Survivor Stereotypes

We're now about halfway into Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites, the sixteenth incarnation of the groundbreaking show. This season has already proven to be one of the most exciting and unpredictable in the show's history, and could potentially reach dramatic heights not scaled since the monumental festival of backstabbing that was Survivor: All-Stars. Fans vs. Favorites features a perfectly combustible mix of strategical maniacs, take-it-personal hotheads, spectacular athletes, hot chicks, and ornery older people. They've got the formula down cold now, a formula that consists of

• Jeff Probst
• A somewhat intriguing but not too distracting location
• About three twists along the way to keep the players and audience on their toes
• The following stereotypical characters:

The Alpha-Male

This player is hell-bent on controlling his tribe. He wants to be the leader and can’t stand the thought of another player usurping his power. He seeks to crush the other alpha-males as quickly as possible. He views Survivor as “King of the Mountain”, not a game of winning friends and influencing people. Eventually, inevitably he gets stabbed in the back (often by those he believes are under his control). This player has never won the game, though those who have managed to compromise his qualities (Yul, Earl) with social tact have dominated recently.

Best Example: Boston Rob
This Season’s: Mikey B, Joel

The Cute Girl

This girl is super-cute. She has girl next door looks which make her disarmingly friendly and unintimidating, unlike “The Body.” The weakness of this player is usually in the strategy department – she is too nice to make the cold-blooded plays needed to win the game and doesn’t ally herself strongly enough with the power brokers. She usually gets about 4^th place.

Best Example: Elizabeth
This Season’s: Natalie

The Body

Not to be confused with “The Cute Girl”, The Body comes storming onto the scene in a low-cut bikini and gets a lot of camera time from day one. This player always makes a deep run. Usually she’s unobjectionable and surprisingly crafty. Players follow her without really realizing it, making her a very dangerous but underappreciated threat to win it all. Basically, there is no reason to vote this player out until the very end when winning the million is the paramount concern.

Best Example: Danni
This Season’s: Amanda

The Overanalyzer

Best Example: Jonathan
This Season’s: Jonathan

Season One champ Richard set the standard for the meticulous, calculating, backstabbing schemer who considers all the angles. The problem is everyone watched Richard do this, and everyone is now wary. Usually, this player loses the trust of his tribemates and gets stabbed in the back, just as he or she would have done to another. This is the character that I would most likely end up becoming if I was on Survivor; I would try to avoid it but eventually I wouldn’t be able to help myself.

The Athlete

A freak in challenges but usually lacking in the social game, no Athlete has won the game since Ethan in season three. The Athlete usually gets voted out late in the game because his tribemates are concerned he is going to win the remaining immunity challenges and off him as soon as they get the chance.

Best Example: Ozzy
This Season’s: Ozzy

The Urban Black Woman

This woman is always put on the show for the “fish out of water” quality where she is totally overmatched by the environment, generally disinterested in tribe politics, and a liability in challenges. This player never gets voted out the first five weeks, but is rarely a threat to win it all.

Best Example: Cassandra
This Season’s: Cirie

The Asshole

This guy is just a straight up douchebag, chosen to create hard feelings and drama.

Best Example: Jean-Robert
This Season’s: Joel (who was really more of an Alpha-Male)

The Under-the-radar Girl

This player flies under the radar for the entire game and is never in danger until the final five. This player has the best chance of winning the game. She doesn’t attract too much attention with her looks, and doesn’t ostracize potential jury members. The key for her is to make sure she has her nose in on the strategy, so the jury gives her some credit. Becky, for example, was unable to get this credit and received no votes from the jury.

Best Example: Tina
This Season’s: Alexis

The Grumpy Old Man

This player often hangs around for a while, but no one takes him seriously and really you have to wonder how he gets past the casting call.

Best Example: Rudy
This Season’s: Chet

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As for this season, I believe the favorite at this point is Amanda, who has played the role of The Body to perfection.