# ABC's The Glass House -like CBS's Big Brother



## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

Starts June 18th, unless CBS's lawsuit to block the show is upheld.

Any Big Brother fan's gonna watch this? I will check out an episode or two to see how different it is.


"LOS ANGELES -- CBS sued ABC on Thursday to stop an upcoming reality show that CBS claims is being developed in violation of its copyrights and with secrets obtained from the long-running reality show "Big Brother."

The federal lawsuit seeks an injunction barring ABC from continuing its work or airing "The Glass House," a show that will film and allow viewers to vote off contestants living together in a house.

CBS claims the show copies the formula used for its hit series "Big Brother," and that ABC has hired 19 of the show's former staffers to help make "Glass House."

The lawsuit also names two top "Glass House" producers and an ABC programming executive who worked on "Big Brother," claiming they are violating non-disclosure agreements and giving away secrets of the show to their new employers.

"In copying `Big Brother,' defendants have had an unprecedented and troubling degree of access to CBS's copyrightable expression, as well as CBS's protected trade secrets and other confidential and proprietary information related to the behind-the-scenes development, filming and production of `Big Brother,'" the lawsuit states.

In its lawsuit, CBS claims an unnamed ABC executive instructed others to try to hire as many former "Big Brother" staffers as possible to undercut its competitor.

ABC denied wrongdoing in a statement, calling the lawsuit meritless.

"The differences between `Glass House' and `Big Brother' are both fundamental and obvious," the network wrote in a statement, citing interactive elements, audience participation and new technologies.

It will be up to a federal judge to compare the similarities and differences in the shows and determine if CBS should be given an injunction and potentially millions of dollars in damages.

The lawsuit states many valuable elements of "Big Brother" cannot be gleaned from merely watching the show. The suit says the processes in which story lines are created and challenges are handled involving the filming of contestants around-the-clock are protected by the non-disclosure agreements.

"Many of the `Big Brother' trade secrets were developed because of the series' fast-paced schedule and unique format," the lawsuit states."


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## IndyJones1023 (Apr 1, 2002)

I don't really see how there are secrets about how to record and televise people locked in a house.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

Given how every successful reality show on cable has a copycat in six months I don't see the merit of this.

I used to watch bb Australia, uk and us every summer. Was massive chunk of time. Bb uk is now shorter and bb Australia gone so I will check this out. It will be significantly different enough to make it interesting and maybe CBS bb will step up their game. It is a bit tired at this point and I am tired of former houseguest coming back on.


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

Hoping that a new show is a drama is like hoping that Congress will do useful work. I saw the title Glass House, assuming it was a made for TV movie, I had some hope that it would be interesting. Oh well, another reality show.


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## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

sieglinde said:


> Hoping that a new show is a drama is like hoping that Congress will do useful work. I saw the title Glass House, assuming it was a made for TV movie, I had some hope that it would be interesting. Oh well, another reality show.


I'll watch. I enjoy BB so if it's similar with interesting differences, that is a selling point for me. I like reality competition shows and don't get the disdain people have for them. On the other hand, I never watch made for TV movies.

I hope one difference will be that unlike BB, it is in HD.


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## pmyers (Jan 4, 2001)

tiams said:


> I hope one difference will be that unlike BB, it is in HD.


If bb isn't in HD this year, I won't watch.


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## Frylock (Feb 13, 2002)

I'm in. If it's like BB, why wouldn't I check it out.

I don't blame CBS for trying to stop it. However, I also don't see how CBS will succeed.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

I'll watch. In fact, this publicity is good for ABC as I had never even heard of this show until it was mentioned here as being like BB. And it starts a month before BB starts anyways.


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

We'll check it out. Summer TV selection is bad enough, so I'm open to checking out something offbeat like this. Oh and we watch BB. 

(doesn't matter if BB is HD or not, we still watch)


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## sieglinde (Aug 11, 2002)

I found that the reality shows I end up really enjoying are where there is a competition in some skill. This included singing, art or special effects makeup. I also like the things that take you into someone's shop and shows the work they are doing such as Dream Machines or Monster Man. I have watched the shows that have people competing over popularity such as Survivor, a Gilligans Island type show and some others but I have given up on the shows that resemble putting a grasshopper in a jar of ants to see what happens type shows.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

The bios are up:

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-glass-house/bios

A little older crowd than Big Brother normally pulls in.

Alex, bail bondsman, 25, Dallas, TX
Andrea, bookkeeper, age 31, Valencia, CA
Apollo, poet/author, age 28, Phoenix, AZ
Ashley, paralegal, age 30, New Orleans, LA
Erica, cocktail waitress, age 27, Denver, CO
Gene, stuntman, age 28, Chicago, IL
Jacob, cook, age 28, Coos Bay, OR
Jeffrey, receptionist, age 35, Brooklyn, NY
Joy, nurse, age 27, Fredericksburg, VA
Kevin, police sergeant, age 33, Toledo, OH
Melissa, freelance journalist, age 31, Chicago, IL
Mike, bar mitzvah DJ, age 48, Pembroke, MA
Robin, blogger, age 43, Washington, DC
Stephanie, scientist, age 32, Boston, MA


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## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

funny metric #of facebook friends


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## Shaunnick (Jul 2, 2005)

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-glass-house/bios/erica
Blonde hair, blue eyes, big breasts, and a cocktail waitress. I think I just found the woman the other women in the house will hate.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

marksman said:


> I used to watch bb Australia, uk and us every summer. Was massive chunk of time. Bb uk is now shorter and bb Australia gone


BB Australia returns this year.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

Donbadabon said:


> The bios are up:
> 
> http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-glass-house/bios
> 
> ...


Interesting. One complaint about big brother from the older skewer forum fans here and elsewhere is having too young a cast and anyone over 30 being treated like the old guy.

As for aussie bb coming back eff me. I used to spend 150 days from the launch of bb au until the finale of bb us. This was before more summer tv shows and Showtime after dark.

That being said bb uk is like ten weeks now. I know one season it was like 105 days which is crazy. I will certainly check it out. The problem you saw in bb1 here and in other countries is fans tend to vote out the interesting people.

That being said bb uk winner Aaron last year was one of my favorites of all time perhaps behind only Dr. Will here.


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## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

On a somewhat related note: if anyone could sue, it would be NBC and The Voice suing Fox and The Choice. I say that as someone who has never watched The Voice and only one episode of The Choice (that was enough). They both have spinning chairs, and they both have celebrities picking contestants site unseen for their "team" and they both have elimination rounds to narrow down the contestants. 

But really, who cares?


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

It will be really interesting to see if this works here because it is so similar to BB1, which mostly flopped and had to be re-worked to make it more interesting and realizing the public voting doesn't also necessarily make for good TV.


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

I'm surprised CBS didn't sue CMT as well for their Survivor ripoff, ******* Island.


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## NJ_HB (Mar 21, 2007)

I like BB so I'll end up watching. I have found that BB seems to have 'settled' down and the house guests are not as wild and crazy as they were a couple years ago and other than the language, even the Showtime Afterdark episodes are not as entertaining as the earlier seasons of BB. The guests seem to be more aware of the cameras and the 'real' time while in the house. It would be better if they did not know when SAD was broadcasting.


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## martinp13 (Mar 19, 2001)

tiams said:


> On a somewhat related note: if anyone could sue, it would be NBC and The Voice suing Fox and The Choice. I say that as someone who has never watched The Voice and only one episode of The Choice (that was enough). They both have spinning chairs, and they both have celebrities picking contestants site unseen for their "team" and they both have elimination rounds to narrow down the contestants.
> 
> But really, who cares?


I watched the beginning rounds of The Voice, and the first episode of The Choice. The Choice is just lame, and it's an end-to-end show in one hour. Fox just did the spinning chairs and sound-alike name to "mimic" The Voice, but it's certainly a completely different show.

I'll probly watch Glass House, at least to start.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

In reading about this show, one thing bothered me in that they are mentioning that the viewers will decide who gets voted off. Didn't they do this the first season of BB (which I didn't watch) and it turned out to be a huge failure? All that was left were the boring houseguests, and by S2 they switched the format to let the houseguests vote each other off.


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## plateau10 (Dec 11, 2007)

Steveknj said:


> In reading about this show, one thing bothered me in that they are mentioning that the viewers will decide who gets voted off. Didn't they do this the first season of BB (which I didn't watch) and it turned out to be a huge failure? All that was left were the boring houseguests, and by S2 they switched the format to let the houseguests vote each other off.


After being trained for 12 years to enjoy drama, I'm sure the viewers will vote off the boring contestants this time.


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## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

Steveknj said:


> In reading about this show, one thing bothered me in that they are mentioning that the viewers will decide who gets voted off. Didn't they do this the first season of BB (which I didn't watch) and it turned out to be a huge failure? All that was left were the boring houseguests, and by S2 they switched the format to let the houseguests vote each other off.


The producers know better than to let viewers determine who is eliminated. They will withhold that power for themselves so they can be sure to orchestrate the drama and controversy.

From ABC's website : "Viewer votes will *help determine* which contestants are sent home and also which eliminated players will earn the chance to return to The Glass House to compete each week."

In other words, your vote will mean nothing.


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## DancnDude (Feb 7, 2001)

plateau10 said:


> After being trained for 12 years to enjoy drama, I'm sure the viewers will vote off the boring contestants this time.


I think generally viewers want to help the good guy and punish the bad guy. So they'd vote out the bully to help the other contestants, but not realize that the bully is the reason the show was so interesting.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

If I'm reading this correctly, there will be live feeds today between 3-4pm est. In other words, right now as of this post.

http://glass-house.abc.go.com/shows/the-glass-house/view-and-vote/


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

Fool Me Twice said:


> If I'm reading this correctly, there will be live feeds today between 3-4pm est. In other words, right now as of this post.
> 
> http://glass-house.abc.go.com/shows/the-glass-house/view-and-vote/


It is, am watching it now...

The person that speaks to the houseguests is a woman, so that is different. lol. She has a 'Val' vibe to her. Anyone remember Val from that MTV show with the pods?

Right now they are playing a game. Val is asking them questions, and people online are voting also. I can't see the voting part though, it is not showing up for me.

The questions are like:

How long should you date before getting married:

6 months
1 year
3 years
5+ years

Then, based on the houseguests answers, they go to a certain room and wait for the results. So if you think 6 months you go to the bathroom, 5+ years you go to the kitchen, etc.

I don't know what the point is, unless for each one they match with the viewers they individually get points.


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## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

Donbadabon said:


> The person that speaks to the houseguests is a woman, so that is different. lol. She has a 'Val' vibe to her. Anyone remember Val from that MTV show with the pods?


Solitary. I don't remember it being on MTV, I watched it on Fox Reality Channel.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

I'm starting to think I'm not going to like this much. I'm not a big fan of shows that constantly beg for votes from the audience, usually sponsored by someone (so it becomes a glorified ad). To me, it's more fun to watch the contestants duke it out without too much outside interference. But I'll give it a shot and see if I'm wrong about it.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

tiams said:


> Solitary. I don't remember it being on MTV, I watched it on Fox Reality Channel.


That is it. You are right, it was Fox Reality, not MTV. I loved that show.

They've been playing the game for an hour now.

They are really hamming it up for the camera, lots of posing.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

A few shots captured from the live feed of the house-guests in the kitchen:




























That is Assley, I mean Ashley, in the gray. I'm just sayin.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

Steveknj said:


> I'm starting to think I'm not going to like this much. I'm not a big fan of shows that constantly beg for votes from the audience, usually sponsored by someone (so it becomes a glorified ad). To me, it's more fun to watch the contestants duke it out without too much outside interference. But I'll give it a shot and see if I'm wrong about it.


I guess I missed it this week, but I set up an SP for next week. They tried letting America decide who got kicked off on Big Brother the first season and there's a reason they never went back to that format.

America" voted off the least like-able people _first_ and in the end we were left with a boring love fest. It was the worst season of BB ever.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

bareyb said:


> I guess I missed it this week, but I set up an SP for next week.


It hasn't started yet, first episode is Monday the 18th. Right now they are just allowing access to the live feeds during certain times.

Here is another shot I grabbed during the live feed today. Looks like the eviction chairs:


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

CBS has been trying to get a restraining order against abc for this. Ianal but I don't think their claims of abc stealing the bb secret sauce is going to lead to a restraining order.

In fact CBS will just draw attention to the show.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

One other difference from Big Brother is that the contestants are only in the house 5 days a week and spend the weekend in a hotel.


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## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

Fool Me Twice said:


> One other difference from Big Brother is that the contestants are only in the house 5 days a week and spend the weekend in a hotel.


That sucks! The isolation is part of what makes the houseguests crazy.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

Fool Me Twice said:


> One other difference from Big Brother is that the contestants are only in the house 5 days a week and spend the weekend in a hotel.


Please post your source. I don't believe that for a second.


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

Donbadabon said:


> Please post your source. I don't believe that for a second.


http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/06/12/abc-to-judge-dont-block-glass-house-premiere/



> Unlike the CBS show, however, the contestants of Glass House leave the house and are sequestered for a two-day period while viewers, not their fellow contestants, decide who to evict.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

Hmm. It doesn't say where they are staying when they are sequestered.

I will say the phrase "spending a weekend in a hotel" conjures up a different image in my mind than 'sequestered'. Probably just semantics, but the first makes me think they are away from the game living it up for 2 days before having to go back in.

I wonder why they have to leave the house while the viewers decide who to vote out? I can't think of a valid reason for them to do this.


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

Donbadabon said:


> Hmm. It doesn't say where they are staying when they are sequestered.
> 
> I will say the phrase "spending a weekend in a hotel" conjures up a different image in my mind than 'sequestered'. Probably just semantics, but the first makes me think they are away from the game living it up for 2 days before having to go back in.
> 
> I wonder why they have to leave the house while the viewers decide who to vote out? I can't think of a valid reason for them to do this.





> The Glass House contestants will only be monitored 24/5 by a control roomwith fifty-two hours off, sequestered at a hotel, stewing in their own personal game play and awaiting the fate of who will make it back in the house.


http://www.tvovermind.com/abc/the-glass-house-preview-abc/


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

lol. Well, I can't argue with that.


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## vertigo235 (Oct 27, 2000)

Well it does make it different from BB though.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

I had the same adverse reaction to living it up like shore live at a hotel. If they are in real sequester though it could be awesome. People coming out of sequester with all kinds of ridiculous and good plans. Plus they cycled on and off sequester might make things harder.

Most people on these shows are extroverts by nature and sequester is torture.


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## martinp13 (Mar 19, 2001)

marksman said:


> I had the same adverse reaction to living it up like shore live at a hotel. If they are in real sequester though it could be awesome. People coming out of sequester with all kinds of ridiculous and good plans. Plus they cycled on and off sequester might make things harder.
> 
> Most people on these shows are extroverts by nature and sequester is torture.


Plus if you're sequestered separately, you can't talk strategy (except with yourself  ).

It will be interesting to see how they make this different from BB to keep from being successfully sued.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

martinp13 said:


> Plus if you're sequestered separately, you can't talk strategy (except with yourself  ).
> 
> *It will be interesting to see how they make this different from BB to keep from being successfully sued.*


Really, how different does it have to be? Are any of these "talent" shows THAT different than any other one? To me, the only way they lose is if they copy EXACT portions of the show. Call them houseguests for example. Similar is not exactly the same.


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## martinp13 (Mar 19, 2001)

Steveknj said:


> Really, how different does it have to be? Are any of these "talent" shows THAT different than any other one? To me, the only way they lose is if they copy EXACT portions of the show. Call them houseguests for example. Similar is not exactly the same.


You're right, but the difference here is that they hired a lot of ex-BB employees with BB experience and knowledge. When you're used to doing something one way, it's usually easiest to keep doing it that way. I don't think the BB suit has a leg to stand on, but it's more there as a threat to make sure that ABC doesn't carbon-copy BB.


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

martinp13 said:


> You're right, but the difference here is that they hired a lot of ex-BB employees with BB experience and knowledge. When you're used to doing something one way, it's usually easiest to keep doing it that way. I don't think the BB suit has a leg to stand on, but it's more there as a threat to make sure that ABC doesn't carbon-copy BB.


The only leg CBS might have is if the staff they hired violated their non-disclosure agreements. Even if the show is mostly different, if they used some protected knowledge of BB in making the show, CBS could win in suing them staff, but not sure about keeping the show off the air.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

Restraining order denied.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118055543.html?cmpid=RSS

Guest entry.


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## Shaunnick (Jul 2, 2005)

Fool Me Twice said:


> Restraining order denied.
> http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118055543.html?cmpid=RSS


Hahahahha



> (U.S. District Court Judge Gary Allen) Feess was sometimes sarcastic in tone as he talked of the world of reality TV, especially its potential to copycat, and even quipped that he once predicted that the genre would not last.
> 
> "Boy was I wrong," Feess said.


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## marksman (Mar 4, 2002)

I am pleasantly surprised the judge acknowledged the fundamental copycat nature of the reality genre.


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## tiams (Apr 19, 2004)

Looks like The Glass House is only on one night per week, while BB is usually 3 nights per week. A lot can change in one week. If viewers only watch the TV broadcast and don't keep up online, I would think a lot would be missed. Maybe that is part of why they are sequestered two days a week.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

Don't forget, it starts tonight 10PM EST.

Live streaming on the web is:

Mondays 11PM - 3AM EST.
Tues/Wed/Thurs - 3PM - 4PM EST


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## Eddie501 (Jun 4, 2004)

Donbadabon said:


> Live streaming on the web is:
> 
> Mondays 11PM - 3AM EST.
> Tues/Wed/Thurs - 3PM - 4PM EST


Boy, they _really_ don't want people to watch those streams do they?


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## Steveknj (Mar 10, 2003)

Donbadabon said:


> Don't forget, it starts tonight 10PM EST.
> 
> Live streaming on the web is:
> 
> ...


Actually, my guide shows 10:02PM I set it up to record 1 min early, just in case.


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## tlrowley (Jun 10, 2004)

I don't watch either show so I have absolutely no bias, but I did find the new CBS press release funny -

CBS announces "Dancing On the Stars"


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## verdugan (Sep 9, 2003)

tlrowley said:


> I don't watch either show so I have absolutely no bias, but I did find the new CBS press release funny -
> 
> CBS announces "Dancing On the Stars"


Best press release ... ever.

Thanks for posting.


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## KRS (Jan 30, 2002)

Just learning of this show now through this thread - was the premiere any good? I'll have to see if it is available On Demand. 

Been watching the US Big Brother since season 1, and I don't see how this new show could be any good airing only once a week.


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## Shaunnick (Jul 2, 2005)

It was - good enough to feel in the gap.

I am still waiting to see if this show grabs me. If I am not hooked after the second episode, I likely will just wait for BB to air in a few weeks.


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## gossamer88 (Jul 27, 2005)

I love BB and I hated this. Can't quite put my finger on it. I deleted the SP.


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## Fool Me Twice (Jul 6, 2004)

I'm out. The limited live streams are worthless and offer no insight into the game. The appeal of BB to me is following the dynamics in the house over the course of a day or week--either by watching the live feeds or by following updates on forums, blogs, and twitter.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

gossamer88 said:


> I love BB and I hated this. Can't quite put my finger on it. I deleted the SP.


I've watched a few seasons of BB and I do wish this show had a host like Julie Chen. She was nice to look at and added more personality than just having the Big Sister voice.

I thought it was funny too when Howie (?) in a season of BB had a "Thanks Julie" shirt.


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## jcondon (Jul 9, 2003)

I think their robotic voice is a stab at Chenbot actually.


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## Bob Coxner (Dec 1, 2004)

KRS said:


> Just learning of this show now through this thread - was the premiere any good? I'll have to see if it is available On Demand.
> 
> Been watching the US Big Brother since season 1, and I don't see how this new show could be any good airing only once a week.


I think the pilot will be repeated on Sunday before episode 2.


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