After featuring a trio of North Carolinians for the Nicaragua season, "Survivor" producers have bypassed the Tar Heel State for the upcoming "Redemption Island" season. In fact, it looks like producers have bypassed most any state except California.

Of the 16 contestants introduced this week, a whopping 10 of them are from the Golden State. (The other six hail from Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Maine, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.)

There will be two more contestants -- "mystery" former players that producers won't announce until later. The blogosphere is rife with speculation that it's Boston Rob and evil Russell. Even though both have played before (Russell twice and Rob three times), we're OK with this because they're both good TV. And last season's contestants weren't always good TV. [Updated Thursday: Yep, it's Boston Rob Mariano and Russell Hantz. They will each join a tribe to compete. They may get voted out early, but remember the Redemption Island twist. Ousted players get a chance to re-enter the game at some point.]

Guess it stands to reason that the odd, disjointed, somewhat dull season that was “Survivor: Nicaragua” ends with an odd, disjointed, somewhat dull reunion show.

Most seem to agree that the best finalist -- lovable goofball Jud "Fabio" Birza -- won the million dollars. (Even if Chase Rice, the former Tar Heel football player, had to settle for second.) It also was nice to North Carolinian Jane Bright win the fan-favorite award and the $100,000 that comes with it.

But this season is not going to go down as one of the best. It may even be one of the worst. There were not enough really interesting players and too many ho-hum ideas. (Don't even mention that quickly aborted "Medallion of Power" mess.)

Thoughts from the reunion show:

It’s the last hurrah for the somewhat disappointing “Survivor: Nicaragua” season, and one of our three Tar Heels, Chase Rice, is still in the running.

A strong physical player, Chase's main weakness is his wishy-washy behavior. His alliances with Shannon, Brenda and a fellow North Carolinian, Jane Bright, ended with him helping vote each of them out. "Chase has angered so many people that it is a wonder he is still in the game," host Jeff Probst notes as the finale begins.

Of course, the others in the final five also have their problem spots. Holly Hoffman, the swim coach who is the last woman in the game, initially flipped out and tried to quit. Then she made a lot of enemies on the jury. So has Matthew "Sash" Lenehan, the real estate broker who had side deals with just about everyone.

Jud "Fabio" Birza, the student, is likable but seems a little too goofy to win. Meanwhile, Dan Lembo, a real estate executive, hasn't made any enemies. Mainly because he's barely played the game. In challenges, Probst notes, Dan has been "ineffective or didn’t participate at all."

So can Chase, a former UNC football player, defeat Holly, Sash, Fabio or Dan? Don't read any further if you don't want to know.

It's the last episode before Sunday's finale, and the six remaining contestants exhibit the same behaviors that have either charmed (or really annoyed) us all season.

Jane Bright, one of our North Carolinians, is a feisty farm girl who doesn't take junk from anyone. Chase Rice, our other Tar Heel, is one of the most indecisive people ever to play the game.

Sash is a conniver who thinks way too highly of himself. Holly hides her manipulative side under the guise of being a supportive mother figure. Dan is a noncompetitive nonentity who should have been voted out 10 or 11 Tribal Councils ago. And Fabio is a sweet-natured doofus who may just be playing us all with his dumb surfer act.

The episode veers from heartwarming to bitterly caustic, and in the end, our Tar Heel alliance is shattered. And it ain't pretty.

After getting rid of dead weight NaOnka and Purple Kelly -- or as Jeff Probst snidely called them "our two quitters" - we're left with seven contestants who are fiercely playing the game. (Well, scratch that. We have six contestants fiercely playing the game and one, Dan, who merely relaxes around camp when he's not failing miserably at challenges. Tell me again why he's still here?)

The battle lines seem clearly drawn between the trio of Dan, Fabio and Benry and the threesome of Holly and our two North Carolinians, Chase Rice and Jane Bright. The odd man out is Sash, but he's not dejected. He thinks he's in the position of kingmaker and that both factions need to cater to him. At one point, he even tells us he's already counting his $1 million in winnings. (You wonder whether Sash, a New York real estate agent, has actually tried to sell a client the Brooklyn Bridge at some point.)

Also, Chase continues the wishy-washy play he's exhibited all season -- making a decision, then immediately regretting it. Jane tears up as she loses a friend. And the final vote completely blindsides someone.

Fresh from last week's rather dull clip show, we get what may be the most bizarro episode of "Survivor" ever. No one is voted out, but by the end of the hour, two of the nine contestants have left the game.

There is no Immunity Challenge, but we get a tense Tribal Council in which host Jeff Probst sharply questions contestants like some sort of Island Judge Judy.

Swim coach Holly, who earlier this season was a nut job who threw a fellow contestant's shoes in the water and wanted to quit the game, somehow emerges as a motivational voice of reason.

Plus, there's a Reward Challenge that features what may be the single most blatant product placement in the 21 seasons of "Survivor."

For Thanksgiving Eve, CBS gives us one of those In-Case-You-Missed-It, Behind-the-Scenes Recap episodes of "Survivor." (Or, as we like to call them, "Lame Filler" episodes.)

Seriously, Mark Burnett, couldn't you maybe not have an episode earlier in the season where you vote off two people and instead spread out the Tribal Councils and avoid having one of these recap weeks? We want to see drama, backbiting and blindsiding! We want someone to go home!

We did learn a few new things, though, from this recap, particularly about our two North Carolinians who have made this season's final nine.

Check out photos from last night's episode of "Survivor: Nicaragua," which airs Wednesday nights on CBS. This season features North Carolinians Jane Bright and Chase Rice (Chase is a former UNC football player).

Click the photo at right to view the gallery.

And be sure to read our recap of last night's action!

This week's episode offers clear case studies of the various ways to act when you feel at risk on “Survivor.” You can flail about like a paranoid crazy person, driving everyone insane with your worrying. That’s the path taken by Chase Rice, one of two North Carolinians still in the game.  “Chase has been running around here like a chicken with his head cut off,” NaOnka notes.

Another strategy is to appear so strong and kick so much butt that the others dare not mess with you. That’s the method followed by our other Tar Heel, Jane Bright. Once again, she puts on a dominating display.

Then there’s Brenda’s strategy – positioning herself as someone who is just too calm, too cool and too collected to be voted out. What? Me, worry?

(We’ll refrain from going into too much depth about the Dan strategy – being so pathetic that no one will view you as a threat – or the “Purple Kelly” method – coming across as so boring that others forget you’re even in the game.)

This week's installment was one of the most entertaining of this somewhat sluggish season, thanks to a few key factors:

--a great central conflict between a true villain (arrogant Marty) and a folksy underdog (our North Carolinian Jane Bright).

--seething resentment from two puppet masters who want to make sure they get the credit they think they're due (Sash and Brenda).

--a seemingly good guy caught in the middle (our other North Carolinian, Chase Rice, trying to be loyal to his fellow Tar Heel and falling victim to his own paranoia).

--a total loon (the unrepentantly crazy NaOnka, who really should not verbalize every inane thought that pops into her head).

All this, plus a final vote that really has you holding your breath right up until the end.