Wonder-Twins power Super Idol on "Survivor: Kaôh Rōng"

[thguy65]

Or perhaps it is more like the Shazzan rings


http://www.ew.com/article/2016/01/11/su ... super-idol

Survivor

Posted January 11 2016 — 11:59 AM EST

Survivor will debut its 32nd season on Feb. 17 with the premiere of Survivor: Kaôh Rōng. But while the basic premise of people stranded in a remote location and having to vote each other out of the game has stayed intact since the reality hit first debuted in the summer of 2000, the show has never been afraid to tinker with the format and twists that go along with it.

EW can now reveal the latest wrinkle in the game. While the concept of hidden immunity idols that are found and can protect players from being voted out when used was first introduced in Survivor: Guatemala (season 11), the specifics of the idols in terms of where they were hidden and when they could be used in the voting process have varied from season to season.

Now, in the Kaôh Rōng season, for the first time, an idol will actually have a potential second power. “This season, the hidden immunity idol is used like never before,” host Jeff Probst tells EW. “The big idol twist this season is that an idol has two separate powers. If you find an idol, it has the regular powers of a normal idol, But when put together with another idol — two can actually fit together — they can be used as one super idol that can be played after the votes are read.”

So any immunity idol found will be able to be used on its own at Tribal Council after the votes are cast but before they are read. However, if it is combined with a second idol it can be used as a safety net after the votes are read and it is clear who has ben voted out, thereby saving that person.

“If an idol is used alone it plays as always — after the votes are cast but before they are read,” explains Probst. “But if you find someone else who has an idol and you are willing to combine your idols and play them together for one move, then you can play the idol after the votes have been cast and after they have been read. It essentially becomes a free pass. But you can obviously only use it for one person, so that means that you have to have a strong alliance because at least one of you is giving up their own personal protection to save their partner or possibly a third person. It has the potential to be a massive game changer, but like all big moves it requires a big risk.”

Another element to the new twist is that only those who find hidden idols will know about it. “A fun by-product of Survivor having been played so many times is that not everybody believes everything they are being told,” says Probst. “This could be a situation where someone shares the info with an alliance member but isn’t believed because it’s just too outrageous. In this sense, the history of Survivor has become its own twist.”

Having an idol that can be played after the votes are revealed has been done before, most recently in Survivor: Cagayan (season 28), but never has an idol been able to be played in two different ways. So now, should someone have two idols (as eventual winner Jeremy Collins did in last season’s Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance), they could plan to hold on to each to use individually at separate Tribal Councils while having the safety net of combining them on the spot should they be blindsided. “You have the security of knowing you cannot be voted out,” says the host. “You simply play them both together and their power is unstoppable. But, it’s a very rare situation for someone to have two idols. The other scenario is you have to seek out someone else who has an idol and convince them to trust you —another rare event — enough to use your idols together.”

We’ll find out if this new combo-idol power comes into play when Survivor: Kaôh Rōng premieres on Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

- Tim H.

[Bob78164]

I'll bet the power gets used. Otherwise, they'd have kept the twist under their hat in order to preserve the secrecy for a future season. --Bob

[Bob Juch]

Survivor: Kaôh Rōng was filmed before the last season, Survivor: Cambodia.

They going with the Brains, Brawn, Beauty tribes again.

[tanstaafl2]

Survivor: Kaôh Rōng was filmed before the last season, Survivor: Cambodia.

They going with the Brains, Brawn, Beauty tribes again.

Odd that they would do so. I wonder if they felt that Survivor: Cambodia was the more compelling of the two and they wanted a good season (It was a pretty good season) to boost the ratings. If so it doesn't bode all that well for this season. The BBB format was such a contrived theme last time that it would not surprise me if this one proves to be a relative stinker.

By the time this one finishes airing it will be about a year since the filming was completed!

[thguy65]

Regarding Survivor alumni, here's a little shocker:

http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/m ... /79899642/

Ex-'Survivor' contestant Skupin arrested for child porn

A former "Survivor" contestant was charged Friday with six counts of child porn possession, five counts of larceny and one count of racketeering for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette announced the charges Friday night against Michael Skupin of White Lake.

“Not only did this man rob people of their hard-earned savings with his financial scams but he victimized innocent children every time he looked at a piece of child pornography,” said Schuette. “This man seems to have no concept or caring for right and wrong and will be prosecuted under the full extent of the law for these horrific crimes.”

Skupin, who appeared on "Survivor: The Australian Outback" and "Survivor: Philippines," was arraigned Friday in 52-2 District Court in Clarkston, according to a news release from Schuette's office.

Skupin is facing the following charges: six counts of possession of child sexual abusive materials, a four-year felony, five counts of larceny by conversion, a five-year felony; and one count of racketeering-conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony.

Bond was set at $350,000. If bond is met, Skupin must wear a GPS tether, cannot have any unsupervised visits with children or leave the state. Skupin is next toappear in court for a pre-exam conference at 9 a.m. Feb. 19.

An investigation began into Skupin after victims from his alleged Ponzi scheme contacted a local news reporter, the news release said.

He is accused of recruiting investors and friends to take part in his "gifting scheme” called Pay It Forward. Victims allegedly made $10,000 cash investments in the scheme. Their money would then cycle through a chart in which participants were eventually paid out of other new investors’ money. The scheme was discovered when eventually there were no new investors signing and most people in the scheme lost all of their money.

Skupin’s laptop was searched in conjunction with the Ponzi scheme investigation. During the search, investigators discovered images of underage children in sexual situations. The images are alleged to belong to Skupin.

In 2001's "Survivor: The Australian Outback," Skupin stumbled, fell into a fire and was medically evacuated from the show.

- Tim H.

[jaybee]

I think that the only reason that they aired out of sequence was due to the timing of the "Fan Favorites". They tied announcing the FF players with the previous awards show and made it more real by shipping them off directly to start taping. That got things out of sync with their normal taping schedule. Plus, all the viewers had then been introduced to the FF players so it would be hard to slip in the B/B/B episodes in front of them.

IMHO, Survivor has done an excellent job of adding just enough twists and changes to make for consistent good shows. I really can't recall any 'duds' in the last 6 to 8 seasons. For a while there, starting with season 3, they were alternating a good season with a poor one, but I think they've gotten over that pattern.

[a1mamacat]

Every time I see the name of the island, I keep thinking it's a Scooby Doo episode.

Can't wait to see what that nutcase Caleb, from Big Brother, will do. Will he find a new obsession...will he stalk her...will he wear her bunny slippers.

[thguy65]

Reminder that the new season starts tonight 2/17.

- Tim H.

[Vandal]

I thought for a moment we were back on the Botany Bay:

Spoiler

[jarnon]

Anyone notice that one castaway on the Brawn tribe isn't brawny, and one player on the Beauty tribe isn't beautiful? I'm waiting to see if anyone on the Brain tribe isn't brainy. Either TPTB confused "Brain, Brawn, Beauty" with "White Collar, Blue Collar, No Collar," or they just played a joke on us.

[MarkBarrett]

Phrasing this not to spoil: My favorite part of the episode was when the first voter went to write the name and it was not coming out well. That person then realized the cap needed to be removed first.

[a1mamacat]

Phrasing this not to spoil: My favorite part of the episode was when the first voter went to write the name and it was not coming out well. That person then realized the cap needed to be removed first.

That was actually

Spoiler

Aleisha

, the second voter. The first one was

Spoiler

Darnell

and that voter didn't have that problem lol

[jaybee]

Anyone notice that one castaway on the Brawn tribe isn't brawny, and one player on the Beauty tribe isn't beautiful? I'm waiting to see if anyone on the Brain tribe isn't brainy. Either TPTB confused "Brain, Brawn, Beauty" with "White Collar, Blue Collar, No Collar," or they just played a joke on us.

The Brain tribe has the really chatty gal (sorry, I'm not up with all the names as yet). She went on and on about all her survival training and knowledge, multiple ways to make fire etc. In reality, couldn't make fire. Tried to cut bamboo by beating it to death with an axe despite having a perfectly good saw to use.

Maybe they should have divided them into four tribes - Brains, Beauty, Brawn & None Of The Above.