SURVIVOR PHOENIX
January 22, 2007
edited for
correction
: February 3, 2007
The premiere of "Survivor Fiji, the latest installment of in the long-running series is less than a month away. This time, the early twist in the game has the potential of being extremely divisive, with half of the players living it up in relative luxury in a camp filled with ammenities, while the other half toils in deprivation armed only, according to host Jeff Probst, with "a machete, pot and water they have to boil."
Familiar game components return with a new twist. While at least one player will be sent to Exile Island each week, and receive a clue to the whereabouts of the Hidden Immunity Idols, the two idols are hidden back at each of the two camps. A welcome change in the playing of the Idol requires the player who has it to play it after the votes are cast but before they are read.
For more background information, including some potential spoilers, on the game and the players of Survivor Fiji, please click Read more...
Starting with the early reveal of the contestants's faces in the preview aired during the Cook Islands Finale, CBS has generously released game elements throughout the off-season. As a result, we have a good idea of how the first episode will unfold.
For those who wish to avoid potential spoilers, this might be a good place to stop reading.
For the first time ever, a player decides not to play the game before it even starts. After participating in Press Day (as astutely observed by Sucks poster blurry, she is visible in some of the media b-roll) , Mellisa McNulty opts out of the game. The cast photo is reshot the following day.
The game itself starts with the players paddling to shore in a double-outrigger. Once they arrive at their camp location, Probst supplies them with blueprints and instructions on building a shelter. Materials can be found elsewhere around camp. The players are given flint to start the game, so they should have fire, since neither Becky nor Sundra are making a repeat appearance in Fiji.
Once the shelter is completed, Probst will return with the second twist of the game: one player will pick the tribes, be exiled and become a part of the losing tribe. We have been told that that Sylvia is the player who makes the selection. The tribes will break down as follows:
MOTO - green buffs: Alex, Boo, Cassandra, Dre, Edgardo, Gary, Liliana, Lisi, Stacy
RAVU - orange buffs: Anthony, Earl, Erica, James, Jessica, Michelle, Mookie, Rita, Yau-Man
The Immunity Challenge appears to be some form of Ben-Hur charriot race, with seven players on each tribe pulling a platform with the two remaining players of their tribe as well as some box. The winning tribe returns to the original camp, situated off the sandspit, while the losing tribe, now without any luxuries, makes their way to a new island, confirming the research done by Survivor Maps. We are told that Ravu loses this first challenge, making MOTO the "Haves" tribe and RAVU the "Have-Nots."
Astute spoilers ought to be able to work out who we were told is the first boot of Survivor Fiji.
sources: CBS Press Releases, Reality TV Magazine, The Slug, TVGuide.com, The Futon Critic
Future Game Information.
(If you really want to avoid potential spoilers, perhaps you would like to peruse the Episode 1 Vidcap Gallery instead?)
Here are some tips on game play which we have received:
- like Cook Islands, the Jury is 9 and the Final TC involves the Final 3 players not voted out of the game;
- the Haves have a win streak;
-
there is a double boot episode;
* CORRECTION (02/03):
there is no double boot; we misinterpreted information given about a twist in the game
- a player quits the game;
- controversy which happens late in the game impacts the final outcome.
Remember, no information is a spoiler until it airs.
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