RNO Roundtable: ‘Survivor: South Pacific’ Pre-Show Predictions

Ken: Her pet peeves are wet laundry that doesn’t get moved to the dryer immediately, pretty girls wearing ugly shoes, and people who drink decaf. I hate to break it to her, but there are no dryers in this game. And why does she care what others wear or drink? If all of this bothers her, I’d hate to see her on caffeine. Oh, and she describes herself as spunky. As Lou Grant once told Mary Richards, “You’ve got spunk. I hate spunk.” Yet she may last awhile, mainly because she’s a useful idiot, similar to “Shambo” a few seasons ago. I could even see her being this season’s player who makes the finals because no one will vote for her. Otherwise, she comes across as a bit of a princess who could find herself dispatched to the dungeon in no time.

Chris: Elyse is cute and perky and bubbly and gets on my last nerve. However, I have this horrible feeling that it’s the Year of the Cheerleader … or dance team member, in Elyse’s case. Elyse compares herself to Brenda and Parvati, and I actually see it. And you know what? Those two were actually good players. Elyse’s profile is full of information that makes me want to dislike her, but I actually think she’ll do well in this game. Plus, she’s from Las Vegas, so she may have that “gambler’s instinct” you need to make big moves in this game.

Jenn: Elyse won’t make the jury.

Jeffrey: I see Elyse as getting to the latter stages of the game. As for whether I'll like or hate my fellow Las Vegan... time will tell. I'd really like to predict her as the winner. Unfortunately, I can't see that happening.

Sting7: Here comes trouble! She was almost Miss America, she admires Brenda and Parvati, and considers herself “a character.” I’ll translate: This is the girl who will ruin the game for those who want to stay under the radar. They will openly despise her and it will rattle them right out of their games. But she is an athlete and I place high stock in that, simply because the Alpha Males get into the challenges and when they lose, the rationale is usually “who can help us win challenges and who doesn’t.” If Elyse can show she is the former and not the latter, we may have to deal with her for awhile.

David: With almost everybody talking about how annoying they find Elyse just from her preview information, can you imagine living with her? Early in the game, people are just looking for a reason to boot somebody out, and annoying everybody is as good a reason as any. So unless she makes up for it by winning challenges (or her tribe is lucky enough to go on an early winning streak), I’m thinking Elyse will annoy her way right out of the game.

Jim

William: It’s weird that Jim notes in his bio that he’s a completely unique Survivor player, because his bravado matches that of the only other poker player that’s ever been on this show, Jean-Robert Bellande. Jim isn’t as much of a big time player as JR (he only has one World Poker Tour title and about $125,000 in career earnings, whereas Jean-Robert has earned – and lost – millions over the course of his career), but the swagger is still there. He may be the perfect storm-type player, having a balance of strategic acumen, social ability, and physical skill that can get him to the end because he won’t be the “best” in any given area. That means he won’t be perceived as a threat until very late in the game. As long as he can keep his ego in check and not annoy the crap out of the rest of his tribe, he could go very far, even to the finals. Also, since he currently works as a medical marijuana distributor, if I ever move to Denver, I plan to become his friend and be suddenly “stricken” with glaucoma. Just saying.

Ken: Reading his bio makes me wonder if he’s been smoking the marijuana he’s supposed to be dispensing. He claims he’s on the show for life experience and excitement, which makes me think he has no idea how to play the game. In addition, he describes himself as the “most unique person to ever apply.” Aside from his incorrect grammar, maybe he doesn’t realize the show has been on long enough now that there aren’t too many personality types we haven’t seen. Then again, he may be correct, and that uniqueness will be his undoing if he gets on his tribe’s nerves. I just don’t see him having the manipulative tools needed to win this game. Yes, I know he’s won numerous poker tournaments, but Jean-Robert from Survivor: China was a poker professional, and he never seemed to get the social aspect of the game. Jury at best, if that.

Chris: Jim is a character, that’s for sure. Can this game stand two characters like Jim and Coach? Probst seems to think Jim may be too wacky for his own good. I’m going to go out on a limb and call him a dark horse. If he’s really the great poker player he claims to be, the ability to bluff will be a valuable skill in this game. The others may think he’s just a goofy idiot, but hey … it worked for Fabio. Plus, if anybody needs a weed connection? He could be their guy.

Jenn: Jim gets jury duty.

Jeffrey: Jim is a guy who can fit in with most people. I see him as a core player on his tribe and somebody who can make it far into the game. I'm putting him in the jury pool. More than that, I'm putting him in the finals.

Sting7: He’s a medical marijuana dispenser. He’s a poker player. He’s also started businesses and has an MBA. Jim says he’s the most “unique person” to apply for Survivor. He may be right! My gut says all those ingredients won’t make a stew, however. In a show full of big personalities, they all can’t fit. Checkout is at 11:00, Jim.

David: I think Jim may have the gamer’s perspective necessary to go far. Others have noted that Jean-Robert Bellande was also a poker player and that he didn’t do well, but I’d have to say that Jean-Robert has a very different personality type. The one thing that worries me the most about Jim is his quote, “No one with my combination of character, intelligence, cunning and athleticism has ever been on Survivor.” That shows a huge ego after 22 seasons of the show. Will that ego make itself known? If so, he could be in trouble. But I’m going to say he will be able to keep a good poker face and might actually do well.

John

William: Johnnie Cochran died in 2005. When he got to Heaven, he told God that he wanted to be reincarnated as a pasty white kid and be on a reality show. God obliged. All joking aside, I really want this kid to win. Us super fan nerdy kids need one of our own to finally take the crown. The Rob Cesterninos, Stephen Fishbachs, and Brian Corridans of the world need this. He knows the game inside and out, he’s staying in the moment (as evidenced by his immense fear of being the first one voted out) instead of planning too far ahead, and he plans to play a manipulative social game where he leverages other people’s wants and needs to make them do what’s best for him. He won a Dean’s Scholar Prize at Harvard Law for a paper he wrote about the Survivor jury process. I would love to read it. Still, with that in mind, as much as I want him to win, I think it would be massively appropriate for him to end up on the very jury he studied.

Ken: On one hand, he looks like a refugee from the cast of Big Bang Theory. On the other, he seems to know as much about the show, and the game, as anyone in the cast. I see him as another “Todd” from Survivor: China. That is, he’ll stick around in the beginning due to alliances and telling people what they want to hear, and post-merge, he’ll stick around due to not being seen as a threat.