Survivor's Divisions Controversial, Captivating 

Eric Kohanik

CanWest News Service Published: Sunday, December 17, 2006

One of the areas in which executive producer Mark Burnett and his team have excelled on Survivor is finding ways to keep reinventing what should be a tired format by now.

Over the course of the 13 editions of Survivor that have aired since the summer of 2000, Burnett and company have tinkered with many things on the reality/game show, both on a grand scale and on smaller levels.

Last season, the show added the twist of an Exile Island and a hidden immunity idol, for instance. But there have been other alterations, too.

Over the years, the show has varied the number of competitors and the number of tribes. It has also, at various times, split those tribes along gender boundaries, along age lines and, this time around, along racial differences.

The most recent move was interpreted by knee-jerk critics as being dangerously inflammatory. It really turned out to be just another gimmick by Burnett, a master carnival barker whose prowess at revving things up is matched only in the world of professional wrestling.

In changing elements of Survivor, however, Burnett and host Jeff Probst -- along with the rest of the team -- have kept things fresh. Perhaps more important, they've thrown curves at the competitors, who might otherwise make the show boring because they've memorized all the ins and outs of the game.

Clearly, the quest to outwit, outplay and outlast the competition is as crucial inside Burnett's production offices as it is on the tropical islands where the shows are set.

Luck plays a big part in everything, though. And Survivor: Cook Islands lucked out in a couple of key areas.

Jonathan Penner, a guy whose voice could easily double for Alan Alda, provided the show with its most arrogant character since Richard Hatch. And, in something surprisingly rare, there was even some sexual chemistry to this edition of the show.

Credit for that goes to Adam Gentry, who wins the Rob Mariano Award for being a lazy doofus with not many lights on upstairs, but with enough other attributes to attract the attention of the aptly named Parvati Shallow and Candice Woodcock.

Survivor: Cook Islands builds toward its climax tonight in much the same way as it always has, though.

A two-hour finale will crown the latest sole Survivor. A one-hour reunion show will then revisit all the players and rehash highs and lows of the entire season before setting the stage -- step right up, folks -- for the next edition of the series.