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06-22-2005, 11:18 PM
Cut or Uncut, Big Brother nudity barely makes ripple
Sophie Tedmanson, Entertainment reporter
June 23, 2005
THE Ten Network apologised yesterday for any offence caused by its adults-only Big Brother Uncut reality show, but the supposed flood of complaints about the program turned out to be a trickle.
No complaints were lodged with the Australian Broadcasting Authority, and apart from the Liberal MPs who complained to Communications Minister Helen Coonan, she said she had not received any complaints from the public.
But the office of Opposition communications spokesman Stephen Conroy received dozens of emails and calls yesterday complaining about the show's content after Senator Coonan asked the ABA to review whether Ten had breached the commercial television industry's voluntary code of conduct.
Ten received a number of complaints, but a spokeswoman said it was not the "flood" expected.
One person who complained to the Big Brother producers was Melbourne mother Meredith Masterman, who banned her 15-year-old daughter from watching, because "it's turned into a porn show, continually showing a penis, breasts and foul language".
The main complaint is that underage children are watching Uncut, but teenage fans of Big Brother - the show's target audience - admit they enjoy watching the adults-only version.
Sydney schoolgirl Daniella Cosentino, 16, said her friends watched more of Uncut than the PG-rated version - which features the daily activities of the housemates (usually sitting around talking) - because it was more amusing and revolved around sex.
"At my age, most of our conversations are all about sex, so it's more relevant to my age group," she said.
Daniella said she did not take offence at the derogatory comments male housemates made about women, or the way they behaved - including Michael exposing his penis while massaging Gianna, or Hotdogs trying to grope Vesna and calling her a "whore".
Asked what she thought about the outcry over Uncut, Daniella said parents should make their children turn it off.
"There's no point in the politicians trying to stop everybody," she said
Naughty Aussie Big Brother draws flak
Mike Corder
Associated Press
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
ADVERTISEMENT
SYDNEY, Australia -- Big Brother is watching Big Brother.
Australian legislators have been tuning into a risque late night edition of hit reality TV show Big Brother -- and they don't like what they're seeing.
Communications Minister Helen Coonan has ordered the country's television standards watchdog to take a look at Network Ten's fly-on-the wall series to see if it breaches a voluntary code of conduct that covers what networks can and can't air.
The show features a group of contestants who are sealed off in a house where their every move and comments are caught on cameras and microphones dotted around their temporary home. An edited version of the day's events is broadcast every night and each week viewers vote to evict one of the "housemates."
The last surviving contestant wins a cash prize that currently stands at 750,000 Australian dollars (US$585,000).
The probe came after heated debate broke out this week over scenes of full-frontal nudity aired in a weekly late-night spin-off called Big Brother Uncut.
The uncut show, which is preceded by a raft of warnings and advertised as adults-only viewing, also features regular use of profanities and has shown contestants naked in the shower.
"It's mind-boggling banality," government legislator Paul Neville said Wednesday. "I think it lowers the standard of Australian television."
Network Ten advertises the show, which airs at 9:40 p.m., as: "The naughtiest, skimpiest, downright dirtiest bits of Big Brother that we can't show you any earlier. See what your favourite housemates are REALLY up to in the Big Brother House."
Legislator Peter Lindsay, for one, does not want to see it all.
"Now we're not prudes, but this is something that needs a bit of community leadership," he said this week. "Channel Ten is just trying to titillate."
Big Brother is in its fifth season in Australia, airing every night of the week, and is a regular ratings winner for Network Ten.
Network Ten issued a statement Wednesday apologizing to viewers who had been offended by the Uncut show.
"Ten has taken extreme care with Big Brother Uncut to ensure it complies with the code and provides extensive consumer advice as to its content," the network said in a statement. "However, Ten accepts that some people disagree with the portrayal of an incident in the house where, in the context of a practical joke, a male housemate acted inappropriately towards a female."
The network said it and producer Endemol Southern Star "are aware of their responsibilities regarding the portrayal of women, and will seek expert advice to raise awareness of this issue in the Big Brother house."
© The Canadian Press 2005
Sophie Tedmanson, Entertainment reporter
June 23, 2005
THE Ten Network apologised yesterday for any offence caused by its adults-only Big Brother Uncut reality show, but the supposed flood of complaints about the program turned out to be a trickle.
No complaints were lodged with the Australian Broadcasting Authority, and apart from the Liberal MPs who complained to Communications Minister Helen Coonan, she said she had not received any complaints from the public.
But the office of Opposition communications spokesman Stephen Conroy received dozens of emails and calls yesterday complaining about the show's content after Senator Coonan asked the ABA to review whether Ten had breached the commercial television industry's voluntary code of conduct.
Ten received a number of complaints, but a spokeswoman said it was not the "flood" expected.
One person who complained to the Big Brother producers was Melbourne mother Meredith Masterman, who banned her 15-year-old daughter from watching, because "it's turned into a porn show, continually showing a penis, breasts and foul language".
The main complaint is that underage children are watching Uncut, but teenage fans of Big Brother - the show's target audience - admit they enjoy watching the adults-only version.
Sydney schoolgirl Daniella Cosentino, 16, said her friends watched more of Uncut than the PG-rated version - which features the daily activities of the housemates (usually sitting around talking) - because it was more amusing and revolved around sex.
"At my age, most of our conversations are all about sex, so it's more relevant to my age group," she said.
Daniella said she did not take offence at the derogatory comments male housemates made about women, or the way they behaved - including Michael exposing his penis while massaging Gianna, or Hotdogs trying to grope Vesna and calling her a "whore".
Asked what she thought about the outcry over Uncut, Daniella said parents should make their children turn it off.
"There's no point in the politicians trying to stop everybody," she said
Naughty Aussie Big Brother draws flak
Mike Corder
Associated Press
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
ADVERTISEMENT
SYDNEY, Australia -- Big Brother is watching Big Brother.
Australian legislators have been tuning into a risque late night edition of hit reality TV show Big Brother -- and they don't like what they're seeing.
Communications Minister Helen Coonan has ordered the country's television standards watchdog to take a look at Network Ten's fly-on-the wall series to see if it breaches a voluntary code of conduct that covers what networks can and can't air.
The show features a group of contestants who are sealed off in a house where their every move and comments are caught on cameras and microphones dotted around their temporary home. An edited version of the day's events is broadcast every night and each week viewers vote to evict one of the "housemates."
The last surviving contestant wins a cash prize that currently stands at 750,000 Australian dollars (US$585,000).
The probe came after heated debate broke out this week over scenes of full-frontal nudity aired in a weekly late-night spin-off called Big Brother Uncut.
The uncut show, which is preceded by a raft of warnings and advertised as adults-only viewing, also features regular use of profanities and has shown contestants naked in the shower.
"It's mind-boggling banality," government legislator Paul Neville said Wednesday. "I think it lowers the standard of Australian television."
Network Ten advertises the show, which airs at 9:40 p.m., as: "The naughtiest, skimpiest, downright dirtiest bits of Big Brother that we can't show you any earlier. See what your favourite housemates are REALLY up to in the Big Brother House."
Legislator Peter Lindsay, for one, does not want to see it all.
"Now we're not prudes, but this is something that needs a bit of community leadership," he said this week. "Channel Ten is just trying to titillate."
Big Brother is in its fifth season in Australia, airing every night of the week, and is a regular ratings winner for Network Ten.
Network Ten issued a statement Wednesday apologizing to viewers who had been offended by the Uncut show.
"Ten has taken extreme care with Big Brother Uncut to ensure it complies with the code and provides extensive consumer advice as to its content," the network said in a statement. "However, Ten accepts that some people disagree with the portrayal of an incident in the house where, in the context of a practical joke, a male housemate acted inappropriately towards a female."
The network said it and producer Endemol Southern Star "are aware of their responsibilities regarding the portrayal of women, and will seek expert advice to raise awareness of this issue in the Big Brother house."
© The Canadian Press 2005