Survival of the Richest, Episode 4: Something Fishy Is Going On Here

Welcome to the fourth episode of Survival of the Richest. The show starts off with a recap of events so far. You can read my recap of last week.

As a reminder the poor kids are Esmerelda (eliminated), Tracy (eliminated), Jim, Jacob, Michael (eliminated), Johanna, and Marcus. The rich kids are Kat (eliminated), Elizabeth (eliminated), T.R., Liz, Nick (eliminated), Sammy, and Hunter.

This episode starts with a continuation of the love triangle between Jim and Liz and Hunter. Liz tells us that Jim is exactly what she is looking for in a guy and that he would never vote her out. She then asks Jim the same question and he says he won’t. But, Jim tells the audience that he will do whatever he needs to do to win the money, and that includes voting Liz out of the game at some point. Hmm. I almost feel sorry for one of the rich kids. Almost.

Meanwhile, speaking of money, Jim, Marcus, and Jacob agree on a little back-up plan. If any of them wins the money, they will give the other one $5,000. They note that this amount of money will not be much to the winner but will help the other guy a lot. They shake on the deal. Jacob points out that they now have an 80% chance of winning the money (that’s three out of four players, or 75% chance, for those keeping track at home. I guess all poor kids are bad at math).

Now wait a minute. I recall that on most, if not all, other reality shows, agreeing to share the prize money was always against the rules and the spirit of the game. The only other show I’ve seen that on was ABC’s bomb, The Family, where all the players came from the same family anyway and they really couldn’t stop them from sharing the money. Of course, on Survival of the Richest, the players seem to be allowed to bring along wads of cash and bribe the other players by bringing them to spas and buying them sushi dinners, so maybe there are no rules.

Meanwhile, Jacob and Sammy get ready for their prize from last week. They get to go anywhere and do anything. Jacob wants to go fishing and Sammy wants to go to a spa. Sammy tells us that she put her foot down and made the decision because she didn’t want to smell like fish all day. Say, is that the god of foreshadowing I hear rumbling in the distance? You did watch the previews from last week, didn’t you, dear reader?

In any case, they are whisked off to Arizona to a spa. Jacob is quite impressed by the limo ride to the spa, while Sammy just reads a magazine and is bored by it all. Jacob assumes that Sammy is spoiled and probably has limo rides all the time. He can’t believe people spend this kind of money just to be pampered.

But, pampered they are. Jacob is uncomfortable with the male masseuse rubbing blue goo all over his body. Then, he is wrapped up in plastic and had yellow goo spread on him. After that, he get a manicure. He hates almost every minute of the experience. Sammy giggles the whole time.

Back at the mansion, the guests find another package in the lobby. It is addressed, once again, to Foxy, Liz’s dog. It also tells them that their wake-up call for the next day will be 4:30 a.m. Liz has a fit.

The package contains a tiny little rain slicker and a life vest. Hunter immediately assumes that they are going yachting. T.R. hits the nail on the head when he pops Hunter’s bubble and guesses that they will going commercial fishing. I guess Sammy will soon be smelling like fish anyway.

Four thirty comes way too soon for these folks. The alarm-clock rings and they drag themselves out of bed. And, I do mean drag. But, they somehow pull it all together and find themselves face to face with Hal Sparks, our host for the show.

He gives each player their rain slickers. Then, he explains the challenge. Each team will participate in the fish harvest and they will be judged on how well they follow orders and how well they cope with the whole fishing experience. Hunter sums everything up by chanting, “Oh crap,” over and over in his mind.

Soon, the ship leaves the dock. The captain explains the job ahead of them. Basically, they both help cast out the next and then help reel it in and extract the fish. Apparently, it is very easy to get caught up in the net and crushed to death. The captain asks them not to do that.

But, on the trip out, the players mess around a bit. T.R. even does his “king of the world” impression from the movie Titanic.

Liz and Marcus are up first. Liz stays up front and helps the captain spot a school of fish. She is, of course, useless and points to every bubble or wave and asks if that is a fish. The captain blandly says, “No,” to each of her comments. He is clearly annoyed. Meanwhile, Marcus is doing no better with the net. He is too slow in releasing it and the net closes in on nothing. They do catch a few fish, however, so they may be all right.

Next up is Hunter and Johanna. Hunter says the challenge is simply to not die. Johanna tells us that she’s never been on a boat before. This should be fun. But, Johanna soon locates some fish and Hunter lets out the net. Things look pretty smooth so far.