Survivor: Philippines Season 25

Survivor: Philippines Recap and Review

Credit to CBS

Yes, the title is correct. Survivor is in its 25th season. The show typically airs for two seasons every year.  (insert bored expression here)

Wednesday September 19th marked the season premiere of the show. This year they brought back three old players in what I consider a "coaches/redemption" twist that is common among CBS reality shows right now. Instead of having two tribes, there are three. One returning player for each tribe. I guess that's only fair. Jeff Probst who has been the host of the show on all 25 seasons announced the twist aboard a boat where then each tribe had to load all the supplies they could onto a tiny wooden raft and make way to their respective camp. Although everyone made it to their camp, it did not come without injury or nearly drowning a chicken. Funnily (or not) enough the veterans returning to the game are known for injuries of their own. 

Michael Skupin from Survivor: Australian Outback, was removed from the game due to serious burns on his hands after falling into a fire pit. He was placed on the Yellow tribe known as "Tandang." Jonathan Penner is also no stranger to the game, he was originally cast on Survivor: Cook Islands in 2006 where he finished 7th place. He came back for Survivor: Micronesia in 2008 but was removed from the game due to a life-threatening infection. He was placed on the Red tribe known as "Kalabaw." Last but not least, Russell Swan. Russell was removed from Survivor: Samoa after he fainted during a challenge. He was so dehydrated that his heart rate dropped and they had no choice but to evacuate him. He was placed on the Blue tribe known as "Matsing."

As we all know, the first episode is basically a montage of people forming alliances and strong players butting heads to see who will become the "leader" of the tribe. There were a few colorful personalities that stuck out like a sore thumb for me. The first one was Dana. The first thing she said during her interview was that she used to get into fights with boys in the trailer park. Honestly, the producers must really want her to look like the token lesbian. She is on the red tribe. After I heard her southern accent and saw her blonde hair I immediately thought she was related to Zane from the blue tribe. No, no, no. Zane.. You are not suppose to go to every person on the tribe and make an alliance the first day, then go tell people that you made an alliance with everyone the first day. Seriously!? While the two may look and sound alike, they are definitely not alike. LOL  Fortunately the blue team lost their first challenge and had to go to tribal counsel where Zane was the first player voted off of Survivor: Philippines. There really isn't much else to recap about it because aside from the challenge and everyone meeting/greeting, not much else happened. Actually I take that back. They showed several "accidents" that Skupin had during his first day at camp. I'm sure he'll have to be removed later because all his wounds will become infected. He cut himself twice and even scratched his head. Oh joy!

Now on to rumors and such...

Over the weekend Abi-Maria Gomes was seen at the Big Brother 14 finale party in LA sporting a knee brace. She says she was injured during the show but couldn't give any details. She did say her ACL was torn and she did have surgury. I'm guessing that we'll see her removed from the show at some point unless of course she made it to the final 3 some how and could still win?  Abi was of significance to me. I felt she stood out among the others. Her accent did for sure. She is originally from Brazil but she is now a dual citizen of the USA and Brazil. She is blonde and beautiful of course! Her positive attitude and social skills may take her a long way. Hopefully her injury wasn't too bad during the show, i'd hate if she had to be removed but we'll see.

I personally give the premiere a 6 out of 10 on the review scale. I'm sorry.. it isn't that the show isn't "good" anymore, it's just on too often. Big Brother is on for three months during the summer and the prize is half that of Survivor. It is also only on once a year which is a huge advantage for CBS because by the time it actually airs, fans are salivating at the thought of it. I wish they would put Survivor and The Amazing Race on a "once a year" schedule as well. Big Brother is the summer guilty pleasure, Survivor in the fall, and maybe The Amazing Race could be a winter series. Yeah, like that would ever happen? One good thing I can say for Survivor though is that it brings in great ratings for CBS and viewed on a high definition television, looks remarkable with all the vibrant colors from each island or jungle they happen to be in that season. I wish certain aspects of the "every other season" shows would turn up on my favorite show, Big Brother. BB has no HD cameras in the house and is basically the same old crap reused and re-purposed every season. Anyways... the show airs every Wednesday at 8/7c on CBS so check it out. Everyone loves a reality tv show.