There are several criterion to consider every time I rank another season of Survivor. Was the season overall exciting? Was there at least one big, surprising move? Were there blindsides? Were there cool challenges? Was the finale exciting? And was the winner satisfying? Not all of these carry the same weight, and the rankings are entirely objective. I encourage you to share your own in the comments, because I’m sure they’ll be different than mine.

Survivor: South Pacific felt like an average season. I’m not a fan of Redemption Island and what it has done to the game, which hurts the season. I think Redemption Island sucks the drama out of Tribal Council, I miss the dynamic of Reward Challenges, and I hate how it can exempt a player from having to use strategy to get to the end. So there’s that. Other negatives about this season is that it was predictable – Cochran made one big move, but other than that nothing was ever shaken up. A strong core alliance is a good thing if you’re in it, but for viewers it can mean a dull season.

However, there were things to like about this season. There were interesting characters – I loved Cochran, and even though I couldn’t stand Brandon, the fact that he was a Hantz, or all the religious crap all season, his utter lunacy was interesting to watch. I rooted for Dawn and for Sophie, two strong female players who were fans of the game. And there was a deserving winner, who was crowned after two exciting episodes. So this season did have a few positive aspects.

So check out the list, and let me know in the comments what your best and worst seasons are, and where South Pacific would fit in for you.

1. Survivor: Micronesia – Fans vs. Favorites
Season Sixteen, Winner: Parvati Shallow
Pros: Some of the best blindsides the show has ever seen, the first successful all-female alliance, Eliza’s facial expressions while on the jury and the best player winning. The right player won, and I’m not sure this season will ever be topped for me.
Cons: Many of the “fans” turned out to be less than memorable and pretty dopey, and things didn’t start to really heat up until around the time of the merge.

2. Survivor: Borneo
Season One, Winner: Richard Hatch
Pros: Originally I had this first season at number one, but after thinking it over I think I was more captivated by Fans vs. Favorites. However, this first season was unlike anything I’d ever seen and introduced me to my all-time favorite reality TV show. It was all my 14-year-old self could talk about.
Cons: The castaways were brand new and not everyone caught on to how to play the game as quickly as Richard Hatch. Remember the guy who cast his vote in alphabetical order?

3. Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains
Season Twenty, Winner: Sandra Diaz-Twine
Pros: Every. Single. Episode. Seriously, every episode this season had me completely captivated. The twists! The turns! The Boston Rob and Russell showdown; The Heroes’ embarrassing themselves, coming back, and then embarrassing themselves again; stupid moves from Tyson and J.T.; Amanda giving the clue back; Parvati kicking challenge butt.
Cons: Some favorite players getting voted out early in the season (Cirie, Boston Rob), Russell having the advantage of anonymity in a season based on reputation and too many immunity idols that were too easy to find. The season lands in third place because the best all-around player (Parvati) didn’t win.

4. Survivor: Cook Islands
Season Thirteen, Winner: Yul Kwon
Pros: Some of the most exciting and memorable players we’ve ever seen. Parvati! Ozzy! Jonathan Penner! And Yul was a very strong winner – social, strategic and physical. And then there was Billy declaring his love for Candice after about 20 seconds. The tribes segregated by race was controversial, but also resulted in one of the most diverse casts we’ve seen.
Cons: I wasn’t a huge fan of the mutiny, and it was the first time we saw my least favorite Survivor move – the final three.

5. Survivor: Amazon
Season Six, Winner: Jenna Morasca
Pros: Rob Cesternino. Also, the tribes were separated by gender which was pretty interesting. It was an unpredictable season and the final two really showed that social skills are more important than survival skills in the game. And for the guys, there was the whole “I’ll take my clothes off for peanut butter” thing.
Cons: Rob Cesternino not making it to the finals. Jenna Morasca isn’t my favorite Survivor winner since she seemed rather whiny while she was out there. Had only Rob won that final challenge…

6. Survivor: Australia
Season Two, Winner: Tina Wesson
Pros: An exciting cast – forget about the Colby we knew in Heroes vs. Villains and All-Stars and think back to his original season. The guy was a rock star, dominating challenges and flashing that pearly smile. We had America’s sweetheart Elisabeth (forget her on The View – on Survivor she was adorable) and “the black widow” Jerri Manthey. They were also starving – I’ll never forget when Tina jumped into the river to save the tribe’s last canister of rice. Then we had Mike Skupin falling into the fire and confrontations between Kimmi and Alicia.
Cons: The eliminations were a little predictable – no one wanted to take Rodger or Elisabeth to the finals because they were too likable. And Colby made a million dollar mistake in taking Tina to the finals over Keith.

7. Survivor: China
Season Fifteen, Winner: Todd Herzog
Pros: A fantastic cast. Todd, a gay Morman flight attendant, was funny and strategic. Some of the best commentary Survivor has ever seen came from Courtney Yates. We met James, one of the biggest and strongest guys to ever play, who got voted out with two immunity idols in his pocket. And don’t forget Amanda “second place” Kimmell, Denise the lunch lady, Peih-Gee and Jean-Robert.
Cons: Todd easily won when Amanda failed to defend herself well and Courtney decided she didn’t care about winning. It also wasn’t my favorite location.

8. Survivor: All-Stars
Season Eight, Winner: Amber Brkich
Pros: This season has a bad reputation, but I loved it. We saw the true Boston Rob – after all, on his first season he didn’t even make the jury. We saw people with huge egos, lots of betrayals and blindsides, a couple of people quit the game and the creation of reality TV royalty – did anyone really think Boston Rob and Amber were for real? Two seasons of The Amazing Race and a baby later, they’re still together.
Cons: Boston Rob should have won, but the jury was full of bitter people with hurting egos. I also hated the “America’s Tribal Council” after the finale where Rupert was handed a million dollars thanks to a few tie-dyed shirts and a couple very flattering edits.

9. Survivor: Palau
Season Ten, Winner: Tom Westman
Pros: A team of one! It was unbelievable watching a tribe lose every single immunity challenge. We also saw one of the stupidest moves in Survivor history when Ian told Tom he would step out of a challenge if Tom promised him NOT to take him to the final two. What?
Cons: As shocking as it was to watch one tribe decimate another, it also got a little dull. And Tom’s not my favorite winner.

10. Survivor: Tocantins
Season Eighteen, Winner: James “J.T.” Thomas Jr.
Pros: Some of the most entertaining, though sometimes unlikable, characters we’ve seen. Coach and his ridiculous stories – every time he comes on screen, I quote Erinn Lobdell and say “Who is this jackass?” Then there was Tyson and his constant berating of Sierra, and the city-mouse meets country-mouse relationship between Stephan and J.T. And although J.T. ruined his rep in Heroes vs. Villains, the fact that he won unanimously and never had a vote cast against him in Tocantins was pretty freakin’ impressive.
Cons: Two people being fake-voted-out and then sent to camp before the rest of their tribes arrived. Not a lot of blindsides.

11. Survivor: Pearl Islands
Season Seven, Winner: Sandra Diaz-Twine
Pros: This season is a favorite for a lot of people, but I wasn’t a huge fan. It gets points for introducing us to Johnny Fairplay and his “dead” Grandma, though. And thanks to this season, we got Sandra back to make Heroes vs. Villains interesting.
Cons: The “Outcasts” twist. I hated it, and it ruined the season for me.

12. Survivor: Redemption Island
Season Twenty-Two, Winner: ‘Boston’ Rob Mariano
Pros: I know, I’m putting it a lot higher than many people would. But I think this season has a lot going for it. Rob played the best game of Survivor I’ve ever seen. His competition may not have been fierce, but not everyone has what it takes to keep people in line like Rob did. Matt got blindsided TWICE. The challenges leading up to the merge were exciting – it looked like Russell’s team was dominating until they threw a challenge to oust him and seemingly lost momentum. Plus we had crazy moments from Phillip, and the right person won when almost everyone voted for Boston Rob.
Cons: It was predictable. Rob kept his alliance together and took out everyone from the opposing tribe, and they never seemed to work hard enough to sway anyone onto their team. Grant, Natalie and Ashley never seemed to once question if they were going to the finals, making Rob’s blindsides rather easy.  

13. Survivor: Marquesas
Season Four, Winner: Vecepia Towery
Pros: “Boston Rob” Mariano. Kathy Vavrick-O’Brien urinating on someone’s hand. A lot of power shake-ups.
Cons: A weak and forgettable final two. And one of the most angering things in the history of Survivor – the purple rock. How can you send home a man who’s never had a vote cast against him? It still gets my blood boiling.

14. Survivor: Fiji
Season Fourteen, Winner: Earl Cole
Pros: Everything involving Yau-Man Chan, like his fake immunity idol and failed pact with Dreamz trading a vote for a car. Earl was also a solid winner and received every vote to win, despite being in a three-person finals.
Cons: With the exception of Yau-Man, it proved that recruited cast members are duds (Wikipedia says all but one of the cast members were recruits, not applicants). Also, the haves vs. have-nots twist was lame.

15. Survivor: Gabon
Season Seventeen, Winner: Bob Crowley
Pros: Some memorable villains, like Randy and Corrine (her final words to Sugar were cruel and unforgivable), saved it from being a snooze. Sugar became an unlikely hero after being constantly sent to exile island and Bob was a likable winner. They get extra points for voting out Randy with a fake immunity idol.
Cons: Too many weak, boring or unlikable players made it too far thanks to the tribal switch. I couldn’t bring myself to root for Randy, Corrine, Kenny or Susie.

16. Survivor: Panama
Season Twelve, Winner: Aras Baskauskas
Pros: The introduction of Cirie Fields, one of my all-time favorite players. The self-proclaimed couch potato killed ‘em with kindness and, along with Shane Powers and his fake BlackBerry, saved the cast from being too boring.
Cons: Starting off with four teams (divided by age and gender) was annoying and lame, and the final two was forgettable.

17. Survivor: South Pacific
Season Twenty-three, Winner: Sophie Clarke
Pros: A deserving winner, several interesting personalities (both likable and not so likable) and two exciting final episodes land this season above a few others.
Cons: Predictability. An alliance made on Day One survived to the end, which meant we almost always knew who was going home. Only one guy (Cochran) shook up the game, and it ended up backfiring. Redemption Island meant Ozzy never had to pay for his terrible strategic game and early weak social game.

18. Survivor: Guatemala
Season Eleven, Winner: Danni Boatwright
Pros: A cool location and an interesting final three. Rafe telling Danni that she didn’t need to stay true to their final two agreement was on a par with Ian’s guilt-ridden decision to tell Tom not to take him to the finals. Also, Stephenie and Danni were two tough, athletic women.
Cons: This is when Stephenie LaGrossa became really unlikable. I didn’t like the decision to bring back her and Bobby Jon, and in general disliked most of the cast.

19. Survivor: Vanuatu
Season Nine, Winner: Chris Daugherty
Pros: Watching the women dominate, only to lose to a guy. And not a particularly likable or athletic one at that. Eliza Orlins and Ami Cusack were interesting players who returned for Fans vs. Favorites.
Cons: A disappointing final three – Scout, Twila and Chris? Please.

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