May 12th, 2008
Who will be the final Survivor?
Survivor - noun. 1. A person or thing that survives. 2. The one of two or more designated persons having a joint interest, who outlives the other or others. 3. A person who continues to function or prosper in spite of opposition, hardship or setbacks.
Survivor Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites: A reality-TV show that continues to prosper in spite of opposition, hardships or setbacks, such as constant bad weather on the Pacific island of Palau; the return of Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy after a 101-day writers’ strike; the early elimination of fan favourites Yau-Man Chan and Jon “Jonny Fairplay” Dalton; and a game-ending injury to frontrunner - and fan favourite - James Clement.
When Survivor’s producers first chose an epic battle between former contestants and die-hard followers of the show over a second straight all-star edition, they had no idea it would play out so - deliciously.
With an average 13 million viewers on CBS in the U.S. - good enough for 12th in the weekly Nielsen table - and another two million on Global TV here in Canada, Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites has defied TV’s Darwinian odds that says every well runs dry after a while. After 16 seasons, Survivor is still going strong.
It helps, of course, that, as desert-island tales go, this edition of Survivor has played out in recent weeks like Lost on steroids. As host Jeff Probst solemnly intoned at the end of last week’s tribal council - featuring the third shock dismissal in a row - “You guys are perfecting the art of the blind side. That is the good news, and that is the bad news.”
Survivor’s penultimate episode airs Thursday, May 8. Five contestants are left; four will survive to lie/cheat/steal and backstab their way to the two- hour live reveal and reunion program on Sunday, May 11. At stake: a US $1 million and bragging rights for the next six months.
Tags: fans, favorites, survivor, vs, winner