Survivor: Samoa

Survivor: Samoa
Season Information
Version	United States
Season No.	19
Filming Location	Upolu, Samoa
Filming Dates	June 11, 2009 - July 19, 2009
Season Run	September 17, 2009 - December 20, 2009
No. of Episodes	16
No. of Days	39
No. of Castaways	20
Winner	Natalie White
Runner(s)-Up	Russell Hantz Mick Trimming
Tribes	Foa Foa Galu Aiga
Viewership (in Millions)	13.45
Cast
Opening Sequence
Season Chronology
Previous	Tocantins
Next	Heroes vs. Villains

Survivor: Samoa is the nineteenth season of Survivor. It premiered on September 17, 2009 and concluded on December 20, 2009.

In the end, Natalie White defeated Russell Hantz and Mick Trimming in a 7-2-0 vote. Hantz ended up winning the "Sprint Player of the Season" award, earning the fans' vote over Shambo Waters and Brett Clouser.

Production

Participant applications were due by January 14, 2009. Approximately 800 might have been invited to be interviewed in several states. Following this, approximately 48 semi-finalists were invited to Los Angeles in April 2009 for final interviews with the producers. From there, 20 finalists were selected to be contestants in the show, which was scheduled to occur between mid June and mid-July 2009 in Samoa. Similar to Survivor: Tocantins, the minimum age requirement for this season was 18 for most states.

Survivor: Samoa and the succeeding season, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, were filmed back-to-back. Day 39 of Samoa and Day 1 of Heroes vs. Villains were merely 20 days apart, giving Russell Hantz only a few days to prepare.

Twist/Changes

• Tribe Leaders: At the beginning of the game, both tribes voted for a tribe "leader." This leader (symbolized by a necklace, not to be confused with the Immunity Necklace) would make decisions in challenges such as assigning tasks for tribe mates, sit-outs, etc. After a Reward Challenge, the winning tribe's leader would also assign one of his tribe mates to be an "observer." If a leader gets eliminated, the tribe must select a new one to replace them.
• The "Observer": Following a Reward Challenge, one member from the winning tribe would be selected by the tribe leader to go to the opposing tribe's camp, and would return to them at the next Immunity Challenge. This person would hand the tribe a clue to the whereabouts of a Hidden Immunity Idol at their camp.
• Hidden Immunity Idol: A Hidden Immunity Idol will be hidden at both camps. Both idols are usable until the Day 36 Tribal Council.
• Double Tribal Council: Both tribes would go to separate Tribal Council sessions to eliminate a player. This would be cancelled due to Russell Swan's medical evacuation.
• Early Merge: For the first time in Survivor history, the merge occurred with 12 players.
• Expanded Jury and Final Three: Instead of the conventional Final Two facing the jury of seven, the Day 39 Tribal Council was held with a three finalists facing a nine-man jury.

Castaways

Contestant		Tribe Affiliation		Finish	Votes Against
		Original Tribe	Merged Tribe
	Marisa Calihan 26, Cincinnati, OH Student	Foa Foa		1st Voted Out Day 3	7
	Mike Borassi 62, Marina del Rey, CA Personal Chef	Foa Foa		Evacuated Day 5	0
	Betsy Bolan 48, Campton, NH Police Officer	Foa Foa		2nd Voted Out Day 6	7
	Ben Browning 28, Los Angeles, CA Bar Manager	Foa Foa		3rd Voted Out Day 8	7
	Yasmin Giles 33, Los Angeles, CA Hairstylist	Galu		4th Voted Out Day 11	8
	Ashley Trainer 22, Maple Grove, MN Spa Saleswoman	Foa Foa		5th Voted Out Day 14	9
	Russell Swan 42, Glenside, PA Attorney	Galu		Evacuated Day 15	0
	Liz Kim 33, New York City, NY Urban Planner	Foa Foa		6th Voted Out Day 18	5
	Erik Cardona 28, Los Angeles, CA Bartender	Galu	Aiga	7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21	10
	Kelly Sharbaugh 25, San Diego, CA Hairstylist	Galu		8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24	4
	Laura Morett 39, Salem, OR Office Manager	Galu		9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 27	10
	John Fincher 25, Santa Monica, CA Rocket Scientist	Galu		10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 30	7
	Dave Ball 38, Los Angeles, CA Fitness Instructor	Galu		11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 31	8
	Monica Padilla 25, San Diego, CA Law Student	Galu		12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33	7
	Shambo Waters 45, Renton, WA Saleswoman	Galu		13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36	6
	Jaison Robinson 28, Chicago, IL Law Student	Foa Foa		14th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37	7
	Brett Clouser 23, Los Angeles, CA T-shirt Designer	Galu		15th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 38	3
	Mick Trimming 33, Los Angeles, CA Doctor	Foa Foa		Second Runner-Up	4
	Russell Hantz 36, Dayton, TX Oil Company Owner	Foa Foa		Runner-Up	9
	Natalie White 26, Van Buren, AR Pharmaceutical Saleswoman	Foa Foa		Sole Survivor	8

Season Summary

Based only on first impressions, the tribes were told to vote one of their own as a "leader," who, for the tribal portion of the game, would make critical decisions at certain challenges, in particular, selecting one member of their tribe to spend the day after Reward Challenges with the other tribe through which they would receive a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol. Foa Foa selected Mick Trimming as their leader, while Galu picked Russell Swan as their leader.

Foa Foa's Russell Hantz attempted to make living conditions harsher for Foa Foa by sabotaging his own tribe (i.e. dumping water out of canteens and burning socks). Russell H.'s risky move proved effective as Foa Foa performed dismally in challenges, and consequentially, the tribe quickly decimated. At the same time, Russell H. took complete control of the voting by making alliances with everyone on his tribe. Before the merge, the opposing Galu tribe had won eight challenges, while Foa Foa won only one Reward Challenge and one Immunity Challenge. The Galu members seemed more and more relaxed and appeared lazy as they continued to win more challenges, which Shambo Waters resented. Shambo also felt alienated from her tribe after she was excluded from a reward by Russell S., and while visiting with the Foa Foa tribe, she began to grow roots within the yellow tribe.

Due to intense competition, two players were medically evacuated. During a challenge, Mike Borassi was too injured to continue, while Russell S.'s condition became more serious, as he fainted during a challenge and almost died in the process. After Russell S.'s sudden departure, the supposed double boot twist was canceled, and Galu chose Shambo as their new leader.

The two tribes merged with twelve players left; Galu had the advantage of eight players over Foa Foa's four, though Shambo clearly showed favoritism towards Foa Foa. Natalie White was able to convince Galu to vote off Erik Cardona along with the rest of Foa Foa. At this vote, Russell H. had played his Hidden Immunity Idol, but was able to find the Idol in its new location, again without clues, before the next Tribal Council. Russell H. played his new Idol there, saving himself from being voted off as he was targeted by every Galu member, and eliminating Kelly Sharbaugh.

As Shambo began to shift sides to the former Foa Foa's, the next vote first ended in a tie, but John Fincher, worried about being eliminated from the game by the rock-pulling Tiebreaker, flipped his vote, and aligned with the former Foa Foa's. With Foa Foa now in the majority, they held together for the rest of the game, systematically eliminating the former Galu members, one-by-one. Their plans were halted when Brett Clouser went on an Immunity Challenge winning streak, resulting in Foa Foa having to turn on each other. Brett lost the Final Immunity Challenge and was voted out, leaving the Final Three as Russell H., Natalie, and Mick.

At the Final Tribal Council, Mick was mostly ignored by the jury for his poor leadership, that lead to Foa Foa's failure in challenges, while Russell H. was berated for his unethical game strategy. In the end, Natalie's better social game made her the nineteenth Sole Survivor in a 7-2-0 vote over Russell and Mick respectively.

Episode		Air date	Challenges		Observer	Eliminated (Vote)	Finish	Viewership (in millions)	Rating/Share (18-49)
			Reward	Immunity
1	"The Puppet Master"	September 17, 2009	Foa Foa	Galu		Marisa (7-3)	1st Voted Out Day 3	11.66	3.6/11
2	"Taking Candy from a Baby"	September 24, 2009	Galu1		Yasmin	Mike (no vote)	Evacuated Day 5	11.66	3.7/11
						Betsy (7-1)	2nd Voted Out Day 6
3	"It's Called a Russell Seed"	October 1, 2009	Galu1		Shambo	Ben (6-1)	3rd Voted Out Day 8	11.54	3.7/11
4	"Hungry for a Win"	October 8, 2009	Galu	Foa Foa	None	Yasmin (8-2)	4th Voted Out Day 11	11.69	3.4/10
5	"Walking on Thin Ice"	October 15, 2009	Galu	Galu	Shambo	Ashley (5-1)	5th Voted Out Day 14	11.78	3.5/10
6	"This Is the Man Test"	October 22, 2009	None2	None	None	Russell S. (no vote)	Evacuated Day 15	12.90	4.0/12
7	"Houdini Magic"	October 29, 2009	Galu	Galu	Laura	Liz (4-1)	6th Voted Out Day 18	12.19	3.7/10
8	"All Hell Breaks Loose"	November 5, 2009	None	John		Erik (10-2)3	7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21	12.44	3.7/10
				Laura
9	"Tastes Like Chicken"	November 12, 2009	Dave, John, Kelly, Monica, Shambo	Laura		Kelly (4-0)4	8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24	12.94	4.0/10
10	"The Day of Reckoning"	November 19, 2009	Brett, Dave, Laura, Natalie, Russell H.	Mick		Laura (5-5; 5-3)5	9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 27	12.33	3.8/11
11	"The First 27 Days"	November 26, 2009	Recap Episode					N/A	N/A
12	"Off with Their Heads!"	December 3, 2009	Survivor Auction	Jaison		John (7-1-1)	10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 30	12.82	3.9/11
13	"Damage Control"	December 10, 2009	None	Jaison		Dave (7-1)	11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 31	13.25	4.2/12
				Brett		Monica (5-2)	12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33
14	"Two Brains Are Better than One"	December 17, 2009	Jaison, Russell H., Shambo	Brett		Shambo (5-1)	13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36	12.56	3.9/12
15	"This Game Ain't Over"	December 20, 2009	None	Brett		Jaison (4-1)	14th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37	13.97	4.4/11
				Russell H.		Brett (3-1)	15th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 38
			Jury Vote			Mick (7-2-0)	Second Runner-Up
						Russell H. (7-2-0)	Runner-Up
						Natalie (7-2-0)	Sole Survivor
16	"Reunion"							11.68	3.8/10
Notes: ^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge. ^2 Russell S. collapsed at the challenge, causing the challenge to be stopped with no winner. Galu and Foa Foa attended Tribal Council that night, to discuss Russell S.'s situation. ^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user. ^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user. ^5 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor rules, a revote would commence.

Voting History

		Original Tribes								Merged Tribe
Episode		1	2		3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10		12	13		14	15
Voted out:		Marisa	Mike	Betsy	Ben	Yasmin	Ashley	Russell S.	Liz	Erik	Kelly	Tie	Laura	John	Dave	Monica	Shambo	Jaison	Brett	Mick	Russell H.	Natalie
Vote:		7-3	No vote1	7-1	6-1	8-2	5-1	No vote2	4-1	10-23	4-04	5-55	5-3	7-1-1	7-1	5-2	5-1	4-1	3-1	7-2-0
►	Natalie	Marisa	—	Betsy	Ben	—	Ashley	—	Liz	Erik	Kelly	Laura	None	John	Dave	Monica	Shambo	Jaison	Brett	Jury Vote
►	Russell H.	Marisa	—	Betsy	Ben	—	Ashley	—	Liz	Erik	Kelly	Laura	Laura	John	Dave	Monica	Shambo	Jaison	Brett
►	Mick	Ashley	—	Betsy	Ben	—	Ashley	—	Liz	Erik	Kelly	Laura	Laura	John	Dave	Monica	Shambo	Jaison	Brett
►	Brett	—	—	—	—	Yasmin	—	—	—	Erik	Russell H.	Natalie	Natalie	John	Dave	Russell H.	Shambo	Jaison	Mick			Natalie
►	Jaison	Marisa	—	Betsy	Ben	—	Ashley	—	Liz	Erik	Kelly	Laura	Laura	John	Dave	Monica	Shambo	Mick				Natalie
►	Shambo	—	—	—	—	Monica	—	—	—	Jaison	Russell H.	Laura	Laura	Dave	Dave	Monica	Mick				Russell H.
►	Monica	—	—	—	—	Yasmin	—	—	—	Erik	Russell H.	Natalie	Natalie	John	Dave	Russell H.						Natalie
►	Dave	—	—	—	—	Yasmin	—	—	—	Erik	Russell H.	Natalie	Natalie	John	Shambo							Natalie
►	John	—	—	—	—	Yasmin	—	—	—	Erik	Russell H.	Natalie	Laura	Mick							Russell H.
►	Laura	—	—	—	—	Yasmin	—	—	—	Erik	Russell H.	Natalie	None									Natalie
►	Kelly	—	—	—	—	Yasmin	—	—	—	Erik	Russell H.											Natalie
►	Erik	—	—	—	—	Yasmin	—	—	—	Jaison												Natalie
	Liz	Marisa	—	Betsy	Ben	—	Ashley	—	Jaison
	Russell S.	—	—	—	—	Yasmin	—	Evacuated
	Ashley	Marisa	—	Betsy	Ben	—	Liz
	Yasmin	—	—	—	—	Monica
	Ben	Marisa	—	Betsy	Ashley
	Betsy	Ashley	—	Ben
	Mike	Marisa	Evacuated
	Marisa	Ashley
Notes: ^1 Mike was evacuated from the game due to injury and hypotension. However, Foa Foa still had to visit Tribal Council and vote. ^2 Russell S. was evacuated from the game due to severe hypotension. Therefore, the scheduled double Tribal Council was cancelled. ^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, however, no votes were cast against its user. ^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user. ^5 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor rules, a revote was held where the castaways involved in the tie would not vote and the remaining castaways could only vote for those involved in the tie.

Trivia

• Samoa is actually pronounced "Sa-mwa" not "Sa-mo-ah" like the way Jeff Probst and the cast call it. Same situation, Foa Foa should be pronounce "Fwa Fwa", not "Fo-ah Fo-ah". The pronunciation used, however, is the standard English pronunciation.
• As stated in the Survivor: Tocantins Reunion Show, the season was originally planned to have only 18 castaways.
• This season's rendition of "Ancient Voices" is remixed with another track from the season's soundtrack entitled Samoa Tomeah.
• This is the first season since Survivor: China to not have a subtitle.
• This season has the first person to be disqualified from a challenge due to foul behavior since several members of Survivor: Thailand 's Sook Jai tribe did so.
  • However, because the disqualified players in Thailand broke a specific rule, Ben Browning is the first player to be arbitrarily ejected from a challenge at the sole judgement of Jeff Probst.
• This season held the largest Tribal Council with 13 players, which occurred after Russell Swan was pulled from the game. It was eventually tied by the first post-merge Tribal Councils of Survivor: Cambodia, Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, Survivor: Game Changers, Survivor: Ghost Island and Survivor: David vs. Goliath
• This season was the first season to have the merged tribe consist of more than ten members.
• This is the first season where a player earned more than nine votes at a single Tribal Council, being Erik Cardona.
• This is the first time that Ulonging happened to one tribe and Pagonging happened to another.
• This is the first season where a female player won a Final Three.
• The necklace Jeff Probst wore this season was made by Survivor: Marquesas contestant, Gina Crews.
• All of the returning players from this season, so far, have been voted out pre-merge in subsequent seasons.
  • Russell Hantz made it to the Final Tribal Council in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, but was voted out pre-merge in Survivor: Redemption Island, while Laura Morett had been voted out pre-merge in Survivor: Blood vs. Water, but eventually returned to the game via Redemption Island and placed 6th. Monica Padilla also returned for Survivor: Cambodia, and was voted out fifth, placing 16th.