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[BowieZ]

UPDATE: I will not be spoiling this OP with booted castaways.



EDIT: The updated CBS Survivor site has gone live, complete with cast interviews.
Intro to the cast members can be found at EW.com with on-set video interviews at the bottom,
which include Jeff's take on most cast members (written format here).

Thursday, Feb. 4th: "Surviving Survivor" Special

This special will look back at past seasons of Survivor and their memorable contestants, preparing us for the upcoming All-Star season and reminding us of each of the 20 returning favorites.

Thursday, Feb. 11th: "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains" Season Premiere

Heroes Tribe

1. Amanda Kimmel (S15 China & S16 Micronesia: Fans vs Favorites)
2. Candice Woodcock (S13 Cook Islands)
3. Cirie Fields (S12 Panama & S16 Micronesia: Fans vs Favorites)
4. Colby Donaldson (S2 Australian Outback & S8 All-Stars)
5. James "J.T." Thomas, Jr. (S18 Tocantins)
6. James Clement (S15 China & S16 Micronesia: Fans vs Favorites)
7. Rupert Boneham (S7 Pearl Islands & S8 All-Stars)
8. Stephenie LaGrossa (S10 Palau & S11 Guatemala)
9. Sugar Kiper (S17 Gabon)
10. Tom Westman (S10 Palau)
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Villains Tribe
    
    
11. "Coach" Benjamin Wade (S18 Tocantins)
12. Courtney Yates (S15 China)
13. Danielle DiLorenzo (S12 Panama)
14. Jerri Manthey (S2 Australian Outback & S8 All-Stars)
15. Parvati Shallow (S13 Cook Islands & S16 Micronesia: Fans vs Favorites)
16. Randy Bailey (S17 Gabon)
17. "Boston" Rob Mariano (S4 Marquesas & S8 All-Stars)
18. Russell Hantz (S19 Samoa)
19. Sandra Diaz-Twine (S7 Pearl Islands)
20. Tyson Apostol (S18 Tocantins)
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Breakdown by Season
S1 Borneo - none
S2 Australian Outback - Colby, Jerri
S3 Africa - none
S4 Marquesas - Boston Rob
S5 Thailand - none
S6 Amazon - none
S7 Pearl Islands - Rupert, Sandra
S8 All-Stars - Colby, Jerri, Boston Rob, Rupert
S9 Vanuatu - none
S10 Palau - Stephenie, Tom
S11 Guatemala - Stephenie
S12 Panama - Cirie, Danielle
S13 Cook Islands - Candice, Parvati
S14 Fiji - none
S15 China - Amanda, Courtney, James
S16 Micronesia: Fans vs Favorites - Amanda, Cirie, James, Parvati
S17 Gabon - Randy, Sugar
S18 Tocantins - Coach, J.T., Tyson
S19 Samoa - Russell

(Seasons where returning castaways originally appeared are bolded above.)

 

[Touchdown]

woohoo!!! Can't wait. The ultimate good vs. evil in Rupert vs. Russell Team Rupert!!!!

 

[xbhaskarx]

I don't understand how they pick people for this...

Who wants to see Cirie for a third time, and what makes her a "hero"?
Why bring back useless people like Sugar or Courtney?

Where the fuck is Yau-Man? Jonathan Penner?

 

[nomster]

who goes home first from the heroes tribe - Tom or JT? Both are too awesome to keep around.

 

[MaximumX2]

I haven't thoroughly watched a season of Survivor since All-Stars, but I may have to tune into this one.

 

[gdt]

Woah, kind of early for a thread, no?

 

[t-storm]

Awesome OP.

 

[Woodsy]

Totally forgot about Randy, LOL.

 

[StoOgE]

Why is Johhny Fairplay not in this.

I haven't watched survivor since the Survivor Allstars show.. but he was one of the best villains the show ever had.

Dude lied about his Grandma dying to win.

 

[MagicJackBauer]

Why is Johhny Fairplay not in this.

I haven't watched survivor since the Survivor Allstars show.. but he was one of the best villains the show ever had.

Dude lied about his Grandma dying to win.

Because he's probably too coked up to come on the show. I'm glad he's not on.

 

[artist]

Why is Johhny Fairplay not in this.

I haven't watched survivor since the Survivor Allstars show.. but he was one of the best villains the show ever had.

Dude lied about his Grandma dying to win.

To be honest, he was the villain in a mediocre season. Not worth it.

 

[Baker]

Season starts February 11.

 

[BowieZ]

Woah, kind of early for a thread, no?

Eh, it is, but I mean, some movies get threads started just for their trailers, etc, so I think this season of Survivor, which is speculated to be the LAST EVER, I think deserves a bit of extra hype and discussion!

Awesome OP.

Thanks! Made all the images myself, including the logo at the top which I copied from the 3D version that debuted at the Samoa reunion.

Why is Johhny Fairplay not in this.

I haven't watched survivor since the Survivor Allstars show.. but he was one of the best villains the show ever had.

Dude lied about his Grandma dying to win.

Considering he essentially quit in the very first episode of Survivor: Micronesia - Fans vs Favorites, I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't invited this time.

Season starts February 11.

Eh... read the OP? :/

 

[Baker]

Eh... read the OP? :/

Clip show doesn't count as a new season.

 

[BowieZ]

Come on, guys! Post YouTubes of your favorite moments from seasons past!
Search tip: For example, search for "$10 E8 P5" to find the fifth part of the eighth episode of Season 10, etc, etc, replacing S for Season with a dollar sign.

One of my favorite moments:
"Ulong Gone"
In Survivor: Palau, Stephenie and Bobby Jon lose their seventh straight immunity challenge and battle each other at Tribal Council to be the sole remaining castaway from the Ulong tribe.

 

[I <3 Memes]

I haven't watched Survivor in quite a few seasons but I will be watching this.

Not that I appreciate that kind of behavior, but my favorite moment was probably the moment when Johny Fairplay's friend picks up on what JF wants him to say about his Grandmother. "She's dead dude."

Either that or when Rupert won the prize from the fan voting. The producers knew he would win it as soon as they came up with that idea so they were basically just handing Rupert that money.

 

[Brian Fellows]

Why is Johhny Fairplay not in this.

I haven't watched survivor since the Survivor Allstars show.. but he was one of the best villains the show ever had.

Dude lied about his Grandma dying to win.

Yeah and then they brought him back and he quit a couple of episodes in. He has no business being on the show again.

Either that or when Rupert won the prize from the fan voting. The producers knew he would win it as soon as they came up with that idea so they were basically just handing Rupert that money.

Rupert was a crybaby loser who was still sad he didn't get to sit at the cool table in high school. They should have given him a pair of nuts instead of that money.

 

[BigJonsson]

The Villains tribe is going to make for some epic TV.........

 

[whitehawk]

My god, this means boston rob will have participated in 3 seasons of survivor oh man :lol :lol

Glad to see James, Rupert and of course Russell.

 

[TwiztidElf]

No Fairplay is minor fail, compared to the epic fail of no Richard Hatch.

 

[ShyGuy]

I remember them all except Candice and Danielle...

Also, why is Parvati and Sandra a villain?

Stephenie could've passed for a villain too, I guess.

Bit surprised with the choices, and a part of me is still hoping some might be false because I too would like to see Yau-Man appear...he went out far too early in Micronesia...

 

[commish]

Stephenie, one of my fav survivors cuz i always thought she was so hot. Glad to see Rupert back. Should be a good season.

 

[BowieZ]

THE PRICE OF FAME
Profiting from relative anonymity

In the past two All-Star seasons (S8 All-Stars and S16 Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites) one of the lesser known, less outrageous players has ended up winning (Amber and Parvati, respectively), and for Guatemala when Stephenie and Bobby Jon returned for a second chance, Stephenie made it to the Final Tribal Council but lost to an under-the-radar player.

This season, having Candice return as a Hero (the other 7 all being far more notable players), and Courtney, Danielle and Tyson as Villains, means that there is a 5-in-20 (1/4) chance another lesser known player will win (not saying anything for whether they end up deserving it or not). Will that make for satisfying television?


FIVE TYPES OF PLAYERS
Besides heroic and villainous

Ignoring that lesser-known-player trend, we have four past winners, three of whom have only played the once: two men, J.T. and Tom, for Heroes, and two women for the Villains, Sandra and Parvati (who won on her second appearance). If one of these players won, again, it would certainly be interesting -- a Survivor first, of course -- but indeed it may end up being unsatisfying, in a way. Heck, will the jury want to award another million to a previous winner?

Adding to the winners list is Rupert, who was infamously granted $1M through the special fan vote in Pearl Islands. The producers clearly would love to see Rupert finally win legitimately, and it would make for satisfying television, but he has so many hurdles to reach that goal. One must also remember that Boston Rob's wife, Amber, won All-Stars and he may be considered a past winner through association, anyway.

Then we have a bunch of runners-up who have had multiple chances: for the Heroes we have Colby (RU, then 12th) and Stephenie (7th, then RU) and for the Villains, the aforementioned Boston Rob (10th, then RU).

Adding to that list is "hero" Amanda, who was infamously runner-up in both her seasons, (#15 and #16). Any one of these players, particularly the heroes and especially Stephenie, could be given that "heroic" edit of a third-time's-a-charm victory and make for satisfying viewing.

Would the players who were runner-up in their only season so far be better winners? The aforementioned lesser known Courtney (#15 China) and Danielle (#12 Panama) fall here, but there's also Sugar (#17 Gabon) and Russell (#19 Samoa), who both orchestrated some of the most infamous paths to the finals ever. Only Russell is a true "Villain" of these four players... the other three were more complex and had both positive and negative attributes... either one of them could manipulate their way to the end through heroic or villainous means, so expect them to switch alliances along the way and make for satisfying television, although as I said before, if Courtney or Danielle win, in the grand scheme of things I doubt they will be popular winners.

Then we have four players who each have played twice so far but never made it to the Final Tribal Council: Cirie (4th, then 3rd), the aforementioned Rupert (4th, then 8th), James (7th, then 7th again after being removed after injury), and Villain Jerri (8th, then 10th). Jerri seems an incomprehensible winner, and Rupert her antithesis as already mentioned, James would be well-received especially as he never got voted out as a Favorite in Micronesia, but Cirie, the "couch potato mom" would be a truly inspired victory, coming inches from victory on two occasions.

The other four are wild-cards who have only played once: Candice, for the Heroes, and Coach, Randy and Tyson for the Villains.

So there's five groups of four people in terms of past season performance:

PAST WINNERS - J.T., Tom, Sandra, Parvati (on her second appearance)
PAST RUNNERS-UP (Two shots) - Colby, Stephenie, Boston Rob, Amanda (on both appearances)
PAST RUNNERS-UP (One shot) - Courtney, Russell, Sugar, Danielle (in a F2 not F3 vote)
REPEAT FAILURES - Cirie, Rupert, Jerri, James (injured in his second appearance)
WILD-CARDS - Coach, Randy, Tyson, Candice (the only Hero)


Do you think anyone deserves to win based on past performance and past chances alone? (Keep in mind that every player has made it at least once to the jury and thus by extension the Final Tribal Council, so exposure was earned relatively equally by each player.)

 

[Brian Fellows]

Adding to the winners list is Rupert, who was infamously granted $1M through the special fan vote in Pearl Islands. The producers clearly would love to see Rupert finally win legitimately, and it would make for satisfying television, but he has so many hurdles to reach that goal.

Only to fellow crybaby losers. FUCK RUPERT!

 

[Sheik790]

I miss Elizabeth from Outback before she became creepy "I'm on the View" lady =(

 

[I <3 Memes]

Rupert winning this Survivor would be the perfect ending to the show. It would be the perfect bookend to Richard Hatch winning the first season.

 

[BowieZ]

Which brings up the big question: is Survivor -- or rather, Jeff Probst, who most speculate is the only deciding factor... (not even CBS wants to give it up) -- done after Season 20?

I refer you to this excerpt of a Mark Burnett (executive producer) interview:


Interviewer: “Survivor” just finished up its 18th season. What do you see in the future for that franchise?
Burnett: On the last Thursday, “Survivor” beat “CSI.” “Survivor” is untouchable on Thursdays at eight. Everything that’s thrown at it, they don’t come close. If a show stays on, it stays on. “America’s Most Wanted” has been on for 20 years, there’s no reason “Survivor” won’t be on for 20 years.
Interviewer: Any dream locations you’d like to see the show tackle?
Burnett: Papau New Guinea, there’s a tropical island in Japan I’ve been looking at. I’d like to do “Survivor” in Vietnam. The world is so great, there’s so much out there. And, I’m really still having a great time making it.

(Source, Jun 12th, 2009)


They are currently casting for Seasons 21 and 22 (to be filmed back-to-back, whether this means same location or not), with application forms available on the CBS website (due in by January 6th) and open casting calls held in several cities over the upcoming weeks. And Jeff mentioned this at the Samoa Reunion.

Jeff has been involved in tough negotiation talks a couple of times before, notably demanding a pay rise before shooting Season 11. The fact that Seasons 19-20 and beyond onwards are being filmed in pairs, back-to-back, is possibly a compromise the producers had reached with Jeff.

Not only that, but you'd think if Season 20 were the last ever season, they would make a point of it, to boost hype, etc. To me, it's clear that Jeff -- who's starting a new lifestyle show in January -- has yet to decide. I hope a boring Season 19 winner (Natalie beating Russell) or a terrible Season 20 outcome (hope not!) hasn't swayed him in any way.

Indeed, there are so many places Survivor has yet to go, it would be an epic, historic notion for a TV show to film so many seasons documenting so many beautiful and diverse locations on Earth - it would be a bizarre waste and shame for CBS to give up that claim, for certain. Some of the more obvious locations:

Survivor: New Guinea
Survivor: Vietnam
Survivor: Japan
Survivor: India
Survivor: Madagascar
Survivor: Egypt
Survivor: New Zealand
Survivor: Haiti - The Voodoo Idol
Survivor: Peru - The Inca Empire
Survivor: Gladiators - Isles of Greece

Other ideas:

Survivor: Iceland (Viking theme)
Survivor: Norway (Norse mythology theme)
Survivor: Bavaria (Germany's Dark Forests)
Survivor: Spanish Mountains
Survivor: Canary Islands
Survivor: Morocco
Survivor: Arabia
Survivor: Congo
Survivor: Uganda (Ssese Islands, Lake Victoria)
Survivor: Mauritius
Survivor: Maldives
Survivor: Himalayas
Survivor: Cambodia
Survivor: Solomon Islands
Survivor: Tonga
Survivor: Pitcairn Island (Mutiny on the Bounty theme)
Survivor: Easter Island
Survivor: Chile
Survivor: Caribbean
Survivor: Back to the Outback
Survivor: Canada
Survivor: Alaska
Survivor: USA
Survivor: Celebrity Edition

I hope it's not done yet, and I bet it's not done yet.

 

[DieH@rd]

Oh shit, Stephanie and Tom? Awesome!

 

[bill0527]

Oh shit .. fucking RANDY !!!!

 

[ToxicAdam]

They should have brought back the poker player as one of the villains. He gave great interviews.

 

[HolyCheck]

AGHHH SPOILERs

*sigh* just read who wins the current season airing in Australia ... ohwell its my own fault

 

[SaintZ]

I have only watched Borneo, China, Amazon, Gabon and a little bit of Africa. That being said, the final tribal council from the first season with Sue's "snake and rat" speech is probably my favorite moment ever in a reality show (tied with Pumkin spitting on New York during Flavor of Love 1). I mean, bitch! I wanted Kelly to win.

 

[BowieZ]

*sigh* just read who wins the current season airing in Australia ... ohwell its my own fault

Sorry, dude :/ but, well, unless you were bizarrely rooting for Natalie, then you woulda been disappointed anyway... imho the season is all about how Russell lost, so enjoy the rest of it observing how his gameplay didn't win him the million.

They should have brought back the poker player as one of the villains. He gave great interviews.

Jean-Robert (S15 China), right? I agree! But, considering they've brought back players from as far back as S2 (Jerri's now the same age as the mom who won Australian Outback!), I wouldn't be surprised if entertaining game-players like Jean-Robert, or Kenny from Gabon, won't come back in a future all-star season.

 

[Woodsy]

Which brings up the big question: is Survivor -- or rather, Jeff Probst, who most speculate is the only deciding factor... (not even CBS wants to give it up) -- done after Season 20?

I refer you to this excerpt of a Mark Burnett (executive producer) interview:

I can't see why Probst would EVER quit this show. He basically works 40 days for each season (80 days a year) and even at that he is actually on camera for probably a couple hours every other day and the rest of the time is probably just getting reports from the camera people, kicking back and relaxing. I honestly cannot think of a better TV gig than he has.

Dude should be taking this into his 80's like Bob Barker if he can.

 

[bill0527]

I can't see why Probst would EVER quit this show. He basically works 40 days for each season (80 days a year) and even at that he is actually on camera for probably a couple hours every other day and the rest of the time is probably just getting reports from the camera people, kicking back and relaxing. I honestly cannot think of a better TV gig than he has.

Dude should be taking this into his 80's like Bob Barker if he can.

He almost quit a few years ago when his contract was up. If you dig them up, there are some interesting interviews about his thought process at the time. He was dating Julie Berry and was seriously thinking about quitting Survivor and starting a family with her.

He ended up re-upping for a few more seasons because of those very reasons - he only has to work at it 4-5 months out of the year and he gets to travel to exotic locations. He said that he spends most of his time on a boat or at a camp for the production staff. He also takes a shitload of movies and TV seasons with him to help pass the time.

I can't see Survivor without him. He's part of the charm of the show and he's gotten real good at what he does.

 

[BowieZ]

For those who have missed out on certain seasons, pretty much all episodes are fully availabe on YouTube. Below are the first parts of the first episodes of each season (with links to their subsequent parts/episodes in order readily apparent after clicking each initial link):

S1 Borneo
S2 The Australian Outback
S3 Africa
S4 Marquesas
S5 Thailand
S6 Amazon
S7 Pearl Islands - Panama
S8 All-Stars
S9 Vanuatu - Islands of Fire
S10 Palau
S11 Guatemala - The Maya Empire
S12 Panama - Exile Island
S13 Cook Islands
S14 Fiji
S15 China
S16 Micronesia - Fans vs. Favorites
S17 Gabon - Earth's Last Eden
S18 Tocantins - The Brazilian Highlands
S19 Samoa

(Some of them have only become available in literally the last week so I'm not sure if all episodes of all seasons are actually up just yet.)

I recommend ALL of them, except Fiji. Thailand and Africa are okay, but are my two other least favorites. The rest are awesome in their own ways. Seasons 7-16 (except for 14) are what I consider the show's Golden Era.

 

[Littleberu]

7 and 13 are my favorites.

 

[Zombie James]

Amanda and Parvarti again? Ugh...

 

[VGChampion]

That's a pretty good cast list. Little surprised with some of them. I don't remember a few of them that much but how is Candice a Hero? Didn't she swap teams because she hated everyone? Seems sort of villianish but I don't know. Don't really remember what happened except Johnathan followed her. I wish he was back though. I was routing for him in his second season before his injury. :lol

Aww, this sucks.

Richard Hatch, the winner of the original Survivor, was asked to return for this season. However, he had to apply to leave the country since he is under house arrest. His request was denied by a federal judge in Rhode Island.[1]

I would love to see him go against Russel.

 

[Darkky]

I don't quite understand how the 'Heroes' and 'Villains' part match up with some of them. Tyson is a villain...? Sugar is in what sense a hero?

CBS needs some clarification and justification for their roles soon.

 

[BowieZ]

That's a pretty good cast list. Little surprised with some of them. I don't remember a few of them that much but how is Candice a Hero? Didn't she swap teams because she hated everyone? Seems sort of villianish but I don't know. Don't really remember what happened except Johnathan followed her. I wish he was back though. I was routing for him in his second season before his injury. :lol

I think it has something to do with her turning on Jonathan, who seemed to wind up being depicted the villain of that season. She was a bit snarky, around the middle of the season, especially, but at the start when she was continuously sent to Exile and towards the end, she had a pretty positive underdog edit.

 

[Brian Fellows]

It'll be interesting to see how the villains tribe manages to compete in challenges. Their guys seem outclassed in every way.

 

[Codeblue]

I thought Coach would end up on the Hero side of things since he was all about nobility and not getting raped by Amazonians.

I could do without seeing Cirie again, but with all the interesting Villains I doubt the Heroes are going to get much air time. I'm rooting for Tyson, he stole the show his season and he left too soon.

 

[VGChampion]

I could do without seeing Cirie again, but with all the interesting Villains I doubt the Heroes are going to get much air time. I'm rooting for Tyson, he stole the show his season and he left too soon.

They should totally try out 2-hour episodes so we can get a good view of everything. I miss the old days when we saw more of how they actually lived on not just the drama. For example, they rarely show fishing / food gathering anymore. They always say how hungry they are but from the cut we actually see, it never really looks like they should be. I'd like to see more banter and stuff. Basically expand the clip show they show mid season into every episode.

 

[Koomaster]

BowieZ are you like a superfan, this thread/info is amazing!

I sorta missed out on this last season, kept missing episodes here and there at the beginning and just gave up watching. But I miss my fix, so I am definitely catching HvV!

As for locations, I would love for them to do someplace cold/icy, but I think the bikini/swim trunk look is a Survivor staple that they don't want to mess with at this point.

 

[bengraven]

Damn, Stephenie LaGrossa and Parvati Shallow...

I want Coleen Haskill to come back.

 

[BowieZ]

BowieZ are you like a superfan, this thread/info is amazing!

I sorta missed out on this last season, kept missing episodes here and there at the beginning and just gave up watching. But I miss my fix, so I am definitely catching HvV!

As for locations, I would love for them to do someplace cold/icy, but I think the bikini/swim trunk look is a Survivor staple that they don't want to mess with at this point.

Thanks mate. And yeah, bit of holiday boredom at work.

Mark Burnett certainly hasn't ruled out doing a cold season, but there's been no indication that there will be one either. I disagree with what you say, though, I think Season 21 onwards *is* the point at which they can afford to mess with the "bikini rule". Survivor has a loyal and sturdy 12 million viewing bloc whom I doubt would turn off the TV just because contestants are in winter gear... in fact, I'd hazard a guess that "the cold season of Survivor" would bring IN more viewers for the sheer uniqueness of the location... if it were hyped up accordingly.

The trick would be finding the right location: not a desolate frozen winterscape with fear of frostbite, but perhaps a location NOTABLE for its cold weather but generally more mild during the shooting season (June-August), i.e., summer in the far Northern hemisphere. Iceland and Norway are spectacular at this time of year and are perfect fits, sharing the potential of Viking and/or Norse Mythology themes.

Throw in an icy cold logo and lots of wintery cinematography, and it would quite a doable season.

 

[pel1300]

Why is Danielle on the villain tribe?

 

[2DMention]

Seems like a good lineup can't wait!

 

[whitehawk]

I'm very tempted to try and sign up for survivor, except that I live in Canada, and apparently Canadians can't sign up for some reason =/