Survivor: Cook Islands
Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American competitive reality television series, "Survivor". The season was filmed from June 26 to August 3, 2006, and premiered on September 14 of that year. Filmed in the Cook Islands, it was broadcast by CBS. The season had 20 contestants who were initially divided into four "tribes" by ethnicity: African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Caucasian. The tribes were named after some of the Cook Islands: Manihiki, Puka Puka, Aitutaki, and Rarotonga. They were later merged into a single tribe, Aitutonga. The season was the first with  a final consisting of three participants, rather than two. Yul Kwon defeated Ozzy Lusth and Becky Lee by a jury vote of 5–4–0 and was named the Sole Survivor, winning $1,000,000. Overview. Survivor is a reality television show based on the Swedish show Expedition Robinson, created by Mark Burnett and Charlie Parsons. The series follows a number of participants isolated in a remote location, where they must provide food, fire, and shelter. One participant is removed from the series by majority vote every three days, with challenges held to give a reward (ranging from living- and food-related prizes  to a car) and immunity from being voted out of the series. The last remaining player receives a prize of $1,000,000. Pre-production began in spring 2006, and principal photography lasted from July 3 to August 11, 2006. Filming locations. The tribal camps, Exile Island, and many of "Survivor: Cook Islands" challenges were filmed on "motu" (islets) in the Aituaki lagoon. The Rarotonga (later Aitutonga) tribe's camp was on Moturakau, and the Aitutaki tribe lived on Motukitiu. The short-lived tribes of Manihiki and Puka Puka lived on Rapota and Muritapua, respectively. Most challenges were filmed on Tekopua  and Tapuaetai (One Foot Island). Exile Island is a small sand cay south of Tapuaetai, and the bow of the wooden ship was brought in for the show. West of Tapuaetai is another sand cay, called "Nude Island" by locals because of its lack of vegetation. The third challenge was staged in the shallow water just off the shore of Nude Island. Akaiami hosted challenges and "The Ponderosa," where eliminated contestants remained until the end of the game. The Tribal Council, the production camp, and a few challenges were located on the main island of Aitutaki. There were three reward  trips to the neighboring islands of Atiu, Mitiaro, and Rarotonga. Taio Shipping diverted the "MV Maungaroa" from its usual schedule to a charter for the producers of "Survivor: Cook Islands" in June 2006, triggering fuel and electricity crises on the island of Mangaia. Contestants. Future appearances. Jonathan Penner, Ozzy Lusth, and Parvati Shallow were selected to compete again in "". Shallow returned for "" with Candice Woodcock. Lusth returned for a third time in "" and for a fourth time in "". Penner returned for his third time in "". Woodcock (now using her husband's surname, Cody) returned for her third time in "" with  her husband, John. Shallow and Yul Kwon returned to compete on "". In addition to "Survivor", Lusth competed on the second season of "American Ninja Warrior". Season summary. The 20 participants, divided into four tribes (based on race) for the first six days of the competition, were then merged into two tribes. An early visit to Exile island resulted in Yul discovering the hidden immunity idol. With the tribes equal at six members each on Day 19, the castaways were given the choice to mutiny and join the other tribe; Candice and Jonathan opted to do so, leaving the Aitutaki tribe  at four members (Yul, Ozzy, Becky, and Sundra) against the eight-member Rarotonga tribe. With teamwork, Yul's intelligence and Ozzy's swimming skills, Aitutaki defeated Rarotonga at every subsequent challenge and left Rarotonga with only five members at the merge. While the Aitu Four merged, Yul cemented his Aitutaki alliance by showing them the idol and convinced Jonathan to vote with them. The Aitu Four took control of the game, and were the final four players remaining. With Yul holding the hidden immunity idol and Ozzy winning the final challenge, the four agreed to let a fire-making challenge  decide who would join them at the final tribal council; it took over an hour to complete, with Becky victorious. The jury, seeing Becky following Yul and her poor performance in the fire-making challenge, did not vote for her; Yul's brains edged out Ozzy's brawn, five votes to four. Episodes. <onlyinclude> </onlyinclude> Reception. "Survivor: Cook Islands" received mixed reviews when it was first broadcast, but has become more popular over time. Although the racial cast divide was seen as polarizing, Kwon, Lusth and Penner were praised. Dalton Ross of "Entertainment Weekly" ranked the  season 18th out of 40, calling it "listless" until the mutiny. In 2014, Joe Reid of "The Wire" ranked the season fifth out of 27. A "Rob Has a Podcast" poll the following year ranked the season 14th out of 30, with Rob Cesternino ranking it 24th. Cesternino's 2021 "Survivor All-Time Top 40 Rankings" podcast ranked the season 19th out of 40. The "Purple Rock Podcast" ranked this season seventh out of 40 in 2020, saying that it "features one of the more compelling narratives the show has ever had, and gives you the rare opportunity to see  in-depth strategy talk between players." Later that year, "Inside Survivor" ranked the season 18th out of 40 and praised it for "having one of the best underdog stories of all time." Kwon's gameplay had a positive reception. In the 2015 issue of "CBS Watch" commemorating the 15th anniversary of "Survivor", he was ranked the ninth-greatest contestant in series history by viewers. That year, shortly before the premiere of "", host Jeff Probst called Kwon one of his top ten winners and one of his top six male winners. A 2007 online readers' poll by "Entertainment Weekly" chose Kwon  its favorite "Survivor" winner. In 2017, the magazine had fans rank the 34 winners of "Survivor"; Kwon was ranked ninth. The decision to divide the teams by race and ethnicity was controversial before the season aired, with members of the New York City Council's Black, Latino and Asian Caucus asking CBS not to broadcast the show. Those who worked on the show said that as divisions by age, gender, or gender and age combined had been accepted, race should not have been treated much differently. Probst conceded a slight difference, in that racial segregation was part of US history . Previous seasons have been criticized for their relative lack of diversity, with Probst saying that over 80 percent of Survivor's applicants were white. According to "Advertising Age" magazine, more than a half-dozen major advertisers (including General Motors and Coca-Cola) withdrew their sponsorship after hearing about the teams' division. According to a "New York Times" report, the decision by several advertisers (also including the Home Depot, United Parcel Service, and Campbell Soup) not to sponsor the season was made three months before its start and was unrelated to its racial format. "Mad TV" parodied "Cook Islands" in its  twelfth-season premiere episode, which aired on September 16, 2006. The parody gave the white challengers significantly-easier tasks; a swimming challenge allowed the whites to use a canoe. A white fire-building kit consisted of gasoline and a DVD on how to make a fire; the Hispanic contestants received flint, the Asians received a matchstick, and the African-Americans received a glass of water.