 AM

It's appears Russell has done his homework and studied Survivor: Pearl Islands. The Katrina story is right off a page of Jonny Fairplay's methods: remember the story about his grandmother dieing? And every Survivor fan loved Rupert but don't forget he stole the other teams shoes in the beginning. So, I see Russell as a very cunning character that needs to be watched. He's smart enough to back down when he needs to and just lay back and wait, plotting all the while.

And Ben, well, he got what he deserved. I think Ben might have studied Forrest Gump, not Survivor: Stupid is, as stupid does.

BruceMpls | October 5, 2009 7:58 AM

i'm having trouble believing russell found that immunity idol without any help from the producers---i hope i'm wrong but it just doesn't sit well with me.

tim | October 5, 2009 8:01 AM

Not quite ready to drink the Russell kool-aid. I think Betsy, as the oldest remaining tribe member, would have gone regardless of his feelings, and this past week he couldn't convince the others to keep Ben and vote off his choice, Ashley. So I don't think he's orchestrated things as much as he (and the editors) might like us to believe.

Beth | October 5, 2009 8:55 AM

Why would it seem suspicious that Russell found the immunity idol?? 3 things any new Survivor contestant should know before they step off the boat: (1) how to make fire; (2) how to catch a fish; and (3) start looking for a hidden immunity idol!! If you have to wait for flint, a fish hook, or a clue, you're way behind the curve!

Rebecca | October 5, 2009 9:55 AM