Gabon, Premiere

While nowhere near the cultural phenomenon it was in its first two seasons in 2000-2001, Survivor remains solid. Certain seasons are better than others, but it somehow usually works. This new season, Survivor: Gabon, appears promising thus far, although the subtitle Earth's Last Eden is a little over the top. The key component is almost always the cast; is it diverse in its personalities? Is there chemistry among varied players? So far, things look up.

This is Survivor 's 17th season, unbelievably, and it's always fun to watch the first episode even though we've seen it all before in a sense: People get to know each other, try to make a fire, someone always takes the lead who doesn't know what they are doing, some people strategize smartly while others do so stupidly, some people smartly lay back while others annoy everyone (and nearly always get voted out right away, especially if they are also seen as physically weak).

Inevitably, the opening episode echoed Survivor: Africa, the only previous season to take place on the "Dark Continent." Beyond the geographical similarity, the tribal colors were the same, red and yellow. The second immunity challenge, involving rolling a gigantic colored boulder along a gated course, was nearly identical to an early challenge from the Africa season. And Gabon's tribal council set -- a faux African village -- is highly reminiscent of Africa's. All we needed was a paranoid tattooed dude and we'd be in for Africa II.

On the flip side, the Hidden Immunity Idol has really changed the game in the last few seasons, and they apparently came up with a new wrinkle this year, with players sent to exile island forced to choose between comfort and a clue to that elusive idol.

A few thoughts on the players (I am mostly not "spoiled" at the moment as to what happens this season) follow. See the official site for their bios.


KOTA TRIBE

• Ace: Trying to lead while not letting on that he is, but the Onion alliance already dislikes him. Not sure he'll last. But things are much harder to figure now with tribal switches and hidden immunity idols...

• Bob: Reminds me a bit of Butch from The Amazon, both in his tough work ethic and that he may wind up being the fifth wheel of a dominant voting bloc (although in Butch's season, there was no consistent voting bloc, he just almost always was on the right side of it)

• Charlie: Seems somewhat similar to Todd, the winner from two seasons ago, in personaity and, well, orientation. Too much like him to do real well (if his teammates watched that season)? He sure seems a candidate to reach the endgame, though. Although he already seems in love with/subordinate to Marcus, which won't help Charlie from a strategic perspective.

• Corinne: Looks like a Jerri wanna-be, not caring if she winds up hurting feelings. That's the way to play as long as you don't push it too hard (like Jerri did in the end). Member of the Onion alliance. Could last.

• Jacquie: Who's this? Part of the Onion alliance. I don't remember much else about her, other than our HDTV got all pixelly and garbled when she was introduced.

• Jessica (Sugar): Ace commented that as a videographer he needed a model on his team. She's good looking, which sometimes helps, sometimes not. How's that for astute analysis?

• Kelly: Who? Maybe I had too much wine during this episode.

• Marcus: Ringleader of the Onion alliance. If his bloc sticks together and stays quiet, he could do well. On the other hand, we saw what happened when Marquesas' John got arrogant about his alliance.

• Paloma: Has a cool name.


FANG TRIBE

• Crystal: She will do well at individual challenges if she can make it that far. Although she wasn't so good at the first challenge. So maybe not. In any case she's probably smart not to reveal her Olympic credentials. Either you're a target for being seen as physically strong -- or you disappoint everyone when you don't live up to expectations.

• Dan: Is he smart or stupid? I can't tell. Seems naive, that's for sure. It seemed odd his tribemates were discussing voting him out. Don't they need his strength?

• G.C.: Yeah, not really a leader, but then he didn't ask for it. He'll last if he can find a way to fit in, perhaps. And his tribe may respect him for being willing to take the lead.

• Gillian: Doomed by her weakness in the first challenge and a voice and attitude that others found annoying. Not integrating socially with the tribe plus physical weakness equals certain doom in this game!

• Ken: Now this will be an interesting player to watch. He's a professional videogame player (talk about the antisocial stereotype) and skinny to boot. Given both these things, he may not last long.

• Matty: He has a widow's peak and I confused him at first with Dan. Is on the so-far-loser team.I don't recall much else.

• Michelle: SOCIALIZE! SOCIALIZE! SOCIALIZE! This is a social game! Don't stand away from everyone wrapped up in a coat and shivering! But hey, at least she ate a live termite before she got voted out!

• Randy: If he survives his head wound (notice that they brought in the medical team right away to treat him, after what seemed to be superficial injuries last season felled two players), he seems to have the game brains to last awhile.

• Susie: She was apparently Gillian's pal, and it never bodes well when your pal gets the boot.


In any event, it seems like the "main characters" this first week were Ace, Charlie and Marcus on Kota. And boy, there seemed to be flashing neon signs around Charlie and Marcus as they formed their alliance -- a LOT of time seemed to be spent showing them develop that relationship and then pull in Jacquie and Corinne. With 18 players to feature in the two hours, this could well signal they aren't going anywhere anytime soon). Ace, meanwhile, was a focal point early on, earning the ire of Charlie and Marcus. Is Ace the "bad guy"? Even with Charlie and Marcus fast becoming the "haves" of this tribe?

Fang was a bit of a mess, and naturally Michelle and Gillian got quite a bit of attention by the editors before they left the game. Randy seemed to get a fair amount of camera time too, but that may have been because he's entertaining and not because he necessarily will be a big-time player.

Don't take these notes the wrong way: Just because someone is heavily featured doesn't mean they'll win -- Tina was "the dog that didn't bark" in Episode 1 of Australian Outback. Jerri that season was a main focus but didn't last. And Danni was a virtual no-name for much of Guatemala but wound up victorious.

(For a far more detailed examination of all things editing, check out the "Edgic" thread at Survivor Sucks.)

The losing tribe in both of the first two immunity challenges, Fang, managed to avoid any obviously dumb voting decisions, unlike in some seasons when obviously strong people found themselves dispatched (I think Hunter is still mad about the "knuckleheads" on his hapless tribe.) Early on, you need all the strength you can get. So they may be in a good position to make a comeback next week. We'll see.