One quick thing to dispel about the new season of “Survivor: Micronesia,” at 7 tonight on KCNC-Channel 4, which pits fans against favorites.
To be a “favorite” does not necessarily mean you had to win “Survivor” from seasons past or even be a crowd-pleaser. Quite the contrary, some not only lost but stretch the definition of the word “favorite.”
Take (please) Jonny “Fairplay” Dalton, who helped make “Survivor: Pearl Islands” so memorable (and who’s now effectively a professional reality star). But favorite? Probably not to Danny Bonaduce, who allegedly assaulted him last fall during taping of a reality awards show. Or to Jeff Probst, whose brother reportedly got in a fight with Jonny, as well.
Then, there’s favorite Yau-Man Chan, the computer engineer from California who really was a genuine fan favorite after his gutsy “Fiji” performance. But Yau-Man came in no better than fourth.
Meanwhile, Tom Westman, among the most memorable winners in “Survivor” history and an indisputable fan fave, won’t be one of the “favorites” either. That’s by his own choice, which you can call either a wise career choice or perhaps just a simple act of personal dignity.
Westman — still living in Sayville, N.Y., with his family and now working as an executive with Hartford Insurance Co. — said by phone, “I’ve got a year invested in a career,” then added with a laugh, “The bottom line is, no one’s going to give you the money the second time around.”
“Survivor,” now in its 16th edition, has an equally amazing ability to continually reinvent itself, even if that reinvention involves a bit of self-parody and semantic flights of fancy.
This season’s gimmick is both: The show has summoned genuine names that will be recognizable to hard- core fans. But for the most part, they’re not particularly well-known to the casual viewer.
The season works thusly: Ten “ultra-fans” — presumably people who live/sleep/eat/breathe “Survivor” — will go to Palau (yes, again), where they will face off against the favorites.
Tonight’s “reveals” should be worth watching because these fans assume they’re facing off against other fans, not 10 people that they idolize.
Same with the “favorites”: Their assumption is that they’ll be up against other “all-stars.” No such luck.
This will be perhaps their strangest nightmare instead — they’ll be up against fans. Why this twist? For one, the obvious. As mentioned, this is a show that needs to constantly reinvent itself; plus the faves know how to play, while the ultra-fans are greenhorns.
CBS helpfully points out, however, that the greenhorns know how the faves play, but the faves don’t know how the greenhorns play.
Meanwhile, here are the rest of the favorites: James Clement (China); Colorado’s own Ami Cusack (Vanuatu); Cirie Fields (Panama); Amanda Kimmel (China); Ozzy Lusth (Cook Islands); Eliza Orlins (Vanuatu); Jonathan Penner (Cook Islands); and Parvati Shallow (Cook Islands).
