Watching Survivor

First off - check the new banner, folks! I was bored so spent a couple hours tearing apart the new logo and revamping it into a banner to tide us over until the season starts in September.

So I’ve a question for those that wander through - I’ve never posted spoilers for Survivor before, though I do know where to find those that leak out every year. So my question is - do you want me to post them as I find them out (under a “spoiler” cut, of course, so that they’re not on the front page) or remain spoiler free as a whole?

As the season is filmed in it’s entirety before the Season Premiere, there are a lot of juicy things that trickle back while the show is in production. Production which starts soon - or has recently started. That means those that like to be in the know before anyone else dig and dig and dig to find the smallest tidbits about production and contestants and challenges before we even hit that first show on September 18th. I can do either way - so I leave it up to you. Comment and let me know!

In the meantime, let’s learn a little about Gabon, courtesy of SurvivorFever, hm?

Geography/Location:
Bordered on the west by the Atlantic, this West African country is also bounded by Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Congo. It’s area is slightly less than the Colorado’s.

Climate:
Tropical rainforest, heavily forested with some savanna areas toward the coast.

Ethnicity/Race
Bantu Tribes, including four major tribal groupings: Fang, Punu, Nzeiby, Mbsds (Obamba/Bateke) - other Africans and Europeans 10.8%

Wildlife:
Gorillas, Chimpanzee, Elephants, Army ants, hippos, Leopards, Water Buffalo, Manatees

As Gabon is one of the last places on Earth with primitive areas and lies next to Congo, some of the possible cultural production themes could include: Heart of Darkness, Pygmies, tarzan, Albert Schweitzer, Slavery and blood diamonds.

It seems that Survivor:Gabon will take place in areas surrounded Nyonie, which will serve as basecamp for production. DaleBJ confirmed the location to SurvivorFever sourcing his friends met there in 05-06 when he worked at the US Embassy in Gabon. t is only accessible via boat, and is isolated and unspoiled. If you search Flickr for Nyonie, there are dozens of pictures to be seen - it’s truly a beautiful place!

So. To Spoil, or not to spoil - that is the question! Leave your vote in the comments!

Last night Jeff Probst took a moment at the opening of The London West Hollywood where he’d joined his friend Chef Gordon Ramsey, to talk a bit about the new Survivor Season that’s due to start production next month. Apparently the show’s already hit a few snags during pre-production.

According to Mr. Dimples, the problems for the 17th season range between encroaching animals to slow shipments. The shipments are so delayed that it’s put them about 30 days behind. Survivor is different from most shows, in that they have to ship throughout the seasons, so being that far behind can cause a major problem. He feels the show itself will be fine, but the crew is sleeping in tents instead of the housing they are used too.

Also causing problems are toppling cranes and disappearing cargo. The first fell over, and the cargo held about $100,000 of food that’s gone missing. But for us challenge lovers - the lumber used to build props, challenge sets and Tribal Council have all arrived safely. Other then that, it’s just the wildlife that’s posing a problem. They’re not sure what to do in some instances - including hippo tracks at base camp. They want to remain safe, but still would love to have the animals run through the frame every once in a while to up the stress level for the contestants.

Survivor: Gabon is the first time that the series has returned to Africa since Season three in Kenya and will be filmed in high definition. Despite the problems, Jeff Probst is positive that the snafus they are dealing with will not halt production, claiming that “these things for us usually have a way of turning into good things.”

I suppose there’s no sense in hoping for FEWER snake shots in the fall, huh?

The infamous naked first Survivor is STILL fighting!

Richard Hatch, the winner of Survivor: Borneo, is still appealing his tax evasion conviction and now he’s gotten it all the way to the US Supreme Court, according to his attorney. Two years ago, he was convicted of failing to pay taxes on the $1 million prize he netted after besting the rest of the Season One Survivor Contestants. He was sentenced to more then 4 years in prison for being a dumbass.

You see, he claims that he discovered producers cheating during the filming of the show, and when he confronted them, they promised to pay the taxes if he kept quiet and won the competition. Because of this, he didn’t pay his taxes at all on the final prize.

…

I know, right? Even IF the claims were true (and CBS, of course, says the claims are ridiculous and have no merit) why on earth would he not just pay the taxes upfront, and have them pay him back, instead of getting tangled up with the law? Seriously, it’s the height of stupidity, and I’m far more inclined to believe that he blew all the money and then couldn’t afford the taxes so started pointing fingers and sputtering foul play. Idiot.

The appeal has made it to the Supreme Court based on claims that the judge improperly prevented Hatch from testifying about the conversation he supposedly had with the Survivor Producers. He also argued that his cross-examination of the tax accountant who filed the returns, a key witness for the IRS, was unfairly limited.

Meanwhile, Hatch is, of course, writing a book about “his experience with the legal system and his disappointment not just with the problems that he suffered but with the problems other people have suffered that he has met.”

Gee. Sounds like a gripping read, there, Richard, but I think I’ll pass, just like the Supreme Court should have done on this idiotic appeal.