Television

Get ready for a massive Big Brother orgy   Author: eNews staff and agencies | Apr 18, 2007, 09:01

Quick, put your turkeys to bed and out of harms way. Some place where impressionable young minds can’t get hold of them and ask, Daddy, what are these for?

Why should we lock up our turkeys? Well the Ten Network starts Big Brother 2007 next week with over 17 hours of broadcasts in what can only be described as an orgy of overkill.

Ten has axed its late night Uncut, AO versions of BB in favour of two basic shows a night: the 7 pm broadcast of 30 minutes or an hour and the up late broadcast of 90 minutes to two hours from 10.30 or 11.15 Monday to Friday. There will be a live broadcast for two hours each Friday night from 7.30 to 9.30 pm when the housemates this time have to perform 'tasks' rather then just 'games'.

Sunday sees 90 minutes of BB, Monday, three and a half hours, Tuesday and Wednesday, around three hours each night, Thursday two and a half hours and half and Friday, around four hours.

The Biggest Loser ends next week and once again Ten has mixed and matched both programs.

There is a special hour of TBL on Sunday night from 6.30 pm as a lead in to the opening of BB and then the three and three quarter hour final of TBL on Thursday night, which will see it pitted against the Footy Shows on Nine from 9.30 pm. That should make for some interesting arguments in some Australian homes.

On Sunday night Rove of course will be BB themed and will start at 9 pm but the Nine network is showing an NRL game between Brisbane and Newcastle (sans Andrew Johns) from 8.30 pm because the normal Friday night football games have been pre-empted by the Rugby League test between Australia and New Zealand, the so-called Anzac Test, which is not being played on Anzac Day!

That could drain viewers away.

But what will the inmates, sorry, housemates, be in the house for as Ten revealed yesterday there would not be a cash prize (a starting $1 million last year) and cars would not be given away on their exit: thereby reducing the incentive for the inmates, sorry, housemates, to play up and be offensive and cost themselves cash deliberately (I know it sounds illogical but hey, look at the people in houses past and go figure!)

Ten is not saying what the incentive will be (to help the Network remain out of trouble with the regulators, perhaps?).

The viewing audience will have the chance to vote two people from a pool of almost good enough candidates, into the house (democracy?) and Ten has been running a competition with a sweets company that will see a number of people with a key flown to the Gold Coast. One of the keys will fit a lock that gives them entry into the house.

This series will be watched very, very closely by regulators, morals groups (such as Family First, the Prime Minister's attack dogs on matters moral), and advertisers given the poor publicity last year and the equally appalling performances in the Celebrity BB Britain in January.

Ten has a lot riding on this, including the possible sale of the network. We are expected to have an idea of just how the short list and the sale process is going by the last week of April or the first week of May, just as BB is settling down.

Ten wants a nice, safe and non-controversial start so intending buyers can see the revenue and earnings potential of what is the biggest and most expensive TV production in this country.

From the relatively sedate 90 Minute (it will surely run over) opening on Sunday night, to four hours on Friday, Ten will be back to back with the program many viewers have been waiting months to see, and others having been hoping it will be banned.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority's report on Big Brother and reality TV, started at the direction of the minister after the infamous 'turkey slapping' incident in last year's series, has gone to the Communications Minister, Senator Helen Coonan.

It will be up to her to release it.

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