FredMcKinnon.Com

Hey Everyone -

For those who know me “personally”, you know I’m a huge Survivor fan. I think I missed the original season, started watching the season “Colby” won, and have pretty much watched it faithfully ever since. Last night was the Season Premier of Survivor China, and now that I’m into “blogging” so much, I was thinking “ok, it will be fun to do a series on Survivor on my blog”.

First of all, let me say that I’m very disappointed that Survivor China isn’t filmed and broadcast in HD (High Definition). I would never have cared, except that as a reward to our recent milestone of becoming debt free (except our house!), we treated ourselves to a new LG 42″ LCD TV. The HD channels look incredible on it and the other channels look fine too if you can get used to the bars on the sides (for non-HD content). So when I discovered that Survivor China wasn’t in HD, I was pretty disappointed, but I’m sure the bulk of my favorite shows (including the Georgia game on ESPN this weekend!) will be in HD-Glory.

So, a quick recap of the cast and the open. “Chicken” was voted off … and I must say I’m not totally surprised. Every year there is an “old guy” … and every year I pull for the “old guy”. Not this year – from the onset, “Chicken” had attitude and acted like a baby. He pouted because folks weren’t taking his advice, so he refused to give advice. When people asked him for help he’d just whine and act like a kid. I’m glad he’s gone. It’s too bad – if he had some social skills he could’ve gone far in this game.

A quick run down of the other players, and my initial thoughts (if any):

Aaron: stepping up as a leader. dangerous this early in the game, but seems like a good guy
Amanda: one of the babes (guys?), a hiking guide, nothing really stood out other than I think she looks like Angelina Jolie .. anyone else?
Ashley: a professional WWE Wrestler. Got sick the first day or two and threw up and wasted away. I thought for sure she was gone, but although she got a couple of votes for not working … she made it. Give the girl a break, she was sick. From the previews for next week, looks like Ashley is gonna do some “throw down” next week anyway. One last question … are those real? (guys? girls?)
Chicken: enough said. He’s gone. Can chicken farmers from VA really be that country? I suppose so. Bye, bye – chicken.
Courtney: what a diva. Arrogant, stuck up, NY City girl ..acts like the world revolves around her way of thinking. The sooner she’s gone, the better. If Survivor is rigged in ANY WAY, they will keep this girl on throughout the show – she’s bound to cause some drama.
Dave: currently a bartender, used to be a model? From one shot, I’d say his old model 6-pack is now the byproduct of too many 6-packs at his current job. Nothing much to talk about here … a stronger, older guy … will probably last a while, seems athletic.
Denise: this girl has a mullet. Can you believe it? A mullet. Wow. That’s all I can say .. “look at that mullet”. I think she may be a hidden asset, though – she’s athletic, a black belt in karate, seems friendly but not obtrusive … I think she’ll go for a while.
Erik: Nashville musician … I don’t remember seeing him at all – guess he’s laying low.
Frosti: ambitious, leader, athlete – the youngest Survivor contestant ever, at age 20. With a name like “Frosti”, surely he can’t win.
Jaime: another chick who didn’t seem to show up much …
James: holy cow, this guy is massive. No kidding, there’s enough muscle there to do anything. He’s not over-confident – I like James and pick him to go far.
Jean-Robert: a professional poker player … I think his demeanor and mouth will get him in trouble early on, and his profession will be a detriment – people won’t trust him. I don’t expect him to make the jury, but I may be wrong. You don’t get ranked as high as the #6 Poker player in the world without knowing how to use strategy.
Leslie: every season has to have a devout Christian. That’s Leslie, a Christian Radio Talk Show Host. She should refrain from religous, churchy comments like “the Big Man upstairs is helping us”. Main thing with her is that she refused to do the opening ceremony, which involved a bunch of bowing down to Buddha and participating in a “welcome ceremony” which to her (and myself) looked more like a Buddhist worship ceremony. If I had the dream of a lifetime and was placed on Survivor and was put in that situation, it would be horrific. You don’t want to blow the game, but some things are more important. Her decision to not participate will still have to be played out. Some will crucify her for it. I applaud her for it. Get back in the game, and be yourself – just don’t pull the “God card” … for the sake of us all …. please.
Todd: you guessed it … not only does every season have to include a devout Christian, there’s always a “gay guy”. In comes Todd, a “Mormon, gay flight attendant”. Doesn’t make sense to me. The gay guys usually fair well because they can appeal to the women. Sorry, Todd – I won’t cry when your name hits the parchment.
Peih-Gee: Chinese, so being here in China is a big deal to her. Over-emotional and a big, bossy mouth. Someone in her tribe needed to step up, but it shouldn’t be her. I think she’ll be gone in a few weeks.
Sherea: she wore high heels. C’mon now. She won’t make it very far unless she toughens up. Too bad, she’s from Georgia. One other thing – with the exception of James, she’s the only other African American. I look for her and James to form an alliance quickly because of that. If she can get in alliance with James she could go far. I don’t what she’s gonna do for shoes, though.

Early pick to win? Way too soon to call. James may be TOO BIG to win physical challenges – being that big can hinder you sometimes. We’ll see how he plays out in the strategy, but he’s a monster of a guy. I’m glad Ashley got better – she seems like she will have spirit. None of the other guys really impress me … but it’s just Episode 1 … we’ll see what the Fall has to bring.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming … and before anyone says “Fred, you’ve got WAY TOO MUCH TIME on your hands … it’s Friday .. my day off!”.

So what’s your take on Survivor China?
Fred