Survivor: Cook Islands
Template:Infobox Television Survivor Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed from June 26, 2006 through August 3, 2006 and premiered on September 14, 2006.
During this season of Survivor, the contestants were divided into four tribes by ethnicity; African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and White American, a decision that generated some controversy prior to the premiere. The respective tribes' names were Manihiki ("Hiki"), Puka Puka ("Puka"), Aitutaki ("Aitu"), and Rarotonga ("Raro"). These four tribes were named after islands located in the Cook Islands. The four tribes evenly divided into two new mixed tribes after the second tribal council, taking the Aitutaki and Rarotonga names. A mutiny offer was made to all remaining players during this season before the merge, where two players from the same tribe accepted the mutiny offer. After the nine remaining contestants merged, they decided to name themselves Aitutonga. This season also featured the first time a tribe has voted off two members during a single tribal council. The concept of Exile Island returned, with a hidden immunity idol located somewhere on the island.
Instead of the usual final two players facing a jury of seven, there was a final three facing a jury of nine, which included players that were voted out before the merge. The final jury setup meant that a two or three-way tie to decide the winner of the game was possible, though the method to resolve this tie was unknown at the time. In the end, Yul Kwon defeated Ozzy Lusth and Becky Lee by a jury vote of 5–4–0 and was named the Sole Survivor.
The complete season, including the mid-season recap episode and live Reunion show, was released on DVD on December 11, 2012, available exclusively through Amazon.com.
Contestants
| Contestant | Original tribe | Switched tribe | Post-mutiny tribe | Merged tribe | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sekou Bunch 45, Los Angeles, California |
Manihiki | 1st voted out Day 3 | |||
| Billy Garcia 36, New York, New York |
Aitutaki | 2nd voted out Day 6 | |||
| Cecilia Mansilla 29, Thousand Oaks, California |
Aitutaki | Aitutaki | 3rd voted out Day 8 | ||
| John "J. P." Calderon 30, Santa Monica, California |
Aitutaki | Rarotonga | 4th voted out Day 11 | ||
| Stephannie Favor 35, Columbia, South Carolina |
Manihiki | Rarotonga | 5th voted out Day 14 | ||
| Anh-Tuan "Cao Boi" Bui 42, Christiansburg, Virginia |
Puka Puka | Aitutaki | 6th voted out Day 15 | ||
| Cristina Coria 35, Los Angeles, California |
Aitutaki | Rarotonga | 7th voted out Day 15 | ||
| Jessica Smith 27, Chico, California |
Rarotonga | Aitutaki | 8th voted out Day 18 | ||
| Brad Virata 29, Los Angeles, California |
Puka Puka | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 9th voted out 1st jury member Day 21 | |
| Rebecca Borman 34, Laurelton, New York |
Manihiki | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 10th voted out 2nd jury member Day 24 | |
| Jenny Guzon-Bae 36, Lake Forest, Illinois |
Puka Puka | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 11th voted out 3rd jury member Day 24 | |
| Nathan "Nate" Gonzalez 26, Los Angeles, California |
Manihiki | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | Aitutonga | 12th voted out 4th jury member Day 27 |
| Candice Woodcock 23, Fayetteville, North Carolina |
Rarotonga | Aitutaki | Rarotonga | 13th voted out 5th jury member Day 30 | |
| Jonathan Penner 44, Los Angeles, California |
Rarotonga | Aitutaki | Rarotonga | 14th voted out 6th jury member Day 33 | |
| Parvati Shallow 23, Vero Beach, Florida |
Rarotonga | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 15th voted out 7th jury member Day 36 | |
| Adam Gentry 28, San Diego, California |
Rarotonga | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 16th voted out 8th jury member Day 37 | |
| Sundra Oakley 31, Los Angeles, California |
Manihiki | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | 17th voted out 9th jury member Day 38 | |
| Rebekah "Becky" Lee 28, Washington, D.C. |
Puka Puka | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | 2nd Runner-up | |
| Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth 25, Fresno, California |
Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Runner-up | |
| Yul Kwon 31, Queens, New York |
Puka Puka | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Sole Survivor |
Future appearances
Ozzy Lusth, Jonathan Penner, and Parvati Shallow were selected to compete again in Survivor: Micronesia. Penner was medically evacuated from the game in 15th place, Lusth finished in 9th, and Shallow eventually won the season. Shallow would again return for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains along with Candice Woodcock where they placed 2nd and 8th, respectively. Lusth would also return for a third time in Survivor: South Pacific, finishing in 4th place. Penner returned for his third time in Survivor: Philippines where he placed 7th. Woodcock, now using her husband's surname of Cody, returned for her third time in Survivor: Blood vs. Water, alongside her husband, John, finishing in 16th place.
Season summary
According to a local guidebook, pre-production began in the spring of 2006 and principal filming ran from July 3, 2006 until August 11, 2006.[1][2][3]
The 20 players were initially divided into four tribes based on race for the first six days of the competition, but later merged into two tribes. An early visit to Exile island resulted in Yul discovering the hidden immunity idol. With the tribes equal at six members each on Day 19, the castaways were given the choice to mutiny and join the other tribe; Candice and Jonathan opted to do so, leaving the Aitutaki tribe at four members, consisting of Yul, Ozzy, Becky, and Sundra, against an eight-strong Rarotonga tribe. However, this served to only increase the determination of the Aitutaki tribe; between strong teamwork, Yul's intelligence, and Ozzy's swimming skills, Aitutaki defeated Rarotonga at every subsequent challenge, leaving Rarotonga with only five members at the merge.
While the Aitu Four merged in the minority, Yul cemented his Aitutaki alliance by showing them the idol, and convinced Jonathan to vote along with them to tip the scales. The Aitu Four quickly took control of the game and were the final four players remaining. With Yul holding the hidden immunity idol and Ozzy winning the final challenge, the four agreed to let a fire-making challenge decide who would join them at the Final Tribal Council; despite this taking more than an hour to complete, Becky emerged victorious. The jury, seeing Becky's coat-tailing of Yul and poor performance at the fire-making challenge, did not consider any votes for her, and Yul's brains edged out Ozzy's brawn, five votes to four.
| Episode Title | Original air date | Challenge winner(s) | Exiled | Eliminated | Finish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reward | Immunity | |||||
| "I Can Forgive Her But I Don't Have To Because She Screwed With My Chickens" | September 14, 2006 | Puka Puka[a] | Jonathan | Sekou | 1st voted out Day 3 | |
| Aitutaki[b] | ||||||
| Rarotonga[b] | ||||||
| "Dire Strengths and Dead Weight" | September 21, 2006 | Puka Puka[c] | Yul | Billy | 2nd voted out Day 6 | |
| Rarotonga[c] | ||||||
| Manihiki | ||||||
| "Flirting and Frustration" | September 28, 2006 | None[d] | Rarotonga | Candice[e] | Cecilia | 3rd voted out Day 8 |
| "Ruling the Roost" | October 5, 2006 | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Adam | J.P. | 4th voted out Day 11 |
| "Don't Cry Over Spilled Octopus" | October 12, 2006 | Rarotonga | Aitutaki | Jonathan | Stephannie | 5th voted out Day 14 |
| "Plan Voodoo" | October 19, 2006 | Aitutaki | Nate[f] | None[g] | Cao Boi | 6th voted out Day 15 |
| Cristina | 7th voted out Day 15 | |||||
| "Why Aren't You Swimming?!" | November 2, 2006 | Aitutaki | Rarotonga | Adam | Jessica | 8th voted out Day 18 |
| "Mutiny" | November 9, 2006 | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Candice | Brad | 9th voted out 1st jury member Day 21 |
| "People That You Like Want To See You Suffer" | November 16, 2006 | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Candice | Rebecca | 10th voted out 2nd jury member Day 24 |
| Jenny | 11th voted out 3rd jury member Day 24 | |||||
| "Why Would You Trust Me?" | November 23, 2006 | None[h] | Ozzy | None[h] | Nate | 12th voted out 4th jury member Day 27 |
| "You're a Rat..." | November 30, 2006 | Survivor Auction | Adam | Candice[i] | Candice | 13th voted out 5th jury member Day 30 |
| "Arranging a Hit" | December 7, 2006 | Parvati, [Adam, Sundra] | Ozzy | Jonathan | Jonathan | 14th voted out 6th jury member Day 33 |
| "I Have the Advantage...For Once" | December 14, 2006 | Ozzy, Parvati, Yul | Ozzy | Adam | Parvati | 15th voted out 7th jury member Day 36 |
| "This Tribe Will Self-Destruct in 5, 4, 3..." | December 17, 2006 | None | Ozzy | None | Adam | 16th voted out 8th jury member Day 37 |
| Ozzy | Sundra | 17th voted out 9th jury member Day 38 | ||||
| "Reunion" | December 17, 2006 | Jury vote | ||||
| Becky | 2nd runner-up | |||||
| Ozzy | Runner-up | |||||
| Yul | Sole Survivor | |||||
- In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.
- ^ Combined reward and immunity challenge. For placing first, Puka Puka earned an additional reward.
- ^ a b Combined reward and immunity challenge.
- ^ a b For tying for first in the challenge, Puka Puka and Rarotonga won a reward in addition to immunity.
- ^ There was no reward challenge due to the tribal switch.
- ^ Candice was exiled until after the next Tribal Council, which meant she could not be voted out or participate in the vote.
- ^ For winning the reward challenge, Aitutaki earned the right to "kidnap" a member of Rarotonga; they selected Nate, who was granted immunity but could not vote.
- ^ Due to both tribes going to Tribal Council, no one was exiled.
- ^ a b There was no reward challenge and exiling due to the tribal merge.
- ^ At the Survivor Auction, Becky bought the right to send someone to Exile Island and take all of his/her money. She chose Candice.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | Rating/share (18-49) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 184 | 1 | "I Can Forgive Her But I Don't Have To Because She Screwed With My Chickens" | September 14, 2006 | 18.00 | 6.5/20 |
| 185 | 2 | "Dire Strengths and Dead Weight" | September 21, 2006 | 17.43 | 6.5/18 |
| 186 | 3 | "Flirting and Frustration" | September 28, 2006 | 16.85 | 5.9/16 |
| 187 | 4 | "Ruling the Roost" | October 5, 2006 | 15.83 | 5.6/16 |
| 188 | 5 | "Don't Cry Over Spilled Octopus" | October 12, 2006 | 15.84 | 5.5/15 |
| 189 | 6 | "Plan Voodoo" | October 19, 2006 | 15.02 | 5.3/14 |
| 190 | 7 | "A Closer Look" | October 26, 2006 | 15.30 | 5.4/14 |
| 191 | 8 | "Why Aren't You Swimming?!" | November 2, 2006 | 15.30 | 5.4/14 |
| 192 | 9 | "Mutiny" | November 9, 2006 | 14.39 | 4.8/13 |
| 193 | 10 | "People That You Like Want To See You Suffer" | November 16, 2006 | 15.35 | 5.3/14 |
| 194 | 11 | "Why Would You Trust Me?" | November 23, 2006 | 12.67 | 4.3/13 |
| 195 | 12 | "You're a Rat..." | November 30, 2006 | 15.63 | 5.4/14 |
| 196 | 13 | "Arranging a Hit" | December 7, 2006 | 15.72 | 5.3/15 |
| 197 | 14 | "I Have the Advantage...For Once" | December 14, 2006 | 14.55 | 5.0/14 |
| 198 | 15 | "This Tribe Will Self-Destruct in 5, 4, 3..." | December 17, 2006 | 16.42 | 5.7/14 |
| 199 | 16 | "Reunion" | December 17, 2006 | N/A | TBA |
Voting history
| Original tribes | Switched tribes | Post-mutiny | Merged tribe | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode # | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10[a] | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | ||||||||||
| Day # | 3 | 6 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 33 | 36 | 37 | 38 | |||||||||
| Eliminated | Sekou | Billy | Cecilia | J.P. | Stephannie | Cao Boi | Cristina | Jessica | Brad | Rebecca | Jenny | Nate | Candice | Jonathan | Parvati | Adam | Tie[b] | Sundra | ||||||
| Votes | 3–2 | 4–1 | 5–3 | 7–2 | 7–1 | 6–1–1 | 4–2 | 6–1 | 7–1 | 6–1 | 4–2 | 5–4 | 5–3 | 6–1 | 4–2 | 4–1 | 2–2 | None[c] | ||||||
| Voter | Vote | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yul | Cecilia | Cao Boi | Jessica | Nate | Candice | Jonathan | Parvati | Adam | Sundra | |||||||||||||||
| Ozzy | Billy | Becky | Cao Boi | Jessica | Nate | Candice | Jonathan | Parvati | Adam | Becky | ||||||||||||||
| Becky | Cecilia | Cao Boi | Jessica | Nate | Candice | Jonathan | Parvati | Adam | Sundra | Win[c] | ||||||||||||||
| Sundra | Sekou | Becky | Cao Boi | Jessica | Nate | Candice | Jonathan | Parvati | Adam | Becky | Lose[c] | |||||||||||||
| Adam | J.P. | Stephannie | Cristina | Brad | Rebecca | Jenny | Yul | Jonathan | Jonathan | Sundra | Yul | |||||||||||||
| Parvati | J.P. | Stephannie | Cristina | Brad | Rebecca | Jenny | Yul | Jonathan | Jonathan | Sundra | ||||||||||||||
| Jonathan | Cecilia | Cao Boi | Jessica | Brad | Rebecca | Jenny | Nate | Candice | Adam | |||||||||||||||
| Candice | Exiled[d] | Cao Boi | Jessica | Brad | Rebecca | Jenny | Yul | Jonathan | ||||||||||||||||
| Nate | Sundra | Stephannie | Stephannie | Kidnap[e] | Brad | Rebecca | Jonathan | Yul | ||||||||||||||||
| Jenny | J.P. | Stephannie | Cristina | Brad | Rebecca | Jonathan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rebecca | Sekou | J.P. | Stephannie | Cristina | Brad | Jonathan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Brad | J.P. | Stephannie | Jenny | Jonathan | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jessica | Cecilia | Jonathan | Jonathan | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Cristina | Billy | J.P. | Stephannie | Jenny | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cao Boi | Cecilia | Candice | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stephannie | Sekou | J.P. | Cristina | |||||||||||||||||||||
| J.P. | Billy | Stephannie | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cecilia | Billy | Becky | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Billy | Ozzy | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sekou | Sundra | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- ^ After voting out one member at Tribal Council, Rarotonga were instructed to immediately vote out another.
- ^ The first Tribal Council vote resulted in a tie. As there were only four castaways remaining, the two tied castaways would compete in a fire making challenge to resolve the tie.
- ^ a b c Sundra lost to Becky in the fire making tiebreaker challenge.
- ^ Candice was exiled until after the next Tribal Council, which meant she could not be voted out or participate in the vote.
- ^ Nate was "kidnapped" by the other tribe after they won the reward challenge, which meant he could not be voted out or participate in the vote.
Filming locations
The tribal camps, Exile Island, and many challenges of Survivor: Cook Islands were filmed on small "motu" (Polynesian word for "islet") in the Aituaki lagoon. The Rarotonga (later Aitutonga) tribe's camp was on Moturakau. The Aitutaki tribe lived on Motukitiu. The short-lived tribes of Manihiki and Puka Puka lived on Rapota and Muritapua, respectively. Most challenges were filmed on Tekopua and Tapuaetai (One Foot Island). Exile Island is a small sand cay south of Tapuaetai, and the bow of the wooden ship was brought in for the show. Just to the West of Tapuaetai is another sand cay called "Nude Island" by locals in reference to its lack of vegetation. The third challenge was played in the shallow waters just off the shore of Nude Island. Akaiami hosted challenges and also "The Ponderosa," where eliminated contestants were sequestered until the end of the game. Tribal Council, the production camp, and a few challenges were located on the main island of Aitutaki. There were three reward trips to the neighboring islands of Atiu, Mitiaro, and Rarotonga.[4]
Diversity and controversy
The decision to divide the teams by race and ethnicity has made this series of Survivor controversial even before airing. Members of the New York City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus have called on CBS to dump Survivor.[5] Those who work with the show indicate that as divisions by age, gender, or gender and age combined, have been accepted this should not be treated much different or it would set race apart.[6] Host Jeff Probst conceded, by implication, a small difference in that racial segregation had actually been practiced in US history.[7]
Conversely, previous seasons have been criticized for not having many non-white contestants. Probst has since pointed out that over 80% of Survivor's applicants are white.[7]
According to Advertising Age Magazine, more than a half dozen major advertisers such as General Motors and Coca Cola withdrew their advertising after hearing about the teams' division.[8] However, a New York Times report indicates that the decision by several advertisers not to advertise for the current season, including General Motors, Coca Cola, Home Depot, United Parcel Service, and Campbell Soup, was made three months prior to the start of the show and unrelated to the show's racial format.[9]
The early advertisements for the season also attracted some criticism, as they all coyly hinted at how the tribes would be divided, despite the producers having completely revealed the racial divide some time earlier.
Possibly in response to the criticism, Jeff asked the contestants on the reunion show how they felt about the racial divide, and they said that it helped to disprove the stereotypes about them.
MADtv parodied Cook Islands in its twelfth season premiere episode, which aired September 16, 2006. The parody involved giving the white challengers significantly easier tasks, such as a swimming challenge which allowed the white challengers to use a canoe, or building a fire with a fire building kit that consisted of gasoline and a DVD on how to build fire, the Hispanic contestants received flint, the Asians received a matchstick, and the African-Americans were given a glass of water.
References
- ^ "Survivor 13 will be filmed in the Cook Islands, may feature past cast members + reality blurred". Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ "CBS announces thirteenth 'Survivor' edition to film in Cook Islands - Reality TV World". Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ "Survivor Cook Islands now taping; all hotels are booked due to the production + reality blurred". Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ Morrison, Cheyenne. "Survivor Series 13: Aitutaki Cook Islands." Private Islands. May 14, 2006. Retrieved on September 14, 2006.
- ^ Staff Writer. "New Yorkers blast ethnic grouping of 'Survivor' players." Belleville News Democrat. August 28, 2006. Retrieved on September 14, 2006.
- ^ Lang, Derrik J. "'Survivor: Cook Islands' segregates by players' race." August 24, 2006. Retrieved on September 14, 2006.
- ^ a b Staff Writer. "‘Survivor: Cook Islands’ to divide teams by race." MSNBC. August 23, 2006. Retrieved on September 14, 2006.
- ^ Laurence, Robert P. "Advertisers vote to get off 'Survivor' after racial-split ploy." San Diego Union Tribune. September 11, 2006. Retrieved on September 15, 2006.
- ^ Wyatt, Edward; Elliott, Stuart. "G.M. Drops ‘Survivor’ but Says Racial Format Isn’t the Reason." New York Times. August 31, 2006. Retrieved on September 15, 2006.