'Survivor' using gender war to stay afloat for 6th season

From: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, WI - 12 Feb 2003

It's the girls vs. the boys in the Amazon jungle on the latest season of CBS' "Survivor," which debuts Thursday at 7 on Channel 58.

And, omigosh, one member of the all-female Jaburu Tribe, Christy Smith, is deaf!

By now we all know that as popular as "reality" TV may be, most shows wear out quickly, especially among the target younger viewers.

You can't say that "Survivor" is resorting to cheap gimmicks. Throwing a bunch of (mostly) pretty people into the wilderness and making them do stupid stunts for $1 million is already a gimmick.

But this sixth season is going to need something special to stay afloat in the increasingly crowded field.

Fox's "Joe Millionaire" wraps up Monday after this week's fake finale pulled in 24 million of us. "American Idol" is stronger this season than it was last year. ABC is pushing sex harder than ever with the premiere of "Are You Hot?" at 7 tonight on Channel 12.

So this battle of the Amazon women and the macho, macho men is a way to keep viewers interested. On tonight's 90-minute premiere - which CBS made available for preview without the conclusion - gender war is the theme. The guys talk about how hot the women are, and the women sound oh so much smarter, as long as they can handle the icky bugs.

Anyway, that's the plot line that's developing. We'll soon see if it's enough to keep up the consistently strong ratings.

Copyright © 2002, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel