01:47 PM EDT on Tuesday, August 16, 2005

BY ANDY SMITH
Journal Television Writer

Take Newport's Richard Hatch, winner of the first Survivor, Jonathan Baker of The Amazing Race, and Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth of The Apprentice. Put them on the same patch of real estate, and you have . . . what?

Bravo

Richard Hatch of Survivor fame is one of the stars in the new reality series.

A nightmare? A brawl? The Apocalypse?

No. It's Battle of the Network Reality Stars, a six-part series that begins tomorrow at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

This Battle is based on Battle of the Network stars, which ran from 1976 to 1982 and featured the likes of Tom Selleck, Robert Conrad, and Heather Locklear competing in jousts, a tug-of-war and the obligatory dunking contest.

Now the schlock of the '70s has been updated for the age of reality TV. (But women in bikinis somehow still find themselves being dunked.)

Battle of the Network Reality Stars features 32 participants from 16 reality shows. Aside from you-love-to-hate-'em characters such as Hatch, Baker and Manigault-Stallworth, participants include Sue Hawk from Survivor, Will Kirby of Big Brother, Evan Marriott from Joe Millionaire and cousins Charla Faddoul and Mirna Hindoyan of The Amazing Race.

"We looked for the icons of the genre," said executive producer Andy Cohen.

"We wanted to include the most memorable people. Richard and Jonathan were both high on the list. Richard always elicits a reaction, one way or the other."

AND IF these people are simply trying to extend their 15 minutes of fame, that doesn't bother Cohen one bit.

"I admire the fact that some of them can parlay this into a career," he said. "I say, more power to them . . . if I'm living in, say, St. Louis and I have an opportunity to go to Malibu and be on TV and have some fun, there's nothing wrong with that."

Filmed last spring in Malibu, Battle of the Network Reality Stars divides its participants into four teams. Some of the participants already knew each other, Cohen said, and the new show rekindled some old rivalries.

There is certainly no love lost between Hatch and his old Survivor rival Hawk, who are on different teams.

"No way was I hanging out with Richard," Hawk says. "I would have just gone into the locker room and pounded . . . him."

As for Hatch, he is his usual cocky, confident self. He thinks he should be elected captain of his team. "In Survivor, what people don't realize is how honest I was all the way through," he says.

Married couple Jonathan Baker and Victoria Fuller won notoriety for their bickering when they were on The Amazing Race, particularly after Baker was seen shoving Fuller on camera. (Baker, who has relatives in Providence, spent time here growing up.)

FULLER SAYS she and Baker don't want to be on the same team, beause they don't want any more opportunities to fight with each other. "The producers apparently thought otherwise," she says.

In an interview with sideline reporter Manigault-Stallworth, who made her own reputation as a duplicitous diva on The Apprentice, Baker repeats his frequent complaint that The Amazing Race manipulated his scenes to make him look bad.

"What you saw on TV is not the real Jonathan," he says.

"I was told the camera doesn't lie," says Manigault-Stallworth.

"The camera doesn't lie, but the editing does," he responds.

In the first episode, Baker and Fuller don't fight, but Baker's brash style is already starting to irritate his teammates.

The four teams participate in a "joust," an obstacle course, and the dunking event. Hatch easly wins his joust, which involves forcing your opponent off a beam using a padded pole.

"Who's gonna move this?" asked Hatch, thumping his chest. "It's 280 pounds. I'm not moving."

The events themselves are pretty much the same as on the original Battle of the Network Stars. The new Battle incorporates footage from the original series, and producer Cohen is even promising a few surprise visits from an original network star or two.

THIS BEING a reality show, the new Battle also includes the usual eliminations, backstabbing and sneaky twists.

Meanwhile, back in Rhode Island's reality, Hatch's legal status concerning charges of tax evasion remains unchanged.

In January, he signed an agreement pleading guilty to charges that he failed to pay taxes in 2000 and 2001 on his Survivor winnings and on money he earned as a talk-show host for WQSX-FM in Boston.

In March, Hatch backed out of the deal. The U.S. Attorney's office withdrew the original charges, but may file new ones. Tom Connell, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, said Hatch faces an "active and ongoing" investigation.