Survivor (television series)

Survivor is a popular reality television program produced by many countries through the world. The show consists of 16 contestants isolated in a remote location. The contestants are subjected to numerous competitions involving mental and physical challenges, as well as attempting to provide for themselves (though the extent that the contestants have been able to do so has varied from series to series).

The Survivor concept was conceived by Bob Geldof's Planet 24[?] television company. It initially failed to attract the attention of any of major broadcasters in Britain or the United States and was eventually taken up by Swedish television in 1997 as Expedition Robinson. The show was a major hit in Sweden and it is estimated that half of Sweden's population watched the final episode.

The basic premise of the show is that each episode, one competitor is voted off in an elaborately-staged ceremony by the other competitors remaining in the game. The competitions provide an opportunity for either individual players or, in early weeks, a "tribe" of competitors, to avoid the possibility of being voted off. Whilst each individual's voting patterns are known to viewers, the competitors only know the overall results of the vote. Once only two competitors remain, the final winner is chosen from the two by an overall vote of the last ten competitors - the winners receiving one million dollars (in US versions of the series) and all other competitors receiving nothing (though they are apparently compensated for their expenses and some go on to earn money from endorsements and personal appearances). In addition, from time to time, such extra prizes as automobiles are awarded to individuals who may not win the grand prize.

The initial series was a huge ratings success for CBS in 2000, but subsequent series have attracted less attention. The programme was a major flop in other countries, it became a national joke in the UK and an Australian version of the series, screened in 2002, flopped in the TV ratings.

Episodes of the American version of the series

The U.S. version is produced by Mark Burnett[?] and hosted by Jeff Probst[?]. It airs weekly on CBS.

• Survivor I[?] was set on the remote island of Palau Tiga[?] in the South China Sea.
• Survivor II was set in Australia in the Outback (though the location was by Australian standards not particularly remote, nor was it arid).
• Survivor III was set in Kenya.
• Survivor IV was set on the island of Nuku Hiva[?] in the Marquesas.
• Survivor V was set in Thailand.
• Survivor VI, was set in the jungles of the Amazon River region of Brazil
• Survivor VII[?] is planned to take place in the Pearl Islands[?] off the coast of Panama.

Survivor IV was not shown in Australia as the network was showing a series of Australian Survivor instead. It was not a ratings success, and it is planned to show Survivor V instead of making another Australian series.