A Muddy Gordon Holmes and a Perfectly Clean Jeff Probst
As the Senior Chairman of the 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.
Note: Polls closed November 30, 2012 at 5 pm ET. Be sure to come back Monday, December 10, 2012 at 2 pm ET to meet the first member of the Class of 2012!
Set Your DVR to Record “Survivor: Philippines”
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. Gordon has visited the set of “Survivor” on four separate occasions (“Gabon,” “Nicaragua,” “South Pacific,” and “Philippines”) and boasts an impressive 3-1 immunity challenge record. He also ranks second behind Michael Skupin when it comes to injuries incurred in the Philippines.
Gordon Holmes’s 2012 “Survivor” Hall of Fame Ballot
In the early 1900s it was common practice for a single Major League pitcher to throw hundreds of pitches in a doubleheader. Then, the pitcher would single-handedly pull the team’s train to the next town. The next day he’d have to do it all over again. Today, most starting pitchers are kept to a strict 100-pitch count and only play every fifth day.
So, what happened? A guy named George “Babe” Herman Ruth Jr. changed the game.
Before Ruth, pitchers didn’t have to throw their hardest against every hitter. Why? Because the only way most players could create a run was when someone was already on base. If the bases were empty, the pitchers would ease up.
Then Ruth came along and popularized the home run. He was capable of scoring on any pitch. Pitchers had to evolve.
Sure, Hank Aaron and then Barry Bonds would eventually eclipse the Babe’s home run, but they didn’t have the impact on the game that Ruth did. It’s that impact that separates the great talents from the truly transcendent performers.
Great, Gordon. How does this apply to “Survivor”?
Well in this analogy, the Yul Kwons and Kim Spradlins are “Survivor’s” Hank Aarons, and my first two votes are the Babe Ruths…
Rob Cesternino – (“Survivor: The Amazon” and “Survivor: All-Stars”): OK, these votes aren’t a surprise, I vote for these two every year. But, I will scream from the highest mountaintop that “Survivor” is a better game thanks to Rob Cesternino. Whether you think he’s “The Smartest Man to Never Win the Game” or simply “The Rob That Sucks,” you can’t deny that he made gamers appreciate that getting to the final four with your alliance is not enough. That anyone on the bottom of an alliance who isn’t making moves to get to the top of a different alliance is setting themselves up for failure. Simply put; Rob made “Survivor” better.
Jonny “Fairplay” Dalton – (“Survivor: Pearl Islands” and “Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites”): I’ve been doing an unofficial rewatch of “Survivor: Marquesas” while I jog on a treadmill in my basement. During one scene, John Carroll swears on his mother’s life that he won’t stab someone in the back. No big deal, that’s par for the course for “Survivor.” However, he follows it up by saying that nobody would ever lie after making such a bold statement. I seriously laughed so hard I almost fell off the treadmill and broke my neck. Two seasons after that gem, Fairplay would rock the “Survivor” world with his Dead Grandma ruse and the show would never be the same again.
And with my third vote, I’m moving on to the “Survivor” icons. I’m thinking Rupert Boneham, I’m thinking Jerri Manthey, I’m thinking Colby Donaldson, and I’m definitely thinking…
Rudy Boesch – (“Survivor: Borneo” and “Survivor: All-Stars”): Reality shows come and go every year. So, why did “Survivor: Borneo” succeed while so many other shows failed? Probably some combination of the amazing locale, Richard Hatch’s deviousness, and Rudy Boesch’s lovable, curmudgeony (not a word) personality. Without the former Navy SEAL becoming the popular topic around the nation’s watercoolers, it’s possible the show doesn’t see a second season, much less a twenty sixth one.
Be sure to come back Monday, December 10, 2012 at 2pm ET to meet the first member of the Class of 2012!
Check Out Our Other Executive Ballots…
- Host and Executive Producer Jeff Probst
- Challenge Producer John Kirhoffer
- Executive Producer David Burris
- Producer Jesse Jensen
- ‘Survivor’ Press Corps
- 2011 Inductee Cirie Fields
- 2011 Inductee Ozzy Lusth
- 2010 Inductee Russell Hantz
- 2010 Inductee Parvati Shallow
- 2010 Inductee ‘Boston’ Rob Mariano
- 2010 Inductee Sandra Diaz-Twine
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter @gordonholmes
Tags: survivor, survivor hall of fame
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