LAST EDITED ON 09-18-07 AT 01:58 PM (EST)

A Chicken's a Little Bit Smarter

Welcome back from the summer hiatus, things have been quiet around here, too quiet...Where have all the spoilers/speculators gone? At the time that this SOTS was prepared there were basically 7 threads devoted to Survivor China (most of which are future episodes), and they aren't enough to bump many of the finale threads from Fiji off the main page. This has got to be a record low! Fortunately we do still have some juicy details about the first episode and some inklings for the future. Survivor Skills, Survivor Fever, and TDT has provided much of the pre-season sleuthing.

Thank goodness that we are back to what looks to be a cast with fewer recruits and more “real” people, many of whom are real Survivor fans! We don’t start the season with a quitter and it has not been rumored (yet) that anyone quits mid-stream, and we don’t have an over abundance of Californians, woohoo. Kudos to the casting department!

Inland China is an exciting location and a departure from the norm once again as the filming was not a remote exotic island in the South Pacific. With this the 15th iteration they are going back to a simpler game more resembling earlier seasons. There is no more exile island, there are only 16 castaways (yes there will still be a final 3 to face the jury, but I expect the jury will be 7 folks not 9), there is a strong emphasis on the Chinese culture and the history- this is very evident in Episode 1 when Jeff gives each tribe a copy of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and the elaborate Tribal Council area. The other key difference will be that in order to get clues to the hidden immunity idols (which are “hidden” in plain sight at the camps), a person from the losing tribe will be kidnapped and bring a message to the winning tribe, they can choose which player to share the message with.

Meet the Survivors:

Bebo introduced us to the survivors Here but lets also give you links to each contestants CBS page too. (Click on each photo) You could also go to this Thread to see the pre-game video clips, or more cast info per Jeff Probst Here, thanks to SurvivorBlows for posting.

Fei Long (Flying Dragon) Red Buffs

AARON REISBERGER
32, Venice, California; surfing instructor, bartender, restaurant manager

Aaron per Jeff: "Aaron is a threat. He's a charming, good-looking guy, and he's got a side to him that's cold like steel. He's a bartender and he told us that he sizes up people fast to get a bigger tip. He'd tell you one thing and there was always something else going on. He's the guy who could be playing everybody."

AMANDA KIMMEL
23, Kalispell, Montana; hiking tour guide, beauty pageant winner

Amanda per Jeff: "Amanda probably is the most physically fit woman this season, very strong and confident. She's been outdoors a lot and she's not afraid of sticks or stones. Plus, she really knows the show — she's watched every episode — and after 15 seasons, that's an advantage."

COURTNEY YATES
26, New York City; waitress

Courtney per Jeff: "Courtney's not the kind of girl who wakes up and says, ‘Should we go catch fish?' She'll say, ‘I need a cup of coffee and a cigarette!' She admits she can be a bitch with a negative attitude. At first, she is off-putting. But there's something oddly appealing because she's being real. She's tiny, but she can take care of herself with her mouth alone."

DENISE MARTIN
40, Douglas, Massachusetts; school lunch lady, black belt in karate

Denise per Jeff: "Denise is a likable, blue-collar woman with the most lovely mullet. She has it, she tells us, because it fits her life. There's nothing pretentious about her. She's very honest and endearing and a hard worker. I just adore Denise."

JAMES CLEMENT
30, Lafayette, Louisiana; burial service owner, grave digger

James per Jeff: "He is without question the biggest guy we've had on this show. He's actually a gentle giant, a very decent guy who works extremely hard. But if you rile him up, he'll let you know what he's thinking."

JEAN-ROBERT BELLANDE
36; Las Vegas; professional poker player

Jean Robert per Jeff: "He's a big guy with a big, big personality, exactly what you want a poker player on Survivor to be. Jean-Robert will tell you what he's going to do and you don't know if he'll do it or not, because he's a card player."

LESLIE NEASE
38, Tega Cay, South Carolina; Christian-radio host, fitness instructor

Leslie per Jeff: "Being a Christian-radio host can hurt you if your religious beliefs come ahead of making decisions in this game — say, you can't lie to somebody because of your faith. On the other hand, people might trust you and you could pull the wool over their eyes."

TODD HERZOG
22, Pleasant Grove, Utah; flight attendant

Todd per Jeff: "Todd is a Survivor superfan who's wanted to be on since he was 14. Next to Courtney, he's probably the smallest person here. He's what you look for — a great personality who knows how to play this game."

I met him in Cocoa Beach in 2005 as we stood in line for over an hour waiting for autographs, I can attest that he is enthusiastic, knows the game, and is quite a personable young man!

Zhan Hu (Fighting Tigers) Yellow Buffs

ASHLEY MASSARO
28, East Northport, New York; WWE SmackDown Diva, beauty queen, reality-show host

Ashley per Jeff: "Ashley is definitely fit. She told me in casting, ‘On a daily basis I get thrown from 15 feet in the air and land on my back. I think I can push some coconuts around. Put me on the show.' She's strong and she's mouthy and she spends a lot of time running around in very little clothing."

STEVE "CHICKEN" MORRIS
48, Marion, Virginia; former bouncer/fish breeder/logger turned chicken-farmer

Chicken per Jeff: "They don't make a lot of guys like Chicken anymore. He's an old-school, hardworking guy who knows what it is to build a shelter, get firewood, build a fire, try to catch fish — and then have lunch. If you put him around people who aren't his age and don't have his work ethic, he doesn't understand. He's going to have to adapt and it's not an easy task."

DAVE CRUSER
37, Simi Valley, California; model/actor turned bartender

Dave per Jeff: "Dave is crazy. To his credit, he's a workaholic but sometimes to a fault. He fully embraces The Art of War from a strategic point of view — like, how to work with his tribe. Dave jumps out in the first few days and he's a delight to watch in his zaniness. You'll remember Dave for sure."

ERIK HUFFMAN
26, Nashville, Tennessee; musician, model

Erik per Jeff: "Erik is a throwback to old-school politeness. When we cast him, Ethan went through our heads. He's humble, quiet and a nice guy. There was something refreshing about him being exactly what he said he would be."

MICHAEL "FROSTI" ZERNOW
20, Chicago; film student, parkour expert

Frosti per Jeff: "He's a good kid who brings something new. Parkour is a mix of gymnastics and martial arts. When we saw his tape, we thought he could just fly over some of our obstacle walls. We've never had somebody that had his kind of physical gift — he'll do a backflip when he's bored. And he's a sharp kid, too. He gets it."

JAIME DUGAN
22, Columbia, South Carolina; college student

Jaime per Jeff: "Jaime is a sorority girl and she's proud of it. The flip side is that's she's very bright. She speaks her mind and she actually makes some sense. She's very flirty, and she's good at it. I knew early on she was kind of the tribe mediator. She can hold her own — she's definitely not wimpy."

PEIH-GEE LAW
29, Marina Del Rey, California; music-video dancer turned jeweler

Peih Gee per Jeff: "Historically, Peih-Gee's qualities don't bode well. She's quick with an opinion and she's got a lot of them. But Peih-Gee is a player — she's smart and knows how to work with people even though she may have no idea what they're saying behind her back. She understands you can be bossy and make it work."

SHEREA LLOYD
26, Atlanta; fourth-grade teacher

Sherea per Jeff: "Sherea is a fish out of water here, but she's a fighter. She is another person who will tell you what she's thinking. Sherea and a few others made me see the beauty and power of announcing who you are and being that person, because that makes you identifiable."

The Beginning

The show begins at a ceremony at a Buddhist Temple, which of course has different affect on each person. Denise “The lunch lady” gets choked up over it and really feels at peace. Her Fei Long tribe mate Leslie however, who is a Christian Talk radio host is really put off by the whole thing because of her beliefs.

The Immunity Challenge

The first challenge “Dragon Dance” is for flint and immunity, the losers will attend tribal council and be given flint there. The challenge is a work of art as the tribes maneuver an ornate dragon and tiger through a series of gates. At one point the person leading each tribe will have to put down the head of the beast and scale a wall in order to unlock padlocks and drop a couple of draw bridges so that the tribes can continue. Look for a boxer shorts clad Frosti to make a cat like leap up the wall for his tribe, unfortunately he will be behind at this point and it is too little too late. James is the leader for Fei Long and he is exceptionally quick and strong, he will lead them to the first of many victories.

The First Boot

KObrien_Fan brings discussion of the First Boot There will appear to be several targets: Sherea, Ashley, and Chicken. But Chicken is a BB clone (check out this Video), he is oldest on his tribe, he is a hard worker, but he has a stubborn streak and is unable to adapt. Let's compare Steve to a chicken to see what we can find:

Steve has many attributes, I especially like his two pack. But it appears the chicken has a peanut size brain which is bigger than Steve's pea brain, yep A Chicken's a Little Smarter! Steve creates his own ouster, the saving grace is that up until China he had not even left his home state of Virginia and is just happy to have made it as far as he had. The perfect first boot!

Steve is looking for a new "chick", if interested in dating him, check out his Hot link

IC: Fei Long

Boot: Steve “Chicken” Morris

Survivor China The Future

Challenges and the Final 9 have been Spoiled, thanks Supameom for the link. Signs of Survival can tell you the amazing coincidence with the two subordinates of the season, thanks Georgiana. Always good insight from the editing patterns as brought to us by VerucaSalt, Michel, et al

If you would like to sign up for a Summary or SOTS, please follow those links from Estee and Scarlett Ohara

Last but certainly not least, head on over to Survivor Blows Games forum to sign up for any number of great games...what have you got to lose, or are you a chicken?

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Informative.....and entertaining...as usual. THANKS!!!

Premiering at 8:00 on Thursdays on CBS, the new game show "Are You Smarter than an Andalusian Chicken?", followed at 9:00 by The Bachelor:An Officer and a Chicken.

Very funny SOTS KO. The picture comparison has me Ling-O-L.