Survivor

The names and faces of 16 contestants for Survivor: South Pacific were revealed this week. Now, CBS has revealed two more, both of whom will be very familiar to veteran viewers.

Benjamin “Coach” Wade and Ozzy Lusth will touch down on their third island next month, as Entertainment Weekly confirms this duo will once again see if they can outwit and outlast their fellow contestants.

Each has appeared twice before on Survivor; Coach on Tocantins and Heroes vs. Villains and Ozzy on Cook Islands and Fans vs. Favorites. They advanced to at least the jury every time. Can they go all the way in the South Pacific?

The season kicks off on September 14 and our friends at TV Fanatic will cover each episode in-depth.

When Survivor: South Pacific premieres on September 14, it will introduced a few interesting faces to viewers. It will also re-introduce a couple more.

CBS has released the first promotional photo of the cast, which includes this disgraced beauty queen, a medical marijuana dispensary owner and Brandon Hantz, the cousin of notorious player Russell Hantz.

Among other twists:

• Two returning cast members will join the cast, the identities of which will be revealed at a later date.
• There will be hidden immunity idols, says awesome host Jeff Probst: “We’re hiding the clue. No clue as to where the clue is. Once you find the clue, then you have to find the idol.” 
• Redemption Island will be back, but without the concept of group duels. It's win or go home.

He entered the season as a known favorite, a strong competitor that had already appeared in three previous seasons.

Yet Boston Rob Mariano still managed to work his charm and his schemes on Survivor: Redemption Island, winning the $1 million grand prize on last night's live finale.

Host Jeff Probst showered the veteran player with praise, saying Mariano played the game in “a style that would make any mob boss proud," while the man who loves to be an intimidating villain said:

"At the end of the day, it's about my wife and child. Ultimately I want to win so I can bring it home and they can have a better future."

Next season, Survivor heads to the South Pacific. Check out the official preview for the edition that kicks off this fall below.

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Judson Birza, who won what many consider to have been the most boring season in Survivor history, was arrested yesterday. For an equally unexciting reason.

The reality show champion was stopped by Santa Monica police because he was skateboarding in the street, which is a crime in the city. Due to his subsequent strange behavior, Birza was booked on charges of being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Police also discovered an unrelated DUI warrant, as well as a probation violation, on Birza's record when he was taken into custody.

Judson has been released on $37,000 bail.

After proving that nice guys really do finish last, Survivor capped what many consider to be its greatest season ever by crowining its first two-time champion last night.

In a tense finale, Sandra Diaz-Twine defeated fellow villains Russell Hantz and Parvati Shallow to take hom the coveted crown (and million-dollar grand prize, of course).

As usual, fans can now debate whether the best player actual won the game. Did Sandra truly outwit and outplay Russell, who many believe took the wrong pair to the finale with him? Or was Parvati the most deserving finalist, considering every single contestant was after her from day one?

At the reunion, Sandra and Russell went verbal spat for verbal spat. The latter referred to the former as ''maybe the worst physical player to ever play the show,'' while Sandra pointed to Hantz's family and said they are "the only people that like you."

That claim was quickly shot down, though, when the fans awaraded Russell $100,000 as their favorite.

The most disappointing aspect of the finale? Jeff Probst simply walked in from backstage. No helicopter, no jet ski, not even a horse-drawn carriage. What a letdown to loyal Survivor viewers! We expect Probst to raise the ridiculous, cheesy ante each year with his final-vote entrances.

Still, this was an incredible season of the show. Do you think the right person won it?

Jennifer Lyon has died at age 37. She starred on Survivor in 2005, the same year she was diagnosed with breast cancer, against which she fought a long battle.

"I was completely shocked and overwhelmed," Lyon said of her initial diagnosis of the disease. "I felt fine that day; in fact, I've been healthy my entire life."

Austin Carty, an alum of Survivor: Panama, dated Lyon, who starred on Survivor: Palau, in 2006. "Jen was a genuinely selfless, sweet-natured person," he said.

"She always had a smile. She cared about every person.”

R.I.P. Jennifer Lyon (1973-2010).

Carty last saw his friend at a breast cancer charity event in New York during summer 2009, where she received a standing ovation after giving a speech.

"She was engaged in the fight of her life, but she had every intention to fight,” Carty said. "This has really rocked the Survivor community. It's just so sad."

Our deepest condolences to Lyon's family and friends.

On last night's Survivor finale, Natalie White somehow outwitted, outlasted and outplayed Russell Hantz to claim the season's million-dollar prize.

Viewers groaned when the game's best player had to settle for second place, as Hantz was clearly the dominant contestant throughout the season.

It's a fact Russell himself wasn't afraid to speak on during a post-finale interview with TV Guide Magazine. A few excerpts follow...

On being named Fan Favorite: It's wonderful because that shows the jury that even the fans knew that I played the best game. And it shows them that they did make the wrong decision. The people are telling you, you made the wrong decision.

On the jury: I thought they would respect the game enough, because we go through so much out there, that they would vote for me. That’s why I was so confident, I thought that they would respect the game. But I was dead wrong on that. I played with a bunch of people who never should have played the game.

On his strategy: I don’t know how I’m going to play game until I start planning out who I’m playing with. I see if I can manipulate them, or if I have to follow somebody for a little while, to get rid of that person... I don’t know if I would play differently or if I would play the same. I don’t know that I would do it again.

Look for Russell Hantz to be included on the upcoming Survivor edition, which pits heroes against villains. It premieres on February 12.

We demand a recount!

On last night's live finale of Survivor: Samoa, Natalie White was overwhelmingly voted the latest series champion. She takes home one million dollars for her efforts, even though most viewers agree that Russell Hantz controlled the game - and White, really - throughout the season.

After the jury voted, Russell - who took home the $100,000 fan favorite prize for Player of the Season - said "the nice girl outwitted and outplayed" him.

As often happens on Survivor, the contestants refused to reward the grand prize to the person that actually played the best game.

Russell was shocked and disappointed by that decision.

"It's amazing to me how people play the game," he told E! News. "You want to be honest, have integrity, in the game? You ever play Monopoly, where you take people's houses and kick 'em out in the street? That's a game. But it's part of it, I guess."

In other words: shame on you, jury, for not acknowledging that Survivor is like any other game. The most skilled player, not the nicest individual, should come out on top.

White, of course, claims her kindness was a strategical skill.

"I made it my mission to get to... try to figure out what the voting criteria was going to be. I think because of the genuine relationships that I built, they wanted to give it to someone they truly know and will do well with the money."

Survivor returns on February 12 with an edition titled Heroes vs. Villains. No doubt Russell will be included in the latter group - and we'll be cheering him on the entire time!

As controversy swirls over the segreation of tribes on the upcoming Survivor, bodog.com has at least helped gamblers trying to decipher between ethnicities.

If you plan on watching the CBS reality show this fall - and, of course, wager on it - here are the opening lines on which team will finish first:

The Asian Americans: 13/7
The Hispanics: 3/1
The African-American: 7/3
The Whites: 3/2

The odds, however, on host Jeff Probst and first-season winner, Richard Hatch, hooking up were not posted.

This is shocking.

The decision by CBS to segregate this year's tribes on Survivor according to their ethnicity is now going over well with, well, almost everyone.

The most vocal critics of the move so far are groups of New York City officials and civil rights advocates. They've blasted the announcement, claiming the producers' decision to pit blacks, whites, Asians and Hispanics against each other during the early rounds of the show would only promote divisiveness among competitors and viewers alike.

"This idea is so ill-conceived that it would be funny - but for the fact that racism does still sometimes rear its ugly head," city councilman John Liu said at a press conference Friday. "This show has the potential to set back our nation's race relations by 50 years."

How do you realy feel, Mr. Liu? Safe to say you won't be watching Survivor: Cook Island, huh? He stopped short of blaming Mel Gibson for everything, but did continue:

"No where else do we tolerate racial segregation and we certainly won't stand for it in this battle-of-the-races scheme to prop up sagging television ratings."

Ratings for Survivor, however, haven't really been sagging. Jeff Probst and company claim this decision was simply a response to criticism the show has received for lacking diversity.

So why not go in the opposite direction entirely, apparently?!? Let's rev up those racial engines. The move seems akin to telling Ashlee Simpson she's thin ... and watching her go on an all-McDonald's diet to get healthy.

Liu claimed the show's divisive premise would do nothing but promote the spread of negative stereotypes based on the actions of the different tribes, something that - just two days after the announcement - is already an issue.

After all, listen to Rush Limbaugh (please, we don't want to have to do it). On his radio show this week, the conservative host hid his feelings on the topic less well than Jon Stewart hides his disdain for President Bush on The Daily Show.

Hispanics, Limbaugh said, "have shown a remarkable ability to cross borders" and "will do things other people won't do." Asians, moreover, are "the best at espionage, keeping secrets." Blacks "lack buoyancy" and are "more likely to drown," while the white man's burden will weigh down the last team with "guilt over the fact that they run things."

It's incredibly easy hard to argue with any of those points. The racism excitement begins on Survivor: Cook Islands on September 14!