Survivor: Thailand (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Survivor: Thailand was the fifth installment of the popular United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed in 2002 and aired from September 19, 2002 - December 19, 2002 on CBS. It was set on the island of Ko 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 Shii Ann Huang was selected as a participant on Survivor: All-Stars. She was the 13th voted out and the 4th jury.

According to most Survivor watchers, Sook Jai got "Pagonged" because the final five were all Chuay Gahn members before the merge.

Thailand is considered one of the lesser Survivor seasons, being generally seen as dull, non-competitive, and lacking in interesting personalities. Jeff Probst himself stated that he was not fond of the season, going as far as calling it his least favorite. He described Thailand as a very mean-spirited season marred with hostility and ugliness, and even called Brian, Clay, Helen, and Jan the "The Least Likeable Final Four Ever."

Contestants

Contestant	Original 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 Zbacknik 23, Scottsdale, AR	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 61, McKinney, TX	Sook Jai		11th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 33	7
Ted Rogers, Jr. 36, 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 Game

	Challenges
Episode Title	Reward	Immunity	Eliminated	Vote	Finish
The Importance of Being Eldest	None	Sook Jai	John	6-1-1	1st Voted Out Day 3
The Great Divide	Sook Jai	Sook Jai	Tanya	5-2	2nd Voted Out Day 6
Family Values	Chuay Gahn	Chuay Gahn	Jed	5-3	3rd Voted Out Day 9
Gender Bender	Sook Jai	Sook Jai	Ghandia	4-2	4th Voted Out Day 12
The Ocean's Surprise	Survivor Auction	Chuay Gahn	Stephanie	5-2	5th Voted Out Day 15
The Power of One	Sook Jai	Chuay Gahn	Robb	5-1	6th Voted Out Day 18
Assumptions	None	Chuay Gahn	Shii Ann	4-1	7th Voted Out Day 21
Sleeping with the Enemy	None	Chuay Gahn	Erin	3-1	8th Voted Out Day 24
Desperate Measures	Brian	Clay	Ken	5-3	9th Voted Out Day 27
While the Cats are Away	Brian	Helen	Penny	4-1-1	10th Voted Out Day 30
A Big Surprise... and Another	Helen	Ted	Jake	5-1	11th Voted Out Day 33
The Tides are Turning	Ted	Brian	Ted	4-1	12th Voted Out Day 36
Slip Through Your Fingers	None	Brian	Helen	3-1	13th Voted Out Day 37
		Brian	Jan	1-0	14th Voted Out Day 38
The Reunion	Jury Vote		Clay	4-3	Runner-Up
			Brian		Sole Survivor

Elimination notes

• John Raymond - 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 Vance - Tanya was noted several times as being well-liked, even being dubbed "the favorite of the tribe" by fellow contestant Helen. Her illness detracted strongly from her contribution to the group, and she was eliminated 5-2.
• Jed Hildebrand - 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, lead to the purposeful loss of the immunity challenge, and a 5-3 elimination.
• Ghandia Johnson - Ghandia was perceived as being very weak in challenges, as well as divisive at camp. She was also involved in the "Grindgate" incident (see above). She was promptly voted out 4-2.
• Stephanie Dill - 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 Zbacnik - 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 Huang - 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 an impassioned plea against Penny, she left 4-1.
• Erin Collins - 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 the 3-1 vote.
• Ken Stafford - Following the merge, Ken was the first of the minority Sook Jai original tribe members to go, deemed a physical threat.
• Penny Ramsey - 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 Billingsley - 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 Rogers - 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 Glover - Helen was generally perceived as being well-liked amongst the jury members. Brian planned to take the less likable Clay to the final two and, seeing as Jan was the lesser physical threat, Helen was marked the next to go in a 3-1 vote.
• 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, 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 Jordan Clay battled accusations of laziness, duplicity and racism at the heated final tribal council. He won the votes of Ken, Erin and Penny.
• Brian Heidik - In spite of some anger from Ted and Helen, he won four votes, from Helen, Ted, Jake and Jan. He never had a single vote cast against him during the game, despite being a strong physical competitor and playing both sides.

Voting history

	Starting Tribes								Merged Tribe
Episode:	Episode 1	Episode 2	Episode 3	Episode 4	Episode 5	Episode 6	Episode 7	Episode 8	Episode 9	Episode 10	Episode 11	Episode 12	Episode 13		Runner- Up	Winner
Eliminated:	John 6/8 votes	Tanya 5/7 votes	Jed 5/8 votes	Ghandia 4/6 votes	Stephanie 5/7 votes	Robb 5/6 votes	Shii.Ann 4/5 votes	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
Robb			Shii.Ann		Shii Ann	Shii.Ann
Stephanie			Shii Ann		Shii Ann
Ghandia	John	Helen		Clay
Jed			Shii Ann
Tanya	John	Helen
John	Ghandia