I'm a Survivor, I'm not gonna give up...

I have been a survivor fan ever since season 3, Survivor: Africa with my all time favorite survivor...Ethan. I was unable to watch prior to that year, but I have been hooked ever since. Even though I have often been disappointed by the way the season pans out, and by the eventual winners of several years of competition (ie. Season 6 when Jenna won...she just sat around the entire time and got naked at competitions...she in NO WAY deserved the title of Sole Survivor...she also in NO WAY deserves to be dating Ethan who is one of the few players to have played a good, honest game, but what can we do?). I do realize that the point of the game is to "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast" and whoever wins in the end obviously did just that (whether or not they were the best player, or the most fun to watch, or my personal favorite...). Here are the top 3 reasons why I love Survivor:

1) The contestants. You never know what you are going to get with these crazy people. I often find myself asking "Have you ever watched this show before?" when contestants don't want to compete or are starving and can't stop complaining. It is always fun to see who is going to "hook up" and who ends up hating who. And who ever would have thought that Jenna and Heidi would take off their clothes (willingly, without any prompting from anyone) for peanut butter and chocolate when all they really had to do was jump in the water? It's like high school, only with adults...and televised...and a little more petty. Over the years I have chosen several favorites, including (but not limited to) James (China), Ozzy (Cook Islands), Terry (Panama), and Stephanie (Palau). I realize that three of these contestants were in more than one season of the show, but I started to love them in the seasons mentioned. Love them.

2) Jeff Probst. Besides the fact that he is the only Emmy winning reality host, and the only host out there that actually has to think on his feet, he is hilarious and lives for the drama of the show (as do I). Love him.

3) The twists. I love that, just when the show is becoming stagnant, they throw in a twist. Exhile Island, teams separated by race, immunity idols, teams separated by age, All Stars, Fans vs. Favs, improved living conditions for the better team, kidnapping players...the list goes on and on! Love it.

This season, the ratings are at an all time low, averaging about 13 million viewers per episode. Tragic. I know Thursdays are busy nights for all of us, but PLEASE find time to watch this delightful show...it might not be on for much longer.