Template:Contains Indic text Template:Infobox Television Survivor Survivor: Thailand was the fifth installment of the popular United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed in the summer of 2002 and aired from September 19, 2002 - December 19, 2002 on CBS. It was set on the island of Ko Tarutao in Thailand. Fourteen episodes aired weekly. The two initial tribes were Chuay Gahn (Thai: ช่วยกัน "to help one another") and Sook Jai (Thai: สุขใจ "happy heart" ). They eventually merged into the Chuay Jai tribe. On December 19, 2002, Brian Heidik defeated Clay Jordan by a vote of 4-3 to become the sole survivor.

The season introduced several new gameplay twists. The first occurred on Day 1, when the two eldest contestants, Jake Billingsley and Jan Gentry, were each given the power to pick their own tribes. This was the first time in Survivor history that the two initial teams were not preselected by the producers. The second was an offer of mutiny: each of the twelve remaining contestants were given the chance to leave their tribe and join the other if they wished. No one took the offer (the twist was re-used in the later season Survivor: Cook Islands, that time successfully).

The major twist of the season was the "fake merge": when only 10 players remained, the usual time for a merge, the two tribes moved onto one beach, with a feast awaiting them. The two tribes took this to mean that they were merging, and Shii Ann Huang attempted to use this to her advantage by openly trying to ally herself with the "former" opposing tribe. At the next challenge they attended, however, the two tribes were informed that they were living on one beach, but were not merged. This backfired on Huang as her tribe lost the Immunity Challenge, and she was voted off for her excessive scheming.

Jeff Probst stated that he was not fond of the season, going as far as calling it his least favorite. He described the season as mean-spirited and marred with hostility and ugliness, even calling Brian, Clay, Helen, and Jan the "the least likeable final four ever." [1]

This season is somewhat infamous for the so-called "Grindgate" incident, in which Ghandia Johnson accused Ted Rogers of grinding into her without her permission while they were both partially asleep on Night 6. The scandal created drama and friction at the Chuay Gahn camp, eventually leading to Ghandia's elimination. Johnson later apologized for her handling of the situation, however, Rogers did admit to the grinding.

Shii Ann was the only representative of Thailand to appear as a contestant on Survivor: All-Stars, where she placed 6th.

Contestants

The Total Votes is the number of votes a castaway has received during Tribal Councils where the castaway is eligible to be voted out of the game. It does not include the votes received during the final Tribal Council.

The game

In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.

Elimination notes

• John - John created friction with several tribe members early, seen as the self-proclaimed leader of the Chuay Gahn tribe. Additionally, his joke about the water source being a swamp was not well-received. He was ultimately voted out 6-1-1.
• Tanya - Tanya was noted several times as being well-liked, even being dubbed "the favorite of the tribe" by fellow contestant Helen. However, her illness detracted strongly from her contribution to the group, and she was eliminated 5-2.
• Jed - Jed and Stephanie emerged early on as loners, choosing to worry more about water and fire than the group's main focus, shelter. Jed's devotion to this, as well as his exclusion from the majority alliance, led to his 5-3 elimination.
• Ghandia - Ghandia was perceived as being very weak in challenges, as well as divisive at camp (she wanted Clay out by the means of a women's alliance). She was also the self-claimed "victim" of the "Grindgate Scandal". The women's alliance was not to be for Helen sided with the men in voting Ghandia out 4-2.
• Stephanie - Stephanie faced continued isolation from her early relationship with Jed. Despite the offer to jump tribes, Steph stayed with Sook Jai, and was the next to go by a 5-2 vote.
• Robb - The sole remaining outcast from Sook Jai's majority alliance, Robb's personality was perceived as abrasive by many. His consumption of the tribe's bananas raised some controversy, while his later epiphany during a wine-drinking night raised some deep thought. Despite this, he was voted out 5-1.
• Shii Ann - The tribes were told they would be living together on the same beach, given similar conditions to the previously typical merge. On the lowest rung of her alliance, Shii Ann jumped to the other team when they began living together. Ultimately, she was informed the tribes had not actually merged, but merely lived together. Sook Jai lost immunity again, and in spite of a very hard-fought plea against Penny, she left 4-1. For her botching this merge, Shii Ann was nominated in 2006 for having made the "Biggest Mistake In Survivor History" , as well as "Most Disliked"[2]
• Erin - When Sook Jai lost yet another Immunity challenge, it came down to the core four of the tribe. Penny offered the opportunity to let "the one" to know he or she was leaving, but Erin did not want to do so, believing the vote to be for Ken. Erin was blindsided, but left in good spirits after a 3-1 vote.
• Ken - Following the merge, Ken was the first of the minority Sook Jai original tribe members to go, deemed a physical threat.
• Penny - Seen as manipulative and unpredictable, Penny was chosen as the next to go, despite her own maneuvering to get Jake out before herself. She was voted out 4-2-1.
• Jake - The final member of Sook Jai, he did all that he could to arouse suspicion within the solid alliance, including his presentation of what he believed to be the Chuay Gahn chopping order. The final two, he claimed (correctly, as it turned out) would be Clay and Brian. Despite his pleas, he was sent home 5-1.
• Ted - Seen as a threat in the final physical challenges, Ted was the target for many of the remaining members. Brian also became upset with his "longtime ally" for chatting with Helen in the sand. Ted was voted out 4-1.
• Helen - Helen was generally perceived as being well-liked amongst the jury members. Jan told Clay and Brian that she'd seen Ted and Helen writing in the sand with a stick when they thought the others weren't watching. Thinking Helen had been making plans with Ted, he got Clay and Jan to vote Helen out in a 3-1 vote.
• Jan - On the fringe of the dominant alliance for most of the game, Jan was persuaded to join Brian and Clay in the Final 3, likely because she was not seen as a challenge threat. This proved true when she was the first to concede in the final challenge, Clay following soon afterwards. Jan was voted out by Brian, presumably because she was considered more likable than Clay.
• Clay - Clay battled accusations of laziness, duplicity and racism at the heated final tribal council. He won the votes of 3 Sook Jai jurors (Ken, Penny & Erin).
• Brian - In spite of some anger from Ted and Helen, he won four votes, from the three Chuay Gahn jurors (Ted, Helen & Jan) and Jake. He never had a single vote cast against him during the game, despite being a strong physical competitor and playing both sides.

Voting history

External links

• Official CBS Survivor Thailand Website