Survivor: The Australian Outback

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Survivor: The Australian Outback
Filming location	Herbert River at Goshen Station (South-west of Cairns, Queensland, Australia)
Winner	Tina Wesson (4-3)
Original run	January 28, 2001 – May 3, 2001
Filming dates	October 23, 2000 – December 3, 2000
No. of episodes	15
No. of days	42
No. of survivors	16
Tribes	Kucha      Ogakor      Barramundi
All-Stars	Tina Wesson, Colby Donaldson, Jerri Manthey, Alicia Calaway, Amber Brkich
Season chronology
Previous	Survivor: Borneo
Next	Survivor: Africa

Survivor: The Australian Outback was the second season of the United States reality show Survivor. Filming took place at Goshen Station in northern Queensland during 2000 and aired from January 28, 2001 to May 3, 2001 on CBS.^[1] The location used was within a three hour drive of the coastal city of Cairns and located in a wet, sub-tropical area. It was the top-rated show of 2001, according to Nielsen Ratings.

Fourteen weekly episodes aired, the first one airing immediately after Super Bowl XXXV, which also aired on CBS. The winner, Tina Wesson, was announced on May 3, 2001 where she defeated Colby Donaldson by a vote of 4-3.

The entire season was released in DVD format on April 26, 2005.^[2]

[edit] Notable Events

Although the series premiered right after Super Bowl XXXV, the late hour prompted CBS to re-air the premiere episode later that week.

The elimination of contestant Michael Skupin during the sixth episode is noteworthy for being the first case where a Survivor contestant has had to be evacuated due to injuries. While attempting to start a fire, Skupin breathed in smoke and momentarily fainted, falling into the fire and suffering severe burns to his hands. After being cared for by medical personnel, a helicopter was brought in and Skupin was evacuated. Due to his evacuation, the Immunity Challenge was cancelled, and no Tribal Council was held. As a result, the Ogakor and Kucha tribes merged with an equal number of tribe members, instead of the possible six to four (had Ogakor lost the Immunity Challenge and gone to Tribal Council). At the first merged Tribal Council, Jeff Varner was eliminated after a tie vote along former tribal lines.

During a reward trip, contestant and eventual runner-up Colby Donaldson broke an Australian law by breaking off coral from the Great Barrier Reef which could have resulted in a fine of AU$110,000. The helicopter pilot involved in the reward trip also broke an Australian law as he flew over sea bird rookeries.^[3] Survivor's producer Mark Burnett apologized on behalf of Colby and the production team after the season had aired.^[4]

Gameplay changes between the first two seasons included the game being the first and only season to last 42 days instead of 39, meaning that the rapid-fire elimination of a "Final Four" turned into a "Final Three." This series also began the Survivor tradition of revealing the results live, so that none of the castaways would know who won until the finale.

During a reward on Day 34 where the remaining five contestants were permitted to communicate with their family members, Ogakor/Barramundi member Keith Famie asked his girlfriend to marry him and she said yes.^[5]

After the show, fourth-place finisher Elisabeth Filarski went on to co-host The View.^[6] She was invited to participate in Survivor: All-Stars, but turned the opportunity down in order to focus on The View.^[7]

Tina Wesson, Colby Donaldson, Jerri Manthey, Alicia Calaway and Amber Brkich competed in Survivor: All-Stars where they placed 18th, 12th, 10th, 7th, and 1st respectively. Brkich defeated fellow competitor and future husband Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano who had previously competed in the series' fourth season, Survivor: Marquesas in a 4-3 vote.

[edit] Contestants

The Total Votes is the number of votes a castaway has received during Tribal Councils where the castaway is eligible to be voted out of the game. It does not include the votes received during the final Tribal Council.

[edit] The game

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.

Note 1: Combined Reward and Immunity challenge.
Note 2: No immunity was given in Ep. 6 because of Michael's injury.
Note 3: There was no Reward Challenge due to tribal merge.

[edit] Voting history

Note 2: Keith and Mitchell were tied 3-3 at Tribal Council and in a Tribal Council countback Keith had no previous votes, but Mitchell had one; therefore, he was eliminated.
Note 3: On Day 17 Michael fell into a fire and had to be evacuated due to injuries, as a result he was the sixth person to leave the game meaning no Tribal Council was held.
Note 4: Colby and Jeff were tied 5-5 at Tribal Council and in a Tribal Council countback Colby had no previous votes, but Jeff had two; therefore, Jeff was eliminated

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official CBS Survivor The Australian Outback Website