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puddin:
Survivor: Showgirl Pukes, Opts Out

NEW YORK, April 21, 2005


Janu Tornell snuffed her own torch after being faced with an ethical ultimatum in "Survivor: Palau." (Photo: CBS)



"She's crazy; she is a crazy person."
Katie Gallagher, on Janu Tornell

 
Will Superwoman Steph have the skills to sway her teammates not to vote her off next episode?

(CBS) She lurked in the background and lounged in the hammock. Twenty-one days on the island and she didn't know how to use a flint.

This is the story of Janu Tornell, former stage dancer from the neon-lit clubs of Las Vegas. Episode 10 of "Survivor: Palau" picks up on this story to narrate two days in the life of Janu.

At this point, her cheeks had hollowed. So had her spirit. She thought she'd have been voted off days, or even weeks ago.

"Last night Coby was voted off, and I had no words," Janu said, making it clear she thought she'd been in the bull's eye position for castoff. "I felt betrayed, because I had no idea."

"Betrayal," is a euphemistic description of the rift between Janu and the rest of the team. Katie Gallagher, who is quickly becoming island the gossip queen, said more bluntly: "She's crazy; she is a crazy person."

Challenge I: Reward
Janu struggled through the reward challenge more heartily than she typically performs. He strong team of Firefighter Tom Weston and tough-Alpha male Gregg Carey competed against the young women and Ian Rosenberger to construct a tower of heavy metal scaffolding in the water. The reward: a Palauan feast at a tribal meeting house. Served: local beer (which elicited a giddy smile from Jenn), a meal (Steph sighs) and a dessert (Ian groans in anticipation).

The scaffolding wasn't easy to maneuver in the water, and as host Jeff Probst so kindly noted, each tribe was only as fast as their slowest member. Janu seemed to be the weak in one group, and Jeff repeatedly singled Katie out as the slowest member of other.

Despite dealing with the lagging, lanky Janu, the team comprised of Tom, Gregg, Caryn and Janu built their tower and won the meal. The elicitors of groans, sighs and smiles stayed behind.


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"I'd never been in the presence of a real chief," Caryn said as the Palauan tribe leader placed a flower crown on her head and blessed her.

As they sat down to eat, the four left all tribal politics at the door.

But Janu's stomach couldn't handle the delicacies of the island. They weren't anything like the unhatched duck fetuses some castaways gagged on in an earlier episode. Corn, doughnuts, chicken … doesn't seem too hard to stomach. But the audience was subjected to watching her running out of the tribal leader's hut, ducking behind some brush, and vomiting it up. The leaders, and her fellow castaways, didn't seem too pleased at the bulimic behavior (and show of disrespect to the tribe).

Challenge II: Immunity
The tide rose, and the castaways were challenged to stay behind bars as long as possible, underwater. First one out would be banished to an isolated island with just water and a flint for the night. Last one remaining would win immunity.

But before the tide rose, before it was invading their breathing room, Jeff asked Janu how she'd feel about being alone for a night. "Which would be worse, that or staying in the cold water?" Janu visibly shivered. She went under and ducked out of the cage.

One by one, the others ran out of breathing space. Tom, Gregg and Ian seemed to pinch their faces more aptly between the bars of the cage than the women. Was it big noses or endurance that kept them up? Well, Tom won.

Just like last episode.


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Janu looked almost delighted to be on a different island than her fellow castaways.

"This is a challenge for me, but I needed time away from that camp," Janu said. "I am the happiest I have been in these 26 days, because it's all about me and this little island!"

She did a twirly dance. "The moon, the stars, my little fire…it's all mine!"


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Back on the island, the men had a chief meeting in their lodge. Their important tribal business was debating which woman they should vote off. Despite the obvious fact that Janu was a weak link, the men seemed threatened by Stephenie LaGrossa (remember the scrappy Superwoman who conquered all of Ulong tribe?), and not by Janu.

"It almost seems like no one wants to talk about it," Steph said. "I think it's me." And guilty looks on everyone else's face seemed to prove that suspicion.

Tribal council continued with that narrative of guilt.

Jeff pitted the narratives of Janu, the weak, against the strong-hearted Stephenie. He asked Janu why her tribesmembers should bother keeping her around. She couldn't answer.

"I'd be sick of myself, too," Janu said, admitting she'd lay down her torch out of indifference to whether she is voted off or stays. She said she'd gotten everything out of her Palau experience she could have asked for. (Need we remind her of the cool $1 million that's at stake here?)

But every other member seemed set on Gregg's master plan of kicking Stephenie out before she got ahead. And little Steph pulled out all the stops. Logical argument. Emotional diatribe. Tears. Puppy dog eyes.

But in the end, it seemed a bend of rules saved Superwoman.

Jeff let Janu sacrifice herself (only after allowing the women an emotional bonding moment) to save Steph. Janu snuffed her own torch and walked happily away.

"I begged them to please let me go home and they didn't take me on it," Janu said. "So I laid down my torch."

Get the former Vegas showgirl's scoop, tune in to Friday's The Early Show

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/21/earlyshow/series/survivor/main690079.shtml?CMP=ILC-SearchStories

gammonwoman2:
hey puddin!! :<(  i am looking forward to the early show, just to see how janu is really doing!!  she just looked horrible!! |(

RudyRules:
yeh. me too, gammy. I'm gonna set my VCR for early show. 
Janu would've already been long gone before now, had koror lost some IC's!!
I'm glad she laid her torch down, even tho a sad way to go.  :-\ But had she not done it, Steph would be gone!

Riverrat:
oooooooooooo that article is so prejudiced!!!!!!! Caryn was the weak butt in that foursome. She acted like she may get her hair wet.  }}

puddin:
As posted at SurvivorFever

Early Show Highlights
Survivor: Palau Episode 10 Cast-Off
Janu Tornell
(SurvivorFever.net 4.22.05)
Segment 1:


Julie Chen:   Janu Tornell, good morning.

Janu:  Good morning, Julie.

Julie Chen:   Since quitting the game, any regrets?

Janu:  Absolutely not.  It was the best move spiritually and for the game.

Julie Chen:   When did you make that decision to quit?  Right then and there while Jeff Probst was having this Tribal Council discussion or did you go into Tribal Council that night thinking you were going to snuff out your torch?

Janu:  I think I went into Tribal Council thinking that that's what I was going to do.  Spending that night by myself on the island kind of took me there, so...

Julie Chen:   Why, what happened that night by yourself on that island?

Janu:  It was just amazing.  I was by myself away from the tribe...

Julie Chen:   What a relief.

Janu:   ...and for them as well.  I mean who wants someone who sits on a hammock and does nothing?  It was great to just be by myself.  I got alot of things out of it.  It was a great epiphany.

Julie Chen:   The way it looked to the average person watching Survivor at home last night was maybe you were doing it to save Stephenie.  Because if you stayed in the game it really looked like she was going to get it.  She was a fierce competitor and people wanted her out of the game.  It wasn't to save her?

Janu:  No, it wasn't to save her and she is a fierce competitor.  It was the thing that Koror wanted to do...whoever would come along we would get them out.  Then she came over and it was all this "Stephenie, Stephenie we love you".  Which we liked her.  She always smiled at us during challenges.  I love her.  But we fought against her for so long and she was part of the other tribe.  Why not keep our tribe together all the way to the end?  But then they decided to take Coby out which shocked me and I terribly missed him.  And then I couldn't take anymore.  I just didn't want to compromise my integrity.  And I never did during the game.  I stood for what I believe in and that's it, I took myself out.  But it wasn't to save Stephenie.

Julie Chen:   And was it to play a psychological game with the remaining players in Palau?

Janu:  Sure.  I threw a wrench into their game because I think that they were going to use me as a pawn.  And I wasn't going to be a pawn piece for anyone.

Julie Chen:   If anything it revealed just how committed Stephenie is to this game.  They all must have walked back to the tribe that night, to camp, and thought, "she is definitely next".   She broke down into tears because she thought you weren't giving it your all.  That you were quitting.  She was disgusted by you. 

Janu:  Yeah, I'll never forget that.  We were sitting there and she just really got very emotional which is fine but I thought, that has nothing to do with this.  If you wanted something so badly and I want it in a different way, respect the fact that I want it in a different way.  I respect your commitment to the game, respect mine.   

Julie Chen:   Let's talk about Katie.  You and Katie were not bosom buddies.  And it got a little bit catty when you overheard her gossiping and badmouthing you.  What happened there?

Janu:   Katie is a very unique individual.  I am my own person and we're different.  Obviously that was apparent.  She  couldn't get along with the fact that I was always getting sick and I was falling to pieces and whatever.  And she always has humor in her answers and her interviews and she just kind of got nasty.

Julie Chen:   What was the hardest part of this game?  Dealing with personalities or dealing with the elements?

Janu:  I think both.  We dealt with alot. We dealt with rats.  I had to deal with my stomach every single day.  I had to deal with people that I don't know, that some I have been very close to now, like Coby.  And different personalities, you're in a different element.

Julie Chen:   How does it compare, because you've been a showgirl in Vegas for nine years, six nights a week, two shows a night.  Which is easier?

Janu:  I can tell you, being on stage.  <laughter>

Julie Chen:   Janu is going to stick around and take questions.

Segment 2:

Harry Smith:   It was big time TV last night, really fun to watch.  Janu welcome back.

Janu:   Thank you.

Caller:  Janu, first I'd like to say, you're beautiful...

Janu:  Thank you.

Caller:  ...and also, I like the drama that you gave us last night, standing up for yourself against Katie.   Do you think the tribe is going to be more scandalous against Stephenie?

Harry Smith:   What do you think is going to happen?  A big chemical change happens because she is still in the game.

Janu:  Absolutely.  I think that I threw them for a loop and now they are going to have to deal with this power play.

Harry Smith:   And you can't really talk because you're on jury...

Janu:  You'll have to watch, I'm sorry.

Caller:  It was evident that Janu was physically soft and mentally spent very early in this game.  Janu, what I find hard to believe is that you decided to just throw down your torch and quit at Tribal Council last night.  What and when exactly was your moment of clarity in regards to just quitting the game and how do you feel about being the second member of the Survivor quitters club?

Janu:  Good question.  I think I came to that realization when I went on the island by myself.  It was my own special moment.  As far as quitting, you know what, it's probably a great club to be a part of if you learn something from the game.

Harry Smith:   It seems clear to me that you really had an epiphany there.

Janu:  It may not be the same for everyone but for me it was ok.  I don't regret it.

Caller:  I've been watching the show since the beginning of the season and yesterday Gregg made a comment that whoever fits into his plan deserves to be in the game.  I never saw him... in fact his claws are coming out for the first time.  Does anybody else see that on the tribe?

Harry Smith:   It's like he's been under the radar and we at home have been saying, this guy is playing everybody.  Is that what it felt like to you as you were still in the game?

Janu:  Sure, they were using me as a pawn piece.  They needed me.

Caller:  Why didn't you form an alliance with someone after the conflict with Katie?

Janu:  The alliances were made and in my head I thought I was just standing alone.  And after Coby left I was really alone.  So, that's why.

Harry Smith:   It was so interesting, because you were so cold in the water in that challenge last night.  You go off to that island and you end up so peaceful and so happy.  I'm very happy for you.  It was fun watching you play.

Janu:  Thank you so much.

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