Survivor: Thailand
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Template:Infobox Television Survivor Survivor: Thailand was the fifth installment of the popular United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed during 2002 and aired from September 19, 2002 - December 19, 2002 on CBS. It was set in on the island of Koh Tarutao in Thailand. The two initial tribes were Chuay Gahn and Sook Jai. They eventually merged into the Chuay Jai tribe.
Fourteen episodes aired weekly. The winner, Brian Heidik, was announced on December 19, 2002.
This season was somewhat infamous due to 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. Ghandia later apologized for the accusations. The gameplay "twist" introduced for this season was that when there were 10 remaining players, the usual time for a merge, the two tribes were moved onto one beach, with a feast awaiting them. The two tribes took this to mean that they were merging, and Shii Ann attempted to use this to her advantage by openly trying to get allied with her "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 came to backfire on Shii Ann as her tribe lost the ensuing Immunity Challenge, and she was booted off for her excessive scheming.
Of the 16 contestants, only one, Shii Ann Huang, was selected as a participant on Survivor: All-Stars.
Thailand is considered one of the lesser Survivor seasons, being generally seen as dull, non-competitive, and lacking in interesting personalities.
Contestants
| Contestant | Original tribe | Merged tribe | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Raymond | Chuay Gahn | Voted out 1st - Day 3 | |
| Tanya Vance | Chuay Gahn | Voted out 2nd - Day 6 | |
| Jed Hildebrand | Sook Jai | Voted out 3rd - Day 9 | |
| Ghandia Johnson | Chuay Gahn | Voted out 4th - Day 12 | |
| Stephanie Dill | Sook Jai | Voted out 5th - Day 15 | |
| Robert Zbacnik | Sook Jai | Voted out 6th - Day 18 | |
| Shii Ann Huang | Sook Jai | Voted out 7th - Day 21 | |
| Erin Collins | Sook Jai | Voted out 8th - Day 24 | |
| Ken Stafford | Sook Jai | Chuay Jai | Voted out 9th - Day 27 |
| Penny Ramsey | Sook Jai | Voted ot 10th - Day 30 | |
| Jake Billingsley | Sook Jai | Voted out 11th - Day 33 | |
| Ted Rogers, Jr. | Chuay Gahn | Voted out 12th - Day 36 | |
| Helen Glover | Chuay Gahn | Voted out 13th - Day 37 | |
| Jan Gentry | Chuay Gahn | Voted out 14th - Day 38 | |
| Clay Jordan | Chuay Gahn | Runner-up | |
| Brian Heidik | Chuay Gahn | Sole Survivor |
Elimination Notes
- John Raymond - Voted out 6-1-1 due to being seen as too controlling, and not being able to make fire.
- Tanya Vance - Voted out 5-2 due to her illness.
- Jed Hildebrand - Seen as a loner, and outside of the tribe's dominant Jake/Penny/Erin/Ken/Shii Ann alliance. Voted out 5-3 when the leaders of Sook Jai threw a challenge to get rid of him.
- Ghandia Johnson - Very weak in challenges and extremely divisive in camp, and also the "Grindage" incident (See above). She was voted out 4-2.
- Stephanie Dill - Voted out due to isolating herself from the main alliance.
- Robb Zbacnik - The final person who was not in Sook Jai's main alliance.
- Shii Ann Huang - On the lowest rung of her alliance, Shii Ann jumped to the other team when they began living together. Too late she realized the tribes had not actually merged. Sook Jai lost immunity again, and in spite of an impassioned plea against Penny, she left 4-1.
- Erin Collins - Ken, Penny and Jake eliminated her, opting not to tell her she was going.
- Ken Stafford - When the teams finally merged, he was eliminated first due to his physical strength.
- Penny Ramsey - Axed due to being seen as too manipulative.
- Jake Billingsley - The last member of the Sook Jai team.
- Ted Rogers - Perhaps seen as a threat in the final physical challenges. Voted out 4-1.
- Helen Glover - Seen as too popular with jury members as well as a challenge threat.
- Jan Gentry - On the fringe of the dominant alliance for most of the game, Jan was persuaded to join Brian and Clay in the final 3 because Brian assumed she was not a threat for the final immunity challenge. He was right.
- Clay Jordan Clay battled accusations of laziness, duplicity and racism at the heated final TC. He won 3 votes - Ken, Erin and Penny.
- Brian Heidik - In spite of some anger from Ted and Helen, he won 4 votes - Helen, Ted, Jake and Jan. He never had a single vote against him during the game, while being a strong physical competitor and playing both sides.