CBS is more than surviving with its reality-based shows

By ERIC DEGGANS

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 24, 2000

PASADENA, Calif. -- Let's be honest: there's one reason CBS is doing well these days, and it ain't Diagnosis Murder reruns.

As the network unrolled two days' worth of press conferences and special events to hype its new fall season, it was obvious -- nothing is more potent than the one-two reality TV punch of Survivor and Big Brother.

Indeed, the most anticipated appearance here didn't involve Bette Midler (hyping her new sitcom, Bette, by satellite from Italy).

That honor fell to former Big Brother contestant William "Will Mega" Collins, who faced a crowd of more than 100 TV journalists days after his ejection from the Big Brother house -- where CBS has ensconced 10 people to live under the microscope of constant camera attention, airing six shows a week culled from the footage.

As the first contestant kicked out (the last person left at the September conclusion wins $500,000), Collins would face a multitude of questions Sunday at the Television Critics Association's summertime press tour.

Did his ties to the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and leader Khalid Abdul Muhammad -- ousted from the Nation of Islam for calling Jewish people "bloodsuckers" -- indicate he hates white people or Jews? Is that why he didn't get along with his mostly white housemates?

Was CBS derelict in allowing him fewer than five minutes to speak on his connection to the party -- he confirmed once serving as its national field marshal -- during a live broadcast Thursday?

Collins, carrying a religious book and dictionary, refused to be specific, saying only that he "considers all people who are evil or against God my enemy. You judge a tree by the fruit it bears."

He also said Big Brother only featured clips accentuating his negative, argumentative side -- including loud arguments about racial issues with white housemates and practical jokes.

When asked about a newspaper photo showing him carrying a firearm, he answered with a sound bite made for the modern media: "I trust my God, and I trust my gun."

No such fireworks surfaced during an earlier appearance Sunday by five former Survivor contestants, billed as the first time they have ever faced the media together since the show's May debut. Featuring B.B. Andersen, Ramona Gray, Sonja Christopher, Gretchen Cody and Joel Klug, the session offered little insight beyond the charm of its participants.

All the former castaways -- isolated on a tropical island earlier this year and followed by cameras as they voted one person off periodically -- kept the secret of who won the final, $1-million prize. CBS will reveal that information during a three-hour finale Aug. 23.

Christopher offered the only criticism, saying: "I just hope young people don't learn that the way to win is to be duplicitous. That's the only thing I worry about."

Even CBS News' presentation on its presidential convention coverage was delayed by questions on whether The Early Show newsreader Julie Chen should be serving as Big Brother's host, and whether she pressed Collins enough Thursday on his ties to a possible hate group.

"I thought she handled it well under tough circumstances," said Andrew Heyward, CBS News president. "There's no credibility issue for Julie."

Still, network officials were almost giddy over the success of Survivor -- greeting TV critics with a jokey re-enactment of the "tribal council" in which The Washington Post's Tom Shales was voted out of the proceedings (the punch line: Shales never comes here, anyway).

And who could blame them? Why waste time on the network's $6-million remake of The Fugitive when you can talk about the highest-rated summertime show in TV history?

"When was the last time people actually woke up in the morning, talking about the hot, new CBS show?" said Les Moonves, CBS Television president and CEO. "(It's) changed the face of network television."

One new CBS sitcom, Yes, Dear, even drew some snickering sideswipes from CBS executives well aware of how ordinary such a by-the-numbers TV comedy can look next to a reality TV phenomenon.

But CBS won't have Survivor 2: The Australian Outback ready until late January, and there's still doubt how well Big Brother will perform against the upcoming summer Olympics.

Which means CBS' fall slate of shows face the toughest test for survival, after all.