Podcast Episode 280: Briarpatch Series Premiere, Survivor: Winners at War and the Results for the 92nd Oscars

In this week's episode David, John and Kyle discuss everything from the 92nd Academy Awards including the big winners and losers (1:45), the long ceremony including the surprise Eminem performance (13:50) and what The Academy can do to increase ratings (24:40). We also review the series premiere of USA's Briarpatch (38:30). Finally, David is joined by Mike Ladue to discuss the premiere of Survivor's 40th season: Winners at War (48:45)!
 

You can also listen to past episodes of the podcast on iTunes or on our YouTube channel. Also be sure to subscribe to our Twitch channel!

2015: Dual Redundancy's Year in Review

Somehow 2015 was even a busier than 2013 and 2014 combined!

This year we did 34 podcasts with four different hosts, well five if you count Dopey the Dick. One of which was our historic 100th podcast where in true meta fashion we looked at how other shows’ celebrated their 100th episode.

In 2013 we introduced the weekly wind down podcast and the number of shows we have been covering only seems to go up. 2013’s number of 26 has nearly tripled plus we covered numerous movies, a video game and one very horrific Lifetime movie. These shows included canceled freshman shows like Best Time Ever, The Brink, The Comedians, and Wicked City plus one time special events like The Wiz Live and A Very Murray Christmas! Finally, we tried to stay on top of all the changes in late night including James Corden, Trevor Noah, and Larry Wilmore’s debuts, Jon Stewart’s farewell and Stephen Colbert’s return!

Besides our usual weekly wind downs and prediction specials, we also had a variety of notable episodes including a two hour Survivor series retrospective and a 30th Anniversary Back to the Future podcast (where we eclipsed the runtime of the actual movie). In March we of course had our annual March Madness bracket. After looking at television shows, movies, and film actors we decided to find out who was “top of pop.” It was a big year for Taylor Swift who easily beat Justin Timberlake in the finals for favorite artist in pop music.

From all of us here at Dual Redundancy thank you so much for making 2015 so great. We can't wait to see what 2016 has in store! A 30th anniversary podcast on Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? An in-depth look at Fuller House  and whatever happened to the milkman and paperboy? A president who once hosted a reality show on NBC? Only time will tell!

Podcast Episode 86: Predicting the Unpredictable 2015 Golden Globe Awards

Every year David and Mike try to predict the very unpredictable Golden Globe Awards in a very special episode of Dual Redundancy. This year they try and forecast who will take home the globe in all the major television (4:02) and film categories (37:47) for the 72nd Golden Globes.

The 2015 Golden Globe Awards are on Sunday, January 11th on NBC and will be hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.



You can also listen to past episodes of the podcast on iTunes or on our YouTube channel.

2014: Dual Redundancy's Year in Review

If we thought 2013 was a busy year for Dual Redundancy, 2014 takes the cake!

This year we did 40 podcasts, which, to put things in perspective, is nearly the same amount we have done in the first two and a half years! Topics ranged from our annual Emmy predictions to that guy from Even Stevens putting a paper bag over his head as he walked the red carpet.

In March we had our third annual March Madness bracket. After naming Arrested Development and The Shawshank Redemption the best TV show and movie respectively, we tried naming the best film actor or actress. In the final match, Leonardo DiCaprio was snubbed once again and it was awards show favorite Meryl Streep who took the crown.

Last year we introduced the weekly wind down podcast and while we only covered 26 shows in 2013, this year we hit 57 different shows, numerous movies and one very addictive podcast. These shows included fall pilots of A to Z, Selfie, Mulaney, and Gracepoint (all of which will not see a second season). Other cancelled shows include Enlisted, Trophy Wife and Community- until Community was revived for Yahoo. We even did a first ever clip show for Orange is the New Black's second season, where we discussed every episode in one very colorful podcast.

Besides the weekly wind downs and prediction specials, we also had a variety of notable episodes including a Super Bowl recap show, a top 10 Halloween TV episode countdown, and a 30th Anniversary Ghostbusters podcast. The latter of which was the longest podcast we have ever recorded. With a runtime of nearly two hours we eclipsed the length of the very movie we were discussing!

The blog was also very busy too. Not only was this the spot to find out about new podcasts but DR related news (like now being available on Stitcher) also dropped here. Mike even recapped every episode of a great Survivor season last spring while David named his ten biggest Emmy snubs.

From all of us here at Dual Redundancy thank you so much for making 2014 so great. We can't wait to see what 2015 has in store especially when he finally hit episode 100!

Emmys 2014: Filling Out the Emmy Ballot - Who & What Should Be Nominated?

via Emmys.com

The deadline to submit ballots for the 2014 Emmy Awards is Friday, June 20th. For any Academy members still on the fence over what names to write down, here's a run-down of TV's best and brightest talent from the last season of TV, complete with some liner notes on why some picks were made and who/what just missed the cut.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES:
1. Breaking Bad, AMC
2. Hannibal, NBC
3. The Americans, F/X
4. The Good Wife, CBS
5. True Detective, HBO
6. Game of Thrones, HBO
7. Masters of Sex, Showtime
8. Mad Men, AMC
9. Boardwalk Empire, HBO
10. Orphan Black, BBC America

All of these shows wowed with their writing, directing and acting this year. But the Top 6 all had a sense of urgency about them, a boldness that demands their place in the sun. Masters and Mad Men  and Boardwalk were all subtly stellar, but with so many quality contenders in play, that's not enough for a nomination.

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
1. Veep, HBO
2. Orange is the New Black, Netflix
3. Girls, HBO
4. Community, NBC
5. Louie, F/X
6. Enlisted, FOX
7. Looking, HBO
8. Parks and Recreation, NBC
9. Brooklyn Nine-Nine, FOX
10. Getting On, HBO

Please, please, please, let this be the year Modern Family is usurped. Everything in slots 1-5 broke new comedic ground. Enlisted gets the last spot because it was genuinely fun and funny and maybe some Emmy love could bring it back somewhere.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Bryan Cranston as Walter White, Breaking Bad
Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Mad Men
Matthew McConaughey as Rust Cohle, True Detective
Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Hannibal
Matthew Rhys as Phillip Jennings, The Americans
Michael Sheen as Bill Masters, Masters of Sex

This was a pretty easy category to narrow down, as these gentlemen are leagues and bounds ahead of anybody else on TV (or, realistically, film) today. The toughest omission was Hannibal's Hugh Dancy, whose character's half-season stint in jail limited his screen time.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Lizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson, Masters of Sex
Julianna Marguiles as Alicia Florrick, The Good Wife
Tatiana Maslany as Sarah, Beth, Cosima, Rachel (and More), Orphan Black
Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson, Mad Men
Keri Russell as Elizabeth Jennings, The Americans
Robin Wright as Claire Underwood, House of Cards

Kerry Washington's baby bump really hampered her performance this season and allowed Robin Wright to sneak in, as the latter's monologue about a terminated pregnancy was the season's most gripping sequence. Caplan balanced vulnerability and strength with grace. Russell played nearly as many characters as Maslany this season and will probably get half the credit. Moss still managed to charm while Peggy got nastier, up until her cathartic, triumphant Burger Chef pitch. And Marguiles is just plain outstanding.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Louis C.K. as Louie, Louie
Jonathan Groff as Patrick, Looking
Jake Johnson as Nick Miller, New Girl
Joel McHale as Jeff Winger, Community
Chris O'Dowd as Tom Chadwick, Family Tree
Adam Scott as Ben Wyatt, Parks and Recreation

This category needs a drastic upheaval from last year. Keep C.K., because he's essentially the second-coming, and add these other hysterical, lovable, charming guys.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Malin Akerman as Kate, Trophy Wife
Lena Dunham as Hannah Horvath, Girls
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, Veep
Laurie Metcalf as Jenna James, Getting On
Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation
Taylor Schilling as Piper Chapman, Orange is the New Black

Akerman balanced being quirky and straight in this role perfectly, perhaps alienating viewers who were accustomed to one extreme or the other. Dunham is finally fully comfortable making the rest of us uncomfortable. JLD is an MVP and will probably walk away with her third straight trophy. Metcalf channeled Steve Carell's Michael Scott in a thankless role on an outlier program, but damn if she wasn't great. Poehler is coasting on goodwill but still finds ways to draw humor from the Pawnee stone. Schilling's hilarity is understated but potent, if that makes any sense, and she belongs here waayyy more than she does in Drama Actress.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Josh Charles as Will Graham, The Good Wife
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones
Dean Norris as Hank Schrader, Breaking Bad
Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman, Breaking Bad
Jeff Perry as Cyrus Beene, Scandal
Jeffrey Wright as Valentin Narcisse, Boardwalk Empire

Charles Dance (Game of Thrones' Tywin Lannister) was painfully omitted from the lineup because he just didn't have enough to do. Everything he did do, however, was marvelous. He nearly bumped Jeff Perry, whose show is far from perfect but holds things together with his signature brand of arrogance. Jeffrey Wright was also on the fence (along with his co-star Michael K. Williams) but left a huge impact after all these months that his exclusion would be unforgivable. Josh Charles may have left The Good Wife, but don't forget the vehemence he closed the role out with in episodes like "Hitting the Fan." The Breaking boys did fine work and should be lauded eternally. And Peter Dinklage roared back into the awards conversation with his monologue at Tyrion's trial. Should his character really be offed Sunday night, this could be his last chance to win in this role.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart, The Good Wife
Anna Gunn as Skyler White, Breaking Bad
Monica Potter as Cristina Braverman, Parenthood
Gretchen Mol as Gillian Darmody, Boardwalk Empire
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark, Game of Thrones
Bellamy Young as Mellie Grant, Scandal

Sophie Turner had the GoT slot locked up until Williams' literal death glare in the season 4 finale really showed off her chops. Bellamy Young's drunk monologues are the highlight of Scandal. Gretchen Mol made incestuous, murderous, drug-addled Gillian Darmody a likable character by the end of season 4. Christine Baranski handled her show's change of tone admirably. Monica Potter kept the tears flowing. And Anna Gunn just destroyed her competition.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Fred Armisen as Various Characters, Portlandia
Raul Castillo as Richie, Looking
Adam Driver as Adam Sackler, Girls
Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer, Parks and Recreation
Timothy C. Simons as Jonah, Veep
Parker Young as Randy Hill, Enlisted

Pratt has been so great for so long, his absence in the first half of this Parks season left the show worse off. Simons is a lightning rod of nasty jokes, taking a beating so the show can rise above. Young's show may be dead but his performance was so alive and fun that it must be remembered. Driver normalized Adam this year and turned out even stronger performances. Armisen was just uproariously funny in every sketch. On the other hand, Castillo wasn't even the slightest bit funny, but he brought an honesty to his role that made Richie lovable.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Danielle Brooks as Tasha "Taystee" Jefferson, Orange is the New Black
Carrie Brownstein as Various Characters, Portlandia
Anna Chlumsky as Amy Brookheimer, Veep
Kate McKinnon as Various Characters, Saturday Night Live
Kate Mulgrew as Galina "Red" Reznikov, Orange is the New Black
Michaela Watkins as Jackie, Trophy Wife

The two OITNB ladies act their butts off in both comedic and dramatic moments. The two sketch comedy ladies constantly reveal new layers of humor behind their beautiful exteriors. Watkins, an SNL alum, brought the goofy to network comedy, and Chlumsky brought the venom. All these women are equal parts talented and hilarious.

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jeremy Davies as Peter Bernardone, Hannibal
Harry Hamlin as Jim Culter, Mad Men
Robert Morse as Bert Cooper, Mad Men
Joe Morton as Eli Pope, Scandal
Michael Pitt as Mason Verger, Hannibal
Ray Romano as Hank Rizzoli, Parenthood

Davies won for Justified two years ago and, frankly, could have won again for his reappearance this year, but why not spread the love to an under-appreciated Emmy newcomer? Same goes for Pitt's diabolical Mason Verger. Hamlin played diabolical in a much smarmier way, shedding all stigmas associated with his early roles. Morse is the favorite here, a splendid performer on a chaotic Mad Men season. Romano has quickly ascended the ranks of beloved Parenthood characters, and if Jason Ritter could get a nomination for playing one of Sarah (Lauren Graham)'s beaus, why not Ray? And Joe Morton's role is a Shakespearean POWER. HOUSE. of epic proportions.

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Gillian Anderson as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier, Hannibal
Allison Janney as Margaret Scully, Masters of Sex
Margo Martindale as Claudia, The Americans
Hettienne Park as Beverly Katz, Hannibal
Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni, The Good Wife
Gina Torres as Bella Crawford, Hannibal

For as macabre and "bromantic" as Hannibal inherently is, Bryan Fuller casted some fabulous actresses in several meaty roles. Preston's character won last year and is strong enough to be spun-off into a companion series. Martindale is consistently great, though those who only know her from The Millers may be surprised. And Allison Janney's portrayal of an unsatisfied woman's journey to self-acceptance was a marvel to witness.

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jonathan Banks as Professor Buzz Hickey, Community
Steve Buscemi as Marty, Portlandia
Gary Cole as Kent Davison, Veep
Mitch Hurwitz as Koogler, Community
Stephen Merchant as Leslie Higgins, Modern Family
Pablo Schreiber as George "Pornstache" Mendez, Orange is the New Black

Hurwitz isn't even an actor and he out-shone every other guy here. Banks did more subtle work but fine work nonetheless. Buscemi's celery salesman was classic wonky Buscemi that just fit together nicely. Merchant's memorable turn as an over-eager hotel employee helped make "Las Vegas" Modern Family's best episode in years. Cole and Schreiber were arguably supporting actors in their respective seasons, but since they're eligible here, they absolute need inclusion.

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Uzo Aduba as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren, Orange is the New Black
Sarah Baker as Vanessa, Louie
Laverne Cox as Sofia Burset, Orange is the New Black
Gaby Hoffman as Caroline Sackler, Girls
Patti LuPone as Herself, Girls
Taryn Manning as Tiffany "Pennsatucky" Doggett, Orange is the New Black

More OITNB love, as its ensemble is TV's current best. LuPone parodied herself perfectly. Hoffman let everything go on screen. And Sarah Baker's "So Did The Fat Lady" monologue was such a watercooler moment of this TV season, an Emmy snub would be an egregious slight.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Breaking Bad, "Felina" (Vince Gilligan)
Breaking Bad, "Ozymandias" (Rian Johnson)
Homeland, "The Star" (Lesli Linka Glatter)
Mad Men, "Waterloo" (Matthew Weiner)
True Detective, "Who Goes There" (Cary Fukunaga)

Skyler choosing between phone and knife. Walt's last stand. Brody's devastating end. Bert's fantastical goodbye. Rust's 6-minute descent into madness. Wow.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Community, "Geothermal Escapism" (Joe Russo)
Girls, "Two Plane Rides" (Lena Dunham)
Modern Family, "Las Vegas" (Gail Mancuso)
Orange is the New Black, "Can't Fix Crazy" (Michael Trim)
Veep, "Crate" (Chris Addison)

Troy falling back into the lava. Hannah with her acceptance letter. The farcical comings and goings in the Las Vegas hotel. The Christmas pageant (and the battle in the prison yard). Everyone's reactions to Selina's change of status. Double wow.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
The Americans, "Echo" (Joel Fields & Joe Weisberg)
Breaking Bad, "Felina" (Vince Gilligan)
Breaking Bad, "Ozymandias" (Moira Walley-Beckett)
The Good Wife, "The Last Call" (Robert King & Michelle King)
Mad Men, "The Strategy" (Semi Chellas)

Where's "Hitting the Fan" for The Good Wife? That's a much stronger episode of TV than "The Last Call", which is an extremely strong episode of TV. Everything here is great, but that was a home-run, even against Breaking Bad. Perhaps Jared's reveal and Don and Peggy's dance are enough to knock down the meth kingpins.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Community, "Cooperative Pollygraphy"(Alex Rubens)
Girls, "Beach House" (Jenni Konner & Lena Dunham & Judd Apatow)
Looking, "Looking for the Future"(Andrew Haigh)
New Girl, "Mars Landing" (Josh Malmuth & Nina Pedrad)
Orange is the New Black, "I Wasn't Ready (Pilot)" (Liz Friedman & Jenji Kohan)

Most of these deal with relationships. The study group's relationship to their dead friend and to each other in his absence. Old friends realizing their lives are changing. New relationships budding. Old relationships dying. And isolation from all relationships and the effect that has on someone. All these shows handle character consistently well, these are just the best exampled.

Who are you hoping gets nominated this year? Sound off in the comments or give me a ring on Twitter, @miketvladue. And be sure to check back at Dual Redundancy for all your Emmy awards coverage!

Dual Redundancy's 3rd Annual March Madness Bracket Results

One month ago we calculated your votes and revealed your pick for the best living actor/actress. While we recorded a results show podcast that revealed Meryl Streep won yet another award while Leonardo DiCaprio went home empty handed, we realized no bracket was complete without…a completed bracket!

So without further ado here is a completed bracket with the winner included. How did she win? How close were the results? Those questions along with how we set up the bracket can be answered here with our podcast special. Listen either with the player below or on YouTube.



After bracketing TV shows, movies, and actors what is there left for next year? Leave a comment below or tweet to us @DualRedundancy if you have an idea for next March when we let the madness take control once again.

Survivor: Cagayan Strategy Blog Episodes 8/9 - Pretty Hurts

via truedorktimes

-Mike Ladue

My, how the Beauties have fallen. The inexplicably well-adjusted tribe of mactors and mactresses pre-swap is down to just 2 players left, Jefra and Jeremiah, who've both received votes since the merge.

The funny thing is that, more than in any other season I can recall, original tribal lines have blurred and faded. Jeremiah is in with Tasha and Spencer, while Jefra is tight with the former Brawns. Beauty may have faded, but their former members have adapted to different scenarios.

Morgan was not adaptive. Morgan seemed to live her life a certain way, and chose to play Survivor with those same principals. Say what you will about Kass, at least she's willing to throw caution/strategy/reason to the wind and embrace her own Survivor persona. Morgan liked to be catered to, and in a game where literally EVERYONE else is running and digging and clawing for hidden idols, she stuck out like a perfectly manicured sore thumb.

There should be a metric, comparing and contrasting the high and low qualities of one's Social, Physical and Strategic game and how that factors into whether someone should be voted out or not in each stage of the game, relative to the other contestants' individual scores. That's way too much programming for even someone as ridiculously obsessed as I to create, but I'd imagine Morgan's data would read something like:

-Strategic: LOW (let's not kid ourselves)
Social: LOW (not talking to certain people, not pulling her weight around camp)
Physical: MEDIUM (she did pretty well in the challenges)

She wasn't playing a terrible game, but she had one fatal flaw: SURVIVOR PRO TIP #11: Camp life matters. It may not matter to the editors or the audience anymore, but once upon a time Richard Hatch got away with being naked and smarmy because he provided fish for the tribe. If Morgan had at least made an effort to provide for her tribe mates (yes, even those in the opposing alliance) she might have been spared because of her low attributes elsewhere. Then again, J'Tia dumped all the rice and survived, so who knows with this cast.

Props to Tony and crew for dumping Morgan instead of someone like Tasha or Jeremiah, who have actual drive in the game. It's easy (and smart, according to my very first Pro Tip) to go after the nice, smart, likable people, but they chose to do the audience a solid. Maybe that'll backfire if Spencer/Tasha/Jeremiah manage to wiggle their way forward, but at least we get a more exciting endgame.

Case in point: Dat Idol hunt doe. (Yes, that now counts as a professional transition.) Spencer should have destroyed his clue the moment he absorbed all the information, because things could have gone horribly awry if Woo or #ChaosKass or one of their cohorts found the idol. Thankfully for everyone at home (literally every single person I talk to about Survivor is rooting for Spencer), the chess nerd found it. Not the "special" Tyler Perry idol, mind you, but the regular, play-before-votes-are-read idol.

With an Idol in his pocket and strong allies Tasha and Jeremiah by his side, Spencer is in a great position. That position was only bettered when Tony went full-Hantz and lured Woo into booting LJ. An anti-MVP must be handed out to the editors, though, because they worked so hard to deliver LJ his comeuppance that all the drama of whether he'd go home was sucked from the episode. It was painfully obvious the outcome would be Tony betraying his buddy, it took some of my enjoyment out of the move.

Was it a good move? I'd vote no. LJ had his chance to flip but instead left Tasha #STOODUP. By spreading lies throughout his team he's burning bridges with Woo and Trish, who will find out the truth from LJ and Sarah before Tony's final reckoning. (Speaking of Sarah, she got quite the reaction when Tony told everyone at Tribal he's a contractor. #CopsRUs will rear it's hashtag again).

He's following in the footsteps of Coach, Russell and Phillip: Be wild and crazy and fun. You may not win (and none of those men have), but odds are you'll be brought back over calm, strategic players like Brendan Synnott, Brett Clouser and Mike Chiesel (Remember them? No, because they were overshadowed by the crazies, just as LJ will be forgotten and Tony remembered). Think about it like this: if you're throwing a party that you want to be memorable and exciting, do you want to invite the introverts or the extraverts? Survivor is like a weekly party, and extroverts are regular VIPs.

But here's the real crazy thing- Tony might win this whole game. I look to the "Previously On…" segment that aired before Morgan's boot episode. They re-aired Spencer's "Nobody's gonna vote for Kass" comment, and cut to Tony taking that information in. So here's my 100% unspoiled prediction for how the endgame goes down:

-Tony makes a deal with Spencer, someone he obviously admires
-Tony cuts Spencer at F4, a common spot for Fan Favorites to end up
-Tony sits in F3 with Trish and Kass
-Despite Tony's reckless behavior, Kass' questionable strategy and Trish's "eff y'all" attitude barely squeak him out a win

Or, you know, Kass wins. Or Spencer wins. At this point it's one of those three.

Up For Grabs:

-Fallen Comrades: Morgan is a very pretty girl. LJ is a very handsome guy. They don't need any ego stroking from me!

-Tony gave himself his own Stealth R Us nickname: The Opportunist. Brace yourself for a Tony v Phillip season, y'all.

Have you ever been #StoodUp by LJ? Do you think Tony can pull off a win? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @miketvladue!

Podcast Episode 55: Winding Down: "Girls" "The Good Wife" & the series finale of "How I Met Your Mother"

You're busy. We get it. Not everyone can spend hours all day monitoring and watching everything in television and entertainment news. That is why Mike and Dave are here to do it all for you. At the end of every week we will wind down all the important things you may have missed in a week full of entertainment.

In this week's episode we recap the Emmy category changes for True Detective, Orange is the New Black and Shameless (1:55). We also review some House of Cards legal drama (12:41) and University of Iowa's problem with HBO's Girls (16:58). Finally, we wind down Girls' season three finale "Two Plane Rides" (16:58), The Good Wife's "Dramatics, Your Honor/The Last Call" (32:19) and the How I Met Your Mother series finale "Last Forever" (41:47).



You can also listen to past episodes of the podcast on iTunes or on our YouTube channel.

Survivor: Cagayan Episode 7 Strategy Blog - Chaos is a Lawyer

via pandawhale.com

by Mike Ladue

Before I say anything...

I'll stop. I don't want to stop, but I will. Because those are all the .gifs I felt like finding. Because frankly I don't even want to analyze this episode. I want to watch it again. Even though I recorded it, I'm also shelling out to buy the episode on iTunes tomorrow. It deserves money. It deserves Emmys. It deserves to be put in a time capsule along with the Lucy episode where she and Ethel ate all the chocolates. It's the Red Wedding of Survivor episodes.

In hindsight, it all makes sense. Replace Kass with Cochran and you basically have Survivor: South Pacific's merge episode. A lawyer gets bullied and takes the game into his/her own hands, alienating everyone else on his/her old tribe.

The beauty of this episode was the editing. The editors get the MVP award, because they turned a pretty basic plot point - alienated Kass jumps ship - into a tour-de-force episode.

Actually, no, the MVP award of the week has a rightful owner:

TRISH.

I've given Trish a lot of flack here before, but boy howdy did homegirl play that right. She sensed the cattiness between Sarah and Kass. Tony and LJ dismissed her, but she stuck to her guns and slyly drew Kass in. Brava, Trish. Bask in your glory.

Did Kass make the right move? Not really. Tasha wasn't "choosing" Sarah over Kass, she was putting Sarah on a pedestal. She appeased the swing vote. Classic Survivor.

Kass didn't want to appease. She didn't want to be "bullied", aka, not be in charge of the vote. Voting Trish or Jefra is a quick and easy way to establish solid numbers. Kass was thinking practically, while Sarah thought big. Sarah wanted LJ, Tony or Woo out. Eliminate a strong guy, a merge challenge threat. Two very different schools of thought. I touched on this a few weeks ago, and will repeat here: the Jefra vote was the theoretical right move. Jefra has an easier path to endgame now than Tony, LJ or Woo. Those guys will turn on each other out of fear and bravado. Little ol' Jefra is in for some smooth sailing.

The old Aparri obviously agreed, as they targeted Jefra in what may be the craziest Tribal Council ever,  up there with Parvati and Malcolm's dual idol moves. Tony pulled out his Idol. Aparri scrambled to vote "the other one". Tony used the idol on LJ. LJ used his Idol on TONY. The first vote - JEFRA. The second vote - SARAH. Tied til the final vote -- SARAH. Solana goes wild. Aparri goes pale.

Spencer is quick to tell Kass she's not winning this game, but she's not so sure. At this point, I'd have to side with Spencer. Kass, for some odd reason, wanted to instigate the watershed vote that alienated half the remaining players, who will make up half the Jury. She could have let Sarah do that. Appease Sarah, limiting her options, and convince Spencer and Tasha to cut the cop loose a few weeks down the line. No blood on Kass' hands.

Kass wanted blood. She mentioned blood in one confessional, physical violence in another and murder in yet another. How did this woman pass the psych testing? I made a Game of Thrones reference before, but #ChaosKass, who literally used the words "usurp Sarah's throne", would fit right in with the duplicitous Lannisters, Greyjoys and Freys of Westeros. Or Petyr "Chaos is a Ladder" Baelish. (Sorry, Game of Thrones comes back Sunday and I'm hella excited.)

She made another interesting claim tonight - because Trish, Jefra and co. also saw Sarah as a threat, Kass was impressed by their smarts and wanted to join forces with them. NO, Kass! Align with the dumb people! Keep Morgan, Jeremiah and Sarah in the game as long as you can! Dumb + loyal is the best type of ally available.

But Kass made her choice, and made Survivor history in the process.

Up For Grabs -

-Fallen Comrades: Sarah got what was coming to her. Neither she nor Kass had the social dexterity to kowtow to the other's demands. I liked her before tonight, but that inherent need to call the shots is a fatal flaw if I ever saw one.

-Winner pick: I still want to pick Spencer, but mostly because of how quick he was to turn down the easy, overused portmanteau merged tribe name. Salarrion > Salarri. He's astute, but now, once again, against the ropes.

-Apparently this "new idol" was dreamed up by Tyler Perry (yes, the Tyler Perry), who told Jeff Probst the game could use an idol playable after the votes were read. So basically, that super unfair idol from Panama/Cook Islands. I hope next season we get the Jeff Foxworthy Presents: Medallion of Power 2: The Desolation of Superfan's Respect for the Show.

-While introducing the Immunity Necklace, Probst said "This is what you seek now" instead of his perennial "this is what you covet." Has coveting suddenly become too taboo for the show?

-Trish seems like an anxiety-inducing pilates instructor. Is that how pilates works? I don't know a single thing about pilates.

-Someone called Woo "Wooie", so now I'm imagining an F/X sitcom starring Woo with a catchy theme song that goes something like "Wooie Wooie Wooie Wooieeeeee…"

-Woo wore watershoes and won. Hmm.

-Idea: Survivor: 29 - Cobs vs. Robbers. Cops is self-explanatory. Robbers can either be 1. Felons, which, eh. 2. Former contestants named Rob, which, probably or 3. Former contestants who have been "robbed" in the game, like Silas/Paschal/Willard/Jenny/Michelle/Aaron/Cirie/Katie.

-Can you name a more exciting Survivor episode? Did Kass make the right move? Hit up the comments or follow @miketvladue on Twitter to join the conversation!

Survivor: Cagayan Episode 6 Strategy Blog: Tony Baloney

via Zap2It.com

by Mike Ladue

Back before Showtime's CIA drama Homeland became a colossal mess, Mandy Patinkin's character gave Claire Danes' character some blunt feedback: "You're the smartest and the dumbest f*cking person I've ever met." This is relevant because A: Showtime is part of CBS, which airs Survivor, and B: that's the same reaction I had to Tony's gameplay tonight.

His plot to create paranoia around Jeremiah by giving him the Solana idol clue was just crazy enough to work, as Jeremiah was just stupid enough not to catch on, and everyone else was just smart enough to anticipate more twists in the game. Tony may have won the battle in pinning a target, but with Jeremiah still in the game, he's losing the war of finishing his hits.

Another battle Tony won: the Immunity challenge, where he was integral in solving the final puzzle that spared Solana from another Tribal. Another war lost: Probably the whole game. By chanting "Final Five! Final Five!" he alienated Sarah and gave the disjointed Aparri castaways more reason to unify. And who's their biggest threat? Tony.

SURVIVOR PRO TIP #10: Win with grace. Remember Gervase last season, hooting and hollering at the Tadhana tribe after an Immunity win? It directly lead to his niece, Marissa, getting the axe. Remember when Shii-Ann, the last Mogo Mogo member standing, won the bucket endurance challenge in All-Stars and exploded with joy? Alicia was quick to point out the Shii Devil still had to return back to camp with them, and only earned herself 3 days of safety. Excessive celebration isn't allowed in the NFL, and it shouldn't be allowed in Survivor.

The Solana tribe seems solid enough to stick together come the merge, though LJ and Jefra both expressed unease about Tony's bull-in-a-China-shop strategy. As long as he's taking all the hits making moves against others, the beauties have his back. That fair-weathered loyalty usually isn't the stuff of endgame alliances though. If he wants to survive to Final Five, Tony's gonna need that idol in his pocket -- and maybe a couple more.

Upon losing the IC, Aparri came to a fork in the road: Keep Alexis or keep Jeremiah. Both had strong ties to the Beauties that stayed on Solana. Jeremiah maybe had an idol clue and definitely had a history of breaking his word. Alexis had a mouth bigger than her brain.

They stuck with Jeremiah, which is an interesting choice. Had he played an idol, they would have flushed it out and still sent Alexis home. Should the merge come -- which it will next week-- he's a physical threat that will be targeted long before Alexis. In truth, had Alexis made the merge and Aparri gained an advantage, Alexis would have easily slid to final five and possibly to the FTC.

I worry, though, about the tact shown by Spencer, Tasha, Kass, Morgan and Sarah while picking a side. They clearly wanted to blindside Alexis, but also made it known that Jeremiah is persona non grata within the alliance. His word is garbage, he's shifty with his idol clue… If I were Jeremiah, I'd flip back to LJ and Jefra, who'd gladly take a strong guy for a few weeks to out-play Spencer and Sarah in challenges. Alexis might have remained loyal if the brains kept deluding her of her position within the alliance.

They were damned either way, and though Jeremiah is a serious wild card come the merge, at least he's not as unpredictable as Tony.

Up for Grabs

-Episode MVP: It's gotta be Tony, I guess. Though the moves he made will probably screw up his game in later episodes, the battles he fought tonight worked out. What's the line from Game of Thrones? "Winning three battles does not make you King?" Enjoy it while it lasts.

-Fallen Comrades #1: Nobody has quit the game quite like Lindsey. Osten was physically exhausted, Sue was, infamously, violated/humiliated/dehumanized/emotionally spent, Jenna was missing her ailing mother, Janu was over it, FairPlay was apparently in withdrawals, Kathy, Na'Onka, Purple Kelly and Dana couldn't handle the elements, and Colton, in the two times he played, couldn't handle anything. Lindsey did what very few reality show contestants do in the throes of the game: she realized her actions have real-world consequences, and it's more important to be a role model to her daughter than "that dreads girl who punched Trish right in her horse mouth." She chose brains over brawn, and I've gotta commend her for that. Trish can take her "Shame on You, Lindsie" banner and shove it. (Did it remind anyone else of this classic banner?)

-Fallen Comrades #2: Alexis seems like a sweetheart who just isn't very good at Survivor. For a fan to go out there and get blindsided must be devastating.

-Of course Spencer would enact the right strategy at the Reward Challenge - toss your buddha high up into the air, then attack the opponent's before your's lands. He's a smart kid!

-The fine folks at Vulture did a March Madness bracket of Greatest Reality TV Seasons, and Survivor: Borneo was in contention! Head over there to see how S1 fared, but also check out this list of their proposed 10 Best Strategic Moves in Survivor history. For those interested, here are the top 10 that came to my mind, in chronological order:

-The Tagi alliance votes out Gretchen, Borneo
-Rich steps down during the Final Immunity Challenge, Borneo
-"You Take Care of Her, I'll Take Care of You", All-Stars
-Chris goads Twila into getting angry at FTC, Vanuatu
-Cirie targets the Casaya pawns, Panama: Exile Island
-The Edgardo blindside, Fiji
-The Reichenbach Fall, Micronesia
-Russell muscling his Foa Foa foursome to the endgame, Samoa
-Parvati's HII double-down, Heroes vs. Villains
-Boston Rob's buddy rules, Redemption Island

-Survivor: Cagayan is shaping up to be one of the series' better installments, in large part due to the editors' generosity of screen time. Each of the 11 remaining contestants has some degree of depth and characterization, which is rare in an age where most seasons focus heavily on returning players or godlike Russell/Malcolm figures. With the merge approaching next week, I've decided to go contestant-by-contestant and grade their pre-game strategy thus far. This has no reflection on their chances at winning, just at how they've navigated the pre-merge portion of the game.

Spencer A-
Kass B+
Tasha B+
Sarah B
Morgan B
Jeremiah C
Jefra B-
LJ A-
Woo B-
Tony C+
Trish A+

Just kidding, Trish gets a C-.

Who would you have voted out, Alexis or Jeremiah? Do you think Tony can carry his Solana crew to the Final Five? Write your comments in the sand below or contact me on Twitter: @MikeTVLadue.

Podcast Episode 54: Winding Down: "Justified" "Hannibal" & "The Walking Dead"

You're busy. We get it. Not everyone can spend hours all day monitoring and watching everything in television and entertainment news. That is why Mike and Dave are here to do it all for you. At the end of every week we will wind down all the important things you may have missed in a week full of entertainment.

In this week's episode we recap Justin Bieber's deposition video and legal troubles (2:54), Ivan Reitman stepping down from Ghostbusters 3 (9:57) and our initial thoughts regarding the first trailer for The Giver (15:45). We also wind down Justified's "Weight" (24:01), Hannibal's "Hassun" (33:20) and The Walking Dead's "The Grove" (43:00). Finally, we explain the results of round two and three of our third annual March Madness bracket (57:49).



You can also listen to past episodes of the podcast on iTunes or on our YouTube channel.

Dual Redundancy's 3rd Annual March Madness Bracket: Round 4

It is March and that only means one thing: March Madness! Even though we do not discuss sports we still wanted to join the bracket fun and make one for ourselves.

This year Dual Redundancy wants to know who is the best actor/actress? After round three some big names are gone including Tom Hanks, Christian Bale, and Kevin Spacey on the male side and Julia Roberts, Kathy Bates, and Julie Andrews on the female side. Make sure you vote in round four so your pick does not get left behind!

Each new round of voting and the results will be announced here on the Dual Redundancy Blog as well as Facebook and Twitter.

To vote in round four click here. Only one vote per device.

Survivor: Cagayan Episode 5 Strategy Blog: A Numbers Game?

via CBS.com

by Mike Ladue

Even casual fans have probably heard the phrase, "Survivor is a numbers game." But is it true?

Ultimately, yes. To win Survivor you need more votes than each of the other people sitting next to you at Final Tribal Council. But until that point, Survivor is most certainly not a numbers game. You can point to the introduction of the Hidden Immunity Idol in Guatemala as a major shift in the dynamic, where a person on the wrong end of a unanimous vote can live to fight another day. But really, Survivor has never been a numbers game due to the inherent presence of the plain-old Immunity challenge. Theoretically, a contestant could be immune from the vote in every single Tribal Council, both tribal and post-merge, and never have to worry about the numbers until FTC. (And let's be honest, if someone won every. single. challenge., how could you not reward him/her with your million-dollar vote?)

SURVIVOR PRO TIP #9: Survivor isn't a numbers game, it's a people's game. Had LJ been from any of the other 49 U.S. states, he'd probably have gone home -- or at least used his HII. But being from Masachussetts, he forged a connection with Trish, who did some talking to Tony, who all teamed up with Jefra to oust Cliff. I've never witnessed such a turn of events in the show's history; one's hometown saving someone from elimination. LJ gets the MVP of tonight's episode, simply by being born at the right place. (And also for playing it so damn cool when pressed on the HII. Unless the editors just showed random stone-faced shots at opportune moments, LJ should switch careers with Garrett and become a pro poker player.)

Cliff did everything right. He established strong bonds early on with the right people. Sure, the crazy lady on the tribe disliked him, but she disliked Lindsay WAY more. And Cliff was an asset in challenges! Did you see him holding that pole? The entire Aparri tribe could have latched onto him, like the orcs hacking on ents at the end of Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and he still wouldn't have budged.

But Cliff was Cliff. He is a person, and some people don't like other people -- especially celebrity people who make a lot of money. I knew it'd be Cliff's downfall, though I expected -- for other contestant's sakes -- for it to come way later in the game, even at FTC, when numbers actually matter.

In Cliff's mind it was 4 vs. 3, the fourth being Tony. But Tony had been sowing seeds to dethrone Cliff since he spilled the beans to Sarah about the fake conversation. And Cliff's intimidation tactic definitely didn't work on Tony, who's got a lot to prove to the boys in blue back home. And Cliff wasn't about to get on his knees and beg (though I wish he had, though, because he'd probably still tower over poor Tony). It's reminiscent of Brenda's unwillingness to scramble to save herself in Nicaragua. Had these two swallowed their pride, they might have lasted a bit longer.

Tony made the right move tonight. It's obvious he was out of the Cliffhangers (™) alliance and would have been cut loose after at most two more losses, or sooner should Cliff and co. start seeing his physical strength as a post-merge threat. And, assuming Tony did make the merge, he'd probably join up with Sarah, who'd still be hell bent on voting out Cliff. This was the tidiest move for Tony, as it ties up loose ends.

Alternatively, had he blindsided LJ, he'd firmly establish a Brawn alliance, or at least project that image to the other tribe. Sarah, his Cops-R-Us ally, would probably be targeted. This move keeps her safe and moves the target to the Beauties on Aparri, who stand to gain more come the merge with LJ and Jefra in play.

To be fair, the Beauties are doing a good job targeting themselves. Alexis and Morgan's cat fight shows, again, numbers in Survivor are superficial. 3 Beauties =/= 3 Allies. The only reason the 3 Brains = 3 Allies is because they've played more game. As Cliff noted, the [NBA] series doesn't start until you lose your first game. Compared to Sarah and the Beauties, Kass/Tasha/Spencer are seasoned veterans. My first instinct was that Sarah would be the swing vote in a Brains v Beauty beatdown. Now, it looks like it'll be Morgan vs Alexis, with Sarah the one sitting pretty out of harm's way.

The Brains are getting a fantastic edit. I can see these three going all the way now, like the Jalapao 3 or Foa Foa 4 (OK, I guess Erinn outlasted Taj in Tocantins and Brett outlasted Jaison in Samoa, but they're still examples of underdogs nearly sweeping the competition). But none of them are giving off Winner vibes yet, which is great. The editors are keeping lots of characters in play, and it's making for a great season of TV.

Up For Grabs

-MVP: LJ, you stone cold fox, you.

-Winner Pick: I'll start doing rankings?
1. Spencer (Could it be that obvious? He's getting a glowing edit)
2. Tasha (Team Brains, but not enough to single her out as favorable)
3. Kass (Team Brains, but way too much negativity)
4. Sarah (Team CopsRUs, but starting to feel more Stephenie than Danni)
5. Morgan (If a Beauty does it, it'll be her)
6. Tony (We didn't even see his reaction to being separated from Sarah? Bad news)
7. LJ (Solid, not spectacular)
8. Woo (Too quiet)
9. Jeremiah (Too much foreshadowing of his downfall)
10. Jefra (Too little character)
11. Alexis (Too much negative perception)
12. Trish (That branch hit her in the head in Ep 1, and by God I'm sticking to that)
13. Lindsay (Probst on the beach next week = not a good sign)

-Sarah outing Morgan's secret about the rice vs. HII choice goes to show how hard it is to successfully maintain a lie out there.

-Hopefully the reunion will feature a twerk-off between Trish and Alexis.

-Jeff Probst doesn't know the sex of the Immunity Idol, so he checks the crotch. Oh Jeff.

-Are gongs traditional instruments in Filipino culture? Seemed out of place to me.

-Trish said she's no Mrs. Robinson. Right, Trish, that was Kail on Big Brother 8, and we all know how well she did (not very).

-Did Tony make the right choice? Is Lindsay gonna quit? Can the Brains go all the way? Cast your thoughts below or send a treemail tweet to: @miketvladue.

Dual Redundancy is Back on ICTV!

Dual Redundancy is back on ICTV…well sort of.

No, it's not a new season but classic episodes of Dual Redundancy are now back on Ithaca College Television's website. Relive some classic moments from season two when we aired all across Tompkins County (and to the world thanks to their live stream). These episodes include interviews with fellow Ithaca College students as well as the faculty of the Park School of Communications.

All the episodes can be found here in the ICTV Archives: http://ictv.org/archives/category/dualredundancy/

Dual Redundancy's 3rd Annual March Madness Bracket: Round 3

It is March and that only means one thing: March Madness! Even though we do not discuss sports we still wanted to join the bracket fun and make one for ourselves.

This year Dual Redundancy wants to know who is the best actor/actress? After round two some heavyweights are gone including Al Pacino, Bill Murray, and Daniel Day-Lewis on the male side and Judi Dench, Emma Thompson, and Amy Adams on the female side. Make sure you vote in round three so your pick does not get left behind!

Each new round of voting and the results will be announced here on the Dual Redundancy Blog as well as Facebook and Twitter.

To vote in round three click here. Only one vote per device.

Podcast Episode 53: Winding Down: The 2014 Oscars "Resurrection" "Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey" & "True Detective"

You're busy. We get it. Not everyone can spend hours all day monitoring and watching everything in television and entertainment news. That is why Mike and Dave are here to do it all for you. At the end of every week we will wind down all the important things you may have missed in a week full of entertainment.

In this week's episode we recap the 86th Academy Awards (1:53) including Batkid's snubbed segment (4:38) and the feud between the writer and director of "12 Years A Slave" (10:00). We also wind down Resurrection's pilot called "The Returned" (14:10), the premiere of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (24:19) and the season one finale of True Detective called "Form and Void" (36:29). Finally, we explain our third annual March Madness bracket and who moved on to round two (54:11).



You can also listen to past episodes of the podcast on iTunes or on our YouTube channel.

Survivor: Cagayan Episode 4 Strategy Blog - No-Brainer

via blog.sfgate.com

By Mike Ladue

Last week, I rambled on about how loyalty is an important factor when voting at Tribal Council. It's not the only factor, however, as Loyalty + Physical Prowess > Loyalty + Choking In Every Challenge Ever.

On the Beauty tribe, things looked bleak for Morgan. Being down by 3+ in numbers is never a good position to be in, and few rarely recover. Those that do -- Sandra in HvV, Danni in Guatemala -- often go the distance. But Morgan showed some promise, taking a page from Tony and dropping some white lies. Did Jeremiah want LJ out that badly? That's not how I remember it, but the story was believable enough (and honestly, Morgan was defeated enough) for the target to stick. All of a sudden, Jeremiah's vote looks like a bad decision. TOLDJA!

The Beauty tribe dominated both challenges, the first being one of the all-time best sources of physical humor the show can deliver. Look back at All-Stars' puzzle bloodbath, or even Colby drenching Jerri with water in Australia. This season's didn't disappoint, as apparently John Kirhoffer and the challenge crew decided to build all the protruding rails at crotch height. Poor LJ and Spencer. Were I in their shoes, I'd hold the bag in front of my waist to protect it from sharp, pointy hazards.

The second was tailor-made for the Brawns, who couldn't manage to throw the challenge against the pitiful Brains. (Flashbacks to Matty single-handedly preventing the pole-balancing challenge from being thrown in Gabon!) Cliff, who's played more NBA games than Michael Jordan, only narrowly managed to out-shoot Spencer. Maybe it was Jeff's incessant coaching from the sidelines that distracted him? The man has hosted Rock & Roll Jeopardy and Survivor; ESPN is the obvious next step in his Trivial Pursuit-like journey through television. Or maybe it was how the challenge was subliminal plugging for CBS' March Madness tourney? Regardless, Cliff should be even more ashamed than Spencer for missing those shots.

Speaking of ashamed… Sarah. Sarah should be ashamed. She's running around like a chicken with her head cut off (or twisted off, in the case of the Beauty tribe. Also, how ridiculous was the whole egg debacle? So ridiculous). She's fallen right into Tony's trap and is gunning for Cliff/Lindsay. She turned to Woo, an established Cliff-Hanger(™), and made some pretty convincing arguments towards getting him out. All of these, however, conflict with my pro-tips.

SURVIVOR PRO TIP #5: Don't throw the challenge. You will lose momentum and you will lose sleep and you will lose numbers and you will lose the game. Unless you're Richard Hatch and you've established an endgame where the only way you win a million dollars is if you drop out of the final challenge, give it your all. Cliff won't go on an Immunity run post-merge and you can easily blindside him then.

SURVIVOR PRO TIP #6: Celebrity = Goat. Remember how I suggested you find the most likable person on the island and quickly dispose of him/her? This rule trumps that one. There is NO WAY a celebrity will defeat a single mom or a college student in a jury situation. Cliff has (or had and lost) millions of dollars, and no matter how well he plays, he's not getting another big check. Lisa Whelchel played strong enough to garner at least a few votes in Philippines, but the fact she was a former child star (and, worse, lied about it) nullified any jury traction. You've gotta be a real scumbag to lose a jury vote to a celeb -- in which case, there's no way you'd ever win Survivor.

But it looks like Woo's on board… I think? Watching him scuffle away from Sarah, shouting "WE'RE GOOD!", when Tony approached leads me to believe he's a nervous player. Nervous players are easily swayed. Once Cliff approaches Woo with another deal, Woo's probably jumping back in the (sinking) canoe with him.

So far, Tony's plan is working. Sarah is off his trail and targeting Cliff. Woo is apparently intimidated by his presence. His house of cards is immaculately constructed. By swearing on his badge and talking about "dragging dreams through the mud" he's shown shades of Jonny Fairplay and Tyson, in addition to his already Hantz-ian behavior. But, to me, it all feels so forced, so unnatural, so… pathetic? Tony is a good cop trying to play bad cop. I'm not buying it.

Which brings us to the Brains, in last again thanks to J'Tia. Not since Crystal Cox has a contestant been so spectacularly bad at challenges. Sure, swimming is hard. Puzzles are hard. But placing a flag on a platform and lifting a rope is NOT hard, compared to what Spencer's crotch went through. (For all my Archer fans, this is where you yell "Phrasing!')

The meta commentary from Spencer and Kass at tribal was great. The audience is treated (or sometimes nauseated) by edits handed down from the production gods that foreshadow certain player's worth. We can surmise, for instance, come finale night Jeff won't be handing a million-dollar check to Lindsay. While on the island, in the moment, Lindsay is just as viable a contender as anybody else. How can you possibly predict who's going to help your game?

SURVIVOR PRO TIP #7: Know Your Survivor History. Kass and Tasha racked their brains over whether a merge or tribe swap was coming. The answer, to Survivor super fans, is an obvious yes. There have only been two other seasons in which 18 players were divided among 3 tribes, All Stars and Philippines, and in both of those seasons, tribes were shuffled after 4 eliminations. With this being the 4th Tribal of the season, odds are Kass and Tasha would soon be playing with new blood -- and as the scenes for next week show us, this is exactly the case.

That doesn't automatically mean keep the loyal J'Tia and cut the alienated Spencer. The shuffles in question weren't your run of the mill tribe swaps -- in each instance, the last-place tribe in a reward challenge would be absorbed into the other tribes. If Kass, Tasha and their third amigo lost the challenge, two of them go to Team Beauty (or whatever the name we actually have to learn now), one to team Brawn, to even things out 7-7. In order to stay intact, they need to win. To win, frankly, they need Spencer.

Spencer gets MVP this week for not only putting on a good show at the Immunity challenge, but also convincing Kass and Tasha he's not jumping ship the first chance he gets. And I believe him! He doesn't seem live a spiteful guy, especially because the ladies on the tribe have shown him respect. When Cochran flipped on his Savaii tribe in South Pacific, it was because he'd been mercilessly bullied. Shambo in Samoa, too. I guess that's SURVIVOR PRO TIP #8: Don't Be A Bully. 

In my opinion, the Brains made the right choice. Best case scenario, Spencer seems loyal enough and will probably be more of an asset in socializing and swaying stragglers than J'Tia. Worst case, Spencer is picked off first due to his strength, buying Kass & Tasha 3 more days.

Up For Grabs (Formerly Random Thoughts):

-Episode MVP: Spencer.

-Winner Pick: Sarah, for at least one more week, because of the whole "two cops in the finals" runner. I don't think it's Tony. It's not Lindsay, Cliff, Woo, Alexis, LJ, Jeremiah, Jefra or Trish. That leaves us with Tasha, Kass, Spencer and Morgan still in the running.

-Historically, cops suck at Survivor. The average placement of acting/former police officers is 14.25 (counting Debb, Maralyn, Jessie, Ken, Amy, Cristina, Betsy and Mark/Papa Bear. Wow, lots of lady cops!)

-Fallen Comrades: You hung in there for as long as you could, girl, and I applaud you for that. Kass and Tasha nearly kept you! You nearly made the tribe swap! There's no telling how far you could have inched along, you poor little pawn. At least you're a winner outside of the game.

-Having two challenges per week is good for most fans of the show, bad for me and the blog, but I obviously still found A LOT to say.

-Did the Brains make the right move? What'll happen in the upcoming tribe swap? And where do chickens come from?? Share your thoughts in the comments or with me on Twitter, @miketvladue.

Dual Redundancy's 3rd Annual March Madness Bracket: Round 2

It is March and that only means one thing: March Madness! Even though we do not discuss sports we still wanted to join the bracket fun and make one for ourselves.

This year Dual Redundancy wants to know who is the best actor/actress? After round one some early favorites are gone including Dustin Hoffman, Denzel Washington, and Johnny Depp on the male side and Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett, and Natalie Portman on the female side. Make sure you vote in round two so your pick does not get left behind!

Each new round of voting and the results will be announced here on the Dual Redundancy Blog as well as Facebook and Twitter.

To vote in round two click here. Only one vote per device.

Survivor: Cagayan Episode 3 Strategy Blog - Dot Dot Dot Hmmph

via tfanatic.com

By: Mike Ladue

Making it to the endgame of Survivor is extremely difficult without trust. To quote the idiot college kid from Good Will Hunting (one of my favorite films), "trust is life", which applies exponentially more on the island than in the real world. More so than fire, at least in the pre-merge rounds, trust is what keeps you alive.

We saw it with both David and Garrett last week. Both made moves that alienated them from the rest of their tribes, painting them as untrustworthy and sealing their fates. Sure, J'Tia destroyed all the rice, but everybody kinda expected that of her (see: Kass, Tasha and Garrett's chat in the water). Nobody knew where Garrett's head would be, thus they sent it rolling.

Trust was central to this week's episode, whether the main players in question (Jeremiah for the Beauty tribe and Sarah for the Brawns) realized it or not. In Jeremiah's case, he did. Literally everybody in the tribe believed Jeremiah was acting in his or her best interest.

That's an interesting position to be in. I'm surprised swing votes aren't targeted more often (the best, and only, example I can currently think of is Dolly in Vanuatu, which was so early in the game it hardly mattered). Of course had Jefra, Alexis or LJ spilled the beans they'd be voting for Jeremiah, they'd make the choice for him and he'd side with the outsiders, and vice-versa. The risk is too high.

So did Jeremiah make the right move? Let's look at his options. By voting out Brice, he solidifies himself in a four-person alliance with LJ/Alexis/Jefra, with Morgan once again the odd girl out. Should the Beauty tribe lose again, Morgan's an easy target -- low physical asset, low social prowess, low camp contribution. But smart players should always be thinking two moves ahead, and it's here that Jeremiah may have stumbled.

Jefra found out Jeremiah had been playing both sides, a fact that could seriously come back to bite him. Once Morgan's gone, the Beauties will be that much closer to a merge, where physical strength shifts from favorable to threatening. Jeremiah, then, becomes the outsider, the one who "played both sides" in a guilty by association scenario, the one everyone likes, and thus must be ousted.

SURVIVOR PRO TIP #4: Find the most likable person and vote him/her off. This is probably the most controversial Survivor advice there is. But if everybody likes someone, regardless of any other factor, they're the biggest threat to your game. If they make it to the end, they win. 9 times out of 10 juries disregard strategy and vote emotionally. Fabio was a goofy, fun-loving guy whose late Immunity run earned him a win. So was JT. And Bob. Jeremiah could fit that criteria, if given the chance to make it that far. (This is controversial because going against an obvious favorite might draw ire from production. If you're going to oust the season's biggest hero, be prepared to assume the rule of the season's biggest villain).

Anyways, had Jeremiah stuck with Morgan and Brice and eliminated Alexis, he'd be in a majority alliance stacked against LJ and Jefra. As an audience, we know LJ found the Hidden Immunity Idol, and could use it as swift payback against Jeremiah for betraying the foursome. Had he not found the idol, moving forward with 2 stragglers is twice as dangerous as with one. Another loss would probably seal Jefra's fate. Whoever survived would itch to join Brains / Brawn and better their situation (a la Shambo). It's worth noting that misfit alliances tend to crumble (a la Timbira, Fang and nearly Casaya). Sticking with who he fits with may be the simplest, most natural choice.

Unfortunatlely, Jeremiah is pretty much damned either way. In this day and age, being a young, fit, likable male is the worst position for a Survivor contestant. After 20+ seasons of dominance, the tide has turned. This is the first time the first three contestants voted off were all male. Being the swing means you're in the middle, and unless you're Sandra Diaz-Twine, it's extremely difficult to hold that position to the endgame.

Brice, our narrator from last week, established an outcast bond with Morgan and a southern bond with Jeremiah. Put another way, he made 40% of all the right moves. Alexis may not have reached out and takes strategy with him, but he obviously hadn't tried connecting with her, either. Social butterfly he was not, as the Survivor greats are those who get on everybody's good side. Look at Kim Spradlin, Tom Westman, Aras Baskauskas, Yul Kwon, or J.T. Thomas. Instead, his Tribal confrontation with her was awkward, as if he knew he'd lost the war. I'll miss his candor at Tribal and sassiness in confessionals. But he failed to earn the trust of his tribe's majority, so there's no excuse to make for his early boot.

Trust comes into play at the Brawn tribe as well. Tony confided his cop identity in Sarah, who claimed to have "Cop-dar", from the makers of Gaydar. She took this small victory and ran with it, not realizing he packaged several small lies with his larger truth. His story about Cliff and Lindsay plotting against her? Total bull. Props to Tony for stirring the pot within an otherwise fully-functioning tribe, at least challenge-wise.

But for some reason, the show seems less inclined to give Tony his credit. Sure, he's gotten personalized hashtags like "#CopsRUs" (aka the worst alliance name ever. Seriously. If I ever make it on the show, I'm teaming up with other tall gangly men to form the Daddy Long Leg Brigade, Parvati/Amanda/Cirie/Natalie be damned). The editing, specifically the music cues, paint a different picture.

Maybe it's just me, but Sarah comes off as way more likable than Tony. Tony gets Russell-like confessionals, without the Russell-like music cues, promos, or production favor. He's more reminiscent of Gabon's Ace than Samoa's Russell. He's downright dunce-like. Then again, Sarah comes off as Palau's Stephenie: strong, likable (lovable?) woman who gets dealt a bad hand.

I see the Tony/Sarah story going one of three ways:

1. Sarah catches Tony in his lies and blindsides him (possibly as early as next week, as Sarah targets a "him" to Woo. Is she naive enough to go after Cliff directly to his ally?)

2. Tony blindsides Sarah, burning that bridge come jury time (a la Chris and Julie in Vanuatu)

or, least likely,

3. Sarah and Tony reach the finals together.

Last week I narrowed the winner pick down between Sarah and Kass. Of the two, Sarah is the one I'd feel comfortable still backing, and this pick to win a Final Tribal over Tony. Kass seemed out of touch with Tasha, the new HBIC of the Brains tribe. I guess it all comes down to who Tasha feels she can trust more deeply.

Random Thoughts:

-MVP: LJ, for finding the HII and keeping his alliance intact through Tribal.

-Winner Pick: Sarah, with Tasha surpassing Kass for second place. Spencer still seems like a future All-Star, not a current season winner.

-Fallen Comrades: Brice just didn't click. Socially, he seemed too aggressive to gel with the laid-back pretty boys and girls. It's a fine line between missing out and over-strategization, and Brice erred too far towards the latter. I'm sure he'll be hilarious on Twitter!

-The vertical maze was DOPE, and designed by a dream-teamer, apparently.

-Props to the Brains for practicing the challenge. Did it help? Not really, as they made up time on the puzzle. But they're definitely using their knowledge of the game's ins and outs to their advantage.

-Splitting votes is always so risky, and we've seen it go wrong so many other times, I partly was disappointed for it to work so well against Brice tonight. Alexis displayed a firm grasp of the game's rules, though. You go girl!

-I made a few mentions to music cues this week, so it's worth mentioning the departure of Russ Landau, Survivor's resident composer since the very first season. From what I've gathered, production felt they'd amassed enough music over the past 27 cycles to fill the silences. Obviously that didn't work as planned, since we were treated to unoriginal music during the Brains tribe's water-tossing segment. Landau's loss is immeasurable to the Survivor brand and one I'm already mourning greatly.

-Did Jeremiah make the right move? Are you down with Cops-R-Us? Share your opinions in the comments, or with me personally on Twitter: @miketvladue.

Dual Redundancy's 3rd Annual March Madness Bracket: Round 1

It is March and that only means one thing: March Madness! Even though we do not discuss sports we still wanted to join the bracket fun and make one for ourselves.

So far we have learned that Arrested Development was the best television show and that The Shawshank Redemption is the best movie. This year Dual Redundancy wants to know who is the best actor/actress? We have chosen 32 actors and 32 actresses and have them competing head to head against each other. After we have a winner in both categories we will have them go head to head in a final round to determine the best living actor or actress!

How did we calculate who made the bracket and what seed each person got? Both Mike and David created two separate lists of actors and actresses and had the Dual Redundancy fans submit their choices through social media. We then calculated the awards (Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar & Tony) received for their performances (not counting producing or directing credits). For example, an Oscar win was 10 points, an Emmy win was 8 points, an Oscar nom was 5 points, etc. We then took these scores and added their AVERAGE box office gross (adjusted for inflation). For example, if an actor's total is $82,203,900, 8.22 was added to their total. The top 32 in each category made the cut and like most brackets the number one seed is up against the lowest seed.

Each new round of voting and the results will be announced here on the Dual Redundancy Blog as well as Facebook and Twitter.

To vote in round one click here. Only one vote per device.