Lush fields of green, wild elephants, and contestants running around in their underwear…sound like eden? In high definition you will get a taste of what the beauty of this untouched landscape is like. It’s the first Survivor season in HD, and that may keep viewers coming back.

Survivor: Gabon - Earth’s Last Eden starts off with the contestants picking their own teams amidst spectacular views of west central Africa. The scenes are reminiscent of the Planet Earth series but in tiny doses. Survivor never looked so good.

But take away the hi-def footage and it’s the same old games and same old twists. Contestants run through a leech-filled river for a bag of rice and push a giant dung ball across an obstacle course to win immunity.

It’s amazing that after seventeen seasons they haven’t come up with anything new except improving the video quality. Survivor has stuck with the same formula since day one with only minor deviations. ‘Season 16′ had horrible reception if compared to previous seasons.

Word is they have lowered the age requirement for ‘Survivor 18’ contestants from 21 to 18. This may work to increase their younger audience and bring some different perspectives to the game. But maybe the game itself should also get a face-lift. How about moving the presidential debates down to Gabon? The first candidate to make fire wins. No guns allowed Governer Palin.

Whether you are a fan of the show or not you’ll want to check out at least one episode of Survivor: Gabon. The high-definition videography is really impressive. If they cut out the games, and just focused on the landscape I’d probably watch the next episode.