Monday, May 31, 2021

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.  


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