The ranking of Survivor seasons *updated with S23*

1. PEARL ISLANDS - The perfect Survivor season. Memorable, larger-than-life characters like Rupert and Jonny Fairplay, unpredictable boot order and an Outcast twist that, whilst unfair, added lots of new dimensions to the season.

2. COOK ISLANDS - In a word, epic. To watch 20 people in 4 tribes battle it out to get down to 1 was a great journey, particularly once the Aitu Four staged their amazing comeback. Yul was a likeable and worthy winner, and Cao Boi was amusing.

3. HEROES VS VILLAINS - A fanboy’s wet dream. Pitting so many big characters against each other was sure to guarantee explosive confrontations and memorable moments, and it did not disappoint.

4. MICRONESIA - A great concept, but the Fans tribe was laughably bad. After that initial mismatch, the game changed and one of the most successful and ruthless alliances of all time (the all-female Black Widow Brigade) emerged. Cue blindsides galore and memorably stupid moments like Jason’s stick and Erik giving up immunity.

4. MICRONESIA - A great concept, but the Fan’s tribe was laughably bad. After that initial mismatch, the game changed and one of the most successful and ruthless alliances of all time (the all-female Black Widow Brigade) emerged. Cue blindsides galore and memorably stupid moments like Jason’s stick and Erik giving up immunity.

5. CHINA - Beautiful location, inventive and unique challenges, and one of the best casts ever (even Chicken is memorable) make it another great season. Todd is one of the few strategists to backstab and still win. The James blindside was great.

6. VANUATU - Chris had one of the best winner’s stories ever, to come back after being outnumbered by 6 women. This season also introduces the adorably paranoid Eliza. Underrated.

7. NICARAGUA - Fabio is one of the most likeable winners ever. Constantly unpredictable, there were many memorable moments, from fiery tribal councils to a double quit, and great characters like Marty and Brenda.

8. PALAU - Despite no original gimmick, still ends up being one of the most unique seasons as one tribe decimated the other. Thus, it was a season of two halves. Stephenie emerged as a true hero.

9. SAMOA - Russell was the star of the show, but a lot of the rest of the cast left a lot to be desired.

10. TOCANTINS - Coach’s crazy antics were the highlight of the season. He was a joy to watch, you never knew what he’d do next. Credit to runner-up Stephen Fishbach, an expert strategist overshadowed by the charming J.T.

11. ALL STARS - Probably the most drama-filled season of all. The competition was dominated by Boston Rob physically and tactically, and he left a lot of people angry and bitter. Amber and Rob also gave us the first on-screen Survivor romance.

12. EXILE ISLAND - Worth watching for Shane alone. But this season also contained Terry’s amazing immunity run and competition with Aras, and the evolution of Cirie, now one of Survivor’s best ever players.

13. GUATEMALA - Physical, brutal season with some great confrontations (Jamie vs. Bobby Jon, Judd vs. everyone), but a lacklustre winner keeps it in the bottom half.

14. GABON - Probably the most personal and nastiest season, the personal grudges and Randy’s intense dislike of everyone and everything was awesome. But at least a good guy won in the end. It also had one of the worst tribes ever, Fang, and one of the show’s biggest surprises, Sugar.

15. AMAZON - Cesternino’s wit made this worth watching and kept the power shifts interesting. Jenna and Heidi add eye candy. However, the cast in general wasn’t the best.

16. FIJI - Easily the worst twist, but the Dreamz car deal and the fall of the four horsemen were both memorable moments. Earl, Yau Man and Michelle were all cool characters.

17. SOUTH PACIFIC - So many of the previous seasons problems flared up again, and in many cases even worse. I rate it slightly higher because it had one of the most realistic casts for years, an exciting and evenly-matched pre-merge and because Coach is still cool even as a gamebot.

18. REDEMPTION ISLAND - Started strong, but too many big characters getting voted out early lead to one of the most predictable and one-sided seasons ever. The Redemption Island twist failed, as did the "Rob vs Russell" twist. No season that introduced the craziness of Phillip could ever be a total loss, though.

19. AUSTRALIA - The first ever evacuation, a handful of memorable characters like Jerri and Colby, and an unexpected winner makes this one of the best of the early seasons of Survivor.

20. BORNEO - The season that started it all. It’s interesting to see the birth of the show’s gameplay and pioneer Richard Hatch in action, but it’s also frustratingly slow in places and hadn’t quite reached its potential yet.

21. AFRICA - The best thing about Africa was Lex. Ethan was a likeable winner, but had it far too easy. There was the first and best tribe swap, and a look at the community outside of the game.

22. MARQUESAS - Most boring cast/winner ever. Boston Rob was the only person worth rooting for and even he was at his worst. The best thing this season gave us was the coconut chop challenge, now a staple of the show.

23. THAILAND - Was a drag to get through at times. Shii Ann was one of the few redeeming qualities. However, Brian Heidik is pretty much the perfect Survivor player.