RICH SURVIVES! NAKED TRAINER TAKES HOME $1 MILLION.

Byline: David Kronke Television Critic

Some of the castaways ate rats, but it was Richard Hatch, the scheming ``snake'' on the CBS reality series ``Survivor,'' who returned to civilization with the $1 million prize.

Hatch, 39, the corporate trainer who appeared naked during some of the last episodes of the series, trailed in every popularity poll concerning the show. But he won in a close 4-3 vote cast by the last seven ousted castaways. It all played out during Wednesday's two-hour finale of the hit summer television series.

In his closing remarks to voters, Richard declared, ``It's not about who the best person is, but who played the game better and I hope you respect my strategy and perspective.''

Kelly Wiglesworth, the 23-year-old river rafter who lucked her way to win five final immunity challenges to become one of the two last survivors, may have blown it in her final rebuttal speech to the tribal council. She spent her time answering a bitter invective from Susan Hawk, the Wisconsin trucker who was the first of the final four to be cut from the competition on the special telecast.

At the final tribal council, Susan told Richard, ``You're an openly arrogant, pompous human being - but I admire that in you. Your inability to admit failures without going into a whiny speech still makes you a loser, though.''

But she saved her most vicious comments for Kelly: ``You're two-faced and manipulative, and that's why you fail all the time. If you were dying of thirst, I would not give you a drink of water. I'd let the vultures take you.''

Susan, who was voted out after the first challenge of the evening, compared the finalists to the animals on the island. ``We have Richard, who is the snake. And we have Kelly, who turned into a rat. And on the island, the rat is always running from the snake.''

Richard lost the challenge, but predictably, he managed to talk Kelly into changing her vote against him during the tribal council.

Rudy Boesch, the retired Navy SEAL who was considered the favorite of the final four contestants in polls, ruined his chance in a characteristic lapse of sense when he allowed his hand to slip off a totem pole during the second immunity challenge of the broadcast.

Kelly, Rich and Rudy were instructed to stand atop posts and keep their hands on a totem pole while host Jeff Probst taunted them with food and drinks.

Richard bailed out of the contest early and apparently intentionally, and described his strategy for winning: He hoped everyone would favor him for forging the alliance that brought the remaining contestants into the finals.

Richard predicted Kelly would win the challenge, and would vote against Rudy at the tribal council - which is, in fact, what happened.

Since Rich and Rudy's votes canceled out one another, Kelly voted alone, and, assuming that everyone loathed Rich, she dumped Rudy (after trying to vote out Rich in the previous tribal council).

Producers, realizing they had a captive audience, filled the two-hour finale with monotonous, self-congratulatory montages reflecting back on the past dozen episodes with a handful of reflections from the survivors.

Kelly, who seemed to be the most affected emotionally by the endurance test, proclaimed, ``I didn't think this was going to be as mental as it turned out to be. I don't give a crap about anyone on this island anymore.''

Kelly walked away with the second prize of $100,000. Rudy earned $75,000 for third place, and Susan left with $50,000.

A CBS poll found viewers to be conflicted over Richard's strategy. One poll found 68 percent saying the right person had not won the $1 million, but 61 percent also said he played fair, and 49 percent said they would behave as duplicitously as Richard had to win the money.

Voting for Richard were Susan, Sean, Rudy and Greg. Gervase, Colleen and Jenna voted for Kelly.

Richard Hatch lost 34 pounds while on the island off Borneo during the competition. He had lost 100 pounds in preparation for the show before even heading to Pulau Tiga.

``Survivor,'' which began with 16 hopeful castaways, debuted May 31 to immediate ratings success, and increased in popularity throughout its 13-week run. Before the telecast, there were estimates that as many as 40 million viewers would tune in to see the winner revealed.

It not only helped CBS in prime time, it also bolstered the ratings of the network's struggling morning news show, where the castaways appeared after they were voted off the island. It also has helped CBS's other reality series, the sagging ``Big Brother.''

As one last parting shot, Richard appeared naked - with the appropriate spot blurred out - on ``The Late Show with David Letterman.'' The category was ``Top 10 Things Learned on the 'Survivor' Island.'' Other castaways delivered Items 10 (Jenna: ``Leftover swimwear from the island is worth a grand on eBay'') through 2 (Rudy: ``Months later, I still get sand in places I wish I didn't''). Hatch - standing naked in front of the other 15 contestants - delivered No. 1: ``The human body is a beautiful thing.''

``Survivor 2: Australian Outback'' will premiere in January after the Super Bowl.

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4 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) Richard Hatch, bottom right, watches himself dance on ``Survivor'' while fellow contestants, from left, Gervase Peterson, Kelly Wiglesworth, Colleen Haskell and Sean Kenniff chuckle along.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

(2) After enduring his final ``Survivor'' ordeal, Richard Hatch shows off his reward: $1 million in cash.

(3) Not long after viewers saw her vent spleen, Susan Hawk, left, shakes hands with Kelly Wiglesworth at a ``Survivor'' reunion Wednesday.

(4) Loretta Burke, left, a friend of ``Survivor'' winner Richard Hatch cheers the outcome of the final episode at the Newport Athletic Club in Middletown, R.I., where Hatch trained for the show.

Cris Yarborough/Associated Press