In Survivor Micronesia, Jonny Fairplay Steals the Show

This article is based on the author's observations while watching the premier episode of Survivor; Micronesia which aired on CBS on February 7th, 2008 at 8 PM. Survivor; Micronesia (AKA Survivor; Fans vs. Favorites) places ten fans of Survivor against ten Survivors from previous seasons. Survivor features thirty-nine days of competitions among 20 contestants ending up with one survivor.

INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY

After the introduction by host Jeff Probst, The 10 Survivor fans were introduced to the their competitors who were revealed to be 10 Survivor alumni from previous seasons. Then the Survivors were given their team buffs; purple buffs for the Malakal tribe made up of Survivor alumni and orange buffs for the Airai tribe made up of the Survivor fans. Jeff then pointed across the water to another island and told the Survivors that they needed to cross the water in order to retrieve their tribe's boat.

Jeff also mentioned that two individual immunity idols were located somewhere by the boats. Jon Dalton, AKA Jonny Fairplay, was the first to realize that the immunity idols were on the bow of each teams boat. But he grabbed the Airai tribes idol by mistake. Yau-Man was near Jonny Fairplay when he realized Jonny had the wrong idol. Yau-Man just edged out Jonny Fairplay, for the race to the Malakal immunity idol.

Both tribes were quick to decide they needed to start setting up shelter and collect food. However, the inexperienced Airai tribe didn't seem to make much headway in this department. The Malakal tribe had the advantage of experience over the Airai tribe and made quick work of setting up their shelter. Yau-Man was even able to start a fire for the Malakal Tribe using a drop of water and the lenses from his glasses.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE

The first immunity challenge was to build a cart, assemble a bridge, get the cart across the bridge and use the cart wheels to complete a turnstile. Once the turnstile was finished the tribe had to turn it in order to raise their lower fire bowl up to light their top fire bowl. The Survivor alumni got off to a rocky start and were never able to coordinate their efforts. The Survivor fans won this first challenge and won themselves the tribal immunity idol along with a flint to help them build a fire when they returned to their camp. The idol gave the Airai tribe immunity from the first tribal council. This meant that the losing Malakal tribe had to go to tribal council and vote one of their members off the show. Yau-Man had won the personal immunity idol earlier in the show and was safe from being voted off.

FAIRPLAY MELTDOWN

Back at the Malakal camp, Jonny Fairplay started telling his tribe mates that he wanted to be voted off. He claimed that his girlfriend back home was pregnant with their first child and he wasn't sure if he should be part of Survivor. His tribe mates had a hard time deciding whether or not he was telling the truth. Jonny got his bad-boy reputation during his first season with Survivor (season 7 - Survivor; Pearl Islands) when he lied and told his tribe members that his grandmother died so that he could play off their sympathy for the remainder of the season.

At tribal council Jonny Fairplay mentioned again that he didn't really want to be on this seasons show with his current family situation. He said he felt guilty and uncomfortable about being away from his very pregnant girlfriend. He got his wish and was the first person voted off of Survivor; Micronesia. Was he actually crying at the end or were those crocodile tears as part of a grand publicity stunt? Either way, he has received more than his 15 minutes of fame as he certainly will be remembered for being the first one voted off this seasons show.

SURVIVOR ALUMNI - MALAKAL TRIBE - PURPLE BUFFS

NAME-AGE-SEASON-OCCUPATION
Jonathan Penner-45-Cook Islands-Writer/Producer

Jon Dalton-33-Pearl Islands-Realty TV Star

Parvati Shallow-25-Cook Islands-Non-profit Organizer

Yau-Man Chan-55-Fiji-Computer Engineer

Cirie Fields-37-Panama-Nurse

James Clement-30-China-Grave Digger

Oscar Lusth-26-Cook Islands-Freelance Writer/Photographer

Amanda Kimmel-23-China-Fashion Designer

Ami Cusack-35-Vanuatu-Nanny

Eliza Orlins-25-Vanuatu-Student

SURVIVOR FANS - AIRAI TRIBE - ORANGE BUFFS

NAME-AGE-OCCUPATION
Joel Anderson-32-Fire Fighter

Chet Welch-48-Pharmacy Customer Service

Alexis Jones-24-Motivational Speaker

Jason Siska-22-Student/Gymnastics Coach

Kathy Sleckman-45-Golf Course Vendor

Erik Reichenbach-22-Art Student/Ice Cream Scooper

Tracy Hughes-Wolf-43-Commercial/Residential Builder

Michael Bortone-34-Writer/Actor

Natalie Bolton-32-Bartender/Personal Trainer

Mary Sartain-29-Real Estate/Financial Company Owner