Survivor

[Ali]

So Survivor Blood vs. Water is airing, and this season has been surprisingly good. When I heard about the concept, the cast, and the fact that Redemption Island was back, I expected complete s*it. But luckily, two camera hogs in Rupert and Colton are gone, Brad is making an entertainingly stupid villain, we're getting good character development for Tyson and Vytas, Aras and Gervase are still cool, and Tina is just a badass.

What do you think of this season? What do you think of Survivor in general?

[Everlong]

Why did I read this thread when I hadn't yet seen the most recent two episodes

Well on the bright side, I'm glad to hear that Rupert is gone. I'll have to watch those episodes within the next couple days. I want to get caught up quickly here.

I thought that the first episode was great, although I've never been a fan of Redemption Island.

[Everlong]

Finally caught up. Great stuff so far this season, despite the Redemption Island stipulation. I think with the loved ones in play, the stip really works better than it ever has.

First off, so glad that Rupert and Colton are gone. Rupert has just been on Survivor too much, and Colton never should have been on to begin with. I can't believe he quit AGAIN! You could tell Jeff was pissed. I don't understand why they even bothered bringing him back to begin with if he really did fake appendicitis the first time around.

Second, how dumb is Brad? Telling John it was dumb to trust him in front of the rest of the tribe at the duel... I knew he wouldn't be around long. It'll be an interesting duel at Redemption this week, that's for sure.

Right now I'm probably rooting for Vytas to win. Would definitely be a great story. But I do love me some Gervase. That coconut stuff this last week with him and Tyson was great.

[Ali]

I remember reading that Probst didn't even want Colton back, but he was overruled.

I would say that Tyson and Gervase have the best shot right now. I'm liking Hayden, Aras, and Vytas, Ciera's growing as a character, and Tina is just awesome. I'm probably rooting for Tina the most.

[Everlong]

I dunno, I've never been a big fan of Tina. I've always found her to be rather bland, and I to this day think that Colby should have won season 2.

[Ali]

So, the cast for Survivor: Cagayan has been announced. This season is divided into three tribes of all new players: Brains, Brawn, and Beauty. It will have a 2-hour premiere on February 26.

Here is the cast: http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,2035469 ... 64,00.html

And here are CBS' videos of the cast on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/SurvivorOnCBS/videos

Now, I've watched all the videos and read all of the bios, so I'm gonna go ahead and do my initial, completely-rushed-into pre-season Power Rankings! These are done on both how much I like them and how well I think they'll do in the game.

18. Brice - I just don't think he can handle the elements. He seems kind of fake, hiding a true nature of being either really soft and easily manipulated, or being way too unpleasant to be around, and the island will expose it. He also doesn't look like he'd be much help in the challenges. He'll last three episodes, if he's lucky.

17. Alexis - I like her, but again, I just don't know if she has what it takes to handle the island, and that is a huge factor. Her interview says she's willing to make big moves, but my fear is she'll try to pull one off too early and it'll bite her in the butt.

16. Spencer - This kid is a brat, pure and simple. If his tribe loses an early challenge, he'll be gone right away. He compares himself to Stephen and a "Cochran that doesn't suck", but I see him as more of a Colton. Far too eager to get into the strategy and the blindsides, and as a result, he will be on the receiving end.

15. Sarah - She's far too quiet and soft-spoken, and that's not a good thing for two reasons. One, she's gonna be boring TV. Two, in this game, you've got to speak up at the right time. She just seems like she's kind of there. That could be effective in getting her farther in the game, but she's just not interesting, and I don't think she has a chance at the million.

14. LJ - What a bore. I honestly don't think he's a pre-merge boot as ranked, but he's so dull that it's just like Sarah. The longer they last, the longer you'll go, "Wait, they're still around?" He's extremely generic, speaks very flatly, and is an overall dud. He'll last as long as he can win challenges.

13. Garrett - He's kind of doofy. He's probably gonna be Spencer's one ally, and that, plus being full of himself, is going to be his downfall. I can smell his arrogance. He's going to go into this game thinking that he is God's Gift to the game of Survivor, and he will quickly be proven wrong.

12. Morgan - Nearly every season has one, and Morgan is definitely this season's young, hot, entitled bitch. She's the girl that will get one or two guys to instantly fall in love with her, and they'll follow her around doing her bidding, until a few people get sick of it and blindside her. She will be a villain, she will have a downfall, and it will be entertaining as hell.

11. Trish - She's going to try way too hard physically and try to play the role of "mom" way too much, and that is going to be the end of her. She's a nice lady, but that might end up with her being manipulated very easily. If you concentrate so much on the physical challenge of the game that you neglect the strategy, you will lose, and that's what I see happening here.

10. Lindsey - She is very interesting and instantly charismatic, but she said it in her interview. She is very impulsive and that is going to end up costing her. I hope she stays a while because she looks like a lot of fun with a great personality, but I just get the feeling that her mouth is gonna go faster than her brain and she'll end up making a fatal mistake because of it.

9. Cliff - Former NBA All-Star Cliff Robinson's ceiling is as high as fifth place. He seems like a nice, loyal guy, his appearance hides a laid-back personality, and he'll be very competent in challenges. His problem will be that he's gonna be too big of a threat near the end of the game, both physically and because of his likability. He'll have to Immunity-run his way to the end and I don't see that happening.

8. Jefra - Ah, the country girls. They tend to do pretty well, because they have a great natural charm and are typically more willing and able to contribute to camp life. I think she'll just prove to be too much of a threat to keep around at the end for the same reasons as Cliff.

7. Tasha - She seems fun and looks like she wants to play the game, and that is going to help her a lot. My main problem that I see in her is that she's coming in with a set plan, and those almost never work. If she's willing to bend her plans and be flexible, she'll go a lot farther. But if you think you know how to play the game just from watching it, then you are in for a wake-up call.

6. Tony - Ladies and gentlemen, I give you this season's VILLAIN. This guy is going to be awesome television, I can tell. He's not New Jersey, he's "Joisey". He's big, he's tough, he's loud, he's everything you want in a Survivor character. He's either gonna make the Final Three as a Goat, or he's gonna be voted out right at the end. Either way, he's gold and I can't wait to see it.

5. David - I get a huge Mike Skupin vibe from this guy, and I mean Australia Mike, not Phillippines Mike. He's into the physical challenge, but I think he's going to go out of his mind and become this wicked survivalist. If anyone's gonna go full-on "Lord of the Flies", it's David, and I hope that happens.

4. Kass - She's the most dangerous player in this game... if she lasts. If she can make it into a majority alliance, or at least prove she's not a physical liability early, she can very easily fall into that Sandra or Vecepia role, just floating along until she sees the perfect opportunity to cut your throat. But again, she needs to make it out of those first few days.

3. Jeremiah - Here we have the early pick for Fan Favorite. A good ol' boy in the mold of JT, the one thing he needs to watch out for is his own naivete. If he can be self-aware enough to know when he's in danger and proactive enough to change it without winning a challenge or playing an idol, he's set. If he makes it into the Final Three, there is no way he loses.

2. J'Tia - She is awesome. She is brilliant, she has that self-awareness, she's very attractive, and she will be ruthless. I think she'll be ready to destroy anyone in her path, but that might see her portrayed as a villain. But that's fine, she's an All-Star in the making! She's gonna be a fun character, even if she ends up on the jury.

1. Woo - Ric Flair's favorite contestant! And mine too, because he's Ozzy with a personality! I think he'll get along well with anybody, but he won't be seen as a huge threat right away. He could very easily get into a majority alliance and just ride Immunities to the end when it comes down to it. Woo is a Survivor prototype, charismatic, athletic, I think he'll be deceptively intelligent, and that's why he's my initial pick to win.

[Everlong]

^That was great

I'm SO glad that they're not bringing back any old contestants for this season. They need to create some new characters, and it looks like based on the photos and background info, they may have found some. Looking forward to it!!

[Str8Shooter]

How did the President of the Miami Marlins make the brains team!?? They're a mess!!

[Ali]

Well... that was an eventful premiere. I'll update my power rankings Friday or Saturday, give people a chance to watch it, because... damn. It was a crazy two hours.

[Everlong]

That was pretty great.

First of all, the fact that J'Tia survived not one, but TWO tribal councils is simply astounding. Second, how fucking stupid is Garrett? My god, that was some of the worst Survivor playing I've ever seen. It's nuts that so many people on the Brains tribe seem to be so miserably stupid when it comes to strategy.

Also, I can't wait to see the spy shack in action Hilarious.

[Str8Shooter]

That was pretty great.

First of all, the fact that J'Tia survived not one, but TWO tribal councils is simply astounding. Second, how fucking stupid is Garrett? My god, that was some of the worst Survivor playing I've ever seen. It's nuts that so many people on the Brains tribe seem to be so miserably stupid when it comes to strategy.

Also, I can't wait to see the spy shack in action Hilarious.

J'Tia not getting bounced after royally screwing up the challenge single-handedly, and then tossing all their rice in some sort of calm, serial killer like state, and STILL surviving, is a testament to how dumb Garrett really was.

Also, Garrett didn't even bring his immunity idol to tribal council. HE DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO HAVE IT ON HIM! You'd think you'd pocket it just in case.

[Ali]

Okay, this episode was called “Hot Girl with a Grudge”, when it should have been called, “What the F*ck Was THAT S*it?!” If you had asked anyone before the season which tribe was going to completely implode and be woefully unfit for this game, they’d all have said Beauty, obviously. I mean, they’re a bunch of pretty people who would probably not be able to survive five minutes without a designer latte, what hope do they possibly have? But I’ll say that, if nothing else, this season is being unpredictable early on.

Let’s start with the first twist. Each tribe would elect a leader, and the leader would then pick one member of the tribe as the weakest. The Beauty tribe elected LJ as their leader, the self-proclaimed “inner beauty”, which got a chuckle from me. LJ picks Morgan as the weakest, which makes sense to me. On the Brawn tribe, Sarah is the leader, and she names Trish the weakest. Again, understandable, Trish is the older lady of the group, it makes basic sense. The Brains pick David as leader, and he says Garrett is the weakest, because… we’ll get to that.

Anyway, the “weakest” are flown to their campsites ahead of everyone else, and are given a choice: get a clue for the Hidden Immunity Idol, or get an extra bag of rice for their tribe. Garrett opts for the clue and finds the Idol, Morgan goes for the clue but doesn’t find it, Trish opts for the rice. This kind of sets up the dynamic I thought we were gonna get. The Brains are dangerously savvy, the Beauties are making an effort but ultimately incompetent, and the Brawns are mostly our likable heroes. Well, I got two of them mixed up.

Let’s start with the Brawn tribe. Again, they’re mainly our heroes, with the exception of Tony, but I like him because he’s making me laugh. We only got a brief bit of real conflict between two people who ultimately didn’t matter in this episode, so this tribe mostly comes off as one big happy family. Tony is setting up moves which may not be the smartest, but he did find the Idol, so he should be okay. If the Brawn tribe can continue to work well together, and not implode like Tandang, they’ll run this game. I think our winner comes from this tribe, but I’m not sure who it is yet.

The Beauty tribe are exactly what I thought the Brains would be, our underdogs and schemers. Oddly, the guy I pegged as the worst in my pre-season rankings, Brice, is probably in the best position on this tribe right now. LJ also has a good spot for single-handedly winning them Immunity in the second challenge. It’ll be interesting to see how alliances form in this tribe, and how it breaks down. They seem to be better than expected, and it probably will continue due to the complete ineptitude of…

The “Brains” tribe. Oh, what a mess. Right off the bat, David made a mistake that I DESPISE in Survivor. If you’re gonna go on Survivor, remember this: if you’re thinking about Day 30 on Day 1, YOU WON’T MAKE IT PAST DAY 3. But after some more mistakes on his part, Garrett decides to pick up the idiot ball and run with it. Garrett might be the worst Survivor player of all time, because there is no way he should have gone home over J’Tia. This tribe is screwed, and I don’t see a Malcolm and/or Denise coming out of this group.

On to the rankings!

18. Garrett - ELIMINATED. I rank him lower than first boot David because on top of being terrible at sticking his foot in his mouth, he didn’t want to be there. “I didn’t come on Survivor to survive!” He fully deserved his boot, good riddance.

17. David - ELIMINATED. Overplaying right out of the gate. He made a decision based on the endgame, and he’s never gonna see it. It’s constantly one of the dumbest things you can do, play the game too fast. He could’ve been good, but he broke his leg right out of the gate.

16. J’Tia - Well, she’s gone soon. I’m just confused by her, because she’s got potential as a character, but it looks like she’s on her third strike, and it doesn’t look like the Brains are gonna be sudden challenge dominators. She’s very much doomed.

15. Alexis - Oh, yeah, she exists. Zero presence in the show, just one early confessional.

14. Lindsey - One of the participants in the Brawn tribe’s only confrontation. I don’t have a good read on who she is, and that doesn’t give me hope for her.

13. Spencer - Well, David and Garrett made every mistake that I thought Spencer would, while he did the smart thing and stayed in the swing position. Unfortunately, his tribe is screwed, and unless he can get with Kass or Tasha and form a Bizarro-Malcolm/Denise thing, he’s gone.

12. Tasha - The Brains are in an odd spot. I would have Tasha ranked higher for doing what she did to flip Kass, but again, how does this Brains tribe move forward? As of right now, no one on the Brains tribe can win this game.

11. Kass - There are two reasons I have her above Tasha. One, she was the one who actually flipped on Garrett, who was stifling everyone’s strategy and did try to throw her under the bus. Two, she had the Sandra quote, “As long as it isn’t me.” That is the way to play Survivor. Unfortunately, whereas Sandra was on more dominant tribes with time to form real alliances, Kass is on one of the most inept tribes ever, so it will be her time to go soon enough.

10. Jefra - She had some moments, and a bit of unintentional comedy. But there was an alliance forming on her tribe and she was specifically mentioned as a possible target of theirs. Worried for her chances with that.

9. Jeremiah - Well, he’s in a good position because he’s in an alliance, but he’s kind of the blinded one. He’s just blindly following Morgan because she’s got the biggest… “personality”. He’s not gonna win like that.

8. Trish - Lindsey’s opponent in the minor spat, choosing rice over the clue was the right move for her, on this tribe, in this situation. The Brawn tribe feels the most united, and so almost everyone here has a good shot. She’s a hard worker, she’s good in challenges, she might be allied with Tony, good spot for her.

7. Woo - Sadly, Woo didn’t get a lot of screen time, but he was the one to out Cliff and he found an ally in him. “Team Woo-Tang” are going to be Those Two Guys this season. Again, if the tribe mostly sticks together, Woo has as good a shot as anyone.

6. Morgan - This is a good situation for Morgan. She just has to continue to flirt with Jeremiah and be Brice’s partner-in-crime. She might be the weakest on her tribe, but that works to her advantage because it provided her an alliance. Individual weakness isn’t bad when you’ve got strength in numbers.

5. LJ - He’s the Beauty tribe’s de facto leader, and he’s the reason they haven’t been to Tribal Council. Right now, there’s no reason to vote him out. Later, sure, he can be a threat, but now he’s set.

4. Tony - I love this guy. He’s a chowderhead. He’s not being overbearing, he’s doing things that may not make a lot of sense, but he’s got the Idol, and he’s entertaining. Just don’t try to play the game too fast, and he’ll go far. Won’t win, but he’ll go far.

3. Brice - This I did not expect. Brice is savvy. He saw Morgan was chosen as weakest, so he approached her with an alliance, which of course she joined. He saw Jeremiah looking, so he got Morgan to pull him in. Now they need a fourth, Alexis, Jefra, or LJ. Depending on who they pull in, Brice is the master of his own destiny, which is a very enviable position.

2. Sarah - She handled the job of leader the best. She’s very observant and aware of when someone is lying to her. She really seems to get the dynamic of the game. I just can’t put her at the top because I find her really dull. She’s just boring television to me. She doesn’t have a compelling way of speaking, she hasn’t given any one-liners, she might be too good at this game to be interesting.

1. Cliff - Uncle Cliffy! The best part about his game is that unlike other people involved in professional sports on Survivor, his background isn’t really affecting him negatively. Sure, he was recognized, but he owned up to it and said, “I’m out here playing the game like everyone.” The only problem with his game is that Tony made him his target, but if everyone likes Cliff, then who is gonna join with the confrontational Tony to oust him? His game will be tested when they go to Tribal, but I don’t see that happening soon. I don’t know if he can win, I don’t know who will win, but Cliff is my personal favorite right now.

Of course, I could be terribly wrong.

[Str8Shooter]

I'm not sure I'd have Tony that high in the pecking order. His tribe has 6, and at least 4 of them seem to be firmly in the camp of Cliff right now, Woo, and the other two girls (I'm not good with the names yet). I suppose he could flip one of them to his side, but he'd better do something quick, because if they lose and Cliff finds out Tony wants him gone, he could be toast early.

Also, someone could find about his #spyshack and think he's a weirdo.

[Ali]

I'm not sure I'd have Tony that high in the pecking order. His tribe has 6, and at least 4 of them seem to be firmly in the camp of Cliff right now, Woo, and the other two girls (I'm not good with the names yet). I suppose he could flip one of them to his side, but he'd better do something quick, because if they lose and Cliff finds out Tony wants him gone, he could be toast early.

Also, someone could find about his #spyshack and think he's a weirdo.

Again, my factors are Position and Entertainment Value, and Tony is by far the most entertaining character on the show for me. The #spyshack is hysterical, and I just have a hunch he'll be smarter than Garrett with the Idol.

[Everlong]

I can't wait for him to try to use the spyshack and just have it be completely obvious what he's doing.

[Ali]

On a podcast, Rob Cesternino's wife described the #spyshack as Tony holding his hands in front of his face and going "You can't see me!" I think that's pretty accurate.

[Ali]

Okay, I’ve been late on this because quite frankly, this episode left me befuddled. I have no idea what to think of the moves made this episode. That fact makes it a much stronger episode in my opinion, because now, I don’t know what’s going to happen. Things will shake out in a very interesting way from here on out, and I can’t wait.

Let’s start where we left off last week, with the (Lack of) Brains tribe. Immediately, Spencer was put on the chopping block by an all-girl alliance. Kass has rather smartly pegged J’Tia as a desparate ally, and so this seems like a good plan. But then Tasha started to assert herself as the tribe leader, and the tribe’s last two “leaders”... well, we know what happened to them. Tasha pushed the idea of practicing for the Immunity Challenge, which involved tossing water from one bucket to another. The practice did not help, as J’Tia continued to fail miserably. Luckily for her, Spencer and Kass managed to pull a come-from-behind miracle, and the Brains are safe another week.

Over on the Brawn tribe, we had two stories: the weather, which was miserable even though Woo seemed to enjoy it, and “Cops-R-Us”. Tony decided to reveal to Sarah that he was, in fact, a cop, and that gave rise to an alliance… maybe. It’s clear to me that Tony is only playing for Tony, and he spun a tale that Cliff and Lindsey were targeting Sarah. We’ve seen no evidence of this, and knowing Tony, we have no reason to believe it’s true, but Sarah bought it. Is she blinded by blue blood, or is she gonna be able to see through it again?

Finally, we have the Beauty tribe. They’ve been the surprise so far, working well together and winning challenges. It’s been good for LJ, who, without a clue, remembered where Morgan was looking and found the Idol. Jefra and Alexis seemed to be taking the weather the hardest, and I don’t blame them. However, they unraveled at the challenge, squandering a huge lead and going to Tribal Council. Brice and Morgan thought they had Jeremiah with them, and tried to pull in Jefra to vote out Alexis, but it backfired, and Brice was sent home after some idol paranoia.

I think we’re seeing a theme for this season develop here, which seems to be that Overstrategizing is a death knell and to take the game as it comes. I think that people who try to think ahead or assert definite control are in trouble. We saw it in David and Garrett, and now Brice, who appeared to be the most strategic of his tribe, was voted out. Will we see this continue? I say yes. The winner of this game will be the one who has the most patience.

On to the rankings!

18. Garrett - ELIMINATED

17. David - ELIMINATED

16. Brice - ELIMINATED. This pains me a bit, because I ended up being right about him initially, but for all the wrong reasons. I was liking him, he seemed to be smart, he seemed to be doing okay out there physically. But I think his mistake was spending too much time with Morgan, who was initially outcast. I think they caught on to him being a schemer, and that got him sent home.

15. J’Tia - I still think she’s doomed. She’s unquestionably terrible in the challenges, and it was only through magnificent luck that her tribe won a challenge. It’s going to catch up with her, and I don’t think she has a shot at winning.

14. Lindsey - With Tony making up dialogue for her being her only contribution to this episode, she continues to have no real presence. I said patience will win this game, but you have to at least show up.

13. Morgan - Uh-oh. Her biggest ally, her only ally, is gone. And so is the Idol, and so is most of her hope. It’s gonna take some big scrambling on her part to stay alive, and I am not sure she has it in her.

12. Tasha - I’m feeling worried about her, because she’s taking a leadership role where it hasn’t been a good thing. Also, she was taunting Spencer, and taunting the bottom member of your tribe is never a good idea.

11. Alexis - She was the target of Morgan and Brice, but apart from that, no significance. At the very least, she has an Alliance, so that’s good.

10. Spencer - He’s here because he’s fun. I like a good snarker, and he fits that role well. Do I think he has a good shot to come out of his crappy situation and win? No. But I am doing something I didn’t think I would be before the season started, which is rooting for Spencer.

9. Kass - I still think that if she can just survive to a tribe swap, she can do well, and she is in a position to do so. As long as she’s aware enough to go forward with the right people, she can go far. I keep getting Sandra vibes from her, but it’s very hard to come from such early adversity to win.

8. Cliff - No confessionals and being thrown under the bus by Tony worries me. The fortunate thing is, he and Woo did great in the challenge together. If he can maneuver his way out of Tony’s sights, he has a shot.

7. Jefra - Sometimes Alliances break your way. She seemed to get on people’s nerves a bit, complaining about the weather, but it didn’t seem to stop both sides from looking at her as an ally.

6. Trish - Mentioned as a potential “easy target”, she’s at least getting airtime. She’s in a position where she doesn’t need to strategize, which is a pretty good position if the theme is “Overstrategizing = Bad”.

5. Jeremiah - He made the decision that took out Brice. Good for him. I’m not sure how it helps him in the long run, but if this is a “here-and-now” game, this is the right move. He is in a spot to go far.

4. Sarah - This is the worry about her. How much is she buying in to Tony’s “Blue Blood” spiel? She has to walk a careful line because if she catches on and acts too fast, it could bite her. If she follows it blindly, she might get blindsided. When to act is the big question for her.

3. Tony - Again, he’s bringing the entertainment, and actually not playing terribly. Now, I still don’t think he’ll win and his overstrategizing will bite him eventually, but it’s fun to watch. He has Sarah in the palm of his hand and an Idol in his pocket, I like him.

2. Woo - I get a very Fabio-esque vibe from him. He seems to be thriving in this weather, he’s having fun, he’s very laid back. Again, if the theme is “Hang back and let the overthinkers destroy themselves,” then Woo is playing excellently. He has a great chance to win, but he wasn’t as good this week as...

1. LJ - He found the idol, he and Jeremiah lost the challenge, and he was STILL seen as a value to the tribe by Brice and Morgan. Allowing the split-vote plan to go forward dissuades suspicion that he has the idol, which is brilliant. His tribe clearly trusts and values him, he’s in the best position, I think.

Of course, I could be terribly wrong.

[Everlong]

So what do we think about the result of this season?

I'm bummed that Spencer didn't wind up pulling off the victory, that would have capped one of the most improbable and impressive runs ever on the show. Tony was a deserving victor though, especially over Woo; he dominated most of the season strategically and was really the center of the show for this season. Kass winning would have been a disgrace, and it's remarkable how inexplicably blind she is as to her own chances of winning and her position.

Overall I think this was one of the best seasons they've had in a long time, possibly top five of all time. Perfect cast, and having no returning players really helped it. Just a great season all around.

I'll be interested to see the return of Blood vs. Water next season as well. It wound up working far better than I thought it would the first time around, so I'm looking forward to seeing it again. Wonder if they'll be using returning players and loved ones, or all new people? I'd prefer the latter, but as long as they pick a decent cast of returnees that'd be ok too.

[Str8Shooter]

So what do we think about the result of this season?

I'm bummed that Spencer didn't wind up pulling off the victory, that would have capped one of the most improbable and impressive runs ever on the show. Tony was a deserving victor though, especially over Woo; he dominated most of the season strategically and was really the center of the show for this season. Kass winning would have been a disgrace, and it's remarkable how inexplicably blind she is as to her own chances of winning and her position.

Overall I think this was one of the best seasons they've had in a long time, possibly top five of all time. Perfect cast, and having no returning players really helped it. Just a great season all around.

I'll be interested to see the return of Blood vs. Water next season as well. It wound up working far better than I thought it would the first time around, so I'm looking forward to seeing it again. Wonder if they'll be using returning players and loved ones, or all new people? I'd prefer the latter, but as long as they pick a decent cast of returnees that'd be ok too.

I read online the rumour is it's an entirely new cast, which is always interesting. The other rumour is Season 30 could be an All Star season.

[Everlong]

^^That would make sense. Big anniversary season, bring back a lot of people.