TV Time Machine #31: Big Brother 2 - How reality TV evolved.
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TV Time Machine #31: Big Brother 2 - How reality TV evolved.
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25 years ago, Channel 4 went all in with the second series of their social experiment reality series Big Brother. Following on from the Nasty Nick scandal and Vanessa Feltz having a slight breakdown during the first celebrity edition of the show, the channel devoted a lot of time to the second instalment. Their new digital channel, E4, is used to air a live stream of the house, and a new late-night spin-off, Big Brother's Little Brother, launches.
Revisiting the series 25 years later with all the hindsight that comes with that much time is an interesting experience. In a lot of ways, it's quaint, whilst in others it's filled with misogyny, sprinkled with homophobia and other qualities that feel uncomfortable. To its credit, the series stays true to the show's social experiment ethos. This is early reality TV where the contestants were themselves, and they were left to have discussions, fights, and have fun.