As the Senior Chairman of the exclusive Executive Voting Committee, Gordon Holmes has an awesome responsibility. His vote (along with Host Jeff Probst, Challenge Producer John Kirhoffer and other “Survivor” luminaries) will make up 50% of the final tally for entry into the prestigious ‘Survivor’ Hall of Fame. The other 50% came from “Survivor” fans like you.
Gordon Holmes is an Assistant Managing Producer at Comcast and the lead “Survivor” know-it-all for XFINITY TV. He’s been hooked on “Survivor” from the moment he first saw Jeff Probst kick sixteen strangers off a boat and into the sea back in May of 2000. The rumor that Gordon once played a zombie Richard Hatch in a terrible Internet short film can neither be confirmed nor denied.
When I asked for votes for the “Survivor” Hall of Fame, I never set any kind of criteria. I know that people watch “Survivor” for a wide variety of reasons and I wanted the voting to reflect that. This proved troublesome as when it came time for me to put my picks on paper (er…online) I changed my mind quite a few times as there are a wide variety of aspects I appreciate about the show.
If I’d gone with players who’d dominated a season you’d see names like Yul Kwon, Brian Heidik, Todd Herzog, Tom Westman and “Boston” Rob Mariano.
If I went with the players I found to be the most entertaining, this ballot would include Natalie Bolton, Tyson Apostol, Randy Bailey, Michael Skupin and Courtney Yates.
And if I was going by the players I found to be the most attractive you’d see Carolina Eastwood, Carolina Eastwood, Carolina Eastwood, Carolina Eastwood and Charlie Herschel.
But in the end, I pretty much mirrored the video I made with Jeff Probst that started this whole Hall of Fame mess. My ballot is going to focus on the players who truly changed the game with a chaser of players whose dominance was simply too amazing not to be recognized.
(The following votes are in no particular order.)
Richard Hatch: (“Survivor: Borneo” and “Survivor: All-Stars”) – I remember when I first saw the casting call for “Survivor” a hundred years ago. My first instinct was, “I’d just get three or four people to team up with me and vote out everyone else.” Do I think that strategy makes me a genius? No, and I don’t think Richard Hatch is a genius either. However, I do think the Richard Hatch persona, that of the mastermind who controlled the game with his social maneuvers and sound (not brilliant) strategy, helped rocket “Survivor” into the pop culture stratosphere. I don’t think it’s overstating things to say that “Survivor” might not exist today without Richard Hatch.
Rob Cesternino: (“Survivor: The Amazon” and “Survivor: All-Stars”) – For as much as I love “Survivor,” there is a time when I started to become bored with the show. Around Thailand/Marquesas my attention started to waver. It seemed like too many people were afraid to venture outside of their alliances to make things happen. It made the show very predictable. In my eyes Rob Cesternino changed all of that. His strategy of whittling down alliances inspired the strategists that followed him and greatly improved the show.
Jon “Jonny Fairplay” Dalton: (“Survivor: Pearl Islands” and “Survivor: Micronesia”) – Oh…people are going to be annoyed with this one. But, you have to admit that Fairplay’s “Dead Grandmother” stunt changed the way people approach the game. It used to be anything about someone’s life outside of the game was taken at face value. Not anymore. Anyone who lies about their occupation, their income, or anything else has Fairplay to thank for raising (lowering?) the bar on how far people are willing to go to get an advantage in the game.
Parvati Shallow: (“Survivor: Cook Islands”, “Survivor: Micronesia”, and “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains”) – The funniest thing about Parvati’s “Survivor” legacy may be that her win in Micronesia wasn’t half as impressive as her second-place finish in “Heroes vs. Villains.” She started the game with a huge target on her back and managed to make it to the end. Better than that, she wasn’t content to let Russell Hantz make all the moves and take all the shots, she matched him every step of the way. If Parvati’s the queen, consider me one of her subjects.
Sandra Diaz-Twine: (“Survivor: Pearl Islands” and “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains”) – I’m a big fan of bringing winners back for all-star seasons. But I have to admit, I was a little underwhelmed when I saw Sandra’s name on the “Heroes vs. Villains” cast list. But in the end, while I’m not particularly entertained with her gameplay, I’ve going to agree with Probst that winning twice should be an automatic inclusion in the Hall of Fame.
Be sure to check back Monday, December 13, 2010 for the first member of the “Survivor” Hall of Fame Class of 2010.
Tags: jeff probst, survivor, survivor hall of fame, survivor nicaragua
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