Survivor: Micronesia got off to a middling start last week, thanks to the shocking and anti-climactic white flag thrown up by Jonny Fairplay. Though the episode was weak as a result, I’ll still contend that Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites is set up well and should be one of the best seasons of recent years. I just have that feeling (I am a staunch optimist, so I generally always have that feeling). Much of the potential success of Micronesia lies in the quality of the Fans. We know the Favorites and, while that group is a mixed bag, there are enough beloved characters that it should be fun (and, how about Amanda Kimmel and Ozzy Lusth sucking face in the promo for Thursday’s episode?). The Fans are still a relative unknown, thanks to the fact that the premiere episode focused mainly on Jonny Fairplay and the favorites. Still, that’s not going to stop us from doing a Fans Top 10 Power Rankings. First impressions are important.
#10 – Kathleen Sleckman
Holy crap. Kathleen, you need to just not talk. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Survivor castaway dig such a deep verbal hole so quickly. When she talked to Chet about Chet being gay and how she’s never known a gay person, I could hear the jaws dropping across the country. Kathleen’s aura is one of overwhelming annoyance – her fellow tribe mates admitted as much. If it wasn’t for her immunity idol, she’d be the first one gone. Even with it, I’m still ranking her last, because her tribe will jump at the first opportunity to vote her out.
# 9 – Erik Reichenbach
This is probably unfair, and Erik didn’t get much screen time, but his hair kind of pisses me off. His profession is listed as “Ice Cream Scooper.” I want to know if he wears a hair net. He certainly should, but I suspect that he does not.
# 8 – Natalie Bolton, Mary Sartain, Jason Siska, Alexis Jones
These are four people who, after one episode, I have absolutely zero opinion on. Maybe it’s because my memory is bad, but the jury is still out. I don’t want to try and formulate an opinion out of nothing (even if it’s what I just did with Erik).
#4 – Chet Welsh
The jovial, older gay man always has a place on reality television. He will be friends with everyone and Chet doesn’t look like he’ll be a liability in the challenges, so that shouldn’t be an issue. I get the feeling that he and Tracy will form a solid alliance.
#3 – Mikey Bortone
Mikey didn’t receive too much screen time during the premiere, but he’s a writer, I’m a writer, so I like him. He seems like a good dude. His shining moment was saying Erik, with his hair, looks like Jon Bon Jovi in his prime, which made me laugh out loud. That’s how easy I am – compare a white guy coiffe of hair to Bon Jovi and I’m a fan.
#2 – Joel Anderson
He’s bigger than James Clement. What more do you need? It’s still unknown whether he’s as athletic as James, and how feared he will be in the challenges, but you have to like what you see so far. He even had the intestinal fortitude to call out the favorites (albeit awkwardly, like one of those American Gladiator contestants) right in front of their faces.
#1 – Tracy Hughes-Wolf
She was my prediction in the pre-season and I’m going to stick to it. An in shape older lady, Tracy is going to be a sleeper. Listening to her speak during the premiere, it’s obvious that she’s got a good head on her shoulders and I see her picking out the best alliance members and leading them to the promised land.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of CBS)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
