Survivor: Micronesia is a New Game

Survivor: Micronesia kicked off its 16^th season on Thursday, February 7, with yet another twist in the reality show game. This time, die-hard Survivor fans will face off against former castaways in the ultimate showdown of fans versus the favorites. While this season did not seem to have much pre-airing advertisement, Survivor appears to have held its own in the ratings war. Though official Nielson ratings were not available at the time of this publishing, early predications indicate that Survivor: Micronesia did manage to take Thursday in the ratings game, according to fan site, Survivor.com.

After 16 seasons, many may wonder what keeps drawing viewers back to this reality show. Verne Gay of Newday.com offers this opinion: "Reinvention." Each season has to change just enough to draw viewers back. Shaking up the game with new twists is an interesting way to catch not only the players off-guard but the viewers as well. Survivor: Micronesia has done just that. Once again, they have introduced not only new twists but a new game.

The New Game and its Players

Survivor: Micronesia takes players back to the beaches of a former Survivor location, Palau. The players, 10 "super" fans and 10 former favorites, face off in a very different game. In fact, the fans had no idea who they were playing against until they landed on the beach and Jeff Probst, host, read off the names. These armchair-players-turned-castaway were introduced to Yau-Man Chan (Survivor: Fiji); Jonny "Fairplay" Dalton (Survivor: Pearl Islands); James Clement (Survivor: China); Ami Cusack (Survivor: Vanuatu); Cirie Fields (Survivor: Panama); Amanda Kimmel (Survivor: China); Ozzy Lusth (Survivor: Cook Islands); Eliza Orlins (Survivor: Vanuatu); Jonathan Penner (Survivor: Cook Islands); and Parvati Shallow (Survivor: Cook Islands).

Perhaps "favorites" is stretching the term for the former Survivors in this new game. Many viewers were expecting past lovable characters like Rupert from Pearl Islands. Infamous is probably a better term for the characters. Apart from Yau-Man, who was greeted by cheers and loud applause from the fans, the other former castaways did not get as warm a reception. In fact, fan player, Tracy Hughes-Wolf was quoted as saying she would love to "kick Jonny Fairplay in the shins" if she got the chance.

The eat-sleep-and-breathe Survivor fans were formed into the Airai tribe and include: Alexis Jones (motivational speaker); Chet Welch (pharmacy supplier); Erik Reichenbach (university student); Jason Siska (middle school teacher); Joel Anderson (firefighter); Kathleen Sleckman (golf course vendor); Mary Sartain (real estate); Michael Bortone (actor/writer); Natalie Bolton (personal trainer); and Tracy Hughes-Wolf (builder).

As the new game of Survivor began, the fans believed they had the greatest advantage: prior knowledge of the other players. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the other team enabled Erik Reichenbach to gauge his opponent. According to Erik, the tree-climbing, agile Ozzy Lusth is his primary competition and was proven accurate in the first segment of the show. In a bid for first place in the individual immunity competition, Erik swam the channel and hit the beach just ahead of Ozzy.

The favorites also believe they have the advantage in the game. They have played it before and know what they have to do to survive. Working well together, they built their shelter, found food, and had fire in the first night/day of their stay. Everything seemed to flow smoothly for them. Their confidence was unshakable as they entered their first tribal immunity challenge with full bellies and good rest. Eliza Orlins attempted to rattle the other tribe by announcing this fact very clearly at the beginning of the competition.

However, the confidence of the favorites was quickly shattered as the fans won the first immunity challenge. It seems that the fans used their knowledge of the other team to soundly trounce them. They worked quickly and competently together to solve their puzzles, build bridge, unearth planks, et cetera. They also knew where to shovel the extra sand from their pit- the other team's side! The favorites seemed to have a few too many leaders and not enough followers. Eliza Orlins later conceded that the fans had more "heart."

Back at camp, the favorites had to decide who would be the first to go. Alliances quickly sprang up between James and Parvati and Amanda and Ozzy. Eliza, Jonathan, Ami and Yau-Man made a pact to stick together and decided to draw in Jonny Fairplay as a fifth to secure an eviction. Their target was Parvati. In true Fairplay fashion, Jonny also sought out the other group and attempted to help them evict Eliza. Ironically, Jonny Fairplay's vacillating earned him a unanimous vote out of the tribe. At tribal council, Jonny Fairplay explained he wanted votes so because his "head wasn't in the game." Some viewers claimed this was most likely a Fairplay trick to divert votes away from himself. In Survivor history, few if any players who have asked for votes have ever gone home. But other viewers believe he was sincere as his girlfriend was seven months pregnant and he was worried about the baby. Either way, the infamous professional reality star Jonny "Fairplay" Dalton was the first to get the boot.

The New Twists and Turns

The new season promised many new twists in the premiere episode. Exile Island is back but according to Jeff Probst, two Survivors will go at a time. Exile was not used in the pilot episode so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

In the very first segment of the show, Jeff Probst introduced the first twist. Instead of handing them their maps to their camps, he sent them swimming across a small channel to another beach. On that beach they would find their boat, map and one personal immunity idol for each tribe. With little more than a "you can go at any time", the Survivors raced to find their first idol. Both idols were hanging at the bow of the boats. While most Survivors ventured far into the jungle, Jonny Fairplay Dalton discovered the opposing tribe's idol. Yau-Man managed to beat Jonny out for their tribe's idol and Kathleen Sleckman of the fans won it for her tribe, thanks to Yau-Man pointing it out for her. The personal immunity idol was only good for the first tribal council, however.

The season in general is shaping up to be a unique one. There are two possible romances in the favorites camp. Also it seems that big egos and big personalities are back on both sides. The fans have an interesting mix of people including firefighter Joel Anderson who looks forward to unseating James Clement as the strongest man in Survivor and outspoken Kathleen Sleckman, or "big bird" as Michael Bortone (Mickey B) refers to her.

You can catch Survivor: Micronesia on CBS Thursdays at 8 p.m. CST. CBS is also offering the premiere episode for online viewing at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor16/.

Sources:

Survivor: Micronesia, episode 1

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/tv/ny-etbottv5565865feb07,0,1295929.story

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor16/

http://www.survivor.com/micronesia/