Invisa's Analysis, Analyzing Game Positioning Every Week

[Invisa]

ALEXIS JONES
24, Motivational Speaker

Just reading her bio, Alexis seems like a good pick to go far. She's well-traveled and athletic, having hiked around the world to several major countries. She's also a good talker, having interviewed celebrities on her college television show, and her job as a motivational speaker helps her out on that issue. If she manages to work her social skills well, I think she could easily make her way very far. The only bad side I see to Alexis is that she could easily turn into another Amanda, who just gets in good with a leader, and doesn't make any moves against him.

AMANDA KIMMEL
23, Fashion Designer

If Amanda was a newbie, I'd say her résumé would make her a top contender to win it all. Unfortunately, I've watched her play in China, and she sucked. She basically became the second-in-command to the leader, and then never did anything to upset his position as leader. She played the game as though she wanted to be everyone's friend without ever putting the effort in, other than to make superficial relationships. Given that she may have thought she stood a good chance at winning China, which was still airing when she went to Micronesia, I can easily see her employing the same strategy and failing. The one plus I can see is that she won't have a big target on her back like pretty much every other member of the favorites tribe.

AMI CUSACK
34, Nanny

Ami was a leader in her original season and she was an extreme feminist. Now, this may hurt her on Micronesia, but it's my opinion that her feminism came mainly from the fact that Vanuatu was meant to be an all-out gender war, and she just happened to be a general for the women. Ami's a strong player, physically, and she's got the charisma to control people and keep them in line, so I fully expect her to take control of her tribe once again.

CHET WELCH
48, Pharmacy Customer Service/Pageant Coach

Chet's the old guy on his tribe which, given the inclusion of many strong favorites on the other tribe, could spell trouble for Chet. His age could help him out a lot, however, because he has a lot of life experience and intelligence, which is exactly what has helped several older players in the past. Chet is also a pageant coach, which could help him establish bonds and initiate conversations with the younger women on his tribe. Chet could either go very far, or go out very early.

CIRIE FIELDS
37, O.R. Coordinating Nurse

Cirie has the disadvantage, going into the game, of being one of the most popular players in Survivor history. She's got great people skills, and there may be bigger fish to fry, but I don't think a lot of people are going to let her get far in the game. She also has a disadvantage in that she's on a tribe with a lot of strong players, and she's one of the few weak links. Cirie has her work cut out for her.

ELIZA ORLINS
25, Law School Student

A lot of the returning women are players who might not necessarily be a big target right off the bat, and Eliza is definitely one of those. However, Eliza has several things working in her favor, going into the game. For one, she's no slouch in physical challenges, and she's got a lot of spirit. For another, she's got an automatic in with her friend, Ami. And for a third, she comes from one of the earliest seasons represented in the cast, and thus, she has had time to watch and learn more about her opponents. Eliza is a good pick to make it far and win.

ERIK REICHENBACH
22, Art Student

Erik has the potential to be a very strong physical player, and he also seems like the kind of outgoing guy that can make friends and get into alliances to keep himself around. The problem is that Erik seems a little too naïve to play Survivor. He's very young, which tends to be a detractor in pretty much everyone with the exception of Jenna Morasca. Erik seems like the kind of guy who can get into a strong alliance, but he won't make any waves within that alliance.

JAMES CLEMENT
30, Grave Digger

James is back again to be the physical powerhouse of the season. The difference between China and Micronesia, however, is that in Micronesia, there are water challenges that James never had to contend with. Suddenly, he's not as much of an asset as he was in China. Combine this with the fact that James' social skills still seem to be somewhat lacking in terms of the game, and the fact that he's a little too trusting of his alliances, and he probably won't win the game.

JASON SISKA
22, Gymnastics Coach/Student

Jason has said Ozzy is his favorite Survivor, and he's said that he's a lot like Ozzy, and judging by his résumé, Jason doesn't seem to be embellishing that. He seems laid back, and at the same time, that's the sort of thing that puts his ability to strategize and win in question. He can probably skate by early on, because he will be a physical asset, but after the merge, either his own tribe will want him gone because he's stealing immunity from them, or the other tribe will want him gone because he's an immunity threat.

JOEL ANDERSON
32, Firefighter

Joel is a firefighter, which automatically puts a little bit of a target on his back, because he's got that same hero complex that a police officer or a soldier would have. Still, Joel looks strong as an ox, and he looks like he could be someone that could go toe-to-toe with a workhorse like James. Joel also lives in Arizona, which means he probably won't be affected by the heat and dehydration as much as some of the others. It's not impossible for him to win, and he stands a good chance if he can get to the merge with the majority.

JON "JONNY FAIRPLAY" DALTON
33, Professional Wrestler/Reality Star

Jon is the only player from before the original All-Stars season, and EVERYONE, even non-fans like Courtney, knows of his exploits from Pearl Islands. Jon won't even have to unpack his bags, going into this season of Survivor, because everyone is going to want to be the player that gets to knock him down a few pegs. Jon is probably the weakest person on his tribe, he's got an unsavory reputation, and he's got a personality that can easily turn people off. Fairplay will be going home the second his tribe loses an immunity challenge.

JONATHAN PENNER
45, Writer/Producer

Jonathan doesn't have the biggest target on his back from the start, but anyone who's watched the show knows Jonathan has the reputation of a backstabber and a schemer. That could definitely hurt him in the long run, especially since he never really showed himself to be too much of a physical powerhouse in challenges. Still, he's not the kind of guy who sticks himself to an alliance and hope that things work out, and he will do everything he can to further himself in the game.

KATHLEEN SLECKMAN
45, Golf Course Concessions

Kathleen is that player from every season that pretty much no one will really be able to related to. She's the oldest woman on her tribe, and she doesn't exactly have a physical job. Given her unique profession however, she's probably guaranteed to be a true fan of the game, and she seems to have a definite game plan of forming an alliance of the outcasts. Still, I can't see her lasting long, so long as there's so few weak links on her tribe.

MARY SARTAIN
29, Real Estate/Financial Company Owner

Mary is one of those players that could either be a strong competitor, or just another person who just goes with the flow and joins whoever offers her an alliance first. The one thing that might be good to note is that Mary does own her own company, which could put her in the position where she might assume that she needs to take control of her tribe. She could also be the kind of player that flirts and chats up the guys in order to keep them as her ace-in-the-hole. Mary, as a player, will be shaped over the course of the game, but it's very hard to guess her abilities early on.

MICHAEL "MIKEY B" BORTONE
34, Aspiring Writer/Actor

It may seem stereotypical, but as an aspiring actor, Michael is probably the kind of guy who gets cocky and thinks he's a better player than he actually is. He's managed a restaurant and owned a company before, so odds are, he'll try to take on a leadership role in his tribe, but he'll probably end up rubbing several people the wrong way. He's not the strongest guy on his tribe, and he's also just giving off vibes of the kind of guy who might turn the women off, so things do not seem to be going in his favor. Just evidenced by the nickname he chose for himself, he's not going to be the most likable guy around.

NATALIE BOLTON
32, Bartender/Personal Trainer

There are a couple jobs that, when you see them, you know that they're going to be trouble, and bartender/personal trainer is definitely not a good combination. She even describes herself as bitchy, which already means she's not going to get along with quite a few of the other players. She has traveled the world quite a bit, but that's not going to be much help if she can't connect with the other players, many of whom don't seem to fit in the mold of the kind of people she'd typical hang out with.

OSCAR "OZZY" LUSTH
26, Freelance Photographer/Writer

Ozzy, like many of the returning players, has a huge target on his back so the sole reason that he accomplished so much on his original season. Ozzy doesn't exactly rock the boat too much, which could be good for him, as he could easily let some of the stronger strategic players duke it out first. He's also going to be a big challenge asset in the likely more water-based challenges of an island season. Ozzy has the potential to do well, but people are going to want him gone fast, based solely on his challenge prowess.

PARVATI SHALLOW
25, Non-Profit Organizer

Parvati has a lot of potential to be a winner from the returning players because she's not going to be seen as a big threat, but she IS, in fact, a strategic threat. She can work with the men just as well as she can work with the women. She's a strong player, but not too strong so as to get herself targeted as a threat to win immunity. She is also highly likely to flirt with the guys on her tribe and use her pre-existing relationships with Jonathan and Ozzy to give herself a leg up. All-in-all, Parvati is a very strong contender to win it all, and if she has the numbers, it is quite likely that she can pull the puppet strings to get everything working her way.

TRACY HUGHES-WOLF
43, Commercial and Residential Builder

Tracy is probably one of the strongest women in the cast, given the fact that she is, essentially, a construction worker. However, this is going to be problematic for her, as she is an older woman AND she's strong, which means her personality will probably match, and she could easily try to take on the role of a leader and become too bossy right off the bat. Things could also go badly for her in the fact that she might not fit in with the younger members of her tribe as well as several of the other older players. She's the type of player who either goes out early or goes very far.

YAU-MAN CHAN
55, Computer Engineer

Yau-Man is one of the nicest players in the game, and he's got the brainpower to match that. The thing that's going to haunt him is the fact that he's already got that reputation as a nice and smart player. People aren't going to want to take him on in the finals even more than they did in his original season, and this time, he's not going to have a whole lot of buffer to protect him pre-merge from having a target on his back. He may be strong, but he's still old, and he's not as strong as a lot of the members of his tribe. Combine that with his threat status and he has a lot to overcome in this game.


FANS VS. FAVORITES PRE-SHOW RANKINGS:

1. Alexis Jones
2. Parvati Shallow
3. Eliza Orlins
4. Ami Cusack
5. Joel Anderson
6. Jonathan Penner
7. Mary Sartain
8. Jason Siska
9. Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth
10. Tracy Hughes-Wolf
11. Amanda Kimmel
12. Erik Reichenbach
13. Chet Welch
14. Kathleen Sleckman
15. James Clement
16. Michael "Mikey B" Bortone
17. Cirie Fields
18. Yau-Man Chan
19. Natalie Bolton
20. Jon "Jonny Fairplay" Dalton

[JesterJay]

It's very hard to analye the entire cast and put them in rankings like that but I admire your effort.

[unduli]

I agree with your assessments for the most part, though there are things I would change. Like putting Mary #1!!!

I somewhat like Alexis from the pre-show, which worries me. She's my Dolly/ Brooke/ Misty/ Stephannie/ Jessica/ Amanda. Maybe she'll go far like Amanda did, but considering the past seasons' consideration of female Survivors, we'll see if she can win.

[OnlyMatthew]

Is there a place I can watch the preshow? I've only seen a few commercials, but nothing more than 3 minutes.