07:34 AM EST on Thursday, February 5, 2004

Helen Glover, of Portsmouth, a contestant in Survivor: Thailand who made it to the final four in the 2002 season, is now a freelance Survivor commentator. Here is the first of the weekly reports she is writing for the Providence Journal on the new Survivor: All-Stars series, which premiered Sunday after the Super Bowl. Tonight's second episode will be aired at 8 on Channels 12 and 4.

TONIGHT'S TENSION

With Tina Wesson, winner of Survivor: The Outback, receiving the first ticket home Sunday night, other past winners now realize that they're all sporting huge bulls-eyes on their backs. (They include Ethan Zohn, winner Survivor: Africa, Jenna Morasca, winner, Survivor: The Amazon, and Middletown's own, Richard Hatch, the first Survivor winner, in Survivor: Borneo.)

The lack of fire, hence the inability to boil drinking water, is becoming very dangerous. Nerves fray easily, and with a group of outspoken individuals highly skilled in this game, tempers are going to flare.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK

In the first episode, we were treated to the addition of a third tribe and two extra players, making the total number of contestants 18. Some came ready to play, notably Lex van den Berghe of Survivor: Africa, and Alicia Calaway, of Survivor: The Outback. Others, like Jenna Morasca, appear to be deer in the headlights, questioning why they chose to relive this torture. Still others, such as Hatch and Sue Hawk, of Survivor: Borneo, apparently think the best strategy is to be as annoying and lazy as possible.

WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW

What most viewers don't realize is that every episode you watch is three days of living compressed into a one-hour show. It's a very difficult existence out there. They've found food already, but who wants a steady diet of green bananas? Contrary to popular belief, you receive no help from anyone, and it's up to you and your tribe mates to pull together and form a team.

WHAT'S UP WITH RICHARD?

Our hometown boy, Hatch, seems determined to show the rest of the country that Rhode Islanders have no use for clothing. This guy is oblivious to the fact that he's driving his fellow tribe mates crazy -- or is this part of his plan? If it is, it's a strange one. I'd like to see him help out a little more around camp, be his charming self, and at least TRY to make it farther in the game. After all, this is HIS game.

MY PREDICTION:

If the Mogo Mogo tribe loses, Hatch is gone. His constant nudity is wearing thin on all of his tribe mates. If the Saboga Tribe fails to gain immunity, Zohn is sure to be sent packing. His good looks and charm are not going to save him this time, and with his ally Tina already sitting back at the base camp, there'll be no one to save him. Should the Chapera Tribe lose, an easy choice would be Hawk, who has decided that drinking contaminated water, refusing to be a part of the group, and griping over every little thing is a good way to advance in the game.