Still surviving, but a little less fit

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© St. Petersburg Times
published January 12, 2002

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Want to know how much life has changed in the land of Survivor?

Consider this: Richard Hatch snubbed me.

Yes, the same Hatch who walked away with $1-million after winning the first edition of CBS' groundbreaking reality show during the summer of 2000. The same Hatch who couldn't wait to talk my ear off at Raymond James Stadium following the post-Super Bowl premiere of the show's second edition, Survivor: The Australian Outback.

Back then he was juggling Survivor-related TV correspondent gigs and angling to host the daytime version of the Weakest Link.

But standing in the shadows at CBS's Studio 36 Thursday, observing a gargantuan party celebrating the conclusion of Survivor: Africa, Hatch seemed a man watching his showbiz life vanish before his eyes.

"I predicted he would win," the tall, still-slim Hatch said about winner Ethan Zohn. "But I'm not doing interviews."

Few were seeking his quotes, anyway.

CBS bused in dozens of writers from the Television Critics Association's winter press tour, feting us with calamari and roast pork while the cast members traded quips with Early Show host Bryant Gumbel in a one-hour reunion special.

We weren't in the studio from which they broadcast the special but were confined to watching on a projection TV in the next room, where Survivor contestants visited us. But even from that distance, a faint hint of desperation was clear as network executives and the contestants themselves admitted that Survivor is no longer a phenomenon, just another popular show.

"We were competing against Friends, where Survivor 1 and 2 were competing against reruns of Friends," explained Orlando deputy sheriff-turned-Survivor: Africa contestant Jesse Camacho, working the room in a tight, sequined top (actually, Survivor 2 aired against new episodes of Friends).

Pre-Survivor, Camacho -- who still hangs with a fellow contestant, Winter Park dentist Carl Bilancione -- hadn't even seen the show.

As the second person voted off Survivor: Africa, she's now shopping for an agent and fielding showbiz offers while on leave from the Sheriff's Office.

She faces an uphill climb, to judge from the Survivor alums CBS gathered Thursday -- Playboy model Jerri Manthey, Combat Missions star Rudy Boesch, Reebok pitchman B.B. Andersen.

It's not official, but CBS brass said Survivor is a shoo-in to produce installments five and six. The fourth Survivor, set on the island of Nuku Hiva near Tahiti, makes its debut at 8 p.m. Feb. 28.

"We're still a very popular television show," series creator Mark Burnett kept saying, in a vaguely annoyed tone. "People still love watching what we do."

Still, even Andersen admitted Survivor's formula may be wearing out its welcome with viewers, especially over a three-hour finale broadcast. "They need to be a little more innovative," he added. "The concept's fine . . . but they've got to come up with ways to make it more interesting."

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