The Many Twists of ‘Survivor: One World’

by | February 15, 2012 at 11:03 AM | Survivor, TV News

Greg Smith and Leif Manson (CBS)

Greg Smith and Leif Manson (CBS)

Redemption Island has not been redeemed.

Former players have not been issued invitations.

“Survivor” the way classic fans like it has returned for the 24th season. But, that doesn’t mean the producers don’t have a few twists up their sleeves. So, before tonight’s festivities get under way, let’s take a quick look at what Probst & Co. have in store for us…

Set Your DVR to Record “Survivor: One World”

The Twist: Two Teams on One Beach

How It Will Work: Both the Manono and Salani tribes will camp on the same beach.

It’s Kinda Like: “Survivor: Thailand” when the Chuay Gahn and Sook Jai tribes lived on the same beach for a few days before the merge.

How That Twist Worked Out: That was actually a bit of a dud. The two tribes were already pretty solid in their alliances, so there wasn’t much in the way of cross-tribe strategy after Shii Ann was voted out.

How “One World” Is Different: The two tribes will be living on the same beach from day one.

How I Think It’ll Turn Out: The two tribes will have access to each other before any deep-rooted alliances can take shape. Also, there’s the possibility that the two sides could fight over resources.

Pre-Game Twist Ranking? A ten out of ten. I love this idea. Here’s hoping it will help break up the rock-solid merge alliances of the past two seasons.

The Twist: Men vs. Women

How It Will Work: The tribes will be split up by gender. The MANono tribe will be all dudes, while the Salani (or SaLadies) will be all female.

It’s Kinda Like: “Survivor: The Amazon” and “Survivor: Vanuatu.”Actually, it’s exactly like “Survivor: The Amazon” and “Survivor: Vanuatu.”

How That Twist Worked Out: Meh. In both cases the male vs. female twist didn’t make it to the merge.

How “One World” Is Different: It isn’t.

How I Think It’ll Turn Out: I’m assuming the reason this twist exists this seasons is so we can easily tell the tribes apart when they’re running around the same beach. If that’s the case, hopefully they’ll let the tribes stay intact until the merge.

Pre-Game Twist Ranking? If they shuffle the tribes after four episodes? A three out of ten. If they let the tribes stay intact until the merge? A seven out of ten.

The Twist: Cross-Tribe Immunity Idols

How It Will Work: If you find an immunity idol around the campsite, you can’t use it for yourself. You have to give it to a member of the other tribe. EDIT: The idol situation hasn’t been made completely clear. There may be tribe-specific idols. And, if you find your tribe’s idol, you’re free to use it.

It’s Kinda Like: “Survivor: China” when Fei Long member Todd Herzog gave his immunity idol to Zhan Hu’s James Clement.

How That Twist Worked Out: Ultimately, Clement left the game holding two idols, so it didn’t have that much of an impact. But, the move did help Herzog gain favor with the He-Man-esque gravedigger.

How “One World” Is Different: Todd didn’t have to give up the idol. The One Worldians do.

How I Think It’ll Turn Out: There’s sure to be some drama in picking the right person to grant the idol. I could also see someone in trouble desperately trying to find out which member of the rival tribe has the idol.

Pre-Game Twist Ranking? Hard to call this one. It could have huge pre-merge implications or it could be a dud. Let’s call it a five out of ten.

Survivor: One World” premieres, Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Any Questions? Follow me on Twitter for news, updates, and more: @gordonholmes