Having watched Survivor for years and played in several online games, I'm actually kind of surprised that I've never actually written about the game until now. Luckily, you can all be my guinea pigs as I provide analysis for this season! At any rate...
This first episode didn't give us a great deal to work with. Shambo will be a bit of a wild card - she could either turn into a very sympathetic character with her tribe or a very disliked one. Several others impressed me....Russell S. in particular. Although he dislikes the mantle of leadership, it HAS worked in certain instances where someone is charismatic enough to pull it off (see: Lex, who could have won the game had he had better luck in the final challenges, Helen and Tom, to name a few.) The trick is to strike that balance between being a leader and being overbearing.
The Russells present a tale of two cities, however. Several people seem entranced by Russell H's destructive gameplan. Personally, I think that he will almost certainly be an early goner - his personality leaves much to be desired and certain players are already suspicious of him. As the eliminations roll in, it's only a matter of time until they realize that the source of all of their troubles is the short bald guy with the hot temper. I expect him to leave within the next 5 episodes.
Other players who aren't doing much good for themselves are Ben and Mick. Mick is a bit too arrogant for his own good - his placement will depend on how well he can keep that under control. Ben, on the other hand, just has a very abrasive personality that will manifest itself supremely as time goes on, unless he manages to rein it in.
The rest of the cast is tough to draw a bead on - we just haven't heard enough from them. Should be an exciting season - stay tuned to this blog for strategically-oriented postings and analysis of the game!
