Jeff Probst
News (Page 2)

With six contestants remaining on Survivor, host Jeff Probst recently helped TV Guide narrow down the list of favorites to win this season.

On Todd: "Todd has been exciting to watch because he gets such joy out of playing the game. He's loving this manipulative adventure he's on, and he's good at it. But it's always fun to be the person in charge of giving the blind side to somebody until you get to the final tribal council and they're sitting on the jury. Todd's gotta let other people get credit for making moves if he wants a chance to convince people he's worthy [of winning]."
Odds: 5 out of 6

On Peih-Gee: "I didn't really like her in the beginning. She was kind of toxic. But the more she stayed, the more I started to see she's a pretty good player. She's [become] a true underdog. She's got a lot of former tribe members on the jury, and that could work to her advantage."
Odds: 3 out of 6

On Erik: "Erik has no chance of winning this game. I don't care who you put him up against in the final three. Very nice guy, talented musician, gonna be a great husband, probably a great dad. But lousy Survivor player. You have to be willing to reach a little deeper inside yourself and find the fun part that enjoys the game."

On Courtney: "It's been a long time since I've been surprised to see somebody still in the game. But I actually think she could have chance at winning, depending on who she's up against and what argument she makes. If she could take all of her negative traits and turn them into [obstacles] that she overcame, she has a shot."
Odds: 4 out of 6

On Denise: "She is the dark-horse favorite. Out of anybody in this game right now, I would want to get rid of Denise as soon as possible because she's so likable and she's really done nothing wrong. She's been a true friend to everybody. It's hard not to root for her. And I like her even more for the story she told about why she has her mullet."
Odds: 2 out of 6

On Amanda: "Amanda's been in Todd's shadow, but she knows this game as well as he does. She just pulled out a big sword and lopped somebody's head off with it. If she's willing to do that again, she could have a check for a million bucks. If she goes back to being timid, it'll be tougher for her to win."
Odds: 6 out of 6

Are viewers in store for another Survivor All-Star edition after this season's China?

"We're going into our sixteenth season, it wouldn't be a bad idea," Jeff Probst told the media during a conference call to discuss Survivor: China.

Although rumors that CBS might be planning another All-Stars edition have circulated for years, more formal reports that Survivor's Spring 2008 edition would be another All-Stars installment began to surface earlier this year.

Previously, Probst seemed against the idea. But his stance is softening.

"The only thing I can say is that I've come around to understanding that even though the All-Stars we did was a pain-in-the-ass from a production point of view, it was one of our best seasons," Probst reiterated to reporters last week. "And it was our best season because we had our best people back. I get that."

The man himself, Jeff Probst, has shared some of his thoughts on the half-dozen remaining Survivor hopefuls, and the great season we've been witnessing, with TV Guide. Here's his guest column.

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Survivor: Fiji began with controversy when the Moto tribe won the luxury beach while the Ravu tribe had virtually nothing. So it is only fitting that the Survivor: Fiji finale end in the same way it began, with major controversy.

But we'll get to that in a moment. First, a quick recap. As of May 3, we were down to the final six: Boo, Cassandra, Dreamz, Earl, Stacy and Yau-Man.

SCOOP NOTE: In our episode guide to last night's show, you can learn which of those six got the boot, leaving us with the final five.

Now, as the game enters the "every person for himself" phase, Yau-Man and Earl seem to have the most solid alliance, which puts them in a very good position, and it appears that Earl is calling the shots.

Thanks to Mookie Lee's snooping (and consequently being ousted), everybody knows that Yau-Man has one of the immunity idols. This could put him in a vulnerable spot because the longer he's allowed to hold onto it, the safer he becomes.

This won't sit well with the others, especially considering how likable Yau-Man is and how hard it would be to defeat him at the final vote.

I can tell you that at least one more idol gets played at Tribal Council, and it will have an impact. Plus, there is still another idol hidden at camp somewhere, and its discovery could dramatically alter the remaining power structure.

Cassandra is in a good position because of relationships with Earl and Dreamz, which could make her a swing vote if alliances shift. Relationships are the only thing that have kept her in this game, since she hasn't performed well at the challenges or contributed much around camp.

Stacy is also in a good position, because, for whatever reason, she is one of the least liked, and everybody believes they could beat her in a final vote.

The truth hurts, but it's a brutal game.

Boo is on the outside. I thought he would be one of the likable heroes this season, but once again I was wrong.

Boo has managed to stay in the game longer than expected and now that could backfire, as he's one of the strongest physical competitors left. It's always risky leaving a guy like him in because he could dominate the individual challenges and win his way to the end.

Dreamz is without a doubt the biggest wild card. Survivor has never seen someone play the game this way. Dreamz is playing both sides with reckless abandon. He cannot be trusted and yet people keep telling him everything.

Like him or not, you have credit him for creating complete instability, which he seems to be benefiting from greatly. At this point, even I am unclear if Dreamz just "doesn't get it" or is simply playing a very masterful game.

That question will be answered in these last few days on the island.

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Earlier reports of Survivor's 15th season being filmed in China stated a largely unexpected location that would result in the long-running CBS reality TV show filming in a non-island setting for the first time in years.

That apparently won't be the case, according to host Jeff Probst.

"I can't even pronounce it, I have to find China on the map first," said Probst during a visit to Live with Regis and Kelly, referencing a report that Survivor's Fall 2007 edition will film in the communist country. 

Kella Ripa asked the face of Survivor what part of China the show would be visiting on a recent live broadcast.

"When I find it, then I'll zero in on the little group of islands we're going to," said Probst, who was filling in for regular Live co-host Regis Philbin.

As part of its Wednesday report that Survivor's 15th edition will film in China, Variety reported that although China's huge coastline includes thousands of islands, the move to China would take the show "away from an island setting" for the first time in several seasons.

Survivor: Guatemala, the show's Fall 2005 edition (its 11th season), was the most recent Survivor edition to film at an inland location.

During his appearance, Probst also urged viewers of the Mark Burnett-created series to make sure and tune in for the broadcast of the new Survivor: Fiji's 10th episode.

"I will say we have a great episode tonight, a great episode, a great Tribal Council," said Probst.

"If you are a Survivor fan, you're going to like tonight's episode [it's] a very good episode [with a] great Tribal Council."