CBS Won't Mess With <i>Survivor</i> Success

On the surface, it seems so simple. Sixteen people competing for a $1 million prize. But in fact, a lot of work goes into creating a show like Survivor: The Australian Outback. CBS News National Correspondent Hattie Kauffman visited the set of the new Survivor to find out what goes on behind the scenes.

There is a lot of reality to deal with in this reality show, for both the Survivor cast and crew, reports Kaufman. It takes hundreds of professionals to get the show on the air. And they all face the same perils of snakebites, sunburn and a relentless 24-hour a day schedule.

It's not just the survivors who are locked in the heat of battle under the Australian sun. The show's 250 crew members are sweating it out as well, spending much of their time in a makeshift village just a few miles away.

For one early Survivor challenge, the crew members include not just camera people and safety experts, but also a helicopter pilot overhead and rescue divers ready and waiting under water.

While the survivors probably dream about their next shower or next three-course dinner, for the Survivor staff, creature comforts abound.

Unlike the 16 survivors, the hundreds of crewmembers here will each have their own tent, complete with a cot, blanket, and even clean towels. Not to mention Internet access to keep in touch with friends back home, a television lounge, a pool table, a staff masseuse and a bar for after-hours relaxation.

It only seems fair, because daytime threats abound; the ozone level is somewhat depleted above much of Australia, so sunburn is as much as a threat as crocodiles i nearby streams. There's more to worry about than crocodiles in the Australian outback. There are exotic insects. Even a mosquito or a spider can make you seriously ill. And that's nothing compared to the snakes.

"The snakes are the ones that we're particularly worried about, because a snake bite is lethal," explained Dr. Adrian Cohen. "We have five of the world's ten deadliest snakes in this area."

That's why the Survivor medical staff is just as important to this show as the set builders and production designers.

"A lot of people think these contestants are getting food on the side but they're not. These people will lose a lot of weight," Dr. Cohen said in his well-equipped portable clinic.

"We do provide vitamin supplements -- we don't think malnutrition makes good TV," explained Dr. Cohen. "Certainly we don't want somebody forced out of the game by some nutritional thing."

"When you look at the amount of effort that goes into something like this, it is kind of odd to think you're doing this all just for a TV show," said the show's host, Jeff Probst. "But, I happen to think Survivor offers something a little more."

For some of the contestants it's way more than a TV show, it's a career. A half year later, many of them are still cashing in on their fame. In fact, several of them will be at Sunday's People's Choice Awards where the program has been nominated for best reality-based TV show.

A staggering 51.7 million people watched last season's finale, and CBS has no plans to mess with success.

Aside from location, the format of CBS' Survivor: The Australian Outback remains nearly identical to that of last summer's mega hit, which was filmed on an island near Borneo and was described as Gilligan's Island meets Lord of the Flies.

In the sequel, the contestants are divided into teams called Ogakor and Kucha, Aboriginal words for freshwater crocodiles and kangaroos. The tribal councils that determine who stays in the hunt for the million-dollar jackpot take place on slippery pink granite at the top of a canyon waterfall.

The dynamic promises to be different if only because the contestants have seen the first series and know what strategies were tried.

"It means nobody has an advantage," Probst said. "In the first show, alliances were the big thing. Now they are a part of the show. The problem is, you can't trust them now."

Last summer, Survivor grabbed a large chunk of the youthful audience sought by advertisers. This time, there are even more young, buffed bodies than in the first series.

But Burnett insists the emphasis will be on drama, not eye candy.

"Babes won't hold an audience," he said.

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