Special Reports

Original Survivors Speak Out

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 22, 2001 / 11:30 AM EST / CBS

Original Survivor contestants Richard Hatch, Jenna Lewis and Gervase Peterson sat down with The Early Show's co-anchor Jane Clayson Thursday morning to talk about the new version of the TV hit.

After viewing a clip of Wednesday night's episode, showing Jerri offering an apology to Keith, the former contestants offered their opinions on the widely-disliked bartender/actress-wannabee.

"Tell me, do you love Jerri now or what?" asked Richard, who won the first Survivor competition.

Gervase called her "the Rich of the group.

"She's doing her own thing out there," he said. "But she's my pick to win it."

Richard disagreed. In fact, he said he hought she would be gone on the next show.

While Clayson said her opinion of Jerri changed a little — for the better — after the apology, Richard and Jenna didn't buy it.

Richard said that even though the episodes had been "edited somewhat" to portray her in a bad light, she deserved her reputation. "You do all of those things that you're edited to do," he said, "and she was evil to people."

Said Jenna, "Richard was evil to the camera about us. Whereas I think Jerri makes her conflicts with people very known."

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Asked to make their predictions on who would be the final four contestants, all three agreed that Colby and Keith and Tina would make the cut. Gervase picked Jerri as the fourth member. Jenna thought Amber would outlast Jerri, and Richard said he'd go with either Amber or Elisabeth.

Comparing their experiences with those in the outback, the former castaways thought they had had it harder, especially with regards to food. Gervase noted, "They eat in every episode." Jenna added that the original group didn't have "Snickers, apples, spaghetti and ice cream" as the current contestants do.

Clayson commented that more was known personally about the first set of competitor; Richard agreed. He thought it added something to the show — that feeling of knowing something about their personal lives helped viewers to bond a little more.

Reflecting on their extended 15 minutes of fame, the three agreed that life was good. As Gervase put it, "My life is upside down now, but I love it. We did something great. We entertained America all summer long. We paid our dues out there and we're reaping the benefits now."