They're Betting On Ethan

No one was voted out of last night's Survivor: Africa. Instead, the show was a collection of season highlights, which is the perfect opportunity to have a panel of Survivor experts evaluate the show's third season thus far.

Panelists are Susan Hawk and winner Richard Hatch from the first Survivor, and Tina Wesson, winner of Survivor: The Austrailian Outback. The following is their interview with The Early Show's Jane Clayson.

Clayson: What do you think of this bunch?

Tina: I'm a little disappointed myself.

Clayson: Are you?

Tina: I am. I'm having a hard time really getting into the show and enjoying it. Because I don't really have anybody I want to cheer for.

Clayson: You agree, Richard?

Richard: I think part of that isn't necessarily just the people. It's the setting. They're stuck. They can't move. They're in one position. In Australia, they could wander around. We could go swimming and all over the island. They're stuck.
Susan: I agree with Richard. It's like they're in this thorn corral and afraid to go out.

Clayson: You were in this pristine island. And the African land is pretty harsh.

Survivors: It is.

Clayson: Could you have survive it?

Sue: Oh, yeah. I would have been roaming out. Maybe it's a smart thing they're staying inside the corral. I'd have been out of the corral.

Richard: I would have, too. But maybe they're not allowed to.

Clayson: Do you all agree with me this group is mean? They are mean, mean, mean.

Richard: You don't have water. You don't have food. You're stuck in one place.

Clayson: No, they're mean people.

Richard: It's what makes you mean.

Sue: I don't know if they're so mean. But they're so game-oriented. They're so concentrated on the game. They're business. They're basically business out there.

Richard: When they switched. When they threw the loop and they pulled the three people and put them on the opposite team. Did you see the personalities change? That was quite a trick. They were tricked and they loosened up. They didn't know what to do. So I think you're right. They were playing the game so harshly that now they were loosened up.

Clayson:Now that the two teams have been merged, do you see somebody emerging as a leader?

Tina: Well, I think Lex has been a leader all along.

Clayson: You do?

Tina: But I also feel as if he's sliding a little bit. That he's rubbing a few people the wrong way. And if it comes down to Lex and Tom and maybe Ethan being in an alliance together, I think Tom may have a good chance, actually now.

Clayson: Really? Farmer Tom?

Richard: You don't think so?

Clayson: You thought larence was going go all the way, too.

Richard: No, no, no. Never thought Clarence was going go all the way. You thought he was going because of the beans. I said, 'No he's going to last longer because he's sincere.' And I don't think Lex is going to go all the way because of what you said. He's stuck out a little bit now. And he's searching for who voted him off. Who voted for me? And that's going to get his head on the chopping block.

Clayson: Let's back up a little bit, go to some of the problems that we originally had in this group. Clarence with the beans was a real problem.

Tina: Absolutely.

Sue: Diane set him up. That was her last move. She was sick, man, what else? She set him up to open up the cans.

Tina: I guess she told him to bury the can, too. (laugh)

Sue: She could have. That was her last move.

Richard: I think Clarence tried to play it. But his sincerity afterwards saved him. I think he really was sincere and realized, boy did I screw up. That saved him. People saw that.

Clayson: All right. And then Lindsey was your next problem?

Tina: Yeah. I think Lindsey, you know, you just can't run your mouth like Lindsey did, you know, and get away with it.

Sue: Yeah. Yeah! Yeah. I didn't like run my mouth like that.

Richard: Oh, dear God.

Sue: I at least had a sense of humor about it. And I didn't walk around, I'm so tough.

Richard: That's true, that's true.

Sue: And then start crying, no.

Richard: There's a different tone to it.

Tina: I never saw you crying.

Sue: Only when I was thinking about somebody that died. Other than that.

Clayson: The split between the young and the old - what did you think about those alliances?

Tina: Well, this whole Survivor to me has been a whole big oxymoron. They're a team divided. And you can't get behind anybody. The Boran tribe, you know, they had the male and the female thing, the Samburu had the old and the young. There's no teammanship in this game and I'm struggling, watching it.

Richard: The problem is they think they have alliances that early and they weren't together long enough to know who they could trust. I mean it takes a while to figure out who's trustworthy, to build a solid alliance. And they didn't do that. They've been jumping into them. And that's what you're seeing.

Clayson: What about Lindsey and her necklaces? Did she rub those into the old people's faces? Relatively speaking.

Tina: Watch it, Jane. Watch it!

Sue: She did use that to rub in. And they even kicked sand in their face after that first immunity trial, which was rude.

Richard: A lot of people don't know it but it happened on our island, as well. Remember Kelly making the necklaces for just some people.

Sue:
For the girls. But she made them for both teams because she made hem for me, too.

Richard: Yeah.

Sue: You know Sean's not going to put a necklace on. That would have drove you crazy. You hated everything on.

Richard: I didn't want it. But I observed that it was happening and only some people had it.

Sue: Yeah.

Clayson: Give me your predictions. Top three.

Tina: Lex, Tom and Ethan.

Clayson: Lex, Tom, and Ethan - the soccer player?

Tina: Mm-hmm.

Richard: Ethan will be there. I don't think Lex will. I think he's on the chopping block. I don't think Tom will. I think young Kim is sliding under.

Clayson: Teresa?

Richard: Teresa, maybe.

Clayson: And who's going to the top?

Richard: I think Ethan.

Clayson: Ethan?

Richard:I think Ethan.

Clayson: Really?

Richard: You got it out of me.

Clayson: And you, Sue?

Sue: I need a couple weeks yet. I'll write it up in TV guide. I need one more week.

Clayson: All right.

Sue: I need to see what happens this next week.

Clayson: We'll see you again guys, thank you.

Survivors: Thank you.

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