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puddin:
'Survivor: Tocantins'' Sydney on Her Ousting

It was the third straight week that the Jalapao Tribe lost the Immunity Challenge on "Survivor: Tocantins -- The Brazilian Highlands" and had to face host Jeff Probst at Tribal Council. There was a lot of negotiating behind the scenes as to who would go home: Was it going to be Tamara “Taj” Johnson-George, who had the Immunity Idol, or would it be Sydney Wheeler?


When the vote was counted, Taj's alliances held and 24-year-old Sydney, who lives in San Diego, Calif., was cast out of the Highlands.

ET: Were you blindsided by the vote? I was.

Sydney Wheeler: I knew it was coming, unfortunately. I had the feeling that something was going on, so I pulled JT aside about an hour before Tribal Council. He told me that it was between Taj and me, and it was leaning toward me because Taj has a little more pull with the other tribe. Going into the merge with the few numbers that we had, we needed someone who had a good relationship with the tribe. In that sense I understood, but you never want to be voted off, so it sucked.

ET: How aware were you that Joe was attracted to you? Did you play on that attraction to ensure a place in the tribe?

Sydney: About two days into it, Joe, Spencer and I actually had an alliance that they didn't show on TV. Joe and I got along as friends. He was more like my big brother out there. They tried to play it like we had a romance going, but he was more like my "Survivor" best friend. He was my protector. He was also the middle man between JT, Stephen and me. He was in an all-guy alliance with them, so I tried to make my way into that all-guy alliance with Joe. I wasn't aware that he actually liked me. We just got along pretty well.

ET: Did Joe ever tell you that he had found the Immunity Idol? If so, did he ever offer to let you use it?

Sydney: No. I know he found it a couple of hours before I got voted off. The whole time he was telling me that I had nothing to worry about because Taj was next. JT wasn't actually told until a couple of hours before about the Immunity Idol that Taj had. I think JT thought that Taj was the next to go. Then, the tables turned when he found out that she had the Immunity Idol. She became more of an asset.

ET: Did you suspect that Taj had the Immunity Idol?

Sydney: No. I was in the dark. She went to JT. I think that is how she got his vote. She knew she would have been voted off that night.

ET: What's it like to watch yourself on TV?

Sydney: It is so weird to see yourself on TV. You think you know what you are going to look like and sound like. I didn't want to be stereotyped as this blonde-haired ditz girl, but I look at myself on TV and that is exactly what I am. I am trying to accept it in a way that is positive -- and read the dictionary a little more. It is definitely weird, because you see those little quirks you didn't know about yourself.

ET: What do you think of the cross-tribe alliance between Taj, Stephen, Sierra and Brendan for the merge?

Sydney: Honestly, I think it is interesting. When I was out there, I did not think that Taj had a game going on. I thought she was just trying to get by and just not playing a very hard game. Watching it on TV, she is just on fire. She is doing awesome. I hope that they do really well. Of course, I am going to go for my Jalapao. Watching Timbira and Brendan and Sierra, it seems as if they have a pretty good alliance going for them, as well. I don't know it is going to turn out. I hope it is going to be Jalapao.

ET: Was being hungry the hardest part, or was there something harder?

Sydney: "Survivor" is real, which people just don't get watching it for 45 minutes, where we lived three days of it. The hardest thing, honestly, for me was trying to find some normalcy and balance. Also, the people. Dealing with Sandy on a daily basis was insane. I felt she was rubbing off on me a little bit. You see people in a totally different light when they haven't had anything to eat or drink. I tried not to judge them because they are playing a game out there. It is such a weird dynamic out there.

ET: If you had a do-over, would you change anything? Is there something you think you should have done differently that would have produced a different outcome?

Sydney: I wouldn't rely on Joe so much to be the middle man. I relied on his alliance with JT instead of making my own alliance with JT or Taj. Also, getting an alliance with Taj, we could have just as easily voted JT off, as he wanted us voted off. Also, I shot myself in the foot when I voted Spencer off, because I think Spencer would have been true to our alliance. I really believe Spencer would have gone all the way with us. That, and just not trying to be a friend to people and honest and trustworthy. I was out there playing a game. I went out there knowing that I wanted to not be that way, and I still played the game that way. Looking back, it gets under my skin.

ET: What was the biggest readjustment to being home?

Sydney: I would say food. I lost 11 pounds while I was out there. When I started eating again, my body soaked up all of it 200 percent. I gained all the weight back plus more. Also, sleeping in a bed. We were so used to sleeping on the ground and on fronds, and our backs and our skin being ashy and dry. For me, mentally, it wasn't so bad. I tried every day to think about my friends and family. Thinking about them helped me get through the game.

"Survivor: Tocantins" airs Thursday nights at 8 p.m. on CBS


http://www.theinsider.com/news/1954946__Survivor_Tocantins_Sydney_on_Her_Ousting

puddin:
Exclusive Interview: Sydney Wheeler, from 'Survivor: Tocantins'
Friday, April 03, 2009
Sydney Wheeler had the cards stacked against her.  With Taj Johnson-George making appearance after appearance on Exile Island, acquiring the hidden immunity idol, forging alliances with members of Timbira, bringing Stephen and J.T. into her inner circle, it left Sydney on the outside looking in.  No one ever said Survivor was fair, though, and that's just the way things worked out.  Sydney made no strategic mistakes (though, she probably could have done more), and was ousted from Survivor: Tocantins last night, the last castaway to walk the plank before the merge.  We had the great pleasure of speaking with Sydney this morning, and we discussed her time on the island, her relationship with Joe Dowdle and the dreaded Curse of the Beans.

Below you will find both the written transcript and full mp3 audio of the interview. 


more here ..............
http://www.buddytv.com/articles/survivor/exclusive-interview-sydney-whe-27534.aspx

puddin:
Exclusive: Sydney Wheeler talks about her time on 'Survivor: Tocantins'

   
By John Bracchitta, 04/03/2009

Sydney Wheeler had been told repeatedly that she had nothing to worry about regarding Jalapao's upcoming Tribal Council session


However all that seemed to change once James "JT" Thomas Jr. discovered that Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George had found the hidden Immunity Idol and was added JT to her alliance with Stephen Fishbach.  Suddenly Sydney found herself on the outside of the tribe's strongest alliance, and led to her becoming the sixth castaway to be eliminated from the CBS reality series.

On Friday, Sydney spoke to Reality TV World about when she learned that she would be going home instead of Taj, whether or not she thought Joe Dowdle was lying to her when he promised she would be safe, and why she didn't like claims that she flirted her way to as far as she made it in the competition.


Reality TV World:  It seemed like you were pretty sure you would be safe from elimination pretty much all the way until the Tribal Council vote. Was that accurate or was it just the show's editing?

Sydney: No, I think it was pretty accurate.

That morning before the challenge JT and I walked to a place together and he told me "Taj, tonight for sure if we lose." We ended up losing, and about two hours before Tribal Council I see JT, Stephen and Taj talking and I'm wondering what's going on so I take JT to the side and he tells me that it's actually now me and [he] doesn't know who's gonna be better at the merge.

And at this point we don't know when we're merging, but we know it's coming and we need numbers on our side and we need someone who's going to fare better with the other tribe. And obviously Taj had more experience with the other tribe.

So, I mean at that point there was no pleading for my life for me. I knew it was time.
 
Reality TV World:  What were you thinking when [Joe Dowdle] told you that you weren't really in danger of being eliminated? He really didn't even address the possibility that you could be on the chopping block.

Sydney: Yeah, well he had just come back from Exile, and he didn't really know what was going on. And at that point I should've never let Joe be the middle man between JT, Stephen and I. I should've just allowed myself to figure out what was going on. I didn't really understand what Joe meant, but I think he was just trying to make me feel comfortable about it.

Reality TV World:  So you think he was being truthful just miscalculated what was going on? There wasn't any gameplay?

Sydney: Yeah, I don't think he did maliciously. Towards the end once we were going to Tribal Council he was like "I'm staying true to Taj, voting for Taj, voting for Taj," so he made me feel comfortable enough to tell me it was gonna be Taj all the way.

But I think he just didn't know. I think, if anything he was blindsided more than anyone.

Reality TV World:  Can you explain what your Tribal Council point about how you wouldn't have any prior relationships with Timbera once the merge came was supposed to be all about?  Because even if you guys had a loyal foursome, you would have to get someone else to flip so you could have numbers.

Sydney: Oh, exactly. You know, we're going into a merge without numbers, and we would need someone who just has more experience with Timbira, like Taj. Whether or not it's good experience? What I meant was loyalty and how I wouldn't flip necessarily to the other tribe, where Taj might have more of a reason because she'd made better relationships with them.

Reality TV World:  In your exit statement you said that you "really see anyone from Timbira switching over, but they might try to do something." Does that mean that you didn't have any idea about any of the cross-tribal alliances that were being formed away at Exile?

Sydney: Oh yeah. Every time Taj would come back it would be 'Oh, I didn't learn much.' Taj didn't have much to say about Exile except about how horrible the conditions were. So I thought she was playing a totally different game than what actually was going on, and the whole [cross-tribe] thing is brilliant. She's really smart for doing it.

Reality TV World:  You and Joe were obviously allied together, did he make any mention of, well, what turned out to be that fake Immunity Idol he found before Tribal Council as a possible way to save you if you were up for elimination?

Sydney: No he didn't. He never told me that he found it, which I'm almost glad he didn't because it would have been an embarrassing thing on my part. But he never did, no.

Reality TV World:  Stephen’s alliance with JT seemed pretty obvious based on what was shown on TV, but how obvious was Stephen and Taj's alliance while you were out there, did you know about it?

Sydney: That's a good question. You know, I always felt something. I even would call Stephen out on it because he was easier to call out than Taj was. Taj would get mad at me if I tried to call her out on anything and blow up at me. So I think with Stephen he would always play it down, 'Oh no, we don't have that. We're not that big.' He would always play up him and JT's friendship. So I would just believe him (Laughs), of course.

Reality TV World:  Did you have any suspicions that Taj and Stephen -- and eventually JT by the end of last night's episode -- were sharing the hidden Immunity Idol?

Sydney: No. You know, I never really caught on that Taj had the Immunity Idol for some reason. I thought [Brendan Synnott] was smart enough to find it. I was stupid enough to think that there wouldn't be one at each camp, so I never even suspected it. But I knew there was an alliance going about an hour before when I saw them talking, which sucked. Because I knew it was me [going home].

Reality TV World:  Do you think Taj's decision to bring JT in on her hidden Idol -- which she only did after Stephen told her he'd already found out about it -- was the deciding factor as to why you were voted off?  Because based on what was shown last night, it looked like JT's belief that they were all kind of "sharing" the idol seemed to play a big role in his decision to vote for you.

Sydney: I definitely think it was the deciding factor. Why wouldn't you go with someone who has an Immunity Idol? Especially when they're willing enough to give it to someone else. And she was with Stephen but she gave it to Stephen. Why wouldn't you go with someone and blindside them later on, with possibly you getting [the Idol]. So I think it was a smart move on her part to tell him, and I think it was smart move to go along with it, which doesn't fare nicely from my side, but it's true.

Reality TV World:  We saw Joe trying to sway JT and Stephen into keeping you but we didn't really see you do a lot of campaigning.  Did you ever approach JT or Stephen yourself and try and sway one of them to your side?

Sydney: Yeah definitely. Like I said, the hour before Tribal Council I took JT aside and just kind of tried to pick his brain and see where he was, and he told me it was me or Taj but he was leaning towards me more because Taj had more of a pull. I definitely did a little pleading for my life and told him how I would be a little bit more loyal, I would definitely be able to pull some of the guys.

And with Stephen it was... (Pauses) Stephen always lied to my face.

Stephen told me straight up "Hey, we're voting for Taj." He never told me that he had any doubt that Taj wasn't going. So I had no reason to go to Stephen and plead for my life, in a way.

Reality TV World: Actually I'm not sure if it's what you were alluding to with the 'guys' thing you just said, but you seemed to catch some flack in the early rounds of the competition for flirting with some of the guys, especially Joe it seemed, to get some alliances going. What did you think of that?

Sydney: Well I just think it's funny because it's my nature, my personality, it's just me being friendly. And I do have flirtatious qualities, it's in my personality and I'm not ashamed of it or anything, but I just think it's funny the way it played up, and also that that's my only strategy and that's the only way I'm getting by in the game.

That's not what it was. I made these alliances with [Spencer Duhm] and Joe, that's as far as I got with Spencer, you know? And then with Joe, JT, Stephen and Taj we were all good buddies. I mean of course [Sandy Burgin] is gonna be next.

And then after that it's just like whittling them down. So it sucked to watch that edit, but whatever, that's what I signed up for.

Reality TV World: If it's any consolation, when we talked to Sandy she said she 'woulda done the same' if she had "the brawn and the brain and the body' that you did. Tell me about Spencer, you were also the one who seemed to be testing Spencer the most about his past relationships. When we talked to him, he told us he didn't tell anyone on the show he was gay but he thought you probably suspected it.  Is that true?

Sydney: Oh yeah. From the first for hours of the truck where we met each other I picked up on it. It's a girl thing, 'gaydar,' whatever. I didn't wanna call him out on national TV, but I was trying to make him feel more comfortable by asking him what was his status and he still never came out, so I knew it was a touchy subject.

And the I even did ask the guys, JT and Joe, what they thought and if they thought he might be gay and they both said "No, he likes sports, he's a guy's guy. No way." So it was kinda funny to be right about it.

Reality TV World:  How were you cast on the show?

Sydney: I was at a bar and was found by a casting director, and then she gave me her card. I was in college for the first time when they called, so I didn't go. The second time they called I was able to go in for an interview and did an on-camera interview and then had the final interview. So I guess, yeah, I was found at a bar. (Laughs)

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/exclusive-sydney-wheeler-talks-about-her-time-on-survivor-tocantins-8724.php

RealityFreakWill:
Survivor's Sydney Wheeler Turns to Something Easier

Sydney Wheeler, a 24-year-old model and interior designer who was the sixth person voted off of Survivor: Tocantins, says it was hard to see herself go: "Watching it last night, it was just kind of weird because I knew the outcome, but I still had hope for myself," the Raleigh, N.C., native told TVGuide.com Friday.

Wheeler, who lost to Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George in the voting on Thursday's episode, plans to focus now on her modeling career, which has taken off thanks to the show. Besides modeling for Peruvian cosmetics company Esika, she's looking at the possibility of appearing in ads for Abercrombie and Fitch and Target. She talked with us about whether her looks helped her, her regrets, and whether modeling is really that hard.

TVGuide.com: Is there anything you would've done differently?
Sydney: I shot myself in the foot when I voted Spencer off. He was part of an early alliance that I had made with him and Joe. ... I knew at that point someone who would have been on my side was not anymore.

TVGuide.com: But you said at the start you were willing to lie, cheat and steal.
Sydney: Yeah, exactly! So I proved myself right but I still shot myself in the foot. I still could've used his vote.

TVGuide.com: You also said at the start you were willing to use your looks to advance. But does that really help on Survivor?
Sydney: Well, I think it does and it doesn't. I think they definitely played it up more than it definitely helped me. ... I had more of a strategy with having Joe and Spencer for an alliance first, and then trying to make a friendship with Taj and trying to talk to Sandy K. I was definitely trying to play all fields, but I was also laying low and trying to stay under the radar... So there were other strategic things that I did, but I think for some reason they wanted to play up the flirty thing, because it was more entertaining.

TVGuide.com: And how did the flirty thing work out with Spencer?
Sydney: [Laughs] Me and Spencer had our fun, but with Spencer... he was fun to flirt with because I knew nothing would come from it. I knew from the beginning that he was gay. I definitely felt comfortable with him.

TVGuide.com: You say in your bio for the show that modeling is easy. Why do they gripe about it so much on Top Model?
Sydney: [Laughs] Different jobs are easier than others. ... It is hard in some aspects and then it's easy because you get to take pictures all day. In a way it's hard, but also for some people it comes naturally and it's a little bit easier. I wouldn't say it's easy, maybe I should take that back. But it's definitely an easier job.

TVGuide.com: Who are you rooting for and who do you think will win?
Sydney: I have three people that I'm going for. I just love the sarcastic-ness of Tyson. I think he's hilarious. .... Although I've never met him, so I don't know. And then also Taj, because I think she's playing a very smart, under-the-radar game. And also Stephen because he's just so goofy and lovable and fun, but he's also playing a manipulative game.

Out of those three I hope Taj wins for sure... I think she has a good chance. Right now she's looking pretty good on her high horse. She has two guys that are at her beck and call because she has the immunity idol, and she's a big woman. She could take any of those girls in an immunity challenge. I think she's looking pretty good for a merge.

What do you think? Is Taj the favorite to win?

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Survivor-Sydney-Wheeler-1004736.aspx

Snooky:
Survivor: With Idols Everywhere, Sydney Leaves Tocantins

April 3, 2009
If you were wondering when someone would patch together a fake hidden immunity idol, this was your episode! With Jalapao’s Joe and Timbira’s Erinn experiencing Exile Island for the first time, the secret alliance between Taj and Stephen had to assume Joe would have enough clues to find the idol back at camp. So, Taj sewed up a fancy necklace that rivaled Bob’s handiwork on Gabon. Joe found it, got excited, but then pocketed it. Unfortunately for 24-year-old Raleigh, N.C., model Sydney Wheeler, she had no leverage, fake or real, to stave off enough votes and became the sixth person ousted from Survivor: Tocantins.

A Hill of Beans: At Jalapao, in a foreshadowing of a strategy-move-to-come, Taj told Stephen she wanted to tell JT about the immunity idol. Although she and Stephen had a connection to Sierra and Brendan, Taj worried she wouldn’t even make it to the merge to capitalize on it. Stephen, though, wanted to control the flow of information to his buddy JT and told Taj to lay low. On Timbira, Coach micromanaged mealtime, wanting to cook beans longer even if it meant having them stew in the rain. “It’s another one of those Coach moments,” Brendan said. Even so, Brendan liked the fact that, as annoying as he was, Coach was nothing if not consistent.
Flying Pigs and Waterfalls: In a reward challenge where teams built barricades in two wooden rigs to try to prevent ceramic pigs from being tossed intact from one player to another, Timbira held on to their lead to win a trip to a waterfall accompanied by pool toys and BBQ burgers. Timbira chose Joe to go to Exile and in turn, he picked Erinn, marking them as Exile newbies. While on Exile, Erinn debated if she could trust Joe or not, but in the end shared with him the clue to the hidden immunity idol back at their camps and formed a loose alliance.

Fakin’ It: At Jalapao, Taj and Stephen concluded that Joe would get enough clues to find the location of the idol. Not wanting him to know they already had it, Taj did a bang-up job making a fake and hid the not-idol back near Tree Mail. Unfortunately, she wasn’t so good stashing her real prize and JT found it while looking for an empty fishing sack. JT tattled on her to Stephen, who thought fast on his feet and explained to JT that Taj had just found it. Stephen then told Taj the yarn she needed to spin to keep their stories in line and soon the three made an internal Jalapao alliance.

Puzzling It Out: A newly resurgent and barbecue-fueled Timbira tribe puzzle-pieced out a victory in the immunity challenge, sending Jalapao to yet another tribal council. Back at camp, Joe told Sydney, Stephen and JT to vote out Taj. Fearing the dissolution of their mini-alliance, Stephen and JT tried to convince Joe to vote out Sydney instead, arguing that Taj had ties to Timbira, which would help the out-numbered Jalapao in a merge. But Joe, who had a thing for Sydney, refused to change his mind. For a fleeting moment, it seemed Taj would be tossed when Stephen told JT that he physically possessed the hidden idol and they wouldn’t even need Taj, but in the end, although Joe was caught off guard, Jalapao cast Sydney out of the game. – Cynthia Wang

http://tvwatch.people.com/2009/04/03/survivor-with-idols-everywhere-sydney-leaves-tocantins/

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