Last night's TAR

[apocalypsos]

So, because it was really bothering me, I went to CBS's website and sent them feedback telling them that I was appalled they'd show Jonathan's behavior and think it was okay to let it pass without more than a comment from Phil. And I made sure to point out I was disgusted that they felt fine with airing that horrid display, but refused to show two of the cast members of "Survivor" kissing their same-sex partners on TV. (As a side note, considering they probably decided on showing both after weighing the FCC's reaction, the FCC can blow me, and the Parents Television Council -- who do nearly all of the bitching to the FCC -- can feel free to jump off a cliff as a whole.)

Blech. God only knows why I watched the episode again just now, but seriously, ICK.

EDIT: Remember Jonathan's website? Well, he updated it today with this adorable little comment.

If your going to lead, lead. If your going to follow, follow. Anything else get the fuck out of my way. We are playing a GAME for One Million Dollars.

Aside from the numerous grammatical mistakes, the attitude behind that comment makes me want to vomit. This is all he has to say about his behavior?

AGGRAVATED EDIT: And for good measure, I emailed the FCC. Granted, I didn't bitch about seeing a boobie or what my nonexistent children would think and how I now had to send them to a therapist or something because they didn't know the word "sex" until someone said it on TV and OMG now they want to know where babies come from and they won't buy that diamond in the cabbage patch BS anymore !1!!1!

... but still.

Comments

[ingole.livejournal.com]

You've got to love the part where Ami and Scout don't kiss their partners, but Twila kisses her SON full on the mouth.

Ugh.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

I didn't watch "Survivor" this season, but considering I caught a bit of the end of the last episode and I saw Chris and Twila kiss on the mouth during the Tribal Council, I get the impression Twila kisses everybody like that. (Which, ew. Even if I was amused by the blond chick on the jury thingy who made a face when they did that. Heh.)

[laughingrat.livejournal.com]

Welcome to America, where you can beat up girls but not screw someone of the same sex. Guess which activity supports fundamentalist morality. Come on, guess!

You would think that people so worked up about maintaining rigid sex roles would realize how insecure they look, but sadly, no.

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

feminist had a post about this yesterday too.

I had the same thought as you did about the PTC probably looking the other way this time.

OK, I'll bite

[xturtle.livejournal.com]

I don't watch the show, so I decided to go to TWoP to see what was being said, and there are people who are so appalled that they're THANKING their SOs for not abusing them. What the heck happened, and where can I find video?

Re: OK, I'll bite

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

What happened was this:

Jonathan, who's already shown himself to be at the very least emotionally and verbally abusive, and Victoria were in a foot race with Freddy and Kendra from their taxis to the Brandenburg Gate where the host was waiting for the first team to arrive. Jonathan kept trying to drop off his pack somewhere so he could run faster (a pack which wasn't as heavy as Victoria's, I might add), but when he'd try, she'd point out that someone might take it, and she just kept getting more and more upset to the point of bawling.

Freddy and Kendra were getting ahead, and Freddy took Kendra's bag so that they could get there faster, and Jonathan tried to hide his bag somewhere so they could get ahead. But Victoria picked it up so it wouldn't get stolen, and what you had was a very upset, not very strong woman carrying two packs.

So Freddy and Kendra get to the mat and win the trip they get for being first that leg, and Jonathan promptly has a shit fit behind them. First, he goes to a sobbing Victoria and rips the bag off her shoulder violently, then he screams at her for going to get the bag and shoved her really hard, so hard that she stumbled and dropped their clue.

When they finally got to the mat, Jonathan lifted his bag up and dropped it to the ground like an ass, and Phil told them they were second. Jonathan shook Phil's hand (and Phil looked like he wanted to punch him) and told Phil that Victoria "had to live with her choices". (Whatever, ass.) Victoria, meanwhile, is still sobbing, and Phil asked after her as she walked away, then told Jonathan to go check after his wife. Then, when they went off to rest, Jonathan told her "This is a race, it's not about compassion."

I really, really wish they would have disqualified them right then and there for unsportsmanlike conduct. ARGH.

Re: OK, I'll bite

[xturtle.livejournal.com]

God, that's awful. Not that they showed it, as some are suggesting, but where are the consequences? There's not a domestic abuse PSA in the world that would have any effect if he keeps that shit up. It'll be interesting to see if the network does anything, or if the volume of complaints registers as "woo hoo, look how many people watch our show!"

Re: OK, I'll bite

[akacat]

I really, really wish they would have disqualified them right then and there for unsportsmanlike conduct.

To give Phil some credit, he really looked like he wanted to.

Re: OK, I'll bite

[blackgarden.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, if they *had* been disqualified, Jonathan would've blamed Victoria for that too and that would've made the situation worse.

[sideofzen.livejournal.com]

Even though I knew what was going to happen, it was disgusting to watch and still leaves me with a bad taste. And what made it more potent, I think, I was that Freddy carried Kendra's bag with no quibble whatsoever.

[florahart]

Well. I assume the filming for this was before now and these people are comfortably back home. So, hopefully, this jackass's (I'll have to trust you on this; I don't do reality TV) neighbors showed up on his doorstep at ten last night to explain to him the error of his ways, and to make his return to normal home life rather less comfortable.

[dolimir-k.livejournal.com]

Do you have a web address? I looked on the TAR page last night and couldn't find one! I wanted to complain too!

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Just go to the CBS main page and go to the feedback link at the bottom.

[ltlj.livejournal.com]

It made me think of a Survivor episode a couple of seasons back, where one player (during a King of the Log type of game) knocked the other player off by putting his hands around his throat, and Jeff came unglued with arm-waving and shouting "what the hell are you doing!" and kicked the player out of that challenge. (Which was entirely the appropriate response, I thought. The player was so out of line it wasn't funny.) I think a couple of players on that team were also pushing and shoving, and also got benched by an increasingly angry Jeff.

Phil's reaction made me wonder how much authority he has as the host. Jeff, I think, went from being a host to a referee, at least during the challenges, and doesn't have to get permission to act when he sees something that cleary violates the rules or standards of behavior. And I've heard Survivor has a rule that if you physically attack another player, you can be kicked off the show. Amazing Race probably doesn't have that rule, since none of their challenges really involve physical contact like that between opposing teams. (Hell, it's the Amazing Race, not the Amazing Wrestling Match.) It's probably never occurred to them that team members might need protection from each other. I wonder now if they'll institute a rule about that, or if Phil will be granted more authority to intervene in a case like this.

Jonathan should have had his ass kicked right off the show.