Say the words 'reality TV' and the show that comes into most people's minds is Big Brother. Love it or hate it, there have been versions (版本) in more than seventy countries! The basic format is simple: put a group of strangers into a house, record everything they do and watch how they manage to live together.
Actually the idea wasn't original. A similar show. The Real World, was broadcast in 1992 on MTV. But the format really became popular with the success of Big Brother, and it has been copied again and again, including celebrity versions. In similar shows, contestants (参赛选手) have been sent to the jungle or a desert island. In Wife Swap a mother goes to live with a family of strangers and tries to manager their homes; in Young, Dumb and Living off Mum a group of spoilt
(宠坏的) teenagers with no life skills learn to live together and look after themselves.
So what makes these shows so attractive? Actually, living with strangers is stressful and also personality problems are common. Contestants often have to share tasks and housework and this also brings conflict. "It's all about relationships," says TV critic ( 批评家) Jo Barnett. "Some characters are pleasant, and some are unpleasant, but they are all real people."
But is it healthy to be so interested in other people's private lives'? And what kind of people want to appear in front of TV cameras twenty-four hours a day? Not everyone was in favour of such shows, including the first ever winner of Big Brother, Bart Spring. "I'm not a fan of the programme or of people becoming famous for being stupid. " he says.
