An Open Letter to Jeff Probst

Dr Mr Probst (or can I call you Jeff?)

I've seen all but three episodes of Survivor, the first three. I saw the commercials and dismissed the show as a gimmick. Then I overheard my coworkers talking about it and watched out of what I thought of as self defense. I was hooked and hooked hard. I introduced my roommate to the show and she loved it. When I met my wife, I introduced her and it quickly became appointment television for us.
We're both a bit sad when the finale of each season comes as it means there will be a hole in our schedule until the next one. We're always excited as each one begins. But not so much this time. Why? The returning players.
Don't get me wrong, Ozzie is one of my all time favorite players. I've cheered for him the past and wish him well. Coach? Eh. But he's colorful and fun to cheer against so he has that going for him. Frankly, I hope they get voted off one and two.
Last season gave us Rob and Russell and they dominated the whole show. The two of them sucked up all of the air and kept anyone else from blossoming. When people look back at Redemption Island, they will remember the two returnees and little else. Well, Philip because he was crazy and Matt because he was stranded. No one else because of how well they played the game. Think that won't happen again?
It's been four games now since we've had a blank slate of players. The occasional All Star season is great. Making every season that way smacks of desperation. It suggests that you don't have any confidence in your casting. Jeff (I can still call you that, right?), you've always spoken well of the technical side of Survivor. Surely you haven't lost that faith!
I know that you always work to bring new ideas to the show. That's wonderful! (Though I'd suggest that you get more value from redemption island if it's used more often . . .) What do I want to see next time? I want to see 18 or so strangers stranded out there. I want to see them get to know each other on somewhat even ground. I want them to have to find out who they can trust, not simply rely on previous seasons that they watched. That was part of the joy of the show . . . and now it's not working.

Please fix this!

Sincerely,
Peder, a big fan.