I have always been curious to see many of these players get their second chance, but within as fair a construct as possible. I believe I have kept true to them due to the reasons I present below. I have given this way too much thought to be healthy, so hopefully you fellow survivor fanatics out there will enjoy this, but if it sparks a debate I’m all about it!
At least hear me out though first...
- How the players were chosen -
I constructed this list within a certain frame of criteria, which I will explain below:
Originally I had intended to choose only one player per season, however, as I started to think of reasons why a player deserved a second shot, I often was able to easily come up with at least one other player with a similar, if not identical, reason. Pretty soon these players started to overlap seasons, so I broadened my criteria to two players from each season.
This is also where I drew a strict line, as I have included exactly
two players from each eligible season (see below). No more, no less. This was a lot more difficult with some seasons than others, but if one season was going to have two players return, then they all would. Bottom line. I also decided that
every returning player would have at least one counterpart with a similar reason for their return. This means that in some cases, such as within the “Medical Evacuees” group, there are 4 returnees as opposed to two. This too was more difficult with some circumstances than others. Besides those who were screwed by a twist or an injury, I also kept in mind that some may want redemption for their image. More on that later.
I knew I had to keep the most obvious of rules in mind but it bears mentioning.
Nobody who has played the game twice already may be chosen. This means that both the first All Stars season & Heroes vs. Villains season are off the board completely. Because Micronesia blended the game with new and returning players, the newbies were fair game. Besides, Erik R. may deserve it more than anyone. Out of 23 season, only 2 were not pooled from, leaving 21 seasons with 2 from each season totaling 42 players total.
No one who has won the game before may be chosen. With the exception of Phillip Shepard, there are no 2nd-placers either.
Although most on this list are deserving, some may be moreso than others. Some got more camera or game time than others too. In general, where I could find a decent enough reason, if I could duplicate it I would take it.
Whenever possible I tried to choose a female, and even created a very loose “Sweetheats” & “Badass Chicks” category to justify these picks. It’s not to say that these women deserve a second chance any less than anyone else, only that their reasons for being there are more to fulfill the criteria above than a specific circumstance of their first attempt at Survivor. Some are, simply, just there because I liked them best out of my options.
- The Picks -
Below are my justifications for choosing each of the players I chose. I have loosely ordered them from most justifiable to least. Again, if this sparks debate, I’m all about it. Let’s agree to a cast before the fun gets started.
Medical Evacuees: The most justifiable category in my opinion. All of the men below could have changed their seasons had they not been removed due to injury.
Mike Skupin (Australia - 2) --- famously fell in a fire and burned his hands. Deserves a second shot. Surprised he hasn’t had one already...
Bruce Kanegai (Exile Island - 12) --- Evacuated after being unable to--well, you know.
Joe Dowdle (Tocantins - 18) --- Removed after an injury to his knee got infected.
Russell Swan (Samoa - 19) --- Removed after passing out at a challenge from dehydration.
The next group of players I am loosely grouping together as “Idol Trouble.” All of the following 6 returnees were eliminated due to personal immunity or hidden idol mishaps.
Idol Trouble: Gave Up Immunity Necklace Both of these players were voted out immediately after giving up immunity. While the first time it happened was dumb, it was even dumber the second time. Call it inexperience, naivete, blind faith, or perceived redemption. Surely they wouldn’t make this mistake twice...right?
Erik Reichenbach (Micronesia - 16) --- As I’ve already stated, I’m sure Erik would love a chance to redeem himself.
Brandon Hantz (South Pacific - 23) --- Shouldn’t have made this mistake after seeing how well it worked out the first time, but it was one of many. He fits the bill of second chance candidate.
Idol Trouble: Voted out with HII in their pocket Title says it all. They had protection, and they failed to use it. I’m sure there’s a good joke in there somewhere...
Brendan Synnott (Tocantins - 18) --- Coach’s original dragon and slayed to Coach’s ultimate demise. Also a scapegoat (see below), this guy has two good reasons for a second chance.
Erik Cardona (Samoa - 19) --- Not the most memorable player from Samoa, but I remember at least this much about him. Natalie sweet-talked his whole tribe into doing it and he never saw it coming.
Idol Trouble: Found Fake Idols These players were capable enough to find idols, they just weren’t the right ones. Someone else had already beaten them to it.
Jaime Dugan (China - 15) --- Also a sweetheart, she was on the wrong side of the numbers at the merge. Imagine if she’d found the right plaque...
Jason Siska (Micronesia - 16) -- Jason was physically able to compete with Ozzy and beat him at a breath-holding contest. When sent to exile he found the clues to where the idol should have been but a fake idol was waiting in its place. Ozzy got his revenge there. In the end it was Eliza who actually played Jason’s fake idol, but she’s not eligible to return and it was Jason who actually found it.
Okay, by my rules above we’ve already filled up the Tocantins, Samoa, and Micronesia buckets. Who knew it would be that easy? Moving on…
Redemption Champs These two players were obvious choices, as they were both notable on their seasons for their many redemption duel wins.
Matt Elrod (Redemption Island – 22) --- The ‘good’ to Russ Hantz’ ‘evil’, Matt survived a 2nd-round elimination by winning every redemption duel pre-merge. And he won all but the last one after being voted out immediately after his return. The poor guy needs another chance.
Christine Shields Markoski (South Pacific – 23) --- Just like Matt, she was voted out early and outlasted all to fall after her at Redemption, that is until Ozzy showed up.
Previous Votes In the early days of Survivor, they used to have this pesky rule that in the event of a tie, it would be resolved by eliminating the player with the most previous votes. Any vote cast against you at any early TC could come back to haunt you later and it did in the case of these two players.
Jeff Varner (Australia – 2) --- Received this vote from Debb at the first TC of the Australian season. After Skupin was evacuated, the tribes were even at merge and it came down to a tie broken by this 1 previous vote.
Lindsey Richter (Africa – 3) --- After surviving a tie against Carl, the votes she left with cost her when she found herself again in a tie with Big Tom after a surprise tribe switch.
TC Twist Here’s the first case where the partnering is similar but not identical between the two returnees. What they do have in common is that they were forced to attend council without an opportunity to campaign on their behalf.
Jenny Guzon-Bae (Cook Islands – 13) --- After a loss to Ozzy’s tiny Aitu tribe in which the losers were also subject to a mystery note in a bottle, Jenny was eliminated after the contents of that note declared that everyone must immediately, without talking to one another, vote an additional person out of the tribe.
Michelle Yi (Fiji – 14) --- A surprise twist at a challenge resulted in Michelle, a member of Earl’s alliance, being stuck with the majority of the counter alliance, the “dark horsemen,” led by Alex. When that team lost, they were forced to attend TC immediately. Players were not allowed to talk and were merely asked why they should stay. Michelle didn’t have a chance.
Wrong Side of a Tribe Switch Again, like above, these two returnee’s circumstances are not identical. But they are both, in my opinion, deserving of a second shot.
Gina Crews (Marquesas – 4) --- Maraamu wasn’t doing well to begin with, but after a tribe switch put a majority of former Rotu members on the new Maraamu, Gina was out of options. She managed to convince Kathy Paschal and Neleh to vote out the useless Sarah before her, but the new Maraamu couldn’t pull out another win in time to save Gina from meeting her demise the following TC.
Marcus Lehman (Gabon – 17) --- After an assumed merge threw everyone off, Marcus ended up with Bob and Susie and Crystal and Kenny. Susie flipped back to her original Fang tribemates Kenny and Crystal and voted out Marcus before he could merge and rejoin his allies.
**Silas Gaither would be another good addition to this group, but I ended up going with another female from Africa instead, for what I consider to be a very good reason:
Scapegoats As the title implies, these players were unfairly blamed for something they didn’t do and they ended up paying the price for it. Do they not deserve a second chance?
Kelly Goldsmith (Africa – 3) --- This snarky spitfire was the first Courtney Yates. And she was unfairly and incorrectly blamed by Lex for the stray unexpected vote he received at the previous TC from T-Bird.
Christa Hastie (Pearl Islands – 7) --- She may have had a nasally voice, but she was unfairly and incorrectly blamed for stealing the fish that Rupert caught. Sandra stole the fish, let Christa take the blame, and won the game.
Blew it at the Final 3 They played perfect games until they got to the final 3.
Ian Rosenberger (Palau – 10) --- Okay, so maybe his game wasn’t perfect. He pissed off Katie and for some reason felt obliged to give up the final 2 for her. He may not have beat Tom, but it would have been a lot closer.
Rafe Judkins (Guatemala – 11) --- All things considered he really did play a pretty flawless game and won several individual immunities, even against the almighty Stephanie. Kind of like Rob Cesternino, had he been in the finals, he likely would have won.
Swing Vote Casualties Well, the vote started out between two other people, and in theory it should have all come down to you and your deciding vote, except that the one thing everyone could agree on was voting out you instead.
Christy Smith (Amazon – 6) --- Heidi and Jenna wanted a man out. Rob C. wanted Heidi out. When Christy wavered, Rob C. realigned with Heidi and Jenna to take out Christy.
Dolly Neely (Vanuatu – 9) --- The vote started out between Eliza of the young alliance and Leann of the older alliance. Dolly was torn after allying with Twila. In the end, everyone took out Dolly.
Handicapable Just like Christy proved her undoing not to be her deafness, these two returnees proved they were just as capable with one leg as anyone was with 2.
Chad Crittenden (Vanuatu – 9) --- It could have been Eliza, but Twila stuck with the women-that round at least. He was considered more threatening than Chris though, who ultimately won the game.
Kelly Bruno (Nicaragua – 21) --- Unfortunately for Kelly B, she was stuck on a tribe with NaOnka, although it wasn’t NaOnka that did her in, but a tied vote to try to coax Marty into using his HII. Her capability and likability frightened everyone too much to let her get near the final 2. She needed a strong and worthy ally.
Older Okay okay. I know you’ve probably been wondering where the heck Paschal is on this list. Obviously there is no question that Paschal would make the cut for a second chance Survivor, but no other player has faced the purple rock scenario. Therefore I created a “spunky older person” category, which gives me an excuse to cast Jane.
Paschal English (Marquesas – 4) --- Duh. Purple Rock!
Jane Bright (Nicaragua – 21) --- She started fire, caught fish, won challenges and managed to outlast her personal antichrist, Marty. I couldn’t possibly fluff her off. She’s in.
Crazies I just personally enjoy this category, and the more I thought about it, the more and more crazies I realized I had to pick from. As such there are 4 returnees for this category. As previously mentioned, these are the players who may wish to improve their image. It finally happened for Coach…
Greg Buis (Borneo – 1) --- Survivor’s original loon, Greg was known for making calls on his coconut phone.
Jan Gentry (Thailand – 5) --- Thailand was overall a tough season to pick from. Fortunately Jan had a burial service for a bat.
Shane Powers (Exile Island – 12) --- Gotta have this guy back. Nicknamed ‘InShane’, Mr. Powers does nutty proud. Just don’t take his stump.
Phillip Shepard (Redemption Island – 22) --- You can’t have a category called “crazies” and not have Phillip Shepard. You just can’t.
**Shambo from Samoa and Jamie from Guatemala could have fit in this category as well.
Car Curse This category exists because of the fact that no one who has won a car on the show has won the game. Is there a curse? Maybe a second chance is in order…
Ted Rogers Jr. (Thailand – 5) --- A potential physical and mental threat to Brian’s endgame, Ted was eliminated the same round he won the car.
Cindy Hall (Guatemala – 11) --- I could have cast Jamie from this season into the crazies group, but Cindy fits the Car Curse bill. If anything, her flaw in the game was keeping the car and not giving one to everyone else. Had she done that Rafe may not have turned on her. Besides she’s a zookeeper.
Accident Prone This category exists due to two Survivors sticking out in my mind as being particularly accident prone. They, too, would probably like a chance to improve their image. Coincidentally, they both also went by nicknames during their season.
Jessica “Flicka” Smith (Cook Islands – 13) --- Flicka let out the chicken! Bad move Flicka.
Boo Bernis (Fiji – 14) --- This guy stabbed himself in the eye, and cut himself with an axe. And his hammock fell too. Stay away from this guy.
**NOTE** Had Fabio not won his season, he would have been in this category as well. Interestingly, also someone who went by a nickname.
Nerds Represent! These guys were the nerds of their season. Where one Survivor failed however, another succeeded. It all depends who’s on your tribe.
Ryan Shoulders (Pearl Islands – 7) --- Perhaps the original nerd, Skinny Ryan was not appreciated by his tribe, nor did he appreciate their callously voting him out, as was clear by the message “Die Jerks” on his buff when he was allowed to return to participate in an Outcast twist. His Outcast tribe tasted victory and he was able to send his friend Lil back into the game to take it to the final 2. If he’d been cast for Gabon instead would he have done as well as Kenny?
Kenny Hoang (Gabon – 17) --- This nerd skillfully outplayed the vast majority of his fellow castaways and evaded elimination long enough to take 5th place in spite of attending TC nearly every time that season. No more physically gifted than Ryan Shoulders, would he have been out early had he been cast for Pearl Islands?
Badass Chicks This category was created in an effort to cast two ladies of Survivor I particularly liked and didn’t get enough of.
Angie Jakusz (Palau – 10) --- We all know how well the Ulong tribe did during the Palau season, and Angie proved her worth over and over again despite being the last picked for her tribe. I for one was disappointed most to see her fall early.
Ashley Massaro (China – 15) --- Well, she got sick really early in the game and it ended up draining her. Plus she had to deal with Cruiser, and she’s a kick-ass wrestler. I’m including her because I want her to have another chance.
Sweethearts This category exists purely because I needed a final category to complete the 2 per season requirement and wanted to throw in a couple more ladies. You may disagree with my choices, but I was left with Borneo and Amazon for my final 2 selections.
Colleen Haskell (Borneo – 1) --- America’s first sweetheart, she’s had the most post-Survivor success next to Elisabeth Hasselbeck after being in The Animal with Rob Schneider. She won’t do another Survivor in real life but she’s on this list.
Heidi Strobel (Amazon – 6) --- Depending on whether or not you were in camp Cesternino or camp Strobel during this season may affect how you feel about this decision. I remember her as being a sweetheart, and considering the other options from this season, she seemed like the best fit.
That’s it. All 42 of them. I anticipate some may feel that there are other deserving candidates out there, and as far as my self-imposed rules are concerned, they could care less, so I’m offering up an additional category in order to stimulate discussion on the topic.
DarkhorsesI offer this group up to you, the viewers/players. If you can come up with your own pairing of deserving returnees I will forego the 2/season requirement. They must, however, meet the following criteria:
*two players from different seasons
*players have a similar reason for returning
*players have never played Survivor more than once
I will take the first 5 pairings to increase the cast by 10 for a total of 52. For example: I thought of one while I was writing this. Two women, who have been voted out due to another player using their idol successfully, are Alexis Jones (Micronesia - Amanda used the idol) and Kelly Sharbaugh (Samoa - Russell used the idol).
Let’s hear what you have to say about this mess, OP! And I encourage everyone to put on their thinking caps and find 5 more pairings to finish off the cast!
*VIEWER SUBMISSIONS*Beauty Marked Beauty Queens (
submitted by Debani) These two girls both made early departures in their respective seasons. Coming into the game as a sort of
"Cleopatra". they thought their looks would get them through but they were sadly mistaken, and many other girls would follow in their footsteps, but let's give these two a second chance... as they were the first of their kind!
Jessie Camacho (Africa - 3) thought batting an eyelash and matching beauty mark would get her through.
Sarah Jones (Marquesas - 4) Sarah deliberately sat on her tribe's raft doing nothing as they coasted to camp.
Trouble-makers (
submitted by Debani) These two women in particular are some of Survivor's most notorious for causing trouble during their season.
Ghandia Johnson (Thailand - 5) Ghandia caused a lot of trouble for Ted in Thailand when, after a night of snuggling, she accused him of touching her inappropriately. Ghandia was moved to tears over the incident, and Ted admitted he may have accidentally mistaken her for his wife.
NaOnka Mixon (Nicaragua - 21) Probably the most polarizing villainess in the history of Survivor, she famously bullied Kelly Bruno, refusing to take sympathy on her for having an artificial leg.
Daughter Figures (
submitted by Pete) You can't have a father figure without a daughter figure right? These two ladies got far with a little help from "dad." And, as a matter of fact, both ladies were the last standing of their tribes as well.
Elisabeth Filarski (Australia - 2) A real cutie when she was in the Outback, Elisabeth and Rodger bonded instantly and made it to the final 4 and 5 respectively.
Neleh Dennis (Marquesas - 4) Almost an exact copy of Elisabeth if you think about it, cutie Neleh golly-geed her way to the final 2 with the help of close ally, Paschal.
Unable To Clique (
submitted by Jordan) These players were the first voted out of their season. For whatever reason, they just didn't clique with their tribe and they were sent home far too early. A second chance is in order!
Tina Scheer (Exile Island - 12) 1st voted out of Survivior: Exile Island, Tina was originally accepted to participate in the earlier Guatemala season until the death of her 16 year old son prevented her from playing at that time. Tina joined Exile Island, but she was still greiving from her son's death and unable to get her head in the game and socialize with her tribe. Would Tina Scheer have opened up if she was in Guatemala?
Steve "Chicken" Morris (China - 15) 1st voted out of Survivor: China, Chicken suffered from a common storyline in Survivor where the older player of the tribe feels put off by the younger players. Offering his experience and feeling ignored, Chicken felt excluded from the tribe but what if he had been on a season where tribes were seperated by age and was able to make connections with his fellow tribemates?
Sleeping With The Enemy (
submitted by Pete) Sometimes spending time with the opposing tribe can be a blessing. Sometimes it can be a curse. Guess which bucket these two fell in?
John Kenney (Vanuatu - 9) A skilled athlete, John was probably the strongest and ablest of his younger guys alliance, and, after winning a reward to spend time with the ladies, he attended their TC and granted Ami immunity. Later down the line the tribes and inevitable merge, as well as being the last of his alliance alive, left John with nowhere to go just before the jury. Fearing his connections with the women of Yasur, his torch was snuffed.
Leslie Nease (China - 15) Leslie was at the bottom of the Fei Long pecking order, especially after being kidnapped by Zhan Hu. Declaring Zhan Hu the better tribe at TC didn't help her case. Fearing that she may have connections at Zhan Hu, Leslie was cut loose before she ever had a chance to join them.
Shane Powers!!!! he always made me smile when I watched him lol
