SueTube – Let’s talk TV with critic Susan Young

Yau-Man Chan will go down in “Survivor” history as the man who gave away a $65,000 truck to a man who reneged on his promise to give Chan immunity.

Yau-Man Chan

The 54-year-old Martinez man who works as the Director of Information Systems for the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley says as soon as the curtain dropped on the huge Ford truck, he knew he could never take it home.

“When they dropped the curtain, I knew that’s not my lifestyle. I own two hybrids. If I took it home, my wife would leave me and the children would have disowned me, but it was nice of Ford to donate the truck,” Yau-Man says the morning after the finale. “Now, if they would have donated a hybrid Escape, I wouldn’t be so quick to trade it off.”

Of course, that was also before he knew how much the truck was worth, joking that he would never have made it on “The Price is Right.”

So, does he have to pay taxes on the truck anyway?

“I didn’t touch it, the title never touched me,” Yau-Man says. “I’m in the clear.”

He says that he knew how much Dreamz wanted the truck and so he decided almost immediately to use it as a bargaining chip because he knew when it came down to the final four, either he or Dreamz would win the immunity challenge.

“Looking back, I may have overplayed (Dreamz honoring his promise),” Yau-Man says. “I can’t read people like Cassandra did. I found out I don’t have a talent for that. Dreamz really had no intention of living up to his word, and I thought that he would.”

The final four were Yau-Man, ad executive Earl Cole, college administrator Cassandra Franklin and cheerleading coach Andria “Dreamz” Herd.

EARL, CASSANDRA, DREAMZ

During Sunday night’s reunion show, Earl says the shocked look on his face when Dreamz backed out of his agreement with Yau-Man was that he just realized he’d won a million dollars. He knew up against Yau-Man, he probably would have lost.

That was borne out on Sunday when host Jeff Probst asked the jurors if they would have voted for Yau-Man to win the million.

In a show of hands, it was revealed that Yau-Man would have won the game.

“So Dreamz, who was never going to win the million because of what he had done during the course of the show, decided the outcome by not giving me the immunity he had promised,” Yau-Man says. “Earl won the million dollars, and because neither Dreamz nor Cassandra got a single vote, they tied for second and will get $100,000. Since I came in third, I will get $60,000. Although I havent’ checked the check yet.”

Dreamz, who has lived most of his life as a homeless young man, was all over the map making him very difficult to read at the best of times. He mentioned on the reunion show that he hoped to meet Oprah Winfrey.

Perhaps if he had honored his bargain, that might have happened.

As it is, Yau-Man says he doubts Oprah would “even allow him close to her
building.”

Yau-Man says Dreamz feels a lot more guilty over his decision than it would appear.

“Being nice to him was worse than being angry. He really wants me to be all over him about this, but I’m not going to give him the pleasure,” Yau-Man says. “Look, life is short. I don’t want to hold that anger or a grudge against him. He will have to deal with this for the rest of his life. He’s in bad shape, because he will have to do a lot of good deeds to offset that image. He committed a major moral infraction in front of millions of people.”

The funny thing is, Yau-Man says, is that Dreamz is telling everyone he’s going
to donate the truck to the charity that helped him when he was homeless.

“We all rolled our eyes and said please have a lot of television and newspaper coverage or else we won’t believe it,” Yau-Man says.

And Yau-Man admits he was a little disappointed that his pal Earl sided with Cassandra and Dreamz to vote him out.

“I was hoping he would vote for Cassandra so we could have a tie vote, but I understand that he felt he had a better chance at the final tribal council with Dreamz and Cassandra,” Yau-Man says. “I still think that if Dreamz hadn’t won the immunity, Earl would have voted him out instead.”

Yau-Man says that when he thought he might have a shot at winning the million, he thought about retiring. But now that’s not an option.

He says people are seeking him out for endorsements, but he says he thinks he’ll steer clear of commercial endorsements while doing what he can for charities.

“There’s a move on the Internet to get a million people to send in a dollar each so I can win the million,” Yau-Man says with a laugh. “I’m getting a lot more recognition on the street. I’m basically a shy person, so I’m trying to be more outgoing. It’s a new experience for me.”

Few would have given Yau-Man Chan of Martinez much of a shot of getting past the first few days of “Survivor,” much less be poised to take it all on Sunday night.

After all, at 54 he’s one of the older competitors, works as the Director of Information Systems for the College of Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley and he’s a table tennis champ.

Although impressive, none of that screams “Survivor.”

Yau-Man’s also originally from Malaysian Borneo and slipped right in
when it came to life in Fiji. He also used his considerable observation skills to slip out of more than one trap.

On Thursday, he played the game with a prowess that hadn’t been seen since fellow Bay Area “Survivor” champ Yul Kwon took it all in the last go-round.

Biding his time like a Triple Crown winner coming from behind the pack, he let others set the pace early on and did his best not to make enemies.

His cunning and playful side came out after he found the first Immunity Idol _ and then decided to make a fake idol and hide it for someone else to find.

But he really brought it on when he started winning challenges like the archery competition and proved he had some mad skills.

Yau-Man did what no other competitor has ever done on Thursday when he won a Ford truck valued at close to $50,000 and gave it to another competitor, Dreamz.

Earlier, Dreamz, a person who has been homeless for much of his life, revealed that he has never owned a car and would do anything to have one. It would change his life, he proclaimed.

So Yau-Man, out of the goodness of his heart _ and a plan to get further ahead in the game _ decided to give Dreamz the truck.

In return, he only asked that if Dreamz got immunity in the final four, he would give his immunity to Yau-Man. The Man decided that move would get him into the final three if his calculations were correct.

Then Yau-Man promptly sent himself to Exile Island _ another “Survivor” first _ so that he wouldn’t burn any bridges and he could find a clue to get another Immunity Idol for his pal Earl.

He succeeded in getting Earl an idol, but he didn’t count on Dreamz
attempting a coup to get him out of the game. Dreamz decided that he would have to get Yau-Man out before that final four so he wouldn’t have to go back on his word to hand over the immunity.

Might have been easier just to fail at the immunity challenges, but
that would have been too simple I guess.

Again, with seconds ticking away at Tribal Council, Yau-Man was feeling uneasy and decided to play his Immunity Idol.

It was a million dollar decision, because everyone in the tribe except Earl voting Yau-Man out. With his immunity played, the person he and Earl had chosen, Stacy, was voted out.

That leaves only five left standing for Sunday’s finale. Earl and Yau-Man have a solid alliance, but they have to get past Boo, Cassandra and Dreamz – all the people who had voted Yau-Man off.

Can Yau-Man win immunity again and make it into the final three, when it is up to the jury to decide? If so, he’s got a good chance to win it all because he’s played the game with honesty and integrity.

You go, Yau-Man.

Ahoy, matey. We’ve got your scurvy crew right here.

Well, scurvy in the a-lotta-hotties kind of way.

CBS today introduced the 16 pirates who will compete in “Pirate Master,” a new reality-based series from “Survivor” creator – and newly wed to that divine Roma Downey – Mark Burnett.

CAST OF “PIRATE MASTER”

Australian actor Cameron Daddo will serve as host.

According to the press release, “Pirate Master” will send 16 modern-day pirates on a high seas adventure where they will live as buccaneers and travel around the Caribbean island of Dominica in search of hidden treasure that will total $1 million.

Over the course of 33 days, these pirates will live aboard a massive 179 foot, square-rigged barque which carries 12,500 square feet of sail.

Each week, the pirates will embark on extraordinary expeditions where they will decipher clues along the way in search of missing treasure. Gold coins — real money which the pirates may take with them beyond the show — will be awarded after each expedition, but only to some. The gold will play a key role as pirates strike deals with each other or plead for long-term security.

In addition to claiming the lion’s share of the week’s riches, one pirate will become the captain of the ship and will assign roles and chores to the remaining crew members, setting the tone for either law and order or betrayal and sabotage, which could lead to mutiny by the crew.

Each episode will conclude on the ship at Pirate’s Court, a lively gathering of public speaking and judgment where one individual will be eliminated and “cut adrift.” In the end, one will be the first to find the largest booty, worth $500,000, and claim the title of “Pirate Master.”

The show comes on at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 31 on CBS. Until then, check out the booty.

The pirates competing in PIRATE MASTER (in alphabetical order) are:

CHRISTA DeANGELO

29

Tamaqua, Pa.

Ex-Military

BEN FAGAN

23

Boston

Student/Musician

LOUIE FRASE

43

Fishing Creek, Md. (originally from Park Ridge, Ill.)

Marina Owner

KENDRA GUFFEY

38

Los Angeles (originally from Anchorage, Alaska)

Dive Master

JAY HATKOW

37

Detroit

Automotive Parts Salesman

AZMYTH KAMINSKI

26

Los Angeles (originally Mt. Vernon, Wash.)

Music Producer

CHERYL KOSEWICZ

35

Sparks, Nev. (originally from Grand Couler, Wash.)

District Attorney

JOHN LAKNESS

25

Carlisle, Mass.

Scientist/Chippendale Dancer

JOCELYN “JOY” MCELVEEN

21

West Columbia, S.C.

Receptionist

ELICIA “JUPITER” MENDOZA

30

Los Angeles (originally from Santa Rosa, Calif.)

Bartender

JOE DON “J.D.” NORTON

36

Ft. Wainwright, Alaska (originally from Scottsdale, Ariz.)

Smokejumper

NESSA NEMIR

29

Berkeley, Calif. (originally from Oakland, Calif.)

Make-Up Artist

CHRISTIAN OKOYE

45

Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (originally from Enugu, Nigeria)

Former NFL Player

LAUREL SCHMIDT

21

Los Angeles (originally Detroit)

Glass Blower

ALEXIS SHUBIN

26

Laguna Beach, Calif. (originally from Fountain Valley, Calif.)

Fashion Publicist

SEAN TWOMEY

27

Venice, Calif. (originally from Pensacola, Fla.)

Bartender

“Survivor” is getting too painful to watch.

It’s one thing to plop wanna-be Trumps into backyard tents on “The Apprentice.” It’s quite another to watch starving people get weaker and weaker while another team just keeps getting fatter and more smug.

Perhaps things will change when “Survivor” returns on March 21 (it’s getting bumped for basketball).

But this past week’s show was agonizing to watch. When an intellectual like Yau Man can’t even remember numbers and words in a match game, you know that the lack of nourishment is taking its toll.

Michelle looks like she can barely make it through the day, much less compete in challenges.

Starvin’ Michelle Yi, of the Ravu tribe tries to fend off beefy Lisette “Lisi” Linares, of the Moto tribe, during the immunity challenge, “Kung Fu Cannibals

Enough already.

San Mateo’s Yul Kwon is, without a doubt, the ultimate “Survivor” strategist.

And he has a great sense of humor. When talking to him this morning, the day after he beat out surfer Ozzy, AKA Monkey boy, for the million, he talked about his parents’ reaction to him going on the show.

His parents, who immigrated to the United States from South Korea, were unclear on the “Survivor” premise.

“My father thought that they put 20 people on a deserted island and the one left alive got the million,” Kwon says. “My parents were actually hoping I’d go on `The Bachelor.’ But at this point, they would like me to show up on the doorstep with a wife and baby.”

So just how did he manipulate himself into winning the million bucks? We’ll let Yul speak for himself.

Kwon says he watched the first season of “Survivor” and then rarely watched after that. When he was recruited by the producers to go on the show – they knew about him from his work on Steve Westly’s California campaign – he said he quickly crammed by renting out several seasons of “Survivor.”

Even though he had a plan, and a knack for calculating statistically feasible outcomes, he just hoped that he wouldn’t be the first one ejected from the game.

His first break came when he found the hidden immunity idol on Exile Island.

“The immunity idol is a gun with one bullet. If I used it that way, it wasn’t really useful. The power is in the potential to use it,” Yul says. “When I found the idol, I wanted to save it to change the flow of the game.”

And so he did. Two other dramatic events could have taken Yul out of the game.

The first event was when team members Candice and Jonathan decided to switch to the other team _ which left their tribe at a disadvantage with only four members in the tribe. It could have meant that they could have been quickly picked off during a tribe merge. They only way they could stay alive in the short term was to win challenges.

Yul embraced Ozzy as the Challenge Master.

“Ozzy was the best hedge to deflect attention away from me. I had been targeted to get out, but he was my insurance,” Yul says.

Yul says the four bonded into a group and that he worked to keep them together by making them all feel as if they were part of the decision making process.

“We never felt threatened by each other, we trusted each other that we would all get to the final four together,” Yul says.

After the merge, they needed to flip someone in the dominant Raro tribe. Which brought up the one time when Yul believed there might be a tear in the bond of the four.

“Jonathan was rational enough to understand that it was in his own self-interest to flip, so he was the obvious choice,” Yul says. “But Ozzy wanted to turn Nate, and I didn’t understand why Nate, who had a strong alliance, would want to go to our side. His already secure for a No. 5 spot in his own tribe. Why flip for the same position in our tribe?

“So I asked Ozzy how he could convince Nate, and he started talking about how he would appeal to him as being an outsider in the (predominately white) tribe, just like Ozzy felt like an outsider in our tribe. As soon as he said it, it was like a bird flew in his mouth and he just trailed off. I realized that he was going to screw us and try for an alliance with Nate against us.”

So Yul went to convince Jonathan that it was in his best interest to flip and at least be guaranteed a No. 5 position. He told Jonathan that he had the immunity idol and if it came down to a vote, Jonathan would be voted out because Yul would use the idol to save himself.

Yul then convinced Jonathan that the reason why Jonathan hadn’t been voted out yet was because his tribe members thought Jonathan had the immunity idol. And if Jonathan told them that Yul had the idol, then they would vote Jonathan out.

“As long as he believed the story about his tribe only keeping him in because they thought he had the idol, I knew we could flip him,” Yul says. “But in addition to the rational arguments, there was an emotional reason for Jonathan to flip.”

Yul had been present at a discussion about body hair between members of the Raro tribe. The discussion turned mean-spirited against Jonathan’s wife.

“I was chopping coconuts and thought `You guys are being really rude and you’re digging your own grave.’ Jonathan was furious with them and didn’t want any of them making it to the final four,” Yul says. “So I told Ozzy that the only way Jonathan would flip would be if we voted Nate out, because he had made fun of Jonathan’s wife.”

In fact, Jonathan didn’t care which one was voted out. Yul just wanted to take away Ozzy’s alternative to sticking with the four.

The other threat to the four was when Becky wanted to vote Ozzy out because she saw him as a threat. Yul says he listened to her and Sundra, but would never let that happen.

“Once you voted out one of the four, the trust was gone,” Yul says.

Becky and Yul became close friends during their time on the island, but it was only a friendship. Yul says that when the Candice/Jonathan mutiny happened, he offered the immunity idol to Becky if she ever needed it.

“It was silly for me to use it for myself and go into the merge alone just to get eliminated. She could have used it and flown under the radar for a while,” Yul says. “When we got to the end, it was a brief conversation about the idol and Becky decided that wasn’t the way she wanted to play the game.”

Instead, under the new rules, Yul caught another break. Three would go before the tribal council instead of two. So Yul, with the immunity idol, was safe and so was Ozzy after winning the challenge. The decision was made to let Sundra and Becky battle it out in a tie-breaker after Ozzy voted Becky out and Yul voted Sundra out.

And then there was that awful fire-building challenge.

Yul says to be fair, it was terribly windy and that probably hurt the two when trying to start fires. But he also says that when Sundra ran out of wood, Becky offered some of her wood to Sundra. When Sundra ran out of matches, she cheered Becky on.

“Jeff couldn’t believe it,” Yul says.

In the end, Yul believed it would come down to him and Ozzy.

“I thought about, if I was close, that I would throw the immunity challenge, that way I wouldn’t have to choose between Ozzy and either Becky or Sundra because no matter who I chose, the other would feel burned,” Yul says. “I thought Ozzy would probably chose me because he has a real sense of fairness and I told him that if he went against Becky or Sundra, then the jury would see them all as being the same kind of players. More people on the jury hated me and since he had decimated them on the challenges, they could hold him accountable for them not making it to the finals and vote for Becky or Sundra.

“I didn’t think I would win in a landslide against Ozzy, but I thought I had a good shot.”

The closing arguments before the jury played into Yul’s strength as a trial attorney. But even he didn’t see it coming when Ozzy claimed that he wanted the money to go to college.

Turns out that Ozzy had told everyone he would use his winnings to build a sort of surfer commune for his pals where they could live free.

“I went to the confessional booth after that and said he would win a million dollars over my dead body. What a phenomenal waste.”

Yul won by just one vote, a vote that he had guaranteed when he engineered Jonathan’s ejection.

“Adam told me that he would promise to vote for me in the final if Jonathan went before he did,” Yul says. “I knew Adam would keep his word.”

So, boys and girls, that’s how you win a million bucks on “Survivor.”

Among the little practical jokes Erwin and Godwin Cho pulled on their fellow “Amazing Race” competitors, the one they particularly savor is the one they did to the Barbies.

Team Dustin and Kandice, who have been doing their own version of the blonde ambition tour during the around the world race, got a dose of the Chos while in Mongolia.

Seems the boys had packed some fake roaches for the trip and decided to drop a few in some shoes while D ‘n’ K were sleeping.

“You should have heard the scream,” says Godwin laughing.

Score team Cho.

By the way, if you go to the Cho brother’s Web site alittlekarma you can support their latest enterprise. The two are helping struggling artists by selling the work on the site and then donating a portion of the sales to do “small acts of kindness.”

“We’re good businessmen, but we aren’t artists,” Erwin says. “And the artists are good, but they may not be quite as good at the business part. So we make a good team.”

For the interview on the Cho brothers, go to my TV Website. If it isn’t at the top, scroll down for the archived columns and stories.

Being Polite Sucks Sometimes – Godwin Cho

Erwin and Godwin Cho arrived last on the mat tonight, ending their “Amazing Race.”

The Bay Area brothers might have won the race if they hadn’t put other players first. But then, that just wouldn’t have been the Cho boys. The two helped out other teams – and it probably cost them the race.

Just goes to show that winners don’t always come in first place.

The Chos played honorably and even managed to overcome their fear of heights. Let’s just say that I sure wouldn’t have gone face-first down that huge tower.

Here’s to the Chos, who won their own race and did it their way.

Erwin and Godwin Cho of “The Amazing Race” just proved tonight that nice guys don’t always finish last.

The Bay Area racers made sure that Kentucky couple Dave and Mary didn’t get eliminated by helping them get the fast-forward. The couple came in last the week before and had a severe penalty if they did not finish first.

In order to let Dave and Mary get the fast-forward, Erwin had to conquer his severe fear of heights. And you never saw any human scamper up a ladder as quickly as he did.

This latest sacrifice should prove that the Cho Brothers are No. 1 – even if they don’t win the race.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have a pilot deal with CBS for a project the Hollywood Reporter describes as “the medical adventures of the CDC doctors who fight the diseases and viruses that threaten people worldwide.”

We describe it as a failed 2004-2005 NBC series, “Medical Investigation.”

That series, starring Neal McDonough, Kelli Williams and Christopher Gorham, centered on the cases of an elite government investigation unit specializing in sudden, mysterious and dangerous medical outbreaks.

Now, we understand that there’s plenty of doctor, lawyer and police-centered dramas on the air that could sound similar on paper. But this one seems just a tad too close for comfort.

Besides, viewers already passed on this the last time around. But if CBS can get Will and Jada to star, the network just might have something here to draw viewers.

So Yul (San Mateo) spearheaded the outster Cece (Oakland) tonight on “Survivor.”

What’s up with that Yul?

Cece was a great person, a real asset. Instead, you went with Becky??? Becky’s dead weight and no good in the challenges. And we’re all wondering if you would have reallygiven Becky your immunity if she had been voted off the island.

And to think that Cece’s mom said nice things about you. I thought maybe we would see a like connection.

Ba-bye Cece. You didn’t deserve to have your torch snuffed out so soon.