Recently in Survivor Category

There's been so much good TV in the past few days — I just haven't had time to write about it all. So while I tend to the Hills recap, I open the floor to you all: Has Charlie found a true friend in Marcus on Survivor? Or, more specifically, how long until Marcus shatters Charlie's world? And how hard is it to find a crater in the middle of a field?

On The Amazing Race, who do we love, who do we hate? Actually, no need for that last question — Terrence is obviously this season's villain. And I love the previews for next week when his girlfriend complains that "they didn't even say HI to us!"

And let's not overlook a brilliant episode of Mad Men, the deserving winner of Outstanding Drama at this year's Emmy Awards. One word: JANE.

And lastly, Gossip Girl. This week's fashion episode (featuring Vitamin Water) seemed rather silly, but despite a general unevenness, it proved to be just as fun as always (the brooding Chuck Bass subplot was worth the price of admission alone). Was this the first semi-tolerable Dan Humphrey storyline since the pilot? And wasn't it refreshing to not have Vanessa around? Plus, how many naive adolescents are going to get in trouble at school when they do a Google image search for Mapplethorpe? (High-five, Gossip Girl).

Okay, I've started the discussion. The rest of you talk while I get back to work...

I've had quite the run of exclusive experiences of late: a meet and greet with Julie Chen, a visit to The Soup, a stroll through the Gossip Girl set, and of course, back to back infiltrations of the Big Brother finale and wrap party. Am I bragging? Indeed. (Somebody's gotta drum up traffic around here). With all this access to the glitteratti, I'm starting to feel like Perez Hilton (except funnier, I hope); so why not add one more event to the list: the Fox Reality Channel "Really" Awards.

Avid readers may remember that I attended the first ever Really Awards two years ago at Les Deux. Back then, it was a smaller, more casual affair. The network was young, the stars didn't know what to expect, and in my studly prime I was able to actually walk the red carpet. Man, those were the days. Cut to this year and holy moly, the Really Awards have gotten big. According to the brass I spoke with, there were about 300 celebrities (or rather, "celebrities") present, which meant my anonymous ass did not get to walk the carpet again, which by the way was totally cool. I completely understood. It was a zoo, and the last thing the organizers needed was me clogging up the carpet. Honestly, I was just happy to get in. This year's ceremony was apparently a hard ticket to get. Rumor amongst the partygoers was that even recent reality stars like Jessie from Big Brother 10 were denied entry. Ouch/haha.

Nevertheless, I may not have dazzled the paps awkwardly this go-around, but I certainly had my fill of reality stars. I took pictures with as many as I could, but honestly, there's only so much one man can do. Pictures and stories after the jump.

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It's hard to imagine that Survivor can top the amazing one-two punch that was China and Fans vs. Favorites, but nevertheless, the veteran reality show is back, and this time, Jeff Probst & Co. are headed to the African nation of Gabon for another spirited round of fighting, bickering, backstabbing, crying, and — if the last season was any indication — injuries. Oh, and this time, it's all in HD (yes!). The show doesn't premiere until September 22nd, but above, check out a preview of the cast. It's Probst-tastic!

Via Reality Blurred

Now that Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites is over, I can get started with my favorite semiannual tradition: ranking the seasons. It's a task that seems to get more difficult every year. So many special moments, so many blindsides, so many colorful characters. How to prioritize them all? I can try to explain my thinking, but ultimately, it just comes down to that gut feeling you get when you look back and reminisce. And with that in mind, let's get this bad boy going.

We've seen a lot of crazy, deranged, unhinged, emotional, and flat-out bizarre moments at the final Survivor jury, but never one like this. Scratch that: never two like these. The first, which I've clipped above, is Natalie's mildly seductive, completely random question about Parvati's sex life. If I didn't know better, I'd think I was watching the beginning of some softcore porn on Cinemax. You could practically hear the cheap, public domain music come filtering in. Aside from the fact that the question seemed totally transplanted from some other show in some other genre, it also didn't make sense. Why would Parvati's bedroom manner be relevant to anything?

Unfortunately for Ozzy, Natalie completely stole his thunder because had it not been for her, the Internets would have been buzzing about his sudden declaration of love for Amanda. I couldn't decide if I hated his sanctimoniousness or loved his Hollywood-style speech, which seemed torn straight out of the latest summer romance. Ultimately, I decided it was a nice moment; although, I really disliked his whole bit about chastising Parvati for putting a price tag on their friendship. I mean, had he gone to the finals, would he have taken her over Amanda? Don't think so. Nevertheless, this was another great finale — even if my favorite, Cirie, fell victim to a wayward marble. I literally had no idea who would win, right up to the very last moment. Good times. What did you think?

As if anyone who's been following this suddenly awesome season would overlook this, but tonight marks the season finale of Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites. That's right: the end is here. Kind of snuck up on me. It's actually too bad. This season started off slowly as I found myself caring more about the Favorites than anything that was going on with the Fans (this despite the Fans pulling off several early season blindsides in their own right). But once Probst mixed up the teams, things started to heat up, and then once everyone dropped their buffs and started battling for individual immunity, this Fans vs. Favorites turned white hot. Dalton Ross at Entertainment Weekly proclaimed that this season has been the best since the first. I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I will concede that the past five episodes have been without a doubt the strongest five-episode run in the series' history.

Nevertheless, tonight promises to be a fascinating finale as none of the women seem to have a leg up on any of the others. They've all equally schemed, backstabbed, and fought their way to the top. How the cards will fall is anyone's guess, which leads me to wonder who's gonna win it all? Parvati, the conniving flirt? Cirie, the strategic mastermind? Amanda, the dangerous nice-girl? Or Natalie, the previously anonymous Fan who spent most of the season lurking in the background doing absolutely nothing? I'm rooting for Cirie, but part of me would like to reward Natalie for becoming such a wonderful late-season bitch and a half. Who are you rooting for?

For a season that started off on the dull side, things have been out of control the past few weeks. Last night definitely marked the dumbest move ever, ever, EVER on the show's sixteen season history. To see what happened, watch the clip above...

Well look at this giant video player.

For years I've wondered what life was like for the Survivor jury. Were the castaways allowed to talk about the game with each other? Where did they stay? What did it look like? Was it fun? Well, during last week's uh-mazing episode, I noticed an interstitial promoting something called the Ponderosa, which promised to give viewers an insider look at what happens to the jury after elimination. (I don't know if this was available during previous seasons, but if it was, this was the first time I had noticed it.) Anyway, I just checked it out, and I loved it. There wasn't anything really groundbreaking there, and the product placement is off the charts, but my curiosity was just so damn satisfied. Every inch of footage totally captivated me. Just the mere sight of a castaway chilling out in a car, walking around a normal kitchen, interacting with staff members in the background -- it was the best!

If you're equally intrigued by this parallel Survivor universe, check it all out at cbs.com/ponderosa.

Even if you don't watch Survivor, you've gotta enjoy this clip. Here's the backstory. A few episodes ago, Ozzy carved a fake, hidden immunity idol and left it under a rock. Jason discovered it, thought it was real, and on last night's show, he gave it to Eliza to protect her. That's all you need to know...