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Morning News

'Rich' Victorious in Final 'Survivor' Vote

Aired August 24, 2000 - 9:17 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go ahead and open our water cooler file now, about what people are talking about the water cooler. We are talking about "Survivor." And now the answer is Richard. That's if you weren't one of the millions who were tuned in last night for the final episode of the hit CBS show, "Survivor."

Our Sherri Sylvester somehow, I think, stayed up late last night to see who won and then got up very early this morning to tell us more about it.

Sherri, good morning.

SHERRI SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

It started as a game show and it turned into a pop culture phenomenon. For the past three months, viewers tuned in week after week to see who would emerge as the sole survivor and win the million- dollar prize.

CNN's Lauren Hunter reports on the big payoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN HUNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the end, one man rose above the rest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SURVIVOR")

JEFF PROBST, HOST: The winner of the first "Survivor" competition is Rich.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER: After 39 days, overcoming the rigors of the desert island, challenges, alliances and tribal councils, Richard Hatch has survived.

RICHARD HATCH, "SURVIVOR" WINNER: It was an effective game- playing role. I don't consider it a villain. I had a great time, and I think the people on the island respected me and we're all friends -- now, not then.

HUNTER: The tally was close, decided by one vote. KELLY WIGLESWORTH, "SURVIVOR" RUNNER-UP: My heart sank to my feet. It's pretty overwhelming. But, you know, I'm pretty stoked. I was never voted against and my torch was never put out, so that kind of keeps me happy.

HUNTER: Richard became the million-dollar man by capitalizing on his strengths and never losing sight of his goal.

HATCH: I think that's key to success here in a game that's about social interaction. Just know who you are. Don't try and figure that out once you're in the midst of a game.

JENNA LEWIS, "SURVIVOR" CONTESTANT: Rich played the game. He is an intelligent guy and he was one step ahead. And he did it in a charming way so that people would vote for him to get the money. It's amazing.

GERVASE PETERSON, "SURVIVOR" CONTESTANT: Rich played the game like I wanted to play it, actually.

HUNTER: The final showdown between Rich and Kelly was decided by their peers, the last seven to leave the island. It provided the kind of unscripted moments that have drawn record numbers of viewers to the show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SURVIVOR")

SONJA CHRISTOPHER, "SURVIVOR" CONTESTANT: But if I were to ever pass you along in life again and you were laying there dying of thirst, I would not give you a drink of water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER: I was a jury and those two were the last two standing and it was our job to judge them. And as always in the show, if I had something to say to somebody, I said it to their face.

MARK SCHWED, CRITIC, "TV GUIDE": I don't care whether you hate the people, hate the whole idea of the show, whether you think it represents the end of civilization or not, it was fantastic television.

HUNTER: So, on this night, they traded Pulau Tiga for Hollywood, rice for the red carpet. And now they face perhaps their biggest challenge yet: surviving the spotlight.

Lauren Hunter, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: And some of the castaways do have entertainment careers ahead of them. Gervase Peterson will appear on "The Hughley's" and Sean the doctor got a spot on "Guiding Light."

As for the winner, Richard Hatch says he wants to use his winnings to help establish a camp for troubled youth. We asked him last night, what was the most difficult thing about living on the deserted island?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HATCH: You know, I went there with a mission so it's hard to describe what was tough about it. Maybe toward the end where I was really hungry and kind of drained. We started to feel -- I started to feel really depleted by the time we got to the end. I think we all did -- and tired. So that was kind of tough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SYLVESTER: There were predictions that the audience for last night's finale might reach the 40-million mark. You know, they also charged $600,000 a spot for commercials. Many fans threw "Survivor" parties, like this bash in Las Vegas. There were cheers and jeers and hula dancers in grass skirts.

When "Survivor" premiered, critics called it "Gilligan's Island" meets "Lord of the Flies." But nothing on TV has gripped the audience like this since the "Who Shot J.R." episode of "Dallas."

And that's the latest on the "Survivor" story for now. I'm Sherri Sylvester in Los Angeles.

You guys, did the best man win? That's the question today.

KAGAN: That is the question. Sherri, also the question is, people are so hooked on this, when is there going to be more for people to watch?

SYLVESTER: Well, they're going to re-run them right away; in fact, to compete against the Olympics. So if you want to see all 13, they're going to run them on 13 consecutive nights. But then "Survivor 2," they're starting to shoot that in Australia in the outback. And they'll premiere that right after the Super Bowl. So talk about some big numbers: If they got 40 million last night, think of "Survivor 2" Super Bowl night.

KAGAN: Good night -- good times for CBS.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

SYLVESTER: Yes.

HEMMER: Timing's perfect.

KAGAN: Yes. Sherri, thank you very much.

And you can stay with CNN for much more on the "Survivor" finale throughout the day. Coming up in just a few minutes, we'll check the message board at CNN.com for a reaction to Richard's big win. Also, tune into CNN "SHOWBIZ TODAY." That's coming up at 4:30 p.m. Eastern, 1:30 p.m. Pacific.

HEMMER: You watched it last night, right?

KAGAN: Yes, I did. I stayed up for the show. I didn't stay up for that post-show. That was too much.

HEMMER: Rudy.

KAGAN: Rudy -- gone. He shouldn't have let go of the pole.

HEMMER: Poor Rudy.

KAGAN: Poor Rudy.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

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