Author of the ‘Survivor’ Tell-All Tells Some More

The second wave of “Survivor” mania hits our shores Sunday evening when CBS premieres “Survivor: The Australian Outback”--the highly hyped sequel to last summer’s phenomena--after the Super Bowl match between the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens.

Peter Lance, a five-time Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter, novelist and TV writer/producer (“Wiseguy,” “JAG”), actually leaked the names of the 16 new contestants two weeks before CBS announced the castaways. Lance developed an inside source on the new “Survivor,” whom he refers to as “Deep Kangaroo,” while he was penning his recently published expose, “The Stingray: Lethal Tactics of the Sole Survivor.”

Lance was set to collaborate with “Survivor” winner Richard Hatch on his biography only to have their $500,000 deal with St. Martin’s Press unravel due to agreements Hatch had signed with CBS and “Survivor” creator and executive producer Mark Burnett.

“Stingray” not only gives insights into the man called “Dickie” when he was growing up in Newport, R.I., it also offers interesting tidbits such as the fact there was an attempt last July to get the 16 castaways to boycott the taping of the “Survivor” reunion TV special unless CBS paid the group $1 million. Lance recently dished the dirt behind both “Survivor” series from his home in L.A.

Question: Was “Stingray” Hatch’s nickname on the island?

Answer: That is journalistic caprice on my part. When Richard was killing the stingrays on the island, he gleefully compared them to the castaways he was committing video homicide on. He would say, “Bye-bye, baby. You’re gone.” He said on the show that in many ways these fish are like the people I am voting off. So I just used that as a metaphor for Richard.

Q: You knew Richard Hatch when he was a kid.

A: I knew his family and I knew him as a little kid called “Dickie” when I was growing up in Newport. I had no idea he had grown up and gone to West Point and that he was gay and had an adopted son. When I saw the [newspaper] headlines “Reality Show Dad is Accused of Abuse,” I called my cousin Sheila, who is his mother’s best friend, and said, “I can’t believe that’s Dickie Hatch. If he wants any help with the media have him call me.” He didn’t call me. Then he did “Dateline NBC” and they called him “Psycho Dad.” Then he called me.

Q: Is that when the book evolved?

A: We got together in Rhode Island and he began to tell me about his life, which is extremely fascinating. He came out here and we had three long sessions of interviews. He went to CBS Television City and talked to Mark Burnett [and publicists] Chris Ender and Colleen Sullivan [about doing a book]. He came back after an hour. Mark said, “We are going to let him do the book and we’ll give you a side letter of permission [to write about “Survivor”]. On the basis of that, I did a 75-page first chapter and outline for “A Survivor’s Skill for Life: An Owner’s Manual.” We got one of the top literary agents in the world to represent us. [After the final show aired] we had a bidding war going on. We agreed to do the deal with St. Martin’s. Then the side letter came through and basically said you can do a book, but we have approval over every word that has to do with “Survivor.” So no publisher could go along with that.

You know, I believe that Richard Hatch is better served by my book than he was by his own book because he couldn’t talk about “Survivor.” I wasn’t constrained. I didn’t sign these agreements.

Q: So did you decide to write “Stingray” because your deal with Hatch fell apart?

A: Frankly, after the book deal unraveled because of the issue of control, I was perfectly prepared to walk away. But then a few days later when [CBS] prevented him from doing the season opener of “Saturday Night Live,” I said, “Wait a minute. Something is wrong here.” There is so much press out there that CBS is putting out [professing] if you get on this show your life will change. So, I said, if they are not letting the winner of the show get a $500,000 book deal and they are not allowing him to do the opening of “Saturday Night Live” . . . what is going on here? Simultaneously, I was approached by Shadow Lawn Press [to do a book].

Q: Were you able to interview most of the castaways?

A: I talked to some of them and I talked to some of their families. I acted as an investigative reporter. I did the best I could with the resources I had. The first rocks I began kicking over had to do with issue of castaway control and because many of them were very frustrated that CBS put [controls] on them, they were willing to open up to me on these other issues.

Q: How would you characterize the controls CBS and Mark Burnett exerted over the “Survivor” cast?

A: I can absolutely say that these controls are unprecedented. For example, they signed up to four separate agreements. Stacey was the only one who gave over her rights with only respects to “Survivor,” but everybody signed over their rights from the moment of birth until “Survivor” until all the way [to their death]. Rudy Boesch technically could not write a book in his life without getting permission. And I am sure he had to get permission for the action figure they are going to do on him.

Dirk’s mother even said to me, “We showed [the agreements] to the lawyer and they said don’t sign it.” But Dirk was so enthusiastic, they let him go. If my own son qualified for “Survivor”--and I have a law degree from Fordham [University]--I probably would have done the same thing. I guarantee you none of them had any idea of what the restrictions would be later.

Q: Did the cast of “Survivor: Australian Outback” sign the same sort of agreements?

A: [The cast] has signed similar agreements. [The network and producers] have gone farther. They have made their relatives sign an agreement [not to talk about the show]. They really increased the gag order on this one.

Q: How did you cultivate your “Survivor: Australian Outback” source, Deep Kangaroo?

A: The Internet is an investigative reporter’s dream. The Internet allows a person a Web presence that is international and if you have a subject matter that people are interested in, people will find out and bring information to you. People began sending me stuff. A lot of it I was very wary of because all of the false information that was put out on the first one. On Oct. 13, I sent CBS a series of very detailed questions about castaway control manipulations. Every allegation in the book was covered by these questions. We actually delayed the book for two weeks because I didn’t hear back from them until Oct. 25, saying “CBS declines to comment.” During this period, I began to get these e-mails. I checked out one of them and the source seemed to be genuine. The first thing I got was the daily call sheets for days 14 and 15.

They talk about rehearsing the challenges [in the call sheets.] The crew usually leaves the camp at 11 at night. That belies the myth of 24/7 coverage. The main thing--having worked in the TV world and produced TV--is, this series is clearly scheduled like a feature film. People have to decide is this professional wrestling or is it real. Part of the appeal of “Survivor” is the reality of it, I think, the sense of what you are watching really went on.

Q: Do you think this new edition will do as well as the first?

A: I think it will. It’s going up against “Friends” and going up in the regular season, but Mark Burnett is a great showman. Could people resent the fact that they went much more buff and bodacious this time in terms of casting? Possibly. But ironically, the casting is quite similar. Newsweek points out that Tina is a combination of Gretchen, but she’s apparently very religious so that has the Dirk element. Maralyn has the quality of Richard as well as Rudy. Debb is similar to Susan Hawk in her persona. But they clearly are much more attractive [than the first cast], more traditionally attractive.

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* “Survivor: Australian Outback” premieres Sunday at 7 p.m. on CBS. The series will air regularly Thursdays at 8 p.m., starting next week.