MAIN Pop Culture Reality TV Survivor 18

CBS premiered the 18th season of it's wildly successful Survivor franchise, Survivor - Tocantins - The Brazilian Highlands on Thursday, February 12, 2009 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT).

Filming began in the Jalapao desert area of Brazil in the beginning of November. A first this season — applicants under the age of 21 were allowed to try out, and there is one contestant who is just 19 years old. The oldest contestant in this season's Survivor Tocantins is Sandy Burgin, who is 53.

This season fans had have a chance to play Survivor Fantasy for a trip to Tocantins, Brazil to see the area up close and personal. Although with the descriptions of heat and tropical rainstorms, watching the show was probably a lot more comfortable.

Tocantins, in the Highlands of Brazil is being billed as one of the most rugged locations ever visited by the show, offering blisteringly hot temperatures, torrential tropical downpours, and dangerous wildlife. The only relief from these harsh conditions is a river oasis known as the Rio Novo, where a crew member reportedly drowned during filming. The castaways were stranded in the majestic interior of South America for 39 days...

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

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.

This season, the game began with a new twist. The castaways were divided into two separate tribes from the very beginning. No cozy, getting-to-know-each-other time or introductions for the castaways. They immediately began their game based solely on their first impressions of each other...

May 17 - THE BIG FINALE! It's been quite a ride through injuries, back stabbing and delusional castaways (see ya, Coach). But it all boiled down to who could "outwit, outplay and outlast" their fellow players. So who made it this season as the last to survive - JT or Stephen?

Congratulations to "The Warrior" JT who was announced the winner of the $1 million prize and the title of Sole Survivor by unanimous decision!

More about Survivor 18 around the Web:

Survivor 18 on CBS - Official Survivor site on CBS. Bare bones with the show's basic information, bios, video interviews plus a few contests and polls.

Survivor.com - Survivor Tocantins Word Press Blog - The best, all-inclusive and most comprehensive Survivor site by far. Anything you ever wanted to know about Survivor found all together in one basic site. Nothing too fancy but all the right information to fulfill your piqued curiosity. Ring tones, fan forum, application and newsletter.

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, polls, pool, store, stuff, and links. What more could you ask for? Pictures of the base camp? OK...

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

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

Wikipedia Survivor: Tocantins - Basic info gets updated during the season.

Survivor Fever - (http://survivorfever.net/) Find spoilers and rumors about in-fighting updated on a regular basis. Who the sources are, or how accurate they are, is anyone's guess, but if you're looking for spoilers - check it out. Lots of pictures, promos, videos, news and gossip... watch out for the pop up add ons...

also see -> Survivor Party Ideas | Brazil Beaches Guide | Brazil Winery Guide

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