Tag Archives: Tom Westman

2010/12/20 · 4:30 pm

‘Survivor Nicaragua’ Finale: The Kids Are Alright; AKA For Whom the Bong Tolls

We did it guys!  We made it to the end of another season of Survivor.  And we’ll tell you what, despite what the general consensus seems to be, we found this to be a thoroughly entertaining season.  Filled with a disconcerting number of weak, unlikable players, yes.  Lacking a truly great storyline, showdown or blindside, perhaps.  Nearly ruined with the loss of Jimmy Johnson, you bet.  A total failure in attempting to change the game with the Medallion of Power, for sure.  An all-time great Sole Survivor, not likely.  But coming on the heels of All-Stars, we feared the worst.  And, thanks in part to one of the more gratifying wins in recent memory (it certainly helps make up for giving the million to Sandra), Survivor: Nicaragua restored our faith in the franchise, proving it could still entertain and astonish, even without Russell Hantz, Tom Westman, or water-based challenges.

But before we get to the finale, we need to first revisit the trend that has dominated the most recent episodes.

Read on: The creepiness continues. And we have a winner! And we’re happy! Plus, Jimmy Johnson!

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2010/12/17 · 6:23 pm

Gratuitous Search Term Bait of the Day: Our Hero

Easy choice for today’s Gratuitous Search Term Bait of the day.  With the Survivor: Nicaragua finale on Sunday evening, we’re going with Mr. Lt. “Tom Westman” (proudly one of our top search terms of all-time).

You’re welcome, world.

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2010/11/17 · 8:02 pm

Jeff Probst Picked His Favorite ‘Survivor’ Location Explicitly Because of the Presence of Tom Westman

Okay, well, not exactly.  But Probst did cite Palau as his favorite location, lauding it for its friendly locals, crystal clear water, and abundance of snorkeling opportunities, as well its excellent pizzerias and mexican restaurants (obviously).

However, let’s get real.  We all know what made that place great.

See?  Probst knows too.

Via PopWatch

 

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2010/11/03 · 2:12 pm

Just One More Reason Why Tom Westman is Our Hero

Because, in addition to clutching a narrow pole on top of an unsteady buoy for thirteen hours, Westman told Jeff Probst that they needed to kill the fire because the smoke was getting in his eyes.  Darkness?  Cold?  No sweat for Lt. Tom Westman.

Is that all you got?

 

See Probst talk more about this challenge, which he deemed his favorite of all-time, on EW’s PopWatch.

We never tire of that beard.

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2010/09/22 · 7:02 pm

‘Survivor: One-Star’; Thoughts on the ‘Survivor: Nicaragua’ Premiere

Well, Survivor: Nicaragua certainly has its work cut out for itself, following arguably the greatest season in the series’ illustrious history.  Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, AKA Buried Knives and Burnt Hats: Boston Rob vs. Russell, brought us back from several seasons of indifference.  Really, our interest in the show had waned years ago,  and we really only returned to see Tom Westman defend his title.  But we found ourselves sucked back in, charmed by Russell, strangely tolerant of Boston Rob, amused by Coach, infuriated by Sandra, disappointed by Colby, baffled by JT, and it ended up being one of the strongest, and probably most enjoyable, season in memory.  But how will Survivor: Nicaragua stack up?  Without the familiarity of the castaways, the pang of nostalgia and the promise of alpha male vs. alpha male vs. alpha male vs. alpha male fireworks, will this new season hold our attention?

Well, the show is not All-Stars, but it does have one star, that being perpetually erect Super Bowl Champion coach Jimmy Johnson (not to be confused with his former boss, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, or 90s talk show host Jenny Jones, or top race car driver Jimmie Johnson or former wrestler and member of the Fabulous Freebirds Jimmy Garvin).  Turns out that Jimmy Johnson (or “Jimmy J”) is kind of a bizarro Tom Westman.  They’re both silver-topped elder statesman, but where Westman excelled in physical prowess and strong morals, Johnson oozes charm and good ol’ boy wit, matching his elite leadership skills with just enough self-deprecation and humor (although, no indication yet of how Johnson’s beard is going to fill in).  Turns out that this season might be worth watching just for Jimmy Johnson alone.

Read on: Goodbye, Chatterbox! And “The Faces of Jimmy Johnson”

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2010/05/20 · 11:36 am

‘Survivor: All-Stars’ Finale: Hey, Jealousy (And Tom Westman!)

About 3/4 of the way through the Survivor finale I turned to my viewing companion and said “If Sandra wins it might just ruin the whole season for me.”  A season, that up to that point, had been arguably the greatest in Survivor history.  But he calmed my fears, assuring me she wouldn’t win, and I thought “yeah, you’re right she’s not winning.”  It was just a moment of weakness where I let a worst-case impossible scenario appear to be a viable outcome.  But I quickly blocked out that preposterous notion.

Well, the good news is that, three nights after the finale aired, I do not feel that the season was ruined by virtue of its final vote.  However, the bad news is my nightmare came true.  Sandra won.  For the 2nd time.  The castaway who has never won a single challenge won a second time.

NEVER WON A SINGLE CHALLENGE.  IN TWO SEASONS.  And this time around she didn’t win by being slightly less worthless than a glorified girl scout.  No, this time she beat out Russell and Parvati, arguably the greatest strategist and greatest social player of all time, respectively.  So what gives?  How could this possibly happen?

Read on: The jury needs to grow up. Plus, our hero returns!

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2010/03/25 · 3:33 pm

‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians’ – All Hantz On Deck AKA “What Just Happened?”

Not This WayWe we came home to an unexpected treat last night.  No, not the Rangers-Islanders game broadcast in 3D (because who besides Future Marty McFly owns a 3D TV? (although, I guess future Marty McFly would now be Present Marty McFly, but that’s there not here)).  We’re talking about a special Wednesday episode of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains (moved up a night, as is the yearly tradition, to accommodate March Madness, or, as I think of it, Annual Exploitation of College Kids in Order to Line the Already Deep Pockets of Television Networks and Elite Universities While at the Same Time Deferring Attention From the Start of the Baseball Season Madness.  Wow, two sports references in the first paragraph.  We’ll stop, promise).  And boy, was it ever special.

After our hero Lt. Tom Westman was voted out two weeks ago we* were glad that the show had a mini-hiatus last week.  We needed the time to mourn, to come to terms, to learn to love again.  And honestly, when the show started last night we didn’t know if we still had the desire.  Perhaps the spark was gone.  And when it soon became clear that Colby, Tom’s deputy and the last remaining true hero, and Russell, the most entertaining and devious competitor, were on the chopping block our excitement for the rest of the season was diminished even further.  A show with no Tom, no Colby, no Russell (and no curmudgeonly Randy)?  Would that even be a show worth watching?  Why continue tuning in to see Rupert sacrifice his integrity for a weak alliance, to see James hobble his way through challenges and jackass his way through Tribal Councils, to see Courtney literally waste away, to see Sandra make it to the final three by doing absolutely nothing (and to begrudgingly see Boston Rob dominate physically and mentally).  I’m just not sure that’s a show I want to watch.

And after the combination reward/immunity challenge, and the promise of both tribes going to Council, the show tried to tease us into thinking that Russell would maybe outsmart Boston Rob, and that perhaps the Heroes tribe would (a week too late) vote out James if he couldn’t beat JT in a footrace.  But we knew better than that.  They were just trying to create false drama, a faint, feigned glimmer of hope that our white knight and our red devil wouldn’t be going home.  Sorry, Survivor, you can’t fool us that easily.

But wait.

No, not this way…

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2010/03/12 · 5:05 pm

Sorta In Memoriam: Tom Westman (and a brief discourse on celebrities and moral turpitude)

And so begins my long overdue thoughts on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.  It’s a shame we have to start on such a sour note.

A few weeks ago my mom and I were talking about the Tiger Woods scandal (it was what she came up with after brainstorming topics for dinner conversation) and she asked me if there was some one in the public eye, a role model perhaps, that would really break my heart if they were exposed to be in some kind of scandal or lascivious activity.  I told her that as I’ve become an adult I’ve learned to let go of such things, that as a 26 year-old you can’t put another person, especially a public persona, on such a pedestal.  She suggested that we should hold these people to a higher moral standard, but I argued just the opposite, that with celebrities – actors, musicians, athletes, politicians – we should expect less adherence to a moral code.  These are people who are told they are great, they are special, and thus think they are exempt from common behavior, that they are above the law, both legally and morally.  Now there are, of course, exceptions, but too often their celebrity status goes to their heads, and they think the rules don’t apply to them.  And the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and the less we should be surprised when they do.  Sad but true.  So to answer my mother’s question, there was no one I could think of whom I believed in so deeply that any discovery of indiscretion would be utterly soul crushing (unless it was revealed that Tom Hanks has cheated on Rita Wilson with a harem of Golden Corral buffet attendants, but I can think of almost nothing less likely).

However, a couple nights later I sat down to dig into the premiere of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains and I realized that I was mistaken.  There remained at least one person I felt that strongly about, whom I believed to be nearly infallible, with whom I couldn’t fault and would be shocked to learn of one.  And that man is former Brooklyn firefighter Tom Westman.  Yes, as a fellow Long Islander I’m biased.  But the way he so thoroughly dominated Survivor: Palau is really unparalleled in the show’s history, and he did so by a mixture of uncanny physical prowess and the utmost integrity.  In my eyes he played a flawless game, and perhaps became the last role model standing.

Read on: The one true Hero…

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2010/01/07 · 6:31 pm

I’ll Be Watching ‘Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villians’ Because of This Guy

That’s right, Long Island’s own Tom Westman is officially back in the game for Heroes Vs. Villains.  I stopped watching Survivor a season or two after Tom absolutely dominated Palau, and while the real reason I ceased watching is that there were just too many good shows on Thursday night (and at the time my TiVo could only handle one channel at once), I’d like to think that after Tom every other competitor just paled in comparison.  He’s five years older now, but hopefully five years awesomer.

The only thing better would have been if Michael Skupin rose from the ashes and returned.  But that’ll never happen (I’m still sore about his departure, though.  His Kucha tribe was one of the strongest in the history of the game, and if he didn’t have to bow out due to his melting flesh then Kucha would have probably run the table in impressive fashion).  I do have to say though, I’m kinda over Rupert.  The good guy/Hillbilly Jim act has worn rather thin.

Check out Survivor authority Dalton Ross’ take on the new all-star season.

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