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…as reality proves tried-and-true formulas

PUSH, NEVADA

A television series that begins with the image of a shivering, naked fat man is normally grounds for skepticism, but “Push, Nevada” delivers an appealing twist on the TV mystery series.

“Push,” playing on ABC at 9 p.m. on Thursdays, is brought to us by Boston’s own Ben Affleck and his pal Sean Bailey, co-producers of HBO’s “Project Greenlight.” Audience participation is encouraged in the small Nevada town, population 10,623. One clue is dropped every week and every hint is necessary to solving the robbery by the fat naked man of the Versailles Casino, owned and operated by a company that seemingly controls the entire town’s population.

Led by Derek Cecil as the nervous and genteel, but self-proclaimed “infinitely tenacious” and “everlastingly patient,” IRS Agent Jim Prufrock, the relatively unknown cast is surprisingly solid. Often serious, Cecil and others come across as believable. The show is filmed like Guy Ritchie’s “Snatch,” with flashbacks, flash forwards and attention-grabbing shots imprinting clues on the viewers’ minds.

Slow moving at first, the premiere episode contains a little bit of everything–apparently everyone in town has sex at 9:15 p.m., Prufrock’s apparent love interest (played by Scarlett Chorvat) is some kind of exotic dancer, the casino manager is violently stabbed to death, and his house is laced with gasoline and set afire-not bad for an introductory episode.

Chorvat plays Mary, a seductive “slow-dancer” who warns Prufrock to get out of Push. Like the girl in horror movies who follows the strange stabbing sound coming from the other room, Prufrock ignores signs of trouble and decides to further investigate the embezzlement scandal he discovers in an anonymous fax.

The money stolen from the casino is expected to be more than $1 million, and if you, viewer, can figure out the clues, that can be yours. Now that’s a hook.

Piecing the clues together does not seem to be essential for following the show, but it certainly makes watching more interesting. “Push” leaves the viewer wanting more, but not too much more. If you can get into the first few episodes, the storyline combined with the cash incentive will likely be enough to draw you in. The first clue is “The Amount,” but that is all I’m saying, because I plan on watching and winning the cash myself.

–Ben Rohrbach, Contributing Writer

SURVIVOR: THAILAND

Once again, the tribe has spoken. “Survivor: Thailand,” the newest edition of CBS’s castaway series debuted Thursday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. with 16 new competitors, a new tropical location, and a tribal council spot that resembles a Tibetan temple.

Like its predecessors, “Survivor: Thailand” incorporates the flavor of its locale into its sets, challenges and tribal names. What that means for this season is an opening theme song with Asian flair, an immunity idol that looks like it was stolen from a Buddhist temple, and two tribes named Chuay Ghan and Sook Jai (which mean to help one another and happy heart, respectively, in Thai).

Unlike the past four seasons, this year’s tribes were not predetermined by creator/producer Mark Burnett and his creative team. Instead, the 16 strangers were grouped as men and women and brought to a remote beach on the Thai island of Tarutao. The elders, who host Jeff Probst explained are highly revered in Thailand, were then asked to choose their teams. Jake, a 61-year-old land broker from Texas, became the leader of Sook Jai and he chose a young and strong-looking tribe. Jan, a 53-year-old elementary school teacher from Tampa, Fla., chose less strategically and put together an older crew to represent her tribe, Chuay Ghan.

Assigning leaders and allowing them to choose their own tribes was reminiscent of junior high kickball and uncomfortable to watch. When the tribes were predetermined in past seasons, castaways were equally distributed and there was an even number of old and young. This season’s “Survivor” is already different.

The strength of the tribes was put to the test during the first immunity challenge. The two tribes went head to head in a race that measured both physical and mental strength. The tribes had to paddle their boats (their only form of transport while on Tarutao) around an island, stopping periodically to complete a challenge and collect a flag before continuing to the finish.

The older tribe, Chuay Ghan, was in the lead for most of the race until the final challenge, a traditional Thai logic puzzle. While Chuay Ghan tribe member Ghandia struggled over the puzzle Sook Jai swept in and Jed, a dental student from Dallas, completed the puzzle, allowing his tribe to easily capture immunity.

At tribal council, Sook Jai voted off John, a pastor from Louisiana. John had shown signs that he was eager to lead his tribe early on, and many tribe members felt threatened and were annoyed by his attitude.

Despite the new tribe selection process, “Survivor: Thailand” looks like it will be much like former seasons of “Survivor.” The tribes still have not completed building shelters or finalizing ways of getting food, challenges that need to be met immediately to ensure tribe health and strength.

Every season has been unique and there are probably many new surprises in store for viewers as they watch the castaways take on monsoons, bizarre challenges and, of course, good old fashioned tribal bickering. “Survivor: Thailand” is nothing if not more exotic and more extreme than the Survivors that came before it. Even in its fifth reincarnation, “Survivor” is still a rugged original and continues to pull in record amounts of viewers, an indication that, like it or not, Jeff Probst isn’t going anywhere.

–Amanda Ernst, Contributing Writer

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