Someone on Survivor Sucks asked an interesting question:

Pretend you are the casting director for Survivor 13. They have already narrowed the field down to 182 contestants. Those 182 are the people who have already been on the show. However - lets pretend that they have not yet played the game. Which 18 would you cast based on the persons bio.

My response, as usual, broke the rules but I think it's very innovative and worth sharing.

Colleen Haskell
Jenna Lewis
Elisabeth Filarski
Amber Brkich
Michael Skupin
Keith Famie
Tom Buchanan
Ethan Zohn
Neleh Dennis
Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien
Paschal English
Rob Mariano
Shii Ann Huang
Christy Smith
Butch Lockley
Rob Cesternino
Matthew Von Ertfelda
Rupert Boneham
Lillian Morris
Sandra Diaz-Twine
Burton Roberts
Ami Cusack
Julie Berry
Eliza Orlins
Scout Cloud Lee
Tom Westman
Ian Rosenberger
Ibrehem Rahman
Wanda Shirk
Caryn Groedel
Lydia Morales
Rafe Judkins
Misty Giles
Dan Barry
Ruth-Marie Milliman
Bruce Kanegai

There is my list, Rudy Boesch was cut because he's TDO (Too Damn Old) and Richard Hatch was cut becuase he's currently unavaliable (AKA, in prison).

But, your going to say, there are TOO MANY people! I figure since I get to pick the cast I also get to pick the format. This is my new twist.

The Survivors are arranged into two groups of 18. They are then further divided into two tribes within each group.
The two seperate groups are not avaliable that there is another group also out there. They compete for what would be the requisite 20-21 days up until the merge, each group (of two tribes) voting out 9 people. With nine remaining they will be anticipating a merge, and on schedule the merge comes. However, upon arriving at their next RC/IC instead of it being an individual immunity challenge they find out that they are still competing in a tribal immunity against another tribe of survivors that has been out there at the same time as them. The game could then proceed as it normally would though a larger jury might be in order.

Despite the fact that we have early merges, late merges, tribe swaps, schoolyard pick'ems etc, we have *never* had something that would shake up the dynamic of the game as much as this would.
CBS would love this, for the first half of the season you would air two episodes a week, hence, double the ad money. The final Survivors would of course be out there for much longer, probably closer to 60 days. This would also be a major change from what we expect.
I think this is a workable concept and something that SEG should persue (MB, you listening?)

Imagine walking into the first post-merge reward challenge, your tired, the merge occured later than it usually does at only 9 players instead of the ten or eleven of prior seasons. But, you realize, your halfway there, only 18-or-so days left. Then, as your walking down the beach towards the challenge you glimpse on the opposite shore also walking towards the challenge is another group of people. They are too far away to identify them. One in your tribe counts them and realizes there are also nine people, it's the family reward challenge you think, early in a season but with the late merge, things are already stirred up and it's not unlike MB to stir the pot some more.
The closer you get people try to make out loved ones, and consistantly fail, finally approaching the challenge you realize you don't know anyone in the other group. This exact scene would take place on both tribes, each mistaking the other for family.
Finally, Probst speaks, explaining that for the past 22 days two groups of two tribes have lived apart from each other, each not knowing that the other exists.
I think this would be a fantastic concept for a season of survivor.