2012 "Survivor" Hall of Fame Inductee Rob Cesternino (CBS)
UPDATE: Voting for the “Survivor” Hall of Fame Class of 2013 has ended. Please come back Wednesday, December 11, 2013 to meet the first inductee. And, follow @survivorhall on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates.
The “Survivor” Hall of Fame is proud to have 2012 inductee Rob Cesternino as a member of the Executive Voting Committee. As a member of this exclusive committee, Rob (along with Host Jeff Probst and other “Survivor” luminaries) has accepted an awesome responsibility. The committee’s votes will make up 50% of the final tally for entry into the prestigious Class of 2013. The other 50% will come from “Survivor” fans like you.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: If you’re not listening to Rob’s “Rob Has a Podcast,” you should be.
Rob Cesternino’s 2013 Hall of Fame Ballot
As a member of 2012 “Survivor” Hall of Fame class, I take my job here very seriously. I actually found this task to be incredibly difficult, but with the help of a magic 8-ball, I’ve arrived at my top three picks.
Kim Spradlin – (“Survivor – One World”) In my opinion, Kim is the most dominant female player in the history of the show. Taking nothing away from Parvati and Sandra Diaz-Twine, but Kim’s game is totally different. Kim controlled an alliance of five from early in the game, adapted to get through a tribe swap, and then systematically eliminated any of the threats in her way after the merge. All of the players in the game who mattered thought she was on their side, until she slit their throats.
Kim Spradlin was so brilliant; she made her season boring because you knew nobody else had a chance to beat her. She ended up winning four immunities, finding the hidden immunity idol, and getting seven of the nine jury votes to win. I feel like Kim has not gotten the credit she deserves and I hope that gets corrected with her induction in to the “Survivor” Hall of Fame. Here’s to you, Dynamic Kim!
Jonny Fairplay – (“Survivor: Pearl Islands” and “Survivor: Micronesia – Fans vs. Favorites”) Jonny Fairplay is the first person in the history of the genre who showed up on “Survivor” WANTING to be the villain. Fairplay had a vision of how he wanted to be portrayed and played the part perfectly. The grandmother lie is still one of the craziest hoaxes to ever be attempted considering he was risking a chance to win a million dollars if it got screwed up.
I’m nominating Jonny Fairplay not just because he wanted to be a villain… he actually had game too. He had everybody fooled about him for much of the game (maybe not Sandra), he single-handedly took down Rupert and shifted alliances to get himself to the final three before losing the final immunity challenge. Why does that last challenge have to be so tricky???
I know some people will reject Fairplay for induction to the Hall because many remember him “quitting” “Survivor Fans vs. Favorites”… but I urge you to go back and watch the tape. Jonny Fairplay is in fact the first person voted out from the game. He gets nine votes and Jeff Probst even snuffs his torch! Can Osten, Purple Kelly, Naonka or Colton claim the same?
Whether you loved him or whether you hated him, he kept things interesting and he changed “Survivor” and Reality TV forever.
Brian Heidik – (“Survivor: Thailand”) I know many of you won’t agree with this one… but I think Brian Heidik is one of the great “Survivor” players of all-time. In “Survivor: Thailand,” Brian built on the strategy that Richard Hatch established in the first “Survivor” season and played one of the most lethal games in the history of the show. He said “Survivor” was just a business trip for him and he systematically made alliances with everybody in the game. On top of his excellent strategic and social game, he also won five immunity challenges. He was a used car salesman who left everybody feeling ripped off, but not until after he won the million dollars.
I realize that there is almost no chance that Brian Heidik gets in to the “Survivor” Hall of Fame this year (or any other year for that matter). After his win in “Survivor: Thailand,” he somehow made himself a persona non grata around “Survivor”-land and that’s a shame. Brian should have been in the first all-stars but the show decided that he wasn’t likable enough to come back (many would agree). Brian Heidik will probably never play “Survivor” again but I will always have tons of respect for the “Ice Man” and in my book, he’s a Hall of Famer.
Other Ballots:
‘Survivor’ Executive Producer and Host Jeff Probst
‘Survivor’ Producer Jesse Jensen
‘Survivor’ Challenge Producer John Kirhoffer
2010 Hall of Fame Inductee Parvati Shallow
2010 Hall of Fame Inductee Russell Hantz
2011 Hall of Fame Inductee Cirie Fields
Voting for the “Survivor” Hall of Fame Class of 2013 has ended. Please come back Wednesday, December 11, 2013 to meet the first inductee. And, follow @survivorhall on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates.
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