'Survivor' fan loves to dish out sarcasm
Friday, December 09, 2005
By Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Admit it: Half the fun of watching a show like "Survivor: Guatemala" is critiquing the cast members' performance on challenges and making snarky comments about their grungy appearances. (Seriously, what's up with all those nasty mosquito bites?)
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"Survivor" blogger Tim Piper |
But if you're like some people and only tune in for the last few episodes, the live finale on Sunday at 8 p.m. might leave you scratching your head. Who are those people on the jury and why didn't they make it to the final four?
Survivorsatire.com, a Web site created by Pine resident Tim Piper, can help jog your memory. Each week on the site, the former elementary school teacher recaps the show's latest episode. And it's not for just this, the 11th season for the popular CBS reality show. Piper also provides commentary for five earlier seasons.
There are plenty of Web sites that devote time and energy to "Survivor," of course, including CBS's official site, www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor. But Piper's site is different in that he's not so much an adoring fan but a wry commentator. He places emphasis on the contestants' "obvious mistakes, worthless efforts, abnormal behaviors and stupid comments.".....
In recounting the happenings on the Nov. 17 episode (No. 10), for instance, he laments how disappointing it was that there were women in bikinis and a large mud pit but no wrestling.
"After all," he writes, "mud pits and women go together as well as french fries and coleslaw in a Primanti's sandwich."
"I've always been a smart aleck," explains Piper, a father of two who used to teach second grade at North Allegheny's Hosack Elementary but works in real estate management. "I like to make people laugh."
But "Survivor" fans beware. Filled with sarcasm and off-color humor, the Web site is not for the easily offended. In fact, a disclaimer on the home page warns readers that because ideas flow from his brain "like sugar out of its bag on the back seat of my car," readers should approach the politically incorrect site at their own risk.
His rumination on the Survivors' search for a 6-inch immunity idol during Episode 8 is a perfect example; you can't read it without blushing. However, it's his willingness to be so unapologetically frank, he points out, that generates such a good response.
Visitors to his site include friends of friends living is such distant locales as Iraq and Australia.
"People like going to work on Friday and starting the day with a laugh," says Piper, 37. "And I say the things that most people think but would normally keep to themselves."
The only person he won't skewer, in fact, is host Jeff Probst -- and only because he would like to be on the show some day.
While it might seem like Piper is a hard-core fan, he actually knew nothing about the show until someone at school asked him in spring 2001, via e-mail, if he wanted to be part of a poll choosing the winner of "Survivor: The Australian Outback." His comments about those contestants were such a hit that before he knew it, he was e-mailing his friends and family a weekly summary about the show.
In the beginning, his approach was more laid back: He'd simply type up whatever he could remember. But as more and more people asked to be on his e-mail list, Piper decided to "feed the beast."
Now, he records each episode so he can see exactly what happened and how certain contestants reacted -- a process that can take several hours. This fall he made a permanent record of the missives and created the Web site.
One of his favorite players to skewer, he says, was Jon Dalton of "Survivor: Pearl Islands." One of the most loathsome characters to ever don a buff, "Jonnie Fairplay" lied about his grandmother dying to gain sympathy. But he's nearly as taken with this season's Judd Sergeant -- Piper takes pleasure in riding the New York City doorman mercilessly.
The site also includes a collection of Tim's Top 10 Lists on topics such as parenting and his favorite teaching stories.
Piper's humor might not be for everyone, but he doesn't take the show -- or himself -- too seriously. "It's for people who want a good laugh, and like to laugh at people's mistakes."
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