Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Survivor Cambodia: What Could Happen with the Players

Okay, I’ve never done something like this before in my blog and I’m not yet sure if I will ever do this again. But, basically, it’s time to speculate as to how the returning players on Survivor: Cambodia will play with one another next season. This will be pure predictions based off of who is on the next season and why they could do one thing and not another thing. It’s fun to speculate in my mind. Besides, I don’t want to be the only blogger who doesn’t think of something like this for his blog. There are many things for me to speculate about and since I don’t know yet whether or not I’ll do a cast assessment this season, then this might be the only thing that I do about it.

First, there’s this random thought that I had about the voting poll. There’s been a lot of speculation as to why Carolyn and Mike were included on the poll when we didn’t know if one of them would win before the voting closed. Mike did end up winning. Why did they include Mike if he was going to win? Why not include another guy? I think that this might have been for Carolyn’s benefit. While they couldn’t get her enough votes in the poll to win, they could be justified for at least putting her on the poll in the first place. Although, one does have to wonder if they should have gone with a different woman besides Carolyn so that they wouldn’t have someone on the list who was already on the current season anyways. It might have actually hurt her chances.

Terry had a rivalry with Aras when he played in Panama. He will now be playing with Aras’s brother Vytas in Cambodia. One will wonder how this will affect their game. Monica played with Laura in Samoa and now Laura’s daughter Ciera is playing with Monica on Cambodia. I thought that these two facts are interesting. It also reminds me of Coach who played with both Brandon Hantz and Russell Hantz.

So far in seasons that have returning players from Australia, at least one player from it makes it very far in the game. So does that mean that Kimmi or Jeff Varner is bound to make the finale? I tend to think that Jeff Varner would do better in the game. Can he win? Will he make it far? Or will Cambodia be the first season with returning players from Australia where this doesn’t happen?

I have checked through all the old seasons and I noticed something that I’m not sure if anyone else has. Even if you factor in people who have played more than once, no season has had every player from that season voted off. This could change for Borneo if Kelly Wiglesworth is voted out. If she is voted out along with Woo and Stephen, then everyone from Cambodia will have been voted off at some point. Pretty interesting, huh?

Since the theme of Cambodia is about second chances, you do have to wonder how this will affect twists this season. Will they do a back to the basics season? Will they not use hidden immunity idols for the first time since Palau? Will they avoid having a tribe swap? Will they include Redemption Island? Some people think that Redemption Island doesn’t belong on a second chance season since players are already getting a second chance. I personally love Redemption Island and think that it would actually fit and work on a Redemption Island season.

One wonders how they will divide the tribes. I do wonder if the higher vote getters would be on one tribe and the lower vote getters on the other tribes. Or, they could mix and match putting the top five men on one tribe and the top five women on the other tribe. I think that it will probably be random division of some sort.

Players could team up based on similar experiences or even if they’ve played the same season before. Spencer and Tasha could reconnect, which I why I think that they will start out on different tribes. Jeff Varner and Andrew were both voted out right after the merge due to strange situations. Will they team up? Erik and Brandon apparently had an alliance in Caramoan since they both gave up the immunity necklace, but the show didn’t really focus on it since it wasn’t that important to the game. I learned about that on Survivor Oz. Back to the point of this paragraph continued in the next one.

Will Woo and Stephen get together? Will Kelly Wiglesworth join with them? What about Terry, Keith and Kass? Will Shirin and Joe stick together? Will Ciera and Vytas form a pair? Can Kimmi and Jeff Varner work together despite how she might have unintentionally cost him the game the first time? What about the three players from San Juan del Sur or the four players from Cagayan? Will those who are by themselves from their season form an alliance with all the other people without a fellow contestant from their original season?

Four players from Cagayan makes me wonder if they will intentionally split the players up so that there’s two from that season on one tribe and two on the other? That would mean that at least two of the brains will be reunited no matter what. Will they put Kass and Spencer together to see if they clash? Would Kass be put with Tasha instead? Now I would speculate about the three San Juan del Sur players, but I’m not sure what I’d say about them.

Here’s a quick reminder of how the players did last time they played: Runner-ups- Kelly Wiglesworth, Stephen, and Woo, last voted out- Kass, Terry, and Keith, voted out in the finale- Ciera and Spencer, regular jury members- Joe, Vytas, Jeremy, Monica, Shirin, Peih-Gee, Abi-Maria, and Tasha, made the merge but not the jury- Andrew and Jeff Varner, premerge boots- Kelley Wentworth and Kimmi.

Now I think that I will do a look at each player specifically and mention how I think that they will end up faring on the next season. Remember that this is speculation only and I don’t know what will actually happen. It is fun to think about how they will fare.

Stephen came in second to JT and got no jury votes. He seems to be pretty popular among Survivor fans. The fact that he helps with Rob has a Podcast might have something to do with it. When I think about how he will fare, I’m not sure if I have any good guesses. I think that he’ll at least make the merge, but could easily not make it that far.

Jeremy is one of Survivor’s many endearing alpha males. There are some people that don’t like him, which is understandable as there tends to always be people that don’t like other people. Anyways, I find it hard to predict for sure where he will end up. I think that there’s a good chance that he makes the merge again, but I’m not sure if he can make it much farther than that.

Andrew is someone that I want to make pretty far in the game. He was considered screwed by the outcasts twist and I do wonder why it took him so long to return to the game again. I say that he probably makes the jury phase of the game this time.

Monica is a random person, but they tend to make it pretty far in the game the second time. That may not make much sense, but a lot of times, I have recognized a player better from their time as a returning player and not from their first game. So I say that she will probably make the jury again.

Jeff Varner is something that I think can make it all the way to the end. Will he? I don’t know for sure. But I say that more than likely, he will be a finalist in this upcoming season. There’s a lot of people that I want to make it far, so I’d probably be happy regardless of who makes the end. In my mind, he could also be likely to flip on people as he was voted out because of a tie the first time and might go to great lengths to avoid that fate happening again.

Woo might make it far his second time playing the game. But, I don’t think that he will. I feel that he will be out before the merge happens as he might not offer as much to the game the second time around. He could make it far if people want to take someone to the end that they feel that they can beat. But I’m not sure if that will work for him.

Shirin could make it far the second time around. But there might be enough of a stigma against her since people at the finale would know that she is rich outside of the game. So I say that the second time around, she doesn’t make the merge.

Peih-Gee is a contestant that I like a lot. Of course, I like most of the cast, even those that I didn’t vote for. I think that she will make the jury again. You may notice that I’m just making guesses and predictions here for the cast at large at this point. The predictions may mostly be random at this point based on previous thoughts on these players before and past trends from previous returning player seasons. I just hope that I don’t run out of things to say.

Kass has many different fans and haters in the Survivor community. She has mixed reactions generally among everyone in the show. And it is likely that she will start the game with at least one of her fellow players from Cagayan. I don’t see her making the merge this time. There’s a stigma against her and I don’t think she can overcome it.

Abi-Maria may be a villain, but not a hateful one for people to avoid voting her into the game. She can be a bit annoying and those players never tend to do well a second time. I think that it’s safe saying that she’ll be a premerge boot the second time.

Terry is remembered for having a very powerful idol. He was a great player, but didn’t win his season. He then didn’t end up making a lot of other returning player seasons until now. Conspiracy theory says that he was the inspiration that got rid of the final two. People who are the last voted out normally don’t do as well the next time in the game. But, I think that if anyone can be the first to break that curse, it would be Terry. I say that he will probably be a finalist this second time.

Kelley Wentworth is one of only two players on this season who didn’t make the merge the first time that she played. There’s normally mixed results with players like that. About half of them are voted out or otherwise eliminated before the merge a second time. I think that she will probably make the jury the second time.

Tasha is a pretty interesting and wonderful person in my mind. I’m not sure if she can last again the second time around, although I’d say that she’ll probably make the jury. That’s just my thoughts at least and more of a hope that she does well again.

Keith did pretty well the first time despite his general cluelessness at the game. But cluelessness isn’t a good thing and he’ll probably do poorly the second time around. I say that he won’t be useful the second time and get voted out before the merge.

Ciera has a certain stigma against her from her previous game. Now some people like John Cochran can turn that stigma around or at least have people ignore it in some way. With her, I don’t think that she’ll make the merge this time.

Kimmi is another contestant who failed to make the merge the first time she played the game. I don’t think that she can change her game around the second time and I think that she will fail to make the merge a second time. Meanwhile, while her birthday isn’t going to happen during the filming of Cambodia, I do wonder if she’ll pull off a Richard Hatch like she planned to do on Survivor Australia and spend a whole day naked. One wonders how people will react to this if she does it.

Spencer might fall victim to a sort of curse that seems to affect people voted out in finales who return for future seasons. You can look up information about that or I could do a blog post (or two) about it in the future. The point is, that of all the players who were voted out in the finale of a season and returned to play another season, only one of them made the finale the second time. That person was Cirie who ironically was voted out again in the second finale she was in. Nobody else, including Cirie’s third attempt at Survivor, has ever made the finale again. With that being said, I still think that Spencer will make the jury.

Kelly Wiglesworth could have actually won the first season if she had just stuck to her alliance. One can see the reasoning that she had for leaving it and that plan could have worked if only the right people were still on her side. Will she learn from her old mistakes? I think that she has learnt enough to make it to day 39 again.

Joe is a wonderful player who could easily wind up playing the same sort of game that he did the first time. His tribe will probably need him and use him early in the game. After the merge, he’ll be a threat that will be targeted and probably put him on the jury. It will be interesting watching the merge play out and seeing how many of the strong players make it to the merge. I’m going to love to see what happens and there are few people who I wouldn’t want to see win out of the great cast that we have. Anyways, I say that Joe will be on the jury again.

Vytas is someone who for me fits the second chance criteria perfectly even if Redemption Island already gave him that. I realize at this point that I already have the highest possible number of people on the jury that has happened in the past. If I said that they would make the merge then that is me guessing that they will be on the jury. But the point is, I’m not sure who to cut out of the jury members that I have and I’m not sure that Vytas can make the jury the second time anyways.


Well, I’m not sure where all this post has gone. Sometimes I watch an episode of a TV show and I never figure out how they got from point a to point b after watching it many times. I can’t think of any good examples at the moment of that. I don’t even know most episodes’ names of TV shows. But I digress. The point is, I hope that you understood this blog post. Now, here’s a simple run-down of my predictions for the season. Premerge boots: Woo, Shirin, Kass, Abi-Maria, Keith, Ciera, Kimmi, and Vytas. Jury members: Stephen, Jeremy, Andrew, Monica, Peih-Gee, Kelley Wentworth, Tasha, Spencer, and Joe. Finalists: Kelly Wiglesworth, Jeff Varner, and Terry. Those are my predictions for upcoming season. There might be another set, but I’m not sure about that yet. I doubt that all of these will be right, but it is fun to predict. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Survivor Cambodia: Knowing the Returning Players

Now that an all-stars season is on its way to the future of Survivor, I might as well give a recap of each of the player’s original games. Since I have Survivor: Borneo on DVD, I might be including a bit more information on Kelly Wiglesworth than other players on Survivor: Cambodia. I might even write up a full-fledged recap of her time on Survivor: Borneo at one point, but not in the near future, probably. Stay tuned for posts during future hiatuses of Survivor. I have not decided yet if I will do a cast assessment for next season or not. This could be the only time I wind up talking about who the players are. So I might as well get to information about them.

Information about Kimmi: Known for her fight with Alicia over chickens, Kimmi is a bit of a random choice to return to the game again. She played Australia. She had trouble adapting to the game the first time and I’m not sure why she wants to play again a second time. Maybe it’s to prove herself. But her tribe got rid of her before the merge, but not before she revealed important information to the rival tribe that tipped the scales against her tribe after the merge.

Information about Joe: I’m not sure if there’s a player that I can easily think of that had to be voted out quickly after losing immunity besides Joe. He was in Worlds Apart, the most recently aired season. He’s an interesting player. Since he was on the most recently aired season, you probably know who he is. But he was an interesting no collar player who could have ruled the game if only he wasn’t such a huge threat. Known as the second incarnation of Malcolm, he’s pretty strong and likable.

Information about Vytas: I felt that Vytas should play Survivor again if only because of the stupid way he got eliminated over a single second. On Blood versus Water, he was actually a cool player, even if his brother helped overshadow his own game. He was a great player in his own right although his time was ultimately cut short when the singles teamed up against the couples.

Information about Peih-Gee: From the season filmed in China, you’d think that they’d have more than just one Chinese person. I liked Peih-Gee and hated how Denise treated her throughout the season. She may not have been that much of a standout player, actually.

Information about Kelly Wiglesworth: I apologize in advance if there’s too much information regarding Kelly Wiglesworth as compared to the other players from this season. I’ll get to why in just a moment. Anyways, she is a well liked player who is the first chronologically to never have a vote cast against. She played the very first season and was the runner-up against Richard Hatch. She might have done better if she hadn’t left the alliance. Since it’s been a while since she’s played, she might have the hardest time adapting to the new game. But, she might have learned from her mistakes the first time to change up her game and make it far again. I have the first season on DVD and after watching the finale (and every episode leading up to it), I had this to say about her:

Kelly is an interesting contestant and many people like her. But, by not sticking with the alliance, she didn’t end up winning the game. She might have had a better chance at it if she hadn’t turned away Sue’s friendship. But, she is still a favorite by many fans. That doesn’t mean that she’ll return to the game though. She says that she probably doesn’t want to and has not ever been considered as an alternate for any season with returning players on it. People may want her back, but it’s her choice as to whether or not she’ll be back. I give it a 30% chance that we will see her in a future season.

More thoughts on Kelly Wiglesworth: As you can see, I got the prediction wrong. I didn’t expect her to play again after the first season. You see, I don’t think that she was considered for any season. If she was, then we don’t have it on record. I’m glad that she’s back to play the game again and look forward to how she might play.

Information about Spencer: Ah, Spencer. From Cagayan, he is one of the greatest underdogs in Survivor to have not turned things around and produce the win for the season. He’s well liked by a lot of people, I think. In Cagayan, he managed to stay ahead of the brain tribe failing after other members proved to be more expendable. He made it far into the merge until his threat status got him voted out.

Information about Kass: Normally people who flip do not get very far after they are no longer needed in the game. But Kass made it all the way to third place and failed to win the final immunity challenge by less than a second. From Cagayan, she held more control of the game than people give her credit for. It makes sense that some people wouldn’t like her though, but I’m fond of her in a way.

Information about Jeremy: From San Juan del Sur, Jeremy was an alpha male who clearly dominated the game. In a way of messing with the audience, many of whom say Jeremy as a clear winner, he was voted out shortly after the merge but not before outlasting his rival by one tribal council. He’s a great player and was the leader of his tribe so it will be nice seeing him back.

Information about Keith: Also from San Juan del Sur, Keith managed to somehow be a serious threat to win the game despite not knowing much about how it works. He made it deep into it despite his blunders and was ultimately voted out last.

Information about Terry: One of the most requested contestants to return, Terry finally avoided being cut from yet another Survivor season due to all the votes the fans gave him. In Panama, he found an idol and with immunity too made it all the way to the final three before being voted out at the very end. Only one vote was ever cast against him that season and it got him voted out of the game. He is a popular contestant who conspiracy theorists say was why the final two stopped being used as much after the season he was on. I love to see him back and hope that he can avoid the curse that seems to affect a lot of the last voted out players who return to the game again. What curse? Well, I might hopefully tell you about that later.

Information about Shirin: From the most recent season (outside of what hasn’t aired), Shirin was an interesting player. It wouldn’t surprise me if people had mixed feelings about her due to her edit in Worlds Apart. The fans didn’t hate her enough to vote against her becoming a returning player. Sadly, she is remember for how Will attacked her. But even though her tribe mistreated her, she still became likable enough to return to play again.

Information about Ciera: She’s one of the more interesting villains that I know of. Some people think that she’s a hero, but I don’t understand why. In Blood versus Water, she helped vote out her own mother. Her ways made her the highest ranking member of the new players her season before she was ultimately voted out at fifth place.

Information about Monica: From Samoa, I can’t remember much, if anything, about Monica. She was on the Galu tribe and made it to the merge. Russell Hantz’s reign of terror that season got her voted out like almost everyone else from that season.

Information about Stephen: A very well-liked player within the Survivor community, Stephen is also known as the only person in a final two who didn’t receive a single jury vote. He played the Tocantins season. He also helps with Rob has a Podcast. Not sure what else there is to say about him.

Information about Andrew: From Pearl Islands, Andrew was the leader of the Morgan tribe. He was playing a great game until the Outcasts twist happened and he was voted out right before the jury would have started. I’m surprised that it took this long for him to return to the game again.

Information about Tasha: Isn’t it interesting that every member of the brains tribe that made the merge is returning to the next season? Tasha from Cagayan is pretty likable and proved herself to be a strong competitor in the challenges. This is what ultimately got her voted out.

Information about Jeff Varner: This likable guy from Australia could have lasted a lot longer were it not for previous votes against him being revealed to the other tribe and a majority at the merge that was prevented when Michael was medically evacuated. Now the other tribe knew that previous votes would be used in tie-breaker situations which is how they were able to know who to vote against. It is widely believed that Kimmi told the other tribe that Jeff had a vote against him. Well, it took a while, but he’s finally back for another season.

Information about Abi-Maria: From Philippines, this woman is considered to be a villain by many. She may not have been the best at playing the game, but she does, obviously, have her fans. She had a hidden immunity idol that helped her a bit but then got voted out right before the final four. There’s not much to say about her, actually.

Information about Woo: He is widely believed to be the player that was bumped up due to Mike winning Worlds Apart. Whether or not he actually was number 11 will forever remain a mystery. From Cagayan, this surfer dude had a carefree attitude about the game. His loyalties are ultimately what got him second place against the person he brought to the end with him.

Information about Kelley Wentworth: To me, she seems like another random choice to play the game again. I did like her in the season that she played: San Juan del Sur. She was voted out premerge due to reasons the editors seemed to have left out.


Well, I’m not sure what else to say about all this at the moment. I still have a lot of things to still post about the upcoming season and I’m pretty sure I can get that all in during the hiatus before it starts airing. I just hope that I don’t somehow have too much to say about this. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Top Ten One-Time Players that Should Reappear: Part 2- Females

As promised, this is part 2 of my lists of one-time players that should reappear. Everything that I told you about the first list is pretty much true in this list. I’m just doing females now instead of males. You might be wondering why I do males before females in lists of mine like these. Well, as a Christian, I believe that God created men before he created women. There are many different theories as to why this happened. I firmly believe that women were created second because they are the better gender. I mean, if God waited until the sixth day to create humans themselves, then obviously the best things are created towards the very end. Besides, women are the better gender. Anyone who says otherwise is probably sexist. Well, maybe not. But I think that women are the better gender. Anyways, while the rules of the first list are in place in this one, I thought that I would add a quick note that just because a season was mentioned with a man I’d want back doesn’t mean that I can’t mention that same season again for the woman’s list. The rule is in place for this post that once I mention someone from a single season, then I won’t mention anyone else from that season. But that doesn’t mean that they won’t have alternates from the same season.

#10 Christy (Amazon): Remembered as being deaf, Christy was a great player. She played a good game until indecision cost her a shot at making it further. Why hasn’t she played again? It’s a shame that she hasn’t been considered back, in my mind and I feel that she should play the game again.

#9 Kim (One World): This is one of the few winners who could take the honorable players with her to the end and still get the jury votes needed to win. She played a great game and could return to play again. I think that she should and she probably will at some point.

#8 Kelly (Worlds Apart): She took an injury to the head and still kept on fighting. Kelly is an awesome player and could have potentially won were it not for a hidden immunity idol. I liked her a lot and think that she should play again.

#7 Natalie (Micronesia): The highest ranking member of the fans tribe from Micronesia, Natalie is a player that I think should be back again to play. She’s interesting and wonderful. She helped convince Erik to make a dumb move under the guise of redeeming himself. There’s a reason that she outlasted all the other new players that season: she’s a great one herself. Will she be back? I really hope so.

#6 Ashley (Redemption Island): She was a wonderfully great player from her season. The fact that she was such a huge threat to win is what got her voted out last. It’s hard to believe that she was such a good player, but she deserves to come back and hopefully will at some point.

#5 Teresa (Africa): This player is wonderfully awesome. From making Lex go crazy without even trying to, she made the game more interesting when she played. Since she wasn’t chosen to be on Cambodia, I figured mentioning her on this list of mine is a good choice.

#4 Jane (Nicaragua): While being a motherly figure is typically a hindrance to a person’s game in today’s Survivor, Jane would have certainly won if she could have made it to the end. Her biggest rival in the game said he’d probably vote for her to win. She was loved by everyone her season, which is why she was voted out late in the game. She even took measures to ensure that she could survive in the harsh environment that Survivor has. I think that she should return to play again.

#3 Darrah (Pearl Islands): I was a fan of Darrah when she played Pearl Islands. I hated how she was screwed by an immunity twist at the final four. She was a strong competitor when she played and it’s an abomination that she hasn’t been asked back.

#2 Edna (South Pacific): How do I explain how I like Edna without bashing the season she played? Well, I’m not sure that I can. But I can definitely say that she was a bright spot in a pretty terrible season. From her treemail visors to just general likability, she should return to play Survivor at some point especially since her first experience was so negative.

#1 Denise (Philippines): If you are constantly going to tribal council, you wouldn’t think that you’d always survive each and every visit, would you? Well Denise survived every tribal council the season that she was on and got the jury vote needed to win the game. How is that possible? Well, one would have to play a very good game like Denise did. She is a very good winner and she should definitely play again, if only to hopefully know what happens when one doesn’t have to go to tribal council.

Honorable mentions/alternates: Gretchen from Borneo, Kelly from Africa, Gina, Sarah, & Vecepia from Marquesas, Penny, Helen, & Jan from Thailand, Heidi from Amazon, Lillian from Pearl Islands, Leann, Scout, Twila, & Lisa from Vanuatu, Angie, Wanda, & Jolanda from Palau, Cindy from Guatemala, Misty & Sally from Panama, Becky from Cook Islands, Liliana, Stacy, Michelle, & Sylvia from Fiji, Jamie & Sherea from China, Alexis & Natalie from Micronesia, Gillian from Gabon, Sandy & Sierra from Tocantins, Natalie & Kelly from Samoa, Alina & Holly from Nicaragua, Kristina from Redemption Island, Christine, Mikayla, & Elyse from South Pacific, Kourtney, Nina, Sabrina, Christina from One World, Dana, Sarah, Lisa, & RC from Philippines, Marissa, Laura Boneham, & Katie from Blood versus Water, Sarah & Trish from Cagayan, and Nadiya, Natalie, & Baylor from San Juan del Sur.

Well, those are the women that I think should return even though they’ve only played the game once. Even if they aren’t on the list, they are still probably good players. I couldn’t include everyone. But that’s my top ten for women. So, if I combined the list of men and the list of women, you’d have the cast that I’d choose for a Survivor season.

The cast: Teresa (Africa), Christy (Amazon), Burton (Pearl Islands), Darrah (Pearl Islands), Chris (Vanuatu), Coby (Palau), Shane (Panama), Natalie (Micronesia), Matty (Gabon), Brett (Samoa), Fabio (Nicaragua), Jane (Nicaragua), Ashley (Redemption Island), Edna (South Pacific), Kim (One World), Denise (Philippines), John (Blood versus Water), Tony (Cagayan), Mike (Worlds Apart), Kelly (Worlds Apart).


I hope that you liked this blog post of mine. Now I had a bunch of posts written before the second chance season (Cambodia) was announced. Hopefully, the rest of the posts this summer can be about the upcoming season before it airs. Well, not the rest of the posts, but it will be just those posts until I’m done with them, hopefully at least. I could easily insert one or more blog posts about other stuff, but I need to finish writing about that season before it airs. Hopefully, I don’t run out of time, but I don’t think that I will. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Top Ten One-Time Players that Should Reappear: Part 1- Males

Okay, before I get to the actual blog post that starts in the next paragraph, I thought that I would update you on Survivor news. Today is day 39 in Survivor: Cambodia. I would like to congratulate whoever won. I'm not done posting about that season before it airs. I still don't know if I'll do a cast assessment or not, but I will have something close to it in the near future. I just hope that I have enough of these posts to write before the next season starts.

The title of this blog post should be self-explanatory. But, in the event that it is not, I’ll be sure to explain as the post continues. I was thinking to myself, “I should do a top ten of players that only played once and should return to play the game again.” But then I thought that it might be better to create a cast for a potential season like that. In the end, I decided to do both. Men will have one list of ten contestants and women will have a second list later. Now there are some things that I would like to note about the list going into it.

1- If a great contestant is believed to never return to the game again, such a Greg Buis, then they won’t be considered for this list. I should have more than enough people by just considering those who would actually play again and ignoring anybody who probably won’t return to the game. 2- Obviously, if someone has played more than once, they won’t be on the list. 3- I will consider people for this list regardless of if they’ve ever been considered to be a returning player. That’s because, it’s unknown if we have records of everyone that has been asked back. 4- This wasn’t originally going to be a rule, but I decided that any one season can only be represented once. So if there are a bunch of great contestants from a single season, I went with who I thought was the best among them. I will probably mention alternates at the end of this post. 5- Women will get their own list later. I promise to get to them, hopefully next week. 6- This list may have been different before the announcement of the players on Survivor: Cambodia. I am excluding everyone from that cast so that’s why you might not see a great player from it on this list.

I have considered a bunch of great men throughout the history of Survivor and have come up with my list of ten men that have only played the game once that I feel should return to play Survivor again. I’ll talk about them and explain my choices. Without further ado, here’s the list:

#10 Shane (Panama): While some may find him annoying and arrogant, he’s a likable player by many people and has already been snubbed from returning before. He’s entertaining and likable to the point that many people have wanted him to play that game again. Why hasn’t he? Well, the reasons vary, but it’s terrible that we have yet to see him again.

#9 Burton (Pearl Islands): This person was very strong until his foolishness made his the first person voted out of his tribe. But a highly underrated twist brought him back into the game. He then went on an immunity streak and even lasted for a while without immunity. His foolishness, however, got him voted out of the game again. But I still like him as a player and think that he would make a great returnee. Why hasn’t he come back?

#8 Fabio (Nicaragua): I really like this winner. He had a pretty good game, even if he was a bit dimwitted. He would probably make a great player if he came back. I think that he is one of many winners that I’d want to see in the game again. While I like a lot of the winners, he was one of my favorites in quite a long time which is why I’m glad he did win. A lot of people like him and I think that he would do well a second time playing the game.

#7 Matty (Gabon): This player was pretty good at the game. He could have even won, if only he could have made fire. He was a pretty strong player and I’m not going to take away from the game of the person who did win. But Matty was a wonderful player and he’d make a great returnee.

#6 John (Blood versus Water): A Redemption Island king, John was a tough opponent in the game. Even though he fell short of reentry into the game, he was definitely a force to be reckoned with. He was even forced to beat his wife in a duel at one point and people can’t do that easily. Or, you’d think that such a thing wouldn’t easily be done. But he’s a strong player and that’s why he should reappear.

#5 Coby (Palau): Who doesn’t love Coby? He’s one of the most likable players that I can remember. He’s been considered to return to play the game again, but has yet to return a second time. He was entertaining and wonderful to watch when he played in Palau. The fact that he hasn’t already returned is a disgrace.

#4 Mike (Worlds Apart): This player would have been in a second season had he not won his first season. He’s actually a good player and possibly underrated winner. He may have made dumb choices every so often, but that didn’t prevent him from actually winning the game. He’s a great player and would make a great returnee when the time comes.

#3 Chris (Vanuatu): After outlasting the women on his tribe, Chris ended up winning the game itself. That was a very cool event to witness and one of the times when a person you didn’t expect to win actually pulled it off. He’s a great player getting the women to turn on each other and it’s very odd that he’s never been asked back to play the game again. But I’m sure that he would be a wonderful person to play the game again, so I put him on this list.

#2 Brett (Samoa): This man is a notable returning player snub. Has he seriously never been considered to play the game again? Regardless, his winning streak in Samoa had him fall short of the finals once he failed to win the final immunity challenge. He could have easily won the game too. Him as a winner would have been very satisfying. But, they can always bring him back and hopefully, he would play another great game.

#1 Tony (Cagayan): Why do I have this person as number one? Well, some people would say that if Richard Hatch had never played again, then that would have been a travesty. Well, only one other player besides Richard turned general cockiness and extreme game play into a win and that was Tony. Tony is a great winner and one of the most awesome players in the history of Survivor. He’s wonderful and interesting and if doesn’t return, then that would be a travesty.

Honorable mentions/alternates: Dirk & Sean from Borneo, Rodger from Australia, Silas from Africa, Gabriel, John, & Paschal from Marquesas, Jake from Thailand, Shawn from Pearl Islands, Rory & Travis from Vanuatu, Gregg, Ian, & James from Palau, Gary & Rafe from Guatemala, Bruce from Panama, Nate, Billy, & Adam from Cook Islands, Gary, Earl, Mookie, & Anthony from Fiji, Aaron from China, Jason from Micronesia, Ken & Bob from Gabon, Joe & Brendan from Tocantins, Mike from Samoa, Marty & Chase from Nicaragua, Grant & Mike from Redemption Island, Tarzan, Jonas, Leif, & Troyzan from One World, Eddie & Reynold from Caramoan, Hayden from Blood versus Water, Jeremy & Garrett from Cagayan, Wes, Dale, Josh, Reed, & Jon Misch from San Juan del Sur, and Tyler from Worlds Apart


Those are my thoughts on the one-time male players that I think should reappear. Stay tuned to this blog and you should soon see the list of females from previous seasons that I think should play a second time again. I thought that I’d do the males first and then the females second. I hope that you don’t mind that order. Anyways, I hope that you liked my thoughts on which one-time players should return to play the game again. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Survivor Second Chance: Notable Snubs not Eligible for Voting

Okay, I should probably get straight to the point: Survivor was wrong to exclude a lot of people from voting in the second chance poll. So I will mention various different players that I think should have been considered. Before I do that, I’ll get to people that were known to decline an offer for next season based on information that I had as of the posting of this blog post. Information about the alternates comes from Wikipedia and http://insidesurvivor.com/2015/06/survivor-second-chance-missed-opportunities/ a hopefully accurate site.

Greg from Borneo didn’t want to do this season. RC from Philippines also declined this season. Jon Misch from San Juan del Sur didn’t reply to producers on time to be considered. Josh from San Juan del Sur declined to do some sort of stage production. Shambo from Samoa wasn’t interested and neither was Ian from Palau. Natalie from Micronesia turned down the offer as well. Chelsea from One World was considered in the early stages, but wasn’t considered when time for the vote. Angie from Philippines was also considered and she was eliminated into the early process. John and Hayden from Blood versus Water were first considered and then cut for reasons unknown. Cliff and J’Tia from Cagayan wasn’t chosen, possibly due to too many Cagayan players in the mix. Those are the only people who were considered that weren’t an option that we know of. There may have been more.

Now that I’ve mentioned them, I might as well mention who I think should have been choices from various seasons and why I think that they could have been mentioned. I will stick to those who I feel should be on a specific second chance season and avoid others that I either think could be good returning players or those that I’m not sure I’d want to return anyways. All-star contestants would be avoided in my mind and I’ll only stick with those who I think would actually fit on a second chance season. Hopefully, it doesn’t sound too judgmental in any way.

We start with players from Borneo. People who would fit in a second chance season are Sean, Colleen, Gretchen, Sonja, Dirk, and Ramona. Then in Australia, a player that would fit a second chance season is Mitchell. From Africa, players that would work are Silas, Kelly, Carl, and Lindsey. From Marquesas, players that would work are Sarah, Paschal, John, and Gabriel. Nobody from Marquesas, Thailand, or Amazon could be voted for. To be fair, though, I can’t think of anyone from Thailand that would work. From Amazon, I can think of Christy, Joanna, Roger, and Ryan all working. From Pearl Islands, players that would work are Lillian, Burton, Shawn, Ryan Opray, and Darrah.

Vanuatu, Palau, and Guatemala had no players that we could vote for. You’d think that Travis, Rory, and Leann from Vanuatu would work on a second chance season. From Palau, players that would work are Gregg, Coby, Caryn, Jonathan, Wanda, Jolanda, Angie, and James. From Guatemala, players that would work are Cindy and Rafe. From Panama, players that would work are Misty, Shane, Dan, and Bruce. Cook Islands and Fiji had nobody we could vote for. Billy, Sundra, Sekou, Anh-Tuan, and Jenny are all players from Cook Islands that would all work on a second chance season. From Fiji, players that would work are Stacy, Michelle, Gary, Liliana, and Sylvia. From China, players that would work are Aaron and Sherea. Micronesia and Gabon had no players that we could vote for.

From Micronesia, Alexis, Jason, Tracy, and Mary are all players that would work on a second chance season. From Gabon, players that would work are Matty and Marcus. From Tocantins, players that would work are Joe, Taj, Sandy, Sierra, Jerry, and Brendan. From Samoa, players that would work are Mike, Betsy, John, Erik, Elizabeth, and Kelly.

Nicaragua didn’t have anyone that we could vote for. Kelly Bruno, Chase, Holly, and Shannon are all players from that season that would work on a second chance season. From Redemption Island, players that would work are Matt, Mike, Kristina, and Grant. From South Pacific, players that would work are Christine, Elyse, and Keith. From One World, players that would work are Tarzan, Jonas, and Kourtney. From Philippines, players that would work are Pete, Dana, Jeff, and Sarah. Caramoan didn’t have anyone eligible for voting. Players from that season that would work in a second chance season are Allie, Shamar, Laura, Matt, and Hope.

From Blood versus Water, players that would work are Katie, Laura Boneham, and Marissa. From Cagayan, players that would work are Brice, Garrett, and Sarah. From San Juan del Sur, players that would work are Nadiya, John Rocker, Drew, Baylor, Wes, and maybe others that I can’t think of at the moment. From Worlds Apart, players that would work are Kelly, Dan, So, Tyler, and maybe more that I can’t think of.


I’m sure that there are some players that I forgot to mention. Maybe I just didn’t remember enough about certain players to include them on this list. I may have intentionally not mentioned someone in the event that I figured that they wouldn’t be allowed to play again. I also tried to stick with only second chance players instead of just anyone. Anyways, that’s all that I’m mentioning in this blog post. I may have to create my own list of second chance players again. We’ll see. For now, this is Adam Decker signing off.