Survivor: Thailand

Production
Production location(s)	Ko Tarutao, Satun Province, Thailand
Filming dates	June 10 – July 18, 2002
Release
Original release	September 19 – December 19, 2002
Chronology
Preceded by	Survivor: Marquesas
Followed by	Survivor: The Amazon

Survivor: Thailand was the fifth season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed in the summer of 2002 and was shown on TV from September 19 – December 19, 2002 on CBS. It was set on the island of Ko Tarutao in Thailand. There were fourteen episodes, one being shown each week. The season started with two tribes; an orange tribe, Chuay Gahn (Thai: ช่วยกัน "to help one another") and a purple tribe, Sook Jai (สุขใจ "happy heart" ). Later, they merged (combined) into one tribe, which the players named "Chuay Jai", made by mixing the names Chuay Gahn and Sook Jai. On December 19, 2002, Brian Heidik won against Clay Jordan by a vote of 4-3 to become the sole survivor.

The season had many new gameplay twists. The first happened on Day 1, when the two oldest players, Jake Billingsley and Jan Gentry, were given the power to pick their own tribes. This was the first time in Survivor history that the two starting teams were not chosen by the producers. The second was an offer of mutiny on Day 14, which means that the twelve players that were left could join the opposite tribe if they wanted to. No one took the offer. (The twist was used again during Survivor: Cook Islands, with two players switching tribes.)

The biggest twist of the season was the fake merge. When only ten players were left, the usual time for a merge, the two tribes moved onto one beach, with a feast waiting for them. The two tribes thought they were merging, and Shii Ann Huang tried to align herself with members of the other tribe. At the next challenge they went to, however, the two tribes were told that they were living on one beach, but were not merged yet. That day, Shii Ann's tribe lost immunity, and she was voted off.

Host Jeff Probst said that he didn't like this season, and called it his least favorite. He said the season was mean-spirited and had a lot of hostility and ugliness, even calling Brian, Clay, Helen, and Jan "the least likable final four ever."

Shii Ann was the only player this season to return in Survivor: All-Stars, where she placed 6th.

Players

Player	Starting tribe	Merged tribe	Finish	Total Votes
John Raymond 40, Slidell, LA	Chuay Gahn		1st Voted Out Day 3	6
Tanya Vance 27, Kingsport, TN	Chuay Gahn		2nd Voted Out Day 6	5
Jed Hildebrand 25, Dallas, TX	Sook Jai		3rd Voted Out Day 9	5
Ghandia Johnson 33, Denver, CO	Chuay Gahn		4th Voted Out Day 12	5
Stephanie Dill 29, Fayetteville, AR	Sook Jai		5th Voted Out Day 15	5
Robb Zbacnik 23, Scottsdale, AZ	Sook Jai		6th Voted Out Day 18	5
Shii Ann Huang 28, New York City, NY	Sook Jai		7th Voted Out Day 21	10
Erin Collins 26, Austin, TX	Sook Jai		8th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 24	3
Ken Stafford 30, Brooklyn, NY	Sook Jai	Chuay Jai	9th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 27	6
Penny Ramsey 27, Plano, TX	Sook Jai		10th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 30	5
Jake Billingsley 60, McKinney, TX	Sook Jai		11th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 33	7
Ted Rogers, Jr. 37, Durham, NC	Chuay Gahn		12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 36	7
Helen Glover 47, Middletown, RI	Chuay Gahn		13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 37	5
Jan Gentry 53, Tampa, FL	Chuay Gahn		14th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 38	5
Clay Jordan 46, Monroe, LA	Chuay Gahn		Runner-Up	3
Brian Heidik 34, Quartz Hill, CA	Chuay Gahn		Sole Survivor	0

The Total Votes is the number of votes a player got during Tribal Councils where the player is able to be voted out of the game. It does not count the votes they got during the final Tribal Council.

The game

Episode name	Date shown on TV	Challenges		Eliminated	Vote	Finish
		Reward	Immunity
"The Importance of Being Eldest"	September 19, 2002	None	Sook Jai	style="background:#FF4F00"|John	6-1-1	1st Voted Out Day 3
"The Great Divide"	September 26, 2002	Sook Jai	Sook Jai	Tanya	5-2	2nd Voted Out Day 6
"Family Values"	October 3, 2002	Chuay Gahn	Chuay Gahn	Jed	5-3	3rd Voted Out Day 9
"Gender Bender"	October 10, 2002	Sook Jai	Sook Jai	Ghandia	4-2	4th Voted Out Day 12
"The Ocean's Surprise"	October 17, 2002	Survivor Auction[1]	Chuay Gahn	Stephanie	5-2	5th Voted Out Day 15
"The Power of One"	October 24, 2002	Sook Jai	Chuay Gahn	Robb	5-1	6th Voted Out Day 18
"Assumptions"	October 31, 2002	None	Chuay Gahn	Shii Ann	4-1	7th Voted Out Day 21
"Sleeping with the Enemy"	November 7, 2002	None	Chuay Gahn	Erin	3-1	8th Voted Out Day 24
"Desperate Measures"	November 14, 2002	Brian	Clay	Ken	5-3	9th Voted Out Day 27
"While the Cats are Away"	November 21, 2002	Brian [Clay]	Helen	Penny	4-2-1	10th Voted Out Day 30
"The First 30 Days"	November 28, 2002	Recap Episode
"A Big Surprise... and Another"	December 5, 2002	Helen[2]	Ted[3]	Jake	5-1	11th Voted Out Day 33
"The Tides are Turning"	December 12, 2002	Ted [Helen]	Brian	Ted	4-1	12th Voted Out Day 36
"Slip Through Your Fingers"	December 19, 2002	None	Brian	Helen	3-1	13th Voted Out Day 37
			Brian	Jan	1-0	14th Voted Out Day 38
"The Reunion"	December 19, 2002	Jury Vote		Clay	4-3	Runner-Up
				Brian		Sole Survivor

If more than one tribe or player wins reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically if it was teamwork, or where one player won and invited others, the players they invited are in brackets.

^  For the first time, the players would be bidding for items as tribes. Sook Jai and Chuay Gahn each got $1000 in American money.

^  In a twist, the Survivors' family members competed in an insect food eating challenge to see their loved one. Helen's husband Jim actually won the challenge and he spent 24 hours at the Chuay Jai camp with her.

^  In another twist, the players and their loved ones competed for immunity. Ted and his younger brother Aljuan won thus earning Ted immunity.

Voting history

	Starting tribes								Merged tribe
Episode #:	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13		Reunion
Eliminated:	John 6/8 votes	Tanya 5/7 votes	style="background:#660099; color:white">Jed 5/8 votes	Ghandia 4/6 votes	style="background:#660099; color:white">Stephanie 5/7 votes	style="background:#660099; color:white">Robb 5/6 votes	style="background:#660099; color:white">Shii Ann 4/5 votes	style="background:#660099; color:white">Erin 3/4 votes	Ken 5/8 votes	Penny 4/7 votes	Jake 5/6 votes	Ted 4/5 votes	Helen 3/4 votes	Jan 1 vote	Clay 3/7 votes	Brian 4/7 votes
Voter	Vote
Brian	John	Tanya		Ghandia					Ken	Penny	Jake	Ted	Helen	Jan	Jury Vote
Clay	John	Tanya		Ghandia					Ken	Jake	Jake	Ted	Helen
Jan	John	Tanya		Clay					Ken	Penny	Jake	Ted	Helen			Brian
Helen	Clay	Tanya		Ghandia					Ken	Penny	Jake	Ted	Jan			Brian
Ted	John	Tanya		Ghandia					Ken	Penny	Jake	Jan				Brian
Jake			Jed		Stephanie	Robb	Shii Ann	Erin	Ted	Jan	Jan					Brian
Penny			Jed		Stephanie	Robb	Shii Ann	Erin	Ted	Jake					Clay
Ken			Jed		Stephanie	Robb	Shii Ann	Erin	Ted						Clay
Erin			Jed		Stephanie	Robb	Shii Ann	Ken							Clay
Shii Ann			Jed		Stephanie	Robb	Penny
style="background:#660099" text-align:left; color:white">Robb			Shii Ann		Shii Ann	Shii Ann
Stephanie			Shii Ann		Shii Ann
Ghandia	John	Helen		Clay
Jed			Shii Ann
Tanya	John	Helen
John	Ghandia

Survivor: Thailand Media

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  Brian Heidik 2009

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  The season was filmed on the island of Ko Tarutao in Thailand.

Other websites

• Official CBS Survivor Thailand Website