You’ll be watching “Big Brother.”
That is, you will if you’re one of the millions hooked on CBS’ “Survivor,” MTV’s “The Real World,” or any of the other voyeuristic reality TV shows that are now popular.
“Big Brother” seems to have many of the same elements that make “Survivor” the feel-good hit of the summer. No, there won’t be people munching on rats and beetle larvae, or trying to stay dry during a tropical storm.
But like “Survivor,” there should be intense interpersonal relationships formed by unusual living conditions; different and possibly clashing personalities; the pressure of having people around the country watch your every move; a cash prize at the end of the rainbow; and the tension generated by wondering who is going to stab you in the back by voting you out of the game.
What exactly is CBS’ “Big Brother,” which makes a special premiere at 8 p.m. Wednesday after an all-new edition of the series’ own big brother — “Survivor” — on WBBM-Ch. 2?
It’s the American version of a popular European game show/reality series. Ten strangers are locked inside a specially designed 1,800-square-foot house in Studio City, Calif. As the title, the popular phrase from the George Orwell novel “1984,” suggests, they will be watched and listened to — with 28 cameras and 60 microphones tracking their every move and word. There’s even a camera in the bathroom, but nothing salacious will be shown. The show’s not that deep.
These people will be cut off from the outside world for 89 days — no newspapers, no TVs, no radios. Electronic items like CD players and cell phones, and appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines, also won’t be allowed.
Outside activity will be restricted to working a vegetable garden and collecting eggs from a coop with seven chickens. There also is an exercise area and a dinky swimming pool.
The group will vote each week to nominate two people to be ousted.
Viewers will choose by telephone which will go. When there are only three left on the final day, viewers will pick the winner, who will get $500,000.
“Big Brother” airs five days a week at 7 p.m. The Monday, Tuesday and Friday episodes will be half-hour recaps of the previous 24 hours. The Thursday show will be a live one-hour broadcast hosted by Julie Chen of CBS’ “The Early Show.” Thursday is also when housemates vote to expel one of their own. The one-hour Saturday edition recaps events from the week, including Friday’s activities.
Web-heads can watch what’s going on in the house through American Online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
SUNDAY
– Included in a three-part mini-series on “Prisoners of War,” which starts at noon on the History Channel, is former presidential hopeful John McCain, who was held captive during the Vietnam War, talking about methods used to survive individual ordeals. McCain’s segment is at 2 p.m.
– The Learning Channel freaks you out with three hours of end-of-the-world prognostication, millennium-tinged musings and predictions of dire consequences at 7 p.m.
– “The E! True Hollywood Story” on Jesse “The Governor” Ventura is at 8 p.m.
– At 8:30 p.m. on WGN-Ch. 9 ,”Mission Hill,” the WB’s animated series about slacker-types sharing a loft, continues to blow off 11 episodes that never aired when the network pulled the show last year.
– Rock music’s impact on movies is explored in a new American Movie Classics documentary at 9 p.m. Narrated by Ringo Starr, the special covers 1955 to 1970.
– Country Music Television’s “Western Beat with Billy Block,” focuses on the alternative country music scene each week at 10 p.m.
– WLS-Ch. 7 presents tape-delayed coverage of the “Chrysler-Plymouth All-Star Shootout” from Kemper Lakes Golf Course in Long Grove. Jim McMahon, Bobby Hull and Gale Sayers are among those expected to participate, and Mark Giangreco and Tracy Butler describe the action, at 11:05 p.m.
MONDAY
– Cartoon Network expands its “Toonami” Japanese animation block to three hours starting at 3 p.m., and includes in the mix “Tenchi Muyo!” at 5 p.m.
– Follow Turner Classic Movies as it presents “The Wizard of Oz” commercial-free at 7 p.m., after the documentary “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic” at 6 p.m.
– Singer Judy Collins is profiled, with testimonials from Joan Rivers, Gloria Steinem and President Bill Clinton, on Lifetime’s “Intimate Portrait.” Alec Baldwin narrates the segment at 6 p.m.
– The Washington Monument will reopen this month after a three-year renovation. The Discovery Channel marks the occasion with a documentary on the structure and its refurbishment at 7 p.m.
– The Independent Film Channel joins John Malkovich’s Mr. Mudd production company to create original short films to be featured as part of a monthly showcase set for 7:30 p.m. The premiere is the Civil War short “One Soldier.”
– WFLD-Ch. 32 presents Chicago’s annual Fourth of July fireworks display live from Grant Park, as part of Taste of Chicago coverage at 8 p.m.
– “Travel Channel Secrets,” the network’s new anthology series, goes behind The scenes of Harrods, the London department store, at 8 p.m. Following at 9 p.m. is a jaunt around the city itself for a look at little-known haunts.
INDEPENDENCE DAY
– Two marathons to note: TNN celebrates 15 hours of “The Dukes of Hazzard” beginning at 8 a.m.; and the Disney Channel’s Toon Disney does 12 hours of the “Fab Five” — Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto — in a series of movies, specials and shorts starting at 10 a.m.
– WTTW-Ch. 11 pops Tuesday with Fourth of July programming. Highlights include “The Greatest American Fourth of July” at 8 a.m.; the three-part “Liberty! The American Revolution” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; “Pyromania Fourth of July Celebration-Washington, D.C.” at 7:30 p.m.; “A Capitol Fourth (2000)” at 8 p.m.; and “Cincinnati Pops Holiday: Fourth of July From the Heartland” at 9:30 p.m.
– A&E provides live coverage of the Boston Pops’ 71st annual “Pops Goes the Fourth!” Independence Day concert at 6:30 p.m.
– The White Sox hopefully will light home run-generated fireworks when they face Kansas City at 7 p.m. on WCIU-Ch. 26.
WEDNESDAY
– Maureen McCormick, arguably the most lusted-after of the Brady kids, joins one of daytime’s most bizarre soaps, NBC’s “Passions,” as the manipulative Rebecca Hotchkiss, at 2 p.m. on WMAQ-Ch. 5.
– Encore’s “The Directors” profile series trains its camera on Martin Scorsese, featuring interviews with Paul Newman, Jodie Foster, Joe Pesci and others, at 7 p.m.
– The History Channel at 7 p.m. goes aboard the Eagle, the U.S. Coast Guard’s tall ship, and a reproduction of the slave ship Amistad.
– The scrap will be flying again this year, as TLC presents Britain’s “Junkyard Wars.” Teams compete in building contraptions with whatever spare parts are handy within a 10-hour time frame. Two episodes a week will air from 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays through July 19. This week, see who can build the best cannon and flying machine.
THURSDAY
– The good news is CBS is bringing back “City of Angels,” the drama about an inner-city hospital featuring predominately minority characters. The bad news is it settles into its permanent home, 8 p.m. Thursdays, opposite NBC’s potent “Must-See” comedy lineup and ABC’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” Good luck.
FRIDAY
– World Championship Wrestling superstar Bill Goldberg hosts “Martial Arts: The Real Story,” a TLC two-hour documentary on fighting styles sensationalized in the movies. Get your kicks at 8 p.m.
SATURDAY
– Two new series make their debut on Fox Family Channel: “MXG Beach Countdown,” a run-through of the week’s hottest music videos, with celebrities like Motley Crue and M2M visiting the Fox Family Beach House, at 9:30 a.m.; and “The Hi-Fi Room,” a teen dance show featuring celebrity interviews and in-studio performances from the likes of Christina Aguilera and Destiny’s Child, at 11 a.m.
