Host Jeff Probst says the premiere will start with a bang, as the contestants are flown in on Huey helicopters to the island of Upolu, Samoa. Probst says this season is destined to be physical, with some of the most physical challenges threatening to send some survivors home.

Survivor, now celebrating its 10th year in production, paved the way in reality TV for such shows as “American Idol” and “The Biggest Loser.”

Although a pioneer in reality TV, Survivor was not so with video production quality. The show took a long time to go hi-def, only premiering in HD for their 17th season in Sept. 2008.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains will premiere tonight, Feb. 11, at 8 pm Eastern in both standard definition (480i) and high definition (720p or 1080i).

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.

Gabon is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea. Survivor: Gabon will take the new contestants to an eden-like landscape where they will compete for the usual $1 million dollar reward.

Expect amazing video footage from this new season. If you have an HDTV, you will want to catch an episode even if you are not a fan of the “game.” The videography has always been high quality on Survivor, this time there should be a huge jump in image quality. Those watching on standard definition televisions may also see an improvement in quality. However, the standard-def format will not be presented widescreen, but rather cropped instead of using the letterbox format.

‘Survivor: Gabon’ will be the 17th edition in the Survivor series and the first to be aired in high definition. Gabon is a country in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo and the Gulf of Guinea. Its rainforest system, which covers 85-percent of the country, is sure to be visually stunning in HD. Host Jeff Probst has said it is probably the most remote location they have ever been to.

The online preview offered by CNET will feature “Survivor in HD: Behind the Scenes”, “Castaway Preview by Jeff Probst”, a “Tour of the Tribal Council”, and the opening scene of the first episode. You preview the clips at http://cnet.com/survivor. Full episodes of Survivor: Gabon – Earth’s Last Eden in high-definition will be available on the CBS website following the broadcast.

“The premiere of SURVIVOR in HD and the launch of CNET’s new HD player coincide nicely, providing a unique promotional opportunity to serve SURVIVOR’S rabid fans and CNET’s audience of tech enthusiasts with an early look at the new season and its new technology,” said George Schweitzer, Chief Marketing Officer, CBS Corporation.

Why “Survivor” wasn’t the first prime-time show to go HD is hard to understand. Given the exotic locales and usually attractive cast members (many of the contestants have gone on to further projects in television and film, it would seem like the perfect showcase for high definition. Other shows such as ABC’s “LOST” undoubtedly gain more viewership through pure production quality.

“The Amazing Race“, another hit show from CBS is still a standard-definition production which would clearly reap the benefits of a high-definition production.

Given the price and portability of high-definition cameras and equipment these days, there can’t be any excuse for NOT upgrading to HD. Although given the amount of cameras and remote production suites that need to be in place for a show like “Survivor”, it may have been an investment the studios were not ready to make.

Other shows expected to begin high-definition productions this Fall are “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Cops.”