New 'Survivor' crowned

NEW YORK -- Tina Wesson got her $1 million, Colby Donaldson is picking out a new motorcycle -- which she's buying for him -- and CBS has 36.4 million reasons to be thankful for "Survivor." \nThat's how many people tuned in to the final episode of the Outback "Survivor" Thursday night, according to Nielsen Media Research. \nWhile down from the 51 million who watched Richard Hatch win the first "Survivor" in August, the second finale was up against tougher competition during a ratings "sweeps" period. \n"It's a huge success for CBS," said Marc Berman, an analyst for Media Week Online. "I don't think anyone can be disappointed with that number." \nCBS also put a dent in the normally dominant NBC Thursday night lineup. The "Survivor" audience was twice that of "Friends," and the one-hour interview show with "Survivor" cast members became the first program on any network to beat an original "ER" episode since Nov. 17, 1994, in the drama's first season. \nThe "Survivor" audience peaked between 9:30 and 10 p.m., when Wesson was declared the winner, at 41.3 million, Nielsen said. CBS also noted that the first "Survivor" averaged 28.2 million viewers throughout its run while the second edition averaged 29.1 million -- even without counting the post-Super Bowl debut. \nMark Burnett, the show's executive producer, said he was pleased with the ratings. \n"I'm very competitive," Burnett said. "It's not the numbers to me. It's beating people." \nWesson, the 40-year-old nurse from Knoxville, Tenn., won the big prize in a 4-3 vote by her fellow contestants. She beat Donaldson, the 27-year-old Texan who sealed his own fate after winning the final immunity challenge when he chose Wesson as his final competitor instead of Michigan chef Keith Famie. \nWesson admitted she was having difficulty accepting the outcome because she felt she hadn't won the game outright. \nLate Thursday night, unable to sleep, she talked to Donaldson and told him, "you're the reason I won." She said she would have felt better about it if she had won the final immunity challenge. \n"I said, 'If you weren\'t the person you are or hadn't played the game in that way, I wouldn't have put you there,'" Donaldson said on Friday. \nWesson and Donaldson said they had both agreed that if either were in the position to do so, they would make sure each was in the final two. Wesson insisted that if she had won final immunity, she would also have booted Famie. \n"We wanted America to be really happy with who won," she said. \nThe two also secretly agreed that whoever won would buy the other a motorcycle. Donaldson has his eye on a Harley-Davidson. He also won $100,000 as a consolation prize and a sport utility vehicle by winning the final reward challenge. \nDonaldson said he wants to pursue a career as an actor. \nHe's certainly popular at his hometown in Christoval, Texas, where more than one-fifth of the town's 250 residents turned out for a party to watch the final show. The Texas Trade'N Post in Christoval also credits Donaldson for boosting business; it has sold more than 1,000 pieces of "Survivor" memorabilia in the last month. \n"Colby has saved my life," said store co-owner Alison Ramirez. \nHow unpopular was Famie? A crowd gathered in the Volcano Grill in Southfield, Mich., near his hometown, stood up and cheered Thursday night when Famie was voted off the show. \nThe good-natured chef took it in stride Friday, even joking about the complaints about his cooking that came from fellow contestants. \nHe said he's working on a book with the title, "Yes, I Can Cook Rice"