Big Brother 2000 (retroactively known as Big Brother 1 following season 7) is the debut season of the American reality television series Big Brother. It was based upon the Netherlands series of the same name, which gained notoriety in 1999 and 2000. The series premiered on July 5, 2000. The season concluded after 88 days with Eddie McGee being crowned the winner, and Josh Souza the runner-up.
The premise of the series drastically differed from future installments of the series. The series revolved around ten strangers living in a house together with no communication with the outside world. They were constantly filmed during their time in the house, and were not permitted to communicate with those filming them. Every other week, each contestant, referred to as "Houseguests", chose two people who they wished to leave the house. The two or more people with the most votes were “marked for banishment.” The viewers then decided which of the nominees should leave with the selected person leaving during a live show. This process continued until only three HouseGuests remained, at which time the viewers would decide which of them would win the $500,000 grand prize. This format contrasts the future editions of the show, in which the HouseGuests themselves would vote each other out each week, with the ultimate winner being decided by eliminated HouseGuests.
Format 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. 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. This rule could be broken, however, in the event of a family emergency or death. 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. Should multiple HouseGuests receive the most nominations, then all of the HouseGuests were marked for banishment. This process was mandatory for all HouseGuests, and failure to comply could result in expulsion from the house. 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. 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, though the runner-up of the series would receive $100,000 and the second runner-up would receive $50,000.
During their time in the house, HouseGuests were given weekly tasks to perform. 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. 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. 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. While a competition, the series allows viewers to witness the relationships formed in the house and the behavior of the HouseGuests. 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." Though locked in the house, the HouseGuests were free to quit the game, though would not be allowed entry back into the house. Should a HouseGuest break the rules of the game, they could be expelled from the house, and unable to return.
HouseGuests
The first season of Big Brother featured ten HouseGuests, each of whom were complete strangers. Name Age Occupation Residence Result 21 Entertainer Commack, New York WinnerDay 88 23 Civil engineering student San Jose, California Day 88 28 Lawyer New York, New York Day 88 22 Model Seattle, Washington BanishedDay 86 41 Roofer Rockford, Illinois BanishedDay 79 37 UN Communications Director Havre de Grace, Maryland BanishedDay 72 25 Actress Robbinsdale, Minnesota BanishedDay 58 43 Mother Columbus, Indiana BanishedDay 44 26 Exotic dancer Roanoke, Virginia BanishedDay 30 27 Politician Philadelphia, Pennsylvania BanishedDay 17
Future appearances George Boswell returned for Big Brother: All-Stars and later on Big Brother 10 to host a food competition along with other Big Brother HouseGuests (alumni).
Summary On Day 1, Brittany, Cassandra, Curtis, Eddie, Karen, George, Jamie, Jordan, Josh, and William entered the house. 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. On Day 3, HouseGuests were given the task of building a clock out of potatoes in the house. Should they fail this task, they would not know the time in the house; they passed the task. On Day 4, HouseGuests were given the task of making plaster masks of themselves. 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. 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. 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. William intentionally failed his portion of the challenge, upsetting many HouseGuests. 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. Josh, Jamie, George, and Cassandra all received no nominations this week. 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. They wagered 50% of their weekly budget on this task, which they passed. HouseGuests were later given another task, in which they were required to imitate another HouseGuest in the Red Room. On Day 17, William became the first HouseGuest to be banished from the house when he received 73% of the public vote.
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. The group passed this task, which they wagered 20% on. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
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. HouseGuests were later given the task of hosting their own daytime talk show. 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. That night, it was revealed that Cassandra, Josh, and Karen had been marked for banishment due to a tie in the voting process. 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. In the days following her nomination, Karen began to ask the viewers to banish her from the house as she missed her children. 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. 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. That night, Karen became the third HouseGuest to be banished from the house as she had received 76% of the public vote.