Big Brother is a reality television show. In each series, which lasts for around three months, a group of people (normally fewer than sixteen at any one time) live together full-time in the "Big Brother House", isolated from the outside world but under the continuous gaze of television cameras. The Housemates try to win a cash prize by avoiding periodic, usually publicly-voted, evictions from the house.
The idea for "Big Brother" came during a brainstorm session at the production house of John de Mol Produkties (an independent part of Endemol) on Thursday,September 4, 1997. The first Big Brother broadcast was in the Netherlands in 1999 on the Veronica TV channel. It has been a prime-time hit in almost 70 different countries. The show's name comes from George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which Big Brother is the all-seeing, all-controlling leader of the dystopian Oceania.
Though each country has made its own adaptations and changes to the format, the general concept has stayed the same: "housemates" are confined to a specially designed house where their every action is recorded by cameras and microphones at all times and they are not permitted any contact with the outside world. In most versions, at regular intervals, normally once weekly (although in most early series it was every two weeks), the fellow houseguests is invited to vote to have one of a number of nominated housemates evicted from the House.
In some cases, two housemates may be evicted simultaneously (a "double eviction"), or rarely, no housemates will be removed for that week. At the end of the game, the last remaining housemate is declared winner of that particular series and receives prizes, often including a large amount of money, a car, a holiday and (in some editions) a house. From a sociological perspective, this format can be analyzed to see how people react when forced into close confinement with people who lie outside their comfort zone, since they may hold different opinions or ideals from other contestants, or simply be from a different group of people than a contestant is used to. Indeed, the format is ideally suited to such analysis because the viewer sees how a person reacts on the outside through the constant recording of their actions and also what they feel on the inside through the Diary Room. The results can often be violent or angry confrontations, providing entertainment to the public.
Besides living together under continuous observation, which is the major attraction of the contest, the program relies on four basic props: the stripped-bare back-to-basics environment in which they live, the evictions, the weekly tasks set by Big Brother and the "Diary Room", in which the housemates individually convey their thoughts, feelings, frustrations and their nominees for eviction.
In the first season of most series of Big Brother, the House that the housemates had to live in was very basic. Although essential amenities such as running water, furniture and a limited ration of food were provided, luxury items were often forbidden. This added an element of survival to the show, increasing the potential for tensions within the house. Nowadays almost all series provide a modern house for the contest, with a jacuzzi, sauna, VIP suite, loft and other luxuries.
The housemates are required to do any housework as they see fit and are set tasks by the producers of the show, who communicate with the housemates via the omnipresent authority figure known to them only as "Big Brother". The tasks set are designed to test their team-working abilities and community spirit, and in some countries the housemates' shopping budget or weekly allowance often depends on the outcome of any set tasks. The housemates have a weekly allowance with which they can buy food and other essentials.
At regular intervals, the housemates each privately nominate a number of fellow housemates that they wish to see evicted from the house. The housemates with the most nomination points are then announced and viewers are given the opportunity to vote for whom they wish to see evicted. After the votes are tallied, the "evictee" leaves the house and is interviewed live by the host of the show, usually in front of a studio audience.
The series is notable for involving the
Despite derision from many intellectuals and other critics, the show has been a commercial success around the world. More generally, the voyeuristic nature of the show, where contestants volunteer to surrender their privacy in return for minor celebrity status and a comparatively small cash prize, has attracted much scorn.[1] On numerous occasions participants in the various series have become sexually involved with each other, sometimes engaging in intercourse in front of Big Brother's cameras.
This recorded material is typically not broadcast due to its explicit nature, as in the British and American editions. Other editions, however, such as the German version, do broadcast it. The Internet stream also captures such moments, which has led to some controversy, with certain jurisdictions such as Greece attempting to have the show removed from the airwaves. Most international versions of the show remain quite similar to each other in that their main format remains true to the original fly on the wall, observational style, with the emphasis being on human relationships. This is taken to the extent where contestants are forbidden from discussing nominations or voting strategy altogether. The U.S. version, however, has since 2001 taken on a significantly different format from the others in their second season, with a far stronger emphasis on strategy, competition and voting.
Isolation of housemates
The housemates are, for the most part, isolated within the house. They are allowed no access to television, radio or the Internet and are not allowed any form of communications with the outside world (including other media). In some shows even books and writing material are not permitted, with the exception of religious materials such as the Bible, Torah or Qur'an.
Contestants are not completely isolated, however. They have regular scheduled interactions with the show's host, and throughout each day the program's producer, via the "Big Brother" voice, instructs the contestants in various matters and sometimes issues tasks or commands them to take certain actions. Private chats with a psychologist are allowed at any time, often by means of a telephone in the Diary Room.
Variations in the format
Location of different versions of Big Brother
There are five special pan-regional versions of Big Brother. All these follow the normal Big Brother rules with the exception that contestants must come from each of the different countries in the region where it airs:
Africa: Angola, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Balkans: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia
Middle East: Israel, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Syria and Tunisia.
Pacific: Chile, Ecuador and Peru.
Scandinavia: Norway and Sweden.
In the third UK series, Big Brother set live tasks for the housemate on a Saturday night in order to win treats. This format was discontinued in the fifth series due to poor ratings. This format has been used in Australia in the form of Friday Night Live.
The fifth UK edition introduced the "Evil" touch, whereby the character of Big Brother became almost a villain. Big Brother was establishing punishments and was proposing hard tasks and secret tricks. This was also seen in Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Pacific, Scandinavia, Serbia, Spain, Thailand, Philippines, and Mexico.
he sixth UK series introduced secret missions where housemate would be able to win luxuries if they completed a secret task set by Big Brother.
In the seventh UK series, Big Brother became "twisted". Every week, housemates mental states were put to the test as Big Brother tried to break them. As a result of this many housemates broke down.
The eighth UK Series saw an all-female house however 3 days later 1 male housemate entered
The UK series always opens with a twist which have included First Night Nominations (BB4), Suit Case Nominations (BB5), Unlucky Housemate 13 (BB6), Big Brother Hood (BB7), an all-female House and the first inclusion of twins as contestants (BB8), Jackie Stallone entering a house containing her son's ex-wife (CBB3), entrance of a non-celebrity in a celebrity edition (CBB4) Jade Goody's family announced to be visiting. (CBB5) and most recently, a couple enter the Big Brother House, only to be set a secret task to hide their real relationship (BB9). Many countries have followed these opening night twists such as Australia and the United States.
The fifth UK edition introduced "Fake evictions" where one or two housemates are "evicted"; however, unbeknownst to the housemates, they have in fact not been evicted. The housemate/s usually are put into a secret house where numerous twists happen. In the eighth UK Series one housemate was evicted, interviewed, and then sent straight back into the house. The housemates in the house got to see everything live, though.
In France and Canada, the format has been developed using couples. Twelve single people stay in the same house until only the winning couple are left.
Big Brother USA currently uses a different set of rules that began with the second season (the first season used the traditional format). Nominations are done by one houseguest, the Head of Household (HoH) and the houseguests vote for which nominee to evict, not the viewers. The third season introduced the Power of Veto, where a houseguest can save a nominee causing the Head of Household to name a replacement nominee. It's been adapted in Brazil and Africa and since then some countries modified their nominations rules.
The eighth American season, introduced "America's Player", a houseguest that is given assignments, unknown to the other houseguests, through votes from the viewing public. Included in the public voting is which nominated houseguest America's Player should vote off and campaign to get evicted. This was also seen in the second Teen Edition of the Philippine version as the "House Player." 
The third Dutch edition introduced the notion of "The Battle", in which the house is separated into a luxurious half and a poor half, with two teams of housemates constantly fighting for time in the luxurious half. Separated houses have also been used in Australia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Scandinavia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Australia, Italy, Philippines and Mexico added punishment zones to their houses.
In 2004, the fifth German edition was the first version to run for 365 days consecutively. In this season, the contestants were separated into three teams (rich, regular, survivor) and equivalent living areas. The ultimate winner got a prize of 1,000,000 €.
Also in Germany a new version of the show started: Big Brother - Das Dorf (Big Brother - The Village). It was the sixth season and started the same day season 5 ended. This was the first version supposed to run for years (without a predetermined end). It was set in a small artificial village including a church tower, a marketplace, 3 houses, 3 working areas (farm, car garage, dressmaking and later a small hotel, where celebrities from the real world could move into), a matcharena, a pub and a fitness room. The season ended after 363 days in February 2006 because of low ratings. In season seven RTL II switched back to a traditional version.
The Voice Graph system in BB Argentina, BB Australia & BB Germany.
The fourth Greek season introduced a new element: the mother. In Big Mother nine housemates take part in the game with their mothers, with whom they must coexist during the contest. The "mamas" were not able to win the prize but they would stay with their children until their eviction. However, this proved to be a failure with the show's audience and the show switched back to the traditional Big Brother format in mid-season. This concept, in modified form, was used in the second Philippine teen edition, but in this case, the housemates' guardians were not necessarily mothers and stayed for a limited amount of time. These guardians also had their own prizes.
The eighth season of Big Brother Australia introduced 'snap evictions', in which Big Brother can call on the housemates at any time to provide him with an evictee. Also introduced in this series was the 'housemate hand-grenade', a form of revenge in which the evicted housemate can cause some form of punishment for a surviving housemate, such as having all of their clothes removed from the house, or even banning them from leaving the backyard.
The ninth American season, a result of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, added a romantic aspect to the game, by pairing the Housemates up and having them compete as couples chosen by their compatibility to each other.
Introduced in the fifth season of the American series, several countries have included twins, and in some cases triplets, in their shows. Series that have used Housemates who are twins or triplets are:
USA, 2004, Adria Montgomery-Klein and Natalie Montgomery-Carroll, 7th (Adria) and 8th (Natalie) Evicted, Used Name: "Adria".
Australia, 2005, David and Greg Matthew, 14th Evicted (David) and Winner (Greg, although the prize money was split), Used Name: "Logan" (Middle name of both Twins).
Bulgaria, 2006, Lyubov, Nadejda, and Vyara Stancheva, 7th (Nadejda) and 9th (Vyara) Evicted, Winner (Lyubov), Used Name: "Vyara".
UK, 2007, Amanda and Sam Marchant, 2nd Place (Both were treated separately until Day 68 when they became one), Used Name: "Samanda".
France, 2007, Marjorie, Cyrielle and Johanna Bluteau, Winners (They competed as a team).
Spain, 2007, Conchi and Pamela De Los Santos, 2nd Place, Used Name: "Rosa".
Poland, 2007, Aneta and Martyna Bielecka, 4th Evicted (They were discovered as twins), Used Name: "Martyna".
Special editions of Big Brother
Big Brother VIP / Celebrity Big Brother
The Big Brother format has been adapted in some countries in that the housemates are locally known celebrities. These shows are called Celebrity Big Brother or Big Brother VIP, depending on where the series is. In some countries, the prize money normally awarded to the winning housemate is donated to a charity, and all celebrities are paid to appear in the show as long as they do not voluntarily leave before their eviction or the end of the series. The rest of the format rules are almost the same as the ones from the original version, although in many occasions they are not so strict due to the exceptional character of the program. The series has been a prime-time hit in many countries and was aired for the first time in 2000, in the Netherlands.
A second variant appeared in the Netherlands in 2006: Hotel Big Brother. A group of celebrity hoteliers and a Big Boss run a hotel, collecting money for charity without nominations, evictions or winner.
A third variant appeared in the UK in early 2008: Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, replacing the 2008 edition of Celebrity Big Brother. Instead of the celebrities playing the role of housemates, the celebrities in fact become Big Brother himself. The celebrities create tasks, hold nominations, etc. with the help of Big Brother. The housemates of the show are considered by the producers "Britain's most exceptional and extraordinary" 18-21 year olds. The prize for the winner of the series was £50,000.[2]
Other editions
The Big Brother format has been extensively modified in some countries, most often to the point where the housemates are either teenagers or housemates from previous seasons. The winners of these seasons are often eligible to win the prize for themselves, unlike most of the celebrity edition versions.
Big Brother: Ty wybierasz (Big Brother: You Decide - Poland, season 1: 13 days; season 2: 7 days). A group of people -10 in season 1 and 6 in season 2- living together and competing for a pair of spots in the next regular season. It was made before the first two main Big Brother seasons. Without nominations or evictions.
Big Brother, Tilbake I Huset (Big Brother, Back In The House - Norway, 9 days). The BB1 Norway housemates living together again. They also welcome 4 new housemates, who are competing for a spot in the next regular season. Without nominations or evictions.
Big Brother Stjärnveckan (Big Brother, Week Of Stars - Sweden, 6 days); Big Brother, Reality All Star (Denmark, 32 days). Season with contestants from several reality shows, including Big Brother.
Big Brother Panto (United Kingdom, 11 days). Housemate from previous series spent time in the Big Brother House in order to perform a pantomime at the end of the series.
Teen Big Brother (United Kingdom, 10 days; Philippines, 42 days (Season 1), 77 days (Season 2)). Teenage housemates competing in a BB house.
Big Brother: All-Stars (Belgium, 21 days; United States, 72 days). Big Brother where all the housemates come from previous seasons of the contest.
Veliki Brat: Generalna Proba (Big Brother Try Out - Serbia, 7 days). Twelve Serbian contestants competing for a spot in the next Big Brother Balkans season. Without nominations or evictions.
Big Brother: The Housemates Strike Back (Bulgaria). Big Brother brought together Housemates from all Big Brother and VIP Brother seasons in Bulgaria and gave them their last task - to destroy the House. The new Housemates will be living in a new one.
There are also "test runs" with a group of celebrities or journalists living together in the house during a few days, with the only goal being testing out the house. There are occasions where people who have auditioned for the show are also put in the house, most notably in the 9th British edition, where two contestants, Stuart and Sylvia, knew each other through such a pre-season. Series such as these are known to occur in Argentina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Mexico, Pacific, Philippines, Spain and many other countries. In some cases, it is not broadcast, but in others, such as the US edition, it is used as a promotional tool.