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Survivor: Caramoan, also known as Survivor: Caramoan — Fans vs. Favorites, is the twenty-sixth season of Survivor. This season was the second season to feature the Fans vs. Favorites format, originally introduced to viewers in Survivor: Micronesia. John Cochran was crowned the Sole Survivor after achieving the second "perfect game" in Survivor history. Cochran beat out Dawn Meehan and Sherri Biethman in an 8-0-0 jury vote. It would ultimately feature two medical evacuations, and has to date produced two returning players (Andrea Boehlke and Malcolm Freberg) for subsequent seasons.

Production[]

This season repeats the back-to-back filming seen since 2009. Production for Caramoan began two-and-a-half weeks after Survivor: Philippines finished filming.[2] CBS announced on January 11 that the season premiere would last for 2 hours; however, on February 7, CBS changed the premiere to be only 90 minutes long.

A casting call happened the same way as it did in Survivor: Micronesia. Jeff Probst stated that they would have liked to have Shambo Waters of Survivor: Samoa and Matt Elrod of Survivor: Redemption Island back, but both said that they were "done with Survivor" and Lisa Whelchel of Survivor: Philippines was considered difficult to be brought back on back-to-back seasons due to being a mother.[3] Troyzan Robertson of Survivor: One World was originally going to be on the season but got cut in favor of Malcolm Freberg. Malcolm, who had just finished competing in Philippines, remained on-location to compete in Caramoan. Troyzan would eventually return for Survivor: Game Changers. Tyson Apostol from Survivor: Tocantins and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains was considered, but was not chosen due to the season taking a "different direction." Tyson however would return in Survivor: Blood vs. Water. Stephen Fishbach was also considered but did not make the cut. In 2015, Stephen would be voted back by fans to compete in Survivor: Cambodia.[4]

Twists/Changes[]

  • Fans vs. Favorites: Similar to past season Survivor: Micronesia, this season will feature one tribe made up of die-hard Fans of the show, while the other tribe will be made up of Favorite returning players from previous seasons.
  • Returning Players: As implied by the theme, ten former players returned to compete against ten new castaways.
  • Hidden Immunity Idol: Like previous seasons, at least one Hidden Immunity Idol is hidden in each tribe's camp.
  • Tribal Council at Challenge Site: Due to Brandon Hantz's rampage at camp, the Bikal tribe decided to forfeit the Immunity Challenge on Day 13. Due to this, a Tribal Council vote was commenced verbally at the challenge site.
  • Tribe Switch: On Day 15, three Fans were switched to the new Bikal tribe and four Favorites were switched to the new Gota tribe.
  • Merge: This season merged with twelve castaways in the game.
  • Expanded Jury and Final Three: The Final Tribal Council was held with a Final Three facing an eight-person jury.

Castaways[]

Contestant Tribe Affiliation Finish Votes
Against
Original Tribe Switched Tribe Merged Tribe
S26 francesca t Francesca Hogi
38, Brooklyn, NY
Redemption Island
Bikal 1st Voted Out
Day 3
6
S26 allie t Allie Pohevitz
24, Oceanside, NY
Bartender
Gota 2nd Voted Out
Day 5
6
S26 hope t Hope Driskill
22, Jefferson City, MO
Pre-Law Student
Gota 3rd Voted Out
Day 7
8
S26 shamar t Shamar Thomas
26, Brooklyn, NY
Iraq War Veteran
Gota Evacuated
Day 10
8
S26 laura t Laura Alexander
22, Washington, DC
Administrative Officer
Gota 4th Voted Out
Day 10
6
S26 brandon t Brandon Hantz
20, Katy, TX
South Pacific
Bikal 5th Voted Out
Day 13
8
S26 matt t Matt Bischoff
38, Cincinnati, OH
BMX Bike Salesman
Gota Bikal 6th Voted Out
Day 16
4
S26 julia t Julia Landauer
20, Stanford, CA
Racecar Driver
Gota Bikal 7th Voted Out
Day 19
9
S26 corinne t Corinne Kaplan
33, Los Angeles, CA
Gabon
Bikal Bikal Enil Edam 8th Voted Out
Day 22
7
S26 michael t Michael Snow
43, New York City, NY
Event Planner
Gota Bikal 9th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 25
10
S26 phillip t Phillip Sheppard
54, Santa Monica, CA
Redemption Island
Bikal Bikal 10th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 28
5
S26 malcolm t Malcolm Freberg
25, Hermosa Beach, CA
Philippines
Bikal Gota 11th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 30
11
S26 reynold t Reynold Toepfer
29, San Francisco, CA
Real Estate Salesman
Gota Gota 12th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 31
9
S26 andrea t Andrea Boehlke
23, New York City, NY
Redemption Island
Bikal Gota 13th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 33
13
S26 brenda t Brenda Lowe
29, Miami, FL
Nicaragua
Bikal Gota 14th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 36
5
S26 erik t Erik Reichenbach
26, Santa Clarita, CA
Micronesia
Bikal Gota Evacuated
7th Jury Member
Day 36
2
S26 eddie t Eddie Fox
23, East Brunswick, NJ
Fireman/EMT
Gota Gota 15th Voted Out
8th Jury Member
Day 38
16
S26 dawn t Dawn Meehan
41, South Jordan, UT
South Pacific
Bikal Bikal Runners-Up 2
S26 sherri t Sherri Biethman
40, Boise, ID
Fast Food Franchisee
Gota Gota 6
S26 cochran t John Cochran
25, Washington, DC
South Pacific
Bikal Bikal Sole Survivor 0

Season Summary[]

The two tribes were selected prior to the start of the game: Bikal, composed of ten returning Survivor contestants (the "Favorites"), and Gota, ten new players (the "Fans"). Bikal won nearly all the challenges and was dominated by an alliance led by Phillip, dubbed "Stealth R Us", while Malcolm found the tribe's Hidden Immunity Idol. The Gota tribe was ruled by an alliance of six led by Sherri, opposed by a minority alliance of four led by Reynold. Reynold's alliance was quickly reduced to him and Eddie, who were spared due to the dwindling tribe needing their strength in challenges.

The tribes were shuffled in Day 14, with both new tribes containing four Favorites and three Fans. The significantly weaker new Bikal tribe lost every single challenge, with the Favorite majority sticking together to vote out the new players. Malcolm, now on the Gota tribe, aligned with fellow athletic males Reynold and Eddie to avoid being picked off at the merge.

The tribes merged with eight Favorites and four Fans remaining. The new Enil Edam tribe quickly saw two factions emerge: Malcolm and Corinne rallied the remaining Fans together to try and overthrow Phillip, while the rest of the Favorites regrouped under Stealth R Us. Sherri also decided to join Stealth R Us due to her distrust of Reynold and Eddie. This put Stealth R Us in the majority, leaving only Malcolm, Eddie, and Reynold in the minority. Their eliminations seemed imminent until Reynold won immunity and Malcolm found an additional Idol, which he gave to Eddie. In the hectic Tribal Council that ensued, Malcolm and Eddie played their Idols and Phillip was voted out.

However, their fortune was not to last, and Malcolm and Reynold were subsequently eliminated. While Eddie seemed the likely next target, he was spared when the former members of Stealth R Us decided to turn on one of their own, eliminating strategic threat Andrea with an Idol in her pocket, and Brenda after a kind-hearted gesture at the Loved Ones Challenge put her in a good social position. After Erik was evacuated from the game due to low blood pressure, Eddie was the final player voted out due to his popularity with the jury and having betrayed no one during the game.

Sherri, Cochran, and Dawn ultimately were the final three players. During the Final Tribal Council, Sherri was largely ignored, being perceived as a coattail rider after her original alliance collapsed. While Cochran and Dawn were acknowledged as a pair, Dawn was grilled due to her emotional instability throughout the game while betraying several close allies, whereas Cochran was praised for being able to separate emotions from the game. This led to the jury of eight unanimously voting for Cochran to win.

Episode Air date Challenges Eliminated
(Vote)
Finish Viewership
(in millions)
Rating/Share
(18-49)
Reward Immunity
1 "She Annoys Me Greatly" February 13, 2013 Bikal Gota Francesca
(6-4)
1st Voted Out
Day 3
8.94[5] 2.4/7[5]
2 "Honey Badger" February 20, 2013 Bikal1 Allie
(6-4)
2nd Voted Out
Day 5
9.32[6] 2.4/7[6]
3 "There's Gonna Be Hell to Pay" February 27, 2013 Bikal1 Hope
(3-3-3;
5-1-0)2
3rd Voted Out
Day 7
9.17[7] 2.6/8[7]
4 "Kill or Be Killed" March 6, 2013 Bikal Bikal Shamar
(no vote)
Evacuated
Day 10
9.58[8] 2.6/7[8]
Laura
(6-0)3
4th Voted Out
Day 10
5 "Persona Non Grata" March 13, 2013 Bikal (Gota)4 Brandon
(8-1)
5th Voted Out
Day 13
9.89[9] 2.7/8[9]
6 "Operation Thunder Dome" March 20, 2013 None Gota Matt
(4-2-1)
6th Voted Out
Day 16
9.79[10] 2.6/8[10]
7 "Tubby Lunchbox" March 27, 2013 Gota Gota Julia
(3-3;
4-0)2
7th Voted Out
Day 19
9.43[11] 2.5/7[11]
8 "Blindside Time" April 3, 2013 None Cochran Corinne
(7-5)
8th Voted Out
Day 22
9.25[12] 2.5/7[12]
9 "Cut Off the Head of the Snake" April 10, 2013 Cochran,
Eddie, Erik,
Michael,
Reynold
Brenda Michael
(7-3-1)5
9th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 25
9.38[13] 2.6/8[13]
10 "Zipping Over the Cuckoo's Nest" April 17, 2013 Cochran,
Dawn, Erik,
Phillip,
Reynold
Reynold Phillip
(4-0-0)3
10th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 28
9.99[14] 2.7/8[14]
11 "Come Over to the Dark Side" April 24, 2013 Survivor
Auction
Cochran Malcolm
(3-3-3,
6-0-0)2
11th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 30
10.31[15] 2.9/8[15]
12 "The Beginning of the End" May 1, 2013 Andrea1 Reynold
(4-2-1-1)
12th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 31
9.25[16] 2.4/8[16]
None Erik Andrea
(3-2-2)
13th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 33
13 "Don't Say Anything About My Mom" May 8, 2013 Brenda
[Dawn]

(Cochran,
Eddie, Erik,
Sherri)
Dawn Brenda
(3-2-1)
14th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 36
9.51[17] 2.6/8[17]
14 "Last Push" May 12, 2013 None Erik
(no vote)
Evacuated
7th Jury Member
Day 36
10.16[18] 2.7/8[18]
Cochran Cochran Eddie
(3-1)
15th Voted Out
8th Jury Member
Day 38
Jury Vote Sherri
Dawn
(8-0-0)
Runners-Up
Cochran
(8-0-0)
Sole Survivor
15 "Reunion" 8.13[19] 2.2/6[19]
Notes:
^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^2 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor rules, a revote would commence.
^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^4 Bikal opted to forfeit the Immunity Challenge, allowing Gota to win the challenge by default.
^5 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user.

Voting History[]

Original Tribes Switched Tribes Merged Tribe
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Voted Out S26 francesca t
Francesca
S26 allie t
Allie
Tie S26 hope t
Hope
S26 shamar t
Shamar
S26 laura t
Laura
S26 brandon t
Brandon
S26 matt t
Matt
Tie S26 julia t
Julia
S26 corinne t
Corinne
S26 michael t
Michael
S26 phillip t
Phillip
Tie S26 malcolm t
Malcolm
S26 reynold t
Reynold
S26 andrea t
Andrea
S26 brenda t
Brenda
S26 erik t
Erik
S26 eddie t
Eddie
S26 sherri t
Sherri
S26 dawn t
Dawn
S26 cochran t
Cochran
Vote 6-4 6-4 3-3-31 5-1-0 No vote2 6-03 8-1 4-2-1 3-31 4-0 7-5 7-3-14 4-0-03 3-3-31 6-0-0 4-2-1-1 3-2-2 3-2-1 No vote5 3-1 8-0-0
Cochran Francesca Brandon Matt Michael Julia Corinne Michael Malcolm Malcolm Malcolm Eddie Eddie Brenda Eddie Jury Vote
Dawn Francesca Brandon Matt Julia Julia Corinne Michael Eddie Reynold Malcolm Reynold Eddie Brenda Eddie
Sherri Allie Hope Hope Laura Corinne Michael Eddie Reynold Malcolm Reynold Andrea Brenda Eddie
Eddie Shamar Shamar None Laura Sherri Andrea Phillip Andrea Malcolm Sherri Brenda Erik Dawn Cochran
Erik Andrea Brandon Corinne Michael Phillip Malcolm Malcolm Eddie Andrea Eddie Evacuated Cochran
Brenda Andrea Brandon Corinne Michael Eddie Reynold Malcolm Reynold Andrea Eddie Cochran
Andrea Francesca Brandon Corinne Michael Eddie Malcolm None Reynold Brenda Cochran
Reynold Shamar Shamar Shamar Laura Sherri Andrea Phillip Andrea None Erik Cochran
Malcolm Francesca Brandon Sherri Reynold Phillip Andrea None Cochran
Phillip Francesca Brandon Matt Michael Julia Corinne Michael Malcolm Cochran
Michael Allie Eddie Hope Laura Julia Julia None Sherri Andrea Cochran
Corinne Francesca Brandon Matt Julia Julia Sherri
Julia Allie Hope Hope Laura Dawn Michael None
Matt Allie Eddie Hope Laura Julia
Brandon Andrea Phillip
Laura Allie Hope Hope Reynold
Shamar Allie Eddie None Evacuated
Hope Shamar Shamar None
Allie Shamar
Francesca Andrea
Notes:
^1 The vote resulted in a tie. Per Survivor rules, a revote was held where the castaways involved in the tie would not vote and the remaining castaways could only vote for those involved in the tie.
^2 Shamar was evacuated from the game due to a severe eye infection. No vote occurred for his removal.
^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user.
^5 Erik was evacuated from the game due to hypotension. No vote occurred for his removal.

Trivia[]

  • The theme of the season is inspired from the Igorot culture, as seen in "Come Over to the Dark Side", where the masks used for the Immunity Challenge are Ifugao dragon masks, while the Hidden Immunity Idols resemble the people's fertility charms.[20]
  • This is the eighth season to feature returning players.
    • However, this is the first season since Heroes vs. Villains to feature returning female players.
    • This is the second season in a row to feature a returning player who was eliminated before the merge/jury phase of the game. 
  • This is the first and so far only season to feature multiple three way ties.
  • This is the first season since Nicaragua to feature 20 castaways.
  • Like the original Fans vs. Favorites season, the tribe colors are purple for the Favorites, orange for the Fans, and green for the merged tribe.
  • This season marks the first time a Fan makes it to Day 39 under this format.
  • Francesca is the first returning castaway to be voted out first from their original season.
  • The font used in the Caramoan part of the season logo is an edited version of the font: Pompeia Std Inline.
  • This season's Tribal Council set is inspired by the nipa hut, a local traditional dwelling in the Philippines.
  • This is the first season to have a tribe win the same challenge twice in a season, although the first win was by default, and the two wins were with different members due to the Tribe Switch.
  • This is the first season since Tocantins to have the first eliminated person on the merged tribe not be a member of the jury.
    • However, this was the first season since Panama to have the first person voted out of the merged tribe not be a jury member since Joe Dowdle was evacuated in Tocantins.
  • This is the third season in which multiple Hidden Immunity Idols were played at the same Tribal Council, the first two being Heroes vs. Villains and Nicaragua.
    • However, it was the first season in which multiple Hidden Immunity Idols negated votes at the same Tribal Council.
  • This season holds the record for the latest medical evacuation day in the show's history with an evacuation on Day 36.
  • This season ties with Palau, Kaôh Rōng, and Ghost Island for having the most tie votes, with three.
  • This is the only season to feature returning players from Nicaragua.
  • This is the only season that the Reunion Show had only members of the jury appear on stage and no pre-jury vote outs, as the live reunion show only featured the contestants who made it on the jury phase. All of the pre-jury vote outs sat in the front row, which caused controversy.
  • This is also the first season in which not all of the castaways are present for the reunion, as Brandon Hantz was banned due to his altercation with Phillip Sheppard, and Brenda Lowe had to stay at home because she was in the last stages of her pregnancy.
  • None of the first-time castaways from Caramoan have ever returned for a second season, making this the earliest season with no returning first-time players.

References[]

  1. http://deadline.com/2013/05/tv-season-series-rankings-2013-full-list-506970/
  2. http://www.ew.com/article/2013/01/22/survivor-caramoan-jeff-probst-malcolm-freberg
  3. http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/02/01/jeff-probst-survivor-caramoan-fans-vs-favorites/
  4. https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/35rlmu/stephen_fishbach_ama/cr76ztq
  5. 5.0 5.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/02/14/wednesday-final-ratings-csi-suburgatory-law-order-svu-adjusted-down/169419/
  6. 6.0 6.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/02/21/wednesday-final-ratings-the-middle-survivor-guys-with-kids-criminal-minds-law-order-svu-adjusted-down/170285/
  7. 7.0 7.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/02/28/wednesday-final-ratings-chicago-fire-american-idol-suburgatory-adjusted-down/171202/
  8. 8.0 8.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/03/07/wednesday-final-ratings-survivor-and-american-idol-adjusted-up/172402/
  9. 9.0 9.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/03/14/wednesday-final-ratings-american-idol-survivor-adjusted-up/173340/
  10. 10.0 10.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/03/21/wednesday-final-ratings-arrow-supernaturel-american-idol-survivor-whitney-adjusted-down/174318/
  11. 11.0 11.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/03/28/wednesday-final-ratings-american-idol-survivor-whitney-and-chicago-fire-adjusted-down/175358/
  12. 12.0 12.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/04/wednesday-final-ratings-modern-family-american-idol-survivor-adjusted-up/176417/
  13. 13.0 13.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/11/wednesday-final-ratings-survivor-suburgatory-adjusted-up/177383/
  14. 14.0 14.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/18/wednesday-final-ratings-american-idol-survivor-adjusted-up-2/178511/
  15. 15.0 15.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/04/25/wednesday-final-ratings-survivor-american-idol-svu-adjusted-up/179530/
  16. 16.0 16.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/05/02/wednesday-final-ratings-american-idol-survivor-modern-family-criminal-minds-csi-adjusted-up-how-to-live-with-your-parents-the-voice-adjusted-down/180671/
  17. 17.0 17.1 https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/sdsdskdh279882992z1/wednesday-final-ratings-modern-family-american-idol-the-voice-family-tools-survivor-supernatural-adjusted-up/
  18. 18.0 18.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/05/14/tv-ratings-broadcast-top-25-the-big-bang-theory-tops-week-33-viewing-among-adults-18-49-ncis-on-top-with-total-viewers/182614/
  19. 19.0 19.1 http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/05/14/sunday-final-ratings-survivor-once-upon-a-time-the-simpsons-revenge-adjusted-up/182603/
  20. http://www.tribalartasia.com/Tribal%20Art%20Asia%20Ifugao%20Tribe/IFUGAO%202/IFUGAO%20LINGLINGO.html

Survivor (U.S.) Seasons
BorneoThe Australian OutbackAfricaMarquesasThailandThe AmazonPearl IslandsAll-StarsVanuatuPalauGuatemalaPanamaCook IslandsFijiChinaMicronesiaGabonTocantinsSamoaHeroes vs. VillainsNicaraguaRedemption IslandSouth PacificOne WorldPhilippinesCaramoanBlood vs. WaterCagayanSan Juan del SurWorlds ApartCambodiaKaôh RōngMillennials vs. Gen XGame ChangersHeroes vs. Healers vs. HustlersGhost IslandDavid vs. GoliathEdge of ExtinctionIsland of the IdolsWinners at WarSurvivor 41Survivor 42Survivor 43Survivor 44Survivor 45Survivor 46
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