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From RNO:


Amanda Kimmel (Survivor: China) - Amanda is a player I liked in China. She was nice, good looking, and most importantly, was a very good game player. She had a few main problems: the first is that while she was a very good player, she let her emotions get in the way late in the game when she refused to vote out fellow partner-in-crime, friend, and threat Todd. Even worse was that it not only caused her to lose because she was up against someone who could beat her, but her emotions caught up to her to the point that her game collapsed onto her head and she couldn't rein herself in enough to make a good jury argument. Thus she lost any chance of winning against Todd, which many thought would have otherwise been quite possible. Second, while the classic RNO second rule of Survivor tells players not to backstab too soon or reveal secrets, Amanda went in the other direction, backstabbing too late (with James) and, more importantly, keeping her scheming too secret, as she was always seen as Todd's puppet as opposed to his partner. Third, that swimsuit she wore did nothing for her. From the photo on the website, she does seem to be wearing a better swimsuit, so now her butt won't be a constant blur, but let's hope she was able to learn from her experience in China and use it in Micronesia.

Ami Cusack (Survivor: Vanuatu) - First thing: how did the producers get Ami? From my point of view, Ami has the dubious honor of being the least memorable of the Favorites. This is, ironically, one of the big points in her favor, as the other players (excluding Eliza) might mistake Ami as a bad game player and discount her abilities. There are two main things that are holding her back: her attitude and, in an almost-subset of her attitude, Eliza. Her attitude was one of the main reasons that she lost the first time (well, that and the Reality TV Hall of Shame Moment she shares with her then-alliance member, Leann). To quote Why Ami Lost:

"Ami held herself up as the queen throughout most of this season. And for most of that time, she had the game play to back it up … But she also carried herself as a queen - dismissing subjects who she didn't think were of any use to her (such as all the men), and acting like she could not be brought down."

The second problem, Eliza, will be sharing camp with Ami yet again. Eliza was the person Ami was going to vote out in place of Chris, so that gives us a bit of a problem here. For at least 12 days or so, Ami and Eliza will have to work together to make it to the merge or a tribal switch. The only way Ami can cut it short is to make Eliza look weak, which is, based on Eliza's challenge record, a long shot, or make her look lazy, which will be a lot easier. In short, Ami was not only a good player, but she was a bitch to everyone she didn't like. While the Hall of Shame Moment got her eliminated when she was, both of the above characteristics essentially prevented her from getting the win anyway.

Cirie Fields (Survivor: Exile Island) - Cirie, Cirie, Cirie. I grew to like her in Exile Island, for both her personality and her style of play, especially with her Reality TV Hall of Fame Moment. The big problem with her game play was that it did her in at the final four because she was so good. I think she will be different this time around, as she won't be as scared of the leaves, but it still doesn't look good for her. She's in the vein of Favorites who will have to stay in everyone's good graces to make it to the merge, and not just in the social aspect. She has to worry right away about convincing everyone that physically, she isn't a liability. If she can do that until the merge, I think she's fine for a good long while.

Eliza Orlins (Survivor: Vanuatu) - Okay, I take back what I said about Ami. Eliza is the least memorable of the Favorites. Why, you may ask? Well, when I saw Ami's name I immediately thought, "Female alliance, backstabbed too soon." When I saw Eliza, I thought, "Wasn't that who Ami was going to backstab?" While Ami was seen as an absolute bitch when she was playing in Vanuatu, the key word is that she was playing. Eliza's game was too much reflexes and reactions and not enough actual forward thinking. Also, as I stated with Ami, Eliza also has an attitude problem, one that in fact put her at odds with former and present tribemate Ami, not only nearly ending up being kicked out ahead of Chris in the aforementioned Hall of Shame Moment, but also got a comment on the subject from her mother. On top of that, Eliza was lazy in her original go. If she wants to succeed here, she is going to have to step up, namely by working more and knowing when and how to speak up.

James Clement (Survivor: China) - James, well, what can I say about him? I liked him during his performance (his rendition of what would happen if Jaime played the "idol" was hilarious). However, his game play left something to be desired. Namely, he held too much trust in his allies, rather than trying to keep his pulse on the game and reacting accordingly, which resulted in a Reality TV Hall of Shame Moment. The James we will be seeing in Micronesia and the James we saw in China will be almost the same, with the exception of the idols. He needs to take the lesson of the immunity idols to heart. Remember that this James will be the same as the previous James, so in the subject of personality, he's fine, except maybe with Jonny Fairplay (but Fairplay can get anyone mad). James should, however, scale back a little on the challenges, assuming he hits the merge, which seems quite likely.

Jonathan Penner (Survivor: Cook Islands) - Jonathan was weird in his original run-through in the Cook Islands. Strategically, he was the runner-up, second only to Yul Kwon. I especially liked him when he rejoined the Raros and worked himself to near-insanity to keep himself in the game over the other, lazy Raros. However, his behavior in the later stages of the game did turn me off, namely in the auction, where he bought out almost everything, practically orgasmed while eating the food, and belched during the auction. Not smart. Another problem he had was that it looked like he didn't know how to turn off, in that he seemed to be always playing. This made everyone suspicious, and it ended up costing him a position in the final five and a chance to overthrow Yul. If Jonathan wants to win this time, he'll have to look for openings, but do so in a way that makes it look more casual, so he doesn't end up looking like a mole in an alliance he's completely loyal to. This means that he should do some casual chit-chat with the others, including Parvati, to keep up appearances.

Jonny Fairplay (Survivor: Pearl Islands) - Oh, boy. This should be good. On the other end of the spectrum from Amanda, Cirie, and James, we have the sole castaway who was eligible for the original All-Star run: Jonny Fairplay. This guy is probably the most well known of the Favorites, and known for, first and foremost, the dead grandma lie. He was also what Ami would have been had she not broken with her alliance. To quote Why Jon Lost, "He was too much of a threat to win it all and too much of a jerk to be allowed to win it all." Comparing Jon to someone currently playing, he is the anti-James, and not just physically. Fairplay was an incredible game player, but his personality (on the show) did him in. One thing I did hear on one of the other shows he's been on is that there are two sides to him: the a-hole Jonny Fairplay, and the somewhat decent Jon Dalton. With his incredible strategic record in Pearl Islands, his best shot comes at this time being Jon Dalton to his fellow castaways, and keeping Fairplay to the confessionals

Ozzy Lusth (Survivor: Cook Islands) - I liked Ozzy on his season. He was cool, except maybe during when he threw that challenge to boot Billy, but still. I didn't recognize him until I saw the picture and I realized, "Wait - that's not Boston Rob (which is a good thing, as a third Boston Rob attempt would have been slightly too much), that's Ozzy!" I think Ozzy has a decent chance of going far in this game, as he knows exactly what he did wrong, as seen in his RNO interview (i.e., he worked very hard, but did not plot enough). Ozzy did however manage to show that he does have a strategic mind when he got Billy voted off. What Ozzy needs to do is simple: tone it down a little in the challenges and jack it up a little strategically. Remember that Aras won Exile Island not for being the best in a certain part of the game, but for being second best. If Ozzy can always have somebody who's better than him in one way or another, he can give himself a security blanket. For now, I'm thinking James physically and Fairplay/Jonathan/Yau-Man strategically.

Parvati Shallow (Survivor: Cook Islands) - Parvati was like Jenna Morasca in the Cook Islands. Model? Check. Tattoo somewhere? Check. Flirty? Check. Lazy? BIG check. Unlike Jenna, though, Parvati didn't win. However, also like Jenna, Parvati did show a shrapnel of strategic ability, actually joining an alliance based on forward planning. What she needs to do now is learn from her first time and show a lot more flexibility, having at most one steadfast ally (see Yau-Man/Earl in Fiji or Chill Town in Big Brother: All-Stars). Parvati is physically fit, and a nice person (except regarding Jonathan - she needs to work on that, too). If she works harder around camp and is more active in making sure she's on the right side of a split, she should do well in the game.

Yau-Man Chan (Survivor: Fiji) - Oh, thank you, God! Yau-Man is BACK! In his original season, I thought he was the real-life incarnation of Yoda, performing in challenges when nobody else on his tribe did, and having some of the best quotes ever. But seriously, I think Yau-Man's actually in a spot of trouble. Even though he's not as weak as he looks, he still looks weak. For the men, there's James and Ozzy, both of whom look like and probably could probably knock Yau-Man out in one punch. Representing the women there's Amanda (who was listed as a hiking guide in China and has a Survivor profile with many physical activities), Ami and Eliza (both having a good record in the challenges), and Parvati (who was involved in boxing and now has an organization that gives underprivileged girls boxing lessons). The only other person in this run who appears nearly as weak as Yau-Man does is Jonny Fairplay. Also, he is once again the oldest castaway in the game. However, this does not make his situation hopeless. His trump card is the weaknesses of the others. What this means is that to make it to the merge, Yau-Man not only has to make or join a solid alliance, but also has to find people against whom he can look better than in comparison. This means that to make up for his perceived lack of strength, he will have to work harder and be nicer than the others until either the merge or an opportunity to look good in a pre-merge challenge.

So, if I had to give my advice to each Favorite in one word:

• Amanda - pacing
• Ami - humility
• Cirie - versatility
• Eliza - silence
• James - pulse
• Jonathan - deactivate
• Jon - respectful
• Ozzy - mediocrity
• Parvati - flexibility
• Yau-Man - exploitation

For the record, we have one runner-up (Ozzy), two third-placers (Amanda, Jonny Fairplay), three fourth-placers (Cirie, Eliza, Yau-Man), two sixth placers (Ami, Parvati), and two seventh placers (James, Jonathan)

Now, to the producers: Where are Chris and Yul?! How could you have "Favorites" without Chris (he who beat a "solid" six-woman alliance) and Yul (he who led his tribe to the final four after being outnumbered two-to one)? Why were they passed over? Not only were they smart, but they were also incredibly entertaining - for example, watching Chris convince the women he was on their side after he betrayed them was pure gold. It could have been so easy to get them on the show - switch Jonathan for Yul and Jonny Rotten for Chris. After all, would you rather see Jonny be a jerk to everybody and win in spite of how he treats everybody, or would you rather see Chris use actual social skills and win because of how he treats everybody? Everybody wins. The Fans learn from the best, and we viewers can watch people who make us laugh, cry, and think, rather than throw things at the screen and swear.

So, will these Favorites learn from their past performances, or will they fall to the wayside? There's only one way to find out: watch Survivor, starting Thursday!