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CBS premiered the 19th season of it's wildly successful Survivor franchise, Survivor - Samoa on Thursday, September 17, 2009 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT).

This season fans had a chance to play Survivor Fantasy for a trip to Samoa to see the area up close and personal.

So what's it like?

"Deep in the exotic waters of the South Pacific, eighteen strangers are abandoned on the rugged islands of Samoa, a tropical paradise straight from Robert Louis Stevenson's legendary tale, Treasure Island," says host Jeff Probst.

...and the battle is on to see who will outwit, outplay, and outlast the others in order to win the title of Sole Survivor.

With Shambo voted off in the penultimate episode, the contest is now down to the final five. The Survivor Samoa finale on Sunday, December 20th decides who wins the $1,000,000 and title of Sole Survivor. Will it be Brett, Russell, Jaison, Mick or Natalie?

UPDATES: Jaison is voted out in the first hour, which leaves Foa Foa tribe members Russell, Mick, Natalie to battle it out in the finale. Meanwhile, the lone Galu member, Brett, wins his third immunity challenge!

In the second hour, Russell wins the final immunity challenge of the night against Brett — and proclaims, "In my opinion, I just won the game." And he might be right. In the last tribal council of the season Russell and the Foa Foa team (predictably) give Brett the boot!

And the jury decides: Russell is deemed - gasp! - a lying, cheating, thieving scoundrel, while Mick is judged a self-important passive-aggressive. So who's left? You guessed it.

The weakest link and the No. 1 contestant thought to be voted off tonight - blindsides them all!

So congrats to Natalie, who takes home the $1 million prize money and the title of Sole Survivor!

Survivor Samoa Castaways (& Eliminations)

Dave Ball - 38, Los Angeles, CA
Betsy Bolan - 48, Campton, NH
Mike Borassi - 62, Marina del Rey, CA
Ben Browning - 28, Los Angeles, CA
Marisa Calihan - 26, Cincinnati, OH
Erik Cardona - 28, Ontario, CA
Brett Clouser - 23, Los Angeles, CA
John Fincher - 25, Los Angeles, CA
Yasmin Giles - 33, Los Angeles, CA
Russell Hantz - 36, Dayton, TX
Elizabeth Kim - 33, New York City, NY
Laura Morett - 39, Salem, OR
Monica Padilla - 25, San Diego, CA
Jaison Robinson - 28, Chicago, IL
Kelly Sharbaugh - 25, Los Angeles, CA
Russell Swan - 42, Glenside, PA
Ashley Trainer - 22, Maple Grove, MN
Mick Trimming - 33, Los Angeles, CA
Shannon Waters - 45, Renton, WA
Natalie White - 26, Van Buren, AR

Survivor 20 - Heroes vs Villains

Meanwhile, Survivor's most famous castaways have been invited back to kick off the 10-year anniversary edition of Survivor 20 - "Heroes vs Villains" - which premieres February 11, 2010. As the new season draws near, keep it glued here for more.

So far, the following are the most frequently mentioned names as contestants in the upcoming Survivor all-star competition:

The Heroes : Rupert Boneham, James “J.T.” Thomas, Tom Westman, Colby Donaldson, James Clement, Stephenie LaGrossa, Amanda Kimmel, Jessica ‘Sugar’ Kiper, Cirie Fields and Candice Woodcock

The Villians : Jerri Manthey, Parvati Shallow, Sandra Diaz-Twine, Courtney Yates, Danielle DiLorenzo, Rob “Boston Rob” Mariano, Randy Bailey, Tyson Apostol, Ben “Coach” Wade and Russell Hantz

How Survivor Works

The strategy Survivor contestants use on each other to form alliances and defeat enemies has roots in the history of war.

To become Sole Survivor, players must rely on a combination of well-thought out strategy and seat-of-your pants decision making, not to mention delicate diplomacy ... and good old-fashioned bluffing.

Jeff Probst explains, “Survivor is a war. The show deals with leadership and how you defeat the other tribe. It’s interesting how much it plays into the game all the way through.”

Whether you have never missed an episode, or have no clue what immunity is, the resources below will help you get to the heart of Survivor. Host Jeff Probst is ready to tell it like it is, and to use his clever questioning technique to separate the lies from the truth as he calls contestants out on relationships, broken promises, or bold faced lies.
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Throughout the season, keep it right here for rumors & spoilers, weekly psych-outs and tribal squabbles, plus regular updates on weekly eliminations.

More about Survivor 19 around the Web:

Survivor 19 - Official Survivor site on CBS featuring photos, castaway bios, videos, interviews, plus contests and polls.

Survivor Skills - An all-inclusive multimedia Web site with videos, cast bios, information on all things Survivor, updated articles, heated Survivor fan forum, photo gallery, cast bios, episodes recaps and predictions, tribal council, challenge winners and losers, info tracker, lodge recaps, calendar, maps.

Survivor.com Fan Forum - Busy site devoted to fans who like to talk Survivor.

Reality Blurred Survivor Samoa - Always good for rumors that are solid and facts that you won't find on other sites...

Survivor Samoa - Basic info gets updated during the season, from Wikipedia.

also see -> Survivor Party Ideas

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