‘Survivor: Second Chance’ volume 2: Who should CBS bring back?

We would say that, for the most part, we as “Survivor” fans have been pretty fortunate when it comes to our All-Star seasons. While the original “All-Stars” itself had somewhat of a lackluster conclusion, “Fans vs. Favorites” was thrilling, “Heroes vs. Villains” was excellent, and while “Caramoan” has its critics, it at least had a pretty strong post-merge game with John Cochran winning the title at the very end.

After reviewing the tape this season, how could you say that “Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance” has been anything short of amazing? This season proved that there is something of value in scouring the complete collection of one-time players and finding people who are worthy to return. Take, for example, Jeff Varner. This was a guy who may not have had a long run this season, but it was one of the best runs we’ve ever seen from a returning player entertainment-wise. Had the show limited it to recent players, we and he would’ve missed out.

So with this in mind, why not have some fun today and cast a second go-around of “Second Chance”? We’ve proposed twenty players below who we feel are worthy, at least one way or another, of getting another shot at the game. We’ll just go ahead and assume that all of these players were picked by America, since trying to come up with 32 and then project the results is too confusing. The only criteria we have is that we’ve got ten men and ten women, and they all have to be one-time players.

The men

Greg Buis (Borneo) – Amazing entertainment, and probably one of the people on the original Pagong tribe who probably could have done very well in a different situation. We feel like there’s still a fondness for Greg among the longtime fans, and at this point other than maybe Colleen (more on that below), are there any other one-time players from Borneo people really want back?

John Carroll (Marquesas) – One thing that we really want in our group are people who really want to be there. You see that online with both John, someone who we feel similar to Greg about in terms of his ability, and his fellow Marquesas alumni Neleh. More on her later.

Sean Rector (Marquesas) – There’s a good reason Shirin this spring wanted to see him on the ballot. He’s probably one of the most entertaining cast members ever, and while we have zero idea at this point what he’s doing or even if he still watches the show, he could be a Varner in terms of confessionals.

Judd Sergeant (Guatemala) – How has Judd never been back? Maybe he fed a “Survivor” crew member to a freakin’ crocodile or something? We get the sense that maybe Jeff Probst or CBS doesn’t like this season, but he is incredibly outspoken, pure gold to watch on TV, and the sort of person you either love or love to hate.

Shane Powers (Panama) – You have to include Shane after what happened to him this time and how terrible it was to see him get snubbed. Granted, we doubt he’d want to put himself through the process of getting on the show … but if his mind could be changed, we want to see him and Judd on the same tribe!

Ken Hoang (Gabon) – Kenny’s chances have mostly been hurt by the likes of Stephen, Cochran, and Spencer in recent seasons. He’s of a similar type, with the main difference being that he let his cockiness get the better of him, and maybe therefore he doesn’t have the same underdog spirit to him. He’s still one of our favorite players of all time.

Jim Rice (South Pacific) – “South Pacific” spent so much time giving confessionals to Cochran, Coach, and Ozzy, and as a result of that Jim probably got under-served beyond telling off Cochran and looking like Seth MacFarlane. He has a real mind for the game and we feel like he’s fine being the villain. You want that.

Jeff Kent (Philippines) – Typically with these previously-famous types you get people who really don’t seem that invested in the game, or are a little more conscious on-camera. With Jeff, he was amazing. He was cutthroat, played hard, and we feel like he’d be interesting to see return given how much he targeted Penner for being a returning player.

Michael Snow (Caramoan) – We really liked Michael’s game in Caramoan. To this day, we think that he and Matt could’ve been one of the show’s best dynamic duos had they not been on a terrible tribe that couldn’t win a challenge to save its life at times. The guy may not be the most memorable on this list, but he’s worthy of another shot.

Hayden Moss (Blood vs. Water) – Maybe Hayden doesn’t count since he also did “Big Brother”? We’re not sure, but we feel like you need some men on here who are good in challenges from a relatively recent season. Also, you want someone who is really sharp and a good social player. He checks all the boxes.

The women

Teresa “T-Bird” Cooper (Africa) – Like Shane, she should’ve been on this time. There’s just an energy about T-Bird that is infectious, and you want to watch her talk, strategize, and play the game to the best of her ability.

Neleh Dennis (Marquesas) – As we just mentioned, Neleh has been campaigning really hard to return to the show alongside John. We feel like one of the things really going for her as a player is that she is someone who could go out there and be underestimated because she was on so long ago, and we’re pretty confident she feels like she has something to prove.

Helen Glover (Thailand) – Helen was great, and really was only buried over the years because of her season being mostly disliked and for also being a similar character type to Kathy from “Marquesas.” This is a chance for her to show more of what she can do without Brian around.

Heidi Strobel (The Amazon) – We figure this one is probably unlikely given that she is married to Cole Hamels, and she’s also very busy in the charity world. With that being said, what better platform for her to promote her efforts than “Survivor”? Also, her game has been very underrated over the years.

Twila Tanner (Vanuatu) – She’s right up there with Shane as one of the best great characters to get close many times to returning, but never able to get over the hump. Twila’s certainly cranky and probably is remembered mostly for that, but she also had game!

Michelle Yi (Fiji) – There’s a certain element of this that is course-correction, given the fact that Michelle was screwed terribly by a twist on her season. Beyond that, though, she may be one of the most upbeat people the show has every had. When you think about some of the villains that already in here, you need someone to balance the group out.

Erinn Lobdell (Tocantins) – Amazing at confessionals, and a pretty solid player in that she managed to outlast every other person on the original Timbira tribe. We’re not sure Erinn is even on CBS’ radar right now, but maybe Stephen’s presence this season will help to convince them she is worthy.

Holly Hoffman (Nicaragua) – Holly’s story the first time around was fascinating to follow, as she went from someone seemingly buckling under pressure to someone who became a strategic force to be reckoned with, and someone people were afraid to take to the end.

Sabrina Thompson (One World) – She didn’t make it onto the “Second Chance” cast this year, and while we’re not sure she would have under better circumstances, we know that there some matters behind the scenes that kept her from campaigning as much as she would have liked. One thing to remember here is that she got two votes at the end against Kim Spradlin, arguably one of the best players ever. That’s impressive, and shows her strength as a player.

Jenn Brown (Worlds Apart) – We feel like “Cambodia” really picked up so many of the more interesting players from the past few seasons that we haven’t chosen too many of them here. Jenn, however, would be great to have back. She played pretty hard, was great in confessionals, and understood the game really well. She, like so many others, just landed on the wrong side of the numbers.

A few honorable mentions – We thought about Rory Freeman but figured he’d be voted out almost right away. Jon Misch was on our mind for a split second, but it was only because we wanted more physical guys and we decided that wasn’t a good enough reason.

Meanwhile, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Colleen Haskell, and Shambo Waters seem to have zero interest in ever playing again. Why waste our time writing things that will never happen?

Who do you want to see return to “Survivor” for a season like this? Share with a comment below, and head over here to get some other news related to the show, including reviews, interviews, and more! Also, you can sign up over here to get some more TV updates on all we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)