THAI FOOL

As expected, Mark Burnett threw a curve ball at viewers Thursday night during the premiere of Survivor: Thailand. In a break from tradition, producers didn't divide the 16 contestants into two teams. Instead, that job was left to the two oldest members, who alternated between men and women until everyone was picked. One thing that remained the same: Someone was voted out. In this case, it was 40-year-old pastor John Raymond. "Well, I get the distinguished honor of being the first one voted out," he later said. "This is quite a surprise for me. I didn't think there were any alliances on the team, but I guess there was, and I just wasn't a part of it." Smart cookie this one was. Meanwhile, there's clearly still a lot of life left in the Survivor franchise. Thursday's debut averaged 22 million viewers — on par with last season's two editions. And among young adults, it was up 16 percent over the premiere of Survivor: Marquesas. (For Survivor alumni news, read on... )