Survivor: Borneo

Survivor: Borneo was the first season of the United States version Survivor. It was originally broadcast under the name, Survivor but its official title has been changed to Survivor: Borneo to distinguish it from its future seasons. Prior to the change to Survivor: Borneo, the season was retroactively known as Survivor: Pulau Tiga. The change of name became official in.

Among Survivor fans, the term "Pagonging" has been used to describe the systematic elimination of the other tribe.

The show was released on DVD on May 11, 2004.

Development
Due to overwhelming interest in the show's format, more than 6,000 people applied for it. 800 of them were interviewed in 16 cities. 48 made it to the shortlist, which was whittled down to the final 16 players and 2 replacements.

Season Summary
The series premiere began with sixteen people divided into two tribes: Pagong and Tagi. After 18 days of competition, the tribes found themselves alternating visits to Tribal Council (with Tagi going first on Day 3, then Pagong's turn at Day 6, and so on) until Day 20. Tagi sacrificed Sonja Christopher (for being old and weak), Stacey Stillman (for her weakness and her disagreements with Rudy Boesch), and Dirk Been (for health problems and lack of work ethic), while Pagong eliminated B.B. Andersen (for being abrasive), Ramona Gray (because she got sick) and Joel Klug (for being egotistic and untrustworthy).

By Day 20, the ten remaining castaways were merged into one tribe - Rattana, and began competing as individuals. When the merge came around, a voting alliance made by ex-Tagi members Richard Hatch, Kelly Wiglesworth, Sue Hawk, and Richard solidified. This proved fatal for the other six survivors, who were eliminated one by one, starting with the five ex-Pagong members(Gretchen, Greg,Jenna, Gervase, and Colleen.) Then the only Tagi castaway who was not part of the alliance, Sean Kenniff was eliminated. The alliance, however, showed cracks, as Richard, Sue and Rudy saw Kelly as trying to look more favorable in front of the jury, which seats were filled by mostly former Pagong members. But with Kelly immune on Day 33, the Tagi alliance voted out their only alternative, Colleen, the last Pagong member. The alliance ultimately prevailed, with Sean voted out on Day 36. With all their rivals eliminated, the Tagi alliance of four then had to turn on each other.

Kelly won individual immunity on Day 37. At Tribal Council, Richard and Sue received two votes each, resulting in a revote. As Kelly and Rudy voted again, Kelly switched her vote from Richard to Sue, and Sue became the sixth member of the Jury. At the final Immunity Challenge on Day 38, Richard voluntarily stepped out of the challenge on the assumption that whoever was to win would take him to the Final Tribal Council. After Kelly won immunity yet again, Richard's assumptions were proven correct when she voted Rudy to be the seventh and final member of the Jury.

At the Final Tribal Council, Kelly was accused of being two-faced and manipulative, while Richard was barbed for his arrogance and perceived "unethical" game play for establishing an alliance. But with four votes to three, Richard Hatch became the very first Sole Survivor.

Trivia

 * Survivor: Borneo has been referenced numerous times in the Disney show Lizzie McGuire. In one episode, the tribe names Pagong and Tagi are used as team names at an outdoor camp. In another episode, Lizzie's mother claims she knew Richard Hatch would win the series.
 * This is the first season in which both tribes alternated winning immunity before the merge. This would later happen in and.
 * This was the only season in which the final jury votes were revealed immediately after being cast, rather than months later in front of a live television studio audience.
 * Richard became the very first Sole Survivor.
 * Borneo was the only season to air on Wednesdays until.
 * Borneo holds the record for having the highest percentage of jury votes being shown as the jury members cast them, with 6 out of 7 being shown (83%). Only Greg's, the eventual swing vote, was not shown.
 * In 2006, Richard was found guilty of tax evasion connected with his $1,000,000 prize and sentenced to 51 months in prison. Because of this, he was unable to participate in seasons such as ,, and.
 * The Survivor: Borneo finale received the highest ratings of any Survivor episode to date, with more than 50 million viewers.
 * Many people speculate that Kelly would have won the game had she guessed the correct number to juror Greg Buis' final question. However, Greg himself admitted that Richard had his vote 100% and he would have never voted for Kelly, and that he only asked the number-guessing question to mock the overly-dramatic nature of Tribal Council.
 * This season holds the record for the least unanimous eliminations, with one (if one does not count eliminations with only one voter, or eliminations in which a unanimous re-vote takes place)
 * This is the only season to have castaways that were born in the 1920's and 1930's: B.B. and Sonja.
 * During the Day 36 Immunity Challenge, Jeff Probst noted that since the merge, every eliminated player had the fire in their torches blown out by the wind prior to to being voted out.
 * In a poll that was taken during the reunion show asking viewers who they would've voted for to win, 45% of the people said Rudy, 42% said Kelly, 11% said Rich, and 2% said Sue.