CLICK AND DOUBLE CLICK: ARE YOU SURVIVING REALITY TV?

Are you a survivor?

Millions of Americans are tuning in each week to the new genre of TV voyeurism. You do something unusual, and we'll watch.

CBS has two of these virtual reality shows on air: "Survivor," which airs Wednesdays, and "Big Brother," which airs an incredible five nights a week.

www.cbs.com

Click on the Survivor button. OK, here's the deal. Sixteen survivors -- eight men and eight women -- were marooned on an island in the South China Sea for 39 days. Each week, the remaining survivors oust one member. The show focuses on the trials and tribulations of those living on the island and the weekly cast off. The last to remain wins $1 million and everybody gets something -- if they keep their mouths shut about the outcome, which will stretch out 13 weeks.

The sixteen were picked from 6,000 applicants. Were you among them?

Beware, the site plays the theme song rather loud. The boss may think you've taken a vacation.

You can read the profiles on all the survivors, including their one luxury item. Check out the final words of each survivor as they're booted off the island, including video. You can review the show week by week.

Oh no! You can now apply for "Survivor II: The Australian Outback."

Here's the pitch: "Dry arid open land criss-crossed with deep rock canyons, thundering waterfalls, and enormous eucalyptus forests. This is your new home for seven weeks. The only other inhabitants are kangaroos, emus, wild pigs and horses, crocodiles, large goannas (lizards), and exotic bird life."

What else do you have to do this October?

If the outdoor adventure is not for you, CBS has an indoor voyeurism show: "Big Brother."

One house. Ten strangers. Every moment captured on video. No outside contact. No luxuries. The one who outlasts the rest wins a mere $500,000. CBS has teamed up with AOL for this offering.

www.bigbrother2000.com/NON/

You can view the video or eavesdrop on the conversations. There is a warning that the language or other situations may not be suitable for younger audiences on the Webcast.

You can read profiles on all the participants, including their horoscope. And don't forget to check out the "overheard" quotes of the players. You can also see their daily popularity rating.

The house is equipped with 28 cameras and 69 camera windows and two-ways mirrors. Sixty microphones listen for the least little slip during the three-month ordeal. It's only Day 14. It's patterned after MTV's "Real World" show.

Apparently this show concept has been popular in other countries where it has been done. Of course, the television standards are lower and thus the interaction may be livelier. Perhaps that's why the Webcasts are gaining popularity since they're unedited and available 24 hours a day.

The show has also spawned several fan sites.

www.brad.nu

This is one of the better "Big Brother" fan sites. It calls itself The Red Room, and is designed and edited by a guy named, you guessed it, Brad. You can share in the sights and sounds of the players, or read the latest stories about the show. Every two weeks, one of the housemates will be evicted.

According to the New York Daily News: "Big Brother" is an adaptation of a Dutch series by the same name that was a huge success in Europe. Abroad, the show began with a small viewership and turned into a giant success, grabbing upwards of 50 percent of the available audience in some parts of the world."

You can also look at the initial application for would-be applications.

Buy, hey, we all know what started this: the unbelievable success of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" show. Even my four-year-old knows the name of Regis, and we watch little network TV.

abc.go.com

The neat thing about this Web site is the fact you can play online, but you need the Flash program, version 4. The show has awarded about $26 million since its debut.

When the television show is live, you can play along with Enhanced TV. You compete against other viewers in real time.

They emphasize that there's no money to be won, but you can have some fun. You can also play game archives. You get all three options if you get stuck: 50/50, audience or phone a guy named Jason.

This is another game that is noisy, so watch the volume in the office. You can also sign up for the newsletter or find out how to get tickets to the studio audience. You can also view show highlights or enter a sweepstakes.

We have this game at home for our computer and have lots of fun.

If you want to learn more about the ultimate survivor show, make sure to stop by Nick-At-Nite, which has brought back "Gilligan's Island" reruns. I used to love this show as a kid, and now my kids are getting a kick out of Gilligan.

www.nick-at-nite.com

At the top right, choose Gilligan's Island Showcase on the drop down menu.

You can learn more about the actors, the characters and the episodes, with sounds and pictures.

You can even send a Gilligan Pie-in-the-face postcard to a friend.

In September 1964, the Minnow sailed on a fated three-hour tour that lasted three years. The brainchild of "The Brady Bunch "creator Sherwood Schwartz, the show was hated by TV reviewers and loved by the viewing public. Not much has changed, has it?

In all, there were 98 episodes and you can read a capsule of each one.

The site recently ran a vote for viewers favorite survivor from the Gilligan cast. The winner? The professor garnered 41 percent of the vote, followed by Gilligan with 25 percent. Do you agree?

This is a good place for Gilligan trivia. For example, do you know the Skipper's name? It was Jonas Grumby.

What's your favorite interactive TV site? You can e-mail me at click@semissourian.com or jonia@sehosp.org.

See you in Cyberspace.

Joni Adams is the Webmaster of Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.