Recently in Survivor Category

Well, we're about three episodes into Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and so far, it's been a pretty fun ride. I have some questions about the casting (since when is Candice, the universally loathed turncoat from Cook Islands, a hero?), but overall, I'm liking this all-star iteration better than, say, All Stars. And unlike that other reality star retread machine The Real World/Road Rules Challenge, I actually am happy to see most of these people come back. Here's hoping the third time's the charm for Cirie.

Of course, if Survivor is going to bring back its past stars on a more frequent basis (as I've heard the rumor to be), I personally would like a cast made up of people who've all been ousted on the first episode. That would certainly be the wackiest season of all time. Then again, the tribes would consist of mostly women and old people, but hey, that's okay. It would certainly keep things interesting.

Nevertheless, the daggers seem out in full force on this season, and thanks to Mark Burnett bundling reward and immunity challenges together, we get more time with our superstars, listening to them plot and scheme and position their way to the front of the pack. And isn't that all we want to see?

Pictures from the latest episode after the jump...

Last night my friend Meeshie sent me an email directing me to the Facebook fan page for Dave Ball, the Survivor: Samoa contestant who we last saw bearing his chest for one lucky lady. Why? Well, it looks like Dave tried to flirt with one fan, but.. well... take a look at the following exchange:

Oops! Better luck next time.

You know, during Survivor: Samoa, I gave Dave Ball a lot of shit on this here blog, and when I found out he may have been reading it, I felt kind of bad. That's why I won't say anything and just let this strange photo speak for itself (something I believe it does VERY well). I don't really know the context of it, but I'm not sure that really even matters.

Happy lunch hour!!

If you haven't seen last night's epic two hour Survivor: Samoa finale (followed by the always too-short reunion), then you best turn away from this post right now. In fact, you should just walk away from your computer because chances are it's gonna be ruined for you either here or on Facebook or on Twitter or who else knows where. Why? Well, let's just say it's gotten people a bit upset. Details after the jump...

Tonight is the big finale for the wonderful Surivor: Samoa season, and along with learning who will take home the million dollar cash prize, we'll also discover who is the fan favorite. The winner of that poll will take home a cool $100,000, and while I don't usually pay attention to these contests, this time around, I've decided to throw my Very Important Endorsement at Dr. Mick Trimming. Why? Well, he invited me to a party; so that's a lot right there. Also, I met his fiancé, and she was lovely. Plus, we have mutual friends. AND Mick has forwarded this site to many people, including various cast members of the show. That alone is worthy of the vote. I can also say that he's a very nice guy, and I suppose that's got to be worth something too.

Now, I know many people will probably gravitate toward Russell for fan favorite, but just remember that Russell will probably win anyway; so... YEAH. If that's not sound logic, I don't know what is.

To vote for Mick, just text 13 to 81818 up to ten times. You can also register on CBS.com and vote there too. Good luck!

Last week, I received a very exciting and random email. I had been officially invited to a party hosted by Dr. Mick Trimming of Survivor: Samoa fame, and as readers of this site know, there's nothing I enjoy more than hobnobbing with Survivor cast members. Turns out that Mick and I have mutual friends -- the lovely women of Whatever Hollywood. Well, one thing led to another, and yada yada yada, I now have a variety of random pictures from this past Thursday night. Photos after the jump...

With thirty-four thousand contestants still left on Survivor: Samoa, Mark Burnett & co. decided to speed things along last night and axe not one but two players over the course of the hour. Yes, there were two Tribal Councils, and while such a double-header of ejection is usually awesome, I have to admit that it wasn't quite as exciting as previous episodes. Then again, we've been on a run of absolutely stellar gameplay; so I suppose the bar has been raised perhaps unrealistically high. And one can't overlook the entertainment value in seeing Dave's full mane of hair. A thing of beauty it was. Pure beauty.

Nevertheless, photocap after the jump. Enjoy...

And the amazing season that is Survivor: Samoa continues. This latest episode could not live up to the insanity that was Laura's departure, but once again, we were left with a nail-biter. I can only imagine the crazy ways in which this season is gonna shake out over the next two weeks. Since it's late though, I'm gonna skip the analysis and just go directly to the photocap, which is conveniently posted just after the jump!

Survivor is nineteen seasons old, but you wouldn't know it based on how fresh and exciting it still is. In fact, I don't think I'm being too hyperbolic when I say that last night's episode might very well rank up there with some of the all time best. It was so thrilling, so entertaining, so hilarious, and so fun that I all but ran around in circles of joy (but I didn't — instead I texted and emailed everyone I knew who is an equally diehard Survivor fan).

If you haven't seen last night's show, stop what you're doing and head directly to your DVR. Do not read another word. Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

For everyone else, a photocap after the jump.

Oh man. Survivor has been so good lately. Don't get me wrong -- I've LOVED this season as a whole, but now that the two tribes have merged, the individual game has kicked into overdrive, which means there's more scheming, tricks, and shenanigans than ever before. Last week's ep, which I didn't write about since I was traveling, was a beautiful tangle of manipulation, which ultimately sent a cocky Erik home while simultaneously flushing out Russell's immunity idol. It was great TV to watch, but we also knew that without his safety net, Russell, a.k.a. the show's star, would be going home very, very soon.

However, when last night's episode opened with the prickly Laura declaring that Russell was getting voted off the island next, I couldn't help feeling doubt. Mark Burnett would never telegraph the final vote in the first thirty seconds. Or would he? Don't read on if you want to avoid spoilers...

Wowsahs! The latest episode of Survivor was crazy. We've seen medical emergencies before (more so recently), but none as scary as what Russell endured when he blacked out multiple times from dehydration. With his unblinking eyes staring up at the sky, he literally looked dead for a moment. We knew he'd wind up okay, but the drama of the situation (paired with an incredibly urgent score) certainly had me on the edge of my seat. Sure enough, poor Russell was removed from the game, despite his sweet protestations (which still elicited a chuckle from me, if only because of his amazingly high-pitched voice).

Despite Russell's unexpected ouster, both tribes still had to go to Tribal Council for no other reason than it being on the production schedule. This led to a crammed bench of players — thirteen in all, I believe — airing their grievances on an empty stomach. You see, Russell's emergency had halted the reward challenge, and in the chaos, Jeff had declared that NO ONE would be getting pizza -- a fairly cruel outcome of the situation. Amusingly enough, Jeff Probst now claims that both tribes got to munch on pizza, but it simply wasn't shown on camera. I suppose we'll never know.

Either way, things were looking pretty dire for Monica, who was about to be blindsided by the men in her tribe. John, Erik, Dave, and that younger dude with no personality had planned to align with Shambo of all people, citing her good work ethic and benign presence. I clapped like a seal (internally) at this turn of events because anything that keeps Shambo around longer always makes me happy. However, Jeff announced that in the wake of Russell's departure, there'd be no one else going home this week. DAMNIT! If somehow Shambo falls out of her alliance next week and goes home before Monica, I will be peeved.

As for the other team, Natalie and Liz had resigned themselves to going home before Jeff made the big announcement. This bothered me immensely as there's nothing more frustrating than watching two players simply accept that they're on the chopping block. Why didn't these idiot girls ever THINK to align and partner up with one of the boys? Clearly the men's strength wasn't winning Foa Foa any challenges — why not dump one in the meantime? I suppose it's all moot — for now. Hopefully this reprieve will give at least Liz a moment to rethink her piss-poor strategy.

Photocap after the jump...

Despite a general lack of strategizing and scheming, last night's Survivor got back on track with an icky but wonderful food challenge and some nifty high jinks from its irascible cast of characters. First, on Galu, we had a bunch of numskulls who couldn't light a fire to cook the barbecue they had won after having down various seafood cocktails at the reward challenge (actually, Dave could light a fire, but he opted to be passive-aggressive and unhelpful instead). By the way, let's talk about that reward challenge for a minute, shall we? It certainly looked nasty, but for as gross as it was, I imagine most viewers were positively entertained by the perverse glee Jeff Probst had in preparing his wretched raw fish smoothies. I'm also not gonna lie: some of them looked kind of intriguing to me. Hey, if I hadn't eaten anything for two weeks, I'm pretty sure I'd be down for an octopus and sea slug cocktail. Then again, easier said than done.

Anyway, Jeff happily mixed together various fishy ingredients with an assortment of liquids — milk being his most favorite — and yes, he was sure to leave the beverages as chunky as possible. Gagging ensued, but it was ultimately Ashley from Foa Foa who proved to be the only one incapable of keepin' the frutti de mare down. She blew chunks in the bushes and cost her hapless tribe the win. If only that were the least of their problems.

Oops! I forgot to post a Survivor photocap this week! Apologies for the delay. Hopefully this will get you all in the mood for tonight's episode. Last week's show wasn't anything special. Galu finally lost immunity, thus sending them to Tribal Council for the first time. I was appreciative of this, if only to learn more about their tribe. Turns out that Dave, despite looking very creepy, is actually kind of funny and likable. As for the rest of them, well, they're just not as entertaining as Foa Foa. Some of them have personality — Shambo and Yas, for instance — but alas, they're not long for this game. Well, actually, one of them is already out. Yasmin got the royal boot after her fellow tribe members felt she was too lazy around camp. Miraculously, Shambo is still around, which makes me very, very happy. Her time is limited though if she keeps making boneheaded mistakes like LETTING A DAMN CHICKEN ESCAPE (or giving away clues to the immunity idol, which Erik later found).

Nevertheless, here's to hoping tonight's episode is a tad more exciting (and hopefully Jeff Probst might actually SHOW UP to a challenge). Photocap after the jump.

Man did things get heated at Tribal Council on Survivor this week. Jaison finally took Ben up on his borderline (or perhaps not so borderline) racist comments from the week prior, and honestly, Jaison schooled him. It was great to watch. And of course, now Jaison and Shambo (!!!) are my favorites. Will they go all the way this season? Not sure. It depends on if they ever catch on to Russell's evil ways. As for our resident troll, he continues to be awful, but oh so entertaining. I mean, as malicious and vile as this tubby little creature is, at least he has a sense of humor about things. There's no self-righteousness going on — at least not yet. I'm sure that'll all change the moment he's truly backstabbed for the first time (as is always the case with bullies). For now though, he kind of is in control of the game, and that's both scary and fun.

After the jump, a photocap from the latest episode...

Raise your hand if you're loving this season of Survivor? You probably can't tell, but my hand is up. Way up. Unless you are excessively bitter and have no taste, Survivor: Samoa is amazing so far, replete with villains, patsies, and a few underdogs (SHAMBO) who probably won't get their act together, but hey, such is life. Of course, the breakout star is Russell H., the asshole bulldog, who you just have to hate... but slightly admire. I mean, he's terrible, but all his schemes and plans have sort of worked. He even found the damn immunity idol without any concrete knowledge that it had existed. Unlike other awful reality stars (say, Evel Dick from Big Brother), I must begrudgingly give Russell some props. And that being said, I can't wait for his schemes to catch up with him (assuming they do... oh, please let them).

OMG, as they say. Survivor: Samoa kicked off last night, and I think I'm not being too hyperbolic in saying that it was one of the best, if not THE best, season openers of all time. Sadly, this is probably thanks to Russell H. (not to be confused with gentle, likable Russel S., who may or may not be a lost member of the Dave Matthews Band). Yes, Russell H. has lived up to the hype and proven to be a totally AWFUL villain right off the bat; however, while I instantly hated him, I love that he's there because truthfully, we would not have had as tense, cutthroat, and totally enjoyable episode to kick off the season. But don't get me wrong: Russell's pretty terrible. He burned people's socks; he emptied water canteens; he told lies about Hurricane Katrina; and he railroaded one of the more likable and bright characters right off the show. Awful.

But the success of this first episode does not squarely fall on Russell's stocky shoulders alone. The cast as a whole seems to be pretty awesome. Lots of strong, interesting personalities right out of the gate. We have some supremely likable characters — SHAMBO, Russell S., Betsy (the "old" cop, who is also my total favorite), Jaison (pronounced jay-saaahn, I believe), and Marisa. We have some assholes — Ben (the self-proclaimed hillbilly), rocket scientist John, possibly Erik (but he could wind up being cool), and obviously Russell H.. And we have some sass potential in Yasmin (who looks to be getting into a fight next week) and Ashley (who refuses to be called weak, even though she probably is). Oh, and I liked the urban planner Elizabeth who's loathe to take on Asian stereotypes... unless they're flattering.

Point is, Samoa is off to a terrific start. Some casts just have "it," and this one seems to be one of them. Crossing my fingers that the season just keeps getting better. And in the meantime, photos after the jump...

The new cast of Survivor: Samoa was revealed this week, and based on the photos released to the press, I think we can make a few assumptions: a) this cast is more bikini-tastic than ever. b) huh. I guess that was it. Okay, so it was really only one assumption, but that's alright. It looks like we got our usual mix of pretty Los Angeles bartender types mixed with a few oddball older people who will mostly be weeded out by week three or four. You know, I like the eye-candy as much as anyone else, but sometimes I wish the entire cast was FILLED with the crazies. What a season THAT would be. Casting people — what do you think?

Anyway, onto a preview of the cast.

Great news: my favorite CBS web extra Survivor Ponderosa has returned! That's right, those IDIOTS in Brazil voted off their first jury member last night (I did not agree with the choice), and now we get to see all the behind-the-scenes action at the jury house, or as it's formally known, Ponderosa. Call me silly, but I still get a strange thrill watching these videos.

After the jump, two videos of life after Tribal...

2008 was a curious year for television, what with the writers strike and all. Seasons got messed up, late night shows went without comedy, and CBS aired a bonus edition of Big Brother â€" which sadly was universally loathed by pretty much everyone but me. That's okay though. I don't mind being a maverick when it comes to reality TV (hence my devotion to Greatest American Dog â€" one of the most underrated gems of the year).

Strike be damned, there was still plenty of great stuff to watch. My list of the best shows after the jump...

After the Survivor: Gabon finale, Andy Dehnart of Reality Blurred caught up with cast member Sugar who had these words to say about my run-in with her in traffic:

“What a psycho...I wanted to write him and say, ‘What if I just stopped you and told everybody your license plate number and said, oh, he had a bland expression on his face because he wasn’t talking to anybody because nobody was in the car, so I guess he was just driving. How exciting!”

This is amusing because a) I'm not sure that describing someone in traffic is psycho, b) she really took that "pleasantly bland expression" phrase I used waaaay too seriously. I mean, she seems offended to the core that someone would even suggest she was bland, even for a fleeting moment on Franklin Avenue. It's okay, Sugar. You're still sweet and cute. My comment did not undo your reputation. And c) the license plate issue is a bit ridiculous. I know that people deserve their just privacy, but seriously: her plates say "IM SUGA." Not necessarily the best defense against being recognized.

And so the saga continues...

To read more about Sugar and the final five, check out Andy's coverage here.

Of the many things that happened on tonight's Survivor finale, the least expected was not The Suze's near upset for the million dollars but rather Sugar's reference to this here blog on NATIONAL TV DURING PRIMETIME. Yay! Granted, she didn't state the site's name, but unless I'm mistaken, I'm the only one who has blogged about "Suga" in traffic. I must admit, I kind of feel bad because she seems somewhat self-conscious now about wearing makeup out of the house, but honestly, the issue wasn't that she wasn't wearing makeup at the time but that she was, and that was what confused me. Eh. Oh well. Anyway, sometimes when I blog, I forget these people actually read it, and considering that I called her and her actions "dumb" and "stupid," I do feel a smidgen guilty. I mean, I'm not a monster, people. (But I still do stand by my belief that she was not a good player, and her cringe-worthy responses to the jury tonight pretty much proved me right, I believe.)

A little birdie told me that Sugar actually thinks I'm psycho — because apparently being in traffic on Franklin Avenue is a psychotic thing to do — and if that's truly the case, then I'm sure she'd be most frightened to know that just last night, I was mere feet from her again. That's right, I co-mingled with the Survivor: Gabon cast this weekend, and I have the pictures to prove it.

Party photos of the cast after the jump...

Many friends and readers on this site have wondered why I seem to harbor a certain disdain and hatred for Sugar, the sweet pinup model who could find herself walking away with a million dollars this Sunday on Survivor. Even more so, people wonder how in the world I could ever root for the likes of Kenny and Crystal. Well, my friends, I'm here to explain all to you.

I'm very pleased that my one solitary journey out of the apartment today resulted in a close encounter with none other than Survivor: Gabon's chief strategical mastermind, Sugar. Yes, I was in the presence of The Great Brain, and only a few blocks from my pad. The exciting brush with extreme intelligence happened at a traffic light. I pulled up alongside an SUV, and since I'm always curious about my surroundings, I subtly turned my head to the left to peer inside the adjacent vehicle. I couldn't help but notice the driver: round cheeks, perky blonde hair, and a generally pleasant yet bland expression on the face. Why, it looked like Sugar!

But I couldn't be sure. A) This girl was wearing a good amount of makeup, and we've really only seen Sugar in her natural state; B) this girl's hair was shorter than what we've grown accustomed to seeing on Sugar; so it threw a slight amount of doubt into the proceedings; and C) my angle was not great. I wasn't actually neck and neck with the Sugar-mobile. It was more like my driver's side window lined up with her rear passenger door. As such, I had a very limited view of Sugar's entire face. Luckily, her rear-view mirror offered more angles for me to use, and at one point, she did turn around in my direction to fetch something from a bag or who knows what in the backseat. Don't worry: no eye contact was made.

Still, even though my views were limited, all signs were pointing to Sugar. Plus, her makeup was very retro/vintage etc., and given that she does purport to being a pinup model, the general look seemed about right. As the light turned green, I felt about 78.3% certain that this was Sugar. But then... but then I saw something that left me with no doubt about who I was dealing with. Sugar's car pulled away, and I glimpsed — right next to her Obama "Hope" sticker — her license plate, which was so dumb, it just had to be Sugar's work. Besides, it pretty much said so:

"IM SUGA"

I think that counts as validation. Of course Sugar would announce her presence through a stupid license plate. And of course she'd drop the "r". Ugh... If she wins this whole game, so help me God...

Team Crystal.

UPDATE: fallout from this post!

One of the criminal oversights of this blog has been my total lack of Survivor coverage this season. This does not reflect the quality of the season, but merely my middling work ethic, which has waned a bit in the post Big Brother months. Nevertheless, Gabon has been a solid addition to the franchise, with enough twists and turns and blindsides to earn it a spot as one of the more memorable seasons. Of course, it's hard to compare it to the previous two seasons, China and Fans vs. Favorites, but honestly, it stands on its own quite well.

Last night's episode saw the bittersweet departure of lunatic bitch Corinne, who was both endlessly entertaining and somewhat appalling in her own crazy way. Whether she was threatening to stab someone in the face or merely rolling her eyes at other people's lack of logic, Corinne's constant frustration was glorious (case in point: her wonderfully vindictive goodbye message at the end of last night's show). I still don't know if she's really just that awful or merely someone with a very dry sense of humor. Either way, I'll miss her kooky old ways. She and Bob almost pulled off a great scheme last night by producing a second amazing idol with which they could fool Kenny and Crystal. The plan was to get the two original Fang members to turn on Matty lest the "idol" be used against them, but the only problem was that Bob's penchant for creating stunning jewelry from nothing was already out of the bag. Kenny and Crystal decided that rather than vote explicitly for Matty, they'd merely vote for Corinne. If the idol were real, then Matty would go and the idol would be flushed out. If it were fake, then hey, Corinne would go home, no problem. Pretty smart.

But then Kenny, who's played a spectacular game in my opinion, made his first colossal screw up. He came up with some strategy to vote for Matty while Crystal would vote for Corinne. It made no sense, really. They didn't need that extra vote to send Matty home. If Kenny voted against Corinne also and her idol were real, Matty would still go home. I don't know what the hell Kenny was thinking. Of course, as it turned out, the idol was fake, which meant Corinne went home, and Kenny, well, he just turned on an alliance member for no reason. Needless to say, he's screwed. He better start lying again, and quickly...

I'm sure things will be quite dicey at Nobag next week, but for now, we can enjoy this video of Corinne at "Ponderosa" where she happily dismisses the entire continent of Africa after unsuccessfully attempting to blow out her hair. What did you think of the show? Thoughts on the season so far?

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.

Watch CBS Videos Online

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...