Survivor: Africa
Survivor: Africa was the third installment of the popular United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed during 2001 and aired from
October 11, 2001 - January 10, 2002 on CBS. It was set in Kenya on the African continent.
The two initial tribes were Boran and Samburu (named for the real-life Borana and Samburu tribes). In the fifth episode, after 12 days, three members from each team were switched to the other team, in what became known as the first "twist" in the Survivor series. This emphasized that the players must be ready for the most sudden changes; future seasons would have similar twists. Eventually the two tribes merged into the Moto Maji tribe.
There was some controversy surrounding an immunity challenge in the finale episode. In a "Fallen Comrades" challenge, in which the contestants were quizzed on trivia regarding other players in the game who had been voted out, the final question was "Which female contestant has no piercings?" The official answer was Kelly Goldsmith, which eventual runner-up Kim Johnson answered and received the win for. Unbeknownst to the producers, however, contestant Lindsey Richter fit the question as well, which eventual third-place finisher Lex van den Berghe answered and was incorrectly marked wrong for. After this producer mistake had been found out, both van den Berge and fourth place finisher Tom Buchanan were awarded with the $100,000 runner-up fee instead of the traditional third and fourth place earnings.
Thirteen episodes were aired, plus a mid-season recap, a live reunion/interview with Bryant Gumbel after the finale, and a "where are they now" show. The winner, Ethan Zohn, was revealed on January 10, 2002.
Contestants
| Contestant | Original tribe | Episode 5 tribe | Merged tribe | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diane Ogden | Boran | Voted out 1st - Day 3 | ||
| Jessie Camacho | Boran | Voted out 2nd - Day 6 | ||
| Carl Bilancione | Samburu | Voted out 3rd - Day 9 | ||
| Linda Spencer | Samburu | Voted out 4th - Day 12 | ||
| Silas Gaither | Samburu | Boran | Voted out 5th - Day 15 | |
| Lindsey Richter | Samburu | Voted out 6th - Day 18 | ||
| Clarence Black | Boran | Moto Maji | Voted out 7th - Day 21 | |
| Kelly Goldsmith | Boran | Samburu | Voted out 8th - Day 24 | |
| Brandon Quinton | Samburu | Voted out 9th - Day 27 | ||
| Frank Garrison | Samburu | Boran | Voted out 10th - Day 30 | |
| Kim Powers | Samburu | Voted out 11th - Day 33 | ||
| Teresa Cooper | Samburu | Boran | Voted out 12th - Day 36 | |
| Tom Buchanan | Boran | Samburu | Voted out 13th - Day 37 | |
| Lex van den Berghe | Boran | Samburu | Voted out 14th - Day 38 | |
| Kim Johnson | Boran | Runner-up | ||
| Ethan Zohn | Boran | Sole Survivor | ||