Survivor II Cast Revealed
January 4 -- CBS has unveiled the new Survivors, and the trend is toward younger, fitter, hotter folks. In other words, fewer Rudys, more Colleens.
As in the first edition of the reality show, there are 14 white and two black contestants, and this time, the 16 include a personal trainer, a nurse, a guy with a black belt, a chef, a corrections officer, a U.S. Army Intelligence officer, a retired police officer nicknamed "Mad Dog," and a vegetarian. Gosh, they'll get along swell.
Survivor II, which is set in the punishing Australian Outback, debuts after the Super Bowl Jan. 28. It then moves to Thursdays, where it goes up against NBC's Friends.
Be prepared to get to know these folks on a first-name basis over the coming weeks. Conveniently enough, none of these new Survivors have the same name as anyone in the original crew.
Alicia Calaway: A 32-year-old personal trainer from New York. Let's see if she has the edge in the challenges.Amber Brkich: A 22-year-old administrative assistant and former lifeguard from Beaver, Penn.Colby Donaldson: A 26-year-old custom auto designer from Dallas.Debb Eaton: A 45-year-old corrections officer from Milan, N.H. Hey, didn't we see her on HBO's Oz?Elisabeth Filarski: A 23-year-old footwear designer from Boston. She's already looking tribal in her CBS photo, with a head scarf and beads.Jerri Manthey: A 30-year-old actor from Los Angeles. She bartends while waiting for her big acting break and, as a regular attendee at Nevada's Burning Man event, she already knows about hanging out in the desert.Jeff Varner: A 34-year-old Internet project manager from New York. Will his black belt in Tae Kwon Do help against poisonous snakes?Keith Famie: A 40-year-old chef from West Bloomfield, Mich. He's gotta be better at cooking the local wildlife than Rudy was.Kel Gleason: A 32-year-old U.S. Army Intelligence officer from Fort Hood, Texas. He's been to Bosnia — the Australian Outback should be a breeze.Kimmi Kappenberg: A 28-year-old bartender from Ronkonkoma, N.Y. She won't eat meat (only seafood), so no dingo burgers for her. Call it a hunch, but we predict she'll be the Stacy of the bunch. Maralyn "Mad Dog" Hershey: A 51-year-old retired police inspector from Wakefield, Va. "Mad Dog"? It's no surprise that her favorite show is The Sopranos.Michael Skupin: A 38-year-old president of a software publishing company from White Lake, Mich. He's also a motivational speaker. Is he the new Rich? (Sorry, folks, he's straight and married.) Mitchell Olson: A 23-year-old singer-songwriter from Union City, N.J. This 7-foot fan of Britney Spears came on down to appear on The Price Is Right, his favorite TV show, in 1998.Rodger Bingham: A 53-year-old teacher from Crittenden, Ky. Just call him "Rodger the Codger."Nick Brown: A 23-year-old student and U.S. Army officer from Steilacoom, Wash. He wants to be a Judge Advocate General (yup, like the TV show).Tina Wesson: A 40-year-old nurse from Knoxville, Tenn. She's also a swimming instructor and a marathon runner.
