On safari in the African plains, complete with hungry leopards and circling vultures, doesn't sound like the type of place where Harvard University career counselors would be hanging out. Especially if they have to contend with Immunity Challenges along with the bloodthirsty bugs.
But for 44-year old Linda Spencer, the wild animals and blistering heat of Kenya's Shaba National Reserve - home to Survivor: Africa, CBS's newest reality show - are simply the price to pay for a shot at $1 million.
The show, which scored sky high ratings during its previous two runs, promises a $1 million prize to a single winner - and nothing to the 15 losers. The contestants are split into two tribes, and work together to complete various challenges, voting one person off the show at a Tribal Council at the end of each segment.
Spencer, assistant director of Harvard's career services office, received her master's degree in education at Tufts. Her resume reveals that she's not so unlikely a candidate for the show, either. Spencer has previously served as director of African Adventures at an overseas adventure travel company and spent two summers in African villages that did not have running water or electricity, according to CBS.
Spencer's personal profile, posted on the network's Survivor website, reveals that while she has had her share of setbacks, she's managed to fight back - and stay incredibly active. Diagnosed with thyroid cancer in December 1999, Spencer went through a thyroidectomy the next month and later received radioactive iodine treatments.
But Spencer beat her cancer, and climbed to the summit of Washington's Mt. Rainier the September following her diagnosis. Mountain climbing, incidentally, is one of her hobbies, along with ice climbing and winter camping.
Previous to the show's taping, which took place in July and August, TV Guide magazine reported on security concerns for the Kenya setting. They weren't talking about protecting information relating to the outcome of the show, though.
The article cited worries about the threat of terrorist attacks on American citizens in Kenya; where a 1998 bombing of the nation's US embassy killed 213 and injured thousands. The country also has an unusually high crime rate.
CBS upped its security budget and publicly downplayed any perceived hazards, according to TV Guide. The show completed taping without incident, but Americans soon learned the full reality of a terrorist threat after four passenger planes were systematically hijacked on Sept. 11, slamming into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Survivor: Africa will debut one month to the day after Terror Tuesday. CBS now faces the unusual situation that Americans may have lived through a little too much reality to be in the mood for more so-called "reality TV."
Associate Ex College director Howard Woolf says that while the numbers aren't in yet, the networks are going to have to do some active editing in order to maintain viewership.
"They might tone done some of the carping, the fighting, and emphasize more of the cooperation," he said of Survivor's producers.
Woolf believes that audiences may be turned off by bitter rivalries that are usually inherent in reality TV. The problem is that the juicy contentions are considered by many to be mostly responsible for the skyrocketing popularity of reality shows.
"I would guess there would be some disaffection for the entire concept [of reality TV]," Woolf said. "They're based on the worst concept of people, and nobody wants to see that right now."
Much of the entertainment media's worry lies in the sheer uncertainty of public reaction during the coming months, says sociology professor and former director of the Communications and Media Studies program Paul Lopes. And he insists that CBS isn't the only one worrying.
"Media producers are not sure what the impact of these events are - in terms of reality TV, in terms of movies, in terms of music," he said. The media certainly appear to be erring on the side of caution, though. Many radio station producers, worried about the appearance of insignificance in wake of the attacks, have yanked songs that some could view as eerily reminiscent of the attacks, such as Alanis Morrisette's "Ironic" or Dave Matthew's Band's "Crash Into Me."
Over time, Lopes believes that the attacks will not significantly affect America's media culture. But for now, he says, it's anyone's guess.
"Everyone's trying to figure out, 'Are we in a new world, and [if so], how do we deal with it?" Lopes said.
Last April, then-Tufts junior Gary Wilson lived in a tent on the roof of Tisch Library for five days, depriving himself of a change of clothes or a shower, as a backdrop to his taped audition for Survivor's third season. While Wilson's application was ultimately rejected, he says he'll still follow the show closely.
"I thought I had a chance, but they had to look at thousands of videos," Wilson said, adding that he still had fun making the video.
Since Survivor: Africa was filmed over the summer, most of its contestants know how they fared. The finalists, however, will appear on a live broadcast at the end of the series for the final episode. Survivor: Africa debuts Oct. 11 at 8 p.m. on CBS.
