Survivor: Gabon's pre-production problems apparently didn't amount to much -- just as Survivor host Jeff Probst had pretty much predicted.
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At it has for the last seven years, Survivor's premiere will mark the debut of CBS' new fall schedule. The rest of the network's schedule won't begin premiering until Monday, September 22, the official start of the 2008-2009 television season.
Earlier this month, Probst had revealed that Survivor: Gabon -- which is filming in a remote part of Gabon, a west-central African country along the equator that borders Guinea, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea -- had been beset by pre-production problems ranging from shipping delays and missing food to roaming wildlife and construction snafus.
"Our shipping has been really delayed," Probst told The Associated Press in an early June interview. "One aspect of Survivor that is different from a lot of shows is that we have to ship throughout the season, and we're about 30 days behind now, which is a major problem. We're going to be fine on the show, but the crew housing is not there. We're going to be in tents."
Other problems reportedly included a falling crane, the disappearance of $100,000 worth of food, and some unwelcome visits from the area's four-legged residents.
"We have a danger problem with animals that we're trying to figure out how to handle," Probst told The AP. "There's so much truly wildlife out there, we're not sure what to do. We don't want the animals around for a safety reasons, but we'd love to have a hippo sneak in every so often. I just got a call from our executive producer that we've got hippo tracks at base camp."
Despite the difficulties, Probst had seemed confident Survivor: Gabon's production would still begin as scheduled late this month.
"These things for us usually have a way of turning into good things," he told The AP.
As part of its fall schedule premiere announcement, CBS also announced that The Amazing Race's thirteenth edition will debut on Sunday, September 28 at 8PM ET/PT.
About The Author: Steven Rogers
