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‘Survivor’ postgame: Francesca excited about being a spectator

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I don’t know about you, but as good as the new ‘Survivor’ is, I think it could have been more so if Francesca Hogi had been able to stick around a bit longer.

But, playing coulda-shoulda-woulda won’t get us anywhere. I talked to Francesca briefly Thursday morning after she was sent home for real-real following a duel with tribe mate Matt on Wednesday night’s episode of ‘Survivor: Redemption Island.’ I followed up on a New York Daily News interview in which she said she’d be far away from a TV when the show premiered a few weeks ago. She said she’d do karaoke, and doggone it, she did.

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‘All of my really close friends and family were all watching the show,’ she said. “I did karaoke with some of my co-workers. And during Episode 2, I went for drinks with some friends.’

Of course, she said, she got a constant stream of text messages and e-mails as the show aired (‘It was funny to read their reactions to things in real time.’) On Wednesday night, she said, she finally sat down and watched an episode, and found it enjoyable. Don’t think she’s completely out of the loop, though.

‘I read recaps. ... I know it happened,’ she said, laughing. ‘I can’t wait to see how it all played out. I’m excited to watch as a spectator.’

After the jump, more from Francesca on that crazy tribal council, Redemption Island and some of her bits of favorite pop culture.

I asked Francesca to give me a rundown of her thoughts and emotions during tribal council, and she said that, going in, she didn’t think that she’d be going home. ‘I knew that my whole plan was based on Kristina having the idol [and it being a secret],” she said. ‘Kristina was determined to vote out Rob; Phillip thought I was too, and I was happy letting him think that. ... I was hoping that Natalie would go home, but obviously that’s far from what happened.’

As to whether the transition from Ometepe’s camp to Redemption Island was as dramatic as it appeared, Francesca said it was in part because she had to do everything on her own.

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‘That tribal [council] was such a blazing fiasco,’ she said, ‘and it was really late, I was really tired, and I was really thirsty and getting dehydrated.’

There was little or nothing set up at Redemption Island, so Francesca had to fix up her shelter for sleeping and everything else.

‘It’s difficult enough setting up on the beach with a group of people,’ she said.

She said that when Matt arrived after she had spent two nights on her own, they still had no idea about anything but that she enjoyed roughing it with him. She added that she actually really liked her tribe and is still in touch with some of the people, such as Rob, Matt and Andrea.

Before she moves on to obscurity, I got into her head by moving on to movies, which she loves to watch. (In reference, I believe, to this blog calling her hobby unimpressive, Francesca said, “Whatever, I like movies!”). Some of her favorites are: ‘The Godfather, Part II,’ ‘The Shawshank Redemption,’ ‘The Player,’ ‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘All About Eve’ and ‘The Princess Bride.’ Discussing this year’s Oscar nominees, she said she loved ‘The King’s Speech’ but was hoping ‘The Social Network’ would win best picture.

And though she originally auditioned for ‘The Amazing Race’ and was happy ending up on ‘Survivor,’ Francesca said she doesn’t watch too much TV.

‘I must say, once I didn’t get on (‘The Amazing Race’), I stopped watching,’ she said, laughing.

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She said that besides ‘Survivor’ now, she enjoys ‘Southland’ (and hates that nobody watches it), ‘Project Runway’ and ‘Top Chef’ (although she hadn’t seen the latest episode, she’s rooting for Antonia).

In conclusion, Francesca wanted to say something to her new fans: ‘For all the people who reached out and were rooting for me, I’m extremely grateful, and it truly warms my heart.’

RELATED:

‘Survivor’ recap: When a concubine can’t keep her mouth shut

‘Survivor’ recap: Lions and gorillas and Christians, oh my

‘Survivor’ recap: An agent of change

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Complete ‘Survivor’ coverage on Show Tracker

-- Anthony Williams
Twitter.com/anthonyw_ent

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