Yeah, I know this isn't my usual TV Newsy Bits graphic. It's the price of gas this morning in the town where I live in New Jersey. It's full serve as it's illegal to pump your own gas in this state. Oh, don't ask me why. I just live here; I'm not from here.
Supposedly we have some of the lowest prices in the nation due to a low state tax on gasoline. Don't worry -- we certainly pay more than enough for living here! What's the cost where you are?
Here are today's TV Newsy Bits:
- Blog reader and commenter Paul Levinson has an interesting TV-themed blog Infinite Regress which has lots of intriguing Lost commentary. We have plenty of time before the new season (February 2008), so reading his posts on the show might keep our appetites whetted. For seven months... um, well.
- Blog reader Sue out in California sent me a link to the latest on our man Yau-Man Chan from Survivor 14: Fiji. Sue rocks!
- And, while I'm on blog reader submitted doings... blog reader JessiesGirl sent me this link to a BBC article about the latest brouhaha going on with the Australian Big Brother show. One of the houseguests on the show entered knowing her father was dying. The family had discussed it and decided that if he died while she was in the house, she wasn't to be told. Well, he died. Now the fans of the show are freaking out.
- I hear the calls for a blog discussion post for So You Think You Can Dance. If I don't get one up tonight, I will do it tomorrow. I've been watching the show, but know I'll have trouble keeping the names straight if I write about it!
- Ohhh... do you want to try to win a date with Survivor 13 winner Yul Kwon? Check it out!
- Are you ready for some spice on this fall's Dancing With the Stars? Former Spice Girl Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown is slated to be on the show according to this Reality TV World article. Tori Spelling is also in talks with the producers.
I'm much more satisfied with the finale of Survivor compared to the most recent Amazing Race. I had not just one, but two contestants I really thought played the game well and, gosh, I liked them! I was ambivalent about the final group on The Amazing Race once the numbers got down. At least Survivor didn't fail me!Five remain. Who will outlast the others to be the final Survivor?After a fairly brief (compared to some) season recap, the show opened on Day 37 with Adam contemplating his fate. He knew that unless he wins Immunity, he's sure to be a goner at the next Tribal Council. No one would sleep with him; he's all alone - a dead man walking, so to speak. He tried to plant the seeds of betrayal in Ozzy, pointing out what a huge target Ozzy carries due to his performance in challenges. Yeah, it worried Ozzy some, but was it enough to sway him?When treemail came, it indicated a spider web and the chance to slither, run, balance, and know directions. Okay, it sure did. Jeff Probst said it was one of the toughest puzzles ever in this often much too puzzling puzzler of a season. Okay, I said the last part - Jeff just said toughest puzzle ever. I just feel there have been way too many puzzle challenges this season. 
This one had them going through a heck of an obstacle course to retrieve eight bags of puzzle parts, one at a time. Once all the bags were retrieved, they had to correctly make an eight-point compass rose. For a while I thought Yul would get it as he seems very intelligent and possibly a Puzzlemaster. But, no. Ozzy won Immunity once again. He's unbelievable!Adam tried to kick his plan to get the hidden Immunity Idol out of Yul's hands into high gear. He pleaded his case with Ozzy. He pleaded with the girls, Sundra and Becky. In confession, he said that if he can't get Yul to use the idol, he knows he'll be voted off.And, at Tribal Council, Aitu once again stuck together and voted Adam out. They had a dream of being the Final Four and it came to fruition despite Adam's calling Becky and Sundra out for riding coat-tails. He was a gentleman as he left, though. As some might have said on Big Brother 7: All Stars, a true class act as he left.
Aitu celebrated, then treemail arrived informing them that all four will participate in the final Immunity Challenge. They all embarked on the inevitable Rites of Passage tour, gathering markers of the previous castoffs, saying the obligatory nice things about them. Yawn. They then stood on a mountain top and cast the markers onto a fire. Double yawn. About the only interesting tidbit I heard was that Jonathan had lost 30 pounds in the time he was on the island. It seemed that the Survivors had more food than ever before this season, but perhaps the editing misled us a bit.The final Immunity Challenge had the ex-Aitu folks standing on small platforms in water. In 15-minute intervals, parts of the platforms were removed. The platforms were made according to the foot size of each so that no one had an advantage. As the platforms dwindled, my own feet hurt just watching them. The final platform was a half the size of a postcard. Yipes! Becky was the first to fall, followed much later by Yul. Then it was between Sundra and Ozzy on the teensiest platform. Sundra put up a good fight, but Ozzy outlasted her and won the final Immunity. Woohoo! (Yes, he's one of my two favorites I've been cheering on each week.)
Ozzy was pumped over his victory, but was also impressed that Sundra held out so long. But, back at camp, the tightly-knit group knew they were going to face a dilemma - they'd have to vote one of their own off. Ozzy thought it best that they deliberately vote a tie with Becky and Sundra heading to a tiebreaker. That would be the most fair thing to do.Yul, as owner of the hidden Exile Island Immunity Idol, was as immune as Ozzy, so it had to be one of the women. As he came through the whole game close to Becky, Yul offered her the idol. She seemed to consider it, but did she really? Would she?At Tribal Council the idol went unused and, sure enough, it went to a tiebreaker. Now, this was amazing. After trying to do the fire-making challenge with a flint, machete, and flammable kindling for 90 minutes, Jeff gave them matches. And they still couldn't light a fire! Really! As the jury napped, rolled their eyes, and giggled and Yul and Ozzy cringed, Sundra finally ran out of matches. Becky eventually got a fire going and won. Buh-bye, Sundra.Back at camp, Yul and Ozzy were together when a boat arrived with a feast for them. Becky was nowhere around. Ozzy thought it symbolic - it should be Yul and himself as he felt Becky did nothing to be there. Prophet Ozzy also predicted Becky wouldn't get any votes from the jury.At the final Tribal Council, the jury wasn't anywhere near as rough as in previous years. For the most part, the constestants this season basically liked and respected each other. Yul and Ozzy were both such superb players that no one begrudged them being there. Becky, on the other hand, seemed a bit of a nonentity to the jury. The speeches the three gave were pretty much what I expected. Yul said he was loyal to those loyal to him, brought his whole team forward, and felt he had affected the game. Ozzy talked about being the underdog and working so hard to provide food and win challenges. Becky tried to defend her actions and claimed to be working with Yul all along, not following him. She was playing a social game strategy. Um, okay.Although I'm contemplating breaking down the questions by the jury in a separate article, a few things need to be mentioned. First, Becky made a point of telling the jury that Yul had offered her the Immunity Idol and she turned him down. Second, Brad told Ozzy he didn't think he talked 15 seconds to him while on the island. He asked him to tell him something about himself. What Ozzy told was a tearjerker - the story of a boy abandoned by his father. Tears came to his eyes, the eyes of his fellow castaways, and to my own. Jonathan was the only one a bit rough on the three and he was no Sue Hawk. He was more like Alan Alda picking on Major Winchester III.With no cheesy (and I do miss the cheese) jet-skis or anything, Jeff ended up in Hollywood for the tally of the votes. Hey, no NYC this year? In a close vote, with no votes for Becky, it ended up going to Yul five votes to four. Since my favorites all season have been Yul and Ozzy, I was satisfied. I personally would have voted for Ozzy, but at least he won the SUV voted on by the show's fans as well as his $100,000 for second place. And, that kept the Survivor Car Curse intact, too. Even though they didn't give a car away during the season, one was won. And, no one winning the Survivor car has ever won the million. Becky, if web rumors are correct as CBS doesn't tell, won $85,000 for third place.O
verall, even though this season started up hyped with the possibilities of racial tension, I think it had one of the best casts ever. I've always been a fan of diversity and it was great to see that race didn't play as much of a role as the hype wanted us to believe. Yes, Yul and Ozzy said they both wanted to fight stereotypes, so race played a bit of a part. But at the end of the season, it didn't really matter who started out on what tribe unless you were one of the four remaining Aitu after the merge.Jeff gave a few hints about Survivor 14: Fiji. Nineteen castaways, one tribe will have it easy, one will not, there will be an Exile Island with two hidden Immunity Idols, and something about a shocking decision one person will make. Again, it looks like the cast is diverse. Cool, I say.
Yul won the million by a vote of 5 to 4. Becky didn't get any votes.
It was a tie between Becky and Sundra at the second Tribal Council. Yul did not use the Idol to save Becky. A tiebreaker proved neither Becky or Sundra can make fire.Eventually, Becky won. Sundra is out and the Final Three are Ozzy, Yul, and Becky.
Ozzy wins AGAIN. He's guaranteed a place in the Final Three. And, as mentioned in the promos, the Final Three have a chance at the million this season, not just the Final Two.
Not surprisingly, Adam was voted out at the first TC of the evening.
Ozzy did it again. He won Immunity and is guaranteed a spot in the Final Four.
The finale has started on time here on the East Coast. I'll post East Coast Updates for important events as they air. If you don't think you're seeing the most recent post, use the December 2006 Archive link located in the right sidebar of the main page.Survivors ready?
Don't forget... the big Survivor 13: Cook Islands finale starts Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT in most viewing areas. It's a two-hour finale followed by an hour long reunion show.But what about tonight? Can Ozzy be stopped? Is Yul really a puppetmaster? How about that Becky - is she really sneaky? Is Parvati really Shallow? (Yes, that's her last name, so she is.)Six remain. Who will be voted out tonight?Well, the show didn't dilly-dally too long and pretty much jumped right into action (after a brief recap, that is) with treemail. Yes, it was the Reward Challenge and from the verse within the treemail, the castaways guessed mud wrestling - a fun sport indeed. 
They were sort of close. It was mud. They had to go into a mudpit, gather as much mud as they could on their bodies, then go through a wooden fence and dump it into their designated buckets. They couldn't use their hands to carry the mud. Ozzy got inventive and gathered a pile in his hair and on the back of his neck. He was driven. Adam really didn't look as muddy as the rest. For the longest time he was the only one not using his hair to gather mud. Yul was gathering the mud on the small of his back and walking hunched over.Ozzy, in his typical Ozzy fashion, worked it. He easily won with 45 pounds of mud in his bucket after the ten minutes they were allowed. That's about twice as much as anyone else had. Second was Parvati with 24 pounds, third Yul with 22½ pounds. Adam gathered 22 pounds while Sundra and Becky only got 20 pounds each. The funniest part of the challenge was when they all stopped competing and actually looked at each other - Revenge of the Mud Thing!
The reward? The winner and the two highest mud-packers won an overnight trip to a luxury spa, a feast which included alcohol, and lots of festivities. As the winner, Ozzy also chose someone to go to Exhile Island. Since his likely choices would be non-ex-Aitu tribe members, it was a given he'd choose Adam as Parvati was going on Reward. And, so he did.Becky and Sundra went back to camp, mud and all. While there Becky couldn't get over how much Ozzy beat them by with the mud. She went on another "better get him out sooner rather than later" diatribe. Sundra seemed to agree. They all like Ozzy, but he's unstoppable. He throws himself into each challenge like some kind of winning machine.Adam thought he'd spend his time in Exile just resting up for the Immunity Challenge, but the weather had another plan. A storm rolled in and he spent most of the night awake, wet, and cold. But, before the storm, at least he ate something. "Who needs fire when you can eat food raw?" Blech, I think it was a crab he was eating.At the luxury spa, they showered off the mud - Ozzy had "I "heart" it" carved in the drying mud on his chest. He "hearted" a shower a lot more, though. They feasted and partied, then the power went out in the storm. But did it stop the party? Nope! Native dancers danced by candlelight and the good times went on. Then Yul, Ozzy, and Parvati went skinnydipping in the hot tub. Parvati and Ozzy flirted a lot, much to Yul's dismay. He observed it and said in confessional that he was worried she was trying to use Ozzy.Reunited back at camp, Yul and Becky discussed their concerns about Ozzy. Both are very wary, but Yul doesn't seem to want to take the leap to actively get him out. Yul said in a confessional that no one has a chance against Ozzy with the jury. I think he's right. I had some qualms about Ozzy's attitude in the beginning of the show - he had a chip on his shoulder. But, dang... he's giving it his all. If he wins it all, he deserves it.
Off to the Immunity Challenge! This one should have been easier for the women as it included a balance beam, but that wasn't the case. The castaways had to walk across multi-level balance beams, retrieve four bundles of puzzle parts one at a time, then build a table with their puzzle parts, and guide two cannonballs through a groove to the corner pockets. This been a very puzzling season. Too puzzling at times! Of course, Ozzy just zipped through the retrievals and his only opposition was Yul. Yul wasn't as quick on the balance beams, but at least he was making his puzzle table at the same time as Ozzy. Parvati was in running for third while Becky took one really painful-looking fall, but kept at it. Sundra and Adam looked like comedy routines falling all over the place. Both were totally off the map as far as winning goes.
So Ozzy won Immunity once again. Can he be stopped? I don't know. Back at the camp, both Adam and Parvati tried to get in his good graces. They want to vote Sundra or Becky (preferably the former) out and tried to get Ozzy to vote with them. He wouldn't commit.Adam then approached Yul, the Survivor Godfather Puppetmaster Dude. pleading his case. Yul assured him that he "thought" he'd be okay. When talking to Parvati, Yul told her that he personally thought Adam was a bigger threat while "the others" may consider her the biggest threat. He "thought" she'd be okay. I guess he's the Diplomatic Survivor Godfather Puppetmaster Dude.When Sundra, Yul, and Becky noticed that Parvati and Adam were working on Ozzy, they put an end to that by casually joining them. They thought Ozzy was still with them, but were worried.As it turned out, no need to worry. There was no rat or weasel calling at Tribal Council, although many (including Jeff) questioned Yul's motives for returning Jonathan's hat. But the vote went by Aitu clockwork. Adam and Parvati voted for Sundra while all of the ex-Aitu voted for Parvati. Buh-bye, Parvati.Jeff mentioned that on the finale there would be three Tribal Councils and a surprise. Too bad the twists have hit the fan already, or something to that effect.
Along old Aitu lines, Parvati was voted off. She and Adam voted for Sundra.A full review/recap will be posted late tonight - c'mon back and chat about the show!
Ozzy won Immunity once again.Don't tell me you're surprised.
Ozzy won Reward, but 2nd and 3rd place winners, Parvati and Yul, go with him to an overnight luxury spa/feast/alcohol. Ozzy chose to send Adam to Exile Island.It was muddy!
Survivors ready?I'll be posting major events in East Coast Update entries as they air here in the NYC area. If you think you're not seeing the most recent post, try hitting the December 2006 link in the Archives in the right sidebar.A full review/recap will be posted late tonight.
Remember, we have one more episode to go next Thursday night and then the big finale and reunion show is Sunday, December 17. And, look at the numbers. After tonight there are six left. Rumors are abounding. Will there be a double eviction? Will there be a Final Three vying for the win instead of a Final Two? And, what about the Jury? If there is an even number, there could be a tie. I guess we'll see a week from Sunday!Seven are left. Who will be voted out tonight?The show opened with Jonathan listing the names he was called at the recent Tribal Council. You know - rat, weasel, a cancer. He's not a happy rat.
But the focus soon switched to Parvati. She was chopping at a coconut with a machete and really sliced open her thumb, right through the nail. Despite the relative severity of the wound, she handled it well. But, then again, that's the kind of wound which is going to hurt a lot more a day or two later than right as it happens. Medics were called and she had a stitch or two and did (or will) lose the nail (or most of it). Remind me not to chop my coconuts with my handy kitchen machete, please.The sore thumb didn't hold her back during the Reward Challenge, though. Jeff surprised the castaways with family members who ended up participating in the challenge. It was a water relay where the castaways, blindfolded, had to fill up a small bucket from the ocean. Their respective loved ones, not blindfolded, would guide them to throw the water into a bucket they each held. Then the loved ones would dump the contents into a larger bucket which, when filled, would raise a flag. It ended up looking more like a water fight that a bucket brigade. And, Parvati won it with her father as her partner.
She got to choose someone to go to Exile Island. Not a surprise at all, she chose Jonathan. Then Jeff turned the tables and had her father choose two other castaways and their guests to go to a huge fried chicken picnic held in a sacred cave with locals. Since he didn't know who his daughter liked or not, he was in a spot. I think he went for the guests he liked, not the castaways. He chose Adam and his father and Sundra and her Mom."I call him George because he's my best friend," said Adam of his father. Um, okay. If that makes you happy, Adam, go for it.With Jonathan off at Exile Island, the group remaining at camp -- Yul, Becky, Ozzy -- found it was very peaceful. They decided that they should hide the food from Adam and Parvati. Since Ozzy is the main food provider from fish to coconuts, he resented those two winning anything when he's feeding them. So they threw all the fruit into the woods.At the feast, Sundra did her best to fit in, make friends, and influence people even though she was eating with the enemy. Of course, Adam and Parvati were working on their own influencing pushing their anti-Jonathan agenda. It looked like Sundra was liking them more and more, but would her allies take them under their wing?Sure enough, they did! It was the food. Adam and Parvati brought back a feast for those who remained at camp. Now, I found this a bit odd. In previous seasons, they had to smuggle smidgens from a Rewards feast back to those who remained at camp. Adam and Parvati brought full meals for everyone including themselves. And, it was all eaten without Jonathan. Becky, in a confessional, commented on how peaceful everything was without Jonathan, but with Parvati and Adam.
The seeds have been planted.The Immunity Challenge was a Built For Ozzy water obstacle course that the castaways had to run through twice collecting bundles of sticks. Then they had to form a pole with the retrieved sticks and hook two rings way up high. First in with the rings won. Ozzy ran over the barrels which knocked others out; folks were slip-sliding all over the course. The only one who was anywhere near Ozzy was Yul and he took some good falls. But, in the end, Ozzy won Immunity, so he's safe from Tribal Council. And, since Yul has the Immunity Idol from Exile Island, we know he's safe, too.
Returning to camp, Jonathan knew something has changed. "Something is afoot. I know it. Something has shifted." He was right. In his absence, Adam and Parvati had worked their way in with the ex-Aitu members better than Jonathan fit in with them.Jonathan worked the girls. "Are we still cool? Are we voting Adam out tonight?" They mumbled some sort of affirmative mumble. Then Jonathan went for Yul. "I saved you! I was loyal." Yul mumbled a bit, too. Adam also approached Yul and pleaded his case. Yul talked to Becky and they thought that Adam and Jonathan should go away as soon as possible and then they would need to think about Ozzy as he's way too strong a competitor. In a confessional spot, Yul likened his own position to a "Godfather ordering a hit."At Tribal Council, there was more finger-pointing and weasel-calling of Jonathan, more smug replies from Jonathan, and not as much camera-mugging from Nathan. In the end, all voted out Jonathan except for Jonathan himself. He voted for Adam. I think Jonathan's demeanor at Tribal Council didn't help his cause any. He acted like ex-Aitu owed him. I'm personal wary of the vote. Adam can win challenges; Jonathan couldn't (or hasn't). Adam has plenty of friends on the jury who would vote for him in a Final Two situation; Jonathan has no friends on the jury. The only reasoning in keeping Adam over Jonathan would be a peer pressure kind of thing -- "Look, we voted out Jonathan for peace." I don't know. I think it wasn't the best choice. Adam while they could get him gone would be better for Yul, Becky, Ozzy, and Sundra.
Jonathan was voted out tonight. A full review/recap will be posted later.I personally think a huge mistake was made - Adam should have been voted off. But I'll get into that in the review/recap. Stop on back!
Although Parvati sliced open her thumb, she won Reward. Family members participated. She chose to send Jonathan to Exile Island. Her Dad chose two castaways/family members to go with them to a picnic with locals at a native cave. He chose Sundra and her mother, Adam and his father.
The show will start here soon. I'll be posting East Coast updates as important events on the show happen (Immunity, Boot, etc.). If you're not seeing the most recent post or think you're not, try hitting the December 2006 link under Archives in the right sidebar. A full review/recap will be posted later tonight, so please stop back!
Eight are left. Who will be voted out tonight?Hey, I thought they chose to stay at the campsite with no rats - Raro's original camp. Why did Night 27 open with rat shots? Unless, of course, they were symbolic rats. I've noticed that either rats or snake shots happen before Jonathan is shown. In my own opinion (mainly because I find her annoying), they could have been symbolic Parvati rats, too. She was lighting right into Jonathan about his flipping at Tribal Council. And, Jonathan couldn't hold it in any longer. He told the ex-Raro group (Parvati, Adam, and Candice) that Yul indeed had the hidden Immunity Idol from Exile Island. They were too busy calling him a filthy miserable rat to pay much attention to that important news.Now, to me, Jonathan is as bad about Parvati as she is about him. In the morning, he went on and on about how she's been on the island for 28 days and she hasn't cleaned a fish, nor does she have a clue how to go about it. Jonathan mentioned how lazy Parvati is as he tried to keep in good graces with the ex-Aitu bunch (Yul, Ozzy, Becky, and Sundra).
This week's episode marked the just about mandatory Survivor auction for reward-type items. There are usually a few duds under covers mixed in with the good stuff. Each castaway was issued $500. They could lend and borrow money amongst themselves, but they couldn't share any of the winnings. Jonathan went to town winning a hot dog meal with beer (that he spilled) and pizza (which he licked). Parvati won the bid for a bubble bath and a piece of chocolate cake. Ozzy won ice cream. Sundra got a booby prize of a sea cucumber.Ah, but it was Becky who won the best prize of all. It was a mystery note which Jeff said would hold power in the game. Borrowing money, Becky bid $640 for it. Inside the envelope? A chance to send a player to Exile Island. She decided to send Candice there for a fourth time. Talk about crumbling someone! 
Yul, for some reason all of his own, decided it was time to announce that he had the hidden Immunity Idol. I'm not sure of his thinking process there. Well, he could have figured that most of the people knew it and he already used it for a power play in flipping Jonathan. Also, just knowing he has it will keep others from voting him off and make them leery of who has the second highest number of votes. Back at camp, while Candice was whining, crying, and fussing over on Exile Island, Jonathan made another faux-pas in the game of getting along with others. He was the one who didn't want Cao Boi bringing the Immunity Idol to Reward Challenges and such, right? If I recall correctly, he said it was like "rubbing the win in their faces." So, what does he do? He goes on and on about all the food he won at the auction.
Yul and Becky, as well as Ozzy, noticed the bad behavior and seriously considered dumping Jonathan. But, you must remember, Jonathan's not the greatest competitor in challenges, plus he's a great person to be with in the Final Two - he's the least popular player of them all. The ex-Aitu see his "true character" but need to decide if they can use him or take their chances with ex-Raro.The Immunity Challenge was done in two rounds. The castaways had to correctly answer questions about the past 30 days on the island, use numbers derived from the answers, do some physical tasks in the second round, and raise their individual flags. The first three to finish the first round went onto the second. Adam, in a confessional, said he knows he's a target and he must win. Oh, my. He actually did win! Scary, huh?Back again at camp, Candice figures she's a goner. (And she figures Jonathan is a snake.) Instead of focusing on the game, Adam and his harem cuddle in the shelter. Not too bright of a move, eh? Meanwhile, Jonathan knows he's skating on thin ice with all and returns with fish. Ozzy, Becky, Sundra, and Yul join him in cleaning and cooking the catch, then chowing down. Oh, the cuddlers realized that the ex-Aitu (and Jonathan) are eating without them!
A verbal brouhaha broke out as Candice confronted them, calling out comments Yul made about Jonathan, calling Jonathan names, and more. Ozzy claimed "no one gets a free lunch." Candice called Yul the "ringleader" and blamed him for Jonathan while trying to alienate the group from Jonathan. I like brouhahas. They should have them more often.Of course, that made the very rational and smart-playing Yul question again whether keeping Jonathan would hurt his chances with the jury. The editing tried to make us viewers think it was Jonathan's turn to go, so we (or, at least, I) knew that wouldn't be the case.At Tribal Council, the brouhaha went on all over again while Nate hammed for the camera from the jury box. "No one likes you, Jonathan!" "Yul is a puppetmaster!" Even Ozzy called out the laziness of the three cuddlers. And, in the end, ex-Aitu (and Jonathan) all voted for Candice to go, while ex-Raro voted for Jonathan to go. 5 to 3, Candice was asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. Or, in this case, after an extended smooch from Adam. Gag me now.
Candice was voted off with all of Aitu (and Jonathan) voting for her. Candice, Parvati, and Adam voted for Jonathan.A full review/recap will be posted late this evening. Stop back!
Yeah, I know this isn't my usual TV Newsy Bits graphic. It's the price of gas this morning in the town where I live in New Jersey. It's full serve as it's illegal to pump your own gas in this state. Oh, don't ask me why. I just live here; I'm not from here.