Reality TV Updates

Jessica Smith, was eliminated from the show Thursday, although taping was completed in midsummer. She lasted 18 days.

Since then she’s been back in town but according to strict rules by the CBS network, she hasn’t been able to talk about her adventure publicly.

That would spoil all the fun for viewers.

CBS tracked Flica down because they were looking for a roller derby athlete. The network contacted CalSkate where the NorCal Roller Derby takes place and was given a few names. The network liked what they saw, and even though Flica didn’t watch the show, she was chosen to be among the 20 contestants for the show’s “Cook Islands” adventure.

For those who haven’t seen the show, the
contestants are sent to an island where they must fend for themselves, gathering or hunting for food, lighting fires and building shelters.

Meanwhile, the players are separated into tribes and conspire behind each others’ backs for who is voted off at the end of each episode.

The tribes compete against each other in “team challenges” that usually require agility and/or strength.

Flica is known for being a strong athlete in her roller derby circle, and was the captain of the championship VooDoo Dolls last season. Roller derby competitors know her as being a strong competitor.

Friends said she worked out for about a month before going to the Cook Islands in Australia for the “Survivor” competition.

Roller derby isn’t the only thing Flica is known for. She performs on stilts and twirls fire and is also known as a talented costume and makeup designer.

Her strength and agility came into play during the game. During one episode, she proved her balancing skills in a competition that had her balancing on top of a shaft in the ocean. Another competition included a drag-out struggle with a female police officer, where Flica out-wrestled her opponent.

Friend Gini Lehrman, who plays roller derby under the pseudonym “Lunachick,” said she was impressed by her friend’s performance on “Survivor.”

“When she puts her mind to it, she can do anything,” Lehrman said. “It was an amazing experience for her.”

Thursday night appeared to be fairly random as to the voting off of Flica. Someone had to go, and the tribe chose not to vote off another teammate who performed well at the physical challenge in the episode.

Time will tell how the strategies of the participants play out.

NorCal Roller Derby practices and competes at Chico’s CalSkate. Owner Mike Seko has been following the adventures of Flica and said he was impressed by her willingness “to do anything she needed to do to make sure her team won the challenge.”

“There was hair pulling … she did what had to be done,” Seko said. “She definitely showed her warrior side on that.”

——————-