Now its heroes against villains
LOS ANGELES — Not even "Boston Rob" Mariano's newborn baby could stop him from returning to "Survivor."
Mariano is among 20 former contestants who will compete in CBS' "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains," the reality series' 20th season, premiering at 8 p.m. Feb. 11. He left behind 4-week-old daughter Lucia Rose and wife, Amber Brkich, who bested Mariano to win the "All-Stars" edition in 2004 and accepted his marriage proposal during the finale.
"If she was out here with me, I don't think I'd have a chance in hell at winning," the former "Survivor: Marquesas" and "All-Stars" player said of his wife.
"I think they'd get rid of both of us right away," he said. "With her not here, I think I'll have a little bit of room to maneuver. Hopefully, I can sway some people my way."
The cutthroat Mariano will be joined on the "villains" tribe by players such as bratty waitress Courtney Yates ("China"); cantankerous videographer Randy Bailey ("Gabon"); sarcastic cyclist Tyson Apostol ("Tocantins"); and pompous soccer coach Benjamin Wade ("Tocantins").
Mariano's biggest handicap? Not being familiar with new players like Wade.
Wade, who calls himself The Dragon Slayer, says his motto is "trust no one, slay everyone."
"I'm not going to trust anyone, even people I've played with before. I'd like to say that I can trust Tyson because he and I were rock-solid in the last game. Maybe that's too obvious, and other people will look at that."
The cast members — except for "Samoa" bad boy Russell Hantz, who was still filming the 19th season — were individually interviewed in secret last August before production on "Heroes vs. Villains" began in Samoa. It will be the third time on "Survivor" for nine of the castaways, many of whom participated in the "All-Stars" and "Fans vs. Favorites" editions.
"I have the opportunity to do something that most people don't even get to do once in their lifetime," said Jerri Manthey, "The Australian Outback" and "All-Stars" mean girl. "I'm doing it three times. Just the opportunity itself is enough reason for me to say `yes' to this again. I couldn't sit at home knowing they were doing this and be OK with that."
The "heroes" tribe will include lovable mentor Rupert Boneham ("Pearl Islands," "All-Stars"); emotional pinup model Jessica "Sugar" Kiper ("Gabon"); and Texas hunk Colby Donaldson ("Australian Outback," "All-Stars").
Half of the "Heroes vs. Villains" cast are contestants who won or came in second place during their "Survivor" seasons. The four previous $1 million prize winners returning to the game are "villains" Sandra Diaz-Twine ("Pearl Islands") and Parvati Shallow ("Cook Islands," "Micronesia") and "heroes" James "J.T." Thomas Jr. ("Tocantins") and Tom Westman ("Palau").
