Pages Menu
TwitterRssFacebook
Categories Menu

Posted by on Sep 13, 2013 in Pat Wong, Pop Culture, Television | 0 comments

Survivor: Blood vs. Water Preview

SURVIVOR: BLOOD VS. WATER

Overview

The theme of the upcoming season of Survivor is “Blood vs. Water”. It is the 27th edition of the show. Ten former survivors will return with a loved one. It is an interesting idea. The perfect survivors to return for this format are Rob Cesternino and Russell Hantz. After Rob’s season on “Survivor: Amazon”, host Jeff Probst praised him as “The Smartest Player Never to Win Survivor”. Currently, Rob and his wife, Nicole, host a reality television podcast: “Rob Has a Podcast”. Naturally, they have been covering Survivor since season 20, better known as “Heroes vs. Villains”. It is a great podcast that I listen to for great analysis of every episode. They also know a lot of the former survivors from previous seasons and have them as guests for their show. Consequently, they are the first pair that I would want to see in this format. However, Nicole’s pregnancy ended early rumors that the couple would be on the show. In terms of Russell Hantz, he is the greatest villain in the history of the show and very entertaining on television. His nephew, Brandon Hantz, has also been on the show. Unfortunately, Brandon’s meltdown last season probably destroyed any chance of Russell returning with a relative. Moreover, Russell is a bully and acted accordingly on his seasons. He also verbally attacks other survivors on Twitter. As such, the fact that other survivors cannot stand him and do not want to play with him is another reason he is not on this season. Nevertheless, he is fantastic television and I would have tuned in simply to see what he would do. While I like the idea of survivors returning with family members, it is disappointing that the two ideal survivors for this format are not participating this season.

Twist, including the return of Redemption Island

Host Jeff Probst has revealed some key twists for the season to Entertainment Weekly in pregame interviews. First, the season will have “Day Zero”. Each pair will be dropped at night on the island. In the following day, they will meet up with the other survivors and be split into two tribes. One tribe will be comprised of the returning survivors and the second tribe will include their loved ones. Another immediate twist is that each tribe will immediately vote off a member of their tribe. I hate this idea. For the two people that get voted off, they lose the opportunity to build relationships and alliances at the beginning of the game. As the strongest alliances are made in the first few days, it basically cripples their opportunity to play and win the game.

However, the two players that get voted off will not be eliminated. Instead, this season features the return of Redemption Island. Similar to the previous two seasons when it was used, survivors will have an opportunity to play in duels and win their way back into the game. On the other hand, the twist has been modified for this season. All duels will include three survivors. In addition, all the remaining survivors will attend the duels. Survivors that are still in the game are allowed to switch positions with a loved one at Redemption Island before any duel. In other words, if a survivor is still in the game but decides he has a better chance to win the duel than their loved one at Redemption Island, he can switch places with his loved one. As such, the loved one will reenter the game and take his place on the tribe. It adds to the strategy of the game and utilizes the concept of pairs trying to play the game together from the start and throughout the game.

I definitely liked the Redemption Island twist when it was used before in “Survivor: Redemption Island” and “Survivor: South Pacific”. I also like the idea of loved ones being able to switch places as it adds to the theme of “Blood vs. Water”. However, I think that the show is featuring way too many twists this season. I appreciate the attempt to keep the season fresh and interesting. On the other hand, there is a high probability that there are too many twists that will get very confusing. I will watch the first few episodes to get a feel for this season. However, I can see myself having a difficult time getting into it.

Cast assessment

I have always enjoyed the show with returning players as I enjoy watching players who know how to play the game as opposed to all brand new players that are just trying to figure out how to play for a significant part of the game. I watch Survivor for great gameplay and big moves rather than the social dynamics of strangers being forced together on an island. Overall, I am not too excited about the cast. There are a couple of players that I am interested in seeing how they do. However, most of the cast does not excite me at all.

In recent seasons, Survivor has casted more people who are characters that are good for television rather than players who are good at the game. For the purposes of my assessment, I will rate the pairs 1-10. 1 is for players that have no chance of winning but are simply on the show for entertainment value. 10 are for players who are great Survivor players with a great chance to win the title of sole survivor. The ranking is based on the performance of the returning Survivor in his season(s) and the pregame cast interview on CBS.com.

1.       Returning Survivor: Aras Baskauskas

Loved One: Vytas Baskauskas (Brother)

Score: 8

Aras is the winner of Survivor: Panama. The game has long moved passed targeting and voting off winners simply because they have won before in a previous season. The winner of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains was a previous winner and thus the show’s only two time winner. In addition, Aras played 7 years ago and has been more of an under the radar winner. Consequently, I do not think the fact that Aras has won the game before will hurt him his chances to get far in this game. The younger, returning survivors will either not care or not know that Aras is a former winner. He clearly knows how to play the game. He is also physical and likeable. His brother, Vytas, appears strong and personable too. I believe they will do well.

2.       Returning Survivor:  Colton Cumbie

Loved One: Caleb Bankston (Fiancé)

Score: 5

Colton is from Survivor: One World and is one of the most notorious villains in the show’s history. He was very nasty and acted like a spoiled brat in his season. He made some very ignorant, racial remarks that included calling a fellow castaway “ghetto trash” and mentioning that the only black person in his life was his housekeeper. In the end, he left the game via a medical evacuation. In terms of his game, he actually played relatively well in his season. He played with a group of men that seemed clueless and he had control over them. Unfortunately for Colton, the returning survivors are better players and will not allow him to call the shots or put up with his antics. On the other hand, he is a person that seems to have learned his lesson and was horrified when he saw himself on television as he was clearly unaware of how he was coming off. While he may want to prove he has changed, he is also a candidate for a player that could get voted off immediately due to his notoriety. On the other hand, Caleb is a likeable guy. He is a farmer and will be an asset to his tribe in trying to survive out in the wild comfortably.

3.       Returning Survivor: Kat Edorsson

Loved One: Hayden Moss (Boyfriend)

Score: 6

Kat is also from Survivor: One World. She is a very quirky person and does some very strange things. During the tribal council when she was voted off, she mentioned that she enjoyed blindsides since they are fun. Ironically, she got blindsided and left the show in tears. She is strictly in this season as a character. She is clueless about the game and cannot win. On the other hand, Hayden is a winner of Big Brother. He has all the makings of a great survivor player. He is clearly great at the social game as evidenced by winning Big Brother. In addition, he is very physically fit. It will be interesting to see if he can translate his game to Survivor. Nevertheless, he may be weighed down by Kat. I would have given him a higher score if he did not enter the game with Kat.

4.       Returning Survivor: Monica Culpepper

Loved One: Brad Culpepper (Husband)

Score: 5

Monica is another Survivor: One World alum. While she distinguished herself with her physicality, her social game was inadequate. Her husband, Brad, is a former NFL player. As a result, they are both physical assets for their tribes. While they should stick around for their strength in challenges, I am not convinced that they have the social or strategic game to get far enough in the game to win.

5.       Returning Survivor: Tina Wesson

Loved One:  Katie Collins (Daughter)

Score: 8

Tina is the winner of the second season in Australia. She was also the first person voted off in Survivor: All Stars as the returning players targeted all the winners. She had an alliance with beloved survivor, Colby Donaldson, who was a physical powerhouse winning challenges. Tina was the brains and strategist of the duo. The game has changed a lot since she won. If she has kept up with the changes, I like her to perform well. Unlike Survivor: All Stars, I doubt the other castaways will remember or care that she won. I do not have a good read on her daughter, Katie. She will probably sneak under the radar and stick around but not win.

6.       Returning Survivor: Candice Cody (nee’ Woodcock)

Loved One: John Cody (Husband)

Score: 4

Candice is a returning player from Survivor: Cook Islands and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. In her first season, she mutinied against her tribe and switched to the other tribe. In her second season, she eventually turned on the Heroes in an attempt to save herself. She is a very beautiful woman. It may be the reason host Jeff Probst loves bringing her back to the show. However, she is an average Survivor player. She overplays the game and does it too early in the game. She is always trying to make big moves. Moreover, she is paranoid and waivers back and forth on decisions. It is very difficult to rely on her and I think it will be the reason she will be voted off. Her husband, John, appears to be an even keel, likeable person. However, I can see Candice dragging him down with her.

7.       Returning Player: Gervase Peterson

Loved One: Marissa Peterson (Niece)

Score: 6

Gervase is one of the original survivors as he played in the first season. It is very difficult to assess him as he played in the first season. As the game aspect of the show developed over the first season, we have no idea how Gervase will play the game even though he is a returning player. In his season, he was a popular pick to win the game because of his physicality and personality. He will probably be someone that other castaways enjoy and will stick around. He is a wild card as I have no idea how he will do in terms of strategy. Marissa appears to be a strong and personable player too.

8.       Returning Player: Laura Morett

Loved One: Ciera Eastin (Daughter)

Score: 5

Laura is from Survivor: Samoa. She is not very well known. However, she is a victim of Russell Hantz’s game. She was the leader of the tribe that had a significant numbers advantage going into the merge. However, Russell was able to use Hidden Immunity Idols to protect himself and blindside Laura’s key ally. Eventually, he was able to turn enough players to his side out of fear to vote off Laura. As she was a leader of a majority tribe, she definitely has some skills to play the game. However, I am not convinced she can be a leader in a game full of returning players. Her daughter, Ciera, is attractive but I have no read on how well she can do in the game.

9.       Returning Player: Rupert Boneham

Loved One: Laura Boneham (Wife)

Score: 2

Rupert is clearly in the game as a character. He played in Survivor: Pearl Islands, Survivor: All-Stars, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. He has been one of the most beloved survivors for his tie dye shirts and image as a likable pirate. He rode his popularity to winning $1 million from a fan favorite vote in the Survivor: All-Stars reunion show. However, I have had enough of him. If you listen to interviews with survivors who have played with him, he is overbearing to live with and is better at pretending to be resourceful and live in the wild than actually knowing how to do so. He is a player that knows how to play to the cameras. However, I think returning players have had enough of him as well and he should be an early exit. Even if they let him stick around, he is clueless about playing the game and has no chance of winning. His wife, Laura, will not do any better.

10.   Returning Player: Tyson Apostol

Loved One: Rachel Foulger (Girlfriend)

Score: 6

Tyson played in Survivor: Tocantins and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. He is a very funny person with a lot of great one liners. He will entertain his tribe and it will want to keep him around to enjoy his company. However, he is more of a character than a player. In Heroes vs. Villains, he was a member of the majority alliance in the Villains tribe. His alliance had 6 members as opposed to the 3 player minority alliance led by Parvati Shallow and Russell Hantz. His alliance had a plan to split votes 3-3 to avoid any chance that any of them could be voted out if Russell had a Hidden Immunity Idol. However, Tyson decided to flip his vote from Russell to Parvati. When Russell gave his idol to Parvati, the four votes against her was wiped out while they placed their three votes against Tyson. Consequently, Tyson is known for making one of the dumbest moves in the history of the game as he indirectly voted himself out. Tyson has a great social game and will make it far in the game. His score is a little higher as you always have a chance to win it if you are there near the end. However, he does not have a strategic game. He probably would like to win but does not care whether he wins or loses. He is out there to have fun and cause chaos. He will probably get blindsided near the end of the game as he becomes a threat to win due to his likeability. His girlfriend, Rachel, seems to be mild mannered and should be able to coast under the radar. However, I do not see her having any chance to win.

Comments

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: