Survivor 101

For some people, Survivor is an essential part of their weekly routine. Tests, dates, and parties all take a back seat to the reality show for the most dedicated.

But the Survivor aficionados are a minority; most who watch are casual viewers. With the all the strategic plans, broken alliances, and distractingly attractive people, it can be hard to keep up with the story line. If you've missed the last few episodes or have yet to watch Survivor, here's the 411.

With its pirate theme, this season added many twists to the previous Survivor's formula. The contestants were dropped off in the ocean off of the pearl islands unexpectedly early. They scrambled ashore to bargain with locals. The frantic season opener set this season up to be one of the most intense Survivors yet.

While the premise and layout of Survivor is the same as before, there have been several surprises, such as the need to barter for living essentials. As usual, there are two tribes this season, Drake and Morgan, which compete in weekly reward and immunity challenges.

Unique to this season, and its pirate theme, is that the winner of a reward challenge gets to "loot" an item from the other tribe. The contestants even get to search for buried treasure. Amongst this pirate backdrop, there has been the usual struggling not only to survive but not to not be voted off the island.

From the beginning, the Drake tribe faired much better than Morgan tribe. To help all those who cannot seem to keep to the tribes straight, Drake's most memorable cast members includes Rupert, the scruffy but helpful provider, and Jon, the wanna-be crafty comedian. The most famous faces in Morgan are the ultra-attractive Osten and Nicole, and the concerned leader, Andrew.

Thanks to Drake member Sandra's Spanish and bargaining skills, the Drake tribe started out with significantly more supplies. Furthermore, Rupert is an expert fisherman and has provided lots of protein for the tribe. Conversely, the Morgan team has been perpetually hungry. They suffered from intertribal bickering, waning enthusiasm and lost several rewards and every immunity challenge in the beginning, becoming an early underdog.

However, all this changed when some contestants on Drake, growing tired of a tribe member threw the immunity competition. The plan was foiled when others were angered by losing the challenge and voted off the organizer of the loss. This not only switched tribe power positions but also marked a shift in morale. Consequently, the other tribe, Morgan, has won every immunity challenge since.

Also, as a result to losing a challenge, Rupert was forced to spend some time with the other tribe. While there, he taught them how to fish and secured some friendships for himself. Due to his involvement with the other team, later in the season there was a movement to vote Rupert off. Like before, this scheme failed, putting Jon who voted against Rupert in a tough position within the tribe. With many twist and turns, this season was off to a good start-and then there was biggest surprise ever in Survivor history.

With no precedent, last week's episode marked the reintroduction of all those who had been voted off the island. Labeled "The Outcasts", they also competed in the immunity challenge and prevailed over both tribes. Their reintroduction means that now when the tribal councils vote someone off, an outcast will now take their place in the tribe. Having someone who was voted off return, will spark up new controversy and make must-see-TV. The returning cast members will be revealed tonight at 8pm.

With a merger happening soon, everyone is scrambling to secure their position within the tribe and will now have to compensate for this shocking development. So if the scantly clad contestants did not provide for enough viewers, this season's surprises certainly will. Be careful though, it is easy to get sucked in and become a fanatic.