After 39 days of intrigue, suspense, and silliness, Jenna Morasca has won
season six, becoming the sole survivor and earning one million dollars, plus
whatever future endorsements await her.  And if the picture above says
anything, she'll get plenty of those!

Jenna's strategy was much what she claimed Matthew's was during the
Rob's question when they faced The Jury.  She said that Matthew rode on
the coat tails of alliances.  Well, so did she.  Primarily, Heidi's and Deena's.

I originally predicted that she would be the first lady voted off, since the
others would be simply jealous of her youth and appearance.  But that
honor went to Janet, this season's Mrs. Howell Award winner, whom had
been accused and tainted, suspected of sneaking a granola bar into The
Game.  So Jenna snuck past the first Tribal Council. 

Jenna then lucked out, bonding with Heidi and Shawna, and then allying
themselves with Deena.  This got her past the next Tribal Councils and
eventually, into The Merge.  Having her fingers wrapped around Rob and
Alex after this season's 'twist', also helped. 

After The Merge, Jenna continued staying in the majority alliance, with one
exception, the betrayal of Alex.  At this point, Jenna's only real ally was
Heidi.  She was skilled enough to win some immunities along the way, even
giving up the necklace to Heidi, a Tribal Council first.  Winning the last two
immunities got her past Rob, who was the most dangerous opponent.

Frankly, I'm disappointed with the result.  Matthew, in my opinion, deserved
the victory.  He had played a good game, flying low when necessary, and
competing hard when he had to.  There's no doubt that he contributed far
more to the tribes in terms of daily chores than Jenna did.  His willingness
to sacrifice a visit with his mother so that the others may see their loved
ones was awesome. 

Jenna, on the other hand, demonstrated pettiness on more than one ocas-
sion.  The clearest example of this was during the reward auction, where
Christy allowed Jeff to do a second auction for letters from home, and the
rest of the tribe allowed Jenna to win her letters.  She was ungrateful and
'catty' towards Christy. 

My girlfriend was most irritated with Jenna after Episode 12, when Jenna
complained about her tonsillitis and wanted to be booted.  I suspect that
it was all an act, to make herself seem less threatening than her gal-pal,
Heidi, who was booted instead.  All in all, Jenna simply didn't deserve to
win, and the excuses of the Jury as to why they chose her over Matthew
were lame. 

As for the season as a whole, I enjoyed it.  The cast of characters was a
good mix.  The setting was awesome.  The challenges are okay, definitely
an improvement over those of last season in Thailand.  Ratings-wise, the
numbers continue to slip, but the bleeding is not so bad.  The series has
pretty much stabilized with a core audience of about twenty million viewers.

So "Survivor" survived another season and will return in the fall.  This time,
The Game shifts to the Pearl Islands, off the coast of Panama.  Mark Burnett
promises that it will carry a "pirate theme".  We're also told that each tribe
will begin with their own island, and will be stranded in a new way.  Another
feature will be the Tribal Council setting, which is promised to be the best
yet.  I'm thinking a reconstruction of a pirate ship. 

So have a great summer, all, and thanks for visiting.  I'll be back for more,
and maybe I'll even do something on "Big Brother 4".