Hall of Shame Moment: Rotu-Rooter, That's Their Name, and Their Win Went Down the Drain

As explained in the Hall of Shame Moment Introduction, there are individual acts on reality TV that should be included in the Reality TV Hall of Shame even when, overall, the people involved don’t deserve a full induction. This is perhaps one of the most obvious of such situations.

No, I’m not talking about the executives who gave the go-ahead for Temptation Island. What immediately comes to mind is the brain-lapse of the Tammy, John, Robert, and Zoe, also known as the Rotu-core in Survivor: Marquesas. None of the four played too poorly until about three weeks into their island foray, or in boob tube terms, episode eight. But their strategic blunder in that episode, combined with their behavior afterwards, definitely deserves a place in the Hall of Shame.

Their gaffe was so ridiculously obvious, it prompted five people who normally would not have aligned to do exactly that. It all started with the immunity challenge in the above-mentioned episode, when the game was down to nine. In the challenge, Jeff Probst asked the Survivors a series of questions about the Marquesan Islands and survival in general. Each person had a station with three ropes tied to three bundles of coconuts strung up in the trees. After every question, those answering correctly would get to cut one of the other's ropes. Once all your ropes were cut, you were out of the game. The last one left with any bundles remaining would win immunity.

Sean, despite answering the first two questions correctly, was the first one out. Next was Vecepia, followed by Kathy, Neleh, and Paschal, in that order. And if that weren't obvious enough, the core-four high-fived each other after the challenge, won by Tammy. It was apparent that either none of the four had ever played poker, or they had not learned the perils of tipping your hand.

Prior to this, Neleh and Paschal were set in stone to vote with the core-four, despite Kathy's pleading. In fact, Paschal said there was no way he would align with Sean. But once Pappy and Sweet Pea saw the core-four's plan up close, they realized that once Sean, Vee, and Kathy were gone, they'd be next. At that point, they did what anyone in their situation would've done, and switched allegiances. If Rich, Kelly, Rudy, and Sue had been this obvious, the Final Four on Palua Tiga most likely would've consisted mostly, and maybe completely, of Pagongs.

Further adding to the arrogance was John, the self-appointed ruler of the island. Prior to the challenge, he stated, "Neleh and Paschal are opening rooting for my success in this game. It's like having two free passes." Was he that blind, or did he think THEY were? Well, maybe a little of both. It's true his comments were made to the camera, away from the others. But unlike Rich, the nurse obviously found it impossible to hide his conceit. He got two free passes alright – to jury duty.

At this point, the other three fractured beyond repair. Zoe immediately distanced herself from Tammy and Robert, and tried to endear herself to the new "Power Five" by making seashell necklaces. Tammy finally had it out with her, and asked Zoe where they stood. Suffice it to say she was shocked to find out how little Zoe thought of her. Zoe may have felt this way all along, but to the reporter, it was obviously a late-breaking story.

At the next tribal council, the fisherwoman was thrown overboard by unanimous decision, and then expressed her surprise at being out this early. Ironically, in casting her vote for Robert, she said, "I've had enough." Soliatu obviously felt the same way about her. Zoe, if you distance yourself from your closest allies, not only will they not trust you, the others won't either. And no seashell necklace can change that. Of course, she had to find this out the hard way.

Tammy and Robert, meanwhile, milled their plight, and did the only thing they could do: grovel at the feet of Paschal and Neleh, and try to convince them John spoke only for himself. Their transparency, however, was as obvious as the behavior which got them in trouble in the first place, and Pappy and Sweet Pea weren't buying a word of it. At that point, they knew they were on the Survivor version of "Death Row." To one one's surprise, they were the next two gone.