• The two tribes anticipate a merger between them, but what they don't anticipate are the details.
• New relationships are forged with caution, while one castaway parties a bit too hard.
• One castaway pursues a new strategy, which leads to accusations of disloyalty.
• A seventh person if voted off the island.

Check out my attempted spoiler of the message board.

Robb Zbacnik, the outspoken, skateboarding, 23-year-old bartender from Scottsdale, Arizona, was voted out of the tribe in a 5-1 vote. Robbs childish behavior finally got the better of him despite the fact that he seemed to "find himself". They say self awareness happens at the age of 2, but in Robbs case apparently it's 23. Sorry Sister Sue.
"Dude! It's two B's"

I think my spoiler this week was dead on, making my stats 4 and 2 (better then the Patriots).

Now we know that the poll question has to interest you people to get you to vote. Seems a lot of ya are either lying about your sex life, take a lot of showers, or life is good! This weeks poll is "How far would you go if you were on this seasons survivor?"

Want to know more about what happen this week? Check the message board. Lets see if we can get some activity on the boards.

• The offer of an incredible Thai feast brings tempers to a boil during a Reward Challenge.
• Members of a secret alliance suspect that others are on to them.
• Two tribe members get into a heated argument over truthfulness.

Check out my attempted spoiler of the message board.

Stephanie Dill, the strong-willed 29-year-old fire fighter from Fayettville, Arkansas, was voted out of the tribe in a 5-2 vote. Stephanie did a great job of distancing herself from her tribe. Unfortunately this is Survivor and she's apparently never watched it.

My spoiler this week was more on then off. Most of the speculation, about the tribe switch etc, was just a red herring. I did get the bootie incorrect taking me to 3 and 2. Re-reading the spoiler it had Stephanies demise written all over it ("Stephanie has one foot out the door. So far we haven't seen any intelligent play from her"). I just got side tracked with the french braids. Alas, that's what this show is all about. Sorry Jeff, better luck next season. At least Nicole has Shii Ann whom I'm sure will go far.

Since I was late getting the update done last week, I'll leave the poll up for a while longer. So far I think a lot of people spend a lot of time in the shower.

Want to know more about what happen this week? Check the message board.

Ghandia Johnson, the 33-year-old legal secretary from Denver, Colorado, was voted out of her tribe 4-2. Ghandia accused Ted Rogers of having made inappropriate sexual advances toward her, and she fought to win the consensus of the other females in pursuit of voting him out of Chuay Gahn and off the island. Helen decided she was playing the game and although she felt for Ghandia did the right thing and voted her off. I think we all owe Helen a note of thanks!

My spoiler, although thin this week, did correctly pick Ghandia to be Gone-dia. I'm up 3 and 1.

The poll this week was "Can Ghandia be far behind Jef?" and was very weakly attended. Perhaps no one is visiting the site or perhaps the subject matter isn't to your liking. We'll test the theories with this weeks poll.

I've had a hectic few days of work which is why the site is so behind in the update. Seems only two people noticed, so no biggy I guess. I'll skip the reCap this week and offer it up to anyone else that might want to write one for this past Episode.

Jed Hildebrand, the free-spirited, yet headstrong, 25-year-old dental student from Dallas, Texas, was voted out of the tribe in a 5-3 vote. Perceived by many in his tribe to be lazy, Jed became the first person voted out of the Sook Jai tribe. In his closing remarks Jed said "I hope that everyone takes a step back and enjoys the beauty of Thailand and the awesomeness of this experience." I guess my early predictions that Jed would be smarter then Gabe, the Survivor 4 preacher of free love, we're off the mark. Again we loose a survivor that is either realy stupid or has never watched survivor before.

My attempted spoiler for this episode was correct in a few things and off in others. The biggest missed guess was the bootie. I don't think anyone picked Jed. Oh well I'm still in the black going 2-1 so far.

The poll this week was "Will the winner be a man or a woman?" So far survivor has gone man/woman/man/woman - which would make you believe this years winner will be a man. 3/4 of you thought this to be the case. Take a second to vote in this weeks poll.

Read my complete recap of Episode 3 on the message board.

An incident between a man and a woman becomes explosive, as tribe members react differently to facts and rumors.

One tribe wins the help of two Red Berets--the equivalent of our Green Berets--who show the tribe how to make the best of everything around their camp, possibly gaining an advantage as better survivalists.

At a Challenge, tensions escalate, prompting a fierce confrontation between the two tribes.

Read my attempted spoiler write up on the message board.

Tanya Vance, 27-year-old social worker from Kingsport, Tennessee, was voted out of the tribe in a 5 -2 vote. Tanya never really settled in or made an impression, she'll be forgotten before next weeks show. In her closing remarks she said... "I learned that I take things at home for granted. It has been a great experience, and it's a lot harder than it looks on TV!" Isn't that an oxymoron? Says she's watched it yet didn't know it would be hard.

My spoiler was right on the money this week. Tanya was picked because it's easy on the others to justify to themselves they are "helping her out". Sook Jai tribe continues to win the challenges but I think this may change.

Next weeks previews show episode 3 to be one of the most explosive survivors yet. Someone is gonna get an ass whipping.

Read my complete write up on the message board.

It appears that not a lot of us like our survivors. Only 10 voters :-( - I know some of you are having trouble seeing, or taking, the polls. I did a major re-write of the page and I hope this fixes everyones problem. Make sure you refresh the page and let me know if you're still having problems.

Last weeks poll results...

This weeks poll brought to you via Mary's suggestion!

Helen and Jan go in search of their water source, but find themselves completely off course without their map, and heading right into a nest of snakes.

The Chuay Gahn tribe spends a considerable amount of time away from Helen, who begins to feel paranoid but in the end is moved by their touching surprise. Nevertheless, she rubs Clay the wrong way.

Things are quite different at Sook Jai, where tensions are high and certain castaways choose to sleep away from their tribemates and shelter, moments before a downpour of rain

Read my attempted spoiler write up on the message board.

Survivor is finally underway. The Thailand location looks to be one of the most beautiful yet. The survivors themselves are an interesting mix with tensions already mounting on both sides. In a slight twist tribes were divided via the junior high you pick I pick method. The elders of the group were called up as captains to pick the teams. Unfortunately for the Chuay Gahn tribe they had Jan as their captain. Her weak personality caused her to pick the timid people while on the other side Jake's strong character had him picking the young and strong. Ultimately we'll have to see how this plays out. Jakes team of strong willed survivors may cause more tension then the tribe can take but it'll sure prove to be good TV.

John Raymond, the 40-year-old pastor from Slidell, Louisiana, was voted out of the Tribe, six votes to two. It didn't come as to much of a surprise (except to John), both Elaine and I had him picked. John hasn't learned from watching previous survivors not to separate yourself from the tribe or you risk "missing the meeting" and end up on the chopping block. Sorry Sue, at least you have the distinction of having a fist off, a distinction I have had a couple of times and for a while last night thought I might have again. Oh yeah the good part... Alleluia, we're not going to have to listen to the preaching!

Read my complete write up on the message board.

It seems we finally got some people to take the poll. I guess the topic was more to your liking. Interestingly enough more go comando then not. Bringing us back to reality I put up a new poll, take a second to vote!

If your name is green I think you've paid up. If I have anyone wrong, let me know.

SurvivorNews.net put up a score card with opions on who will go how far. You can check it out at the SurvivorNews web site. Interesting enough they are quite different then my predictions. Guess we'll see who's all washed up.

I viewed the new video interviews of each survivor over at the Official CBS Website. I added a second set of comments to all the survivor bios. You can check out the bios, and my comments, by clicking on the survivors picture. I have also placed some early spoiler info on the message board. Anyone beside me and Elaine gonna participate?
For quick access I also put up a small chart of all the survivors and who has who. Check it out

I added my initial thoughts to all the survivors bios. Kind of a pre-season guess by me. The comments are based only on the survivors bios, which they write themselves (with CBS help I'm sure). I didn't pay any attention to things like how many people I said would make the final 4 etc. You can check out the bios, and my comments, by clicking on the survivors picture. If anyone else wants to make comments I'd be more then happy to add your comments to the survivors as well.

Though a complicated method to ensure fairness, know only by me, the dog, and few nameless others, survivors have been selected.

I plan of writing a little blurb in each players bio about how I think that survivor will do this year. If anyone has any other suggestions please let me know. Also, don't forget to participate in the message board.

Good luck to everyone - I'm not thrilled with my survivor but at least I don't think she'll go first.

Welcome to Al's Survivor Pool for the Survivor 5 Thailand episode! Time to break out the survivor paraphernalia and chill the beers. This year promises to be different then other seasons, we can only hope the changes are for the better.

So... Get your survivors NOW! Email Me and let me know if you want one, or two, and I'll fill you in. Last years players get first dibs. If I don't hear from you by September 12, 2002 I will assume you are not playing this year and will sell off the remaining survivors.

Like we did previous seasons, Tricia and I will host a survivor night at our house every show (provided we aren't off traveling somewhere). We are also planning a survivor kick off party. More info will follow as it gets closer.