Looks like they immediately regret not voting her out. It will be interesting to see how long the Alphas can stick together on the other tribe.

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Question: I watched Season 1 of Survivor and haven't watched a single episode since then. If I pick back up with this season, am I going to be lost/bored/not having fun because they're a returning cast?

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No. I watched the first two seasons then picked it back up a few seasons ago. I haven't had an issue watching returning players. You might not know their full history, but that didn't bother me.

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Question: I watched Season 1 of Survivor and haven't watched a single episode since then. If I pick back up with this season, am I going to be lost/bored/not having fun because they're a returning cast?

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I cant remember half of them anyway...so it doesnt matter.

Spencer
Stephen
Kass
Kelley Wentworth

Looks like this season's theme of second chance will provide plenty of flashbacks to tell you who the people are. Don't think you need to have watched all the seasons to be able to follow it. It should be a good season to watch!

Okay, if I can still play, I have:
Terry
Spencer
Cass
Sherin


Almost seemed to me Vytas didn't care and almost wanted to be voted out. I mean all you have to do early is not piss anybody off, be nice, start an alliance and work hard sround camp. He did none of these.

BTW check out "Terry from Survivor" on Google.

Also, an interesting angle is that every cast member is able to study in depth their fellow players ahead of time. Will be interesting to see the effect this has going forward.

Alright I'm in. I'll take:
Kelley W.
Woo
Spencer
Sherin

*edit for misspell

The survivor players working things out ahead of time definitely puts a different spin on this season.

I thought voting out Vytas was stupid. Your tribe already has the two weakest physical players in Peih-Gee and Shirin and the most difficult to get along with in Abi. As soon as they showed the two tribes I figured this one would be the loser through a reshuffle or merge just because of those three players. They aren't strong enough even though they have the biggest physical threat in Woo.

You need to keep your tribe strong initially to win the early immunity challenges. You can get more creative with who you vote off once you gain a little ground on the other tribe. It looks like they might be hoping to take Shirin and/or Peih-Gee a long way to give the advantage in individual challenges post merge. The issue is that you have to get there.

I'll play:

Tasha
Jeremy
Kelley Wentworth
Woo

I'm hoping that you guys that are putting Kass on your 4 are wrong about her making it that far in the game. I get why you want to take her, but I just don't want to see her on TV at all. I'm disappointed in Survivor fans for even voting her on.

I need to think on who to pick. Most of the people I would pick have been picked.

Monday morning bump for the pick'em - the deadline to enter is 6:59 p.m central time on Wednesday.

Spencer
Jeremy
Kelley
Ciera

Here's the Google Doc if you want to check that I have your picks right, book mark it, etc. I've made it mutliple sheets this year so there will be Pre-Merge and Post-Merge standings. Ive also included a page with the rules on it and another one that I'll use to break down episode-by-episode scoring so there is less risk for math errors on my part as someone pointed out last year (or as Moe from The Simpsons would say 'So now you think you're better than me).

Should be a fun Wednesday when Spencer and Kelley are knocked out in a double elimination. Kelley is on 9 of 13 ballots so far; Spencer on 8 of 13.

Remember, get our picks in by 6:59 p.m. CDT (TexAgs Time Stamp is the official verifier) to take part in the fun. Who won it again last year? /humblebrag

Yeah. Spemcer, Kelly, Joe, and Sierra were my picks too.

Gotta rethink it.

Not my picks.

My picks: Jeremy, Savage, Kimmi, Tasha

I'd like to play this year

TheSheik
Man 1 - Keith
Man 2 - Spencer
Woman 1 - Ciera
Woman 2 - Kelley

I'm amazed they didn't vote out Abi - especially since they didn't have the luxury of huddling-up prior to the vote. Early in the game, it just seems awfully stupid voting out people that can help you in challenges (Vytas) over tribal cancers (Abi).

My picks:
Kelley (hot blonde, not Wigglesworth)
Tasha
Keith
Jeremy


Edit: to differentiate which Kelley

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I'm amazed they didn't vote out Abi - especially since they didn't have the luxury of huddling-up prior to the vote. Early in the game, it just seems awfully stupid voting out people that can help you in challenges (Vytas) over tribal cancers (Abi).

My picks:
Kelley
Tasha
Keith
Jeremy

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Its almost like they are playing the end game too soon. its been happening quite a bit in Survivor lately and i wonder if it is or isn't a bad strategy.

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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Jeff, you know how much I love the fact that you all decided to hide idols in challenges this season. This was your first time trying it out, so tell me about the execution and Kelley's risky decision to go back and get it.

JEFF PROBST: You have been suggesting to us for years to do this and it was always just a matter of it feeling like it was the right time. Creatively, this is definitely one of those "big risk" moves for us as a show because if it fails and the players can't pull it off, then we may not have any idols in the season. The first big step was figuring out how to execute. We decided to let them find a note that at first they would think was an idol so we get the high followed by an immediate low when they learn it's not the idol followed by another high when they realize it will lead them TO the idol followed by a major twist: You have to be daring enough to grab the idol in front of everybody while in the middle of an immunity challenge. Huge stakes!

It was an exciting day at the challenge because we had a dedicated camera following Wentworth with only one job: If she goes for it, we have to get the shot of her getting the idol. We would not get a second chance. The only other question was: could she pull it off? I don't think you could have asked for more tension as she waited and debated looking for that one moment when she could go back to grab it. I was really proud of her as a player because THAT is how you have to play this game inSurvivor: Second Chance. It also let me breathe a sigh of relief that this idea was going to work.

You know I also love it when you guys insert choices into things. Here the tribes had to decide right off the bat how much to stock up on supplies before heading out on a raft to get the bag of rice on the other boat. Any chances we will have more choices down the line? And did you anticipate people like Wiglesworth, Woo, and Joe swimming for it?

Choice is one of the cornerstones of our creative because it forces a decision and that often leads to conflicting points of views before, during, and after the decision has been made. So yes, fans and players should always expect choices! We were so unprepared for someone swimming from the beginning that we really didn't even have the proper coverage set up to capture it. We had several boats in the water with camera and sound operators, and when Wiglesworth starting swimming from the beginning we were shocked! Our director, David Dryden, and his team really had to scramble to make up a new plan live in the ocean. A massive task but they pulled it off.

Those are the days when you come home and you are truly grateful to work on Survivor. For all the planning we do, the real truth is that ultimately we turn the show over to the players and they do whatever they want. That's their only job: play! Our job is to capture their story. That marooning was a very exciting beginning. I have to also add that the opening several minutes where they are traveling through Angkor Wat was in the planning stages for months. Literally, months. I want our fans to know that these things aren't made up the day before. We are often planning them before we even know who will be on the show. We had our "A" team producing this open and wow did it work. One of my favorites of all time. When the four boats, with Survivors, pulled up to me for the official opening it was a really powerful moment. I knew what they had been through and it had all worked!

You didn't end up showing it in the episode because you can't fit everything in, but there was some last minute scrambling that went on at Tribal Council when Jeff Varner asked Kelly Wentworth and Peih-Gee in front of everybody to confirm to him which way they were leaning before the voting started. Did you notice a difference in the energy or tone of TC by bringing them straight to Tribal from the challenge instead of letting them go back to camp and strategize?

There is a definite slow burn shift in how the game is played this season. You may not notice it out of the gate, but it slowly begins to shift and in a way that does impact the game in a very significant way. I'll be curious how it plays with the fans. I am also curious if it carries on in future seasons or was simply a byproduct of having true "second chance" players who came in with a very different motivation. And glad you mentioned that we can't show everything. It's one of the only drags of the show, there simply is not enough time. There wouldn't be enough time if CBS gave us two hours for every episode. But it's a good problem to have too much great material!

These contestants really put themselves out there by publicly campaigning for votes. Does that make being the first one eliminated that much harder? Vytas even said that he would have rather not gotten voted in than be the first one out.

That's a great question. I'm sorry to hear Vytas feels that way; it's not the way I would look at it. I'd be so proud to be voted in by the fans. It's pretty amazing that our fans chose this entire cast. Not one single bit of influence by any of the crew or CBS. Zero. I mean zero. I had no idea until one hour into the live show (when we stopped the voting) who the final cast was going to be. So yes, someone is going to be first off. It's meaningless. First off or 19th off there is only one winner. You must play this game in order to have a chance to win and if you do play, like Vytas did, then you are always at risk of being blindsided. That's it. You can't second-guess your second chance.

Okay, sir. Off to a great start. Tease us up for next week and this season in general.

Next week you really start to see the emotion come to the surface. There's a truly romantic story of love, there's a moment of empathy and comfort from someone you wouldn't expect, there's another exciting challenge that results in more tears at the thought of Tribal Council. That enough?
As for the season in general, I will not predict if people will like it or not as they always let me know! But I will say this: In our 31 seasons, we've never had a group that came into the game with such devotion to the game. They were in it from the moment their journey through Angkor Wat started. They were playing hard the minute they dove off the boat. They pulled off massive blindsides and shifted the strategy of the game. If you told me I could bring all 20 back again and do it again I would say yes. I absolutely enjoyed every single person and I thank them for what they gave. Survivor is an ass-kicking adventure and it is not for the faint of heart or those who are more comfortable on the couch. This group has waited a long time for this opportunity and I think you'll agree that they deliver.

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Next week you really start to see the emotion come to the surface. There's a truly romantic story of love, there's a moment of empathy and comfort from someone you wouldn't expect, there's another exciting challenge that results in more tears at the thought of Tribal Council. That enough?

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A showmance on Survivor??????

Changing my picks to:

Jeremy
Tasha
Shirin
Terry

Spencer
Jeremy

Kelley Wentworth
Kelley Wigglesworth

I don't remember much about most of the cast. It looks like I would rather select four men and no women at this point. The answers in the interview above make me want to try for a 'dark horse' pick..but I suck at picking underdogs.

So let me take:

Kelly Wentworth
Monica
Terry &
Woo

Ciera
Kelley Wentworth
Keith
Terry

Savage
Terry
Kelley W
Kelly W

Not my too picks but different enough to win this biatch.

Anyone intetested in doing a $5 entry fee?
Go 1/2 to 1, 3/8ths to 2, and 1/8th to 3?

Spencer
Jeff
Ciera
Shirin

Hey Zap, I was looking at last year's thread for a rules reference ... where's my hand carved idol for winning last year?

Moxie, LHIOB, The Sheik and Longhorn Nation need to specify which Kelley they want.

I'm assuming Kelley is Kelley Wentworth and Kelly is Wigglesworth from season 1.

TheSheik


my Kelley is Wentworth - the hot blonde as described above.......and I concur

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Hey Zap, I was looking at last year's thread for a rules reference ... where's my hand carved idol for winning last year?

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Nobody showed any interest (at the time), so laziness won out and I did not make it.