‘Reality’ Television Gets Another Blow; Probe Begun

Already turned into a national joke by Fox’s special “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?,” so-called reality television has received another blow, with a contestant on a soon-to-be-televised CBS survival contest being investigated on allegations of child abuse.

The avant-garde CBS program, “Survivor,” isolated 16 strangers on the remote Malaysian island of Pulau Tiga, near Borneo. In that exotic setting, they competed for 40 days--with contestants gradually being voted out--to see who would be allowed to remain until the end and claim a $1-million grand prize.

The contestant, Richard Hatch, has been accused of physically abusing his son, confirmed Lt. William Kelly of the Middletown Police Department in Rhode Island. Kelly declined further comment, saying the matter is still being investigated.

Hatch, 38, is listed as a corporate trainer from Newport, R.I., in publicity materials for “Survivor,” which don’t divulge the contestants’ last names. He is single but has reportedly adopted a son.

Sources say Hatch returned from the island and was upset to discover that the boy, who is 9 years old, had put on weight while he was gone. Hatch is said to have taken the boy out of bed in the middle of the night and forced him to exercise. Charges of abuse were later filed.

The television program, based on a popular but controversial Swedish format, is scheduled to premiere May 31 as a weekly prime-time series.

CBS was reluctant to comment, but a network source said it was unlikely the events surrounding Hatch would prevent the program from being broadcast, noting that there was no way for the network to control what happened to contestants once they returned to their regular lives.

Still, sources say network officials were frantic that the news would jeopardize the program, a multimillion-dollar investment that has already been the subject of news leaks as to the results.

CBS would not discuss how far Hatch had gotten in the competition, but the Providence Journal-Bulletin quoted family members as saying he had at least made the final eight survivors. A confidentiality agreement prevents the contestants from disclosing the ultimate winner. Finalists share a consolation prize of $500,000.

One CBS official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also pointed out that networks have broadcast programs before when their prime-time stars experienced legal difficulties, and that nothing had as yet been proved in regard to the allegations.

This latest development nevertheless represents a possible source of embarrassment to CBS and delivers another blow to this genre of programming, which relies on placing ordinary people in extraordinary situations for entertainment purposes.

Fox, in particular, became near-constant fodder for late-night comics after airing “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?” Following the live broadcast in February, questions were raised about the finances of the would-be groom, Rick Rockwell, and it was revealed a restraining order was obtained against him years earlier by a former girlfriend.

The story became a public-relations nightmare for Fox, which conducted an internal investigation and ultimately exonerated the producers and executives involved.

When the “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire?” debacle broke, CBS Television President Leslie Moonves stressed CBS was taking extra precautions to avoid any such surprises.

“After this happened, I said go back and do a triple and a quadruple check [on] these people. I want grade-school diplomas,” he told reporters in February.

The 16 people featured on “Survivor” range in age from 22 to 72. The voyeuristic concept allows viewers to watch the contestants, who gradually vote members off the island week by week.

In the last of 13 episodes, those expelled choose between the two remaining “players” to determine who collects the money. Participants were culled from more than 6,000 applicants across the U.S. and subjected to an elaborate screening process, including psychological testing.

“Survivor” is one of two unorthodox series CBS will air this summer that involve sequestering ordinary people as part of a prize-winning competition. The other, “Big Brother,” also originated in Europe and will focus on a group kept in a house together for 100 days.

Though CBS officials have stressed their diligence in checking up on contestants, such projects are difficult to control. A contestant from the first Swedish version of “Survivor” in 1997 committed suicide a month after being voted off the island.

“This cannot be surprising,” said one producer, on condition of anonymity. “Who else would [go on] a show like this?”