Bolan, a part-time Campton police officer and mother of four, visited the Pines Community Center in Northfield in support of the Youth Assistance Program of Northfield, Tilton and Sanbornton. Though admission was free, donations were accepted. Bolan said she understood how important it was for kids to have places like the Pines.

“It was a rough and rocky road growing up,” she said.

After being voted out two episodes in, many might think Bolan traveled a similar road on “Survivor: Samoa.” Bolan, however, recalls her time there as the trip of a lifetime.

“I was a huge fan for years and years and years,” said Bolan, who applied 13 times over six years before making it onto the show. “When my youngest was 2, I was thinking, I need a vacation. It sounded perfect to me, because there was no laundry involved.”

Bolan was chosen once before to interview in Boston, based on the application she submitted online. After that interview, though, she never heard back. This time, she got a call and was flown to Los Angeles for a week, where she interviewed with Jeff Probst. She was contacted three weeks later and told she had made the final cut.

“I couldn’t tell anyone I was going,” said Bolan, but she had to tell Campton selectmen to get the time off from her job, so the news was in the meeting minutes. “The whole town knew.”

Bolan flew to LA, then took a 15-hour flight to Samoa. The contestants arrived a week before the game started and weren’t allowed to communicate, for fear they would form alliances. They received a rulebook and an “Outdoor Survival Guide” to read prior to the game. One suggestion read: “There are nesting birds in some of the trees. They roost mostly at night. Find them. Hit them with a stick. Pluck them, gut them, and cook them on a spit.”

After a week had passed, they were given clothes and told it was press day. Instead, they wound up meeting with Probst and Producer Mark Burnett for a rundown of the rules and a “don’t quit” pep talk.

The contestants then rode together on a canvas-covered truck, still without talking, until they reached a place where their canoes were set up. They silently canoed to shore, where Probst and “tons and tons of cameras” were waiting.

“That’s when it hit me,” Bolan said of realizing she was actually on “Survivor.”

A few facts that Bolan learned about the show during her six days on the island: the producers pre-pick the tribes; nothing is staged; each tribal council actually lasts about an hour an a half; Probst is really as “genuine, nice, funny (and) sincere” as he seems; and cameramen are almost always less than three feet away from you.

“It’s scary being on these shows, because you don’t know how they’re going to edit you,” Bolan said. “My strategy was just work hard, just be useful at camp.”

The nights were cold (Bolan’s “spooning buddy” was Natalie), the challenges were hard, and the food was not plentiful, Bolan said. Still, eating coconut crabs was a treat for her.

“That was my dream, ’cause I was so sick of chicken nuggets and pizza,” she said.

Bolan brought a map of her Foa Foa tribe camp and one of the “tree mails” the tribe received. She also passed around a canteen she brought home from the show, one of several that fellow Foa Foa tribe member “Evil Russell” dumped water out of in an attempt to rile his tribe mates. Bolan said she didn’t know he’d done that until she watched the show at home along with the rest of the country.

“He was just a little leprechaun type guy,” she said. “I just knew he was a snake.”

Unfortunately for Bolan, that knowledge is what sent her packing so early, as Russell didn’t like that she was on to him and convinced the tribe to vote for her.

“He is the only person in my whole life that I couldn’t look at,” she said. “I still should be on there. It kills me.”

It wasn’t all bad after getting voted off though, Bolan said; instead of roughing the cold, rainy nights, castaways were sent to a Ponderosa, where they ate good food and watched movies. Once 10 people were voted off, that group was sent to Fiji so the next group of castaways who would make up the jury could stay at the Ponderosa. Bolan and her nine fellow Survivors stayed in five-star hotels in Fiji for five weeks.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “It was a vacation of a lifetime. I’ll never be treated that well again.”

Bolan said she gained back the 10 pounds she lost in Samoa while dining in Fiji.

Once the show wrapped, 39 days after it had started, Bolan and her castmates flew home.

“That was the best part,” Bolan said. “Coming home.”

Bolan’s husband and children met her at the airport in July, after eight weeks without contact. For now, Bolan is taking “a little vacation” from her police career, though not because of the extra income she earned while on the show – the first person voted off gets $2,500, and it goes up incrementally from there.

Bolan and her family will fly out to LA for the reunion show Dec. 20.

So who is Bolan rooting for?

“Shambo I love,” Bolan said. “She really does have a good heart.”

Bolan said she and Shambo were the only ones on the show who didn’t know the casting director or otherwise have an “in.”

There are still nine castaways left competing to be the sole survivor of Survivor Samoa. Immunity has become the focus for each of the castaways as a possible double elimination looms.

This week the castaways take part in an auction which includes food and an Immunity Idol. The auction segment has always been popular with the castaways and the fans. With the addition of an immunity idol up for bids things could get a little crazy.

Shambo tells the tribe she had a dream about Dave getting voted out. Russell immediate tries to turn the dream back on Shambo by trying to get Dave on his side.

This looks to be an episode without a puzzle to solve as the immunity challenge is going to be an endurance challenge.

With Russell already possessing an immunity Idol and another one being introduced to the game at the auction, winning the endurance challenge may become pretty desperate for those in danger of getting banished to the jury at tribal council.

The castaways remaining are:
Natalie
Jaison
Shannon
Brett
Dave
Mick
Monica
John
Russell H.

Casualty Number One! It’s always depressing to see not only a potentially strong character get voted off first, but also the best looking female on the show. Survivor Samoa has hit Australian screens in glorious high definition, and we have the exclusive interviews with all the castaways. Lets start with Marisa, who was voted out earlier tonight!

Did you still have a fun time in Samoa even though you got voted off first?
I did have a good time, a really good time doing the challenges on the show and getting to know the landscape there – it’s a really beautiful island. You have to understand though that the people who come back to [Ponderosa, the voted out cast's camp], you don’t always want to see!

I don’t necessarily think you did anything wrong when you were on the tribe. Was there anything you could’ve done to save yourself?

In order to have stayed in the game, I shouldn’t have told Russell that I was wary of him. However, there were a lot of things that happened that fell off the editing table, I didn’t want to see Russell or speak to him again because he made me sick.

One person who has flown under the radar with how he’s been treating his fellow tribemates is Ben. Was he as bad as Russell in how he treated you?
Oh My Gosh! Ben is horrible, really really bad. I never expected him to be shown so little in the first episode because of how badly he treated us. I thought they would really blow up his character, but in the episodes to come they will have no choice to show him because he is a horrible person! Every racial slur, every gender slur – he bossed the women around and was very demeaning to them, he even told Betsy the cop that he ******* hated cops and **** the police. He was a wretched person and I was the only one who stood up to him.

Do you think you could’ve lasted any longer if you were placed on the other tribe, without people like Russell and Ben there?
Oh my gosh, absolutely! I think it’s a whole different dynamic on the other tribe, there’s a lot more unity. They have their unity but there isn’t anybody there trying to torture everybody for fun. I was really proud that my instincts were right with Russell but If I was on the other tribe I probably wouldn’t be speaking to you right now.

Who are some people who we should be watching out for on the show, that could be flying under the radar?
Hmm.. I think that Liz on my tribe is very manipulative and conniving, Jaison is an excellent player both mentally and physically. As for the other tribe, I really couldn’t say because I didn’t have as much interaction with them.

How did you get cast onto the show?
I was  a fan of the show, but I was asked by a casting producer about five years ago back in L.A. About six months ago she sent me an email and asked me if I was interested in auditioning which I was, and I went through the whole process and made it!

Did you have a specific gameplan going into the show?
Well, I really wanted to align with the women – that was going to be my angle. But once I got there, It was hard to convince them to stick with the women instead of a male leader – I’m not sure why, but I had to think of something different. I ended up aligning with Betsy and Mick, which was pretty strong and we voted the same at the tribal council. But people knew we had an alliance so they didn’t tell them the plans to vote me out.

Do you have any regrets?
I have absolutely no regrets with how I played, I played honorably and I have my integrity intact – which is very important to me!

Is “Danger Dave” making a deal with the devil? Something seems suspicious on the new preview for Thursday’s episode of “Survivor: Samoa,” and, as expected, it involves Russell. The self-proclaimed “puppetmaster” is seen telling Dave that he “can save” him at tribal council, but it’s almost a given that Russell will be demanding something in return.

Why would Dave be in trouble? The practical answer is that the numbers merely aren’t on his side. With Laura’s departure it is now four Foa Foa members (plus Shambo) against the former Galu alliance of Monica, Dave, Brett, and John (who is more or less a free agent at this point). We also have to consider this supposed “premonition” that Shambo has during the night that Dave will be the next one voted out. (However seriously we can take that, though, it to be seen.)

In the preview there’s also the familiar “Survivor auction,” where the preview tries to make it out like there’s an immunity idol up for sale. In reality, it’s much more likely to be a clue to help you in the next immunity challenge.

Do you think Dave is next to go on “Survivor: Samoa?” (For the sake of entertainment, let’s hope not.) Let me know your thoughts with a comment and stay tuned for more TV news.

Laura Morett was an unexpected force on “Survivor: Samoa.” This 39-year old grandmother was tough as nails, winning two straight immunity challenges before being sent packing on Thursday night. She doesn’t regret her aggressive gameplay, though, saying “I wouldn’t be happy if I gave 80%…I have no regrets.”

Laura was actually invited on “Survivor” after being rejected from “The Amazing Race,” and she came into it trying form alliances and establish herself as a serious player. To an extent, she succeeded in both goals.

However, her closest ally out there may shock you: “Me and Brett had a really strong alliance…if he’d won [the last immunity] he would have given it to me.” She said that Monica and Kelly reminded her a bit of her daughters, but Brett was the one who would “funnel info from the guys” to her. That was how she knew that “after Russell [Swan] left, Erik and John wanted to throw the next challenge in get rid of me.” Thankfully for her sake, that plan didn’t come into fruition.

Laura had many friends in Samoa, but if that comment is any indication she also had her share of enemies. One of those, clearly, was Shambo: “I didn’t do anything to her,” Laura insists. “If I had said something mean CBS would have shown it…it’s tough with me being cast as Medusa.” She denied claims that Galu was as broken-down as the ex-Marine claimed, saying that Shambo was really the only person on the outs while everyone else was close. “We knew Shambo would flip [to Foa Foa], but we still had the numbers.”

Laura still had “the numbers” in mind when she made her most controversial decision of the game: booting out Erik. “I’m going to shoot at somebody when everyone’s coming at me,” she stated. Not only did Erik want her out, but also John, Shambo, and everyone on the Foa Foa tribe. Erik looked to be a safe target, but it ended up being something she “totally regrets” regarding her “Survivor” experience.

Thanks to the first post-merge tribal council, we were lead to the game’s turning point: when Russell found the second immunity idol and played it to knock out Kelly. This is what frustrated Laura the most. Why? “I was at that bridge all day,” referring to the spot where Russell discovered the idol.

Once it got down to a situation of five Galu versus five Foa Foa plus Shambo, Laura knew she was in trouble. In fact one of the biggest surprises to her was simply that “John didn’t flip before the tie vote.” She thanked her other former Galu members for sticking loyal (Dave, Monica, and Brett), even though they likely knew they were outnumbered.

–

Going back to Brett, talking with Laura enabled me to have a ton of respect for the way the guy is playing the game. Sure, he isn’t getting very much air time (which may be an indicator he doesn’t win), but he is being very subtle with who he talks to and how he talks to them. Both Kelly and Laura have felt “close” to the guy, and the men apparently were comfortable plotting with him, as well.

If Brett could use this tactic with somebody at Foa Foa, he could go pretty far–we’ll just have to wait and see. Next week is a recap episode, but as always stay tuned for more “Survivor” coverage.

The dreaded Survivor recap episodes have long been thought of as, well, turkeys, by fans. But last season’s Tocantins recap turned out to be a decent watch, crammed with new footage and storylines that shed light on some major moves in the game. And tomorrow’s recap episode of Survivor: Samoa (titled “The First 27 Days”) follows that same script. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s nowhere near as satisfying as an original episode (especially considering there is no fresh torch-snuffing to be had), but for hardcore fans, there are definitely some interesting deleted tidbits sprinkled throughout. Among the things revealed in the episode: We find out what happened to Daisy, the chicken that Shambo let slip out of the coop; a contestant threatens another player after a rough-and-tumble challenge; and there’s even more sneaky sabotage from Russell. All that, plus this genius quote: “Don’t make me throw up on your face.” (You’ll have to tune in to see who delivers that gem.) Check back on PopWatch right after the episode tomorrow for my mini-recap of the recap. In the meantime, let us know if you plan to watch tomorrow night, and make sure to see Tocantins runner-up Stephen Fishbach and me grill Laura, the most recent snuffed Survivor, on the latest edition of Survivor Talk below.

I am not going to sit here and say that the hidden immunity idols have exactly been hard to find this season on Survivor: Samoa. Heck, at this rate producers may as well just start hurling them right at the contestants’ faces. But even without the complete lack of subtlety, what Russell has done so far in finding two hidden immunity idols with no clues is pretty damn impressive. But can he do it again? It’s certainly going to be a lot harder now, and for one simple reason — he’s no longer the only person looking.

Last week, Dave from Galu remarkably opined that “If he suspects there’s one here, I’d be surprised.” That made so little sense for so many reasons I can’t even get into it now for fear of blowing a gasket and resorting to typing in all caps for the rest of this post in anger.

Suffice it to say that the Galu alliance has finally figured it out. Previews for this episode make it out to be a full-on immunity idol scavenger hunt, with players not only searching high and low, but also following Russell around to see where he is searching. Now, Russell doesn’t just need to locate it, but he needs to locate it before everyone else, and, if possible, away from prying eyes. If Russell does manage to find it, there is no denying that he will have taken his place as one of the true greats of the game — win, lose, or draw. (P.S. There are no draws in Survivor.) Of course, just as remarkable as Russell’s ability to locate HIIs is his transformation from vile villain to fan favorite. As the scrappy underdog taking on a cocky majority in Galu, Russell has become a character viewers have started to root for as opposed to against. Still, I know one person who is not a fan: Check out our Survivor Talk exit interview just ahead with the recently ousted Kelly, who has some not-so-kind words to share about both Russell and Shambo.

So will Russell stay alive? I think he’ll figure it out. He can win immunity, or find it.

After Survivor: Samoafinished filming (but before it began airing), Jeff Probst told me Shambo was “one of my all-time favorite characters.… I think Shambo is going to be an audience favorite.” And once I caught a glimpse of that glorious mullet, I figured the host was on to something. But ever since then, it’s been nothing but disappointment. Yes, Shambo is something of an outcast on her tribe and we generally tend to feel sympathetic toward such figures, but consider the other evidence. Exhibit A: She lost part of the fishing gear. It actually wasn’t so much that she lost part of the snorkel mask, but how incredibly unconcerned she seemed about losing it. Throw in the fact that she appeared to be merely floating in the water leisurely as opposed to fishing, and the whole incident was pretty damning. Exhibit B: She lost one of the chickens. Again, a simple mistake, but if you were out there starving, how would you have felt about it? Exhibit C: Her irrational hatred of yoga.It would be a lot easier to feel affection for Shambo if she wasn’t constantly dissing her tribemates. And for what? STRETCHING! Exhibit D: She insists on giving everyone else every clue as to the whereabouts of the Hidden Immunity Idol.I understand some may value here generosity on this one, but I say nay! Such idiotic gameplay simply cannot be condoned.

And who knows, maybe she will do something to win us all over. But so far I am completely underwhelmed, especially considering the awesomeness of the hair. Six episodes in, how are youfeeling about Shambo? Did Probst oversell her appeal, or are you diggin’ the madcap Marine?  First, however, be sure to watch the latest episode of Survivor Talkbelow, as Russell tells us about how “pissed” he was at Jeff Probst for puling him out of the game, as well as what the cameras didn’t show you after his collapse. And if you’d like all the hot Survivor scoop and random pop culture ramblings delivered right to your virtual door, you can follow me on Twitter @EWDaltonRoss.

Ah, Shambo, what do we do with Shambo?

When Russell Hantz first appeared on my Survivor screen, I thought him to be an arrogant, Texas blowhard, suffering from little man syndrome who would quickly get his comeuppance with a fast boot off the show.

I was wrong. I’m thinking that now, with the airing of Episode 8 of the 19th season of Survivor that Russell Hantz has cemented himself a spot in the Top Ten all time best on Survivor. Even if he gets kicked out next week.

Russell has altered the Survivor game. Few have managed that. From this point forward if Survivor continues with the Hidden Immunity Idol thing, everyone is going to be looking for it, clue or not.

It was surprise enough that Russell found the first Hidden Immunity Idol without a clue, but then to do it a second time and then use it to blindside the former Galu, whittling the Galu numbers down by one more. If this were scripted TV the plot would not be believable.

And now in the previews we see the Galu members chasing Russell around, afraid he’ll find a third idol. I may have the numbers wrong, but I think it is now 6 Galu to 4 Foa Foa. But, Shambo has pretty much said she is with Foa Foa. That makes it even.

I’m thinking Russell is going to engineer some little coup and keep himself on the island. Or he will win Immunity. That would be entertaining.

Russell Hantz: Gamechanger

Back in August I wrote an article summing up all of the known spoilers and speculation about who will be on Survivor 20. There was some uncertainty about some spots, but the spoiler community seems to have nailed it all down. And now, online Survivor freaks like me know which notable and notorious castaways will be back and who they will be playing with. There are some serious surprises and quite possibly some wicked personality clashes.

Read on to find out who is on the Heroes tribe and who will be playing for the Villains. Don’t click if you don’t want to know.

 

First up… The Heroes

Rupert Boneham, James “J.T.” Thomas, Tom Westman, Colby Donaldson, James Clement, Stephenie LaGrossa, Amanda Kimmel, Jessica ‘Sugar’ Kiper, Cirie Fields and Candice Woodcock

What an interesting group. This tribe is all about the men. You’ve definitely got more male bravado than you can shake a stick at. Tom, Colby, J.T., James and Rupert all dominated in the physical challenges. They all like to be providers. And, they’re all insanely competitive. The girls on this tribe could have it easy when it comes to having a bunch of butch hunter/gatherers providing food. Amanda, Stephenie and Candice will be able to hold their own in challenges and hopefully fend off a power play from the boys. Because you know those guys won’t take well to an emotionally needy play like Sugar or a smart social player like Cirie. I’m worried for Cirie. Her reputation as a brilliant strategist could put her in early trouble among a group of physical dynamos.

It will be interesting to see how long guys like Tom, Colby and J.T. can work together… if at all. Throw Stephenie in the mix and there could be trouble. They all played alpha male/female before, but there can only be one alpha.

Now for… The Villains

Jerri Manthey, Parvati Shallow, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Courtney Yates, Danielle DiLorenzo, Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano, Randy Bailey, Tyson Apostol, Ben “Coach” Wade and Russell Hantz

Where to start with this group? Holy shit! First of all, what the hell is Sandra doing on the Villains tribe? Is it because she beat America’s Sweetheart Rupert in Pearl Islands? With all the massive characters in this tribe she could once again take the under the radar strategy all the way to the title! Then there are Jerry, Randy and Courtney… three of the bitchiest and grumpiest people ever to play the game. How will they get along with each other or anyone else! How will Boston Rob, Parvati and Russell view each other? All three have shown they can be in complete control of the game and their alliances. Danielle is a total wild card in this. She would be smart to stick to Sandra and lay low. Two people that won’t lay low are Coach and Tyson. Both of them are crazy and both of them make a natural alliance. Those two things could make them early targets for smart players like Russell, Rob, Parvati and Sandra.

So far, I’m giving the competitive physical challenge edge to the Heroes. But the social scheming smarts of the Villains could prove unstoppable if they get numbers at the merge.

I think it will be an awesome season.

Survivor 20:  Heroes vs. Villains will, if it happens this way, be awesome!