MITCHELL GETS KNIFED

After three weeks of lackluster tribal council votes, the gang from Survivor: The Australian Outback turned out a real nail-biter last night as Mitchell Olson — the lanky, 23-year-old songwriter from New Jersey — was voted out after losing a second tiebreaker with Ogakor tribemate Keith Famie. Despite all the suspense, Survivor lost some ground in the ratings according to overnight estimates. (Maybe viewers don't like to watch pigs being slaughtered after all.) From 8-8:30 pm, NBC's Friends — featuring guest star Susan Sarandon — actually inched past CBS's reality phenom (15.8 to 15.5). However, Survivor came back in the final 30 minutes and ended up winning the hour with a 2 percent advantage over the 40-minute Friends/20-minute Friends clip show combo. For an episode recap, click here. Meanwhile, CBS is now accepting applications for Survivor 3 at www.cbs.com.