Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash prize by avoiding periodic evictions from the house. The idea for the show is said to have come during a brainstorm session at the Dutch production house of John de Mol Produkties (an independent part of Endemol) on 4 September 1997. The first Big Brother broadcast was in the Netherlands in 1999 on the Veronica TV channel. It was picked up by Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Portugal, USA, UK, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland and Italy the following year and became a world-wide sensation. Since then it has been a prime-time hit in almost 70 countries. The show's name comes from George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, a dystopia in which Big Brother can always spy on the inhabitants of the dictatorship he heads through their television sets, with the slogan "Big Brother is watching you."Although each country has made its own adaptations and changes to the format, the general concept has stayed the same: "Housemates" or "Houseguests" are confined to a specially designed house where their every action is recorded by cameras and microphones at all times and they are not permitted any contact with the outside world.In most versions, at regular intervals (normally once weekly, as introduced in the UK version, although in most early series it was every two weeks), the housemates are invited to vote to have one of a number of nominated housemates evicted from the house. In some cases two housemates may be evicted simultaneously (a "double eviction"), or rarely, no housemates will be removed for that week. At the end of the game, the last remaining housemate is declared the winner of that particular series and receives prizes, often including a large amount of money, a car, a vacation and (in some editions) a house.
From a sociological and demographic perspective, this format allows the opportunity for analysis of how people react when forced into close confinement with people who lie outside their comfort zone, since they may hold different opinions or ideals from other contestants, or simply belong to a different group of people than a contestant normally interacts with. Indeed, the format is ideally suited to such analysis because the viewer is afforded the opportunity to see how a person reacts on the outside through the constant recording of their actions and also what they feel on the inside through the Diary Room/Confession Room. The results can range from violent or angry confrontations to genuine and tender connections (often including romantic interludes), providing entertainment to the public.Besides living together under continuous observation, which is the major attraction of the contest, the program relies on four basic props: The stripped-bare back-to-basics environment in which they live, the evictions, the weekly tasks and competitions set by Big Brother and the "Diary/Confession Room," in which the housemates individually convey their thoughts, feelings, and frustrations and reveal their nominees for evictionvery basic. Although essential amenities such as running water, furniture and a limited ration of food were provided, luxury items were often forbidden. This added a survivalist element to the show, increasing the potential for social tension within the house. Nowadays, almost all series provide a modern house for the contest, with a jacuzzi, sauna, VIP suite, loft and other luxuries.who communicate with the housemates via the omnipresent authority figure known to them only as "Big Brother." The tasks are designed to test their teamwork abilities and community spirit, and in some countries the housemates' shopping budget or weekly allowance often depends on the outcome of any given tasks. The housemates have a weekly allowance with which they can buy food and other essentials.
