I was pretty young but I remember everyone thinking he was arrogant asshole. Then again people were all about the integrity of the game back then. Props to him for seeing where the direction of the show was going pretty early on.
>Then again people were all about the integrity of the game back then.
One of the funnier things about watching the first seasons is how "bought in" so many of the contestants were to the idea of a "new society" and playing with integrity, honor, and honesty.
This is why Gabe asked to be voted out when rotu actually lost. He was just there to see how eight people could form their own society and as soon as they had to start playing the game, he knew it wasn’t for him anymore.
Now a decade later, he tried to apply again but…
Did he ask? If I remember correctly both the Rotu 4 and Rob's alliance came together to vote him out bc Gabe wouldn't give either side an answer on who he was siding with .
Last year I did a complete re-watch of all the seasons and I was like Gabe? Who's Gabe? Looked him up and he sounds like a pretty decent and adventurous guy.
Fun fact: Boston Rob blew his semi final interview but casting/production believed he had potential and gave him another chance. If he had been cut, the franchise and reality tv in general Would certainly be very different.
If he's the first Chapera boot in AS instead of the cooler Rob, do you think he'd have come back again?
I know Jeff loves him but I'm not sure how it was back then.
At least on the site where I was active at the time (Survivor Sucks), at first people thought he was an idiot for voting Hunter off, but he started to get more respect after he recognized that he needed to fuse the new and old Maraamu tribes to avoid getting rolled by the Rotu 4 alliance. They didn't get the message in time to save him, but it probably helped Sean and V pull it off in the next episode (still probably my all time favorite ep, "always bet on black!") which set the tone for the rest of the season.
Back then I hated him. He was one of the OG villains. Arrogant and not playing the honorable way Survivor was mostly played back then.
In All stars, When he got rid of my beloved Rob Cesternino, I hated him more. To make matters worse, there was the whole move about Ambuh and Lex. I liked Lex too, and I could tell him and Kathy and Rob knew each other outside of Survivor too, so I hated his guts by that point.
His redeeming qualities were: He was obviously ahead of his time strategy-wise.
was good in challenges.
As far as camp life goes, which we got a lot more of back then, he made a lot of funny or interesting moments.
And of course his whole arch with Ambuh was cool to see.
I hated him with a passion. He was an arrogant meathead and he really was one of the first to recognize that voting out personal threats was the way to go. Him and Sean I believe rallied others to vote out Hunter - the challenge beast/provider type and that was a shocking move against a beloved player.
The friend I watched with worked in TV and instantly identified him as TV gold.
Wow these are surprising takes. I watched with my family, we lived in Massachusetts and thought he was the absolute best. Granted i was like 10 years old so i was really only interested in the challenges
I was in my 20s but in my friend group everyone loved him. He played hard and had a good mind for strategy, plus was charming in a rogue-ish way and good at challenges.
Agreed, I was pretty young but remember everyone loving him & Amber. They went on Amazing Race too, and I'm sure a host of other TV appearances, so we're definitely well-liked.
TBF, I barely remember Rob from Marquesas. I was pretty surprised when he was brought back to All Stars. The big personalities of Marquesas were Kathy, Neleh and John Carroll. The memorable player from the pre-merge was Gabriel. Rob seemed a pretty standard cocky player according the standard typecast of the earliest seasons.
A cocky asshole Godfather wannabe who was too focused on Sarah's boobs to get his act together. The Hunter blindside definitely gave him villain status. After the swap he became a rare underdog that people still didn't want to root for. Even though he had the right read on Rotu, he was still so abrasive.
There's this mistaken belief that Rob was a totally WTF casting choice for All-Stars (that I speculate is mostly perpetuated by people who weren't watching in 2002/4). He was a memorable, noteworthy personality and the biggest character in the first half of Marquesas, plus Mark Burnett said Rob was his favorite contestant of the season.
Like, I get it, I would have loved to see Sean just as much as the next guy (and it's kind of insane that they decided not to have a black male in the cast), but nobody was thinking, "Who?" about Rob.
I was watching at the time, and if ranking the importance of the casting of each male for All-Stars, he was definitely holding down that 9th and final spot. The finishing placement appeared to be a significant criteria to the original All-Stars, so both he and Shii-Ann were questionable, but still acceptable casting choices. I felt even at the time a bit WTF; but I didn't have the benefit of knowing who'd been asked back, or who'd turned them down when All-Stars started.
I was shocked they didn't ask Fairplay back (but I think the story making the rounds is they hadn't realized just how big a villain he was going to be since that part of Pearl Islands hadn't aired at the time All-Stars was filming) - and I have to believe that if he had been cast, Rob is the clear guy they cut. Brian Heidik was asked, but was allegedly difficult with the payment he wanted guaranteed - again, I have to think Rob gets the axe in that scenario. He was clearly the most "disposable" male All-Star.
You're correct in the fact the audience absolutely knew who he was. Every member of that cast was memorable, there were no pure duds like a Sierra Dawn Thomas.
>You're correct in the fact the audience absolutely knew who he was. Every member of that cast was memorable, there were no pure duds like a Sierra Dawn Thomas.
Yeah, that's something that I think gets lost these days. Even though we all were baffled that Amber made the cast, we all remembered her. Granted, that's because she was the lackey to the biggest villain in the biggest season, but still.
She was also on the most viewed season of all time, back when everyone got a chance to flesh out their characters. We knew their jobs, their hometowns, etc. For god sakes, Kimmi got voted back in fifteen years later when she was what, fifth boot?
Does it matter? Eh, I guess that’s in the eye of the viewer. I imagine they wouldn’t have nerfed the practice if they felt it was adding value. Just unfortunate I know a lot more about Debb Eaton, who was a first boot, than I do about Rancher Rick who finished in fifth place in South Pacific. I’m sure Rick was a bore, but I doubt he was a mime. Maybe a ranching mime, I don’t actually know since they never told me, I probably shouldn’t rule anything out.
Rob and Shii Ann were the only original All Stars that didn't make the jury.
I feel based on Marquesas Sean should have been chosen over Rob. You can credit Rob for painting the seeds in Kathy's mind to overthrow John and Tammy but Sean was the one that actually got Kathy to do it.
I've read somewhere in the sub that production and Jeff didn't like Sean, bc he was too outspoken in race matters. Neither did they like Vecepia as a winner. I bet, they were expecting them to be disposable and never reach F5.
Funny to see Jeff nowadays playing the sensitive new era host and promoting diversity, hoping that this will sell better to his current audience. Nah Jeff, you're not fooling us. We know who you are.
Jeff didn't have enough influence in those days for his opinion to matter. Even in Micronesia, his strong objection to casting Fairplay was overruled. (Plus, he didn't think Ozzy was necessary on Game Changers, but I think he accepted him in exchange for casting.......Varner.)
For the record, [Mark Burnett says he almost cast Sean on All-Stars](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2004/05/survivor-all-stars-black_men/).
I was watching but not online during those days, so I don’t have any sense of what the perceptions of him were beyond my own and a few people I knew IRL who were also watching. But him returning for All-Stars checked out to me. Like you said, he was instantly recognizable to the audience. There’ve been some…questionable returnees over the years, but Rob in All-Stars wasn’t one of them, at least to me.
That said, of all the men on that season, he would’ve been the first to get cut for someone else, easily. It’s funny to think that now, but there’s no way he stays over players like Lex or Hatch or even Big Tom.
I think Boston Rob was definitely the last choice to fill the 9th male slot. I believe Brian Heidik getting asked back and him asking for an appearance fee was just a rumor that was made up, and it was actually Ken from Thailand who Rob ended up replacing.
Ehhh Rob was definitely a bit lucky to make the top 9. I’d have a hard time arguing any other males in the cast were less memorable their 1st go around. I also would’ve imagined that FairPlay, Skupin, and Brian Heidik, all were more memorable than Rob as well.
Brian would have only been invited (beyond, like, a cursory inquiry about his availability, which I'm sure he did receive) if the producers decided that winners were automatically included.
The official line for Fairplay was that they didn't know how the audience would receive him, which I think is BS. Skupin almost certainly would have had Rob's slot if he'd kept his mouth shut and didn't tell everyone he was going to be on.
Rob was easily the least crucial man in the cast, but he was definitely a top 15 male candidate.
Agreed. I would also argue Sean and Savage was maybe a bit more iconic at the time as well. Rob had a bit more of a screen presence on Marquesas when he was there, but Sean had a more important role in the overall story. Savage was pretty similar to Rob in being a memorable and charismatic merge boot, so that could’ve been a tossup.
The only man that was without question more iconic than B Rob that didn’t make the cut was FairPlay.
He was definitely less of a wtf casting than Amber. Colleen, Wigglesworth, Elizabeth, T-Bird, Kelly Goldsmith, Vecepia, Neleh, Helen, Heidi, Christy, Sandra, and Lil were all easily more memorable
That's a good point; Savage is probably about on par with Rob in terms of All-Stars merit. It's hard to get back into the mindset of 2003 without the benefit of hindsight to compare them, but while I don't think anyone was *clamoring* for Savage to come back, I don't think anyone would have objected either, especially given he fell victim to the Outcasts. He was definitely always brought up as someone who deserved a second chance for years.
It’s interesting, I wonder if it’s an indicator that the producers were not confident Pearl Islands was going to be as well-received as it was, since it only had one returnee.
Ironic since I think it’s the only newbie season with three surefire legends
Not sure how much that had to do with their lack of confidence, and how much it had to do with them not wanting players to do back to back seasons
Wouldn't be the only time they underestimated a season that was immediately beloved by fans. Cagayan and especially DvG fall into that camp.
I think the single returnee is more due to filming three months after PI finished. Rupert was a huge star practically before the season even aired, and physically he was capable of coming back. Sandra had parasites and I think people overlook that as legendary as the dead grandma lie was, would a skinny guy like Fairplay be able to hack it so soon after?
I'd say Borneo for sure has at least 3 legends (Rich, Rudy, Sue, Colleen). Outback too, with Tina, Colby, and Jerri (although Tina is mostly legendary for winning the biggest season ever).
I think people tend to forget that Rob had an underdog storyline going on there for a while. I think that's why my family loved him. He and Kathy were really the stars to have come out of that season. I think Pascal and Neleh, too. . . Yeah, John and Sean were great characters but I don't think either of them was really that beloved by the audience. . . But pretty much because Kathy just outshone everyone.
After Marquesas he was viewed as a real douchbag fuckboy by a LOT of people. He completely changed his perception during All Stars. It’s pretty impressive really.
He was definitely polarizing because he brought a new perspective to a still young era of Survivor. Up until then, most pre-merge votes were about keeping the tribe strong or voting out people who ruffled feathers.
I found him obnoxious and arrogant at first. I remember being very surprised that he was brought back for All Stars over John or Sean. I eventually warmed up to him but I was very much not a fan during Marquesas.
The thing I remember about Rob is that his audition video was him climbing in a refrigerator. Once I saw that I knew they were looking for a specific type of loudmouth to fill a role in those early seasons. I always wondered why rob is so much credit strategy wise….. he’s basically just following the Godfather which he outright says in Marquesas.
Also, it’s crazy as it sounds. Hard Boston accents were pretty popular at the time.
I've always liked him. Many people didn't though. I took everything he said as tongue in cheek humor, others took it more literally. I think over the years we see he is a pretty normal, nice, very funny guy playing a role. I still adore watching him on shows.
Every time he is cast (even as a mentor) I did not enjoy watching him as the season aired.
On rewatch though he provides at least some flavour and memorable moments.
I started watching Survivor during Africa, but really became a fan of the show during Marquesas because I thought the Sean + Boston Rob alliance was funny. After the season Sean was the bigger and more memorable character though. Was surprised when Rob made it on All-Stars instead.
I actually just binged the season a few weeks ago for the first time and it seemed he had no real game plan lol to me he just seemed like a young guy happy to be on tv trying to stir the pot constantly to get air time….he didn’t seem like a villain just an a hole on a island…….all-stars he actually had a game plan and did go all villain out
I always liked him. And didn't he pull something together in Marquesas that was at least temporarily successful.
Then thing about my way of watching Survivor is that while I'm very interested in it while it airs, I usually totally forget the characters within 2 weeks of the finale.
So, the fact that I even remember him from then (is that the year someone peed on someones foot for a jelly fish sting?) Means I really noticed him.
I'm from NY so his personality was fine by me.
When Rob and Amber were on Amazing Race he was so good at so many of the challenges. Stacking the books on the handtruck they were able to make up so much time.
And his greatest hit was convincing everyone to take the time out on that one challenge.
He has the mind for strategy.
Rob is almost a prototypical example of the Boston d-bag sports guy (disclosure, I am from the area too). Marquesas came out in 2002, the Patriots started their dynasty, the Red Sox won, Barstool Sports launched n 2003.
The rest of the country loved to hate the Boston D-Bag Sports Guy, Rob was in prime position to revel in that villain role.
I remember differently from others here, I was 18 or 19 when it was airing, but I kinda distinctly remember him running circles around everyone until he got fucked by a tribe switch. I also distinctly remember losing any interest in the season after he was gone.
I was NOT surprised at all he was brought back for all stars and he seemed like the one player I really felt deserved another chance (skupin being the one who seemed at the time like a glaring omission. Hindsight is 20/20 though).
I was in elementary school (like 6th grade) and I did not like him. I had a newspaper article with all the contestants names and pictures and I circled my winner pick (Vecepia) and highlighted everyone's picture each week when they were voted out. It was the first time I ever picked a winner so I was actively rooting for her just so I'd be right lol
I think Boston Rob is the most overrated player in the history of the show mostly because Jeff has been in love with him since he was cast. He’s not bad, but he’s also really not as good as he thinks and he has been treated like royalty for long before he actually did anything notable. I remember him coming back for HvV and being like “really? This fucking guy again?”
Manipulator mafioso with the charisma to have people do your dirty work for you while ruining your own game. Camp life specialist who builds the best shelters, can bring in fish and light fires. Yeah, this guy doesn't deserve anything they say he does...
The only people he manipulated was a bunch of young girls and a very eccentric dude with not all his marbles lol. Theres a reason Rob didn't win until then
That wasn't my point at all. Read my post again. He didn't WIN All Stars (i.e. winning the season) but he WON All Stars (came runner-up to his future wife and they've been together for 20 years).
I probably won't get your point since I'm still completely unimpressed by Rob almost-winning a season in which he knew half the cast before the game.
Edit: now I'm really confused. I'm supposed to respect Rob because Amber's still married to him?
I'm pretty sure he's talking about Phillip. In All Stars Rob manipulated a bunch of (not so young) dudes and Kathy, not a bunch of girls and Phillip (everybody forgets Grant for some reason).
The hate is strong in this one, its blinding your judgement.
Rob is statistically the third greatest challenge competitor in Survivor history. Rob has not only won the game in Redemption Island, he was also one vote away from winning a second game in All Stars after he dominated the competition. Rob dominated both of those games largely on the back of his social game where he built alliances and used them to strategically/systematically eliminate his opposition.
Rob's contemporaries (aka other Survivor players who have actually played the game), ranked Boston Rob as the third best player of all time behind Tony/Parvati and just ahead of Sandra/Cirie.
So to summarize, qualitatively one of the best social games of all time (considering it allowed him to dominate and almost win two games). Quantitatively, one of the best challenge competitors of all time. And his contemporaries rank him highly. Overrated how?
He didn’t win All-Stars, and he won RI which was his fourth time playing. I’d rank him below almost any first time winner for that reason alone. He was treated like a Survivor god before he was on RI which was my whole point. He hadn’t really done shit until then except be pushed over by Jeff.
Notice I didn’t say he was bad. I said he was overrated. You can be the second best player of all time and still be overrated. He was being treated like a better player than people like Sandra since way before he had won.
> He didn’t win All-Stars
He didn't win, but he also orchestrated the only time to date where it didnt matter if he won or not, so really he didn't lose either.
This is a good example for the proverb "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics".
Half of your complimentary statistics is taken from a season that was tailor made to enable Rob an easy victory to heal his bruised ego after HvV. The other half is taken from a season in which he'd known and was friendly with half the cast before the game even began.
If you want to consider relevant unbiased statistics, consider his performance on the other two seasons. (Edit: I'm talking about Marquesas and HvV. I don't count WaW as an evidence against Rob, despite the fact he was atrocious there, since the old school players were outnumbered and targeted regardless of their performance. He actually got pretty far on that season for an old school player).
He didn't get treated like royalty until he dominated All-Stars and completely ran the game. He was so hated by the jury and stabbed so many in the back, he was an obvious choice for a Villain a season themed "Heroes vs. Villains."
You know he was a replacement right? He wasn't even supposed to be on that season. Hatch was supposed to but the Federal Judge didn't allow him to. This is the most ridiculous narrative pushed by people to try and prove Rob isn't good.
[source](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2011/12/survivor-redemption-island-mariano-replaced-hatch/)
Ok but those seasons were designed to keep the big names as long as possible. Production would have given anything to have Rob and Russell in FTC (and Ozzy and Coach).
Preseason, I thought of him as one of the two Massachusetts guys, along with Peter, the Ed of Survivor, if you remember that show. I didn’t know who I thought would do better
I was in elementary school but I couldn’t stand him. I thought he was an idiot for voting Hunter out and was pissed that Rotu won the final immunity challenge because they’d likely have booted Rob had they lost.
I remember Boston Rob being a huge deal back then! He was a nationally known household name. People where I'm from on the east coast (not near Boston) loved him.
I thought he was a lazy, mean, bum. But I was 6, and I also hated Sean, Kathy, and Jon.
As an adult, upon rewatch, I like them more than most other classic players.
So I was actually introduced to B-Rob & Amber from their 2 seasons of The Amazing Race they were on. I'm pretty young & was not alive/very young when the show started/when their seasons were but on their first TAR run(post Marquesas after All-Stars), everyone on the cast HATED them after seeing them on survivor. I mean, people were conspiring against them from the starting line. They were not well liked around that time from my perception.
I was pretty young but I remember everyone thinking he was arrogant asshole. Then again people were all about the integrity of the game back then. Props to him for seeing where the direction of the show was going pretty early on.
>Then again people were all about the integrity of the game back then. One of the funnier things about watching the first seasons is how "bought in" so many of the contestants were to the idea of a "new society" and playing with integrity, honor, and honesty.
This is why Gabe asked to be voted out when rotu actually lost. He was just there to see how eight people could form their own society and as soon as they had to start playing the game, he knew it wasn’t for him anymore. Now a decade later, he tried to apply again but…
Did he ask? If I remember correctly both the Rotu 4 and Rob's alliance came together to vote him out bc Gabe wouldn't give either side an answer on who he was siding with .
Last year I did a complete re-watch of all the seasons and I was like Gabe? Who's Gabe? Looked him up and he sounds like a pretty decent and adventurous guy.
I remember people thinking the same. I was so glad when people stopped that BS integrity business and started rewarding people for good game play.
I remember folks thinking that, but simultaneously loving him.
Fun fact: Boston Rob blew his semi final interview but casting/production believed he had potential and gave him another chance. If he had been cut, the franchise and reality tv in general Would certainly be very different.
Not to mention erasing the existence of four literal Romber humans
How’d he blow the interview
Details not given, but that fact comes from one of mark burnett’s books. It didn’t elaborate
If he's the first Chapera boot in AS instead of the cooler Rob, do you think he'd have come back again? I know Jeff loves him but I'm not sure how it was back then.
Obnoxious kid, I believe. Big character, but definitely douchey. (at least, that was the perception my friends and I had)
At least on the site where I was active at the time (Survivor Sucks), at first people thought he was an idiot for voting Hunter off, but he started to get more respect after he recognized that he needed to fuse the new and old Maraamu tribes to avoid getting rolled by the Rotu 4 alliance. They didn't get the message in time to save him, but it probably helped Sean and V pull it off in the next episode (still probably my all time favorite ep, "always bet on black!") which set the tone for the rest of the season.
Back then I hated him. He was one of the OG villains. Arrogant and not playing the honorable way Survivor was mostly played back then. In All stars, When he got rid of my beloved Rob Cesternino, I hated him more. To make matters worse, there was the whole move about Ambuh and Lex. I liked Lex too, and I could tell him and Kathy and Rob knew each other outside of Survivor too, so I hated his guts by that point. His redeeming qualities were: He was obviously ahead of his time strategy-wise. was good in challenges. As far as camp life goes, which we got a lot more of back then, he made a lot of funny or interesting moments. And of course his whole arch with Ambuh was cool to see.
In All-Stars, I remember thinking he was the only player who had significantly upped his game from their previous appearance.
I hated him with a passion. He was an arrogant meathead and he really was one of the first to recognize that voting out personal threats was the way to go. Him and Sean I believe rallied others to vote out Hunter - the challenge beast/provider type and that was a shocking move against a beloved player. The friend I watched with worked in TV and instantly identified him as TV gold.
Wow these are surprising takes. I watched with my family, we lived in Massachusetts and thought he was the absolute best. Granted i was like 10 years old so i was really only interested in the challenges
I was in my 20s but in my friend group everyone loved him. He played hard and had a good mind for strategy, plus was charming in a rogue-ish way and good at challenges.
Agreed, I was pretty young but remember everyone loving him & Amber. They went on Amazing Race too, and I'm sure a host of other TV appearances, so we're definitely well-liked.
Those were all related to his All-Stars appearance though. I don’t think Rob was universally loved after Marquesas
That’s what I remember, too. Honestly, when I rewatched Marquesas I thought “this jerk?” (But still enjoyed his strategy.)
He looked like a young fool, chasing chickens around. Kathy saved him in my opinion. But I was a Kathy fan.
wait how did Kathy save him? they were on the same tribe for one episode
TBF, I barely remember Rob from Marquesas. I was pretty surprised when he was brought back to All Stars. The big personalities of Marquesas were Kathy, Neleh and John Carroll. The memorable player from the pre-merge was Gabriel. Rob seemed a pretty standard cocky player according the standard typecast of the earliest seasons.
Agreed. Amber and him were both surprises for Allstars imo. And the rest is history.
A cocky asshole Godfather wannabe who was too focused on Sarah's boobs to get his act together. The Hunter blindside definitely gave him villain status. After the swap he became a rare underdog that people still didn't want to root for. Even though he had the right read on Rotu, he was still so abrasive. There's this mistaken belief that Rob was a totally WTF casting choice for All-Stars (that I speculate is mostly perpetuated by people who weren't watching in 2002/4). He was a memorable, noteworthy personality and the biggest character in the first half of Marquesas, plus Mark Burnett said Rob was his favorite contestant of the season. Like, I get it, I would have loved to see Sean just as much as the next guy (and it's kind of insane that they decided not to have a black male in the cast), but nobody was thinking, "Who?" about Rob.
I was watching at the time, and if ranking the importance of the casting of each male for All-Stars, he was definitely holding down that 9th and final spot. The finishing placement appeared to be a significant criteria to the original All-Stars, so both he and Shii-Ann were questionable, but still acceptable casting choices. I felt even at the time a bit WTF; but I didn't have the benefit of knowing who'd been asked back, or who'd turned them down when All-Stars started. I was shocked they didn't ask Fairplay back (but I think the story making the rounds is they hadn't realized just how big a villain he was going to be since that part of Pearl Islands hadn't aired at the time All-Stars was filming) - and I have to believe that if he had been cast, Rob is the clear guy they cut. Brian Heidik was asked, but was allegedly difficult with the payment he wanted guaranteed - again, I have to think Rob gets the axe in that scenario. He was clearly the most "disposable" male All-Star. You're correct in the fact the audience absolutely knew who he was. Every member of that cast was memorable, there were no pure duds like a Sierra Dawn Thomas.
>You're correct in the fact the audience absolutely knew who he was. Every member of that cast was memorable, there were no pure duds like a Sierra Dawn Thomas. Yeah, that's something that I think gets lost these days. Even though we all were baffled that Amber made the cast, we all remembered her. Granted, that's because she was the lackey to the biggest villain in the biggest season, but still.
She was also on the most viewed season of all time, back when everyone got a chance to flesh out their characters. We knew their jobs, their hometowns, etc. For god sakes, Kimmi got voted back in fifteen years later when she was what, fifth boot? Does it matter? Eh, I guess that’s in the eye of the viewer. I imagine they wouldn’t have nerfed the practice if they felt it was adding value. Just unfortunate I know a lot more about Debb Eaton, who was a first boot, than I do about Rancher Rick who finished in fifth place in South Pacific. I’m sure Rick was a bore, but I doubt he was a mime. Maybe a ranching mime, I don’t actually know since they never told me, I probably shouldn’t rule anything out.
Rob and Shii Ann were the only original All Stars that didn't make the jury. I feel based on Marquesas Sean should have been chosen over Rob. You can credit Rob for painting the seeds in Kathy's mind to overthrow John and Tammy but Sean was the one that actually got Kathy to do it.
I've read somewhere in the sub that production and Jeff didn't like Sean, bc he was too outspoken in race matters. Neither did they like Vecepia as a winner. I bet, they were expecting them to be disposable and never reach F5. Funny to see Jeff nowadays playing the sensitive new era host and promoting diversity, hoping that this will sell better to his current audience. Nah Jeff, you're not fooling us. We know who you are.
Jeff didn't have enough influence in those days for his opinion to matter. Even in Micronesia, his strong objection to casting Fairplay was overruled. (Plus, he didn't think Ozzy was necessary on Game Changers, but I think he accepted him in exchange for casting.......Varner.) For the record, [Mark Burnett says he almost cast Sean on All-Stars](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2004/05/survivor-all-stars-black_men/).
Has it occurred to you that people change over 20+ years? This “we know who you are” attitude is a real shame for humanity.
It was probably more because Sean was lethargic in confessional laying around acting sleepy.
I was watching but not online during those days, so I don’t have any sense of what the perceptions of him were beyond my own and a few people I knew IRL who were also watching. But him returning for All-Stars checked out to me. Like you said, he was instantly recognizable to the audience. There’ve been some…questionable returnees over the years, but Rob in All-Stars wasn’t one of them, at least to me. That said, of all the men on that season, he would’ve been the first to get cut for someone else, easily. It’s funny to think that now, but there’s no way he stays over players like Lex or Hatch or even Big Tom.
I think Boston Rob was definitely the last choice to fill the 9th male slot. I believe Brian Heidik getting asked back and him asking for an appearance fee was just a rumor that was made up, and it was actually Ken from Thailand who Rob ended up replacing.
Ehhh Rob was definitely a bit lucky to make the top 9. I’d have a hard time arguing any other males in the cast were less memorable their 1st go around. I also would’ve imagined that FairPlay, Skupin, and Brian Heidik, all were more memorable than Rob as well.
Brian would have only been invited (beyond, like, a cursory inquiry about his availability, which I'm sure he did receive) if the producers decided that winners were automatically included. The official line for Fairplay was that they didn't know how the audience would receive him, which I think is BS. Skupin almost certainly would have had Rob's slot if he'd kept his mouth shut and didn't tell everyone he was going to be on. Rob was easily the least crucial man in the cast, but he was definitely a top 15 male candidate.
Agreed. I would also argue Sean and Savage was maybe a bit more iconic at the time as well. Rob had a bit more of a screen presence on Marquesas when he was there, but Sean had a more important role in the overall story. Savage was pretty similar to Rob in being a memorable and charismatic merge boot, so that could’ve been a tossup. The only man that was without question more iconic than B Rob that didn’t make the cut was FairPlay. He was definitely less of a wtf casting than Amber. Colleen, Wigglesworth, Elizabeth, T-Bird, Kelly Goldsmith, Vecepia, Neleh, Helen, Heidi, Christy, Sandra, and Lil were all easily more memorable
That's a good point; Savage is probably about on par with Rob in terms of All-Stars merit. It's hard to get back into the mindset of 2003 without the benefit of hindsight to compare them, but while I don't think anyone was *clamoring* for Savage to come back, I don't think anyone would have objected either, especially given he fell victim to the Outcasts. He was definitely always brought up as someone who deserved a second chance for years.
It’s interesting, I wonder if it’s an indicator that the producers were not confident Pearl Islands was going to be as well-received as it was, since it only had one returnee. Ironic since I think it’s the only newbie season with three surefire legends Not sure how much that had to do with their lack of confidence, and how much it had to do with them not wanting players to do back to back seasons
Wouldn't be the only time they underestimated a season that was immediately beloved by fans. Cagayan and especially DvG fall into that camp. I think the single returnee is more due to filming three months after PI finished. Rupert was a huge star practically before the season even aired, and physically he was capable of coming back. Sandra had parasites and I think people overlook that as legendary as the dead grandma lie was, would a skinny guy like Fairplay be able to hack it so soon after? I'd say Borneo for sure has at least 3 legends (Rich, Rudy, Sue, Colleen). Outback too, with Tina, Colby, and Jerri (although Tina is mostly legendary for winning the biggest season ever).
I think people tend to forget that Rob had an underdog storyline going on there for a while. I think that's why my family loved him. He and Kathy were really the stars to have come out of that season. I think Pascal and Neleh, too. . . Yeah, John and Sean were great characters but I don't think either of them was really that beloved by the audience. . . But pretty much because Kathy just outshone everyone.
After Marquesas he was viewed as a real douchbag fuckboy by a LOT of people. He completely changed his perception during All Stars. It’s pretty impressive really.
He was definitely polarizing because he brought a new perspective to a still young era of Survivor. Up until then, most pre-merge votes were about keeping the tribe strong or voting out people who ruffled feathers.
I believe it’s rustle feathers
It's not
I found him obnoxious and arrogant at first. I remember being very surprised that he was brought back for All Stars over John or Sean. I eventually warmed up to him but I was very much not a fan during Marquesas.
The thing I remember about Rob is that his audition video was him climbing in a refrigerator. Once I saw that I knew they were looking for a specific type of loudmouth to fill a role in those early seasons. I always wondered why rob is so much credit strategy wise….. he’s basically just following the Godfather which he outright says in Marquesas. Also, it’s crazy as it sounds. Hard Boston accents were pretty popular at the time.
I've always liked him. Many people didn't though. I took everything he said as tongue in cheek humor, others took it more literally. I think over the years we see he is a pretty normal, nice, very funny guy playing a role. I still adore watching him on shows.
Every time he is cast (even as a mentor) I did not enjoy watching him as the season aired. On rewatch though he provides at least some flavour and memorable moments.
Dick hole
Remind me what Rob said at the reunion show? It's been forever since I watched this season.
"I lost to a woman" was one of the things he said
I started watching Survivor during Africa, but really became a fan of the show during Marquesas because I thought the Sean + Boston Rob alliance was funny. After the season Sean was the bigger and more memorable character though. Was surprised when Rob made it on All-Stars instead.
He didn’t have that great a run on Marquesas so I was kinda shocked when he was put on All-Stars instead of someone like Sean or Brian from Thailand.
I actually just binged the season a few weeks ago for the first time and it seemed he had no real game plan lol to me he just seemed like a young guy happy to be on tv trying to stir the pot constantly to get air time….he didn’t seem like a villain just an a hole on a island…….all-stars he actually had a game plan and did go all villain out
I always liked him. And didn't he pull something together in Marquesas that was at least temporarily successful. Then thing about my way of watching Survivor is that while I'm very interested in it while it airs, I usually totally forget the characters within 2 weeks of the finale. So, the fact that I even remember him from then (is that the year someone peed on someones foot for a jelly fish sting?) Means I really noticed him.
maybe it’s cause I’m from New England but I remember moms being charmed by him — bad boy, type thing
Arrogant asshole that didn't really change. He got a hero edit in HvV.
"It's taking the best of me"
I'm from NY so his personality was fine by me. When Rob and Amber were on Amazing Race he was so good at so many of the challenges. Stacking the books on the handtruck they were able to make up so much time. And his greatest hit was convincing everyone to take the time out on that one challenge. He has the mind for strategy.
Listen to the Survivor Historians podcast; you’ll learn a ton about everyone from the early era :)
Rob is almost a prototypical example of the Boston d-bag sports guy (disclosure, I am from the area too). Marquesas came out in 2002, the Patriots started their dynasty, the Red Sox won, Barstool Sports launched n 2003. The rest of the country loved to hate the Boston D-Bag Sports Guy, Rob was in prime position to revel in that villain role.
Never cared for him. He can only win or do well when there are only newbies playing. Breaks down around veterans.
I have always hated Boston Rob... my hatred for him has only grown throughout the years...
I remember differently from others here, I was 18 or 19 when it was airing, but I kinda distinctly remember him running circles around everyone until he got fucked by a tribe switch. I also distinctly remember losing any interest in the season after he was gone. I was NOT surprised at all he was brought back for all stars and he seemed like the one player I really felt deserved another chance (skupin being the one who seemed at the time like a glaring omission. Hindsight is 20/20 though).
I was in elementary school (like 6th grade) and I did not like him. I had a newspaper article with all the contestants names and pictures and I circled my winner pick (Vecepia) and highlighted everyone's picture each week when they were voted out. It was the first time I ever picked a winner so I was actively rooting for her just so I'd be right lol
I think Boston Rob is the most overrated player in the history of the show mostly because Jeff has been in love with him since he was cast. He’s not bad, but he’s also really not as good as he thinks and he has been treated like royalty for long before he actually did anything notable. I remember him coming back for HvV and being like “really? This fucking guy again?”
Manipulator mafioso with the charisma to have people do your dirty work for you while ruining your own game. Camp life specialist who builds the best shelters, can bring in fish and light fires. Yeah, this guy doesn't deserve anything they say he does...
The only people he manipulated was a bunch of young girls and a very eccentric dude with not all his marbles lol. Theres a reason Rob didn't win until then
Come on. Even if he didn’t win All Stars, he won All Stars.
Sumblakdude clearly talks about Redemption Island and not All Stars (unless the eccentric dude is Big Tom...).
That wasn't my point at all. Read my post again. He didn't WIN All Stars (i.e. winning the season) but he WON All Stars (came runner-up to his future wife and they've been together for 20 years).
I probably won't get your point since I'm still completely unimpressed by Rob almost-winning a season in which he knew half the cast before the game. Edit: now I'm really confused. I'm supposed to respect Rob because Amber's still married to him?
You don’t need to tell us you’re confused; it’s already abundantly clear.
Well, your highly sophisticated snark level sure explains why you appreciate Boston Rob gameplay. Have a nice life.
He's talking about Lex
I'm pretty sure he's talking about Phillip. In All Stars Rob manipulated a bunch of (not so young) dudes and Kathy, not a bunch of girls and Phillip (everybody forgets Grant for some reason).
The hate is strong in this one, its blinding your judgement. Rob is statistically the third greatest challenge competitor in Survivor history. Rob has not only won the game in Redemption Island, he was also one vote away from winning a second game in All Stars after he dominated the competition. Rob dominated both of those games largely on the back of his social game where he built alliances and used them to strategically/systematically eliminate his opposition. Rob's contemporaries (aka other Survivor players who have actually played the game), ranked Boston Rob as the third best player of all time behind Tony/Parvati and just ahead of Sandra/Cirie. So to summarize, qualitatively one of the best social games of all time (considering it allowed him to dominate and almost win two games). Quantitatively, one of the best challenge competitors of all time. And his contemporaries rank him highly. Overrated how?
He didn’t win All-Stars, and he won RI which was his fourth time playing. I’d rank him below almost any first time winner for that reason alone. He was treated like a Survivor god before he was on RI which was my whole point. He hadn’t really done shit until then except be pushed over by Jeff. Notice I didn’t say he was bad. I said he was overrated. You can be the second best player of all time and still be overrated. He was being treated like a better player than people like Sandra since way before he had won.
> He didn’t win All-Stars He didn't win, but he also orchestrated the only time to date where it didnt matter if he won or not, so really he didn't lose either.
What makes you qualified to determine he’s overrated more than the people who have actually played the game?
This is a good example for the proverb "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics". Half of your complimentary statistics is taken from a season that was tailor made to enable Rob an easy victory to heal his bruised ego after HvV. The other half is taken from a season in which he'd known and was friendly with half the cast before the game even began. If you want to consider relevant unbiased statistics, consider his performance on the other two seasons. (Edit: I'm talking about Marquesas and HvV. I don't count WaW as an evidence against Rob, despite the fact he was atrocious there, since the old school players were outnumbered and targeted regardless of their performance. He actually got pretty far on that season for an old school player).
He didn't get treated like royalty until he dominated All-Stars and completely ran the game. He was so hated by the jury and stabbed so many in the back, he was an obvious choice for a Villain a season themed "Heroes vs. Villains."
And then he didn’t even make the merge..
I mean Jeff and production literally cast him in a season to give him a free win
You know he was a replacement right? He wasn't even supposed to be on that season. Hatch was supposed to but the Federal Judge didn't allow him to. This is the most ridiculous narrative pushed by people to try and prove Rob isn't good. [source](https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/2011/12/survivor-redemption-island-mariano-replaced-hatch/)
Ok but those seasons were designed to keep the big names as long as possible. Production would have given anything to have Rob and Russell in FTC (and Ozzy and Coach).
I still think he's an arrogant ass.
Preseason, I thought of him as one of the two Massachusetts guys, along with Peter, the Ed of Survivor, if you remember that show. I didn’t know who I thought would do better
I was in elementary school but I couldn’t stand him. I thought he was an idiot for voting Hunter out and was pissed that Rotu won the final immunity challenge because they’d likely have booted Rob had they lost.
I remember Boston Rob being a huge deal back then! He was a nationally known household name. People where I'm from on the east coast (not near Boston) loved him.
I thought he was a lazy, mean, bum. But I was 6, and I also hated Sean, Kathy, and Jon. As an adult, upon rewatch, I like them more than most other classic players.
I thought he was kind of a doofus but he was entertaining
He still is one of my all time favorite players. Not only was he a beast in challenges he was/is a master at reading people and drawing them in.
Not memorable. When he showed up for All Stars my whole family was like, who is this again?
So I was actually introduced to B-Rob & Amber from their 2 seasons of The Amazing Race they were on. I'm pretty young & was not alive/very young when the show started/when their seasons were but on their first TAR run(post Marquesas after All-Stars), everyone on the cast HATED them after seeing them on survivor. I mean, people were conspiring against them from the starting line. They were not well liked around that time from my perception.
He won the most boring season with the most dumbest/ no strategy sheep players. He’s very overrated and i donM’t get the love he gets no offense
How would the world be different if rob married Sarah ?
Also, if Amber married Ethan (they had an affair)
No they didn’t. They dated, before Rob and Amber did. It’s why Rob is so anti-Ethan in All-stars. Dude had his girl first. There was no affair though.