Survivor Philippines: The Pilot Episode

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It was a long wait, but Survivor Philippines finally aired its pilot episode tonight at 9:15 pm right after Regine Velasquez's "Ako Si Kim Sam Soon." It was a fantastic opening, from the helicopter shot to the 18 castaways in a boat. The location, Koh Tarutao, is perfect for the series considering its remoteness and beauty.

The first task had been for the castaways to race from the boat to the island. The castaways were actually clueless that their challenge was about to begin that moment, having been told that they were going to the island for an interview. Not being allowed to talk to one another, the words they exchanged while swimming to the island were their first conversations.

The gym instructor named Jace was the first one to reach the shore of Koh Tarutao, thereby getting the reward of having the bigger camp for him and his group in which they were eventually divided into. They were actually grouped by gender and the males became the Jarakay tribe while the females, Naak.

The first group challenge was immediately done despite the rains. An individual from each group became the flag bearer and puzzle solver. The rest of the group were tied together while doing an obstacle course. The guys did the first part of the course almost effortlessly thereby leaving the girls behind. The girls, though, almost won when the guys lingered on the last part of the challenge - the puzzle solving. But as it was, the Jarakay tribe won, getting the prize which consisted of materials to make a shelter with. The girls, on the other hand, had to be tied by twos all through the night as their consequence.

Each tribe carrying a big box, they went to find their respective campsites. Since Jace won the swimming race and he got the chance to have the bigger camp site, the Jarakay tribe was blessed this early on. But then it was already dark when they reached their camp site so they weren't able to do much. The girls reached their campsite earlier but since they still had to look for whatever materials they needed to make their shelter, they faced the same fate as the male tribe.

Both tribes slept with their raincoats on because neither of the two was able to make a tent which could have shielded them from the rain while they slept. The raincoats were part of the little supplemented materials contained in the big box they brought to their sites.

Devoid of daylight time, the girls wasn't able to find food for the night. They slept in the rain, with empty stomachs.

Kiko (Raymund Francis Rustia) is an eye-catcher with his dread locks and good looks. Had this show been a popularity contest, I'm sure he'd generate enough votes to get him through. According to the pilot episode, Kiko used to live in Boracay but is now a businessman in Quezon City.

Kiko/survivorphilippines