Survivor One World debuts tonight on CBS, with tribes living together from day one for the first time ever. Between seasons, there’s been a version of the show playing out at Northwestern University, where students are learning about reality television and using Survivor as a template for the class, including organizing students in tribes which… continue reading
Survivor Tocantins
Behind the scenes of Hoarders and inside Survivor Coach’s house and life
The July issue of Playboy, which is on newsstands starting today, includes my first feature story for the magazine: a more than 5,500-word exploration into the world of reality TV. It’s the issue that features “Mrs. Crystal Hefner” on its cover. Since Crystal left Hugh this week, it’s now become an instant collectible–although it already… continue reading
Jeopardy! reality TV category includes Survivor, Amazing Race questions
Jeopardy! had a “reality of TV” category last night as part of the Teen Tournament, and its answers included Survivor and The Amazing Race. TAR 16 winner Jordan Pious tweeted, “My brother and I were a clue on Jeopardy tonight! This is crazy!” The clue, he wrote, was “In 2010 Siblings Dan & Jordan hit… continue reading
Behind-the-scenes video shows Dream Team’s rehearsal of Survivor Tocantins’ opening trek
Survivor Tocantins started with a long trek through the oppressive heat, and the Dream Team did that, too. Aaron Massey, who was on the Dream Team in Gabon and became the Dream Team coordinator in Brazil, has posted a behind-the-scene video on YouTube that shows them rehearsing the hike, and also gives some insight into… continue reading
Adam Lambert, Stephen Fishbach, JT Thomas among People’s hottest bachelors
People has released its collection of America’s hottest bachelors, and surprise, they’re all celebrities, because we all know you’re not hot unless you’re famous. But although Chace Crawford is on the cover, likely because opening the magazine to see his own photograph would present a formidable challenge for him, the inside includes a handful of… continue reading
Ben/Coach says casting threatened him, calls Survivor aftermath “most difficult [time] in my life”
Benjamin “Coach” Wade talked extensively to the Missouri News-Leader, which first reported he was fired from his job as a soccer coach earlier this year. The interview is absolutely worth a read, covering everything from what he’s doing now (“I know I’m going to have two offers from community colleges in coaching. I want to… continue reading
Survivor wrap-up: JT’s historic win, creating the opening sequence, charity auction
Survivor Tocantins is over, and it’s been another strong season. From my first conversations with the cast to Ben Wade’s firing to Coach Wade’s elimination, never mind everything else that happened, it’s been a dramatic season. I’d place it in the top third of all seasons, but since the show has been exceptionally strong these… continue reading
Survivor’s runners-up: Erinn’s changed life, Taj’s hurt feelings, and Stephen’s effective losing strategy
To wrap up this season of Survivor Tocantins–which I think was a strong but not great season overall, in part due to the sort of inevitability of the game play the last few weeks–here are the final three’s final thoughts and impressions. Below, they talk about everything from betrayal (Taj and Stephen both still have… continue reading
Survivor Tocantins is the lowest-rated finale yet, though not by much
JT Thomas’ victory over Stephen Fishbach on the Sunday conclusion to Survivor Tocantins was actually the series’ lowest-rated finale to date, although it beat most of its competition during the evening. As a CBS press release noted, the finale “placed first in its time period in viewers and key demographics, leading CBS to its 12th… continue reading
JT Thomas wins $1.1 million after a unanimous vote, but was “really worried”
In a near-repeat of the Survivor Gabon finale, the nice guy won $1.1 million in the finale, winning both the jury’s vote and viewer votes for fan favorite. But unlike Bob Crowley, JT Thomas won unanimously, becoming only the second player in the show’s history to do that (Survivor Fiji‘s Earl Cole was the first)…. continue reading
Ben “Coach” Wade: “It’s hurt me; I’m human” and “I’m not really like that in real life”
This morning, I talked to Survivor Tocantins biggest character, Ben Wade, known on the show as Coach. He was by far the most entertaining and controversial player, and I was glad to finally be able to talk with him and challenge him on what we saw. He was friendly and even occasionally humble as he… continue reading
“Drama queen” Coach finally voted out
Say what you want about Survivor Tocantins‘ Benjamin “Coach” Wade: He made excellent television for 12 episodes. His final episode last night was no exception, and the series’ editors were once again brilliant with their edit of Coach, combining epic helicopter shots, nature footage, and images of him silhouetted against the sun with visual and… continue reading
A second look at Survivor Tocantins’ final five and jury’s initial interviews
Late last October, I talked to the Survivor Tocantins cast members in Brazil before the game started. I published highlights from those interviews and analysis of each contestant before the season began–but that was also before we really knew who they were or what they were going to do during the game. So let’s look… continue reading
Emotional reunions mitigated by Coach’s back-cracking sex scene with his actual assistant coach
Survivor Tocantins is one person away from having a deserving, non-offensive final four. The alliance eliminated middle school principal Debbie last night after she tried to flip on Coach, and also started making promises about giving up immunity. Basically, she tried to hard and freaked everyone out. As frustrating as it is to have Coachface… continue reading
Lying Survivor Coach and Debbie lie about lying
Considering I wanted to do a happy dance in the 110+ degree Brazilian sun the first few minutes when Timbira voted for Sierra Reed, who I found to be very annoying for many, many reasons, I was sad to see the tribe essentially side with lying liars Coach and Debbie and vote her out. While… continue reading
Benjamin “Coach” Wade’s lies: kayak record, other claims disputed
After last week’s spectacular blindside, I fear/rejoice that Benjamin “Coach” Wade’s time on Survivor Tocantins may be over soon, perhaps as early as Thursday. Love him or loathe him or love to loathe him, he’s been the gift that keeps on giving–er, slaying–this season. CBS knows what they have in him. The network has gathered… continue reading
Tyson Apostol: “I figured I could squeak past”
Tyson Apostol was voted out of Survivor Tocantins last night in the show’s biggest blindside since last spring, and he truly had no idea that he was a target. When we talked a few minutes ago, Tyson told me, “I figured I could squeak past” this Tribal Council. Had he known he was in danger,… continue reading
Coach’s warrior alliance crumbles as his general gets blindsided
Not until it happened did I realize there was something I wanted to see more than Coach getting voted out of Survivor Tocantins, but there was: the expression on Ben Wade’s face when he realized Tyson had been voted out and his warrior alliance was crushed. Tyson Apostol‘s blindside was easily the best Tribal Council… continue reading
Brendan giving away 50,000 burritos, but only until “amusing,” “harmless” Coach gets voted out
Bear Naked Granola founder Brendan Synnott, the entrepreneur/dragon who was voted out of Survivor Tocantins last night, has a new business venture coming, and he’s tied its early marketing to his slayer on the show, Benjamin “Coach” Wade. His new company Evol Burritos is giving away 50,000 free burritos–you get a coupon for a free… continue reading
Dragon idiot’s ego inflates as Exile alliance crumbles
I was hoping to start this post with “Awesome awesome awesome,” but instead it’s more like, “shit shit shit.” That’s because the showdown between Ben “Coach” Wade and Brendan Synnott on Survivor Tocantins ended with Coach being victorious, at least in his own mind. My now apparently blind hatred of Coach makes the game play… continue reading