‘Survivor’: Jeff Probst wants more Shambo, Terry, and … Jessica DeBen?
Even though “Survivor: Philippines” is not even finished airing yet, this has not stopped Jeff Probst from being asked about who he would love to see return to the game the most; which, as it turns out, is a pretty important question given that the guy is also more or less the man responsible for running the show in addition to being the host.
Jeff made these some interesting choices when it comes to who he’d like to see return. While speaking to Gordon Holmes of Xfinity.tv, Jeff’s picks range from being completely understandable to completely “WTF” beyond all comprehension. Rather than just list them off, we want to try to give a little bit more analysis as to whether or not any of these people would actually return if they were asked, or if they were given a chance to return what the fan reaction would likely be.
Andrew Savage (“Pearl Islands”) – Probst has overrated this guy for years, mostly because his biggest contribution to the game was that he got screwed by the lame Outcast twist that brought Lil back and propelled her to the final two. Really, we see him playing again to be a combination of Colby’s game in “Heroes vs. Villains” and Skupin’s this season.
Terry Deitz (“Exile Island”) – Terry was a phenomenal character, and we know from interviewing him over the years that he was really close to being on “Fans vs. Favorites.” He’s typically either loved or hated by fans, and although this could end up being like Tom Westman 2.0 in that he’s likely not to be as big of a threat this time around, he is exactly the sort of person that you want back on another season.
Hunter Ellis (“Marquesas”) – If you want an alpha male from an early season, Savage is a better choice. He lasted longer, and Hunter really did not do much outside of be a guy who was really one of Boston Rob’s first victims over four seasons.
Shannon “Shambo” Waters (“Samoa”) – From an entertainment standpoint, Shambo’s a great choice. However, Shambo also told said during our exit interview with her years ago that she would never play this game again even if they paid her a million dollars.
Danni Boatwright (“Guatemala”) – Another great choice in that she’s an underrated winner who also happens to be a physical threat. Sadly, we don’t think Danni would be that interested in going back now that she is a married mother of two.
Greg Buis (“Borneo”) – Any diehard fan has to love this choice. Greg was entertainment gold on the very first season, and this would just be great from a simple “where are they now?” perspective. It’s too bad Probst also didn’t mention Kelly Wigglesworth.
Jessica deBen (“Fiji”) – Seriously? You want the first person voted off one of the worst seasons back? Let us count the female castaways more deserving of returning: Kim Spradlin, Alicia Rosa, Jenna Morasca (for a full game), Twila Tanner, Natalie White, Sophie Clarke, Crystal Cox (even with the steroid controversy), Natalie Bolton, and probably about thirty other people.
Overall, it’s really not a terrible list here, though it is almost impossible to really list all of the names of people here deserving of a second shot. Just for fun, though, we’ll list some other folks that Probst does not mention: Kenny Hoang, Stephen Fishbach, any of the ladies we mentioned earlier, or Marty Piombo.
What do you think about Probst’s choices?