The hit Channel 4 reality game show will return to our screens on May ...For those of you that do not know about the Big Brother phenomenon I just have one thing to say to you...WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN????!!!!!
Love it or hate it, there will be no escape from the frenzy and hype that surrounds this show. The first series aired in 2000 and was an instant success, followed by the second series last year which was even bigger than the first! So for those of you who are not familiar with the Big Brother concept let me give you a crash course...
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Big Bro In a Nutshell
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10 contestants move into one house and are monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by hidden cameras all over the house. Cameras watch their every move and the general public can watch them over the internet and on television. The show has a duration of 9 weeks and the fate of the contestants is decided by viewers. Each week the other contestants vote for two people that they would like evicted from the house and the contestants with the most nominations for eviction face the public vote.
Each week a housemate is evicted from the house and the winner is the person who survives public eviction after living in the house for 9 weeks and walks away with a cheque for £70, 000 (not enough if you ask me!)!
Big Brother trademarks include the infamous Diary Room where contestants get to share their feelings with Big Brother and at times get to let off a bit of steam! It is also the room where they may be called in to get disciplined from Big Brother and where the sinister nominations for eviction get made. The weekly tasks are another intricate part of Big Brother where the contestants gamble on getting more money to spend on the food for the week if they complete the task successfully. If they fail, they just get less money to spend on food.
Big Brother has had two successful series’ which has made celebrities out of members of the general public and it looks set to continue its success with the new one!
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Things to look forward to in Big Brother 3:
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Big Brother is coming back with a load of new changes and looks set to be BIGGER and BETTER than ever!
Some of the changes we can look forward to:
* The number of housemates will rise from 10 to 12.
* Viewers will be able to register their eviction votes by SMS text messages as well as via telephone and interactive TV.
* The contestants’ weekly challenges will be shown live on Channel 4 on Saturday nights.
* Viewers will get the chance to see the contestants enter the house live on TV.
* A specially built new Big Brother house has been built at the Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire
* The new house will have an outdoor heated swimming pool in the gardens.
* The contestants will face a strict set of rules when nominating housemates for eviction. They need to give ’adequate’ reasons for nomination and failing to do so will result in a warning. If they get three warnings then they face eviction.
* There will be much tighter restrictions on personal belongings. Musical instruments, games and books can’t be taken into the house, but can potentially be earned by completing mini-tasks set by Big Brother. Only one magazine per person will be allowed, but the contestants will be able to take in up to six bottles or cans of beer or two bottles of wine.
Other news about the new BB from recent newspaper reports:
* Contestants in the new series of Big Brother will not be given any clues as to England’s fortunes in the World Cup. They will not even be informed if England make it to the final.
* Channel Four have announced that if Big Brother housemates end up having sex in the new series, they will show it on television.
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Big Brother Transmission Details
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* Big Brother will begin on Friday May 24 2002. The first instalment will be one hour long and will be transmitted at 9pm on Channel Four with a follow-up programme at 11.35pm
* E4 the Channel 4 digital spin-off channel will present live coverage, 20 hours a day, along with the fanzine show Big Brother’s Little Brother, which will be shown five times a week. On Sunday afternoons, Channel 4 will host a special edition of the fanzine show, with host Dermot O’Leary interviewing newly evicted housemates.
* The nightly 30-minute highlights shows will continue on Channel 4, with the Tuesday shows including the names of the two contestants who will be up for eviction at the end of the week.
* Friday nights will continue to be eviction nights.
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The Last Word
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Well, there you go! These are all the great things that you can look forward to seeing in the new Big Brother! As an avid fan of the first two series’ I will definitely be tuning in to the new one and with 12 contestants instead of 10, it will certainly make compulsive viewing! I am sure that the new lot will be just as popular and successful as the contestants from the first two series but I do feel for them as I personally think that the new rules have been made too tight.
May 24th 2002 Channel 4. Put that in your diary now!