Survivor 17, or Survivor: Gabon, or Survivor: Gabon, Earth's Last Eden, whatever you feel like calling it, has encountered some problems in pre-production, according to super-host Jeff Probst.  The West African nation of Gabon is one of the more remote and difficult locations in Survivor's history, according to Probst.  Animals, a fallen crane, and a long shipping delay are severely affecting the show's production.  Though Probst assures the media that Survivor: Gabon will go off as planned (filming is slated to begin later this month), the pre-production hiccups will likely hit the crew the hardest – the crew's quarters have not yet been built, which means everyone will be living in tents, for now. 

The Moment of Truth kicked off its second season Tuesday, helping FOX win the night in the ratings.  If you bear with me for a second, I'll tell you why this is good news for Survivor.  The Moment of Truth, which debuted to monster numbers in its first season earlier this year, is expected to be one of the higher rated series of the summer.  Also, FOX, at their recent upfronts for the 2008-2009 season, placed The Moment of Truth on their Fall schedule on Thursdays at 8pm.  When pressed about The Moment of Truth's fall scheduling, in regards to Survivor, which will be a time slot competitor, FOX entertainment chairman Peter Liguori said:"Look, it's eroding. It's an older show. Its eventually going to give up and we're trying to accelerate that."  With FOX taking direct aim at CBS's long-running reality series, the question was this: Would The Moment of Truth retain its Winter/Spring audience, or would it regress without its incomparable American Idol lead-in?  Thankfully for Survivor, it looks like it's the former. 

The 17th season of Survivor, Survivor: Gabon, is amping up to start filming in the west African nation in June, but CBS is already begun casting for Survivor 18, which is set to air beginning in January of 2009.  Open casting calls around the country began last weekend, and will continue for the next few weeks.  As they prepare for season 18 of the long-running reality series, CBS has made one major change to the application process: they've lowered the age requirement from 21 to 18.  This is big news for 18, 19, and 20-year old Survivor fanatics around the country and a move by CBS that will, presumably, lead to a bigger talent pool for the network to work with and inject more youth into Survivor 18. 

Survivor: Micronesia was unique, as far as Survivor seasons go.  The hybrid All-Stars formula of Fans vs. Favorites was perceived as gimmicky when announced, and the first handful of episodes did nothing to quell the doubters – the favorites were better, they were taking more screen time, and the whole Survivor season looked like it might turn into a rout.  While the Survivor favorites did dominate the season, the fans weren't completely worthless, and they gave us some nice moments along the way.  The number of injuries was unfortunate, but it added to the overall excitement of the season.  Now, looking back on it all, I thought I'd try something new: castaway grades.  The grades are not based on when the players were voted off (though, that obviously plays a part), because luck has a lot to do with Survivor success.  The grades are based on how well each player performed, given the set of circumstances they were placed in. 

It was a pretty surprising finale of Survivor: Micronesia, when Parvati Shallow was named the winner over Amanda Kimmel.  At the final tribal council, viewers and players alike felt that Amanda had it in the bat but something shifted and the votes ended up going Parvati's way.  She played a strong social game all season and was the driving force behind some major blindsides and power plays.  Today, Parvati took time out of her busy schedule to talk with BuddyTV about her win, playing the game for a second time, and what helped her walk away with a million dollar check.

Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.

On Sunday night’s finale of Survivor: Micronesia, Jeff Probst told the audience that fans felt that this season was second only to the very first season, which premiered in 2000. What’s interesting about that statement is, that even though fans may have liked this season, it didn’t translate into viewers. This past Sunday was the lowest rated Survivor finale in the show’s history, bringing in only 13 million viewers. That’s down 5 percent, while the reunion was down 13 percent from the previous year.

I should have seen it coming. In a season packed with more blindsides than Survivor has ever seen, even the finale was a shocker. From the beginning, Amanda was a frontrunner. She had played a decent game last season in China, but rode Todd’s coattails throughout much of the season. After finishing as runner up, she headed right back out to compete in Micronesia. After Ozzy’s blindside, Amanda kicked her strategy into high gear, playing a very physical and aggressive game. Even as James said at the final tribal council, Amanda had the game in the bag. Last night, though, viewers were shocked as, once again, Amanda finished second while Parvati was named the winner of Survivor: Micronesia.

Early on in the Survivor reunion special tonight, Jeff Probst stated that Survivor: Micronesia might be the best Survivor season since the very first.  After the last six weeks, it's hard to argue with that statement.  I can't remember a more exciting and enthralling end of a season.  However, what happened in the last month and a half is blinding us from what happened in the beginning of the season.  Maybe you don't remember, but the season began poorly – starting with Jonny Fairplay's shameful departure, to the wet blanket Fans Kathleen Sleckman and Chet Welch, Survivor: Micronesia did not look like it was going to be a winner.  Given this, I wouldn't place this season among the top two or three, but that's nitpicking – Micronesia was Survivor at its best for most of its run, and tonight's finale did not disappoint.