Caramoan Episode 3: The No Talking List

Shamar in a rage at having picked up votes

The Fans return to camp, and Matt feels bad because he was the swing vote. Reynold is pissed at him and declares it game on. Which Shamar takes as Reynold just being a crybaby and starts yelling at him, Eddie, Matt....pretty much everyone. The camp is in total chaos, as Laura quite rightly points out. Sherri tries to calm down Shamar, telling him the guys are going to try and wind him up because he's an easy target, but the Marine is now questioning if he even has the will to continue.

Malcolm scores again

Over to Bikal now, and Phillip is bragging about being in great shape for his age. Corinne outlines the main pairs in the tribe...Andrea/Phillip, Cochran/Dawn...which leaves Corinne and Malcolm as a pair kind of by default. The two go off to look for the immunity idol, and after dipping his hand into a watery hole, Malcolm finds it.

Phillip is still clowning around by wearing a basket lid on his head. Cochran talks about how playing Survivor is just like watching Survivor. Andrea starts getting paranoid about Corinne and Malcolm being close. She debates with Cochran the possibility or replacing Corinne in their alliance with Brandon. That's one of the best things about returning player seasons, the gameplay is never static for long. She proposes the idea with Brandon of voting Corinne and he seems OK with it, but secretly, he's skeptical. He's been lied to before, and says if they tell him he's next to go, he'll burn the shelter down. More threats he won't follow through on, I see.

Andrea 2.0 is always plotting something

Shamar is considering quitting, which shocks his tribe. He's not happy and he doesn't want to be "the angry black man on Survivor". Sherri convinces him to stay, because she doesn't want to risk going down by two if they lose the next challenge. Since Sherri has been loyal to him, Shamar decides to repay that loyalty and stay on. Which disappoints Reynold, because he wanted Shamar to quit, and doesn't buy how he tried to make himself the hero for not quitting, when there's thousands of fans who would give anything to be where he is.

Another down-to-the-wire challenge

And now to the challenge...it requires getting everyone in the water to bring back a chest from inside a wooden cage. The chest is then to be pushed along a ramp, which requires the use of a grappling hook to retrieve missing sections. Laura sucks hard at the swimming portion and has to have Reynold come back and help her. Once in the cage, Shamar complains about not having the goggles. Both tribes retrieve their chests and are neck and neck by the time they both reach the track. Malcolm has the first go on the grappling hook, but misses. Reynold puts the Fans into the lead. Phillip brings the Favorites back into it. Malcolm and Shamar both manage to secure a hook. Eventually it comes down to a showdown between Brandon and Eddie, with Brandon winning it for the Favorites.

The Fans are considering splitting the vote between Eddie and Hope in case Reynold uses his idol. Sherri fills Shamar in on the plan, hoping he'll keep his mouth shut. Fat chance of that! Not long after, Shamar is in the water hinting to Hope that she could vote for Eddie to save herself, because he likes her better than the other two guys.

What does Hope do with this information? Gives it to Julia. This gets back to the rest of Julia's alliance and they suddenly have lost a lot of trust in Shamar...understandably. Laura is especially nervous because of her poor performance, thinking that she might be a target if something goes wrong. Laura goes to Reynold and tells him she's willing to vote out Shamar with him, and Reynold's eyes light up at the prospect.

A hero on the inside

At tribal council, Shamar denies helping Hope and claims he's misunderstood. but whilst the rest of the tribe recount the various Shamar horror stories, Sherri says that she "gets" Shamar. Hope and Eddie talk about the targets on their back, and Eddie mentions that Shamar has put him on the no talking list as well as Reynold. The tribe go off to vote, and it ends up a three-way tie between Shamar, Eddie and Hope. After the revote, Hope is sent home.

Man, Reynold and Eddie just can't catch a break. Can they turn it around? As much as I'm glad it was Hope from an entertainment perspective, keeping the loudmouth is bringing a lot of negative energy to the tribe and I don't see the Fans getting it together any time soon.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SHERRI BIETHMAN

I love her unlikely friendship with Shamar, and this fast food mama is doing a great job of keeping her goat under control. Not only is she strategic, but she has the people skills to do very well in this game.

Caramoan Episode 2: Revenge Of The Nerds

This is not a sane man

Dawn tries to reassure Brandon about being out of the loop, but he's really not happy as he really liked Francesca and thought voting her out first again was extremely harsh. The two get into it a bit and Dawn is left crying. Brandon tells Erik he's thinking of going out Russell Hantz style...."With a bang!"


Shamar is laying in the shelter to conserve his energy. Which is a diplomatic way of saying lazy. Allie wants him gone first for sure. Sherri has other ideas though and is pulling him into the counteralliance of six, which he appears to be up for. Sherri's keeping Shamar close and intends to drag him through the game because he's her Phillip.

Brandon confesses to Cochran that he was thinking of sabotaging the camp last night, but decided against it. The mood swings and unpredictability to Brandon unnerves Cochran. Then the real Phillip approaches and Brandon asks him if he can be trusted enough to be let in on the vote from now on. Phillip refuses his request and condescendingly refers to him as "mid-management". He then calls Brandon "crazy" in a confessional, knowing the irony full well. This has caused Brandon to talk with the other Favorites about getting rid of Phillip before he becomes too powerful. Phillip may think he's Boston Rob, but he's not. He can't even stop his tribe's banner from falling down.

It's time to get to the immunity challenge and the Fans, especially Michael, have a big reaction to seeing Francesca has gone first again. The challenge involves ferrying contestants across on a small raft, where they will dive down and remove poles from a cage to release rings.

Bikal sail into the lead

The Fans send Sherri, Julia and Hope out on their raft, whereas Andrea, Brenda and Erik do it for the Favorites. Sherri is left to pull out all the poles on her own, which does not prove as effective as the Favorites' rotation strategy. With the Favorites having a huge lead going into the ring toss, it comes down to Malcolm vs Reynold, once again. Michael takes over for the Fans, as does Phillip for the Favorites, who lands the winning ring.

The Favorites are very happy with their victory and Phillip in particular is in a jolly mood, introducing his new branch of Stealth R Us to the camera. Malcolm appears to be going along with it on the surface, but says it's going to get annoying if he has to deal with Phillip for the whole game.

The Specialist has found his loyal soldier

So the Fans are voting someone out tonight, and there's no doubt in Reynold's mind who that should be. As the group debrief about their lack of strategy in the challenge, Reynold decides to call out Shamar and confirm that he's voting for him tonight.

Matt can't stand Shamar and tells the cool kids he wants him out. Still holding a grudge from the shelter building incident, perhaps? He points out they can vote Shamar out to placate the rest of the group and still have the numbers advantage over them, but Sherri is very insistent they stick with him. Laura has picked her target...Allie. And she did so because she's apparently the biggest strategic threat.

Beginner's luck

Reynold goes looking off in the jungle for an idol and by chance, manages to find it pretty quickly. He's excited about it, but is trying to suppress his glee because he wants to keep it to himself. However, Laura thinks she sees a bulge in Reynold's pocket and guesses that he has an idol. I'm guessing it won't stay secret for long.

At tribal council, Jeff singles out the cool kids alliance and asks Matt if it concerns him, but he says he doesn't. Cool kids breathe a sigh of relief. Laura takes this opportunity to out Reynold as having the idol. She plays it sly at first, but Jeff gets it out of her. So Reynold shows it to the whole group. He claims he's playing it tonight, but find me even one person who believes that.

Weren't we supposed to be running the show?

The votes come in. Will it be unanimous for Shamar like Reynold wants? Nope, with six votes, Allie is voted out and the douchebag is spared. She's been a huge Survivor fan half her life so she's mortified to go out so early, but this is one season where people are playing hard right from the start. So now that the cool kids have been successfully neutralised, will the fans be able to get it together? With this amount of friction, don't count on it.

STAR OF THE WEEK: LAURA ALEXANDER

She sucks at challenges, but the strategic game is definitely Laura's forte. She masterminds the boot of a fellow blonde and her sharp eyes and sharp mind managed to uncover a tribemate's secret. Definitely emerging as one of the Fans to watch.

Caramoan Episode 1: Deja Vu

We arrive at the Tarsier-occupied Caramoan Islands just in time to see a boatload of Survivor fans (some bigger than others) burst onto the scene. Michael is already getting called out by Laura as being a potentially shady character and they haven't even got off the boat yet. Despite the general vibe of inexperience and naivete, Allie assures us she has what it takes to get to the end.

Approaching by helicopter is another tribe - the Favorites! You know these guys, they've all played before...and Jeff gives us a brief refresher course on each one of them. "The theme of the season is people who made big mistakes" says Andrea. Damn right, looking at some of these misfits. Between idol-giver Erik, nutcase Phillip and first boot Francesca, there's potential for a good redemption story here. Probst stands atop a massive rock and declares the game begun.

Beautiful Brenda gets a majestic entrance

The fans jump off the boat and approach their mat, eager to see who they're going to play against. The helicopter comes in and Cochran and Dawn come out first, and are the only ones to get a good reception. Brenda is immediately singled out by Julia as being "dangerous". Sherri is clearly loving every minute of it.

So the two tribes get into a challenge right away. They are to retrieve a ring from one side of the water and take it to the other side. The first matchup is Erik and Dawn vs Julia and Shamar. Erik is first to the ring but Julia steals and Dawn is unable to stop Shamar scoring the first point. Later, Brandon and Andrea even it up by overpowering Hope and Eddie. Phillip makes it 2-1 to the Favorites. Shamar is still hogging the limelight from the sidelines, yelling at Sherri to "break her wrist!".

New kid Malcolm earns his stripes already

The trash-talk between Laura and Cochran before their match-up is really cute, but it ends up inconsequential when Francesca takes the ring and scores to make it 3-1. Malcolm gets the better of Reynold in the next match-up and ends up winning it for the Favorites. Brandon tackles him in celebration.

Shamar critiques the shelter building technique

The Fans arrive at their camp having been schooled, and Shamar is let down that he was the only point scorer for his tribe. He then goes on to cause further friction when he complains the rest of the group are focusing too much on the shelter and not enough on the fire. Matt in particular objects to this.

Andrea, Francesca and Dawn form an alliance and want to bring in Cochran and Brandon as well. Francesca even tries to bury the hatchet with Phillip (although he responds with nothing but silence and privately reaffirms "she annoys me greatly"). She does not want to be the first one out again and says she will eat a rock if it happens.

Back at the fans tribe, Shamar manages to win some points by saving the day and starting the fire, proving he is an asset after all.

Phillip tells Corinne he wants an alliance with her, even giving her the nickname Dominatrix. He then adds Andrea and Malcolm, as well as suggesting Dawn. He's applying the "BR rules" that he learned from Boston Rob and attempting to run the show in secret. He has a conversation with Erik where he tries to recruit him and implies he already has the numbers anyway. Erik agrees, but is not impressed with Phillip as he saw it as a threat.

Star-crossed lovers

The pairings in the reward challenge provide an instant icebreaker for some of the Fans. Reynold decides to make Allie his number one ally, because it's his "not obvious choice". Eddie and Hope seem to be coupling up too, after Eddie declares them the two most attractive people in the game and calls her his Southern belle. At night, Laura notices that Allie and Reynold are getting a little bit closer than just cuddling, and decide the romantic pair need to be taken care of quickly.

On the Favorites, Cochran gets a really bad sunburn and ends up ridiculously swollen and red. They're not even trying to hide how goofy this tribe is.

Cochran feels the heat

Gota's two couples are teaming up over in the water, thinking they're running the show, not even realizing there are several people back at camp that have got their number. Laura wants to break up the couples alliance and is getting Sherri, Julia and Michael to help her do it. But although Michael says he's in, he really wants to set himself up in a position to play the swing vote and decide with Matt which way to go. Maybe Laura's early instincts about him being a snake were right.

The immunity challenge is to climb up a multi-level obstacle course and throw off the crates on each floor. Phillip and Cochran go first for the Favorites and take on Sherri and Laura for the Fans. Erik proves to be a challenge star again and flies up that ladder. It comes down to Brandon and Andrea vs Eddie and Allie and the Favorites get a lead going into the beanbag toss. Malcolm is the thrower for the Favorites and manages to score three before Reynold even starts. But Reynold pulls out an impressive comeback to win the first immunity challenge for the Fans.

It's after the challenge and Francesca wants to vote out either Phillip or Corinne. Andrea feels more loyalty to the less threatening Phillip however, and rats her out. This causes Phillip to compare voting Francesca out again to Machiavelli burning down villages, which is pretty heavy stuff for a television gameshow. Erik is down with a Phillip boot, but warns Brandon that Phillip hinted to him he has numbers, leaving Brandon and Francesca to try and figure out who they are.

Isn't genocide hilarious?

Francesca wants to split the votes as it's worrying to her that Phillip is so calm. Brandon doesn't trust Andrea at all (looks like he's found his new Mikayla) and wants to vote for her for "playing all sides". It seems that Dawn and Cochran will be the ones who decide who leaves, having reconnected and found themselves in the swing vote position. Cochran is hesitant to vote out Francesca because he likes her and thinks it would be a pretty cruel move.

Francesca prays that history doesn't repeat itself

At tribal council, Probst brings up the rivalry between Francesca and Phillip in a clear attempt to stir something up, and it turns out Phillip can pronounce Francesca's name right now - and in fact could all along! Francesca's lack of experience is also brought up. Cochran just really seems to be relishing the exciting part of the game and Malcolm touches him on the shoulder for a joke, mimicking a Boston Rob move Cochran had referenced earlier.

It is time to vote...and it turns out to be a close one! Four people vote for Andrea causing her to almost freak out, and the rest vote for Francesca. Unbelievably, Francesca is the first person voted out of the game...again. I wonder if that rock tasted nice. Oh well, at least the real all-stars are still here and are playing hard already.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SHAMAR THOMAS

Yes, surprisingly it goes to a fan! Shamar made me laugh several times in this episode and he seems to be the biggest drama instigator on the Kota tribe, like I expected. He seems totally fearless and has already shown he's a force to be reckoned with. His assessment of the Favorites? "Lunch meat".

Biggest Caramoan casting snubs

With the cast for Caramoan containing some odd choices for "Favorites" (is there anyone other than Jeff Probst that considers Brandon Hantz one of their favorites?), let's start looking at some other options. My only rules were no winners, nobody who has already played twice, and nobody from the most recent season, Philippines (I know that wasn't a rule they used themselves, but I wanted to avoid recency bias).

THE CHARACTER: Troyzan Robertson (One World)

Troyzan is a love or hate him character, but he is undeniably that - a character. He's loud, he's passionate, and he certainly left an impression on One World which was would've been a fairly dull season without the much-needed drama he injected into the middle of it. Probst doesn't shy away from divisive figures so I think there's definitely room for Troyzan to return in the future.

Alternative - Greg "Tarzan" Smith (One World): Ironically Troyzan's counterpart Tarzan is probably the closest to the type of slot Troyzan would fill. He was a complex, nuanced guy who provides comic relief and drama.

THE COMIC RELIEF: Shane Powers (Exile Island)

How Shane has still yet to get on an all-stars season is baffling to me. He's a riot. From his hilarious antics, to comic facial expressions, to random outbursts, the guy was entertainment gold. His first season may have been a while ago now, but so what? Mike Skupin was off our screens for 12 years.

Alternative - Judd Sergeant (Guatemala): Guatemala is another underrepresented season that casting likes to pretend doesn't exist, but there's no denying Judd was the star of it and provided many memorable moments. He was so easy to wind up that he's guaranteed to deliver fireworks.

THE YOUNG STUD: Matt Elrod (Redemption Island)

If it was up to me, the next FvF season would just be full of crazy assholes, but obviously that's not possible, so instead we have to look at the young, athletic, good-looking type. Matt fills all these roles. He's not one my personal favorites, but he came second in the fan favorite voting, so the demand is there. He needs redemption for being such a dumbass last time and we know he's handy in challenges.

Alternative - Albert Destrade (South Pacific): We didn't see that much of Albert first time around but he at least tried to play an interesting game and would fill a much-needed minority quota.

THE MASTERMIND: Marty Piombo (Nicaragua)

Marty fills the rootable villain role to a tee - he's smart, cocky, articulate and makes big interesting moves. He might not be half as good a player as he thinks he is, but with Jonathan Penner having been used three times now, he's the closest we'll get to a replacement. He can provide funny moments (like telling Fabio he was a chess grand master) and will not shy away from giving his opinion.

Alternative - Jim Rice (South Pacific): It pained me to cut Jim off my list, but he was just too similar to Marty. He's certainly someone I want to watch again, though. He was a very good player who was running his tribe pre-merge and delivered lots of great quotes too.

THE UNDERDOG: Ken Hoang (Gabon)

Kenny had one of the most interesting journeys of any Survivor player. Starting off as the loveable nerd, bottom of the totem pole at Fang, he somehow managed to reposition himself following two tribe swaps to become the most powerful person in the game. From there he morphed into an unlikely villain, just in time for his downfall. So Kenny is quite a versatile character, plus every tribe needs a good puzzlemaker.

Alternative - Jonas Otsuji (One World): Jonas played a very passive game last time, but was still a likeable narrator that represented the average Joe and a dark horse for the win.

THE TOUGH CHICK: Peih-Gee Law (China)

Peih-Gee's Survivor journey was just as much of a rollercoaster as Kenny's. Almost the reverse, actually. She started off as the bossy bitch, then became one of the season's main villains, before finding herself in the minority and becoming a scrappy, rootable underdog that lasted all the way til the final five. She fills so many different roles that she was the first female on the list for me.

Alternative - Shambo Waters (Samoa): "Tough chick" might be stretching a bit, but Shambo is definitely worthy of all-star consideration. She was a huge trainwreck that stumbled her way through the game, being a nuisance and screwing over her old tribe.

THE SWEETIE: Kat Edorsson (One World)

Bubbly blonde Kat can be the sweetheart, but she can also be the comic relief. She was dumb and naive at times, but it was endearing and entertaining. There aren't many women that are bigger characters than her.

Alternative - Michelle Yi (Fiji): This adorable hottie is another Asian chick that badly needs to return.

THE MOTHER HEN: Holly Hoffman (Nicaragua)

Jane may have won the fan favorite, but I'd be more interested in seeing Holly again as the token older woman. She was a lot more likeable than Jane and actually managed to turn into a great strategist by the end of the game, showing a huge growth from the crazy lady who ruined Dan's shoes and had a meltdown on day one.

Alternative - Taj George (Tocantins): Taj was sassy, but she was also very likeable and a very strong woman.

THE BITCH: Natalie Bolton (Micronesia)

After being completely invisible for over half the season, suddenly Natalie's crazy side came out and after playing Jason like a fiddle she showed what a cruel and deadly manipulator she could be. Where had this girl been all season? A man-hating feminist with a major girlcrush on Parvati, she definitely ended up leaving an impression on Micronesia, and is the only member of the black widow brigade to not come back.

Alternative - Twila Tanner (Vanuatu): It's a shame Twila seems to have been forgotten, she would've been perfect for Heroes Vs Villains. Unlike a lot of the supposed "villains", she actually did play an aggressive, cutthroat game. And she brought plenty of drama too.

THE HOTTIE: Monica Padilla (Samoa)

Monica might stand out as a bit of an egregious choice, but the show needs random hot chicks just to keep the eye candy factor high. So maybe she didn't really do much except look good in a bikini, but that's really all Amber or Parvati needed to do to get asked back. And hell, they both won!

Alternative - Ashley Underwood (Redemption Island): Even though Andrea was the one deemed worthy of returning, Ashley played a much better game than her in every respect.

Analyzing the new Favorites tribe

They're back! Whether you wanted to see them again or not

I can't stop thinking what an odd group of players this is. Having to deal with Phillip Sheppard would be hard enough, but having to deal with Phillip Sheppard AND Brandon Hantz? This tribe also contains not one, but TWO people who gave up immunity. It's certainly gonna be a trainwreck tribe, let's hope it's the perfect storm of entertainment.


Andrea Boehlke

I have conflicting feelings about Andrea. On the one hand, I think she's very likeable and seems to have enthusiasm for the game. But on the other, she came off incredibly naive in Redemption Island at times as Rob took advantage of her and exposed her as the amateur she was (but she was young, and she wasn't the only one). On a level playing field though, I think Andrea is someone who could do well. I see her ending up in the middle of the pack.

Defining moment: I guess returning from Redemption Island against the odds was a pretty good achievement, but I mainly remember her adorable reaction shots after getting blindsided, one at Matt's elimination and one at her own.

Brandon Hantz

Oh dear, oh dear. Brandon was really all over the place in South Pacific. Refusing to play the game, outing alliances and having temper tantrums at the drop of a hat. That being said, Brandon seemed fairly well-liked out there all things considered so if he hadn't given up immunity...perhaps he could've won? He might be needed for his muscle and he shouldn't be too hard to string along, but Brandon shouldn't even be here. The fact that the show would put someone who's clearly not mentally stable in such a volatile environment for the purposes of entertainment leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Defining moment: Even though it had been done before, giving his immunity necklace to Albert was a pretty big talking point. He thought he could play with morals in a cutthroat game, and the harsh reality soon dawned on him.

Brenda Lowe

There should be more young women on the show that play like Brenda. She wasn't afraid to take charge and play an aggressive strategic game....although she was pretty good at working the flirt card too. Was she cocky? Yes. But there's no denying she had a lot of star power out in Nicaragua, and not just because she's gorgeous. Brenda's downfall was a massive shock, I've never seen anyone go from the top to the bottom so quick. As long as she can avoid being seen as such a massive threat this time, I could see her going all the way.

Defining moment: Showing her intentions right out the gate by declaring herself "single single single", finding the medallion of power and catching Chase's eye.

John Cochran

I was pretty harsh on Cochran first time out, and with good reason, but surprisingly I think he's someone who could do well with a second shot. His Survivor knowledge is unquestioned, and now that he's had a test run, I think he could put his analytical brain to good use and figure out what he needs to do to improve. He has two main obstacles though - being a challenge liability on a pretty weak team, and his reputation as the guy who betrayed his tribe.

Defining moment: It may not have won him many friends, but his flip at the final 12 basically determined the direction of the rest of the season.

Corinne Kaplan

I usually root for the villains on Survivor, but Corinne was one of the few that was a tad too much for me. Being from a relatively older season and with no-one else really in her age group, Corinne might start off at a disadvantage, and I don't think she has the social game to pull it back.

Defining moment: Her extremely mean-spirited jury speech towards Sugar was what cemented her status as the bitch...bringing up Sugar's dead dad was way over the line.

Dawn Meehan

The sweetheart of South Pacific and part of the recent resurgence of the "older woman" category in Survivor, Dawn wore her heart on her sleeve and was always full of positive energy. Everyone loves her and she should be the strongest woman out there, but as such an obvious jury threat the rest of the tribe would be fools to let her get to the end.

Defining moment: The weight challenge. She got to be hero of the hour for her tribe, defy expectations and make one of the biggest landmarks on her journey from emotional mess to strong woman.

Erik Reichenbach

Bringing back Erik was an excellent choice for a number of reasons. He deserves a shot at redemption after being hailed the dumbest Survivor ever, he's on a season whose original cast hasn't been represented on an all-star season before, and he's now seen both sides of the Fans Vs Favorites concept. He's a very rootable character, and a superfan that should have a lot in common with Cochran, but a lot more to offer in challenges. Erik can win this game, so it'll be interesting to see if he's still got it.

Defining moment: You know what it was. Getting conned out of his immunity necklace by Natalie and then voted out straight after. You shouldn't laugh, but I can't help it. What was he thinking?

Francesca Hogi

Definitely one of the most bizarre casting choices in a long time. I'm not saying she wasn't likeable or didn't have potential, but if Francesca is all-star material, then pretty much anyone is. Perhaps they just wanted the novelty of bringing back a first boot, I don't know. The thing is, Francesca might have done well on another season...she just happened to get on the bad side of Boston Rob and was taken out for being a threat. She's somewhat of an unknown quantity so she's definitely one to watch.

Defining moment: Her feud with Phillip, which is soon to be re-ignited.

Malcolm Freberg

Since this season was filmed back-to-back with Philippines, nobody will know who Malcolm is. I think this will work against him more than for him, because he will probably feel like he's on the wrong tribe. He doesn't know these people, he doesn't have any pre-game relationships to fall back on, and I know if I was the rest of the Favorites, I certainly wouldn't want to play with a wildcard.

Defining moment: Teaming up with Denise to create one of the most dominant duos for a long time. Right from their very first goofy hug, you knew that magic was going to happen.

Phillip Sheppard

Phillip would probably be a headache of a player to live with, but as far as I'm concerned, he's entertainment gold. There's really never a dull moment when he's around. Unfortunately we might not get to enjoy him for long as the only real redeeming factor of keeping Phillip around is to beat him at the end. I doubt these guys will be thinking that far ahead, and his personality coupled with his challenge weakness will almost certainly ensure him being the first Favorite out of the game. If it comes down to a choice between him and Francesca, they're going to side with the sane one.

Defining moment: Phillip delivered one of the most amazing final tribal council performances of all time. Amazingly bad, that is.

Meet the fans!

The new Fans Vs Favorites season, Caramoan, will kick off on February 13th. These are the 10 new contestants hoping to succeed where the Micronesia bunch fell short. No ranking this time (mainly to avoid once again having a 2nd boot embarrassingly high), but I will give my thoughts...

REYNOLD TOEPFER - The salesman

My initial reaction was "douchebag", but he's saying all the right things in his pre-game interview. He sounds like he's going to be the main strategic force over on Gota, I just haven't decided if I like that or not yet. Will he be a good villain, or just a boring gamebot?

ALLIE POHEVITZ - Bargirl barbie

Aww, what a cute little lamb. Or is she? She came off harmless and vaguely disinterested in her interview, but if she can bring out that subtle no-nonsense side of her, she could be this season's bitch.

SHAMAR THOMAS - Army brat

There's a YouTube video out there of Shamar yelling at cops during Occupy Wall Street. That's enough for me to say this guy is going to be crazy. He says his strategy is to "destroy everything", so I'm hoping his ridiculous antics provide the laughs.

SHERRI BIETHMAN - Survivor-mad mom

Well, look at that - a fan that is actually a fan! (She named her son Colby, so you know she's serious). She seems physically prepared, let's just hope it's not too emotionally overwhelming for her. She looks great for her age, by the way. Just saying!

MATT BISCHOFF - Epic beard guy

There's always a lot of pressure on "alternative" types to be big characters just for their appearance, but Matt actually seems one of the most normal guys in the cast. He's less of a scary badass and more of a Rupert-type. He says he's here to have a good time, so I worry he's not as focused as some of the others.

LAURA ALEXANDER - The troublemaker

"I'm definitely willing to cause a lot of trouble if I have to" she smirks. I'll hold you to that, Laura. She's young and small, but might end up being able to hold her own more than she looks. Hopefully she'll be able to do something to distinguish herself from Allie, because they seem almost identical at the moment.

EDDIE FOX - Jersey firefighter

I think he's going to be well-liked and good in challenges. He hates puzzles though, so he's probably not that smart. The "fun guy" persona might take him far, but probably not over the finish line.

JULIA LANDAUER - Racecar girl

Well, she takes the prize for coolest job title of the season. I'm getting shades of Sophie from Julia, and not in a good way. She's far too geeky and awkward to do well, and doesn't have enough of a ruthless streak.

MICHAEL SNOW - Bald guy

Michael's an early fave of mine. He looks like Jim Rash, only somehow even gayer. The fact he doesn't like crazy people will probably give him a lot to bitch about, and I'm sure he'll be a great snarky commentator.

HOPE DRISKILL - Blonde girl number three

When was the last Survivor that didn't have a Pageant girl, I wonder? She's the most attractive girl on her tribe, but she's been cast for her looks and nothing else. She'll most likely be an early boot. "Hope" I'm wrong though.