Here's the plate of food "Survivor: Philippines" contestant Denise Stapley of Cedar Rapids purchased in the Food Auction aired in the Nov. 28, 2012, episode. (SurvivorFever.net photo)

By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia

Cedar Rapids castaway Denise Stapley survived the Day 30 Tribal Council by one vote.

Carter, Penner and Abi voted to kick her off the island on last night’s episode of “Survivor: Philippines.” But cooler heads prevailed, and Penner got the boot, instead. He pulled in four votes that sent him to the Jury, where he’ll get to observe subsequent Tribal Councils, but won’t cast another vote until the end.

He did not go gently into that dark good night. He and Abi turned this Nov. 28 episode into “Castaways Behaving Badly.”

Abi and Denise clearly detest each other, to the point where Abi stuck out her tongue in her best bratty action and said, “I hope you go home tonight. Look who’s judging you now,” as Denise walked up to the sacrificial altar to cast her vote.

Ironically, Abi couldn’t even be kicked off the island last night. She stunned everyone by winning the Immunity Challenge earlier that day.

So Denise — along with Lisa, Malcolm and Skupin — ended the run for returning competitor Jonathan Penner, 50, a writer from Los Angeles who previously participated in “Survivor: Cook Islands” and “Survivor: Micronesia.” He clearly was not charmed by his third boot.

He hugged Carter, then refused to hug Abi (which I thoroughly enjoyed), then said, “Keep your sunny side up and suck eggs,” then whistled his way into the darkness. Completely low class, but an entertaining way to end an episode rife with bad manners.

(IOWA TRIVIA TIE-INS: Gazette colleague Sam Paxton informs me that Penner starred in the 1995 indie film, “The Last Supper,” directed by his wife, Stacy Title, and co-starring Cedar Falls native Annabeth Gish, Cameron Diaz,  Courtney B. Vance and Ron Eldard. They played five liberal grad students who invite a string of right-wingers over for dinner, then kill them. Sam says the film takes place in Iowa City.)

Back to our show: Abi-Maria Gomes, 32, a business student from Los Angeles, is the Survivor everyone loves to hate — except for me. I do not love her, and am always astonished by how low she will go. She shamelessly bragged about “feeling like a queen” after winning a spa day and feast in a recent Reward Challenge; declared she was on a kitchen duty strike; and sat out most of the early team Immunity Challenges.

She turned the tables most adroitly last night, when the seven remaining Dangrayne tribe members gathered for the Day 29 Food Auction. Each contestant was given $500 to bid on various food plates — some of which were covered.

Denise bid her entire $500 on the first plate — pancakes, bacon and orange juice, enticed by the nourishing meat and carbs. One of the others (I think Penner) scoffed that the same meal would cost $1.99 at the local diner. (Here’s a link to a video I can’t embed.)

Other plates were laden with wine and cheese (Skupin, $500), iced coffee and donuts (Malcolm, $200), fried chicken and French fries (Penner, $100 in a blind bid) and a gigantic sandwich (Lisa, $320 in another blind bid).

Carter displayed his altruistic side by trading a $200 blind bid that nabbed him a loaded baked potato for bags of rice and beans for the entire tribe. He later spent $200 for a couple of veal shanks to be passed around for 60 seconds for everyone to gnaw upon. Those two moves no doubt bought him some loyalty.

Abi — who vowed not to spend any money on food, since she knew she would be the next one kicked off the game — swiftly pounced when a game advantage was placed on the auction block. She bid her entire $500 and ended up with a prize that advanced her to the final round of the next day’s individual Immunity Challenge.

Abi had to sit and watch as nemesis Denise bolted through the first round of the Immunity obstacle course. Penner and Malcolm won the next phase, which meant they advanced to the final three-story obstacle with Abi.

Who knew that little sprite could move so quickly, untying knots and scampering through the three levels of her tower? No one saw that coming. Her win meant she could cast a kick-off vote (for Denise), but no one could vote Abi off the island that night, no matter how badly they wanted to.

I totally love Denise’s Facebook posting last night: “Yes folks…this is it…it really happened…TODAY is the day that pigs flew…Hell froze over…money began to grow on trees…and I had to eat a hearty helping of crow….and now I must throw up… ”

Here are the castaways still vying for the million-dollar payoff:

Abi-Maria Gomes, 32, a business student from Los Angeles

Carter Williams, 24, a track coach from Shawnee, Kan.

Denise Stapley, 41, a mental health counselor and certified sex therapist from Cedar Rapids

Lisa Whelchel, 49, a former TV teen actress from Dallas, Texas

Malcolm Freberg, 25, a bartender from Hermosa Beach, Calif., and Denise’s closest ally

Michael Skupin, 50, a professional speaker, author and coach from White Lake, Mich., who was airlifted out of “Survivor: The Australian Outback,” after falling into a fire, suffering severe burns.

Who will outlast all the others on this survival of the fittest game show? Tune in at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on CBS-TV to find out.

Iowa City native Paul Nelson. (image from Web site for Jeopardy! TV show)

By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia

Iowa City native Paul Nelson has done the seemingly impossible. He ended a six-episode run on “Jeopardy!” without answering correctly any Final Jeopardy question.

The key to his success? Conservative wagers. Even on his sixth and final try, he bet no money. He might have won yet again, except opponent Jake Ayers, a law student from San Diego, knew the final question in the popular TV game show where answers are given in the form of a question.

The final category was “Biographies About Authors,” and Oscar Wilde was the answer. Nelson, who has peppered his appearances with humor, wrote: “Who is Dolly Parton?” saying he just wanted to hear host Alex Trebek say that out loud.

Had Ayers missed the question, his wager of $9,301 would have landed him in second place. Instead, that where’s Nelson landed, adding $2,000 to his winnings, bringing his six-day total to $56,900.

Nelson, 23, is a legislative correspondent in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Washington office. He is the son of Scott and Tracy Nelson of Iowa City.

Scott Nelson is more thrilled with his son’s conduct than with his earnings.

“Aside from Paul exercising his God-given abilities, we are proud of his character and how he presented himself in the national spotlight,” Nelson said. “He was the first competitor to step off the podium and congratulate the others.”

Iowa City native Paul Nelson. (image from Web site for Jeopardy! TV show)

By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia

Even when he loses, he wins.

Iowa City native Paul Nelson missed today’s (11/21/12) Final Jeopardy question, but so did his opponents. His conservative wager of $1,000 kept him on top of the earnings heap as the others fell lower with their higher wagers in the category, “Opera.”

No one came up with the right question to this answer: “In 1900, the first La Scala performance of this opera was conducted by the man whose last name begins with the opera’s title.” Nelson guessed “Don Giovanni.” But the right question was, “What is ‘Tosca,’ ” since the conductor was Arturo Toscanini.

Only $1,100 separated all three contestants going into the final round, after one of the toughest matches I’ve seen on the popular answer-and-question television game show.

Nelson, 23, a legislative correspondent in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Washington office, was back to defend his crown after a two-week hiatus while the show ran its annual Teachers’ Tournament.

He jumped out to his usual early lead, only to be eclipsed by Dan Sims, a case manager from Little Rock, and Morgan Kruse, a health economic consultant from Irvine, Calif. But with several missed questions by the opponents, Nelson was in the lead with $800 at the first commercial break, while the others sat at $0.

Nelson then won the first Daily Double, with a correct haiku answer in the Poetry category, to up his total to $4,500. He ended the round with $5,300, while Kruse stayed at $0 and Sims sat at $400. They didn’t even get to the Anagrams category — a phenomenon I’ve never seen happen. Granted, I only watch the show sporadically, but that speaks volumes for the way all three contestants struggled through the first round.

Sims shot ahead in Double Jeopardy with several correct answers about generals. Kruse jumped ahead of Nelson, too, but then fell back with a miss in the Planetary Matters category. Nelson lost $2,000 with a miss on a Daily Double answer about what a tonsorial practitioner does. (I felt very good for knowing the answer: cuts hair.)

When the dust settled on that round, Kruse had $4,400, Nelson had $4,500 and Sims led with $5,500, before they all surrendered their wagers in Final Jeopardy.

Nelson’s winning payoff of $3,500 brought his four-day earnings to $48,900.

I’m not sure I’ll be able to follow the action over the holiday weekend. It depends on figuring out when “Jeopardy!” airs in southeast Iowa (I think it’s in the afternoon), then being near a TV. I may have to wait until Monday, Nov. 26, to see if he’s still in the lineup.

“Jeopardy!” airs at 11:30 a.m. weekdays on KWWL Channel 7 in the Corridor.

If you catch the show Thursday or Friday, let me know how he fares.

Malcolm Freberg and Denise Stapley, who aligned early in their Matsing Tribe days and reunited in the Nov. 7 episode to finally win a challenge on the same team. (Monty Brinton/CBS)

By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia

Retired baseball player Jeff Kent, 44, is used to winning in the big leagues, but he struck out with the Tribal Council vote on Wednesday’s (11/7/12) episode of “Survivor: Philippines.”

I felt sorry for him — until he opened his mouth afterward and said: “I made $60 million in baseball, but I really wanted this million.” Ah greed will get you every time.

Pete Yurkowski, 24, Holmdel, N.J., was just one vote behind Jeff, so he needs to watch his back next week. Annoying, conniving Abi-Maria Gomes, 32, from Los Angeles, also drew a vote, so she needs to be on guard, as well.

Nothing was certain as the surviving 10 contestants spent Day 22 plotting and scheming by twos and fours to build voting blocs. And plan their personal paths to the million-dollar payoff while trying to maintain airs of benevolence, not malevolence.

As cracks formed and secrets leaked out, wide-eyed innocent Lisa Whelchel, 49, teen star of “The Facts of Life,” revealed her true colors. She’s in it to win it, no matter who she steps on.

Cedar Rapids castaway Denise Stapley stayed steadfast in her calm, intelligent, level-headed approach. She remains a fresh tropical breeze amid the gathering storms.

“It’s fascinating to watch the alliance implode,” said Stapley, 41, who makes her living as a mental health counselor and sex therapist.

Returning player Jonathan Penner, 50, who survived last week’s episode by playing his Hidden Immunity Idol, surprised everyone by winning the Day 22 Immunity Challenge. Physically fit but not considered the strongest or fastest in the group, he scaled the obstacle course and finished his puzzle first to stay on the show.

Jeff’s reaction? “Penner just bought himself another three days of dead man walking.” Karma bit him in the rear for that snark, as Jeff got the boot instead.

After the vote, host Jeff Probst declared: “I can’t think of a more complicated, entertaining Tribal Council,” and after the votes were tallied, added: “This may go down as one of the biggest blown opportunities in the history of the game.”

In Denise’s hometown, however, the highlight of the show came early on, when she and her teammates won the Day 20 Reward Challenge. The castaways divided themselves into two teams for a relay race that involved swimming, pulling and running. No sweat for triathlete Denise.

She and her group — Jeff, Malcolm, Jonathan and Lisa — left the others in the sand and enjoyed an afternoon jungle river cruise dining on a barbecued ribs picnic. A most welcome change from beans, rice and whatever native flora and fauna can be captured and cooked.

Watch her odyssey unfold at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on CBS-TV.

BONUS Fast Fact from colleague and “Suvivor” devotee Sam Paxton:

According to a recent episode of “Survivor” podcast “The Tribe,” Denise recently joined a select group: players who managed to play with every single member of their season, even all the pre-merge boots from the tribal phase of the game. As a member of Matsing, her tribe lost four straight Immunity Challenges to start the season, but she survived with Malcolm until the two were divided among the two remaining tribes. Denise then went to Kalabaw, which was fully intact when she joined. She then made it safely through two more tribal councils (as well as the med-evac of other teammate) before the tribes merged, where she rejoined Malcolm and the Tandang tribe, still undefeated and six-strong at the time. That’s everyone.

By accomplishing this, Denise joined a trio of players who pulled off a similar feat in the fourth season, “Survivor: Marquesas” – a group that included the season’s winner, Vecepia Towery, as well as fan favorite “Boston Rob” Mariano, who would go on to be the show’s only four-time player, a two-time finalist and one-time Sole Survivor. That’s good company to be in.

Paul Nelson. (image from Web site for Jeopardy! TV show)

By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia

Third time is still a charm for Iowa City native Paul Nelson, as his “Jeopardy!” winnings climbed to $45,400 Tuesday morning (11/6/12).

He’ll have a two-week break while the popular answer-and-question game show goes into its Teachers’ Tournament. After that, Nelson, 23, a legislative correspondent in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Washington office, will be back to defend his crown.

He jumped to a huge lead Tuesday, racking up $4,800 by the first commercial break. He amassed $7,400 by the end of the first round and took $18,100 into Final Jeopardy.

It seemed like a given that he’d clean up in the Final round, with the category Cabinet Departments. He tripped, however, on which department launched a Spanish-language television campaign. He guessed the Department of Commerce, but the answer was the Department of Homeland Security.

No worries, with a conservative wager, his total fell to $16,200 — enough to remain Jeopardy champion.

'Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek (right), joins Iowa City native Paul Nelson in the winners circle on the television game show. Nelson's two-day earnings total $29,200. (Jeopardy Productions Inc. photo)

By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia

Iowa City native Paul Nelson did it again.

He defended his “Jeopardy!” crown in an episode that aired at 11:30 a.m. Monday (11/5/12) in Eastern Iowa. With a $15,200 win, his two-day total jumped to $29,200.

Nelson, 23, a legislative correspondent in Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Washington, D.C., office, again knew most of the questions to political answers in the long-running game show where contestants supply their replies in question form.

He was in the lead with $18,600 going into the Final Jeopardy category: Broadway Musicals. With a conservative wager, he managed to pull out a $15,200 win even though he erred by writing down “Les Miserables” instead of “Chicago” for the longest-running American musical in Broadway history.

His formidable opponents were law school student Shari Dwoskin of Montreal and retired paralegal Bobbi Hiltibidal of Topeka, Kan.

To see how Nelson fares on Election Day, tune in to “Jeopardy!” at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday (11/6/12) on KWWL Channel 7.