Survivor: Tocantins, Episode 1 Recap

I was dragging my feet about blogging this season of Survivor. Let's be honest, last season wasn't exactly one of the best. There were some moments of brilliance for sure (Crystal yelling to the camera while voting off Randy comes to mind, or Bob making not one but two fake idols), but overall it just never seemed to pull itself together, much less rise to the genius of previous seasons. Feel free to disagree, but I know I'm right.

Anyway, so I just wasn't sure I was gonna find the time this season. I mean, there's seemingly going to be a great batch of singers over on Idol (the laughing girl is fun for the producers, but they'll never advance her to the top 12), and LOST has finally gotten good again. Really good. So how much TV can I watch? We had some couchsurfers from England staying with us on Thursday night, so I didn't watch the show until yesterday. (OH, and if you haven't been paying attention to my blog and don't know what couchsurfing is, you are totally missing out. We had the best time, even if Sharon was under the impression that my hatred of clowns was somehow funny, which it totally isn't. She did, however, agree that the doll my mother has standing in the corner of her bedroom is totally "Blair Witch" evil, something I've maintained for years. For reals Mom.)

But I have to say, I'm rather excited about this new season. This is probably the least attractive cast they've had in a while, generally speaking. Which isn't to say they are unattractive, but still, they seem to have been chosen more for personality than for looks, which I take as a good sign. Also, there are only 16, so we don't have to suffer through quite so many early rounds where you can't quite get a grasp on whom everyone is.

I didn't watch the episode with the intent to blog, so I may forget some details, but here is why I'm seeing a lot of potential for a great season.

The vote right off of the truck ticked me off. They've done this once before, which I thought was stupid, and was mad they were doing it again, although Jeff's careful wording did have me suspecting something was up. So, the two weak players were not eliminated, but instead sent up ahead, losing crucial bonding time with their tribe. Interesting. When they got to the camp, they had to decide whether to set things up or search for a hidden idol. Very interesting. Crazy Lady (sorry, I'm bad with names) decides to look for the Idol. Good move. Except I'm pretty sure it isn't going to be very easy, so had I been her I might have at least made a casual effort to do something around camp. But whatever, she searches. And then doesn't know what the word "pace" means. This is why I love reality TV, because you can't make that up.

Strep Throat Barbie, who seems too bitter to ever recover enough to get people to like her again, actually makes what I think was a smart move. The chances you would find an idol quickly is slim, but if you can get back in good with your team, it might buy you a tribal or two and give you more opportunities to search. So I'm down with that.

We meet a few other players. One thing, I don't care what he says, the naked guy is not a Mormon. Trust me on that one. Maybe he grew up Mormon, and maybe he was Mormon for a while, and probably did if he grew up in Utah. I can see how it is a fun label to claim, but our Survivor mormons are getting less and less actual Mormon. The boring girl with the weird name, Neleah or something, that almost won Marquesas, she was a real Mormon. (And she should have beat Vecepia, but then original Crazy Lady Kathy should have beat both of them. Remember when she peed on the guys leg after he got stuck by a sea urchin? Undiluted awesome, especially since pee is good for jellyfish, not sea urchin spines.) Then we had Rafe, the gay Mormon. This guy seems even less Mormon than that. Anyway, this hardly matters at all, I'm just saying. Anyway, Fake Mormon Guy was kind of creepy when he was naked, but then he had the line about wanting a Man Tiara, and I instantly forgave him everything.

I agree with Coach's sentiment of wanting the strong players to go to the end together, but I'm not sure anyone will trust him about that. With his demeanor, I bet he becomes pushy and will be an early target as soon as they don't need his strength.

So yeah, there were others, but they were almost all blonde and I can't remember who was who. I'll get better about that. I can't give everyone fake names, thats just annoying.

The challenge was a good one, and both Crazy Lady and Strep Throat Barbie seemed to perform well under the pressure. Loved it that the strong guys sprinted out to the water, and then just had to sit there waiting for everyone else to catch up. Dude, you know the rules, how about helping the slower players go faster? Less glory, but you might win.

At first I was hoping Crazy Lady would go, but I have to say she has totally charmed me. I suspect the charm won't last, but when Jeff asked her straight up if she was crazy, and she just smiled and said "yeah, I get that a lot", again, you can't script this stuff. (And my fanboy crush on Probst continues.) So sorry Cowgirl Who Went Home First. You seemed interesting too. Not like someone who had a shot at winning, but someone who was at least interesting and nice to boot. Speaking of boots, I guess you could make an argument for wearing cowboy boots into the Amazon, but I'm still glad I at least won't have to look at that anymore. Just not a good look with the swimsuit.

By the way, earlier in this posting when I sort of intimated that there was a possibility that I might not watch this season of Survivor? Yeah, that was a total lie. If I could only watch one show on TV, it would be this. I don't really know why. Too much Gilligan as a kid? Or the fact that one of my favorite books is an autobiography of a guy who moved to a deserted island and built himself a life there, living alone for a couple of years with a duck and some chickens. (Tom Neal, "An Island To Myself". Get yourself to the library, you know you want to read more.) I love the fantasy of doing it myself. Yeah, yeah, there is too much fighting and bickering and stupid farts like Randy. But it is worth the pain. Let's just hope Tocantins has more of the fun intrigue and less of the meek shall inherit.