This season’s “Survivor” (7 p.m., CBS) has taken a novel twist. For the first time, the “tribes” are so unevenly matched that the “Ulong” team is currently down to just one player, Stephenie LaGrossa.

In the past, losing tribes were merged with the more dominant group so players were not faced with uneven competitions, social isolation and the difficulties of gathering food and water with dwindling numbers. But this year, the makers of “Survivor” have allowed the show’s Darwinian struggle to unfold without a safety net.

But this latest twist demonstrates how “Survivor” remains the perfect game for our imperfect times. How many of us are just a paycheck or two removed from being the next Stephenie LaGrossa? Out of luck and on our own.

• On the other end of the compassion gap, Katie, 18, becomes the youngest recipient of the “Extreme Makeover” (8 p.m., ABC) treatment. Born with an extreme jaw deformity, the teen will be helped by a battery of experts. The show also focuses on heroic dental work for Nathaniel, 29, the first college graduate in his Kentucky family’s history who has been held back from professional advancement because of his bad teeth.

Tonight’s other highlights

• Time to blow out the birthday candles on “The O.C.” (7 p.m., Fox).
• A young woman (Katie Holmes, “Dawson’s Creek”) invites her dysfunctional family over for Thanksgiving dinner in the 2003 drama “Pieces of April” (7 p.m., Showtime), co-starring Patricia Clarkson (“The Station Agent”) and Oliver Platt (“Huff”).
• A morale boosting effort on “The Office” (7:30 p.m., NBC).
• Mold melts the muscles of a manly-man on “CSI” (8 p.m., CBS)
• Selling a very special car on “The Apprentice” (8 p.m., NBC)
• After her untimely death, an eccentric commuter asks Tru for help on “Tru Calling” (8 p.m., Fox).
• A psychic wanders off on “Without a Trace” (9 p.m., CBS).
• Scheduled on “Primetime” (9 p.m., ABC): an interview with former NYPD Commissioner (and controversial Homeland Security candidate) Bernard Kerik.