Top Shot host Colby Donaldson: “I certainly don’t want to rip Probst off” + reality blurred

On Sunday night, the History Channel debuts its first competitive reality series, and it’s hosted by three-time Survivor cast member Colby Donaldson, whose work as a host is admittedly influenced by Jeff Probst, and it has also given Colby “newfound appreciation and admiration” for the Emmy-winning host’s work.

Top Shot is a competition between 16 people with varying degrees of shooting experience, and they compete in two teams in challenges that test their abilities with various weapons (here’s a preview). Unlike some of History’s other reality series, this one actually has a connection to the past. As Colby explains to the contestants in the first episode, “over the next 30 days, you will travel through history, competing in challenges using the legendary weapons of the past and the present.” While the first two episodes feature rifles and handguns, Colby said future episodes will force the competitors to use everything from crossbows to throwing knives.

I’m about as interested in guns as I am interested in having a hole in my head, so watching the first episode, as the contestants shot at targets during the practice round, I thought it was going to be dreadfully boring. By the end, however, thanks in no small part to the Survivor-style elements, I was really into it, rooting for one of the contestants over the other in the elimination challenge and getting excited as targets exploded.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/history_channel/2010_Jun_04_top_shot_colby_interview

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Survivor’s James Clement Gets Bucket List Wish with Young and the Restless Cameo

Two-time Survivor fan favorite winner James Clement, who didn’t make it far on this year’s Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, is a big fan of The Young and the Restless. In the episode, airing Friday on CBS, the 32-year-old gravedigger will play a cop alongside series stars Greg Rikaart, Peter Bergman, Eric Braeden and Joshua Morrow.  After watching the series for more than two decades (and even scheduling his college classes around the show), James says he’s an even bigger fan after his cameo. “Just the fact that I was there makes me relate to it and love the show more,” he says. “I had a great time. I can take that off my bucket list now.”

TVGuide.com: How did the cameo come about?
James Clement: I guess prayers. I talked about it so much, it was like fine, we’ll put you on. [Laughs] It was actually my mom’s idea because she knew I loved the show and she was kind of surprised I still watched the show. … Pretty much anybody who would listen at a certain point in time heard me say I would love to be on the show. I just wanted to get on the show and experience it. I’m glad I got that experience.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/421131_tvgif3.html

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Colby Donaldson says “reality was manipulated” on Survivor Heroes vs. Villains + reality blurred

If you listened to our interview with Colby, I asked this exact question and he gave us the same answer, explaining how that scene in the bedroom was filmed and edited.

Survivor Heroes vs. Villains cast member Colby Donaldson was maligned by viewers and even criticized by the show’s host for his role in Danielle and Amanda’s fight for the immunity idol clue. But Colby revealed to reality blurred that the event did not occur as it was shown, and worse, that the entire season included examples of manipulative editing that didn’t affect the outcome but did distort reality.

“The thing with Danielle and Amanda, I was sort of the victim. I was the one getting berated in the show recaps based on how I reacted and what I said and didn’t say in that scene. And what the viewers saw was not what happened, and that’s really all I can say about that,” Colby told me, after saying earlier, “I’m limited on what I can say about that now after that interview.” That’s yet another example of CBS reprehensibly limiting its reality stars’ comments.

“That interview” refers to Colby’s exit interview with Reality TV World, in which he revealed “Danielle had that [idol clue] in her possession. She had the clue. It was not on the floor. It was underneath her when Amanda reached underneath her to grab it. They edited it and showed a cut of Amanda’s hand going down on the floor to grab it — that was actually Danielle’s hand and it was not where the clue was to begin with. Anyway, it made it look like Amanda picked it up off the floor and it was free game because it was on the floor and I sided with Danielle. That’s not the truth. I told Amanda that I thought it was Danielle’s, but it was based on the fact that she had it in her possession.”

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_Jun_03_colby_interview

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Survivor contestant contract: the waivers, agreements that cast members, families sign + reality blurred

Survivor has been on the air for 10 years as of today, and to date, 301 people have participated in the series as contestants. While casting has turned to recruiting to find participants, many people, from Canadians to teenagers, repeat applicants to first-timers, are still desperate to be cast.

But in exchange for playing for $1 million and having an unparalleled experience on broadcast television’s best reality competition, contestants must sign detailed legal agreements with SEG, Mark Burnett’s Survivor Entertainment Group. Those agreements are below, as reality blurred received copies of them from someone who signed them. (Despite the timing of Friday’s interview, it is not from Coach.) They are all signed before a contestant goes to Los Angeles as a finalist for casting, meaning many people who never appeared on television have signed these. I was first sent the contract earlier this year, and mining it for newsworthy information, redacting personal information, and producing it for publication took some time. The 10-year anniversary is also the perfect opportunity to examine what it costs someone to participate in the series.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor/2010_May_31_contestant_agreements

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Survivor rules: the contract that details pay, tie-breakers, prohibited behavior, and more + reality blurred

Like any game, Survivor has rules, but as viewers, we’ve never seen those rules. Until now.

The nine-page document below is part of the legal contracts and agreements Survivor contestants sign before they are interviewed in Los Angeles. Contestants told me it is the only rule book they receive. (These rules may change from season to season, of course, never mind the clauses that say producers can change the rules whenever they want.)

The rules includes ones we’ve never heard of, and ones that have clearly been broken. For example, quid pro quo is not permitted, nor may “one Contestant receive a benefit of some form of consideration” from another, but there was Yau-Man promising a truck in exchange for immunity. There are also very clear rules against two things we saw Russell Hantz do during the last two seasons: communicating with members of the other tribe and taking and/or damaging personal property.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor/2010_May_31_survivor_rules

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Survivor debuted 10 years ago today + reality blurred

Today is Memorial Day, of course, and it happens to coincide with the 10-year anniversary of Survivor’s May 31, 2000, debut. Yes, it has been one decade since the CBS reality competition first aired and changed everything.

I tuned in only in time to see Sonja Christopher fall in the water and lose the challenge for her tribe, and pay for that at Tribal Council, which back then included a chest of fake cash. Still, I was hooked, as was the rest of the country, and the show went on to conclude with 51 million people watching. American Idol has never come close. Never.

Survivor may no longer be the show viewers and the press salivate over in quite the same way that they did a decade ago, but it still has fans, and it has aged remarkably well. Few series hold my attention throughout their entire run, and though it has had a few flat seasons, it keeps topping itself, and CBS is confident enough in its strength to move it back to its original timeslot this fall. Survivor may not be around in 10 more years, in 2020, but I have no doubt its influence will still be felt long after that.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor/2010_May_31_10_year_anniversary

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After Horrible LOST Finale, Jimmy Kimmel Nods to Survivor

(I was horribly disappointed in the LOST finale. It failed to explain anything that happened in the previous 5 seasons. It was lazy story telling that failed to resolve any of the major story lines that kept me intrigued for 6 years. After being the first TV show to “teach us a new way of watching TV”, it failed to reward our efforts and instead gave us an emotional warm fuzzy with no intellectual meaning. I’m off my soapbox now. Please tell us what you thought of the LOST finale in the comments below.)

On the Jimmy Kimmel show, he had some of the cast of LOST and showed 3 “alternate” endings. The first was a nod to Survivor.

The others were copies of the great finales of The Sopranos and Newhart.

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CBS announces fall schedule – Survivor Will Now Air On Wednesdays

The most significant move is for “Survivor: Nicaragua,” which will now air on Wednesday. “Survivor” has been a force on Thursday nights for pretty much a decade, and this move either suggests that the network wants to dominate Wednesdays now or that they’re starting to think they can find a better anchor.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-11363-TV-Examiner~y2010m5d19-CBS-announces-fall-schedule–changes-for-Survivor-The-Big-Bang-Theory

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Stephen’s Survivor Strategy Blog: Sandra Wins the Final Fishy! – PEOPLE TV Watch

Sandra Diaz-Twine is the best Survivor player ever. It’s just empirically true. She’s won twice and never lost. Parvati may have played more days than Sandra, but she’s been given more chances. For winning Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Sandra wins the season’s final Fishy Award. That’s almost as valuable as a million dollars.

Russell has claimed that he was born to play the game, but Sandra actually may be made for Survivor. It takes an incredibly unique combination of skills to be a Survivor winner — to navigate the very different waters of the pre-merge, the merge, the endgame and the final tribal council. Somehow, Sandra’s kindness, loyalty, craftiness, weakness in challenges, killer sense of humor, blunt honesty, self-control and superhuman ability to read people match up perfectly with the demands of the game. Yes, as Colby and Tom both said, you need a ton of luck to get to the end. But you also need to know how to make the most of that luck — and that takes a ton of skill. Oh, and I’m sure the fact that Sandra’s a working mom whose husband is in Afghanistan doesn’t hurt when it comes down to a jury vote.

Russell may have been the season’s dominant personality, but he had a complete disregard for winning the hearts and minds of his tribemates. Parvati may have made more big moves — but some of those moves were mistakes. Hiding an idol from Russell seemed clever at the time but ultimately served only to antagonize him and pegged her as being too close to Danielle.

Read the entire article at:
http://tvwatch.people.com/2010/05/18/survivor-sandra-win-stephen-fishbach/

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Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains – Life at Ponderosa: Jerri

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains – Life at Ponderosa: Jerri Pt. 1

Jerri is voted off and joins the jury members at Ponderosa

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains – Life at Ponderosa: Jerri Pt. 2

Jerri adapts to life at Ponderosa.

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Survivor: Heroes vs Villains – Life at Ponderosa: Colby

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains – Life at Ponderosa: Colby Pt. 1

Colby is voted off and joins the jury members at Ponderosa

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains – Life at Ponderosa: Colby Pt. 2

Colby enjoys relaxation and enjoyment at Ponderosa

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Jeff Probst blogs the finale of ‘Survivor: Heroes vs Villains’ | EW.com

Jeff tells us that less than 2,000 votes separated Russell and Rupert for the $100,000 fan favorite prize. He’s got some great insight into the other players. I thought Jeff was wrong about Russell last season, but I think he’s got it right this time.

Jeff, if you’re reading this, and you probably aren’t, I think you’re the best host on TV right now. You have a tough job and you do it well. I have a huge respect for the work you do.

But my opinion of Russell changed when he admitted to Boston Rob that he did not play to win. You can’t be the best if you’re not playing to win. He can hoop and holler all he wants about “America choosing” but that’s not this game. This game is about convincing a jury of your peers that you are the most deserving person. He didn’t do that. But my problem is not that he didn’t accomplish that goal, it’s that it wasn’t his goal in the first place.

Boston Rob plays to win. The fact that he hasn’t won doesn’t change the fact that he plays to win. It’s a philosophical approach to the game and if Russell truly doesn’t play to win then he has no claim to greatest player.

Here’s the rub… I am not convinced Russell truly feels that way. Stay with me. I think Russell did play to win. 100%. I think he just misjudged and didn’t fully understand the game well enough to achieve his goal. So now he is changing history. I believe that last night he was scrambling to make sense, scrambling to defend, scrambling to justify another loss, so he decided that all he ever wanted to do was get to the end.

Read the entire article at:
http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/05/18/jeff-probst-survivor-heroes-villains-finale/

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Parvati says advance knowledge of Russell is “ridiculous”; Russell beat Rupert for $100K by just 2,000 votes + reality blurred

Meanwhile, in his final EW column, which is always so insightful (“To those of you who think I suck as a host or as a blogger… kiss it”), Jeff Probst reveals that Russell’s responses to Probst’s questions finally made Probst change his mind about Russell. And more interestingly, writes that “Less than 2,000 votes separated” Russell and Rupert” for the $100,000 fan favorite prize.

I understand why people voted for Russell, even if I think that’s dumb, but Rupert? What the hell did he do this season? Parvati, or Courtney, or Jerri, or Rob—so many others would have been better choices.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_May_18_parvati_russell_fan_favorite

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Sandra, Russell, and Parvati’s Exit Interview – Survivor Heroes vs Villains (S20E13)

Click to hear Sandra, Russell, and Parvati's Exit Interview

We had a good time talking with Russell, Sandra, and Parvati, as you can imagine! Wow. Here are some quotes from the interview.

Russell said:

Did you know you lost Samoa when you played Heroes vs Villains?
“Yeah. I knew I lost because you can read what they tell you and how things are going. It’s common sense to know that you did not win.”

“I do what I want to do and I don’t care.”

“I got beat by a bitter jury. They voted for the person they least hated.”

“Lebron james never won a championship. They consider him the best.”

Would like to play Rob again?
“No. He didn’t even make the jury twice. Why would I want to play him again? I knocked him out once.”

Would you ever come back again?
“I don’t know. I’d have to think about that. The one guy I do want to play against is Richard Hatch.”

Sandra said:

“That’s the first time he said that he knew he lost Samoa. If you’re a strategic player, how do you go 10 days later and play the same stupid game?”

“I am the best. I have 2 titles and 2 checks. If that’s not the best, I don’t know what is.”

“Weakness is actually a strategy and I love it. Colby being weak got him to the end.”

“Russell needs to thank Parvati and Jerri and Danielle for keeping his butt in the game.”

Parvati said:

Why did you keep his butt in the game?
“He was my only line of defense. Everyone was trying to vote me out. No one would talk to me. If Russell got voted out, I would have been the next to go.”

Would it have been better if Jerri was there instead of Sandra?
“Jerri would have won. I would have had a better shot against Jerri, but it was a bitter jury. They just didn’t want to give me a million again.”

Listen to the whole interview. (Quality of the audio is due to the phone call, not the equipment used to record it. Sorry.)

24:31 minutes long 8.8MB Download it here.

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Jerri and Colby’s Exit Interview – Survivor Heroes vs Villains (S20E14)

Thanks to RFF Radio
for the audio!

Click to hear Jerri and Colby's Exit Interview

Jerri and Colby were nice enough to give us an interview today. There are multiple people asking the questions and my recorder died in the middle. Rob, from RFF Radio was kind enough to give me a copy of his audio recording. It’s below.

The biggest news that we found out was that the edit of Colby, Danielle, and Amanda was not accurate. He called Jeff, who reviewed the actual footage before the edit and Jeff apologized to Colby for how he was portrayed.

Listen to the whole story, plus Jerri’s plans for Coach.

24:10 minutes long 11.6MB Download it here.

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News – Survivor Winner Sandra: “Being Weak Helped Me” – Movies, TV & Music – UsMagazine.com

Us: Do you truly believe you’re a worthy champion? Your physical game alone was kind of pathetic.

Sandra Diaz-Twine: Yes I deserved it! To me, being the weak player physically actually helped me. Colby dominated on his first season, and the second time he played in All-Stars, the players were scared of him and and they got rid of him right away. People always want to take out the strongest ones.

Us: But don’t you think it’s a lot easier to play the game when there’s not a target on your back, a la Parvati?

SDT: Remember that I won in the Pearl Islands! On the first day, Randy came to me and said that Parvati was going home first because she had already won [Fans vs. Favorites]. So I went to Parvati right away and told her, ‘I’m going to do my best to save you, because if you go home for that reason, I know I’m next.’ I had to work.

Us: Was it really Parvati leading Russell out there, or vice-versa?

SDT: She was the shot caller. He was the goat, and she had a rope around his neck and wherever she took him to feed, that’s where he ate his grass.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.usmagazine.com/moviestvmusic/news/survivor-winner-sandra-being-weak-helped-me-2010175

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‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’: The winner is … anyone but Russell | Show Tracker | Los Angeles Times

Between the questions and statements at the final tribal council and the comments at the reunion show, it was clear that Russell didn’t just alienate the jury, he was quite possibly the most hated “Survivor” player, among his peers, to ever make it to the end.

We’ve seen super-strategic players who make it to the final vote lose because they annoyed too many jury members, but have we ever seen them not get a single vote? Nobody admired Russell’s intelligence and tenacity enough to give him a vote.

When he accused Sandra on the reunion show of being the worst physical player ever on the show, she should have shot back that he was the worst social player ever.

Read the entire article at:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2010/05/survivor-heroes-vs-villains-not-russell-wins-again.html

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Jeff Probst and Russell Hantz debate the rules of ‘Survivor’

Survivor host Jeff Probst and Russell Hantz exchanged heated words and debated the rules of Survivor during last night’s reunion special. Sandra Diaz-Twine was declared the ultimate Survivor, with Hantz falling short yet again. Sounding like a sore loser, Russell Hantz whinned, “The problem is the game. If she can win twice, there is a flaw in the game.” Clearly exasperated, Jeff Probst coolly asked Hantz to explain his statement. Hantz replied, “America needs to have a percentage of the votes.” Finally, Probst let loose and put Hantz in his place by adding, “Our show is not that. Our show is very clearly defined in that you take a group of people, you put them in one situation, you vote people out, and in the end, the last group, that jury decides who they think deserves to win. This isn’t a game in which you include America. That’s a different game. So, you haven’t won this game. Maybe you would have won that game.”

Read the entire article at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-24089-TV-Examiner~y2010m5d17-Jeff-Probst-and-Russell-Hantz-debate-the-rules-of-Survivor

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Sandra is Survivor’s first two-time winner; Parvati sets a record; Russell loses again + reality blurred

Sandra Diaz-Twine did exactly what she promised and won Survivor Heroes vs. Villains, becoming the show’s first-ever two-time winner by using a strategy very similar to the one that worked for her in the Pearl Islands. The most surprising part of a surprising finale was how unsurprised the final three seemed during the live vote reveal; it’s almost as if they knew the outcome in advance.

Parvati Shallow would have been a great winner, but had to settle for second place—and the distinction of the person who’s played the game longer than anyone else, 114 days. Her three individual immunity challenge wins also tie her for second, though Colby Donaldson retains that title, despite his lackluster performance this season (he attributed that during the reunion to a lack of excitement about being back for a third time).

And Russell Hantz got zero votes, though he did win $100,000 thanks to dumb viewers. If, after watching the live reunion, Russell’s fans are still convinced that Russell deserves to win, they are as delusional as he is. Rob Mariano explained it perfectly: “the problem with Russell is that he doesn’t play the game to win … he plays a good game to get to the end.” I completely agree: Russell has some incredible game, and over 28 episodes, made some great moves. But he’s also so pig-headed and arrogant and stubborn that he refuses to understand how the game works.

Jeff Probst, thankfully, really questioned Russell during the reunion about whether or not he ever considers jury votes while making moves and behaving like an ass. “I don’t care about that,” Russell said, and continued to say the same thing he’s been saying since he lost in Samoa. Probst didn’t let up—“you haven’t answered what I’ve asked”—and Sandra, hilariously, said, “he doesn’t understand.” He doesn’t.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_heroes_vs_villains/2010_May_17_sandra_wins

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Survivor Heroes vs Villains Episode 14 Photos

Survivor Heroes vs Villains Episode 14 Photos

Survivor Heroes vs Villains Episode 14 Photos

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