Sunday, May 15, 2005: The Ed Sullivan Theatre - New York City.

It's been at least five months. All of the Survivors are back in the US with one more task to accomplish. After the final Tribal, the votes were carried to CBS where they were sealed in secrecy, the outcome known to no one... until tonight.

Remember, at stake, a 2005 Chevrolet SSR, bragging rights, the title of Sole Survivor: Palau... and a $1 million check. The vote to win is four.

(Long-ass applause, part 2)

First vote... Tom.

Katie...

Two votes Tom... Three votes Tom... "The winner of Survivor Palau..."

TOM WESTMAN! No sooner does he go out and hug his wife Bernadette, as the 20 Survivors are reunited one more time. We're treated to Tom's many victories, and rightly so, because he's the winningest person this season, with five of the last seven Immunity Challenges, and his tribe won 11 of the last 14.

First of all, big up to New York. "The way this played out I owe to a good friend of mine and my wife, most importantly. "When I started concocting plans of the role I would play out there in Palau, they both just slapped me around and said...You gotta go in there and be yourself, it's a winning strategy. I thought I was going to be able to hide underneath my gray hair and it didn't happen too well. If anything, I played a lousy strategy game because I didn't hide well."

Of the relationship between him, Katie, and Ian, Gregg said, "I looked at these two people as characters. I can tell you that for 33 days, she did entertain me. For some reason, she was just a character." Of the game: "You need to pay the price to keep the game pure." He hugged both in voting.

Katie wasn't surprised by Janu's questioning, making it all the way to day 39, thinking that she would never win against Tom. "I will NOT WIN AGAINST Tom. I tried to take him out. I love him. You can't take this guy." Janu, was your mind made up? "It was, Jeff."

Now we go to Tom and Gregg, as they approach this with game theory (trying to anticipate what the player's best move is and making a counter based on that). Gregg planned to get to five and make your move. "When you're on a plan, you stick to that plan. He had a really good firm, Koror, Inc. He didn't want the partners happy." Jeff says that Tom would get him at six, and now he's confused. So where did Caryn go wrong? She didn't give up information. Tom & Ian were considering getting rid of Jenn. But because of Caryn's mouth, Katie flipped, and thus, was sent packing.

Going back to the challenge, Ian, and 11 hours. He didn't know what to do with those hours and those allies. Was he really suspect? "I wanted to play with the values I came into the game with, and I realized at the 11th hour that I wasn't doing that." He has no regrets. Some things are just worth more than money.

Interesting stat: seven of the 10 winners are older than 30. Average age: 34. Ian thought he grew up in the game.

But if anyone proved anything to himself this season, it was Coby. The self-appointed "girly man" tried to get rid of some "demons". "I wanted to be the prom queen! To be a part of a team is definitely an appeal." Jeff remembers the gay-hairdresser-versus-redneck-from-Alabama. James said, "My old friends saw it, and I'll tell you straight up. That boy whupped my tail." James also changed for the better, as he did not take his kids for granted anymore. And then there was Janu, who had tough days and was basically very disappointing. Then came Exile Island, where Janu felt complete. "The appreciation of life in general. I'm satisfied in general." She swears that she was not coerced into quitting.

Jeff wasn't coerced into quitting, either. Not like he had a choice. His injury caused him to say "Vote me out." But Jeff saw it as a quit. Coconut Boy said, "I knew my limits. I had injured myself to the point where I knew 'that was it.'". Bobby Jon remembered that Kim wasn't doing anything. He would've stayed. Ashlee would've quit. Jonathan and Wanda, the two outsiders weigh in. Jonathan... "I jumped out the boat!" Purty much. Angie called him on that, as the "very nice guy" "picked and chose who to talk to." On the other first-impression spectrum, Wanda the singer/shriller took it all in stride. And sure enough, Wanda has another song in her heart... just for this occasion.

(to the tune of "Oh, Susannah")
"We were stranded on Palauan shores with coconuts and rats,
We survived the heat, found some food to eat, some survived the spats.
We're survivors, we faced and passed the test
And in history, all the world will see that Survivor 10's the best."

Jeff stops her in time and brings forth Stephenie, the last member of Ulong to stand... "Can't get any worse than this. I was like all by myself." On being one of the most popular women to play the game: "Everywhere I go, people always say 'you're my hero'." Her partner Bobby Jon thought the end of Ulong was kinda crazy, because it's never happened before. He never got voted out, because he lost an immunity challenge. No sour grapes from him. "I'll have to give credits from my family. All I was brought up to do was work." He will always remember Jellyfish Lake: "To me, that was peace."

Jolanda was the first person who won immunity, and then got booted. "They didn't want leadership. I knew when I got voted off, I knew there was going to be self-extinct." Was she right? Angie says yes. Ibrehem changed his game plan because Jo got voted out first. He didn't want to make the same mistake she did.

Now, this was a season of firsts: the first season with 20 survivors, first season with 2 who never played, first tribe to NEVER win Immunity, first tribe of one, first season with no merge, most ties at Tribal Council, and the longest challenge in Survivor history with the 11 hour hangover, followed by the first Tribal Council held at a challenge (not to be confused with the first Challenge held at Tribal Council, all the way back in Borneo).

Interesting fact: Russ Landau & David Vanacore, they're your music guys. Been doing it for 10 seasons now, and for what it's worth, their craft is truly captivating. Couples update: Greggifer was good for snuggling on the island, but Gregg and Jenn are just friends now. Kim & Jeff are "amazing friends". Willard... he's just married to science. An attorney by trade, he told everyone that he was a mailman. "You take a random selection of Americans, know lawyer jokes. Dislike lawyers. Nobody doesn't like the mailman." The rest had no clue.

Then comes one of the biggest surprises in reunion history, as Coby adopted a baby girl... and named it in Janu's honor.

Now the BIG question. Where the hell is Survivor headed next? Jeff, take it.

"Hidden deep in the rain forests of Central America stand the ruins of an ancient civilization that once prospered, and then vanished. These were the Maya people, and this is the country of Guatemala. These stunning cities of the past stand as clues to a mystery thousands of years old. While Europe was in the dark ages, it was the Maya who harnessed the knowledge of the stars and the celestial movements to create a mystical union of man, nature, and the gods. It was a world of great kings, elaborate ceremonies, fierce battles, and even human sacrifice. Eighteen survivors will be marooned within this mysterious and rugged terrain. For the first time, the castaways will actually live within the ruins of a vanished civilization. And they will be forced to embrace the ancient Maya lifestyle. Join us this fall as the adventure continues with "Survivor Guatemala: The Maya Empire."

Look for that this fall on CBS and here at GSNN. Meanwhile, you can own your own piece of Palau by going to survivor-auction.com. It's all to benefit, of course, the Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Survivor fans have raised almost $1.5 million, and you can get a stock in that from now to May 28, so you got at least another week left. ALSO if you can outwit, outplay, and outlast on a broken ankle, JEFF WILSON, I'm talking to you... Survivor 13 is now casting. Go to CBS.com for that.

My thanks to you for reading. It's been a pleasure. My thanks to my cohort in crime, Chris Wolvie; we'll be back for Guatemala later in September where my tribe will trounce his... again. Until then, for everyone here at Game Show Newsnet, I'm Chico Alexander, and the tribe has spoken... It's time to go. Good night, Palau!