Survivor Gabon: Weeks 1 -3

Hey guys: If you know me at all, you know that I love Survivor. A while back, my friend Kelly & I started to make predictions each season and now we have reigned in our families and friends. At the end of each season, the winner gets a trophy (with a look very suitable for the show). Each week I write a summary of the episode and email the updated list. If you were at all interested in the show, I thought you might be interested in reading this. As always, let me know what you think!

Finally, I caught up! I bet you were probably wondering where I have been... or maybe not. I don't think there is any possible way to write about each episode. Well, there would, but I know the likelihood of you all reading it completely would be very slim. So, my overall reaction...

I'm a little underwhelmed by this season. You can definitely tell it won't be like last season, really what could live up to that one? The Gabon landscape is proving to be kinda dulling. The cast really has nowhere to wander and without a huge body of water, it really makes a difference. Besides the occasional shots where they go to a gorilla or something like that, I don't think there are a lot of tell tale signs that they are in Africa. All that said, it looks AMAZING
in HD! It really brings a lot to the show that was already excelling in its cinematography.

I just really don't like the cast that much this year. The good thing is that it seems like most of the useless people have left first (except for this past episode, more on that later). You can
tell that it will get a little bit more interesting later on the show with some of the strong personalities that exist, but nothing bugs me more than people who seem clueless about the game of Survivor. Most of the older "red" tribe pretty much fits that category. You think
by now that people would catch on to the fact that you need to make a 4 person alliance right away, like Marcus, Charlie, Jacquie and Corinne did.

I've never like it when one tribe seems significantly stronger than the other. The producers saw this early on, but even with the mix up, it seems like it's going to stay the same way. I really blame this on Ken when he chose Kelly because "he felt sorry for her" (let's cry for the cheerleader who all of a sudden doesn't have a football player by her side) and because "she's hot." Thanks Ken for ruining the next couple of episodes before the merge. You know
it's bad when the tease for next week is "GC goes missing!"

Another thing is the leadership issue. I could rant on this one for a while too, but I'll restrain myself. I understand why nobody wanted to step up, but I was really disappointed in Dan, Matty or Crystal for not stepping up. You have to be willing to change your game plan in Survivor, and if you don't, you won't win.

Everybody kind of saw Gillian's departure coming quick, and Paloma and Michelle seemed to be the same person with their wining, except with different skin tones, but I really felt bad for Jacquie. It always seems like a really good player (and person) gets booted
early. I thought they were stupid to keep Kelly and I think that will come back to haunt them. Jacquie would have been really loyal to the group (until the merge probably). I know I'm complaining a bit because my pick got voted off, but with the loss from both the Cowboys and Sooners, it seemed a little bit fitting.

I was thrilled to get Jacquie because I thought she would take it all the way, but since that's not happening... who do I think will? I think Corinne. She was so smart to pull Bob in as a fifth, and will now be the fourth because of the swap. I really have no doubt that we'll see those four in the merge or even at the end. Corinne seemed to pride herself on being pretty ruthless, so I think she has the possibility to really shake things up towards the end of the game.

And before I leave, two more thoughts on the contestants. Matty seems like an awesome guy, but one of the most air-headed ones I have seen. He has the ability to have people follow him and he doesn't realize it. He could've saved Jacquie with a little bit more talking. Instead he let Ken make the decision, so sad...

I also hate Randy. I bet most of you do also. He complains solely to complain. It's not even a hate/love thing that you can have with some players like Jonny Fairplay, where it's at least entertaining. I don't think he adds anything to the show. I think he complains to the camera more than he does in person and he really has no strategy.

Ok, so about that novel thing.... ha ha.

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts. Besides Whitney, I haven't really heard what other think. Am I the only one who thinks it's a little dull so far? Who do you love/hate?