Survivor: Fiji

Another season of "Survivor" has started, and this time it takes place in Fiji with 19 survivors instead of 20. One contestant actually quite hours before the game started.

The game starts with all 19 survivors on one beach, which is a new way to start things and has most of the castaways a little confused and waiting for the twist. Out of the blue, Jeff appears in a plane and drops off a box with elaborate (for survivor) blueprints on how to build a shelter and a map leading them to more supplies than 84 Lumber.

I'm talking wood, nails, hammers, shovels, RICE, flint, etc. This is like "Survivor: Club Med" and I already hate this idea. Immediately, Sylvia starts delegating orders because she is an architect. The super-shelter is looking real good and everyone seems real excited about living in it, or using the toilet — yes I said they have a toilet.

All seems well at camp until the second night when a man named "Dreamz" who used to be homeless starts going on rants and picking on his fellow contestants for no reason — and at bedtime!

He should know never to mess with people at bedtime. He rubs a guy named "Rocky" (this is like "Survivor: Nicknames" this season), who reminds me on Boston Rob, the wrong way and they get into a heated discussion about being annoying.

We already have a fight 20 minutes into the show. It's a good thing I love the drama.

OK, enough building and onto the first challenge and, as expected, there are some twists. Jeff asks the new group who was the leader so far and they all say Sylvia because of her experience with architecture. Jeff then tells her she will divide up everyone into two tribes. Here is how it stacked up.

Moto (green tribe)
Boo
Dreamz
Cassandra
Edgardo
Liliana
Alex
Gary
Stacy
Lisi

Ravu (orange tribe)
Yau-man
Rocky
Anthony
Earl
Erica
Jessica
Rita
Michelle
Mookie

Jeff then tells Sylvia that she will NOT get to participate in the challenge today and that she will be going to exile island, but she will be immune and join the tribe that loses.

Talk about getting the crap end of the stick after leading the tribe, but at least she can't get booted. In addition the winning tribe goes back to Camp Mansion and the losers go back to a new camp with just a pot and a machete. (Sounds like what they gave us on "Survivor: All-Stars.")

The challenge is similar to the chariots of fire challenge they did in "All-Stars." Teams must pull a chariot that two tribe members must be on. Along the way, they must untie bags of puzzle pieces. After they retrieve all the bags, they must solve all three puzzles that will then give them a combination to get a knife and cut a rope that releases a flag. The team to release their flag first wins!

Yippee, it's good to see that the challenges are still as confusing as ever.

Moto pulls ahead and wins, when Ravu struggles on the puzzle. Ravu goes back to camp defeated and with no shelter to stay in. Erica, Rocky and Jessica make a quick alliance to stick together but the rest of the tribe members want Jessica out because they feel she is the weakest link.

Despite her testimony that she is not the weakest link, she is the one voted out tonight, the first boot of the season and will be joining me on "Survivor Live."

Till next week.