The ranking of Survivor seasons *updated with s27*

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.

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. PHILIPPINES - The three tribe twist worked fantastically well, all the returnees delivered and we got a season that was always interesting, from the decimation of Matsing to the chaotic post-merge.

9. 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.

10. CARAMOAN - The noise made by Brandon, Phillip and Shamar kind of drowned out everyone else at the beginning, but the season really exploded after the merge and was certainly never boring.

11. BLOOD VS WATER - A genuinely fresh spin on the show's formula that added a lot of new dynamics and created a lot of intensity. It faded a little in the second half, but started very strong and even made Redemption Island tolerable.

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

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. ONE WORLD - Kim's a great player but not great TV, and the season didn't have as many shake-ups as it should've done given the twist. The cast was decent, but not amazing. Colton created more awkwardness than entertainment.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

Blood Vs Water Episode 14: Hail To The King

Hayden fancies his chances

The final four anticipate the final duel coming up soon, and whoever comes back is likely to be an ally for Ciera. Tyson tries to make sure Monica stays on board by offering her the idol. Smart move, as Monica admits she's waiting to see who comes back and wants to play the middle. Tina, Hayden and Laura get ready for the final duel, and Laura is hoping to get back in the game and provide the reinforcements for her daughter. All three agree that one of them needs to win this game.

The challenge ahead of them is to keep a vase suspended on a plank. Laura starts struggling almost immediately. She keeps hanging on in there though, and manages to outlast Hayden. Tina fights off the pain and pleas from Laura to win the duel and return to the game. Little ol' Tina, Redemption Island champion! Did anyone expect that? Probst asks Laura whether her time in the game was a success or a failure and after hearing her daughter speak about how proud she is of her, the answer is obvious.

You can't win 'em all

After re-entering the game, Tina starts playing hard straight away. She goes up the tree to look for the idol and aggressively tries to sway Monica. Too aggressively, according to Ciera. It's obvious Ciera didn't want Tina back, but she has to work with what she's got.

Tyson wants a knighthood

The immunity challenge is to retrieve blocks from tables and stand them on a board that keeps falling over. The women start off strongest, but Tyson soon takes the lead. When everyone else drops their board, Tyson is given enough time to go as carefully as he wants for his last block, and he wins immunity.

Monica makes Gerv go crazy

Satisfied with being safe, Tyson doesn't care who goes home and leaves the decision up to his allies. Gervase wants Ciera gone as she's the sneakier player but Monica wants Tina gone as she hasn't voted anyone out and has been bullying her. Monica is now starting to feel bullied by Gervase, and might just flip the script. So she suggests to Tina and Ciera they might want to vote out Gervase.

Monica breaks down at tribal council, saying the game is starting to get to her. Tyson denies calling Monica a lapdog. Gervase doesn't like how non-committal Monica is getting right before the vote, and figuring better safe than sorry, Tyson hands his idol to Gervase to null the votes against him. Ciera gets voted out and her mom cries watching it from the jury. Monica didn't actually flip anyway, and feels a little betrayed by the lack of trust in her.

Monica gives a little shoulder charge

Tina watches a beautiful sunset, knowing she has no other option but to win the next challenge. And the challenge in question is a very large, very physical and very fun one that involves them navigating a complex obstacle course for puzzle bags. The contest gets even more physical when Monica blocks Gervase with her shoulder as they're both running up the stairs. Tyson, Gervase and Monica all manage to keep up with eachother with Tina quite a way behind. Tyson finishes the puzzle first, and has to leave his station and check out the course to figure out the answer to his combination lock. He gets it right, and wins immunity again.

Tina's last pitch is to see if Monica is willing to tie the vote and let her make fire against Gervase. Monica likes the idea of getting to add a big move to her CV, but doesn't like the idea that Tina might actually win...as she doesn't want to face Tina in the finals. At tribal council, Monica wants everyone to know that it's her deciding what happens tonight, and nobody else. Gervase tells Probst he knows there's still time for a big move to be made. Tina is voted out, and as she departs tells the final three to be kind to eachother.

It's the final three breakfast, and Tyson says he's been imagining this moment for a long time. Monica is also proud of herself for lasting this long, as she feels she did it all on her own. Gervase thinks he has played a game worthy of winning, he just needs to convince the jury of that.

Gervase, Monica and Tyson go before the jury to plead their case. Gervase says he brought the best of old school and new school. Monica claims she wasn't a lapdog and that facing the other two guys was her best option from a strategic standpoint. Tyson explains he started taking the game a lot more seriously after Rachel left.

It's all about ME!

Vytas is up first and tells Tyson that he already promised not to vote for him and he's sticking true to that. Katie calls Tyson out for being an ass to her when she got voted out, and he apologizes. Caleb wants Monica to be vulnerable, which she achieves by crying about how she's always felt in Brad's shadow.

Hayden becomes the third juror to make Monica cry, and ends up arranging coffee with her. Is Final Tribal Council really the most appropriate place to make dinner plans? He also has a question for Tyson, but just wants to know where the idol was. Aras closes up by getting them to say which of their opponents they'd vote for. Both of the other two choose Tyson, but Tyson surprisingly picks Monica. Bet that disappointed Gervase a little bit.

The jury get up to make their choice. We see Caleb vote for Tyson and Vytas vote for Monica. Back at the studio, Jeff reads the votes. Tyson breaks down in tears as he is declared the sole Survivor with all but one vote.

STAR OF THE WEEK: TYSON APOSTOL

Tyson played a very aggressive and in-your-face game, which is unusual for a man used to playing second fiddle. He made the majority of the decisions, he took big risks and never went the safe route. Definitely the most pro-active player of the season.

Next up - Survivor: Cagayan

It's brawn vs brains vs beauty! I'm not sure how necessary a "beauty" tribe was...nobody has ever wondered whether being attractive makes you good at Survivor, and I haven't seen many challenges where being beautiful comes in handy. But I'll gladly support a return to the three-tribe format.

Blood Vs Water Episode 13: Off The Leash

Katie recaps the exciting tribal council for Laura and Tina, and they tell her she did the right thing by drawing rocks. However, Tina is unsure if she even wants to win the next duel. The people still in the game are also talking about their eventful night and playfully draw a literal line in the sand. Monica starts talking about the idol and Tyson tells her he has it. This calms Monica down, but she's a little disappointed Tyson didn't tell her this sooner.

Ciera and Hayden plot their next move, and come to the conclusion that the best way to keep them both safe is if one them wins immunity and one of them finds the idol. Then they can re-team with challenge beast Laura when she comes back and be good to go.

Blood vs blood

It's an emotional duel at Redemption Island as Tina and Katie battle it out in the jailbreak challenge, but Tina starts off by giving her daughter advice. Bet Laura wishes she hadn't opened that door now, huh? It doesn't really matter though as Laura gets her keys fairly easily and is the first one to finish. Katie drops her second key on the ground and is unable to recover it, meaning a hesitating Tina manages to get her gate open and knock her daughter out. It's a victory that takes a toll on Tina, but she makes it very clear she loves her daughter.

Hayden, out on a limb

After getting another idol clue from Laura, Ciera and Hayden go off to hunt for it. They have figured out it's in a tree, but Hayden goes all over the biggest tree and finds nothing. Now he's starting to suspect someone else has it, meaning they need a new plan: try to swing Monica. But Gervase is working hard to reaffirm his final three with Monica, so will she really be willing to turn on the people who risked rocks for her?

The immunity challenge involves moving a buoy through the water, and then doing a puzzle that involves unscrambling a phrase. Tyson and Gervase are the first out of the water, with Ciera way behind. It's basically anyone's game on the puzzle (although Monica is putting down some questionable word choices), but Ciera comes from behind to pull off a shock win. The winning phrase is "You have to dig deep" - I love that they incorporated a Probstism into the challenge.

Immunity meets an unfamiliar neck

Ciera plays to Monica's emotions

Ciera is on a high from her victory and doesn't even mind sharing her reward with Hayden, as it was good to send the message she's not scared of Tyson. She then puts her plan into action and decides to let Monica know that Tyson and Gervase have been talking crap about her, calling her a mindless puppy on a leash. This fires Monica up and now she may have to exercise her power as the swing vote.

Sometimes a little makeup works wonders

At tribal council, Hayden correctly points out that Katie is looking hot on the jury. Ahem..anyway...he also continues the push to get Monica to vote for Gervase. When asked to respond, Gervase points out it's awfully convenient for them to come up with all this now, when they're desperate and scrambling - though curiously he doesn't seem to deny it. Ciera says she just wanted Monica to know, woman-to-woman, what kind of people she was playing against. She even brings up her family, telling her she should want them to see her stand up for herself.

In the end, Hayden is sent to Redemption Island, where he ends up repeating the exact same insults he accused Tyson and Gervase of saying. I don't think Monica had much of a chance of winning either way, but she probably made the right move by sticking with the people who would guarantee her final three. Although Ciera and whoever comes off Redemption Island might still have something to say about that!

STAR OF THE WEEK: CIERA EASTIN

Ciera continues to surprise, and I don't think many expected her to be the last newbie standing. She certainly wasn't expected to ever win an immunity challenge. She's now part of the last unbroken pair, and the way things have been going on Redemption Island, there could be two Moretts in the final five.

Blood Vs Water Episode 12: Solid As A Rock

Hayden congratulates Tyson on winning the game and tells everyone else they're playing for second. Gervase yells at Hayden in dispute of this claim, and Tyson is not happy either as it's making him a bigger target. But Hayden has to play any card he has.

Tiiiiimber!

Caleb is still a little sore about his blindside when we get to Redemption Island. He blasts Tyson and Gervase, but Gervase blasts back, saying he got beat and would've done the same thing. The duel is to build a house of cards, only this time it has a 30 minute time limit. Laura gets to the top way before everyone else and wins the duel, leaving Caleb about half a foot higher than Tina. Laura tries to coach Tina through the challenge again, and she ends up hitting a standstill - but catches a lucky break when Caleb's tower falls over with a minute left. With nothing left to do except count the seconds down, Tina survives again. So Caleb is out of the game, and Jeff takes the chance to get in one more shot at Colton, saying he basically doesn't understand how they're a couple.

Tyson can breathe easier now

Ciera gets the idol clue from her mother and it's a particularly valuable one since they know it's back out there. She decides to read it in front of her alliance, and they all go looking for it. Hayden and Katie join in the fun, too. Tyson climbs up a tree to get it, calming his nerves. He's been on edge because he can feel the game within his reach but knows it only takes one thing to go wrong.

It looks like Hayden has successfully struck a nerve with Gervase, since Gervase is now coming up to him and talking game. "Tell me a move to make" he says, which pretty much sums up Gervase. Never taking the initiative, always happy to play second fiddle. It's not really looking like he'll take up Hayden's offer, but he's not totally writing it off either.

Monica marching to victory

The immunity challenge requires the contestants to walk a tricky obstacle course whilst keeping a ball balanced on a pole. Monica leads the way for most of the challenge, with Gervase and Tyson on her heels. Katie is doing nothing in the challenge except taking blows to the head. Monica and Gervase both move on to the tossing section first - which seems unnecessary given how difficult the rest of the challenge was - and that's when Gervase pulls ahead. By throwing them at a much faster rate than Monica, he's able to get all his blocks down and win immunity.

Gervase also got to choose who gets ice cream, and picked Monica and Tyson. Hayden decides to use this to try and sway Ciera into making a big move, but she doesn't appear to be budging. Hayden even admits to Tyson's face he was trying to blindside him, since all hope appears to be lost. He plans to go out swinging at tribal though, readily admitting he doesn't take losing well.

Don't give up yet

At tribal council, Hayden starts doing just that and lobbies as hard as he can to get a tie vote. Probst is doing his part too, pointing out how Ciera didn't get ice cream. Gervase doesn't exactly make it better when he says he picked the two veterans because he'd been with them longer. He then claims he's a more loyal player than the other two, getting a good laugh for the jury. A very hostile tribal ends on a bizarre note when Tyson misunderstands Hayden's use of the phrase "rustle feathers", thinking he said "Russell feathers". I've heard of Russell seeds, but never feathers.

I never thought we'd ever see THIS again
- but it was worth the wait!

And now we vote, with both Tyson and Hayden trying their hardest to get Ciera to go with them. Rather shockingly, Ciera goes along with forcing the tie by voting Monica and puts her life on the line along with Katie and Tyson. Finally, the return of the rock draw! These are the breaks: black is safe, white says you're out. When the three marked for elimination show their hands, fate ends up claiming...Katie. She has no regrets by the looks of it, telling Hayden "it was worth a shot". Her complete non-presence for the majority of the episode only makes this exit even more unexpected.

Tyson goes back to camp having dodged a major bullet and is already being a jerk to Katie on her way out. But the man celebrating the most is Hayden, and so he should. He earned his reprieve, in a very entertaining way. What a rock star!

STAR OF THE WEEK: HAYDEN MOSS

Hayden hit home some hard truths to the people who needed to hear them, and it got him results. Well, minor results...but beggars can't be choosers. His biggest problem now might be overtaking Tyson as chief jury threat.