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Archive through July 09, 2002 25   07/09 12:18pm

Honeybeebaby

Tuesday, July 09, 2002 - 11:53 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Houseguest's Interviews MP3 Audio Clips Go to:

http://www.angelfire.com/tv2/fel/bb3

check it out.

Yankee_In_Ca

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:13 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20020710/4259784s.htm

Third time's the harm for CBS' once-big 'Brother'
By Robert Bianco


Poor Big Brother. It's not even worth the energy it takes to hate it.

Not that the show doesn't cry out to be despised. While tonight's third season CBS premiere (8 ET/PT) was not made available for preview, I have no doubt Brother will be reliably loathsome: its human lab-rat format still appalling, its host Julie Chen still spectacularly incompetent.

But in the years since Brother's much ballyhooed premiere in the first wake of Survivor, the world of reality has become both wider and wilder. Complaining about Big Brother now seems almost quaint, as if you were reminding people who have moved on to other concerns that professional wrestling is still hideously vulgar, Maury Povich is still filling the afternoon air with freaks (his current favorite: giant babies) and Jenny Jones is still Jenny Jones. We prefer to concentrate on new atrocities.

And as atrocious as this Dutch import may be, Brother has failed to keep up. This is a show that locks 12 people in a trailer on a studio lot and makes them do such exciting stunts as obstacle races. For that, fans of humiliation TV are going to give up Fear Factor?

TV has moved on. Big Brother's intrusive spy-cams are inherently degrading, but they're nothing compared with Fear Factor, where the contestants have been asked to do everything short of selling an organ. And no doubt that's in store should the ratings slump.

When it comes to salaciousness, Brother is clearly praying for steamy sex -- the kind that made the European versions such hits and has been missing in inaction over here. Wishing for casual, televised sex may be bad, but it's not as bad as shows such as The Bachelor or Temptation Island, where the networks actively serve as procurers.

In terms of the entertainment value of spying on people in private, The Osbournes proved that no group of strangers can hope to match the fun dynamics of a dysfunctional family. And when it comes to social harm, Brother pales before Crime & Punishment -- the current nadir of reality TV. Cloaked in the respectability of Law & Order, this abomination is the TV equivalent of the Roman Circus, torturing the accused for popular entertainment while presenting a world where the state is always right.

If you're looking for an Orwellian nightmare, Crime is far closer to Big Brother than Big Brother.

Even so, Brother is in there pitching. Brought in after the show's dismal first year, in which the contestants thwarted their keepers by getting along, new producer Arnold Shapiro changed the rules to make the show more combative and manipulative. This year, it appears, the goal is to increase the sexual content by making the contestants better looking. No more hairy homosexuals like Bunky, it seems -- even though Bunky may be the only contestant anyone can name.

Yet so far, nothing has helped Brother achieve anything more than relative demographic success. (An average of 9.2 million viewers watched the first edition, and 9.1 million last year's show, though Brother II improved on its young-adult audience.)

The show shamefully kept word of the Sept. 11 attacks from its imprisoned contestants, and the nation yawned. Now former contestant Krista Stegall is suing the network because another housemate put a knife to her throat -- a stunt so well timed for publicity purposes, you might think CBS had filed the suit itself. But no one cares, perhaps because no one in America could pick Stegall out of a lineup.

It's hard to say exactly why Brother has failed to touch a nerve here, when it's so huge in Europe. (In England, it runs up to four times a day, and the daily squabbles of the contestants are slavishly followed by the press.) Perhaps we're simply touchier than Europeans about being monitored, or more accustomed to space and privacy.

Or perhaps we just find it harder to identify with the contestants. It's easy to see why someone might want to spend a few weeks on an island paradise for Survivor or stay in an Italian villa for The Mole or circle the globe for Amazing Race. But who in their right mind wants to be locked in a trailer in Studio City? That's not a game; it's house arrest.

Escape while you can.

Yankee_In_Ca

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
See The Article Here

No strike can halt trash on Big Brother 3
By Antonia Zerbisias


You just know you have to get a life when the very thought of another edition of Big Brother makes you quiver with excitement.

Funny thing is, I'm not alone. Saturday night at a party attended by people you would think are mature, educated and intelligent — and I rashly include myself among them — quite a few confessed to looking forward to tonight's debut of Big Brother 3 on CBS and CH at 9.

That could be a problem for VCR-challenged reality TV fiends since that's the exact same time that Fox's surprise hit of the summer, American Idol, picks the 10th "wild card" pop star wannabe in a special hour-long episode. My money's on Adriel Herrara, only because the judging panel's British hitman Simon Cowell seemed shattered when he didn't make the initial cut.

If none of this makes any sense to you, then you, you lucky creature you, indeed have a life.

Me, I'm still reeling from Sunday's cringe-worthy season finale of Fox's Looking For Love: Bachelorettes In Alaska.

All those tulle-swathed Miss Havishams waiting for marriage proposals from their "Men On Ice" on "Promise Point" was a depressing reminder that the dumb broad didn't go out with the girdle and apron. Now she's clamouring for both a husband and her 15 minutes of fame — and is willing to endure all sorts of humiliation to get them.

Which brings us back to BB3.

Was there a dumber broad ever on TV than Krista Stegall, the bitchy barmaid who, on last summer's Big Brother, got caught drunk on the kitchen counter with psycho Justin Sebik, who held a knife to her throat in some kind of sick sex game she seemed to be enjoying? When he was subsequently kicked off the show, she then moved on to poor dumb Mike "Boogie," who actually proposed to her in the season finale. She accepted — but, surprise, surprise, it didn't last.

Now, it turns out, Krista's suing CBS, several production companies and their insurers, claiming that Justin should never have been allowed in the Big Brother house.

True enough: He was recently arrested for assault after his girlfriend was found walking down the street with a broken ankle and choke marks on her neck. And so, shades of Rick Rockwell, once again, the pre-screening process clearly failed.

But then, Krista is a woman who was happy to play hide-the-banana with an armed man while millions watched. Not exactly the girl you want to bring home to Mama.

What? It's not enough that she is now "a radio personality" in her home state of Louisiana and off her feet for good? Now she wants compensation?

Anyway, judging from CBS' web site, the current crop of 12 shut-ins promises to be equally entertaining.

They seem to be a hot-to-trot lot who, during the next 100 days, will likely rub up against each other while rubbing each other the wrong way. Only two of them are married. Only one of them is over 40 — a California teacher. The rest, whose average age is 30, will likely make sexy fodder for the 38 cameras and 62 microphones that will monitor them 24/7 for TV and the web.

"We're busy creating new ways to make the show as exciting as possible," says producer Arnold Shapiro, rather redundantly. "The new house guests may think they know how to play the game but they are going to be in for some unexpected twists and turns once they are in the house."

Hard to imagine what those twists and turns could be. There are only so many ways you can play this claustrophobic version of Survivor in which the top prize is a half-off $500,000.

As for strategy, check out these samples from the contestant bios: "I'm not the smartest cookie in the house, but I'm the tastiest" and "I will be fake as my implants."

Great.

All the trash on the tube could make you forget about the sleaze and slime piling up on the streets.

Yankee_In_Ca

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:14 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
WHOA -- why did the page just go big and wide like that? Did I do something wrong???

Yankee_In_Ca

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:15 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/story/3509292p-4535458c.html

Oh 'Brother': Third season for CBS yawner
By Rick Kushman -- Bee TV Columnist - (Published July 9, 2002)
Against long odds and every rule of entertainment, CBS' "Big Brother" returns Wednesday night for a third season of putting viewers to sleep.


That's the show, remember, that locks 12 people in a house full of microphones and cameras, and lets us watch them bicker, drink and brush their teeth. Not that dental hygiene isn't important.


In its first season, the show gathered many of America's most humdrum citizens. Last year, it brought together 12 of our nastiest. There was even a knife incident. And still: Very, very dull.


For what it's worth, producers promise surprises this time and say the players went through a bunch of tests, including an IQ exam -- they score too high, they're off the show? -- but the prediction here is continued monotony.


So why is it back, other than to provide people like me with punch lines? Money, baby. Welcome to summer TV in the 21st century -- for the moment, anyway -- when networks need new shows and cheap programming at the same time, and the answer seems to be to mine the endless lines of people who will do anything to get on TV.


That brings up the secondary question (besides how would I know a good punch line): How can such a dreary show make money?


Demographics, baby. And, yes, that's probably enough of that "baby" thing.


To make some sense of this, let's go back a couple of years.


In the old days -- say, the early 1990s -- networks aired reruns all summer, or burned off episodes of canceled shows, or maybe tried out a series they didn't really think would click.


The reason was that viewership drops in the summersas people go out in the evening and try to have lives of their own for a few months. It wasn't feasible for the networks to run glossy original shows for the smaller audiences, because the lower advertising rates wouldn't cover their costs.


But then -- cue the ominous music -- cable appeared. Actually, cable had been appearing for years, but it was starting to connect, and cable channels began airing their own original series in the summer, when they faced weak network competition. Comedy Central's "South Park," for example, premiered in August 1997.


By the late '90s, networks saw their audience share drop big-time during the summer, and that hurt them in two ways. First, people simply discovered cable shows they liked and stayed away from the nets. And, second, the NBCs and ABCs lost the chance to promote their fall shows during the summer, which hurt ratings when the new season started.


Then, in August 1999, ABC found an answer. "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire" cost little and scored absolutely huge ratings -- we won't dwell on how ABC overplayed "Millionaire" down to threads in the following fall seasons -- and that gave the other nets an idea: game shows.


It was, actually, a bad idea. No pure game show did remotely as well as "Millionaire," but in summer 2000, CBS found another momentary phenomenon -- "Survivor" -- and the rush toward ersatz reality was on.


As other networks tried, and mostly failed, to duplicate the successes of "Survivor" and "Millionaire," they hit on other formulas mixing the competition of games and the snippiness of reality (see: NBC's "Fear Factor") and, sometimes, boredom (see: "Big Brother").


All are relatively inexpensive -- NBC's "Dog Eat Dog" gives away only $25,000 as its weekly first prize, a sum "Millionaire" nearly guaranteed to every contestant -- and many are successful enough to justify the limited costs.


Successful, for the networks, means a decent increase in viewership over reruns, and a younger audience because advertisers love young audiences, particularly in the summer when they're pushing things like summer movies.


So far this summer, the list of successes includes Fox's "American Idol," which is getting Top 15 ratings and, like "Survivor" and "Millionaire," may end up a regular-season show; and NBC's trio of "Dog Eat Dog," "Spy TV" and "Crime & Punishment." That last one, from "Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf, is this summer's latest twist: real court cases packaged for TV thrills.


But, as always on TV, promotion and execution are everything. ABC's similar real court series, "State v.," is drawing only so-so ratings in part because it has none of "Law & Order's" cachet, and ABC's more documentary-like summer reality shows, "The Hamptons," "Boston 24/7" and "Houston Medical," have been somewhat disappointing.


More waves of reality/dating/game shows will hit TV throughout the summer, as all the networks, and particularly NBC and Fox, continue trying everything to see what sticks.


For instance, on Friday, Fox brings out "Invasion of the Hidden Cameras" (at 8 p.m. on Channel 40), a "Candid Camera"-style show. Then, on July 17, it premieres "Meet the Marks," a "Candid Camera"-style show. It also has "30 Seconds to Fame" on July 17, a "Gong Show"-style show, and later in the summer "Celebrity Bootcamp," a "Bootcamp"-style show but with, you know, celebrities.


NBC, for its part, probably spends more energy than anyone looking for something different. Among its coming series is "The Rerun Show" (July 23), a sketch comedy series, sort of, that will re-create scenes from classic TV sitcoms; and "She Spies" (July 20), featuring Natasha Henstridge as one of three sexy crooks forced to work as undercover agents for the cops.


What makes "She Spies" unusual is that it's really a syndicated show -- a less-expensive action hour designed to run early evenings or late at night like "Baywatch" or "Xena: Warrior Princess" -- that is getting a boost with four prime-time airings on NBC before getting shipped off to weaker slots.


But of all the improbable shows somehow making TV lineups, "Big Brother" has to be the lamest. "Big Brother" is immensely popular is Europe, where they have fewer channels, but it has maintained a consistent level of tedium in both its American showings.


Last season, a lunkhead named Justin Sebik held a kitchen knife to the neck of a woman and asked if she would get mad if he killed her. While they were kissing. Nice show.


The woman, Krista Stegall, later told CBS news reader Julie Chen -- who, by the way, seems bent on destroying her career by (a) appearing as the interviewer on "Big Brother" and (b) being awful at it -- that she had no memory of the incident because she and Sebik were just joking around.


But this June, Stegall sued CBS and the producers, seeking unspecified damages. She charged that Sebik shouldn't have been on the show in the first place and that CBS didn't give her sufficient psychological counseling (insert your joke here).


So this time around, everyone got a better background check and a battery of interviews and tests -- including that pesky IQ exam, producer Arnold Shapiro said in a recent conference call.


He also promised that his pack of contestants are "like hungry dogs just waiting to be released from their cages" because they want to win so badly.


Whatever. Good luck to them all. They and CBS will need luck if they hope to keep more than a handful of viewers -- though demographically desirable, somewhat lucrative viewers -- awake.

Therlin

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:29 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Yankee - the long URL you typed messed up the formatting of the page. It'd be great if you could edit it and cut it up, or use the board's code to create a hyperlink.

Yankee_In_Ca

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:32 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks, Therlin. Not sure how I edit a message I already posted? I'll figure it out. Thanks again.

Therlin

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:34 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
looks like you got it :) Thanks!

By the way, thanks for the articles. I really enjoyed reading your daily news posts last year.

Moderator

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:40 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Therlin is correct, URL's don't auto-wrap to the next line, so they make the screen wide. Yankee, I've fixed the problem link.

When you post a URL, the website automatically converts it to a hyperlink, in the following format:

\topurl{http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/story/3509292p-4535458c.html, http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/story/3509292p-4535458c.html}

Note that the URL is listed exactly the same 2 times. If you change the second listing (everything after the comma), you can avoid the long URL problem. See this:

\topurl{http://www.sacbee.com/content/lifestyle/story/3509292p-4535458c.html,Click here}

In the top example, the link would appear as the actual URL. In the second example, the link appears as only the words "Click Here"

As for editting your own post, you have exactly ten minutes after you posted it. At the end of the date/time line, you see four little icons. The first icon is the edit icon, and will allow you to go back into your post, and fix typos, URL's, etc.

(K)

Yankee_In_Ca

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:47 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Don't want to clutter this up more than I already have (sorry!), but thanks for your help Therlin and Moderator! Lesson learned ... I hope!!

It's part of my daily life to scan the headlines, so I'll probably be posting articles here from time to time, just like the past two years.

Yankee_In_Ca

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 02:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Click here for article

Wednesday, July 10, 2002

'Big Brother 2' contestant speaks out
By JOHN POWELL -- Jam! Showbiz
So close, yet so far. "Big Brother 2" contestant Kent Blackwelder made it farther than he ever thought a 46-year-old, straight-shooting family man from Tennessee could in the cut-throat reality show. The oldest competitor in last year's series, Blackwelder held his own until mid-point in the game when he was unceremoniously given the boot for doing what he had always done in the "Big Brother" house...speak his mind. Kent tried to tell the other HouseGuests that they were being manipulated by one of their own -- namely Hardy-Ames Hill, the charismatic bouncer and model. For his troubles, Kent was given his walking papers by the others, a move many of them later regretted.

"I should've been Tina Wesson from 'Survivor'. I should've just been nice to everybody, been the 'old nice Daddy.' I should've befriended everyone. I should've played everybody against each other and done all those different things but that's not in my personality," Blackwelder told Jam! Showbiz from his home in Powell, Tennessee.

For the married father of two, being on "Big Brother" with HouseGuests who lounge in the hot tub naked, guzzle NyQuil when all of the rationed alcohol has been consumed and lick whip cream off each other's bodies was an odd experience to say the very least. Frequently dubbing them "freaks", Blackwelder was a stranger in a strange land. He knew to win the game he must lie and deceive the others yet he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Think about it. It's a game in which you're supposed to go into and lie. The game is set-up to make people lie, scheme and deceive. I wasn't smart enough to do that. I was the tell-it-like-it-is kinda guy. If I see a turd lying on the ground I am going to say that's not a flower, that's a turd," said Blackwelder.

So why did Blackwelder even apply to be on 'Big Brother' in the first place? It was all his young daughter's idea. Finding the application form on the Internet, she was the one who passed it along to him. When Blackwelder balked at the idea, his daughter said that he was just "too old" to compete any way and left the form on the living room table. Wanting to prove her wrong, Blackwelder filled out the form, sent it in and after weeks of interviews and meetings he beat out thousands of other applicants to be one of the twelve "Big Brother 2" HouseGuests.

"You do it thinking that this is something that my kids could be real proud of. That's a neat thing. Plus, in the back of your mind you are thinking...Man, I might screw up and win half a million dollars," Blackwelder joked.

Having been a radio news anchor, an investigative reporter, managing editor of news and executive producer at WXVT CBS Channel 8 and chief operating officer of a Home Shopping Network, Blackwelder went into "Big Brother" with an edge that the other HouseGuests didn't have. As an educated and highly-skilled media veteran, Blackwelder understood why the producers made some of the decisions they made. In his case, Blackwelder believes that the producers were hoping they'd snagged a robust conservative who would bring turmoil and tribulation to the house. That didn't happen.

"These people (the producers) are able to take the players on these shows and pigeon-hole them into any type of personality class they want to put on the show. They wanted me to be the old Southern redneck because they thought I hated gays and such. That's not the case at all," he said.

Returning home and watching the first two episodes after he was evicted by the other HouseGuests, Blackwelder was quite taken aback by what he saw. Blackwelder claims that he was depicted as an "old-fat-did-nothing-but-eat-sit-around-smoke-and-••••• slob" when in reality he exercised every morning, played basketball continuously and was the chess champion of the House. He found it odd that none of that footage ever made it to air.

"I watched those first two episodes and I look like Satan," he said. "The only times they show me I am digging oatmeal out of my ass, I am laying on the raft like a big stuck pig or something. They made me look terrible. I am sitting there sucking cigarettes all day on the show. They just made me look bad."

The footage of Blackwelder that did see the light of day on the first episode though was when he told his fellow HouseGuest Bunky that he thought the act of homosexuality was "sick, deviant and perverse". At the time, Bunky hadn't informed any of the other HouseGuests that he was in fact a gay man. Though Bunky and Blackwelder became close friends in the House later on and remain so to this very day, that comment alone tainted Blackwelder in the eyes of many fans. Blackwelder still feels that his statement was taken out of context and portrayed in an unfair manner.

"The comment that I made was that the act of homosexuality is sick, deviant and perverse. Which I think it is. I think it is disgusting but I will fight for and respect the right of anyone to live their life in any way they feel they have to as long as that doesn't infringe upon the rights of others," said Blackwelder. "I don't know why people hate gays. I don't even understand that especially say in the case of Bunky. He lives his life in a monogamous manner. He's been married to his mate for thirteen years. He has a home. He enjoys his life. He doesn't hurt anybody. What should it matter what he does in the bedroom? If in the bedroom I want to dress up like Captain Bligh with a parrot on my shoulder why is it anyone's business?".

During their time in the House, Bunky and Blackwelder developed such a solid bond that Bunky related some very personal stories to him. During one such late night conversation, Bunky told Blackwelder about how he and his partner are being persecuted in their own neighbourhood solely because of their sexual orientation. Blackwelder was appalled at Bunky's claims. The thought of such a thing happening to his good friend still angers Blackwelder.

"Bunky and his mate Greg live very quietly and to have somebody put a pumpkin on their driveway with the word '•••' carved into it? There is no call for that and I would be more than happy to stand next to Bunky and fight somebody over s--t like that because there is no place in this world for that," said Blackwelder.

Like any other reality show, "Big Brother" has its fair share of critics. People who say the situations are scripted or that the producers manipulate the game and the players for better television and therefore better ratings. According to Blackwelder, those people are half right. Though the "Big Brother" producers never manipulated the game itself, in Blackwelder's opinion the producers of "Big Brother" did cater to certain HouseGuests because their look or personality made for good television. Hardy got his "power bars" whenever he wanted them and Krista got her special skin lotion while the requests of others were denied time and time again, Blackwelder says.

"I think there wasn't any out and out manipulation. What I would call it is not trying to manipulate the outcome as much as the quality of the raciness and all that. They (the producers) would give certain privileges to certain people because they were the young and sexy ones who were controversial and were better television than some of the older folks," explained Blackwelder attributing some of the favouritism to the fact that the producers were stunned that some of the HouseGuests were so demanding and needy. They had been expecting that the group they chose would be more mature and understand the rules and limits surrounding their participation in the game. They apparently had guessed wrong.

Since they are on the same network, there are the inevitable comparisons of the summer-long "Big Brother" to its more successful counterpart "Survivor". CBS has even used "Survivor" stars to spike the ratings of "Big Brother" by either leading into the new "Survivor" series with the finale of "Big Brother" or as they did last year, have former Survivors visit with and compete against the "Big Brother" contestants. Why is it that fans see more of the "Survivor" players after their time on the show is over and done with while the "Big Brother" contestants fade off into obscurity? According to Blackwelder, that can be attributed to what each group has accomplished on their respective shows in the eyes of the viewing public.

"Honestly, I think it is that the people from 'Survivor' come out of that program with a little bit more respect from the general public because they've actually achieved something," said Blackwelder. "They've worked hard. They've eaten bugs. They've had to start fires from scratch. The people who are on 'Big Brother' are just laying around a house. I mean, what kind of achievement is that? Are they supposed to get kudos for that? It's kind of ludicrous if you think about it."

What does make "Big Brother" more difficult than "Survivor"? Blackwelder says it is that the "Big Brother" players are subjected to grinding boredom each and every day while the "Survivors" are...well...surviving in whichever hostile location they've been dumped in.

"What the hell do you get up for in the morning while your on 'Big Brother'? After you've been in the pool, Jacuzzi and have gotten something to eat what is there to do?," said Blackwelder of the experience.

Unlike most of his "Big Brother" castmates, Blackwelder hasn't faded into the background since the show went off the air last season. He keeps in contact with fans at his own Web site and has lended his notoriety to various causes. Blackwelder and his daughter Alex volunteer at their local Adopt A Pet Humane Society Center by helping take care of the animals there while using his Web site to raise money for the organization. He participated in the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation Chance of a Lifetime Gala earlier this year as well as many other local and nation-wide charity projects.

The closest to Blackwelder's heart though is the Freedom Engine Drive which to date has raised more than $900,000 to purchase a fire engine that will replace one of the many New York City lost in the terrorist attacks of September 11th.

As far as Blackwelder's personal life after "Big Brother" goes, he remains a non-smoker, there is a movie project in the works, he traded in the SUV he won on the show for a more dependable mini-van and he still pursuing several media outlets about the possibility of hosting an issue-oriented radio talk show.

Looking back, would he do it all again? Not if he didn't win the SUV.

"If I wouldn't have gotten the car and I would've just gotten the $750 a week stipend, I would've wanted to do it. I don't think I would do it again," said Blackwelder.

Much to his surprise, Blackwelder will be watching the new series and writing a column about it for another Internet site. His advice to the "Big Brother 3" HouseGuests is to stay "under the radar" and not to let their egos run amok.

"These people that are on these shows -- me included -- we are not talented folks, actors, actresses, things like that. We are just a bunch of shmoes from real life," said Blackwelder.

In the "Big Brother" show, contestants must remain in a house on the CBS Studio in California for three months without contact with the outside world.

The "Big Brother" house is outfitted with 38 cameras and 62 microphones, which record the lives of the 12 contestants 24 hours a day. The goings-on are broadcast on TV as well as over the Internet.

Each week the contestants vote one of their own out until just two are left. The final surviving House Guests are then subjected to a final vote. During that vote,the banished House Guests return to pick the winner.

This year's edition of the CBS reality show debuts tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. An episode will then be broadcast each Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday for the next three months.

Tracic67

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 03:10 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I am looking for the article on the BB2 HG's. I saw it posted and now i can't find it again. Please help... :)

Danzdol

Wednesday, July 10, 2002 - 03:32 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Arnold Shapiro was on 94.9 Zeta this morning in Miami Florida. He was of course plugging the show. He said that although most of the contestants are BB fans and are very familiar with what has happened on other shows that they will be thrown a curve ball once they get into the house. He said it is designed to kill all of their "cockiness". He also said that they are all very "cutthorat" and that this is the best looking cast he has ever had.

When asked about WILL and Shannon's update he said that there would be an update to start the program off that would not only include the BB2 but the BB1 cast as well.He said that ehy "claimed" to still have a relationship. That Shannon was modeling here in Miami and that Will was trying to sell a screenplay in Hollywood and lives in CA.

He said they took care of a way so that the "fools" who would spend 600.00 on a banner would not be able to get it to go through. When pressed by the DJ to reveal how they would block them he refused to say.

That's all I remember !

Yankee_In_Ca

Friday, July 12, 2002 - 01:30 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
MODERATOR -- Could this be moved to OUTSIDE THE HOUSE area?

Thanks,
Yankee

Yankee_In_Ca

Friday, July 12, 2002 - 04:53 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Click here for story

'Big Brother' edges 'American Idol'

Reality show matchup is close in the ratings

July 12, 2002 Posted: 3:40 PM EDT (1940 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Summertime couch potatoes apparently find 12 strangers cohabiting in a house packed with cameras just slightly more appealing than a serialized contest to crown the nation's next pop star.

In the biggest ratings matchup yet between marquee "reality" shows this summer, the CBS premiere of "Big Brother 3" went up against "American Idol" on Fox and came out on top -- but not by much, according to figures Thursday from Nielsen Media Research.

The latest group of CBS "house guests" were No. 1 in household ratings and total audience in their 9 p.m. Wednesday debut opposite Fox's teen idol wannabes.

But the margin of victory was fairly slim by both measures -- 6.0 to 5.3 in the ratings, and 9.2 million vs. 9 million in average number of viewers.

In the key demographic of adult viewers under 50, the group most prized by advertisers, CBS and Fox were tied with a 4.1 rating. Furthermore, "American Idol" bested "Big Brother" in two other young demographics -- teen viewers and adults 18-34 -- that make up Fox network's target audience for its show.

"That's who 'American Idol' is going for," Fox spokesman Scott Grogin said.

The shows will not normally air head-to-head. This week's direct match-up came because Fox's normal hourlong installment of "Idol" on Tuesday was preempted by baseball.

"We were virtually tied in total viewers, and we weren't even supposed to be on Wednesday night," Grogin said.

Indeed, "American Idol" has proven to be Fox's biggest success this summer, with its Tuesday edition ranking No. 2 in prime time among adults under 50 since May, right behind "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on CBS.

Rival reality show, NBC's stunt-oriented "Dog Eat Dog," ranks No. 3 for the summer in the adults-under-50 crowd.

In the only other significant head-to-head matchup between "reality shows" this summer, ABC's "The Mole 2" routinely goes up against Fox's usual hourlong edition of "American Idol" on Tuesday nights, but has always lost.

The Fox network is a unit of Fox Entertainment Inc., which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Ltd. CBS is owned by Viacom Inc. NBC is a division of General Electric Co. And ABC and is part of The Walt Disney Co.

Yankee_In_Ca

Friday, July 12, 2002 - 09:02 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20020712/1016888.asp

Contestants on 'BB3' have taken the 'real' out of reality TV

By TOM SHALES
Washington Post
7/12/2002

"Big Brother" keeps bouncing back. The creepy-peepy show that makes voyeurs of viewers and requires its contestants to scale new heights of exhibitionism has returned for a third summer-season on CBS. It airs at 9 p.m. Wednesday and 8 p.m. Thursday and Saturday through September.
The odd or maybe ironic thing is that time and bad taste march on so quickly now that "Big Brother" seems less shocking and even less appalling than it did when CBS introduced it. Like most of the relatively new breed of unscripted shows using amateur performers, this one was imported from England, where it reportedly still airs and captivates the country.

Go figure.

It's back as part of TV's Reality Summer - one of several new or revived series that the networks air in place of reruns of dramatic or comedy shows. Those reruns, especially of drama shows, do very poorly. So we get the trumped-up drama of "Big Brother 3": A dozen contestants locked in a house for 10 weeks and under the constant surveillance of cameras.

It's a bit of shock to see "Big Brother" back. Last year's version seemed tired and tiresome. And then there was that nasty night when a male contestant got pie-eyed and "playfully" put a knife to a female contestant's throat. He got the boot and the show got another black eye.

So what will the producers do to rejuvenate it?

When in doubt in Television Land, add sex, which is apparently the recipe here. Previews of upcoming editions that aired at the conclusion of Wednesday's season premiere showed the contestants in various stages of undress, romping about and snuggling, with the announcer promising us "some hot-tub action" and other tantalizing teases.

Also, this year's contestants are said to be a more attractive group than last year's. Members of the group said so themselves on the season premiere; someone declared "we're cuter than last year's crowd" - that's a paraphrase - and all the housemates cheered. "Big Brother," you may recall, is a show that rewards obnoxiousness, selfishness, treachery, deceit and conceit - all values near and dear to network executives.

And this season more than ever, "BB" also rewards bodaciousness. The women are more bosomy, and the men have - well, bigger egos, which makes them more willing, apparently, to parade around in a state of "Survivor"-like skimpiness.

Making it all less fun that it aspires to be is the fact that the contestants aren't really amateurs any more, and barely even seem "real." They've clearly studied previous editions of the show and they know what kind of behavior will attract the camera and make the producers happy.

So when the contestants introduced themselves to the camera on the premiere, a woman named Lisa promised, "I'm going to go through the men and I'm going to eighty-six those women." And Eric the fireman vowed, "I will hook up with girls" if it will help him in the contest. In a tedious bit of opening-night competition, Eric and a comely contestant named Chiara decided to "straddle each other" while sitting in a fake nest attached to a fake tree. Ooh-la-la.

The object of the so-called game was to see which pair of contestants could stay up in the tree the longest and thus win some groceries and not have to live on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It was easily as exciting as an afternoon nap, but not as refreshing.

There's a sleepy familiarity about the group even though the contestants are all new. They're stereotypes of people in previous groups who were stereotypical already: the patriarchal geezer, the confident hunk, the obnoxious big-city jerk, the quiet and sensitive gay guy and, of course, the little tramp. Watch for 10 minutes and you'll have no trouble pinning the right label on the right sap.

Host Julie Chen told viewers to be sure to tune in on July 18 for "Big Brother's first live eviction!" Oh joy, a ritualistic humiliation, also a key ingredient in the show; one poor soul gets tossed out each week.

For all the added sex and skullduggery, "Big Brother 3" got off to a sodden, sluggish start. The moment that summed it all up: A shot of one of the female contestants sitting in a tree - and yawning.

Angelsluv

Wednesday, July 17, 2002 - 12:13 am EditMoveDeleteIP
http://www.realitynewsonline.com/article2000.html

Big Brother 3:
Once More into the Breach, Dear Friends!
by Brian Armbrust

They’re all locked up and under wraps. They’re safe from the
spying eyes of the Web cam and from Julie Chen’s inane
questions. But not for long. The 12 contestants of Big Brother 3
have begun their communal living experiment in their space-age
Ikea palace somewhere in the greater Los Angeles area and
tomorrow night they’ll be flung to the masses.

One by one they’ll be evicted in a complicated process involving
Head of Household competitions, nominations, and a weird
key-thingy. Along the way, they’ll endure the challenges of
being away from loved ones, living with total strangers, and
experiencing complete isolation from the outside world.

It’s a monumental task, especially considering that the players
know that their antics will appear three times a week on CBS.
Additionally, their every move will be broadcast to the Big
Brother faithful who pay Big Money to subscribe to RealMedia
feeds, providing fresh coverage of the contestants 24 hours a
day.

Let’s take a moment to recall some of last summer’s triumphs.
The cast of Big Brother 2 truly embodied grace under pressure.
Behold: one drunken contestant pretended to swing a carpet
sweeper at a giggly housemate shortly before holding a knife to
her throat (he was subsequently removed by the show’s
producers). Said giggly housemate later went on a Nyquil bender
after the house’s alcohol supply was cut off. An angry player
dealt with being nominated for eviction by using her opponent’s
electric toothbrush to clean the toilet. Another disgruntled
contestant, aware of his imminent eviction, shaved his butt
hair, gathered it in a baggie, and left it tacked to the wall.

But wait, there’s more. A gay man sobbed repeatedly in the
confessional booth, positive that he was on the brink of
imminent removal (he placed fifth). Another woman smoked
constantly and muttered, “It’s AWWWWWNNN!!” over and over
again. Nicole, who placed second, achieved a certain degree of
notoriety for her habit of passive-aggressive kitchen cleaning,
much like a latter-day Lady Macbeth. The show’s eventual
winner, Will Kirby, managed to overcome a graphically
demonstrated lack of bladder and bowel control and collect a
cool $500,000 at summer’s end.

They’re gonna be a tough act to follow.

But we’re dealing with a creative mastermind in producer Arnold
Shapiro. It’s a new year, and there’s at least one big change,
according to the official Web site. They’re not house guests any
more. No, they’re HouseGuests now. It’s all over the site.
HouseGuests. Much like Survivor, whose players went from
wearing team bandanas to wearing Buffs™, it appears that
Shapiro likewise branded his cast. Fine. They’re HouseGuests™,
dammit.

At the moment, though, they’re still enigmas. We only have brief
biographical sketches from the site. One must assume that
these are written to be deliberately titillating and provocative,
and in some cases designed to be misleading. There are the
regular reality show standbys: a bartender, two single moms, a
flamboyant gay man, a sleazy waiter, and seven others, all
carefully chosen to represent a different slice of society.

(For
more info, check out our contestant preview articles:

Part 1
http://www.realitynewsonline.com/article1995.html

and

Part 2.
http://www.realitynewsonline.com/article1997.html )

We’ve seen all this before. At this stage, the specifics don’t
really matter. They’re all just crammed together, like so many
cats in an eccentric old dowager’s house. The claws will come
out, the scratching will start. And there will be much mewing.

According to Shapiro, many of them were chosen for the
potential hookup factor. Unlike the European versions of Big
Brother, the past American casts have shown great restraint (in
terms of getting it AWWWWWNNN, anyway). Apart from a few
smooches here and there, and an occasional shared bed, there
really hasn’t been much booty. But this year may be different.

They are indeed a pretty bunch. There isn’t a clunker of a
headshot among them. Well, there is a pleasingly plump older
man (another reality show cliché), but he seems jovial and game
and may score points as the daddy of the hamster cage. (You
can see what last year’s contestant Kent Blackwelder thinks of
him in his article about Gerry.
http://www.realitynewsonline.com/article1992.html )

It remains to be seen whether or not this is another Demure
Dozen. But in the meantime, the fun awaits of meeting the new
Houseguests™ in tomorrow’s opening night installment and
watching them acclimate to each other and to their new home.

Remember, the play’s the thing, and all the world is a stage.
Well, a soundstage, that is. It’s gonna be a great summer at the
Shapiro Drama Festival. There will be tragedy. There may even
be comedy (definitely lowbrow). Whatever the case, we won’t
be able to avert our eyes for a minute.

Moderator

Wednesday, July 17, 2002 - 09:19 am EditMoveDeleteIP
<bump>

Plasmacat

Wednesday, July 17, 2002 - 05:58 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
This is worth a bump.
I looked, but the only articles I could find are already listed.

Bump. Bump. Still looking...

Gadzooks

Friday, July 19, 2002 - 01:20 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Cool article about the first eviction show last night......check it out:

http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?27062

Azriel

Friday, July 19, 2002 - 04:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
'Big Brother 3' Names First Evictee
Fri, Jul 19, 2002 00:03 AM PDT

by Heather Feher




LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Tonight, "Big Brother 3" held its first eviction in an hour so crammed with superfluous junk, it made Josh seem less annoying by comparison. There were clips from past shows, interviews with the nominees' family members, updates on "Big Brother 2" contestants, the actual eviction, and the HOH competition. Worst of all, there was Julie Chen.

Ms. Chen should seriously consider adding a clause in her contract that prohibits appearances on live television. To be fair, it's not for everyone. Live TV requires the ability to read a teleprompter, to ad lib during the inevitable technical difficulties, and to tell the difference between a soup ladle and a plunger.

Speaking of glitches, Gerry seems to believe that God gave him the power of veto in order to save Marcellas from eviction. According to him, the alliance of six, of which Gerry was once king, picked Marcellas because he was black and gay. "It's become good versus evil," he preaches.

Marcellas agrees, "It's like " Touched by an Angel" versus " Baywatch."" Meanwhile, the alliance replaces Gerry with Tonya. Maybe it's more like "Father Dowling" versus "Baywatch."

Danielle is skeptical about Gerry's motives. Perhaps she has seen the "benevolent white man" act before. In any case, Danielle is at least 40 IQ points ahead of the other houseguests, which is not tough considering the competition, but it may help out in the long run. She plans to sit out the bickering and let the alliance members pick each other off.

At this point, the houseguests gather in the living room to be interrogated by Julie Chen, who announces that she can't hear them in her earpiece. "I can't read lips, Danielle," she adds helpfully. Thank goodness the problem is fixed, so that Julie and the houseguests can exchange hellos and go to commercial.

The first three voters now enter the Diary Room to say something nice about both of the nominees before they dump one like a load of bad asphalt. Gerry goes first, telling the camera that Amy has won his heart, and that she is a "cute Southern belle" before he votes for her. Danielle promised Lori that she's "got her back" and actually keeps her word, voting for Amy. Tonya claims not to know Amy very well, but she bonded with Lori, so she votes for Lori.

It's time for another irritating break in momentum, so Julie Chen steps in to announce video interviews with the nominees' family. Lori's parents admit that she can come off as a "crybaby" but she is actually "funny, vivacious and happy."

Amy's mom and dad candidly admit that she comes off as a "complete snob" but is really "outgoing with a great sense of humor." They show off two of her beauty pageant trophies. While clips of Amy's drinking binge were shown to her squirming parents, mysteriously, her cheese obsession was not mentioned.

It's time for three more houseguests to vote. Eric describes Lori as sweet and Amy as totally oblivious. He votes for Lori. Chiara calls Lori "adorable and emotional" and votes for her. Jason realizes that Lori's presence is damaging to him because they won the tree competition and will keep making money as long as both are in the house. It seems for a moment that he may turn his back on their bond, but he does vote for Amy.

Amy and Lori are now tied at three votes each, with all alliance members voting for Lori.

Now it's time for the "Big Brother 2" updates. Let's see what the losers are up to:

Nicole has done charity work and is now working as a DeeJay on weekends at a local radio station. She has remained close to Hardy, and hopes he can meet a good gal. Nicole thinks Josh is the next "Big Brother 3" contestant who will get kicked out.

Hardy returned to Miami and is now modeling and acting. He's currently single and looking for someone special. As an added bonus, he's not afraid of looking desperate and pathetic on national television.

Autumn is pursuing a career as a singer and is hoping to land a record deal. Because of the "bag of chips" incident on "Big Brother 2", she developed an eating disorder, but has since recovered. She is rooting for Jason to win it all this year.

Kent quit smoking after running out of cigarettes in the "Big Brother 2" house, and still talks to Bunky. He's not surprised that Mike and Krista will not be getting married, and believes the proposal was an attempt to steal attention from Will and Nicole. He thinks that Tonya may win this year's game so long as no one pops her implants. Mmm-Kay.

Julie Chen threatens to bring more "Big Brother 2" contestants back next week, including Josh's role model, Will. Then she interviews Lisa about being HOH. Lisa admits that the only person she would not like to see win the HOH competition is Josh, because he would go on a power trip and bring negative energy to the house. (Then why didn't you nominate him, dimwit?)

Back in the diary room, Marcellas casts his vote for Lori, admitting that he feels grateful to her for taking the fall for him. As viewers may remember, Josh swore on the love of his girlfriend that he would not vote for Lori, even though the alliance has chosen her. Unbelievably, Josh actually keeps his word, perhaps realizing that for him, the love of a woman may be harder to win than $500,000.

Roddy is the last houseguest to vote. He formed a strong bond with Lori at the beginning of the show, but is now a member of the ever-shifting alliance, having replaced Amy. For some asinine reason, the producers felt that it would be more dramatic to see Julie Chen's floating head announce the verdict instead of playing Roddy's video.

He chose the alliance over friendship, and Lori is outta here. She actually manages not to cry as she hugs the others goodbye and leaves the house. No one from "Big Brother 3" thinks to direct her to the control room, so she stands confused in the yard for several beats.

When Julie Chen does her exit interview, Lori refuses to badmouth the other contestants. Would she have played the game differently? No. Was there anyone who disappointed her? No siree, Bob. Lori watches a goodbye tape from Jason, Gerry, Danielle and Marcellas wishing her the best, and she's gone until CBS needs to irritate "Big Brother 4" viewers.

The HOH competition is a memory game in which the contestants hold up props in answer to Julie Chen's questions. They are not asked to don swimsuits beforehand. After what seems like 30 questions, Marcellas wins HOH. This should be fun. (Please, for the love of all that is good and pure, let something be fun on this show.)

http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?27062

__Tera

Friday, July 19, 2002 - 06:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
http://www.canoe.ca/JamBigBrother3/jul19_bigbrother2-can.html

Friday, July 19, 2002


Big Brother" contestant's job safe...for now
By JOHN POWELL -- Jam! Showbiz


"Big Brother 3" HouseGuest Eric Ouellette will still have a career when he exits the CBS reality show though a disciplinary hearing awaits him.

Four misconduct charges have been leveled against the 27 year-old firefighter from Clinton, Connecticut, who swapped 22 shifts with his workmates so he could be on the reality show. The Day of New London newspaper reports today that the disciplinary hearing held yesterday afternoon was postponed as Ouellette could not be in attendance as he is sequestered in the "Big Brother" house until he is evicted by the other players or the show ends in September.

Fire Department officials accuse Ouellette of "willful misconduct involving several violations of the (department's) rules and regulations and the labor agreement" due to his extended absence. According to The Day, the charges included in the complaint are "insubordination for disregarding the chief's directive to limit his absence to no more than 30 days; willful use of position for personal gain; disrupting fire department daily activities; and failure to inform the chief of the firefighter's whereabouts and availability".

"Eric is in California as part of the show. It's impossible for him to know what's going on here. Because Eric is not here, the chief has elected not to hold the hearing. No disciplinary action will be taken against Eric while he's in California," Daniel P. Hunsberger Sr., vice president of the Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut told Day reporter Gladys Alcedo. The firefighters' union is facing off against management on the issue. They are solidly behind Ouellette's participation in "Big Brother 3" saying that he did nothing wrong and hasn't violated his contract in any way.

Poquonnock Bridge Fire Chief Todd M. Paige has said previously that he is worried what affect Ouellette's absence will have on his team.

"My main concern is the wear and tear on the employees. I want rested employees," Paige said.

In the "Big Brother" show, contestants must remain in a house on the CBS Studio in California for three months without contact with the outside world.

The "Big Brother" house is outfitted with 38 cameras and 62 microphones, which record the lives of the 12 contestants 24 hours a day. The goings-on are broadcast on TV as well as over Internet. By signing up with the RealOne SuperPass deal offered by RealNetworks viewers can watch the live streams. The first 14 days are free. Following the free trial period, the "Big Brother 3" feeds will cost $9.95 U.S. a month. In an all-inclusive deal, fans may view the entire three-month broadcast run of "Big Brother 3" but none of the other content offered by RealNetworks for a one-time fee of $24.95 U.S.

Each week the "Big Brother" contestants vote one of their own out until just two are left. The final surviving House Guests are then subjected to a final vote. During that vote, the banished House Guests return to pick the winner who takes home half a million dollars.

This show airs each Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday night on CBS for the next three months.

Yankee_In_Ca

Monday, July 22, 2002 - 07:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
http://tv.yahoo.com/news/ap/20020722/102738444000.html

'Big Brother' Contestant Arrested
Monday July 22 5:34 PM ET


NEW YORK (AP) CBS is sticking with a contestant on "Big Brother" even though she was arrested for drunken driving weeks before the reality show went on the air.

Chiara Berti was charged with three misdemeanors, including driving under the influence, when she was picked up by the California Highway Patrol on May 26. The 25-year-old contestant's arrest was reported Monday on The Smoking Gun, a Web site that specializes in digging up official records.

CBS knew about her arrest before the "Big Brother" game began, spokesman Chris Ender said. "On the bright side, she won't be doing any driving in the house," Ender said.

In the show, a group of strangers live together in a home rigged with cameras and contestants are voted off one by one until a winner emerges.

Last summer, a "Big Brother" contestant was thrown off for holding a knife to a woman's throat. It later turned out that he had been charged with assault three times, raising questions about CBS' background checks.

The network says it checks backgrounds and does psychological testing to determine whether contestants will endanger themselves and others during the game.

Berti, who lives in New York City, was in Los Angeles waiting to hear whether she would be selected for the show when she was arrested, Ender said.

Berti was to be arraigned in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday when she was in the "Big Brother" house but her lawyer persuaded a judge to delay the proceedings, the Smoking Gun said.

The Web site said Berti's arraignment was rescheduled for Sept. 3. If Berti is still in the game at that point, it would force CBS to either disqualify her or let her leave the house temporarily for the proceeding, Ender said.

In the first episode of its third season on July 10, "Big Brother" drew 9.2 million viewers, ranking No. 12 among prime-time shows for the week, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Yankee_In_Ca

Monday, July 22, 2002 - 07:27 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
http://www.canoe.ca/JamBigBrother3/jul22_bigbrother-can.html

Monday, July 22, 2002


"Big Brother" DUI scandal
By JOHN POWELL -- Jam! Showbiz
Another scandal has befallen "Big Brother". According to the Smoking Gun Web site (www.thesmokinggun.com), contestant Chiara Berti is currently facing drunk driving charges even though she is participating in the CBS reality show and cannot leave the "Big Brother" house.

The Smoking Gun site reports that Berti was arrested on May 26th and charged with "driving under the influence, driving with a blood alcohol content above California's .08 limit, and driving without a license." Berti spent five hours in custody and was released on $2500 bail pending her arraignment which took place last Friday morning. Berti and the other 11 "Big Brother 3" HouseGuests were officially announced on Friday, July 5th, by CBS.

Berti's attorney Sherman Ellison represented her at the hearing last week where Judge Alvin Nierenberg agreed to postpone the case -- due to Berti's unavailability -- until August 28th. Ellison lobbied the judge for a September 9th court date, which is around the time the "Big Brother" series will be concluded. Judge Nierenberg set Berti's arraignment for September 3. The arraignment was originally supposed to take place on June 20th but was put off to July 19th by Ellison's request.

Ellison told The Smoking Gun site that a lawyer representing the "Big Brother" show was concerned that the charges would "have interfered with her availability for the program." Ellison reportedly reassured the lawyer and producers of "Big Brother" that he would represent Berti in court and handle the matter.

While in the "Big Brother" house, Berti has commented to others about her situation on the live 24-hour Web feeds saying that CBS and her lawyer would be taking care of the charges while she was in the house.

The "Big Brother" reality show is no stranger to controversy. Last year, HouseGuest Justin Sebik was kicked off of the show for holding a knife to the throat of female contestant Krista Stegall during a night of reported heavy drinking in the "Big Brother 2" house, asking her if she would be upset if he killed her. Stegall is now suing CBS over the incident claiming that because of Sebik's alleged past arrests on assault charges, he should never have been selected to participate in the show.

The Smoking Gun dropped another bombshell last year publishing information on the conviction of contestant Mike "Boogie" Malin for infiltrating "a Hollywood studio and surreptitiously obtaining video and photographs of a top secret movie production". Malin was sentenced to three years probation, fined $100, and ordered to perform 400 hours of community service.

In the "Big Brother" show, contestants must remain in a house on the CBS Studio in California for three months without contact with the outside world.

The "Big Brother" house is outfitted with 38 cameras and 62 microphones, which record the lives of the 12 contestants 24 hours a day for three months. The goings-on are broadcast on TV as well as on the Internet.

Each week the contestants vote one of their own out until just two are left. The final surviving House Guests are then subjected to a final vote. During that vote, the banished House Guests return to pick the winner.

The show is broadcast on CBS each Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday night for the next three months.

Draheid

Saturday, August 17, 2002 - 07:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Eric's Hometown Newspaper article on his evicition

Groton firefighter doesn't get second shot on show

By Kristina Dorsey - More Articles
Published on 08/16/2002

“Big Brother” is no longer watching Eric Ouellette.

The Poquonnock Bridge firefighter who was evicted from the CBS reality television series last week had a chance of being voted back into the “Big Brother 3” house Thursday. But he lost out to fellow contestant Amy, with five of the remaining housemates going with Amy and only two with Eric.

Most notably, Ouellette's romantic interest, Lisa, voted to bring Amy rather than Eric back into the house. Neither Lisa nor anyone else explained why they cast their ballots the way they did.

Here's what led up to this. Just after Ouellette, 27, was booted from the “Brother” abode last Thursday, the show's wily producers announced a new wrinkle in the game: one of the four folks who had been voted out were going to get the chance for a gleeful return.

This week, the four were asked a couple of quirky questions to narrow the field. The first was how much of the $500,000 prize money that will go to the “Big Brother” winner they would agree to give up in order to get back into the house. Ouellette and two others promised to pony up half. When asked how badly he wanted back in to the “Big Brother” house, Ouellette said, “If you let me, I'd probably kick open that door and run in there right now.”

Then came the culinary query that pared the three contestants to two: how many of the 42 days remaining in the “Big Brother” game they would agree to eat only peanut butter and jelly. Ouellette said, “I love peanut butter and jelly. I always loved it as a little kid.” He and Amy were both ready to go on an all-PBJ diet for all 42 days.

Now, barring any other new twists dreamed up by the producers, Ouellette, who lives in Clinton and works as a firefighter in Groton, is out of “Big Brother” for good.

Instead, he'll be facing a disciplinary hearing at the fire department. Poquonnock Bridge Chief Todd Paige started the disciplinary process against Ouellette because he took an extended leave of absence to be on “Big Brother.”

In “Big Brother,” a group of people live isolated in a house, and they scheme and literally play games (one on Thursday involved seeing who could sit the longest in a squid-filled pool) to out-maneuver each other and ultimately win the $500,000 prize. It's like a housebound “Survivor.”

k.dorsey@theday.com

Espen

Monday, August 19, 2002 - 10:34 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hilarious review of the latest BB episode on the Enterainment Weekly site, by someone who hasn't watched.. He "pretends" that it is an elaborate parody of a real reality show, with various actors performing the roles..

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/commentary/0,6115,337910~3~0~joshlosesinbest,00.html

Max

Monday, August 19, 2002 - 10:46 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Note on the above link. The code here doesn't like links that have commas in them, so you'll just get taken to the EW home page. From there, to go the TV section and look for the article called "You're Joshing Us." It's worth hunting for. :)

My favorite part is the finish:

"The episode ended with a gross-out gag worthy of the Farrelly brothers: The contestants sat in a bathtub while Chiara-Kiki poured disgusting ''mystery buckets'' into the water (the first one contained 40 squid, causing Roddy to leap out like a little girl)." :)

Yankee_In_Ca

Monday, August 19, 2002 - 06:05 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
http://www.canoe.ca/JamBigBrother3/aug19_bb3-can.html

Monday, August 19, 2002


CBS denies aiding 'Big Brother' player
By JOHN POWELL -- Jam! Showbiz
The 'Big Brother 3' CBS reality television series has been rocked by another controversy. The latest surrounds the return of evicted HouseGuest Amy Crews, who won the right to come back to the game last week. The first four banished players, who were sequestered upon being voted out of the game, competed in a special competition last week to see who would return. What might've happened before Crews, a 23-year-old real estate appraiser from Memphis, re-entered the house and while she was sequestered has some of the other players and fans crying foul about how the game is run.

Since coming back to the 'Big Brother' house, Crews has mentioned to other HouseGuests on the live Internet feeds that the producers of the show "encouraged" her to win the Head Of Household competition this week but wouldn't say why. Crews did last Thursday night outlasting the other players in a icky hot tub challenge. By winning the Head Of Household, Crews guaranteed that she wouldn't be exiting the house this week as only the Head Of Household has the power to nominate players for eviction.

What Crews and the other sequestered HouseGuests did not know is that the remaining players formulated a strategy once they were told that one of the people they evicted would be returning. Calling the scheme 'Operation Revolving Door', the remaining players vowed to immediately nominate and vote out any previously evicted player who was permitted to re-enter the house and the game.

On the feeds Saturday night, Crews was summoned to the Diary Room by the producers. The Diary Room is the sound proof room in the 'Big Brother' house in which the players give confessionals and are able to ask questions of the producers. The Diary Room conversations are blocked on the 'Big Brother' Net feeds. Immediately upon leaving the Diary Room, Crews went to chat to fellow HouseGuest Danielle Reyes in the bathroom. Crews told Reyes that the producers complained to them about Crews knowing about 'Operation Revolving Door' before she came back. Crews claimed that she wasn't informed of the plan and that she was worried about being disqualified from the game.

When contacted by Jam! Showbiz, 'Big Brother 3' publicist Diane Ekeblad flatly denied Crews received inside information.

"Of course the producers didn't tell her anything about the game. The purpose of having the players sequestered is so they wouldn't know anything about it," Ekeblad told Jam! Showbiz.

Once news of the situation spread, fan message boards lit up across the Internet.

An "Anonymous" user wrote on Joker's Updates: "My point was proved today when Amy said the producers told her that she better win head of household or else she would be out. She says she knew about operation revolving door. Gee, isn't this completely against the rules? Its unfair that an evicted guest can even come back in the first place, but now we find out the producers give them important information and strategical advice? Yeah, thats real fair to the rest of the houseguests. And if the producers are giving Amy that type of information who says they didnt blab more things to her."

Being tipped off or not by the producers about 'Operation Revolving Door' isn't the only problem encompassing the time Crews spent being sequestered in Mexico and Los Angeles. On numerous occasions, Crews has told the HouseGuests on the Internet feeds that fans of the show recognized her in stores and on city streets. In chatting with her, they gave her information on what was going on in the house since her departure. As part of their sequestration, the evicted HouseGuests were not supposed to discuss the game or the happenings in the 'Big Brother' house with anyone including their friends and family.

The "Big Brother" house, located on the CBS studio lot in California, is outfitted with cameras and microphones that record the lives of the 12 contestants 24 hours a day for three months. The goings-on are broadcast on TV as well as on the Internet. Each week the contestants vote one of their own out until just two are left. The final surviving HouseGuests are then subjected to a final vote. During that vote, the returning "banished" HouseGuests pick the winner.