Survivor - Heroes v. Villains

So I've done some research on the upcoming season. A couple of things to know:

1. It will debut Feb 11 (not after Superbowl). It's in Samoa again, which is awesome because I won 2 cases of Twisted Tea betting on that.

2. Richard Hatch was asked to be on the show, but wasn't able to because he's under house arrest. I thought house arrest was something that only happened to high schoolers and geriatrics, but I guess not.

3. There won't be an exile island apparently. I can't decide if I'm happy about that or not.

4. They changed the tagline from "Outwit, Outlast, Outplay" to "Return, Revenge, Redemption." It might be a little cheesy, but it gets me even more excied all the same.

5. If you want to know who will be on this season, scroll down to the previously-posted blog (which hopefully hid it from your screen if you didn't want to know. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who'd rather have it be a surprise.) --> UPDATE: CBS verified the cast, hurrah! Check it out here: http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor/


My early thoughts on Heroes v. Villains: I am ridiculously excited. I was really excited for the first all-stars, and ended up disappointed. I was unenthused for the second all-stars (fans v. faves) but found myself pleasantly surprised. I am worried that my excitement for this one will also end in disappointment, but I hope not!

More than that though, I love the concept of heroes v. villains. (If only life were so cut and dry that we could categorize people that way in everyday situations.) I think that giving each tribe an "identity" will create a really interesting dynamic. I think I will cheer for the people on this show the same way I cheer for characters in Con Air. I do want to good guys to win in the end, but the bad guys are so hilariously awesome that I can't help but cheer for them the whole way. (Kind of like Evil Russell I guess.)

I hope the Heroes do a better job in challenges than the similarly-themed heroes did on the Real World Road Rules challenge. Nothing's more embarrassing than having your heroes get thwomped over and over and over again.

I wonder if the Heroes will try and vote democratically or something else stupid so that they can appear to live up to their name. Will the Villains blindside everyone, just to prove how devious they are?

I guess we'll find all this out starting February 11th. I know I can't wait! And for those of you who also can't wait, check my previous blog post for the speculated cast, as well as my comments on them.

Survivor Heroes v. Villains - The Cast

I'm really excited about this cast because it appears to pit a lot of nemeses against each other. What better example than Randy v. Sugar from the season Bob won? So it won't just be two tribes against each other, there will be a LOT of bad blood in the water to boot... grudge v. grudge.

So, without further ado, here' s the list of cast members slated for season 20's all-stars.

Heroes:

- Amanda "The Beast" Kimmel - Obviously deserves to be here. She rules all. But I do wonder if she'll end up coming in 2nd AGAIN and if Doug will pick her. AGAIN. Hero rating: 9/10

- Tom "The Fireman" Westman* - He's a fireman, which obviously adds to his hero persona. He's an older contestant, but a huge badass who carried his team almost the whole way. But in the end I didn't like him because he guilt-tripped the hell out of Ian the Dolphin Trainer, which tarnished his victory. Hero rating: 7.5/10

- Cirie "Devious Nurse" Fields - I'm so happy Cirie is back. She's a silent hero, laying low, plotting everyone's demise, but doing it so cheerfully that no one ever suspects her. Hero rating: 7.5/10

- Colby "The Cowboy" Donaldson - This guy introduced the coattail riders as winners strategy, being so heroic as to take sweet Tina with him to the final 2. I'd be pleased to see the same dominance he showed in Australia, but hopefully with less weakness for teh ladies. Hero rating: 7/10

- James "Gravedigger" Clement - James has everything heroic going for him. He's strong, good intentioned, and - as all great heroes do - has made big mistakes, e.g. not playing the hidden immunity idol. Hero rating: 8/10

- JT "Sweet Country Boy" Thomas* - This is one of Pickett's ponies who's so loveable as to make it impossible for people to vote him out. A southern drawl and great smile is as good as a hidden immunity idol (although both is better). Hero rating: 6.5/10

- Rupert "All Heart" Boneham** - What makes a hero a hero? All I know is that I adore Rupert, even though he doesn't always have nice things to say about other people and has a tendency towards bossiness. At the same time though this guy gives 130% on every challenge, and tries his damnedest to win. Hero rating: 10/10

- Sugar "The Weeper" Smith - Sugar annoyed the hell out of everyone in her season, but won the hearts of viewers around the nation. Her greatest heroic effort was getting Bob into the final 3, and letting him win his season, but she really hadn't done much before then besides cry a lot. Hero rating: 4/10

- Stephenie "The Athlete" LaGrossa - Stephenie works really hard, and is probably one of the strongest women to perform on the show. Seems like a pessimist though, so I'm not sure how that will mesh with the lovey-dovey nature of a "heroes" tribe. Hero rating: 6.5/10

- Candice "Broke Down" Woodcock - Candice and Sugar both spent a lot of time on exile. But exile island does not a hero make. Her "heroics" included abandoning Yul, Ozzie & friends on her season, and then bawling like a baby when they sent her to exile. She is the reason I wish they had exile again, so we could see the sequel. Would she cry again? Dry heave with sorrow? Hero rating: 0.75/10

Things I think are worth noting - the Heroes tribe has a whopping 5 people who have already been on 2 different seasons of survivor (Amanda, Rupert, James, Stephenie, and Cirie). If their shelter has one leak I will be disappointed. They should have that sort of thing down by now. I must admit this is a good representation of my favorite players in the game. I think they can all qualify as "heroes" but they all have a manipulative, devious dark side as well. These are no n00blets. I'm excited to see how it turns out!

Disappointed they aren't on this team: Yau Man, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, Ian the Dolphin Trainer, Danni from Guatemala, Bowtie Bob

Early predictions for alliances:

Cirie+JT+Amanda+Tom

Rupert+Sugar+Stephenie+Candace

Villains:

- Courtney "Scary Thin" Yates - Courtney was so skinny on China I thought they'd have to evacuate her. Her "talking head" bits were also some of the meanest ever. She's probably the vice-president of the evil club. Villain rating: 9.5/10

- "Crazy" Coach Wade - This man's a nut. His antics are extremely entertaining, but I think he will discover that his is a lamb among wolves when it comes to the back-stabbing and strategizing on this tribe. Villain rating: 6/10

- Danielle "I don't know who you are" DiLorenzo - I actually remember every other person who will be on this show. Except for this Danielle character. Apparently she finished 2nd behind Aras in one of the most boring seasons of Survivor ever. Villain rating: ?/10

- Jerri "Original Bitch" Manthey - I don't even remember why everyone hates Jerri so much, just that we do. I think people saw her as the Deliliah to Colby's Sampson. Villain rating: 8/10

- Parvati "The Flirt" Shallow* - I'm so happy she's back, and of course she should be categorized as a villain, but she's really not that evil. She's very strategic and also happens to be good at flirting. Villain rating: 6.5/10

- "Bitter" Randy Bailey - Randy is a brilliant, horribly jaded human being. This is apparently what happens when a man goes without a girlfriend for his entire life. One of the most negative forces in the game. Villain rating: 9/10

- "Boston" Rob Mariano** - Boston Rob is a great plotter (overshadowed by Evil Russ though). Great at strategy, great at getting people to hate him throughout the game. Villain rating: 8.5/10

- "Evil" Russell Hantz - Hell yeah. That's all I have to say about that. Villain rating: 10/10

- Sandra "I'm not sure why they consider her a villain" Diaz-Twine* - I don't remember her doing anything particularly villainous on her season, particularly compared to Johnny Fairplay. She did hide some of their supplies when she thought she was going to be voted out, but she was also Rupert's ally - an obvious hero. Villain rating: 3/10

- Tyson "The Gay Mormon" Apostol - Tyson ran around naked a lot and played a crafty game. His "talking heads" were more snarky than mean. Villain rating: 6/10

The villains are a little less experienced - only 3 of them have been on 2 previous seasons (Parvati, Jerri, and Rob). I have fears that this team will be so excited to start back-stabbing each other that they won't focus on challenges and will focus instead on eating each other's still-beating hearts instead. It will be really interesting to see how many heads get clunked together before a leader emerges for this tribe. On the other hand though I think they could plow through the heroes come merge time.

Disappointed they aren't on this team: Johnny Fairplay, Dreamz, Natalie from Fans v. Favorites

Early predictions for enemies:

Jerri v. Parvati

Evil Russell v. Boston Rob v. Coach

Courtney v. Randy

* = won on a previous season

** = didn't win, but either won a fan favorite $1M, or married someone who won... both meaning they are basically winners, if not given the title.