Colby, Coach, and Stephenie Reunite for Survivor Heroes Vs Villains Encore Episode
36 min
•Feb 12, 20262 months agoSummary
Rob Cesternino hosts Colby Donaldson, Coach Wade, and Stephenie LaGrosa to discuss the Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains premiere 16 years later, as all three return for Survivor 50. The conversation covers their memories of the iconic season, production changes over time, and reflections on competing again after decades away.
Insights
- Reality TV production has shifted significantly toward player welfare and inclusivity, moving away from one-on-one physical challenges and sexualized content that was standard in early 2000s Survivor
- Legacy players value familiarity and continuity in casting—seeing old-school players on the beach provided emotional anchoring for returning competitors in a season with many unknowns
- Production culture has evolved from adversarial (players vs. producers) to collaborative, directly impacting player experience and willingness to return for future seasons
- The unknown-player advantage (Russell Hantz model) remains a strategic concern for returning players, who actively strategize against new competitors with hidden information
- Physical aging and nostalgia create interesting narrative tension—returning players acknowledge visible changes while reflecting on their enduring competitive drive
Trends
Shift from sexualized/objectifying challenge design to inclusive, skill-based competition formats in reality TVProduction-player relationship evolution from antagonistic to partnership-based in long-running franchisesCasting strategy emphasizing legacy/icon returns to drive viewership and narrative continuity in milestone seasonsMental health and safety protocols becoming standard in extreme competition shows (partition requirements, motion sickness accommodations)Podcast-driven fandom and retrospective analysis extending franchise lifespan and creating secondary revenue through content partnershipsNostalgia marketing in reality TV—leveraging 20+ year gaps between appearances to create 'redemption arc' narrativesIntergenerational player dynamics—old-school players mentoring/bonding with newer generations on same seasonProduction transparency increasing—behind-the-scenes details (pilot instructions, challenge design rationale) now shared publicly
Topics
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains premiere retrospectiveSurvivor 50 casting and returning player dynamicsReality TV production evolution (2010-2025)Physical challenge design and player safetyOne-on-one competition formats vs. team-based challengesUnknown player advantage in competition strategyProduction-player relationship managementPodcast monetization and franchise extensionNostalgia-driven casting in milestone seasonsMental health accommodations in extreme competitionIntergenerational player mentorshipBehind-the-scenes production decisionsPlayer redemption narrativesFranchise longevity and cultural shiftsContent licensing and retrospective programming
Companies
CBS
Broadcaster of Survivor franchise; discussed production changes and casting decisions for Heroes vs. Villains and Sur...
New Zealand Air Force
Provided Huey helicopters for Survivor 50 premiere entrance sequence, discussed as iconic production element
People
Jeff Probst
Survivor host; credited with changing production culture from adversarial to collaborative, discussed casting and cha...
Russell Hantz
Survivor: Samoa player; discussed as precedent for unknown-player advantage strategy that returning players strategiz...
Tom Westman
Heroes vs. Villains cast member; praised for humor and camaraderie, unable to return due to health issues from 9/11 a...
Amanda Kimmel
Survivor player considered for Survivor 50 but declined; discussed as missed opportunity for Heroes vs. Villains reunion
Jerri Manthey
Survivor: Australia and All-Stars player; discussed as deserving Survivor 50 invite, had complex history with Colby a...
Boston Rob Mariano
Survivor legend; mentioned as competitor Colby defeated in mud challenge during Heroes vs. Villains
James Clement
Survivor: China player; mentioned as part of alliance against Stephenie in Heroes vs. Villains
Ozzy Lusth
Survivor: Cook Islands player; mentioned as familiar old-school face Stephenie was excited to see on Survivor 50
Terry Desjardins
Hollywood Reporter journalist; cited for reporting on Amanda Kimmel's Survivor 50 casting consideration
Quotes
"We want to get away from pitting people against each other and having these one-on-one battles...we will still have physical challenges, but we're not going to pit two people against each other in these one on one mono e mono battles."
Colby Donaldson (paraphrasing Jeff Probst)•Mid-episode
"Russell will always find a way to make it to the end the problem is he'll never win and that's the weakness in his game that he fails to recognize and realize but he's a hell of a player"
Coach Wade•Late episode
"I had more fun on 50 than i've ever had in my survivor career even going back to australia...Jeff has changed the culture on the production side."
Colby Donaldson•Closing segment
"Rob for keeping the interest in survivor alive. And I just think, like, I think the whole survivor community just owes you a lot."
Coach Wade•Final minutes
"It was a blessing to be out there...overall when they say they wanted to be a season of joy, that's what it's going to be. It was a celebration."
Coach Wade•Closing remarks
Full Transcript
all right do we have a treat or what today to talk about the premiere of heroes versus villains here now 16 years old it just got its learner's permit the premiere of heroes versus villains three of the stars of heroes versus villains that you just watched in the premiere and they are all returning for survivor 50 i believe all three-time players coming back to play for their fourth season two heroes and one villain uh from the heroes tribe it's stephanie lagrosa stephanie how are you i'm good thanks for having me rob hi very excited to get the chance to talk to you today and if you're watching on the video stephanie is uh taking some time away from of uh watching a volleyball game yes i'm in my car my daughter's volleyball scrimmage on a friday night this is what i do that's fine coach calls me in from a treadmill sometimes so that's this is fine i did okay yeah and as you can tell from the video rob stephanie clearly went and got a blowout and had her hair done. Thank you for that. Just for this. She looks like a million dollars just for you. You know, we are going to dinner. We are going to dinner tomorrow night. It's a big deal. Not in a hotel this weekend for a tournament of some sort. I'm in my own house. All right. That voice you just heard. Of course, one of the other heroes, somebody else is coming back for 50. Of course, another legend, Colby Donaldson. Donaldson is here. Donaldson's here. Thanks, Cesternino, for having me, brother. good to be on here thanks yeah yes all right let's go and then of course the man who got credit for the name of this episode slay everyone trust no one the great dragon slayer who's returning uh coach wait coach how are you so good my man how about you uh doing fantastic this is such a thrill for me to get the chance to talk to all of you about one of these classic episodes that they are giving us a little appetizer to get ready for the big premiere of Survivor 50. What was this like for you all to go down memory lane and watch some of this, this old stuff before we get to the new stuff? Steph, you want to take it? This is one of my least favorite seasons. You know, it sounded all well and good until I got out there and a couple of people didn't really loved me and I got rid of me very early, but, um, it, it, that truly was a legendary cast that I got to be a part of and it really was a great season. So, um, yeah, that's all I'll say about that right now. Okay. And for Stephanie, it must've been such a thrill for you to get the chance to come back and come, you know, after a season that was a down note in your survivor career to get the chance to have some redemption after heroes versus villains. I bet that that was like really cool for you really it was I mean 16 years later I never would have thought you know I'd ever be back out there but to be able to go out there for a monumental season season 50 to be asked it was such an honor and you know I truly felt I still have it a little bit and I got something to prove here so I got out there and you know I'm ready to kick some butt so we'll see all right speaking of kicking butt as soon as they announced the cast for Survivor 50 that there was some talk about hey oh wow look at this coach and colby are going to be reunited after of course the epic match that they had to kick off one of the the big moments from the episode to kick off survivor heroes versus villains have have you two reminisced at all about the battle on the mat? I'll tell you this because I know Coach would say the same thing. And the truth is, we haven't, Rob. You know, Coach and I didn't, there was no bad blood, right, Coach, at all, even before that challenge or after. But we haven't really talked about the challenge. One, it's not a real favorite memory of mine to revisit. Why would I want to break open a discussion? So I don't approach coach about it, but it just, look, we both know he and I know what happened that day. And he owned the day that was his day and certainly owned me in that challenge. And so, you know, that sort of kicked off and started our bit of a rivalry, but like brothers would have, I think. Right. And I think coach and I really wanted to play with each other. I don't think coach and coach you, you, you respond if it's different than this, but I'm not sure coach really felt like or thought he should even be on the villains beach. You know, I think we all know coach, there's a real hero inside him and he likes that. And so I think there was a part of him that really wanted to be over on the beach with me and Stephanie and Tom and boy, would the dynamics have been different if that had been the case. But nonetheless, it was humbling, brother, to come out. And in the very first challenge after having been absent for years, a decade before, and I get my ass whipped in the very first physical challenge. I didn't lose the coach in a puzzle or in a mind game. I got my ass kicked in a physical challenge. So you want to find humility and not to take anything away from coach. So it wasn't as though I underestimated coach. I just, I just, I just got beat. That's all there is to it. And there's no way for me to explain my way around this. But you might maybe underestimated me just a little bit, but I will say this, you know, first of all, Rob, if you can grab that clip that Colby said there's a hero inside of coach and send it to me, it'll be my new ringtone. And I was on the villains tribe. I'm just going to play that from Colby. But yeah, you know, there was no animosity. I don't have very many victories and survivor, right? Physically. I came in, everybody thought, you know, based on my stature that I would be an awesome athlete. I've never really been a great athlete. Um, just historically in life, I always had to, I was always that guy that had to work, that had to have like great mental acumen and focus in the moment, you know, to be better than, than anybody else, except for maybe hitting a baseball. My batting average was, uh, pretty off the charts. Cause that was just something I could focus on, but you know, Colby and I, in that challenge. It was just great for me to have a victory. The fact that people bring it up all the time, the fact that people make moves about it. I mean, that's, I just love it. I'm going to get out of that possible because you know, even season 50 Colby shows up, you know, freaking ripped. And I'm, and I think, you know, for both of these, and I'm not just, you know, kissing her ass, but you know, Colby looks like maybe he aged about five years. Stephanie, maybe about three and a half. I look like it's 30 years on the beach, you know, like the, the hair, and you're supposed to go bald or gray, not both at the same time. And hell, I'm going both at the same time. It's crazy. I think you're a great coach. But I mean, but you know, like I just was excited to play with him. I mean, the fact that, so Colby remind me, did they pick the order that we were lined up or did we just go up there and line up? On 50? No, I'm sorry. For Heroes vs. Villains, right? No. No, no, no, no. Oh, so Rob, so Cesternino, what he's talking about and what was so cool, This is what it's just a bad-ass moment where, where it all came together for me on 50. Yeah. When the front of the barge drops down and we all come out on the beach and probes lines us up shoulder to shoulder, single file. I coached to answer your question. I don't know whether they placed us together or we just happened to end up shoulder to shoulder. But Rob, it was one of the coolest feelings because we gave each other this look. And I think I kind of elbowed him in the shoulder and he did the same with me. But it was like my brother had landed on the beach. We didn't know if we were going to be in the same tribes. We ultimately were not. But it was so good to just see a familiar face an old school guy and then to be standing next to him in this epic moment at the very beginning of 50 That where it really started to sink in and just felt so good And and coach had the same you know cat shower mischievous gin grin on his face that I did. And it was like, game on, let's do this. Yeah. There must be something for the people who are like the old school people where even if like, Hey, we were not necessarily best bros way back when all this time has passed. And it's like, hey, I'm thrilled to see you all. These other people, I don't really even know who they are, but at least you're a familiar face. Oh, yeah. Like, I never even had a chance to meet Coach, you know, because I never played with him. But I love Coach. I loved him. I loved him from old school seasons. I loved him as a player. I always wanted to play with him. I never really understood why he was even on the Villains Tribe. So to see him, I was, like, so excited, you know? And even Ozzy, like, I loved Ozzy way back when. You know, I just thought he was great, you know? And I was like, wow, it's pretty cool. Ozzy's here. So people like that. It was pretty cool. I mean, of course I was ecstatic to see Colby, but because Colby stood up for me, I mean, the last time I saw him, he stood up to me and said, the big bully James, you know, he had my back. So I was like, all right, Colby will definitely have my back. I hope I'm on his tribe. Yeah. Now Survivor has changed so much in the 16 years since you all played that season in Heroes vs. Villains. And they opened with this really physical, like wrestling match that were you all relieved that survivor isn't necessarily that now when you come back for season 50 no yeah no i was bummed i was bummed one i wanted a second shot at uh coach for the title i wanted to take him down again uh two two we can set that up if you want to do like uh some sort of like uh survivor uh ufc events like we could get tickets going i was wanting i was wanting i needed a little redemption just with coach personally but but i but but also too this is kind of a behind the scenes things that i don't know the viewers all are aware of and i don't think probes would mind me saying this but but he talked to all of us on 50 um and and steph and coach may have known this prior it was the first time i learned of it I really hadn't paid attention to it in some of the recent seasons, but there was a real gift in the game and the competition where they got away from pitting people against each other and having these one-on-one battles. Like, for instance, in Heroes Villains later on in the season, when we get on that perch and we're all covered in mud because we had to traipse through the mud to get out to it. We've got the big pillow pads and I owned Boston Rob in that challenge. They don't do that. They don't do that anymore. And Probe said, we want to get away from we, you know, we will still have physical challenges, but we're not going to pit two people against each other in these one on one mono e mono battles. But why not? Yeah, I mean, I'd rather that. Yeah, I'll take that. My two cents. Right. It's just I mean, I do I do miss those challenges. And that's one that, you know, you could really, you know, get into a certain headspace about. but you know when you win the national championship you don't really want to come back and coach the next year because you know you're just going to be a step down so and on the start of part of me it was like I was a little bit relieved that I didn't have to go man to man with Colby well we were all relieved we didn't have to go man to man with Joe and Jonathan and those guys you don't necessarily yeah Jonathan was there you don't want to stand across the mat when you've got jousting sticks uh with a guy like Jonathan for sure wait here's another thing I'm going to drop with with Stephanie and coach weighing in on this, Rob, it was funny. They'll go back and watch heroes, villains, not having seen it in years, but, but gosh, it immediately took, think about this. You know, they don't even allow swimsuits anymore. So you got girls walking around in bikinis, you know, there was some sex appeal back then. Remember like second episode, they literally weigh in on this Colby. They cover us, they cover us with baby oil and have us run down a slip and slide. And they film us with the phantom camera and super slow mo. So you see guys as jacked as James all lathered up. And then you see the girls in their tiny bikinis. And I'm looking at that going, there's no way that shit flies today. Was that wrong? There's no way they were doing that. You know, and it was just a completely different time. We were all snuggling in the camps. And now you got to have a bamboo partition in between you. I mean, it's a completely. Even if you sleep by yourself on the beach. They're like, do you have your partition? And you're like, I'm going alone. No, you've got to have a partition. Rob can use none of this right here. What do you mean? You can get away with saying that. People would be crucifying me as far as like, what a misogynist if I had said that. But it is true. Hey, Coach, I was just glad they didn't show my season. Yeah. I know, right? The book master. you know rob i do want to say something that nobody's touched on about this season um you know there's been some epic openings but they fly us in these helicopters i think it was a new zealand air force in the bird in the huey these are the wait coach not to interrupt you brother but these are the vietnam era hueys and nothing sounds like a huey helicopter that's the whole reason the term chopper came about because they're two bladed most modern helicopters have four blades and they make a very different sound those choppers sounded so badass because of the design of them and i agree with coach coach you're right dude that was the most epic entrance we could have right you know and the thing is is that i like i you guys believe what you want but i've had seven concussions right i get severe motion sickness i'm the guy when it says you're playing a video game might have seizures like that's me right i get i cannot ride roller coasters and i'm sitting there in the huey thank you for clarifying what it was and the pilot's like hey do you have any of you guys get motion sickness i'm not about to open up my freaking mouth and he's like well watch this and he starts doing these stunts stunts and i'm like if i throw up am i gonna throw up in sanders lap and i'm like fuck it the cameras are rolling let me do a dragon slayer pose even though inside I was like a frigging wreck because they were going all out. Most epic shot I've ever seen. That shot of you, Coach, where he banks over the water when you do the dragon slayer pose, but you see the water. But you can tell that chopper is rotated 90 degrees with the door open. Oh, that's one of the coolest. Might be the coolest shot in the history. But, but, but Rob, you know, I mean, that's what gets you into the game. That's what gets you fired up. I mean, you can't fly in on those choppers and not be ready to play when that's your entrance. That's epic, you know. Colby, I feel like that from what I've heard and I've talked to so many players over the years that the worst sort of entrance ride into the game was you guys in Australia. you that i've heard stories of like the plane like doing like loop-de-loops to try to get everybody throwing up before the game started yeah the producers told them uh i mean there's no question i you know i became super close with probes afterwards and a lot of the guys that were in the field as production um and they really did instruct those those pilots because they were so well trained and this is a very that that australian military cargo plane it is specifically designed for very short takeoff and landings. And so it can get vertical really quickly. And he said, don't land this plane until everybody's thrown up. Those were the specific instructions. And it was mission accomplished. And I mean, you guys know how it is. If you've ever been around, once one person throws up and the smell permeates the entire fuselage of that cargo plane, it's lights out for everyone else everybody's grabbing barf bags and it and it never ended we're like okay you guys got your shots you got the photo you know let's just land this thing and get into the game but it was it was bananas uh how and i don't get air sick i get seasick but air sick didn't bother me but it was the smell of everyone else getting sick and throwing up in their barf bags it was It's brutal. Yeah. So in this heroes versus villains episode, we get an introduction to everybody and you all show up on the beach. And of course, coming off of survivor Samoa, there's a lot of an introduction of Russell who is there and none of you know who he is And he like I a villain Google it And you and you are meeting him for the first time and so and of course had no idea who or what russell was gonna be but now all three of you come back in a season 50 and now oh hey here's two new friends that you um don't know anything about was the idea of and the memory of like russell as such an unknown something that you were thinking about i was pissed i said at day one i said they didn't do this again they freaking duped us again by giving somebody an unfair advantage because we know nothing about them and you know i want to just i have not really said this i don't know if i've said this to anybody but you know i i talked to russell on the beach many times and i said why are you on the villains tribe and he knew just what to say you know just like maybe risle and savannah I won't know what to say, or maybe they'll, they'll be more honest about their games. But, you know, yeah, Russell said, well, he says, I stayed true to my alliance because he knew that that's what I wanted to hear. And he said, when I got voted out, I actually jumped up and punched the guy in the face that, that betrayed me from my alliance. And that's why they put me on the, on the villain side. So that was his story to me. And I thought, wow, man, this guy's honorable enough to, you know, go to blows over his, over his integrity. So anyway, back to your question, you know, it was, it was the same feeling. I looked at my journal the other day and, you know, it said, it said, you know, these two have to go first in big capital letters, just because I didn't want to have the wool hold over my eyes. If the wool's hold over your eyes because you do it to yourself, you know, that's one thing. But then if there's a wild card out there, but maybe that's what, you know, true fans would say that's the beauty of the game because they never had to live it. Those unknown variables that, you know, survivor throws at you. I guess you got to be good enough to roll with them. Yeah. Yeah. And I got to credit coach on that too, because I do think it's still resonated with coach in 50. What Russell represented way back in season 20 coach, coach was coach was very smart about it. He knew, he knew exactly what an advantage that was for Russell coming into our group in, in season 20 heroes, villains because he was the wild card that was completely unknown. and it certainly played into his favor. Coach was acute on it. He knew exactly and he knew that better be wary of Savannah and Rizzo because we just don't know anything about them. There's a reason why they got invited back. We just don't know why. Some of the press started coming out this week and everybody's interviews have been coming out. One of the press stories that came out, I believe this was Terry Tironis for The Hollywood Reporter, talked to Jeff about one of the people that they were thinking that they had in the bag for season 50 was Amanda, who, of course, is such a big part of season 50. Would any of you have been excited to see Amanda back in season 50? I was excited. She was a member of the Dragons back in Ponderosa. and heroes and villains. I mean, I know why she dropped out, but it was unfortunate that they wanted to choose somebody else over Amanda. But I never really got to know her. I felt like she was already in a major alliance with James, who was in with Rupert, and they were against me. So I was worried. If she came back, I was like, oh God, is she going to want to work with me this time? Or is she going to want to get rid of me again? I thought she was a good choice. I would have liked to have seen her come back. And I, you know, I remember Steph, even in that first episode, when Sari was targeting you, it was Amanda that was saying, you know what? I don't know. I don't know why we give her the stuff. She's strong. She's good in the challenges and Sari's like, you know, so I think I, I like Amanda, you know, from what I know of her, I only played with her then. But it would, yeah, I think she's somebody that deserved an invitation. So if she had, if she had accepted that and she was on the beach, it would have been a great addition to the team for sure right yeah it just would have been a lot of people from heroes villains yeah oh yeah yeah that's true because you have sheree also so if there was anybody else from heroes versus villains is there anybody else from this cast that you think would have also been a good fit for survivor 50 and so many of them have played many other times in other seasons. Yeah. Well, I mean, selfishly, and Stephanie would echo this, I just love Tom. And I mean, Sesternino, with the sense of humor you have, and none of this made air, but at night, especially after Stephanie got voted out, it was really just sort of Tom and I left to ourselves on Heroes. We knew we were tagged and marked for execution shortly thereafter. But we'd sit around the campfire at night and him being a retired lineman from New York City, you know, he has the best arsenal of jokes. And with his thick New York accent, I still call him to this day and say, hey, dude, just tell me that one joke about Grand Central Station again. And with the two tickets to Pittsburgh and he knows, you know, and he'll tell me. And it's only I've tried to retell his jokes and I've tried to mimic his accent, his thick New York accent. I can't do it so selfishly because he's such a good dude. But also he's so funny. And we didn't get to see a lot of that on Heroes Villains because we weren't having fun. But at night sitting around the campfire when everyone else was asleep and the cameras weren't rolling, we would just tell jokes. And Tom is just a great dude. also know Tom, Stephanie, you know him better than I do, but, but Tom wanted and would have if, if health would have allowed it. And so it was kind of a bummer, um, you know, that he's just in a place. And a lot of that came from nine 11 and all the asbestos and everything that he dealt with as a firefighter. Um, you know, it was a shame, but there was, I talked to him on the phone at one point and he said, Colby, even if, even if they invited me, I couldn't go back. Uh, and so that was that was sort of a bummer for me i think though you know like any any of the people on any of the people on heroes and villains could have been out there yeah really i mean it is any of those any of those players could come back again and people would be excited to see them no matter who they were from sugar to well maybe not russell i mean i mean you know russell's got his but russell russell is so yeah russell is so iconic he's polarizing but the dude is one heck of a player and what I've always said is Russell will always find a way to make it to the end the problem is he'll never win and that's the weakness in his game that he fails to recognize and realize but he's a hell of a player yeah I mean coach that villains tribe you know so many people who you know go on to win the show go on to make the the finals like it's really just like incredible just like the resume of just that that villains tribe alone Yeah. I mean, I think it's coach. I think it's coach's golden touch. You know what I turn and, you know, what I touch in real life. I just, I guess I just don't touch myself because hell I'm not turning to gold, but you know, I mean, like everybody I'm touching out there goes on to have some heroic, amazing journey for the win. I guess I should have been, you know, doing more stuff personally to myself, you know, in preparation for season 20. Okay. Sorry. I'm just sorry. Well, yeah, look, and you could, you know, and you could go to the volleyball game now. no properties but you know part you know look Jerry Jerry was pissed Jerry Jerry you know I've been on record in a lot of the interviews in Ponderosa saying uh Jerry Jerry deserved to be there and and again you talk about if we're talking about icons yeah but Colby that was cool dude that was cool man like she's seen that and even though she's not gonna she's not gonna watch 50. She's boycotting it. She told me, you know, she's even going to a watch party that I'm playing my trumpet at. And she's like, well, I'm going to step outside for the episode. But you making that comment consistently, dude, that's like been a lot of healing. I'm telling you in for her. So I'm glad to hear you say that. I know you're in communication with her. I hope you I hope I hope that's the truth, because I know I've heard she was dragging me a little bit, you know, when she which found out she wasn going And I couldn understand why coach because I did talk to Jerry before all of this but the truth is Jerry and I gotten along for for years and and I had no intentions of conspiring against her or trying to plot against her any that I honestly believe Jerry earned a spot um to go back and play it absolutely yeah and and and Sestranino you know one of the things I've mentioned it years ago in an interview, but, but Jerry and I would get, when, when the tribes merged and we were on the same tribe, you got to remember real quick, if you'll indulge me, you know, I was responsible for her. Actually, I wasn't responsible for her getting ousted in Australia, but I went along with it only because I was outnumbered by Tina and Keith. I was in the minority. And so I couldn't, I couldn't convince them to keep Jerry. I wanted to keep her, um, and bring her along because I knew she was, she was with us. She was with me, you know? Um, but anyway, he felt like I was responsible for that. So she definitely targeted me and all stars got me. And when she wrote her parchment and held it up, she said, is this a revenge vote? You bet your ass it is. Right. So that was the first time you also helped. Um, uh, well, that was all stars. We go back to heroes, villains. We had sort of buried all of that. Right. I got her out. She got me out. So by the time the tribes merged, Jerry and I were in a very neutral, good space. And we went out and went fishing. There was a freshwater stream coming through Samoa, feeding into the ocean. We'd go fishing every day. She and I would together. And there were a camera crews with us filming it. They were hoping, you know, maybe there would be some fireworks or either negative or positive, but it was just us going out, having conversations, fishing, bringing back fish every day to the tribe. We were providing for the tribe, but it wasn't the drama that they had hoped. It wasn't good enough TV to make the cut. So no one ever saw that. But Jerry and I were getting along great post-merge at Heroes vs. Villains. So I, you know, felt like coming back all these years later, we'd be in good shape too. You know, I felt like we wouldn't have a problem connecting and no one would see it everyone would assume we would be adversarial and be be against each other and so i was hoping to see her over there uh and we didn't and we wanted to see it i think that it's such an interesting arc and i think that that's what's so fun about having all three of you come back where there's just this lore and you know we want to see like the next chapter in the story and i think that that's what's been really what people are i think most excited about with season 50 of to see the icons coming back to see this other chapter and so i just want to say that it's going to be really really fun to see you all back in action thanks rob i just want to say one thing yeah guys i know this is basically rob's execute to get us out there i want to be i'll do i'll stay here i'll be respectful of everybody i gotta go i gotta go pick up my kids but i i would be remiss in saying thank you okay i've said it to you before i'm going to say it to you again rob for keeping the interest in survivor alive. And I just think, like, I think the whole survivor community just owes you a lot. I think most people, you know, realize it that first time, even when I heard your voice today in this forum and I pictured myself on the treadmill, you know, and doing that. That was 15 years ago. I think that was 2011 that we did that. It's amazing. But dude, we owe you a lot. We appreciate you. That's true. And congrats, Rob, too, just on the longevity. How many years have you had the show? Yeah, this, so, you know, that's such a great point because I'm so happy you brought this up because the first episode of Rob's a Podcast that I did was the Heroes vs. Villains premiere. So I know the day, February 12th, 2010, or after February 11th, 2010 was when this episode aired. And then February 12th was the first day that I did this podcast. So yeah, thank you. I had totally forgotten about this added meaning for this episode of TV that was on because it started this. And if it wasn't for you all coming back for heroes versus villains, like I probably wouldn't have like, like said, Oh, I guess people will want to hear about this. Yeah. Well, man, I know I speak for Steph and coach, man. We just hope you all enjoy this season. Like we did because I'm telling you, you're going to, you're just going to see a lot of really good attitudes on the beach. You know, a lot of gratitude and a lot of, of, of, folks that really wanted to come back and play hard, but we're stoked. And we know how fortunate we were out of the 700 plus people that have played to be the chosen few that get to do it one more time. So I hope that comes across. It's certainly the way we all felt having been selected. Absolutely. One more question for Stephanie. In the episode, we know your shoulder gets separated. The medics come in. They put it back into place. I've always wondered, is that the real sound or is that a sound effect that we heard in the episode um no it does do that it does make that sound it does jeff is like oh yeah further proves how tough he is right yeah okay uh i appreciate all three of you so much coming on and chatting about this is there anything else you all want people to know stephanie i know that uh no more filet mignon pizza but is there anything else that people should check out no i just you know hopefully i have a little bit better of a run on 50 than i did on heroes villains and it's a great honor for me to be back on 50 okay looking forward to seeing it how about for you donaldson man just uh uh i will say this i had more fun on 50 than i've ever had in my survivor career even going back to australia i I had more fun this time, and that was intentionally, but I was given the platform and the people in production. It was amazing, and I will say this as a tip of the hat to production. They are far less adversarial than they were back in the old days, and wouldn't you, Coach, and Stephanie agree, that was part of the tension in Heroes Villains. Rob, it was it was us against them, meaning players and egos against production. And it was it was palpable through the entire thing. It was really bad between. And I don't know why that was. But Jeff has changed the culture on the production side. And we came in with a much better attitude as a group. and it it led to to just a very harmonious experience all the way through regardless of how you fared in terms of competition um it was a beautiful thing to witness the the family of production and the family of the players all coming together and and and rejoicing in the fact that this show's been on the air 25 years it's it was a beautiful thing and i hope i hope that comes through for the fans yeah that's cool to hear yeah yes and and coach we're gonna be talking to you a few more times along the way with these classic episodes, but anything you wanted to let people know between now and then? No, I mean, just like what Colby said, man, it was a blessing to be out there. You know, everybody had their own reasons and agendas, but overall when they say they wanted to be a season of joy, that's what it's going to be. It was a celebration. Yeah, Trump uses that and we delivered. We had a celebration out there. It was cool as shit. Yep. All right. Well, this was a joy for me. Thank you all so much for making some time to talk about this and, uh, hopefully, uh, we'll, uh, talk again soon. Uh, but hopefully after, uh, some deep runs in survivor 50. Okay. Thank you. Thanks for checking out today's podcast, talking about these classic episodes of Survivor. If you love hearing stories like this from the classic Survivors about all of the greatest moments in Survivor history, you're going to love this book. The Tribe and I have spoken. We captured 25 years of Survivor lore and all the best moments and all the players that you love to hear about and all of my fond memories of their experiences right here on One Book. You can check it out at robhizabook.com. Thanks for listening. Project Procure Free