'' is a popular Reality Television format, where, over 15 weeks or so, a number of contestants (typically 12) try to avoid periodic publicly-voted evictions from a communal house and hence win a cash prize. The show, a kind of 'real life soap', was invented by John De Mol of the Netherlands and developed by his production company, Endemol . It has been a prime-time hit in almost 70 different countries, earning Endemol large sums. 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.
Originally shown in the Netherlands in September 1999 , and subsequently cloned across the world, the "housemates" are confined inside a specially designed house where every single point in the house is within view of a video camera, and not permitted any contact with the outside world (although some versions, like the ones from Philippines , Thailand , Mexico , Germany or Spain have introduced in some seasons precise changes, allowing the contact with the outside in certain situations): no TV, radio, telephone, Internet or other media are available to the housemates, not even writing materials. Private chats with a psychologist are a special exception. At weekly intervals, the public is invited to vote to evict one of the contestants. The last remaining is the winner.
Besides the same living together, which is the principal axis and major attraction of the contest, this one turns concerning 4 basic props: the stripped-bare back to basics environment in which they live, the evictions system, the weekly tasks set by ''Big Brother'', and the "diary room", in which the housemates individually convey their thoughts, feelings, frustrations and their eviction nominees.
Initially, the hostel in which they had to reside for the duration of the competition was very basic. Although essential amenities such as running water, furniture and a limited ration of food were provided, luxury items were forbidden. This added an element of survival into the show, thus increasing the potential for tensions within the house. Now almost every country has a modern house for the contest, with jacuzzi, sauna, VIP suite, etc. in contraposition to other zones, or characteristics, of the house, more common, even precarious.
To fill in time, the residents have various chores to maintain the house, and are set apparently random tasks by the producers of the show, who communicate with the housemates through one (unseen) individual issuing commands, termed "Big Brother". The tasks are designed to test their team-working abilities and community spirit. The housemates have a weekly allowance with which they can buy food and other essentials. To obtain a greater allowance, they may gamble some of their initial amount on the success of the completion of tasks. Of course, their allowance is lessened if they fail to complete the weekly task.
Each week, the housemates each privately nominate a number of people who they wish to see removed from the house more than the other residents. The ones with the most nominations are then named on the television show, and viewers can vote for whom they want to be evicted.
After the votes are tallied, the "evictee" leaves the house and is interviewed on-camera by the host of the show, usually in front of a live studio audience. The last remaining housemate is declared the winner and receives a substantial sum in prize money, the amount of which has varied widely around the world.
The series is notable for involving the Internet . Although the main show, typically broadcast daily with a weekly roundup, is by necessity heavily edited, viewers can also watch a continuous, 24-hour feed from multiple cameras on the web. These websites were highly successful, even after some national series started charging for access to the video stream. In some countries, the Internet broadcasting was supplemented by updates via email, WAP and SMS . The house is even shown live on satellite television (with a 10-15 minute delay to permit muting of unacceptable content in the UK).
Despite derision from many intellectuals and other critics, the show has been a commercial success around the world. Criticisms typically are based on the ironic aspects of George Orwell 's dystopic vision of Nineteen Eighty-Four being consciously aped by producers for public entertainment. 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.
While any pretences to be a cultural experiment are dubious, reports of the different results of the show around the world have been mildly interesting from a pop-anthropology standpoint; i.e., in Spain , the competitors designed an agreement to achieve they all were nominated automatically and annul then their power of decision inside the process of elimination in the contest. This only happened once, as afterwards, ''Big Brother'' modified its rules to prohibit this type of agreement. On the other hand, other versions have involved plotting in the vein of the most cruel soap opera. Some versions have been filled with sex-crazed housemates, whereas others decided to base the conflict within their programs around difficult or romantic personalities, as in Brazil , Mexico , Thailand , Philippines or Spain . With the passing of time, it has been demonstrated that the most successful versions were the ones that emulated a soap opera, whereas the versions where the principal attraction was sex have been eliminated, as in Hungary or Poland . The amount of sex shown on the televised versions varies from country to country depending on censorship rules, with some countries editing out all sex and nudity, and others allowing the show to border on the Pornographic .
One interesting development is that German scientists have discovered that former Big Brother contestants may be at risk from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder , a condition sometimes suffered by those who leave the armed forces. Indeed, in the second Polish edition, one of the housemates was taken to a psychiatric hospital, and the winner of the first season in Portugal tried to kill himself several times.
| '''Local Name''' | '''Channel''' | '''Official Website''' | '''Winners'''
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Africa | Big Brother | M-Net | Website |
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- Panregional version with housemates from Angola , Botswana , Ghana , Kenya , Malawi , Namibia , Nigeria , South Africa , Tanzania , Uganda , Zambia and Zimbabwe .
- Greg Mathew had to split his prize with his twin, David, because they entered the house as one person, called Logan and they agreed to share it if they won.
- Versions from Canada and France have two winners, a male and a female.
- In 2004 edition, this was the first version to run for 365 days consecutively. The ultimate winner got a prize of 1,000,000 €. Immediately after, Big Brother VI started. This was the first version which has no time limit. The show was called "Big Brother: Das Dorf", lit. "Big Brother: The Village". The set included a church, a market place, four houses, etc. The season ended in February 2006.
- Filmed in Amwaj Island in Bahrain . Discontinued after 10 days because of religious protests. {Link without Title}
- Made in Colombia , this is a panregional version with contestants from Chile , Ecuador and Peru . Its name came because all of the participating countries are in the border of the Pacific .
- Co-produced version with Norway and Sweden taking part.
- 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 from the other countries' versions of the show, as it has starting with its second season (the first season followed the traditional format) In the US version, viewers do not vote for eviction; all voting is done by houseguests. Also, the nominations are done by one houseguest, the HOH (Head of Household). The US version also introduced the Power of Veto, with a houseguest having power to save a housemate from the nominations. It's been adapted in Brazil and since then some countries modified their nominations rules.
- 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 Spain , Australia , Italy , Poland , Denmark , Slovakia , Greece , UK , Scandinavia , Sweden , Norway and Germany . Italy and Mexico added punishment zones to their houses.
- The Fifth UK Edition introduced the "Evil" touch, where the ''Big Brother'' voice became almost a villain. He was establishing punishments and was proposing hard tasks and secret tricks. This was also seen in Australia , Spain , Scandinavia , Bulgaria , Belgium and Mexico .
- The fifth German edition, running for a full year, separated the contestants into three teams (rich, regular, survivor) and equivalent living areas. The sixth version was running in a small artificial town denominated "Das Dorf".
- The fourth Greek season introduced a new element: the mother. In ''Big Mother'' nine houseguest take place in the game with their mothers, with whom they must coexist during the contest. The "mamas" would not be 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.
- There are four special panregional versions of ''Big Brother''. All these follow the normal ''Big Brother'' rules with the exception that contestants come from different countries in the region where it airs:
- --- ''', Botswana , Ghana , Kenya , Malawi , Namibia , Nigeria , South Africa , Tanzania , Uganda , Zambia and Zimbabwe .
- --- ''', Arabia , Bahrein , Egypt , Iraq , Jordan , Kuwait , Lebanon , Oman , Syria , Somalia and Tunisia .
- --- ''', Ecuador and Peru .
- --- ''' and Norway .
- Also in different countries, there is a '''. Seven B-celebrity hoteliers and a Big Boss run a hotel, collecting money for charity without nominations, evictions or winner.
- Other Special Versions :
- ---''Teen Big Brother'' ( United Kingdom , Philippines ). Teenage houseguests competing in a BB house for a few days.
- --- ''Big Brother, All Star'' ( Belgium , ''planned version for the'' United States ). Housemates from the different Big Brother seasons living together.
- --- ''Big Brother, Reality All Star'' ( Denmark ). Contestants from different reality shows living together at the BB house.
- --- ''Big Brother, Tilbake I Huset'' ( Norway ). Meaning Big Brother, Back In The House. The BB1 Norway housemates living together again. They also welcome 4 new housemates.
- --- Winners: 66 males and 43 females
- --- Country with most seasons: Spain, 7 finished seasons
- --- Country with most seasons in total: UK, 11 finished seasons (6 main, 4 ''Celebrity'' & 1 ''Teen'')
- --- Country with most days with ''Big Brother'' on air: Germany, 1,142 days
- --- First ''Big Brother'': Netherlands
- --- First contestant to be evicted: Martin Jonkman, BB1 Netherlands
- --- First contestant to voluntarily leave: Tara van den Bergh, BB1 Netherlands
- --- First replacement housemate: Mona Rooth-de Leeuw, BB1 Netherlands
- --- First ''Big Brother'' winner: Bart Spring in 't Veld, BB1 Netherlands
- --- First ''Big Brother'' in America: Big Brother USA
- --- Season with least contestants: 10, BB1 USA, BB1 Sweden and GF1 Italy
- --- First contestant to be expelled by Big Brother: Nicholas Bateman , BB1 UK
- --- First ''Big Brother'' 2: Netherlands
- --- First female winner: Daniela Kanton, BB1 Switzerland
- --- First bisexual winner: Bianca Hagenbeek, BB2 Netherlands
- --- First evicted housemate voted back into the house: Marion, BB2 Germany
- --- Most ''Big Brother''s to start in a year: 21
- --- First ''Big Brother'' 3: Germany
- --- First ''Big Brother'' in Oceania: BB1 Australia
- --- First replacement housemate to win ''Big Brother'': Marcelo Corazza, GH1 Argentina
- --- First ''Loft Story'' season: LS1 France
- --- First ''Big Brother'' to have more than one winner: Christophe Mercy & Loana Petrucciani, LS1 France
- --- First gay winner: Brian Dowling , BB2 UK
- --- First incorrect eviction: Klaudiusz instead of Alicja, BB1 Poland
- --- Oldest ''Big Brother'' winner: Janusz Dzięcioł, 47, BB1 Poland
- --- First ''Big Brother'' with Head Of House: BB2 USA
- --- First ''Big Brother'' in Africa: BB1 South Africa
- --- ''Big Brother'' winner with the highest percentage: 90.03%, Ferdinand Rabie, BB1 South Africa
- --- First ''Big Brother 100 Days Later'': Norway
- --- First ''Big Brother The Battle'': Netherlands
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- --- First housemates swap: GH3 Spain - BB1 Mexico
- --- First ''Big Brother'' to have BB nominating all housemates: BB2 Australia
- --- First ''Big Brother'' double eviction: Alex and Nathan, BB2 Australia
- --- First ''Big Brother'' with ''Power Of Veto'': BB3 USA
- --- First pregnant housemate: Michelle, BB2 South Africa
- --- First ''Big Brother'' 4: Netherlands
- --- First ''Big Brother'' host to spend 24 hours in the house: Martijn Krabbé, BB4 Netherlands
- --- Least eviction difference: 0.08%, Alison 38.52% vs. Alex 38.44%, Alison evicted, BB3 UK
- --- First ''Big Brother'' with a couple competing: Pasquale and Victoria, GF3 Italy
- --- Oldest ''Big Brother'' housemate: Mihalis Apostolides, 63 years old, BB3 Greece
- --- First international version: Big Brother Africa
- --- First black winner: Cherise Makubale, BB1 Africa
- --- First ''Big Brother'' with ex-couple housemates: Alison & Justin, Amanda & Scott, David & Michelle, Erika & Robert, Jee & Jun, BB4 USA
- --- First winner of Asian descent: Jun Song , BB4 USA
- --- First ''Big Brother Teen'': UK
- --- First ''Big Brother All Stars'': Belgium
- --- First ''Big Brother'' 5: Spain
- --- First contestant to become pregnant in the house: Sissal, BB3 Denmark
- --- First blood related housemates: Domenico and Ilaria, father and daughter, GF4 Italy
- --- First ''Big Brother'' in Asia: Big Brother Arabia
- --- First ''Big Brother'' with a praying room: Big Brother Arabia
- --- First ''Big Brother'' suspended: Big Brother Arabia
- --- First ''Big Brother Reality All Stars'': Denmark
- --- Only contestant to win 2 ''Big Brother''s: Jill Liv Nielsen, BB1 & BB Reality All Stars Denmark
- --- First "Evil" ''Big Brother'': BB5 UK
- --- First transsexual winner: Nadia Almada , BB5 UK
- --- First twins competing: Natalie and Adria, BB5 USA
- --- First ''Big Brother'' 6: Spain
- --- Longest ''Big Brother'': 365 days, BB5 Germany
- --- Seasons with most contestants: 59, BB5 Germany & BB6 Germany
- --- Longest time in ''Big Brother'' house: Sascha Sirtl and Franziska Lewandrowski, 365 days, BB5 Germany
- --- Shortest gap between 2 ''Big Brother'' seasons: 0 minutes, BB5 > BB6 Germany
- --- Highest eviction percentage: 95%, Aline, BB5 Brazil
- --- First ''Big Brother'' village: BB6 Germany
- --- Shortest ''Big Brother'': 60 days, BB3 Mexico
- --- First ''Big Brother'' where all the housemates have a secret playing partner: BB6 USA
- --- Youngest ''Big Brother'' winner: Anastacia Yagalova, 19 years old, BB1 Russia
- --- First ''Big Brother'' with twins winning: Greg and David Matthews, BB5 Australia
- --- First ''Big Brother'' house to have an altar: BB1 Philippines
- --- First ''Big Brother ~ Big Mother'' season: BB4 Greece
- --- First ''Big Brother'' 7: Spain
- --- Longest gap between 2 ''Big Brother'' seasons: 966 days, BB4 > BB5 Netherlands
- --- Lowest eviction percentage with positive voting: 1.06%, Martin, BB6 Germany
- --- First ''Big Brother'' birth: Tanja Slangenberg gave birth to Joscelyn Savanna, BB5 Netherlands
- --- Most housemates left on the final: 6, BB6 Germany
- --- First HIV-infected contestant: Kenny van Quickelberghe, BB5 Belgium
There are three specially important formats around the globe that attach to rules kind of similar with ''Big Brother'':
, created by the Swedish producer house Strix , creators of Survivor . It's the third biggest 'people-living-together' Reality Show on Earth, only defeated by '' Star Academy / Operación Triunfo '' (France/Spain, 2001, Endemol ) broadcasted in 50 countries and ''Big Brother'' (Holland, 1999, Endemol) emitted or planned to be emitted in 68.
- ''Countries: Algeria , Bahrein , Belgium , Chile , Colombia , Comoros Islands , Denmark , Djibouti , Egypt , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Hungary , Iran , Iraq , Ireland , Italy , Jordan , Kuwait , Latvia , Lebanon , Lithuania , Libya , Mauritania , Morocco , Netherlands , Norway , Oman , Palestine , Portugal , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , South Africa , Spain , Sudan , Sweden , Syria , Tunisia , Turkey , UAE , UK , Yemen .''
, another format from Strix .
- ''Countries: Argentina , Croatia , Denmark , Estonia , Finland , Georgia , Greece , Hungary , Latvia , Lithuania , Netherlands , Norway , Poland , Portugal , Slovenia , Sweden , Switzerland ''
, a format from the Spanish producer house GloboMedia, developed by its subsidiary in America, Promofilm. It's a mixture among ''Big Brother'' and '' Star Academy '' and has had a huge success in different latin countries, as Chile , Spain , Brazil (formerly known as ''Casa dos Artistas''), Venezuela , Colombia or Mexico . It also had its own version in USA for the latin market airing in Telemundo .
There are also some local formats that in one or other way are pretty similar with '' Endemol 's Big Brother'':
- Albania , ''Kafazi i Arte''
- Albania , ''Syri Magjik''
- Albania , ''To Sam Ja''
- Austria , '' Taxi Orange ''
- Bolivia , ''Uno Busca''
- Bosnia , ''60 Sati''
- Bosnia , ''To Sam Ja''
- Chile , ''La Casa''
- Croatia , ''To Sam Ja''
- Czech Republic ''VyVolení''
- France , ''Les Colocataires''
- France , ''Nice People''
- Germany , ''Der Container Exklusiv''
- Hungary , ''Való Világ''
- Indonesia , ''Penghuni Terakhir''
- Ireland , '' Cabin Fever ''
- Israel , ''Project Y''
- Israel , ''The Yacht''
- Korea , ''Twenty Eyes''
- Latvia , ''Fabrika''
- Latvia , '' Barbarossa ''
- Netherlands , ''De Bus''
- Netherlands , ''7 Plagen''
- Norway , ''Singel 24-7''
- Peru , ''La Casa De Gisela''
- Peru , ''Gran Hermano De Chollywood''
- Puerto Rico , ''360 Estudio''
- FYR Macedonia , ''Tom Sam Ja''
- Russia , ''12 Negrityat''
- Russia , '' Dom ''
- Russia , ''Golod''
- Russia , ''Za Steklom''
- Serbia And Montenegro , ''To Sam Ja''
- Slovakia '' VyVolení ''
- Slovenia , ''To Sam Ja''
- Spain , ''El Bus''
- Spain , ''Hotel Glam''
- Spain , ''La Casa De Tu Vida''
- Turkey , ''Biri Bizi Gözetliyor''
- UK , '' Back To Reality ''
- USA , '' Unan1mous ''
- Ukraine , '' Dom ''
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