BIG BROTHER VS THE GLASS HOUSE: BATTLE OF REALITY HOUSE SHOWS

   Their are a lot of reality show out in TV land. It seems like they have taken over our air waves. Every time you turn around another reality show seems to be creeping around the corner. I personally don't watch a lot of reality television. One show I do watch and love is Big Brother. Till recently, Big Brother was a stand alone show with no other shows like it, well until now. ABC aired a new show to compete with CBS's Big Brother called The Glass House. There has been a lot of controversy between the two channels about there shows. CBS declaring that ABC stole the bases of their show.

   Big Brother debuted in the US in 2000 and since then has had 14 seasons. Isolated for the outside world, Big Brother follows a group of House Guest 24 hours a day. Although isolated from the outside world, the house's backyard it in the open so the House Guest can enjoy the sun. The House Guests compete to survive and make it to the end where they can win $500,000. House Guest enter the house with only one suitcase of cloths and bathroom needs, the only other thing they cane bring is a religious book. Pictures of family or any other personal idem is not allowed. Each week they compete to become the Head Of Household (HoH). When a House Guest wins HoH they are rewarded with the key to the HoH room, where they get whatever snack foods they want. Also they get pictures and a letter from home. The HoH also decides which two players will be nominated to go on the chopping block to be voted out.

   Once the HoH makes there decision, the two players that got nominated can fight to stay in the game by playing in the Veto competition for the Power of  Veto(PoV). Then the HoH, the two nominated, and three other House Guest picked at random compete for the PoV. Who ever wins the PoV can take down one of the nominated players or keep the nominations the same. If they pick to take down one of the nominated players, the HoH must then put up a replacement nominee. The HoH can put up anyone put the person who won the PoV, they will be safe from being a replacement. At the end of the week the whole house one by one go to the dairy room to place there secret votes for who they want out of the house. The viewers are allowed to know who they voted for. Once all the votes are in, the losing House Guest must grab there prepacked bag and live right away.
   There are a few other competitions the House Guest compete for. They also have food competitions  to see what kind of food the will get that week. They also compete to see if they will be a Have or Have not for the week. Meaning if they are a Have, the can go about there day with the food they win the the food competitions and sleep in normal beds. If they end up as a Have Not, they are stuck with what is called slop, a meal that is made of oats but is like a paste, and have to sleep in the Have Not room, a room with hard beds and sometimes they will have the lights on 24/7, for a week. Luxury competitions allow the House Guest to win prizes like money, a call from home, PoV, trips, cars, or even to skip a week of being a Have Not.
   When the first few get voted out they have to go home, but after the first set of few players go home the rest go to the Jury House. Once in the Jury House, the players get to do and eat what they want. They are still cut off from the world and whats going on in the Big Brother House. At the end of the show they come back on to vote for who they think should win Big Brother out of the final two players.

   The Glass House just aired on June 18, 2012 for its first season. The players are competing to win the grand prize of $250,000. The players are put in a house made up of glass walls. The house, unlike the Big Brother house, is set in a studio. Viewers have a big part of the house, getting to vote where the players get to sleep, eat, and who goes home. Every week they show the two least favorite players voted by the viewers. Those two player then become the team captains for the week. The captains pick there team they want to compete with to try and stay in the house. Whatever team loses, the team captain and one other player that was on the losing team must go to "limbo" until they find out if they got voted off the show by the viewers. The only voting the players get to do is to pick who goes up against the losing team captain.
   When the players are told what the viewers voted for, a female robotic voiced named FaRi speaks to the house. FaRi also gives the players answers the players ask the viewers in privet. She will give the game of one of the players and just the answer, like yes or no. The other players get to hear the answer but have no clue what the question is.
   One unique thing the viewers get to vote on is on what two players have to stay in the same room together. There are three bedrooms in the house, the basic bedroom where everyone sleeps, the friend's room, and the enemies room. The viewers can put the two players that get along or think should get along with in the friend's room and force the two players that don't get along at all in the same room where they have to sleep together in the same bed. Putting the players in the enemies room is for the obvious reason to start a fight or adding more drama. On the other hand, putting the players in the friend's room could let the other players in the game know to look out for a secret alliance.

   CBS is not happy at all about the ABC's new show. CBS warned ABC on May 4, 2012 not to air The Glass House since there were so many similarities to there show Big Brother. They stated how ABC also referring to the players are House Guest and how they also are being monitored by cameras and microphones in a big house as they are in Big Brother. The Glass House is being produced by some former  Big Brother producers and staff. May 10, 2012 CBS showed that they were not just threatening about a lawsuit when they filed one six days after they warned ABC. CBS tried to halt the premiere of The Glass House, but failed as the show aired as scheduled.
   Having watched the first four episodes of The Glass House I would have to say the show is okay, but no Big Brother. The fact that the viewers get to do all the voting really takes away the from the players of The Glass House to use strategy. They know every little plot or back stab they plan on doing. So even if they want to throw a player under the bus to try to get them eliminated from the house, as long as the viewers don't vote that player out, it would be all for not. And since the players go to limbo and away from the rest of the house they don't have to campaign to stay in.
   In Big Brother this is a big part of the game. Since the rest of the rest of the house is going to vote out one of the nominate, the nominee have a chance to fight and make deals to stay. Those deals can turn the game around and also change the power in the house. There is more competitions and chances to stay in the house.
   Also you get more from the House Guest in Big Brother from there diary room. The House Guest can go there and give there feeling. The only time the players from The Glass House get a way is to ask there question. And in The Glass House they skip around a lot and don't show everything. They will show a quick clip of how a fight started and then show the players trying to solve the problem. In Big Brother they would show how the fight started, the fight as it happened, and then if they were able to fix the problem.
   In Big Brother they have less personally items, where as in The Glass House they have pictures from home. Also in Big Brother you must follow the rules or there will be a plenty like an extra vote if put on the chopping block or a week of slop. In the fourth episode of The Glass House two of the players where put in the enemy room, one female player who is married and a male player. The female player said since she is married she will not lay with another man in the bed so she would sleep on the couch or floor. The producers seemed to let her get away with this. Now I respect if that how she feels since she is married, but if that is part of the game then she should have to do it or face a consequence.
   While I am planning to finish the first season of The Glass House, I doubt that I would watch next season, if they even get one. Big Brother is, in my opinion, a way better show because of how much more strategy and how there is more consequences there are. And While there are things that are different between the two shows, I do see a lot of thing that were ripped off from Big Brother. What do you think?