Survivor: Thailand

Survivor: Thailand is the fifth season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed in the summer of 2002 and aired from September 19 – December 19, 2002 on CBS. It was set on the island of Ko Tarutao in Thailand. Fourteen episodes aired weekly. The two initial tribes were Chuay Gahn (Thai: ช่วยกัน "to help one another") and Sook Jai (สุขใจ "happy heart" ). They eventually merged into the Chuay Jai tribe. On December 19, 2002, Brian Heidik defeated Clay Jordan by a vote of 4-3 to become the sole survivor. This was the first season to have an all-male final two.

The season introduced several new gameplay twists. The first occurred on Day 1, when the two eldest contestants, Jake Billingsley and Jan Gentry, were given the power to pick their own tribes. This was the first time in Survivor history that the two initial teams were not preselected by the producers. The second was an offer of mutiny on Day 14: each of the twelve remaining contestants were given the chance to leave their tribe and join the other if they wished; no one took the offer. (The twist was re-used during Survivor: Cook Islands, with two contestants switching tribes.)

The major twist of the season was the fake merge. When only ten players remained, the usual time for a merge, the two tribes moved onto one beach, with a feast awaiting them. The two tribes took this to mean that they were merging, and Shii Ann Huang attempted to use this to her advantage by openly trying to ally herself with the former opposing tribe. At the next challenge they attended, however, the two tribes were informed that they were living on one beach, but were not merged. This backfired on Shii Ann when her tribe lost the Immunity Challenge and she was voted off for her excessive scheming.

The final Tribal Council was similar to the Africa season; after the votes were cast for the winner, Jeff Probst exited to retrieve the voting urn. When he returned, it appeared he had returned to the Tribal Council location on set in Thailand. However, he had actually returned to a CBS sound stage in Hollywood made up to look like the Thailand set. This was revealed the moment he announced Heidik the winner.

Jeff Probst stated that he was not fond of the season, going as far as calling it his least favorite. He described the season as mean-spirited and marred with hostility and ugliness, even calling Brian, Clay, Helen, and Jan "the least likable final four ever."

Shii Ann was the only representative of the season to appear as a contestant on Survivor: All-Stars, where she placed 6th.

The complete season was released on DVD exclusively through Amazon.com on October 25, 2011.