Well, SURVIVOR: PALAU has ended, and now we are left with the long summer stretch with no new TV shows of any sort of quality, and, worst of all, no Survivor.
As a result, my column will be different every week, and for at least the next few weeks, I will be doing some Survivor feature articles. This week, I am going to take a look back at the ten people who have joined an exclusive Survivor club: the first people voted off.
They started out with such high hopes at the beginnings of their respective seasons, and after only three short days, their adventure came to an untimely end. What happened?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
BORNEO
First Voted Off: Sonja Christopher
It’s always hard to be the first person voted off, no matter who you are or which season it is. But it stinks especially to be the first person voted off EVER. Such was the case for sweet, old, ukulele-playing Sonja. What caused this unfortunate fate for Sonja? The Tagi tribe was older and more mature from the start, so you might be inclined to think that they would revere her as a grandmotherly figure and spare her the vote. Indeed, many did, but not enough. She was frailer than the rest, having survived a bout with cancer, and was getting cut up very easily. However, the ultimate nail in the coffin was her stumble in the first Immunity Challenge, Quest for Fire, which cost the tribe the challenge and sent them to Tribal Council. So Sonja became the first person to ever have a torch snuffed at Tribal Council. Not exactly what you might call an honor, but hey, at least it’s better than never getting to go out there at all.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK
First Voted Off: Debb Eaton
Out of all ten first boots, I have always felt the worst for Debb. Her problem was exactly the opposite of Sonja’s with respect to the fact that she was not old or weak. She did not cost her tribe a challenge. Rather, she fell prey to the game itself, which consists almost entirely of social politics. Debb focused far too quickly on the survival aspect of her adventure, and failed to make herself a part of the tribe. She could have done things as simple as become a part of the nighttime discussions, but since a lot of the material offended her, she isolated herself from the other Kuchas. As a result, when it came time for that first Tribal Council, she became an easy target, and was voted off unanimously. Now, I mentioned in the first sentence that I feel the worst for Debb, and it has nothing to do with the game she played. No offense to her, but she absolutely deserved to be the first person out because she failed to play a social game, which is a terrible mistake. However, more than any of the other first boots, she was completely devastated by the result. She was emotionally torn apart, and I always hate to see that happen, especially since this is a game.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
AFRICA
First Voted Off: Diane Ogden
Once again, we find ourselves circling back to the physical part of the game. However, unlike Sonja, Diane was not a victim of age. She was a victim of her own body, which did not respond well at all to the harsh African environment. When Boran had to go to the first Tribal Council, Diane was targeted for that simple fact. Even though Clarence ate the beans, the majority of the tribe realized that they would need his physical prowess in the challenges if they wanted to avoid future Tribal Councils. As a result, Diane was the first to go. If she had not gotten sick, Diane could have become a viable player. Unfortunately, you can’t control what your body does, and wilderness survival is a part of the game.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
MARQUESAS
First Voted Off: Peter Harkey
And now we arrive at the very first male to become the first Tribal Council victim. Peter was a very strong man, so it wasn’t his lack of physical ability that resulted in his early ouster. Unfortunately, he was a member of the Maraamu tribe, which was never going to do well because they failed to connect. However, Peter kind of freaked people out. Nice enough guy, and no offense to him, but he came across as sort of a psycho. The biggest mistake he made, however, was revealing his hand too soon. He told them all how he wanted to get rid of the weaker players first. Ouch. Bad move. Definitely turned some people off, and it resulted in his demise. One of the biggest ironies of all is that, according to something Peter said in an interview after the premiere of his season, he said that Mark Burnett told him that he would either be the first person voted off or the winner of the entire show. That’s kind of freaky too, isn’t it?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
THAILAND
First Voted Off: John Raymond
John is one of the more tragic first boots for the simple reason that he definitely went earlier than he should have. He was a physical asset to Chuay-Gahn, and he was a foundation they could all rely on. That would have been the ideal. The problem? He came on too strong, and in doing so, offended too many people. It got to the point where they thought that he was causing division rather than promoting unity, which was his initial intention. And therein lies a lesson for all future players of the game: Never come out as a leader too early. Very, very few people can pull it off, so it’s better not to try it.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
AMAZON
First Voted Off: Ryan Aiken
Ryan became another victim of social politics, but a lot of it wasn’t even his fault. Yes, it was his fault that he allowed himself to become an outcast of sorts when he went off by himself with Daniel and didn’t help as much around camp. However, I believe the rest of it is just his natural immaturity that didn’t rest well with the likes of Rodger, Butch, and Dave. The reason he got voted off was because Cesternino flipped because he saw the very weak platform Ryan was standing on. There’s also the luck factor: Ryan probably could have done much better if he had some women on his tribe. Unfortunately, in this game, you need to work with what you got, and ultimately, Ryan was unable to do so.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PEARL ISLANDS
First Voted Off: Nicole Delma
Nicole is another tragic victim in a sense because if she had not made such a huge mistake, there is no way she would have been the first person voted off. She had some personal issues with Tijuana, and decided that those were more important than the tribe’s issues with Ryan S. and Lill. If Nicole had just stuck to the tribe’s plans, she would have remained in the game, and could have become a viable player. Instead, she went on a tirade and started spreading stuff about Tijuana to Lill, who in turn spread it to Andrew and the others, who in turn decided Nicole was causing too much controversy and division and needed to be voted off for the sake of the tribe. Whoops.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ALL-STARS
First Voted Off: Tina Wesson
Well, Tina has the distinct “honor” of being a member of two very different Survivor clubs. She has the honor of being in the winner’s circle, and has the unfortunate distinction of being a first boot. Tina did not do anything wrong to merit this early dismissal. She did not make any strategic errors. She did not get sick. She did not cost her tribe a challenge. All-Stars was a very different game than the other nine. Tina was voted out first for the very simple reason that she had collected her million dollar check in the Outback, and no one wanted to see her win again. Since Ethan was physically stronger, Tina was the target when Saboga was faced with Tribal Council.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
VANUATU
First Voted Off: Brook Geraghty
Jeff Probst labeled Brook as the “most frustrated first boot ever.” Brook fell victim to the politics of age. If the mindset of physical prowess and value was strong at all in the Lopevi tribe, then Chris would have been the first person voted out. Well, instead, Chris went on to claim the million bucks, and the old guys of Lopevi decided to take out the young ones, with Brook as their first victim. As we all know, this strategy backfired later when the women took over the game, but it helped Chris and sent Brook packing after only three days in the Islands of Fire.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
PALAU
First Voted Off: Jolanda Jones
Voting off Jolanda was Ulong’s first of many mistakes that caused them the pain of never winning an Immunity Challenge and becoming totally decimated. However, hindsight is 20/20, and at the time of the first Tribal Council, Jolanda was not coming off as a saint. Like John in Thailand, Jolanda had good intentions. She wanted her tribe to remain focused and strong, but she just came on too hard, which turned off the others, and in the end, she found herself the tenth person to find herself without more than three days of trying to win a million dollars.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Ten seasons, with ten people who failed to survive to see more than three days. Now that we have looked at why each one left, we can see some common and different trends.
Ultimately, these are the reasons why people were voted out first that were beyond their ability to change:
– Physical weakness (Sonja, Diane)
– Target established before game (Tina)
As you can see, there are only two things that we have observed that were beyond the ability to change, and Tina’s circumstance really doesn’t count because that was a one-time deal. There are no former winners in a regular season. So, really, the way I see it, only two people had no control over their ultimate destiny: Sonja and Diane. Diane couldn’t help the fact that her body gave out and she got sick, just like Sonja couldn’t help that she was older in a brand-new game that didn’t fully understand the value of the wise in a tribe yet.
Here are the main reasons people got voted off for circumstances that were under their control:
– Socially inept (Debb, Ryan)
– Too forceful with leadership (John, Jolanda)
– Too quick to cause division within the tribe/showed hand too early (Nicole, Peter)
The predicament of Brook is one that I will leave open for debate because while he could not help the older men taking over, there must have been a reason he was chosen first before the others. You decide on which side of the spectrum Brook falls on.
So where does all of this lead us? This summer, 18 new people will be competing in Guatemala for their chance at a million bucks. What can they do to avoid being the eleventh person to join this club? How can they avoid being the first person voted out of Guatemala?
All I can say to these players is to be very careful about coming out. It’s critical that you feel out the dynamic of your new tribe and adapt to it. If someone else is leading, do not come out as a leader. The only person who was able to pull off a victory and be the leader is Tom. It’s very hard to do. That’s the first thing, then: DO NOT BE TOO FORCEFUL WITH YOUR OWN AGENDA.
The second, and what I believe to be the most important thing, is this: Do not be afraid to go along with tribal opinion. At the early phases in the game, it is crucial to feel out your new tribe members and find out where they stand. You do not want to make waves before a first Tribal Council. You don’t want to go the other extreme and become an outcast, but don’t be so open with your ideas and opinions that people want to get rid of you. In short: IF THERE IS SOMEONE THE TRIBE COLLECTIVELY WANTS TO VOTE OFF, GO ALONG WITH IT. Otherwise, YOU could be targeted. KEEP YOUR CARDS CLOSE TO YOUR CHEST AT ALL TIMES!
The first three days of the game are critical in deciding who may go early and who may go far. If you play this game in the future, study the mistakes of the early boots against the right decisions of the winners so that you can avoid having your torch snuffed on day three.
“See” you next week!
