Survivor: Palau is the tenth season of Survivor. It was filmed in the island-country of Palau in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania. The main theme of the season was the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
This season ended with New York City fire lieutenant Tom Westman defeating advertising executive Katie Gallagher in a 6-1 vote.
Survivor's 10th season earned the show a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2005.
Contents
Production
Applications were due June 22, 2004. Around 800 applicants were selected for an interview between the latter part of July and August. Out of these 800, 48 were chosen as semi-finalists for an interview in Los Angeles during September. From these semi-finalists, 20 were chosen to participate the show between October to December 2004.
The season's Tribal Council set was a decorated with actual World War II relics such as fallen aircraft, weapons, bags of cement, and barbed wires. The set took eight weeks to build, took 25 tons of cement, 14 tons of rubble, and a thousand bags of sand.[2][3]
Twists/Changes
- Expanded Cast: This is the first season to feature twenty contestants.
- Schoolyard Pick/Day 2 Elimination: On Day 1, the survivors, still unsorted into tribes, raced to shore for two Immunity Necklaces, one for a man and another for a woman. The next day, the winners, Ian and Jolanda, were tasked to select 16 of the 18 remaining players to be on their tribes. The last man and woman respectively, Jonathan and Wanda, were eliminated on the spot.
- Tribe Composition: Following the elimination of two contestants on Day 2, two tribes of nine were formed.
- Double Tribal Council: On Day 12, both tribes went to Tribal Council to vote one out of their own.
- Immunity Vote: The tribe that won the Day 12 Reward Challenge, Koror, voted one member from the rival tribe to have individual immunity from their Tribal Council.
- Fire-Making Immunity Challenge: With only two members remaining, Ulong competed in an individual Immunity Challenge at Tribal Council where the loser, Bobby Jon, was eliminated from the game, leaving the winner, Stephenie to return back to camp alone.
- No Merge: Having outlasted her entire tribe, Stephenie was absorbed by the Koror tribe, thus no merge occurred.
- Exile Island: A one-off twist, Used only once as punishment for the first person to bail out from the Day 26 Immunity Challenge. The exiled contestant, Janu was sent to a remote location with minimum supplies to live there until the next day.
- Tiebreaker Challenge: Facing a deadlock tie vote on Day 37, Ian and Jenn competed in a fire-making contest.
- Verbal Vote: Due to the Final Immunity Challenge concluding late at night, it was impossible to conduct a formal Tribal Council. The winner, Tom was asked to verbally say his vote, which was Ian.
- Final Tribal Council Format: Two finalists faced a jury of seven. The jurors individually addressed the finalists.
Castaways
Contestant | Tribe Affiliation | Finish | Votes Against | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Original Tribe | Absorbed Tribe | ||||
![]() |
Jonathan Libby 23, Dallas, TX Sales & Marketing Associate |
Eliminated Day 2 |
0 | ||
![]() |
Wanda Shirk 55, Ulysses, PA English Teacher |
Eliminated Day 2 |
0 | ||
![]() |
Jolanda Jones 38, Houston, TX Lawyer |
Ulong | 1st Voted Out Day 3 |
6 | |
![]() |
Ashlee Ashby 22, Easley, SC Student |
Ulong | 2nd Voted Out Day 6 |
6 | |
![]() |
Jeff Wilson 21, Ventura, CA Personal Trainer |
Ulong | 3rd Voted Out Day 8 |
5 | |
![]() |
Kim Mullen 25, Huber Heights, OH Graduate Student |
Ulong | 4th Voted Out Day 11 |
8 | |
![]() |
Willard Smith 56, Bellevue, WA Lawyer |
Koror | 5th Voted Out Day 12 |
8 | |
![]() |
Angie Jakusz 24, New Orleans, LA Bartender |
Ulong | 6th Voted Out Day 12 |
8 | |
![]() |
James Miller 33, Mobile, AL Steelworker |
Ulong | 7th Voted Out Day 15 |
7 | |
![]() |
Ibrehem Rahman 27, Birmingham, AL Model |
Ulong | 8th Voted Out Day 18 |
4 | |
![]() |
Bobby Jon Drinkard 27, Los Angeles, CA Waiter |
Ulong | Eliminated Day 21 |
2 | |
![]() |
Coby Archa 32, Athens, TX Hairdresser |
Koror | Koror | 9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 24 |
7 |
![]() |
Janu Tornell 39, Las Vegas, NV Vegas Showgirl |
Koror | Quit 2nd Jury Member Day 27 |
1 | |
![]() |
Stephenie LaGrossa 24, Toms River, NJ Pharmaceutical Sales Representative |
Ulong | 10th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 30 |
8 | |
![]() |
Gregg Carey 27, Chicago, IL Business Consultant |
Koror | 11th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 33 |
4 | |
![]() |
Caryn Groedel 46, Solon, OH Civil Rights Lawyer |
Koror | 12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 36 |
7 | |
![]() |
Jenn Lyon 32, Encino, CA Nanny |
Koror | 13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 37 |
3 | |
![]() |
Ian Rosenberger 23, Ambridge, PA Dolphin Trainer |
Koror | 14th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 38 |
5 | |
![]() |
Katie Gallagher 29, Merced, CA Advertising Executive |
Koror | Runner-Up | 1 | |
![]() |
Tom Westman 40, Sayville, NY Firefighter |
Koror | Sole Survivor | 0 |
Season Summary
The survivors, still undivided into tribes, raced from a rowboat to shore for two Immunity Necklaces, one for each gender. With no tribes formed nor any further information given to them, the castaways temporarily lived as one big group. The following day, those who won immunity, Ian and Jolanda were tasked to spread 16 of the 18 remaining players into two tribes of nine, with Ian choosing for Koror and Jolanda for Ulong. Those who were not picked, Jonathan and Wanda, were eliminated on the spot.
On paper, it seemed that the younger and more athletic Ulong tribe had an advantage over the older and slower Koror tribe, but Ulong's lack of teamwork resulted in them losing every Immunity Challenge in the first 21 days, decimating them to a paltry tribe of two: Bobby Jon and Stephenie, who faced each other off in a fire-making challenge. Stephenie, while having won the challenge, was forced to return to camp alone, but absorbed by the Koror tribe the next day, beginning the individual portion of the game without a merge.
Leaving a strong impression on Koror, Stephenie was a clear target, but Coby informed her about Koror's majority alliance of five: Ian, Gregg, Jenn, Katie, and Tom. For his loose lips, Coby was promptly voted out. While it would seem Stephenie was going next, Janu, fed up by her tribe and contented with her experience altogether, stalled the majority alliance's plans by quitting the game. After a long and hard battle however, Stephenie succumbed to the Koror Alliance on Day 30.
With only Koror members remaining, they were forced to turn on each other, with Ian and Tom taking over the game. Ian later considered betraying Tom, but was thwarted by the latter's Immunity Challenge winning streak. Tom realized Ian was plotting against him, prompting him to force a tie vote between Ian and Jenn. Ian won the fire-making tiebreaker challenge against Jenn, but was overwhelmed with guilt after being caught. During the Final Immunity Challenge, Ian stepped down and asked Tom to vote him out to make up for his betrayal.
At the Final Tribal Council, Tom was lauded for his leadership that led Koror to a clean Immunity Challenge sweep, but was barbed for his machismo. Katie, on the other hand, was appreciated for her honesty, but was more heavily berated for her poor challenge performances and accused of being mean to others besides Tom and Ian. In the end, Tom won the title of Sole Survivor in a 6-1 vote.
Episode | Air date | Challenges | Eliminated (vote) |
Finish | Viewers (in millions)[4] |
Ratings/Share (18-49)[4] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reward | Immunity | |||||||
1 | "This Has Never Happened Before!" | February 17, 2005 | None | Ian | Jonathan Wanda (No Vote)1 |
Eliminated Day 2 |
23.66 | 9.1/23 |
Jolanda | ||||||||
Koror2 | Jolanda (6-3) |
1st Voted Out Day 3 | ||||||
2 | "Love Is in the Air, Rats Are Everywhere" | February 24, 2005 | Ulong | Koror | Ashlee (6-1-1) |
2nd Voted Out Day 6 |
21.64 | 7.9/20 |
3 | "Dangerous Creatures and Horrible Setbacks" | March 3, 2005 | Ulong | Koror | Jeff (4-2-1) |
3rd Voted Out Day 8 |
21.80 | 8.5/N/A |
4 | "Sumo at Sea" | March 10, 2005 | Koror | Koror | Kim (5-1) |
4th Voted Out Day 11 |
21.80 | 8.1/22 |
5 | "The Best and Worst Reward Ever" | March 16, 2005 | Koror | Willard (8-1) |
5th Voted Out Day 12 |
18.42 | 6.9/19 | |
[Ibrehem]3 | Angie (2-2-1; 3-0)4 |
6th Voted Out Day 12 | ||||||
6 | "Jellyfish 'n Chips" | March 23, 2005 | Ulong | Koror | James (2-2; 2-0)4 |
7th Voted Out Day 15 |
19.15 | 7.3/19 |
7 | "The Great White Shark Hunter" | March 31, 2005 | Koror | Koror | Ibrehem (2-1) |
8th Voted Out Day 18 |
20.89 | 7.7/21 |
8 | "Neanderthal Man" | April 7, 2005 | Koror | Koror | Bobby Jon (No Vote)5 |
Eliminated Day 21 |
19.75 | 7.0/20 |
9 | "I Will Not Give Up" | April 14, 2005 | None | Tom | Coby (7-1-1) |
9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 24 |
20.0 | 7.4/23 |
10 | "Exile Island" | April 21, 2005 | Caryn, Gregg, Janu, Tom |
Tom | Janu (No Vote) |
Quit 2nd Jury Member Day 27 |
18.66 | 6.8/20 |
11 | "I'll Show You How Threatening I Am" | April 28, 2005 | Survivor Auction |
Ian | Stephenie (6-1) |
10th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 30 |
21.21 | 7.8/20 |
12 | "We'll Make You Pay" | May 5, 2005 | Gregg [Jenn, Katie] |
Ian | Gregg (4-2) |
11th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 33 |
20.07 | 7.1/21 |
13 | "It Could All Backfire" | May 12, 2005 | Ian [Tom] |
Tom | Caryn (4-1) |
12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 36 |
19.3 | 7.1/21 |
14 | "The Ultimate Shock" | May 15, 2005 | None | Tom | Jenn (2-2; 1-1; Tiebreaker)4,6 |
13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 37 |
20.80 | 7.8/18 |
Tom | Ian (1-0) |
14th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 38 | ||||||
Jury Vote | Katie (6-1) |
Runner-Up | ||||||
Tom (6-1) |
Sole Survivor | |||||||
15 | "Reunion" | 16.72 | 6.5/16 | |||||
Notes:
^1 Due to not being picked by the initial tribes, Jonathan and Wanda were automatically eliminated. |
Voting History
Survivor: Palau Voting History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tribe Selection | Original Tribes | Tribe Absorption | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Episode #: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | |||||||||||
Voted out: | ![]() Jonathan |
![]() Wanda |
![]() Jolanda |
![]() Ashlee |
![]() Jeff |
![]() Kim |
![]() Willard |
Tie | ![]() Angie |
Tie | ![]() James |
![]() Ibrehem |
![]() Bobby Jon |
![]() Coby |
![]() Janu |
![]() Stephenie |
![]() Gregg |
![]() Caryn |
Tie | Deadlock | ![]() Jenn |
![]() Ian |
![]() Katie |
![]() Tom | |
Vote: | No Vote1 | 6-3 | 6-1-1 | 4-2-1 | 5-1 | 8-1 | 2-2-12 | 3-0 | 2-22 | 2-0 | 2-1 | No Vote3 | 7-1-1 | No Vote4 | 6-1 | 4-2 | 4-1 | 2-22 | 1-15 | Tiebreaker | 1-06 | 6-1 | |||
► | Tom | — | — | — | — | — | Willard | — | — | — | — | Coby | — | Stephenie | Gregg | Caryn | Ian | Ian | — | Ian | Jury Vote | ||||
► | Katie | — | — | — | — | — | Willard | — | — | — | — | Coby | — | Stephenie | Gregg | Caryn | Jenn | Jenn | — | None | |||||
► | Ian | — | — | — | — | — | Willard | — | — | — | — | Coby | — | Stephenie | Gregg | Caryn | Jenn | None | — | None | Tom | ||||
► | Jenn | — | — | — | — | — | Willard | — | — | — | — | Coby | — | Stephenie | Caryn | Caryn | Ian | None | Voted out | Tom | |||||
► | Caryn | — | — | — | — | — | Willard | — | — | — | — | Coby | — | Stephenie | Gregg | Ian | Tom | ||||||||
► | Gregg | — | — | — | — | — | Willard | — | — | — | — | Coby | — | Stephenie | Caryn | Tom | |||||||||
► | Stephenie | — | Jolanda | Ashlee | Jeff | Kim | — | Bobby Jon | Angie | Ibrehem | James | Ibrehem | — | Coby | — | Caryn | Tom | ||||||||
► | Janu | — | — | — | — | — | Willard | — | — | — | — | Stephenie | Quit | Tom | |||||||||||
► | Coby | — | — | — | — | — | Willard | — | — | — | — | Janu | Katie | ||||||||||||
Bobby Jon | — | Angie | Ashlee | Kim | Kim | — | Angie | None | James | James | Ibrehem | Eliminated | |||||||||||||
Ibrehem | — | Angie | Kim | Jeff | Kim | — | James | Angie | James | None | Stephenie | ||||||||||||||
James | — | Jolanda | Ashlee | Kim | Kim | — | Angie | Angie | Ibrehem | None | |||||||||||||||
Angie | — | Jolanda | Ashlee | Jeff | Kim | — | Bobby Jon | None | |||||||||||||||||
Willard | — | — | — | — | — | Katie | |||||||||||||||||||
Kim | — | Jolanda | Ashlee | Jeff | James | ||||||||||||||||||||
Jeff | — | Jolanda | Ashlee | James | |||||||||||||||||||||
Ashlee | — | Jolanda | Jeff | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Jolanda | — | Angie | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Jonathan | Eliminated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wanda | Eliminated | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes:
^1 Because they were not picked to be on a tribe, Jonathan and Wanda were automatically eliminated. No vote occurred for their removal. |
Trivia
The unused merge Buff. While never seen in the actual show, it remained commercially available on CBS.com.
- The font used for the tribes and Palau subtitle is "Stencil".
- This is the only season where the pre-jury boots outnumbered those who reached the jury phase.
- This is the first season of US version of Survivor to have a cast of twenty.
- Palau is the first season to eliminate three castaways in one episode. Jonathan and Wanda were eliminated in the Schoolyard Pick, while Jolanda was voted out the day after at a standard Tribal Council.
- Palau is the first season where contestants were eliminated before Day 3.
- For the first time in the series' history, one tribe "conquered" the other by winning every single Immunity Challenge and absorbing the other tribe's last remaining member. Had Koror and Ulong merged, the merged tribe's color would have been green (see image to the right). The supposed merge Buff became a sought-after collector's item among Survivor fans.
- This season marks the first tie vote since Marquesas due to the players' concern regarding the rock drawing tiebreaker.
- This season ties with Caramoan and Kaôh Rōng for having the most tie votes, with three.
- Palau is the only season to have two fire-making challenges.
- Palau is the first season to have Exile Island. However, Exile Island was only used for one episode. Panama was the first season to use it as a full season twist.
- Ulong and Koror's camps, Mecherchar and Ulong Islands respectively, would be used by the Malakal and Airai tribes respectively three years later, in Micronesia.[5]
- This season is the last to not feature Hidden Immunity Idols.
References
- ↑ http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271%7C99065%7C1%7C,00.html
- ↑ http://survivorskills.com/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=1772.0
- ↑ http://insidepulse.com/2005/02/09/31956/
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 http://www.spottedratings.com/2011/12/spotvault-survivor-cbs-fall-2005.html
- ↑ http://www.claycritters.com/map/s16/survivor_16_map.htm
Survivor (US) Seasons |
---|
Borneo • The Australian Outback • Africa • Marquesas • Thailand • The Amazon • Pearl Islands • All-Stars • Vanuatu • Palau • Guatemala • Panama • Cook Islands • Fiji • China • Micronesia • Gabon • Tocantins • Samoa • Heroes vs. Villains • Nicaragua • Redemption Island • South Pacific • One World • Philippines • Caramoan • Blood vs. Water • Cagayan • San Juan del Sur • Worlds Apart • Cambodia • Kaôh Rōng • Millennials vs. Gen X • Game Changers • Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers • Ghost Island • David vs. Goliath • Edge of Extinction • Island of the Idols • Winners at War |