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Survivor: Micronesia - Press Conference

Question: What brought you back to Palau again?

Jeff Probst: Palau is as beautiful as any location we've ever been, and personally, it's probably the most beautiful location. The underwater footage is stunning, and it's a location that gives us great shots at challenges. But in terms of naming the season, you know, we wanted to expand a little bit beyond just Palau, and bring in more culture and influence from Micronesia as a whole, so that's what you'll see in terms of challenges and Rewards. The thing about Palau was that we were there during the rainy season, so it wasn't the pleasant, beautiful tropical island for these guys. They were constantly getting rained on: Day One, it's raining during the opening of the show and it pours down on them the first night. Then on top of that there's the rats, there's the fire ants; you know, we have one tribe that gets an ant infestation in their shelter because somebody puts firewood where they shouldn't. Your feet get cut up from the coral; that's another problem that a couple people face out there. It's definitely a difficult season.

Question: Talk a little bit about how you cast the Fans for this season.

Jeff Probst: Obviously, the big twist this season is "Fans vs. Favorites," so unlike the past few seasons where we've went out of our way to find people who weren't so familiar with what Survivor is all about, this season, we wanted to have people who know the game and who are big Fans. You know, people who have seen every episode; they have a favorite player, whatever the case may be, but these are people who, for the most part sent in an application on their own; we didn't go looking for them, and they all identify themselves as Fans. What we also did in casting this season was match up each of the Fans and Favorites, so that every Fan was competing against their own Favorite and the reason for that is we wanted to get a big reaction out of them on Day One when the Favorites walked out. You know, we wanted them to idolize these people, and it also makes for an interesting dynamic later on in the game. You know, are they gonna make an alliance with that player just because they like them? Or are they gonna vote that player out and say "I'm better than you are." And it really is interesting to see how that works out in some cases, because in a lot of cases, the Favorites weren't there to make any new friends, so to speak, so it quickly becomes very competitive.

Question: Who do you think had the edge?

Jeff Probst: Well, it's interesting because for the most part the Fans think they have the advantage, and the Favorites think the Favorites have the advantage. You know, you'll hear that a lot in the confessionals in the first two episodes, but then there's a couple guys like Joel and Mikey B who are going "We're screwed." My opinion is that it's a little of both, and I think it's Mary who says that it balances out. I think the Favorites have an edge in the beginning when it comes to setting up camp, but it'll eventually even out.

Question: Which group were you rooting for before the game began?

Jeff Probst: You know, it's hard because I have a history with all the Favorites, but a part of me couldn't help but pull for the Fans, who were, in my mind, sortof the underdogs. The Favorites come into the first challenge pretty cocky and you kinda hope that the Fans will kick their ass just to show them, but in terms of the game, I'm completely objective; I really don't care who wins the end, but my prediction before the game was that the Favorites would ultimately beat the Fans, so we'll see whether or not that was accurate.

Question: Besides the "Fans vs. Favorites" set-up, what kinds of twists can we expect this season?

Jeff Probst: Well, this season was definitely a step back in the direction of Cook Islands, Fiji, and All-Stars in that we started out with a larger cast and we could have more twists because of that, so there are a few. One thing we did this season is that there's individual Immunity assigned at virtually every Tribal Council and the way that works is after the Fans and the Favorites meet on Day One, there's an impromptu challenge where they have to swim across a stretch of water to find two Immunity necklaces. The first two people to the necklaces claim them for the first Tribal Council that they go to, and then after that, it becomes like what we did in Guatemala with Stephenie and Bobby Jon. Um, Immunity gets passed down in a chain and you can't give it to the same person who gave it to you, so two people can't essentially "hog" Immunity in that way. The difference is that it's not always the same person who gets to pass on the Immunity like it was with Bobby and Steph. It has a big impact because there's no way to really anticipate who might be given the necklace at that last second, so there were a couple times when a tribe came in to Tribal Council with a few people that they might want to vote out and then one of them's wearing Immunity by the end of the night, so you really need to have a back-up plan this season and you start to see them figuring that out. There's also Exile Island again this season, and there's some minor twists to a few of the Reward Challenges after the merge, so that was something different.

Question: Can you tell us about how Exile Island works this time?

Jeff Probst: You know, we debated before this season began about whether we wanted to stick with the kidnapping like we did in China, or if we should make use of all the islands that Micronesia has to offer and bring back Exile Island. The concern was that the concept of Exile Island was getting a little dull because you have your clue, and there's only so much else you can show out there, but we decided to change the idea behind Exile Island a bit to revitalize it. So the work it works this season is that there's one idol out there, but two people are gonna go every week: one from each tribe. The positive is that it forces the mingling between a Fan and a Favorite, so suddenly you have inter-tribal relationships that could come into play after a switch or a merge. The other aspect to that is that there's two people who are getting clues and looking for the hidden Immunity Idol at the same time, so either they're gonna work together and try and share it, or one person's gonna be trying to find it before the other person does. It brings up a whole new dynamic to going to Exile Island, and you'll see in Episode 2 that Exile Island really has a significant impact this season because there's so many variables of what could happen between a Fan and a Favorite. And it's also interesting the way it's decided who goes to Exile every week.

Question: What's the schedule like this season? Is it fourteen episodes with a couple double boots?

Jeff Probst: We have fourteen episodes like we usually do when there's a cast of 18 or 20, but there's only one true double Tribal Council episode because we actually had someone get medevaced this season due to a serious injury, which hasn't happened since Australia with Mike Skupin, so that threw off our schedule a little bit because we had another episode where we lost two people unexpectedly.

Question: Is there going to be a Final Two again this year or is that being kept secret?

Jeff Probst: I think what we've decided is to keep it a secret this season whether there's gonna be a Final Two or a Final Three. You know, we went back to 20 castaways, so there would certainly be pluses and minuses to doing it either way, but I will say that it became a question among the castaways towards the season of not knowing which way to prepare for, so I think the potential of having a Final Two or Final Three is interesting because it keeps the Survivors on their toes. We like to have them guessing; we don't like when they know everything that's gonna happen in the game just based on past patterns.

Question: Last season in China, there was no tribal swap. Do we see the return of the switch this season?

Jeff Probst: Yeah, we do eventually integrate the Fans and the Favorites so that there's some blending between the two groups before the merge.

Question: Any stand-out or unforgettable moments that you can talk about?

Jeff Probst: Oh, I think every season has a few big moments that stand out, you know, whether it's a blindside at Tribal Council or a big argument between two people. You'll certainly see both of those things come up more than once. One tribe actually resorts to eating rats again, which is memorable in terms of the survival aspect. There's another "mystery vote" this season that comes up fairly early on and is pretty memorable. You know, I can't give everything away, so I apologize for the vague answer but the answer is "Yes."

Question: Were there any other past contestants that you considered as possible Favorites?

Jeff Probst: There were a few others that we considered and a few that turned us down. Um, for Guatemala, we were looking at either Morgan or Brooke, but Morgan has moved on from Survivor in her life now; she has no regrets about her experience on the show, so she really wasn't interested in coming back again, so we obviously went with Brooke. And Brooke even had some doubt about coming back just because of the fact that she's got a career and a husband, but I'm glad that she did come back. For Palau, we looked at Tom and Ian. You know, both were certainly Favorites, but Tom wasn't sure if he wanted to leave his family again; Ian was interested, and when we looked at everybody else that we had, it turned out that we needed another younger guy on the tribe to keep things even. And then we had quite a few from China that were in contention, but we decided that the conflict between Dave and Sherea would be too good to pass up since it's so fresh from China, so the others will be kept in mind for a future All-Stars season if we ever get to doing another one. Mainly Todd, James, and Leslie was who we were looking at, and um, Courtney from Exile Island had her name in there for a while too before we decided on Ruth Marie. And Twila from Vanuatu. So there were certainly other possibilities but this seemed to be the best collective group that we could come up with while still keeping others available. The Favorites that we did end up with are a great group. There's a few potential villains, but um, definitely we have our mix of game players, some big characters, some second chancers, and hopefully, you know, a group of Favorites that the audience will love. And the other thing that we did in selecting the Favorites, as I said before, was to match them with a Fan who liked them, so that every Fan was competing against their quote unquote "favorite" player.

Question: Since Dave was on this season [and he won Survivor: China], were other winners considered as well?

Jeff Probst: Yeah, we wanted Tom from Palau, and Chris was certainly a great character in Vanuatu, but it's hard because there's only ten spots to be filled and there's a lot more than ten people to fill them with. I think Ami and Eliza were ultimately more memorable to the viewers, you know, from that season, but winners were by no means excluded. That was the big debate surrounding Dave: whether or not winners should be allowed back, and we decided if they're Favorites, why not?

Question: Were any of the All-Stars from Belize considered?

Jeff Probst: No, we didn't want to consider anyone for a third time this season when we already had more than enough good characters to choose from, but certainly if there was ever to be another All-Stars in the future, that might become an option.

Question: Who exceeded your expectations or disappointed you with the way they played the game?

Jeff Probst: In terms of who I was disappointed with, I'm not gonna give away any names, but what I will say is that I think I was more disappointed to see that a couple of people didn't make it further than they did, um, not necessarily because they played poorly this time but that may have just been the luck of the draw. You know, and the other thing is: from a strategic point of view, I was a little disappointed that Dave and Sherea tried to knock each other out pretty quick in the beginning, but from an entertainment perspective, we got what we expected from them and probably what we deserved for shoving the two of them on the same tribe.

Jeff Probst: Um, who I was impressed with, or who exceeded my expectations: well, Ruth Marie, for one. You know, I'll give her some credit because she did exactly what she should have done at the beginning in terms of forming an alliance and making sure that her strategy was more vocalized. A Fan that exceeded my expectations: I'm gonna have to go with Mikey B just because he proved to be a great character out there and I think that he proved himself in a lot of ways even though he started out as a guy who had no idea how to survive outdoors. This is a guy who couldn't use a machete, certainly couldn't make fire, and he's getting into an argument on Day One, so you're gonna need to be strategically capable to make it in this game. Again, I say that you'll remember Mikey.

Question: Any major controversies this season?

Jeff Probst: The first two Tribal Councils are controversial in that at one of 'em you have someone making an offer that's a little bit sketchy in terms of our rules, and at the other one, someone asks to be voted out, and there's a discussion about whether or not it's a "quit." I'm sure that some of the blindsides will also be controversial as far as how they play out, but in terms of anything like Dave's lies, which was the big controversy last season, there's nothing that I can see that would be on that level.

Question: Is there any romance this season?

Jeff Probst: Well, there's a few "love interests" this season, but those feelings aren't always reciprocated, especially when it involves Brooke, who's now married, and Eliza, who's had the same boyfriend since before Vanuatu. But Erik, one of the Fans, was particularly smitten by those two girls, and that played a part in the season from early on. There's also another romance that I saw blossoming out there between a Fan and a Favorite and in that case there may have been some genuine feelings involved, but I think it was largely strategic, and I don't think it led to anything outside of the show like Erik and Jaime last season. As far as I know, it didn't.

Question: On a personal note, is it true that you and Julie are no longer an item?

Jeff Probst: Sadly, Julie and I are no longer together anymore, as of earlier this year, but it was a good love affair while it lasted. We were together for almost three years, and I'm sorry that things didn't work out. Thanks for the question.

Question: How would you rank this season compared to the last six?

Jeff Probst: I'll admit that it would be hard to beat China, but I think that this season will come close. It may not rank as the best one yet, but it's definitely up there. Um, there'll be a string of episodes pre-merge that I think are very good, and then the merge is very eventful as well, so I can't really think of any low points. So I would put this season and China as either one and two, or two and one.

Question: Any amazing Tribal Councils we should be looking forward to?

Jeff Probst: I think I said this about China too, but the Tribal Councils in Micronesia are all very good, and the first two Tribals of the season end in quite a bit of controversy, so that gives you an idea of how quickly this season really takes off compared to China. The other thing that made Tribal Councils interesting was the wild card of having individual Immunity, which I talked about, and sometimes that necklace ended up changing the entire direction of who was gonna go home. I think there'll be more than just a couple surprises at Tribal.

Question: So does this season have a record number of blindsides?

Jeff Probst: Oh yeah; this season, I was personally surprised at Tribal Council more than I've ever been in any other season, and I think it's because of the level of game play that you see from Fans and people who've already played the game. And Immunity also played a part. My jaw was constantly dropping at so many votes, and I wasn't the only one. I mean, there were some truly shocking Tribal Councils this season throughout the whole thing, and I think they're gonna make for some really great moments.

Question: Are there any major power shifts?

Jeff Probst: Well, the thing about this season is that the alliances seem to be very fluid. You know, I'd be at Tribal Council one night and the main alliance would be one group, and then the next time that tribe is at Tribal Council, there's a totally different group in power and I'm thinking "Wait a minute, you were just with so-and-so three days ago," so I think that there probably weren't a lot of long-term alliances. Either that or there was a lot of backstabbing going on because I'm telling you, this season is full of alliances and blindsides and you won't see the same group in power for very long.

Question: What kind of challenges will there be this season?

Jeff Probst: This season there's a lot of variety in the challenges. You know, we have challenges that involve a lot of swimming; we have physical challenges where you have to wrestle the other tribe because those are the most interesting to watch, and then we have challenges like the Reward Challenge in Episode 2 where they have to work cooperatively with their bodies and physically stand on top of each other, or lift each other up and carry somebody else on their shoulders in order to reach keys that are hanging on high posts, and each post gets higher and higher so you need more people involved. So we have some fun challenges this season. Some are based off of some favorite challenges from the past, seeing as this is Fans vs. Favorites, but there's also a few unique challenges and what we also did was incorporate a lot of aspects from Micronesian culture into them. So you'll see a challenge involving Micronesian storyboards; you know, you'll see the stone money coming up at various points throughout the season. Micronesia really offers a lot in terms of beaches and water and jungle, so it allows our challenge department to be creative.

Question: Did anyone quit this season?

Jeff Probst: No one flat-out quits. There's someone this season who asks to be voted out by their tribe, and that happens very early on, and then there's another person who's forced to leave the game because of an injury and they definitely didn't want to go, so it's always tough to see someone go down like that because it alters everything that happens after that point.

Question: What can you tell us about the first episode?

Jeff Probst: In terms of the Fans, you'll see that they start off on completely the wrong foot and their tribe has just as much conflict as the Favorites do fifteen minutes in. Um, there's a disagreement about having everybody building the shelter versus somebody else who wants to have part of the tribe working on shelter and part of the tribe finding food, and it escalates from there. There's also issues of leadership on Airai right from the start, and one person steps up as the leader on Day One and then by Day Two is already saying, "I don't want to be the leader anymore," so that stirs up the tribe even more.

Jeff Probst: Day One on the Favorites tribe has probably more alliances formed in a single day than any other day on Survivor. There's gotta be at least fifteen distinct alliances, and there's sub-alliances within the bigger alliances and overlap between the sub-alliances where one person is aligned with somebody from a different group and it gets confusing pretty fast trying to figure out who's with who. That continues throughout the whole season. I was often confused at Tribal Council about what the alliances were. But obviously, we have 42 minutes to show three days worth of footage so we can't show you all of that and you're only gonna see what's most relevant to the story, but it's definitely the most intense, dramatic premiere that we've had in a while. You know, Episode 1 really had to be edited down and there were slightly different versions and we had to go with the one that we thought was the best and I think what you will see in the premiere is that you'll get a true sense of the level of competition between the Fans and the Favorites. You know, I think it'll be a good premiere. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Question: Just one last general question about the future of Survivor: I heard you guys are filming in HD next season.

Jeff Probst: Oh, yeah. That's something that we had been debating for a long time about the extra cost and whether it would be worth it for us to make that jump. You know, everyone wanted us to do it and CBS finally gave us the green light and some extra money, so next season you'll be seeing some amazing footage and the goal is that you'll feel like you're right on-location with the contestants, not just watching from home. We've been looking at a couple epic locations for next seasons that would be fantastic if they can work out, and one of the places we've been scouting is, um, going back to Africa, so we'll see where we end up.