"I've come to realize that I'm very good at playing stupid," Jaime said on Thursday night's "Survivor: China." And, apparently, very good at playing stupidly. …

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I have been jammed up. Early Thursday evening I was out (and thank you to the Bath-Richfield Kiwanis for inviting me to speak), I've been staring down some work deadlines and I have had a family issue to handle. So I'm a bit behind on viewing and way behind on posting. I hope to elaborate later today but will make a few brief points now. "The Office" was utterly ridiculous and absolutely hilarious. And "Grey's Anatomy" was pretty uneven; did it not occur to anyone just to have the observation area cleared? And I'm looking foward to a complete viewing of "Survivor: China"; I saw the wild tribal council and the bride tells me that the events leading up to it were priceless — as anything leading to the presentation of a wrong immunity idol would have to be. Anyway, I hope to have more later.

When the Indians took the lead in the second, and then actually held it for a bit, I began to feel secure enough to channel-hop. Or at least to channel-hop while having a running score on my laptop. Last I looked, Indians led, 9-3. So let's talk "Survivor" tonight, with spoilers, after the jump …

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Notes and spoilers if you haven't watched yet, in series alphaetical order, after the jump …

"How many Emmys do you get for treating a deer?"

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Here's a link to my review of "Eastern Promises," in case you missed it over at Ohio.com.

My review of "The War" will be in Sunday's Beacon Journal. I had some issues — and think Ken Burns mishandled the Latino question — but kept watching. We'll talk more about it.

TV Tattle has a link to an item about Maureen McCormick and Eve Plumb that will probably boost sales of "The Brady Bunch" DVDs. And that may inspire new line readings of "Marcia Marcia Marcia."

But keep in mind that the item is credited to a source for the National Enquirer.

Also from TV Tattle, this story saying the ratings for "Survivor: China" were the worst yet for a "Survivor" premiere.

I watched the premiere, but will keep my spoiler-containing thoughts for after the jump. …

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Complete list after the jump ..

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Notes after the jump …

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All after the jump …

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Who won't be surviving tonight — on CBS or ABC? More after the jump …

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All right, so "Survivor" has already played the race card more than once — presenting people who fit stereotypical images. But in the new tribal arrangement, it sounds as if it's really going to put race on the front burner. Here's the announcement from CBS:

CBS today announced the 20 new castaways who will compete in SURVIVOR: COOK ISLANDS when the 13th installment of the Emmy Award-winning series premieres Thursday, Sept. 14 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

SURVIVOR: COOK ISLANDS will feature the series' most ethnically diverse cast to date.  The castaways will initially be organized into four tribes divided along ethnic lines (African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic and White) before merging in a later episode.

In addition, throughout the series, at least one castaway each episode will be banished to a separate island (Exile Island) miles away from camp.  While being separated from the tribe is not desirable, the castaways will learn that there is a hidden Immunity Idol somewhere on Exile Island.  If found, this Immunity Idol could save an individual from being voted out at a future Tribal Council.

Castaways that will be competing in SURVIVOR:  COOK ISLANDS (in alphabetical order) are:

REBECCA BORMAN

34

Laurelton, N.Y.

Make-Up Artist

ANH-TUAN “CAO BOI” BUI (Pronounced Cowboy)

42

Christianburg, Va.

Nail Salon Manager

SEKOU BUNCH

45

Los Angeles (originally from New York)

Jazz Musician/Recording Artist

J.P. CALDERON

30

Marina Del Rey, Calif.

Professional Volleyball Player

CRISTINA CORIA

35

Los Angeles

Police Officer

STEPHANNIE FAVOR

35

Columbia, S.C.

Nursing Student

BILLY GARCIA

36

New York (originally from Miami)

Heavy Metal Guitarist

ADAM GENTRY

28

San Diego, Calif. (originally from Fredericksburg, Va.)

Copier Sales

NATHAN GONZALEZ

26

Los Angeles

Retail Sales

JENNY GUZON-BAE

36

Lake Forest, Ill. (originally from Melrose Park, Ill.)

Real Estate Agent

YUL KWON

31

San Mateo, Calif. (originally from Flushing, N.Y.)

Management Consultant

BECKY LEE

28

Washington, D.C. (originally from Pittsburgh)

Attorney

OSCAR “OZZY” LUSTH

25

Venice, Calif.

Waiter

CECILIA MANSILLA

29

Oakland, Calif. (originally from Arequipa, Peru)

Technology Risk Consultant

SUNDRA OAKLEY

31

Los Angeles (originally from New York)

Actress

JONATHAN PENNER

44

Los Angeles (originally from New York)

Writer/Producer

PARVATI SHALLOW

23

Los Angeles (originally from Atlanta)

Boxer/Waitress

JESSICA SMITH

27

Chico, Calif.

Performance Artist/Rollergirl

BRAD VIRATA

29

Los Angeles (originally from Seattle)

Fashion Director

CANDICE WOODCOCK

23

Fayetteville, N.C.

Pre-Med Student

Odd to watch the final two on "Survivor" tonight and not see Terry there. Or, for that matter, Cirie, who proved a really good tactician in the later stages of the game. But Cirie could not get past that fire-making tie-breaker with Danielle. Then Danielle won immunity — after outbalancing Terry and giving Aras an ambiguous nod that he interpreted as a pact and so threw the immunity challenge , and then breaking her old pact with Terry to take Aras to the final two. Where she lost the jury vote to Aras.

After a formidable run in the immunity challenges, Terry proved to be like an NFL team that goes 15-1 in the regular season and gets bounced in the playoffs. Last week, he lost reward and immunity to Aras, losing control of the game in the process. (Indeed, the hidden immunity idol turned out to be a nice addition to the game for suspense purposes, and something that was never put to use.)

This week, he won reward but lost immunity again. At least his decision last week not to give Danielle the immunity idol proved a wise one; she sold him out this week, and she would have done the same a week ago.

And when you look at the most interesting characters in this "Survivor," Danielle and Aras are not very high on the list. Terry, sure, Shane, Cirie, Bruce, Courtney — but none of them won. I postponed "The Sopranos" for this?

Mark Burnett is a very successful and (generally) smart TV producer. He also has more than a little Barnum in him, and tonight's "Survivor" showed once again that he will happily play with the audience in order to keep it around a little longer.

Who's in the final three? We don't know. The tribal council vote came down to a tiebreaker between Cirie and Danielle, and the show ended before showing us who won the tiebreaker. Step right up, ladies and gentlemen — and wait around until Sunday for the big finish.

The show had its moments. Seemingly unbeatable Terry lost both reward AND immunity to Aras, and the reward win came about in large measure because Cirie was able to block Terry's progress several times on the challenge course. The immunity loss was even more key because Terry had worked out a deal with Danielle where he could give her the immunity idol if he had immunity himself — driving either Aras or Cirie out of the game.

And, for once, Terry played smart. Danielle tried to talk him into giving up the idol, since Aras/Cirie would assume he had it and vote for Danielle — who could then block them with the idol and send either Aras or Cirie home. But Terry kept the idol for himself. And I am sure that, had he given the idol to Danielle, she would have cut a deal with Aras and Cirie and taken Terry out. So not only did we see Aras at last do something he had repeatedly failed at — beat Terry — we saw Terry do something he had done terribly — figure out a strategy.

But that created the tie situation, Aras and Cirie voting for Danielle, Terry and Danielle voting for Cirie. One flaw in the show: Everyone on the island knows the game well enough that they figured the tiebreaker would be a fire-making challenge. Good time, then, to change the tiebreaker, as the show has done before. But we still had the fire challenge — ONLY WE DON'T KNOW HOW IT TURNED OUT.

Well, I got those other two bushes out, more easily than the first one, proving that even a little experience can ease the task. (By the way, after writing this morning's post, I went to church, where the sermon was called "Spring Pruning" and the pastor had many stories about his own fun with plants. Sometimes these things are in the air — especially when the air has bright sun and warmth passing through it, and being outside is mandatory.) We have accumulated groceries. The bride cleaned house and put a second coat of paint on the shed door, and washed her car, and made a lasagna. I ran the edger along the sidewalks, which wasn't bad, and swept up the cuttings, which is not among my favorite things. Younger son went to his job.

In other words, the day was full for everyone. And some TV was squeezed in. Well, a little bit of "The Sports Reporters" this morning. At lunchtime, we watched "Survivor" and caught up on all the strategizing and scheming.

I don't really have anything to add to the discussion I saw online after the telecast. Terry seems a lock for the final two, with a game that combines great individual effort with terrible team strategy. He reminds me of the "Saturday Night Live" parody of a Bush/Dukakis debate, where — after ramblings by Bush — Dukakis says, "I can't believe I'm losing to this guy." The folks on "Survivor" must feel that way every time Terry approaches them with a plan. Cirie, on the other hand, is really smart. We'll just have to see how smart. At this point, if I'm Terry, I want her in the final two since she has been so skilled at betraying nominal allies now sitting on the jury. But when has Terry ever managed to influence who joins him at anything?

Watched some of the Cavaliers-Detroit game during the afternoon. Might have watched more if it hadn't gone like this:

Passed through the house at one point, score's tied 14-14, looks good. Back to the yard, where the bride later informs me that Detroit is up 10. A short break around half time, to see Detroit was up 21. Another check later, when Detroit's lead was in the thirties and time was short. Not a lot of reason to sit by the set and expect a Cavs comeback — at least, not in that game.

Finally, evening brought a chance to really couch out in front of the TV. Rewatched "Alias" and it makes more sense to me — well, as much sense as "Alias" ever makes. As I've said before, I'm sick of Rambaldi but I keep hoping it's finally leading somewhere. Odd to have not only two deaths but two involving cut throats — an eerie symmetry underscoring the betrayal and obsession in each. And I like the way Jennifer Garner is playing Anna-as-Sydney, grabbing onto a facial expression as shorthand for Anna.

I thought a lot about faces during "The West Wing" (which I actually watched after "The Sopranos," but I'll order my notes here by the clock). I may be overthinking this, but when I look at "Sopranos" or "The Shield," or tonight's "West Wing," I see shows where the people involved know they're near the end and they want to go out great. Everyone on "WW" was on his and her game tonight, and I don't mean they were chasing Big Moments. They were just working — working together, playing off each other.

Think of the scene where Joshua Malina (Will) and Mary McCormack (Kate) talk about him running for Congress. Timothy Busfield (Danny) on the street. Busfield in the apartment with Allison Janney (CJ). Janney and Richard Schiff (Toby). And what about the way that Jimmy Smits (Santos) is morphing into Bartlet — like in that moment where Santos gives CJ a won't-take-no speech? I will really miss seeing these guys go at it.

'"The Sopranos" was a dud for me, the first one this season. The best explanation I can give is that the show was so intent on showing us why Tony was bored, it made the show boring. The Christopher stuff felt flat. We know he's the victim of his own demons. The scenes at the street fair may have been touching on their own, but in the larger context they didn't really tell us anything. And the flashback to his betrayal of Adriana, while filling in a gap, didn't fill it in a way that brought us a new insight into what happened. And guess what, Pauly is cheap and selfish and mean, and Janice is selfish. Not great.

I'm hoping to post tomorrow about "Grey's Anatomy" and maybe "Saturday Night Live," which I recorded. But for now, I'll leave you with my hope that there was sunshine in your day, too.

We don't always get to see all the elaborate maneuvers leading into Tribal Council, with schemes edited out so that we might be surprised by the outcome. But tonight we got to see Cirie lay out a scheme that involved telling two different lies to three different players — and came off the way it should have.

Here's what she did: Terry had won immunity, again. Nutty Shane thought he had the votes to take out Danielle — but Cirie and Courtney were playing him. (Lie one, Player One.) Terry set up an alliance with Courtney, Cirie and Danielle to take out Aras. But Danielle and Cirie were playing HIM. (Lie two, Player Two.) They saw Courtney, almost as annoying as Shane, as someone both Shane and Terry would want to take to the final two, figuring they could beat Courtney on a jury vote. So they connected with Aras — while keeping Courtney in the dark (Lie Two, Player Three) — to form three votes for Courtney's ouster. Half the people in the game went into Tribal Council with no idea what was about to happen.

The only thing that would have made it better would have been Terry's sniffing out the plot and giving his secret immunity idol to Courtney — protecting her and taking Aras out of the game (since he still got votes from Courtney and Terry, while the only vote for Danielle came from Shane, who by tribal council was out of all the loop). But even without that twist, it was a cool finish. And proof how very, very smart Cirie is at this game.

It's possible, of course, that this puts Shane in a better position. As the most irritating player remaining, he may become the player people now most want against them in the final two.

On the jury side, Bruce was back, so I don't get the possible-tie scenario I hoped for after last week's telecast.

Well, Bruce's stomach pain took him out of the game (although Probst's mention of whether Bruce could return for the jury was a nifty little tease. If he didn't return, you'd have a even-numbered jury. What would the show come up with to settle a tie vote?) And I was puzzled about why Cirie was so worried about alienating Shane; if her sharing of reward brought her votes from Aras and Danielle, she was in as good a position as Cirie-Shane-Aras, and if she flipped one more vote, she had a majority for the final four without Shane.

Not much else to say. "Survivor" was the only show I managed to sit through with any concentration today. Had a bad cold and stayed home. Under those circumstances, it would have been nice to catch up on DVR'ed shows of recent vintage. But my head was so stuffy, I couldn't watch anything that required real concentration. What time I spent with the TV on was more staring than watching.