“The Strongest Man Alive” March 5th, 2009 There has very rarely been a scenario wherein two tribes on Survivor have been such polar opposites. Going into tonight’s episode, Timbira has been a highly dysfunctional wreck of a tribe, where Coach is convinced that he is not actually pa...

“Mama Said There’d Be Days Like This” February 26th, 2009 Winners find a way to win, losers find a way to lose. Coach might be one of the most delusional and irrational players in recent memory on Survivor, but of his various cliched idioms this one is actually quite apt for the ga...

The Rio Novo river flows past both Survivor Tocantins tribe camps, base camp, and Ponderosa, and has hosted the first two challenges. That same challenge location will also host other challenges this season--unless the river rises too much, in which case there will be a number of land-based puzzles....

“The Poison Apple Needs to Go” February 19th, 2009 I wrote all sorts of notes during last night’s second episode of Survivor’s eighteenth season, but I got a little sidetracked by some impromptu Rock Band once the episode was over, and I return to it now wondering to myself w...

One episode was all it took for Ben Wade to abandon his "I want to get the four strongest people to the final four because that's who deserves it" strategy. Last night, he orchestrated a blindside of Candace Smith instead of voting out Sierra, who was the tribe's initial target because of her lack o...

Filed under: OpEd, Survivor, Episode Reviews (S18E02) Why do I get the idea that Jeff Probst thinks the ultimate Survivor show includes a blindside ouster of a castaway? Now, I like a good blindside as much as any show fan, but that's not what the show is all about to me. For me, the element of surp...

Filed under: Survivor Possible spoiler follows, though I don't think so. But I'll still use the word "they" instead of "he" or "she." It must be hard to go on a reality show. Besides the insults you're bound to get from viewers, critics, family, and friends (unless you win a bunch of money, of cours...

Survivor Tocantins lost its first contestant last night, and surprisingly, it wasn't one of the two people who the tribes voted for in the show's opening moments. Carolina Eastwood-- who told me pre-game, "I know in the beginning I’m going to have to watch my mouth, because my mouth will tend to g...

“Let’s Get Rid of the Weak Players Before We Even Start” February 12th, 2009 Every year of Survivor is in search of two things: a gimmick and a character. These are the two things that have made seasons that could have been weak into something very fascinating, whether it was the i...

Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, CBS debuts the 18th season of Survivor. Set in the Brazilian Highlands, Survivor Tocantins features a cast of 16 likable people; the most annoying among them, Sierra, has nothing on the worst of Survivor Gabon's group. Can Coach change Survivor forever? Will Spencer's age help ...