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For 39 days, 16 castaways were stranded in Asia.  Every 3 days on the island became a 1-hour show.  The first contestant eliminated pockets $2500.  Each successive eliminated contestant wins more money, through the next-to-last Survivor, who receives $100,000.  The final Survivor wins a million dollars!

Images (C) 2003 CBS, Inc. and Mark Burnett Productions. This page is in no way associated with CBS, Mark Burnett Productions, or the Survivor production.

Just a moment to say that for once, the CBS hype machine really understated themselves. You'll see why in a bit. Right NOW, though...

Day 7: Brought to you by the Home Depot.

Sea mail!

"Dream it, design it, do it, remodel your home in just one day. Make it bigger, stronger, better; creativity and structure come into play. These tools should come in handy; use driftwood, palms or kelp. Only four tribemates can participate; you can do it; we can help. Tomorrow you will be judged by a professional, to keep it fair. A much better night's sleep for the winners will be dropped down from the air."

Product placement... niiiiice. Reality takes revenge, as every home improvement show that currently airs on both TLC and BBC America invades "Survivor" in the form of... a crate. It's this week's Reward Challenge, and Sue's a little more than disheartened. "Ours is gonna be a disaster." Preach to the choir, brother Tom: "Sue is a hag from Hell. How I made it to 48 without Sue Hawk leading me by the hand is a mystery. She's the bossiest woman on the face of this earth. Her elevator doesn't go to the top floor." Obviously. She doesn't even know that the Robfather's a construction worker! Must be the stupid talking, as Sue, citing everyone's stupidity, crappily sits out with Amber.

R-CHALLENGE: Better Homes and Island Living (for mats, blankets, and wine and/or a lock box clue)

Take the tools, make a house that'll withstand anything. Very simple plan. First place gets the sleeping package and the second clue. The second place team gets just the clue. Mariano makes a plan, and Tom, Alicia, and (to a limited extent) Robarino follows up. Tom helps Mariano with the basic floor plan, while Rob C. and Alicia gather rocks for some zen rock garden thing (meaning Alicia does the work while Rob points). Very spiritual. Not for Boston Rob, though: "Her vision is about as deep as... yeah, that's about how deep it is."

You know what else is spiritual? Listening to Amber rant on Boston Rob's hotness. "At the beginning, the flirting with Boston Rob was complete strategy for me. And I thought it was complete strategy for him, too. And I'll admit when I saw him build that shelter... He looked pretty hot building that shelter." It goes on a bit, as Amber tends to do, so I'll spare you the gory details.

Day 8: Judgment day...

After a commercial for Home Depot (yes, another one), we have the judge, a local expert on, well... building. Mogo Mogo's pretty even split, and Saboga's living in a hole in the ground basically. Boston Rob wins the challenge for the Chapera, needless to say. Celebratory swing! Then when the crate comes, celebratory drink! And after that, a celebratory threesome!

An obviously-inebriated Amber: "If you're going to kiss me, kiss me now, because I'm not going to kiss you with stinky breath later on."

Rob puts all the flirting in context: "She probably thinks she's playing me. I probably think I'm playing her. One thing's for sure. There can only be one winner."

As for those "15 minutes that will shock everyone?" The first half can be found over on Pepper's Island. From there, we go to what's supposed to be an Immunity Challenge.

The teams converge on a tetrad-covered beach, and just as Jeff is collecting the Immunity idol, Jenna steps out and makes a shocking announcement. This is better left to the show, so here's, more or less, how it goes down.

Jenna: "Due to someone who is very ill and at home right now and getting worse, I have to pull myself out of the game and be there. I love this game so much but my priority is my family. It just doesn't make any sense to be here any more. I need to take myself out of this game."

Jeff: "You are talking as though you are getting information and updates on your mom for the last nine days."

Jenna: "No. This is my mother and I am the only child. I've got a vibe. I've got a feeling that she needs me there. My dad needs me there. Everybody needs me there. I made a bad judgment call. I shouldn't have came. I thought that I could do it and she would want me to. I was wrong. I should be there in case something happens. I would never forgive myself," she said. "You got to weigh your options. I love this game but...it's my family."

Alicia seconds her wishes, saying that no matter what her parents would want, she would've never came. Boston Rob interrupts Jeff's ribbing with a simple "MYOB" variant. Yeah, we know, big game, big decision, big consequences, but the true scope of the situation is, that it's ONLY a game, and there are more pressing personal issues at hand. Heartless bastard.

In any event, end result is that the challenge is postponed and that Saboga and Chapera get get-out-of-jail-free cards, while Jenna heads out on a boat, rushing straight home to be with her ailing mother. Eight days later, her mother lost her great battle, and Jenna's sacrifice proves that in an age of reality TV, where everyone is clamoring for quick money and/or a taste of fame, some things are just more important. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her family in the wake of their loss.

Life goes on for Jenna... and the game goes on for the rest of the castaways on the Pearl Islands.