LAST EDITED ON 01-16-04 AT 07:22 PM (EST)

Excerpts from the New York Daily News:

Fittest of 'Survivors'

Best of show fight for title

By RICHARD HUFF
DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR

Sexy Jerri Manthey, lovable Rupert Boneham and the original champion, frequently nude Richard Hatch, are just a few of the "Survivor" fan favorites who are part of CBS' "All Star" version set to air next month.

Late last year, they joined 15 others in Panama for the "All Star" installment of the "Survivor" franchise, which this time pitted some memorable players from previous editions for the $1 million prize.

"Whoever wins this game does have bragging rights," said host Jeff Probst. "If Hatch wins again, he's the best f-- player."

Probst, of course, won't divulge details about the outcome of the "All Star" edition, which gets underway Feb. 1, following the Super Bowl, also on CBS.

But he will say that this is the toughest test yet.

Creatively, the concept for the show was familiarity: familiar faces, familiar challenges - done with a twist - in a familiar location: It was shot in Panama, site of last fall's "Pearl Islands" version.

"From Day One, we kicked their butts," Probst said of the contestants, who were told, "You guys better know how to make a fire; you better know how to build a shelter, and you better know how to find water."

Part of the intrigue of each edition for the viewers is learning the quirks of the new players. But with the "All Star" version, viewers will be familiar with them, and the players know each other's likes, dislikes and lying skills. As a result, the dynamic of the game changed a bit, according to Probst.

This time around they've split the players into three tribes of six people.

"If you think of the 16 'Survivors' as sort of a chart, a heartbeat, some spike, some are quieter. Now we have 18 spikes. Everybody is shooting on all cylinders."

There were also some surprises, he said.

During Manthey's stay on "Survivor: Australian Outback," she got tagged as the resident shrew and manipulator.

"Jerri really took it personally the things that were said about her," Probst said. "I think she came out with a much more peaceful, 'Let's just enjoy this experience' attitude."

Amber Brkich, also from "Survivor: The Australian Outback," set out to to show folks she was stronger and a better player than what viewers saw the first time around.

"Personally, this was the most emotionally trying season for me and for them," Probst said. "I was the most worn out 21 days in. A lot of stuff happened that could only happen on an 'All Star' season."

The common thread among the players? "Competitive, that is without question," Probst said. "They all sit in the room and tell us they can win the game."

From E-Online

Early word from the set is that this Survivor features backstabbing and down-and-dirty politics unlike anything we've seen before on the show.

It makes sense that this time it would be much more personal, as everyone's still licking their wounds from the last go-round. A source close to the show tells me some of the contestants are now considering legal action.

Excerpts from the New York Post:

THERE could be some romantic sparks flying when "Survivor: All-Stars" kicks off Feb. 1 after the Super Bowl. "I think they're trying to increase the odds for a romantic liaison," says Dr. Sean Kenniff, otherwise known as "Dr. Sean" from the very first "Survivor" back in 2000.

"I've been to several 'Survivor' parties, and there's always a lot of booze and a lot of hooking up going on," says Keniff, now a medical reporter for WFOR in Miami.

"And I know, through the grapevine, that certain cast members have hooked up from past 'Survivor' shows - and that some of these people are on 'Surivor: All-Stars.'

"I've also heard that some of those people have hooked up with a few of the others - so there might even be the potential for a love triangle."

From "Jam"

Will Survivor survive the Internet?
Reality show's host fears for future of similar TV fare
By STEVE TILLEY
Edmonton Sun

Just as video killed the radio star, the Internet could ultimately drive a stake through the heart of reality TV.

So says Survivor host Jeff Probst, who will once again be overseeing challenges, doling out rewards and conducting Tribal Councils in Survivor: All-Stars, the eighth instalment in the reality TV series that started it all. It debuts Feb. 1 on CBS and Global immediately following the Super Bowl XXXVII broadcast.

Each successive season of Survivor has seen more and more information leaked out ahead of time, often through so-called spoiler websites on the Net. It culminated with an off-shore betting scandal that revealed Sandra Diaz-Twine would wind up the winner of Survivor: Pearl Islands before the show had even begun airing.

"The Internet and the accessibility to information has made it very difficult to do shows like Survivor," Probst told the Sun yesterday in a phone interview from his home in Los Angeles. "And it wouldn't surprise me if ultimately it led to the demise of our show at some point."

With each series filmed a few months before it goes to air, keeping a lid on twists, vote results and other secrets is proving nigh-on impossible. And it's not the contestants themselves who are doing the blabbing.

"Sooner or later you cannot combat people who betray you," Probst said. "We have a crew of 400 people, and everybody tells somebody something. I definitely believe that.

"Once you spread information like that and there's money to be made or fame to be had - 'Hey I know something you don't know, listen to this' - all we can do, honestly, is counter it with our own misinformation."

Survivor: All-Stars will see the return of 18 past contestants, including memorable characters like the original Survivor's Richard Hatch and crusty former navy SEAL Rudy Boesch, and Survivor: Pearl Islands would-be Blackbeard, Rupert Boneham.

Some All-Stars spoilers have already bubbled to the surface, suggesting that the past $1-million winners don't fare all that well, that Rupert does not emerge as the ultimate victor and that Survivor: The Amazon winner Jenna Morasca leaves the show early, due to the death of her mother.

Then again, maybe some of those tidbits have just been released into the wild by CBS's own counter-intelligence squad. Gamblers, be warned.

Said Probst: "Better make sure if you're betting, that what you're reading is right."

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I don't think these quotes actaully offer any clues to who might prevail, but I think it helps us spoil the game dynamics. As I posted in my "evolution" thread, we won't be seeing evil Jerri this time around. She was way too hurt by how she was percieved last time. Also, with all this chatter about how emotionally charged the game was (and I think this goes beyond Jenna's mom's death), we might look for decisions/boots to be made on a less strategic but more emotional level. There's a lot at stake, emotions and paranoia will run high. How else might the dynamics change? Any thoughts?

Edited to add Loree's link