All-Star Cast Analysis: Season 1

It's been a long off season, but it's time to get back to work. The premiere date is set for Wednesday, May 29. The cast has been announced, and Colby has returned to Twitter. The only question left is: What's going to happen? What exactly does the All-Star Season have in store? From the few promos I've watched, it certainly looks interesting, especially since everyone seems to be wearing green jerseys. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start simple by taking a look at the cast. Over the next couple of days I'll break down the cast by the season they hail from. I'll take a look at their strengths, weaknesses and overall likability. I'm still planning out where to go from there, but if you have any suggestions let me know. 

Season 1

Kelly Bachand
Of the whole crop of Season 1 contestants, Kelly is the person I am most excited to see get another shot in this competition. Now, if you've been following the intermittent posts I've been putting up since Season 4 ended, Kelly's involvement in the All-Star season shouldn't come as much of a shock. That being said, Kelly is an awesome competitor and skilled shooter. He has a likable personality that lends itself to the show's skill over strategy style of play. Kelly was also pretty young when he first came on the show, and it'll be interesting to see how he has matured.

Adam Benson
Eliminated in the same challenge as Kelly, Adam is on the older end of the contestant spectrum, and as he says in his video, the physicality of some of the challenges can throw off his game. That seems to be a recurring factor in Top Shot and one that can ultimately be more difficult than hitting the target.

Chris Cerino
It's true what they say, no one remembers second place. Season 1 is going back a ways for me to remember, and while my friend Tony helped me get a little refresher last year, I no longer have the luxury of watching old episodes on Netflix. The good thing is, with a runner-up in the mix, the show is definitely putting its best foot forward trying to get the cream of the crop to duke it out.

Blake Miguez
While I'm not necessarily excited to see Blake return, I'm not indifferent either. Blake was a strong competitor, finishing behind Kelly and Adam in Season 1. He returned in Season 2 as a expert to show off the 2011 Razorcat race gun, one of the coolest weapons to ever be featured on the show. After watching his video for Season 5, History really seems to be playing up the Louisiana angle to tap into its Swamp People audience, which is weird since I don't really remember that being emphasized during his first go around. 

Peter Palma
Peter has a very teddy bear-like quality to him, which makes him a bit of a mystery to me. At first glance he might seem a little soft, but the man is a marine and finished fourth in Season 1 going up against three very tough shooters. Look for him to be the wild card this season. I don't want to make any bets, but I could see him going pretty far.

I would rather see 
J.J. Racaza and Tara Paremba instead of Blake and Adam (no offense to those guys). I would also include Iain Harrison, but I'll get to him in another post. J.J. was a more memorable number three than Chris was as a number two, and the guy is simply an amazing shooter. Tara was never fairly eliminated from the contest, and I believe could very easily have made it into the top eight. 

What do you think? Are you happy with the Season 1 All-Stars, or is History missing someone who deserved a spot? Hit the comments and let me know. 

Going to be a busy weekend for me, so I won't make any promises about when I'm posting next. Come back and take a look on Sunday afternoon or follow me on Twitter @cswiets for the latest posts.

Top 3: Theories on the "Proving Ground"

Chris Cheng asks and I answer.

If you ever visit my other blog (which you should, it's not bad) you may know I do a semi-regular feature called "Top 3." I figured it would be a good fit here after Twitter blew up this afternoon (and by blew up I mean Chris Cheng and Dustin Ellerman tweeted about it) after this picture was posted online:

Still looking good Colby.

Now, this photo was originally posted by Season 1 competitor, Kelly Bachand. If you've been checking in with this blog regularly, you'll know Kelly recently posted comment on my Season 4 All-Star Picks post. All of which leads me to believe that we have pretty good confirmation of at least one contestant for Season 5.

This photo leaves a lot to speculate about. The language itself almost leads me to believe we might be in store for a very different season of Top Shot. I'm thinking radical format changes. It's a bold move, but one Top Shot needs to make if it wants to stay alive in the ratings.

(Sideshot: Here's a thing I don't understand, if a show like Duck Dynasty is beating a show like American Horror Story in the ratings, why isn't Top Shot doing better? I would think the audiences are similar.)

But as we need to wait another month or two (Or three? Or four? Seriously, History, gives us an air date) for Top Shot to return, I offer my top three guesses as to what the "Proving Ground" is.

1. A Brand New Format
The teaser above says there will be twelve episodes and three rounds. It doesn't specify whether those three rounds take place within each episode or over the course of the season. One guess would be that either the first third or the final third of the series will be dubbed the "Proving Ground." If it takes place in the first third of the series, imagine an elongated version of how teams were picked in Season 4. A single challenge where contestants play to stay and the losers are eliminated.

If it's in the final third of the season, I imagine a twist on what happens when the shooters don the green jerseys. Instead of continuing with a one-on-one elimination at the end of each episode, there would be a series of challenges where no one is eliminated. Each challenge has a points system which are tallied through the final challenge. The person sitting with the most points at the end of the final challenge takes the title.

2. A New Way of Doing Something Familiar
Consider this option a slight twist on the the normal elimination proceedings. The person with the most hits on their target still gets sent to elimination, but they get to choose who they get to face-off against. Hence the person sent to elimination gets to "prove" they belong in the competition. It wouldn't be radically different from the current elimination proceedings, but it might make for some interesting TV.
Sure, the voting on Top Shot has always been pretty easy to manipulate, but this way we could really get to see some personal vendettas among contestants get played out.

3. A Way to Bring Back Eliminated Contestants
This is my best guess, but the one I'm also hoping is not true. Survivor has used this tactic a few times (I think, when was the last time I watched Survivor? Oh yeah, when Colby was a contestant the first time around) and it works for that show because that game is all about manipulation and disturbing the status quo. On a show like Top Shot, though, it would feel cheap, not just for the players, but the audience as well. Top Shot contestants fight to be there every week. That title is earned through every challenge the contestants face, and watching someone get knocked out early, only to have the opportunity to jump back in towards the end, would feel undeserved.

I don't know about you, but I am excited. this is either going to ruin the show the completely or be an epic turning point that redefines the show.

Agree? Disagree? Share your theories on the "Proving Ground" in the comments.

Follow @cswiets

Season 5 All-Stars: Cast Update

Colby has been on the Twitters showing a few behind the scenes pics of upcoming challenges from the anticipated all-star season. Since he has confirmed filming I have been trying to figure out who will, and who will not, be appearing as part of the all-star cast based on past contestants' social media activity. Here is the best I can surmise of who will almost definitely NOT be a part of the all-star season.

I should also preface this list by saying most of my intel is heavy on Season 4 contestants because they seem to have the largest social media presence than contestants from other previous seasons.

Season 1

• J.J. Racaza

Season2

• Chris Reed
• Jay Lim

Season 3

• Dustin Ellerman
• Jake Zweig

Season 4

• Terry Vaughan
• Chris Cheng
• Chee Kwan
• Michelle Viscusi
• Gabby Franco
• Dylan Fletcher
• Tim Trefren - Could go either way. Colby says filming of the fifth season continues until October, but Trefren is leading a shooting class on October 6. Shooting could finish by then, but it would be a pretty quick turnaround.

This means there is a strong possibility that this all-star season will be free of any past champions. It also means some of the biggest personalities and skilled shooters from past seasons will be missing, which makes me a little nervous. Again, anything can happen, but my best guess says not to expect those listed above to appear. 

Hit the comments if you feel you know anything I don't about who will or will not be a part of the all-star season.

Top Tweets: Season Five is Underway

Last night Colby tweeted that the first challenge of Season 5 had been filmed. The accompanying picture confirmed what he had announced months ago that Season 5 would be an all-star competition featuring past contestants, but so far there is no indication of who those contestants might be. Not to mention, if the season has just begun filming, there is a strong likelihood it will not air until 2013. (Pray the Mayans aren't right)

Most reality shows cut off contestants from the outside world except in the case of family emergencies. Top Shot is no different. By examining the dates and nature of the tweets (and other social media outlets) from former Top Shot contestants, I've made a few guesses of who may or may not show up on the all-star season.

• Season 1 fan favorite J.J. Racaza was tweeting up through August 17. His previous tweets were a whirlwind of world travels and shooting competitions. Reasoning that the first challenge is actually taking place on the second or possibly even third day of filming, it's a pretty good guess that Racaza will not make another run at the title.

• Season 2's Jamie Franks stopped tweeting on August 12. That was about one week ago. This may be an indication that he put aside the social media to prepare for reentering the fray. However, he is also to be an infrequent tweeter, so this may just be another short hiatus.

• Season 2's Jay Lim is a pretty avid tweeter. A tweet from August 16 replied to a follower who wrote they would like to see him, Chris Reed, George Reinas, Racaza, and Gabby Franco return for the all-star season. Lim replied that these were "good choices ;)," which may be an indication of who will show up. Or it may mean he just liked the support, especially since he was still tweeting as of this morning. I wonder if History has even informed all past contestants of who has and who has not been selected to participate. This could mean some past contestants are unaware that a new season has even commenced filming.

• Season 3 winner Dustin Ellermann's backstory as a Christian camp director is widely known by fans of the show. Ellermann tweeted recently that he had ramped up camp, and even more recently that he was in California, the same state where Top Shot is filmed. This could be a strong indicator that Ellermann is back to defend his title.

• Season 4's Gabby Franco was tweeting up through August 17 as well, but her last tweet connected to a Facebook post saying that she would be out of town for a while. Could this mean she is on her way back to the range? Time will tell.

• Season 4's Michelle Viscusi tweeted this morning and has been frequently updating her Facebook fan page. This most likely means she will not be returning for Season 5.

• Season 4 winner Chris Cheng has just started his shooting contract with Bass Pro-Shops, and while Bass is a big supporter of the show, it is unlikely that Cheng would jump off the pro circuit so soon after he started. Not to mention the fact that he replied to one of my tweets just this morning.

There are a handful of other  Season 4 contestants with Twitter accounts who either haven't used them in a while or haven't posted anything that would indicate one way or another about their involvement with the all-star season. Fan favorites like Tim Trefren and Terry Vaughan are question marks, as are William Bethards and Gregory Littlejohn. In addition many contestants from earlier seasons have not connected with fans through social media in the same way that contestants from more recent seasons have. This makes deciphering who will be a part of the all-star season more difficult.

The real test will come in the following days. Now that Colby has revealed Season 5 is being filmed, any former contestant tweeting or using other social media (some contestants have favored Facebook pages for connecting with fans over Twitter) after that point can (almost certainly) be ruled out as a contender in the all-star season.

Keep checking this blog as I will try to keep a running list of former contestants that can be ruled out as participants.

Follow @cswiets

Top Shot All-Stars: Season 4 Picks

It's official. There will be a Season 5, and that season will (hopefully) feature the best of the last four seasons to see who is the ultimate Top Shot. At the beginning of Season 4, when this was still in the rumor stage, I posted who I would pick from the first three seasons to participate in an all-star challenge. Now that Season 4 has been completed, and we know for certain there will be an all-star season, I present my picks for who should come back.

Givens:
Chris Cheng - As with all my picks, this wouldn't be much to watch if we didn't have all four winners in the mix. This is probably going to be incredibly difficult to do, especially since a recent article with Season 3 winner Dustin Ellerman stated he would be busy this summer running his camp. Regardless, we got to have the Chenger, he battled his way through some incredibly talented contestants and came out on top.

Terry Vaughan - Forget the fact he didn't make it to the individual level, and that he was eliminated by Littlejohn, this guy has personality that makes the show come alive. Plus, if we get Iain Harrison, double the Brits is sure to equal double the fun.

Gabby Franco - You can't have an all-star season without the best female contestant in the show's history. Franco has already taken to her twitter account to start gathering support. Franco was an impressive contestant and had great chemistry with her teammates. I'd love to see how she fares against the best from the first three seasons.

Wild Card:
Tim Trefren/Chee Kwan -Bit of a cop-out here to pick two but I have good reasoning. Trefren was a master hunter and if he hadn;t gotten upset with Cheng and forced himself into that elimination challenge, I'm confident he would have made it at least to the indivdual stage of the compeition. That being said Chee was a skilled shooter, and putting him back in the house with Gabby is something I think most viewers could get behind.

There you have it. Put your picks in the comments, and hit up Colby on Twitter with who you would like to see come back for Season 5.

More thoughts on the all-star season to come, and I'll be picking up my Season 4 slack very soon.

Follow @cswiets

Toppest Shot: Imagining an All-Star Season

There has been a lot of talk on Twitter lately about doing an all-star season of Top Shot. While the idea is certainly appealing, it also raises a lot of questions. What would an all-star season look like? Is the show to young to pull this off? And most importantly, who gets to come back for another (and please pardon the phrasing) shot? I'll do a little theorizing and make some wild speculations, sprinkled with my own opinion of what I would like to see. 

So where to begin? 

Colby has seemed to imply that the all-star season is an idea that is being actively discussed, but for a show that only has four seasons under its belt, is it too soon?

This being Top Shot, the answer is yes and no. An all-star season of Top Shot would not be the same as an all-star season of Survivor. Survivor strives not only to bring back contestants that make it far in the competition, but also those with the most memorable personalities. (fact: I haven't watched a full season of Survivor since Season 2, which ironically is when Colby was playing). Top Shot is all about being able to beat the best, but while Survivor waited until Season 8 to do its first all-star season, giving it a large pool of contestants to choose from, doing an all-star season after only four or (more likely) five seasons might not be large enough to satisfy the Top Shot audience. Going under the assumption that the all-star season would only have 16 contestants, and that it would take place after Season 4, it would make sense to bring back four shooters from each season. 

While I enjoy the contestants from these seasons, I think they would be too familiar to the audience, and familiarity hurts the diversity of the cast, which is one of Top Shot's strong suits. 

I also wonder whether or not it would make sense to break them up into teams. I assume they would, but I can't imagine one of the winners being happy about going back to the team format after making it all the way to the end of the competition. It would be interesting to see everyone wearing a green jersey and have a completely individual competition season. However, this would also be clumsy and a bit of a slog to watch in the early episodes I imagine. 

The challenges could also be interesting. Now, it wouldn't make sense to have them compete in a best of style grab bag of the best challenges of the first four seasons, that would come off as lazy. It might make sense to bring the fans into the decision making process a little though. I'm talking about the weapons. The difficulty with Top Shot is that there is such a long time between filming and airing the episodes. This often prevents audience interaction. But imagine if each week, while they were filming the all-star season, History posted a poll with the choice of three weapons from past season, with the fans encouraged to pick the one they would most like to see the contestants compete with. The contestants wouldn't know the challenge or the results until the episode actually aired. Honestly, I really think the fans want to be involved in this show as much as possible, and it's a better avenue than the "text who should go home" option they are currently using. There should definitely be new weapons involved in this season, it needs to continue to be a challenge to show that these contestants to have the ability to master and overcome any screwball thrown in their path. It would also be better than just bringing back the best weapons from past seasons, because if you get a contestant that has proven themselves a pro with that weapon, it's dissolves the tension when they compete in a challenge. 

I think that covers most of what I wanted to discuss about teams and challenges and the like. I do, however, want to pick the contestants I'd love to see have another run at the title. I'm only picking from the first three seasons, and only picking four contestants from each season (the assumption being a all-star season taking place after the current season would include four contestants from each season). I'll pick three givens and one wild card, just to keep it interesting

Season 1

Givens:

Iain Harrison - The first, and still one of the best. It would be hard for anyone to claim themselves Top Shot in an all-star season if they didn't go head to head with this man.

JJ Racaza - Third overall, but first in our hearts. Racaza's got amazing speed shooting skills, and a likeable personality that would make him a welcome addition to this all-star cast.

Kelly Bachand - One of Top Shot's youngest contestants at the time, he showed he could hold his own against experienced shooters. A few more yeasr shooting experience have undoubtedly expanded this kid's skillset.

Wild Card:

Tara Poremba - Now I can't take full credit for this, I stole this idea from a fan who tweeted Colby about it. Poremba was forced to leave the competition to go see her ailing father, but I would argue she would have made it to the individual portion of the competition had she remained. I'd love to see her come back for a fair run at the title.

Season 2

Givens:

Chris Reed - Again you have to go with the champ. Not to mention Reed is one of the easiest going and earnest people that's ever participated in this competition.

George Reinas - If you're a fan of the show, you know Reinas pulled off one of the most unprecedented moves in reality-show history, seeming to throw away his chance of winning the competition to ensure Reed made it to the final challenge. Reinas grated on me for most of the season, he's got a big ego, but he's proved there's a lot more to him than what's on the surface.

Jamie Franks - For some reason Franks became Season 2's whipping boy. Reinas turned the other contestants against him by hyping up that he was dishonest about his background. I'd love to see these two get back under the same roof going head to head.

Wild Card:

Jay Lim - Not exactly the wildest card, but Lim proved himself a competitor. His amateur status meant he had to fight for respect the whole way, especially when the competition got down to almost all army personnel. But this all-star competition needs some amateur representation, so it might as well be Lim.

Season 3

Givens:

Dustin Ellermann - Why break a good pattern? Ellermann smoked his competition proving adept with every weapon that was put in his hands, but I'd love to see how he fares against some of the pro's from Seasons 1 and 2.

Gary Quesenberry - Undoubtedly my favorite Top Shot contestant of all time. I wish I could tell you why, maybe it's his name, maybe it's his "I'm here having a ball" personality. Whatever the reason, third overall in this competition is nothing to be scoffed at, and I'd love to see him have another go around.

Phil Morden - I wasn't a huge fan of the rule Colby put into place after Jake Zweig left. I have nothing aginst Mike Hughes, I liked him from the minute he started shooting, but in this competition, I believe if you're out, you're out. Morden should have been able to advance, winning by forfeit, but unfortunately he was bested by Hughes in the elimination challenge. Morden deserves another chance where extenuating circumstances don't determine his fate.

Wild Card:

Jarrett Grimes - Pretty much just because he's Quesenberry's buddy, and I want Quesenberry to be happy.

There you go, four people from three seasons of Top Shot, I might come back and update this once season four is over. I know it's not the best cast in terms of diversity, but hopefully Michelle Viscusi or Gabby Franco can make a name for themselves this season and at least get the token two women in this all-star season.

Thoughts? Ideas? Other opinions that might not be generally positive? Hit the comments.

Follow me on Twitter @ cswiets