It was requested, so here it is.

I've wondered if anyone else has experienced this: I remember S1 vividly, as well as Outback. But even though I watched every season, I retained nothing of Tom's, Kathy's, Lex's (etc.) seasons.

Did it start sldfjljmmmemning together for anyone else?

Oh hell yes it did! I remember people, but really don't remember what season they were on or what team they were on with who. It's all just a big blur.

As I learned in my psychology class, this kind of thing happens a lot. The first couple of whatever it is are assigned "primary" spots in your memory, while the newer ones are assigned "recent" spots. Everything in the middle just fades.

Because I got all shirty about Survivor 1's enormous popularity I didn't see one second of it. But I figured I'd watch the first episode of Survivor Australia -- because I'd been to Australia and knew the scenery would be nice -- and by the time Tribal Council (or "Tribal" as they seem to call it now) came around I was totally, irrevocably hooked (damn you, MB!) and have missed only episode since. I know Africa came next, but I'll be switched if I could put the remaining seasons in the correct order or even name them all.

Hmm...

S1 has actually faded considerably from my memory. I couldn't even remember the very existence of Gretchen, and all I have of Joel is a single photo of him rowing.

S2, because of Evil Jerri and Eviler Tina, remains fresher in my mind.

Watching Lex get skinnier, scalier, and more bloodthirsty was what kept S3 cool for me. But yeah, there was a bit of "dull sameness" about it.

I only saw a couple half-episodes of S4 and S5. I only remember Sean's radio program, S5 John's spectacular first-boot, and Shii Ann. Nobody really talked about Survivor.

S6, I only saw the half episode when Christy was booted, and, well, although that's all I remembered, I had this feeling that the excitement was coming back.

Then there was S7. That felt right, felt fun, felt interesting. I'm going to remember that one.

So, although the first and the last remain in one's mind, I think it actually does have something to do with the relative strengths of each season.

I have strong memories of the first season, Marquesas, Amazon, Thailand and Pearl Islands. I have only vague recollections of Africa and Australia, even though a disproportionate number of ASS players (8 out of 18) come from those two seasons. I remember the players very well, but I can't visualize their camps or the challenges or the less interesting players. Maybe it has something to do with the beach setting being more memorable than dry, dusty settings?

I'm another who can barely remember the first season, but have vivid memories of Australia, because it featured some of the most vivid action, ever. (finger-waving, pig-hunting, sel-immolation, and that first and most awesome brute strength challenge where Mike was gnashing his teeth as the bamboo rod with hundreds of pounds of weight broke across his back) After that, it was same crap/different location for Africa, Marquesas and Thailand and those three seasons blend.

It was only with the franchise saving desperation of the battle of the sexes twist of Amazon and the high-concept pirate theme of Pearl Islands that the players started showing signs of life again.

The brute strength challenge in Australia was great but that season also had the single best challenge ever, for me: The pole-standing challenge. They always do the endurance challenge but lately it's been something that can't be maintained for too long or there's dealing and backstabbing. But the change over the course of 10 (!) hours from jumping around and joking to the grizzled, haggard looks on Tina and Keith's faces as they perched on those posts was what the game is all about: How bad do you want it?

Or Alicia finally giving out and not being able to win it. That was the last time the game could be played in its original format, and it was a good follow up to the original season.

My ranking of the seasons, from worst to best, with the tribe names to jog peoples' memories:

All Stars (Chapera, Saboga, Mogo Mogo, Chaboga Mogo): It was nice not having to spend the first couple episodes just getting to know everybody. Unfortunately, that's the best thing I can say about it. Horribly predictable and dull from beginning to end, with way too much food as well.

Africa (Samburu, Boran, Moto Maji): It had the least amount of survival stuff. Since the local wildlife was off-limits, the producers actually had to give the contestants all of their food. Also, Brandon the walking gay stereotype really got on my nerves after a while.

Thailand (Chuy Gahn, Sook Jai, Chuy Jai): Only Robb and Shi Ann kept me awake during much of this season, the most memorabel part of which was the least creative merged tribe name the show will ever have. The over-reliance on puzzle challenges was another turn-off.

Borneo (Tagi, Pagong, Rattana): I loved it at the time, but since then it's far been upstaged. The lack of plotting from many of the contestants makes it kind of dull now.

Marquesas (Rotu, Maraamu, Soliantu): It may have had the most forgettable winner, but this season was a great comeback after the lows of Africa. For the first time the tribes were completely reliant on their surroundings for food and water, and it was great fun after the overly simplified "survivals" that had come before.

Austraila (Kucha, Ogakor, Barramundi): A marked improvement over season one, with lots more actual survival stuff (the big storm is the biggest real survival moment in the show's history). The experiment of extending the game three days was a big mistake, though.

Amazon (Tambaqui, Jabaru, Jacare): Plenty of scheming and plotting, and the constantly shifting alliances, mostly due to Rob's machinations, made this a highly enjoyable season and the best up to that point. Only the final outcome stopped me from ranking it first.

Pearl Islands (Drake, Morgan, Balboa): To date the best overall season, IMO. Full of people you loved and people you hated, some of whom even switched over the course of the season. All that, plus an outcome that was actually satisfying did much to bring back my faith in the show after the calamity of the Amazon finale.

Let's see.... I'm glad this board exists, especially since All-Stars is on.

Rank of seasons watched: (did not watch Africa and Pearl Islands)

1. Marquesas (Neleh and Paschal switching to Sean and Vee, the end of Rotu four, the purple rock)
2. Borneo (Richard, Rudy, Sue... gruff outspoken folks who didn't give a damn, what more could you want?)
3.Amazon (Rob C, that's enough for me, the antics of Heidi and Jenna, Matt)
4. Thailand (BOOORING!!!! Brian dominated the whole game, not enough personalities, Grindia bugged)

I didn't watch Africa because I watched the first 10 minutes and they already started scheming (I didn't even know who the hell they were) and I turned it off. I guess my gut was right.

I didn't watch Pearl Islands at first because I was mad about Jenna winning over Matt in Amazon, but I started reading the boards again and you guys made it sound real good. I bet if I watched it all that it would have been ranked #1, but I didn't, so it would've been unfair.

Eegah I agree with your rankings of the worst four Survivors, especially that, in light of what transpired afterwards, that Borneo really was kinda snoozy, but I rank Australia higher than Amazon in entertainment and as tied with or better than Pearl Islands. It didn't have any gimmicks, but it had stellar personalities that drove it the whole time. It dragged a little in the mid-section when Colby was winning everything and Kucha was getting pagonged, but it did feature the "most satisfying boot EVAH." (That held until Stupert got the boot, which was eventually replaced by many when Burton got the second boot.)

Since there isn't a thread for stupid questions and I don't really feel like starting one I'm putting this here.

I only watched the first 2 Survivors but All Stars has sucked me back in.

What was the order? I know Borneo, Australia, Africa, then? until Pearl Islands. I watched a couple of Pearl Islands episode.

Also, who won each one? Again, I know Rich, Tina, Ethan then? until Sandra. I know Jenna won one but I don't know which one. Thanks folks!

ETA: I just found the stupid questions thread, it's called FAQ, sorry about that and thanks anyway.

I watched Australia and was obsessed. I would spend all my time thinking about it, making spreadsheets about who voted for who, etc. It was sad.
I watched 2 or 3 Africas, but was too mentally exhausted from Australia to keep watching.
I was hooked back by All-Stars, and love it, although the spreadsheets have not returned (yet?)

benthorot, since Australia, CBS.com has had a spreadsheet-style chart available. For example, here's the Africa chart, and here's the All-Star chart. I remember in the early seasons having to refer to that chart because they didn't show all the votes during the credits.

I figure that this is a good place to mention the Survivor 1 DVD boxset. According to TVShowsonDVD.com, the official release date has been set for May 11.

Ranking them is tough. I didn't see the original one (thought I was above it; I was sooo wrong) and Africa (too frazzled at the time, couldn't deal; you know what I'm talking about). But for the rest (roughly from worst to best)

Marquesas - Worst is relative, since I've loved them all. The outcome was pure BS but there was great stuff along the way: The Robfather and Sean; Sean's incredible improvement without the Robfather, Kathy learning the game about half-way through (one of the best audience surrogate players I've seen). Plus a strong alliance committing suicide though unnecessary smugness. It was good.

Thailand - Again, as far as bad goes, it was pretty damn good. Some were bored by Brian's domination but we were lovin' it. He wrote the book. He somehow made it so that everyone else in the game was working as hard as possible to make sure that he won. How'd he do it? I have no frickin idea. His only panic moment: The video of his wife bragging about their matching BMWs or whatever. Bet he wished he lost that reward.

Pearl Islands - We were off the Rupert love train from day one and his ouster was classic. The development of Johnny Fairplay was just too damn entertaining. How could you not love that? And Sandra's "anyone-but-me" attitude was so great. Darrah was a hoot too and her sour parting words were hilarious. Great season.

Amazon - Rob's incredibly dangerous defensive strategizing was nailbiting to watch. I swear if he'd had an afternoon to work on Jenna he'd have convinced her to take him to the final two. He was amazing. Outcome was only "eh" but Rob made the show riveting.

Australia - What can I say? The hand-burning incident that sank an entire tribe, the moaning about chocolate cookies, the flood, the mushy rice, the pig killing, Elizabeth and Rodger (and Rodger offering himself up ahead of Elizabeth because she needed the chance more than him), Kimmi's big mouth killing Jeff weeks after she was gone, the unbelievable Jerri ouster, and (as I mentioned in another thread) the best immunity challenge ever: Standing on top of poles surrounded by water for 10 hours. This season was absolutely incredible television. I wish I'd seen the original so I could have appreciated how far it had developed by Australia. Just awesome.

Damn, now I wish CBS would show some marathons of past seasons.



Great description of Kathy in Marqueses. It does seem like a long time ago - on ASS I want very much want her to lose badly - but I was really rooting for her back in the day.

I have never had anyone I've wanted to win actually win *or* get to 2nd. For me, the best all have someone to root for in 3rd.

Best seasons:
Rudy/1st Season, Kathy/Marqueses, Rob C./Amazon

2nd tier:
Lex/Africa (liked him but too scary)

Not Best:
Jon/Pearl Islands, Jan/Thailand, Keith/Australia

But, like cinemagotham, I've enjoyed every season & it's all relative.

Hi, I hope I am following protocol. Someone (o.b.) in the Survivor Media thread said this:



I looked for a thread on that season, having not watched it, but I don't see one.

Would someone be kind enough to post what Elizabeth's question was? I'd love to know!

I guess I'm the only person who wasn't a big fan of Australia. Pre-merge was fantastic, but post-merge was a typical Pagonging, with only minor variations based on who Tina and Colby deemed most deserving to stay. The entire season was heavy with "good people deserve to play this game, and we, Tina and Colby, are in charge of determining what constitutes a good person, which is generally how subservient they will be to us, and also, we have deemed ourselves the best." That being said, Jerri's boot retains it's title of Best Boot Ever, despite challenges to her crown by Rupert, Burton, and Jon. And I've only been really satisfied with three winners, and Tina was one of them.

Africa suuuuuuucked. It featured one of the worst final four groups ever, the Pagonging was more routine than usual, and the surroundings were blah. Africa did manage to have one of the most entertaining casts though -- T-Bird, The Frank and Brandon Show, Playskool/Old Skool, Crazy Lex, Big Tom.

Everything that went wrong with Africa went wrong with Thailand, except that Thailand featured 16 boooooooooooring people, making it easily the worst season.

I loved Borneo, the casting has never been better than that, but plot-wise, the season doesn't hold up. It's just not that interesting, in retrospect.

Rob made the Amazon. It was just brilliant to see, for about 5 straight weeks, someone declare their ultimate, irrevocable power in the game right before going to TC to have their torch snuffed. I wanted Rob to win, but I also never liked Matt, so I wasn't crushed to see Jenna walk away with the million.

I lurve Marquesas; it's my second favorite season after Pearl Islands. The fall of the Rotu 4 (and John crying when he was voted out), Kathy's redemption (I'm trying not to let her current fall from grace taint that), Sean, the original Tribe of the Damned that became the Little Tribe That Could, and by far the most beautiful location yet.

I think the fact that The Rupert Show never sank Pearl Islands is a testament to how fantastic it is. If they dialed back the Rupert and were more honest about his personality, the season would have been that much better, but as it stands, it was just so good. There were so many storylines that were so perfectly poetic, they couldn't have been scripted better - the Outcast twist played out perfectly, tiny Darrah's immunity run, the fall of King Rupert, the girls' smackdown of Burton and Jon, Lill's brilliant triumph over Jon in the final IC and his subsequent boot, the most smug, arrogant jury ever having to face the least likely final two pairing ever - it was all just perfect.

javachik, Elisabeth's question was something like, "without giving any reasons why, which two members of the jury do you think least deserved to win the million dollars?" Tina said, "JERRI! . . . . . . . and Rodger" and Colby answered, "JERRI! . . . and Keith." I love Jerri now, but that was one of the funniest moments in any TC.

The following season, Brandon asked a similar question and Ethan answered, "well, you." Brandon became indignant and claimed he was changing his vote from Ethan to Kim as a result, but, really, how could he not have seen that answer coming?

Resmudge, thank you! I would have liked to hear reasons why as well, but it's a good question.

For me, Borneo is still the best because of the novelty. And I am one who liked Africa more than Australia, although in retrospect I remember much more of Australia and it did have more drama. Marquesas - kind of blah, Thailand was awful, absolutely my least favorite season of them all. Amazon was cool until the winner and Pearl Islands was high on my list too - especially after they got rid of Rupert.

Mostly, I like the game and hate the winners - Hatch and Ethan (at the time!) excepted. Although I must admit on reflection, Brian was the best winner. Hatch had an advantage that he was the only one that had a perception of the REAL game in his season. Brian didn't have that same advantage, yet manipulated an entire tribe the whole time. Still don't like him, but after seeing wins by V, Jenna and Sandra (who was likeable but blah to me), I can say for myself that Brian was the last winner that actively fought his way to a win instead of a lesser of two evils/at long as it's not me strategy that I don't care for despite its effectiveness.

My favorite season is S2. Top to bottom I felt Australia had the most memorable and entertaining players.

Australia was the first season I watched the whole way through. I thought it was entertaining and I was actually happy with a Tina win (something that wouldn't happen again until Sandra).



ITA with this. Watching Lex's transformation from normal, hardworking guy who everyone liked to foaming at the mouth paranoid was fascinating. And then there was Brandon and then Frank wearing skirts to Tribal Council...Kelly G's bizarre The Graduate-quoting voting...to me Africa's cast was the looniest. The only thing that ruined this season for me was the final 2 of Kim and Ethan. I wasn't a fan of either of them.

I loved Marquesas as well. I also agree with it being the most beautiful location ever. The good vs. evil pairings of Hunter/Gina vs. Rob/Sarah. The sudden Rotu power shift. Crazy yet lovable Kathy. Once again for me, the final 2 ruined it

I thought Thailand was the worst. There was no way anyone but Brian was going to win -- the only thing that redeemed this season for me was the jury who hated both Brian and Clay and didn't bother to disguise it.

Amazon was good until the winner was announced.

Pearl Islands was great. And for some reason I actually picked Sandra as the winner after a few episodes. I loved the jury for PI. They would calmly ask Sandra a question, grin at her answer and then turn on Lill.

I have enjoyed all of the seasons, some more than others, of course. My memories:

Borneo: I still remember the shock when Gretchen was voted off, and I actually realized what kind of game it was. Rats and Snakes!!

Australia: I will always wave my finger! Mike on fire. Colby throwing away the million so he could be a razor shill.

Africa: Lex's gut, Kelly getting screwed by Lex. Frank and Brandon.

Marqueses: Kathy going from worst to first (well, third actually). Grief over Gina leaving. "I need someone to pee on me". Blah winner and second place.

Thailand: Brian and the stupidity of everyone else. Stupid Robbbbbb getting stung by a ray and no one cared. Grindiagate. My least favorite.

Amazon: Heidi going from hot hero to zero. Recrap episode with maybe the best musical montage ever. RobC and some great interviews.

Pearl Islands: Rupert's downward plunge into annoying. Dead Granny.

ASS: Rupert's continuing downward spiral. Like turning to not-like (or hate in some instances) and vice versa or some contestents.

When will Survivor 9 start?

One thing I never understand is why everyone's focus is on the merge from day one. Wouldn't it be wiser to get your team there as intact as possible before splintering off into alliances? Is it really wise to boot a stong player who is beneficial to the team because of a personality issue? Would it be better to suck it up until the merge is very close?

I really hate this and how this has become assumed and the focus of gameplay immediately. MB needs to shake things up in the next edition and either do a merge early or late or not at all.

I loved S1 but have a totally different view of Hatch after the Rich/Sue incident in ASS. I loved Richard then, can't stand him now. Favorite Contestant (at the time): Tie: Richard, Sue, Sonja

S2 was a letdown after the great first season but I did like Maralyn and was pissed when she was voted off. Favorite Contestant: Maralyn

S3 was boring for me. It was starting to become rote. I'm remembering some kind of problems between the "young people" and the "older people." Boring. Favorite Contestant: Big Tom.

S4 with Boston Rob, Sean and Kathy brought it all back. Kathy definitely should've won. Favorite Contestant: Kathy

S5 had some characters. Ted. Ghandia. Brian. Clay. Jan. Helen. Chuay Ghan (sp?) was one of my all time favorite tribes. Favorite Contestant: Tie - Jan and Clay

S6 - Boys vs. Girls. Yawn. Stopped watching halfway through it. Favorite Contestant: Christy.

S7 - RUPERT! I was on the Galleon from the beginning and never left. Fairplay was obnoxious, especially with DeadGramma (tm somebody). However, Sandra was a deserving winner. I'll never forget her in the first episode, doing all of that negotiating. And who will ever forget LIL! Favorite Contestant: Rupert

S8 - Oh, the mighty have fallen. The series is just now getting good. The Rich/Sue episode was the franchise's lowest point, in my opinion. And Burnett's "Apprentice" is getting way more buzz. But the show is starting to hit its stride. Rupert is FUTR (at least compared to S7) and for awhile there I had left the Galleon. But I'm back. I hope the show is, too. Bring on S9 -- and fast!F Favorite Contestant: Tie - Rupert, Sue, Kathy

Just jumping on the whole Australian-Outback-was-the-greatest-Survivor-bandwagon. Such dramas... I still remember the beef jerky incident and the whole Keith can't cook rice complaints like it was yesterday. Another thing I remember is how much different Colby looked when they brought them from the Outback to the soundstage in America... how long was it between filming?

Funky Chook I believe they were filming the Outback season here till late in the year, about November I think, and the finale was in April, so it was about 4 - 5 months.

That transition from tape to live was very noticable. Mainly because of Tina. MB did it so much better the next year for Africa. Going so far as to get Ethan to start growing his beard back out to match. I remember saying it was live and my mother not agreeing until the crowd went wild. MB hasn't really repeated that level of quality on the switch until tonight's Boardroom switch.

I'm going to agree that Australia was the best season. Great challanges, and the best personalities ever. The only Survivor thus far where people remember the early booteees, like Kel, Maralyn, and Kimmi. Then there was Jerri (I loved her then, loved her more with ASS), Colby, Elisabeth, Alicia, Jeff, Rodger, and Tina. There's a reason that it has the most All-Star contestants (and to think, Jeff and Michael just barely didn't make it!)

BTW, I love the ASS, but they needed to pick better people AND spread around who made it (over ahlf are from Borneo/Australia/Africa, if I remember correctly). My teams (with 24 people: three from each Survivor plus 3 at large picks):

Mogo Mogo:
Tina
Ethan
Richard
Vecepia
Jenna M.
Sandra
Colby
Jake

Chapera:
Brandon
Big Tom
Rob M.
Rupert
Christy
Helen
Susan
Kathy

Saboga:
Rudy
Lex
Sean
Rob C.
Gretchen
Jerri
Shii Ann
Darrah

Good, no? BTW - I operating under the assumption that it's true that certain survivors said no to reappearing (Colleen, Gervase, Elisabeth, Rodger, Kim J., Jon, Brian, etc.)

Word to everyone that identified Australian Outback as the best season. That show had some of the most memorable and interesting personalities an d events (anyone up for beef jerky, soggy rice or roast pig?). That may be one reason why ASS has more people from that season than any other.

Survivor on DVD was mentioned in the current episode thread, and I thought I'd try to move it over here since this is a more appropriate thread

Pippins Apple posted this list of what is or will soon be available. (highlight mine)

From what I can tell from info on TVShowsonDVD.com, the Survivor 1 season set is 5 disks, and the 5th disk seems to be the compilation disk already released (the first one on the list above).

The box and disk art look really good. The 4 main disks have one picture each of the Final 4 from that season, with Richard getting the 4th disk, which contains the finale.

Spiffy.

I've always wondered when S1 would come out on DVD

I'm really in a quandary over whether to get it; it is an important part of television history (even being mentioned in Joe Garner's Stay Tuned) but it's also rather dull compared to the others since only Rich really understood that he had to scheme and plot to win.

Hey, I'd be happy to watch S1 even knowing who wins, as I didn't see it when it aired. I only saw the last half of S2, and S4 didn't air here at all, so I hope they release each complete season on DVD. There are many people who like me missed some seasons and would buy them.

And of course, the next thing I have to hope for, is that they are released here also, and not just in the US.

Count me amongst those who were not awed by Survivor: Australia. As someone else noted, pre-merge it was interesting, with Mad Dog, Ogakor as the Tribe of the Damned (pre-Morgan tribe), Jerri, waving fingers, and Mike falling into the fire. Post-merge, however, it was a snorefest.

The Powers That Be had to keep hyping Jerri because everyone else was so bland by comparison. Tina may have been cunning, but she was so FUTR that you didn't realize her cunning until later. Keith was dull. Colby was pretty, but meh. Amber was non-existent. Rodger and Elisabeth were sweet, but had no sizzle (and I don't mean that kind). Alicia was neutralized by the fact that she was stuck with such dull people, and was on the losing end besides.

By the final two-hour episode (which only had three people instead of four, if I recall), the people at the finale party I attended were snarking about how incredibly dull and filler it was. Compare that to the first Survivor finale, which had me riveted, between Rich letting go of the pole and letting Kelly and Rudy battle it out, and Sue with her "rat and snake" speech.

To me, twists or no, Pearl Islands was the best in terms of personality and drama, followed closely by Amazon.

The Australia season was one of my favorites, but I agree about the finale. That was the only season that went 42 instead of 39 days, and there was way too much "reflecting on the awesome Survivor experience" during the last three days. A two-hour episode devoted to watching Tina, Colby, and Keith "thinking" doesn't exactly make for riveting TV.

Which is probably why they did the 42 day thing only once. They didn't even expand it for All-Stars, when they had extra people.

I think Australia was great because you can actually remember things about the people voted out premerge. True, post-merge it was a controlled Pagonging, but I loved it when people got blindsided. Jerri never saw it coming. Colby and Amber didn't see Keith and Tina saving Rodger. Rodger telling them to vote him out before Elisabeth. It was wonderful. Plus, you actually liked the people in the final 5 (Rodger, Elisabeth, Tina, Colby, and Keith). No Jon's or Jenna M's around to make you hate the fact that they get a lot of money, even if it isn't a million.

BTW - I do realize that some people dislike Keith. I saw nothing wrong with him, and kinda got mad at Colby and Tina for trash talking him. I do, however, believe that if Tina had won immunity, she would have taken Keith over Colby. Just because she wanted to win. I think she had one of the best strategies ever in the non-merge years.

She stuck with two targets (Colby, who is strong, and Keith, who was apparently annoying). Rather than targeting her, people targeted those who were around her. I think Sandra had planned to use this too (Rupert=strong, Christa=annoying), but went with the brilliant 'as long as it's not me' strategy once Rupert was ousted.

Thanks SVNBob! I have been reading every old thread looking for something about the DVD's. I almost started a question thread, but I feared being booted. Thank God I looked here first!

They'll probably mention it a few times during the finale, since that occurs 2 days before the release date. And during the new "Best of" show afterwards.

Well, I have a question instead of a reflexion. I am not a Survivor scholar, like a lot of you are (remembering everything from every season, you guys amaze me!).

My question is about Survivor Africa. My memories about this particular season: lovey-dovey, everyone loves everybody, no one wants to stab anybody in the back, frienship and truth are more împortant than winning, I will not betray anyone, you deserve it as much as I do, I will be happy if you win, blah blah blah, boring (for me).

Was it really like that?

After seeing the entirety of All Stars, I rank it the worst season. My post on page one has been edited to reflect this.

I'm going to have to agree with you there, Eegah. This was a terrible season. Good idea on paper, but it turned out horribly boring and predictable. And how was it harder than any of the other seasons? They got free food all the damn time!

Hey could someone with a good memory give me a rundown of the final two for each season and who picked who? I was just wondering how often the person who won the final immunity lost the million.

Boreno: Kelly won and picked Rich.
Austrailia: Colby won and picked Tina.
Africa: Kim won and picked Ethan.
Marquesas: Neleh won and picked Vecepia.
Thailand: Brian won and picked Clay.
Amazon: Jenna won and picked Matthew.
Pearl Islands: Lil won and picked Sandra.
All Stars: Rob won and picked Amber.

Two challenge winners won the game, six didn't.

I absolutely agree, Eegah. I'll add that the icing on the cake that made this season by far the worst was the lack of intelligent game play by all but Rahmber.

Another thing missing this season was new and exciting challenges. All the challenges, by MB's own design, were repeats or variations on previous ones.

ETA: Add me to the "Survivor:Australia was the best" camp. The combination of a tough location, a myriad of interesting characters, lots of real drama, and a suspenseful finale add up to Reality TV at its best (except for TAR1-4).

1. Outback - The finale was probably the worst out of all the seasons, but the rest of the season was enjoyable from day one. The physical conditions really made it more "Survivor like". I also liked so many of the contestants that I would've been happy with several winning.

2. Pearl Islands - Sandra was the best winner. She didn't win like Brian or Rich; her strategy fit her. Love him or hate him, Jon was great television.

3. Amazon - Rob C. was sheer entertainment every week. The battle of the sexes created some new excitement for the show.

4. Marquesas - boring finale and winner, but an interesting group of characters; a lot of good pre-merge victims who could have made this an even better season.

5. Borneo - there were a lot of boring episodes, but the beginning and finale were brilliant tv.

6. Africa - hated the location but a fairly decent group of contestants

7. All- Stars : crap pretty much from day one. All of the interesting players got voted out too early. Voting out Jerri over Amber will probably go down as the stupidest move ever in Survivor history. Lex will go down as the biggest baby. Two episodes without tribal councils makes for bad tv. Rob was the only halfway interesting person after the merge, but it got boring watching him manipulate the "stupid, stupid, people." Too predictable.

I didn't watch enough of Thailand to judge. I liked the finale, but the players were boring.