John "JT" Thomas Jr.
As the final two Survivor contestants argued before their fellow players about who should win the game — and the million-dollar prize — the long-running partnership between James "JT" Thomas, Jr., and Stephen Fishbach looked frayed. JT had chosen Stephen over the less-formidable Erinn Lobdell to join him in the final two, but Stephen admitted under questioning that he might not have done JT the same favor. "I just feel like a fool," JT said, looking hurt. The other players sided with him, unanimously making the 24-year-old cattle rancher, from Mobile, Ala., the winner. (Don't feel too bad for Stephen; he still gets $100,000 for being the runner-up.) Now though, JT tells us his hurt wasn't totally authentic — and helped him lock up votes.
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Jeff Probst
In Survivor's season finale, we find out whether the partnership that brought Stephen and J.T. to the final four can survive until the end, and who wins it all. As an added bonus, we find out whether Coach passed a lie detector test about being captured by Amazonian natives before the game.
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Survivor, Benjamin "Coach" Wade
Survivor's Benjamin "Coach" Wade doesn't sound crazy on the phone. Yes, fellow Survivors have said he isn't "grounded in reality" and accused him of being "off the reservation," and even Survivor host Jeff Probst has questioned his claims that he's survived a shark attack, a hurricane, and being abducted by Amazonian tribesmen who, Wade says, considered eating him. (Allegations of cannibalism aren't unheard of in the region.) Wade, a soccer coach, composer, and the show's self-proclaimed "Dragon Slayer," was voted off after the once-united J.T. and Stephen split their votes, setting up an anything-can-happen showdown between J.T., Stephen, Taj and Erinn. Check back with us Monday for a recap of Sunday's finale and an interview with the winner.
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Debra "Debbie" Beebe, Survivor
Debra "Debbie" Beebe was the latest victim of the J.T.-Stephen alliance on Survivor, but only after an emotional episode in which competitors were given $500 to take part in a food auction and got to see their families thanks to a sacrifice by Taj. Beebe, a middle-school principal from Auburn, Ala., talked to TVGuide.com about what auction items were cut out of the episode, losing 15 percent of her body weight, and what her Timbira teammates have done wrong.
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Sierra Reed
Survivor's Sierra Reed lasted one Tribal Council longer than anyone expected after her failed attempt to blindside Benjamin "Coach" Wade, but on Thursday's episode she came to her inevitable end. She talked to us about waiting out the game with her No. 1 critic, Tyson Apostol, once they were both voted off, and her dynamic with Coach. The 23-year-old model and jewelry designer now hopes to host a travel show — and will take some cues from Survivor host Jeff Probst: "Look out, Jeff!" she jokes. "Or help me out."
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Tyson Apostol
Survivor's Tyson Apostol, a 30-year-old from Lindon, Utah, looked like a front-runner in the game until two of his alliance-mates, J.T. and Stephen, joined in the 5-to-3 vote to send him home. The admittedly arrogant professional cyclist talked with us about his harsh advice for Sierra, who survived thanks to his dismissal — and also campaigned for a job on The View. (We're sure Barbara Walters will call soon.)
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Brendan Synnott
Survivor's Brendan Synnott is a multimillionaire businessman, but he's not above a lowly feud, especially one with a marketing tie-in. His rival in the hopefully good-natured spat is Benjamin "Coach" Wade, who survived Thursday's Tribal Council when Brendan's campaign against him collapsed. Brendan now considers Coach out of touch with reality, perhaps because of a story he told on the show about being kidnapped by near-cannibals.
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Survivor's Joe Dowdle
Survivor: Tocantins took a disappointing turn this week as Joe Dowdle's leg infection forced him home and canceled the need for a Tribal Council. Though show medics feared the infection might cost the Texan his leg or even his life, he's now fully recovered, and spends his days working in real estate and playing music around Austin. He talked to us about his picks to win and why it's best to be up-front about who you are.
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Jeff Probst
Tom Colicchio isn't the only reality show good guy: Survivor host Jeff Probst helped out a woman who had a seizure over the weekend, E! Online reports.
While talking to the press at Sunday's Academy of Magical Arts Awards ceremony in L.A., Probst caught a camerawoman who suddenly suffered a seizure. "She fell into my arms, basically," he said. "She had a seizure and she ...
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"I kissed a girl ... and I liked it," Grey's Anatomy's Callie revealed to Private Practice's Addison.
Thursday's ratings rundown:
8 pm/ET
Survivor: Tocantins — The Brazilian Highlands premiered to an audience of 13.8 million total viewers, an increase of 900K over Gabon's opener and on par with Fans vs. Favorites. Placing a distant second, Ugly Betty was up a hair, to 7.44 mil. NBC's Earl (6.3 mil) gained 140 thou, but Kath & Kim (5.48 mil) kissed off 520K. Fox's broadcast of the NAACP Image Awards averaged 4.23 mil over its two-hour run.
9 pm
CSI topped the hour (if not the demos) with an audience of 17.78 million viewers, slipping 11 percent from its last fresh outing. Grey's Anatomy (or "Private Anatomy Hour 1") matched last week's audience of 15.07 mil. (Grab the tape, Izzy! Grab the tape!!)
In third, NBC's The Office (8.9 mil) gained 490K, while 30 Rock surged 20 percent week-to-week, hitting 7.62 mil.
10 pm
Private Practice/"Private Anatomy Hour 2" gained another 8 percent to deliver 14.15 million viewers — the spin-off's second-largest audience ever. Eleventh Hour settled for also-ran status with 11.04 mil (down 11 percent), followed by ER (which held steady at 7.25 mil).
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