Survivor: Cambodia - Second Chance

originally aired September 23, 2015 to December 16, 2015

The order in which players left the game and the impact they left behind:

• Vytas (Ta Keo/Blood vs. Water) Exhibiting far less savvy than the last time he played, Vytas unwittingly began the season's "new school" vibe of trying way too hard with too little gameplay to show for it.  Also, apparently the latest Survivor chauvinist pig...
• Shirin (Ta Keo/Worlds Apart) Didn't have nearly the opportunity to annoy me (and every other sane person watching).  Just anotha victim of voting strategies this time.
• Peih-Gee (Ta Keo/China) Another victim of Ta Keo's general implosion.  This whole tribe was a preview for the season to come, and it just got uglier and uglier...She deserved better.
• Jeff Varner (Ta Keo/Australian Outback) All these years hoping to see him come back, and...Varner turns out to be absolutely terrible at strategizing, so desperate to stay in the game that he constantly sabotages himself.  The first would-be power player to shoot himself in the foot this season.
• Monica (Bayon/Samoa) A necessary victim in Jeremy's path to victory.  Especially this early in the game, you want to be reliable.
• Terry (Ta Keo/Panama) And so a good one goes home early through no fault of his own, to be there for his son.  We'll never know where he could've gone, or further impacted the game.
• Woo (Ta Keo/Cagayan) A great player with no real sense of strategy, alas.
• Kass (Bayon/Cagayan) Convinced herself that she had changed.  But quickly reverted to nonsensical "Chaos Kass" mode...
• Andrew Savage (Bayon/Pearl Islands) Too seldom do players come with actual dignity in this game, and still manage to control their fate, for at least a little while.  Savage remains one of the great players to not win.
• Kelly Wigglesworth (Ta Keo/Borneo) Didn't learn a thing about taking her position for granted, alas.  But had one of the great final tribal council moments when she evoked Sean's voting, er, strategy...
• Ciera (Bayon/Blood vs. Water) More mature this time, but still needs seasoning in order to think clearly, which is something she always seems to realize too late.
• Stephen Fishbach (Bayon/Tocantins) The would-be conqueror who would have epitomized that role this season, if he hadn't had such an obnoxious competitor in Spencer...
• Joe (Bayon/Worlds Apart) Tremendous competitor, probably the main victim of someone like Terry's departure, which tipped the scales toward seedier gameplay.
• Abi-Maria (Ta Keo/Philippines) So spectacularly delusional it's almost funny.
• Kimmi (Bayon/Australian Outback) The comparatively withdrawn Kimmi who showed up this time was far less interesting to watch, but she found herself in a comfortable position...which she inexplicably obliterated with a misguided attempt to maneuver herself into a more favorable position.  Big moves only count for something if they count for something other than timid desperation...
• Keith Nale (Bayon/San Juan del Sur) If only he were as surprising a strategist as he is a challenge threat...
• Kelley Wentworth (Ta Keo/San Juan del Sur) One of the best players in one of the worst positions imaginable, having as her greatest allies at one point the unpredictable Abi and the overly ambitious Ciera.  Very easy to root for despite knowing she had no shot at making the finals.
• Spencer (Ta Keo/Cagayan) So convinced he'd gotten his ego under control he had no idea all his desperate maneuvering was easy to follow, and the only reason he made it as far as he did was because he finally aligned with Jeremy and Tasha...He quickly became thoroughly unlikable...
• Tasha (Bayon/Cagayan) Surprising how much she faded into the background after solidifying an alliance with Jeremy.  Classic coattail rider whose only chances to make it without such a strategy she didn't take, and wouldn't have helped her anyway despite the ensuing chaos...
• Jeremy (Bayon/San Juan del Sur) Easily one of the feel-good stories of winners in Survivor history, making it out of a very messy season with his dignity intact and making good on the promise he exhibited in his first season.  Never mind the gooey emotions he evoked in the final tribal council, Jeremy absolutely deserved his unanimous win (which speaks well for the jury, too), and probably the winner of such distinction to have most earned it, against the toughest odds (Earl in Fiji and J.T. in Tocantins being the others).

Survivor: Worlds Apart

originally aired February 25, 2015 to May 20, 2015

The order in which players left the game and the impact they left behind:

• So (White Collar) Why Carolyn did not win is because of moves like siding with someone like Shirin rather than So or Joaquin, who were the first players to actually consider strategy this season.
• Vince (No Collar) Next time, ah, try and spend a little less time on jealous obsession (concerning Joe) and a little more on the, oh, game...
• Nina (No Collar) Right, the deaf one.  Who unfortunately made it an issue perhaps a little bigger than it needed to be.  Although weirdly, her No Collar tribemates weren't particularly cool about it, either.
• Lindsey (Blue Collar) The one time Rodney was effective all season was in getting her eliminated.
• Max (White Collar) The only White Collar nearly as weird as Shirin, and the other one who walked around naked.  Also, hipster beard included.  Thankfully was not given a second chance by fans for the thirty-first season.
• Joaquin (White Collar) As indicated above, Joaquin was an early favorite of mine because he was, y'know, playing the game.  
• Kelly (Blue Collar) Survived getting busted open in the blindfold challenge.  This surprisingly won her very few points.  It's always odd when the players take the blindfold challenges in stride, because as a viewer it always seems like such an important moment in the game.  Either way, on that score alone I'd love to see what else she could accomplish.
• Hali (No Collar) Most of the season I identified Hali and Jenn as the No Collar ditzes.  Eventually, Jenn redeemed herself.  Hali?  Not so much.
• Joe (No Collar) More often than you'd think but less often than you'd wish, Survivor casts someone who seems totally at home playing the game, not so much strategy-wise but people who just get how to exist within it.  It figures that at least one of them is clearly identified as a No Collar.
• Jenn (No Collar) Until the final tribal council and she went the full Spencer, explaining to the jury (it's surprising how seldom this occurs) why Mike should be declared the winner, I didn't think much of her.  But she totally got it.  Finally.  If there's such a thing as someone you want on a jury, she's it.  
• Shirin (White Collar) Until she popped up in the Second Chance vote and I found out how much sympathy she garnered from fans, I honestly had no clue.  She looked like a lunatic throughout the game.  I'm sorry she had a rough early life, but I'm equally sorry that she's never moved past it, no matter what kind of success she's had in life.  In her mind, she's very much the victim she used to be.  This is true of many people.  But hopefully most of them would not confuse their past with something someone says to them in a game, based solely on experiences within the game, and mount a crusade that's every bit as silly as how Rodney behaved.  I mean, people weren't throwing themselves all over Brandon his second time around, when it was clear that the sins of Hanz before him had drastically affected his thought process.  It's no different, and as silly to me as heaping praise on Cirie for "getting off the couch."  I understand it's important to champion people and send messages, but...c'mon.  If you must exaggerate, at least be honest.  I'm not at all saying Shirin and her mother asked for whatever it was that happened to them, but at a certain point, and because of all the success she's had in business, you'd think she'd stop considering herself only a victim.  But all the behavior she exhibited this season...It paints a very unstable portrait.  At best, I'd say Survivor did a poor psych test.  Wouldn't be the first time.  It didn't make for good viewing, and as far as I'm concerned, she made a poor argument, and never looked good the whole season, for any number of reasons.  So no, I'm not happy she's returning, and I fully expect she'll be voted out early next season.  I'm sorry for what happened to her.  But she needs to make peace with herself.  Not with Will.  With herself.  That much is hugely obvious.
• Tyler (White Collar) Started playing hard, but way too late in the game.  If he ever plays again, I would expect a much better result.
• Dan (Blue Collar) Dan, Dan the Lunatic Man...If he could just get out of his own way, he could easily have this game thoroughly in hand.  Tried to play the Kim (One World) plan of ousting his main ally (Mike) and still coasting to victory.  Found out lightning rarely strikes twice.
• Sierra (Blue Collar) I liked her (I mean, she's one of the better-looking players all-time), but wanted to see some more actual gameplay.  At times it looked like she would oblige.  Then again, she was the only one to vote for Carolyn in the finals.  So I don't know.
• Rodney (Blue Collar) Boston Rob this guy was not.  Not quite the full Jamie (Guatemala), but somewhat very close.  Like Dan, but more so, got in his own way.  And could not figure out how to get out.
• Will (No Collar) I don't know how he made it to the finals except by way of attrition, his one notable moment was rather one of infamy, picking on the surprisingly fragile Shirin...
• Carolyn (White Collar) If this is how she behaves in the business world, I don't know...And to think it looked like she was this close to convincing the jury she deserved the win...Someone who very much needed a good player to make it all the way, because otherwise she was all over the place.  At times looked like she knew what she was doing, and actually somewhat decent in comparison to others...But honestly, Survivor stacks the deck with bad players every season.  She nearly cost a good player a much-deserved win because, well, she is definitely White Collar...
• Mike (Blue Collar) Another well-deserved winner!  I love it when this happens (far too infrequently, alas), and I'm happy to say I nailed it early, the second time in thirty seasons to do so (the last time...Richard Hatch!).  Like Tom in Palau, had to sweat the final few weeks, but this guy showed everyone up, he really did, and it made a lot of people resentful, until someone (Jenn) pointed out that he did exactly what you're supposed to do in this game, which is to play to win.  Mike was a master of tribal council, which is a true art form, and for a season like this, the part of the episode packed with the best moments.  And he accomplished all of that without a single stable alliance (thanks for everything, Dan and Carolyn!), which is even more striking. 

Season 31 - Second Chance voting recommendations

Last night during the latest episode of Survivor: Worlds Apart (which took a dramatic turn toward highly interesting a few weeks back thanks to everyone finally starting to play, and play hard, including poor Tyler, who barely existed previously back who now looks like he should be brought back at some point), here came Jeff Probst with an exciting announcement about the next season:

Returning players, but with an awesome new twist.  From a selection of people who agreed to return, fans get to vote on who will actually make an all-important second shot at winning Survivor.  None of these players have returned before, and there are a handful of wonderful surprises (much like Gervase finally showing up again for Blood vs. Water).

So out of all the options (I won't bore you with a complete rundown, because honestly some of the options I still don't care that much about just like I didn't think they were all that significant the first time they played), I will give you my picks and explain why:

Women

1. Kelly Wigglesworth (Season 1, Borneo) Honestly, she's a legend, as much as anyone else from the first season.  It's great to see her interested again.  Will she still be a rat???  Stay tuned!
2. Kimmi Kappenberg (Season 2, Australian Outback) Kimmi is more infamous than famous (my sister and I love "I can eat a worm! I can eat a worm!"), but probably one of the most famous players to have attempted a dramatic overhaul of their gameplay while playing their first time around.  Give her another chance?  Absolutely.  And you're guaranteed to be amused.
3. Peih-Gee Law (Season 15, China) I honestly don't remember how good she was, but I do remember her.  That's a good thing, right?
4. Mikayla Wingle (Season 23, South Pacific) Unfortunately, Brandon Hantz have something in common: we both think she's hot.  (Although this is probably something many people share with him, and hopefully one of the few).  And she absolutely got a raw deal because of Brandon's fixation.  So let's see if she can actually play!
5. Abi-Maria Gomes (Season 25, Philippines) One of the greatest villains in Survivor history?  Heck ya!
6. Monica Padilla (Season 19, Samoa) You'll notice the chronological break.  I had a hard time reaching ten for the women.  Monica describes herself as having figured out Russell before anyone else.  Didn't help her, but that's certainly a mark in her favor.
7. Natalie Tenerelli (Season 22, Redemption Island)
8. Stephanie Valencia (Season 22, Redemption Island) Both are veterans of the Season Boston Rob Finally Won, and so they have every right to prove they do deserve to be remembered for something other than helping him win (everyone did that season).
9. Tasha Fox (Season 28, Cagayan)
10. Kass McQuillen (Season 28, Cagayan) Both from the Brains/Beauty/Brawn experiment that helped make Tony look so good.  I'm including Tasha for that reason alone, even though my memory of her had faded after just a few seasons.  But "Chaos Kass," even though she was, in fact, a lunatic, should be brought back just to see if she goes the full lunatic again...

Men

1. Jeff Varner (Season 2, Australian Outback) I've been expecting to see him return for years.  Hopefully this is a slam dunk for any true fan of the game.
2. Andrew Savage (Season 7, Pearl Islands) See above.  Rupert ended up stealing Andrew's thunder (along with almost everything else).  Now's his chance for redemption.  Bring the sport coat!
3. Shane Powers (Season 12, Panama) Lunatic genius in the best possible sense.  
4. Terry Dietz (Season 12, Panama) My sister and I thought he could have been the second coming of Palau's Tom.  Who, y'know, decisively won that season.
5. Troyzan Robertson (Season 24, One World) Was on his way to making a terrific case for winning when Kim decided she could go to the end without him.  Her brilliant move, his easy case for a second chance.
6. Vytas Baskauskas (Season 27, Blood vs. Water) Proved Aras was not the only Survivor genius in the family.
7. Woo Hwang (Season 28, Cagayan)
8. Spencer Bledsoe (Season 28, Cagayan) If Tony hadn't been Tony, either of these guys would have been more than acceptable as winners that season.
9. Joe Anglim (Season 30, Worlds Apart)
10. Mike Holloway (Season 30, Worlds Apart) Both were and/or have been favorites of mine to win the current season.  Mike still might, but if he doesn't, he certainly has another get-out-of-jail card to stay in the game of Survivor.

Survivor: Worlds Apart...and my crazy early prediction

The thirtieth and latest season just premiered last Wednesday, so it's kind of ridiculous, sans any spoilers, to be placing bets on a winner.

But my choice as of right now is Mike.  His scorpion moment should already be considered an all-time classic.  Where else can you go from there?  All the way to victory!