Favorite Survivor Players from Each Season who Never Got a Second Chance (And probably never will)

Survivor over the years has done a great job at bringing its best characters and players back for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or even 5th times.  But unfortunately, they cannot bring everyone back.  I'm going to pick my favorite player from each season who never got to play again.  Some declined, some wanted to but couldn't, and some we may never know about.  I'll give a quick word about them as well.  Obviously, full returnee seasons will not be considered since everyone on those seasons was already playing their 2nd time at least.

Borneo: Greg Buis
Greg was a hoot.  He makes Borneo fun.  It's a shame, they brought back the Tagi 4 plus Jenna and Gervase, but not Greg.  

Australian Outback: Nick Brown
I'll even admit, Nick is one of the most boring characters on this season.  But, he's also one of the sanest members of the Kucha tribe.  Plus, him being the first contestant from Washington state meant a lot to me back then and still does.  I bet he could've done more with a second chance.

Africa: Theresa "T-Bird" Cooper
It's a shame.  She's still a huge part of the Survivor community, and I believe she was on the Second Chance ballot but didn't make it.  

Marquesas: Vecepia Towery
There's not really anyone else, except maybe Sean Rector.  The unfortunate thing is I think "V" has never been brought back because Jeff referred to as one of their most boring winners.  I don't agree.

Thailand: Jake Billingsley
He's basically the only person from this cast that's somewhat likable.  Robb is endearing in his own way, but he's kind of a douche.  Jake's one shot would've been All Stars considering his age.  I wonder if he would've replaced Rudy if Rudy couldn't have made it?

Amazon: Heidi Strobel
I've vouched for Heidi for a while.  They bring Jenna back but not her?  She's still in great shape.  It's not too late.

Pearl Islands: Burton Roberts
Burton was an interesting character and I would've liked to see him come back.  He and Fairplay formed a formidable duo.

Vanuatu: Chris Daugherty
The second winner on this list.  I would've loved to see Chris back.  He was such a good B.S.'er.  But I think he never was asked because Probst had beef with him.

Palau: Ian Rosenberger
Ian may have played the most notable game of anyone to have not played a second time.  He's up there.  I know he was asked back but declined.  Shame.

Guatemala: Judd Sergeant
Shoutout to Brian Corridan for being a pre-merge boot I'd like to see back, but Judd hasn't been back, either, and he was one of the old-school era's most notable characters.

Panama: Shane Powers
Is there any question?  Shane was on the Second Chance Ballot but didn't make it.  He should've made it over Vytas, at least.  One of the most interesting characters in Survivor history only got one chance.  And he almost had one in Heroes vs. Villains before they bumped him for Russell.  

Cook Islands: Cao Boi Bui
I almost went with Nate, but Cao Boi has to be mentioned.  Yes, he's a pre-merge boot, but he made a notable impact.  Interesting character and he came up with the split vote method to flush idols.

Fiji: James "Rocky" Reid
I almost said Earl, but then I remembered Rocky.  He was an interesting character that was screwed over by an awful twist.  Had he been on a decent tribe, he might've made a bigger impact.

China: Todd Herzog
I did say the winner here though in Todd.  His battle with alcoholism is well-documented, but he has since recovered.  He played such a great game--would love to see how he'd play nowadays, but that'll probably never happen.

Micronesia: Natalie Bolton
Shoutout to Tracy Hughes-Wolfe, but Natalie outlasted her.  Also, Natalie's the only member from the Black Widow Brigade to not have played again since this season.  They almost had the entire BWB on Heroes vs. Villains, but she just missed the cut for that.

Gabon: Matty Whitmore
I liked Matty.  He survived the terrible Fang tribe and was mostly well-liked.  His reaction to Marcus's blindside is still iconic.  

Tocantins: Taj Johnson-George
Yes, she and her husband, Eddie, have money, but she was like a Cirie 2.0, so she should've been brought back.

Samoa: Jaison Robinson
Hard to say this season.  They even brought back Monica from this season.  But I'd say Jaison.  He was an interesting dude that kinda got screwed over.

Nicaragua: Marty Piombo
I'll never get over the fact that Marty never returned.  He was the only player from the older tribe that could really play.  

Redemption Island: Ralph Kiser
I like good ol' southern boys on Survivor.  Big Tom, James from Palau, and Ralph.  They make great TV.  Ralph could've shined on a returnee season, giving us more "Krasta"s and "Ressell"s.  RIP.

South Pacific: Jim Rice
It was either Jim, Christine, or Stacey.  I'll go with Jim, who most have forgotten about by now, but I haven't.  He was a decent player screwed over by Cochran.

One World: Greg "Tarzan" Smith
He delivered some great soundbites and was the last man standing.  "The game is afoot".  I also loved how moved he was to spend the loved one's visit with his wife and how he saved his auction money because his car needed new shocks.  Haha.

Philippines: Jeff Kent
I don't think we've had any minor celebrities return to play again (ones who were celebrities before playing).  But Jeff Kent would've been a good one to bring back to see if he could get the $1 million, or 600 grand by the time Obama takes it.

Caramoan: Reynold Toepfer
The Fans tribe this season was quite lackluster, but Reynold stood out to me.  I'd have loved to see him again, but it wasn't meant to be.  

Blood vs. Water: Hayden Moss
Still boggles my mind they brought Ciera back twice but not him.  Hayden was the one who convinced Ciera to go to rocks.  

Cagayan: Brice Johnston
So many from this season have returned, so I went with Brice, a pre-merge boot.  He's still a huge part of the Survivor community, hosting events with Wendell.  He deserves another shot.

San Juan Del Sur: Jon Misch
Not the greatest cast in the world, but I'd like to see Jon Misch back.  He was fooled by Natalie a couple times, but perhaps he's learned a bit.  

Worlds Apart: Carolyn "Mama C" Rivera
She didn't align herself with the most decent people, but she was a good player.  She executed an idol play and I know she wants to play again.

Kaoh Rong: Cydney Gillon
I almost chose Julia because of my crush on her, but I'll go with Cydney, who was a decent player and kind of almost won.  She's way into bodybuilding now so I don't think she'll ever play again.

Millennials vs. Gen X: Jay Starrett
He's been on The Challenge, so you know he's cool with keeping himself busy with shows.  But would Survivor bring him back?  Hard to say at this point.  

Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: Chrissy Hofbeck
She's owed one by the show.  She's the only player who went into her season not knowing about the F4 firemaking twist.  She did surprisingly well in challenges, too.

Ghost Island: Dominick Abate
The only player to ever lose in a tiebreaking final vote still has not returned.  Shame.  

David vs. Goliath: Christian Hubicki
I'm not sure if he even wants to play again, but I know most fans would want to see him back.

Edge of Extinction: Rick Devens
No surprise here.  Such a personable and great for TV character.  He even co-hosted the On Fire podcast, which I think is a good sign for his future chances.

Island of the Idols: Janet Carbin
Another player screwed over was Janet (Idol Nullifier--dumb twist IMO).  She was very likable and handled the Dan incident well.  Perhaps the show wants nothing to do with this season ever again, though.

And now with the New Era seasons, I'm going to pick the player from each season I'd like to see return but I don't think ever will.  So these are not the players I most want to see back; just the ones I'd most like to see back that I'd bet won't come back.

41: Sydney Segal
Yet another player screwed over, this time by the Hourglass Twist.  She's easy on the eyes, but I don't think enough people remember her gameplay.  

42: Tori Meehan
She was surprisingly adept, just got dealt a bad hand.  Imagine her with stronger allies.  She was good in challenges, so I say bring her back.  But I don't think it'll happen.

43: Owen Knight
He may return, but I have a feeling casting might stay away from Final Tribal Council losers, at least the ones who got 1 or 0 votes.  He was good all-around, and he might have much more success given a different opportunity.

44: Matt Blankinship
As you can tell, I like to pick players who were screwed over.  Matt was screwed over by the split tribal, where all of his allies were on the other team.  Shame.  

45: Emily Flippen
I pick Emily because I think she said she wouldn't play again, but she definitely would be good TV again.  

46: Tevin Davis
He certainly made for good TV, but I feel he'll get overshadowed by Q, given their similar demographics.  I wouldn't be surprised if they passed over him.  

47: Rome Cooney
Rome was an interesting player and a good villain.  I wasn't a fan of how he "bulled" Sol, but nothing was personal--it was all part of the game.  But after he leaked the boot order, he's likely not getting asked back again.

My Dream Survivor Returnee Season

Being such a huge fan of the TV series, Survivor, I have developed a certain liking for some players.  One of the things I love most about Survivor is that they have returning player seasons.  There's been All-Stars, Fans vs. Favorites (twice), Heroes vs. Villains, Game Changers, and Second Chance.  

I'm just going to compile a list of 20 Survivors I most want to see play again.  I am sort of taking into consideration the likeliness of them ever playing again, but not entirely.  This is my dream cast, and I know a majority of these players will never play again.  There's some on this list that literally have either said they'll never play again or that production just would never bring back.  But hey, it's my dream cast, so I'll put in here who I want.

Anyway, I cast 10 men and 10 women, and divided them up into two tribes.  Some have played the game only once, some have played two or even three times.  I did my best to divide up the tribes evenly and so that players from the same season were not on the same tribe.  Here they are, in the order of their first season:

Tribe 1
Theresa "T-Bird" Cooper, Africa
It's a huge shame T-Bird has not been back yet.  She was on the Second Chance ballot but just missed out.  Is she still young enough to play?  I'd like to think so.  She's still active in the Survivor community.  Bring T-Bird back!

Heidi Hamels, Amazon
Formerly Heidi Strobel, Heidi Hamels would be a very interesting returnee, I think.  She's married (to former MLB pitcher Cole Hamels) with kids, but she keeps in good shape, as can be seen in her social media posts.  I'd love to see how much she's grown from her first season.  

Terry Dietz, Panama/Exile Island and Second Chance
Terry did get his second chance, but it was cut short.  It's such a shame.  It seemed like he was adjusting fairly well to the modern game.  I would love to see Dietz get a legit second chance.  But it would have to be soon, before he gets too old.

Earl Cole, Fiji
I decided to cast two total winners, one for each tribe.  I wish Earl had been on Winners at War, but I think he had just had a kid.  He's one of the most well-liked winners of all time, and is one throwaway vote away from playing a perfect game.  How can they not ever bring someone like that back?

Ciera Eastin, Blood vs. Water, Second Chance, Game Changers
But she voted out her mom!  Haha, jokes aside, I'd love to see Ciera get one more chance.  She's unfortunately got the combination of manipulative and not great at challenges, so she's a possible early boot every time (as we saw on Game Changers).  But perhaps she'd ingratiate herself better a fourth time.

Baylor Wilson, San Juan Del Sur
I'd really like to see how Baylor does without her mom.  We've seen Ciera without her mom.  Would Baylor be anywhere near as ruthless?  Not likely, but you never know.  

Carolyn Rivera, Worlds Apart
"Mama C" as she is affectionately called, should definitely return.  She definitely wants to, as heard on the YouTube series Top 100 Survivors of all time.  She could be an early boot, but I think she'd make a fairly quick connection and avoid that.

Jay Byars, Millennials vs. Gen X
Jay made one of the boldest moves (maybe ever) when he blindsided Michaela.  He's willing to take risks, that's for sure.  I'd love to see Jay again.  He's also great for content, as he got fooled with a fake immunity idol.  

Christian Hubicki, David vs. Goliath
Christian is an almost lock to return if he wants to (really doesn't matter the type of returnee season).  He's a fan favorite and his quirkiness and intelligence is great for TV.  

Rick Devens, Edge of Extinction
Yet another lock to return if he wants is Rick Devens.  He makes for such good TV.  Him and Christian possibly interacting would just be *chefs kiss*.  

Tribe 2
Rob Cesternino, Amazon and All-Stars
We unfortunately didn't get to see much of Rob in All-Stars, as he could never gain traction with his original tribe and was an early boot.  I know he'll more than likely never play again, but imagine if he did, and imagine if he and Heidi made the merge or got swapped to the same tribe.  That would certainly be interesting to see.

Ian Rosenberger, Palau
I believe Ian has said he will not play again, but man I'd love to see him back.  He would've been a great addition to Micronesia or Heroes vs. Villains (as a Hero, duh).  Ian's one of my favorite players of all time and seeing him step down from that pole at the Final 3 Immunity of Palau breaks my heart every time.

Michael "Frosti" Zernow, China
Sure, he's not the absolute best character, even from his season, but Frosti is definitely still young enough to play, and I'd love to see how he adapts to the modern game.  He unfortunately got put on the worse "Zhan Hu" tribe in China and could never recover from his tribe's awful challenge performances.

Natalie White, Samoa
Unfortunately, as far as social media presences go for Survivor winners, Natalie's basically vanished and become invisible.  Apparently she's married and settled down, but there's not really any recent pictures of her online anywhere.  I would love to see her play again, outside of Russell Hantz's shadow, to prove she can legitimately play this game.

Marty Piombo, Nicaragua
It's a shame Marty hasn't been brought back yet, and it might be too late.  He should have been for Caramoan, Second Chance, or even Game Changers.  No male cast member from Nicaragua has come back, and it should have been him.  Would love to see him interact with other masterminds in this game.

Kelley Wentworth, San Juan Del Sur, Second Chance, Edge of Extinction
Have we seen the last of Wentworth?  Hmm... hard to say.  But I'd love to see her play one more time.  She's only had a legit shot one time in Second Chance, and she was playing from the bottom.  I think she'd do well on another all-returnee season.  

Michaela Bradshaw, Millennials vs. Gen X and Game Changers
I would love to see Michaela one more time, especially if she were to play on the same season as Jay and possibly get her revenge.  She gives great confessionals and she's great at challenges, too.  

Dominic Abbate, Ghost Island
Dominic is an almost lock to return if he wants to.  His storyline of being one tiebreaking vote away from winning is just too good to pass up.  He might be an early boot for being a strategic threat, but it certainly would be interesting to see.

Gabby Pascuzzi, David vs. Goliath
The Yin to Christian's Yang (or vice versa), Gabby would be an interesting returnee, especially to see her play against Christian, at least at first.  I think she has the ability to be cutthroat if need be, and possibly partner with a Marty or Dominic and do some damage.

Janet Carbin, Island of the Idols
Janet surprised me on IotI by how athletic she is.  She also played a great social game, but perhaps too great.  I could see her sliding by and making tons of connections.  I just would love to see her play again.

Well, there you have it.  My dream cast Survivor season.  I may update this someday if I ever lost interest in someone, or if someone new comes along that I have to see again.