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Survivor: Gabon, also known as Survivor: Gabon — Earth's Last Eden, is the seventeenth season of Survivor. The winner of this season, Bob Crowley, the oldest winner in Survivor history, defeated Susie Smith and Sugar Kiper in a 4-3-0 final vote.

Production

On April 13, 2008, at the National Association of Broadcasters's annual show, Sony announced that the 17th season of Survivor would be the first to be shot in high definition, using Sony XDCAMs.

Survivor: Gabon began filming in late June. It marked the second season of the series that was filmed in Africa, as Survivor: Africa had been filmed seven years earlier in Kenya. Reports from Gabon indicate the show was filmed around the coastal towns of Nyonie and Ekwata in the Wonga-Wongue Presidential Reserve. Production struggled in transportation because of animals constantly obstructing them.

Twists/Changes

  • Tribe Selection: Like Survivor: Thailand, the oldest male and female players will choose their tribemates.
  • Individual Immunity Idols: Similar to Survivor: Micronesia, the players competed for individual immunity for their first visit to Tribal Council.
  • Exile Island: Exile Island returns this season, with some new tweaks. The banished player will pick one of two bottles, one will grant idle comfort (referring to a semi-lavish shelter with a fruit basket inside), while the other will provide idol protection (a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol somewhere around the vicinity). If the player chose to look for the idol, he/she must rest outside of the shelter. If that player chose to enjoy the comforts of the shelter, the player in question cannot look out for the idol.
  • Hidden Immunity Idols: Two Hidden Immunity Idols were available this season, one during the tribal phase of the game, and another during the second tribe switch.
  • Double Tribal Council: On Day 21, both tribes must go to Tribal Council to eliminate one of their own.
  • Two Tribe Switches: There were two tribe swaps in this season, the first one on Day 10, and the other on Day 22.
  • Delayed Merge: Due to the surprise second tribe switch, the merge was delayed for three days, merging with nine remaining contestants.
  • Final Tribal Council: The finale returned to the Final Three, seven-person jury format, similar to Survivor: China.

Castaways

Contestant Tribe Affiliation Finish Votes
Against
Original Tribe Switched Tribe Switched Tribe Merged Tribe
#1 #2
File:S17 michelle t.jpg Michelle Chase
24, Los Angeles, CA
Fang 1st Voted Out
Day 3
8
File:S17 gillian t.jpg Gillian Larson
61, Temecula, CA
Fang 2nd Voted Out
Day 6
8
File:S17 paloma t.jpg Paloma Soto-Castillo
23, Downey, CA
Kota 3rd Voted Out
Day 9
7
File:S17 jacquie t.jpg Jacquie Berg
25, Santa Barbara, CA
Kota Fang 4th Voted Out
Day 12
5
File:S17 gc t.jpg G.C. Brown
25, Portland, OR
Fang Fang 5th Voted Out
Day 15
6
File:S17 kelly t.jpg Kelly Czarnecki
22, Buffalo Grove, IL
Kota Fang 6th Voted Out
Day 18
8
File:S17 ace t.jpg Ace Gordon
27, Naples, FL
Kota Fang 7th Voted Out
Day 21
5
File:S17 dan t.jpg Dan Kay
32, Boston, MA
Fang Kota 8th Voted Out
Day 21
4
File:S17 marcus t.jpg Marcus Lehman
28, Atlanta, GA
Kota Kota Kota 9th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 24
3
File:S17 charlie t.jpg Charlie Herschel
29, New York City, NY
Kota Kota Fang Nobag 10th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 27
5
File:S17 randy t.jpg Randy Bailey
49, Eagle Rock, MO
Fang Kota Fang 11th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 30
5
File:S17 corinne t.jpg Corinne Kaplan
29, Los Angeles, CA
Kota Kota Fang 12th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 33
4
File:S17 crystal t.jpg Crystal Cox
29, Durham, NC
Fang Fang Kota 13th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 36
11
File:S17 ken t.jpg Ken Hoang
22, Westminster, CA
Fang Fang Kota 14th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 37
7
File:S17 matty t.jpg Matty Whitmore
29, Pacific Palisades, CA
Fang Fang Fang 15th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 38
7
File:S17 sugar t.jpg Sugar Kiper
29, Brooklyn, NY
Kota Fang Fang Second
Runner-Up
0
File:S17 susie t.jpg Susie Smith
47, Charles City, IA
Fang Kota Kota Runner-Up 7
File:S17 bob t.jpg Bob Crowley
57, South Portland, ME
Kota Kota Kota Sole Survivor 2

Season Summary

The players were divided into tribes by a Schoolyard Pick started by the oldest players, Bob Crowley and Gillian Larson. It became evident that Gillian's tribe, Fang, was weaker, losing many of the Reward and Immunity Challenges, even after a Tribe Switch; however, a core alliance between Matty Whitmore, Ken Hoang, and Crystal Cox developed. On Bob's tribe, Kota, a series of alliances were formed, strengthened after the swap with the addition of Randy Bailey. Both the Hidden Immunity Idol and Exile Island twists were in play; the winning tribe on Reward Challenges was able to send one of the losing tribe's members to the latter. At Exile, that player had the option of a clue to the Immunity Idol hidden near Exile (ultimately leading to a string of hidden clues to the Idol), or to relax in a small shack, latter dubbed the Sugar Shack, with a provision of fruit and a hammock. Sugar Kiper was the second player to visit Exile and found the idol on her first visit; she was repeatedly sent back to Exile, where, isolated from both tribes, she relaxed most of the time. Sugar's Idol was eventually discovered by Matty, Ken, and Crystal, and they decided to bring her into their alliance, with Ken convincing her to vote off her closest ally Ace Gordon whom he claimed was using her for the idol.

On Day 22, both tribes were given clues suggesting a tribal merge; they enjoyed a celebratory meal, and discovered an Immunity Idol nearby. Unanimously, the players agreed to throw the Idol away into the ocean. They then discovered they were still separate tribes, mixed by random draw, and returned to their camps. This development proved crucial for the minority Fang alliance, who successfully convinced Susie Smith that she was on the bottom of her alliance, resulting in the elimination of Kota alliance leader Marcus Lehman. The tribes were then merged with the former Kota alliance in the minority. The Fang alliance, now with Susie, dominated the game, eliminating the former Kota alliance until only Bob was left. Bob won three consecutive Immunity Challenges, forcing the Fang alliance to turn on themselves. This resulted in the eliminations of Crystal and Ken due to their strong strategic prowess.

At the final four, Susie won the Final Immunity Challenge, ending Bob's immunity streak. Sugar decided to vote with Bob due to their social bond, forcing a tie between him and Matty; Bob won the fire-making tiebreaker challenge. At the Final Tribal Council, the jury was critical of Sugar's backstabbing and of Susie's less-dominant strategic game. They ultimately voted Bob as the Sole Survivor with four votes to Susie's three, and Sugar receiving none.

Episode Guide

Episode Air date Challenges Exiled Eliminated
(Vote)
Finish Viewership
(in millions)[1]
Rating/Share
(18-49)[1]
Reward Immunity
1 "Want to See the Elephant Dung?" September 25, 2008 Kota GC Michelle
(8-1)
1st Voted Out
Day 3
13.06 4.5/11
Marcus
Kota1
Kota1 Dan Gillian
(7-1)
2nd Voted Out
Day 6
2 "She Obviously Is Post-Op!" October 2, 2008 Fang Fang Sugar Paloma
(7-2)
3rd Voted Out
Day 9
13.08 4.5/12
3 "It Was Like Christmas Morning!" October 9, 2008 None Kota Sugar2 Jacquie
(5-2)
4th Voted Out
Day 12
13.28 4.4/12
4 "This Camp Is Cursed" October 16, 2008 Kota Kota Sugar GC
(6-1)
5th Voted Out
Day 15
12.81 4.2/12
5 "He's a Snake, but He's My Snake" October 23, 2008 Kota Kota Sugar Kelly
(5-1)
6th Voted Out
Day 18
13.31 4.4/12
6 "It All Depends on the Pin-Up Girl" October 30, 2008 Kota Marcus Sugar Ace
(3-2)
7th Voted Out
Day 21
13.02 4.1/12
[Sugar]3 Dan
(4-3)
8th Voted Out
Day 21
7 "Apple in the Garden of Eden" November 6, 2008 None Fang None Marcus
(3-2)
9th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 24
12.01 3.8/10
8 "The Brains Behind Everything" November 13, 2008 Fang Susie Bob Charlie
(5-4)
10th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 27
12.88 4.1/11
9 "Nothing Tastes Better than Five Hundred Dollars" November 20, 2008 Survivor
Auction
Ken Bob Randy
(5-3)
11th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 30
12.50 4.0/11
10 "I Was Put on the Planet for This Show" November 27, 2008 Recap Episode N/A N/A
11 "The Good Things in Life Aren't Easy" December 4, 2008 Bob Bob None Corinne
(4-3)
12th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 33
12.73 3.9/11
12 "The Good Guys Should Win in the End" December 11, 2008 Bob
[Crystal,
Ken]
Bob Susie Crystal
(4-0)4
13th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 36
13.05 4.0/11
13 "Say Goodbye to Gabon" December 14, 2008 None Bob None Ken
(4-1)
14th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 37
13.77 4.4/10
Susie Matty
(2-2;
tiebreaker)5
Eliminated
7th Jury Member
Day 38
Jury Vote Sugar
(4-3-0)
Second
Runner-Up
Susie
(4-3-0)
Runner-Up
Bob
(4-3-0)
Sole Survivor
14 "Reunion" 11.74 3.8/10
Notes:
^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^2 Due to an odd number of castaways at the tribe switch, the odd person out was sent to Exile Island until after the following Tribal Council, when that castaway would join the tribe that lost a member.
^3 Before the Double Tribal Council on Day 21, the tribes competed in an individual Immunity Challenge. The winner of the challenge, Marcus from Kota, was given the right to assign immunity to a member from the Fang tribe. He chose Sugar.
^4 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^5 Per Survivor rules, in the event of a tie at the final four, a fire-making challenge would be held between the tied castaways.

Voting History

Original Tribes First Switched Tribes Second
Switched
Tribes
Merged Tribe
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13
Voted Out S17 michelle t
Michelle
S17 gillian t
Gillian
S17 paloma t
Paloma
S17 jacquie t
Jacquie
S17 gc t
GC
S17 kelly t
Kelly
S17 ace t
Ace
S17 dan t
Dan
S17 marcus t
Marcus
S17 charlie t
Charlie
S17 randy t
Randy
S17 corinne t
Corinne
S17 crystal t
Crystal
S17 ken t
Ken
Tie S17 matty t
Matty
S17 sugar t
Sugar
S17 susie t
Susie
S17 bob t
Bob
Vote 8-1 7-1 7-2 5-2 6-1 5-1 3-2 4-3 3-2 5-4 5-3 4-3 4-02 4-1 2-23 Tiebreaker 4-3-0
Bob Paloma Dan Ken Crystal Susie Matty Crystal Ken Matty Jury Vote
Susie Michelle Gillian Dan Marcus Charlie Randy Corinne Crystal Ken Bob
Sugar Paloma Exiled1 GC Kelly Ace Charlie Randy Corinne Crystal Ken Matty
Matty Michelle Gillian Jacquie GC Kelly Crystal Charlie Randy Corinne Crystal Ken Bob Eliminated Susie
Ken Michelle Gillian Jacquie GC Kelly Ace Marcus Charlie Randy Matty Matty Susie Susie
Crystal Michelle Gillian Jacquie GC Kelly Ace Marcus Charlie Randy Corinne Matty Susie
Corinne Paloma Dan Crystal Susie Matty Bob
Randy Michelle Gillian Susie Crystal Susie Bob
Charlie Paloma Dan Crystal Bob
Marcus Paloma Susie Ken Bob
Dan Michelle Gillian Susie
Ace Paloma Kelly GC Kelly Crystal
Kelly Ace Jacquie GC Crystal
GC Michelle Gillian Jacquie Kelly
Jacquie Paloma Kelly
Paloma Ace
Gillian Michelle Ken
Michelle Gillian
Notes:
^1 Due to the odd number of castaways at the tribe switch, the odd person out was sent to Exile Island until after the following Tribal Council, when they would join the tribe that lost a member.
^2 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^3 Per Survivor rules, in the event of a tie at the final four, a fire-making challenge would be held between the tied players.

Reception

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Trivia

  • This is the only season to have only two pre-merge tribes, yet have two Tribe Switches.
  • This is the first season since Survivor: China to feature a seven-member jury with a final three. After this season, every season that had a final three would feature a jury of at least eight members, though the Juror Removal twist in Survivor: Kaôh Rōng would reduce that season to an eventual seven-member jury.
  • This is the first season with an 18-player cast where the jury began before the merge.

References

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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