The tornado that swept up the Neilsen ratings and the attention of Americans for the past 13 Wednesdays finally placed the million-dollar grand prize in Rich’s grubby little hands.
Perhaps congratulations are due, yet Rich was the bad guy all along: the bad guy with the evil cackle who torments his fellow players but in the end always gets what he deserves. Reality TV has again broken the rules.
Clever planning and editing by the producer of Survivor, Mark Burnett, baited viewers like caged rats to the cheese. He revealed just enough to tempt the imagination into filling in the blanks. He provided a simple backbone for the game and skillfully selected 16 individuals to allow his creation to stand up and walk.
Since the show debut, journalists and Internet junkies alike have continuously failed in the attempt to predict who the grand winner would be, and the show became a popular bet in Vegas. There are those who let the show take over their lives, those who casually yet faithfully watched every episode and those who last night were doing something other than watching TV. Burnett had something for all of them from-cute Colleen to a red herring of the final four in Episode 8.
As the two-hour finale began with the familiar introduction, few would put up their first-born child as collateral for knowing the winner.
The final four, formerly known as the Tagi Alliance, consisted of Richard Hatch, the conniving corporate trainer from Newport, Rh. I., Kelly Wiglesworth, the river guide from Las Vegas who couldn’t win a canoe race, Rudy Boesch, the ex-navy SEAL who always spoke his mind, and Susan Hawk, the “redneck” truck driver.
The episode consisted of two tribal councils, each of which would be preceded by an immunity challenge and a jury vote that determined the final winner. Prior to the first vote, the four competed in a 10 question quiz.
They were questioned about the former members of Survivor who had been voted off. Kelly’s friendships with many of booted tribe members proved useful as she donned the immunity talisman. The vote ended in a tie between Sue and Rich. For the first time, a tie-breaking voted was needed. Kelly and Rudy each voted again removing Sue from the race for the million.
The second immunity challenge appealed to the outlast portion of the show’s motto “outwit, outlast, outplay.” Rich, Rudy and Kelly placed their hands on a large immunity idol knowing that the last to remove their hand had guaranteed admission to the final two.
Four hours and 11 minutes after the challenge began Rudy made a “stupid mistake” and allowed his hand to slip as he and Kelly rotated about the idol.
Rich and Rudy were forced to vote for each other as they weren’t allowed to vote for Kelly and could not vote for themselves. Kelly’s deciding vote crossed Rudy of the list of possible winners.
Rich’s planning and Kelly’s wins in immunity landed them in the hot seat. They then faced a jury of seven, the very seven Rich and Kelly had played a role in sending them home packing. The million-dollar trial opened and closed with statements from Rich and Kelly. Each jury member was allowed to ask both a question. Sean, Rudy, Greg and Sue declined this privilege. Sean reminded his former tribe mates that he had already spent 36 days with them, while Rudy claimed that he would be sitting there had he not lost immunity. Greg went by a number system, and Sue violently attacked the two that sat before her.
She labeled Rich a snake and Kelly a rat and publicly announced that Rich would receive her vote.
As expected, former Pagong members Gervase, Jenna and Colleen voted for Kelly while Rich’s Tagi buddies Sue, Sean and Rudy granted him their votes. Rich must have picked the right number and landed Greg’s vote.
It was a game from the beginning to the end. A game that had us cheering from the sidelines, yelling at bad calls from the referee and choosing a favorite team.
Rudy, you had us laughing until the end. Sue, your final statements will last longer than any legal records. Kelly, tough luck. And Rich, although no one would ever want to live with you, well done.
Congratulations for a game well played, and thank you for the summertime entertainment. We’ll miss you.
