[FPSPACE] "Survivor" Show on Mir

[JamesOberg@aol.com]

Start countdown to 'Survivor' in space, aboard Mir   Aug. 9, 2000 
By Gary Levin, Gannett News Service
'Survivor' producer Mark Burnett's latest project is out of this world. 
If exiling 16 strangers to an island wasn't audacious enough, an upcoming 
show will blast its
winner into outer space with two Russian cosmonauts. 
"The winner of our show would orbit the Earth over 20 times before linking up 
with the Mir
space station," Burnett says. "It's a 10-day trip." 
'Destination Mir', being shopped to major networks, will chronicle 13 to 15 
contestants, selected
after rigorous physical and psychological screening, who are sent to the 
Russian space training
camp in Star City to prepare for the mission. 
In each weekly episode, two teams of Russian space officials conducting the 
training will
eliminate one would-be amateur cosmonaut. 
The contestant with the right stuff will be launched in a Soyuz rocket on the 
final episode, to be
broadcast live, and his progress will be chronicled with follow-up specials 
ending with the
splashdown. Burnett aims to air the series in fall 2001. 
Unlike 'Survivor', the contestants won't oust rivals. The mission is "all 
about teamwork" and
physical and mental agility, Burnett says. "We can't have someone who's going 
to freak out." 
After NASA rejected his proposal, citing its stance against privatization of 
the U.S. space
program, Burnett signed a deal with Russia's MirCorp, 40% owned by American 
investors and
the rest controlled by Energia, a NASA equivalent jointly held by the Russian 
government and
private investors. 
MirCorp will conduct the mission and training program for a $20 million fee, 
to be paid by the
network that wins broadcast rights. Overseas networks will air the show 
simultaneously. 
Dennis Tito, 59, a rocket scientist-turned-millionaire money manager, will 
pay $20 million to be
sent into space in June as the first civilian to visit Mir. 
As a prelude to the new series, Burnett will produce a documentary on Tito's 
mission. But the
contest aspect of the Destination mission promises to make it a news event 
far beyond which
torch is snuffed out on 'Survivor'. 
"The real goal is to make space accessible to ordinary citizens," says 
Chirinjeev Kathuria, a
Chicago-based investor in Mir. "Our idea is to take the average person who 
could never go to
space, whether it's a janitor, housewife or an executive, and give them the 
chance." 
Burnett also is busy with other projects. He has just completed the 
'Survivor' finale, due Aug. 23.
He's preparing 'Survivor 2' in the Australian outback, to begin filming in 
October. And he leaves
today for Borneo, where he'll produce an Eco-Challenge competition for the 
USA cable network.