some interesting tidbits...

Wigler: But there’s another twist I’ve seen you talk about, too…

JP: Yeah, there is another twist. Something we’ve played around with for quite a while, but didn’t feel it was appropriate yet for the show. This season, we decided these people could handle it. So there is a new twist, and no one is going to see it coming. It plays out beautifully. Everything you would hope a twist would bring you, it brings you.

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Wigler: Let’s start with the Class Clown.

Ha! That’s a good one. Let me think for a sec, because there are a couple of good choices. I’m going with an odd choice, but for the Class Clown, I’m going to go with Rodney, who some people will say, after seeing him play, “Class Clown?” I think Rodney’s intention was to be funny, jovial, light-hearted. I’m not sure he achieved that, but I think he was going for it.

There’s another guy vying for Class Clown honors, and that would be Dan, also from the Blue Collar tribe. I’m not sure he achieved it. I think both guys had different approaches, but with the same goal: Bring some fun to camp.

Wigler: How about Best Hair? Is it even a contest when you have Vince Sly on your season?

Best Hair? Yes, it is a contest. It’s between Vince and Joe, both No Collars. What’s interesting is, both of those guys are adversaries from the beginning. One is envious of the other. It’s interesting that you asked that question, because it really is a great way to categorize their relationship. You could call it a “Battle of the Hair,” and it’s a pretty decent metaphor for what goes down between them.

Wigler: Who is the Biggest Flirt?

Well… I think Mike does a pretty good job of flirting. I think Jenn from No Collar does a good job of flirting by being an anti-flirt. She appears to care not at all what anybody thinks, which is oddly appealing. It draws you in. I would put those two as the flirts.

I would assume this next one goes to someone on White Collar, but maybe not: Who is Most Likely to Become President?

That’s another good one. Most likely to become President… I’m thinking through the names. Who is the most diplomatic? I would say Tyler, from White Collar. And you know what’s interesting again about your question is, the reason I’d give it to Tyler is that he’s a bit of an outlier on the White Collar tribe. I think that might have to do with the fact that he survived being an assistant to a talent agent, so he literally lived through the darkest chasm you can go through, the darkest hole, and came out of it alive. As a result, though he’s still White Collar, he’s got a little bit of, “You know? It’s not that bad. We can get through it.” He has a little bit of No Collar in him. That might make him the best candidate for President.

Wigler: Who out of this cast will leave Survivor and win a Nobel Prize?

Hali. She’s a No Collar who is getting into the criminal justice system, not because she has White Collar tendencies. She’s getting in because she wants to go in and blow up the established rules of the criminal justice system, so she can help the underserved. That’s a woman who goes on to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Wigler: There are no cars on Survivor — well, not anymore — but who would have the Best Car of this crew?

Oh, yeah, I think that’s gotta go to Rodney. I think Rodney is a guy who, if he drives — and he’s from Boston, so I’m not sure that he drives — but he’s the guy who would have a truck with the wheels a little too big, and the muffler a little too loud, maybe a gun rack in the back, and then he’d tell you about how he’s all about peace and love and he loves his mom.

Wigler: How about Most Likely to Succeed? Go back to your first time looking at these contestants. Sight unseen, who was your pick to win it?

My guess in the beginning would have been Mike. He’s from Texas, he works in the oil fields, he has the gift of gab, he is incredibly enthusiastic, and has a lot of gusto. He can push it too far and annoy you, but he’s pretty good at recovering. I think he’s not afraid to pull a fast one. So, going in? I’d say Mike.

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Wigler: When the dust settles on Worlds Apart, what kind of conversation are we having about the winner?

I think you’re right, that it’s with an asterisk — we have to see how it all plays out — but it would not surprise me if the winner of Season 30 became one of the favorite winners of all time. I do think when this season is over, the audience will feel that whoever has won has absolutely earned it, and this is a very good season of Survivor played very hard by very good players. That’s why I like this group. They play. There is no monkeying around. There won’t be anyone saying, “Well, there wasn’t really any strategy this year…” No. There’s strategy from the get go.