Aussie 'Survivor' and audience should be perfect mates>Knowledgeable fans await what could be a bigger, better show

Survivor: The Australian Outback" promises to be even more enjoyable than the original "Survivor" for several reasons - not the least of which is that this time America's cultural prigs won't be spoiling our fun. The 14-week "Outback" has its premiere Sunday on CBS (Channel 5) after the Super Bowl, then moves to Thursdays at 7. It will bring people back to their TV sets on Thursday nights - and not because of NBC's counterattack (adding 10 minutes to "Friends" and 20 minutes of new "Saturday Night Live" sketches to the hour). Not only will "Outback" be bigger than the original, it will be better. Last summer op-ed pages across the country were ablaze over the news that a potbellied corporate trainer named Richard Hatch had won "Survivor's" $1 million first prize. Most people thought Hatch - regardless of one's personal opinion of him - had played "Survivor" brilliantly. He was cunning, ruthless and two-faced. He told people he liked and supported them, only to ridicule them behind their backs and help usher them off the island during the show's dreaded, if hokey, "tribal councils." But Hatch's victory didn't sit well with some columnists who pondered darkly what the success of "Survivor" meant for the nation. What it means is this: "Survivor" was a terrific show. From a deceptively simple premise it spun itself a web of intrigue that many viewers willingly threw themselves upon. As Hatch and the other 15 players roamed the beaches of Palau Tiga, foraging for dinner and forging alliances, viewers felt privy to their conversations and secret thoughts. Yet all the eavesdropping never spoiled the night's surprise ending. "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett used tantalizing tape edits and Internet trickery to keep us guessing which castaway was next to be ousted. Now every network has its own hybrid reality-game show, hoping to steal off with "Survivor's" mojo. ABC has "The Mole," a traveling parlor game that pares 10 contestants down to two; the WB has "Popstars," where 10 budding divas compete for five slots in an all-girl band. And soon UPN will bring us "Chains of Love," in which a young woman wears three boy toys on her wrists. They'll literally be shackled to her night and day; one by one she will decide which suitor is most expendable and unshackle him. The tsk-tskers will have a field day with that one. Provided, that is, they can pull themselves away from "Temptation Island," a sexcapade that bears some superficial resemblance to "Survivor." The uproar over Fox's new winter hit is silly. After all, troubled couples and the people trying to break them up form the basis for every daytime TV show except "The Price Is Right" and Regis (well, at least since Kathie Lee left). Meanwhile "Survivor: The Australian Outback" should have no trouble regaining its spot atop the Nielsen ratings and in popular chatter. (This is speculation, since CBS again did not send out any tapes for advance review.) For starters, the contestants will be better than those in the original "Survivor." Most reality shows couldn't care less what their "stars" did before being plucked from obscurity. "Survivor," however, is obsessed with biography, because it figures prominently into the drama. For "Outback," the producers had the pick of the litter. Nearly 50,000 wannabes applied, more than eight times the number who applied for the original. And these were folks who, unlike the first bunch, knew what they were getting into. Remember B.B. Andersen, the one-man wrecking crew from Mission Hills who practically built his team's camp himself? The 64-year-old retired contractor was voted off the island in the second episode after telling his teammates he wanted out of the game. Later, Andersen admitted he had been led to believe that "Survivor" was about eking out a nuts-and-berries existence in the jungle. Only too late did Andersen realize that "Survivor" refers to political survival. Failure to grasp the fundamentals of "Survivor" not only got some castaways voted out, but it also made the show dull at times. Too much hammock-sitting in the middle episodes. That won't happen this time. Burnett has already reported that the 16 "Outback" contestants wasted no time getting down to the dirty business of alliances and duplicity. The audience will also be savvier. Several fellow TV critics changed their tune about "Survivor" midway through its run last summer. The more they watched, the more intrigues arose among the contestants, the more absorbing it became. Finally, remember who's producing "Survivor": Burnett, whose keen eye for scenery and ear for details elevated the production quality above most reality shows. His editing practically transformed the grumpy Boesch into a fan favorite and honorary mayor of Virginia Beach, Va. Burnett crafted each episode out of 150 hours of raw video. Even during the slow weeks, he always found something to keep us interested - a new game or hints of a brewing feud. As time went on, the show got more spit and polish, more action more full of itself, really. But viewers bought into the hype and that's what mattered. The only downside is that a show like this takes a long time in the editing suite. Once the Lord of the Outback is crowned in April, that will be it for "Survivor" until fall. In the interim, Hollywood expects to be star-struck - as in work stoppage - and viewers should brace themselves for an avalanche of still more reality shows that don't need any writers, producers, big budgets or (especially) talent. You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com Contestants on "Survivor: The Australian Outback," which airs Sunday after the Super Bowl on CBS, divided by "tribe": KUCHA TRIBE Rodger Bingham, 53, teacher and farmer, Crittenden, Ky. Nick Brown, 23, Harvard Law School student, from San Francisco, now living in Steilacoom, Wash. Alicia Calaway, 32, personal trainer, New York City. Debb Eaton, 45, corrections officer, Milan, N.H. Elisabeth Filarski, 23, footwear designer, from Providence, R.I., now living in Newton, Mass. Kimmi Kappenberg, 28, bartender and free-lance production assistant, Long Island, N.Y. Michael Skupin, 38, software publisher and distributor, from Farmington Hills, Mich., now living in White Lake, Mich. Jeff Varner, 34, Internet project manager, from Greensboro, N.C., now living in New York City. OGAKOR TRIBE Amber Brkich, 22, administrative assistant, Beaver, Pa. Colby Donaldson, 26, car customizer, from Christoval, Texas, now living in Dallas. Keith Famie, 40, chef, West Bloomfield, Mich. Kel Gleason, 32, Army intelligence officer, from Murphysboro, Ill., now living in Fort Hood, Texas. Maralyn Hershey, 51, retired police officer, Wakefield, Va. Jerri Manthey, 30, aspiring actress and bartender, Los Angeles. Mitchell Olson, 23, singer-songwriter, from Vermillion, S.D., now living in Union City, N.J. Tina Wesson, 40, mother and part-time nurse, Knoxville, Tenn. @ART CAPTION:Contestants on "Survivor: The Australian Outback," which airs Sunday after the Super Bowl on CBS, divided by "tribe": @ART:Graphic @ART CREDIT:The Associated Press @ART CAPTION:Kel Gleason, 32 Ogakor tribe; Alicia Calaway, 32 Kucha tribe; Nick Brown, 23 Kucha tribe; Maralyn Hershey 51, Ogakor tribe @ART:Photos (4, color) >>>