TV Guide Channel
Survivor: Panama Exile Island Preview
Segment 2
A look at the upcoming 12th season of "Survivor," including the cast and this round's new twists.
1.22.06
Transcript by SurvivorFever.net
View Segment 2 Images >>Danni: It's time to meet the two types of contestants that typically don't do well in the game, the young guys and the older women. Jeff's favorite group...the older women, are not your average soccer moms. Just look at Ruth Marie.
Jeff Probst: Ruth Marie is the oldest woman out here and arguably in as good of shape as any woman out here.
Ruth Marie: I'm a long distance runner...umm...endurance type thing. I get better as things get worse. I think I'll be perceived on the very front end as the opposite of that. The worse things get, the better I personally get.
Danni: Wisconsin born Tina was already selected to be a part of my cast in Guatemala but tragedy kept her from going.
Tina Scheer: I was 10 days from leaving to Guatemala when my 16 year old son was killed in a car accident which obviously prevented me from going.
Jeff: We said, if you feel like it and it somehow seems like the right thing to do, you're welcome back next season.
Tina: So, I just picked him up in my heart and off we go. I choose to live my life.
Danni: Tina is not only emotionally strong but a physical threat as well, especially in balance challenges.
Tina: I started out as a log roller. When I started out, it was in the sixties. Log rolling was the only sport available to women.
Jeff: Tina is a lumberjill. Tina is a very likable Sue Hawk. You can't help but pull for somebody like that.
Danni: While log rolling is a skill that should work on Survivor, singing hasn't really helped anyone in the game.
Melinda: I am an entertainer. I sing and dance in production shows.
Danni: But 32 year old Melinda doesn't plan on sharing her skill with the tribe.
Melinda: People find out that's what I do and they are like, "oh, sing." And no, I don't. That's just not something that I, (snaps fingers) crank out a tune.
Danni: Operating room nurse, Cirie, will be living a very different life in Panama than she does in her hometown, Jersey City.
Cirie Fields: I'm a couch potato and I wanted to do some things before I got too old. I love the show. I wanted to just challenge myself and see how far I can make it. I think I can win.
Jeff: Cirie represents everybody who's ever sat at home and said, "I could do that." But they never got up off the couch. Cirie got up off the couch and she's on this show. I think her little bubbly-ness is probably a bit of a mask for a player underneath who might be better than we think.
Cirie: I'm cute and funny but don't play. (laughs)
Jeff: I like the older women, on the other end of the spectrum I have big questions about the younger guys.
Danni: 24 year old yoga instructor, Aras, is the youngest player in Panama. He's a bit nervous about his earthy profession getting in the way of a million dollar goal.
Aras: The yoga tradition teaches like non-greediness, and not lying and all those things. So it will be a real challenge to me to apply some of those yoga principles to this game where it rewards truly like the gord (?) and geckos of the world.
Jeff: I'm not sure what he's bringing. He's bringing a lot of talk. Does he know how to play Survivor? We'll find out. That's all I've got on Aras.
Danni: Arizona salesman, Nick, looks like a challenge threat but for now his strategy seems to be all about togetherness.
Nick Stanbury: I'd hate to be over prepared in a way. Hopefully there's someone in our tribe that really knows what they're doing. That would be great. But it makes it more fun, you go through it together. Have some fun with it rather than one or two people really knowing what they're doing.
Jeff: Is he athletic? Yeah. Is that worth much in Survivor? A little.
Nick: I'll play my game. Whatever happens, happens.
Danni: Austin, a North Carolina author, got to Panama in an unusual way, through another reality show.
Austin: In "The Amazing Race Family Edition", my family was one of the finalists for that show.
Danni: Austin was called upon solo for Survivor.
Austin: I joked around with the casting director later on, I said, "I don't know what the spark you saw in me was but I'm glad you're under that false misconception." Because here I am.
Danni: And finally, meet Bobby. His talk is as big as his well-muscled body. But can a guy who refers to himself as Bob Dawg make it all the way to the million dollar pay day?
Bobby Mason: In terms of the survival stuff, I figure the tougher it gets the better it is for me because, you know, I'm a genius and I'll figure it out. I don't know how to make fire but I do know how to destroy people and I'm bringing that to the table.
Jeff: He went to Stanford and has a law degree but he walks around talking about it like he's a world wrestler or something. So, I really don't know.
Bobby: The things that are going to help me are that I'm buff, I'm bold and I'm beautiful. I think the things that are going to hurt me are the fact that I'm buff, I'm bold and I'm beautiful. There's no way for me to fly under the radar.
Danni: Straight ahead, we go behind the scenes of Survivor: Panama to find out what secrets these snakes, these buffs, and these skulls might reveal about Panama, Exile Island. Plus...
Jeff: Coming up I'll give you a tour of the new Tribal Council.