www.boxofficeprophets.com
By David Mumpower and Kim Hollis

Proof that Jaime is an idiot: he finds her unattractive.

When we last left Survivor, the women were kicking the men’s asses. You’d think this was the Amazon instead of the land of the Mayans. So dominant were the women that their triumphs weren’t even limited to the challenges. Danni is observant enough to recognize former NFL quarterback Gary Hogeboom despite the fact that his glory days are 15 years in the past. Meanwhile, Margaret spent her valuable time nursing the super sick Blake. Oh, and Bobby Jon finally won an Immunity Challenge. Coincidentally (?), he had nothing to do with it. Also, we’re still trying to figure out the difference between Aztecs and Mayans. Does it have something to do with whether they eat Kosher?

Seven seconds into tonight’s episode, we already know what the theme is going to be. Lydia, who was the silver medalist in last week’s elimination vote, is shown working her ass off. Simultaneously, three of her younger tribemates - ones who questioned her value - have hit the snooze alarm all morning.

“I’m a hard worker. You know, I don’t deserve to go. The person that I would have chose would have been Brianna, because she’s kind of on the weak side. We need a strong tribe. We have to start winning.” - Lydia

Clearly, Lydia should have been voted off. Not because she’s weak, as the less savvy players intimated, but because she’s much, much smarter. Her early stage game theory is light years ahead of Paul Walker wannabe Jamie and Jessica Alba wannabe Brianna. (P.S. Do us a favor. Don’t see Into the Blue this weekend.) More… »

Zebrality
by kris

Tonight on Survivor, the Nakum (Team Bobby Jon) tribe continued to kick ass. Despite a truly obnoxious howler monkey making its home around camp, Nakum trounced Yaxha (Team Steph) in both the reward and immunity challenge.

That’s fine by me, as Yaxha is all touchy-feely and Nakum is funny and tough. Nakum is also brave, as they tried to beat the extreme heat of Guatemala by taking dips in the croc-infested waters. At this rate I don’t know when Nakum will go to Tribal Council, but it looks like when they do Margaret might be a target. Sure, she saved their butts at the start, but now the strong men of the tribe resent her for being too bossy. I’d like to see a Survivor where a woman can win as the strong leader of a tribe, like Tom did last year. I won’t hold my breath.

In one of the most entertaining immunity challenges ever, teams played a Mayan ball game that was pretty much just a variation on three-on-three basketball. The Yaxha men did a good job against Nakum and scored a couple of baskets, but the Nakum women ruled, particularly after Yaxha’s Amy sprained an ankle. More… »

HeraldNet
By Victor Balta

Brianna Varela, 21, of Edmonds is a contestant on this season’s “Survivor: Guatemala,” which airs at 8 p.m. Thursdays on KIRO-TV, Channel 7. Look for Victor Balta’s recap of Varela’s Thursday night adventures in this spot every Friday.

In or out? Out.

Budding rivalry: It didn’t take long for Lydia, the fishmonger who thought her head was on the chopping block last week, to call out Brianna. Just minutes into the new episode, Lydia said she thought Brianna should have been voted off last week, “because she’s kind of on the weak side, and we need a strong tribe.”

Tea for one? “I don’t get along with Lydia,” Brianna said in a short statement. “We don’t fight. I’m cordial with her, but she’s just not my cup of tea.” More… »

More information will follow, but Brianna was voted off tonight because she was the least athletic of Lydia, Amy, and her. She was worthless in either challenge.

…oh, and Stephanie is on a losing team again, only this time she whines about it constantly. Wait. She did that last time…

A full report will arrive here later today. The forums might have some information until then.

Insider - [TV Guide Online]
by Angel Cohn

On last Thursday’s Survivor: Guatemala, Morgan McDevitt was unable to pull a rabbit out of a hat and save herself from a tribal trouncing. The Yaxhas thought that the 21-year-old magician’s assistant was more than a tad bit lazy, and decided to keep workhorse Lydia around camp instead. Unfortunately for Morgan, her fellow castaways didn’t give her a heads-up on the change of plan, so she was stunned by their betrayal before she disappeared from Guatemala for good.

TVGuide.com: Were you surprised you got voted out so early?

Morgan McDevitt: Oh, my gosh, I was shocked!

TVGuide.com: I saw the look on your face right after you gave that whole speech on unity; it didn’t seem happy.

Morgan: I gave this whole speech about honesty and us telling each other what was going on, and that wasn’t the case at all.

TVGuide.com: Do you have anything you plan to say to your teammates when you see them at the finale? More… »

Julie Chen: Last night on Survivor: Guatemala, Yaxha tribe made its first trip to Tribal Council and in the end, Morgan McDevitt, a former magician’s assistant, disappeared from the trip.

Julie: Morgan McDevitt, good morning.

Morgan: Good morning.

Julie: Last night you said that you were completely blindsided?

Morgan: I was completely blindsided.

Julie: What made you feel so secure? More… »

CBS News

It is not good to show laziness on sowing cornfields because the ears of corn will end up twisted.
~Mayan proverb

A 21-year-old from Decatur, Ill., learned this Mayan lesson the hard way and was promptly voted out of the “Survivor: Guatemala” jungle.

A week after 63-year-old Jim was banished from the Mayan ruins, the Yaxha tribe seemed poised to target another “less athletic” and older competitor. But that all changed when Morgan, a lithe magician’s assistant, was unceremoniously booted in a stunning tribal council. More… »

Entertainment Weekly’s EW.com
by Dalton Ross

On ”Survivor,” Gary tries and fails to hide his past as a pro football player, his team fumbles the immunity challenge, and Morgan gets kicked off

Memo to Gary Hogeboom: You’re busted. Soooooo busted. Kinda like that time in the 1983 NFC championship game when Dexter Manley came barreling through the line and tipped your pass into the waiting arms of Darryl Grant, who proceeded to rumble into the end zone for the clinching score, sending the Redskins to the Super Bowl. Yeah, kinda like that. You thought you could waltz into Survivor without anyone realizing that you’re a former NFL quarterback.

Well, Gary, let me introduce you to Mark Burnett. You see, he’s a cagey bastard. He loves to set people up. Seriously, this is how he gets his kicks ?á?í?ì that and by watching Touched by an Angel repeats with Roma Downey. Did you really think he would let you get off so easy? Of course not. That’s why he threw Danni, the sports radio talk-show host into the mix. She recognized you and blabbed about it, and now what do you do? More… »

Reality News Online
by David Bloomberg — 09/23/2005

Morgan was the second person voted off of Survivor: Guatemala, with allegations that she didn?á?í?ôt work as hard as others. What does she have to say to such claims? What does she think is the real reason she was sent home? What was her plan to play Survivor and why wasn?á?í?ôt she able to enact it? Morgan talks about these topics and more right here.

Morgan was the youngest person competing on this edition of Survivor, but was voted off quickly. Did she have any inkling at all? What was she doing to play the game? What does she have to say about the accusations that she didn?á?í?ôt do much around camp? All of that and more is right here.

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Morgan! We unfortunately didn?á?í?ôt get much of a chance to see you on Survivor, but let?á?í?ôs start with what you did to prepare for your time on the show. More… »

The Grand Rapids Press

Oh, that Gary Hogeboom — he’s a sly one. His strategy to deny his NFL background surfaced Thursday night on the latest episode of “Survivor: Guatemala.” Is his strategy paying off? So far, so good for the Grand Rapids native, 47, who is now a landscape developer in Grand Haven. Even though his team went to Tribal Council, he survived. It was Morgan, 21, a magician’s assistant from Dectaur, Ill., who was voted off.

Quarterback vs. linebacker? Our very own Gary (the quarterback) takes on Judd, 32, a doorman from New Jersey (who is the size of a linebacker) as the Nakum and Yaxha tribes face off in a very close and muddy tug-of-war immunity challenge. Judd’s Nakum tribe wins the challenge. But Danni, 30, a sports talk show host from Kansas City, lets on her suspicions about Gary, which he later dismisses to his teammates. More… »

The Ledger Independent - Maysville, Kentucky
By DANETTA BARKER Staff Writer

Another week and Cindy Hall is still standing. The Maysville native once again proved she has what it takes to be winner on Survivor: Guatemala.

Fans of Hall, and the show, showed their support at O’Rourke’s Pub, where the party continued for Hall. Sponsored by the O’Rourke’s and The Ledger Independent, people filled the pub to enjoy the show, the company and the food.

This week brown shirts with yellow lettering were sold by The Ledger Independent. Yellow is the color of Hall’s tribe, Nakum. Proceeds from the shirts go to help Hurricane Katrina victims. More… »

Tonight’s Survivor started with Blake not felling very well at all. Nakum is not having fun. They have the better camp, but no one is getting along or feeling well. Yaxha, on the other hand has Steph and she’s the life of the party over there. They all love each other and get along great.

The reward challenge was for fishing equipment, hooks, line, and worms. The challenge was to run up a ramp, across a net area, then climb on to a rope “spider-web” that was held up by a pole in the middle, over a pool of water. They had to hang underneath the rope web and crawl out to untie a small colored bag. They drop the bag in the water and then they can drop into the water. If they drop into the water without a bag, they have to go back to the beginning. When they get their bag, they climb up a ladder to the net area, run back to their waiting team.

They start out neck and neck, but soon, people start to make mistakes. The music plays loud and we’re all tense, waiting to see who wins. At one point during this race, Jeff says “4 days with no water is taking it’s toll”. What? You can live for 4 days without water? OK… It finally comes down to a tie and the last two guys are neck and neck. Blake and Brian are the last two and they are down to seconds apart. Blake, for Nakum, is just massively fast and wins, then collapses into a pile on the ground and can barely breathe. Blake is hurting again.

Day 4 has Nakum going fishing. They catch a few little fish and they’re happy. Yaxha is in bad shape. For winning the “better” camp, they are hurting. Morgan is not working around camp. She comes across like a stupid, spoiled teenager. The tribe is desperate for food. The producers make a big deal about Rafe and Gary finding some ants and eating them. Steph thinks they are idiots. So do I. Lydia makes this little dammed up area in the lake with a small inlet. She waits for some minnows or some really small fish anyway, she waits for them to swim into the pond area and then throws a canvas over them and catches them. They get 10 little minnows. Everyone gets one and they dig it. Lydia is a hero.

Back at Nakum, there’s grumbling. Judd and Brandon are not happy that Blake is laying around camp getting nursed back to health. All he does is sleep. All Margaret does is nurse him. Grumble, grumble. These guys are just not happy.

Day 6 brings the immunity challenge. It’s a tug a war in mud. They all lined up and pulled on the rope together. Each person had a harness that attached to the main rope, so the put the harness around their waist and pulled facing away from the other team. This leads to some great shots of mud covered, naked, blurred butts. TV at it’s best. They were timed and could also go over to the other team and mess with them. This brought a few mud wrestling matches. I mean, TV just does not get any better than this.

One interesting thing that happened is that Danni says something to the affect that “They have an NFL Quarterback on their team and you’re like a Fullback”. This brought some raised eyebrows.

The time runs out of course and they have to go one on one. The closest one to their flag wins that round. The first tribe to win 3 rounds win immunity. Judd goes against Gary. Judd starts to win and Gary runs over and grabs him. I don’t know what he was thinking. He’s going to pick him up and carry him back the other way? Come on Gary. I didn’t think that football players were so stupid. Oh, wait. Yes I did. Nakum 1, Yaxha 0.

Next round is Brandon vs. Jamie. Brandon wins and it’s Nakum 2, Yaxha 0. Yawn.

The last round is Judd vs. Jamie. Jamie is ahead for a while for Yaxha. They are about to win their first. He relaxes a bit. With 5 seconds left, Judd relaxes, then jerks the rope and knocks Jamie of his feet. Judd powers ahead and gets the flag. Nakum 3, Yaxha 0. Dude, you got schooled!

Yaxha goes to tribal Council. Steph is worried because she feels vulnerable. Jamie says vote off Steph while we have a chance. Gary says they need the strength and she’s the strongest female.

Sitting around the fire, Rafe asks Gary if he was an NFL Quarterback. He lies. Lies all the way through it and they never press. They believe him. We’re all brothers here and I’m sure that you’ll never lie to me. Sucker. Gary thinks that they’d vote him off immediately if they found out. I’m not sure why he thinks that. He’s got a pretty big ego if he thinks that being a washed up ex-athlete is some kind of advantage. Gary needs a reality check.

The rest of the tribe then has the discussion about Morgan vs. Lydia. Lydia is smaller and weaker, so she’s not as valuable in the challenges, but Morgan is lazy. She’s stupid too, but they don’t consider that aspect. Morgan or Lydia? Lydia or Morgan? What to do? They all decide Lydia. It’s settled.

Or is it?????

Brian tells Lydia it’s her. Lydia talks to Gary and pleads her case. Who knows what conversations the producers cut out of the show. Do they change their mind or pick Lydia? OOooohhh. More suspense.

Tribal Council - They all say nice things about each other. Just to note that each tribe will have had one tribal council, so it’s not going to be a blow out like last season. Steph gets to be at this one though. Jeff asks questions and everyone has a lovefest. We’re all one big happy family Jeff! Let’s go vote.

The votes are: Morgan, Lydia, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, Morgan, and Morgan. I may have counted a vote twice in there. I really hate stupid, spoiled blonds. Ask me about Paris Hilton sometime. Morgan’s bunny ear hairdo didn’t help.

The poor girl didn’t see it coming. She had no idea it would be her. She sits around camp and doesn’t do any work and she doesn’t talk to anyone. What does she think? Whatever. Glad she’s gone.

Who did you think should have been voted off? Discuss it in the forum.

Al Jazeerah? What are they talking about Survivor for? Oh, wait… Read the whole thing. It’s all about how Katrina is Bush’s fault and that Survivor is just as racist as Bush. I think I heard her say “Mark Burnett doesn’t like Black People!”.

She caught us! Survivor is really political propaganda so that white people can take over and cause more huricanes. I hope she doesn’t find out that Pat Robertson was the casting director on the show. In episode 13, the token homosexual gets eaten by a snake.

Just for kicks, go read her blog. It’s hilarious, if you have that kind of sense of humor. “Whacko Liberal” comes to mind. (There are “Whacko Conservatives” too!) It makes total sense that Al Jazeerah is publishing her stuff. I know some of my faithful readers are sensitive about this issue and I do want to treat it with respect. We had an interesting thread in the forum about the role of race on the show and I think it’s important to discuss and be aware of…

…but this writer is crazy.

www.aljazeerah.info

By Jane Stillwater < - blog

So I thought I'd take my mind off of politics for a while and watch Survivor Guatemala instead. But even that turned out to be political.

There they all were, standing around these fabulous Mayan ruins, when host Jim Probst introduced the latest batch of Survivors. And, like the lucky ones who were able to escape New Orleans before the hurricane, this group did NOT represent the ethnic composition of America.

In Survivor Palou, we all rooted for Ibrahim. Big Brother 6 featured Beau, Ivette, Kasar and host Julie Chan -- someone for EVERYBODY to identify with. And The Cut had Felix, Chris, Rob and Princess. There was Jordis and Ty on Rock Star INXS and LaToya, Fantasia and Ruben on Americal idol. Is Survivor Guatemala -- like New Orleans -- now indicating the direction American reality is taking? Back to the bad old days of Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver -- and Amos and Andy? Or Boss Tweed, General Custer, Joseph McCarthy and Emmett Till?

When producing Survivor Guatemala, I wish that Mark Burnett have thrown in even one token African-American or Asian. I gotta admit that one Survivor did look vaguely Latina but basically on that show, like in New Orleans, only the White survived.

Then I thought of my own reality -- of my neighbors, my friends and my children. I live in a ethnically colorful world and I wouldn't have it any other way. This rainbow of ethnic variety surrounding me daily makes my life more interesting. It used to make New Orleans more interesting. It makes America more interesting. And it would have made Survivor Guatemala more interesting too.

I turned the television off.

Survivor news comes from strange places some times. This is from WebCPA, the web site for accountants. Richard Hatch, Tax Evasion. It all makes sense.

WebCPA | Tools and Resources for the Electronic Accountant

Providence, R.I. (Sept. 21, 2005) - Richard Hatch, who won $1 million on the first season of the CBS reality show “Survivor,” pleaded not guilty to charges that he failed to pay taxes on his winnings and other income. He was released on a $50,000 bond.

Hatch has been charged with tax evasion, filing a false tax return, wire fraud, bank fraud and mail fraud and entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I.

Federal prosecutors announced a 10-count grand jury indictment filed earlier this month against Hatch. He is accused of filing false tax returns for 2000 and 2001 that omitted his income from the CBS show, $327,000 he was paid to co-host a radio show and $28,000 in rent on a property he owns in Newport, R.I. They also say he used donations to his charity to cover personal expenses.

The former corporate trainer said the indictment was retribution for his refusal in March to follow through on a plea deal in which he would have plead guilty to two counts of tax evasion. He could face a maximum of 75 years in prison if found guilty on all charges. Hatch has been restricted to travel in Rhode Island, but will be allowed to go to Houston to consult with his attorneys. A trial could start on or after Nov. 1.

He doesn’t address directly what they did with Bobby Jon and the other guys who got sick. This is a pretty generic interview.

Yahoo! News

DR. Adrian Cohen, who’s worked behind-the-scenes on every “Survivor” as the show’s primary on-site doctor, says “Survivor Guatemala: The Maya Empire,” which premiered last Thursday, is the most medically challenging one yet.

“It’s probably the toughest one to date, and that’s a big call,” says Cohen, who prefers to be called “Ado.”

Evidence of just how tough “Survivor Guatemala” will be was found in the vomiting, injuries and dehydration that followed the tribes’ 11-mile trek through the jungle in last Thursday’s opener ?á?í?ì capped off when Jim Lynch, the 62-year-old eventually booted, revealed he’d snapped his bicep.

He’s doing fine, but his arm is still only at 50% and it’s still in rehab. He picked Margaret to vote for at random. He had no ill will towards anyone.

Reality News Online
by David Bloomberg — 09/16/2005

Jim Lynch was the first person voted off of Survivor: Guatemala. In this interview, he tells RealityNewsOnline about his plans, his injury, whether there was any real game play going on at Nakum, and why he voted for Margaret.

Jim was only on Survivor: Guatemala for one episode, but he left a number of questions. Why did he vote for Margaret? Why were the men on Nakum so sick? What were his plans for the game? How is his arm doing? In this interview with RealityNewsOnline, he answers these and more.

RealityNewsOnline: Hello, Jim, and thanks for taking the time to answer these questions for RealityNewsOnline?á?í?ôs readers. What was your original plan before you arrived in Guatemala?

Jim: My plan was to be the provider and the leader for the group throughout the entire trek, which I did until [I] got hurt.

Eleventh Edition of “Survivor” Premieres To First Place Finish in Viewers, Households and All Key Demos

“Survivor Guatemala: The Maya Empire” Kicks Off With Over 18 Million Viewers

CBS Wins Thursday In Nearly All Key Measurements

In its 11th edition, the premiere of SURVIVOR GUATEMALA: THE MAYA EMPIRE got off to another strong start, winning the night in households, viewers and all key demos, according to final national Nielsen ratings for Thursday, September 15.

The premiere of Survivor: Guatemala averaged 18.4 million viewers to easily win its timeslot and lead CBS to a prime-time victory

SURVIVOR GUATEMALA: THE MAYA EMPIRE, airing against an original episode of “The O.C.” on FOX and Hurricane Katrina coverage on ABC’s “Prime Time Live,” kicked off with a 10.9/18 with 18.41m viewers, 4.7/16 in adults 18-34, 6.6/19 in adults 18-49 and 8.0/21 in adults 25-54. SURVIVOR is the time period winner in households, viewers, adults 18-34, adults 18-49 and adults 25-54, topping ABC’s second place showing in households (+137%) and viewers (+184%) and second place ABC and FOX in adults 25-54 (+220%), FOX in adults 18-49 (+120%) and FOX in adults 18-34 (+21%).

SURVIVOR GUATEMALA : THE MAYA EMPIRE is on track to be the week’s top rated and most watched entertainment series this week.

Here is the recap of the first survivor episode on Sept. 15, 2005. Sorry about that whole presidential speech thing, if that got in your way or if your VCR didn’t work. (You should buy a Tivo.)

It didn’t start with people jumping out of a boat. It didn’t start with people picking teams. It started with 16 people divided into two tribes, Yaxha, pronounced “Yaa-Shaw”, and Nakum, pronounced “Naa-Koom”. They hiked in to meet Jeff, who then introduced them to their two new tribe-mates, Stephanie and Bobby Jon, from Survivor: Palau, last season. Everyone was all excited to see them. Some of the women even cried to meet Steph. I like her too, but come on….

The first challenge for reward is a little hike through the jungle. The winner will get the “better” camp and flint for fire. The losers will not. The first team to make it to the good camp will win. Both teams get a map and a compass. Jeff says the most famous words in racing, “Survivors, Ready? Go!”. They have to decide how much of the supplies, fruit, water, corn, they want to carry and how much to leave behind. They’ve never talked to each other before, but there are no conflicts this time. They start running through the jungle.

Both teams go off into the jungle with different maps in different directions. They are not walking on a path, but through the jungle in every sense of the word. Blake has a spiked branch fall on this shoulder and they have to pick spines out of it. The guys all seem to be dehydrated first and start cramping up. They all walk until dark and decide to sleep in the forest, in the dark. Poor cameramen…

They wake up to monkeys in the trees screaming at them. They leave when it’s light. All of the guys seem to be really hurting. The two tribes see each other in the jungle and come out to a road at almost the same time. Steph’s tribe lags behind and they end up at the lake after the others. They both have to get into their canoes and paddle across the lake and hike up into the “good” camp to win. Nakum is ahead and ultimately wins by about 5 minutes or less. It’s basically a 24 hour race and Yaxha loses by 5 minutes. Tough break.

The “winners” get to set up camp, but 4 of their 5 guys are throwing up and laying down. Bobby Jon looks like he’s about to die, seriously like he needs to be in an emergency room now. He got really cold, cramped up and threw up. His eyes rolled back in his head and he’s about to lose it. All of them are throwing up for a while.

This is just good TV, you know? Guys who can’t walk and are throwing up. When they said this would be the toughest, they weren’t kidding. I’m glad I wasn’t eating dinner when I watched this one. Wow. Stephanie said that this was the most difficult challenge in any Survivor ever.

None of the women threw up. None of them. They all feel fine. The losers paddle back across the lake and set up their new camp. This would be Steph’s tribe. She gets everyone organized and they work really well together. They just lost, but they have a great attitude and a lot of heart.

Back at the “good” camp, Yaxha is struggling with their guys. they are pretty beat. Then comes the immunity challenge by treemail on an oar. They all meet by the lake where they are shown the immunity idol and the challenge is explained.

Each tribe has to paddle out to a buoy, go around it, take a torch off of it, come back to shore. When they get to shore, they attached a rope to the front and some of the tribe pulls it up the shore of the lake, while rolling it on top of logs. The others take the logs at the back of the canoe and move them to the front as it moves up the hill.

This works much better in theory than in practice. Paddling canoes is OK, but moving these logs and carrying the boat is not pretty. Steph gets her foot caught under one and another girl gets her foot caught. People are falling down and bumping into each other. Third graders could do better, I think.

So this goes on for a a bit and they are both very close in progress. Finally , Steph’s team, the one with the least amount of sick guys, barely wins it. Yaxha, the blue tribe, gets immunity. This means that there will finally be a tribal council that Steph does NOT attend. Congratulations to Stephanie and Yaxha.

Back at camp, they need to decide who to vote off. No one really knows anyone yet. No one has made any one mad. They’ve all been too busy hiking, sleeping in the jungle, and throwing up. Everyone really likes everyone else. It comes down to the guys feeling bad, so it should be one of them. Jim actually tore a bicep lifting the canoe, so he’s got his arm in a sling. Jim is the weakest one and really needs to see a doctor.

Tribal council is held in a Mayan ruin and looks the part. I wonder if the burning barrels made any permanent marks on the protected ruins, but we’re making TV here, so it doesn’t matter. The Nakum tribe walks in to the council area. Jeff asks some predictable questions, then they vote. I don’t want to ruin the surprise here, but if you’ve been keeping track, there’s one guy who can’t use his arm. The votes? All 5 votes are for Jim, probably out of pity as much as strategy. I think he was glad to go.

This really was the toughest challenge that I’ve ever seen on Survivor. I hope they are all feeling better by the next show. I felt sorry for them all.

Who do you think will do the best? Who will be voted off next? Young? Old? Male? Female? Tell us what you think in the forum.