Survivor: The Amazon
Survivor: The Amazon was the sixth incarnation of the popular television reality show Survivor. It was filmed in 2002 and 13 episodes aired weekly in the United States on CBS from February 13 - May 11, 2003.
Sixteen people were sent to the Amazon to win one million dollars. The two initial tribes were the all-female Jaburu and the all-male Tambaqui. They were eventually merged into the Jacare tribe. It started out and ended as a battle of the sexes. The winner of Survivor 6 was Jenna Morasca, a 21-year-old swimsuit model from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The season finale including the announcement of the winner and a live reunion of all the season's contestants at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, on David Letterman's Late Show stage which was decorated to look like the set in the Amazon.
The contestants were (starting with the first one eliminated and ending with the winner):
- Ryan Aiken
- Janet Koth
- Daniel Lue
- Joanna Ward
- Jeanne Hebert
- Shawna Mitchell
- Roger Sexton
- Dave Johnson
- Deena Bennett
- Alex Bell
- Christy Smith
- Heidi Strobel
- Butch Lockley
- Rob Cesternino
- Matthew Von Ertfelda (won $100,000 US)
- Jenna Morasca (won $1,000,000 US)
The season is noted for having the first handicapped reality show contestant, the hearing impaired Christy Smith.
Another notable moment in this season was a challenge that tested players' endurance against temptation. While all the players were standing on a pillar, in a typical "stand till you can't anymore" Immunity challenge, the players were told that they'd be tempted with various rewards for hopping off voluntarily. Almost immediately, Jenna Morasca and Heidi Strobel offered to take off all of their clothes if they were provided with chocolate and peanut butter. Probst complied with their request, and a very naked (and very blurry) Jenna and Heidi exited the challenge and ate a plate of Oreo cookies and peanut butter. Their escapades earned them a cover shot on Playboy.
Rob Cesternino and Jenna Morasca returned for Survivor: All Stars. Jenna left the game in the third episode to be with her dying mother. The next episode, Rob was unanimously voted out of the Chapera tribe.
Survivor: The Amazon was preceded by Survivor: Thailand and followed by Survivor: Pearl Islands.