It’s the most wonderful time of the year- for television – because Survivor is premiering tonight for its 39th season. I don’t remember much about the year 2000, other than the fact that Y2K didn’t destroy us, but I do vividly remember what it was like watching Survivor debut on my television. In the year 2000, I was only 12 years old, but I was immediately captivated by the social experiment of being stranded on an island for 39 days with complete strangers, competing in physical and mental competitions for a chance at a one million dollar prize. I remember being completely immersed in the show, so much so that it was all I wanted to talk about. I recall buying magazines that featured articles interviewing and outlining the castaways, and keeping a scrapbook; yeah I totally did! Survivor was the first show of its kind and most people I know have at one point in their life, if they don’t still continue to do so, watched and enjoyed Survivor.
Over its 20 year run, Survivor has evolved and introduced a handful of twists keeping both the castaways and viewers on their toes and at the edge of their seats. Whether it’s multiple tribe swaps, an early merge, a late merge, no merge whatsoever, Exile Island, Redemption Island, Ghost Island, the Edge of Extinction, hidden immunity idols, medallions of power, stealing votes, extra votes, legacy advantages, larger juries, voting off jury members, drawing rocks at tribal or having to participate in fire-making challenges, something fascinating is always afoot when you tune in to Survivor.
While I could write an entire essay analyzing 39 seasons of Survivor, I thought it would be fun for me to give a list of 10 of my favourite Survivor seasons thus far; and yeah I say thus far because I hope there will be many more to follow. I also have incredibly high expectations for season 40’s All-Winners cast, and I cannot contain my excitement for that. For now, though, let’s revisit some really epic seasons of Survivor shall we? It should be noted that while I want to put these in ranking order, I continuously flip back and forth on where a few of these would rank in my list. Thus, I have listed them instead in chronological order.
Survivor Borneo (Season 1)
You cannot have a list of Survivor season favourites without the season that started it all. I probably have rewatched this season more than 12 times since its original airing. It’s hard to be super critical of Borneo because it truly was the starting point of great seasons to come. Whether you like him or not, the level of masterful gameplay that Richard Hatch exhibited seemed leagues above the fellow contestants he was paired with; the way he was able to create the 4 person alliance of himself, Rudy, Sue and Kelly was fascinating. Sure, alliances are standard for Survivor play these days, but with no point of reference on what it meant to play and win Survivor, Hatch did a lot of things right. Borneo was the first opportunity for the audience, and those playing, of course, to figure out what exactly it meant to survive; how do you outwit your competitors, how do you outplay them, and with those two questions answered, you would surely outlast them to get to the end of hopefully win that cash prize and title of sole survivor. Borneo answered many questions for us too, for instance, no, it’s not an effective strategic idea to avoid hurting your tribemates feelings by casting your vote alphabetically, Sean – what were you thinking! – oh and if you’re going to decide by the final 6 that you won’t work with your alliance anymore, you best not pout around the island after telling them, KELLY! Honestly, I could go on and on about the highs and lows of this season, Snake and Rat tribal speech, anyone? But I’ll leave this point by saying that Borneo gave us the bones of what would evolve into many wonderful and masterful seasons of Survivor to come; oh and we got Rudy and Sue out of this season, so that’s a win in my books!
Survivor: The Australian Outback (Season 2)
Two seasons in, and Survivor was already changing the rules; this season saw contestants playing for 42 days instead of 39. The contrast of location from Season 1 and 2 made Survivor the Australian Outback that much more exciting. The landscape of the outback was visually appealing, and seeing the contestants try to adjust to the elements brought a whole different experience from Borneo. Memorable moments include Mike Skupin killing the pig and later falling into the fire and having to be medically evacuated, the water bucket weights challenge, Jerri falling in love with Colby (I mean, who didn’t), the forest fire and later flooding of the camps, and the relationships of Roger and Elizabeth and Tina and Colby. More so than Season 1, The Australian Outback definitely intensified the survival aspect of the whole Survivor concept; the contestants were really at the mercy of the natural elements. It was here where we learned that past votes would affect your fate in the result of a tie, as we witnessed with Jeff Varner’s exit. I can’t mention this season without pointing out the incredible individual immunity run by Colby, with 5 individual immunity wins; a record that hasn’t been broken since, but has been matched by a select few contestants. All in all, this was a great season that surely holds up after all these years.
Survivor Pearl Islands (Season 7)
This season took the term Survivor to the next level; based on pirate culture and featured castaways actually having to bargain and deal in a local market for various items for their tribe. It goes without saying, this element was really fun, as you saw a new element of the game be introduced. Of course, the casting this season is quite iconic as well. Here, we met Johnny Fairplay with his dead grandma stint, Rupert the loveable tye-dye wearing modern-day pirate, as well as the future Queen of Survivor herself, Sandra! This season also gave us the Outcast twist, which saw the first six eliminated contestants return as a tribe to compete in a challenge against the other tribes. If this Outcast tribe was able to beat both tribes in the challenge, they would have the opportunity to vote 2 of their own back into the game and forcing the other tribes to go to council. Of course, the Outcasts prevailed, and we saw Burton and Scout Leader Lillian return with resentment of course. Long story short, and spoilers ahead, but Lillian would manage to get herself to the final tribal council. If you haven’t watched this season yet, please do so -it isn’t without a bit messiness, Osten is pretty miserable to watch- but keep your eye on Sandra from the beginning and it’s easy to see how her unmatched strategic play truly had her outwit and outplay and outlast everyone else. For the first time in 7 seasons, I truly felt that Pearl Islands had the most diverse cast when it came to personality styles. There were also many moments here that I still hold dear to my heart; Sandra dumping the fish, the not-so-dead Grandma, the outcast twist, and some really fun challenges. Truth be told, it is my second favourite season of Survivor, ever.
Survivor: Palau (Season 10)
The first time that Survivor ever started off with 20 castaways was in Palau, and honestly this season had a lot of new things working for it; the tribe started off all together, then had to select their own tribes- but two people would be immediately eliminated from the game without getting voted out. Here, you saw two sides of the coin, an older lady by the name of Wanda was eliminated on this Day 2 twist, but so was Jonathan, your typical brawny-type casted player. What was really memorable about this season was the Ulong losing streak (the tribe lost every immunity challenge) and a merge never even happened because the tribe dwindled down to just Stephanie and Bobby-Jon, to which Stephanie ended up joining Koror because she won the firemaking challenge. These two contestants were also very likable and watching them fight to outlast the other was not only memorable, but hard to watch as you wanted both of them to play on. This season also featured really fun challenges, and the fact that Koror never went to tribal and spent so many days with the exact same people, never even having a tribe swap made for that little extra flare. The final immunity challenge went on for over 12 hours, and one of the most memorable of all seasons. In addition, Tom Westman was a really likable and deserving winner who was a true tribe leader fulfilling the components of outwit, outplay, outlast perfectly. In addition, Tom would tie Colby with the most individual immunity wins with 5.
Survivor: Tocantins (Season 18)
Without doubt, this season brought us the highest number of memorable players to ever come from a single season. JT, Stephen Fishbach, Tyson, Coach and Taj; all of which have returned to play at least once (with the exception of Taj). These castaways were incredibly amusing to watch because honestly, their personalities (especially Coach and Tyson) made for amazing entertainment; and the BFF bond between JT and Stephen is what survivor dreams are made of. What I enjoyed about this season was another great twist right at the beginning; one member from each tribe voted to not trek to the camp, but instead of being “voted” out, they would get an advantage and be flown to the camp and get extra time to either set up the site OR search for an immunity idol. Exile Island was also back in play this season. For the first time in a long time, the final two of JT and Stephen made for a win-win situation; regardless of who was going win, you were satisfied with the result. Unfortunately, Stephen’s poor performance at final tribal, coupled with how incredibly likable JT was to everyone on the jury allowed for a unanimous vote of 7-0. Some of the memorable things about this season were the unique scenery/landscape, exile island, Coach and his stories, Sydney- and her relationship with everyone on the tribe, the Survivor auction, and the final immunity challenges.
Survivor: Heroes vs Villains (Season 20)
The reigning and undisputed BEST SEASON OF SURVIVOR EVER. Yep, I said it. A two hour season premiere, a PERFECT cast of players who were iconic and legendary each in their own way and in so many ways. The division of tribes into the Heroes and Villains categories saw an extra bit of character added to the social game play, as it seemed the actions were heightened by these categories; villains doing extra villany things, heroes burdened by the title of hero when they wanted to act a little less heroic and a little more greedy. It was SO difficult to choose who to root for this season, apart from Sandra of course, because when you’re given the option to choose Sandra Diaz-Twine, you always chose Sandra Diaz-Twine. What was extra special about this season was the fact that many players got some redemption, in that their gameplay improved immensely, and honestly they were just far more likable this time around; Jerry from Australia and Courtney from China are the best two examples of this. Once again, Sandra proved why she is the survivor queen, with all the drama of trying to get the Villains to vote out Russell, then trying to get the heroes to vote out Russell, and then ultimately beating him and Parvati in the end; making her the only ever 2x winner. Honourable mentions of great moments also include the Boston Rob and Russell rivalry, Tyson voting himself out due to paranoia and misinformation, JT giving Russell the immunity idol, Parvati playing two immunity idols while having her own immunity for herself. Oh, and remember when Sandra burned Russell’s hat? I swear she is the ICONIC and LEGEND of Survivor. I’ve rewatched this season more than any other, and will continue to watch it with as much joy and amusement as it’s air date of February 2010. There are too many good things about this season, it could have it’s own blog post!
Survivor: Philippines (Season 25)
The three tribe format and the return of some medical evacuated contestants, this season of survivor was another great one with a solid cast. It goes without saying, but having Jonathan Penner – the one and only – return was immensely entertaining. Usually, I am not the biggest fan of seasons with minimal returnees mixed with new castaways, but one cannot resist Jonathan Penner, and I think we all had high hopes on a Michael Skupin return – yeah I said HAD – that turned out to be a downer. It was a fascinating and intriguing twist to see how these former medically evacuated contestants would fair with another chance. However, Philippines introduced us to some incredible players: Denise, Malcolm (swoooooooooooon), Jeff Kent, and one of the biggest and most infuriating female villains of all time, Abi-Maria. Yes, I included Abi here because despite how annoying it was to watch her rude behaviour and questionable social skills, she made for entertaining television and really had you jumping for joy and breathing huge sighs of relief when she finally did get the boot. This was a three tribe format that I actually enjoyed watching. Similar to Stephanie and Bobby-Jon, Denise and Malcolm were on the tribe that lost the most, and you didn’t want to see either of them go; they attended every tribal council, and when they survived and thrived at the merge, everyone rested easy. Who can forget the tears when Malcolm got voted out, only to send off with what we all needed and wanted to hear, that Denise was going to win the game. A big part of what made this season so fun was the game play, location, and honestly, Denise was a very deserving and likeable winner; one we’d be happy to see play again.
Survivor: Blood vs Water (Season 27)
The idea of bringing returning players with their loved ones worked well as a theme because you’re taking a tribe of players who know the game, and a tribe who is new to it, yet the returning players have far more invested in those newbies on the other side; they were forced to think about the other tribe in a new way. Similar to Heroes vs Villains, some players here had a reputation-redemption; particularly Monica Culpepper, who also graced us with the wonderful Brad Culpepper- who later on would have his own redemption- but Monica shined as a challenge beast. Several memorable moments from this season include Ciera voting out her mom Laura, Rupert taking Laura’s place on Redemption Island within the first few minutes of the game, the intense rock vote that saw Katie (Australian Outback winner Tina’s daughter) leave the game, a few really great duels on Redemption Island, and yes, Tyson was a really great winner who’s strategy and motivation to win for Rachel (who was an early boot and voted out as a tactic to try to weaken Tyson’s ability to play the game strategically) coupled with his great social game and strong alliance with Monica and Gervase allowed him to rise above the rest. It should be mentioned too that this was in itself, total redemption for Tyson after his quick exit in Heroes vs Villains; at least in my opinion.
Survivor: Cambodia (Season 31)
For the first time, this season featured 20 returning contestants chosen by the viewers through an online vote. The anticipation of seeing who was selected was exhilarating. The cast was revealed on finale night and it didn’t disappoint; Tasha and Spencer, Jeremy, Keith Nale, PG, Terry Deitz, Kass, Stephen Fishbach, Kimmi Kappenberg, just to name a few! A fun twist saw hidden immunity idols appear at challenges rather than back at camp; another level of suspense. This season also featured increasing tribes, from two to three, and a merge at 13 players. What stands out the most about this season, is the intensity to which the players hustled; you could really see how hard the players were fighting for that second chance – as though they didn’t want to let down those fans who voted them back onto the show. With the true “fan favourites” and several twists and hidden surprises, Cambodia was very satisfying and refreshing for a show that was already more than 15 years old.
Survivor: Ghost Island (Season 36)
Memorable in many ways, Ghost Island was another breath of fresh air in a long timeline of Survivor twists. For the first time, a secluded location held mementos and props from previous seasons of Survivor, with the potential of aiding current players by giving power to old idols, advantages or twists that contestants would have the opportunity to gain. Not to sound like a skipping record, but another great selection of contestants made this season even more memorable. Wendell and Dom who not only were what Survivor BFF dreams are made of- move over JT and Stephen- but also made history by having the first ever tie at final tribal, forcing the 3rd final tribal member, Laurel to cast the winning vote to break the tie. There were so many instances when you were on the edge of your seat during this season; literally to the last final vote. Other memorable cast members included Chris, Michael, Sebastian, Donathan, and B-listers who still made for compelling television because of how they interacted with the A-list characters. What was really awesome about this season was seeing iconic Survivor items from the past also get a second chance to be played; it was a great way to instill Survivor nostalgia through a new batch of castaways because we all love those jaw-dropping advantage or idol play fails. In a way, Ghost Island was the Redemption Island but for Survivor items. Right? LOL
Well, what are your thoughts? Do you agree with my list? What season is missing that is your favourite? In case you couldn’t tell, I rather enjoyed this post and will definitely write about Survivor again. Happy Survivor Premier Day! Cheers to another 40 seasons.
Five Feet High Thoughts 