The Daily Bongo
Endurance (Season 1)
Endurance 2 Endurance: Hawaii (3) Endurance: Tehachapi (4)
Endurance: High Sierras Endurance: Fiji Who's Who in Endurance
The teams for the first season of Endurance are:
|
Blue Jonna and Aaron Winners |
Green
Lana and Trevor Eliminated in 10th episode |
Grey Jenna and Max Eliminated in 4th episode |
Orange Chelsea and Skylar Eliminated in 8th episode |
Purple Layla and Brandon Eliminated in 6th episode |
Red Ashley and Christian Eliminated in 12th episode |
Yellow Sabrina and Jon Eliminated in final round |
Sunday, May 15, 2005 -- Evening
I have just been watching the rerun of the very first season of Endurance that is on Discovery Kids. The shows are from 2002 and two episodes are being shown each week. JD Roth is the host of the show, and the goal is to team up the kids (a boy with a girl), and to put them through a series of physical and intellectual challenges. There are two types of competitions: Endurance missions where the winning team gets a pyramid piece (all ten are needed to win the game) and a Samadhi which is given to a team that the winner wants to lose the Temple mission, and the Temple mission where the winner sends two teams to the Temple from which only one will return. The winning team gets a trip to the location of their choice. This week, we have the first episode Right to Stay. They start with 10 boys and 10 girls aged 13 to 14 who are sent to an island in the Pacific, and on the first day, they eliminate three of each. It's done by having a feat of strength. In this case, the kids have to hold onto a pair of rings over the ocean, and their feet are raised. It's basically a waiting game then at that point to see who has the strength to hold on. The neat thing about the show is that both boys and girls are put to the same test. It's interesting to watch the first season again because I have seen the shows before. All the guys thought that Chelsea would be the first girl to be eliminated in this competition, but she wound up making it through the first competition. The second episode, Partner Game shows the competition to pick a partner. In the first season, the competitors had to battle to catch a ball. The person who did catch the ball was then able to put a boy and a girl together to make a team. Jonna came up with a list that everyone appeared to agree with, and they were supposed to stick to the list. Well, the thing that I like about the show is the scheming, and things didn't work out the way it was planned. Before the teams are setup, we see Sabrina, Ashley, Jon and Christian going around and making an alliance and scheming to get put together. The teams are formed. The first team is Jonna catches the first ball, yellow, and teams Jon and Sabrina. Ashley catches the blue ball, and teams Aaron and Jonna. Layla caught the red ball, and teamed Christian and Ashley. Sabrina was in the background whispering to Layla and putting the pressure on to create the team, and Layla gave in to it. Max catches the green ball, and he puts the monkey wrench into the team plan. He pairs Trevor and Lana. Now, Trevor was supposed to be paired with Chelsea. Jenna caught the purple ball, and she paired Brandon and Layla. Max caught the orange ball which got him two pyramid pieces because it was the last ball. Max paired Skylar and Chelsea which left Jenna as Max's partner and they became the grey team. The teams picked the following pieces: Yellow picked Perseverance, Blue picked Courage, Red picked Leadership, Green picked Commitment, Purple picked Strength, Orange picked Luck, and Grey picked Heart and Trust. Then they picked the trips. Yellow picked first and took Belize. Blue took Africa. Red took Australia. Green took Amazon. Purple took Costa Rica. Orange took Bali. Grey was left with Galapagos Islands. The first mission will be in the next show.Sunday, May 29, 2005 -- Evening
I have been catching up on the first season of Endurance that is on Discovery Kids, and was watching the recorded shows from last weekend and this weekend. First up was the third episode on the series, Tilt. The competition for this show was to win the final two pyramid pieces that were up for grabs. We find out that Chelsea has a crush on Max, and we see the first signs of Sabrina flirting with Aaron. We would see signs of this all through the first season. Aaron starts making shell necklaces for Sabrina, and admits that he really is attracted to her. Too bad that Sabrina will take full advantage of it. Lana of the Green team admits that she doesn't feel a close bond with her partner. It is also obvious in this episode that Sabrina and Ashley are tight which leads to comments from others that they need to separate the Yellow and Red teams. Before the competition we learn of the Samadi which is the Buddist word for contemplation, and the winner of the competition gets to give it to another team which will negatively affect the receiving team. We find out that in this competition, a device is setup over the water. One of the teammates will be harnessed to the contraption, and will be holding onto the arms of the other. The base will then tilt with the free teammate dangling over the water. The last team holding on at the end will win the competition. It has to be hard on the teams with the small guys and big girls, like the Green team. The first team out though is the Grey team (they were plotting earlier to throw the competition so they aren't a target). Green was second, Orange was third, Purple was fourth. Red was fifth which left only Yellow and Blue in the competition. Blue wound up holding on the longest. Aaron is very strong--the guy on the Blue team. You can already see the good teamwork between the members of the Blue team. We learn that the other teams think that Blue will pick Yellow or Red for the Samadhi, but we then seen Jonna (Blue), Sabrina (Yellow), and Ashley (Red) talking about giving the Samadhi to the Orange team, a decision with which Aaron agrees. We learn in this episode about the Brotherhood that is made up of Brandon, Trevor, Skylar and Aaron. Alot of scheming is going on between all the teams. It's funny because Skylar thinks that being quiet is a good thing, but everyone wants to target Orange. Meanwhile we see Yellow and Red making deals not to send Blue to the Temple. At the Rock where the teams meet to discuss the days events and to give out the decisions on the Samadhi and Temple. Jenna admits that she and Max threw the competition in Tilt. Then we find that the Orange team is getting the Samadhi. As Aaron and Jonna sit there, Aaron seems very depressed--maybe because he knows it is the end of the Brotherhood. We find out that there is a rope with three knots in the Samadhi, so all we know now is that Orange will be affected by the three knots. The next episode will be the Temple mission. The winner of that will send up two teams to the Temple.The fourth episode is Knotted Up, and this is the episode with the first Temple mission. Chelsea and Max both express their lack of concern over being sent up to the Temple. Hmm--makes you wonder doesn't it? We find out what the competition is; it's an escape routine. The teammates are tied at the waist with a knotted rope. The first team to untangle the knots in the center and extend their rope unknotted will be the winner. The Orange team will have three extra knots in their rope. The competition was close between Red and Blue, but the Blue team won. They have the entire afternoon to make their decision. We heard from the teams what they thought of the game which was a game of logic. Christian thought Aaron of the Blue team would be good because he is always making necklaces. Trevor seemed to annoying the other kids on the beach, so it seems that is making the Green team a huge target. What makes it worse for the team is that Lana and Trevor really can't stand each other. Aaron seems like such a nice kid and he is getting really manipulated by Sabrina. It seems that Jonna of the Blue team has a plan to get rid of Green. She wants to send a strong team to the Temple with the Green team to make sure that the Green team leaves. Aaron thinks that Max and Jenna would beat Green and that they should be sent to the Temple. Joann likes the team, and doesn't want to do that, so she recommends that Orange and Green go up. In the end, Aaron's suggestion wins out and the Grey and Green teams are sent to the Temple of Fate. There is alot of crying among the various kids and we find out how hard this is for the Blue team. Aaron explains to Grey that the reason they are being sent is to get rid of Green. Jonna gives Max a hat for good luck, and he wants to give it back. However, she wants Max to keep the hat because it will bring him luck. Aaron says that he wants to be rid of Green team because Trevor gets on his nerves. We do see Jonna putting the blame for the decision on Aaron. No one knows what is at the Temple of Fate--it could be any sort of challenge. It turns out to be a guessing game where each team has to pick between water, fire and wood. The premise is that fire burns the wood, wood floats on water, and water puts out the fire. Each team has to write down one of the three on a rock. JD Roth then puts the rocks in a cauldron of fire, and the answers are displayed. The first team to win 2 games goes back to the others and eliminates the opposing team. In the first game, Grey picks wood and Green picks fire. Green has one win. In the second game, Grey picks fire and Green picks water. Green wins and is still in the game. The Grey team is being sent home. Their pieces and their trip will be the prize for the next Endurance mission. We see the shock on everyone's faces when they learn that Lana and Trevor have won, and that's how the show ends.
The next episode is called Plant the Flag. The mission in this game will get the winner the two pyramid pieces that the Grey team had, and the option to switch trips to take the one that the Grey team had. JD Roth shows up to bring a letter from the Grey team. Max left the hat behind for Joann with a note. The note said to "give this to the next team you want to betray". We see Aaron's face and it is very set and stern. Poor chelsea was crying because she was in love with Max, and he's gone. Aaron seems really hurt because he thought that Max knew why Blue was sending up Grey. Aaron also said that Joann agreed to send the tema up to the Temple. It's always hard when a team leaves. Green is already saying they will give the Samadhi to the Blue team if Green wins. What is the Endurance mission? The players are going to be on a pulley. The one on the ground has to plant the flag, by running and pulling the other teammate up on a pulley to grab the flag. The teammate on the ground has to plant four flags to win. This time Lana from the Green team did the running because she is bigger than her teammate. The Yellow team won the competition. The Red team had abit of a controversy because Christian said that the girls should stop eating so much if the guys are going to be expected to pull the girls around the beach. Yellow team gets the Trust and Heart pieces that the Grey team left behind. Yellow and Blue are tied with three pyramid pieces each. Yellow keeps Belize and turns down the Grey team's Gallapogos Islands. Ashley and Sabrina bribed Trevor and found out what happened at the Temple of Fate. The word quickly spread, and Lana got ticked because that was the Green teams advantage. Lana tried to cover it by telling everyone that Trevor lied and that you had to put your hand on something really hot for a long time and then something cold for a long time. Sabrina admits that she likes having folks sucking up to her because Yellow has the power of the Samadhi. We now go to the Rock to find out who is being given the Samadhi. JD then finds out that everyone on the beach knows what happens at the Temple. Everyone is then given a survey to fill out. The questions: Which team is in charge? Which team is the most honest? Which team never shuts up? Which team would change partners if they could? and Which team would be next to leave? After the survey, Yellow gives the Samadhi to the Purple team. what's in the Samadhi? We find out that the Purple team can't compete in the Temple Mission. That means that whoever wins (and it definitely won't be Purple) can send two teams to the Temple, and one of the teams could be the Purple team.
Sunday, June 5, 2005 -- Evening
I watched the sixth episode of first season of Endurance this evening. The episode is called Squeeze Play. In the last episode, Purple was given the Samadhi which prevented them from participating in the episode's Temple mission. Purple thought this meant they would go to the Temple for sure at the end of the day. The mission was based on the survey from the previous episode. Basically, each person on each team will be answering a series of questions. As the person gets the answer right, the person gets to move up in a pyramid of spaces. The pyramid has six rows. As the players climb the pyramid there are fewer and fewer spaces, of course, which will squeeze some of the players out of the game. When a row is completely filled, those that are below that row are elimated from the game. The person who makes it to the number one spot wins. The votes are done with team colored rocks. First question: "Which team would do anything to win?" Answer: Blue. "Which team is the most honest?" Answer: Orange. "Which team is in charge?" Answer: Yellow. "Which team will be the next team to leave the island?" Answer: Purple. So far, Ashley, of the Red team, is the only person to have gotten all the questions right. A row is complete so we had three players leave. If Ashley gets the next answer right, Red wins. "Which team would change partners if they could?" Answer: Green. Ashley won. That means that Red gets to select two teams to send to the Temple. Christian was saying that he knew he was going to win--which is funny because Ashley did all the winning. Skylar thinks that Orange and Purple will be going to the Temple. Layla told Lana that she would send Red and Yellow up if Purple came back, and Lana told Ashley. We hear that Ashley would really like to send Blue to the Temple. That does make sense because Blue is strong. Layla claims that Sabrina, Ashley and Layla made an alliance that they wouldn't send each other to the Temple. Sabrina said that she didn't remember this alliance and that obviously it is over. We then see Ashley and Christian discussing who to send. Ashley says that Christian made a pact with Blue and she made a pact with Green--just for this round and then things will change. JD Roth comments on the fact that only weak teams seem to be getting the Samadhi and sent to Temple. Red says that they will be sending Purple and Orange to the Temple. Layla begins to cry because she and Chelsea of Orange are really close friends, and Layla doesn't want to go to Temple. Brandon of Purple threatens to send Yellow and Red to Temple when he comes back. Ashley apologizes to Orange, and Layla overhears Ashley telling Christian that she wants Orange to come back. Layla keeps on talking about how she will really miss chelsea when Chelsea leaves the game, and how difficult it will be for Layla to continue playing. That's alot of confidence. Orange and Purple then make the trek to the Temple. Chelsea has a piece of Ashley's hair as a good luck charm. The game is to pick the dominant element between wood, water and fire. In the first game, Orange picks Wood and Purple picks water. orange wins. In the second game, Orange picks fire and Purple picks water. Purple wins. Whoever wins the next game goes back to the Island. Orange picks fire and Purple picked wood (Layla wanted them to pick water). Orange wins and stays. Purple is sent home. Orange's Luck pyramid piece must have helped them out. Orange returns to the beach to the welcoming arms of their friends.A recap episode is shown of the first six episodes before we come to the seventh episode entitled Water Logged. We are reminded about how Orange and Purple were sent to the Temple with Purple leaving the Island. This episode's mission is an Endurance mission. That means that Purple's Strength pyramid piece and its trip to Costa Rica is up for grabs. The day starts with an overnight rain storm. It seems that the huts leaked and everyone got waterlogged and were in miserable moods. Only Chelsea thought the misty, sunless day was beautiful because she comes from Arizona. It seems that everyone in the Red, Blue and Yellow teams are in an alliance although Ashley really wants Blue gone because they are strong. Ashley says that it's a game, and they should realize that Blue is strong and needs to be gone. Today's mission. One person of each team is on a platform and will be tied via a long rope to a bucket. The other team member gets to add water into another team's bucket. The goal is to get the person off of the platform. Last on wins the mission. The guys are on the platform, and the girls fill their bucket. Everyone went after Blue. Ashley was smiling while doing it, and Lana was getting into it too much. Aaron finally wasn't able to hold on, and was out. Everyone switched to Green and Trevor did not take long to get out. Christian of Red was threatening to send Green to Temple, and Red wound up getting out because they were targeted next. Then everyone switched to Orange, and they were out. So Yellow team won the game. Yellow now has another pyramid piece and the Samadhi. Sabrina said that she was confident that Yellow would win because Jon was really strong, and she also commented on how she likes having power. Yellow now has four pieces, Blue has three and everyone else has one. Yellow turns down the trip to Costa Rica. Yellow now has the rest of the day to decide on who gets the Samadhi. Ashley tries to talk Sabrina and Jon into giving the Samadhi to Blue because Ashley doesn't want to compete with Blue at the end. Sabrina then says that she wants to give the Samadhi to the Red team. Jon said that he will not do that, and then tells Ashley. At the rock at the end of the day, JD recapped how the teams have been doing. Sabrina admitted that she targeted Blue in the water game because Blue is a strong team, and she wanted to beat Aaron. Yellow wound up giving the Samadhi to the Orange team. The Samadhi this time is a note saying that "one foot of your rope will be cut prior to the Temple mission". And so the episode ends.
Sunday, June 12, 2005 -- Evening
The eighth episode of the first season of first season of Endurance was on today. The episode is titled Eruption. We start by hearing Skylar of the Orange team say that getting the Samadhi twice is demoralizing. Jon of Yellow says that he does feel challenged by Orange. It is important for Orange and Green to win or else they will be sent up to the Temple. In today's game, each team has to hold on to a rope with a net full of water balloons. The pressure will get great and cause a team to let go of the rope. The Orange team loses a foot of their rope. The game begins. Skylar and Chelsea are being lifted off the ground before they let go, and they are the first eliminated. Yellow, Red and Green were having problems, and Yellow was the second to let go. Next Red was out. It was down to Green and Blue. Trevor let go, and Green was out. Blue won. Green and Orange were obviously upset because everyone knows they will be going to the Temple. Orange admits that the loss of a foot of rope was too much. Christian was complaining about how Ashley let go, and Lana was complaining of the same of Trevor. Even Jonna of the Blue team said that she was shocked that Green didn't hold on until their arms fell off because it was to Green's advantage to win. Lana and Chelsea try to put the pressure on Jonna to send Yellow and Red to the Temple. Jonna says that she won't break a promise to not send Yellow to the Temple, and even if Yellow breaks the promise later, Jonna won't now. As Jonna says, she doesn't care if it is stupid--it's what she promised. Everyone thinks the idea is a stupid one because they believe that Blue will lose the game because Blue is sending the weakest teams. Green promises that Blue will be the next team off the island. Everyone also realizes that Sabrina is a liar and backstabber, and she admits it. Sabrina also admits that she manipulated Aaron into thinking she liked him so she won't be sent to the Temple. We see Sabrina working Aaron to make sure that Yellow isn't sent to the Temple this time. Everyone thinks that Red and Yellow will be the final two unless someone separates the teams. We get the official word from the Blue team that Orange and Green will be sent to the Temple. Afterward, Lana is rude to Jonna and surprisingly, Jonna really wants the Green team to come back, and gives Trevor a good luck charm so he will come back. Aaron of the Blue team admits that he would prefer Green to come back too. It's surprising because orange is the weaker team. Jonna doesn't go out to say good-bye to the teams because she is still upset over what both teams have said. Green admits when they come back, they will target Blue. orange says they will target Yellow first and then Blue. In the first game up at the Temple, Orange picks wood, and Green picks fire. Green wins the first game. In the second game, orange picks wood again, and Green picks water. Orange wins. It comes down to the final game. Orange picks fire, and Green picks water. Green will be heading back to the island. Orange forfeits their Luck pyramid piece and their trip and go home. Green heads back to the others. Jonna is very happy to see Green even though Lana blows her off.The ninth episode is next, and this one is called House of Cards. Of the remaining teams, three (Yellow, Red, and Blue) have an alliance. As christian admits, not everyone is happy that Green is back. Lana and Trevor are saying that they are out for Blue, and if they win the Samadhi, they will give it to Blue. Sabrina said that she and Jon realize they are carrying Red, and are trying to get rid of Red. Sabrina even tells Lana that Red is out to get Green. The funny thing was that a ribbon from the Red pole was wrapped around the Yellow pole, and Sabrina and Lana were throwing rocks to get it off. Sabrina doesn't want Aaron to know that she really doesn't like him, and even though she has been telling everyone else, she is still lying to Aaron. Everyone wants to win the Endurance mission and have the power to give away the Samadhi. JD comes to the camp and takes away the guys to get them ready for the mission. The girls then go to the beach. At stake in this mission is the Luck pyramid piece, a trip to Bali and the Samadhi. On the beach is a bucket and some bricks. The girls are told to stand in front of the bucket with their color. The lift the buckets straight in the air at the count of three. Under the buckets are the girls teammates. The guys are buried in the sand up to their shoulders. The game today is to build a wall like the Great Wall of China on their partner's head. The first team to get all the blocks on their partners head wins the game. The guys hold a board on their heads, and the girls have to put the bricks on two at a time. They have to dip the bricks in mud and then pile them up. Yellow seems to be in the lead, and then Jon drops all the pieces. Yellow quickly comes back, and almost had it finished. It was down to Yellow and Green. Green finished first. They won, and they were really excited. Trevor just kept on saying "we won something". Jonna starts a mud thowing battle with Green and everyone joins in. Green get together to say that they won't let anyone know who they will give the Samadhi to later. Sabrina was talking to Lana and trying to talk her into giving the Samadhi to Red. Christian tries to tell Ashley that her best friend, Sabrina, is back stabbing her, but Ashley refuses to believe it. JD mets with the teams to give Green team the Luck piece. The Green team keeps their trip to the Amazon and the Bali trip is gone. We get the run down, Yellow has four pieces, Blue has three, Green has two and Red has only one. Green gets the Samadhi, and will give it to the team of their choice later. There is decension between Lana and Trevor. Trevor wanted to give it to Yellow but Lana won't change in giving it to Blue. Sabrina admits that she is the biggest liar in the world, and that she was telling Ashley she won't send Red. Ashley talks with Jon and Jon tells Ashley that she can trust him, but that she shouldn't trust Sabrina. It's obvious that there is an attraction between Ashley and Jon. Ashley then told Lana that she found out that Green and Red would be sent to the Temple by Yellow. Then Lana tells Ashley that Sabrina has been trying to talk Green into giving Red the Samadhi. While Lana and Ashley are talking the red ribbon that was wrapped around the yellow pole unwrapped. Is the Sabrina and Ashley friendship finished? Ashley was very mad and disappointed in Sabrina. Ashley approaches Sabrina and says that she still loves and trusts Sabrina. They have a heart to heart talk, and Ashley says that she will never vote Sabrina off. Sabrina then admits that she will not vote Ashley off and they will be the final two. At that very moment, the red ribbon wraps back around the yellow pole. Woohoo! Scary! Back at the rock, all the teams meet for the giving of the Samadhi. JD asks Red team about its alliance with Yellow. Christian says the Yellow/Red alliance is barely together because of betrayal. Sabrina says that winning is most important. As Sabrina says she came to win and not make friends. JD then asks Aaron if there was a girl that he likes, and Aaron admits it was Sabrina, but that he doesn't any more. Sabrina tries to claim that Aaron never said that he liked her, but it was obvious though all the shows because he was fawning over her and making necklaces for her. Aaron admits that liking Sabrina is what had Blue keep Yellow on the Island. The alliance is falling apart because of Sabrina's game playing, or is it? But they are there to give out the Samadhi and Green gives it to the Blue team. After breaking it open, Blue finds a rock that says Blue team will have a 15 second delay before they can start the next game. Has the power shifted on the island?
Sunday, June 19, 2005 -- Evening
The tenth episode Dial In of the first season of Endurance was on today. This is a pivotal episode because only four teams are left, and the Blue team has been given the Samadhi which puts them at a disadvantage for today's game. The show starts with the comments that Sabrina made in the previous show that Sabrina did not know that Aaron liked her. As Christian said, Sabrina knew. Aaron told everyone and was making her necklaces all the time. Sabrina was trying to say that Aaron was lying about saying he liked her, and she took off all the necklaces that he made her. Green team believes that the game will change alot today because the Blue team has the Samadhi. Everyone thinks that Blue will lose today. The game today is a code game. The teams have a code to crack. They have a dial with letters and numbers. The objective: to line up the numbers with the correct letters to figure out what the question is. The team then has to answer the question. The numbers are color coded and the individual words in the question are color coded. So once the wheel is lined up properly, it's just a matter of reading off the letters and unjumbling them. The Blue team will start 15 seconds after everyone else. The game starts. As the 15 seconds tick off, we see the Green, Red and Yellow teams stumbling along. Jonna works the wheel for the Blue team, and starts to tell Aaron what to write. The question is "Which team left Endurance first?" Jonna had it and ran up and answered Grey. Blue team surprisingly won! Now Blue has to send two teams to temple. Unfortunately, two of the three from which to select are part of an alliance with Blue. Either Red or Yellow will have to go to the temple. After the game, Green admits they were clueless. Jonna said that she figured that if it was a question, the first word was a question word--who, what, why, which and only which fit. Jonna admits to being very upset because she has to choose the teams to send and will have to split the alliance. Aaron admits that it will be hard to send up Red because he is very good friends with Christian, and it will be hard to send Yellow because he likes Sabrina. Jonna tells Sabrina to talk to Aaron and tell him the truth. Sabrina claims to Jonna that she likes Aaron, but we know from Sabrina's confessions that she doesn't. So Sabrina decides that if telling Aaron that she likes him is what she has to do to stay in the game, she will lie. Jon is surprised that Sabrina will lie to Aaron, but he half-heartedly goes along with it. Sabrina tells Aaron that she likes him, but says she isn't saying it so Yellow won't go to temple. Aaron says that everyone told him Sabrina has said she doesn't like him, but Sabrina claims they are all lying. Jon wants to tell Aaron that Sabrina is playing with his head, but decides to keep out of it. Poor confused Aaron thinks that he and Sabrina have worked everything out. Jonna and Aaron then begin the difficult task of deciding who to send to the temple. Finally comes the time to tell JD who will go to the temple. Jonna says that it has been really hard. Green and Yellow are being sent to the temple. Sabrina begins crying and Jon comforts her. Meanwhile Aaron looks heart broken. Jon believes that Aaron picked Green and Jonna picked Yellow. As Christian said, Sabrina thought that lying and backstabbing would get her through the game, but it didn't. Sabrina is claiming that she never did anything to Aaron, and talks loudly about him as he walks away very sad. Meanwhile, Lana and Sabrina start to really attack Jonna. Sabrina really comes across as a petty witch. Poor Jonna is hated by everyone, and no one is talking to her. Green and Yellow are upset for obvious reasons, and Ashley is upset for Sabrina. Finally after alot of emotional turmoil, Yellow and Green go to the temple. This is Green's third trip to the temple. Will they make it back yet again? In the first game, Yellow picks wood and Green picks fire. Green wins the first game. In the second game, Yellow picks wood and Green picks water. Yellow wins. It is down to the tie breaking game. Yellow picks fire and Green picks wood. Yellow wins and will return to the game. Green has to forfeit their pieces and the trip to the Amazon. Back at the camp, there is a happy reunion of the three alliance teams.The next episode is Build a Pyramid. We are reminded at the start of the show about how mean Sabrina was to Jonna. Jonna admits that she does not feel all right about it. As Jonna said, Sabrina just apologizes for bad behavior and that is to make it all good. Jonna thinks that Blue has made it this far because of Jonna's qualities, such as taking risks, trusing and believing in yourself and your team. Aaron thinks they have made it this far because of friendship and because Blue is a strong team. Sabrina thinks that Yellow has made it this far because Sabrina has persuaded others to do things. Christian feels good about making it to the final three but he wants to win. Jonna asks Jon if he likes Ashley, and he said yes, and asks if others could tell. Jon wrote a letter to Ashley to tell her how he felt just in case he didn't make it back to camp. Ashley reads the letter in her confessional, and Jon basically said that he has a great time with her and hopes that they can keep in touch. Jon then asks Ashley how she felt about the letter. Ashley says she guesses the same way, and Jon says that they both really like each other. It is very touching to see them together because they really do seem to have a genuine affection. The next game will be a difficult one. All the teams want to win. Blue thinks that Yellow is the real competitor, and Sabrina vows to give the Samadhi to Blue. Today's mission? A pyramid frame is on the beach for each team. The goal is to fill in the frame with the seven different shapes with a window without a piece left in the middle of the pyramid. First to finish wins. The game is a difficult one, and the teams keep on placing and removing pieces to get them all to fit. Jonna tells Aaron what to do throughout the game, and Blue finishes first. Jonna and Aaron do work well together. Blue gets the two pyramid pieces and gets to give away the Samadhi. Jon thought he had it figured out, but we won't know because Blue won. Jonna takes the credit saying that she knew how the pieces should fit together. Aaron and Jonna talk about who to give the Samadhi to, and both agree to give it to Yellow. Sabrina is in a pickle because she has been playing games with Aaron. Jonna tells Ashley and Sabrina that Aaron is deciding, and Sabrina is sure this means she is safe, little knowing that she is getting the Samadhi. Blue is given their two new pyramid pieces, Commitment and Luck. Blue now has a commanding lead of five pyramid pieces, Yellow has four and Red has one. Blue exchanges their African safari for the Amazon. They are also given the Samadhi, and will give away the Samadhi later in the day. The three teams are then told that in the afternoon they will be going snorkling in the ocean and seeing the sealife. Ashley was nervous because she was never underwater before. It was also Jonna's first time in the ocean because she's from Arizona. It looked like it was a fun time for the kids. Evening comes and the teams are at the rock. As JD comments, only the alliance members are left. JD comments on Sabrina losing it when she was sent to the temple. Sabrina admits that she should not have gotten upset because it was just part of the game. Jonna admits that she was upset, but she forgave Sabrina since Sabrina was speaking out of anger. Blue said that they chose Yellow over Red because Yellow is the stronger team. Aaron said that he wanted the stronger teams at the end instead of leaving a weak team because it will be a more satisfying win in the end to win against a strong team. JD asks Ashley how Red is still there since they only won one game. Red said that it is friendship that keeps them here. Ashley said to get to the finals, they have to not get the Samadhi. Aaron said they have decided to give the Samadhi to Yellow. JD stops the Yellow team, and gives Blue team an option. Since it is the last Samadhi and last mission, he gives Blue the choice of giving Yellow the Samadhi, or can take the Samadhi out of the game and have a level playing field. Aaron quickly decides to take it out of the game. As JD says it will be the three final teams going against each other fair and square. The alliance will be broken, but it will be from a fair game. And so the show ends.
Sunday, June 26, 2005 -- Evening
The twelfth episode of first season of Endurance was on today. It was titled Leap of Faith. Only the Blue, Red and Yellow teams are left and there is no Samadhi to influence the results in this mission. We start the show with Christian and Aaron taking their morning shower in the ocean. It seems they do this every morning, and say that the cold ocean water is warmer than the showers. Christian doesn't seem to be the brightest person. He was doing backflips in two foot deep water. Everyone is talking about today's Temple mission because the winner does NOT go to the Temple. The two losers automatically go to the Temple. Jonna is now rethinking the fact that they took the Samadhi out of the game. As Jonna says, Yellow was appreciative at the beginning but then changed it to "stupid Blue team, now Yellow will win". It seems that Aaron was the one who was solely responsible for the decision. It seems that he is a decent honest person who wants a fair game. Sabrina admits though that she doesn't want a fair game, she wants to get rid of Blue. Now on to the game. The mission is for the teammates to jump as long as they can. A huge wooden swing like object is going to circle around like a jump rope, and the teammates have to jump as a unit over it. Christian of the Red team jumps on the board which breaks it, and Red is out. Sabrina of Yellow steps on the board and breaks it. Sabrina says, "you can't blame it on me", and Blue is the team guaranteed to go to the finals. Aaron says to Jonna, "we rock" to which Jonna replies, "oh yeah". You have to admit that Blue really does have a chemistry and great teamwork. As Jonna says, the biggest part of the game was rhythm. Jon and Ashley commiserate on how their partners are clutzes. As Jonna says, Jon will be upset because it will the last time he will see Ashley, and Ashley will be upset because it is the last time she will see Sabrina--and either Yellow or Red is going home. Red team only has the Leadership piece. Christian is wearing a necklace that Jonna gave him. It is her heart necklace, and she told Christian that he has to come back because it is her favorite necklace. Yellow has four pieces, and were in contention for the lead, so they have alot to lose. In the first game, Red picks water and Yellow picks fire. Red wins the first game. In the second, Red picks wood and Yellow picks fire. Yellow wins and the games are tied. It is down to the final rock. Whoever wins is a finalist. Yellow picks water. Ashley whispers to Christian that she thinks they should have picked wood, but they stick with their first choice which was water. It is a tie. So there is another game. This time Red picks wood and Yellow picks fire. Yellow wins. Ashley and Sabrina are crying, and Jon and Christian look devistated. The Yellow team returns to the beach to compete in the finals against Blue.The thirteenth episode is titled Don't Drop the Ball. Sabrina said that she misses Ashley, Ashley and Ashley. Jon says that he misses Ashley, Ashley and Lana. It is obvious that Jon likes Ashley. Jonna is positive that she will win. The final mission is up today, and Jonna has painted her face with warrior marks, while Aaron has tattooed his arm with similar markings. The game today is Don't Drop the Ball. The teammates have to hold a huge medicine ball above their heads while standing on a platform in the water. They can only hold the ball with their hands, and the first team to drop the ball is out. The winner wins the piece, and gets to trade their trip to go to Australia. The ball can not touch their heads or be dropped. Jonna is warned because the ball is close to her head. Waves start to come in, and before we know it, the Blue team bobbles the ball and almost loses it. Blue team tries to rest one arm at the time, and wind up dropping the ball and winning. With Yellow winning, both teams are tied with five pyramid pieces each. Yellow keeps their trip to Belize. Sabrina admits as they think back on the experience that she didn't think she would make it this far, and both she and Jon admit that they wouldn't have made it that far with each other. Aaron and Jon both admit that they are going to really miss the ocea and the place in general because of their friendships. Jon also admits that he is going to miss the people. Jonna says that she will tell her grandchild and great-grandchildren about this amazing adventure that she had. Yellow and Blue met for the final time at the rock with JD Roth. JD gives them smaller versions of their pieces that they will need for the final game. Blue team has Luck, Courage, Knowledge, Commitment and Discipline. Yellow team has Strength, Trust, Leadership, Perservance, and Heart. The final game is back at the Temple at sunset. Back at the huts, Aaron admits that this game changed his life forever, and he is nervous about the game and heading back home. Meanwhile, we find that Jonna had a piece of Ashley's clothing that Sabrina recognizes. They all pack, and head to the final mission. The beach and huts look empty after they are gone. The final challenge is to bet the pyramid pieces the teams have on where the golden pyramid lies. There are a selection of silver pyramids on the table, under one is the gold pyramid. In the first round, there are three pyramids. One team can beat on where the golden pyramid is by placing one of their pyramid pieces by their selection. They can leave as many places open as they want and the other team has to fill in the blanks. Whoever has selected the spot where the golden pyramid lies wins all the pieces on the table. This continues with the number of pyramids on the table increasing until one team has all ten pyramid pieces. The first game starts with three pieces. The first to lay down pieces is the Yellow team. They got to decide who went first because there was a tie in pieces, and they won the last mission. Yellow covers the two end pieces. Blue has the middle. Yellow had the pyramid and gains a piece. Now there are four pyramids. Because Blue has fewer pieces, they go first. They put out three pieces covering the two ends and one middle. The end pyramids are turned over with nothing. It is under the middle, and Blue wins. It is now a tie. Blue goes first again with five pyramids on the table. Blue take the end two and the middle one, and Yellow covers the rest. It comes down to two at the farthest end. Yellow wins three pieces. They now have 8 to Blue's 2. There are now 6 pyramids and Blue puts only one down at the one that is next to the last. Yellow has to cover the rest of the pieces. Blue wins, and get five pieces. Blue has 7 and Yellow has 3. Yellow now has seven pyramids to choose from . They pick two in the middle, and Blue has to cover the others. Blue wins again! They now have 9 pieces, and Yellow has 1. They put the piece down first at one in the middle. Yellow's last piece is the pyramid piece that Yellow got from the Red team. The pyramids flip, and Blue wins. They are the first Endurance champions. Blue will be on their way to the Amazon.
Tuesday, July 5, 2005 -- Afternoon
My weekend was a busy one so I am abit behind on my television viewing and reading. One of the recorded shows that I watched this afternoon was an hour special for the first season of Endurance. After the show had been televised, JD Roth brought back all the contestants to talk about their experiences in Endurance Reunion. The reunion show was filmed a year after the original show was taped in front of a live audience. The teams came out in the order in which they were eliminated. Aaron of the Blue team had dyed his hair blonde from his original brown. JD asked Aaron about the trip to the Amazon, and Aaron said that he didn't catch any snakes, but he did catch a South American alligator and pirrannah--and they ate the pirranha which Jonna said was good. We then got to see some video of their trip--such as catching and eating the fish. The favorite part for Aaron was catching the alligator. It's the size of a large lizard. We then got to see a fashion spread that the Chicago Tribune did with some of the kids who came from Chicago like Jenna, Lana, and Jon. Aaron said that since the show the ladies are always chasing him. There is a surprise in the show. JD announces that two of the kids will be returning for Endurance 2. Each of the contestants will get a vote, and the audience will be a collective vote to give a total of 15 votes. We had audience questions, and someone asked Christian why he let Ashley make decisions. Christian admitted that all the girls controlled their team. JD asked Chelsea and Layla about their friendship, and it appears that they kept in contact after the show. We also found out that life on the Island wasn't that great. It was cold and the beds weren't very comfortable. We also heard about alot of scheming and the alliances that folks formed. Some discussion was given to the Brotherhood that was made up of the guys on the Purple, Orange, Green and Blue. Sabrina admitted that she lied to everyone because she wanted to win. As Sabrina said, she made it to the last two. Max talked about how he wound up getting eliminated because Jonna and Max sent Grey to the Temple to beat the Green team. Blue really was sad to that Grey left. JD asked Jon about the shock that he showed at Sabrina wanting to give the Samadhi to the Red team.The reunion show was broken into two episodes, and the second episode started with an analysis of scheming, backstabbing Sabrina. Skylar said that Sabrina's worse quality is that she didn't seem to have any morals, and that she would do almost anything to get her way. The funny thing is that Sabrina admits it. She also flirted with practically all the guys in some way. We also resaw the bits where Sabrina played with Aaron's head (and heart). So JD asked Aaron how he felt when he saw the shows. Aaron said that his feelings for her went down the toilet, but that he forgave her and is a friend. Aaron couldn't explain himself, but it is obvious that he doesn't trust her. As JD said, it's one thing to manipulate and another to play with someone's head. JD asked Sabrina if she would play the game differently if she went back, and she said no. Sabrina said that Jon was her best friend because she didn't have to lie to him during the game. JD then said that Sabrina wasn't the only one who played games. Examples are Max foiling the partner game. Also, everyone made deals with others that got broken at times. An example of a team that didn't get along was the Green team. They seemed to avoid each other except when they had to compete. Trevor couldn't see how blabbing what happened at the Temple was a bad thing. Someone from the audience asked everyone if they could play the game differently what would they do. JD had Skylar answer and he said that if he came back, he would play the game more like Sabrina. Skylar thinks that Sabrina played the game very well. Christian said that he wouldn't let the girls run the game as much the second time around. JD mentioned that the Blue team dominated the brain games winning three out of four of them. JD asked Aaron why that was the case, and Aaron just pointed to Jonna and said "it's all Jonna". Since they were talking about the mind puzzles, JD brought up "Squeeze Play" which was the only game won by Red. It seems not all the questions were shown on the show, so we got to hear of the others. Who got the most votes as the person to survive on an island by himself (Aaron), the messiest (Jon--in almost unanimous decision), and team most likely to keep in touch (Yellow--and they have stayed in touch). Sabrina admitted that she and Jon did keep in touch, and they did visit. While this was being said, a look passed between Jon and Ashley--embarrassed by Jon, and I think a hurt look on Ashley's part. When they came back from the commercial break, they showed the confessional where Jon admitted to writing Ashley a note and Ashley read it. Hmm...will they bring up something about a romance between the two? It wasn't the only clip, and when they came back, Ashley was teary eyed and crying. They showed Jon giving her a hurt look. Ashley said that it was hard because they had really strong friendships that formed quickly. A question from the audience was "what went on with you and Jon and did anything happen after the show?" Ashley says that Jon came to visit her in Florida and both families went to the Bahamas. JD asked Jon about it, and Jon said that things are kind of hard to figure out when you are far away, and said they decided to just be friends. Ashley looked really hurt and teary eyed, and Christian in a nice gesture patted her shoulder. So it looks kind of obvious that Jon must have been the person who distanced the relationship and dumped Ashley. Also, based on the looks that Sabrina was giving Ashley at the time, I wonder if Jon went for Sabrina later. After the commercial break, we found that Aaron, Jonna, Jon and Sabrina were given a carving of the Temple that was made from rocks on the Island. Jonna says she keeps hers on her shelf above her bed, and that she looks at it everyday and it reminds her to be true to herself. The last bit of the show dealt with the votes on which people should return to the second season of Endurance. We heard the audience vote. The guy they selected almostt unanimously was Max. The girl (again almost unanimously) was Jenna. JD would not reveal the contestants votes, and the result won't be announced until Endurance 2. As for the votes that they did show contestants casting, here's how they went: Aaron voted for Max because he felt bad about sending Max to the Temple. Jon also voted for Max. Chelsea voted for Skylar because he was an underdog and a sweet guy and Skylar voted for Chelsea. Trevor voted for Lana because he did her so wrong in the game. Layla voted for Brandon and Max voted for Jenna.The second season of Endurance will start repeats next Sunday.