Whose ghost haunts "Survivor: South Pacific"?
As soon as geeky John Cochran admitted to host Jeff Probst that he was a huge "Survivor" fan, the "Survivor: South Pacific" castaway had a target on his back.
And sure enough, as his tribe, Savaii, headed to the season's first tribal council, the choice appeared to be between the law school student or Semhar Tadesse, who volunteered - and then utterly failed - to shoot coconuts into a basketball hoop during the immunity challenge. (SPOILER ALERT)
Pictures: "Survivor: South Pacific"
But it appears Cochran was not really in jeopardy this time; only Semhar voted for his ouster. And Semhar was packed off to Redemption Island where she will fight for a chance to re-enter the game.
Cochran displayed his knowledge of "Survivor" lore at the very beginning of the 90-minute debut episode when two all-stars - "Coach" Benjamin Wade and Ozzy Lusth - joined the 16 new castaways. He knew how many and which previous seasons the two had been on and asked Probst to call him by his last name, saying that's the way the host had referred to all of the show's great players.
Wade, who made his debut on "Survivor: Tocantins" and came back on the villians' team for "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains," was on the Upolu tribe.
Lusth, who came in second place on "Survivor: Cook Islands" and returned as one of the favorites on "Survivor: Micronesia," was on the immunity-losing Savaii team, though his efforts did win the tribe the first reward challenge.
But there was the ghost of a third "Survivor" veteran haunting the game. Nineteen-year-old Brandon Hantz of Upolu tribe is the nephew of three-time player and archvillain Russell Hantz. He claims he's there to save his family's reputation and the he intends to keep his ancestry a secret.
Fat chance, with his surname tattooed on his arm and his back. Doesn't he think someone will wonder why he never takes his shirt off when he's living on an island, for goodness sake?
So what do you think? Will this be a good season? Who will win? Take our poll, discuss the episode in the comments below and return here next week to see what happens next.
