18 return to fight for survival
All Stars begins Feb. 1 on Global, KIRO at 8 p.m.
Dana Gee
The Province
Sunday, January 18, 2004
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/story.asp?id=F7A3E0EC-390B-437A-B2BB-2B0891AF8400HOLLYWOOD -- Plan on freeing up your Thursday nights because Survivor: All Stars is something you don't want to miss.
If the clip -- which shows the contestants getting an armed military escort and host Jeff Probst standing outside on the rudder of a helicopter as it flies by -- shown here at the Television Critics Association press tour is accurate, this Survivor is going to be a doozy.
The deal is 18 former Survivor contestants are split into three groups and dropped off by boat on the coast of Panama.
In order to truly challenge the castaways producers decided to give them very little to work with.
All that was supplied was one canteen of water per person, a cook pot and a machete.
They had to build a shelter, a fire and boil their contaminated drinking water.
"They never expected this," said Probst. "Survivor: Africa was the hardest, that is until this one. This is by far the hardest one, you'll see that in the first episode."
"It's nature in the raw," producer Mark Burnett told TV writers. "We kicked their asses."
Did they ever.
None of the Survivors knew what they were in for or who would be joining them for the 39-day test.
"Nobody trust anybody, do you understand?" said Rob Mariano from Survivor: Marquesas.
It's that knowledge of the game that had some of this returning batch trying a different strategy.
Jeri Manthey, the gal we all loved to hate from Survivor: The Australian Outback was choked to see she was in a group with Tina Wesson The Outback winner and not one of Manthey's biggest fans.
"I'm going to try this new strategy of mine and that's keep my damn mouth shut," said Jeri.
Probst scoffed at people's attempts to present other versions of themselves. He said the harsh conditions quickly brought out people's true colours.
"You're either nice or you're a #####," said Probst.
Everyone has their own reason for returning to the game. Some want more fame, revenge and some actually enjoy playing.
"It's not about the money," said Tina in the trailer for the show. "It's about life experiences. When I kick the bucket, I'll have a casket full of life experiences."
Finding the right 18 people out of 112 former contestants was left to Burnett, Probst and CBS boss Les Moonves. "It didn't have to do with who won the money or who went far," said Probst. "It was who was the most memorable."
Only Elizabeth Hasslebeck (nee Filarski) now a host on The View and Colleen Haskell declined invites.
And if what Burnett and Probst had to say and what the clip package showed about the gritty new game they made the right choice.