Sep 01 2008
Survivor: Gabon - Twice the Fun On Season Opener
For its seventeenth season, Survivor will travel to Gabon, Earth’s Last Eden. It will mark the first time they have returned to Africa since the third season filmed in Kenya. Jeff Probst has already talked about production of this season suffering through shipment delays, a crane falling over, and wild animals getting a little too close. Looking at the cast, it figures to be an interesting season. We don’t have an overabundance of young people, instead having an average age appearing to be around 30-ish. Instead of having eon or two older contestants that are doomed from the start, we have one in her 60s, one in his 50s, and two in their 40s.
Ace Gordon, 27, Naples, FL, Jewelry Sales. Doesn’t everyone need an Ace on their team? He’s a fan of the game and has a lot of faith in his own manipulation skills. With a bald head and English accent, he also considers himself quite the charmer. He was born in the U.S., but raised in England. He also runs his own fashion photography studio and in the past has sold cars for Porsche, been a massage therapist, and a chef at a resort in Hawaii. He has also lived several places throughout the U.S., and in India and Thailand, as he studied spirituality and alternatives to Western Medicine. Is he Guru Pitka?
Robert “Bob” Crawley, 58, Portland, ME, Physics Teacher. Bob considers himself a hybrid of Indiana Jones and Robinson Crusoe. I do have to admit, he does look a little like the poor man’s Indie. He has also held a variety of jobs, but they are completed only after classes end for the day. He has been the first mate on a Smithsonian Insitute Research boat, an entomologist, and skunk relocator. He built his own green summer cabin when “green was only referred to as the color.” He and his wife have three kids, and his goal in this game is to fly under the radar and prove nice guys can make it to the end in the game. Bob, Bob, Bob. You’ll make it to #4 and be voted out. No one will let you get too close to the end, as the nice older guy has too great a chance of winning. You won’t get there.
Charlie Herschel, 29, New York, NY, Lawyer. Another fan of Survivor, he’s been training for it since season one. He also trains to run in marathons, dropping sixty pounds in the process. The middle of three sons, he is gay and single. He doesn’t believe he will be above anything once on the island, with a strategy to “be authentic, but with a twist,” believing risks must be calculated. Well, you don’t need to be a lawyer to know that. He seems just as pompous as Ace, then again, maybe that’s just what producers and editors of the show want us to think. Sorry, Charlie, I still think you’ll be pompous.
Corinne Kaplan, 29, Los Angeles, CA, Pharmaceutical Sales. Carrie at realityshack.com has been pointing out on our weekly radio show at Blog Talk Radio that there is a pharmaceutical sales person in every reality show bunch. Why is that? In my life here, I’ve never run into a pharmaceutical sales person? Is this another name for someone that works at Walgreens? This self-described bitch claims she is in it purely for the money, but I’m not sure if they mean her business or Survivor. Possibly both. She’s a former sorority girl and plans to use her wit and sex appeal to sell people out behind their backs. She has no filter and says what other people only think. Bob, stay away from this one. She’ll eat you alive.
Crystal Cox, 29, Durham, NC, Former Olympic Athlete. She was a gold medalist in 2004 for the 4 x 400m relay in track. And looking at her picture, she looks tough and buff. As the only girl with four brothers, her family moved frequently. She’s now a single mom, working as an early childcare teacher, track coach, and professional athlete. She is outspoken and open-minded, and believes she possesses the three Bs needed for the game of Survivor, brains, beauty, and blazing speed. If she and Corinne get together, they’ll either control the whole game together or be arch enemies.
Dan Kay, 32, Boston, MA, Lawyer. Involved in sports in high school, he believes the winning football team he was on helped shape his work ethic. When he was young, his dad became disabled, leaving his mom to support the family as a full-time nurse. He believes that helped shape his work ethic and strong desire to overcome any obstacles. He was buying and selling investment properties the past few years, but was becoming very depressed. He has recently sold off many of the properties in an effort to concentrate less on material things and thinks that will help him in this game. If he wasn’t there with very ruthless people, sure. I think he’s going to learn a lot about himself while on the show. He’s looking for something life-changing, it seems, and I think he’s going to get it.
Danny “GC” Brown, 26, Portland, OR, Maintenance Man. Let’s hear it for the blue collar guy! He dealt with homelessness as a child while his mother moved him and his brother around often. Today, he would quit his job and live outside if he could. I think he could live outside even if he kept his job, couildn’t he? Danny loves fishing, producing music, and oddly enough, traveling. You’d think he’d be tired of that. He doesn’t like dishonest people, so I’m unsure why he’s on Survivor. He lives with his girlfriend in the apartment building he works for and has a dog, a cat, and five snakes. He reminds me a little of Ozzie.
Gillian Larson, 61, Temecula, CA, Retired Nurse. She has traveled through most of the United States and forty-six countries, backpacking. She can rappel 4,000 foot mountains and swim with the Great Whites. She has applied for Survivor all 15 seasons, knowing one of the times she’d have to be selected. Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, she met her husband in Germany, moved to the United States, and now has three daughters and four grandchildren. She got a tattoo on her hip at the age of 60. Wow. How can you not like her? She minds me a lot of Wanda Shirk from Palau. Let’s hope Gillian gets to play more than Wanda did.
Jacque Berg, 25, Santa Barbara, CA, Medical Sales. She has competed in gymnastics, water polo, crew, track, and swimming, and thinks this has made her into a proven leader. She thrives off pressure, and is one of the youngest in her industry, as well as also being a writer and charity organizer. I think she forgot to mention that she’s also an over-achiever. Her biggest pet peeve is people that talk about their big dreams, but do nothing about them. She thinks she performs her best when she’s in extreme situations. If she can lay low in the beginning, she might be able to make it to the end.
Jessica “Sugar” Kiper. 29, Brooklyn, NY, Pin-Up Model. She works at ’50s style diners when she’s not modeling, and has lived all over the country. Friends describe her as crazy, fun, and cool. She has many tattoos and recently went through the death of her father. No matter what comes up for her, though, she always comes out on top. She hopes to grow from being on the show and make enough money to “get off people’s couches.” I’m not sure what this means, as the rest of the bio doesn’t seem like she’s sponging off others. Something about her is fascinating. She might not be able to cut it on the show, but she could also be another Courtney.
Kelly Czarnecki, 22, Buffalo Grove, IL, Retail Sales. “She gets what she wants and does what she wants.” She’s a “midwestern spitfire”, a former cheerleader, and loves the outdoors. She has three brothers who have helped keep her tough, while she keeps in shape doing kickboxing, yoga, and pilates. She’s a denim expert and hopes to one day open her own store, as she believes she can talk anyone into buying anything. There seems to be a lot of strong-minded women this season. There’s no way all of them will last to the jury. It’ll be survival of the fittest, and as the youngest female on the show, Kelly’s number might be up really soon.
Ken Hoang, 22, Westminster, CA, Professional Gamer. What exactly does a professional gamer do? The youngest contestant is known to other gamers as “The King of Smash,” as he travels the world competing, and is the international champion of Nintendo’s Super Smash Brothers Melee. He and his siblings all still live at home to help pay the family’s mortgage, where he has a dog and cat. Ken also attends college pursuing art. He believes in this game of Survivor everyone will underestimate him and won’t know he once climbed Mt. Fuji. He could be swallowed up hole in this game, or he could do well, sliding by.
Marcus Lehman, 28, Atlanta, GA, Doctor. He believes he is mentally and physically prepared for this game. Of Cuban-American descent, Cosmopolitan recognized him as Georgia’s hottest bachelor in 2006, and no reason is given why he lost their favor in 2007. While at Harvard, he was also a rower, and in this game, that ought to bode very well. He plans to eventually pursue the specialty of anesthesiology, and currently does medical reporting, and is also a spokesman for preventative medicine. He plans to use flirting as a way to get ahead in this game, but he might not need it. I see him doing either really well, or leaving way too soon like Hunter Ellis.
Matty Whitmore, 29, Pacific Palisades, CA, Personal Trainer. There’s always one of those in every bunch, too, isn’t there? At 18, he inherited a sizable trust fund, then partied every bit of it away. He now wants to find out what he can “do on his own,” and figures this game is the answer. His perfect day includes working out, training clients, surfing, sauna, and yoga, followed by spending time with his girlfriend and dog. He thinks he’ll do well on Survivor, not only physically, but also because of his confidence, knowledge of the outdoors, and social skills. Let’s hope he doesn’t squire away this opportunity as well.
Michelle Chase, 24, Los Angeles, CA, Music Producer. The child of a single mother, her father, whom she considered her best friend, disappeared when she was very young. She’s come out of all of that unafraid to speak her mind. She began supporting herself at 16, then was married and divorced by 19. She enjoys DJing, boxing, and surfing, and thinks her friends would describe her as “hardcore, fun, and set in her ways.” She’s bringing with her physical fearlessness and street smarts, and I like her to go really far. If she plays it right, she might be able to hide her obvious strengths.
Palomo Soto-Castillo, 24, Downey, CA, Student. She moved around a lot while growing up due to her parents being missionaries, yet out of it she has learned to adapt to any environment. She lived in Chile for a large part of her life. On a whim, she suddenly moved to Kenya, and stayed for three months, living among the natives and wild animals. After witnessing the suffering there, she’d like to go back and help change their lives, and hopes winning Survivor will help her do that. She’ll be close physically, that’s for sure. Palomo currently works as a waitress, though has a B.A. in communication and is working on a single subject reaching credential. She is single and lives with her dog. She could become an emotional favorite.
Randy Bailey, 49, Eagle Rock, MO, Wedding Videographer. He considers himself a ruthless bully and enjoys picking on “those not blessed with his strength or intellect.” Is he for real? Sorry to say, he is. He describes himself as “angry, blunt, mean, and sarcastic (yet charming.) His only living relative is an older brother he hasn’t spoken to in years, and I’m guessing it’s by the other guy’s choice. He has only really ever loved his labrador who recently passed away. Cell phones and overly religious people are his biggest pet peeves. He wanted to be on Survivor to be hungry, tired, dirty, and smelly. He chooses to work as a videographer, though he has his engineering degree. On second thought, he isn’t for real. I think this is an effort to “engineer” an interesting character either on his part or casting’s. I’m really going out on a limb, but I’m guessing he’ll be the villain.
Susie Smith, 47, Charles City, IA, Hairdresser. This Mexican-American is ready for a change after always allowing others to dictate her life. Tired of working hard and being poor, she plans to devote the rest of her life to her own needs. The first step to that is coming on Survivor, and the second step is proving to her family that all you have to do is try. Along with being a hairdresser, she also teaches English to non-English speaking students. Somewhat contradictory, she also admits to a huge potty mouth. She’s married, is the mother of one, and has two dogs. She could be a lot of fun, yet she could also very easily be voted out first. I think it’ll be difficult for her to make the jury.CBS put the premiere of Survivor: Gabon out a week and is doubling up its first two episodes. We’ll get two hours of Survivor on September 25th instead of the usual just one. Those of us hungry for a little Survivor will get their fill and then some. The good part of this is that it will allow us to get to know the characters a little better before they disappear from our televisions for a whole week. When it comes back the second week, it’s hard to remember who everyone is other than the bigger personalities. This time, we won’t have too much of a problem. Not only will we got to know everyone pretty well after two hours, but many of these personalities seem pretty unforgettable.Photos courtesy of cbs.com For more information on Survivor, see SirLinksalot: Survivor Gabon.
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