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Big Brother (Australian TV series)

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For the Big Brother awards pertaining to privacy, see Big Brother Awards (Australia).

Template:Big Brother AU sidebar Big Brother Australia is a reality television series produced by Endemol Southern Star, and shown on Australian television network Network Ten and in New Zealand TV2 and Prime, until 2006. The premise of the gameshow is a number of contestants throughout Australia live in an isolated compound in Dreamworld, Queensland where their daily lives are recorded and broadcast on national television. Housemates try to avoid being evicted through a public vote, with the aim of becoming the finalist and winning a large cash prize of up to $1,000,000 AUD at the end of a series. The series title derives from George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which Big Brother is an all-seeing omnipotent leader of the Dystopian Oceania.

The show was hosted by Gretel Killeen from 2001 until 2007. In late 2007, as apart with a series revamp, Killeen was replaced for the 2008 season.[1][2] Radio hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O will be her replacements. In addition to the new hosts, the series will mark the return of the controversial Big Brother Uncut[3], and a new audition process similar to the format used in the earlier seasons.

All seasons have featured Mike Goldman as the series voice-over.

Main series

For all seasons from 2001 until 2007, eviction night, nominations night and the series finale was hosted Gretel Killeen. Killeen has been praised for her quick-thinking skills and wit, and at times criticised for her "aggressive and rude behaviour" to some of the housemates.[4] It is speculated that as a result, Killeen was replaced as a host.[5]

Format

Big Brother Australia is based on the international Big Brother series produced by Endemol in the Netherlands which began in 1999. The show's name comes from George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), which revolves around a dystopia in which dictator Big Brother is the all-seeing leader. The series generally constitutes 14 or more contestants who live in an isolated house for several months. Housemates are at all times under the control of Big Brother, a rule enforcing authority figure who monitors behaviour of the housemates, set tasks and punishments and provides the mechanism for contestants to make external requests.

Housemates are filmed 24 hours per day with edited highlights broadcast during prime time slots, and late night footage broadcast live. Live footage is also broadcast via the Internet using Internet streaming. Housemates must remain in the house, and avoid being evicted by viewers of the show with the aim of winning a substantial cash prize at the end of the series. In order to support the housemates' emotional well-being, all participants have access to the Big Brother psychologist Carmel Hill at all times. After the series, housemates are required to attend regular promotional appearances around Australia at nightclubs in most capital cities; however this is not compulsory.[citation needed]

Seasons

  • Big Brother 2001: Premise of the show begins; two intruders enter the house mid season.
  • Big Brother 2002: Similar to the first season; viewers may now vote which intruders are added.
  • Celebrity Big Brother: Celebrity edition of the series.
  • Big Brother 2003: Instead of the one house, two houses are introduced and were merged partway through the season.
  • Big Brother 2004: Prize money raised from $250,000 to $1,000,000.
  • Big Brother 2005: The theme was "sexy, single and competitive". New audition process launched.
  • Big Brother 2006: Three groups of intruders enter during the series.
  • Big Brother 2007: The prize money was initially zero. Later it was revealed it could be added to with the successful completion of tasks.
  • Producers are taking nominations for the 2008 season on the official website.

Prize money

The eventual winner of Big Brother Australia receives a cash prize as a reward for being the last remaining housemate in their series. In Big Brother 2001, Big Brother 2002, and Big Brother 2003, the cash prize stood at a guaranteed $250,000 AUD, without inclination of the fines system. In Big Brother 2004, the prize money was raised to a guaranteed $1,000,000, without inclination of the fines system. Big Brother 2005 and Big Brother 2006 both continued to offer the $1,000,000 prize money, however, with the introduction of the fines system, the winner of Big Brother 2005 received $836,000 in prize money. The winner of Big Brother 2006 received $426,000.[6] Housemates in Big Brother 2005 and Big Brother 2006 were given opportunities to regain lost prize money in special Friday Night Live events named The Prize Fight. A 17 April 2007 advertisement for the upcoming season stated that there was no prize money for Big Brother Australia 2007. When the season began it was revealed that while initially there was no prize money, that prize money could be accumulated upon the successful completion of tasks. The Prize Money at the end of the season stood at $450,000.

Fines

Big Brother 2005 introduced a fines system in which the $1,000,000 AUD cash prize is decreased by $5,000 each time a housemates violates a Big Brother rule. The house used for the 2006 season featured a Punishment Room, which was revealed following the first week of that season, where housemates would sometimes be sent for punishment additional to the $5,000 fine. In Big Brother 2007, monetary fines were subtracted from the household budget rather than from the prize money, but the Punishment Room remained and was in use from the outset.

Secret Nominations

A fundamental and strongly-enforced rule of Big Brother Australia is that nominations, and the use of the Twist, are not to be discussed at all. Specifically, all housemates are forbidden from disclosing who they have previously nominated, who they plan to nominate in the future, or who their Twist has been used on; and they must not engage in conjecture about who may attract nomination votes and why. These discussions are banned and are deemed collusion by Big Brother, as they may give housemates a competitive advantage. Breaking this rule incurs fines, punishment, or loss of the right to nominate in the following round.

During the 2007 series, a new rule allows that the winner of Friday Night Games and their chosen companion in the rewards room, may privately discuss who they plan to nominate whilst in the rewards room.

Intruders

Every series of Big Brother Australia has included "Intruders": new housemates added to the house by the show's producers as an on-going housemate after the series has started. Producers try to add housemates that they think might stir things up, or add a significant change to the house. They are eligible to win the final prize. They usually don't last very long in the house, however in Big Brother 2007, Zach made it to the final 2 and missed the win by 2%.

Location

The purpose built Big Brother house/studio is located at Dreamworld, a theme park attraction located at Coomera a northern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. The interior of the house is rebuilt between each season, unlike the exterior of the house which is nothing more than a large shell housing the interior and camera runs, the interior has seen some large changes over the years. Fliming typically runs between April until July. The house is open to the public after the show until late December, after this the interior of the house goes under renovation from January until April.

Only slight modifications were made to the interior of the house for the second season and the special Celebrity Big Brother Australia series that were screened in 2002. Subsequent to those seasons the interior of the house has either been rebuilt or extensively re-modeled for each new series. In one season the house had been re-configured mid-series revealing previously hidden additional function rooms or private areas. Two houses were built for Big Brother 2003, and they were merged 23 days into the season when previously hidden connecting rooms were revealed. In 2005 the interior of the house was extensively rebuilt where the external kitchen was moved back into the main house and the external kitchen area was replaced with the FNL arena. In 2006 an animal enclosure was added to the side of the compound.

Footage from the house is monitored and edited in Dreamworld Studios[7], an open-air auditorium where live audience orientated shows such as Evictions and Nominations are staged. When filming visitors can access the Big Brother studios and compound, however are only limited to the camera runs, Endemol Southern Star and Cutting Edge Post Production, at work and also view live footage from the house. The auditorium that is now part of Big Brother Studios was an existing facility at Dreamworld a long time before Big Brother began, and was used for live stage shows. It is now leased to Endemol Southern Star for the duration of the series each year. The current contract gives Endemol Southern Star use of the Studios and Big Brother House until 2009.

Theme music

The theme is titled Big Brother theme, and was adapted from the original theme used in the first ever series of Big Brother, which aired in the Netherlands. The theme for Big Brother Australia was written by Siew Ooi and 001 Productions in Melbourne. The track is an extended version of the main title theme used in the first two seasons of Big Brother Australia, and tracks heard throughout the seasons that followed are shorter, remixed versions of this track. The original track can sometimes be heard in the background when eviction votes, or the nomination tally in the Nominations show, are shown on screen, or when eviction phone numbers are announced during a show.

The title theme was initially released as a single. The track was an extended mix of the main title theme used in the first two seasons, and was released with an acoustic "Diary Room" mix and more trance influenced "Eviction" mix. It barely scraped in the top 50, but was re-released a few months later where it reached #12 on the ARIA charts in 2001 with a B-Side of The Sirens' hit "Don't You Think That It's Strange", which was also co-written by Big Brother 2001 housemates; the Diary Room mix; and an extended version of the Big Brother Uncut theme.

Companion shows

During each series, specific elements of the competition have a special show dedicated to them, usually presented on a specific evening. Each weeknight and on Sunday evenings a compilation of the general events in the House for the previous day are presented. All live shows are broadcast with a 30-second delay so that images or language that cannot be broadcast due to Australia's censorship laws can be cut. These programs add up to approximately 16 hours per week. No Big Brother shows are broadcast on Saturdays.

Opening Night

The Opening Night is the first episode of the Big Brother series that introduces the new housemates and the Big Brother House for that year. It is hosted by Gretel Killeen. In different seasons it has run under various titles such as Launch, In They Go and Game On!.

Daily Show

The Daily Show is aired every weekday at 7:00pm—7:30pm and most Sundays at 6:30pm—7:30. On screen it simply carries the title Big Brother. It reports on the previous day's happenings inside the House. Sunday editions cover the preceding Friday and Saturday. The Daily Show is narrated by Mike Goldman.

UpLate

Big Brother: UpLate is a late-night show screened every weeknight throughout each Big Brother series. The show airs at 11:15pm on Monday—Thursdays, 10:30pm on Fridays and 10:10pm. Usually, the program runs in between 60 and 120 minutes and is hosted by Mike Goldman. The show was first introduced with Big Brother 2003. The show features live footage from the House; interviews with evicted housemates; and brain teasers where viewers attempt to solve challenges such as word games, and may phone in for a chance to win $1000 AUD. An online stream was made available for the 2006 season at QuizTV.com.au specifically for viewers in states that do not receive UpLate live on television (i.e. South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory), enabling them to enter the competitions. It was possible for this stream to be viewed by those outside of Australia. During the 2007 season of Big Brother a Sunday evening edition of the show was added.

Nominations

Big Brother Nominations is aired on Monday evenings after the Daily Show. Nominations airs footage of the housemates as they each decide in the Diary Room who they would like to nominate for eviction. In the first series of Big Brother, there was no special show for nominations; they were simply shown as a part of the Daily Show on Tuesday evening. Housemates also did not have to give reasons for their nominations during the first season. Nominations were not live during Big Brother 2005, but the announcement of who would be up for eviction was. Housemates each have three points to appoint to two other housemates. Their first nomination appoints two nomination points to a housemate, the second gives another housemate one point. If Big Brother feels a housemate's nomination is not clear and concise, he can give the nominating housemate one point. The three housemates with the highest number of points are revealed to the House. In the case of a third place tie, all those tying for third place would be eligible for eviction, on these occasions more than three housemates would be up for eviction.

An innovation introduced in Big Brother 2005 was the Three Point Twist whereby the winner of Friday Night Live must subtract three nomination points from one of the nominated housemates. If they themselves are included in the original lineup of potential evictees they may opt to subtract the points from themself. This occurs after the initial nominations have been announced to all housemates, and while housemates may not discuss which housemate they remove points from, where the line-up changes it is often clear which housemate has had their nomination points deducted. The three housemates with the highest number of nomination points after the Three Point Twist will face eviction. Again in the case of a third place tie, more than three housemates may be up for eviction. The Three Point Twist got its name as part of a sponsorship deal with KFC. Big Brother 2007 introduced a new version of the "nominations twist" where the winner of Friday Night Games must now entirely remove a housemate who is nominated for eviction, and then nominate a new housemate to be up for eviction.

Eviction

Housemate evictions occur in a program titled Big Brother Live Eviction. The housemate who has attracted the most viewer votes to evict is evicted. The eviction shows are televisied each Sunday night at 7:30pm (Australian Eastern Standard Time). Actual proceedings start a short time before 7:30pm in front of a live audience at Dreamworld. These shows are hosted by Gretel Killeen and are broadcast live. In this show usually one housemate, but occasionally two, is evicted from the house, usually at around 7:45-8:00pm. Shows that feature two evictions are called Double Eviction. The first Australian Double Eviction, described in advertising hyperbole as a "world first", took place during Big Brother 2002. Big Brother 2006 added the save vote, allowing viewers to vote to save a housemate as well as evict; in the final tally housemates' save votes are subtracted from their evict votes.

In Big Brother 2004 after the eviction of Bree Amer, it was found the votes for that eviction had been incorrectly counted.[8] Amer had not received the most eviction votes, and she took up the option of returning to the house the following Monday night. A special eviction was held on the following Thursday evening in which the housemate to actually receive the most votes, Wesley Denning, was evicted. A representative of Legion Interactive, the company that manages eviction votes and compiles the results, appeared on the second eviction show to explain how the error occurred.

Friday Night Live

Big Brother Friday Night Live is a live show hosted by Mike Goldman and former Big Brother 2004 housemates Ryan Fitzgerald and Bree Amer, showcasing a live housemate games competition conducted in an arena attached to the Big Brother compound every Friday evening. The housemate evicted the previous week joins the hosting panel. The show was introduced with Big Brother 2005, aired on Fridays at 7:30 p.m..

The winner of the overall games is rewarded with the following:

  1. Two nights in the rewards room with a fellow housemate of their choice
  2. The power of assigning the housemate chores for the week (eg. Shopper/Chef, Janitor, Housekeeper, Environmental Watchdog, Laundry Attendant, Farmhand, Groundskeeper)
  3. The power to change the nominations lineup

Friday Night Live returned for Big Brother 2006. A fourth prize was added for the winner, a "luckydip" type prize draw where they are presented with three boxes, each containing a prize, and may choose one box, not knowing what any of the boxes contains. The three boxes are themed on a specific country, and the three boxes featured a holiday to that country after the conclusion of the competition, a privilege that may be used within the house (such as laundry services or a special dinner), and a booby prize. Booby prizes have included a bow tie and a chunk of Camembert cheese. On one occasion the three boxes were replaced with a special prize where the winner was allowed to go on an excursion outside the Big Brother House to Tiger Island at Dreamworld, where they were treated to a feast and a tiger show. They then had the entire park to themselves for a night. The winner on this occasion was Gaelan, who invited Krystal to share in his prize. On a second occasion, the winner of Friday Night Live, Jamie, was given the four usual prizes, and a fifth "mystery prize". The prize involved Jamie and the person he invited to the Rewards Room, Chris, leaving the House to get a first go on FlowRider, a new ride at Dreamworld.

For the Big Brother 2007 season Friday Night Live remained largely unchanged. For this season the prize boxes generally contained an overseas holiday, a large item such as expensive watches or a scooter, and a booby prize. But a twist in the power to change the nominations lineup made this a more valuable than ever prize for the winner of Friday Night Live in Big Brother 2007 as they were able to remove themselves altogether (if nominated) or another housemate from the nominees for that week, and replace them with another housemate, rather than in the last two series where the winner had the power to change nominations by deducting 3 points from a nominee. The Friday Night Live format was reused in the Network Ten spinoff series Friday Night Games which began in February 2006 and ended before Big Brother resumed for 2006. This weekly program is also filmed at Dreamworld, and features two teams of celebrities (who are joined by members of the public) to compete in a series of games. The program was again hosted by Goldman, Amer, and Fitzgerald.

Finale

The Finale of Big Brother Australia is a significant event conducted in front of an audience at Dreamworld and broadcast live on television, for as long as three hours, and has been known to progress even longer in some seasons. In all Australian series the Finale features footage from the final day in the house, by which time there are only two housemates remaining, culminating in the announcement of the winner. Usually the runner-up leaves the house in the manner of an evicted housemate, and is interviewed by Gretel Killeen on stage. Later the winner is asked to leave the house, finally joining Gretel on stage as well. The final two housemates of Big Brother 2004 and Big Brother 2005 left the House together, and were on stage with Gretel when the winner of those seasons was announced. Big Brother 2006 returned to the original format where the winner is announced while the final two housemates are in the House, and they both left separately.

Previous housemates of the season sometimes put on a musical or dance performance. Sometimes the performance is set to popular music and is based on several of the tasks the housemates had participated in during the season. In 2006, Danielle Foote sang her single, while the other housemates did dance routines around her, using costumes and elements from the ballet task, the pirate task and the cheerleading task. Of the 7 seasons of Big Brother Australia thus far, 5 of the winners have been male.

Uncut / Adults Only

Originally named Big Brother Uncut, and renamed Big Brother: Adults Only for Big Brother 2006, this program showcased adult content from the Big Brother House unsuitable for the early evening Daily Show. This mainly consisted of footage of the housemates showering, general risque behaviour, and discussions about sexual matters. Each episode was one hour long. During the early seasons of Big Brother it aired at 9:30pm on Thursday nights. It later switched to 9:30pm Monday nights, and then 9:40pm Monday nights. It was rated MA15+ (deemed unsuitable for viewers under the age of 15), and hosted by Gretel Killeen.

The 2006 series of Big Brother: Adults Only ended early after politicians warned Network Ten that its screening of the show could harm its push for media reforms.[9][10] The last episode of Adults Only was aired on 19 June 2006. It has been hinted by producer Kris Noble that the controversial show could make a return for the forthcoming 2008 series and cites the axing of the show as a reason for the decline in popularity of the 2007 season.[3]

Criticism and controversy

While Big Brother Australia has managed to lure millions of viewers a week, the television show has received a large amount of criticism from media and audiences for its sexual content and sexual discussions and language. Thus, as a result, it is occasionally referred to as "Big Brothel" with reference to the sexual content of the Uncut episode. [11] The criticism has even been voiced within the Australian Government, with one politician referring to it as "...toxic television..." [12].

Complaints about Uncut led to it being rebranded Big Brother: Adults Only for the 2006 season. Adults Only was cancelled early in the series due to continuing controversy. [13]

After the 2005 series, complaints prompted the Australian Communications and Media Authority to launch an investigation into Big Brother: Uncut.[14] The main complaint was that Network Ten had breached the industry code of practice by broadcasting footage that went past the maximum MA15+ rating for Australian commercial television. The ACMA found Network Ten had breached the code on two occasions: the airing of housemate Michael massaging Gianna with his penis exposed, and the song about sexual fetishes.[15] The ACMA did not impose any direct punishment on Network Ten, however outlined requirements for the 2006 series of Uncut. Included in those requirements is a commitment by Network Ten to compile show footage far enough in the future so that censors can edit it if necessary. Two censors were taken on by the network specifically for Big Brother, and crew were trained on the restrictions of the MA15+ television rating. As a result, the show was renamed Big Brother: Adults Only for the 2006 season.

2006 alleged sexual assault controversy

See also: Big Brother Australia 2006 - Controversy

On July 1, 2006 two housemates, Michael Cox (using the alias Ashley) and Michael Bric, were removed from the house for allegedly sexually assaulting a female housemate, Camilla Halliwell,[16] in a season of the series that had already attracted significant controversy. Following the incident the live feed was temporarily replaced by an old UpLate update of the housemates completing their football task, continuously looped[citation needed], and the forums on the Big Brother website were removed. Queensland Police were shown the relevant footage, but opted not to conduct a criminal investigation.[17] Subsequent to this incident former housemate Rita Lazzarotto reported that she had been subjected to a similar incident during her time in the Big Brother house in the 2005 series.[18]

Australian Prime Minister John Howard asked for Big Brother to be cancelled, saying, "Here's a great opportunity for Channel 10 to do a bit of self-regulation and get this stupid program off the air"; Leader of the Opposition Kim Beazley and Senator Steve Fielding supported this view. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie argued that the show employed many Australians in production and that, because of the already diminished size of the Australian television industry, the show should continue.[19]

Other media

DVD

In July 8, 2003, a DVD entitled Big Brother: Unseen/Uncut/Unreal by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, featuring risque moments from the series was released and became marginally successful. It was rated M15+ (currently known as M due to its nonrestrictive nature), which means that the DVD requires a mature perspective, however there is no legal restriction on access.[20] The DVD is broken down into three sections. Unseen showed Launch and Eviction episodes, while Uncut features clips from Big Brother Uncut; speaks of how television censorship laws of different countries that have Big Brother seasons differ to Australia's; footage of the audition process; and a package where Peter Abbott, the voice of Big Brother for the first three seasons, was "Big Brother'd" for a day, where a camera followed him from the time he woke up to when he went to sleep. Unreel section has information on the first three seasons' housemates, including Big Brother 2003's housemates' introduction packages shown at In They Go; an image gallery with information on what the 24 original housemates of the first two seasons were doing at the time of the DVD's release; and an interactive tour of Big Brother 2003's Houses before and after they were merged.

Notable former contestants

Awards

  • Big Brother was voted Worst TV Show in the 2007 TV Fugly Awards.[23]
  • Big Brother also received a "Best Reality Television Series" nomination at the 2007 Logie Awards.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Big Brother evicts controversial host Gretel Killeen". The Sunday Times (Western Australia). October 27, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Gretel Killeen axed from Big Brother - The Sunday Telegraph, 28 Oct 2007
  3. ^ a b "New host Kyle Sandiland's bid to bring back Big Brother Uncut". Courier Mail. November 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Time for Gretel to go as fans get nasty". The Sydney Morning Herald. October 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Support for departing Big Brother host Gretel Killeen". The Herald Sun. October 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ Jamie wins Big Brother The Sydney Morning Herald. Published on July 31 2006, URL last accessed on October 8 2006.
  7. ^ Big Brother, Behind the Scenes at The Brisbane Times; accessed November 28, 2007.
  8. ^ "Bree to re-enter Big Brother", theage.com.au, Published July 5 2004, URL accessed July 18, 2007.
  9. ^ (June 23, 2006). Ten shuts Big Brother - Adults Only. The Courier Mail. URL accessed 4-7-06.
  10. ^ (July 3, 2006). Big Brother in bigger bother. The Age. URL accessed 4-7-06.
  11. ^ "Big Brother or Big Brothel?". The Age. June 22, 2005. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Anger at Big Bro sex
  13. ^ "Axe falls on adults-only Big Brother". The Cairns Post. June 24, 2006. Retrieved 2007-11-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ 'We're sorry': BB The Sydney Morning Herald Published on June 22 2005, URL last accessed on October 8 2006.
  15. ^ Report: Investigations No. 1557, 1558, 1559 Australian Communications and Media Authority. Published on October 5 2005, PDF last accessed on October 8 2006.
  16. ^ (July 3, 2006), Big Brother in bigger bother. The Age. URL accessed 4-7-06.
  17. ^ (July 3, 2006). Police rule out BB probe. The Age. URL accessed 4-7-06.
  18. ^ (July 4, 2006). Big Brother should be axed, says PM. The Herald Sun. URL accessed 4-7-06.
  19. ^ Australian Associated Press (2006). Axe 'this stupid program': PM. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
  20. ^ The Office of Film & Literature Classification Published on June 2 2003, URL last accessed on September 3 2006.
  21. ^ http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,23663,21604022-10229,00.html
  22. ^ Big Brother's Krystal to appear in new Need for Speed PALGN Gaming Network
  23. ^ "2007 TV Fugly Awards results". May 04, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Bibliography

  • Johnson-woods, Toni (2002). Big Bother: Why Did That Reality TV Show Become Such a Phenomenon?. Australia: University of Queensland Press. p. 256. ISBN 0-7022-3315-3.
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