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SPOILERS: Survivor 7, Week 7a

Don't click if you don't want to know... and I mean it this time. Don't click if you don't want to know. I will accept no complaints of ruining twists and so forth.

Well, this is a different show now, isn't it? The rumoured "twist" is here, and it's a big one. The first point is that the next two weeks are actually one 3-day "episode" split in half, so I'm not positive what takes place this week and what takes place the next. I'll just spoil what I can and see if things don't fall into place or not.

THE TWIST
Let's lay it on the line now - by the end of the next two weeks you'll have at least two current castaways kicked off, and you'll have at least two (but possibly three) voted off castaways returning to the game. So let's get to it.

CHALLENGE
I call this "challenge" because, to be honest, I'm not sure which it is. My gut is that it's Immunity, but it's hard to go against the spoiling community who all seem to think it's a Reward. But I don't earn points for the process, I earn points for the results, so who cares? Remember the prison break challenges of Survivor past? Drake and Morgan show up to try their hand at it only to see a third prison - and who to their wondering eyes should appear but Nicole, Ryan S, Lillian, Burton, Michelle, and Trish - the previously evicted castaways. The three tribes compete and, surprisingly, the"ghost" tribe wins. The reward? One member of each tribe gets to return to the game. Drake picks Burton, Morgan picks Lillian.

TRIBAL COUNCIL
We can't be having tribe numbers adding up, which means two castaways must depart - one from each side. In a traditional tribal council, Drake vote Shawn off. Osten will be disappearing from the Morgan side, although it may not be via votes...

Two other notes - I imagine next week will feature a merge (Balboa Tribe, black buffs?) and a traditional Immunity Challenge and vote off. Also, CBS has apparently called a press conference for tomorrow to deal with something that happens on tonight's episode. It doesn't seem reasonable that you would call a press conference simply to "deal" with players returning to the game. To be honest, I have no idea what it's about. Can't wait to find out with the rest of you.

'Where the Wild Things Are' To Hit Theatres

My personal favourite childhood book (next to maybe only "The Giving Tree") - Maurice Sendak's 'Where The Wild Things Are' - is headed to the big screen, and will be directed by Spike Jonze. Produced by Tom Hanks, the original vision of a CGI animated version has been rethought as a live action film, courtesy of Jonze's vision. Jonze is best known for his Sabotage video for the Beastie Boys and the films 'Being John Malkovich' and 'Adaptation'.

More Fall Pick-Ups and Drop-Offs

In a follow-up to our previous article on early season show pick-ups, most networks have begun stepping forward with their decisions, with more winners than normal.

CBS has ordered full 22-episode seasons of 'Cold Case', 'Joan of Arcadia', 'Navy NCIS', 'The Handler', and 'Two and a Half Men'. '..Men' is the top rated new show of the year, while 'Cold Case' is the top new drama. Like NBC, FOX has only announced one pick-up - 'The O.C.'. Absent from CBS' list is 'The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H.', yet another sad addition to the shows too stupidly named to succeed.

Also not succeeding is FOX's comedy 'Luis' - the first outright cancellation of the new television season. Currently on hiatus with no definite plans are the aforementioned 'Brotherhood of Poland' and NBC's miserable 'Coupling'.

Disney's Disposable DVD Test Fails

What if a DVD destructed on it's own and nobody was around to care? That appears to be the case with Disney's failed market testing of DVDs that self destruct in 48 hours, and cost $7USD. The DVDs, called EZ-Ds, contain full DVD movies, but self destruct and are completely unusable 48 hours after they have been removed from their package.

Marketed as a replacement for movie fans who can't be bothered returning their DVDs to rental outlets, the fact that they cost more than twice as much as a video rental or PPV purchase seems to have been the major obstacle thus far. Go figure.

SPOILERS: Survivor 7, Week 6

I'm doing these picks EARLY this week so Clive can shut up about copying Snewser. However, y'all may want to check back before 8PM in case I find out my pick is wrong and post the addendum. I'm just going with the gut this week. As always, don't click if you don't want to know...

REWARD CHALLENGE
Our previews show a nice surf'n'turf dinner waiting for the winning tribe who can, seemingly, blow down their four placards first - using only a cannon. We see scenes of Ryan and Andrew cheering, and also one of Trish, which means we can't be certain if they're cheering for winning or simply for the knock down of a placard. Last week he threw the Morgan win at us and I went all reverse psychology and picked Drake. So what is it this time? Magic 8-Ball says... Drake, only because of one really grainy shot that appears to show them eating on the way back to camp.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
We're promised the old weight on the shoulders challenge you might remember from the second Survivor, when Mike Skupin's pole broke over his shoulders. One shot shows Andrew, Osten, and Ryan with their poles on their shoulders - a second shows an exuberant Ryan cheering happily. I'll take the easy way out and pick Morgan, strictly because if Ryan was in the competition and is now out of the competition, he'd have no reason to cheer if he didn't win.

BOOT
In order to play into one of my pre-season spoilers (you have been reading, no?) I'm going to have to forgoe the melodramatics for now and just pick Trish to go. No reasons - yet.

Aiken Smashes Clarkson's Debut

As expected, American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken has hit #1 on the Nielsen SoundScan US Album Sales chart, but unexpectedly with 613,000 units sold. By comparison, the winner of the first American Idol Kelly Clarkson's debut album 'Thankful' debuted in #1 with only 297,000 units sold. In Canada, Aiken's 'Measure Of A Man' opened in second with 25,200 units sold - still many more than Clarkson's 10,500 'Thankful' copies in her first week, which had debuted at a lowly #7.

Digital TV "Learns" From the RIAA

Yet another Wired.com article to highlight today, this one looking at pending regulation that will allow TV programmers to attach a code to their digital broadcasts supposedly barring customers from sending their programs around the world.

With FCC approval expected next week, this supposed anti-piracy measure is meant to stop people from playing their recorded digital programs on unauthorized devices. All existing 50,000,000+ DVD players in America would also be rendered useless by the regulation. The lack of a digital TV push thus far has been blamed on piracy fears, and it is believed by some that this will pave the way for mass adoption of digital TV.

This editor for one hopes they don't wait too long for the rush of consumers panting to pay exorbitant amounts for new televisions, new DVD players, and digital television service only to be able to do less than they can now. Once upon a time the studios sued to stop VCRs from being made as it was thought the video tape would kill the market for home videos of popular films. Have no fear, however, as there will no doubt be hacks and workarounds created quickly in much the same way region-coded DVDs are useless now.

Elliott Smith Dies

Cult favourite and critically acclaimed singer Elliott Smith has died; the cause is unknown. The 34-year-old singer/songwriter had been hard at work on his 6th album titled "From A Basement On The Hill" in his home.

Smith came to attention upon the release of his 1998 major-label debut "XO", but became a star after performing his Oscar nominated "Miss Misery", from the film 'Good Will Hunting'.

Name That Tune?

An interesting article over at Wired.com is shedding some light on another small bit of stupidity surrounding the big label music industry. Just when you thought suing your customers as a business strategy was as stupid as one group could get comes notice that some of your favourite television shows may be coming to DVD with new music. That's if they come out at all, due to the often exorbitant licensing fees associated with the practice.

When Sony released the first season of Dawson's Creek on DVD it came not with the popular music the fans originally heard, but with new pop ditties filtering throughout. The reason? The original licensing deal didn't cover DVD sales, and the studios were asking for far too much. That leaves a choice of change the music or don't release it at all - a choice Universal has already been forced to make for their popular 1980's series 'Miami Vice' after acquiring rights for the music became too cost prohibitive. 'Creek' fans complained when they noticed the new music, enough to prompt Sony to place a note on the back cover of the pending second season DVD alerting fans that the music may have changed since it originally aired.

So a few years from now when we're all going over why the big labels are losing money and preparing to go out of business, it might be a good time to look back on a date when they added "removing the ability for fans to hear the music" to their long list of colossal brain farts.

SPOILERS: Survivor 7, Week 5

Don't click if you don't want to know...

REWARD CHALLENGE
Our CBS.com spoilers indicate the winner of this week's Reward Challenge will win a shower for their tribe, and this may cause a kerfuffle of sorts. Who cares about that, we want to know who wins. Our commercials show the two tribes running down the beach, then rowing a canoe to retrieve crates of some kind, with more beach running to follow. As they begin to run we see a large contraption behind them made of wood with rungless ladders near their starting point. One would assume the challenge has something to do with assembling the ladder, using it to climb the wood structure, and winning a shower. We also see Rupert hugging Ryan, leading us to believe Morgan would win this. But NOT SO FAST. We also see Rupert giving the solidarity sign back to his tribe as he walks off, and it's unlikely he'd be rubbing in a victory in this case. Leads me to think that he's silently showing Drake how proud he is they just won. Word.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Gross food! Gross food! I actually hate even watching this challenge, but I know it's a tradition, and it's time once again. Jeffy P breaks out the blender once more, along with the Wheel of Fish© (and other assorted nasties), to create some custom concoctions designed to cause wretching, gagging, and perhaps puking. Rupert shall return to fight with Drake, and seeing as he won't have sat out the previous challenge, can look forward to partaking. There are really no spoilers to be had here except one scene - which could mean anything - showing Jon dropping his dejected head onto the shoulder of Christa. Morgan wins one - for real, yo.

BOOT
Break it down! Christa, Jon, Michelle, Rupert, Sandra, Shawn, and Trish all head off to Tribal Council. Last week saw Shawn switch sides during Jon's drunken display and help vote Burt off. That leaves only one person having voted for Christa - Michelle. Please tell me I don't have to spell this one out for you.

Warner Appears to Drop Macrovision

An interesting story coming out of the DVD industry pertaining to long time copy protection kings Macrovision and major studio Warner Brothers. TechDirt reports that The Matrix Reloaded is shipping without copy protection, this after Warner had also shipped many copies of 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' minus copy protection as a test. The test appeared to go well as all copies of 'Matrix' on DVD will be free of Macrovision.

Of course, the original test on 'Potter' got Macrovision fired up and prompted them to alter their license to say you either used their product or you didn't - no picking and choosing. Warner has appeared to choose not, saving $0.05 per DVD, but also leaving themselves open to piracy.

Granted, Macrovision hasn't stopped DVD films from propogating over the Internet so far, and perhaps Warner realized that since people were going to figure out a way to pirate regardless, the $0.05 savings per DVD were worthwhile. Good thinking.

NBC Picks Up 'Las Vegas'

This writer's favourite show of the new television season - 'Las Vegas' - has become the first new drama to be picked up for a full 22-episode season. The show stars James Caan as the head of security at the fictional Las Vegas resort casino the Montecito, Josh Duhamel as his assistant, and Vanessa Marcil as the casino host. It also stars Nikki Cox, Molly Sims, James Lesure, and Marsha Thomason, and airs Monday nights on NBC at 9PM. The orders came down after the first four episodes of the series had made it the highest-rated new show amongst the coveted 18-49 demographic, pulling in 10.8 million viewers this week regardless of its competition of Playoff Baseball and Monday Night Football.

Rumours suggest CBS' 'Cold Case', 'Joan of Arcadia', and 'Navy NCIS' will all be picked up this week, while NBC's 'Coupling', 'The Lyon's Den', and 'Miss Match' are all rumoured as potential losers of the new season.

Spike to Offer Another Round of 'Joe'?

The New York Daily News reports the ever increasing popularity of Spike TV's 'Joe Schmo Show' have prompted talks over a second season. While many television programs of all kinds typically debut high and slowly drop, the 'Joe Schmo Show' has seen ratings rise 61% since the premiere in September, including a 45% jump from the first to the second week. This has prompted co-creators Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to begin negotiations with Spike for season two.

Of course, the obvious question is how? It actually shouldn't be difficult at all. First, more money for a second season might mean an A-list host, and a more convincing phony show. Second, as Spike is owned by Viacom - also owners of CBS - they wouldn't have to announce the show as being a Spike venture. Third, the audience on Spike TV is far lower than that of network television, meaning finding people who aren't aware of 'Joe Schmo' could be easier than most of us think.

'Big Brother' Guest Stars on 'Yes, Dear'

If you've ever said "even 11 former reality stars couldn't make me watch 'Yes, Dear'" you're about to be challenged. CBS has announced the October 20th episode of the inexplicably popular CBS show will feature 11 former 'Big Brother' houseguests: Amy Crews, Lisa Donahue, Justin Giovinc, Hardy Hill, Alison Irwin, Will Kirby, Roddy Mancuso, Michelle Maradie, Nathan Marlow, Marcellas Reynolds, and Jun Song.

The show will feature Mike O'Malley's character, Jimmy, winning a chance to appear on the popular CBS show, only for Anthony Clark's character to ruin his chances at success and $500,000.

SPOILERS: Survivor 7, Week 4

Don't click if you don't want to know....

REWARD CHALLENGE
So tell me - when a commercial shows you Osten drowning during the Reward Challenge, how much chance does Morgan have to win this thing? It's probably hard to win a water-based challenge while drowning, so let's put our money on Drake. One rumour suggests the winning tribe gets the other team's luxury items, meaning Drake gets Osten's booze - which could lead us into the CBS spoiler that "lubricated by whiskey, one Survivor creates a spectacle at a Tribal Council that is not to be missed."

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Remember the part in the commercials where Burton suggests to Rupert that they throw a challenge in order to get rid of someone? The same commercial also shows Rupert seemingly sitting out a challenge alongside Michelle and Christa, so we presume he's sitting out this all-important strength/agility based challenge. Remember in Thailand when teams had to go across the same platform to steal items from one another's boat? That challenge. Considering I'm confident Osten can't win Rewards while drowning that means our web spoiler indicates Morgan actually wins one, sending Drake (with at least one drunken member) to Tribal Council. Ah.. but we're not done quite yet..

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE REDUX
"The Immunity Challenge shocks the tribes with an unexpected reward," and "plus, in a new twist, one tribe will steal the other's most valuable possession... but you won't believe what it is" are offered up by CBS.com and the latest commercial making the rounds. So what could Morgan possibly steal that would be of such value to Drake? Rupert.

BOOT
So Drake, minus Rupert, head off to Tribal Council. I would imagine there's probably some heck to pay when you spearhead a challenge throw that ends up costing you your most valuable tribe member, likely meaning a little mutiny and a farewell to big Burton. We hardly knew ye.

Cheers!

$100,000 Trading Spaces

Sunday evening's broadcast of Trading Spaces, featuring designers Laurie Smith and Doug Wilson, and both Amy Wynn Pastor and Ty Pennington, will surprise houseguests with the news that the two-hour special will allow house guests to spend $50,000 to renovate each others room.

Tune in at 6PM and 10PM on TLC.

White Tiger Attacks in Siegfried & Roy Show

One of the famed white tigers in the popular MGM Mirage Las Vegas show, making its stage debut, attacked 59-year-old Roy Horn during a performance last night, leaving Horn in critical condition with a severe neck injury.

The 7-year-old tiger, named Montecore, lunged at Roy, who attempted to beat it back with his microphone, before being drug offstage. Siegfried Fischbacher appeared shortly after to announce the show was over while Roy was rushed to hospital.

More information available here.

SPOILERS: Survivor 7, Week 3

Don't click if you don't want to know, even though I'm completely copying guessing this week.

REWARD CHALLENGE
Thanks to the commercials once again this one seems relatively easy. Each tribe (with 2 Drake sitting out) will be given a boat and the target of sinking the other team in true pirate fashion. A backflipping Michelle coupled with a dejected Morgan tribe in the commercial pretty much offers up Drake as winners on a silver platter.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Here's where things get interesting. All we know is this appears to be a physical challenge involving the rescue of teammates who appear to be elevated in some kind of wood triangle contraption. Who wins, and subsequently who goes to Tribal Council, is in fact wide open.

BOOT
If Drake goes for their first TC, Rupert seems the obvious choice. He hasn't ingratiated himself with the alpha males, and as is normal, people will simply fall in line. Jon won't go yet, contrary to popular belief, because we haven't seen his "big lie" storyline play out yet. Moving over to Morgan, Lillian is on the outside looking in after her little Ryan S was given the heave ho last week. So the question is - which tribe is going to Tribal Council? As much as I want to pick Rupert - and I will be in my pool - I owe the faithful readership the answer that is more likely to be right. Drake wins Immunity; Lillian bids farewell - if only for a short while.