Survivor lives up to its slogan – thestar.com

Executive producer Mark Burnett last month at the show's anniversary party held at CBS's fabled Television City.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, begins Feb. 11 on Global and CBS. It is a milestone that Burnett, who turns 50 this summer, never expected to celebrate. “I didn’t think we’d do a second season,” he says. “Now I meet people who don’t remember Thursday at 8 o’clock before Survivor. Unbelievable.”

The prolific reality show kingpin has a list of series credits spread across five networks and several cable channels. Not all of them were hits – Burnett’s Dragon’s Den makeover, Shark Tank, is floundering at ABC, and the producer himself yanked Our Little Genius away from Fox after an impropriety was discovered. Still, one Survivor or Apprentice makes up for a whole lot of Pirate Master (Burnett’s 2007 bomb) or On The Lot (a failed collaboration with Steven Spielberg).

“I think Survivor clearly changed the face of television,” says CBS CEO Leslie Moonves, adding at the party that the real interactions of competitors are “probably more fascinating than any scripted show you could imagine.”

“It is in the end a very, very simple game of relationships under stress,” says Burnett, a one-time British paratrooper who is astounded at how many participants still show up to remote locales with no idea how to start a fire. The series is a morality play at its core, he adds. “You’re rained on, you’ve suffered, you look in the mirror and find out who you are as a person. Could you do the right thing? That’s what Survivor brings out under stress. You can’t win the game if you’ve been brutal to other people.”

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http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/television/article/761287–survivor-lives-up-to-its-slogan

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Parvati Shallow: “I can put on this really great, happy-go-lucky, girly facade” + reality blurred

Parvati Shallow

In many ways, I think Parvati has become the face of a Survivor winner over the past few years. As I told her, so many new, primarily female contestants I’ve talked to over the three seasons following Micronesia cited her as a role model, and Surviving Survivor tonight gave her more airtime than perhaps anyone else. “That’s what I was going for: empowering women,” Parvati laughed. “All I did out there was listen to my gut. I took it day by day by day.”

She said that the reception she gets from viewers is okay with her. “If I come off as being happy-go-lucky and cutesy, that’s fine; I’d rather be that than Debbie Downer. I don’t care if people don’t like me for that.” And in fact, it’s part of her game play. “I can put on this really great, happy-go-lucky, girly facade. It’s really a talent I have, innate talent. But then people don’t understand what’s going on inside my head, that I’m always running scenarios and trying to figure out what’s the best way to work with each individual, and then also as a group to bring them together. I think that’s one of my strengths, actually, is just being able to work with different personalities.”

Parvati is one of the winners on Survivor Heroes vs. Villains who had a similar strategy for dealing with that perceived deficit. “I think I can turn that around and use it to my advantage, because I think these people aren’t going to want to vote for someone in the end who’s already won. No one wants to do that. I think being a winner could actually help me have people keep me around, just because I’ve won once and they don’t think I can do it twice. I don’t believe that, personally,” she said.

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http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Feb_04_parvati_shallow

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‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’: Why some players aren’t crazy about Rupert | EW.com

Rupert Boneham

Survivor fans love Rupert. They love the way he’s massive and hairy, but cute and cuddly at the same time — the epitome of a gentle giant. They love the way he stole shoes and wore a skirt in Pearl Islands. They love his tie-dye t-shirt. They love that he is a youth counselor. Survivor fans love Rupert.

But here’s a little tip for you: Not all Survivors are as fond of the big guy. Jeff Probst chalks it up to jealousy on the part of other competitors who don’t get nearly the attention that the hippie Hagrid does. That could be it. But plenty of players have grumbled that Rupert has twice gotten a hero’s edit that he did not deserve, and that behind the cutesy cackle is a self-serving attention monger looking out solely for himself.

I’m not saying whether these accusations (coming, it should be noted, from a group of attention mongers themselves) have merit or not, but it definitely factors into how he will do coming back to play for a third time in Heroes vs. Villains. I don’t want to make it sound like Rupert is universally despised, because he is not. But for whatever reason, he, like Sugar, is nowhere near as popular with fellow contestants as he is with the viewing public.

And Rupert has another obstacle to deal with as well: his toe. He breaks it in the very first reward challenge. I can honestly say I have never heard screams of pain as loud as the ones I heard from Rupert when medical was working on it after the challenge. And for a tough guy like Rupert to be screaming like that, it must have been bad. Rupert is a person that prides himself on his toughness. How will such an injury impact him in the game? That will definitely be worth keeping an eye on.

Read the entire article at:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/02/05/survivor-heroes-vs-villains-rupert/

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Cirie Fields: “There are bigger targets out there than little ol’ me.” + reality blurred

Cirie Fields

Perhaps my favorite moment on Surviving Survivor tonight was Cirie saying that she had no idea why she was on the heroes tribe. That’s the kind of amusing honestly that I love from Cirie, and when we talked last August, she said she has no plans to change that. “I think that’s what keeps me in the game, the fact that this is who I am. I laugh and joke and play a lot, and some people need that,” she said.

I’m worried, though, because so many of her fellow competitors cited Cirie as a threat they want to get rid of early. Even though I didn’t mention this to her (of course, I never tell any contestants what the others have said), we did talk about her being a threat, and Cirie told me, “I expect that. People know how I play. They know I could be smiling and you’re going home. They understand that. Yes, I do that, and yes that could be threatening, but there are much larger targets here than myself.”

She’s relying on that to keep her in the game. Citing those people who’ve won or made it to the final Tribal Council, Cirie said, “I’ve never done any of that. I’m not going to beat you in a challenge. There are bigger targets out there than little ol’ me.” Later, she said, “if any of these people are smart,” they’ll realize that. “You’re more threatened by my smile or by Stephenie? Come on!”

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Feb_04_cirie_fields

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‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’: Jerri on the competition — ‘Honestly, I don’t even know their names’ | EW.com

Jerri Manthey

Jerri insists that she has come to play this time around, unlike her experience on All-Stars, when her mission was to show people she wasn’t the villain she was portrayed to be on The Australian Outback. (That didn’t work out so well, as she was literally booed off the stage at the All-Stars reunion show.) “Honestly I just feel like All-Stars, I went into it in such a vulnerable place trying to make the public like me as a person,” she told me. “And I realized very quickly that regardless of what you do, people have an idea of who you are. So this time my strategy is to come back to the Jerri I was in Australia — the fearless Jerri.”

I believe that. But I also believe that Jerri might have more difficulty then she thinks in building social relationships. When I visited the Villains camp on day two, the whole tribe was hanging out down by the water, except for Jerri and Randy. The fact that she has so few relationships with the people she is playing with and against could cost her here. And I don’t believe that the people she does know and has played with (Colby, Rupert, Boston Rob) are exactly scrambling to align with her. As Jerri herself said, “I think Colby would be a great ally. Whether he’s down for that or not is a whole other story.” (Answer: no.)

The one thing in Jerri’s favor is that no one seems particularly concerned about her, which is surprising in that Jerri is not someone to just sit back. She will make moves. (Remember: It was Jerri that vocally spearheaded the ouster of Tina and was very vocal about getting rid of all the previous winners in All-Stars.) If the big targets on her tribe like Parvati and Boston Rob come after each other, Jerri could possibly lay low for a while, but if it comes down simply to familiarity and popularity, then she’s in a lot of trouble. Hopefully, she’ll at least know everyone’s names by the time they’re voting her out.

Read the entire article at:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/02/04/survivor-heroes-vs-villains-jerri/

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Stephenie LaGrossa: “My strategy is to play exactly how I played before: don’t hide my strength” + reality blurred

Stephenie LaGrossa

Stephenie LaGrossa stood out during Survivor Palau for being an incredibly strong physical player who outlasted everyone else on her tribe, and that was part of the reason why she was brought back for Guatemala. But that was five years ago, and the time has impacted her: “Third time is it for me; my body can’t take any more,” Stephenie told me. When she was asked to return, “I wasn’t like, yes!, I was like, holy crap, I’m going to do this again? … I’m a little older, I’m not as in as great shape as I was before.”

But Stephenie isn’t writing herself off yet. “I love to compete, I’m super-competitive,” she said, and she’s ready to try again. “I’m trying to go in there playing as hard as I can, as honest as I can, and as real as I can,” she said.

Although she was the runner-up on Survivor Guatemala, she thinks she has an advantage. “The fact that I never won before is huge. I know it’s my third time and I know I was one of the bigger personalities to play, and I was pretty strong,” she said, but “I think the winners will be targets, actually, because I think people, in this game, try to use any little thing they can to try to eliminate people other than themselves.”

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Feb_03_stephenie_lagrossa

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Jessica “Sugar” Kiper: “I have a few alpha males this time [Rupert, Coach], and maybe a love interest [JT]” + reality blurred

Jessica 'Sugar' Kiper

During her time in Gabon, Sugar was rather emotional as the result of her father’s recent death. A year later, she said, “I’m in a much better place. I did lose my mind for the show after a little bit, but I think that happens to most people. I got married to a random stranger who was directing a movie [John Lands], and I had to get out of that. As soon as I came to, I was like, ‘Wait, what did I just do?’ They tell you not to make decisions for four or five months,” she said. But she credits the show with helping her deal with her emotions. “I don’t know how I could have gotten through my father’s passing without doing Survivor, because those 10 days on Exile were the most cleansing, relaxing, mind-clearing experience,” she said.

In Gabon, Sugar said she “played for entertainment value” and even “blindsided my friends at the end for entertainment value” and “I really wasn’t playing to win; I was playing for fan favorite.” But for this all-star season, Sugar said, “I’m playing to win this time.” Her strategy involves “playing the nicest game I possible can. It wasn’t as hard, because these were people you don’t know. Now, all-stars, you’ve met a lot of people at charity events, you’ve become friends.” And she has friends on season 20, saying, “I think I’ve got some good friends. I’m kind of popular with the good people, so I think I might have a chance.”

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Feb_02_jessica_sugar_kiper

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Randy Bailey: “I am going to sit back as best I can” + reality blurred

Randy Bailey

Randy Bailey was, in some ways, different than the Randy Bailey I talked to in Gabon just over a year earlier. He admitted that: “I do remember your write-up on my last year; you fell for my song and dance the first time, and you thought about it a little bit, and you realized, this guy’s playing me a little bit. He’s not as big an asshole, and your realized that after a couple weeks. Kudos to you. This time I’m not playing you. This is the one you figured out who I was after thinking about it for a few weeks.”

You’d think I’d like ass-kissing Randy better than asshole Randy, but not really, because he wasn’t as open; at one point, he said, “I completely avoided your question; I know that.” There were even a few moments when Randy came off as vaguely paranoid, like when I asked him how his relationship to the game has changed since he last played it, and he said, “you’re definitely more interview savvy than you were because I know what you’re thinking about but I’m not going to say it.” That’s too bad, because I have no idea what I was thinking about, and it would have been nice to know.

At least he was able to acknowledge his unwillingness to discuss certain things. “It’s amazing how media savvy you become from going through this once. I’m not going to say anything that I regret: I love everybody,” Randy joked. That kind of quasi-sarcastic, awkward humor was still there, like when he said, “Fans I don’t care about. Fans can’t vote me off.” He paused. “I guess they can vote for fan favorite. I love my fans, I love every one of them.”

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Feb_02_randy_bailey

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‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’: Why everyone wants Parvati gone…and fast | EW.com

Parvati Shallow

Dangerous. That’s the best word to describe Parvati Shallow when it comes to Survivor. The woman will slay you with a smile. In 19 seasons, I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone play a better social game than Parvati, and I’m not just talking about the flirting either. Obviously, we’ve seen her get cuddly with boys only to discard them when their services (strategic or otherwise) are no longer called for.

But it’s not just horny dudes that have fallen under her spell. She was also at the center of the female alliance in Micronesia, acting as a high-powered magnet for newcomers like Natalie and Alexis. She rode that all the way to the end of the game and won the million dollars. If I were a player in Heroes vs. Villains, Parvati would scare the bejeezus out of me and she’d be the first one I’d want out of there — which I suppose is the ultimate sign of respect.

And there are people actually plying this game who feel the same way. Coach, Tom, and Stephenie all mentioned Parvati as the person they were most concerned about, and several others worried about a Micronesia alliance between Parvati, Amanda, and James. That’s bad news for Parvati in that she is unlikely to sneak up on anyone this time around. But she’s well aware of that. “There’s a huge target on me as a winner and just as who I am, because I am always called out because I’m very social,” Parvati told me in Samoa right before the game began. “And there’s always a huge target on the social threats at the beginning of the game.”

Read the entire article at:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/02/02/survivor-heroes-vs-villains-parvati/

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Danielle DiLorenzo: “I honestly don’t think I’m a threat to people” + reality blurred

Danielle DiLorenzo

Of course, that could benefit her (more than a few of her competitors said there were people on season 20 they didn’t recognize), and she was very enthusiastic about playing again. Danielle told me that she was going to play an “aggressive game” this time, because in Panama, “I lacked in the social big-time. … “I didn’t mingle enough with everybody, and I broke an alliance early on last time that I wouldn’t do this time.”

In contrast to the other players who were cautious about having any kind of advance strategy, Danielle seems to have a clear understanding of how she will play. She subscribes to the basic idea of keeping the strong and proving you’re strong until the merge, and said, “once you get to the merge, then you restrategize,” voting out “who can beat you” in challenges. “I need to stick with my alliances this time around. I need to be smart about who I align with right off the bat: I need to find that one person that I know I can beat in the end that I can also trust to get the game with, and just bring in other people,” she said.

That kind of person is one of the people who’s already won $1 million, specifically Parvati or Rupert (“I like him”) or Boston Rob (“I like him”) and “possibly James.” Danielle said, “I’m already sizing up people and figuring out who I’m going to get along with and who I’m not, who I can trust and who I can’t.” She doesn’t want to align with Cirie (“absolutely not”), because she doesn’t trust her.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Feb_03_danielle_dilorenzo

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‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’: Which woman is going to stab James in the back this time? | EW.com

James Clement

Poor James. The dude had two hidden immunity idols in his possession and still got voted out in China. Then he watched Parvati disintegrate his fearsome foursome alliance in Micronesia while blindsiding Ozzy. Now James Clement is hoping he doesn’t end up a major blockhead for the third time in Heroes vs. Villains. “I’m kind of like Charlie Brown sometimes,” he told me in Samoa before the game started. “Lucy says she’s gonna hold the ball and I go to kick it and then she moves it away and I fall on my butt. Hopefully this time I kick the ball and get Lucy.”

The interesting thing about all this is that James appears to have made a pre-game alliance with the two women who backstabbed him his first two times out: Amanda and Parvati. At least that’s what all the other players believe, as many of them cited a Micronesia alliance that needed to be snuffed out pronto.

Why James would trust these two women again is anyone’s guess, but I started to believe that such an alliance might exist when I asked him whom he wanted to get rid of first. “Tyson,” he replied. Okay, why? “I have no idea. I mean, everybody else…that’s the…I don’t know, everybody else…ummm.” To me, that sounds like a guy who either has forgotten how to speak English or has been told by other people (a.k.a. “everybody else”) whom to target yet still isn’t exactly sure why. If that’s true, it also shows that once again, James isn’t controlling anything strategically.

Read the entire article at:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/02/03/survivor-heroes-vs-villains-james/

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Amanda Kimmel: “a lot of people thought that I just got lucky twice, which is not the case” + reality blurred

Amanda Kimmel

Despite her record, Amanda isn’t exactly thought of as one of the best Survivor players. While I’m definitely a fan of her game play, I realize that a lot of people think she doesn’t deserve any credit, and asked her about that. “Everyone thinks that. Even though I made it to the end twice in a row, people think, ‘That girl has no game. It was lucky that she made it that far.’ And I’m like, seriously? I just played a really good game; no one knew what I was doing.”

Later, she said, “I don’t think you can get lucky Survivor twice and make it to the end. No one’s every been that lucky,” adding, “I’m very, very strategic. Just because it hasn’t been in your face doesn’t mean I haven’t been strategic, and that’s definitely something I want to show this time.”

However, she does plan to use that to her advantage, because Amanda doesn’t think she’ll be an immediate target like the winners. “Like you said when I first sat down, I don’t think a lot of people will see me as a threat, even though I’ve made it that far twice. I know what I’m capable of, and I know there are some people here who know what I’m capable of, but I hope not many.” Therefore, “I don’t think I will really be seen as a threat, because a lot of people thought that I just got lucky twice, which is not the case,” Amanda said.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Feb_01_amanda_kimmel

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‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’: Can Tyson back up the tough talk? | EW.com

Tyson Apostol

Honestly, I was surprised when I first learned that Tyson Apostol would be invited to come back for Heroes Vs Villains. Mainly because it was obvious Coach and J.T. would be in the cast, and three people from a mediocre season (Tocantins) seemed like a bit much. I was almost sure Tyson’s spot would go to Panama’s Shane Powers instead. Shows you what I know.

But I get why Tyson was selected for another go round: The guy is a confessional quote machine. Now, don’t get wrong: What he says may drive you crazy and make you want to throw your remote at the TV screen and then stick pins into your homemade Apostol voodoo doll, but, well, isn’t that what a villain is supposed to do?

Tyson’s whole attitude can pretty much be summed up by his answer before the game as to my question of who’d he’d like to see voted out first. “The annoying people are the ones you really want to see go just on personal levels, so if I was going with that, it would be Sugar,” said Tyson. “But I would probably mostly want the strategic players out first because that would leave me the only mastermind in the game to control every move. [But] there aren’t any strategic players here, so I guess I’ll just vote the annoying out first.” So cocky. So arrogant. And exactly why is back.

Read the entire article at:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/02/01/survivor-heroes-vs-villains-tyson/

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‘Survivor’ Villains Richard Hatch And Russell Hantz’s First Meeting

“Surviving Survivor” airs Thursday, Feb 4 at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Season One Winner Richard Hatch

“Surviving Survivor” brings together 10 of the game’s most iconic players to relive the memories of their time on the hit CBS series, and ET exclusively has video of the first-time meeting between season one winner Richard Hatch and last season’s runner-up Russell Hantz.

“Are you the one they keep comparing me to?” Hantz asks Hatch.

“They don’t compare you. Not at all,” Hatch replies.

“My level is way above everybody else,” Hantz declares immodestly. “You can’t even fathom. I will give you credit for being one of the best, but they are comparing me to you, and I am way better.”

To which Hatch responds, “Now we are talking delusions!”

In addition to Hatch and Hantz, the other eight returning competitors on “Surviving Survivor” are James Clement, Colby Donaldson, Cirie Fields, Stephenie LaGrossa, Jerri Manthey, Parvati Shallow, Benjamin “Coach” Wade and Tom Westman, all of whom will reveal never-before-told stories from their days on the series.

“Surviving Survivor” airs Thursday, Feb 4 at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.etonline.com/news/2010/02/83567/

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Sandra Diaz-Twine: “the same thing I did before, it’ll work, because they’re dummies” + reality blurred

Sandra Diaz-Twine

I remember liking Sandra as a player and a character, but it’s been so long I forgot exactly why, at least until she started talking and her hysterically biting personality and non-nonsense attitude became evident. For example, she rejected a standard game-play argument (“just because they’re strong don’t mean shit”), and talking about various players, said that they may have learned from their mistakes. “I hope [James] ain’t such a dummy that he’s going to be carrying Parvati across the sand” again, she said.

Sandra is not worried about being targeted because she’s a winner. “No. They went the first time around, I know. But at the same time, there’s some people here that others might hate. There’s people here who back-stabbed them. So I think everybody’s going to be on pins and needles; not just me because I won.” Specifically, she said, “Randy, they hated him; Coach, they don’t give a shit about him, either.” And she said, “JT just finished winning so he should have the bulk of his money still.”

Despite winning $1 million, Sandra works Monday through Friday as a drive-through teller at a bank and has what she describes as a normal life; on weekends, it’s “cut the grass, clean the house, go grocery shopping.” Winning simply “made it easier, because I don’t worry about finances. I’m still the same penny-pincher I was before,” Sandra said. While she’s away, her sister is taking care of her kids because “my husband’s in Afghanistan again for the third time.” And she joked, “my kids, I don’t think they love me any more,” adding that “they don’t even care” that she’s back on the show.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Feb_01_sandra_diaz_twine

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Jerri Manthey: “I want to kick some butt, but I don’t want to be totally vulnerable” + reality blurred

Jerri Manthey

Jerri Manthey is perhaps Survivor’s original villain, but that’s not exactly evident any more, not that it was very evident during all-stars a few years after her first appearance on the show. During Survivor Australia, Jerri told me that she “went into it as an athlete, ready to kick some butt,” but that made her come off “cold and harsh sometimes.” On the other hand, during all-stars, she compared herself to “a slug that someone threw salt on” or a shell-less turtle, because she wanted “to change what people thought of me.”

For season 20, she wants a balance of the two. “I’m actually ready to have some fun with this. … I want be competitive and I want to kick some butt, but I don’t want to be totally vulnerable, either. I want to find the middle ground where people will enjoy hanging out with me but they also know I’m a competitor,” she told me. That middle ground, according to Jerri: “Don’t let anybody know they’re irritating you. … I’ve definitely been working on my patience level and my tolerance level.” Jerri also said, “I’ve grown so much over the last nine years; I think that’s really going to come through. I’m a lot more level-headed and mature.”

That won’t make her much of a villain, and Jerri is quite conscious of that. “There’s always the fear that they’re going to edit you specifically to be a certain way, and I’m kind of a target for that in a lot of ways. I’m just not going to worry about it this time. I think in all-stars I was so concerned about being edited in a bad light that I wasn’t fully myself, and it didn’t work for me, obviously.” So now, “I’m not going to try to be anything but myself. That seems to have worked the best for me in my life, as well as in Survivor. The first time I did it I got a lot more of a reaction from people without really trying.”

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Jan_31_jerri_manthey

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JT Thomas: “I feel like they’re targeting me because they don’t know me yet” + reality blurred

JT Thomas

JT goes into Survivor Heroes vs. Villains with two targets: He’s the one person who’s played a perfect game, at least in terms of votes cast against him (no one ever voted against him, ever), and he’s also, of course, a winner, which during the first all-star season wasn’t at all helpful. JT is acutely aware of this, and didn’t bullshit when it came to handicapping his chances. “I think my chances of making it to the merge are not too bad,” he said, but added, “that’s when it’s going to get really tough for me. The odds of me going far after the merge are not good, but the odds of me winning last time were 50 to 1, so who knows.” He also said, “I may cry if I see my name written.”

I asked him how he’ll avoid being a target, he articulated a strategy that you may hear from other winners in the coming interviews. “I’m going to start out immediately the same way I did last time, building good relationships with these people,” JT said. “The way I’m going to present my case to these people is, if I was sitting in the final two with you, no one’s going to give me another million dollars. And also, you’ve just seen that I’ll take anybody to the final two. You can trust me.” (Anybody? Oh, poor Stephen Fishbach.)

Speaking of Stephen, JT said that he’ll retain pretty much the same strategy as he did during Survivor Tocantins. “I’m going to try to pick people I think are my biggest competitors and join forces with them rather trying to go after them or them come after me, and one of us is definitely going to be gone—maybe both of us,” he said. In Brazil, he aligned with Stephen because “I could use his knowledge and mine together,” even though his initial impression was that “Stephen was the one person I figured was not going to be able to hack it on our team.”

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Jan_31_jt_thomas

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Surviving Survivor relives memorable moments with castaways

You need to know that this “pre-season” show is going to be broadcast on:

Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 8:00 PM on CBS

Survivor is reliving some of the most memorable moments of the reality series with the castaways who lived them on the one hour special, ‘Surviving Survivor,’ on Thursday, February 4, 2010 on CBS. Catch up with Richard Hatch, Russell Hantz, Colby Donaldson, Pavati Shallow, James Clement, Colby Donaldson, Cirie Fields, Russell Hantz, Stephanie LaGrossa, Jerry Manthey, Benjamin ‘Coach’ Wade, Tom Westman, Rupert Boneham and ‘The View’ Host Elizabeth Hasselbeck.

Surviving Survivor brings back 10 of the game’s most iconic players to talk about the reality juggernaut that defined a genre in this new one-hour special to be broadcast Thursday, February 4, 2010 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Surviving Survivor features past castment, some of whom will be appearing on the next installment of Survivor, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians.

Through a series of new interviews, the curtain will be pulled back on Survivor, one of the decade’s most influential shows. Featured in Surviving Survivor are new revelations from SURVIVOR host Jeff Probst, season one winner Richard Hatch (Borneo, All-Stars) and HEROES VS. VILLAINS cast members James Clement (China, Micronesia), Colby Donaldson (Australia, All-Stars), Cirie Fields (Panama, Micronesia), Russell Hantz (Samoa), Stephenie LaGrossa (Palau, Guatemala), Jerri Manthey (Australia, All-Stars), Parvati Shallow (Cook Islands, Micronesia), Benjamin “Coach” Wade (Tocantins) and Tom Westman (Palau).

Read the entire article at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-4819-Cable-TV-Examiner~y2010m1d29-Surviving-Survivor-relives-memorable-moments-with-castaways

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‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains:’ Jeff Probst says Shane Powers was cut for Russell Hantz

“Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” was very close to having Shane Powers on board; unfortunately, the former “Exile Island” contestant had his torch snuffed by producers before filming even started.

As a part of the new “Heroes vs. Villains” preview special (which will air January 31 on the TV Guide Channel), host Jeff Probst says that “it came down to slots, and ultimately Russell [Hantz] bumped Shane out.” He also added that Corinne Kaplan (from “Survivor: Gabon”) was asked, but she “couldn’t get out of her job.” As for Jonny Fairplay, it looks like he will (thankfully) never be asked back again after quitting three days into “Fans vs. Favorites.”

Now, I certainly won’t complain about Russell being on this season; without him, “Samoa” would have been one of the most boring seasons in the show’s history (maybe even worse than “Thailand”). However, why couldn’t you replace Tyson or Randy with Shane? Tyson, as entertaining as he was, only survived three tribal councils (and he had immunity for one of them); plus, both he and Randy are more recent castaways and could’ve been asked back later without a problem. Shane is a character that “Survivor” needs on this show again. As for Corinne, at least we now have a reason why Danielle is part of the cast (she was likely a replacement).

Read the entire article at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-11363-TV-Examiner~y2010m1d27-Survivor-Heroes-vs-Villains-Jeff-Probst-says-Shane-Powers-was-cut-for-Russell-Hantz

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Exclusive Interview with ‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’ J.T. Thomas

Sure, last season Russell Hantz may have played the game like no one ever had before. But J.T. Thomas played Survivor’s only Perfect Game in Tocantins. No one ever voted against him, and in the end every juror voted for him.

By all rights, that should make Survivor’s Southern gentleman an obvious threat on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains; and on All Stars seasons obvious threats tend to be the first ones voted out.

The thing is, J.T. didn’t play a Perfect Game by acting like an obvious threat. He was the anti-Russell. Unlike the controversial second place finisher, he didn’t feel the need to tell everyone he was hosing them before he had finished the job. In fact, he didn’t brag to the audience either.

It would be easy to say that J.T. didn’t play much of a game at all. He was just being himself. But I disagree. J.T. is the most cold-blooded nice guy I’ve ever seen. He was at the center of deciding who went home every week, and he looked like a noble leader in everyone’s eyes doing it.

I talked with J.T. about whether he could afford to be so friendly about cutting throats this season, and how he was going to avoid the Winner’s Curse. I also followed up about his relationships with two fellow Tocantins cast members, Coach and Stephen.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/survivor/exclusive-interview-with-survi-34046.aspx

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