Side show

Intrigue, intensified

When we last left the Survivors - three days ago - Heidi was sure she was in control of the game, and she was. She controlled herself right out of it.

Jenna was still blubbering, this time about wanting to go home because she was sick and tired. For once, her attempt to manipulate everyone didn't work.

And Butch proved that if your friends think they can somehow use you to get $1-million, you can burn up their prized possessions - how can Jenna go on without her sorority crown and jacket?! - and they won't care.

This is where we are going into tonight's two-hour finale of Survivor: Amazon: Jenna and Butch are in the final four with Rob and Matthew. Heidi is on the jury with Dave, Deena, Alex and Christy.

And here are some tidbits to keep in mind as the series concludes its sixth saga:

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR INSIDER INFORMATION IS: One online sportsbook discontinued betting on Amazon after determining that at least two CBS employees were placing bets on the outcome. BoDog.com was "pretty sure" that the two had insider information, site spokesman Lance Bradley told the Associated Press. The bets affected the odds for Jenna and Matthew.

One reason BoDog thought something was as rotten as the late, unlamented Jeanne's special bug-mold dish was that the accused players opened accounts before Marquesas, the fourth edition, and bet correctly on who would be the final two in that Survivor and the next one, Thailand.

CBS issued the kind of cryptic response it usually has for Survivor issues: "Only The X-Files has more conspiracy theories than Survivor," spokesman Chris Ender said.

HE WAS THERE, TOO: Host Jeff Probst does nothing outright to dispel the notion that oddball Matthew and Jenna will make it to the final two. Without naming names, he tells TV Guide that when it comes to the pair from which the jury will chose the $1-million winner: "I would never have predicted this final two at any point."

NEW WRINKLES FOR SOMETHING BESIDES THE PLAYERS: A big change in the game will have the final vote happening right after the last immunity challenge. "There's no time to think about it," Probst says.

The winner will still be announced live, on a set in New York.

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT GLASS SLIPPER FITTING: Indications are that viewers would like to see Jenna in the final two so Christy can make good on her exit-speech vow to keep the "evil stepsisters," Jenna and Heidi, from winning.

A lot of viewers would rather have seen Christy in it to the end. On CBS's official Survivor site, she emerged as the most popular player in the series' history. She topped the player popularity ratings for all but one of the episodes she was in. She was the top pick in the Sole Survivor poll for all 11 of her episodes, and she never was voted into the top two most likely to be voted off next.

NOW, FOR MR. UNPOPULARITY: For those thinking that there's no way that sleazy Rob can win, CBS points out that he has received nine votes in tribal councils, the same number as scheming Richard Hatch, who won the first Survivor.

The two-hour Survivor: Amazon finale airs tonight at 8 on WTSP-Ch. 10, followed at 10 p.m. by a live reunion show.

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