New Skills Required to Survive

Survivor returns today for its 14th season, this time set in the Pacific island nation of Fiji. While the season promises to maintain the elements that have made it a top-10 hit through its first seven years on the air (the first Survivor premiered in summer 2000), there are also a number of twists within the season to keep the series fresh and original.

For instance, there will still be two tribes, though there are 19 castaways, an odd number, which promises to have some interesting repercussions. The two tribes will compete in challenges initially until they are merged, and both will have to deal with the challenge of Exile Island. This season, though, Exile Island will be infested with what host Jeff Probst referred to as "literally thousands of sea snakes," and there will be multiple hidden immunity idols. The rules regarding the play of immunity idols will also change: "The idol will get played several times this season," said Probst during a phone conference with college journalists.

In the most surprising twist this season, one tribe will live in luxury, and one will be forced to endure some of the most difficult conditions in Survivor history. More specifically, one tribe will be allowed to inhabit the shelter that all castaways will have cooperated in constructing and will be granted all manner of luxuries and food items. The other tribe, Probst said, will be "sucking on leaves to get drops of moisture."

While the castaways living in luxury declared that their situation seemed almost too easy to be Survivor, Probst indicated that this was not the case-that survival skills are hardly central to Survivor success. "Survivor is about social interaction," he stated. The haves-and-have-nots structure of this season immediately created adversaries, and those who lived in luxury may, later in the season, face a struggle not to be ousted by the "underdogs."

While it hasn't yet been revealed which of the castaways will be living in luxury and which in poverty, the first few minutes of the show indicate that regardless of who lives where, the season will be eventful and full of characters who rival even the most memorable who have been on the show. Boston bartender Rocky, so-called for his resemblance to Sylvester Stallone; brash Southern construction worker Boo; college administrator Cassandra, who admits a preference for shredded coconut from the grocery store and does not seem the survivalist type; and a cheerleading coach known only as "Dreamz" make up part of the large and diverse cast. Viewers may watch the first few minutes of the premiere and note the spirit of cooperation as the castaways build their shelter together-this spirit of togetherness, one can be assured, will turn to tooth-and-claw competition the moment the tribes are split.

While Survivor is still a top-10 show and a hit by any measure, it has faced steady ratings erosion since its first installment and, in the era of American Idol, is no longer America's most popular reality show. However, Probst brushed aside concerns that Survivor has grown stale for viewers. He cited the consistent production values-he said "this season holds up as well as any we've done,"-as well as the twists, including the new rules for the Immunity Idol, the rich-poor divide, and other twists not yet named.

"It's what American Idol does too," Probst said. "Each season, give the audience something new to look at, something a little different to think about."