While there have been many spoilers circulating the boards coming from many different sources, I am going to site 2 sites where they are collectively listed. First and foremost, Survivor Fever has taken the lead this season and compiled a long list located at her site, here. She spoils the buff/tribe colors and the merge color. Giving credit to Wezzie and Dan Bollinger Survivor Fever also spoils the Tribal Council set...
...as well as the Hidden Idol Rules...
...and the first clue given...
Survivor Fever was also the first one to spoil that there will indeed be two "showmances" this year. Later confirmed by Jeff in a pre-season interview..." We have love affairs this season. Plural. They play from episode two, they start. We have some of the most intimate footage we've ever had of a love affair developing and consummating in a Survivor way. We have the most intimate footage of Survivors being intimate that we've ever had. It was brilliant how we got it. How we captured it because it's hard to do because they try to hide. We out-thought them. It plays a big part in this season all the way to the end."
So there you have it, there will indeed be not one, but TWO "showmances". They will involve:
Don't worry though, we can still try to spoil which couple will consumate in a 'survivor'type of way!
Survivor Fever also confirms what Jeff spoke about in this article. Namely that the biggest blunder to have ever occured involving the immunity idol will occur in this Season, letting James off the hook! Then we have a note from CobySucks at Survivor Sucks Spoilers that notes, Someone this season does get it "jamie style". (Burned by a fake hidden immunity idol?)
We have also learned from Jeff Probst himself that this season will be a very, very physical season of challenges. He calls to mind a challenge in episode 2: We have some physical challenges in the 2nd episode, one of our most physical ever. It's basically a game of tackle the dummy. You have Joel. He made a comment about, "Well up until this season James had been the biggest and most physical Survivor ever. I can't wait to go after him." It is speculated that 3 people will leave the game, 2 being medivaced and 1 "vote me out". We also know that it will be a very very poor weather season as well. Seems like they are all in for a brutal time of it. Jeff also tells us that the favorites this go round were not entitled and were a great bunch to work with as compared to the cast of the last all-stars.
The last spoiler of note is that there will be a record number of blindsides this season. Jeff notes, We have a record number of blindsides this season. It is amazing how many blindsides happen in a row. You would think after this many seasons that pulling off a blindside would be tough. But it just showed me, you really have to have your wit about you in this game.
For a collection of all spoilers posted to date see this chart over at Survivor Sucks Spoilers, compiled by Antithesis.
Episode 1, You Guys are Dumber than you Look
The episode title, "You guys are dumber than you look", was brought to us by Michel, here. This is either something Jiffy says perhaps to the newbies, doubtful, or something Jonny Fairplay could say to his new tribemates, perhaps. At any rate, in the pregame press Jeff tells us that the FAV's are positioned behind the brush, while the Fans tribe is delivered via Natives and war canoes.
The Fans come out first and assume the position on their respective mat, and Jiffy says something like, now, let's meet your opposing tribe, and one by one the Fav's are announced to all kinds of cheers and awestruck young fans.
As soon as the introductions are made, they are set out on their first challenge... Go to the next island over there and find an II, there is one for the first member of each team to find it, which makes you have immunity up until the first TC that your tribe attends, when you must play it....On Jiffy's go, they are off...
...we see Erik, the runner, and Ozzy, dolphin boy take the lead across the inlet...
So, who will find the idols that affords immunity up until their first visit to TC?
Volcanic Glass over at Survivor Phoenix answers that question for us...
She not only found the missing Jonathan in that picture, but one of the II's as well, and look who has it! Our man, Yau-man! Unfortunately we are not able to see who has it on the other tribe, but chances are that it's not MARY!
Once the Daws get back to their respective canoes, they paddle off to find their campsites, here are Ozzy/James getting a first look at the Malakal site...
In this thread by whoami we have many vidcaps regarding the new cast and the promos. We can see that once they return from the first introduction and challenge that they get right down to business building their campsites...
...and here is evidence of fire at the Favs tribe:
...and here is Jason with a fire bow, trying to make fire at the fans tribe...
and finally, the finished Favs camp, camp Malakal:
Originally I had speculated that perhaps the exilee would be decided after the first challenge, from challenge beach where they race to retrieve the II's. But, with everyone accounted for from the fav's tribe, I have discounted this idea. From the TVGuide Channel Preview we know that 2 people will be exiled each week, one from each tribe. I suspect that the winners may get to choose the exilee from the loser tribe, and that perhaps the winners may also get to choose the exilee from their own tribe. Either that or they each get to pick the exilee from their opposing tribe after the IC.
Regardless, I think the exilees will be chosen after the first IC.
Immunity Challenge
We have been given quite a few pics of the first IC which traditionally is a very physical challenge that involves fire at the end. Typically the winner is not only spared from their first TC, but will also receive flint for fire.
Here are the daws as they meet at the challenge site, on their respective mats:
We know from the TV Guide Preview and some of the promos that the challenge will involve the assembly of a cart. There are puzzle pieces for wheels that must go onto the cart. Here we see the puzzle pieces in piles with their corresponding carts…
Once assembled they must have 2 from their tribe get in the cart, and all but one push/pull the cart through a course through the jungle…here we see that the FANS, Airai tribe is off to a much faster start…
*Note the FAVs, Malakal tribe still trying to assemble their cart as the FAN’s take off.
Here are the FANs/Airai Tribe as they meet their first obstacle along the course on their way to the end point…
Now here is the same challenge being run by the Dreamteam vs. the Press...note the first obstacle along the course...
...now, note the dissassembly of the cart to complete the final part of the challenge...
Down another obstacle...
...and the final part of the challenge where they must align the fire with the rope, and then watch it catch and ignite a larger cauldron of fire...
So, who wins this challenge. Well, T4K, the 4 Kingdoms over at Survivor Sucks Spoilers notes that the target for the bootee is Parvati. So with that said...
First Challenge(?RC to retrieve the two II's]: Malakal: Yau-man, Airai: ???First Immunity Challenge Winner: Airai
First 2 Exilees: ???? and ????
First Bootee S16 Fans Vs. Favs:
Jonny Fairplay is the first blindsider of the game, blindsiding Jiffy and the Daws by QUITTING!
*While it is spoiled that he quits right after the first IC, I tend to think that they will go to TC, where Yau-man will indeed have to play his first II, and then JFP announces that he quits...
Volcanic Glass started a thread at Survivor Sucks Spoilers, titled Challenge Board S16, Survivor Micronesia Edition, located here. The challenge director Kirhoffer notes this regarding the challenges: We have a lot of new kickass challenges and then we have some of your favorite challenges. Each of the favorites will have a significant twist so the All-Stars or favorites won’t have a distinct advantage. If there is a puzzle it will be a completely different puzzle. So anything that would give them an advantage we have changed up or tweaked a little bit.
We know that one of the "favorite challenges" we will see this season is this one:
The challenge where they race around a course in the water carrying heavy sand bags, first tribe to catch the other wins...
*Please go and see Veruca Salt and friends here, at The Players, the game, the editing, Survivor16 Fans vs. Favorites. Veruca has some excellent pregame assessments! This is a MUST READ!
*Please go and see Dabo over in the voting thread.
*Please go and visit Scarlett O'Hara in the SOTS sign-up Thread. We need volunteers to help write our weekly SOTS, this helps us all immensely and is a great asset to our site! We need you!
*Go and see michel's thread on Episode 2, The Sounds of Jungle Love...according to Jiffy, the love affairs will be off and running...among other things. Let's just say my money is on Perverti and James!
*Special thanks to Scarlett for helping me with the photochops and to Tribephyl for the most excellent Survivor Blows SOTS Icon at the top of the page, it's beautiful!
*Krautboy....if you are out there, come back!!!! Where you belong!