Bodacious In Borneo?

The 16 Americans who fought for the chance to compete in a survival game that could earn them $1 million have arrived on a remote island in the South China Sea, where the latest entrant in reality-based TV is set.

Eight men and eight women arrived in Borneo over the weekend, reports CBS Entertainment Producer Bob Winsor, and will compete for 40 days in games of physical and mental endurance for a one-hour weekly CBS show called Survivor.

Members of the group were chosen from more than 6,000 applicants who had to compete at various sites nationwide, where their physical skills, their love for the outdoors, and even their personalities were tested. The end result - a modern day Gilligan's island.

Among them are a chemist, a truck driver, a neurologist, two retirees, and a river guide. A few of them are parents, including Rich, a gay, single parent of an adopted 9-year-old, and Jenna, the mother of 3-year old twins.

"I'm sure there will be a lot of criticism," says Jenna of the children she left behind. "People think I've abandoned them. But this is the opportunity of a lifetime. It will only better their lives too."

The show is based on a European version that has attracted mega-audiences. But right now, contestants are worried about endurance, not ratings.

"I don't care if lizards crawl on me. I don't care if I have to eat bugs," claims Sean.

Stacy wonders "how they're going to work the bathroom thing."

Gervace confesses that she has "no survival skills whatsoever" and wonders whether that will be a drawback in the island's primitive surroundings.

Joel voiced the most common worry of all -that he might "get all the way out there and the first vote is, 'Joel you gotta go!!' That would be a bummer."