Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Season Finale" (Episode 13)

Episode 13: "Season Finale"
Original Airdate: August 23rd, 2000
American Ratings: 51.7 million viewers

It feels odd to look back on the finale of the very first season of Survivor. Back in the summer of 2000, Survivor was a TV phenomenon which took America by storm. The last episode saw over fifty million viewers watching television in August, a veritable feat considering that summer is habitually a TV wasteland filled with reruns. And although several subsequent Survivor finales were disappointments, this one left no one indifferent.

Day 37

Now part of the final four, Richard feels comfortable. He thinks it may have something to do with how little time is left.

Sue has trouble coping with boredom. Rudy believes he has lost about 22 pounds since they were marooned. Richard feels that it could be as much as thirty pounds for him.

I don't think I thought this was going to be as mental as it ended up being.

Rudy reflects on the fact that their alliance allowed them to vote everyone else off the island. Now with only the four of them left, the alliance is no more. They're on their own.

Kelly feels vulnerable. She is acutely aware that the target is on her back. From now on, there is no doubt that the other three will vote for her.

The first immunity challenge takes place in the tribal council area as the jury looks on. The Fallen Comrades challenge consists of questions about former castaways with whom they played the game. It goes to a tie-breaker between Sue and Kelly, with a question regarding Sonja's last name. Kelly wins immunity.

As the votes are tallied, both Richard and Sue garner two votes each. As a result, both won't get to vote again, but they are allowed to make a plea so that Kelly and Rudy won't eliminate them.

As the second round of voting is brought to a close, Sue racks up both votes and becomes the latest member of the jury.

This was a lot easier for me than driving a truck through Chicago every day of the week. That's a lot worst than being out here in the bush.

Day 38

Jeff Probst wakes them up at 4:00am. He takes Kelly, Richard, and Rudy to the final rite of passage. They will pass before the torch of each of their fallen companions and will have to reflect upon them. Covered in mud, they must then make their way to the final immunity challenge. Standing, they must keep their hand on the immunity idol for as long as they can.

Jeff Probst teases them with fresh oranges. After over two hours, Richard tells the other two that he hopes they'll both recognize what he has done since the beginning and he let's go. It's a bold move on his part, no question. With a million dollars at stake, a lot of people claimed they would have held forever.

Rudy and Kelly are now forced to rotate positions. After 4 hours and 11 minutes, Rudy accidentally gives Kelly the win. It's her fifth challenge victory in a row.

At tribal council, since Richard and Rudy's votes cancel one another, only Kelly will cast a vote. In what was, back in the day, considered a wise move, Kelly votes out Rudy, bringing Richard with her to the final tribal council.

In this case, Kelly has spoken.

Day 39

As Richard is lying in a hammock, relaxing, Kelly goes through her last yoga session on the beach.

I regret being part of the alliance. That didn't make me feel so good.

Meanwhile, Richard is thinking about the questions the jury might ask him tonight.

At final tribal council, each jury member gets to ask one question. Afterward, both Richard and Kelly will get the opportunity to plead their case. Both are allowed to make opening statements before the questions are asked.

Kelly explains that she is not a politician, that she didn't come here to campaign. She hopes she'll be judged on the person that she truly is and not the way she played the game.

I don't know that the best person is sitting up here. But hopefully the better person will win.

For his part, Richard explains that his approach was one of strategy. He couldn't plan it as well as he thought. He claims that he was only playing the game. He asks them to vote for who played the game better. Richard says that he approached the game with that perspective from the very start.

When Gervase asks what they would change, Kelly replies that she wouldn't have become part of the alliance.

When Jenna asks which two people they'd put in their places, Richard replies Greg and Rudy, while Kelly says Sonja and Gretchen.

Sean has no question. He claims that there's a lot of things he'd like to forget about the time spent with both of them.

Colleen wants to know what character traits got each of them to the final two. For Kelly, it's faith, strong will, and likeability. For Richard, it's self-awareness, observation, and ethics.

Rudy has absolutely nothing to say other than to let everyone know how dumb he feels for the mistake which cost him the immunity challenge.

Greg asks them to choose a number between one and ten.

Sue has no question, but her rat and snake speech remains a Survivor highlight to this day.

You will not get my vote. My vote will go to Richard. And I hope that this is the one vote that makes you lose the money.

As closing remarks, Kelly claims that she doesn't think that anyone in this game is without faults, errors, or unproud moments. Richard explains that he wouldn't change anything that he did, and he hopes they'll respect that this is what he felt he needed to do in order to play and ultimately have a chance to win this game.

In a final tribal council that shocked viewers, Richard beat Kelly by a narrow 4-3 vote, thus becoming the first ultimate Survivor.

Wow! I've won! It's an amazing place to be.

When I first began this Survivor: Borneo rewatch, I was afraid that the season had not aged well. Given the fact that I hadn't seen the first Survivor season since the 2000 reruns, I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't "survive" the test of time.

Regardless of all the seasons and disparate castaways that came after, Survivor: Borneo remains what could well be the best Survivor season in the history of the show!

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Death of an Alliance" (Episode 12)

Episode 12: "Death of an Alliance"
Original Airdate: August 16th, 2000
American Ratings: 28.7 million viewers

Day 34

The castaways claim that there was never such a thing as the Rattana tribe. Once the Tagi and Pagong tribes were no more, it was just a group of individuals playing against one another.

There seems to be a lot of tension within the alliance. No one knows who they can fully trust.

This is the most conniving bunch of people I have ever met in my life. There's not an honest one in the bunch. Things are falling apart here on Rattana beach.

Sue clashes with Kelly, for she believes that the other tried to set herself up as the good guy in front of the Pagong members, and thus relegating the rest of them to the role of the bad guys. Kelly explains that it was just to pretend that the Tagi alliance wouldn't vote off the Pagong tribesmates one by one.

Richard is happy with this unexpected turn of events, because a conflict between Sue and Kelly plays to his advantage.

Sue gets stung by a sting ray as she is fishing with the harpoon.

The remaining players miss home and can't wait to return to reality.

Day 35

Tree mail consists of a mud-filled bucket. So they figure that the reward challenge will involve mud in some fashion.

The reward challenge takes place at the mud volcano. The castaways must use their bodies to carry as much mud as humanly possible and pour it into their buckets. The winner will get food and beer, and will watch the first 5 minutes of Survivor. With a bucket weighing 15.9 pounds, Kelly wins the reward. She's glad because she hasn't won much of anything yet. The fun challenge helped them smooth out the frictions plaguing the tribe.

Later that night, a boat picks up Kelly and takes her to the Survivor Bar. She shares a beer and potato chips with Jeff Probst and eats a plate of pasta. She discusses just how crazy the game has become. To cap off the evening, they watch the first five minutes of the first episode of Survivor.

Day 36

Now that they have patched things up, Sue wants to be honest and reveals to Kelly that she has an alliance with Richard. They don't want Kelly to make it to the Top 3.

In three days, it'll all be over.

Sean knows that he must win immunity if he wants to get the opportunity to win the game. He is aware that he needs to elevate his game, or he'll be going home.

Tree mail contains a video camera. It's the Survivor Witch Project. They are summoned to the Pagong beach at sundown for the immunity challenge. They must seek five masks throughout the jungle. Each mask bears a questions about the local folklore. Armed with a camera, they must record themselves giving the answer. The first person to collect all five masks and answer the questions correctly wins immunity. Jeff Probst gives them a number of clues to help them answer the questions.

Though Kelly wins immunity, this will always be remembered as Rudy's infamous "I don't know" challenge!

I'm winning this thing. The whole show.

With Kelly winning immunity, Richard is forced to make changes to his strategy. Sean believes that they will all vote against Sue tonight. Kelly figure that she'll vote for either Richard or Sue.

At tribal council, host Jeff Probst tells them that whoever makes it through this vote will make it to the final 4. Kelly is persuaded that she would have been voted off, had she not won immunity earlier today. Sean feels good about what the jury might think of him.

There's a lot to be said about money, Jeff!

Sue receives a single vote, while Sean racks up the remaining four votes and becomes the newest member of the jury. Interestingly enough, Sean's torch went out during the vote.

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Long Hard Days" (Episode 11)

Episode 11: "Long Hard Days"
Original Airdate: August 9th, 2000
American Ratings: 28 million viewers

Day 31

With everyone low on energy, the game is taking its toll on the castaways. They miss home and their families.

Colleen's legs are pretty beat up. She feels that the last five days have been the longest of her entire life. She misses her old Pagong tribesmates. She is a bit confused about the Tagi alliance, feeling that it's not as solid as it used to be. And she's enjoying witnessing the breakdown on the alliance.

Even Sean now realizes that he must be more strategic if he wants to have a shot at the million dollars.

Richard tells Rudy that he wants it to be the both of them at the end.

It's not a fun game now.

The reward challenge is a Survivor trivia game. The winner will spend a night aboard a luxury yatch. In the final round, Sean wins a showdown against Richard.

Day 32

Sean said that he would bring Kelly for breakfast on the yatch. A violent downpour does nothing to improve their collective mood. They have to stand packed tight under the parachute to stay away from the rain.

Later, Jeff arrives on the beach to pick up Sean. When he asks Kelly if she wants to join him for breakfast, she replies that it's his decision. Not surprisingly, Sean selects Richard to accompany him the next morning.

Aboard the yatch, Sean gets to eat and drink. He also takes a shower and gets a massage. That night, he is reunited with his father, who is disguised as the ship's captain.

Back at camp, Kelly is irked that Sean chose Richard instead of her.

Day 33

Jeff comes to get Richard so he can share breakfast with Sean. Richard continues to eat as the others talk.

Six more days of rice. I might even skip the last day of eating altogether, just not to eat rice.

Rudy can't understand why Sean changed his mind at the last minute. Now all the ladies are pissed off at him.

Sean returns to the beach with his father and Richard. The old man's presence is a welcome distraction, which helps with the sombre mood around camp. He brought packages containing stuff from their loved ones for each of the castaways.

For the immunity challenge, they must stand on planks hanging over the water. Periodically, planks are removed, making it harder and harder for the players to keep their balance.

Richard finds it funny that Colleen is trying so hard to win immunity, for it's Kelly's time to go tonight. Yet when it becomes evident that Kelly might win, Sue, Rudy, and Richard consider eliminating Sean. After 2 hours and 54 minutes, Colleen falls into the water and Kelly wins immunity.

I'm voting strategically. So are they and they still think I'm in the stupid alliance. Because if I told them I didn't want to be, they'd vote me off. So I'm trying to save my own ass. I don't care what I say to people. I don't care if I'm nice to anybody at camp. I do not give a shit. And it feels so good. I love it.

At tribal council, Jeff Probst asks Sean why he changed his mind at the last minute and decided to bring Richard on the yatch. Sean explains that he has been the sole provider of food for a long time.

Jeff mentions that Richard was recently saved from being voted off by Sean's infamous alphabetical order voting system. He asks Richard if he feels that he's in a precarious situation within the tribe.

As the last former Pagong member, Colleen feels that she is going home tonight. She feels that things will become pretty nasty from here on out.

Why are you going tonight? Because you screwed up. It wasn't your turn and you were supposed to stay. So you are actually being sacrificed, even though you were supposed to stay.

As the votes are tallied, Sean sees his name come up three times, but Colleen racks up the four votes from the Tagi alliance and will thus join the jury.

Be nice to each other.

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Crack in the Alliance" (Episode 10)

Episode 10: "Crack in the Alliance"
Original Airdate: August 2nd, 2000
American Ratings: 27.4 million viewers

Day 28

Some of the castaways find it hard to believe that they have lasted this long. Sue is happy that the camp is much quieter since Jenna was voted off.

With only Pagong members getting eliminated since the merge, Gervase is shocked that he is still around. Though the former Tagi tribe denies it, Gervase is convince that there is indeed an alliance at play at each tribal council.

Sean, ever the naive do-gooder, still isn't sure if there is an alliance beyond the evident voting block.

Sean, come on! Open your eyes!

Colleen is considering voting for Sean at the next tribal council because his stupid alphabetical order voting system led to Jenna being eliminated the night before.

After seeing three votes cast against him the previous night, Richard decides to limit the number of fish he brings back to feed the tribe. If they don't appreciate his efforts, he won't provide food for them. After catching a single ray, Richard is thinking about not catching a single fish until the former Pagong members have all been sent home.

My strategy all along has been to just play the role of the dumb redneck. People think that rednecks are so vulnerable and dumb that they'll talk to them. Openly. Like Rich did. You know, how he's going to burn everybody. Hopefully in the end, the redneck will burn the city-slicker. So we'll see what happens!

Sue tells Kelly that she wants the two of them to bring Richard to the end and then burn him. Sue is grateful for Richard allowing them to get this far into the game. But she never trusted him. Yet she trusts Kelly 100%, claiming that they are like sisters. Although it's gotten to the point where you never know who you can trust, Kelly trusts Sue.

For his part, Richard trusts Rudy and Sue, but he's uncertain whether or not Kelly is as solid as the other two.

If the alliance were to break down and something else happened that I wasn't aware of, I would shake those people's hands and say "congratulations to you." You know, brilliant, good job, you got it, because you fooled me.

Via tree mail, Gervase receives word that his son Gunner was born the day before. It's his fourth kid.

The reward challenge is for a slice of pizza and a phone call home. The castaways must move across a course of bamboo poles. It requires speed and balance. Gervase wins the finals against Richard. His pizza slice is delivered by helicopter. Though he is the winner of the challenge, Gervase shares a bite with all the others. Due to the different time zones, Jeff Probst will return the following morning so that Gervase can call his family.

Day 29

Ten more days and it'll all be over. I'll probably never see these people again. That's the way I want it.

Gervase gets to call home. Rudy has a problem with begetting children out of wedlock, but the others don't really mind. They realize that Gervase is being a responsible dad.

Richard and Sue have no idea what they would have done had they ended up on the Pagong tribe at the start of the game. They say that they were too young and immature.

It's not about surviving the elements. It's about surviving yourself. I didn't want to be part of the alliance because it's conniving, and dirty, and untrue to myself.

It dawns upon Gervase that being part of the alliance is affecting Kelly. She is definitely having second thoughts about her partnership with the others. She feels that making a deal with Richard is like making a deal with the devil. But she won't tell him she's no longer following his lead, or else she fears that Richard might get her voted off.

For immunity, they must each build a fire, burn through their wick, and raise their flag. Each castaway has three minutes to gather driftwood and anything else that might burn. Then they must carry their torch across the water and retrieve the flame from the floating platform. Finally, they must get their fire going. Gervase's torch burns out twice on his way back to the beach. Richard wins immunity. He celebrates his victory with a little dance.

Day 30

Gervase feels that Richard is walking around with arrogance and a swagger since he won the immunity challenge last evening. Well aware that they are the next to go, both Gervase and Colleen decide to have a little fun with the inevitability of it all. He uses tape to fashion a target on his shirt, while Colleen goes for a duck as she considers herself to be a sitting duck.

Sean approached Gervase to form an alliance with the former Pagong members. Yet he will only consider doing so if Kelly joins them, making it a sure thing. Hence, Kelly is the swing vote for tonight's tribal council.

Before they depart, Richard gets the feeling that Kelly is no longer trustworthy.

At tribal council, Jeff Probst wants to talk about Sean's alphabetical order voting system, which resulted in Jenna's elimination. He claims he was devastated by that sad turn of events, and the others urge him to vote in his best interest. Sue attempts to rationalize the existence of an alliance, but Richard refuses to come out and admit that there is one.

Sean sees his name come up twice, yet it's Gervase who garners the remaining five votes and becomes the third member of the jury.

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Old and New Bonds" (Episode 9)

Episode 9: "Old and New Bonds"
Original Airdate: July 26th, 2000
American Ratings: 27.2 million viewers

Sixteen Americans marooned for 39 days in the middle of the South China Sea.

Day 25

Richard and Sue are acutely aware that they can't give in and reveal the existence of the alliance when host Jeff Probst asks about it at tribal council. Colleen is convinced that they flat out lied at tribal council. Sadly, she believes that whoever wins the million dollars will not deserve it.

Kelly is having second thoughts about the alliance. She is no longer comfortable with the way things are being done. She feels that it's like leading lambs to the slaughterhouse.

Yeah, I don't like it. I'm not happy playing the game that way. If I'm going to win, if I'm going really to be the last survivor, if I'm really going to survive and really do this, then it has to be on my own.

Richard remains the sole castaway able to provide food for the tribe. Sean knows that Richard is in an ideal position at the moment. He is at the epicenter of power right now. Still, Sean thinks that Richard is a little immature in his motives at times.

The last time at tribal council when I was talking about "I'll be staying around here because I'm providing fish" was an outright and blatant lie. I'm staying here because I'm bright. It's got nothing to do with catching fish. Catching fish makes people happy, but that's not why they're voting me here. They're not voting me off because I'm not letting them.

By not stoking the fire properly when Sue asked him to, Rudy ruined all the fish Richard brought back. Half of today's catch is wasted, and Richard is irritated. He plans on not catching anything to let the others hunger for meat for a while.

Jenna, Sue, Colleen, and Kelly go on another fishing expedition on the raft. They are tired of relying on Richard for food. To their surprise, one of the fish traps contain a fish this time around. The women are proud of themselves, hoping that their catch will annoy Richard.

Day 26

The reward challenge is for an old-fashioned American barbecue and love letters from home. Along a rope course, the castaways must retrieve medallions. Colleen wins the reward and would like to invite everybody. When Jeff Probst informs her that she can only bring one person along for the barbecue, Colleen picks Jenna so she can read her letters from home.

The others are cooking rice back at thhe Rattana camp while Colleen and Jenna pig out at the barbecue. Both of them wonder when Gervase will finally get a clue and realize that the former Tagi members have an alliance picking them off one by one. They believe that Sean could be the swing vote. Jenna cries when she reads her letters.

Day 27

It's Richard's birthday. To celebrate, he takes off his clothes and walks around in his birthday suit.

It felt awkward sitting next to a naked gay man. And if he had like something to cover the buttcrack area, I'd be cool with that.

Colleen isn't comfortable with Richard walking around naked. But she loves the fact that she manages to annoy him.

Getting ready for the immunity challenge, Gervase says that it's crunch time now. He knows that he's getting close to the end, yet he must win if he wants to stay.

Sean's alphabetical order voting system raises a few eyebrows around camp.

If you want to be seen, stand up. If you want to be heard, speak up. If you want to be appreciated, shut up!

For the immunity challenge, the castaways are standing on a game board. They each start on a square and move one square at a time. As they move, they must flip over the square they were just on. Each player must flip squares until they can no longer move. The last person standing wins immunity. Rudy comes out on top.

Colleen and Jenna know that their days are numbered, so they are planning on doing as little as possible. The former Pagong tribe will now vote as one. Gervase opines that they must now switch gears.

Richard and Sue are worried by the fact that Kelly has begun to bond with Colleen and Jenna. They wonder where her loyalty lies. Sue is aware that they don't yet have the numbers to go all the way. If Kelly should flip, it could spell doom for their hopes of winning the million-dollar prize.

There is a lot of uncertainty and no one knows what will happen at tribal council tonight. The former Pagong tribesmates are all voting for Richard.

At tribal council, Jeff Probst announces that beginning tonight with Greg, the castaways voted off will return to observe as jury members. Realizing that Jenna is next on the list, Jeff asks Sean about the alphabetical order voting system.

Oh, Sean. . . He's just. . . He's neurotic. He's an idiot.

Sue feels that Sean doesn't have the balls to make a decision.

Though Richard gets the four Pagong votes cast against him and Sean sees his name come up once, Jenna garners the four remaining votes and becomes the second member of the jury.

Consternation can be seen on Sean's face as he realizes that he was duped and his alphabetical order voting system got Jenna eliminated.

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Thy Name is Duplicity" (Episode 8)

Episode 8: "Thy Name is Duplicity"
Original Airdate: July 19th, 2000
American Ratings: 26.2 million viewers

It's past the midway point of July, and Survivor's popularity continues to grow. As a time of year when people don't normally watch much television, summer rarely sees a TV show which gets more than 25 million viewers on a Wednesday evening. And yet, the 8th episode of Survivor: Borneo was an immense success, the most watched episode yet. Little did they know that the number of viewers would continue to increase in subsequent weeks.

Day 22

Sean reflects back on the night before, feeling that it was a strange vote at tribal council. As before, he finds it hard to come to terms with the fact that his tribesmates have formed an alliance and are controlling the game. Finally, it dawns upon him that strategy has come into play. It's the only way Gretchen could have gotten voted off in such a shocking manner.

The duplicity of the whole thing is pretty bad.

Rudy and Richard explain that Gretchen needed to go because she was a veritable threat to their plans.

Jenna feels that there is a conspiracy against the former Pagong tribe. If it happens again, Gervase says that there will be evidence that there is indeed an alliance at work. Which, if true, would make him want to find a way to break it and win the prize even more. Jenna realizes that the former Pagong members are now outnumbered and can be picked off one by one. She wants to try to bond with the Tagi women and hold on to their vote for as long as she can. She feels that the women are carrying the weight of the merged tribe. It appears that a women's alliance could be created down the line, yet Sue wants no true part in it.

Now that they have merged, they are forced to ration what food they have. As their sole provider of meat, Gervase is acutely aware that Richard is in a great position within the tribe. If they vote him off, they won't eat. Hence, as things stand, it's a no-brainer.

The game is interesting. You make friends with people, you make alliances, and then you're going to have to cut them loose at some point.

Jenna believes that Greg has been trying to play everyone since the merge. He's not the same anymore. Though he doesn't know exactly what the other is doing, Richard is aware that Greg is trying something with him.

Day 23

According to tree mail, it appears that the reward challenge will have something to do with archery. The reward could be something from home. Homesick, Jenna misses her daughters and wants to win this one.

Prior to the challenge, Jeff brings over a chest containing a television. The castaways watch short clips of videos sent by their loved ones from home. In a heartbreaking moment, Jeff tells Jenna that they never did receive the tape back from her family. The reward is a screening of their family's video, as well as a chance to shoot their own clip to send back home.

Greg wins the reward by placing his arrow closest to the bull's eye. He shares his screening with the rest of the tribe. Unable to watch, Jenna continues to shoot arrows at the target. It would have done wonders for her to see her daughters and to hear their voices.

Day 24

Gervase is the target of a lot of criticism. Sue is sick and tired of foraging for slackers like him. Everyone has a more or less specific role within the Rattana tribe, and Gervase wants his to be that of the entertainer.

The immunity challenge is a confusing jungle rope course with five different checkpoints. Attached to the rope at all time, they must collect carabiners at every checkpoint to win immunity. Gervase takes an early lead and never looks back, winning immunity rather easily.

I feel like I feel every tribal council. It gets worse every time. I feel like a backstabber, I feel like a liar. . .

With tribal council looming near, there is a lot of tension around camp. "God, some people are nervous. It's sick how nervous some people are," explains Colleen.

Realizing that Kelly doesn't seem fully reliable, Richard attempts to impress upon her the fact that they are not yet invincible.

How do you stay true to yourself, you know, and maintain integrity and still play the game? And you know what? You can't.

Gervase tells Sean and Colleen that they should have formed their own alliance first. Colleen knows that they have the upper hand right now, if they do band together.

At tribal council, Jeff Probst announces that whoever gets voted off from this point forward will become part of the jury that will vote for the Survivor winner. The host implies that they will now have to match the ruthlessness of voting people off with the likeability required to nonetheless get the jury to somehow vote for them at the end.

When asked straight up if there is indeed an alliance at work, Sue lies and says no. Kelly lies as well, claiming that her voting strategy has to do with the castaway she likes the least.

Jenna garners three votes against her, but Greg racks up the remaining six votes and becomes the first member of the jury.

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "The Merger" (Episode 7)

Episode 7: "The Merger"
Original Airdate: July 12th, 2000
American Ratings: 24.5 million viewers

Day 19

When we merge tonight, I think it will be interesting. I think it'll set up a whole another set of interpersonal dynamics that will be fun for me to watch.

Jenna and Sean have been named the ambassadors of their tribes. As such, they will travel to the other team's camp and assess the two beaches in order to decide which campsite will become the merged tribe's new home.

Richard is persuaded that their camp is better than Pagong's. Jenna is impressed by the Tagi well-organized set-up. Even better, Richard caught some fish for lunch, which the Tagi tribe shares with the visiting ambassador.

On the other hand, Sean is not as "wowed" by the Pagong campsite.

Jenna reveals that there is a rumor that the Tagi are planning an alliance to get rid of every single Pagong member. As a matter of course, the rumor is denied by the interested party.

The Tagi voting block is thinking about eliminating Sean. According to Sue, Sean isn't part of their alliance because he is dumb. Richard finds it odd that Sean is ethically against any sort of alliance.

If you want to win this money, you got to get a little dirty.

Over at Pagong, they feel that Sean is a pretty honest guy. When he dismisses their fear of a possible Tagi alliance, it sets their minds at ease. Little do they know that Sean is just about as out of the loop as it gets. . .

As ambassadors, Sean and Jenna later share a nice lobster dinner on a pristine beach. Before dawn, they must agree on a new name for the merged tribe, come up with a new flag, and select which campsite will become the tribe's new stomping grounds. Considering the setting and the location, both feel that the production probably wanted this dinner to be more romantic than it could ever be. Four bottles of wine will help them get through the night. . .

Day 20

At Pagong, the long wait has them worried about Jenna. On the Tagi beach, Richard wonders what kind of negotiation is going on between the ambassadors. The wait is driving them crazy.

When Jenna finally returns to the Pagong beach, she announces that they have five minutes to pack up their belongings and leave for the Tagi camp. The merged tribe's new name will be Rattana. Gervase feels that the change of scenery will be good for them. Gretchen is sad to be leaving their home behind. Greg feels that they are leaving a lot of emotional baggage behind on the Pagong beach. Jenna is excited and says that they are moving on to bigger and better things.

The former Pagong tribe receives a warm welcome from Richard and Kelly. Richard gives them a tour of the premises.

All of a sudden, we doubled our population. The house got smaller. The pots got smaller. And personally, it's a pain in the ass.

With all the castaways seemingly getting along so well, Kelly thinks that it's too good to be true. But Greg believes that Richard thinks that he's clever, sharp, and he has a lot of things going on in his mind. He feels that Richard is playing the big game.

The women work together to shore up the shelter, but the roof comes crashing down during their efforts. Colleen claims that the women are getting to know one another as they work together, while the men are bonding doing nothing. Like Richard and Gervase, who are killing the afternoon playing cards.

Yeah, it's the same as it is back home, ladies. Here in the jungle, the women are doing all the work and the guys are just hanging out.

That first night, the castaways are sharing stories to get to know each other. We learn that Sean once elected to forgo a threesome because he was scared out of his mind. I have a feeling that horny girls are not the only thing that can frighten Sean out of his mind. . .

Day 21

A leaking roof during a violent storm the previous night sent the girls to the men's side of the shelter. Rudy wasn't pleased with the additional female companionship. "Hey Rudy, that's my head!" grumbled Gretchen, when she got kicked. "Well, that's my spot," complained Rudy matter-of-factly.

"Now it's going to be how you guys survive each other," Jeff Probst explained as they showed up for their first individual immunity challenge. After coveting the immunity idol, the castaways will now be vying for the immunity talisman. For the first round of the challenge, they must dive and hold their breath for as long as possible. Gervase lasts 2:09 minutes, winning the round. Sean, Gervase, and Greg will face one another for the final round. Using underwater ladders, they must release a series of buoys along the way. Though it's close, Greg wins the first individual immunity.

Even though we aren't any longer two different teams, I still have a team. It's going to be interesting because we are not solid. We're solid with one another, but we are not solidly unbeatable yet. It's by circumstance, because there are only four of us and there are ten people still left on the island.

Greg claims that if the Tagi people have indeed formed an alliance and are planning to eliminate the Pagong tribe one by one, he would rather get voted off immediately. Because for him, the game would then become boring. Jenna says that she wants to vote based on merit.

At tribal council, Jeff Probst asks the merged tribe about the new group dynamics and about whether it is too soon for strategy to come into play. Not surprisingly, no one truly steps up to the plate to elaborate truthfully on the subject. When it's time to vote, Sean comes up with his stupidest scheme yet: The alphabetical order voting system.

The naive Pagong members are ripe for the picking, and Richard's alliance takes advantage of their sweet innocence. While Jenna, Rudy, Richard, Gervase, Colleen, and Sue, each get a vote cast against them, a dismayed Gretchen racks up the four remaining votes and is voted off the island.

Interestingly enough, Sean appears even more dumbfounded by this turn of events than the Pagong tribe.

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Udder Revenge" (Episode 6)

Episode 6: "Udder Revenge"
Original Airdate: July 5th, 2000
American Ratings: 24.5 million viewers

It's the little things that sometimes make watching this very first season of Survivor so different. Like Jeff Probst beginning the show with "Last week on Survivor" instead of the "Previously on Survivor" that has become a fixture for beginning of each new episode.

During his summary of the previous installment, he mentions that the voting alliance reared its ugly head, implying that the production likely never realized early on how much alliances would come to dominate the dynamics of this reality show.

The host also announces the upcoming merge of the two tribes.

Day 16

At the Tagi beach, the merge and all that it encompasses is on everyone's mind. Richard is aware that change is coming. "I don't think they're taking this seriously. They're playing Island 90210," opines Kelly regarding the Pagong tribe. Sue feels that three Pagong members must be voted off quickly. Greg, because he's psychotic. "Speedball" Jenna, because she'll drive everybody else crazy. And Gervase, the pervert.

Back at Pagong, it's T-minus one hour to chicken time. They are all pretty excited at the thought of eating meat. Colleen can't watch as Joel beheads the chicken. Jenna says that they will eat a chicken a day for the next three days, for they have no intention of sharing them with the Tagi tribe come the merge. The chicken is delicious. It's their first true meal since the start of the adventure.

Meanwhile, around the Tagi camp Richard has begun to walk around naked. Some of the castaways think it's funny, but Sean is not thrilled to have a fat gay man walking around in his birthday suit.

I think with an alliance we established here, we could do very, very well.

Rudy has finally accepted to become part of the voting alliance. Richard wants Rudy along because he feels the ex-Navy Seal won't care much and will get voted off before he has a chance of winning the million bucks. Richard thinks that no one is explicitly in control of their alliance, though he considers to be in control of who gets voted off. According to him, that's all that matters.

Day 17

Women are the stupidest thing on the planet next to cows.

Gervase put his foot in his mouth by making that claim and now regrets it. Jenna, especially, took exception to his remark. Gervase realizes that it was incredibly stupid and apologizes, but Colleen, Gretchen, and Jenna are not really buying it. Gretchen tells the other girls to go "moo" when they write down his name and hold up that piece of paper in front of the camera at tribal council.

"I haven't done a thing here since I've been here, seems like," says Gervase, aware that he might be walking on thin ice. Colleen doesn't understand how he can get away with doing so little. He doesn't fish, didn't participate in the construction of the shelter, never cooks, and he doesn't pull his own weight. Gervase feels that his charm and personality will get him through.

At Tagi, the message announcing the reward challenge appears to imply that the winner will receive canned food. The can that was delivered with tree mail contains dog food. Richard helps himself to some.

Your standards definitely take a dive when you come into a situation like this. When you get hungry, you'll eat anything.

Smelling the content of the can, both Greg and Jenna believe it's dog food. Yet it doesn't stop Gretchen and Jenna from cooking it and eating some, to the disgust of the others.

At the reward challenge, they must relay with a flashlight and search an abandoned army camp to collect a number of discarded items. Tagi seems to have the lead, but when Richard brings back a second army knife his tribe is disqualified. Pagong goes home with assorted canned food and chocolate.

Later, Joel and Gervase discuss the fact that they could be top 6, and that one Pagong member could win the prize. One more win for Pagong and it could be in the bag. Joel gets the feeling that if the Pagong members don't stick together come the merge, they could be picked off one by one.

Day 18

At the Pagong camp, the castaways realize that they need to win the immunity challenge to go into the merge with a 6 to 4 advantage in numbers. Only Gretchen hasn't promised to stay true to Pagong following the merge. She doesn't see herself joining a voting alliance, unless it's to vote off someone she really want to see gone.

Colleen feels that Joel talks way too much about what he'll do and the strategy he'll put into play once the merge becomes a reality. They have a challenge to worry about and he might not be there at the end of the night. His antics and the fact that he is condescending to the women have not endeared him to Colleen, Gretchen, and Jenna. "I can't think of anything I've done that's bad," claims Joel, oblivious to the girls' feelings.

You know he's the Golden Boy. He's Mr. January. He's going to have a calendar.

The immunity challenge is an official US Army obstacle course. Colleen and Gervase are not participating for Pagong, while Rudy will sit out for Tagi. Kelly takes the lead, and she and Sean reach the second phase first. Tagi arrives that the blown bridge ahead of the other team and never looks back. They are the first to raise their flag, winning immunity and avoiding being outnumbered at the merge.

At Pagong, the bitter taste of defeat is not the only thing they must deal with. A big lizard ate their remaining chicken. Still, Gretchen insists that they eat what's left.

Tribal council is a necessary part of the game, but it's the nasty part of the game. It's the part that I enjoy the least and I could do without.

Joel gets the feeling that Jenna will vote for him tonight. For her part, Colleen thinks that Gervase is as chauvinist as Joel, but he hides it better.

At tribal council, Jeff Probst brings up Gervase's cow remark. "Sounds so much like Joel," he laughs, trying to defuse this potential time bomb. "I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that my invincibility might be affected by that," he replies when asked if he feels threatened tonight.

In the end, though Jenna gets two votes cast against her, it's Joel who racks up the remaining four vote, sending him home.

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Pulling Your Own Weight" (Episode 5)

Episode 5: "Pulling Your Own Weight"
Original Airdate: June 28th, 2000
American ratings: 24 million viewers

Twelve are left. Who will be voted off next?

Day 13

At the Pagong camp, the tribesmates are sleeping in this morning. They want to relieve the stress of losing another member, as well as losing two consecutive challenges. Gretchen feels that their camp looks a bit trashy, and she thinks there's a lot they could do to make it look nice. But she believes that something will have to change to make everyone pitch in.

Meanwhile at Tagi, they hang the parachute up for shade. Kelly is irritated by Sean and Dirk's evident lack of effort around camp. She claims that they go on pointless fishing expeditions just so they can pretend to be doing something other than working around camp.

Sue has had enough and berates both of them for wasting three days fishing during daylight.

"I don't think it was a waste," was Dirk's ill-advised response.

"Well, did you catch anything?" Sue shot back.

"No ma'am."

"Okay. . . It was a waste of time, then," Sue ended this discussion in a manner that brooked no further argument from Sean or Dirk.

"It's been the people who really work and contribute to the camp versus the people who are lazy and who don't do anything to contribute to the camp," explains Kelly.

It's funny to me that a guy would read the Bible here. The only reason I'd bring a Bible is if. . . I mean, I'm religious too. . . If I needed toilet paper.

Jeff Probst visits the tribes and announces that the next challenge will be the "Weapons target shooting classic." There will be three rounds: the blowgun, the slingshot, and spear-tossing. Each team is provided with the three weapons so that they can practice for a few hours.

Surprisingly, Sean is good with the blowgun. Richard has no equal with the slingshot. And Sue is the most talented with the spear. She's quite happy with the prospect of kicking a man's ass on national television.

Back at the Pagong beach, morale is high and they are having fun practicing with the weapons for the reward challenge. Gervase acts as their unofficial Michael Buffer, encouraging his teammates. Jenna will represent their tribe for the blowgun challenge, Gretchen with the slingshot, and Joel will throw the spear.

Both tribes are very close at the end of the second phase of the reward challenge, but Joel's second toss wins it for Pagong. They receive a basket full of fruit as well as three chickens.

Things are definitely looking up for Pagong as they return to their beach. It is decided that the chickens will be killed if they don't lay eggs soon. Jenna names them Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.

When we won that reward challenge, that was our momentum right there!

At the Tagi camp, Sue is upset for losing that challenge. Richard returns with an eel. As expected, the envious Sean, still waiting to catch his first fish, says that it tastes horrible.

Among the Pagong team, Gretchen continues to feel that Greg is the leader. But it's a position he doesn't want. Greg had begun sleeping alone in the forest at night, and Colleen is now joining him.

Day 14

Jenna believes that there might be a little romance going on between Colleen and Greg. But he insists that there is no romance whatsoever.

When we go off, it's all about sex.

At Tagi, Richard squares off against a venomous snake, even though the castaways were warned that they were deadly. There is some concern among the tribe regarding Dirk radical weight loss. "You could eat more, Dirk," Sue tells him. "Because you're looking like hell. You look like a Nazi war prisoner camp dude."

Witnessing a better effort from Sean and Dirk around camp, Kelly believes that they now have a greater work ethic because they know they'll get voted off otherwise. Still, Richard, Sue, and Kelly have decided that the next one to go with be one or the other. Hence, it looks as though Sean's refusal to become part of their alliance will come back to haunt him.

Day 15

Since the next immunity challenge is an aquatic one, Richard is persuaded that Tagi has the edge because Gervase cannot swim.

For this shipwreck challenge, Kelly and Gervase will row their boats and must collect fellow tribesmates hanging on floating debris. Though the man can't swim much, he has upper body strength and can row faster than Kelly. He collects Joel and Greg before she has a chance to reach Sue. When Gretchen gets in, Pagong now has four rowers and they keep moving faster. Their boat is back at the beach before Tagi can claim their third stranded member.

Gervase joked with Jeff Probst prior to the challenge, claiming that he relished this chance to be in the spotlight. Well, he sure made the most of it. Meanwhile, Kelly cries in shame, unable to come to terms with the fact that she was beaten by a guy who can't even swim.

Back at the Tagi camp, inside Rudy's Rowdy Diner, Kelly tries to stay positive. "All which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."

Blinded by his own innocence or stupidity, Sean thinks that Rudy is going home tonight. Dirk feels that he could be vulnerable, but he considers himself a valuable member of the tribe.

At tribal council, Jeff is getting better and better at getting the castaways to open up and discuss various issues. Unfortunately for him, Richard is no fool and dodges the bullet when Jeff inquires about the presence and role of alliances within the tribe. Either Richard's dissembling works, or no one wants to bring attention to themselves by calling him out on it.

Fire represents life on the island. Your torches represent your identity here.

When the votes are tallied, Sue and Rudy each get a vote cast against them, while Dirk racks up the remaining four votes and is sent home. On his way out, he thanks the Lord for the 15 days he spent on the island. He is convinced that this was God's will that he leave tonight and that the Lord obviously has a plan for him.

Let us pray that was the case. . .

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Too Little, Too Late" (Episode 4)

Episode 4: "Too Little, Too Late"
Original Airdate: July 21st, 2000
American Ratings: 24.2 million viewers

Day 10

You want to vote me off, fine. But we've got to organize this.

Everyone is feeling miserable at Pagong. The violent thunderstorm of the night before and their inadequate shelter made for a long and cold night, made even worse by the fact that the castaways were soaking wet.

Though she was unable to prevail upon B. B. to change its initial location, Gretchen wants to move the shelter away from the beach. She insists that she will not sleep another night in there. Gretchen's speech, compounded with the fact that no one wishes to live through another terrible night like the one before, provide the collective kick in the butt the rest of the tribe needed to get to work and move the shelter into the nearby woods.

With his funny sense of humor and great work ethic, Greg is gradually setting himself up as a power player within the Pagong tribe. "In his own way, Greg's a leader," says Gretchen.

At the Tagi beach, Sean and some of the less active castaways feel that Sue works too much. They wish she'd slow down a bit. Obviously, Sean has a much different set of priorities than Susan.

I had this vision and I thought I'd build myself a bowling alley right about here. That's what I'm doing here, slaving away.

For a guy with a Ph.D., Sean has emerged as the resident dumbass in the Tagi camp. While some of his teammates are starving and struggling to survive the harsh conditions of the island, this doctor spent hours putting together a fishing pole that has yet to catch a single fish, and now he spends half a day building himself a bowling alley! Hard to believe Sean wasn't invited to participate in Survivor: All-Stars. . . If that's not all-star calibre, I don't know what is!

Interestingly enough, Sean is doing all this while Sue and Kelly are searching for food. Apparently, he told them that looking for nuts was a waste of time. As expected, that crap did not fly too high with Sue, who is tired of feeding lazy people spending their days doing nothing productive.

For the reward challenge, each tribe must build a distress signal on their beach. A plane will fly two hours past sunrise to inspect both distress signals, and the winning tribe will be awarded a crate full of creature comforts such as pillows, hammocks, soap, and more.

At Tagi, there is a conflict of ideas regarding their distress signal. Dirk clash with Sue when she makes fun of him and he takes exception with what he considers to be "classless" ideas.

I think I'm going to handle this by beginning to develop alliances with some folks to insure that I move into the next round.

Realizing that tensions are appearing within the tribe and that friction is inevitable, Richard begins to plot the scheme that will see him go all the way to the end.

Meanwhile at the Pagong camp, work on the new shelter progresses. And yet, more and more it becomes evident that Ramona cannot handle the toll the island is taking on her mind, body, and spirit. Gervase, Jenna, and Greg realize that she's so out of her element as to become a liability.

Day 11

Both tribes are at work on their distress signals before the break of dawn. Feeling better that morning, Ramona works harder and is more helpful than she has ever been. As the Pagong tribesmates busy themselves putting together their distress signal, Greg is hilarious with his coconut phone.

Aboard the plane, Jeff and a couple of experts assess the quality of both distress signals. Pagong fashioned a giant smiling face, while Tagi set up a sign saying, "SOS: Tagi is groggy." And the addition of colorful moving human beings wins them the reward. The coveted crate is parachuted in the sea before their beach. While the mood is disappointed on the Pagong camp, the Tagi tribe is ecstatic.

The whole idea of an alliance is to make sure we're all voting the same way.

One would think that such a positive mood would be cause for celebration, but little did the rest of the Tagi tribe know that Richard, Kelly, and Sue would use this opportunity to seal the deal on the first and one of the most infamous alliances in Survivor history.

"We really could control our fate," claims Richard. "If we stick together." Though he was approached by Richard, Rudy is not getting with the program yet. Considering the number of votes cast against him during the tribe's two appearances at tribal council, this is a little odd. But Rudy marches to the beat of his own drum, after all. . .

Back at Pagong, Jenna's personality makes her appreciated by her fellow teammates. Ramona continues to put in the effort, redeeming herself in the eyes of Gervase at least. "I'm feeling good about being part of the group," says Ramona. But Jenna feels that it could be a case of "too little, too late."

Day 12

Pagong feels that they truly need to win the immunity challenge. Although they feel the pressure, the think they're the best tribe.

The immunity is a 5-leg relay: The castaways must swim out and dive to retrieve a map. Then they must run to a boat, paddle back to the beach, and finally use the map to locate their treasure chest.

Colleen was cocky prior to the challenge, but she loses a lot of time retrieving the bottle containing the map to the treasure chest. But Joel makes up a lot of it paddling the boat back. Unfortunately, Gervase completely runs out of steam during the jungle run, costing his team a lot of time. Richard and Rudy dig for the chest for Tagi, and the former Navy Seal brings it back to their crate first, earning his tribe the win.

We're all friends, and then you boot someone.

With tribal council looming, the Pagong tribe is dreading voting another member off the island. "I'm going not knowing what's going to happen. and I'm nervous," confides Colleen, feeling the heat for her weak performance that afternoon.

They arrive at tribal council wearing face-painting again. Jeff Probst really works the tribe for the first time, forcing them to open up and elaborate on the voting process. He's slowly growing into his role as the host of this show. Good-naturedly, Jeff rips into Gervase when he claims to have nothing to worry about during this council.

I feel guilty. I feel bad. Well, I'm going to have to put somebody's name down that I really respect and came to really like. It's like taking a piece of our family away.

It's obvious this was Pagong's most difficult vote yet. The main theme appears to have been about keeping the tribe as strong as possible. As a matter of course, opinions on the subject vary.

In the end, Jennna garners one vote, while two votes are cast against Colleen. Racking up four votes, Ramona is sent home.

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "Quest for Food" (Episode 3)

Episode 3: "Quest for Food"
Original Airdate: June 14th, 2000
American Ratings: 23.3 million viewers

By the time the third episode of Survivor: Borneo was aired, it was now obvious that this new reality show would be the runaway hit of the summer. "Quest for Food" saw CBS increase its TV ratings by more than 22% compared to the previous week for the second episode. And little did they know that they would continue to skyrocket.

You are aware that my biggest concern when I began this rewatch was that, with everything that has happened in the following 21 seasons of the show, Survivor: Borneo wouldn't have aged well. My fear was that, with all the shocking and unexpected twists and turns we have seen since then, the very first season of Survivor would seem a bit dull and bland. And yet, regardless of the quality or lack thereof, of all the seasons that came after, Survivor: Borneo is nearly has good now as it were in the summer of 2000.

Which demonstrates once again just how important the casting turns out to be. It's no secret that the last two seasons (Survivor: Nicaragua and Survivor: Redemption Island) were probably the worse Survivor seasons in the history of the show. It doesn't matter how much you invest in gimmicks and gadgets. In the end, it's the castaways who will make or break a season. And those last two seasons were sorely lacking in that department. So much so that anyone involved in the casting should have been fired and never allowed to work in that field again.

What made (makes) Survivor: Borneo so memorable is the wonderful blend of disparate personalities. Sure, there are those you love, those you hate, and those you love to hate. But that's what Survivor is all about. That first season would never have been as great without colorful characters such as Rudy, Sue, Richard, Gervase, Greg, and the rest of the gang. Over the years, it feels as though the production invested a lot of money to design new challenges that likely took forever to be built, when most viewers don't give much of a damn about said challenges. It's the bonding, the clashing, the mind games, the backstabbing, the manipulating, the relationships between castaways, etc, that brings us back week in and week out. And in order for that to take place, you need a good core of participants. In that regard, Survivor: Redemption Island was a veritable travesty.

But I digress. . .

They must work together to build shelter, find food, and survive the island. But ultimately, it's everyone for themselves.

Day 7

With their food stores dwindling, at the Tagi camp Stacey, Kelly and Sue embark on an early fishing trip. Yet once more, all the fish traps are empty. "That saying: There's a lot of fish in the sea," says Sean. "Not this sea."

On the raft, Rudy is once again a topic of conversation. The younger girls feel that the ex-Navy Seal eats too much and doesn't put in the effort that should be expected of a man like him. But Sue feels that Stacey is the weakest member of the tribe, and as such she'll get her vote. Stacey, for her part, realizes that she likely cannot trust Sue.

"We want food!" complains Jenna. With their food supplies diminishing rapidly, starving is becoming a growing concern on the Pagong beach as well.

During their wanderings, Greg and Colleen stumble upon a mud volcano. When they return to tell the others of their discover, the entire tribe decides to go on a field trip together. The time spent at the mud volcano helps the team bond, a task made easier with the absence of the strict B. B. "We're going to be here 39 days," says Jenna. "You got to keep yourself happy."

Back at the Tagi beach, Dirk reads his Bible. He feels that his praying, meditating, and praising God give him the strength and energy he requires. But his preaching annoys certain members of the tribe.

I've gone 23 years without sex. I think you guys can go for 7 weeks.

Pure and righteous Dirk has a little crush on Kelly, but Stacey doesn't think he has a chance in hell. "You should try it some time. You might like it," opines Sue upon discovering that Dirk is still a virgin.

As a matter of course, Richard's talking about sex and homosexuality doesn't sit well with the extremely religious Dirk, whose virgin ears are not used to such vulgar and lowbrow discourse.

Jeff Probst introducing the reward challenge to viewers is sort of a waste of time, ewpecially given the fact that Survivor is a one-hour show (40-something minutes if you take away the commercials). Getting rid of such footage in future seasons was no great loss, if you ask me.

According to tree mail, the reward challenge will include diving and/or holding your breath under water. Gervase, who is not a very good swimmer, always struggles in aquatic challenges. Still, the Pagong tribe is confident and they enter the challenge area dancing.

To win fishing supplies, the tribes must swim out, dive down to the bottom of the sea to retrieve a chest, and bring it back to the beach. Colleen and Greg do basically all the work for Pagong. Gervase, one of their strongest players, is not a factor throughout. With the whole team contributing, the Tagi tribe wins easily. In the end, they're the ones dancing and getting the last laugh.

Day 8

At the Tagi beach, there is a little fishing contest going on. With the mask, snorkel, and spear, Richard hopes to silence his critics and prove that he can catch something to eat. Meanwhile, armed with patience and the Superpole 2000, Dirk and Sean head out on the raft, hoping to beat Richard and shut him up.

Unfortunately for them, Richard proves once and for all that he can talk the talk and walk the walk. After catching three rays during his first foray underwater, Richard is well on his way to become the provider of the Tagi tribe. Sean is envious of Richard's success and can't quite hide his jealousy. Too bad the Superpole 2000 worked so well on Gilligan's Island but not in real life. . .

My position with the tribe. It's probably going to increase as a result of this.

With the entire tribe starving, the rays taste like heaven. "You just need to keep me and I'll provide you with all the fish you need," jokes Richard, obviously enjoying his newfound status within the Tagi team.

Day 9

Joel and Colleen go on a fishing expedition with the raft, but they return empty-handed once again. After nine days on the island, with all but depleted food stores, the situation has become dire indeed.

Oh, I'm so ready to eat rat!

Having no viable alternative to fall back on, the Pagong tribe begins to hunt for rats for sustenance. "Rats aren't bad. Rats are rats," Greg rationalizes. "The questions of their edibility only have to do with your perceptions."

Joel is the first to have the courage to taste one. When asked about the taste, he replies, "Almost like chicken a little bit. Use your imagination." Gervase and Ramona look on, disgusted.

"Am I using a lot of imagination?" inquires Ramona. "As poor as we get in the ghetto, we never eat the rats."

Starving, Ramona caves in and gives rat meat a shot. To her dismay, she actually likes it. She hands a piece to Gervase who, after taking a bite, exclaims, "We got to kill some more rats tonight!"

Tree mail instructs both tribes to build a stretcher to carry their smallest members. At Tagi, Rudy is in charge of the set-up, building it to Kelly's size and weight. A bit clueless but enthusiastic at first, Pagong comes up with a number of great ideas, chief among them the straps that allow the stretcher to be turned upside down without Colleen falling off.

Simulating a place crash, Kelly and Colleen are hidden in the jungle, dangling in parachutes from tree branches. The remaining castaways must find them, place them on their stretchers, and be the first to return to the first aid tent to win immunity.

Pagong takes an early lead and get Colleen to the finish line to win immunity. Once again, Jeff not narrating and commenting on the ongoing challenges during that first season feels more than a little odd.

I don't think it's going to get any easier. You know, every time we go there it's going to suck even more.

The mood is a bit subdued during the meal before tribal council. Stacey first believed that it was a done deal that Rudy would be voted off. Yet now she realizes that it's her card which could get pulled. Rudy concurs, knowing that it's either him of Stacey going home tonight. He has a feeling that the younger members might band together to get rid of him. "I'm going to vote Stacey out at the council tonight, because I don't like her. And I never will!" he explains.

Richard hoped to have a discussion pertaining to their vote before the tribe left for tribal council, but his idea was collectively shut down.

The wind picks up in intensity and a violent thunderstorm unleashes its fury on the castaways as they reach the tribal council area. Jeff attempts to get the Tagi members to open up and reveal stuff they wouldn't necessarily talk about at camp, but no one really steps up to the plate. The rain begins to pour as the vote begins.

Drenched, Jeff reads the votes. Though Rudy received two votes, Stacey racks up the five remaining votes and is forced to leave the island. Due to the bad weather, Jeff allows the rest of the Tagi tribe to remain at the tribal council area for the night, or at least until the rain stops.

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "The Generation Gap" (Episode 2)

Episode 2: "The Generation Gap"
Original Airdate: June 7th, 2000
American Ratings: 18.1 million viewers

Although this was only the second episode, ratings indicated that Survivor would undoubtedly be the hit of the summer. Racking up an additional 2.6 million viewers for the second chapter, Survivor was well on its way of becoming the TV phenomenon of 2000. Indeed, beginning with episode 3 the following week, the ratings would never dip below the 23-million viewers mark.

This episode's title is definitely apropos. Not only regarding B. B.'s clash with the younger generation of castaways he must learn to live with on Pagong beach, which is at the heart of this one. But on a wider scale, generation gaps are a reality that participants have been forced to deal with on every season of Survivor. And it underlies one of the golden rules of Survivor: If you cannot adapt, you'll be voted off. Simple as that.

Day 4

At Tagi beach, the food situation has become quite dire. The rice and what little fruit the tribe has left is nowhere near enough to satisfy their hunger. They are approaching starvation, yet none of the castaways appear quite hungry enough to eat the rats they have captured. Yet. . .

The raft is used for a fishing expedition, but all the fish traps proved to be empty.

Who doesn't want to own the B. B. action figure?

Back on the Pagong beach, B. B. takes on the leadership role once again, supervising the construction of the shelter. The patriarch managed to get basically everyone involved this time, which explains the tribe's progress regarding their living quarters. Yet though things are moving forward, few of B. B.'s teammates appreciate his over-the-top workaholic personality and the demanding pace he sets.

"Honestly, if we were to ever lose an immunity challenge, I think he'd probably be the first one voted off," confided Ramona, a thought obviously shared by several other Pagong members. But even though it's evident that he is putting his own head on the chopping block, B. B. continues plow ahead without regards for the feathers he's ruffling along the way.

Within the Tagi tribe, an unlikely cook has emerged. Chef Rudy prepares rice and papaya for his team.

Richard is aware that his being gay would likely be hard for Rudy to handle, so he leaves the former Navy Seal in the dark about that particular nugget of information. "If he knew I were gay, that would be, probably, very difficult for him," he claimed.

But when Sean outs him, the cat is out of the bag. Oddly enough, at least based on what we've seen on camera, Richard's homosexuality didn't prevent the two men from bonding rapidly and ultimately becoming strong allies. "For a homosexual, he's one of the nicest guys I've ever met," exclaimed Rudy. Ah, there just might be hope for the world yet. . . ;-)

I think they find me abrasive, authoritarian. There's probably a couple other adjectives you could throw in there that'd probably work too.

Alas, all is not peaches and cream at the Pagong camp. Ramona remains ill. Unable to eat without throwing up whatever she ingurgitated, she must rely solely on water. Already weak, her condition continues to wane.

B. B. continues to toil to get the shelter done to his specifications, all the while grumbling about Joel and Ramona, among others. A clash between the older man and the rest of his tribe appears inevitable at this point.

Day 5

Back at the Tagi beach, there is a budding friendship between Greg and Colleen developing, one that has not escaped the attention of the rest of the tribe. "Greg is great. It's just good to have a friend, you know," says Colleen. "She's really fun to play with," opines Greg. Still, you don't want your tribesmate getting ideas which could cost you your place in the game. . .

That night, in order to lighten up the mood and get people to discover a bit more about each other, Greg (wearing a weird headpiece à la Jamiroquai) hosts the All New Newly Stranded Survivor Game. Everyone is laughing and having a good time, forgetting the travails of the previous few days.

Day 6

You know, if the sky was blue and I said it was blue, he'd say it's red just to disagree. I can't let that bring me down anymore.

Unfortunately, the laughter of the night before is gone come morning at the Pagong beach. When B. B. refused to listen to Gretchen and imposed his own will as to where the shelter should be build, it appears that he didn't consider how the tide would factor into the equation. Hence, it seems that its position is now threatened to be washed away by the rising tide, and it's not even the full moon yet. The tribe has no choice but to carry logs to act as wave breakers, but they don't yet know if that will prove to be enough to save their shelter.

Pangs of hunger drive the Tagi members to strange measures. Sean utilizes his vast intellect to create his patented Super Pole, which took him 5 hours to build. He spends the rest of the day fishing, but as Sue predicted, rather acerbically, he came back empty-handed.

I've been working my ass off while a lot of you have been lying on your ass watching me. So don't give me any of that.

We can all agree that B. B. has been digging his own grave for a while now. But his washing his clothes with canteen water in the food kettle the rest of the tribe was about to cook in is the drop that spilled the glass. Even worse, all the canteens were empty and the falling rain will render the terrain too dangerous to navigate to go get more water.

That raised the ire of the entire Pagong tribe, and B. B. suddenly finds himself without the support of even his habitual ally, Gretchen. The easy-going Gervase has had enough and henceforth won't take any crap from the older man. It's agreed that they must all vote on everything they do, though B. B. refuses to go along with the decision.

Lose and face tribal council, where you must vote one member off the island.

There is no ambiguity pertaining to the message each tribe gets from tree mail. The castaways get the distinct impression that they'll have no choice but to eat disgusting food. "Sounds tasty," says Gervase, evidently concerned by the upcoming immunity challenge.

B. B. seems like he's good at starting fires, but he can't take the heat. Realizing that he is in a heap of troubles, the patriarch confides in Gretchen that they might consider throwing the challenge to "lighten the load." It's obvious the older man feels like quitting, but he nonetheless tries to find a way to save face.

The gross food challenge has become an enduring Survivor classic and this first one was a doozy. Jeff Probst reveals that they will sample a "local delicacy," yet nobody's fooled. When the bowl of beetle larva is unveiled, both tribes know that the game is on. "First person who refuses to eat a bug loses immunity for their tribe," explains the host. "Guys, bon appétit."

Surprisingly, almost all the castaways downed their beetle larva without a glitch. Facing Dirk, Gervase was issued a 5-second countdown to finish his bug by Jeff, otherwise he'd lose the challenge for the entire Pagong team. But Gervase overcomes his revulsion and rises up to the challenge, forcing a tie-breaker. Both tribes are asked to assign the person they feel is the most sqeamish player from the other team. The final showdown will be between Gervase and Stacey. Tagi wins immunity, and the victory appears to earn Stacey the respect of her peers.

With the threat of the soon-to-be-held council hanging over them, the mood is subdued at the Pagong beach. As they pack up their belongings, Colleen is crying. For his part, B. B. appears to have come to terms with his fate and seems ready to go home.

The younger Pagong members arrive face-painted at tribal council. Though no mention was made of it, I thought it was a nice little touch.

Jeff Probst appears more comfortable during this second tribal council. He projects more assurance as he walks the castaways through what is about to take place.

Compared to subsequent seasons, during which the council is used for posturing, manoeuvering, and strategic purposes, it's interesting to see just how subdued and frightened the castaways are during the first few tribal councils of that first season of Survivor. It's obvious that no one wants to be there, but they act as though they don't want to bring attention to themselves and just want this thing to be done with.

It's time for you to go.

Though Ramona is sick, continues to weaken, and is little more than deadweight, only two votes were cast against her. B. B. pays the price for the way he conducted himself, racking up the remaining six votes against him. Yet in getting rid of him, Pagong loses its hardest working member and a man who always gave everything he had. Three days before, the Tagi tribe strengthened themselves by eliminating their weakest link. Now, the Pagong tribe will have to make do without the only person who seemed to know a little about survival. . .

Stay tuned for more!

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.

Rewatch: Survivor: Borneo "The Marooning" (Episode 1)

39 days, 16 people, 1 survivor!

Episode 1: "The Marooning"
Original airdate: May 31st, 2000
American ratings: 15.5 million viewers

It was with both pleasure and trepidation that I revisited the very first episode of the reality show which soon became by favorite TV show for years to come. I had not seen a single minute of Survivor: Borneo since the reruns aired on CBS during the summer of 2000.

It sure brought back memories to see the original castaways board that boat in that small Malaysian fishing village to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. And when the host Jeff Probst gave them two minutes to salvage whatever they could from the boat, the game was officially on and chaos ensued.

To win, you must survive the island, survive the vote, and ultimately survive each other.

Remember when Survivor pushed the contestants to the limit of their abilities and endurance? There were very few puzzle challenges back then, and every single minute seemed to be gruesome and painful. This is, in my mind, what Survivor is meant to be about. And that's how it all began.

A group of strangers forced to throw themselves off the boat and somehow make their way to their respective beaches on rafts that could not fit them all as well as the material they had salvaged from the ship. With an unforgiving sun beating down upon them, they were forced to row and swim, ever so slowly, toward their destinations. Getting there was obviously an ordeal for most of the contestants, especially Ramona. When you end up vomiting before the game has even truly started yet, it probably dawns upon you that this may not exactly be what you signed up for.

They must learn to adapt, or they are voted off.

Left to fend for themselves (this is Survivor, after all), the castaways are at a loss as to how to get organized. But this first episode, rewatched with 22 Survivor seasons under my belt, shows just how the entire production team is also learning the ropes. The camera crews are all over the place, creating a chaotic jumble of images. The picture quality isn't the same, nor is the location scouting up to par with subsequent seasons. Russ Landau's unforgettable soundtrack feels more present in this first episode, creating a musical backdrop to what is taking place. Even Jeff Probst appears uncomfortable, not quite sure as to exactly what sort of role the host is supposed to play in a reality show like this.

Day 1

With a few boxes' worth of survival supplies, both the Tagi and the Pagong tribes finally made it to their beach. Funny how the bulk of those supplies would disappear in future seasons, forcing the castaways to make to almost nothing but machetes and a bit of rice.

As a corporate consultant, Richard Hatch tried his best to get his tribesmates to sit down , talk, and come up with a plan so they could all work together. "Guys, the first thing we ought to do is talk about how we're going to do whatever it is we're going to do. Talk about the process," he opined. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the Tagi tribe felt that they had things well in hand and there was hence no need to discuss anything. At which point Susan Hawk came up with the kind of quote that would immotalize her in Survivor lore:

I'm a redneck. And I don't know corporate world at all. But corporate world ain't going to work out here in the bush.

Meanwhile, Rudy Boesch, a retired Navy Seal, tried to take control and issued orders to the rest of the tribe. Which quickly put him at odds with several of them.

Funny how such disparate men would soon become part of the first and one of the most infamous Survivor alliances in the history of the show. Funny also how Richard appears to put so much effort into creating a good team spirit and building their campsite, as he'll soon become one of the most selfish, cocky, and calculating players ever. But this was day 1. . .

On the Pagong beach, it's not Club Med either. B. B. seems to have his priorities straight, something that will rapidly put him at odds with the rest of his tribe. Along with Ramona, following the water map they'll finally manage to find their water spot after over an hour of searching. They hatch the very first strategic move the game has ever seen by considering not telling the others where the water can be found, hence forcing them to keep the two of them around if they want to survive.

As night falls on both beaches, the castaways try to get some sleep in their unfinished makeshift camps as rats prowl the premises. Both tribes get a taste of what life on the island will be like. . .

Day 2

The hardest part is hanging around with all those young kids. I don't even know what MTV means, you know.

Rudy is aware that things are not necessarily looking up for him. A hardened military man, he appears baffled by this stranded community among which he must now make his home. "If they listened to me, they'd all have haircuts and everything else, you know. We'd be in formation in the morning and all that kind of stuff. But they're not going to do that. I've got to fit in, not them. You know, there's more of them than there is of me."

God knows there's been quite a few characters on Survivor over the years. And yet, no matter how many fish in the sea, Rudy managed to leave an indelible mark on the history of this TV show.

Still, as a rule, military figures haven't fared all that well on Survivor. And Rudy is no exception. As a former Navy Seal, one would have thought that survival was second nature to such a man, and that starting a fire would be a piece of cake for one such as him. Be that as it may, as some of his tribesmates pointed out, he was pretty close to worthless when the Tagi crew attempted to create fire. With the help of Sean, Richard and Sue, Dirk gave it everything he had. But nothing short of divine intervention could have struck the sought-after spark. Alas, the Lord was busy doing something more important. . .

For her part, Sonja's only claim to fame during her time on Survivor would turn out to be singing "Bye Bye Blues" with the ukulele. Yes, she did leave her mark. . .

On the Pagong side of the island, B. B. is giving everything he has to build the tribe's shelter. To his dismay, his teammates do not seem to attach the same importance to the project. The old man's patience comes in short supply, and the Pagong widespread laziness and lack of work ethic irk him to no small degree. Tension exists between B. B. and Joel, and it's only a question of time before this kettle explodes.

Gretchen tries to reason with B. B., encourages him to calm down and take a 15-minute break. But the old man will have none of that and continues to dig his own grave. "I thought we were going to try to stay competitive. And if you work all day and you're burned at the end of the day, then we're not going to be competitive," she tells him. But as a matter of course, Gretchen's words of wisdom fell on deaf ears. On a more positive note, Gretchen did manage to create fire using B. B.'s glasses.

Back on the Tagi beach, Richard is already trying to catch some food using the fish traps and the rat traps. You can see that, right from the beginning, Richard wanted to assume the role of provider for the rest of his tribesmates.

The tribes' first tree mail summons them to their first encounter against the competition. The first challenge in Survivor history was the "Quest for Fire," for both reward and immunity. The castaways needed to swim to a raft containing fire, push it toward the beach and lighting torches along the way. At the beach, they had to carry their raft toward a fire bowl set upon some kind of statue. Pagong were the first to light up their fire bowl, getting their hands on the coveted immunity idol and a number of waterproof matches as their reward. During the course of the challenge, there was no commentary coming from Jeff and the host's silence was a bit odd compared to his active involvement in future seasons. Setting up the challenge at dusk was also a questionable call, as the lack of light made for poor visibility. The good news for viewers is that the production crew would learn from their mistake and turn Survivor in the most visually stunning TV show this side of National Geographic.

Day 3

This chick thinks I'm voting for one person, but I'm not.

Annoyed by Rudy's demeanor, Stacey tries to convince her tribesmates to vote him out. But little does she know that Richard and Rudy have bonded, and that Sue is not being honest with her or getting with the program. Still, Sonja, who was responsible for the Tagi lost of the previous day, and Rudy will be on the hot seat that night.

Dirk was the first God-fearing contestant on Survivor. He appeared to undergo a thoroughly uplifting experience while reading the Bible and praying. In any case, he was in no danger for this first council and thus did not need any intercession from God.

With Russ Landau's now mythical "Tally the Vote" theme playing in the background, the Tagi tribe entered the council area. The wooden chest containing the million dollar prize in cash was a bit overdone, methinks, and it's a good thing they got rid of it in subsequent seasons. "On the island, fire represents life," intoned the host. Once again, Jeff Probst doesn't seem quite sure about what his role should be at tribal council. He doesn't quite know how to set the tone yet.

The tribe has spoken.

In the end, Stacey's strategy is foiled by Sue. Rudy nevertheless got 3 votes cast against him, Stacey got one, and Sonja was the first ever castaway to be voted off the island with 4 votes cast against her.

All in all, though it certainly doesn't hit you with the same sort of impact it had in 2000, the first episode of Survivor: Borneo survived the test of time and still delivers. It marks the beginning of one of the biggest reality shows in the history of television, and as such it makes for a satisfying viewing experience, even more than a decade after it first aired.

As is often the case within group dynamics, strong personalities come to the fore early on. Survivor: Borneo was no exception to that rule. Richard, Rudy, Sue, B. B., and Gretchen stayed in the spotlight throughout the episode. Other castaways such as Greg, Colleen, Jenna, Gervase, Kelly, and Sean, who will come into their own at the series progresses, remained in the background and did not create any waves. It will be interesting to watch them gain confidence and take their rightful place among their respective tribes.

Stay tuned for the rewatch of the second episode. . .

To purchase the Survivor: Borneo DVD boxset: Canada, USA, Europe.