Have your thoughts changed at all about the race twist after seeing the first episode?

JAMES: The emphasis on it wasn't as heavy as I thought, so other than that, it didn't really change what I thought about it. Among my favorite things in the episodes is what the Survivor contestants thought of it themselves.

DAN: Not at all. I think Survivor was very classy with it, and it was well done. Even the somewhat distasteful jokes and comments were all in good humor. I'm very happy the way it was shown and from what people have told me, it's been received very well. Probst is right too... I'm rooting for the people I like best as I imagine most people are doing.

MATT: They really haven't changed too much.  I think that the Survivors weren't really
that shocked either when they learned of the twist.  We (I) have had some time to
digest the supposed issue and the Producers of the show aren't stupid - they don't
want to steorotype any race in a negative light.  They're probaby going to wait a
while for any "hero" to emerge as well, as it might demean the other tribes.  So,
no, my thoughts haven't really changed at all since I saw the first episode.

Did Stephannie side with the right pair during Tribal Council?

JAMES: In either scenario, she bought herself at most one safe Tribal Council, however the pair can flop on her with the other single (Nate) and vote her out just as easily. Starting off with such a small tribe, you will just have to hope that you will win some immunities before some swap or merge.

DAN: I believe so. Either way she truly loses, but later in the game, it's better to have less threats. Either way she went, it wouldn't have made much different. I absolutely agree with her decision though, hopefully a twist will occur before they have to vote again, because she could be in danger.

MATT: Stephannie did what she needed to do to further herself in the game.  The mistake that most of the "swing votes" do is that they try and play both sides of the fence and then they end up being the ones voted out (see: Dolly and Christy on that one).  Stephannie obviously sided with the women and voted out a possibly very strong Sekou.  Personally I don't agree with her decision, but she's still in the game and Sekou's not.

If you had to pick one person from each tribe as the person you think would go
the furthest in the game, who would it be and why?

JAMES: Aitu - Ozzy's edit seemed very favorable to me. JP plotting to get rid of Billy next episode by throwing a challenge is probably the first sign that he will have some sort of downfall. Of Cecilia and Cristina, I expect to see Cristina to make it further.

Puka - Yul seems to be all around - smart and strong in challenges. He seems very inquisitive in his confessionals, probably building him up to some narrative role. He looks like he can shut his mouth whereas Brad, Cao Boi and to a lesser extent, Jenny will not be able to.

Raro - I'm giving Candice the edge on this tribe. I don't see the other lasting that long in this social game. Nothing pops out about them yet.

Hiki - Tough call but I'd say Sundra has a good shot cause she is the lesser of two threats in a voting alliance. Her pal Rebecca will be a buffer for her if anything.

DAN: On Hiki... it would have to be Sundra. She seems very intelligent, and she won't stand out as a threat or a liability, while I think Rebecca stands out a bit more, whereas Sundra can fly under the radar. Her edit was very well done, which also supports why I think she'll stick around for a while.

On Puka... I would go with Yul. He also seems very smart, and likable. I think he's
in it for the long haul, though I could see Becky or Jenny coasting along
too.

On Raro... I would go with Parvati. Not just because I love her, but she seems like
she will be very friendly and kind of narrate her way to the end. Whereas Adam and
Candice will be split up, Jonathan will be the 'villain' and Jessica is somewhat of
an outcast.

And lastly... Aitu. I would say either JP or Cristina, not sure which though. Either
could be seen as a threat, but I guess JP moreso. So I would go with Cristina I
guess, though we know very little about her thus far.

MATT: Forgive me, I don't have the tribe names memorized yet, so I'll start with the Asian tribe.
  
Asian - As much as I like Cao-Boi, he didn't really leave that much of a positive impression on me.  I'd have to say I like Brad the best, he seems level headed and gets along with the women as well as the men.  Yul, could easily be seen as a physical threat, Cao-Boi someone they just want to get rid of and neither of the
two women look like they're in it for the long haul.
  
Black - Even though he's outnumbered, I like Nathan.  The women would be fools to vote out the only other men knowing that physical strength challenges are upcoming.  The tribes will undoubetdly merge in the very near future and I think
Nathan will make his presence known with the merged tribe and the three other
women will rapidly be voted out.
  
Hispanic - This is a tough one, because it's easy to look at Ozzy and JP and see
them as the clear physical leaders on the tribe.  I think JP's fits that mold a
little too much  and he'll be voted out soon.  I am probably going to have to say
that Cecilia will make it the furthest though.  Something about her seems very UTR
and if I'm right on this, I'll have gotten in on the ground floor.
  
White - Jonathan is my personal favorite of the game and this guy looks like he'll
keep things very interesting.  Adam is the typical cocky/good-looking young
fraternity guy and very rarely do they make it far.  Flicka hasn't won any friends
with her cluelessness, leaving Pavarti and Candice as the other two.  I just don't
see them going anywhere too far and even though Probst has high hopes for Candice,
she did nothing for me.  Jonathan for the win!

What can noticeable outcasts like Jessica and Cao Boi do to stay in the game longer?

JAMES: You already stick like a sore thumb so make sure you help your tribe win the immunity challenges. If that fails, stay quiet, hope that someone else will have some sort of vendetta against another tribe member, and float with them.

DAN: Assimilate, keep quiet, smile, be friendly and align with people. I don't think
Jessica will have a problem with this, Cao Boi might because he seems very stubborn.
Jessica got an edit of someone whos going to merge in with the others like Courtney,
whereas Cao Boi is being edited like Angie, who will meet his math soon enough.

MATT: Honestly I don't really see Jessica as a total outcast, she made a stupid mistake
by letting the chickens out of the cage, but this game is all about immunity.  The
best way she can make it up to her tribe is to help them win challenges and keep
them away from Tribal Council.  Anything less, and she's gone.
  
Cao Boi, the oldest of the Asian tribe, is most likely looked at as their leader.
But telling deragatory jokes about your culture isn't the best way to fit in.
Maybe he's just trying to lighten the mood, but he needs to realize the social
aspect of this thing and be part of the team.  Curing headaches will only get you
so far.

Who has left a good first impression on you in terms of personality, gameplay,
entertainment value, etc.?

JAMES: Cao Boi probably has it down in terms of entertainment value, he's really eccentric to be out there but I wonder if he will get a clue and start making sure that he has to assimilate his personality so that he doesn't stick out as an easy target. I hope we have more interested characters from Raro because none of them really do anything for me, maybe Candice at most. It is probably too early to tell - I don't think people loved Rupert the first PI episode, but he started to grow on them as episodes went ont.

DAN: A lot of people. Mainly Sundra, Yul, Rebecca, Jenny, Jonathan, Stephannie, Jessica, JP and Parvati. Personality... I think I will really like Parvati, Jessica, JP,
Rebecca and Sundra. Gameplay... Stephannie, Sundra and Jonathan for the most part.
Entertainment... perhaps Jonathan, JP and Jessica aka Flica. Personally, I'm most
into Parvati. I absolutely love her... and it's only episode one. :D

MATT: With 20 of these folks to keep track of, I'm still getting a bit lost in the
shuffle.  Jonathan was one of the few to really "do" anything bad by stealing the
chickens, then again he paid for it by being exiled.  I really like Ozzy and
Nathan and there's just something about Cecilia that tells me she'll be around for a while.  Everyone else is just kind of "there" and it'll take me a few episodes to really sort everyone out.

This season has generated more press due to the decision to divide the tribes along racial lines. What do you think of this twist?

JAMES: Survivor has slowly seen a decline in ratings over the past season (but still a constant performer, finishing in the Top 20 shows for the year) and some may question whether the racial twist was a last ditch attempt to get back in the "race. "My answer to this, yes and no. While doing something this controversial will undoubtedly generate a lot of attention, I am interested to see how the social aspect of the game will change as a result of being put into these tribes. I am glad that those who created Survivor actually considered the criticism that the cast of the show is typically not that diverse (which is odd, cause most of the contestants come from the same state, California). In any case, I have fallen into the trap of rooting for my own race pre-season, but time will tell who will emerge as this season's favorite. The game, the gut and core of it, remains the same, but this twist will tweak the formula a bit and if you are remotely interested in how it is going to turn out, you will tune into the show week after week. Here's hoping they don't merge/dissolve the tribes too early, or this twist will surely be wasted on something that could be very promising for the show.

DAN: When I first heard of the "racial segregation" twist, I was pretty shocked. I was in disbelief until the cast and the twist were revealed. I didn't think Survivor would or even could do something like it. The more I thought about it, the more I thought this might not be bad at all. I think it's a new concept that will stir up some controversy and get some publicity. I think those not offended by the twist may really enjoy it, and it may draw more audiences. I guarantee the premiere will be the most viewed since probably Amazon or Pearl Islands. The twist wont last for long, but it will be interesting. And Probst is right, it will come down to our favorites, not race. I think from this twist and all the media reports about this season, it should be a roller coaster ride, and it should be one of the best seasons we've seen in a while. I won't deny this twist being a publicity stunt, I think that had something to do with it, but, any publicity is good publicity, right?

MATT: Personally, at first, I really didn’t think that it would come to fruition.  I mean, really, with all of the pain/suffering going on in the world solely due to ethnic and/or racial hate, why in the world would a Top 10 show do something like this?  Personally, it really didn’t make sense to me.  Then again, I go by the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  Evidently the Producers of “Survivor” think along different lines and I’m confident that’s one of the reasons that it’s remained near the top of the ratings for six years now.

Ok, so the racial “twist” if I may call it that, is indeed a reality and now we’ve got to deal with it.  The more I think about it, the more I really don’t see it as that big of a deal.  I’ll even go so far as to say that I think it’s actually been over-hyped, but I’ll wait until I see the first episode to see how it’s handled.  If you look at it logistically, we have to hope that they cast 20 competitors and not just 20 people to get their names out there.  If they’re truly out there to compete and hopefully win the $1 million dollar prize then it really shouldn’t matter how the tribes are divided.  When it comes down to it, we just want to be entertained and see a good, solid season as opposed to “Survivor” making some political statement.  It is a risk and there’s a chance that it could totally sink the show – I doubt it, but I do admire them for doing such a thing.  All in all, the shock value alone will wear off after the first episode and I’m betting it’ll be back to business as usual.