Big Brother is a franchise reality television program that airs in many countries around the world. This article is about the American version. This version of the show was launched in 2000, three years after the original Dutch show of the same name which was launched in 1997. Since the launch of the show it has been hosted by Julie Chen and has received mixed reviews from critics and viewers.
In this reality program contestants are put in a house and cut off from the outside world. They have to live together for three complete months and voting sessions are held every episode in which one contestant is evicted from the house. The last contestant is crowned the winner and receives a cash prize of $500,000, a house, and sometimes even a car. The living arrangements in the first season were next to "survival conditions" but after the second season contestants have been put in a luxury house with hot tubs and VIP rooms.
This program is being touted as some great psychology study by some; this is not the case. This program is solely for entertainment purposes, just like the program Wife Sway most people could never have thought that you could make a great TV program just by sticking a few people in a house and cutting them off from the rest of the world. Some of the situations that these contestants get themselves into are hilarious, for example some contestants form alliances to vote off another person. After they have done that the leader of the alliance usually gets voted off because the other players see him/her as a threat, because he/she has too much influence with everyone. If you watch this program a lot you will notice human behavior, but it always seems like the only behavior the contestants' exhibit is to tear one another apart.
Overall I give this program a 6/10 it is not anything special but it has definitely earned its place on television.
CBS is lucky to be able to air the American version of this very popular worldwide show. If you are looking for a new reality show to watch check out Big Brother, just make sure to sit in with your kids if you are going to let them watch this program, because some of the contestants seem to always push the envelope when it comes to violence and cursing.
