Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and has been blogging about Survivor strategy for People since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach. Erik Reichenbach is a Survivor fan-turned-favorite, a comic book author and artist. He placed fifth on both Survivor: Micronesia and Survivor: Caramoan. Follow him on Twitter @BloodyAmer1can.
"This is like the cool kids lunch table back in high school."
– Eddie Fox, Survivor: Caramoan
Survivor is like high school. The jocks ostracize the nerds. The hotties coast on big boobs and winning smiles. Cliques form quickly. If you don't maintain your finger on the pulse of what's "in,...
"This is like the cool kids lunch table back in high school."
– Eddie Fox, Survivor: Caramoan
Survivor is like high school. The jocks ostracize the nerds. The hotties coast on big boobs and winning smiles. Cliques form quickly. If you don't maintain your finger on the pulse of what's "in,...
- 2/26/2014
- by Stephen Fishbach
- People.com - TV Watch
Stephen Fishbach was the runner-up on Survivor: Tocantins and has been blogging about Survivor strategy for People since 2009. Follow him on Twitter @stephenfishbach. Erik Reichenbach is a Survivor fan-turned-favorite, a comic book author and artist. He placed fifth on both Survivor: Micronesia and Survivor: Caramoan. Follow him on Twitter @BloodyAmer1can. "This is like the cool kids lunch table back in high school." - Eddie Fox, Survivor: CaramoanSurvivor is like high school. The jocks ostracize the nerds. The hotties coast on big boobs and winning smiles. Cliques form quickly. If you don't maintain your finger on the pulse of what's "in,...
- 2/26/2014
- by Stephen Fishbach
- PEOPLE.com
"[The wise general] must be able to mystify his officers and men by false reports and appearances and thus keep them in total ignorance." --Sun Tzu, the Art of War Russell Hantz is a lot like the Saints -- comes from Louisiana, unstoppable on the playing field. Now that he's got a majority in Aiga, his only decision is which Galu to sack first. No surprise that he decides on John; the rocket scientist knows too much, and traitors are not to be trusted. But what earns Russell his umpteenth Fishy is the way he builds consensus -- by insinuation and manipulation. Survivor...
- 12/4/2009
- by StyleWatch
- People.com - TV Watch
"The cowardice of the man who is bent on returning alive ... leads to capture." --Sun Tzu, The Art of War Could somebody else do something smart, please? As much as I love Russell’s gameplay, I’m almost getting tired of talking about him. In this week's episode, he finds another immunity idol, convinces John to break ranks with Galu, and sends his nemesis Laura home. For keeping his alliance strong and breaking the opposition, Russell wins yet another Fishy. The episode begins with Galu reeling from last week’s blindside and Shambo literally cackling with glee. She reports to...
- 11/20/2009
- by StyleWatch
- People.com - TV Watch
Pre-credit Sequence. It seems like only yesterday that Jalapao was in control and Timbira was only a challenge or two from being run out of the game for good. Now, as Jalapao returns to camp, they're down 6-4 with the merge looming. After losing his cuddle-buddy Sydney, Joe is especially concerned, as is the ultra-competitive Jt. Only Taj is comfortable, perhaps because she escaped elimination. "We're just Jala. We lost Pao," Taj cracks predicting that maybe their luck is just a day away from changing. [Recap for Thursday (April 9) night's "Survivor: Tocantins" after the break...] Meet the New Coach,...
- 4/10/2009
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Sydney Wheeler, a 24-year-old model and interior designer who was the sixth person voted off of Survivor: Tocantins, says it was hard to see herself go: "Watching it last night, it was just kind of weird because I knew the outcome, but I still had hope for myself," the Raleigh, N.C., native told TVGuide.com Friday.
Wheeler, who lost to Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George in the voting on Thursday's episode, plans to focus now on her modeling career, which has taken off thanks to the show.
Read More >...
Wheeler, who lost to Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George in the voting on Thursday's episode, plans to focus now on her modeling career, which has taken off thanks to the show.
Read More >...
- 4/3/2009
- by Tim Molloy
- TVGuide - Breaking News
Sydney Wheeler, a 24-year-old model and interior designer who was the sixth person voted off of Survivor: Tocantins, says it was hard to see herself go: "Watching it last night, it was just kind of weird because I knew the outcome, but I still had hope for myself," the Raleigh, N.C., native told TVGuide.com Friday.
Wheeler, who lost to Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George in the voting on Thursday's episode, plans to focus now on her modeling career, which has taken off thanks to the show.
Read More >...
Wheeler, who lost to Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George in the voting on Thursday's episode, plans to focus now on her modeling career, which has taken off thanks to the show.
Read More >...
- 4/3/2009
- by Tim Molloy
- TVGuide.com - Features
It was the third straight week that the Jalapao Tribe lost the Immunity Challenge on "Survivor: Tocantins -- The Brazilian Highlands" and had to face host Jeff Probst at Tribal Council. There was a lot of negotiating behind the scenes as to who would go home: Was it going to be Tamara “Taj” Johnson-George, who had the Immunity Idol, or would it be Sydney Wheeler? When the vote was counted, Taj's alliances held and 24-year-old Sydney, who lives in San Diego, Calif., was cast out of the Highlands. Et: Were you blindsided by the vote? I was. Sydney Wheeler: I knew it was coming, unfortunately. I had the feeling that something was going on, so I pulled Jt aside about an hour before Tribal Council. He told me that it was between Taj and me, and it was leaning toward me because Taj has a little more pull with the other tribe.
- 4/3/2009
- by TheInsider
- TheInsider.com
Tribe Jalapao is missing one more leg as 24-year-old Sydney Wheeler was cast out on the April 2 episode by her mates. Jalapao is now down to 4 while Timbira stands strong with 6 but next week in "Survivor", the teams will merge and there's a chance of Taj joining some of the people from Timbira that she has formed alliances with.
Since the beginning of the third week, Sydney has been worrying that if Jalapao doesn't win the immunity challenge then either she or Taj will leave. Joe however, was looking out for her by saying that she should not worry about it. Taj meanwhile was considering to open up about her having the immunity idol, but retracted later.
In the Reward Challenge, the teams must build a barricade using the poles available on the other team's cube of fortress. Ceramic pigs must be transferred through the barricade after five minutes by throwing.
Since the beginning of the third week, Sydney has been worrying that if Jalapao doesn't win the immunity challenge then either she or Taj will leave. Joe however, was looking out for her by saying that she should not worry about it. Taj meanwhile was considering to open up about her having the immunity idol, but retracted later.
In the Reward Challenge, the teams must build a barricade using the poles available on the other team's cube of fortress. Ceramic pigs must be transferred through the barricade after five minutes by throwing.
- 4/3/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Sydney Wheeler has become the sixth contestant to be voted off Surivor: Tocantins. The 24-year-old model from Raleigh, North Carolina lost out 3-2 in the vote to Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George. The members of tribe Timbira were safe after they again won the immunity challenge, leaving the members of Jalapao at risk. Wheeler had correctly predicted that the men of the tribe would stick together, with all the votes eventually cast for her and Johnson-George. (more)...
- 4/3/2009
- by By Mayer Nissim
- Digital Spy
Pre-credit sequence. Wow. It's been a long time since last we hung out with our favorite "Survivor: Tocantins" castaways. Or, I guess, since we spent time with our least favorite "Survivor: Tocantins" castaways. We begin in Jalapao camp, where Jt isn't concerned about the loss of Spencer, but he says that any loss is a tough one with a potential merge approaching. Sydney's worried about her fate if Jalapao loses again, though she's cuddling up with Joe again to make sure that her position secure. Joe, who admits he has "a thing" for Sydney [That's what she said!], assures her that...
- 4/3/2009
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Spoiler alert: Read to find out what happened on Thursday night's "Survivor." This week's episode of the CBS hit opened with the Timbira tribemates turning a pot of beans into a hill of beans. When Coach decided the beans needed to cook longer, he threw in some river water to "soften them up," raising the ire of his tribemates who knew that the "dirty river water" would need to be boiled in order to be edible. Unfortunately, a rainstorm followed, causing the beans to take longer to cook, and by the time they were done, they were burned on the bottom. Brendan called it "another one of those Coach moments" while Sierra said, "There's just a part of me that finally had just had it." Over at Jalapao camp, Taj and Stephen continued to strategize over their secret four-way alliance with Timbira tribemates Brendan and Sierra, debating about whether to...
- 4/3/2009
- by TheInsider
- TheInsider.com
My, how the tables have turned on Survivor: Tocantins. The once-mighty Jalapao, which seemingly boasted the majority of the brawn in this competition, couldn't get it together in tonight's reward challenge, as more ceramic pigs shattered than made it into Sydney Wheeler's outstretched hands. So it was Timbira that got to lounge next to a scenic waterfall and enjoy hamburgers with all the fixings—which sounded even more delicious when seasoned host Jeff Probst said it—and bulk up for the ensuing immunity challenge. In the meantime, Joe Dowdle from Jalapao and Erinn Lobdell from Timbira uneventfully cooled their heels on Exile Island, and Taj Johnson-George let J.T. Thomas in on her...
- 4/3/2009
- E! Online
***Spoiler Warning*** This interview contains spoilers about Thursday night’s episode of Survivor: Tocantins.
For the first four episodes of Survivor: Tocantins, Spencer Duhm, at nineteen-years-old the youngest Survivor competitor ever, mostly flew under the radar as his team did fairly well in the challenges. Spencer worked hard, didn’t make any enemies, and also kept the fact he was a gay man from his teammates. Therefore it was rather surprising when he was voted off his tribe on Thursday’s episode. Indeed, given his age, fitness, and devotion to the game, many had pegged him to go much further.
AfterElton.com caught up with him the day after his elimination to discuss his strategy, his relationship with previous Survivor winner Todd Herzog, as well as his controversial statements about what kind of gay guy he considers himself.
AfterElton.com: Hi Spencer, thanks so much for talking to us.
For the first four episodes of Survivor: Tocantins, Spencer Duhm, at nineteen-years-old the youngest Survivor competitor ever, mostly flew under the radar as his team did fairly well in the challenges. Spencer worked hard, didn’t make any enemies, and also kept the fact he was a gay man from his teammates. Therefore it was rather surprising when he was voted off his tribe on Thursday’s episode. Indeed, given his age, fitness, and devotion to the game, many had pegged him to go much further.
AfterElton.com caught up with him the day after his elimination to discuss his strategy, his relationship with previous Survivor winner Todd Herzog, as well as his controversial statements about what kind of gay guy he considers himself.
AfterElton.com: Hi Spencer, thanks so much for talking to us.
- 3/13/2009
- by dennis
- The Backlot
Timbira and Jalapao are now equal in the number of members after bus driver Sandy was voted out of "Survivor", Tocantins edition, on Thursday, March 5 episode. She got four out of the 6 votes from her tribe, the other two being Sidney and Joe. "I stayed around a lot longer than I thought I was going to," Sandy said after the elimination. "I'm real proud of myself."
The ninth day was basically an episode focused on Sandy's annoying trait and Sydney's flirtatious strategy. When the Jalapao team won in the The Strongest Man Alive challenge through J.T., they get to raid Timbira's camp but out of fear that they will merge or shuffled in the future, the men only took one of the beans sacks and a water can. Sandy thought it was a stupid idea.
Sandy was also in altercation with Sidney who obviously used her charm in getting J.T. And Joe's royalty.
The ninth day was basically an episode focused on Sandy's annoying trait and Sydney's flirtatious strategy. When the Jalapao team won in the The Strongest Man Alive challenge through J.T., they get to raid Timbira's camp but out of fear that they will merge or shuffled in the future, the men only took one of the beans sacks and a water can. Sandy thought it was a stupid idea.
Sandy was also in altercation with Sidney who obviously used her charm in getting J.T. And Joe's royalty.
- 3/6/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
What one word comes to mind about this episode of Survivor: Tonkatoys? Hmmm ... .oh, yeah! B-o-o-ring! The only thing saving it from a down arrow was a bromance in the works (more on that later) and the fact that the Brazilian heat has all the guys stripping down to their skivvies.
***Warning*** Spoilers below!
We start off with the Jalapenos trudging back to camp after voting off Girl Gone Too Soon To Name last week. In infrared we witness Crazy Lady Sandy running around hugging and kissing everyone as she thanks them for not voting her shrieking self off instead. Given that the night camera makes it look like she's sporting a scary ass mustache, I'm thinking she'd be better off just shaking hands.
On a side-note, I've always been creeped out by how everyone's eyes look in the nighttime shots on Survivor. Now they remind of the dead-eyed parents in Coraline.
***Warning*** Spoilers below!
We start off with the Jalapenos trudging back to camp after voting off Girl Gone Too Soon To Name last week. In infrared we witness Crazy Lady Sandy running around hugging and kissing everyone as she thanks them for not voting her shrieking self off instead. Given that the night camera makes it look like she's sporting a scary ass mustache, I'm thinking she'd be better off just shaking hands.
On a side-note, I've always been creeped out by how everyone's eyes look in the nighttime shots on Survivor. Now they remind of the dead-eyed parents in Coraline.
- 2/20/2009
- by michael
- The Backlot
While there will be no fully-realized lesbians when Survivor's 19th season kicks off in February, there are among the contestants a lot of self-professed "tomboys" and "former softball players." Or, as I like to call them, "gateway labels."
This time around, the wilderness-savvy warriors (or fame whores) will survive in the highlands of Tocantins, which, according to Wikipedia, is a state in Brazil, and not the imaginary home of Toucan Sam, as I originally thought when I read the press release. (Although, how awesome would it be if Survivor 20 took place somewhere like Narnia or Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Reality TV is imaginary; embrace it.)
Before every season of Survivor, I like to look at the contestants' promo shots and job descriptions to try to predict who has an actual chance. Here's this season's batch of women:
Candace Smith, attorney from Dayton, Ohio
Carolina Eastwood, bartender from West Hollywood,...
This time around, the wilderness-savvy warriors (or fame whores) will survive in the highlands of Tocantins, which, according to Wikipedia, is a state in Brazil, and not the imaginary home of Toucan Sam, as I originally thought when I read the press release. (Although, how awesome would it be if Survivor 20 took place somewhere like Narnia or Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Reality TV is imaginary; embrace it.)
Before every season of Survivor, I like to look at the contestants' promo shots and job descriptions to try to predict who has an actual chance. Here's this season's batch of women:
Candace Smith, attorney from Dayton, Ohio
Carolina Eastwood, bartender from West Hollywood,...
- 1/21/2009
- by stuntdouble
- AfterEllen.com
It looks like the sixteen castaways on the 18th installment of the hit series "Survivor" are in for some harsh conditions. "Survivor: Tocantins the Brazilian Highlands" is the most rugged location ever visited by the show, which will begin airing Thursday, February 12 on CBS.
Celebrity News Service has learned the 16 castaways will be left stranded in the majestic interior of Brazil for 39 days and will battle scorching temperatures, torrential downpours, and dangerous wildlife all in an effort to outwit, outplay, and outlast one another in order to win the title of Sole Survivor.
The contestants will be divided into two tribes -- Jalapao and Timbira -- and will begin the game based solely on their first impressions of each other. The cast includes Stephen Fishbach, a corporate consultant from New York; James 'Jt' Thomas Jr., a cattle rancher from Samson, Ala.; Spencer Duhm, a 19-year-old student; Sandy Burgin, a 53-year-old bus driver; two models,...
Celebrity News Service has learned the 16 castaways will be left stranded in the majestic interior of Brazil for 39 days and will battle scorching temperatures, torrential downpours, and dangerous wildlife all in an effort to outwit, outplay, and outlast one another in order to win the title of Sole Survivor.
The contestants will be divided into two tribes -- Jalapao and Timbira -- and will begin the game based solely on their first impressions of each other. The cast includes Stephen Fishbach, a corporate consultant from New York; James 'Jt' Thomas Jr., a cattle rancher from Samson, Ala.; Spencer Duhm, a 19-year-old student; Sandy Burgin, a 53-year-old bus driver; two models,...
- 1/14/2009
- icelebz.com
The audition is over and the new season of "Survivor" is ready to get a kick start. The 16 castaways that will participate in the Tocantins edition of the reality game, have been announced. The line-up includes among others, models, a Grammy Awards nominee and a 19-year-old.
Sydney Wheeler (24), Sierra Reed (23) and Candace Smith (31) are models that will serve the women power. Tamara 'Taj' Johnson-George (37) meanwhile was one third of singing group Swv that grabbed a nomination at the Grammys and who was the star of reality show "I Married a Baller" in 2007. Also, if "Survivor: Gabon" had the oldest contestant, the Tocantins finds the youngest one in college student Spencer Duhm (19).
As usual the castaways will be exiled for 39 days in a remote area, building strategy and surviving the nature. This time the location takes place on a "rugged" highland of Brazil, Tocantins, where there are plenty of rivers but the temperatures can be unforgiving.
Sydney Wheeler (24), Sierra Reed (23) and Candace Smith (31) are models that will serve the women power. Tamara 'Taj' Johnson-George (37) meanwhile was one third of singing group Swv that grabbed a nomination at the Grammys and who was the star of reality show "I Married a Baller" in 2007. Also, if "Survivor: Gabon" had the oldest contestant, the Tocantins finds the youngest one in college student Spencer Duhm (19).
As usual the castaways will be exiled for 39 days in a remote area, building strategy and surviving the nature. This time the location takes place on a "rugged" highland of Brazil, Tocantins, where there are plenty of rivers but the temperatures can be unforgiving.
- 1/14/2009
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
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