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Having suffered a profound ratings drop during the third season of Survivor, the series' producers made some significant alterations in the format for season four -- and the result was the property's biggest audience share in two years. It had been planned to film the fourth season in the country of Jordan, but the volatile political situation in that region of the world made this impossible. Thus, the action was moved to the tiny island of Nuku Hiva, largest of the 12 Marquesas in the South Pacific, a neighbor (albeit a distant one) of Tahiti. The 16 castaways competing for the one-million-dollar prize ran the age gamut from 21 (Neleh Dennis) to 57 (Paschal English). During the 39 days on Nuku Hiva, several new rules and regulations were introduced. First off, none of the castaways were provided with food, water, or matches prior to being dropped onto the island. Secondly, the rules of the Immunity Challenge were changed somewhat, allowing those granted Immunity to either keep it or give it away to someone else. Finally, during the weekly Tribal Council voting process, previous "negative" votes did not count against the castaways, heightening the suspense as to which player would be voted off the island by episode's end. The two tribes were the Rotu (the local word for "rain") and Maraamu (the word for "wind"). Eventually the remaining members of these tribes were merged into the single Soliantu tribe -- but not before a highly publicized "twist," in which three members of the Rotu were forced to join the Maraamu, and vice versa. On a personal level, several romances developed (or at least seemed to develop) amongst the castaways. And for the third time in the series' history, one of the players revealed himself to be gay -- in this case, John Carroll of the Rotu tribe. Once the Ultimate Survivor was chosen (and without revealing too much, it can be noted that the winner was an officer manager who hailed from the American Northwest), all 16 contestants were summoned to New York for a gala "reunion" special, hosted by none other than Rosie O'Donnell. Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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