العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolBIG BROTHER AUSTRALIA
'Big Brother Australia' is a reality television series produced by Endemol Southern Star, and shown on Australian television network Network Ten. A number of contestants from throughout Australia live in an isolated compound in Dreamworld, Queensland, known as the 'Big Brother House', 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 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'', a dystopia in which Big Brother is an all-seeing omnipotent leader.
Australian television presenter and author Gretel Killeen hosts ''Big Brother''; with Mike Goldman as the series voice-over, and ''UpLate'' and ''Friday Night Live'' host, along with former housemates Bree Amer and Ryan Fitzgerald. Previous seasons have aired on New Zealand television channels TV2 and Prime, but ''Big Brother 2006'' and ''Big Brother 2007'' only aired in Australia.
The series received Logie nominations in 2005, 2006 and 2007 for “Best Reality Television Series”.
Despite continuously dropping ratings throughout the 2007 series, executive producer Kris Noble had already announced plans for a 2008 series.[1]
Big Brother Australia summary
Big Brother Australia is based on the international Big Brother series produced by Endemol in the Netherlands. The show's name comes from George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopia in which 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.
About the series
★ ''Big Brother 2001''
★ ''Big Brother 2002''
★ ''Celebrity Big Brother''
★ ''Big Brother 2003''
★ ''Big Brother 2004''
★ ''Big Brother 2005''
★ ''Big Brother 2006''
★ ''Big Brother 2007''
A 2008 season has been planned.
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.[2] 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.
Various things Housemates can be fined for include:
★ Speaking without a microphone
★ Speaking in a language other than English (or in code)
★ Discussing the pre-production process, including auditions
★ Speaking about Nominations, including who a housemate had nominated after the nominations have been revealed or after eviction
★ Speaking about previous series; previous housemates; or Big Brother series of other countries, past or present
★ Not following Big Brother's instructions
★ Writing
★ Singing commercial songs
★ Attempting to contact the outside world
★ Disrespecting Big Brother
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 in Coomera - a suburb of the Gold Coast. The interior of the house is rebuilt between TV seasons (January to April). Filming runs from April to August. The House is open for inspection August through to December each year. When not in use for filming, Dreamworld visitors can take self-guided tours through the House and the camera runs, and have a photo taken in the famous Diary Room chair. While the exterior of the House is nothing more than a white tin shed, the interior is a fully functional house that is home to over 20 contestants on the show for 14 weeks each year. The interior walls are lined with two-way mirrors allowing dozens of cameras to capture every angle of the house.
Only slight modifications were made to the house for the second season and the special Celebrity Big Brother Australia series that were conducted in 2002. Subsequent to those seasons the House has either been rebuilt or extensively re-modeled for each new series. In some seasons the house has 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.
Footage from the house is monitored and edited in Dreamworld Studios 24/7, an open-air auditorium where live audience orientated shows such as Evictions and Nominations are staged. During the series, Dreamworld visitors can tour the stage and watch the production team, Southern Star Endemol 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.
2007 links to the UK house
In Big Brother UK 2007 during the show's 8th series the house had mentioned Big Brother Australia a lot. The first mention had started on Day 38, after the eviction of Welsh nanny Laura, when British host Davina McCall introduced British actress Thaila Zucchi, who had to pretend to be an ejected Australian housemate "Pauline" who had been voted by Australian viewers to enter the Big Brother UK house. She entered the house for her 3 day stint on Day 40 and was found out on Day 42. That week was Fake Week and included some Australian tasks to make "Pauline" feel at home. She was not voted out by the public.
Four days before the Big Brother Australia finale, housemates were given the chance to have a phone conversation with their counterparts from the other side of the world. The call lasted for approximately 12 minutes, during which the Housemates introduced themselves to each other and compared some of the differences between their respective shows.
British housemate Brian also admitted to watching the first fortnight of the 2007 series just after it was announced that "Pauline" would enter. This however caused fear for the Big Brother production team so Thaila had to have last minute briefing about Australia and the Australian version of Big Brother.
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, 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.
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 first episode of the ''Big Brother'' series that introduces the new housemates and the Big Brother House for that year. In different seasons it has run under various titles such as '''Launch''' and '''In They Go''' and '''Game On!''' Hosted by Gretel Killeen.
Daily Show
The '''Daily Show''' is aired every weekday at 7:00pm (30 mins duration) and most Sundays at 6:30pm (60 minutes duration). On screen it simply carries the title ''Big Brother''. It reports on the previous day's happenings in the House. Sunday editions cover the preceding Friday and Saturday. 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 (Mon-Thu), 10:30pm (Fri) and 10:10pm (Sun). The program runs in between 60 and 120 minutes. The show 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 consise, 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. [3] Amer had not received the most eviction votes, and she took up the option of returning to the house the following night (Monday). 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. The housemate evicted the previous week sometimes 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:
# Two nights in the rewards room with a fellow housemate of their choice
# The power of assigning the housemate chores for the week (eg. Shopper/Chef, Janitor, Housekeeper, Environmental Watchdog, Laundry Attendant, Farmhand, Groundskeeper)
# 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 privlege 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 normally a big event conducted in front of an audience at Dreamworld and broadcast live on television, for as long as three hours. 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.[4][5] The last episode of ''Adults Only'' was aired on 19 June 2006.
The Insider
'''Big Brother The Insider''' was a half-hour Friday evening panel show hosted by Tim Ferguson during ''Big Brother 2003''. Panellists were various comedians and television journalists, and usually the housemate most recently evicted would also be on the panel.
Saturday
'''Big Brother Saturday''' was a one-hour long show aired on Saturday evenings during ''Big Brother 2001'', with Gretel Killeen presenting an overview of press discussions of the series that week, interviews with fans, and footage of what evicted housemates were up to. The show featured little actual footage originating from the Big Brother House itself. This show did not return after the first series, largely because Network Ten acquired the rights to televise Saturday night Australian Football League games after the first series of Big Brother ended, with these telecasts taking the show's timeslot.
Sponsorship
The show attracts major sponsorship from large Australian telecommunication companies hoping to gain promotion from the many telecommunications tie-ins during the series. Sponsorship deals have also included the naming rights to the bigbrother web site domain name. bigbrother.com.au redirects to the URL currently in use. URLs previously used are bigbrother.3mobile.com.au (2005-2007), bigbrother.ten.com.au (2004), bigbrother.optus.com.au (2003), bigbrother.iprimus.com.au (2002) and bigbrother.com.au (2001).
In 2004, Nicorette Patches, used to stop smoking, was a major sponsor for Big Brother. Sara-Marie Fedele, a previous housemate from Big Brother Australia was the major promoter of the product during advertisements.
''Big Brother'' also receives substantial grants from the Queensland tourism board.
Other major sponsorship comes in the form advertising space and product placement. Uses of product placement have included:
★ During ''Big Brother 2001'', a preview of ''The Secret Life of Us'' that was shown to the housemates late in the first series. ''The Secret Life of Us'', another Network Ten program, was preparing to make its premiere immediately after ''Big Brother 2001'' had ended. The housemates' seemingly ingenuine positive reaction to the new show was aired during a ''Daily Show''.
★ During ''Big Brother 2003'', housemates were given a task to count a large bowl of M&M's, a major sponsor for the series.
★ During ''Big Brother 2004'', the entire backyard of the house was filled with snow, to tie in with a special viewing of the film ''The Day After Tomorrow''.
★ During ''Big Brother 2005'', housemates were required to take Tango dancing lessons and were treated to a special viewing of the film ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith''. Other 20th Century Fox tie ins included a "favourite fantastic four" housemates competition, linked to the ''Fantastic Four'' film. In one episode, approximately ten minutes of the ''UpLate'' show focused solely on the use of a mobile phone which had been provided by one of the show's major sponsors. Almost all food products in the house came from a food company with commercial agreements with the show production company. Any food that did not have a sponsorship agreement had its label removed.
★ The use of 3 video phones was heavily emphasised during ''Big Brother 2006'', with housemates having short video calls with friends at their ''Eviction'' with Gretel; housemates sometimes being given the opportunity to see something that's happened on the outside world from inside the ''Diary Room''; and evicted housemates being given two video phones, as well as money and a holiday, as prizes for being in the Big Brother House. A winner of ''Friday Night Live'' and the person he invited to the ''Rewards Room'' were also provided with an EyeCam - a wireless mobile webcam that can be viewed from a 3 phone via a video call - so that two new replacement housemates that had entered the House near the end of the series could "have the ''Rewards Room'' experience" from the ''Diary Room''. After this, EyeCams were given as an additional prize to evicted housemates.
★ As part of ''Big Brother 2007'' the general public were given the chance to enter the house via the 'Golden Key Promotion' with Starburst confectionery.
Criticism
The television show has received a large amount of criticism as well, both in the media as well as in general conversation. It is sometimes referred to as "'Big Brothel'" with reference to the sexual content which the ''Uncut'' television program mainly consisted of .
The criticism has even been voiced within the Australian Government, with one politician referring to it as "''...toxic television...''" [6]. The publicity and public pressure generated by the media coverage of a specific incident within the Big Brother house during the 2005 series resulted in the eventual termination of the ''Uncut'' program, which was rebranded ''Big Brother: Adults Only'' for the 2006 season, but was cancelled early in the series.
Many other criticisms are aimed at the program including:
★ Home viewer competitions not being open to the residents of South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia due to timezone differences. However this has been rectified with a new competition in the 2005 series called ''Hammer Down'' which enables all residents of Australia to enter. In 2006, there was a new website which enabled South Australia, Northern Territory, and Western Australia viewers to participate with live streaming of ''UpLate'' over the web. The site was www.quiztv.com.au. In 2007 it became http://bbuplate.youplay.com/
★ On Sundays, the Big Brother Eviction Show continually runs over its allocated one hour timeslot, sometimes lasting until 9 o'clock, sparking complaint nationwide from angry viewers waiting for their next show to begin.
★ Telephone costs associated with housemate evictions.
★ The content of its ''Uncut'' shows, which during the 2005 series was said by some commentators to border on pornography, with graphic depictions of masturbation (the girls used a hose in the sauna to "get themselves off"), constant nudity, and mistaken allegations that one male housemate rubbed his penis in a female housemate's hair. These criticisms were even made by Federal Government Parliamentarians led by Trish Draper.
★
★ In two separate findings, the Australian Communications and Media Authority determined Network Ten breached clause 2.4 of the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice. These two breaches were in relation to the broadcast of Big Brother Uncut on 30 May, 13 June and 4 July 2005. The Broadcasting material was not classified according to the Television Classification Guidelines.[1]
★ The advertisement content of ''UpLate'', particularly during the 2005 series. The show featured increasing numbers of premium charge SMS and telephone competitions. On some nights less than half the show was footage from the house.
Complaints about Uncut / Adults Only
''Big Brother 2005''
The fifth (2005) series of ''Big Brother'' was heavily promoted with a "sexy" theme. This series emphasised young, good looking housemates who were willing to have relations in public. The actions of the housemates gave rise to complaints from politicians and conservative family groups.
The following instances of Uncut footage gained the most publicity during the 2005 series:
★ On Day 4 during a birthday party for housemate Michelle, many of the housemates had a game of "spin the bottle" in the spa while drunk. The game featured same-sex kisses.
★ Many of the male housemates casually told racist jokes until viewers complained and producers put a strict ban on racist language.
★ Housemates Michelle and Glenn spent a night in an isolated room and bathed together naked. Endemol Southern Star released a press statement suggesting the couple may have had sex. It was later revealed they did not.
★ Housemate Michael massaged housemate Gianna's shoulders while standing closely behind her and exposing his penis.
★ Some of the male housemates created a crude song about scat sexual fetishes.
Following complaints by the Australian Family Association, parliament member Trish Draper voiced her concerns over the show's influence on children.[7] The story was quickly scooped up by mainstream media and rival commercial networks Seven and Nine, who used the opportunity to launch attacks against their competition. Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts Helen Coonan quickly followed the complaints with a formal letter to Network Ten.
Shortly after show producers removed the "Uncut" section from the official Big Brother website, with a statement that the removal was to appeal to the show's broad audience. This part of the site is now only available to fee paying "Premium" members.
After the 2005 series concluded, further complaints prompted the Australian Communications and Media Authority to launch an investigation into ''Big Brother: Uncut''.[8] 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.[9] 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. The show was renamed ''Big Brother: Adults Only'' for the 2006 season.
''Big Brother 2006''
Though the 2006 series of ''Adults Only'' was toned down in comparison to the previous year, it still attracted some controversy. Following pressure from government backbenchers Network Ten ended the run of ''Adults Only'' several weeks early, announcing on 23 June 2006 that ''Big Brother: Adults Only'' had "completed its season run" [10]. Ten then made the ''Adults Only'' video packages that were going to be shown on televised broadcasts available on a new section of the 'Big Brother 2006' website, named Adults Only, and available only to ''Big Brother Premium'' members.
2006 alleged sexual assault controversy
:''See also: Big Brother Australia 2006 - Controversy''
On July 1, 2006 two housemates, Ashley (real name Michael Cox) and John (Michael Bric), were removed from the house for allegedly sexually assaulting a female housemate, Camilla Halliwell,[11] 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, 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.[12] 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.[13]
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.[14]
''Big Brother: Unseen/Uncut/Unreel''
'''Big Brother: Unseen/Uncut/Unreel''' is a DVD that was released on July 8 2003, during ''Big Brother 2003''. 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.[15] The DVD is broken down into three sections.
; Unseen:This section of the DVD has footage of Carlo Marino of ''Big Brother 2003''
; Uncut:The 'Uncut' section of the DVD 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:The 'Unreel' section has information on the first three seasons' housemates, including ''Big Brother 2003''
Notable former contestants
★ Blair McDonough, had an on-going acting role with daily serial ''Neighbours'' from 2001 to April 2006, now working in the United Kingdom.
★ Nathan Morris is now a radio host in Perth on Nova 93.7's breakfast show "Nathan and Nat".
★ Pete Timbs is a journalist for TV Week and co-hosts ''The Know'' on the Foxtel channel ''MAX''. He also appeared on the chat show The Catch-Up, as the gossip columnist.
★ Sara-Marie Fedele enjoyed significant celebrity status after the series, releasing a CD single, pyjamas, a book, endorsing Nicorette Patches, and was also a celebrity contestant in ''Celebrity Big Brother Australia'' in 2002 and ''Dancing with the Stars'' in 2005.
★ Brodie Young, Intruder in ''Big Brother 2002'', is a host of ''Quizmania''.
★ Wesley Dening, co-host of children's television show, ''Totally Wild''
★ Regina Bird, filmed a pilot for her own show for Network Ten which never made it to air. Was a frequent guest on ''Big Brother UpLate'', and a contestant on Nine Network's celebrity skating competition series ''Skating on Thin Ice'' in 2005.
★ Bree Amer, regular co-host of ''Big Brother Friday Night Live'' and ''Friday Night Games''.
★ Ryan Fitzgerald, regular co-host of ''Big Brother Friday Night Live'' and ''Friday Night Games''. He is also a radio host on the breakfast show on Nova 91.9 in Adelaide, and appears frequently on Network Ten's ''Before The Game'' and was a former AFL Footballer with the Sydney Swans and Adelaide Crows.
★ Tim Brunero now writes a weekly column on ''The Chaser''.
★ Simon Deering, also known as "Hotdogs", hosted ''The Uplate Game Show'' (2005-2006).
★ Greg and David Mathew, the Logan twins from ''Big Brother 2005'', filmed a trek to the North Pole and had selected segments aired on ''Big Brother UpLate'' in May 2006 - reportedly the first trek to that region by a set of twins.
★ Krystal Forscutt has a one year contract with Zoo Weekly to feature in a weekly column. Also in 2007, Forscutt was a contestant on ''It Takes Two''[16]. She is also set to appear in a new Need for Speed computer game[17].
★ Danielle Foote released a single, a cover of the song ''Underneath the Radar.
★ Rob Rigley was a regular co-host of ''The Uplate Game Show'' with Simon Deering
★ Camilla Severi is one of the three co-hosts of Labrat Camilla and Stav on Brisbane's B105.
Awards
★ ''Big Brother'' was voted ''Worst TV Show'' in the 2007 TV Fugly Awards.[18]
★ ''Big Brother'' also received a "Best Reality Television Series" nomination at the 2007 Logie Awards.
See also
★ List of Australian game shows
★ List of Australian television series
References
1. Big Brother to be back, despite ratings AAP
2. Jamie wins Big Brother ''The Sydney Morning Herald''. Published on July 31 2006, URL last accessed on October 8 2006.
3. "Bree to re-enter Big Brother", ''theage.com.au'', Published July 5 2004, URL accessed July 18 2007.
4. (June 23, 2006). Ten shuts Big Brother - Adults Only. The Courier Mail. URL accessed 4-7-06.
5. (July 3, 2006). Big Brother in bigger bother. The Age. URL accessed 4-7-06.
6. Anger at Big Bro sex
7. Nude Big Brother upsets Australia ''BBC News''. Published on June 21 2006, URL last accessed on October 8 2006.
8. 'We're sorry': BB ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' Published on June 22 2005, URL last accessed on October 8 2006.
9. Report: Investigations No. 1557, 1558, 1559 ''Australian Communications and Media Authority''. Published on October 5 2005, PDF last accessed on October 8 2006.
10. ''Big Brother Adult's Only finished is run at Courier Mail; accessed May 28, 2007.
11. (July 3, 2006), Big Brother in bigger bother. The Age. URL accessed 4-7-06.
12. (July 3, 2006). Police rule out BB probe. The Age. URL accessed 4-7-06.
13. (July 4, 2006). Big Brother should be axed, says PM. The Herald Sun. URL accessed 4-7-06.
14. Australian Associated Press (2006). Axe 'this stupid program': PM. Retrieved July 3, 2006.
15. The Office of Film & Literature Classification Published on June 2 2003, URL last accessed on September 3 2006.
16. http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,23663,21604022-10229,00.html
17. Big Brother's Krystal to appear in new Need for Speed PALGN Gaming Network
18. 2007 TV Fugly Awards results
Bibliography
★ Big Bother: Why Did That Reality TV Show Become Such a Phenomenon?, , Toni, Johnson-woods, University of Queensland Press, 2002, ISBN 0-7022-3315-3
External links
★ ''Big Brother Australia''
★
★ Behind Big Brother Australia
★ Google Directory - ''Big Brother Australia'' — a directory of Big Brother Australia fansites.
★ Big Brother's boozy boast - Daily Telegraph
★ Big Brother 2007 - Daily Telegraph Feature
★ Big Brother at the National Film and Sound Archive
★ Big Brother eviction interviews WHO.com
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
