Survivor: Borneo

Survivor: Borneo was the first season of the United States version of 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. Tagi sacrificed Sonja, Stacey, and Dirk for being old, weak and lacking work ethic respectively; while Pagong eliminated B.B., Ramona, and Joel for abrasiveness, illness and perceived egotism respectively.

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, Kelly, Rudy and Sue, 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, and Sean, the only Tagi member who was not a member of the alliance. As the alliance neared victory, 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. However, Kelly dominated in the Immunity Challenges, denying the three of any chance to vote her off.

On Day 37, Richard and Sue received two votes each, forcing 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 perceived arrogance and duplicitous game play for establishing an alliance. But with four votes to three, Richard Hatch's strategy won him the very first Sole Survivor title.

Trivia

 * Survivor: Borneo were referenced numerous times in the Disney show '. In one episode, the tribe names Pagong and Tagi''' were 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.
 * Borneo was the only season to air on Wednesdays until.
 * 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.
 * This season is tied with for the record of the fewest unanimous eliminations, with one. Sean is the only castaway who was unanimously eliminated.
 * This is the only season to have castaways that were born in the 1920s and 1930s: Rudy, 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 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.
 * The font used for the tribe flags is "Template Gothic."
 * As of, all of the castaways from this season have been voted out at some point. This was the first season to gain this distinction, followed by Cambodia itself. However, Borneo is still the only original cast season with this distinction.