Well, its now 18 days till the premier of Survivor: Palau and Jeff Probst has weighed in on his impressions of the 20 Media Whores vying for the One Million Dollar grand prize and bragging rights to being the “Sole Survivor”! So here they are, again in alphabetical order.
Remember, these are the comments Jeff Probst made before anyone even set foot on Palau.
Angie: Angie is looks-wise a fish out of water. Tattoos. Very interesting background. Some of the stuff she’s been through. And I think her obvious obstacle is going to be: Are people going to judge her by the way she looks? Or will she be able to socialize quickly enough for people to look past how her body looks and get into who she is - because she’ a very bright and crafty girl. I think if she can assimilate, she might be able to hang low enough to stay in the game.
Ashlee: Ashlee is young, very good looking, Mormon. Her beliefs are going to play a part in this game – they’re going to have to if she lasts very long because this is an ethical game. Sooner or later she’s going to have to decide where the line in the sand is for her. (Cut) For instance, I don’t know if it’s okay if you’re a Mormon to use sex appeal as a weapon (laughs). I don’t know – is that a sin? (laughs) She’ll be fun to watch either way.
Bobby Jon: Bobby Jon is a young, good-looking guy. Kind of plays the “aw-shucks” game which I don’t buy for a second. This guy knows exactly how charming he is and how good-looking he is. But when we met him, he’s really good at it, and it could really work. That guy could go a long way. Unless the other guys look at him and say “No way are you sticking around, dude! You’re gone!”
Caryn: Caryn is someone that I liked right when she walked in the room because she has such a strong presence. Strong point of view – you don’t get the feeling that she’s going to waffle. Doesn’t mean that she’ll play her cards. But I think she’s got a pretty good head on this game. She’s one of 3 attorneys we have, so that should be fun to watch these guys go at it. And I think any time you have a mother, and in her case a mother of 3, there’s an experience there that tends to help them in the game. They’ve been around these situations where you have multiple people wanting multiple things and how do you please everybody. Moms do okay on this show.
Coby: Coby’s the kind of guy who walks into room and right away, you’re laughing. You’re not laughing at him, you’re laughing with him because he’s either got a funny story to tell, or he’s done something wacky with his hair. And because he’s around people all the time in his profession, I think he’s probably smart enough to assess people and know who he can push and who he should back off from so he doesn’t sabotage himself in the game. If he’s as good as he thinks he is, that’s what he’ll do.
Gregg: Gregg’s a big question mark to me. I don’t know how he’s going to do in this game He reminds me of some guys we’ve had on the show before who are very physically fit and they’re pretty good overall in terms of skills and athleticism. The big question is how they will integrate with the group. And that’s going to be the question for him. I think if he’s too quiet and too laid back, he’ll be a guy they’ll hold on to him for a while and then get rid of.
Ian: Ian is another guy that instantly puts a smile on your face because he just has a fun, warm energy about him. Done a lot of things in his life for a young guy – you know, he’s skipped around all different sorts of places, and that could really serve him well if in those travels he’s learned to socialize with people (Cut). Or it could work against him is if he’s become so independent that he’s just used to doing things his own way. That will kill you in this game.
Ibrehem: I think his big challenge is going to be integrating for obvious reasons – cultural differences, only black guy in the show, and that is never easy, no matter what anybody wants to say. There’s a difference there and I think that’s going to he his challenge. He’s a physically fit guy – could be seen as a threat or could be a quiet leader. It’s really hard to tell what these choices these guys are going to make, but that’s the assessment I’d make on him.
James: James, the self-described redneck – I don’t buy for a second. This is the second guy this season that I think is putting us on. But he’s a great character and I’m looking forward to seeing him on this show, but I don’t think he’s near as dumb as he tries to play. For a guy who’s so poor, he sure has enough money to color his hair. So I don’t know what’s going on there. But it will be interesting to see if he can keep that charade up. That’ll be the question I have. See on Day 1 if he’s the same on Day 25, and then I’ll be impressed.
Janu: Janu, the Las Vegas showgirl. Here’s the thing that impressed me about her: She graduated college after 20 years. That is impressive to me. She didn’t quit. It took forever, but she did it. And I think when you accomplish something like that, your self-confidence is such that you believe you can do anything. She’s certainly been in the world – has to be a little backstabbing in the Las Vegas showgirl world. She’s physically fit, been a dancer all her life. She can be fun out there.
Jeff: Jeff is a charming guy in an odd way. We gave him a hard time when we met him about shaving his body, and talking about how many women he’s dated, but at the end of the day, we kept talking about him. So there’s something about him that always kept us coming back for a little more. He’s kind of an underdog favorite of mine. I hope he does well on the show. I’m not sure he’s skilled enough socially to do as well as he thinks he’s going to do. We’ll have to see.
Jennifer: Jen the nanny. This is going to be interesting to watch her – because if you look at her and her nails with the French manicure and her neatly tucked in hair, you’re thinking “You’ll never make it out there. You’re going to fade on Day 1.” But I think there might be a little more to her than people are going to see at first glance. Her biggest competition? The other women.
Jolanda: Jolanda is yet another attorney, a defense attorney, with indigent clients. So she is clearly someone who respects and wants to take care of the underdog, but she does it with such force that she’s intimidating! This is a world-class athlete, still in great shape, very smart, comes in tall and strong and you’re thinking “Oh my god!” And then she smiles and puts you at ease! She’s got a lot of skills, this woman, and if she can maneuver in a way that doesn’t come on too strong and get to a point where the game’s individual, she could kick everybody’s butt in this game.
Jonathan: Jonathan – you know, young guy, testicular cancer, survived it. I always watch guys like that, because, “You can’t tell me 39 days on Survivor is tougher than what I went through.” So, you know, he’s kind of a dark horse I might put a little money on.
Katie: Katie is a huge personality. From the minute we met her, she’s writing poems, telling jokes – she’s like a comic. That can be really fun to have around if the group is fun. If the group is serious and you’re the one popping off jokes at night when everybody’s trying to sleep, you’re gone.
Kim: The thing about Kim that’s most intriguing is that she learned Arabic. And the reason she learned Arabic is because she wanted to be able to read magazines that might have a different point of view than the United States, and she wanted to be able to understand an unbiased point of view. That says a lot about how she might approach this game. If she’s able to reason like that and make other people feel like they’re being heard, and that she’s listening and considering, that’s huge. That is the essence of Survivor – being able to communicate with different people you don’t know, that are from different walks of life. And this is a girl who went out and learned Arabic (laughs) simply to understand why we’re at war.
Stephenie: Stephenie’s good-looking, athletic, strong. From what she says, she’s very loyal until you cross her, and then she’ll cut your throat. Perfect candidate for Survivor! And let’s just hope she lasts awhile, because she could be fun. And if she can also get to the individual part of the game, she’s tough. There’s a lot of guys in this game who would be afraid to go up against her in a challenge.
Tom: Tom is salt-of-the-earth guy. A father. A firefighter. There’s no chance of this guy being a villain. You hope he lasts long enough in the game to be a hero. If he does last for a while, he’s the kind of guy who could win it, because people are going to look at him and say, “You know what, why not him?” Everything about him is good.
Wanda: Wacky Wanda is a wild card. She could be the first one out of this game so fast your head is spinning, or we could see a situation like we did with Lil, where suddenly she’s in Final 2 and you’re scratching your head going, “How did the woman with all the songs make it to the Final 2?” Wanda likes to sing! and she likes to come on strong! and wear big bright clothes! and come on like this! Some people really take to that and find it charming, and other people just want to shut it off. If she can read people and figure that out, great. If she can’t, I’ll be snuffing her torch.
Willard: I liked Willard the minute I walked in the room, and I liked him because he’s my kind of guy. He’s got a point of view. He’s well spoken. He doesn’t hold back. He’s in great shape. Loves his wife, loves to make love to his wife, and wants to win this game. And, for the first time, we have a guy who’s telling us coming in, “I’m not going to tell people I’m a lawyer. I’m going to tell them I’m a postal worker, and I’m going to play every one of them.” And I hope he does.
Well, have a great day folks, and I’ll see you all next week with more insider info.
Till then, take care,
