Survivor, Episode One - the Chicken Farmer Gets Fried

The first episode of "Survivor" is complete and the chicken farmer got fried. This viewer would have liked to have seen him continue as he had one the more unique personalities revealed on the first show.

Since Zhan Hu, the "fighting tigers" failed the challenge so there was more coverage on Survivor of that team than Fei Long, the "flying dragons". While Peigh Gee (PG) and Dave Cruser will attempt to add some leadership to the team, at this point I think the "chicken farmer" was right when he said they will have a difficult time. I was a bit disappointed that they were given fire so early, but there probably would have been a complete collapse if it had not happened. Mike Zerno, who described himself as a "parkour" specialist was undone by the athletic ability of James Clement, the muscular gravedigger.

Perhaps the most interesting revelation by several of the female participants was that according to Shera (elementary school teacher) this was "way harder than I expected." Duh - have you ever watched a Survivor episode? It was also amusing to note that Leslie (Christian radio host) was upset about bowing in a Buddhist temple because of her Christian beliefs. One has to wonder how her Christian values of honesty and truthfulness might be tested in the future.

More questions were created than answered in this Survivor episode as the stage is being set for the later episodes in the series when the real challenges of outwitting begin. No big lies seem to have been created although one has to be suspicious of everything that is said. PG talking about her Chinese ancestry and the recent death of her grandfather in the introduction raised my suspicions as one can recall a death of a family member that was faked for the sake of gaining sympathy in a previous series.

A few other notes worthy of mention include the fact that the Survivor Logo China, does not say "outwit, out play, out last" It is in Chinese characters and translates into "compete in intelligence, compete in skill, compete in endurance". Apparently English does not always translate literally.

Here is the roster of the Survivor players. The tribes are separated on two islands on the Ahelin Lake, in the Jiangxi Province. The Jiangxi Province is south of the Yangtze River Valley.

Fei Loung Tribe (Fighting Tigers)

Aaron Reisberger - 32, surfing instructor
Amanda Kimmel - 22 beauty contestant, hiking guide
Courtney Yates - 26, waitress
Denise Martin - 40, school lunch mom
James Clement - 30, grave digger
Jean Robert Bellande, - 37, poker player
Leslie Nease - 38, Christian radio host
Todd Herzog - 22, flight attendant

Zhan Hu Tribe (Flying Dragons)

Ashley Massaro - 28,professional wrestler
Dave Cruser - 38, water polo
Erik Huffman - 26, singer
Jamie Dugan - 22, student
Mike Zernow - 20 student
Peih Gee Law - 29, sales
Shera Lloyd - 26, elementary school teacher
Steve Morris - 47, chicken farmer GONE

At least one of the Survivor cheat sites correctly identified the chicken farmer as the first to go so if you don't want to ruin the suspense one might chose to be careful about Internet searches lest the suspense and drama be removed for the viewer who enjoys watching the human interaction.