Category: survivor micronesia

survivor micronesia recaps, news, spoilers, winner

Survivor: Micronesia Cast

As previously announced, Survivor: Micronesia is a half star edition, featuring half people from previous seasons (all from seasons after All Stars but one, unfortunately) and half hardcore fans. The returning cast is rather lackluster, particularly in comparison to Survivor: All Stars, but it should still be a good season. Hopefully some of these people have learned something since the first time. The new season will premiere on Thursday February 7 at 8/7c on CBS. As always, stay tuned to dingoRUE for live blogs each show night.

Favorites
Jon Dalton (Jonny Fairplay), Survivor: Pearl Islands
Love him or hate him (and most people fall under the latter category), it’s hard to deny that he played a good game, and the dead grandmother bit was classic, albeit over the top.

Ami Cusack, Survivor: Vanuatu
Perhaps the most influential force in Vanuatu, until Scout, Twila, Chris, and Eliza pulled the rug out from under her (perhaps the best moment of that season).

Eliza Orlins, Survivor: Vanuatu
I can understand why the others didn’t like her, but let’s face it: when someone’s in a final four against Twila, Scout, and a member of the fat five, is there really any choice as to whom to root for?

Cirie Fields, Survivor: Panama
Are you freaking kidding me? Sadly, she’ll go far if she lasts the first few votes.

Jonathan Penner, Survivor: Cook Islands
A master of the game… if only in his own mind.

Ozzy Lusth, Survivor: Cook Islands
All brawn, no brain. Hopefully he can come up with something resembling a strategy this time.

Parvati Shallow, Survivor: Cook Islands
Parvati’s potentially one of the more dangerous (albeit under the radar) players, and really doesn’t have to change things up much.

Yau Man Chan, Survivor: Fiji
I found Yau Man to be one of the more overrated players in his season, but still a worthwhile addition to this cast.

Amanda Kimmel, Survivor: China
If only she got rid of Todd, things may have been very different. She was just as in control as he was, but not as blatant about it.

James Clement, Survivor: China
His previous journey was cut short early because he rolled the dice one time too many. He’s the likely early fan favorite yet again.

Fans
Alexis Jones
24
Motivational speaker
Beverly Hills, CA

Chet Welch
48
Beauty pageant coach
Ford City, PA

Erik Reichenbach
22
Ice cream scooper
Ypsilanti, MI

Jason Siska
22
Student teacher
Fox River Grove, IL

Joel Anderson
32
Firefighter
Avondale, AZ

Kathleen Sleckman
45
Golf course vendor
Glen Ellyn, IL

Mary Sartain
29
Real estate entrepreneuer
Emeryville, CA

Michael Bortone
34
Writer/actor
Los Angeles, CA

Natalie Bolton
32
Personal trainer/bartender
West Hollywood, CA

Tracy Hughes-Wolf
43
Commercial builder
Fredericksburg, VA

Next Survivor to be Survivor All Stars 2?

There’s been buzz about a second Survivor All Stars since the first one ended, and that has been gaining steam lately since it’s been a few years since the last one. The first one was season 8, so it’s only natural that they would do one for season 16, which would be the one after Survivor: China.

Nothing’s official and probably won’t be until December or January, though no doubt a cast list would be leaked prior to that, but Reality TV World reports that Jeff Probst told reporters that “We’re going into our sixteenth season, it wouldn’t be a bad idea.” This follows Probst’s comments in May that the show is “due” for a second all star season.

“The only thing I can say is that I’ve come around to understanding that even though the All-Stars we did was a pain-in-the-ass from a production point of view, it was one of our best seasons,” Probst said. “And it was our best season because we had our best people back. I get that.”

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that the original Survivor All Stars was a huge success. The premiere to 33.54 million viewers was the highest rated Survivor since the season 2 finale and the second highest rated premiere other than Outback, the average viewers of 21.49 million is third all time (behind seasons 1 and 2), and the 28 million people who tuned in to watch Rob propose to Amber was similarly highly ranked for a reunion show. Not to mention that CBS has been able to milk Romber for all it’s worth since then, very successfully in the case of The Amazing Race 7. Since All Stars, ratings have slowly eroded, to a series low of just shy of 15 million viewers in Fiji (still good enough to be a top 20 show, though).

Is the show just getting old, now in its 8th year? Are attempts to “ethnically diversify,” which seems to not be the case in Survivor: China, the least diverse cast since season 12, just neither working to keep old viewers nor draw new viewers? Are people tired of the complete lack of strategy lately? Does everyone just think Exile Island is stupid (which it is, but thankfully they’re killing that concept for China, to be replaced by the reward winners being allowed to kidnap a member of the losing tribe until the next immunity challenge, which is a concept that I do like)? Have competing networks finally found something to crack Survivor’s stranglehold on Thursdays at 8PM? Whatever the case, based on the performance of the last one, an All Stars 2 may be just the shot in the arm this thing needs to keep going.

Update: as annouced during the Survivor: China finale, this season will actually feature half lifelong fans and half former players. It will be Fans Vs. Favorites.