Throng

We're not sure what the article in today's NZ Herald, Fast-track to air TV's top shows, is based on. The article claims that Heroes, Top Gear, House, Private Practice and Survivor are aired "within days of their international release".

Let's do some quick checking...

SURVIVOR: GABON
Thursday, October 16th at 7:30pm

The 17th instalment of the Emmy Award-winning Survivor series returns to 3 when Survivor: Gabon premieres on Thursday, October 16th at 7:30pm on 3.

Marooned in the wilderness, 18 individuals will embark on an amazing African adventure, battling extreme conditions and interacting with wildlife such as elephants and gorillas, while attempting to forge alliances with strangers from diverse backgrounds.

Although this is Survivor’s second outing to the continent of Africa, where it spent its third season, host Jeff Probst says comparatively Survivor: Africa was more like spending time in a zoo than being out in the wilderness.

"It's a reserve and the animals are used to having people around all the time, so it wasn't that big of a deal to them," says Probst of his experiences in Survivor: Africa.

Was emailed today regarding Survivor: Gabon and when it will start on TV3 as apparently we were only 6 days behind the US for the last two seasons.

I just checked the last listings we have (27 Sept - 3 Oct) and it's not in there. Survivor: Gabon airs in the US on Sept 26 (NZ time) so sadly doesn't look like it will only be 6 days behind this time. The next lot of listings will come through most likely on Monday so will check again then. If it's not there I'll ask TV3!

For its 16th season, the hit reality series Survivor is bringing back favourite past contestants from previous seasons to compete against fans who have idolised them, Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites premieres Thursday, February 14th at 8:30pm on 3.

When the producers of the reality series initially began mapping out season 16 of Survivor, they considered making it their second All-Stars edition.

But then they considered something else. ”None of us felt like a full-on All-Stars was the right choice, because we did it once and since then so many other shows have done it,” Jeff Probst told CBS.com. “It felt like we needed a twist.”

And when has this seminal reality show not embraced a twist? Enter the Fans vs. Favorites concept of Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites, featuring one tribe of former Survivor standouts, and another tribe of newbies who idolised the players they are about to compete against.

The long-running hit reality show Survivor has been renewed by US network CBS who has ordered a 17th and 18th installment of the series hosted by Jeff Probst who will also return.

The series' 16th edition, Survivor: Micronesia, premieres in the US next week while casting for the 17th season is already under way.

SURVIVOR: CHINA

Thursday, January 10th at 8:30pm

The winner of Survivor: China will be decided in this action packed three hour season finale, as the final four survivors compete for the $1million prize, screening Thursday, January 10th at 8:30pm.

This special three hour season finale includes a two hour Final Showdown where the final four contestants Amanda, Denise, Todd and Courtney battle it out for the ‘Sole Survivor’ title. Then Jeff Probst hosts a reunion special where the 16 castaways reunite to share their experiences for the first time since leaving the China.

In the toughest Survivor series so far the four finalists challenged themselves physically, mentally and emotionally in a bid to win the $1million prize.

"I think China's been one of the best seasons we've done, and it finishes well," Probst told American TV Guide.

SERIES

SURVIVOR: CHINA

Thursday December 6th at 8:30pm

Reward Challenges. Contestants being exiled to entirely separate islands with nothing but a copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War. Castaways backstabbing each other. This series of Survivor is truly one to be remembered. The series screens on Thursdays at 8:30pm on 3.

Ask host Jeff Probst about Survivor: China, and he’ll tell you why it’s such a unique destination and season for the Survivor series.

“China brings new culture; we've been in the South Pacific for quite a while and in all areas, China is exciting from a creative point of view," Probst told Reality TV World.

"It gave us different things to draw on, different inspirations in terms of challenges, and it gave us a different visual pallet to work with, different colours. This culture that dates back 5,000 years gives you so much to drawn from, we really have a fresh season. Survivor looks different again... For several seasons in a row it visually looked somewhat the same: palm trees and coconuts. We have bamboo and temples this time. I think the audience can feel the difference."

Emmy Award-winning host Jeff Probst returns for the fifteenth instalment of the phenomenally successful Survivor series. Survivor: China premieres Thursday, October 11th at 8:30pm on 3.

Survivor: China will feature a cast of 16 Americans who will begin the series amid the bustle of downtown Shanghai before moving to HuangPu Mountain’s Mi Tuo Temple for a Buddhist ceremony where they will be instructed to leave all of their worldly possessions behind.

The castaways will then be marooned with only the clothes on their back to two separate islands on Zhelin Lake (the Land of 1,000 Lakes) located in the Jiangxi Province.

There they will split into two tribes, Fei Long (Flying Dragon) and Zhan Hu (Fighting Tiger), and will each be given a copy of Sun Tzu's The Art of War for tribe motivation and assistance throughout the game.

Survivor: China will once again afford each tribe the opportunity to obtain a Hidden Immunity Idol which may save someone from elimination at a future Tribal Council. This time, two Hidden Immunity Idols will be in plain sight, one at each camp, although the castaways will not realise this at the start of the game.