Survivor 40: Richard Hatch Pleads His Case

Interesting video from Richard Hatch, claiming both he and Tina Wesson were asked, went through the whole process, then both were eliminated from the cast with no real reason given two days before they were supposed to start. In his original season I pegged him as the winner by the second episode. He's not a guy I'd really associate with, but he was innovative and a shrewd player. I would be curious how he'd do now. I don't think he'd do as well as he thinks he would. But, as he says, we'll never know. I wonder what happened with Tina.

Survivor 40: Winners at War Season Premiere Blog Party

Okay, we have 20 previous first place winners playing this season. They know how to outwit, outplay and outlast. They've done it before. While I'm eager to see them compete against each other, before seeing how things are going to go down, I want to whine about twists. Isn't it enough to have this bunch competing against each other?

Noooo ... they're dragging in Island of Extinction, some odd fire token twist and, if memory serves from something I read, although there are two tribes, it's one camp. I might be wrong about the last. I hope so! 

As the show airs, I'll do my best to update this entry during the two-hour premiere as it airs here on the East Coast. Refresh the page to get the latest news. As always, the real party is in the comments area feel free to join in on the fun!

A blog pool message from the beloved Lifeguard Laurie -- Nobody goes home tonight. They go to a team with only one person.
Nobody has a bad pick this time!!

And, without further ado, here's the blog pool:

DAKAL (Red tribe)
Amber Mariano - Delee, Glenn Allen
Kim Spradlin-Wolfe - Dr_Celine
Nick Wilson - Barbara BW, Judi Sweeney
Sandra Diaz-Twine - tbe
Sarah Lacina - SueGee, Cheryl in NC
Sophie Clarke - ChicMc
Tony Vlachos - Karen in CA, Donna in Alabama
Tyson Apostol -Janice
Wendell Holland - Nickelpeed, PDX Granny
Yul Kwon - Ed in Ohio

SELE (Blue tribe)
Adam Klein - Lifeguard Laurie, Petals
Ben Driebergen - Rbennie, Shannon
Danni Boatwright - Jennasmom
Denise Stapley - Becky, Jennifer
Ethan Zohn - Rochelle, Jackie
Jeremy Collins - Sharon N
Michele Fitzgerald -Terry is a Texan
Natalie Anderson - Nana in the NW
Parvati Shallow - Donna in FL
Rob Mariano - Auntie Leigh

Survivor fans ready?

Of course, starting off we're getting snippets from all the castaways.. They're cruising in to meet Jeff. The men arrive first, then the women. Jeff is making it sound like it's going to be men against women. Now we're getting snippets of each talking to Jeff.

They get an actual champagne toast to celebrate -- "A drink before war is always a good idea." Into the tribe reveal. (You can see the tribes in the pool listing above.)

Jeff tells them they each start with a fire token. If they're voted out they need to will their tokens to someone and then they're sent to Extinction Island. He gets cheers when he announces the prize is two million dollars. (Like they didn't know.)

They are already in a challenge. It's Reward (flint) and Immunity. Racing out in teams of two through water retrieving a ring and having to put hand on pole. The teams race and wrassle for control of the ring.

DAKAL wins Immunity!

Jeff tells Seles that Tribal Council will be the next night, not this night.

The fire tokens can be used as a bit of currency for food and more.

Uh-oh -- Denise and Adam put targets on their backs by wandering off together.

Tony plans on a more mellow approach and gaining trust. Amber feels she needs to find an idol. Rob and Parvati want to work together? Oh my. Ben spills the beans to Rob that Danni was throwing his name out. Rob goes to Danni and she does confirm it. Now will there be an Old School Alliance? Rob, Parvati, Ethan, Danni?

Ben warned Adam that his walk with Denise looked bad and now his name is out there. Adam thinks that Natalie and Jeremy should be split up because they're so close. So now it might be Adam, Denise, Jeremy or Natalie voted out. Rob and Parvati are shocked that they're not looking like the latest targets.

Tribal Council time is here! Jeff asks Ethan about the culture shock. Ethan says his season was glacier speed. Denise tells Jeff that she and Adam got lost looking for water and it looked bad. There were whispers with subtitles but I didn't catch them. Wah. Time to vote.

The tally after commercial.

Denise, Adam, Denise, Natalie, Natalie, Natalie, Natalie. Natalie

Like her sister, Nadiya, now Natalie is voted out first. She heads to Extinction Island. I'm sure she'll leave her fire token to Jeremy. Once there she reads that she can earn fire tokens to help her get back into the game. She also reads that she can quit and go home.

Sandra is so ticked that Rob lied to her saying he would never come back. She's willing to take revenge on Amber because Rob is on the other tribe.

Back on Seles it looks like the New Schoolers are going to challenge the Old Schoolers. And, yes, Natalie did leave Jeremy her fire token. 

On Extinction Natalike reads a list of what can be bought with tokens from idols to advantages. She finds a bottle with gives her directions to start looking for a token. She finds an immunity idol, no value on beach, but can trade for a token from someone coming to Extinction. If the idol does make it back into the game, it's good for three tribals.

Second immunity challenge time. Paddle out, retrieve bag of number tiles, back over obstacles, combination lock to retrieve rings to throw on paddles. Three wins. 

SELE wins immunity!

Yul thinks people should be civilized. Amber, Nick, Sandra, Tyson are some of the names mentioned. Wait, throw Tony in there, too. Whoa ... Sandra finds the Extinction idol and buys it with her fire token! Tony is trying to orchestrate a Tyson ouster. Yul tells Tyson that Amber or Kim are possibilities. It dawns on Tyson that his poker playing with buddies Rob and Amber might put a target on his own back. Kim was also part of that poker bunch. Uh-oh!

To the second Tribal Council of the night. The Jeff questions are similar to the last one -- asking about how fast the game is moving compared to more recent seasons. The Poker Player Alliance is brought up. 

Time to vote ... we only have seven minutes of show left. Hmm.

The tally ... Sandra does not play the idol.

Nick, Kim, Kim, Kim, Amber, Amber, Amber, Amber, Amber.

Amber is gonzo. 

Survivor: Winners at War - Tribes List and POOL OPENS!

Are you ready for these warring winners? Of course, that's much better than whiners, right?

The ever lovely Lifeguard Laurie has offered to run the blog pool once again this season. (A round of applause or brief standing ovation would be acceptable at this time.) As always, the winner of the blog pool does NOT win the million dollars. The winner gets to win something much more lasting -- bragging rights! If you wish to be in the pool, please sign up in the comment section below. If you're posting as an "anonymous" you need to have some sort of sign-off name. Lifeguard Laurie will make random matches to come up with your pool pick.

The show starts next Wednesday, February 12. The deadline for entering the blog pool is Tuesday 12pm ET (which is 9am PT!). Be there or be square.

Here's the breakdown of the tribes -- I only listed the castaway's winning season although many have been on multiple seasons and have also been on The Amazing Race.

DAKAL (Red tribe)
Tyson Apostol - Winner Survivor 27: Blood vs. Water
Sophie Clarke - Winner Survivor 23: South Pacific
Sandra Diaz-Twine - Winner Survivors 07, 20 : Pearl Islands, Heroes vs. Villains
Wendell Holland - Winner Survivor 36: Ghost Island
Yul Kwon - Winner Survivor 13: Cook Islands
Sarah Lacina - Winner Survivor 34: Game Changers
Amber Mariano - Winner Survivor 08: All-Stars
Kim Spradlin-Wolfe - Winner Survivor 24: One World
Tony Vlachos - Winner Survivor 28: Cagayan
Nick Wilson - Winner Survivor 37: David vs. Goliath

SELE (Blue tribe)
Natalie Anderson - Winner Survivor 29: San Juan del Sur
Danni Boatwright - Winner Survivor 11: Guatemala
Jeremy Collins - Winner Survivor 31: Cambodia - Second Chance
Ben Driebergen - Winner Survivor 35: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers
Michele Fitzgerald - Winner Survivor 32: Kaôh Rōng
Adam Klein - Winner Survivor 33: Millennials vs. Gen X
Rob Mariano - Winner Survivor 22: Redemption Island
Parvati Shallow - Winner Survivor 16: Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites
Denise Stapley - Winner Survivor 25: Philippines
Ethan Zohn - Winner Survivor 03: Africa