01/31/2006 03:22 PM EST

BY ANDY SMITH
Journal Television Writer

Jeff Probst, host of Survivor, said he was "very sad" when Richard Hatch, winner of Survivor's first season, was convicted of federal tax evasion charges last week.

"I was very sad to hear what happened, sad when I read he was led away in handcuffs," said Probst, who spoke to TV writers during a conference call yesterday. "I'm not justifying what he did, but it's sad to hear it. I feel badly for him. . . Unfortunately, I think the truth is that Richard just made a mistake and didn't pay his taxes."

Probst said Hatch e-mailed him after Probst called Hatch "delusional" in a September interview to promote last season's Survivor: Guatemala. "The guy thinks he can beat the IRS, and he's out of his mind," Probst said at the time.

Probst called his remarks "flip" and said Hatch's e-mail reminded him that these were serious charges.

"Because it's Richard Hatch, and he's such a larger-than-life character, I lost sight of the fact that this is a real person with a real serious problem," Probst said.

Probst declined to comment on a report raised at Hatch's trial that some contestants on Survivor's first season, during the summer of 2000, had cheated by receiving extra food.

Although Hatch was the first subject raised on the conference call, Probst's real purpose was to promote the upcoming Survivor: Panama -- Exile Island, which begins Thursday at 8 p.m. on CBS(Channels 4 and 12). It's the 12th installment of Survivor, and the third time Survivor returns to the islands off the coast of Panama.

The basic point of the show remains the same -- contestants must learn to live together while still voting each other off the island, one at a time. The last one left in the game, determined by a jury of contestants who had previously been voted off, wins $1 million.

The Survivor twist this year is that there's an "Exile Island" at the Survivor site where contestants must spend some time alone.

But wait, there's more! Hidden somewhere on the Exile Island is an "immunity idol" that a contestant can use to avoid being thrown out of the game.

"The cast gets introduced to Exile Island after about 30 seconds of the first episode. You can see everybody stop, and the wheels start turning in their heads," Probst said.

On Thursday's premiere episode, the 16 contestants initially get divided into four "tribes" -- older men, older women, younger men, younger women. The youngest contestants this season are 24, the oldest is 58.

Probst said the four tribes will be merged into two early in the season.

Probst, who admits that last season's grueling Survivor: Guatemela was not much fun for him ("I didn't enjoy going to Tribal Council and arguing all the time") said Exile Island should be one of the most popular editions in the show's history.

"It was a fun group. . . I think we'll see two of the most popular characters we've ever had," Probst said.

He singled out Shane Powers, who owns an entertainment marketing company in Los Angeles. "This guy's a home run. We'd put him on every season if we could," Probst said. "Every time he opened his mouth we would say 'Man, what he gonna say next?' "

And then there's Cirie Fields, a nurse from South Carolina.

"Cirie represents every person who watches Survivor on their couch and says 'I could do that' but never gets up off the couch. Well, she got up."

Probst also said this season's cast had a few more introspective contestants than usual.

"That leads to some interesting problems, because this is a show that will test your ethics. . . there's a moral dilemma in the first or second episode when a contestant gets offered an alliance by two different groups," Probst said.

"What makes this show so interesting is that you're ethically challenged, but you're also competing for $1 million. What's going to win out? That's a question that never gets old."

But Probst took care not to give away too many Survivor secrets. Asked about a rumor that a contestant falls seriously ill, he brushed away the question with a vague "That's always a possibility."

Probst, 44, has been with the show since the beginning. With his six-year contract due to expire, there were reports that he and Survivor creator Mark Burnett would part ways.

Instead, Probst has signed a new deal to keep hosting the show. CBS has announced there will be at least two more Survivors, taking the show into the 2007 season. Probst said he was just having too much fun doing Survivor to give it up.

Survivor is one of the most enduring successes of the reality TV genre, with a core audience of about 20 million viewers.

"I think Survivor has stayed strong because it has a compelling structure, and the show is really well executed. . . this is a show that takes a group of people, puts them in an extreme situation, and then examines their behavior," Probst said.

Curiously, Probst said he is not a fan of the ABC hit Lost, about a group of castaways trapped on a very mysterious island after a plane crash. Survivor was one of the inspirations for Lost.

"I tried to watch Lost, and I'm not into it," Probst said. "My closest friend, they can't believe it. I tried watching it in Panama, during Exile Island, and I didn't get it. . . I'm too busy with The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage."