CBS' 'Survivor' a Television Game Changer

Fifteen years, 30 seasons, 460 castaways. One show lit the torch for the reality-TV revolution. On May 31, 2000, CBS premiered Survivor, an unscripted experiment (based on a Swedish series) that stranded 16 Americans on the remote island of Pulau Tiga near Borneo in the South China Sea. After splitting into two tribes, the players would spend the next 39 days voting one another off in a makeshift jungle courtroom known as Tribal Council until one went home with a million-dollar grand prize. On the eve of Season 30 (which premieres Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 8/7c), producers and the game's most memorable players revealed the stories behind some of Survivor's iconic moments. The tribe has spoken.