User blog comment:Sunsummer7/Season Rankings/@comment-122.59.90.180-20130429211659

Bit early to rank Caramoan don't ya think? But here's my list as of December 31st, 2012:

25. ONE WORLD

Pre-merge was plagued by Colton and the post-merge  was so predictable that many Survivor fans at the time could sense Kim's win a mile away. A Survivor season shouldn't be so horrible and obvious.

24. MICRONESIA

This seasons had three castaways decide to prematurely leave the game and a further two requiring medical evacuation, is not a recipe for satisfactory statistics. One or two such eliminations is forgivable - but five? This season was also not only a blown opportunity for Fairplay but is the reason he has an ice cube's chance of ever returning.

23. SOUTH PACIFIC

Cochran's bullied-nerd edit was not only cringeworthy but led to a move that triggered the cliche pagonging that's seen in many seasons of Survivor.

22. HEROES VS VILLAINS

 Legacies were tarnished because of this season and as much as people might claim that there was good gameplay this season, there were some curious choices of so-called heroes and villians.

21. NICARAGUA

What's a highlight of this season? Two people quit at the same tribal council. Never mind that there are people out there that would also like to play Survivor someday and who wouldn't quit. There was also the medallian of power, but how many seasons has that lasted for?

20. GABON

While it is nice to have a season that proves that the elderly can win Survivor, with Bob Crowley’s victory;  two tribal swaps is ridiculous. One tribal swap is okay, two is beyond a joke. In addition, despite some good moments, it seems somewhat bland next to other seasons of the show.

19. GUATEMALA

This season would’ve been a lot better on paper, but it was just a big let-down. For example, and this is only an example, Stephanie Lagrossa's America's Sweetheart image from Palau was completely trashed on. On a positive note, Judd Sergeant was casted for this season to offer some classic entertainment.

18. TOCANTINS

A season that offered relatively memorable moments from Coach The Dragonslayer, Tyson and a number of other castaways but overall it is a season that seems destined to fade into obscurity with time.

17. COOK ISLANDS

A few of the highlights of this season include a long-lasting fire-making tiebreaker – that resorted to the participants having to use matches, the division of tribes into four racial groups and a tribal mutiny. However, this season is of the “just another season” variety in terms of memorability and legacy.

16. SAMOA

Sometimes called The Russell Hantz Show due to the obvious star of the season. The ability to find hidden immunity idols with ease to pull off one of the biggest post-merge comebacks in Survivor history was impressive. It is too bad that this performance didn’t translate into a jury victory because it was an unpredictable journey to the final tribal council.

15. PANAMA

The original Exile Island-themed season that featured Terry Deitz who went on an immunity-winning run, only to lose the final challenge and be voted out. Credit is due to the season for beginning in an interesting way and ending with an unpredictable winner. This season also contained a classic immunity challenge in which castaways could choose not to participate and consume cheeseburgers, french fries, and soft drinks instead.

14. CHINA

This season contained a strategically impressive winner in Todd Herzog, a castaway being voted out with two hidden immunity idols in possession in James Clement and a memorable final challenge involving porcelain items. Of course, there’s also Denise Martin’s reunion show controversy.

13. MARQUESAS

A season with an okay selection of good moments, and an interesting selection of castaways. There was a memorable tribal switch as well as a few good challenges including fafaru consuming, tiki building and kite-flying. Other highlights are also of note such as a camp raid, a controversial purple rock incident and an arrival that was almost like Cleopatra.

12. AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK

One of the highlights of this season was Michael Skupin killing a pig. Of course, he later fell into a fire. This season has claim to a few interesting challenges and surprisingly also ended with favorite to win Colby Donaldson losing out in the jury vote.

11. AFRICA

This season has a collection of great tribal challenges and also featured a surprising tribal swap that shocked the castaways. Amongst this cast, which includes memorable castaways; includes tribe members who were startled one night by the growling of a lion. Of note is Lex and Ethan Zohn’s visit to an African community, the reception to T-bird’s first post-merge vote and of course, at the survivor auction; Big Tom was delighted that the eventual winner wouldn’t eat ham.

10. REDEMPTION ISLAND

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">This season saw perhpas the best game ever played by Boston Rob as well as countless entertaining offerings from Phillip Sheppard. The Redemption Island twist also added another layer to the season that gave Matt Elrod an experience like no other. In addition, the controversial Russell Hantz made an early exit.

9. THE AMAZON

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">A battle of the sexes season that included Rob Cesternino who later started the Rob Has A franchise and Playboy models Jenna Morasca and Heidi Strobel who both contributed a scene with peanut butter. Butch Lockley is also remembered for his firewood scenes – including the camp being set on fire.

8. FIJI

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">In addition to having an interesting cast, this season has a collection of memorable moments such as a tribal dance competition as one of a number of great challenges, a twist that made only half a tribe go to tribal council and one tribe living with comforts, while the other tribe lived in virtual poverty. Gameplay saw the classic blindside of Edgardo, a searching through personal belongings to find a hidden immunity idol, the infamous deal between Dreamz and Yau-Man plus a cleansweep of the jury votes accomplished by Earl Cole.

7. VANUATU

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">A season that wasn’t without twists and all-round great moments. Events began with a tribal ritual in which the men drank the local drink and gained possession of a spiritual stone that was believed to bring good fortune. A few memorable blindsides took place during this season in addition to one of the biggest come-from-behind victories in the history of Survivor.

6. ALL STARS

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">A selection of eighteen castaways from the earliest seven seasons. This season birthed the ‘Romber’ partnership (Boston Rob and Amber Mariano) and also one of the show’s most notable betrayals of all time which led to Lex van den Berghe delivering an unforgettable speech (and perhaps Big Tom’s jury contribution is also worth of mention). In addition, Rupert Boneham built the most infamously bad shelter on the show while Rudy Boesch set the record for the oldest participant.

5. THAILAND

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">The season began with two tribes being formed by the two oldest castaways of the group, one tribe including Robb who was injured by a stingray, the other tribe including Brian Heidik who managed to socially manoeuvre his way to a victory. The season also included a memorable twist that involved the two tribes to temporarily live together before the season merge and an unforgettable attack zone challenge that resulted in Clay being chokeslammed.

4. PHILIPPINES

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">This season saw a tribe lose all four of its challenges, a few of the biggest player downfalls in the history of Survivor and a numerically significant offering of more than memorable moments. A fantastic cast such as a notable model who wanted cookies, a Major League Baseball legend who delivered one of the most unforgettable exit speeches, a Brazillian who pretended to have an extra hidden immunity idol, and a famous actor who adressed the final three in a powerful way at the final tribal council. It was also a season containing some interesting challenges, a brilliant auction, and a winner who attended every single tribal council and survived the voting – a literal survivor.

3. PALAU

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">This was a season that was unique in several ways. It was a season without a merge because one tribe conquerored the other, it was a season where two people were eliminated without attending tribal council because they weren’t even chosen to be on a tribe, and a castaway was voted out at a challenge instead of at tribal council because they quit the game to maintain their integrity after the longest challenge in Survivor history to date had taken place. It is also distinctive for the fact that post-game events led to the eventual noted passing away of Jenn Lyon.

2. PEARL ISLANDS

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">The pirate-themed season was complete with everything from looting items from opposing tribe camps to a hunt for buried treasure. The pre-merge game was highlighted by a castaway qutting the game while members of The Outcasts successfully won a chance to re-enter the game after being voted out. The post-merge was highlighted by a dark horse-winner claiming victory after outlasting one of the greatest villians in Survivor history, who in turn had managed to blindside one of Survivor’s greatest heroes.

1. BORNEO

<span style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-NZ;">An adventure that will probably never be topped. From Sue Hawk’s unforgettable speech at the final tribal council, to Greg Buis and his coconut phone, to Sean Kenniff’s alphabet strategy; this was a game of life experience that created one of the greatest forms of entertainment imaginable. A surprising alliance was formed that led to Rudy Boesch voting for Richard Hatch to win the million dollars and the title of sole Survivor.