Episode Report Card Miss Alli: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Jenna Jumps
By Miss Alli | Season 8 | Episode 3 | Aired on 02.11.2004
A boat makes its way toward the various castaway camps. On this boat are Jeff and the fellow whose job it is to judge which of the shelters is the most effective. Or, in Saboga's case, the most likely to cause head injuries and athlete's foot simultaneously. The first visit is to Mogo Mogo. Jeff explains that Raffa is a licensed contractor and a construction expert based locally, and that he will be the one evaluating their work. Mogo Mogo explains where their kitchen area is, and where they have installed a little "balcony," also known as a "ledge." What's awesome about Raffa is that he treats shelters like appearing on reality television treats a contestant's psyche -- he walks up and mercilessly tries to dislodge anything that's not fully tied down. Yanks on the supports, pulls on stuff, pounds with his fist to see how solid it is. Colby expresses some distress about this, pointing out in an interview that Raffa may not realize that, when he's gone, they still have to live there. Their shelter holds up to the pounding pretty well, all things considered. Colby swears quietly and exchanges a laugh with Jeff as Raffa starts to shake the shelter harder and finds an angle at which it will sway pretty fiercely. Colby is happy, though, when Raffa takes his level out and checks and, finding the shelter largely level, gives an apparently approving "hm" noise. Because God forbid your hovel should be all tilty. Raffa takes off, as Mogo Mogo applauds itself.
The next visit is to Chapera. Boston Rob is lounging on the swing, while other tribe members hang out on nearby benches. As Raffa inspects, it becomes clear that while Mogo Mogo's treehouse was relatively solid, it doesn't compare to this one in terms of the sturdiness of the frame, at least. Furthermore, Boston Rob can explain how he built it, which I think Raffa likes as well. They make Raffa get up on the swing, and that he doesn't like so much. He's like, "Yeah, thanks, no, I'm done with the swing." Heh. We then see how the rocks all turned out, and they actually turned out relatively nicely, all things considered, forming a little border around a small eating area with benches and a table. Pretty nice. Chapera has also made a checkerboard with shells for checkers, which would be better if they'd actually found a way to color in the dark squares instead of just making a grid, but which is still pretty nifty. I'm in favor of recreation, especially the kind where everybody remains dressed, because night-vision hanky-panky always skeeves me out. I don't really like watching people make out knowing I'm sharing the experience with their grandmothers, you know? Anyway, that's it for the visit to Chapera.