"Survivor: Second Chance" (CBS)
Quick Note: XFINITY TV sent me deep into the Cambodian wilderness to bring you all kinds of “Survivor: Second Chance” goodness. So, be sure to check back for exclusive interviews, photos, and behind-the-scenes tidbits. And, follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for up-to-the-minute news and info.
[xfinity-record-button id=”4814958312953183112″ program_type=”series”]
Name: Tasha Fox
Season: “Survivor: Cagayan”
Finish: Sixth Place
Why You Should Remember Her: With her back against the wall, Tasha pulled off three consecutive immunity challenge wins.
Gordon Holmes: You and I have an issue where you live in St. Louis and yet you don’t know much about my beloved St. Louis Cardinals. Have you improved this flaw in your game? Do you have a favorite Cardinal now?
Tasha Fox: (Laughs) My favorite Cardinal is Matt Holliday.
Holmes: I’ll accept that.
Fox: How about Chris Carpenter?
Holmes: He’s retired!
Fox: (Laughs) I tried. And after our last interview I was naming off all these Cardinals.
Holmes: Sure you were.
Holmes: Alright, what do you think players will remember about Tasha Fox?
Fox: I would say I was somebody that was likable. I didn’t have any friction with anyone else in the cast. I was strong. I was strategic. I think I built up some good will. People who watch my season wouldn’t view me as a villain or a troublemaker. So, I think I have some options this season that I didn’t have my first season. In the beginning you could see my strategy. The whole Garrett (Adelstein) situation, the whole J’Tia (Taylor) situation. I came out on top. Not once was I considered for voting out. So, to be able to work in that situation and not be a threat shows my strategic side.
Holmes: I’m pretty sure I picked you to win Cagayan. I’m blanking.
Fox: Well, you should have. (Laughs) The thing is you have no idea how the game is going to go.
Holmes: It’s like marbles. You drop them, then you have no idea where they’ll end up.
Fox: Well, the tribes sucked.
Holmes: (Laughs) Fair enough. But, the person I pick never wins. So, I cursed you. I won’t do that to you again because I feel terrible. But, is there anyone else you would like me to curse?
Fox: Yeah, make Kass your pick.
Holmes: You want me to say Kass will win this season.
Fox: Yeah, then she won’t.
Holmes: That might kill my reputation. But, it wasn’t much of a reputation to start with.
Holmes: A lot of returnee seasons have pre-game alliances. Have you been approached by anyone?
Fox: I wouldn’t say that I’ve been approached like, “Hey, let’s work together.” It’s more like, “I really like the way you played, I’m voting for you.” That’s how loose it’s been. I don’t know if you can take that as a pre-game alliance set-up. I’m not as connected as other players. I’m going to be forming my alliance on the island.
Holmes: You guys have been together a while. Is there a lot winking, nudging, nodding going on?
Fox: I see people smiling at each other. We’re supposed to be on lockdown, but some quick conversations are going on. It’s frustrating because I’m trying to play by the rules. I see stuff going on, I’m taking notes.
Holmes: Who’s talking?
Fox: Kass is the main one. She’s talking to everyone. The handlers are like, “Stop it!” Abi is pretty social with the non-verbals as well.
Holmes: You’re one of four Cagayaners. Does that put a target on your back?
Fox: I don’t think it puts a target on my back. It’s obvious that I’m not tight with Kass and I’m not tight with Woo. If anybody is worried about two people getting together, they should worry about Spencer and me. But other than Spence, they shouldn’t worry about me working with Woo or Kass.
Holmes: What about the San Juan del Surians?
Fox: I would say I’m not worried about them because they played with their loved ones and that was their main alliance. But, I might seek one or two of them out because they’re gameplay was with another person. They’re used to immediately having someone.
Holmes: There are some old-school players here who haven’t had to deal with idols or double votes. How do you approach that?
Fox: Kelly Wiglesworth, Jeff Varner, Kimmi…it’s going to be interesting to watch them play. “Survivor” was slow back then. Now it’s a very fast game. I’m trying to debate if I will reach out to them. I just don’t know how they’re react to the fast style of play. I’ll have to feel that out. Kelly looks strong, she was a challenge threat back in the day. She might be a good alliance member. But I don’t know where her mind is at. Ideally for me, I want to get rid of as many girls as possible.
Holmes: Really?
Fox: We have a lot of strong guys. I don’t expect to be the challenge beast this season. So, if we can knock off the girls and then have the guys dominate post merge, I think they’ll pick themselves off. And then I can step it up at the end.
Holmes: Any guesses on any potential twists this season…if there are any?
Fox: I definitely hope they do more tribe switches because of the threat of pre-game alliances. It’d be nice if every few challenges…drop your buffs. It’ll force you to not rely on pre-game alliances. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was Redemption Island. This season is about second chances and that’s what Redemption Island is. I expect some crazy twists. I expect a lot of activities and challenges to be reminiscent of our seasons. Like challenges done in our seasons.
Holmes: The vote-in process had to have been horrible.
Fox: It was a great concept for the fans, but from the players’ standpoint you’re telling your job, “Hey, I might be back and I might not be back.” And mentally, you want to get prepared, but you might be doing this work for nothing. It was tough.
Holmes: When Jeff says, “Tasha…you’re in,” what’re you thinking?
Fox: Well, first of all I was sweating bullets because there were nine girls already on the stage. I was the last one. So, I was nervous. And it was between me and Mama C (Carolyn Rivera). If she’s in, that means I’m out. I was looking at her and she was looking at me. And the look on her face when he told her, I felt so bad. But then I was like, “Yay!” I was jumping up and down.
Holmes: You felt bad…but not that bad.
Holmes: Alright, we’re going to play “Align or Malign.” In my hand I have nineteen cards featuring your competitors. You’ll go through them and tell me who you’ll align with and who you’ll malign. Trick is, you only get eight aligns.
Fox: Vytas…align. I love his gameplay. Very strategic and spiritually grounded.
Fox: Spencer…align. What else can I say? We’re Team Spensher together.
Holmes: Yikes. That’s better than Team Tasher?
Fox: (Laughs)
Fox: Woo…malign. Been there, done that, not impressed.
Fox: Peih-Gee…malign. Too opinionated. Will likely be an early target and I can’t lose an alliance member that early.
Fox: Monica…align. She has the face. We can use her to woo the guys.
Fox: Jeremy…align. Strong, strategic, and a nice guy.
Fox: Joe…malign. Pretty face but I don’t know if he’s very strategic.
Fox: Kelly…align. Strong girl, can use her to get to the end.
Fox: Kimmi…malign. Not very physical in terms of appearance. Will likely be an early boot.
Fox: Terry…align. He’s like the father figure. He’ll look at me hopefully like a daughter and treat me as such.
Fox: Keith…malign. Appears to be more of a man’s club kind of guy.
Fox: Stephen…super strategic…very well connected. Knows the game. Align.
Fox: Shirin…malign. Annoying.
Fox: Abi-Maria…malign. Too controversial. Too rash.
Fox: Jeff…malign. Too much of a gossip.
Fox: Ciera…align. A strong girl, I loved the game she played the first time. I think she has staying power.
Fox: Kass…malign. No words necessary.
Fox: Kelley…malign. Sweet girl, I don’t know if I can trust her.
Fox: Andrew…malign. Sweet guy, too. But, I already have eight alliance members.
Any Questions? Drop me a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes
“Survivor: Second Chance” will kick off with a special 90-minute premiere on Wednesday, September 23rd at 8 p.m. ET.
Tags: jeff probst, survivor, survivor cambodia, survivor second chance, tasha fox
More Whatnot 