Colby, Keith or Tina?

Sole 'Survivor' banks $1 million tonight

Colby Donaldson (left) and Keith Famie are two of the three remaining members of the "Survivor: The Australian Outback" crew. Originally there were 16; just one will take home the $1 million prize

In this story: And then there were three Good guys finish first? Worms, chickens, one unlucky pig RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Jamie Allen
CNN

(CNN) -- OK, there's no conniving Richard Hatch to hate, no vitriol-spewing Susan Hawk to raise your eyebrows.

But as "Survivor: The Australian Outback" nears its conclusion Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT, the second season of the reality game show has managed some trademark moments.

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THE FINAL 10 Meet the Survivors     QUICKVOTE Who do you think is going to win tonight? Colby Keith Tina View Results     SURVIVOR QUIZ Test your knowledge of CBS's "Survivor: The Australian Outback"     'SURVIVOR' LINKS TIME.com: 'Survivor: The Australian Outback' EW.com: 'All about 'Survivor II'' People.com: 'Survivor II: The Australian Outback' CBS: 'Survivor: The Australian Outback' official site Note: Pages will open in a new browser window     RECENT 'SURVIVOR' STORIES How much 'reality' TV can we survive? 'Survivor'-speak: 'Outback daddy' = friend 'Survivor' winds down, hype ramps up 'Survivor' hindsight: I should've been conniving!     MESSAGE BOARD What do you think of reality TV?

It topped its "ratings bonanza" status for CBS; has included the ingestion of disgusting "foods," and the hunger pangs of near-starving contestants; has entertained with plenty of backstabbing (and one pig stabbing); has swerved between the dangers of raging forest fires to torrential rains; has conjured a catchphrase for those seeking red-zone corporate lingo -- "Outback daddy."

And "Survivor: The Australian Outback" has one hype-worthy component that its deserted-island predecessor lacked: Though the show was recorded months ago, not even the winner knows how it ends. The final votes have been sealed and kept secret.

Those votes will be tallied during tonight's telecast. CBS will air a two-hour finale, followed by a one-hour live show featuring all 16 contestants. Joining them will be that survivor of television talk shows, Bryant Gumbel.

The person who avoids being voted out will win $1 million, along with next-day newspaper headlines around the globe.

And then there were three

As the finale nears, the cast of 16 has been whittled to three:

- Colby Donaldson, the 27-year-old athletic Texan who works as a custom auto designer in Dallas. He's been one of the most popular survivors, and he's also won four straight immunity challenges.

- Keith Famie, the 40-year-old chef from West Bloomfield, Michigan, who survived an early scare when he failed to properly boil rice and his cooking duties were revoked.

- Tina Wesson, the 40-year-old part-time nurse from Knoxville, Tennessee. She's played up to her loving-mother image while flying under the radar during votes.

A jury of their erstwhile peers, consisting of kicked-off contestants Alicia Calaway, Amber Brkich, Elisabeth Filarski, Jerri Manthey, Nick Brown, Rodger Bingham and the next person voted off, will decide who is final survivor.

The jury of public opinion, weighing in on CBS' Web site, judges Colby and Tina as the leading contenders to win the bank, with Keith getting the heave-ho. In a poll asking "Who will be the ultimate survivor?" Tina held a miniscule lead with 47.59 percent of the vote as of Thursday morning. Colby had 47.03 percent, with Keith bringing up the far rear with 5.39 percent.

Contestant Michael Skupin was airlifted out of the "Survivor" camp when he fell into a campfire

Good guys finish first?

Not that it matters what the public thinks, of course.

Remember last year? Everyone wanted old man Rudy Boesch to win, and they wanted eventual winner, the cocky Richard Hatch, to eat sand.

This year's finalists seem the antithesis of Hatch and his Machiavellian strategies. Colby stepped away from an alliance with Jerri and emanates a white-hat cowboy aura. Keith seems no more threatening than any other chef without a knife. And Tina seems the boss you always wish you had -- warm, nice and professional.

She never saw herself making it to this point.

During an early episode, noticing all the young hardbodies surrounding her, the mother of two kids remarked, "We have four or five young people playing this game. They have so much chemistry it is almost second nature to gravitate to one another. It makes me feel like an outsider, which I am at this point."

Jeff Probst has been the host of both "Survivor" series. He's sometimes angelic, sometimes Machiavellian, and always dramatic

She's on the inside now.

The finale comes at a key time. The ratings race between big three networks CBS, ABC, and NBC is the closest in years as May sweeps gets under way.

"Survivor: The Australian Outback" has enjoyed stronger ratings than its predecessor despite a spate of reality-show knockoffs clogging airwaves. Some critics, however, found this season's contestants too polished and camera-ready, a contrived version of the first show.

Worms, chickens, one unlucky pig

Some high-, or lowlights, from "Survivor: The Australian Outback":

•  An immunity challenge pitting the Kucha tribe against Ogakor tribe during which members ate a variety of "aboriginal delicacies," including cow brains and mangrove worms.

•  Vegetarian Kimmi Kappenberg's emotional attachment to chickens that were used as food for her tribe. It escalated into a shouting match between her and Alicia, and eventually led to Kimmi's departure from the show.

•  Michael Skupin, getting in touch with the caveman within, stalking an unsuspecting pig, knifing it to its demise, then wiping the blood on his face. A helicopter later lifted him away after he badly burned his hand in a campfire.

•  Wannabe actress Jerri Manthey, whose brash personality irritated most of the contestants, making advances on Colby, only to get rebuffed. She got more than that during Week 9, and was voted off.

The entire cast will return for a one-hour special after the final two-hour episode tonight

•  A raging flood that washed away the entire camp -- food included -- of the merged tribe, Barramundi.

•  The modest charm of Rodger Bingham, the 53-year-old Kentucky native who sacrificed himself for his 23-year-old pal, Elisabeth Filarski. She referred to Bingham as her "Outback daddy."

Filarski said shortly after departing the show last week that the experience has been rewarding.

"It has been the most trying experience of my life, filled with the most highs and lows in a short period of time that I could ever imagine," she said.

Yes, but $1 million will make the experience that much sweeter.

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