AP Photo/Steven Senne

Did jail turn Richard Hatch straight? Following his own impeccable logic, it seems the only plausible reason why authorities in Bourne, Mass., released him early this morning.

Well, either that or his 51-month sentence for not reporting his Survivor bounty to Uncle Sam was finally up.

Either way, the nude-loving reality star was released from the Barnstable County Jail around 6:00 this morning, at which time he was taken to his home in Rhode Island (where, incidentally, he was serving out his previous home confinement before a morning chat with Matt Lauer landed him back behind bars).

The 48-year-old was placed on three years' supervised release, ordered to complete a mental health program and will not be allowed to leave the tiny state without permission.

While he's now a free man, neither us nor the courts have yet to hear the last from him.

Hatch is continuing the fight to overturn his conviction on the grounds that prosecutors failed to properly poll jurors on their feelings about people's sexual orientation, and believes misconduct and discrimination—and not, you know, his blatant disregard for the IRS—had a role in his conviction. He's been representing himself and this week was told he would need to seek additional legal counsel if he wanted to continue his bid.

Where's Susan Hawk when you need her?

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Check out which other celebs are fighting the good fight in court.

Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS

It's nice to know in times like this that the world has its priorities in check.

Which is why we're happy to tell you that the devastating earthquake yesterday which spawned a tsunami in Samoa—killing, at last count, at least 99 people and rendering dozens more missing—did not affect production on the forthcoming season of Survivor.

Phew!

A spokeswoman for CBS confirmed that no cast or crew members were harmed as the 20th season—which was never formally confirmed to be taking place in Samoa, but, well, there's your confirmation right there—was not in production at the time.

Filming on the season wrapped earlier this month, and while the contestants had long since blown out their torches and gone home, some crew members were still present in the region.

They're not called Survivors for nothing, folks. The currently airing 19th season is also set in Samoa.

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Are reality shows your thing? Don't forget to check out our rundown of which celeb was run out of last night's Dancing With the Stars!

Monty Brinton/CBS

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to win Survivor. But that doesn't mean this season's winner won't be one.

CBS this morning unveiled the 20 new castaways set to participate in their own battle of the fittest (and most conniving) when Survivor: Samoa kicks off Sept. 17.

And forget the passé desire to "outwit, outplay and outlast." This year's group is all about outeviling, with the network claiming this season will boast the most dramatic rose ceremony ever "biggest Survivor villain ever."

Considering the show's alumni, that's some steep competition. Adding an extra twist for its 19th season, the show (now with tweets!) will force tribes to immediately choose a chief to make all decisions pertaining to the group. Gee, we wonder if that will cause tension.

Here's the full list of competitors:

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AP Photo/Steven Senne

UPDATE: Hatch will have to serve the remainder of his sentence, which now ends Oct. 16 because he was denied nine days of good behavior, in federal custody.

The Survivor champ had been under home confinement but was hauled back to jail after giving what prosecutors said were two unauthorized media interviews.
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Just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in.

Richard Hatch was jailed Tuesday night in Massachusetts, just hours after his pretaped interview with Matt Lauer—in which he blamed antigay discrimination for his lengthy prison sentence—aired on Today.

Officials, citing "privacy concerns," are being pretty tight-lipped when it comes to how Hatch went from A to Behind Bars.

But all signs point to some sort of violation concerning his return to the media spotlight yesterday.

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UPDATE: In an unexpected turn of events, Hatch was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon and is being held at the Barnstable County Correctional Facility in Bourne, Mass.

Per the Providence Journal, no one was answering questions at press time as to why Hatch was relocked up, just hours after his Today show appearance.
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Wonder what year Richard Hatch thinks it is.

Just saying, because the inaugural Survivor winner thinks he was sentenced to more than four years in prison because he's gay.

The convicted income-tax evader, who was busted for not giving Uncle Sam his due of that $1 million grand prize, continued to maintain his innocence Tuesday on Today, telling Matt Lauer that he faced discrimination from both the prosecutor and judge during his 2006 trial.

"I know, without question, that there are personal issues involved for the prosecutor—I don't know why," Hatch said, as the ankle-monitor-wearing felon and Lauer toodled around his sister's Newport, R.I., home, where he's serving out the rest of his 51-month sentence under house arrest.

"The prosecutorial misconduct has been egregious," he said. Hatch also reiterated his issues with the judge, who, according to Hatch, refused to let members of the jury be questioned about their feelings toward homosexuals.

When asked whether he really meant to suggest that he got prison time because he was a gay reality-TV star, Hatch answered in no uncertain terms.

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Monty Briton/CBS

They endured bug-grubbing meals and a race around the globe, and now these two reality-show veterans are about to take on their biggest challenge yet: raising a baby girl.

Survivor alums Rob and Amber Mariano welcomed daughter Lucia Rose on the Fourth of July at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, Fla., according to People.

"Boston Rob" Mariano proposed to the former Amber Brkich on the finale of Survivor: All Stars in May 2004, which she won. As to the latest news from the couple once known as Romber, he said they couldn't have asked for more. "We are over the moon with happiness at her arrival," he said.

Amber, 30, and Rob, 33, first met on Survivor: All Stars and wed on April 16, 2005, in the made-for-TV special, Rob and Amber Get Married. The entity otherwise known as Romber nearly won The Amazing Race in 2007 and even did a reality show in which Rob attempted to start a career as a poker player.

We're guessing they got good home movies of the birth.

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Who else is due this summer? Check out our Baby Bumpin' gallery!

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AP Photo/Stew Milne

On the off chance there are still some of you out there keeping up with all things Richard Hatch, here's the latest.

It looks like the original Survivor winner won't be swinging his thing in Samoa now that a Rhode Island judge has denied Hatch's petition to participate in a 10th anniversary edition of the reality show.

Hatch, who is currently finishing out the last three months of his tax evasion sentence in home confinement, was hoping to use another Survivor stint as a way to pay back the money that he should have simply given to the IRS from the get-go.

Of course, if you're still reading this, you already knew that.     

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Monty Brinton/CBS

He survived Africa, but now he'll face an even more frightening foe: cancer.

Ethan Zohn, the winner of Survivor: Africa, the series' third cycle, has begun a fierce battle with the disease, the 35-year-old tells People.

"This is the ultimate game of Survivor and there's really only one outcome, and that's to win," he says. "There's no other option."

Night sweats and strange itching led the reality-TV star to think he had some sort of skin condition until, on April 30, he was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's disease. Shortly after a swollen lymph node and a mass on the left side of his chest were found, doctors declared Zohn had a rare form of the disease called CD20-positive Hodgkin's lymphoma.

He began chemotherapy treatments last Friday.

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Monty Brinton/CBS

While Stephen and J.T. were off having a "meat festival," Coach was busy catching up with himself in exile.

That all sounds gross, so let us explain: The Survivor: Tocantins ringleaders got to enjoy a night away and a Brazilian feast thanks to J.T.'s reward challenge win, and Coach took the "monastic approach" to Exile Island, refusing food and fire and opting to meditate for two days.

Despite the fact that, according to the self-proclaimed "last of the Mohicans," he had slipped discs in his back, his left arm was killing him and his asthma was flaring up.

Erinn wasn't a big fan of what she perceived to be Coach's martyr ruse—and Stephen wasn't a big fan of Erinn lashing out at poor, decrepit Coach.

But "Coach Wade's foundation is built on a rock," according to the man himself. "Inside here [gesturing to his heart]—unbendable, unbreakable, unyielding, immeasurable, immovable, invincible."

OK, then, onto the immunity challenge.

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