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By ERIC DEGGANS, Times Television Critic
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 21, 2000
In assessing the fallout from our first week of Survivor ejection predictions, I've learned two important lessons.
First, never underestimate what contestants will endure for a leg up on this TV show, a principle proved when the Tagi Team elected last week to boot lawyer Stacey Stillman over my (and Times readers') clear favorite, cranky, 70-something, ex-Navy SEAL Rudy Boesch.
Secondly, it always pays to be abundantly clear about what you expect from people in a contest.
In other words, let me explicitly state that I'd like you, dear reader, to pick who will be voted off the show at the end of next week's episode, not the one that airs tonight. This does require a bit of forward thinking, but it's also a bigger thrill if you get it right.
As it turns out, we all were wrong last week, anyway. Most responding readers and I both guessed that either Boesch or Pagong Team's Ramona Gray would be kicked off, mostly because they were getting on everybody else's nerves.
But Tagi apparently figured it was better to have an abrasive guy who could swim and carry lots of stuff than a slim female lawyer who kept trying to get the women to vote as a bloc. Wonder if that means the other women will face a tougher time avoiding ejection as well?
Last week's episode also offered a few other revelations, including castaway Sean Kanniff's offhand-yet-uncomfortable references to gay Tagi teammate Richard Hatch's sexual orientation. And with past irritants such as Gray and Boesch given reduced roles, we saw how the magic of tape editing can emphasize any participant's worst qualities.
Like a gambler who doesn't know when to quit, I'm sticking with Boesch and Gray as my picks for ejection this week. Next week, I pick Wisconsin truck driver Susan Hawk from Tagi (she's a little too blunt) or New Jersey basketball coach Gervase Peterson from Pagong (too squeamish and he can't swim, a definite drawback).
Now it's your turn. Pick who will be ejected at the end of next week's episode and send it to us. If you've got a pithy observation, include your name and a telephone number, in case we need to chat with you.
E-mail Floridian@sptimes.com, fax to (727) 892-2327, or mail to Eric Deggans, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. No phone calls, please.
Faxes and e-mails must be received by noon Friday; letters must be postmarked Thursday. The show airs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays on WTSP-Ch. 10.
Good luck!