Survivor returns to Africa for only the second time in the show's history when its new season premieres on September 25th.  Survivor: Gabon will truly test the limits of the contestants, putting them in harsh conditions to live among dangerous animals.  Gone are the days of beaches and coconuts.  These players will just be happy when they find fresh water!  As we gear up for the premiere, BuddyTV is taking a closer look at the contestants, whose introduction videos are now up on CBS.com.  Last week, we met Michelle, Ken, and Ace.  The BuddyTV readers voted in a poll, deciding that Michelle would make it the furthest of the three.  Today, we take a closer look at Kelly, Marcus, and Gillian.  Read on and get to know these enthusiastic Survivor players and vote which one will do the best this season!

Kelly is 22 years old, from Illinois, and works in retail sales.  This blonde beauty says that she can use her manipulating skills, that she uses in her every day life to close sales, in the game of Survivor.  Kelly is extremely close to her brothers, who pushed her to be independent as she was growing up and credits them for the strong player she plans to be in the game.  "My worst personality trait is being overconfident," she admits.  "Sometimes I think I can do everything and get everything and everything's safe.  Sometimes, that's just not a good thing!"

Marcus not only has the looks but he brings brains and braun to Survivor, too.  A 28 year old single doctor from Atlanta, he says he won't complain if there's a beautiful woman to cuddle up with at night in Gabon.  Marcus has studied the game and sees one major quality that Survivor finalists possess: the ability to be conniving.  "I'm not the biggest fan of [it]," he says, but "when you're interacting with people, a lot of times, you have to do a lot of things to make commitments."  He says he's in great shape and it looks like Marcus brings the perfect combo to succeed in the game.

This season's oldest female contestant is Gillian, who is 61 years old and hails from Temecula, California.  She was certainly determined to make the show, having tried out 15 times to get on the show!  "I absolutely have always known that one day, I would play Survivor and obviously it was waiting for African again because I'm an American citizen with an African soul and it was waiting for me to come back so I could win this game in my home continent."  She promises that she won't let her family and fans down and will represent older Survivor players well.  Considering how well she knows the game, she may be the best chance an older player has to win this thing.

See also: Survivor: Gabon - A Closer Look At The Cast, Part 2




- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of CBS)