Editorial: ‘Survivor’ is latest pop culture event

Friday, Aug. 25, 2000 | 10:06 a.m.

Machiavelli would have been proud. On Wednesday evening it was revealed that the scheming and wily Richard Hatch was the last contestant left standing in "Survivor." Many other reality-based programs have been a bust, so what accounts for the popularity of this show, which drew ratings for its final episode that were second this year only to the Super Bowl?

Sixteen strangers with vastly different backgrounds were left on a deserted island, creating the kind of conflict that makes for interesting television. Then throw into the mix that the sole survivor would claim a $1 million prize, and the stage was set to draw viewers. But undoubtedly one of the reasons why the show steadily increased in popularity every week was that the predicaments faced by the contestants mirrored those in our daily lives. The back-stabbing and politics that are a staple of corporate America were, in effect, played back before us on videotape as the cameras captured the contestants lying and conniving to be the sole survivor.

Most incredible about the show was that even though it was taped months ago, the winner's identity was kept secret. Sure, the contestants and crew signed contracts with CBS making them liable for $4 million if they told who the winner was, a huge incentive to keep their mouths shut. Still, it is amazing in today's "tell-all" society that none of those involved with the show didn't leak or even accidentally let slip the winner's name. For that matter, maybe the Los Alamos National Laboratory should talk to the producers of "Survivor" so they could learn a thing or two on how to keep tight-lipped about the nation's nuclear secrets.