Michael Salerno's Pick - Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains 20.10 "Going Down in Flames"
(Airs Thursday, April 22 at 8:00/7:00c on CBS)
I know my fellow TVOMers have selected scripted shows, but name me a scripted show that has lasted twenty seasons and can still shock, surprise and entertain. Usually, all you get with long-running series are the same boring storylines recycled over and over again (Law and Order, I'm looking in your direction). That is, unsurprisingly, not the case with Survivor. The granddaddy of all reality competition shows is having a Top-3-of-all-time season with its Heroes vs. Villains iteration. The best players in the series' history have been brought back to battle it out for the million dollar prize. Even though these contestants are the strongest, smartest and craftiest the show has ever seen, a number of blindsides, shifts in alliances and all-out boneheaded moves have made the season unpredictable, and kept the audience on the edge of its seat. Boston Rob? Gone. Coach? Gone. Tyson? Gone; all taken out by the guile of one Russell Hantz (left), the runner-up in last season's Survivor: Samoa. Was it fair to the rest of the contestants that they didn't get to see how he played the game before they filmed this season? Probably not, but he is on the Villains tribe, so I don't know why anyone would trust him. But they do!
This week's episode, "Going Down in Flames," features the most important moment of each Survivor season: The Merge. Having battled back from a three-person deficit, the Heroes tribe will merge with the Villains on even footing at five people apiece. Despite these even numbers, the Heroes come into The Merge with a major disadvantage. As we saw last week, JT has made what could turn out to be the absolute dumbest move in Survivor history by secretly giving Russell an Individual Immunity necklace, thinking Russell was about to be eliminated by a non-existent women's alliance. What will happen when the Heroes are informed they have completely misread what was happening in the Villains' tribe? What new alliances will form, and how will the totem poles of power realign? Will Sandra find safe haven with Rupert (her fellow Survivor: Pearl Islands participant) to help the Heroes, or will JT defect to Russell's alliance to re-even the tribes? Will Amanda and Parvati bring their Micronesia alliance back? What will the new merged tribe be called? (I vote for "Probst.") Regardless of what the answers to these questions end up being, we know that they will be given in an unpredictable and mesmerizing way. Survivor is still a weekly Top 20 show (and is often in the Top 15). With seasons like Heroes vs. Villains, it's not hard to see why.
The Merge is a great opportunity to jump in to the season if you haven't been watching, especially if you're someone who used to watch the show and know a number of the contestants, but have let it fall by the wayside. So tune in on Thursday night and watch some of the greatest drama on TV.
There's something seriously wrong with this list. Two somethings.
You're going to have to elaborate.
1. No LOST2. No Fringe.