So, this is it, the cast of the upcoming new season of Survivor, named Blood Vs Water has been revealed. Well, officially that is, it’s been around for a couple of months already here and there, but I was not in the mood to spoil. Well, actually I was, but it’s been a pretty busy summer for me (remember, the only spoilers I read and talk about are casting spoilers). But enough about me, let’s see this cast and my first impressions of them in a few lines:
– Aras Baskauskas and his brother Vytas:
I gotta admit I didn’t care much for Aras back in Panama. I can’t remember exactly why, but I never rooted for him and was pretty unhappy with him winning. However, with the years going by, my opinion of the guy has changed, in part from his appearances in Rob has a podcast and such. Now, I really like him, I think he’s an underrated winner, and I hope he goes far this season.
Vytas seems like a very interesting guy too. He could have a temper that could get him into trouble, but so far, he’s my favorite among the family members. I’ll be rooting for both of them I think.
Follow Aras on Twitter and Facebook.
Follow Vytas on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook
– Candice Cody (née Woodcock) and her husband John:
Honestly, it’s still a mystery to me why they had Candice back on Heroes Vs Villains, so why is she playing the game a third time goes well above me (well, we all starting to understand that casting has been a bit “strange” to say the list these past fews years. I guess she’s their go-to last minute replacement girl, as if I understood correctly, she replaced R.C. from the Philippines because her dad didn’t pass the medical screening. Still, Candice was a big disappointment on her first outing, I didn’t expect anything from her on her second outing and she didn’t disappoint this time, I got exactly what I expected. My expectations about her this time are pretty much the same, and I hope she’s out very early.
John? I don’t really have any opinion about him, except like he looks like your next door jock. To give you an idea about how interesting I find them, I didn’t even watch their interview with Dalton Ross to the end, they were that boring.
– Colton Cumbie and his boyfriend Caleb Bankston:
Really, did we need to have Colton back? This little racist scumbag has polluted our TV screens way too much already, but that’s another trend these days, casting loves their trolls. We had Phillip and Brandon last season – and we know with what results – this year we have Brandon. I don’t see who he could align himself with though, so he shouldn’t last long. Good.
Of course, I don’t really have an opinion on Caleb. He seems a bit more decent, but I’ll wait and see.
If you insist on following Colton online, here he is on Twitter.
Caleb is on Twitter too, as well as on Facebook.
– Gervase Peterson and his niece Marissa:
Honestly, I didn’t expect to see anyone from season one ever again (except for Richard Hatch, now that his troubles with justice seem to be over I hope he’ll be on the next All-Stars (season 30, right?), and I’m seriously excited to see Gervase again. Can he do well? No idea. The game now has nothing to do with the game back when he played. His tribe didn’t even think about having strategy at the time, they were voting people out more or less randomly. That doesn’t mean he can’t do well. Look at Skupin in the Philippines, the guy was also not great at strategy back in Australia and he made it to the final three 12 years later. Gervase, if he had kept up with the game at least a little could do great, as he has a secret weapon (I think he could have won the first season hadn’t it been for the Tagi alliance): his personality. Nobody will want to vote him out early: he’s not a strategic threat and everyone will love him. He will get along with most people, and he will secure an alliance well before anyone starts thinking about writing his name down.
Marissa seems like a fun girl too, and she’s athletic. She could do well too.
Follow Gervase on Twitter.
– Kat Edorsson and her boyfriend Hayden Moss:
It’s not a secret that I don’t like Kat much, especially because she is pretty stupid. She highly annoyed me in One World, but in retrospect I admit that she had a certain entertainment value. Also, she gained my respect with her speech at final tribal council. So, now, yes, I’m curious to see how she has matured, because I believe that she’s among the people that were taught an important life lesson by Survivor.
So, apparently, Hayden Moss is quite a big deal in the Big Brother world. Don’t know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single episode of Big Brother. People who follow both show seem pretty excited to see him compete and I guess it is quite exciting indeed, but so far I have no opinion on the guy, so we’ll see.
Kat is on Twitter and on Facebook.
Hayden is on Twitter and on Facebook.
– Laura Morett and her daughter Ciera Eastin:
I never really liked Laura. For me she’s one of those Christian hypocrites, you know the kind who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk. Sure, I know her only through Survivor, but she appeared to me like a very obnoxious and even mean person back then. The only thing that kinda could redeem her was her hatred for Russell (once again, “hate” is not a very Christian thing), but let’s admit it, the only time Russell was fun to watch was in Samoa. In any case, unless she has drastically changed (she can’t have) I won’t be rooting for her, and if she starts going on Christian rants, I may even throw stuff at my TV screen.
Ciera I have no opinion about, except that she doesn’t seem very different from mom. I’m not sure she’s made for that game though, she already cries in her pregame interview when Dalton Ross mentions her kids back home when she’s been gone three days or so. I predict early boot or train wreck (or both).
Laura is on Facebook and Twitter.
Ciera is on Facebook and Twitter.
– Monica Culpepper and her husband Brad:
I gotta admit I’m happy to see Monica back. I liked her in One World and she really got screwed (both by the tribal swap and by Colton), I’m glad she got a second chance. Will she deliver? We’ll see.
For the longest time back in One World, I thought she was Daunte’s wife, no she’s Brad. Wait, who’s Brad Culpepper? I guess I should know him, right? After all he’s a University of Florida alumni like me (well, I’m not officially an alumni, but that story is for another day), and he played in Tampa Bay. But he retired pretty much when I moved to Florida. I guess I may have heard his name before, or was I confusing him with Daunte? Oh well who cares, now he’s on Survivor and this is what we’re here to talk about. Well, the guy didn’t leave me a strong impression in his pregame interview.
Monica is on Twitter.
– Rupert Boneham and his wife Laura:
Did we need to see Rupert ever again on TV? No we didn’t. Just like everyone, I loved him in Pearl Islands, but didn’t think he was a great player. I started to get tired of him during All-Stars, while his appearance on Heroes Vs Villains was inevitable, it was also very dispensable, and he got really annoying then. The guy doesn’t change (nor changes his shirt ever), he’s not learning how to play the game, he’s a completely self-unaware broken record. I want to believe that he has changed this season, but I know that he hasn’t. My only hope is that his tribemates are as tired of him as we are, and vote him out among the first.
I don’t have an opinion on Laura, but I don’t think she’ll make a big impact.
Rupert is on Twitter and Facebook.
Laura is on Facebook.
– Tina Wesson and her daughter Katie Collins:
I didn’t think I was going to see Tina play again, and I’m pretty happy she was invited back. I didn’t care too much for her during Australia (liked her, but was not exactly rooting for her), but when you think about it, she’s a very underrated player. We always credit Richard Hatch for basically inventing the game (and that credit is appropriate), but if Rich defined the strategic aspect of the game, we tend to forget that it is Tina who defined its social dimension. She didn’t need a dominant alliance to win, she didn’t by surrounding herself by the right people at the right moment. I also remember during the reunion show of her season, she gave some advice that have defined my way of watching the game (and playing it if that had been possible): to understand the dynamics of your tribe watch who sleeps next to whom, who walks next to whom when the whole group goes somewhere, watch nonverbal communication between the other players; contrary to words, they rarely lie. I can’t wait to see how she’ll do this time, as she won’t be screwed like she was in All-Stars.
Katie could do well, she won’t be threatening, and she has one of the best possible teachers.
– Tyson Apostol and his girlfriend Rachel Foulger:
And last but not least, we have Tyson. You don’t know how excited I am that he’s back (well, if you’re a long time reader of the blog, you know). I never thought he’d be back for a third time and man I’m happy he is. Tyson is definitely in my top five or ten favorite contestants ever. Do I think that he’s one of the best players? No, I don’t (I don’t think he’s a bad player either, despite his blunder in Heroes Vs Villains), but he’s definitely the most entertaining ever. I could watch the Tyson Apostol show anytime, anywhere. I hope he goes far, at least in the jury (so that he makes Ponderosa fun to watch). I think he can, he won’t be seen as threat, he’s athletic, and he’ll make good friends (I predict/hope for an alliance between Tyson, Gervase and Aras).
A few words about Rachel. She seems like a fun girl (I don’t imagine Tyson dating someone boring), but I’m a bit afraid of her ability to deal with the wild, the dirt, the bugs, all that.
Tyson is on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Youtube.
Rachel is on Twitter and Google+.
OK, that’s all for my previous. I don’t really have a prediction for a winner, although I’d love Tyson, Gervase, Aras, Vytas or Tina.
I’ll try to be back before season premier to share my thoughts about this season’s twists (at least those that have been revealed)