James yelling "I'm not the dumbest Survivor anymore!" through howls of laughter really capped it off for me. As a Survivor Fan Erik really should known better! Hopefully it's a good life lesson for him.

It's been a good season for laughing at the gullible. When Ozzie planted the fake idol, I thought "nobody is dumb enough to think that piece of crap is the real idol" then along comes Jason to prove me wrong!

It was painful to watch. Last night. Ozzy, as much as I enjoyed watching him compete, was too overconfident and deserved to be blindsided.

James, best survivor ever (i.e., most watchable). And his yelling at the end last night was classic.

I liked it when Erik said he'd grown from being an "ice-cream boy" into an "ice-cream man".

This has been a good season so far, but I don't know how much I want to watch it any more, with those 4 yentas on there. Cirie seems kidna cool, but the other three are horrible.

Saw no evidence of that unless there is an uncensored version that proves otherwise.

I don't know why people look down on that show. It's a great program. I guess because it started the hated "reality TV" craze, but it's still the best of that whole lot. Survivor is still one of my fav programs. And, douchebaggy choker aside, Probst is a pretty cool host, as well.

Reality or Semi-Reality or as I call them Completely Fictitious Non-Reality Shows that encourage people to get voted off by fellow teammates only inspires the absolute worst in people. While seeing the dynamics of humans and while seeing the different dynamics between women and men on such shows is interesting, in a watching the mice run through the maze kind of way, all it proves to anyone is that there should be no trust amongst human beings when Greed is the motivator. I think it shows the worst parts of humanity and to have these TV shows glorify the ultimate downfall and flaw of humankind and celebrate them as heroic conquests and challenges only encourages like minded behavior in the population.

Personally these shows make me sick.

That's not really true. I don't blame you for not liking the show, but your take on it is pretty far off. The gameplay may be sneaky and conniving, but the most of the people a generally likable. While there are always some people my wife and I root against, for the most part, there are good people we root for.

There are tons of reality shows that are exactly what you describe (90% of them on Fox), but Survivor is the class of the genre. Big Brother could learn a lot from Survivor.

But just because the gameplay is sneaky and conniving, doesn't make the people bad. THAT'S what makes it interesting. Of course, I love to play and watch poker, so I maybe I am just biased.

Wow, you need to direct some of that dismay towards something important. Literally everything you've said can be applied to the business world, or any number of other facets of life. Survivor is simply a game show, and a fairly benign one at that.

Real World, Big Brother or any of the shows that are the more classic Reality TV shows are petty and fictional. I find it hard to believe anything about the people other than maybe their names. I hold these shows in the highest contempt and would shed no tears if their entire set went down in a ball of flames tomorrow. My only hope is the producers died in the fire as well.

Then you move into the Competitive Reality TV shows. This would include The Apprentice, Hell's Kitchen, Survivor and a few more. Although The Apprentice is different since the contestants themselves do not vote each other off and the judges do instead. So you can technically divide them up into Contestant Decision and Judge Decision. I actually don't mind so much the Judge Decision portion of the competitive reality show circuit because it is ultimately based upon skill and teamwork. There is no social aspect outside of getting along and working together. You are not trying to make allies or secure votes for enemies. You do the job or skill as best as you can and hope that it's good enough for the judge not to throw your ass out.

Hell's Kitchen is part Contestant Decision and then Judge Decision but it still holds true to my previous post. Any game that is dependent upon Contestant Decision making will inspire elementary grade school like Machiavellian strategy in social posturing. While there is certainly a aspect of skill involved that determines animosity from show to show there will always be a social battle in the background. I detest that skill is not the only factor in decision making for any such competitive show.

Then there is the bottom wrung of competitive reality shows such as Top Model or any of that pretentious crap. I won't even comment on these shows since I find them just about on the same level as Real World and Big Brother on the Reality TV hierarchy. Some where between whale scat on the bottom of the ocean and a dumpster filled with rotting fast food.

The only real Reality TV shows I enjoy, if you could even soil them by lumping them in with the refuse of other TV shows of the same level, are the ones that actually do show real life. I believe the Discovery Channels have tremendously raised the bar on such shows which, in my opinion, includes Deadliest Catch and to a lesser degree Survivor man, Dirty Jobs and a few others. Deadliest Catch is perhaps the most raw and gritty reality show I've seen where actual life and death situations take place and where safety is not guarantee in even the most remote sense. I may even include Animal Planet in the grouping with Animal Rescue which is somewhat like COPS and Mere cat Manor or Orangutan Island which are more like natural show versions of soap operas or something. They are certainly a different sort of Reality TV.

Getting to my point is I detest Reality TV as it is shown in the traditional sense of the word. When people say Reality TV they imply Real World, Big Brother, Hell's Kitchen, Survivor, etc. Very rarely and only recently was Deadliest Catch or any of the ones I mentioned in the previous paragraph considered part of the "traditional" Reality Shows. I for one greatly enjoy Deadliest Catch, Animal Rescue and Mere Cat Manor. Though there is one big reason for that. In the shows I enjoy there is no demonstration of human beings socially competing in a contest with each other based upon the want for a valuable reward.

Lastly I request that readers please do not put words into my mouth or assume that I am dense or naive to the workings of the world. Yes I know competition skills are important. Yes I know that social jockeying is important in todays society. Yes I know that greed and the want for more is a great motivator. Yes I know that these aspects exist in the real world, every day, in the business sector and other locations. I am not a fool. I however disagree with the media glamorizing the negative aspects of humanity for the sake of entertainment. I disagree and heavily detest that glorification of such traits on TV and that these traits are deemed appropriate by society because they are advertised as such. Then again I also don't like to what UFC or Boxing either and I still admit I'm morally corrupt. Oh and I also sometimes enjoyed watching The Osborns or Gene Simson's Family Jewels. I really don't know where to classify those shows in the Reality Show hierarchy.

Moderating is for moderators. - Certis

I'll accept was Gaald said and I'll agree that motivation to persevere over ridiculously difficult physical feats is deserving of quiet applause.

For what it's worth I apologize for pooping on the thread.

I just have a special hatred in my heart for Reality TV and as always with me I'm blunt and raw with things I have strong emotions over. This one happens to be negative. When it's positive I go equally overboard. That's just me.

To the original poster I'm sorry to have pooped on your thread.

To the those people that started Reality TV. I hope you rot in hell.

My wife watches this...I sort of hear it in the Man-cave, so I kinda know what is going on with the season, even if I think that this sort of show is a blight on any culture that produces it...with the possible exception of Iron Chef and Top Chef, that is.

So she calls me away from Azeroth to watch this....Here's the thing I don't get about Erik. He's supposed to be a fan of the show, not one of the "stars" from prior seasons....every time someone gives up immunity, the get screwed. He should know this...and yet, he could not see that coming?

That had to be some of the most difficult minutes of television I had seen recently. Even trying to sit through Ugly Betty paled by comparison.

I turned to my wife and said "That right there makes me ashamed to be a man."

Not me. I don't really think Erik represents my gender. He is a fine representation of the Survivor die-hard geek. He understands the trivia just fine, but he doesn't seem to understand the concept.

I am also surprised by the haters. The show has had 16 seasons now. I'm not a huge fan of "reality" TV, but I understand the appeal. I've been pretty turned off since the 2nd season, simply because I couldn't believe the outcome and why it happened.

You know, during the Tribal Council when Amanda voted off Cirie, I thought she came off bad. It just seemed that her pouty lips she is famous for, and then crying really turned off the jury. She had maid final two, and was in a great position, but she acted like people should feel sorry for her. As that was playing out, and they cut to shots of the juror's (which can really be manipulated, I know) I told my wife that Amanda may have lost lost the million.

I was just bummed that they went for a final two instead of final three. Not sure why, since it then gave us an even number of jury members. I think Cirie would have won had they voted between the three of them.

Great season, though.