Survivor Worlds Apart First Impressions

The cast of Survivor 30 has finally been revealed! Eighteen new castaways, separated by working class,  will battle it out to earn the title of sole Survivor. I think this cast seems like it's full of quirky characters and savvy players, which should make for a eventful season. Here are my first impressions on cast and each tribe...

WHITE COLLAR

Max Dawson, 37- Max was the first person that stood out to me as a potential mastermind of the season. He seems to know how to deal with different types of people and what it takes to influence them within Survivor. Superfans are usually hit or miss on the show, they either understand the importance of patience and what to do in the early game or they go right out of the gate strategizing and end up crashing and burning. I think Max will be just fine as long as he lets the bigger personalities take control early while he focuses on individual relationships needed to navigate throughout the game.

Joaquin Souberbielle, 27- Speaking of bigger personalities...Joaquin (Dolph Ziggler's twin) seems like the perfect meatshield (and meathead) for the white collar tribe. I hate to say that there is a 0% chance for someone to win...but there is a 0% chance for Joaquin to win. He's cocky, arrogant, and narcissistic and he seems to be proud of it! The only thing that might save him is challenge ability and how much he contributes to the team. Other than that, this guy is on borrowed time already.

Shirin Oskool, 31- At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about Shirin. She definitely comes across as a corky and fun woman but I wasn't sure how she would deal with the survival elements and the game itself. After watching her intro video a few times, I found that she really began to grow on me. I think she will have this effect on her tribemates and if she gets in with the right people early, she could be a player that goes a long way. I also enjoy that she's a huge super fan, so I am confident that she'll make the right moves that will put her in the position to win.

Tyler Fredrickson, 33- Tyler comes across as a little soft spoken, but much like Shirin, I believe he will grow on his tribe and make strong connections early. Tyler looks very easy going yet calculated in his strategies and overall game plan. His bio sounds like he is very eager to play, so as long as he can contain that eagerness and focus on the small elements needed to put him in a strong position, I think he has a great chance at making it to the end. In a cast that has many big personalities, Tyler is a very low key player that can make an impact in the late game. My prediction is that Tyler is the dark horse of the season.

So Kim, 31- So is very hit or miss for me. I just get this feeling that she's going to go in, immediately pull the flirt card, and rub certain people the wrong way. If she can at least make an effort to help around camp and in challenges instead of just batting her eyes to Joaquin, then I think she can a very cunning player. I'm just not seeing much here.

Carolyn Rivers, 52- I get a Trish vibe from Carolyn, someone who is kind of a loud mouth and confrontational. The tribe she is on seems to be filled with mostly calm and goofy people (minus Joaquin), so I see Carolyn as more of an annoyance than an entertainer to her team. If the white collars do visit tribal council early, I think Carolyn will be in serious trouble.

White Collar Tribe- Overall, I think this tribe has a lot of strategic threats. My worry for them though is that they might be weaker in the challenges compared to the other two tribes. Their communication and level of teamwork is going to make or break this tribe in the early stages of the game.

Blue Collar

Dan Foley, 47- Dan sounds lovable, passionate, and hilarious BUT I don't think he's going to be playing for a long time. On a tribe of six, challenge performance is going to be critical and I'm not sure if he's going to be able to keep up to the physical performance of his other tribemates. I think that he can integrate himself well socially if the Blue collar tribe can go on a immunity run but if the numbers start to dwindle, he might find himself an early target.

Sierra Dawn Thomas, 27- She sounds like a very sweet girl, but I just don't see her winning this game. Sierra gives off a very Jeffra vibe, southern and cute, but in no way a schemer or manipulator. Her personality will help her get far in the game but I think jury is going to be as good as it gets for her.

Kelly Remington, 44- I'm not really a big fan of Kelly. I think she's a little bit of a try hard and I doubt she can form enough social connections in order to survive the first phase of the game. I also don't get too much from her bio, which is kind of a bad sign. I can see her going in and playing super hard, which will earn her an early boot in the first few rounds.

Rodney Lavoie Jr., 24- Rodney comes across as a very passionate player. His great physical shape and social ability should help him win challenges for his tribe early one, but individually it isn't going to help him in the long run. His loud personality might not mesh well with a majority of the players and will most likely be his undoing. If Rodney makes the merge, I could easily see him as one of the first boots.

Mike Halloway, 38-Mike was easily one of my favorites after watching his intro video. Then I started to read his bio and came to the conclusion that he has tribe leader written all over him. I think Mike will try and lead the tribe as soon as the game begins which is never a good idea! Being pegged the leader is like a death sentence in Survivor and unfortunately I think that will be the outcome for Mike. I predict that he'll be one of the last prejury players.

Lindsay Cascaddan, 24- Nope! Not a fan! I'm not sure where to start but I just don't like Lindsay at all (from a player standpoint of course). Comparing yourself to Ciera because of her "big moves" just sounds silly. I mean sure, vote your mom ally out and then go to rocks at six, BOOM! She said that she's going to flirt her way into blindsides but I think she's more likely to just be blindsided.

Blue Collar Tribe- This tribe might do well in challenges but I don't think anyone in this tribe has a chance at winning the whole thing. All the great social players will likely get picked off early due to challenge performance and then the rest of them will either get dragged as goats or slaughtered by the more fine tuned players. Unity and numbers could be the only thing that keeps this group in the game.

No Collar

Hali Ford, 25- Hali is one of my favorite girls in the cast. She is extremely ambitious, determined, funny and cute. I think she understands how to socially connect with all different types of people but won't be steam rolled into submission by other players. Hali will most likely be underrated which is going to work out great for her if she can still maintain strong relationships and make the big moves needed to win the game.

Jenn Brown, 22- I really like Jenn! Her intro video was very bubbly and quirky and I think her type of personality is perfect for the tribe she's on. Her skills in cooking should keep her around during the early stages of the game and create a roll within the tribe. She seems like a player who will put forth a lot of effort in challenges and social interaction, so I can see her going very far. The only thing that might screw her over is if the No Collars can't seem to grab a win, and have to start picking off multiple members before a swap/twist.

Joe Anglim, 25- He definitely gives off a Malcolm/Josh mix for me. I hope he's not too much like Josh and overplays his hand because I see a lot of potential in Joe. Joe seems like a natural competitor and extremely easy going but I don't think he's going to win and will most likely be first or second juror because of his great social game and athletic ability. I'm really hoping he proves me wrong.

Will Sims II, 41- If there was a Survivor award for nice guy, he would get it in a heart beat. He sounds like he's incredibly grateful to be there and is very determined to make an impact. Unfortunately, I think Will is going to be the first boot of the No Collar tribe because of his lack of physical ability (of course that is just by assumption). Will is going to be a prime example of nice guys finish last...

Vince Sly, 32- Anyone else think Sly isn't really his last name? This guy is so weird! All I could think about while watching his intro video was "where did they find this guy?!" Even though he might freak people out, he seems to have a good grasp of what is needed to be successful in the game. I think his glaring personality is going to be a hinderance for him when it comes to late game but all in all I would say that I am very interested to see exactly what his plans are.

Nina Poersch, 51- I was really happy to see that she compares herself to Tina (Nina Tina!) because she definitely comes across as a strong social player that can keep up with the rest of them in challenges. Her view that you need to be able to sell yourself in Survivor is very accurate and insightful. I think Nina will be a player that will easily maneuver herself from alliance to alliance when needed and be able to create a strong case for herself in the end.

No Collar Tribe- I will admit that there are some oddballs on this tribe but overall I think they are a strong force! They seem ver balanced in challenge ability and social interaction which is going to be key for any of them to have a shot at winning Survivor. I'm not sure who I'd put my money on but I think the winner of Survivor Worlds Apart is somewhere on this tribe.


Make sure to tune in February 25th 8pm est for the 90 minute premiere of Survivor Worlds Apart and don't forget to follow me on twitter Jacob Harpel so you can catch show updates and future blog posts!

Love Will Keep Us Together! Big Brother Showmances

Some would say that love is the greatest power in the universe, but what about in the Big Brother house? Over the years, we've seen all different types of couples hook up and take a run at the $500,000 prize. This intimate strategy has become so popular that Big Brother alumni Dr. Will coined it the term "showmance" during season seven. We've seen cast demographics shift to a younger age over the years in what I believe is an attempt to encourage showmances or just romantic activity so CBS can throw in a #showmance every other episode. Showmances come in all different shapes and sizes, each relationship consisting of two different individuals, but the question remains...are showmances a viable strategy or a death sentence?

Dan Gheesling, winner of BB10 and BB14 runner up, would suggest the later. He has always made it known that his stance on showmances is that they are a distraction for competitors. This is a viable point because Big Brother is a mental game where you should be focusing on the social dynamics of the entire house. To be surrendering all if not most of your time on learning what a cute girl's first pet was called, isn't the smartest idea. You need five votes to win, not just one!

Another argument for anti-showmances is the lack of secrecy it brings. It's always nice to keep your hand close in the game, never letting people know exactly where your loyalties lie. A showmance is like sticking up a giant sign that says "HEY, JORDAN AND I ARE PLAYING THIS GAME TOGETHER!" Of course, a player can have more than one interaction a day, but players will always know that x will come before y when the time comes to choose...well...sometimes.

This brings me to an interesting point, because even if players but their relationships first throughout the game, how many times have we've seen one of the partners cut ties at the bitter end in order to win? In BB5 Drew cut Diane at the final three because he felt that there was no way he could defeat her in the end. This was the girl that he had been hooking up with for the last three months, the person that protected him when his alliance fell to pieces. Jon and Neda from BB Can2 could be seen as another example, although I'm not going to count them as a showmance since there wasn't any real romantic interaction in the house and I believe that classifying them as a showmance just because its a woman and a man isn't fair. Jon cut Neda at the final HOH for a lot of the same reasons Drew cut Diane, he took his personal feelings out of the equation and did what was best for his own chances. Does this mean that showmances or an alliance is effective as long as you are aware enough to realize when the time to actually cut the cord is? I think so. Lisa Donahue from season three is a perfect example of this mindset. She had the ability to vote her showmance back into the house but chose not to because she knew it was better for her game to keep the target off her back and prevent a distraction from entering the house.

                                                                         Sorry Eric!

Let's give showmances the benefit of the doubt for a moment because it's hard to ignore the track record. Below I have listed every winner from BB2-BB16 and the two BBCAN seasons that had a showmance or any romantic involvement. There are quite a few...

Big Brother 2-Dr. Will
Big Brother 3-Lisa Donahue
Big Brother 5-Drew Daniel
Big Brother 7-Mike Boogie
Big Brother 11-Jordan Lloyd
Big Brother 12-Hayden Moss
Big Brother 13-Rachel Reilly
Big Brother Canada 1- Jillian Maclaughlin

That's eight out of seventeen winners, a little less than half. Of course there are some exceptions to this list. Hayden won his season due to the brigade, not the fling he had in week three with Kristen. Also, we all know about the Jillian vote controversy and could argue that she wasn't going to win in the first place.  Either way, it's hard to ignore statistics like this. Showmances have proven to be helpful in a lot of ways. One argument is that you're creating an aura of intimidation, no one wants to get rid of someone while knowing there's someone who's going to go after you 100% because of it. This strategy worked for McCranda for a long time in BB15. It's also great knowing that someone is always going to be on your side, and have a vote that you can control or count on.

To be honest though, everything positive that I said about showmances could be said about strong alliances as well. Take the romantic interest out of any showmance and you'll get a loyal alliance like Chilltown, the Brigade, or the Shield and vice versa. If Will and Boogie were in love with each other, which could be debated in all honesty, then they'd be marked the greatest showmance of all time. Take a look at the two most talked about showmances to play, Jeff/Jordan and Brenchel. It wasn't the sex or marriage plans that made Rachel and Brendon huge forces, it was their challenge ability. Jeff and Jordan were cute together but I think they're talk about bugs and spelling didn't do much for their game, the coup d'etat did that for them.  There were other elements to their gameplay that made them successful, not the relationship itself.

There's nothing wrong with having a relationship within the Big Brother house. You're in there for three months, a long time to go without any physical activity. In the end though, I think we can all agree that showmances have their perks and their disadvantages. What really matters is that you know how it effects your game. If you're not willing to cut your better half when the time comes, you might just be cutting your chances to win instead.


Agree or disagree with my view? Let me know! Comment below or tweet jacobharpel!