Are there Survivor surprises on the Dark Side of Reality TV?

Vice’s latest series in its Dark Side franchise, The Dark Side of Reality, has been exploring what happens behind the scenes of reality TV shows, from Kid Nation to Joe Millionaire, Survivor to Toddlers & Tiaras.

They explore how some of their cast members are doing today, the show’s impact on people and culture, and also how they were produced. That said, so far, I haven’t seen any earth-shattering, long-held secret being revealed for the first time.

For example, we’ve learned that The Swan’s participants weren’t told they were in a competition with each other until the show began, and Kid Nation’s camera operators would goad the kids into bad behavior. Gross, but also not surprising.

Tonight’s episode focuses on season one of Survivor, which is…

Why I didn’t review the show

I’m not reviewing The Dark Side of Reality TV because I was interviewed for tonight’s episode on Survivor season one, and paid for my time.

The production, Railsplitter Pictures and Vice Studios Canada, also paid for my train ride to the filming location, Miami, where they rented a house just to interview me. I felt like a celebrity reality TV show star in my fake house. And I’m glad we didn’t conduct the interview on the floating flamingo in the pool.

Also fun: While they were in South Florida, the crew also interviewed Aviva Drescher for the Real Housewives episode, and she confused me with the crew and texted me with details about getting into her building.

I asked for press photos of tonight’s episode, and it included this delight, which I assume is the universe paying me back from hilarious screenshots of other reality TV stars over the past decade:

Andy Dehnart, gesturing, on Vice’s Dark Side of Reality TV episode about Survivor (Image via Vice)

The taping lasted maybe 90 minute or two hours, and the episode is 44 minutes long, so of course only a tiny fraction of what I said was used. Perhaps for the better!

There’s a particularly hilariously brutal edit when I talk about Richard Hatch not paying his taxes, and while I say “What the fuck?” they cut to Hatch just looking confused.

Gervase Peterson has a better summary: “You are one of the biggest stars in the world right now, and you’re going to jail for five years for not paying taxes on some money the world saw you win,” he says, and then Kelly Wiglesworth adds, “Karma’s a bitch.”

What the Survivor episode reveals

Survivor Borneo winner Richard Hatch in Vice’s Dark Side of Reality TV (Image via Vice)

Compared to Kid Nation and The Swan, the first season of Survivor has been the subject of plenty of coverage—including of its winners’ legal problems over the decades and Stacey Stillman’s lawsuit. Perhaps that’s why there aren’t huge bombshells here, at least not for Survivor super-fans.

Of season one’s 16 players, four appear: Gervase and Kelly, plus Richard Hatch and Joel Klug. Also interviewed, besides some reality TV critic, is producer Maria Baltazzi, whose book was blurbed by Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst, and a CBS executive, so don’t expect a whistleblower telling all.

I think the human moments are most interesting, like Richard saying he was blindsided by “the hatred, the venom” targeted toward his sexuality: “the fag, the queer—that was all completely and utterly shocking,” he says.

He also admits he keeps going on reality TV shows for the money.

Gervase showing off fan mail from around the world. “I’m very touched by this,” he says. Kelly Wiglesworth shares that she still has not watched season one, 24 years later.

While the intro shows Hatch saying “I don’t blame producers for influencing—what else could they do?” and Joel says “there’s coercion,” there’s nothing about that beyond the allegations from Stacey’s lawsuit. Dirk Been said in a deposition that Mark Burnett suggested how he should vote, and in the Vice special, Kelly says she thinks Dirk is trustworthy.

There are a few interesting behind-the-scenes glimpses from the production, such as footage of the cast arriving in Borneo, and Kelly showing Vice’s camera her copy of “Your Guide to Island Living,” a handbook produced by the show that includes pages of images of poisonous plants, animals, and insects.

The 44 minutes includes a considerable amount of footage from the first season, which means a lot of summary of its events, and will hopefully inspire people to go back and watch that season, which still holds up.

All the Dark Side of Reality TV episodes

Here are all the episodes for Dark Side of Reality TV, which air on Vice Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. ET.

It’s streaming on Vice’s website for those who have cable TV; while past Dark Side seasons are on Hulu, this is not streaming yet.

1. Kid Nation
2. Joe Millionaire
3. The Surreal Life
4. Hell’s Kitchen
5. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
6. Survivor – Season One
7. The Real Housewives
8. Toddlers & Tiaras
9. America’s Next Top Model