The Acme Brain Trust Pre-Survivor Interview

If you want to possibly have the result of each week's episode of Survivor spoiled, you have no better place to turn than the Acme Brain Trust (http://www.acmebraintrust.com). Last season, the ABT, as they are affectionately called, accurately determined the winners of the reward and immunity challenges as well as each week's voted-out player.

This week, I sat down with two members of the Acme Brain Trust, slimmyworm2001 and hcmacfar, to pick their brains as to how they come up with their picks and their thoughts about Survivor: Thailand.

RealityNewsOnline: Well first and foremost let me thank you for taking the time to do this. It is greatly appreciated

hcmacfar: No problem. Happy to help. We're sorry it took so long to find time to get together.

RNO: How many people make up the Acme Brain Trust and how did the group get formed in the first place?

Slimmyworm2001: We have about 110 members in the ABT.

hcmacfar: When Survivor Sucks shut down its message board, a bunch of regulars on it found their way to the Ellipsiiis board. We stayed there for a while and then decided to form a separate site known as ABT.

RNO: If I am not mistaken, Survivor: Australia was the first edition of the show that the ABT worked on?

Slimmyworm2001: We formed ABT after the first episode of Survivor: Africa, actually.

RNO: The one question that everyone has is how the heck do you do it? How do you make these dead-on accurate picks week after week?

hcmacfar: We take information from as many possible places as we can - screen caps, story line, and sometimes we will hear rumors. Often these aren't true and it takes a lot of work on our part to figure out what to believe and what is just Uncle Cameraman. Mostly though it just the members spending a lot of time studying the show and the previews for whatever info possible and working to put it together.

Slimmyworm2001: One advantage of having a private board is that many people can be more open in talking about things they might be reluctant to say on a public board. I think that helps a lot, in that we try to spoil from several angles. Many hours spent poring over the vidcaps, checking out interviews and the like, and also following up on leads and trying to find that more sensitive information you might not see everywhere else

RNO: So... sensitive information, huh? Where have been some of the more "sensitive" bits on info you have found in previous editions of Survivor?

Slimmyworm2001: Well, we've always had the position that talking about certain methods is the quickest way for them to be clamped down on.

RNO: Okay. Then I guess asking you if there is a production mole in your midst is going to be met with the same answer?

hcmacfar: Ha ha. Well, there is no production mole, but beyond that we'll have to say that we can neither confirm or deny who might send us rumors every now and then.

RNO: Neither confirm nor deny? Trotting out the old CBS line are we? Let's talk about the rumors that always swirl around these games. What is the oddest rumor you have heard in the past four seasons?

Slimmyworm2001: You know, imitation is the highest form of flattery....

RNO: I'm sure CBS is grinning ear to ear!

Slimmyworm2001: Ha ha. Well, the best one that we heard, about us, anyway, and we've heard it for a while, is the old "you're getting an early feed from Nova Scotia." I'm not personally sure I could find Nova Scotia on a map, never mind get into their satellites. But it's a fun rumor, we joke about it these days.

RNO: Wasn't there a rumor that the original Survivor was actually submitted on a feed from Canada and some people with satellite TVs actually watched it ahead of time? Or am I off base?

Slimmyworm2001: I think I remember this rumor, during the first season, though I think it even kept going into the second season, a little. As far as I know, no one ever found the early feeds, though some hoaxsters sure had fun.