Survivor contestant Big Tom Buchanan

'Big Tom' Buchanan - Survivor: Africa, Survivor: All-Stars

Big Tom Buchanan on social media: twitter

Seasons: 2 | Days: 73 | Wins: 0 | Jury: 2

Survivor: Africa (2001) - 4th place, 13th out - 6th juror.

Voted out in Episode 13, "The Final Four - No Regrets" (Day 37).

Survivor: All-Stars (2004) - 5th place, 14th out - 5th juror.

Voted out in Episode 14, "The Instigator" (Day 36).

Big Tom Buchanan - Career statistics
	Challenge stats	Tribal council stats	Jury stats
Season	ChW	ChA	ChW%	VFB	VAP	TCA	TC%	wTCR	JVF	TotJ	JV%	SurvSc	SurvAv
S3: Africa	1.67	12.29	0.14	7	7	10	0.69	1.78	-	-	-	0.83	3.45
S8: All-Stars	3.24	10.81	0.30	5	4	6	0.82	2.92	-	-	-	1.12	6.16
Career	4.91	23.10	0.21	12	11	16	0.74	2.80	-	-	-	0.96	5.25

Africa challenges (click to expand/collapse)
Tribal/team challenge record (4-for-12; 1 sit-out):
- Africa Ep. 1 RC/IC: "Trail Blazer" - Helps push the cart. Boran loses as Diane passes out at the end.
- Africa Ep. 2 RC: "Stairway to the Stars" - Carries the poles, Boran loses again, this time as Kim falls down.
- Africa Ep. 2 IC: "Safari Supper" - Drinks his first-round shot of blood, but Kelly loses the tiebreaker. Boran loses.
- Africa Ep. 3 RC: "Rock 'n Roll" - Helps roll the boulder. Boran wins easily.
- Africa Ep. 3 IC: "Distress Signal" - Boran wisely uses an open area, Tom wears a feather, Boran wins.
- Africa Ep. 4 RC: "Caught in the Web" - Matched up against Brandon. Kims falls again, as does Boran.
- Africa Ep. 4 IC: "Movin' on Up" - One of four big guys carrying the heavy stuff, Boran wins.
- Africa Ep. 5 RC: "Get Your Goat" - Now with New Samburu, which loses, despite Tom being a goat farmer.
- Africa Ep. 5 IC: "Puzzle of Shields" - New Samburu "wins" as Ethan & Mama Kim throw the IC to boot Silas.
- Africa Ep. 6 RC: "Africa 102" - Tom sits out, new Samburu wins a feast.
- Africa Ep. 6 IC: "Spear-It Hunt" - Tom hits one target, but Samburu loses, 5-4.
- Africa Ep. 9 RC: "Obstacle Course" - Paired with Kim P. Does not win first heat.
Individual challenge record (1-for-10): (Mean % finish: 55%)
- Africa Ep. 7 IC: "When It Rains, It Pours" - Lasts 44 minutes, good enough for sixth place (6th/10).
- Africa Ep. 8 RC: "Stomp-ede" - Lands fewer than Frank's 5, but more than Kelly's 1 item (tie-6th/9).
- Africa Ep. 8 IC: "Box Your Mind" - Makes final round, gets a surprisingly strong 6 items (tie-2nd/9).
- Africa Ep. 9 IC: "Light It Up" - Not shown making any fire (tie-6th/8).
- Africa Ep. 10 IC: "African Folklore" - One of five people tied for third with 4 straps (tie-3rd/7).
- Africa Ep. 11 RC: "Know Your Loved One" - Just misses the win with 2 matches, but Lex brings him anyway (tie-2nd/6).
- Africa Ep. 11 IC: "Pot Shots" - Tom smashes a whopping 8 pots, and Tom wins immunity! (1st/6).
- Africa Ep. 12 RC: "Swahili Scramble" - Not Tom's game. Two words found (5th/5).
- Africa Ep. 12 IC: "Second Chance" - With Ethan, working on the puzzle as Lex wins (tie-2nd/5).
- Africa Ep. 13 F4 IC: "Fallen Comrades" - Misses on final question, does not win (3rd/4).
Redemption/Exile Island duel record (0-for-0):
- None.
All-Stars challenges (click to expand/collapse)
Tribal/team challenge record (7-for-14; 4 sit-outs):
- All-Stars Ep. 1 RC/IC: "Quest for Fire" - Chapera wins easily (1st/3).
- All-Stars Ep. 2 RC: "Stairway to the Stars" - Sits out as Chapera loses, but gets reward anyway.
- All-Stars Ep. 2 IC: "Float Your Boat" - Chapera wins again (1st/3).
- All-Stars Ep. 3 RC: "Better Homes and Island Living" - Chapera builds the best camp, wins (1st/3).
- All-Stars Ep. 4 RC: "Match Maker" - Sits out as Chapera wins again (1st/3).
- All-Stars Ep. 4 IC: "Blind Leading the Blind" - Chapera loses! (3rd/3).
- All-Stars Ep. 5 RC: "Shipwrecked Raft Race" - Sits out as Chapera finishes second (2nd/3).
- All-Stars Ep. 5 IC: "Pilfering Pirates" - Now down to two tribes, Chapera wins again.
- All-Stars Ep. 6 RC: "Tribal Stomp-ede" - Chapera loses Sue, then loses the challenge.
- All-Stars Ep. 7 RC/IC: "Blind Leading the Blind" - Chapera wins yacht feast, kidnaps Kathy.
- All-Stars Ep. 8 RC: "Log Jam" - Sits out, Chapera wins again.
- All-Stars Ep. 8 IC: "Choose Your Weapon" - Chapera wins again.
- All-Stars Ep. 9 IC: "Survivor History" - Now switched to Mogo Mogo, and Mogo Mogo wins.
- All-Stars Ep. 11 RC: "Big Bad O' Course" - Not part of the winning team.
*Note: Second-place finishes during the three-tribe phase of All-Stars count as a half-win.

Individual challenge record (1-for-7): (Mean % finish: 56%)
- All-Stars Ep. 10 RC: "Rock Bottom" - Eliminated in the third round (tie-4th/9).
- All-Stars Ep. 10 IC: "Waiting to Exhale" - Second man eliminated, just missing finals (3rd/4).
- All-Stars Ep. 12 RC: "Face Off" - First person eliminated (7th/7).
- All-Stars Ep. 12 IC: "When It Rains, It Pours" - Third person out, fairly quickly (5th/7).
- [All-Stars Ep. 13 RC: "Survivor Smorgasboard" - Bucky Bo wins for Tom! ... but not counted)].
- All-Stars Ep. 13 IC: "Fire and Rain" - Despite failing at this in Africa, Tom wins! (1st/6).
- All-Stars Ep. 14 RC: "Second Chance" - Eliminated in the third round (3rd/5).
- All-Stars Ep. 14 IC: "Survivor Scramble" - Tom puts in a valiant effort, finding 16/17 tribe names (3rd/5).
Redemption/Exile Island duel record (0-for-0):
- All-Stars: None.

Career challenge totals

Team/tribal challenges
Wins:	11
Played:	26
Win%:	0.42
Sat out:	5

Individual challenges
Wins:	2
Played:	17
Win%:	0.12
Mean% Finish:	84%

Duels
Wins:	0
Played:	0
Win%:	--
Mean% Finish:	--

Africa Tribal (click to expand/collapse)
Idols held/played: (0/0)
- Africa: None.
VFB - Votes for the person booted (7/10):
- Africa, Ep. 6: Lindsey Richter (voted out, 3-3; out due to prior votes against).
- Africa, Ep. 7: Clarence Black (voted out, 8-2).
- Africa, Ep. 8: Kelly Goldsmith (voted out, 5-4).
- Africa, Ep. 9: Brandon Quinton (voted out, 6-2).
- Africa, Ep. 10: Frank Garrison (voted out, 6-1).
- Africa, Ep. 11: Kim Powers (voted out, 4-2).
- Africa, Ep. 12: Teresa Cooper (voted out, 4-1).
VAP - Votes against (7):
- Africa, Ep. 6: Three votes, from Kim P., Brandon, and Lindsey.
- Africa, Ep. 12: One vote, from Teresa.
- Africa, Ep. 13 (F4 vote): Three votes, from Ethan, Kim J., and Lex (voted out, 3-1).
Jury votes made (1/1):
- Africa, Ep. 13: Voted for Ethan Zohn (who won, 5-2).
All-Stars Tribal (click to expand/collapse)
Idols held/played: (0/0)
- All-Stars: None.
VFB - Votes for the person booted (5/6):
- All-Stars, Ep. 4: Rob Cesternino (voted out, 5-1).
- All-Stars, Ep. 10: Lex van den Berghe (voted out, 7-2).
- All-Stars, Ep. 11: Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien (voted out, 6-2).
- All-Stars, Ep. 12: Alicia Calaway (voted out, 6-1).
- All-Stars, Ep. 13: Shii Ann Huang (voted out, 5-1).
VAP - Votes against (4):
- All-Stars, Ep. 14: Four votes, from Amber, Boston Rob, Jenna L., and Rupert (voted out, 5-1).
Jury votes made (1/1):
- All-Stars, Ep. 15: Voted for Amber Brkich (who won, 4-3).

Career Tribal Council totals

Hidden idols
Found:	0
Played:	0
Votes voided:	--

Voting record
VFB:	12
Tribals:	16
VAP:	11

Jury votes
Made:	2
For winners:	2
Received:	--

Africa image gallery (click to expand/collapse)

Africa intro shot

Africa intro shot

On the truck with Probst, Day 1

On the truck, head shot

Hometown intro shot

Freshly dumped off the truck. Have a nice day!

Boran gathers stuff

Double-checking the map

Talking about the hike

Yay, camp

Trying to make fire

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep1 RC/IC

Starting line

Ready to go

Leading

Still leading? (No)

Relaxing with Diane

Boran yells at Clarence

Boran, Ep1 Tribal Council

Talking about Clarence

Watching the vote reveal

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep2 RC

Starting line

Placing a pole

Carrying another pole

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep2 IC

Here comes the cow

That's... graphic

Watching Kelly lose the tiebreaker

Boran, back at Tribal Council again, Ep2

Talking about Clarence again

Checking treemail with Clarence

Reading the Ep3 RC treemail

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep3 RC

Listening to Probst

Rolling stones

On a roll to victory

Boran finally wins one!

Enjoying some water

Talking about Boran's distress signal, Ep3 IC

Nothing says distress quite like this

Boran wins! Ep3 IC

Cheers

Talking about food, early Ep4

Trying and failing to climb a tree

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep4 RC

Starting line

Battling Brandon

Watching Boran lose another one

Fun times in Boran camp

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep4 IC

Listening to Probst

Starting line

Boran hauls a house

Put 'er there

Boran wins immunity!

Victory hike to some big rock

Victim of the first-ever tribe swap, Ep5

Answering fairly easy questions about Africa, Ep6 RC

Samburu wins!

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep6 IC

Freshly merged, pre-challenge lineup, Ep7 IC

Ep7 IC, now underway

Time to find an item, Ep8 IC

Final round, Ep8 IC

Failing to start a fire, Ep9 IC

Ready to eat *all* the ham, Ep10 auction

Trying to match answers with loved ones, Ep11 RC

Smashing things with clubs, Ep11 IC

Trying to catch up to Lex, Ep12 IC

Not winning, Final 4 IC
All-Stars image gallery (click to expand/collapse)

All-Stars intro shot

All-Stars intro shot

Soggy arrival

Bonus hometown intro shot

Chapera arrives in camp

We have nothing!

Trying to start a fire

Already suspicious of Boston Rob and Amber

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep1 RC/IC

Listening to Probst

Starting line

Hauling the raft

Chapera hits the beach

Almost there...

Pulling the raft through the crawl

Final steps

Chapera wins immunity!

Accepting the idol

Have you ever seen the rain?

Talking about Chapera's mysterious treasure chest

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep2 RC

Sitting this one out

Working on fire again, now with flint

Pre-challenge lineup, Ep2 IC

Trying to flip Chapera's boat

Paddling

Chapera wins immunity again!

Africa interviews (click to expand/collapse)
Pre-game interviews
- Roanoke Times (9/28/01): "Farmer Returns -- As Survivor"
Post-game interviews
- Larry Edens at Appalachian Voices (3/1/02): "From Appalachia to Africa, Big Tom Emerges a Survivor"
All-Stars interviews (click to expand/collapse)
Pre-game interviews
- None?
Post-game interviews
- Rome Neal at CBSNews.com (5/6/04): "BigTom Takes the Fall"
- Angel Cohn at TVGuide.com (5/13/04): "Survivor's Big Tom Bites Back"
- CBS chat transcript at FansofRealityTV board (5/7/04)
- SurvivorOz podcast interview (11/13/12): "Tom Buchanan Interview"
- Rob Cesternino at RHAP (8/5/13): "Lex and Big Tom LIVE to talk Tom's new show Family Beef"
Thanks to Muneeb Khan (@MUK734) for his help in compiling this list.

Africa bio (click to expand/collapse)

From his official CBS Survivor: Africa cast bio page:

"Born and raised in Rich Valley, Virginia, Tom Buchanan currently works as a self-employed goat and cattle farmer on the ranch that has been in his family for three generations.

Buchanan attended Rich Valley High School, where he played football, basketball and baseball. He also served as student body president. He then attended East Tennessee State University as a football walk-on and later earned a full football scholarship, serving as team captain his senior year. After college, he returned home to work on the family farm. Known to his friends as 'Big Tom,' his hobbies include softball, fishing, bird hunting and riding his motorcycle. He is a member of the Virginia Cattleman's Association, Rich Valley Farmer's Club and Rich Valley Presbyterian Church

Tom Buchanan has been married to Sandy for 23 years. They have one son, Bucky Bo, who is currently attending Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky. His birth date is October 30, 1955."
All-Stars bio (click to expand/collapse)

From his official CBS Survivor: All-Stars cast bio page:

"Since returning from Survivor: Africa, Tom Buchanan has become very involved with elementary schools, promoting reading literacy. Prompted by events on the show that shed light on his inability to spell, Tom created a reading program for kids, 'Reading is The Key to Survival,' which has had an enormous impact on young readers of today. He has also donated many hours of his time to local and national fundraisers. "