Survivor Returns to Samoa for a Battle Between Good and Evil

Survivor fans that have been missing some of their favorite castaways may be pleased to find out that Survivor will once again be airing an All Star Season when they return in the spring for Season 20. The news was leaked in 2009 when a letter from Richard Hatch to the US District Court was discovered, requesting that he be released from house arrest to take part in the filming. His request was apparently denied. Although we are unlikely to see Hatch up to some new tricks, some of our other favorite cast members will be returning. The cast list has been leaked, so if you are not interested in finding out who will be a part of Survivor Samoa: Heroes Versus Villains, you might not want to read on.

It seems to me as if Survivor is suffering from the effects of the economy. During Season 19, family members were not flown in, a car was not given away, Proctor and Gamble didn't have its normal product placements, and other companies like Home Depot did not stamp their name to products for the cast members to build with. Perhaps this was also why CBS chose to film Survivor so quickly after it finished filming Survivor Samoa. It is likely that CBS will reuse the tribal set from Season 19.

Probable Heroes

Returning for the third time as a Survivor contestant, Rupert Boneham was a fan favorite in the Pearl Islands. He was invited back for the next season, All Stars, and came in fourth. Although his personal finances have improved since his first appearance on Survivor, Rupert is an honest guy who seems to enjoy the wild. He will definitely be cast as a hero.

J.T. Thomas was the likeable country boy who beat Stephen Fischbach for the Survivor 18 title. J.T. is physically strong, and has had a season to recover from his first appearance on the show.

Tom Westman, winner of Survivor Palau, was a powerhouse when it came to individual immunity challenges. The firefighter was also a nice guy who never was voted against. During his season, his tribe obliterated Stephenie LaGrossa's tribe, winning every single tribal immunity challenge.

Colby Donaldson will be returning for his third season of Survivor, after coming in second in Survivor Australia and competing in Survivor All Stars (where he didn't last long). He is physically strong and is viewed by many as being a great guy.

James Clement is the grave digger who will probably be one of the most muscular contestants on the island. During Survivor China, James ended up making the dumb mistake of getting booted even though he had two immunity idols. He returned for Fans vs Favorites, where he ended up getting booted after he cut his finger and it turned into an infection.

Although the female heroes and villains are not as clear-cut, Sandra Diaz-Twine will probably be on the heroes list. Although Rupert and Johnny Fairplay were bigger personalities during Survivor Pearl Islands, Sandra walked away with the crown.

Cirie Fields is famous for going from the couch to the jungle. She was a nice contestant with a great social game. Her Survivor debut was on Survivor Panama, but she came back shortly afterwards for Fans vs. Favorites. During both seasons, she made it to the final episode, but never made it to the final two.

Candace Woodcock is not very memorable; she was the contestant that mutinied in Survivor Cook Islands. After she mutinied, her former tribe was left with four members, but they managed to pick off all of the members of her new tribe.

Jessica "Sugar" Kiper quickly found the immunity idol on Gabon, and spend many of her days on Exile Island, choosing the "comfort" option as she didn't need the clue. Although her pretty face made many think she was dumb, she was actually a pretty smart player.

Amanda Kimmell will probably also be a hero in Heroes versus Villains. She made it to the final vote in both Survivor China and Fans vs. Favorites, but lost both times. Perhaps the third times the charm? She has spent more time on the island than any other player. She succeeds in the social game, and is physically fit. One of her finest moments was convincing Eric to give up the immunity necklace so he could be voted out.

Probable Villains

Benjamin "Coach" Wade will definitely make the villain list. Although he was reportedly seen at his class reunion at the same time as Heroes vs. Villains was being filmed, most sources agree that he made it to this season. He thought of himself as the "Dragonslayer" and had outlandish stories, but in reality, he actually did have a lot of experience in the jungles, and many of his stories might have a grain of truth to it. He has a book out detailing his pre-Survivor wilderness experiences.

We won't have Richard Hatch to strut around naked this All-Star Season, but Tyson Apostol might be willing to bare his rear for the cameras again, as he did in Survivor Tocantins. He made Sierra's life miserable, allied with Coach, and definitely belongs on the Villains tribe.

Randy Bailey was the grumpy guy who hated everyone in Survivor Gabon. While he seemed like a mean, nasty character in the game, the reunion show for Gabon seemed to reveal a slightly sensitive underside. I almost felt sorry for him. We'll see if that nastiness returns for Heroes vs. Villains. He definitely will not be cast as a hero.

Back again for his fifth season of reality television programming (if you don't count his televised wedding to Amber Brkich), Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano first showed up as the crass backstabber on Survivor Marquesas. He appeared again on Survivor All Stars, then teamed up with Amber for a season of the Amazing Race and Amazing Race All-Stars. One of the most well-known personalities in the Survivor world, Boston Rob will definitely be cast as a villain.

Russell Hantz will be completing back-to-back seasons of Survivor, appearing for the reunion episode of Survivor Samoa months after filming of Heroes vs. Villains had completed. Russell has a physical disadvantage in that he had nearly no recovery time after Samoa finished filming (mere weeks), but his huge advantage is that nobody on the show will have any clue as to who he is. Filming for Heroes vs. Villains began before any of the Survivor Samoa episodes aired, so nobody knows how he deliberately made people's lives miserable, lied and cheated, burned socks, and out-villained Johnny Fairplay. As one of the top Survivor villains ever, he definitely deserves a place on this show. Let's see if he can keep up his evil schemes for one more season.

Danielle DiLorenzo was the runner-up in Survivor Panama, but even though she came in second, her performance was not the most memorable. I remember so little about her, I'm not sure whether she belongs on the heroes or the villains list, but I'm labeling her as a villain, because all of the hero slots were taken.

Stephenie LaGrossa never really stood out to me as a villain, but she can weasel her way up the ranks, even though she whines about how she never wins challenges. Heroes vs. Villains will be her third season, after competing on Survivor Pulau and Survivor Guatamala.

Courtney Yates is a definite villain. She had major attitude, eye rolls, and was generally not a very nice person. This will be her second Survivor season, after initially playing in Survivor China.

I'm putting Parvati Shallow on the villains team not because she seems like your typical villain, but because she is good at blindsiding and flirting. She was the winner of Fans vs. Favorites; prior to that, her first appearance was on Survivor Cook Islands.

Jerri Manthey will definitely be a villain. She argued and fussed during Survivor Australia, and although she tried to clean up her image for Survivor All Stars, nobody believed her. Perhaps she has changed, but she will always be remembered as a villain.