Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Well, nobody's pants have caught fire on "Survivor: Pearl Islands" (7 p.m., Ch. 2). But there have been sooooo many lies told by sooooo many liars that it's been almost impossible to keep them straight.

And that's a good thing.

This round of the "reality" show has been loads of fun for viewers. A lot of it has to do with the casting, and this cast has been remarkable.

Not because they're such fine, upstanding citizens, but because they know how to play the game. And, while lying isn't a great character trait in most circumstances, it's a necessity in this game.

The five remaining contestants have all been darn good at it. Lil agonizes over her lies, but she still turned on her original tribe and turned on Rupert. Not that you can blame either Lil or Burton — who were voted out and then re-entered the game in one of the great twists "Survivor" executive producer Mark Burnett cooked up — for lying to people who got rid of them once.

Sandra's lie of omission let Krista take the fall for throwing away fish when Sandra was the culprit. Even sweet little Darrah played her part well to fake out Rupert, making him think she was the next elimination target when it was really him.

And Jon may be the greatest liar in the history of "Survivor." Not only has he lied consistently to everyone about alliances he's made (and quickly broken), but the guy lied about the death of his grandmother to win a reward. The truly amazing thing is that so many of his fellow contestants have believed him.

Like a soap opera, "Survivor" is at its best when there are characters you love to hate. And there have been plenty of those (with Jon and Sandra at the top of the list).

All of this — along with the great editing that has become a "Survivor" trademark — has made this edition of the show unpredictable and extremely watchable. And, before anybody climbs on a moral high horse about all the prevarication, remember that this is a game. It's like bluffing in poker or trying to convince somebody to trade properties in Monopoly. Of course you're going to try to work it to your advantage.

And, in Monopoly, it's play money, not the very real $1 million the "Survivor" winner will take home in Sunday's two-hour finale (7 p.m., Ch. 2).

Frankly, an island full of Eagle Scouts would make for an extremely dull "Survivor." But even though Lil is a Boy Scout leader, we haven't had to contend with "Pearl Islands" full of Eagle Scouts.

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E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com