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Survivor: Vanuatu, also known as Survivor: Vanuatu — Islands of Fire, 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 in a 5-2 vote to become the ninth Sole Survivor.

Production

Survivor Live, an hour-long Internet talk show hosted by the show's first winner Richard Hatch and Entertainment Tonight correspondent Chris Booker, debuted during the season. The talk show, airing every Thursday and Friday on the CBS website, interviews former contestants and reviews the players' game-play.

The DVD for this season was released on December 5, 2006. It was the final Survivor DVD set to feature commentaries and DVD-exclusive interviews.

Twists/Changes

  • Expanded Cast: Following the previous season, this season also featured eighteen castaways.
  • Battle of the Sexes: For the second time, the castaways are divided to tribes based on gender.
  • Double Tribal Council: On one occasion, both tribes go to Tribal Council and vote somebody out, with one player possessing individual immunity won from a challenge and giving immunity to another player on the opposite tribe.
  • Tribe Switch: Two tribe "chiefs" are selected to rearrange the tribes, mixing up the gender-based tribes.


Castaways

Contestant Tribe Affiliation Finish Votes
Against
Original Tribe Switched Tribe Merged Tribe
File:S9 brook t.jpg Brook Geraghty
27, Winthrop, MA
Lopevi 1st Voted Out
Day 3
5
File:S9 dolly t.jpg Dolly Neely
25, Mercer, PA
Yasur 2nd Voted Out
Day 6
5
File:S9 johnp t.jpg John Palyok
31, Los Angeles, CA
Lopevi 3rd Voted Out
Day 7
5
File:S9 mia t.jpg Mia Galeotalanza
29, Toms River, NJ
Yasur 4th Voted Out
Day 7
5
File:S9 brady t.jpg Brady Finta
33, Huntington Beach, CA
Lopevi 5th Voted Out
Day 10
6
File:S9 travis t.jpg Travis Sampson
33, Blountville, TN
Lopevi Yasur 6th Voted Out
Day 12
6
File:S9 lisa t.jpg Lisa Keiffer
44, New Orleans, LA
Yasur Yasur 7th Voted Out
Day 15
4
File:S9 johnk t.jpg John Kenney
22, Los Angeles, CA
Lopevi Lopevi 8th Voted Out
Day 18
5
File:S9 rory t.jpg Rory Freeman
35, Des Moines, IA
Lopevi Yasur Alinta 9th Voted Out
Day 21
14
File:S9 lea t.jpg Lea Masters
40, Columbia, SC
Lopevi Lopevi 10th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 24
7
File:S9 chad t.jpg Chad Crittenden
34, Thousand Oaks, CA
Lopevi Lopevi 11th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 27
7
File:S9 leann t.jpg Leann Slaby
35, Kansasville, WI
Yasur Yasur 12th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 30
8
File:S9 ami t.jpg Ami Cusack
31, Lakewood, CO
Yasur Yasur 13th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 33
8
File:S9 julie t.jpg Julie Berry
23, Gorham, ME
Yasur Lopevi 14th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 36
4
File:S9 eliza t.jpg Eliza Orlins
21, Syracuse, NY
Yasur Yasur 15th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 37
9
File:S9 scout t.jpg Scout Cloud Lee
59, Stillwater, OK
Yasur Yasur 16th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 38
3
File:S9 twila t.jpg Twila Tanner
41, Marshall, MO
Yasur Lopevi Runner-Up 6
File:S9 chris t.jpg Chris Daugherty
33, South Vienna, OH
Lopevi Lopevi Sole Survivor 3

Season Summary

The players were brought into the game at a native gathering, with the natives dividing the group to 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 Daugherty's inability to cross over a balance beam. This seemed like the end of the game for him; however, he succeeded in convincing the older men of the tribe to form an alliance and vote off the younger men. Brook Geraghty was chosen as the first target, and was quickly eliminated. The plan would continue through their next two Tribal Councils, eliminating John Palyok and Brady Finta.

In Yasur, two factions emerged. An alliance of Julie Berry, Mia Galeotalanza, Lisa Keiffer, and Eliza Orlins and an alliance led by Ami Cusack, who gathered Twila Tanner, Scout Cloud Lee, and Leann Slaby. Both groups fought over Dolly Neely's vote. With Dolly 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 Tribe Switch occurred on Day 11, mixing the two tribes; Rory Freeman and Travis Sampson 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 send a message to Chris right in front of Ami. It seemed Rory, the last man on the new Yasur, will go home next, however, concerned over Lisa's loyalty, Ami arranged her elimination at the next Tribal Council. At Lopevi, Lea Masters, Chad Crittenden, and Chris decided to invite Twila into their alliance as a fourth member, not trusting John Kenney (the last younger man on the tribe). The next Lopevi Tribal Council resulted in John K. being voted off. After the vote, Twila and Julie swore allegiance to Lopevi come the merge.

On Day 19, the two tribes merged and took the name Alinta, with the women outnumbering the men, six to four. While the men reformed their alliance, Julie and Twila broke their promise to them. The six women joined forces and eliminated Rory, Lea, and Chad in quick succession, leaving Chris as the last man in the game. By this time, Ami's core alliance consisted of her, Julie, and Leann, while Twila and Scout had formed a closer pairing, and Eliza was on the outside. When Chris was unable to secure the next immunity, he was given a lifeline by Twila, who wanted to remove Ami from power. Ami, meanwhile, also decided to spare Chris, and instead remove Eliza from the game. This helped Chris, Scout, and Twila to make an alliance with Eliza and get rid of Leann (Ami won immunity, and could not be voted out). The plan worked, and Leann was sent home. Ami and Julie soon followed, despite their last-minute attempts to swing Chris to their side. Chris won the last two Immunity Challenges, which allowed him to remain in power. He started by getting rid of Eliza, and ultimately took Twila over Scout with him to the Final Two.

Before the Final Tribal Council, Chris convinced Twila not to go easy on the jury, and not suck up to them and promised to do the same. The jury heavily criticized Chris, with Julie and Eliza being especially mad at him for breaking his promises to them. Chris, however, was able to appease them, he admitted that he was wrong, and that his time on Survivor has changed him. This, combined with Twila following his "advice", and Chris' ability to stay in the game despite the incredible odds against him, convinced the jury to vote for him. He won the title of Sole Survivor by a vote of 5-2.

Episode Guide

Episode Air date Challenges Eliminated
(Vote)
Finish Viewers
(in millions)
Ratings/Share
(18-49)
Reward Immunity
1 "They Came at Us with Spears!" September 16, 2004 Yasur1 Brook
(5-3-1)
1st Voted Out
Day 3
20.06[2] 7.8/22[2]
2 "Burly Girls, Bowheads, Young Studs, and the Old Bunch" September 23, 2004 Yasur Lopevi Dolly
(5-4)
2nd Voted Out
Day 6
19.14[3] 7.5/22[3]
3 "Double Tribal, Double Trouble" September 30, 2004 Lopevi John K. John P.
(5-3)
3rd Voted Out
Day 7
19.91[4] 7.5/21[4]
[Ami]2 Mia
(5-3)
4th Voted Out
Day 7
4 "Now That's a Reward!" October 7, 2004 Yasur Yasur Brady
(6-1)
5th Voted Out
Day 10
19.46[5] 7.3/21[5]
5 "Earthquakes and Shake-Ups!" October 14, 2004 Lopevi Lopevi Travis
(6-1)
6th Voted Out
Day 12
19.16[6] 7.0/19[6]
6 "Hog Tied" October 21, 2004 Lopevi Lopevi Lisa
(4-2)
7th Voted Out
Day 15
19.22[7] 7.3/20[7]
7 "Anger, Threats, Tears... and Coffee" October 28, 2004 Yasur Yasur John K.
(5-1)
8th Voted Out
Day 18
20.24[8] 7.6/20[8]
8 "Now the Battle Really Begins" November 4, 2004 Lopevi Lea Rory
(6-4)
9th Voted Out
Day 21
20.70 7.6/20
9 "Gender Wars... It's Getting Ugly" November 11, 2004 Leann
[Julie]
Ami Lea
(7-1-1)
10th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 24
20.14 7.4/N/A
10 "Culture Shock and Violent Storms" November 18, 2004 Ami, Chad,
Chris, Eliza
Twila Chad
(6-2)
11th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 27
20.70 7.7/N/A
11 "Surprise and... Surprise Again!" November 25, 2004 Eliza Ami Leann
(4-3)
12th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 30
19.72 7.2/19
12 "Now Who's in Charge Here?!" December 2, 2004 Eliza Chris Ami
(4-2)
13th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 33
20.3 7.6/21
Ami
Chris
13 "Eruption of Volcanic Magnitude" December 9, 2004 Julie
[Chris]
Eliza Julie
(3-2)
14th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 36
19.72 7.5/16
14 "Spirits and the Final Four" December 12, 2004 None Chris Eliza
(3-1)
15th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 37
19.71[9] 7.5/16[9]
Chris Scout
(1-0)
16th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 38
Jury Vote Twila
(5-2)
Runner-Up
Chris
(5-2)
Sole Survivor
15 "Reunion" 15.23[10] 9.0/14[10]
Notes:
^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^2 John K. had the right to assign individual immunity to a member of Yasur, in which he chose Ami.

Voting History

Original Tribes Switched Tribes Merged Tribe
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Voted Out S9 brook t
Brook
S9 dolly t
Dolly
S9 johnp t
John P.
S9 mia t
Mia
S9 brady t
Brady
S9 travis t
Travis
S9 lisa t
Lisa
S9 johnk t
John K.
S9 rory t
Rory
S9 lea t
Lea
S9 chad t
Chad
S9 leann t
Leann
S9 ami t
Ami
S9 julie t
Julie
S9 eliza t
Eliza
S9 scout t
Scout
S9 twila t
Twila
S9 chris t
Chris
Vote 5-3-1 5-4 5-3 5-3 6-1 6-1 4-2 5-1 6-4 7-1-1 6-2 4-3 4-2 3-2 3-1 1-01 5-2
Chris Brook John P. Brady John K. Ami Lea Eliza Leann Ami Julie Eliza Scout Jury Vote
Twila Dolly Mia John K. Rory Lea Chad Leann Ami Julie Eliza None
Scout Dolly Mia Travis Rory Rory Lea Chad Leann Ami Julie Eliza None Twila
Eliza Dolly Twila Travis Lisa Rory Lea Chad Leann Ami Twila Twila Chris
Julie Leann Twila John K. Rory Lea Chad Eliza Scout Twila Chris
Ami Dolly Mia Travis Lisa Rory Lea Chad Eliza Scout Twila
Leann Dolly Mia Travis Lisa Rory Lea Chad Eliza Chris
Chad Brook John P. Brady John K. Ami Julie Eliza Chris
Lea Brook John P. Brady John K. Ami Eliza Chris
Rory Brook John P. Brady Travis Lisa Ami
John K. Chris Rory Brady Chad
Lisa Leann Mia Travis Rory
Travis Brook John P. Brady Rory
Brady Rory Rory Rory
Mia Leann Twila
John P. Chris Rory
Dolly Leann
Brook Chris
Notes:
^1 Scout and Twila did not vote as they could only vote for each other. By virtue of winning the Final Immunity Challenge, only Chris voted.

Reception

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Trivia

  • This is the first season with 18 castaways where all of them are new players.
  • As revealed on Survivor: America's Tribal Council special during the previews for this season, Jeff Probst stated there was going to be 16 castaways originally.
  • This is the second season to feature a Battle of the Sexes format, following Survivor: The Amazon. It is the only Battle of the Sexes season where the women entered the merge with numbers over the men (The men had the numbers on The Amazon and Survivor: Panama, while on Survivor: One World, the men and women merged with equal numbers).
  • All eighteen contestants of Survivor: Vanuatu were present during the Survivor 10th anniversary party.
  • During this season, the filming location was struck by an earthquake.
  • After the Day 18 Immunity Challenge, Rory accidentally snapped the head of the Immunity Idol.
  • This season featured the first amputee contestant, Chad Crittenden.
  • This is the first season to have a subtitle in its name.
  • Only two men were on the jury this season, the fewest men on any jury thus far.
  • With the exception of the premiere and finale, every episode contained separate Reward and Immunity Challenges.
    • This is the only season in which both the final pre-merge and first post-merge episodes contained separate Reward and Immunity Challenges, and as a result the season with the most consecutive episodes with separate Reward and Immunity Challenges.
    • If the opening twist is counted as a de facto Reward Challenge, every episode contained exactly two challenges.
  • This is the first season to not feature the Survivor Smorgasbord challenge.

References

Survivor (U.S.) Seasons
BorneoThe Australian OutbackAfricaMarquesasThailandThe AmazonPearl IslandsAll-StarsVanuatuPalauGuatemalaPanamaCook IslandsFijiChinaMicronesiaGabonTocantinsSamoaHeroes vs. VillainsNicaraguaRedemption IslandSouth PacificOne WorldPhilippinesCaramoanBlood vs. WaterCagayanSan Juan del SurWorlds ApartCambodiaKaôh RōngMillennials vs. Gen XGame ChangersHeroes vs. Healers vs. HustlersGhost IslandDavid vs. GoliathEdge of ExtinctionIsland of the IdolsWinners at WarSurvivor 41Survivor 42Survivor 43Survivor 44Survivor 45Survivor 46
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