Survivor: Vanuatu

Survivor: Vanuatu — Islands of Fire, also known as Survivor: Vanuatu, is the ninth season of Survivor. Filmed in Vanuatu, a chain of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, the season premiered on September 16, 2004. Chris Daugherty defeated Twila Tanner by a vote of 5–2 to become Sole Survivor.

Production
Also debuting that day was Survivor Live, an hour-long Internet talk show hosted by the show's first winner Richard Hatch and Entertainment Tonight correspondent Chris Booker. The talk show, airing every Thursday and Friday on the CBS website, interviews former contestants and reviews the players' gameplay. The DVD for this season was released on December 5, 2006.

Twists/Changes

 * Expanded cast: Following last season, this season featured eighteen castaways.
 * Battle of the Sexes: For the second time in the show, the castaways will be divided into tribes based on gender. The all-male tribe is Lopevi, while the all-girl tribe is Yasur.
 * Double Tribal Council:
 * Tribe Switch: Two tribe "chiefs" were selected to rearrange the tribes, mixing up the gender-based tribes.

Season Summary
The players were brought into the game at a native gathering, with the natives dividing the group into men and women. The men were clearly revered at the ceremony, suggesting they would have the advantage in the game. After the ceremony, the men were named the Lopevi tribe, and the women the Yasur tribe, and sent to find their camps in the dark. Lopevi lost the first challenge mainly due to Chris inability to cross over a balance beam. However, the older men of the tribe conspired into an alliance and worked to vote off one of the younger men, Brook. The plan would continue through their next two Tribal Councils, eliminating John P. and Brady (during the Day 7 double-boot twist).

In Yasur, two factions began to emerge. An alliance of Julie, Mia, Lisa, and Eliza and an alliance led by Ami, who gathered Twila, Scout, and Leann fought over Dolly's vote. However, refusing to commit to either faction, a concerned Eliza made a temporary jump to Ami's group to vote Dolly out. Mia was sent home after the double-boot twist because of her combative demeanor. The women would then dominate the game by winning the next two challenges.

A tribal switch occurred on Day 11, mixing the two tribes; Rory and Travis were sent to Yasur, while Twila and Julie were sent to Lopevi. Lopevi went on winning four challenges in a row. The first Yasur loss resulted in Travis being eliminated for trying to conspire with his former comrades. However, concerned over Lisa's loyalty, Ami arranged her elimination at the next Tribal Council. At Lopevi, Lea, Chad, and Chris decided to invite Twila into their alliance as a fourth member, not trusting John (the last younger male on the tribe). The next Lopevi Tribal Council resulted in John being voted off. After the vote, Twila and Julie swore allegiance to Lopevi come post-merge.

On Day 19, the two tribes merged into Alinta, with the original Yasur outnumbered the original Lopevi, six to four. While the men reformed their alliance, Julie and Twila broke their promise to Lopevi, as the six women joined forces and Rory, Sarge and Chad in three subsequent votes, leaving Chris as the sole male in Alinta. By this time, Ami's core alliance consisted of her, Julie, and Leann, while Twila and Scout had formed a closer pairing, and Eliza seen out the outside. When Chris was unable to secure the next immunity, Twila brought Chris into a plan to vote out one of Ami's group if they could bring Eliza into their foursome. With the women deciding to change their target from Chris to Eliza, Eliza readily agreed to join their voting bloc, and they agreed to go to the Final 4. With Ami having won immunity, Leann was voted out at the next tribal council. Ami and Julie soon followed despite their last minute attempts to swing Chris. The final four was Chris, Eliza, Twila, and Scout. Chris won the last two immunity challenges, and ultimately took Twila with him into the final two. The Jury saw Chris' ability to effectively stay in the game with the incredible odds against him, both from the first challenge and as the last man standing, and voted him the Sole Survivor 5-2.

Trivia

 * This is the second season to feature a battle-of-the-sexes format, following Survivor: The Amazon.
 * This is the second season where every contestant recieved at least a single vote, the first also being Survivor: The Amazon.
 * All eighteen contestants of Survivor: Vanuatu were present during the Survivor 10th anniversary party.
 * This is the first season to be struck by an earthquake.
 * This is the only season where the immunity idol broke.