Watching Survivor

Last night Jeff Probst took a moment at the opening of The London West Hollywood where he’d joined his friend Chef Gordon Ramsey, to talk a bit about the new Survivor Season that’s due to start production next month. Apparently the show’s already hit a few snags during pre-production.

According to Mr. Dimples, the problems for the 17th season range between encroaching animals to slow shipments. The shipments are so delayed that it’s put them about 30 days behind. Survivor is different from most shows, in that they have to ship throughout the seasons, so being that far behind can cause a major problem. He feels the show itself will be fine, but the crew is sleeping in tents instead of the housing they are used too.

Also causing problems are toppling cranes and disappearing cargo. The first fell over, and the cargo held about $100,000 of food that’s gone missing. But for us challenge lovers - the lumber used to build props, challenge sets and Tribal Council have all arrived safely. Other then that, it’s just the wildlife that’s posing a problem. They’re not sure what to do in some instances - including hippo tracks at base camp. They want to remain safe, but still would love to have the animals run through the frame every once in a while to up the stress level for the contestants.

Survivor: Gabon is the first time that the series has returned to Africa since Season three in Kenya and will be filmed in high definition. Despite the problems, Jeff Probst is positive that the snafus they are dealing with will not halt production, claiming that “these things for us usually have a way of turning into good things.”

I suppose there’s no sense in hoping for FEWER snake shots in the fall, huh?

The infamous naked first Survivor is STILL fighting!

Richard Hatch, the winner of Survivor: Borneo, is still appealing his tax evasion conviction and now he’s gotten it all the way to the US Supreme Court, according to his attorney. Two years ago, he was convicted of failing to pay taxes on the $1 million prize he netted after besting the rest of the Season One Survivor Contestants. He was sentenced to more then 4 years in prison for being a dumbass.

You see, he claims that he discovered producers cheating during the filming of the show, and when he confronted them, they promised to pay the taxes if he kept quiet and won the competition. Because of this, he didn’t pay his taxes at all on the final prize.

…

I know, right? Even IF the claims were true (and CBS, of course, says the claims are ridiculous and have no merit) why on earth would he not just pay the taxes upfront, and have them pay him back, instead of getting tangled up with the law? Seriously, it’s the height of stupidity, and I’m far more inclined to believe that he blew all the money and then couldn’t afford the taxes so started pointing fingers and sputtering foul play. Idiot.

The appeal has made it to the Supreme Court based on claims that the judge improperly prevented Hatch from testifying about the conversation he supposedly had with the Survivor Producers. He also argued that his cross-examination of the tax accountant who filed the returns, a key witness for the IRS, was unfairly limited.

Meanwhile, Hatch is, of course, writing a book about “his experience with the legal system and his disappointment not just with the problems that he suffered but with the problems other people have suffered that he has met.”

Gee. Sounds like a gripping read, there, Richard, but I think I’ll pass, just like the Supreme Court should have done on this idiotic appeal.

Let’s talk about the Pool Party, first, hm? Congrats to sugarbooger62 who’s still in the lead, and DannyV84 who snuck past me into 2nd place this week - both by putting all their points on Tracy, who was voted out last night. Ya’ll rock! Danny has risen out of nowhere from the bottom of the list when he joined, to the top three with three weeks of consistently good picks - goes to show it’s still anybody’s game!

It looks like Survivor is a victim of March Madness once again, this upcoming week - there’s no show on the docket until April 3rd. If that changes, I’ll be sure to let you know. That does give you an extra week to decide who you think will be ousted during the next episode though! We’re getting close to Merge Numbers, as well as the Jury starting. It’ll be interesting for sure!

Speaking of ousted Survivors - here’s some of the interview lineups for Tracy and Kathy:

Kathy: Mother Nature Kicked my Ass, Mother Nature Kicked my behind.
Tracy: I wish the fans had been more Strategic, Tracy Hughes-Wolf talks about Survivor:Micronesia.

And a podcast with both of them together can be listened too here.

In other news - ever wanted some Survivor Props? You can take your chance to own original Survivor Props and memorabilia from one of the biggest collections, with 100% of the money going to cancer patient - click here for more info.

And don’t forget the Reality Rumble coming up on Saturday, April 5th! It’s an event to benefit the Special Needs Students at Spotswood High School, and all proceds will be given to the Special Needs Classroom at the High School. They’ll be used to purchase computers, smart boards, speech devices and other learning devices for the students. Admission is only $10, and all ages are welcome.

The semi-main event will be the tag team matchup with Jonny Fairplay/Coach Dodson vs. Billy Garcia/Mr. Terrific Tim Lawler! The winner of the match gets to shave the head of the loser! That’s right, Jonny might be losing those curls!

There’s a plethora of reality stars attending too - from Kynt and Vxsin of the Amazing Race, Michelle Deighton of ANTM (And Jonny Fairplay’s baby mama!), Stacy Kimball, Chicken Morris, and Tracy Wolf - the most recently cast-off of Survivor: Micronesia. There will be autographs and meet and greets throughout the evening - if I was anywhere close to Penn Laird Virginia, you couldn’t keep me away from this event!

Grab Mr. Terrific - Tim Lawler (Who’s commented here about the event before - hi Tim!) for more information via email at mrtrrfc@hotmail.com, or Coach Dodson at cdodson@rockinham.k12.va.us. And hey - send us a write up and pictures afterwards, huh? (grin)

Just two more days until this week’s episode - have you made your Pool Party picks yet? If not - maybe this little inside preview from Mr. Dimples himself will help you make them!

YAY! James is gonna dominate! That makes Lessa happy - I love watching him go all RAR with the bulging muscles and brute strength. This is going to be a good episode INDEED!

For those who like the spoilers - check out the TV Guide article, that’s kinda spoilery over the next couple weeks. Nothing is said outright, other then things common sense would dictate. I think. Maybe. Ok - check it out if your game!

Also - for those who want more Joel, here’s the third interview, from Reality News Online, and the insider transcripts from Survivor Fever. It includes a touching scene that was deleted, where Joel came to aid Kathy when she collapsed. As he says “I don’t particularly care for Kathy as a person, but as a firefighter, I care for people on a professional level, so I became Joel the firefighter rather then Joel the Survivor contestant.” Awwwww.

Though he does come back to being the Survivor Contestant in the last solo clip: “We’ve been carrying Kathy as a tribe for as long as we’ve been here. I literally carried her today to the boat to go to the challenge and I will not do it again.”

Also included are Ozzy’s thoughts before Tribal Council, and how he felt about both Joel and Chet, as well as all of Joel’s after the vote words, and his thoughts the day after - including his thoughts on technology, and how it makes us weak.

Don’t forget - head on to Fun Office Pools and get your picks in!

Hey, it was morning when I started writing this - close enough, right? (grin)

Congrats to those who chose well in our Survivor Pool Party this week! I certainly didn’t expect them to turn on Yau-Man so soon and am sad to see him go…

Congrats to Sugarbooger62 for pulling out the top numbers for the week with 18 points! That moved her clear up into 4th place overall. Colette was second for the week with 13 points, which kicked her up to 2nd place overall, right under me! Well done, you two!

As you can see - the standings are ever changing, and one good week can get you on top and in reach for those prizes, so get your picks in for next week’s episode soon!

As heartbroken as I am to see Yau-Man go, he handled it like I expected he would - with class and gratitude. You can find some of his interviews here and here - the last done by my buddy Lynn over at Reality Expoits. I’m sure other interviews will pop up around the net too - Yau-Man is extremely popular - and I’ll miss seeing him on the show!

In other news - if you’re around Penn Laird, Virginia on April 5th, you’ve got to check this out! There will be a Charity Pro Wrestling Event that will feature two of our favorites - Billy Garcia from Survivor Cook Islands, and the man we all love to hate, Jonny Fairplay! Thye’ll be squaring off in front of a special Celeb Guest Judge in a no DQ, no holds barred wrestling match with their partners Mr. Terriffic and Coach Dodson. This event will raise money for computers, smart boards, speech devices and other learning devices for severe and profoundly disabled children. And the big prize? The winners shave the loser’s head, right in the ring! That’s right - Billy might just be taking Jonny’s curls from him after the match!

There will be other special guests there - including Cao Boi (Cook Islands), Tracy Wolf (Micronesia) Kynt & Vyxsin (The Amazing Race 12) among others. The event is on April 5th, 2008, at the Spotswood High School. Admission is $10 and doors open at 6pm. If you get a chance to go, let me know, as I’d love a first hand account of the festivities! (When, oh when will these guys come to Alaska so that I can attend a function?! Sigh!) Good luck with the fundraiser, Billy and Jonny!

We finally have some interviews with Mary, where she talks about being blindsided and her time in Palau. You can hear a podcast interview here, and read others here and here. She talks about her ousting, and her strategy, and what she really thinks of Joel and his early power play.

An eagle eyed commenter told me something that was confirmed by the insider Transcripts at Survivor Fever - Joel, for all his mastermind, didn’t vote for Mary! He voted for Tracey, declaring that on the way to TC, he realized he needed a failsafe for the two alliances of Alexis and Natalie. So had Mary not gone, Tracey would have. You can read the rest of the transcripts here, or catch the videos at cbs.com.

Next up - here’s Jeff’s preview of this week’s episode on Thursday, where it’s been promised to be brutal.

Also looks like Kathy gets stuck on Exile Island yet again - could this lead to the promised meltdown in the next couple episodes?

Don’t forget to get your picks in for the Survivor Pool! You have until Thursday’s show to get your choices made and in at Fun Office Pools, and don’t forget to answer the bonus questions for more chances to win! I got the card game for third place in the mail today - only one more box and all the prizes will be in my greedy little hands…. until they’re won and I’ll send them to your greedy little hands! (grin) So head over there and place your picks.

And if you haven’t joined yet… what are you waiting for? You know you want to play!

As is customary here at Watching Survivor, I’ll post links to all the interviews that each bootee has done over the weekend on Monday - so you have everything in a one stop shop type of post.

I admit to being skeptical, as with most of you, of Johnny Fairplay’s motives and his reasons for asking the tribe to oust him in a move he claimed wasn’t a quit - but kinda was. As I read and listen to his interviews, though… it might be the biggest con of all Fairplay cons, but I’m inclined to believe him. I’ve chatted with him a couple times before, and yeah - he’s always struck me as a nice guy playing a role. Maybe I’m just sentimental…

At any rate, you can read the interviews here, here, here, and here, and decide for yourself.

Bits that stuck out to me - I didn’t realize that the taping started so soon after the Bonoduce Bash at the Realty Awards - If I had been in that much pain, I certainly wouldn’t have gone. It does help us understand a bit why he was so upset about Yau-man’s headslam into the boat too. It likely hurt a lot more then we though because of his jaw and with that knowledge, I think he handled it considerably better then I would have, and better then we expect Fairplay to do at all.

So is this really a more mature, more responsible Johnny Fairplay? Only he knows, and we can only speculate. I think so. I hope so. And I still kinda like the guy - when he’s not on TV. (grins)

In other news - get your Pool Party Picks in! Remember you have until Thursday morning to do so, but better early then never! Head on over to FunOfficePools.com and make your choices! Don’t forget to answer the bonus questions this week too!

So, you know there are spoilers all over the net who are gleeful about having found out the casts before the official announcements. They also are gleefully putting their boot lists out there (none of which you’ll find here, thanks) and take great joy in having it all figured out right up till the final three, before the season premiere even airs. They are most awesome, these spoilers, they are! Survivor Fever collects their spoiling ways and putting them in a one-stop spoiler shop. Ya’ll know that I don’t post spoilers here often for Survivor, but these pictures that were let out by Film Palau don’t give anything away.

They just give us the first look at Tribal Council for Survivor: Micronesia!

Among other pictures, there’s also the following, which clears up any and all questions about JUST how the Hidden Immunity Idol can be used in game.

Which, of course, means there will be Hidden Immunity Idols once again, as well as the promise that Exile Island is back too.

Other little non-spoiler production tidbits:
**The crew of nearly 200, and 80 forty foot containers arrived in September, 2007 to start building the set, transforming an empty lot into the Survivor Micronesia Camp. They spent four mounts in Palau, and brought millions of dollars into the local community.

**They used flights to other nearby islands to allow it to be called Survivor: Micronesia, instead of boring ole ‘Palau 2′.

**The helicopter used for aerial shots, and also Jeff’s traditional opening monolog during the first episode is a Bell 400, and they built a helipad for it at camp.

**The theme this time will revolve around Traditional Island Warrior - last time they were in Palau, it was based on World War II.

**Despite the fact that the filming shut down the biggest tourism area in Palau for several months during filming, the people of Palau embraced the return of Survivor and they were welcomed by the community at large.

**The crew itself, as we saw in some of Jeff’s backstage youtubes last season, is a mix of professionals and folks picked up along the way - the aura is said to be part film set, part surf camp and part fraternity.

There - that should keep you busy and speculating for a little while, huh? Less then a month to go! WHOOO!

The Faves: Ciree (Panama), Jonathan (Cook Islands), Amanda (China), James (China), Ozzy (Cook Islands), Yau-Man (Fiji), Eliza (Vanuatu), Johnny FP (Pearl Islands), Parvati (Cook Islands), Ami (Vanuatu)

The Spoilers are smiling smugly into their morning (or afternoon, as the case may be) coffee’s today, that’s for sure. With the usual aplomb, they’ve managed to pick out every one of the cast members for Survivor: Micronesia that was officially announced this morning! I’m happy because it means My Man James is back for the faves, as well as Yau-Man and Ozzy, my favorites from their seasons too! Lessa is a very happy girl!

(And when Lessa’s happy - EVERYONE’s happy! (grin))

EW has posted the cast, and Mr. Dimple’s… er… Jeff Probst’s thoughts on the contestants and what kind of odds he gives them for the upcoming season as well. The Faves are at a bit of a disadvantage for sure, as these aren’t naïve first time fans they’re going against. These are folks that have watched the seasons, who know exactly how each of the Fave’s played before, and there will be some definite switching up of strategies for all of the Two-Timers. Of course, they also have the advantage of ‘been there, done that’ and know just how difficult it is - perhaps the two things will cancel each other out.

Oh, and there’s an explanation why there are no Faves from Palau and Guatemala - The two poplar contestants, Stephenie and Bobby Jon already appeared in both those seasons, and Palau’s winner, Tom Westman - the only winner to be invited - declined the invitation.

The Fans: Michael (Writer/Actor), Tracy (Commercial Builder), Joel (Firefighter), Kathleen (Golf Course Vender), Erik (Ice Cream Scooper), Mary (Small Business Owner), Chet (Beauty Pageant Coach), Natalie (Personal Trainer), Jason (Student Teacher), Alexis (Motivational Speaker)

The Rookies have a couple impressive standouts as well - with everything from Fire Fighters to Ice Cream Venders to Golf Course Venders in their ranks. There’s even Chet the Beauty Pageant Coach. How could that guy NOT be worth some comedy gold?!

I can’t WAIT for this season to get started! February 7th seems so far away, yet it gives us a full month to debate the pros and cons of the new contestants. I’ll be posting the blurbs as told by Jeff over the next few days, as well as my completely arbitrary and unsubstantiated opinions of what may or may not happen based on first looks at the Rookies. If you look close, you might even catch a spoiler or two that I’ve found. Or maybe not. Who knows? I might just continue to pull posts out of thin air until it all starts up official like.

Only way to know, is to head back here for another look, huh? See ya soon!

The Survivor Finale was marked with controversy yesterday when the Superintendent of Denise Martin’s school - and Denise’s boss - sent out a press release saying that Denise’s tale of woe on the finale was an outright lie. Information is still trickling in, of course, and I doubt we’ll ever actually get the whole truth on the intentions behind it. Our favorite Chen-bot moderated a brief interview and confrontation between Denise and Nancy Lane this morning on CBS. You can find the video here.

What it boils down to is that Lane points out again that Denise was promoted - per Denise’s request - before leaving for the show and had worked as custodian since March 30. She was granted the requested for leave of absence for Survivor (which was filmed during the summer - July/August), and returned to her position of Custodian (a job with a $10/hr increase in pay) that she had gained before leaving for China, and has in fact been working in that position since her return in August. Denise said that was indeed accurate, apologized to Lane, and her community, saying that she didn’t intend it to come out that way at all, that she simply meant she had tried to go back to the old job but was turned down, without reasoning (though she stated on the Reunion show that the reasoning was her popularity. This also doesn’t compute, since the show had not aired yet!). Lane countered that the reasoning was simple - the position had since been filled and that if it should come open once more, Denise knows how to transfer within the district - she’d done it once before.

Up until this point, I found myself wavering a bit. Denise is not the most well spoken person, and as we’d seen throughout the season and especially during the Final Tribal Council, she often gets flustered and unable to get her point completely across the way she likely intended it. Maybe she just didn’t think through what she was saying, what it would mean or how it would come across. I was willing to believe that until she completely sidestepped Julie Chen’s last question: would she still accept the $50k if Mark Burnett still insisted on giving it to her? She said she’d done all of this for her family and rambled until Julie had to cut her off and end the segment, and Denise never actually said yes or no.

That, in my opinion, was a simple and easily answered question. In her position (a place I’d never be for MANY reasons) my answer would have been a straight up “No, of course not!” It wouldn’t matter how much I needed the $50k, I would have jumped at the chance to save face and say no - insisted it was donated to a charity or something of the sort if it was going to be pushed on me.

Denise had me at least willing to give the benefit of the doubt until then. Now? I’m not so sure. Maybe she just missed her chance, maybe it goes back to her not being very well spoken and easily flustered, or maybe… maybe she really does intend to keep the now tainted cash.

What are your thoughts on the whole ’scandal’? Did she? Didn’t she? Will she? Won’t she? And what on earth will/should happen now?

Throughout the season of Survivor: China, I had a soft spot for the Lunch Lady. I’ve known several people like her, and hey, part of me resonated with her feelings of being the outsider, and left out of the group of ‘cool kids’. Who hasn’t felt that way? (The cool kids, of course. ha!) I’ve been that girl more then once in my lifetime.

As she was picked last for challenges, left out of challenges, brought on some rewards then bombarded by petty bitterness when she didn’t return the ‘favor’ at a later date - we all could empathize, could sympathize, and really pulled for her. She was the ultimate underdog, the one we loved to love, the one we wanted to pull through, even though she lacked strategy and really never played the Survivor Game.

As such, around the nation last night, there was a collective “Awwww!” as she spoke of losing her job and having to clean toilets now because she was too recognizable, and a collective cheer when Mark Burnett had Jeff make the announcement that he was going to give her $50k to help get her life back on track once again for her and her kids.

And now, this morning? There’s a completely different reaction. According to the article posted at EW.com’s Hollywood Insider, Denise’s boss, School Superintendent Nancy T. Lane, claims that Denise outright lied during the reunion show. According to Lane, the promotion to custodian was worked for, asked for, and gained by work performance by Denise before she took her leave for the show, and they’ve issued a press release stating this as fact:

Press Release: Mrs. Denise Martin
December 17, 2007
Douglas Public Schools

On the “Survivor China” television program that aired on December 16, 2007, Mrs. Denise Martin, an employee of the Douglas Public Schools, stated that she was demoted from her position as a cafeteria worker upon her return from taping the show. This statement is false. In fact, Mrs. Martin held a full-time position as a custodian prior to her participation in the series, and she returned to this same position upon her return from China. Mrs. Martin was granted - at her request - an unpaid leave of absence so that she could participate in the “Survivor” program. We were pleased and excited to support Denise, and have enthusiastically cheered her on throughout the duration of the show.

Although Mrs. Martin was a cafeteria employee prior to her selection as a contestant, she asked to be considered for a promotion to full-time custodian, and was promoted to this position on March 30, 2007. This promotion came with additional benefits and a higher salary. Following her leave, she then returned to this same position.

Regretfully, the Douglas Public School District was inaccurately portrayed as failing to be accommodating to an employee during what the District viewed as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. This is far from the case. On the contrary, we granted all requests made by Mrs. Martin so that she could participate in the “Survivor” series. Since Mrs. Martin was on an approved leave, her position was held open for her, and she returned to this same position upon her return from China. As a District, we make every effort to support our employees, and will continue to do so.

Nancy T. Lane
Superintendent of Schools

She added to EW:

“I can empathize, having been a working mother,” Lane said. “It’s tough to work those night shifts. But she took the job; that’s the job she took leave from [to do Survivor]. If she wants to go back to the day shift, she should apply when one comes open.”

Lane says she spoke with Martin on the telephone on Monday afternoon and that the show’s fourth-place finisher was apologetic, but that “she did not explain why she said that to my satisfaction,” Lane explained. “It’s difficult to grasp. We did nothing but encourage her. She took leave for almost three months, she was given additional times off when ever she needed it. Now she says this on national TV…. Douglas is a nice little town. Everybody was rooting for her, the local paper was bending over backwards with positive articles. Then to have it end this way. Talk about a letdown.”

Martin was still in California on Monday, but Lane says her job is waiting for her when she comes back home on Friday. “I told her, ‘I think we have a few things to go over,’” Lane says. “I might have a few things I’d like to talk about.”

CBS only had this to say for now:

“The comments made by Ms. Martin on the program were compelling and sympathetic. If these statements were misleading or false, we hope that she will take immediate and public steps to clarify her remarks.”

So - this begs the question…. what do YOU think of these developments?

Hey ya’ll - do you live in the New York area? Planning an early December Visit? Love Survivor’s that love to participate in a good cause? Have a secret (or not so secret) adoration for the movie ‘Dodgeball’ because hello! That’s THE GAME of ALL GAMES and GO TEAM!!?

Have I got a DEAL for YOU!

Well, ok, really my buddy Billy Garcia has a deal for you, if you want to be all ‘technical’ about it. As we’ve seen before, Billy has a soft spot for raising money to help support Diabetes research, which is something near and dear to my heart as my dad has Type Two Diabetes and has been battling it for most of my life. So, it stands to reason that I love helping spread the word for his upcoming events with Reality 4 Diabetes!

Here are the details:

What: Reality Castaways Dodgeball
Where: The Sports Center in Long Island New York
Hosted by: Billy Garcia from Cook Islands & Grant Stanis
When: Saturday, December 8th, 2007

1st Tournament: Fans can watch, play against & play with past contestants from Survivor in a Dodgeball Tournament.

2nd Tournament: Fans get to watch as teams from Fiji, Cook Islands, Guatemala, Vanuatu, Asia (Thailand + a surprise! I’m betting it’s a recent China castaway!), Panama and a Hybrid team compete in a PRO RULES dodgeball tournament.

3rd - After Party: Fans get to hang out at a special VIP after party with all the stars from the Grandfather of All Reality TV, Survivor! Food, drinks, and paaaaaaaaaaarty - including raffles, silent auctions and a whole heck of a lotta fun!

You can check out the myspace, and sports center pages, as well as Reality 4 Diabetes to keep up with all the fun, get tickets and breaking details! Also, below after the cut is the confirmed list of attendees and teams!

Get you’re tickets now, and don’t miss this event! And if you’re feeling REALLY frisky, maybe you can cover it for Watching Survivor by hitting the comments and contacting me for info on a guest post! How cool would THAT be? Or if you’re REALLY awesome, you can pay my way from Alaska and I’ll do the covering! (grin) Hey, as long as we’re dreaming…

So, if you’re gonna be out that way, drop in and have a ball. A DODGE ball! And tell Billy I sent ya!

(more…)

On Thursday’s episode, Jaime made as if she had found the Hidden Immunity Idol, only to have Jeff theatrically toss it into the fire and declare it fake in one of the best Survivor moment’s ever. According to her interviews, however, Jaime swears she knew it was fake, and did it for humor’s sake.

Well, WE sure laughed!
(As did James - how funny is he? Seriously?)

Anyway, according to Jaime’s Reality News Online interview, she and Jean-Robert had talked and she knew she was on her way out, so figured that all her attempts to prove that she DID have an HII, knowing she didn’t, had failed to get them to vote for Jean-Robert instead. So she went for humor, and to see Jean-Robert’s face, which she said was totally worth it. She claims to be a victim of editing, that she told them often in her confessionals that she knew it was fake.

And for the record - she and Erik are Just Friends.

For more Jaime Interviews - check here and here.

For those who still wonder how it is we are in Season 15 of a show like Survivor - whether you love it like I do, or find it part of the trash genre like others, Martin Miller of the LA Times took more then a few words to dissect our love of this Gold Medal winner of ‘reality tv’ - for the fifth consecutive week, Survivor: China won it’s Thursday night time period in the much coveted 18-49 demographic. For the fifth consecutive week, Survivor beat out the media darling America Ferrera in Ugly Betty, as well as My Name is Earl and 30 Rock.

After 14.5 seasons, Survivor is clearly still a force to be reckoned with! (Hear that Mark B?! Don’t take our Survivor away!) The casting has remained top notch, giving us a wealth of people to love, hate, and to love to hate. The editing team works overtime to give us exciting episodes, and the production values have been praised consistently by even the harshest critics.

How long will we have our beloved Thursday night Survivor Fix?

“It’s very difficult to put a life span on something that has gone 15 seasons without people noticeably saying it isn’t any good anymore,” said Holmes, who writes recaps of the show. “I have no idea when it’s going to end. It wouldn’t surprise me if it were on 10 years from now.”

So, let those Torches keep burning, Mark Burnett! We still love to see them snuffed out week by week!

Survivor, Survivor: China, CBS, Jeff Probst, Reality TV, rumors, contestants

Are you ready? No, not for trick or treating, but for tomorrow’s episode of Survivor?! It’s said that my boy James might make a grave mistake tomorrow, and I’ve been busy sacrificing all my candy in the hopes that it just ain’t so!

While we wait, there’s of course a multitude of things to read! You can hop over to Survivor Fever, and read the cut scene between Jean Robert and Sherea, as well as Sherea’s final words, and day after comments. She’s pretty sure she was voted out because she was a threat - just like every other survivor that’s been voted off. She did her best to keep her head down and her mouth shut, but it just wasn’t enough. She is, however, already planning Survivor Days for the kids in her classroom - she sounds like a great hands on teacher to me!

And, of course, there’s the interview circuit - everyone’s favorite. Sherea’s interviews can be seen here, here, here, here, here and here.

And, from the looks of previews for tomorrow, James just might find himself the SECOND Immunity idol too - they told him where the first one was, stands to reason the second is in the same place. How could he make a horrible mistake if he has TWO idols? There is also promise of unique challenge, where if we don’t pay attention, we’ll miss the clues.

And, because I do love to watch James so very much, The Buzz has an article about him posted online: Acadiana ‘Survivor’ star and Crowley native strongest contestant?

They too speak of him having two immunity idols, and his friend says he might be in the best position of any Survivor ever - he’s strong, and used to hard work. Man… now we KNOW something’s going to happen to James soon - if not this episode, the next one!

Well, hopefully it’s not until the Jury, so that I still get to watch him every week for the rest of the season!

PS - just for today, check out CBS’s How To Survive A Horror Movie. There’s some seriously good stuff there! (grin)

Still on vacation, doing my best to survive the heat, made all the better by the plethora of fires popping up all over the place. Tomorrow, I’ll be headed up out of the Fire range, to visit with family, and hopefully to watch this week’s Survivor: China!

Aaron, of course, like all ousted Survivors is working that bitter card along the interview circuit. Victimized by the Tribal Switchup twist, he’s not exactly feeling the love. You can find interviews with him here, here, here, here and here. They all tend to touch on the same things, though my buddies at Buddy TV get straight to it and ask about the romance rumors between Aaron and Amanda. He says absolutely not – cuddling was for warmth purposes only.

Ok, Aaron, we believe ya!
No, really, we do.

Other then that, Aaron (predictably) mentioned that if it hadn’t been for the twist he would have been in a lot longer. He felt the Tribal Switch up really messed with his chances. Maybe they did, maybe they didn’t – I’m still of a mind that Peih-gee and Jaime made a BIG mistake pulling a card like that too early in the game.

So the question is – do they dare do it twice? Will James suffer the same fate that Aaron did and will I be wailing and gnashing my teeth come Friday morning? I’m not sure – but the preview does not look good…

Not sure when I’ll get my recap up – will do so asap, however!