Germany's Ultimate Reality Show
February 23, 2005
When Sascha, Michael and Franziska leave the "Big Brother" container next week, they'll have spent a year behind bars with TV cameras catching their every move for broadcast into German living rooms.
The lucky winner will get €1 million ($1.32 million), but before that happens, the show's TV channel, RTL II, will introduce German viewers to its next, and even more extreme, version of the show.
On Tuesday, 15 people will move into the set of "Big Brother -- The Village" -- a hamlet, complete with market square and stables.
A societal microcosm?
The "village" includes three different types of housing: A "poor" home, that's located right next to the stables and equipped with the bare necessities, a "normal" house and a "rich" villa, where occupants get three-course meals and massages every day.
Everyone will have to work for the show's farm, a car mechanic or a fashion label and fulfill duties according to their social status.
"It's a societal microcosm complete with class struggle, envy and real chances for climbing and falling down the social ladder," RTL II wrote in a press release.
Contestants, who will compete for prizes and money totalling €1 million per year, will also be required to take on personal challenges, such as learning a new language or getting occupational training.
Whether they'll ever be able to put their new skills to use is questionable as RTL II officials would like to keep them locked up for good.
Katja Hofem-Best, the channel's entertainment executive, said the show would be "endless" -- "God and TV viewers willing."