Erickson’s personality contributed mightily to what may have been the most heart-warming, non-combative season of “Survivor.” Even during the fire-making challenge, contestant Kamilla Karthigesu, the fourth-place finisher, took a break from her fruitless efforts to create a flame to encourage Erickson, who started to panic after the wind threatened to put out her fire.

Audiences responded to the vibe. Ratings climbed steadily in the second half of the season with more than 4.5 million viewers tuning in for recent episodes. That’s a slight increase from last year.

Still, it’s a big drop from when the show first premiered in 2000 and instantly became a part of the pop-culture zeitgeist. The finale for season one drew 52 million fans, the kind of number usually reserved for Super Bowls.