Outwit. Outplay. Outlast. Survivor, the uber successful reality TV show from the United States, has arrived in the Philippines and will start airing in less than 48 hours. The eighteen local castaways, carefully selected from a pool of over 43,000 applicants, have been revealed and
it's a mix of aspirants from diverse backgrounds, each eager to claim the title of the Philippines' first sole survivor and the 3 million peso (tax free!) prize. They include a lingerie model, a labandera (laundywoman), a yaya (nanny), a waiter, a call center agent, a driver, a basketball player, all flown to Koh Tarutao island, also known as the Devil's Island, in Thailand to embark on their biggest challenge yet. (Image courtesy of pep.ph)

But a big challenge lies ahead for the show itself. How will it adapt the successful American formula for the Filipino audience. Will it merely be a copycat of a show in a different setting with a different host and Asian castaways, or will it adapt the Survivor concept to the local culture? And how will this be done? Why is this important, you may ask. Well, because it may spell the difference between success and failure as we have seen from two other imported reality shows. Pinoy Big Brother has been very successful ever since its debut more than two years ago (?) because it added Filipino ingredients to its formula - the underdog concept for one. Filipinos, in general, always go for the underdog and PBB's producers have successfully exploited this angle by always putting someone with a disadvantage - whether in appearance, social status or economic standing - among the group of housemates. Another Pinoy favorite is show business, starstruck as we are. Therefore, local Big Brother housemates always include movie star material, someone whom the masses will idolize.

The local American Idol franchise, Pinoy Idol, on the other hand, was only mildly successful. In its initial stage, it was even heavily lambasted by bloggers and internet forum regulars for being a mere copycat of its American counterpart. Moreover, the celebrity judges chosen seemed to be imitating the styles of the show's original jurors, Simon Cowell in particular. They were trying too hard to be mean and critical, something far from their image and personality. This turned off a lot of viewers, this blogger included. Though many of us are avid American Idol followers, we ended up shunning the show.

From the looks of it, the diverse mix of castaways seem to indicate that Survivor Philippines' producers have followed the underdog and showbiz material formulas. We'll just have to see how these will come into play when the series starts airing on Monday.

A big difference that I noticed is the daily installment of the series compared to the American edition which is weekly. Does this mean a more rigorous challenge for the castaways, or are we going to see a slower-paced show? What ever it is, it will be interesting to find out how the Filipino castaways will cope in the wilderness, how they will strategize to win each other's trust and what devious tactics they will do remain in the competition. Filipinos, in general, are naturally passive and unaggressive, but with three million in tax-free moolah at stake, plus the title of the Philippines' first Sole Survivor, who knows what will happen!