Season #1: Gretchen CordyMissed the jury by one, and was the first person burned by the first real Alliance in Survivor. Was clearly the smartest and even-keeled person on her dysfunctional tribe, and would have won had the show been based solely on survival skills, and ability to interact. However, Hatch's scheme meant her head was chopped off. Certain labelled a hero, Gretchen shuld have beena shoe-in for this season. But since Hatch couldn't go, Probst didn't think anyone from season #1 should get to. Fair enough.
Season #2: Michael SkupinToo easy. Fell in the effing fire, burned his hands. His tribe would have been up 6-4, they would have rolled to the finals, and he would have won. "Hands down".
Season #3: Brandon QuintonFlamboyantly gay, fit into his tribe quite nicely, won a reward date with an army dude, hilariously couldn't fire a bow and arrow, would have made for compelling TV this time around.
Season #4: Sean RectorEasily my favourite player from this season. Kinda gangster, really into the game, and helped mastermind a big turn at the beginning of the merge to take down the powerhouses. Plus it was hilarious hearing him cry "My balls. My balls!" after winning a reward challenge and going donkey riding up a mountain or something. "Checkmate, bruh" at tribal the night of the big take-down. I cheered out loud that night. Awesome stuff from an otherwise mundane season.
Season #5: Jake BillingsleyThis was the worst season. Ever. I hardly remeber it, but I do recall the two oldest members picking the teams. And Jake, the oldest male, picked his tribe and outlasted all of them. But the other tribe booted him out in 6th place.
Season #6: Christy SmithIt pains me not to be able to pick Rob C here, as he got a 2nd chance on All-Stars, and was basically the only person who made this season interesting, but Christy was deaf, so, there was that.
Season #7: Burton RobertsMy conscience is telling me to pick someone who was NOT allowed to come back into the game, but Burton had a good run after coming back to a tribe that had gotten rid of him. Obviously Rupert and Fairplay are the take-away stars from this season, and I couldn't in all consciousness pick the Scoutmaster Lil cuz she was terrible despite finishing runner up.
Season #8: All-Stars
Can't pick anyone here by default.
Season #9: Scout Cloud LeeThis one's a shout-out to my brother, who's a fan of hers for one reason or another. Placed 3rd, not terribly interesting. Honourable mention to Rory Freeman. He didn't last that long, and he was tempermental and pouty. By my wife and I cracked up every time he was on the screen.
Season #10: Coby ArchaAnother flamboyantly gay guy, and again made for hilarious TV. Stood his ground in a numbe rof physical challenges, and did well in mental ones too. Obviously benefitted from being on a much stronger tribe, but was endlessly entertaining all the way through.
Season #11: Jamie NewtonWOW was this a weak season! No one redeemng enough to bring back in my opinion. The guy I picked went bat-shit crazy with paranoia. Wouldl be fun to watch again.
Season #12: Shane PowersChronic smoker suffering withdrawal. Turned a rock into a Blackberry. Bitched out everyone on the show, somehow made the jury. Brilliant TV. Huge fan. This was an easy choice.
Season #13: Jessica "Flica" SmithI remembered her nickname. I think she was a hippie chick or something. Ozzy and Yul would be the only two worthy people to bring back, but they're disqualified from my rankings.
Season #14: "Dreamz"Reneged on a promise which landed him a 2nd place finish, and was kind of off his rocker a bit. Still a very compelling character.
Season #15: Ashley MassaroClearly some better choices here but my restrictions fail me once again. She was a WWE Diva, so I knew of her going it, and she was too bitchy to last more than 2 episodes. Still, it woulda been interesting to see how a somewhat B-list famous person would have held up in the wilderness.
Season #16: Erik ReichenbachGuilty of the dumbest move in Survivor history, down to him and 4 girls, Erik handed over immunity in a move aimed at redeeming his character (I think), and was unanimously booted by the 4 girls.
Season #17: Corinne KaplanI haven't picked enough chicks. She'd be interesting to watch again. She was a bitch.
Season #18: Stephen FishbachFoolishly told the truth during the Final Two, telling the jury he would not have honoured his alliance with JT. It would have been the right play had he won immunity, but lying about it would have helped his cause, if only to prevent getting shut-out in the final two. And even then, I'm not sure, JT was the clear winner. Still, this guy was just as instrumental at everything.
Season #19: Russell HantzIf you don't know why, you've wasted a LOT of time reading my blog.
Clearly some of these decisions are out of thin air, based mostly on the fact that my own restrictions prevented me from picking personal favourites....which is what will make Heroes vs Villains very interesting. I dare you to try this exercise (relying heavily on Wikipedia) and see if you can come up with a better list. Not allowing winners and people who have been on more than once REALLY narrows the field.
Ah, Blog life....it's good to be back.
M@
