Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
By RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com, originally filed Monday, February 23, 2015
The very first reality competition show that became a massive hit was "Survivor" way back in the summer of 2000.
Since then, Jeff Probst has hosted more than 440 different contestants over 30 seasons. Only a handful hailed from metro Atlanta but a few were notable.
Here is my subjective ranking of the five most interesting locals who have appeared on the show:
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
5) John Rocker, season 29 ("Survivor: San Juan del Sur"), 16th place, aired 2014
Given how poorly he placed, the primary reason he makes the list is his infamy. The former Atlanta Braves reliever became subsumed in a maelstrom of controversy over racist and insensitive comments in a Sports Illustrated story in 1999. He tried to stay incognito but some contestants recognized him and his past caught up with him. Natalie Anderson, who would eventually win, verbally insulted him to the point he became angry. That sealed the deal. His tribe voted him out in the season's third tribal council.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
4) Malcolm Freberg, season 25, fourth place ("Survivor: Philippines"); season 26, ninth place ("Survivor: Caramoan"), both aired 2012
On paper, the Walton High School graduate had all the goods to win: charm, good looks, smart game play. But he was also a blatantly obvious threat. He just missed the finals in the Philippines after losing an immunity challenge that required steady hands. He took all of two weeks off, then competed in Caramoan, where he said he quickly became physically spent. He scrambled for immunity idols but he was in a minority alliance and lost. As a consolation prize, he did win the "Fan Favorite" award after "Survivor: Caramoan." In a cbs.com online poll of sexiest male contestants, he came in first. He is willing to go a third time, too.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
3) Teresa "T Bird" Cooper, season three ("Survivor: Africa"), fifth place, aired 2001
The likable Delta Air Lines flight attendant from Jackson happened to be on the show when it was drawing 20 million viewers a week. She was a colorful personality, a competitive runner who admitted on the show to being part of the Mile High Club. She was in the minority tribe at the merge and was the last one standing from her group. She made a last-ditch effort to change the tribal dynamics but failed. Ethan Zohn ultimately won.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
2) Paschal English, fourth place, season four ("Survivor: Marquesas"), aired 2002
A Fayette County Superior Court judge from Thomaston, he was well respected and well liked by virtually everybody who played with him to the point he even received a cute nickname "Pappy." His constant companion was a 21-year-old Mormon and eventual runner-up Neleh Dennis. He never had a vote against him but because of arcane rules during tribal council, he picked a random purple rock and was eliminated by chance. "I have no qualms about how it played out, " he told WGCL-TV. "How many purple rocks do you draw in your life? A bunch of them. So it's just what you make [of it] after you draw the purple rock." He fainted soon after from dehydration. He retired as a judge in 2010 after alleged misconduct.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
1) Parvati Shallow, season 13, sixth place ("Survivor: Cook Islands"), season 16, winner ("Survivor: Micronesia"), season 20, runner up ("Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains"), aired 2006, 2008 and 2010, respectively
The Sprayberry High School and University of Georgia grad had all the elements that helped her stay competitive all three times she was on the show: savvy smarts, survival skills and a sexy air that she used on the guys when she needed to.
She won $1 million season 16 during her second try. All the women on the jury voted for her. "I think those girls appreciated that I played a very aggressive game and I didn't make any apologizes for the moves I made, " she told me at the time.
She was deemed a "villain" during her third appearance on the show, in which she came in second because none of the "heroes" voted for her. "I thought at least a couple of the Heroes would have respected my game play," she said after the results. "But it was all about ego and feeling wronged. They were babies about it. They made their decisions based on pure emotion."
She spent 114 total days in competition, second only behind "Boston Rob" Mariano, who is the sole four-time participant. Among female contestants in a recent on-line poll, she was voted second hottest. She's now a health editor at CBSNews.com.
"Survivor" provided me with a buff and "Survivor' commemorative book. I gave them away in a random drawing. The winner: Atlanta's Erinn Grier, who watches the show religiously with her 10 year old. Here's her take on why she has stuck with the show all this time:
TV preview
"Survivor," 8 p.m., Wednedays, CBS
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