Eagle's Voice

I have lots of favorite pieces of media. I love lots of different types of music/artists/songs, movies, TV shows, books, and so much more. What I consider to be my favorite show of all time, however, and maybe my favorite piece of media, is Big Brother, and I am going to specifically be reviewing the US version as there are many other versions of the show internationally.

Big Brother is a reality television competition show that has aired on CBS for over 26 years, from 2000 to present day. It typically airs during the summer, though the show has ended in the fall, and as late as mid-November. It has 28 regular seasons, 3 celebrity seasons, and a spinoff called Big Brother: Over the Top, which was broadcast exclusively to CBS All Access subscribers. The show is executively produced by Alison Grodner and Rich Meehan, and produced by Don Wollman, all of whom have experience in reality-based programming. Big Brother was first created in the Netherlands by John de Mol Jr., and it began airing in 1999. It was subsequently syndicated internationally beginning in 2000, including the US, which became the longest running adaptation of the show.

What makes this show so unique is that the contestants, known as houseguests, are isolated from the outside world inside the Big Brother House for as many as three months while monitored by over a hundred surveillance cameras and personal microphones. They are not allowed to pack any cellphones, headphones, or any other electronic devices, though in recent seasons they have a cellphone where they can only take pictures and record videos for the producers to post onto social media. What’s even more fascinating is that anyone that has either Paramount Plus or Pluto TV can watch the houseguests on the Big Brother Live Feeds. The Feeds are very entertaining and are a great way to know about what happens before anyone who does not watch the feeds.

Something else I find interesting and unique about the show is the normal weekly cycle that occurs. The houseguests compete in multiple competitions for power throughout each week. The Head of Household competition starts the week, where the winner is safe for the week and has to nominate three houseguests for eviction. Then, the Power of Veto competition occurs, played by the Head of Household, the three nominees, and two other houseguests selected by random draw. The winner gets to choose to save either themself or another houseguest from eviction, or not use it, during the Veto Meeting. If the Power of Veto is used, the Head of Household has to name another houseguest as the replacement nominee. At the end of the week, the Blockbuster is played, where the winner of this competition is automatically removed from the block. Then the houseguests go into the Diary Room to cast their vote to evict one of the two remaining nominees, and whoever has the most votes is evicted.

I rate Big Brother five stars out of five because it is not only my favorite show of all time, but it is entertaining, it has so much more to offer, and it has so many unique aspects, such as the ones that I listed above. I could talk for hours about this show, but I do not want to spoil every piece of it. I highly recommend watching it and learning about not only the US version of the show, but the international versions as well, as they have many interesting similarities and differences.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Edited by: Robert Donnelly