A Look at the ‘Survivor: Inside the Tribe’ DVD

Janet, 46, hails from Manchester, Mo. She has been married for 23 years and has two teenaged daughters. Among the titles she has are homemaker, registered nurse, travel agent, and motivational speaking. She also does volunteer work at church and school. Janet thinks she has a typical life, nothing unusual about her except that she’s on the show. She also likes the drama, and can play a part in it.

Butch, 50, is a middle school principal from Olney, Ill. He says that he can take the good with the bad; as a high school basketball coach, he learned not to get high on wins or low on losses. He started playing Survivor three months ago, preparing physically and mentally. He adds, “I covered every possible scenario there could possibly be in this game.” Great, now Burnett will throw in a twist just to get rid of him. Butch loves the challenge of the unknown, and the pressure brings out the best in a person.

Straight out of Tough Enough comes Daniel, who is 26, a tax accountant from Houston. Wrestling fans will have to fast-forward to the audition segment to see what the WWE missed out on. Daniel considers himself very driven, and nothing can stop him when he wants something. At 14, he was 4’10” and weighed 98 lbs, and he changed that, even as he was told Chinese people do not get big. Daniel had difficulty growing up as an Asian, as people saw him as an outsider. As a result, he learned to adapt and blend in.

Shawna is the winner of the 2003 Colleen Haskell lookalike contest. She’s 23, an outdoor sales associate from San Francisco. For her, mental and physical health is her primary concerns in life. She feels that she’ll be a worker bee, unafraid of getting her hands dirty. Shawna is also looking forward to forming personal alliances rather than strategic, and she can’t take the game personally.

Vying with Shawna and Heidi for the role of “Survivor Sweetheart” is Jenna, a swimsuit model from Pittsburgh. She sees herself as a fun person, and will tell the truth whether people like it or not. She sees her youth as a strength, even if some think of her as an “immature kid.” Jenna hopes she can appeal to younger viewers, and she thinks she’ll get male viewers. After that pictorial in Stuff, I wouldn’t be surprised. But she doesn’t care, since modeling is her job, and she’s ready for that kind of exposure.

This season’s senior representative is Roger, 56, a vice president of a construction company from Valencia, Cali. He has seen the show and has been disappointed in the performances of the old guys, expect for Rudy, who he calls “absolutely perfect.” Come on, they’ve all made it past the merge! “Since then, and even on that show,” he goes on, “the guys they’ve had are just a bunch of wusses.” I see ugliness at the reunion. Roger has a lot of experience with physical stuff, and he’s willing to prove something to himself.

Christy is 24, her last occupation was as a children’s outdoor adventure guide. She was born deaf, having to deal with challenges every day. Her strong point for survival is being very positive and not giving up. Christy feels she’s good with people. “If my team accepts me,” she says (and signs), “Then I’ll go all the way.”

Matthew was born on a farm, went to school in Paris, and spent six years in Asia. In his mind, that was what got him on Survivor. “Those guys took the bait,” he says, “I set the hook, and here I am.” His philosophy is that life is like a sponge and you have to soak up as much as you can. When he heard about a show that would “finance [his] next jungle adventure,” he had to go. He thinks he’ll be an actor, maintaining a sense of morality, which he feels is important to gain the trust of others in the beginning.

According to JoAnna, scarcity of food and lack of shelter are not that big of a deal. “It’s an environment which I grew up in,” she says. “I’ve been a survivor all my life. I’m just thankful you guys created this show.” She believes that God will be with her, and give her protection. All the Vecepia-bashers start cracking their knuckles in response.

Commercial. Yeah, this DVD is from Saturn, so there’s a commercial for the Satrun Ion, which you’ve been a few dozen times already. Afterwards, there are glimpses of future ads from the car company.

Title card: “Survivor Strategy.” Deena: “Goal number one: don’t piss people off in the beginning. Play well with others. Play nice.” After the Colleen-esque sentiment, we get Shawna, who knows she’s young and can’t see a 46-year-old man look to her as a leader. Alex notes there’s no right way to play the game.