Survivor: The Australian Outback

Survivor: The Australian Outback was the second season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed at Goshen Station in northern Queensland during 2000 and was shown on TV from January 28, 2001 to May 3, 2001 on CBS. The location used was within a three hour drive from the city of Cairns and was in a wet, sub-tropical area. Nielsen Ratings says it was the highest rated show of 2001.

Fourteen episode were shown, one every week. The winner, Tina Wesson, was announced on May 3, 2001 where she won against Colby Donaldson by a vote of 4-3.

The entire season was made available on DVD on April 26, 2005.

Well-known events
Although the first episode was shown right after Super Bowl XXXV, the late hour made CBS want to show the first episode again later that week.

The elimination of player Michael Skupin during the sixth episode is well known for being the first case where a Survivor player has had to be removed because of an injury. While trying to start a fire, Skupin breathed in smoke and fainted, falling into the fire getting really bad burns to his hands. After being cared for by medical personnel, a helicopter was brought in and Skupin was removed from the game. Because of his removal, there was no Immunity Challenge, so there was no Tribal Council. Because of this, the Ogakor and Kucha tribes merged (combined) with the same number of tribe members, instead of the possible six to four (which would have happened if Ogakor lost the Immunity Challenge and gone to Tribal Council). At the first merged Tribal Council, Jeff Varner was voted off after a tie vote between the two old tribes.

During a reward trip, player and future runner-up Colby Donaldson broke an Australian law by breaking off coral from the Great Barrier Reef which could have gave him a fine of AU$110,000. The helicopter pilot in the reward trip also broke an Australian law as he flew over sea bird rookeries. Survivor's producer Mark Burnett said sorry on behalf of Colby and the production team after the season had been shown.

The game lasted 42 days, instead of 39 days. This seson also started the Survivor tradition of showing who won live, so that none of the players would know who won until the finale (last episode).

During a reward on Day 34 where the five players left were allowed to talk with their family members, old Ogakor member Keith Famie asked his girlfriend to marry him, and she said yes.

After filming
After the show, fourth-place finisher Elisabeth Filarski went on to co-host talk show The View. She, Tina Wesson, Colby Donaldson, Jerri Manthey, Alicia Calaway and Amber Brkich were asked to return in Survivor: All-Stars. Filarski was the only one who didn't return in the All-Stars season. She wanted to focus on hosting The View, while Wesson, Donaldson, Manthey, Calaway, and Brkich placed 18th, 12th, 10th, 7th, and 1st. Brkich won against fellow player and future husband Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano who had played before in the series' fourth season, Survivor: Marquesas  in a 4-3 vote. Donaldson and Manthey would return again in the Heroes vs. Villains season where they placed 5th, and 4th. Michael Skupin returned in the Philippines season, where he tied for 2nd. Wesson would return in the Blood vs. Water season, where she played with her daughter, Katie Collins, and placed 4th. Jeff Varner and Kimmi Kappenberg were voted into the Cambodia season, where they finished 16th, and 6th. Varner later played in the Game Changers season.

Players
PlayerStarting tribeMerged tribeFinishTotal votesDebb Eaton45, Milan, NHKucha1st Voted OutDay 37Kel Gleason32, Fort Hood, TXOgakor2nd Voted OutDay 67Maralyn Hershey51, Wakefield, VAOgakor3rd Voted OutDay 95Mitchell Olson23, Union City, NJOgakor4th Voted OutDay 124Kimmi Kappenberg27, Ronkonkoma, NYKucha5th Voted OutDay 156Michael Skupin38, White Lake, MIKuchaRemovedDue to InjuryDay 170Jeff Varner34, New York, NYKuchaBarramundi6th Voted OutDay 217Alicia Calaway32, New York, NYKucha7th Voted Out1st Jury MemberDay 245Jerri Manthey30, Los Angeles, CAOgakor8th Voted Out2nd Jury MemberDay 2712Nick Brown23, Steilacoom, WAKucha9th Voted Out3rd Jury MemberDay 304Amber Brkich22, Beaver, PAOgakor10th Voted Out4th Jury MemberDay 336Rodger Bingham53, Crittenden, KYKucha11th Voted Out5th Jury MemberDay 365Elisabeth Filarski23, Boston, MAKucha12th Voted Out6th Jury MemberDay 395Keith Famie40, West Bloomfield, MIOgakor13th Voted Out7th Jury MemberDay 418Colby Donaldson26, Dallas, TXOgakorRunner-up5Tina Wesson39, Knoxville, TNOgakorSole Survivor0

The Total Votes is the number of votes a player got during Tribal Councils where the player was able to be voted out of the game. It does not count the votes they got during the final Tribal Council.

The game
Episode titleAir dateChallengesEliminatedVoteFinishRewardImmunity"Stranded"January 28, 2001Ogakor1Debb7-11st Voted OutDay 3"Suspicion"February 1, 2001OgakorKuchaKel7-12nd Voted OutDay 6"Trust No One"February 8, 2001OgakorKuchaMaralyn5-1-13rd Voted OutDay 9"The Killing Fields"February 15, 2001KuchaKuchaMitchell3-34th Voted OutDay 12"The Gloves Come Off"February 22, 2001KuchaOgakorKimmi6-15th Voted OutDay 15"Trial By Fire"March 1, 2001KuchaNone2MichaelNo VoteRemovedDue to InjuryDay 17"The Merge"March 8, 2001None3KeithJeff5-56th Voted OutDay 21"Friends?"March 15, 2001Jerri[Amber]KeithAlicia5-47th Voted OutDay 24"The First 24 Days"March 22, 2001Recap Episode"Honeymoon Or Not?"March 29, 2001Colby, JerriNickJerri6-28th Voted OutDay 27"Let's Make A Deal"April 5, 2001Survivor AuctionColbyNick4-2-19th Voted OutDay 30"No Longer Just A Game"April 12, 2001ColbyColbyAmber4-210th Voted OutDay 33"Enough Is Enough"April 19, 2001TinaColbyRodger3-211th Voted OutDay 36"The Final Four"April 26, 2001ColbyColbyElisabeth3-112th Voted OutDay 39"The Most Deserving"May 3, 2001NoneColbyKeith1-013th Voted OutDay 41"The Reunion"May 3, 2001 Jury VoteColby4-3Runner-UpTinaSole Survivor
If more than one tribe or player wins reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically if it was teamwork or if one player won and invited others, the players they invited are in brackets.

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

Voting history
Starting tribesMerged tribeEpisode #:1234567891011121314ReunionEliminated:Debb7/8 votesKel7/8 votesMaralyn5/7 votesMitchell3/6 votes2Kimmi6/7 votesMichaelNo vote3Jeff5/10 votes4Alicia5/9 votesJerri6/8 votesNick4/7 votesAmber4/6 votesRodger3/5 votesElisabeth3/4 votesKeith1 voteColby3/7 votesTina4/7 votesVoterVoteTinaKelMaralynMitchellJeffAliciaJerriNickAmberRodgerElisabethJury VoteColbyKelMaralynMitchellJeffAliciaJerriNickRodgerRodgerElisabethKeithKeithKelMitchellMitchellJeffAliciaJerriNickAmberRodgerElisabethTinaElisabethDebbKimmiColbyJerriJerriAmberAmberKeithKeithTinaRodgerDebbKimmiColbyJerriJerriAmberAmberKeithColbyAmberKelMaralynKeithJeffAliciaElisabethNickRodgerColbyNickDebbKimmiColbyJerriJerriKeithColbyJerriKelMaralynKeithJeffAliciaElisabethTinaAliciaDebbKimmiColbyJerriTinaJeffDebbKimmiColbyMichaelDebbKimmiKimmiDebbJeffMitchellKelMaralynKeithMaralynKelJerriKelJerriDebbJeff

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

References

Other websites
Official CBS Survivor The Australian Outback Website

Category:2001 American television seasons
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Category:Television series set in the Outback