A little worried that after 11 seasons, you can't be surprised by Survivor anymore? So were the show's producers, apparently. For its 12th edition, Survivor: Panama — Exile Island, the granddaddy of all reality programs is instituting some dramatic changes. Its 16 players will initially be divvied up into four tribes — older men, older women, younger men, and younger women — and at least one person per episode will be banished to a remote, deserted island containing a hidden immunity idol.

Though this time around some of the game's ground rules may be slightly different, the goal for its contestants — who include a dreadlocked performance artist, a beauty-queen-turned-engineer, and a self-described ''lumberjill'' — is the same: to be the last Survivor standing, and take home the $1 million prize.

Before you tune in to the Feb. 2 premiere (8-9 p.m., CBS), check out our dossier on each of the new castaways. If nothing else, it'll give you a surge of superiority when you differentiate the retired astronaut from the retired fighter pilot before anyone else in your living room.