ReviewI stand by my opinion. This is easily the most boring season of Survivor for me, and the hardest one to get through. I found the cast extremely unlikeable, and besides Jan and Helen I wasn't rooting for anybody else. Luckily both of them made it to the finale so I had people to root for the whole way. Usually a season either has an exciting pre merge, but lame post merge... or the opposite. This season I found it had both a boring Pre Merge and boring Merge. Obviously, like with every season, there were some highlights... but it was hard to keep myself invested through the whole season. Left also with a very unlikeable final 2 (I'd argue one of the most unlikeable final 2s in the history of the show).
AwardsPlayer of the Season: Brian
Hero of the Season: Helen
Villain of the Season: Brian
Rankings
Red = Hate, Yellow = Neutral, Green = Like, Blue = Love
16. Clay Jordan
I don't know what it was about this rewatch, but I couldn't stand Clay. Like I actually don't even know what about him I didn't like... but he seemed almost like a troll in a way, and even that I don't know how to describe why. He seemed sort of grumpy... and he was sort of also loud and obnoxious (not in a good way).
15. John Raymond
Keeping up with the early season first boots, yet another uninteresting, under edited one. The only thing I remember is him and Helen tricking the tribe about the water hole, which was kind of funny... but meh, no real opinion.
14. Jed Hildebrand
Typical guy who looks strong, but is lazy. Nothing memorable about him
13. Tanya Vance
Also unmemorable. Got sick... that's about it.
12. Erin Collins
Made it far but honestly didn't do much. First person to be a member of the jury without making the merge with is noteable. Very forgettable though.
11. Stephanie Dill
She was interesting in the typical "I'm doing more work than everyone else is doing" sort of way, but she didn't try to make it a big deal which was interesting. She was always the outcast on her tribe, so her boot episode was interesting in her trying to fit back in... but at the end of the day another unmemorable person.
10. Ken Stafford
He had some good moments. For the most part he was honestly a little bit boring, but his argument with Robb was entertaining, and also him being part of the whole Brian scheme to take Ted out thing... and his jury speech brings him up a bit.
9. Penny Ramsey
It was cool because she was supposed to be the sweetheart of the season, but apparently she was more of a manipulator. Of course we didn't actually see her do any manipulating, and it was all based on what others said... but just to thing that our Colleen/Elizabeth character was actually a villain was kind of funny. But based on what was shown to us, she was boring.
8. Jake Billingsley
I forgot this guy even existed during the pre merge. And then the merge hits and he tries to play the game hard, with no luck. I don't know, I admire his attempts to try and stay in the game, but it kind of just looked desperate... although not sure what else he could have done in the situation he was in.
7. Ted Rogers, Jr.
The Ghandia incident was a bit much... but for the most part Ted was the more relaxed one of the Chuay Ghan alliance, and even though he was playing the game... he wasn't playing it as cutthroat as some of the others seemed to be. Probably why he was gone first of the alliance, but it was sort of nice to see a laid back player.
6. Ghandia Johnson
Entertaining? Yes. Loud? Yes. She was definitely memorable... and if it weren't for the whole grinding incident, she would honestly probably be way closer to the top of my list. But that whole thing was just uncomfortable to watch.
5. Brian Heidik
I appreciate what he offered as a gameplayer. But as a character he wasn't very likeable. I can't list one thing he did that I would classify as funny, likeable, or just all around positive. He was always seen to be pretty negative, and I said this last season for Zoe... Brian was very stone cold b*tch to me. He showed very little emotions. But I do have to give him credit, and I can't rank him lower because he did make the season more entertaining gameplay wise. So as a gameplayer I like him, as a character not so much.
4. Robb Zbacnik
Oh this guy. Not afraid to speak his mind, and got into arguments with basically everyone he met. This guy was entertainment. His feud with Shii Ann was good TV, and it was also nice to see them make up in his last episode. But yeah, Robb was fun to watch for his short time in the game.
3. Shii Ann Huang
I respect Shii Ann this season. She wasn't blatantly making people out to be racist... and she wasn't claiming to be a victim of racism. What she was saying was that because of how she grew up, and her culture, she was different from everyone and that made her feel like an outsider. Shii Ann was entertaining. She was not afraid to speak her mind, she was sarcastic, and had it not been for the fake merge she would have been the original Cochran.
2. Helen Glover
I understand the accusations of her not really doing much... but I love her character so much, and the moments she had were hilarious. Her and Jan getting lost trying to find the water, her and Ted on the massage reward. Yeah, she might not have done as much in the game as she could have, but every confessional, and every low key moment she had was entertaining.
1. Jan Gentry
This girl had me laughing through the whole season. Well, at least when she was showed. So many low key funny moments from her, like everytime a bottle of alcohol was involved and she's there stuffing it down her shirt. Or her pet cemetery. Or her counting the money from treemail with Clay getting pissed at her. Oh god, Jan was awesome. And her and Helen together are my favorite duo in Survivor history. Lots of entertainment.
Who Should Come Back
1. Jan
Yeah, this is never happening... but it would be so entertaining if she did.
2. RobbThis one I can actually see happening. I mean, it probably wont considering how this season is received, but still... it would be cool to see this guy after 14 years. I feel like he wouldn't be as entertaining, but still...
3. BrianOkay, I don't really want to see him return... but I have to put him here based on the fact that if he returned, he would be a strong gameplayer... and part of me wants to see how he would play the game with the new school twists involved.
Winner Rankings1. Richard HatchHe's iconic because he's the first winner, and to be fair he played a really, really good game considering it was the first season. He's strategic, and he was all around a really interesting character. I still rank him first because although he had some flaws, he did have a good mix of strategic and social game which the other winners either had a good social game (and terrible strategic game), or good strategic game (and terrible social game). Plus considering he had no other seasons to go off of I'd say it's a pretty impressive win.
2. Brian HeidikSome people will disagree with him being under Richard, and cool... I get it. The reason I place him her is because although Brian has a near perfect strategic game, and was able to have everyone do whatever he wanted... I feel his social game wasn't as strong. He pissed quite a few people off, and it really showed in the end. Not to knock him down at all, he played a very good game, and I understand why people have him ranked first... but for me there were flaws in the social game. And honestly, he just seems like a terrible person and I think his cast mates started to realize that.
3. Tina Wesson It's kind of nice to see the exact opposite from the first seasons winner. Richard was a strategic player, whereas Tina perfected the social aspect of the game. Sadly she wasn't as interesting, and honestly she wouldn't be as memorable as Richard.
4. Ethan ZohnHe's a very disappointing winner I think. He didn't really play that strong of a game and just seemed to be in the right alliance at the right time. He never really had any struggles, and pretty much just sailed right to the end. Also not much personality which drops him big time.
5. Vecepia ToweryIt was a toss up for last between her and Ethan. I feel like neither of them are very strong winners, but at least Ethan had a good alliance and in that sense he played a better game than Vecepia. Vecepia on the other hand lucked out a lot, and that's the only reason she made it to the end. There were so many moments where Vecepia was in trouble. One plus for Vecepia is she had personality. But yeah, the under the radar strategy just didn't do it for me.
Season Rankings1. MarquesasLike I've said before, I feel like this was the most exciting season of the early era in Survivor. So much going on constantly, whether it be strategy, overthrowing of the main alliance, or just the cast having fun. There were tons of power shifts and it was (at points) unpredictable. For some reason it holds up highly for me, and I always remember it as a good season. Seasons before this just had a boring tone to it... and I don't know what it was, but Marquesas had a more fun tone to it that made it enjoyable to watch. Plus some good game players... which were hard to come by on early seasons.
2. AfricaI really enjoyed this while rewatching it. I feel like everything was picked up a notch, and everyone was there to play the game. It felt a lot more real, and the danger of the survival element just seemed so much more threatening. The cast I also feel was a lot stronger than the first two seasons, and we get the first real twist in Survivor history which effected the game.
3. Australian OutbackI'm a little surprised by this, considering last round of rewatches I did, I definitely liked Borneo better. But this time, Borneo just felt really unbearable, and I actually got a little bit of enjoyment out of this season. Also a lot more memorable events happened in this season, and the survival element felt a lot more real. The strategic game I felt also really picked up this time around.
4. BorneoYeah, the cast was stronger in this season... but the editing, and the lack of strategy made it extremely difficult to watch. It had it's moments, but I feel like if I were to rank this one higher it would simply be due to it being the iconic first season. But yeah, I would much rather watch Australia than this one. The editing style also brings it down a bit.
5. ThailandDuring the rewatch I noticed that the season does have a few good moments, but that doesn't take away from how boring the season is as a whole. There were no outstanding moments in the season, no episode that really sticks out as "wow, this is good", and top it off with the most unlikeable cast in Survivor history. I think it deserves it's spot as ranked last on my list.