Before beginning, I'm making this list based on how the contestants came across as characters on a TV show, not based on who they are or what they did outside of the show. This means I'm going to try my hardest not to let the awful things many of the people who have been on this show have done outside of Survivor have any effect on this list. Additionally, for any repeat contestants, I'm trying not to allow my feelings about them elsewhere change the way I judge them on the season in question. I know it's difficult, but it's what I have to do in order to maintain the "integrity" of my already-difficult-to-make list.
I'm including the above statement on every one of these lists, so in the future you can skip it if you don't want to read the same thing over and over again. But what I've said in that opening actually does have a direct impact on people (who I don't choose to name) involved on this list, and many more in the future. To me, they're TV characters, and for better or worse I have to judge them as such.
This was the first season of the show I watched live, as it was becoming a huge hit and my mom wanted to see what all the fuss was about. So, starting with this season and going on for another 5-10 seasons afterwards, I do have (sometimes very clear) recollections of events and characters from the show that aren't entirely based on my new experience in watching them this time through with my wife, roughly 20 years after the first airing. Because of that, there's a certain amount of nostalgia that will impact this list, but even without viewing it through that lens this list wasn't too hard to put together.
16. Kimmi (12th place)
There are people we love to hate, and people we just don't want to see anymore. The kind of people who don't really have any power or impact on the game in any way, and are just overall annoying for most everyone to watch. Kimmi is that second kind, and still holds up as one of the most insufferable I've seen on the show so far.
15. Debb (16th place)
First eliminations generally don't leave a terribly strong impression, and Debb is no exception to that rule. She was kinda annoying and we understand why they chose to get rid of her right off the bat.
14. Mitchell (13th place)
At times mildly amusing, but overall a pretty boring contestant who didn't really stand out in any way. I had to look him up to remember what he even looked like, which isn't a good thing. At least Kel had some controversy.
14. Kel (15th place)
It's the beef jerky guy. One of the first episodes of the show, he got caught with what appeared to be some kind of snack food that he supposedly smuggled and hid from his tribemates. I still have no clue if it was true, or if I even care one way or another, but the fact remains that's pretty much the only memorable thing about Kel's time on the show. And when *maybe* having eaten beef jerky is all you've got, that's not much.
12. Jeff (10th place)
Jeff was pretty unlikable, but definitely had moments of genuine entertainment. He was conniving, petty, sassy, and definitely had an air of superiority to him. But he had *something*, which is more than I could say about the people below him on this list. Plus, his ejection marked the shift that allowed for a complete takeover.
11. Maralyn (14th place)
Most notable, perhaps, for being Tina's friend who she unfortunately betrayed super early on, showing a darker side to the sweet southerner who would go on the win the series. Maralyn seemed like a decent lady, and it's a shame she was voted off so quickly, but not a huge loss.
10. Nick (7th place, 3rd in jury)
Pretty much the least interesting of the post-merge characters, Nick didn't really have much to remember him by. He wasn't a terribly hard worker, wasn't very funny, wasn't physically dominant, and mostly just kind of existed on the show until he was voted off for being the only potential physical threat left against Colby. Nothing more to say.
9. Amber (6th place, 4th in jury)
Amber is boring. She just hung around the camp, being innocuous, posing no real threat to anyone, and didn't really factor into anything that happened the entire way through the game. She's another who just winds up this high because she didn't annoy me, but not because she was compelling to watch in any way.
8. Keith (3rd place, 7th in jury)
Keith is one I'm still not sure about. He was very loyal, relatively competent, and surprisingly physical. But he also was a source of friction more often than not, which more than anything gave Tina the opportunity to slide in closer with Colby, allowing her to go in for the win without really having much competition. Keith was alright, and sometimes made me laugh. Moving on.
7. Alicia (9th place, 1st in jury)
One of the more surprising inclusions in Survivor All-Stars, considering she didn't leave a huge impact on a lot of viewers at the time, but Alicia was fun. She was a very strong person, both physically and personality-wise, and I still look back in fondness of her feud against Kimmy. Very strong-willed and loyal to a fault.
6. Michael (11th place)
The fall of Michael marked the beginning of the end for his whole tribe. The accident that got him evacuated from the show was huge, and caused a power shift that pretty much determined the final 3, although it wasn't so obvious at the time. He took over as leader of his tribe, caught and butchered a wild pig, and was generally just interesting to watch.
5. Jerri (8th place, 2nd in jury)
Jerri being this high on the list isn't a way of saying she was actually good at the game, or even particularly fun to watch. But she was so much fun to watch get voted off, and seeing her desperate attempts at milking an apology from Colby in the jury portion of the finale (he, hilariously, didn't apologize) just made her even more petty and annoying than we already knew her to be. She was a memorable villain, and for that reason alone, she's in my top 5.
4. Tina (1st place, winner by 4-3 vote)
The first time through I saw Tina as being a coattail rider who never really deserved being in the final 4 to begin with, but this wasn't wholly accurate. Apart from at times just being the right level of cutthroat, Tina also very much steered votes in the directions that would ultimately best suit her, leaving Colby to receive most of the negative attention for decisions she had subtly pushed for all along. No, I still don't think of her as a worthy winner, but she played the game the only way she could, and it worked for her really well.
3. Elisabeth (4th place, 6th in jury)
Elisabeth was adorable. Her relationship with Rodger was adorable. She seemed like a genuinely decent person, and I really hated seeing her go, but the majority rules portion of the firm alliance of Colby-Tina-Keith made her ejection inevitable, especially considering Colby's individual challenge dominance. She tried her hardest, and never turned her back on Rodger, which I found incredibly wholesome.
2. Rodger (5th place, 5th in jury)
As sweet and lovely as Elisabeth was, purely on a personality basis, Rodger was my favorite player of the season. An all-round good guy with a strong work ethic who never seemed to have a bad thing to say about anyone, Rodger didn't just keep his head down to avoid notice, but was so genuinely likable that his personality alone seemed to keep him around as long as he did. He even requested to be voted off before Elisabeth, because he felt she needed to money/chance more than he did. What a sweet guy. If he had somehow made it into the final 2, I can't imagine a single combination that wouldn't have resulted in him winning by a landslide.
1. Colby (2nd place, runner-up)
Runner-up on the show, but not on my list, Colby was the breakout star of the season -- and, arguably, the biggest success in the business outside of the show across all seasons. He ticked all the right boxes that resulted in pretty much everybody loving him, and it wasn't just because people found him handsome and charming. He was also a very strong challenger who basically carried the final three through to the end, when it easily could have ended a different way had he not been so loyal. The first truly dominant contender on the show, but far from the last, Colby very much set the bar for physical threats, and I feel it's largely due to him starting this trend that so many future contestants would start being voted off early just for being strong and competent.
While I didn't enjoy anyone on this season as much as Richard from Borneo, the overall impression I got from most everyone involved here was a lot more positive. There are always duds, and some of the people are truly awful outside of the show, but as a TV cast I liked the dynamics here really well. I'd give this group on average a solid B rating.
Thanks for reading.
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