Big Brother 1 (American season)

Big Brother is a game show in which a group of contestants, referred to as HouseGuests, lived in a custom built "house", constantly under video surveillance.[1] While in the house, the contestants were completely isolated from the outside world, meaning no phone, television, internet, magazines, newspaper, or contact with those not in the house.[2] This rule could be broken, however, in the event of a family emergency or passing.[3] During their time in the house, the HouseGuests were required to nominate two of their fellow contestants for potential banishment, and the two with the most votes would be nominated.[4] Should multiple HouseGuests receive the most nominations, then all of the HouseGuests were marked for banishment.[5] This process was mandatory for all HouseGuests, and failure to comply could result in expulsion from the house.[6] The public, through a vote conducted by phone, would vote to banish one of the nominated HouseGuests from the house, and the HouseGuest with the most votes from the viewers would be banished from the house.[7] When only three HouseGuests remained, the viewers would vote for which of them should win the series, and the HouseGuest with the most votes would become the winner. The HouseGuests were competing for a $500,000 cash prize,[8][9] though the Runner-Up of the series would receive $100,000 and the second Runner-Up would receive $50,000.[5]

During their time in the house, HouseGuests were given weekly tasks to perform.[10] The HouseGuests would wager a portion of their weekly shopping budget on the task, and would either win double their wagered fund or lose the wagered fund depending on their performance in the task.[5] The HouseGuests were required to work as a group to complete the task, with the format of the tasks varying based on the amount of remaining HouseGuests. Should the HouseGuests run out of the food provided for them, an emergency ration was available to them. HouseGuests were also required to make visits to the Red Room during their stay in the house, where they were able to share their thoughts and feelings on their fellow HouseGuests and the game.[11] The format of the series was mainly seen as a social experiment, and required HouseGuests to interact with others who may have differing ideals, beliefs, and prejudices.[12][13] While a competition, the series allows viewers to witness the relationships formed in the house and the behavior of the HouseGuests.[14] Nina Tassler, president of entertainment at CBS, stated "You're talking about people from very disparate walks of life and confining them in a house for a finite period of time [...] you have to recognize yes, this is that show. It is a social experiment."[15] Though locked in the house, the HouseGuests were free to quit the game, though would not be allowed entry back into the house.[16] Should a HouseGuest break the rules of the game, they could be expelled from the house, and unable to return.[17][18]

The cast of Big Brother 1.

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Top: Curtis, Brittany, Cassandra, and Josh.

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Middle: Karen, Jordan, and George.

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Bottom: William, Eddie, and Jamie.

The first season of Big Brother featured ten HouseGuests, each of whom were complete strangers.

On Day 1, Brittany, Cassandra, Curtis, Eddie, Karen, George, Jamie, Jordan, Josh, and William entered the house.[19][20] On Day 2, they were given their first task to complete. They were required to solve a word puzzle, which would inform them of the location to find money for groceries. They were successful and earned $100 as a group.[19] On Day 3, HouseGuests were given the task of building a clock out of potatoes in the house.[21] Should they fail this task, they would not know the time in the house; they passed the task.[22] On Day 4, HouseGuests were given the task of making plaster masks of themselves.[19] On Day 5, one of the chickens in the backyard was injured. It was removed from the house and brought back later to be nursed back to health.[23] On Day 7, HouseGuests were given their first weekly task. They were given the names of dozens of celebrities and had to state whether they were dead or alive.[19] They were given days to attempt to recall the correct answers and would be quizzed about it at a later date. They wagered 20% of their weekly budget on this task, which they ultimately failed.[5] William intentionally failed his portion of the challenge, upsetting many HouseGuests.[24] On Day 9, the HouseGuests participated in their first round of nominations. William and Jordan were announced as the nominees this week, with William receiving six nominations and Jordan receiving five.[25] Josh, Jamie, George, and Cassandra all received no nominations this week.[5] HouseGuests were later given their new task, which required them to ride a stationary exercise bike to achieve a total distance of 1,000 miles.[19] They wagered 50% of their weekly budget on this task, which they passed.[5] HouseGuests were later given another task, in which they were required to imitate another HouseGuest in the Red Room.[5] On Day 17, William became the first HouseGuest to be banished from the house when he received 73% of the public vote.[26][27]

On Day 20, HouseGuests are given their new weekly challenge, in which they had days to practice making a set of dominoes fall down in a single session. They had to set up 12,100 dominoes to form the series logo and then make them all fall by knocking only one domino over.[19] The group passed this task, which they wagered 20% on.[5] The HouseGuests later held a fake trial dealing with the issue of flag burning, with Karen as the judge, Jordan being on trial, Brittany being a witness, Curtis and Cassandra as lawyers, and the other HouseGuests as members of the jury.[19] On Day 22, HouseGuests participated in the second round of nominations. Curtis and Jordan became the second set of nominated HouseGuests this season, with Curtis receiving six nominations and Jordan receiving five nominations.[28] Josh, Jamie, Cassandra, and Brittany received no nominations this week, making it the second time in a row that Josh, Jamie, and Cassandra had received no nominations from their fellow HouseGuests. HouseGuests were later given their new weekly task, which required them to ride a stationary bike for a total of one thousand miles. They wagered 50% of their shopping budget on the task, which they passed.[5] The HouseGuests were later given another task, which required them to split into three teams and attempt to toss water balloons to their teammates from across the pool.[5] The team of Eddie, Cassandra, and George won, though there was no reward. On Day 28, the HouseGuests held a roast for Curtis and Jordan as they were marked for banishment. On Day 30, Jordan became the second HouseGuest to be banished from the house when she received 78% of the public vote.[29][30]

HouseGuests were given their new weekly task, which required them to write a poem pertaining to the game. They would then have to jump rope together while the rope holders recited the poem. They had one chance to correctly complete the poem, and failure to do so would result in the group failing the task. They wagered 30% of their shopping budget on the task, which they failed.[19] HouseGuests were later given the task of hosting their own daytime talk show.[5] On Day 36, HouseGuests participated in a live challenge in which they had to vote for one HouseGuest to receive a phone call from home; they voted for George.[5] That night, it was revealed that Cassandra, Josh, and Karen had been marked for banishment due to a tie in the voting process.[31] George was the only HouseGuest to receive no nominations this week. That same night, the HouseGuests were given their new weekly task, which required them to take care of a pug named Chiquita.[32] In the days following her nomination, Karen began to ask the viewers to banish her from the house as she missed her children.[33] HouseGuests were later given their new weekly task, in which they were required to make eight raspberry and eight blueberry pies, and split into teams named after the various pies. The first team to eat all eight of their pies would choose how the weekly allowance was spent.[5] On Day 44, HouseGuests participated in a live challenge in which they were tempted with a reward in exchange for watching the nominations process. They ultimately chose not to watch the nominations, thus were not given a prize.[5] That night, Karen became the third HouseGuest to be banished from the house as she had received 76% of the public vote.[34]

HouseGuests were given their new weekly task, which required them to memorize all of the major highways in the country. They would then be required to state what highways would get them from one city to another. The group wagered 20% of their shopping budget on this task, which they passed.[5] The group was later given a new task in which they were required to paint each other like animals.[5] In another task for the week, HouseGuests competed in a sumo wrestling competition in an attempt to win a luxury massage. Eddie was the winner, with former HouseGuest William secretly giving him a bad massage.[35] For their next weekly task, the HouseGuests were required to have two HouseGuests dancing at all times. When cued, all HouseGuests would be required to dance at the same time. They passed this task, which they wagered 20% of their weekly budget on.[5] On Day 50, the HouseGuests participated in their fourth round of nominations. Due to a tie in the voting, Brittany, Cassandra, Curtis, Eddie, George, and Josh were all marked for banishment.[36] For the first time, all of the HouseGuests received at least one nomination from their fellow HouseGuests. That same night, Jamie won a two-minute conversation with a casting director due to winning a task earlier in the week.[5] HouseGuests were later given a task in which they had to name a "Mr. and Miss Big Brother 2000", with Eddie, Brittany, and Cassandra being given the title; they won a dinner with the meal of their choice.[5] On Day 58, Jamie was given a live task in which she was able to co-host the episode with Julie Chen, including announce who had been banished from the house.[5] That night, it was revealed that Brittany had become the fourth HouseGuest to be banished from the house when she received 34% of the public vote.[37][38]

HouseGuests were given their new weekly task, which required them to build a puzzle that featured 4,928 pieces by the end of the week. The group wagered 50% of their weekly shopping budget on this task, which they failed.[5] The HouseGuests were later given the task of discussing whether or not they would be willing to split the total prize money.[5] On Day 64, it was revealed that Cassandra, Curtis, and Eddie had been marked for banishment.[39] Much like the previous round of nominations, all of the HouseGuests received at least one nomination from their fellow HouseGuests. Following this, the six remaining HouseGuests were offered $20,000 to walk from the game, with this offer later rising to $50,000.[40] Should one of the HouseGuests accept the offer, a new HouseGuest named Beth Thieme was set to enter the house and the nominations would be voided.[41][42] Ultimately, none of the HouseGuests took the offer, thus Beth did not enter the game.[43][44] That same night, Brittany was able to talk to Josh as part of a task.[45] HouseGuests were later given a new task in which they had to estimate the price of a luxury item requested by another HouseGuest. If they came within one dollar of the correct price, they would earn that luxury.[5] For their new weekly task, the HouseGuests had to train Chiquita to go through an obstacle course. The group passed this task, which they wagered 20% of their weekly budget on.[5] During a luxury competition, Curtis won the reward of going to the 52nd Primetime Emmy Awards.[46] On Day 72, HouseGuests were given the live task of writing a message to be flown on a banner plane above the house.[5] That same night, Cassandra became the fifth HouseGuest to be banished from the house as she had received 46% of the public vote.[47][48]

HouseGuests were given their new weekly task, which required at least one HouseGuest to be juggling at all times. They were not permitted to drop more than two balls, or they would fail the task. The group wagered 50% on the task, which they ultimately failed.[5] On Day 74, the HouseGuests were given another live task in which they had five minutes to make a phone call to a loved one. The timer did not stop while the HouseGuests were dialing.[5] That same night, the group made their nominations live for the first time. It was revealed that Curtis, Eddie, George, and Jamie were marked for banishment.[49] Josh received no nominations this week, and was the only HouseGuest not to be marked for banishment.[5] HouseGuests were later given a new task in which they had to write lyrics for the show's theme song, and were later required to record their song in the Red Room.[5] In another task for the week, the HouseGuests attempted to find Chiquita in the house, with the winner being able to present the weather from inside the house; Josh was the winner.[5] On Day 79, the five remaining HouseGuests were asked to select one of the previously banished HouseGuests to return to the house in a matter of days; they chose Cassandra.[5] That night, George became the sixth HouseGuest to be banished from the house as he had received 51% of the public vote.[50]

HouseGuests were given their new weekly task, in which they were required to determine whether or not specific news articles had actually appeared in the news or not. The group wagered 50% of their weekly shopping budget on the task, which they passed.[5] The group was later given another task in which they played the Big Brother board game.[5] On Day 81, the HouseGuests participated in their second round of live nominations. Due to a tie in the voting, all four of the remaining HouseGuests were marked for banishment.[51] This was the final round of nominations for the season. Former HouseGuest Cassandra entered the house as a guest that same night, as the HouseGuests had selected her to return days prior.[5] Due to a new task, Josh was selected to become a saboteur in the house, and performed tasks such as setting time back on the potato clock. If one of the other three HouseGuests correctly guessed that Josh was the saboteur, they would win a new flat screen television; Curtis won this prize.[5] On Day 86, Jamie became the seventh HouseGuest to be banished from the house as she had received 31% of the public vote.[52] Chiquita also exited the house that night, and was adopted by a couple upon her exit.[53] On Day 88, it was revealed that Curtis became the last HouseGuest to be banished from the house, receiving 14% of the public vote to win.[54] Minutes later, it was revealed that Josh had come in second place with 27% of the public vote, meaning Eddie had been crowned the winner and come in first place with a total of 59% of the public vote.[55][56][57]

Color key:

• "Brother raises manipulation to a fine art" By Lynn Elber, CANOE JAM! Television. July 24, 2000.

• Big Brother – official American site (Archived)
• Big Brother at IMDb