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Tag: Survivor (1-10 of 270)

May 13 2012 10:04 PM ET

'Survivor: One World': And the winner is...

by Dalton Ross

Tags: Reality TV, Survivor, Television, TV Season Finales, TV

Image credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

The only guarantee going into tonight was that a woman would be the winner of Survivor: One World. That’s because the five players still in the game — Alicia, Chelsea, Christina, Kim, and Sabrina — were all women. So which one ultimately proved victorious? My full recap will be up later (UPDATE: Click to read Dalton’s full Survivor: One World finale recap), but to learn who won, and weigh in with your take on if it was the most deserving player, then read on for more. [SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you have already watched the finale for Survivor: One World.] READ FULL STORY »

May 13 2012 05:23 PM ET

'Survivor: One World' Finale: Chat about it live with Rob Cesternino starting at 8:00 p.m. ET

by Christian Blauvelt

Tags: Live Chat, Reality TV, Survivor, TV Season Finales, TV

Tonight starting at 8:00 p.m. ET, two-time Survivor contestant Rob Cesternino, host of the popular Rob Has a Web Show, will be chatting live with you to discuss all that happens as Survivor: One World comes to a close.

Will Kim, one of the most formidable contestants Survivor has ever seen, glide to an easy victory? Will Alicia somehow plot her downfall? Or could Christina prove to be this season’s Sophie Clarke and fly under the radar to win it all? Rob will be adding his commentary every step of the way as the island-dwellers outwit, outplay, and outlast one another until only one remains to claim the $1 million. Even more importantly, Rob will also be taking your questions. Possible topics for discussion: has any contestant since Richard Hatch had parts of his or her body blurred out as much as Alicia? Can Kim and Chelsea’s friendship survive? What epithets will Cat call her former tribemates? And what can we expect from Tarzan’s tribal council speech?

Longtime fans of the venerable reality franchise will recall that Rob is a veteran of the memorable Amazon and All-Stars seasons. He brought a new level of strategic gameplay to Survivor, forming alliances with other contestants, then quickly double-crossing them when the game called for it. He came in third during the Amazon season, but was voted out quickly in the All-Stars round because he was recognized as a highly intelligent threat. In fact, Jeff Probst even once dubbed Rob “the smartest player to have never won Survivor.”

The tribe has spoken: See you at 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Click Here To Access Rob Cesternino’s Survivor Finale Live Chat

May 2 2012 05:40 PM ET

'Survivor': Chat live with alum Yau-Man Chan during the West Coast feed at 8:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. ET

by Christian Blauvelt

Tags: Live Chat, Reality TV, Survivor, TV

Image Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Yau-Man has had to cancel tonight’s chat due to a work-related emergency. We still hope to have him join us soon. Our apologies for the inconvenience.

Yau-Man Chan has an impressive resume: two-time Survivor alum; Chief Technology Officer for the University of California, Berkeley’s College of Chemistry; MIT graduate; champion table-tennis player; and now, EW.com Live Chat host.

That’s right, the man whom Jeff Probst once called “an unlikely hero” will be taking your questions and adding his commentary during the West Coast feed of tonight’s Survivor: One World at 8:00 p.m. Pacific/11:00 p.m. Eastern. Yes, you night owls on the East Coast can participate too.

Chan impressed fans with his intelligent gamesmanship on Survivor: Fiji and Survivor: Micronesia. While other contestants relied on brute strength to win challenges, Chan utilized his knowledge of physics to get ahead. However, he was involved in the one of the most controversial Survivor decisions ever when he agreed to trade the truck he’d won in a challenge to fellow player Dreamz in exchange for immunity. The move depended upon Dreamz actually winning immunity, of course. Well, he did. And he kept the necklace for himself…promptly resulting in Yau-Man’s torch getting snuffed out.

Luckily he doesn’t have to face that kind of backstabbing here. Get your questions ready, and we’ll see you at 8:00 p.m. Pacific/11:00 p.m. Eastern.

Apr 16 2012 05:40 PM ET

'GCB' gets reality knock-off, now let's turn the tables: Which reality show should go scripted?

by Lanford Beard

Tags: America's Next Top Model, Big Brother, Desperate Housewives, GCB, Kardash...Okay We'll Stop Typing Now, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kim Kardashian, Kristen Chenoweth, Luck, Real Housewives, Reality, Reality TV, Survivor, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, TV

Image Credit: Karen Neal/ABC

Word came down the pipe today (via TMZ) that the producers behind the Gremlin-like Real Housewives franchise are seeking out good Christian… uh… ladies for a reality series based on ABC’s GCB. In the era of reality proliferation, it’s become a go-to to rip off the hard work of TV writers and reproduce their ideas cheaply by training the lens on a coterie of overindulged, under-restrained aspiring singers and actresses. Indeed, it’s exactly how Real Housewives was born: the smal-screen version of Athena springing from the head of Zeus, only replace the goddess of wisdom with Vicki Gunvalson and Zeus with Teri Hatcher naked in a bush. But what about turning the tables? Wouldn’t it be exciting to see a reality show milked for all its dramatic potential in the scripted world? Below, I offer up a few suggestions, then you can chip in your own in the comments. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 11 2012 04:15 PM ET

'The Hunger Games': 'Survivor' alums Coach, Parvati, Cochran, Eliza, and Jenna Morasca reveal their strategies if they had to fight to the death

by Christian Blauvelt

Tags: Reality TV, Survivor, The Hunger Games, Things That Are Awesome!, This Could Be Interesting..., Books, Movies, TV

Image Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

Sure, the Hunger Games already have a slogan. But if the gamemakers of the Capitol ever get tired of “May the Odds Be Ever In Your Favor” they would do well to consider “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast” as a substitute. Luckily enough for today’s Survivor contestants we don’t live in Panem and Jeff Probst hasn’t started wearing cake makeup, so the backstabbing that occurs on CBS’ venerable franchise is still just metaphorical. For now, anyway.

EW wondered what a few notable former Survivor contestants would do if they were thrown into the Hunger Games arena and risked having more snuffed out, so to speak, than their torches. So, to get you psyched for our live chat of tonight’s Survivor: One World at 8:00 p.m. ET, we got Coach Wade, Parvati Shallow, John Cochran, Jenna Morasca, and Eliza Orlins to confide in us what their respective strategies would be—and how they think they’d fare–if they were to find themselves on a show produced by Seneca Crane instead of Mark Burnett. Here’s what they had to say. Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a shock that Coach’s strategy involves a suicide pact. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 26 2012 07:23 PM ET

'Survivor' alum Rob Cesternino on how to improve the Hunger Games -- the event, not the film

by Rob Cesternino

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, Reality TV, Survivor, The Hunger Games, Movies, TV

Image Credit: CBS/Landov

Rob Cesternino was a contestant on Survivor: The Amazon and Survivor: All-Stars, finishing 3rd and 15th respectively. Once called “the smartest player to have never won Survivor” by Jeff Probst, Rob regularly writes about reality TV series like Survivor, Big Brother, Celebrity Apprentice and Jersey Shore at his popular blog, Rob Has a Website.com. This Wednesday starting at 7:40 p.m. ET, he’ll chat live with you on EW.com, taking your questions and adding his running commentary to the latest episode of Survivor: One World. Below, he presents suggestions to Panem’s President Snow about how to improve the Hunger Games. Warning: SPOILERS follow.

This weekend The Hunger Games opened to the tune of $155 million. Based on those numbers, it seems as though everybody should now be familiar with the story of Katniss Everdeen and her journey as a reluctant participant in the 74th Annual Hunger Games — a televised battle to the death where the last surviving player is the winner. The depiction of our future society in the film is not a positive one. In this post-apocalyptic world, a dystopian regime oppresses the surviving citizens of the planet. But the most troubling part of all? Reality TV has taken one giant leap backwards.

Many comparisons have been made between the Hunger Games and the reality competition shows of today like Survivor. As a two-time participant of Survivor myself, it hurts me to think that all of the progress reality TV has made over the years will somehow be lost because of a little thermonuclear skirmish. However, if I could just get a meeting with President Snow, and smuggle in my DVR, I believe I could convince him of a number of ways to improve the Hunger Games franchise. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 20 2012 04:10 PM ET

'Survivor' finalist Stephen Fishbach on the ties between reality TV and 'The Hunger Games'

by Stephen Fishbach

Tags: Survivor, The Hunger Games, Books, Movies, TV

Stephen Fishbach (left) was a contestant on Survivor: Tocantins and finished in second place. He’s written about Survivor and his experience for People as well as hosted our Viewer chat for the current season of the show. You can join his live chat for this week’s episode on Wednesday night here. Below, he discusses how The Hunger Games and Survivor are close cousins.

Nobody is trying to kill you when you play Survivor. Producers aren’t launching exploding fireballs at your head. Poison-tipped tridents are strictly forbidden by the CBS legal department.

But apart from these minor differences, playing Survivor is so much like being a contestant on the Hunger Games, at times I find it hard to believe that author Suzanne Collins hasn’t been a Survivor contestant herself. You’re stranded in an extreme environment — blistering-hot days, bitterly cold nights. The torrential rainstorms seem to never end. You forage for food. You cobble together shelter from sticks and moxie.

To survive, you must rely on the people around you — a multicultural mix from across the country. Only one thing unites them: they are hell-bent on your destruction. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 14 2012 05:15 PM ET

Chat with 'Survivor' alum John Cochran tonight at 7:40 p.m. ET

by Christian Blauvelt

Tags: Live Chat, Reality TV, Survivor, TV

Image Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

Join us tonight at 7:40 p.m. ET/4:40 p.m. PT for a live chat with Survivor: South Pacific alum John Cochran to discuss all things pertaining to the latest episode of Survivor: One World. Topics for discussion: The difference between Tarzan and Troyzan; Kat’s flatulence; Colton’s desire to offend everybody under the sweet South Pacific sun; and, most importantly, is the all-guys Manono tribe the dumbest in Survivor history?

Cochran’s no stranger to controversy himself. The then 24-year-old shocked many a veteran Survivor watcher last season with an unforgettably daring, possibly misguided move, when he turned his back on his tribe to side with Coach’s alliance. With that alone he instantly became one of the most polarizing power players ever to outwit, outplay, and outlast. This self-professed “student of the game” will have a lot to say about One World—in fact he’s warming up right now by practicing Coa-Chi–so get your questions ready and see you at 7:40 p.m. The tribe has spoken.

Click Here to Access Survivor Live Chat with John Cochran.

Mar 7 2012 09:00 PM ET

'Survivor: One World' quick take: They did not just seriously do that!

by Dalton Ross

Tags: Reality TV, Survivor, Television, TV

Image credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

A lot of crazy stuff has happened on Survivor over the course of 24 seasons, and tonight featured one of the craziest of the crazy. My full recap will be up at midnight, but if you can’t wait to sound off on what happened, read on for more. [SPOILER ALERT: Read on only if you have already watched Wednesday’s episode of Survivor: One World.] READ FULL STORY »

Mar 7 2012 03:25 PM ET

'Survivor': Chat live with 'Redemption Island' alum Andrea Boehlke tonight at 7:40 p.m.

by Christian Blauvelt

Tags: Live Chat, Reality TV, Survivor, Television, Things That Are Awesome!, TV

Image Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

Tonight beginning at 7:40 p.m. ET/4:40 p.m. PT, Survivor: Redemption Island alum Andrea Boehlke will be joining us for an EW.com live chat. She’ll be taking your questions and adding her running commentary to the new episode of One World tonight.

Andrea placed fifth on Redemption Island, but has since become an ace Survivor blogger and podcaster for RealityGeek.com. Here’s what she had to say about Coach quoting the Bard last season: “Coach quoted Shakespeare. I love Shakespeare. I think I may have fallen in love with Coach for the first time. Not really, but maybe. Perhaps if I go to the finale and he whispers sweet Shakespearean nothings into my ear I will keep my mind open to the idea.” Coach, I hope you listened!

Hopefully, Andrea’s expertise will help us finally distinguish between Tarzan and Troyzan. And maybe she can offer up a much-needed gameplan for One World‘s women. Or at least tell us whatever happened with Coach. See you tonight at 7:40!

Click here to access the live chat!