'Survivor' - greatest theme-based seasons as of now

7. Survivor: All-Stars (Season 8 - 2004)

It was the most anticipated season during the early years of Survivor. Many fans were dying to know, when would there be an all-stars edition of Survivor? Well, when season eight rolled around, the question was finally answered. For the first time, former castaways were returning to the game to try to Outwit, Outplay and Outlast once again.

Survivor: All-Stars was historic in many aspects. This was essentially the first theme in Survivor history, and was the first time since season one that a location did not dictate the season title. This was also the first time a season was filmed at a location that was used as the backdrop previously, as, just like the prior season, the marooning took place on the Pearl Islands of Panama. Plus, this was the first time a season featured eighteen castaways instead of the normal sixteen.

The all-stars selected truly were all-stars. This wasn't like Game Changers or both Fans vs. Favorites seasons where some of the castaways didn't live up to their designated title. Each and every castaway deserved to be there based on their status from the first time they played. Now, some were technically more of an all-star than others since four of the seven winners at that time were present, but the remaining fourteen players lasted far into the game or were indeed fan favorites to earn a spot in Survivor's elite eighteen.

However, despite the group of castaways being a strong collective of all-stars, Survivor should've waited until the tenth season to feature its inaugural all returning players competition. First off, making it to season ten is a big accomplishment and big milestone, so the show could've capitalized on those by hyping up an all-star season and executing it. Plus, making season ten an all-star season would have been more historic and, in a way, significant.

Second, making Survivor: All-Stars season ten would've allowed for two more seasons of new players to choose from for the all-star selection. Yes, as mentioned, all the players picked did deserve their spot, but with more castaways to choose from, there could have been more diversity within the original seasons.

The All-Stars cast consisted of four players from season one, five players from season two, three players from season three, two players from season four, one player from season five, two players from season six and one player from season seven. As you can see, half of the cast comprised of castaways from seasons one and two alone. Two more seasons could have possibly allowed for a more even spread of castaways across the Survivor board.

While All-Stars was an exciting theme for its time, the season itself didn't provide many memorable moments and was a bit dull throughout, possibly because all of the winners had been eliminated before the merge. This is why the season is only ranked number seven. However, out of the four all-returning players seasons, it certainly does not rank last.