"SURVIVOR" STILL THRIVES;
"INVASION" DESERVES SOME LOVE

February 17, 2006

It's not much of a secret around these parts that I think "Survivor" is the only reality show worth watching with any sort of regularity. A large reason why is to see the various strategies the castaways put into play as they compete for the million dollars and mock gleefully when their plans backfire because human behavior is a fickle thing.

So I'm already enjoying the new season since this installment's entire shtick is to shake up the usual alliances and game plans. Normally, it's a new exotic location used to differentiate the current "Survivor" from seasons past, but this time we're back to Panama for the third go-round. Instead, the focus is now on a new wrinkle in traditional "Survivor" rules. Every episode (roughly three days), a castaway is sent for one reason or another to Exile Island, a small patch of land where that survivor must live without food, without shelter, and without the rest of his tribemates around.

The bad news is the isolation moves the exiled contestant away from all the wheeling and dealing necessary to advance in the game. But the benefit is a small immunity idol hidden on the island that, if found, would protect its holder from elimination even after tribal council has voted his or her butt out of the game. The only problem is, when someone is sent to Exile Island, they're still not sure if the idol's been found or not. (Heck, one contestant is even hinting that she found the idol, but she might be making it all up.)

This new twist adds a whole new layer to the game of survival and stirs up some excitement for the reality show stalwart, which was a bit of a bore last season, a situation not helped by the return of previous losers Stephanie and Bobby Jon.

****

This past Sunday, I caught up on the last two episodes of ABC's "Invasion," and I must say, the deeper into the season we get, the more I'm convinced that the science-fiction thriller is absolutely one of the best shows on TV.

I wrote a column raving about "Invasion" earlier in the season, but it's even improved tenfold since then as the various pieces of the puzzle (involving a group of Floridians who are turned into alien/human hybrids after a hurricane) have locked neatly into place.

The show draws a decent weekly audience, but loses too many viewers from "Lost," which immediately precedes it. Right now, it's a borderline renewal for next fall. Some TV writers have theorized that many people just don't have it in them to watch an hour of dark sci-fi after having their brains thoroughly worked over by Hurley's numbers and what The Others are up to. Whether that's true or not I don't know, but people own Tivos, people own VCRs, and "Invasion" deserves your time whether you watch it Wednesdays at 10 p.m. or fire up a couple of episodes in a row on a Sunday morning (as I found myself doing this week).

Plainly, the show is smart sci-fi done right. It's kind of like the glory days of "The X-Files" (seasons one through four), only if every episode was a mythology episode. Oh, and I want to officially start the campaign to get William Fichtner an Emmy nomination for his brilliant turn as Sheriff Tom Underlay, the hybrid leader who is using his influence to achieve some mysterious ultimate goal. (Probably an evil goal, but the viewer still isn't sure.)

"Invasion"'s schedule is currently a bit muddled, since ABC is planning to bench the show for about six weeks starting in March. An episode or two may find their way to air before then, and the show will definitely be back to wrap up its season in April. I urge you, if you're a fan of well-done sci-fi, give the show a chance before the TV season is over. It's truly marvelous stuff.