The fourth season of the Australian reality television series, Big Brother, also known as Big Brother 2004, was aired on Network Ten, starting on Sunday 2 May 2004, with the housemates entering the day before, and ended on Monday 26 July 2004, lasting 86 days. The season was billed as "back to basics, but with one small secret". In a return to the basic format of the first two seasons, which had been eschewed in favour of twists and surprises in the previous season, all housemates were let into the house together and former surprise elements such as swimming pools and gym equipment were all exposed from the beginning.
The only main twist of the series was the prize money - which was raised from $250,000 to $1,000,000, but this was kept hidden from housemates until later in the season. Evicted housemates also received larger prizes than any season before, with every evictee receiving a top of the range Mitsubishi Lancer VR-X. The fourth season saw a change in the voice of Big Brother. Peter Abbott, who had provided the voice for the series from 2001 to 2003, departed the role prior to the 2004 season. The voice was subsequently provided by Nick Colquhoun, who had a more stern tone than in earlier years. However, the stricter and more authoritarian portrayal of Big Brother that became prominent in later seasons had not yet fully developed, with the harsher disciplinary style and frequent fines becoming more associated with the 2005–2007 series.
Two Intruders entered the house later in the game, and Miriam Rivera, the transgender star of the show There's Something About Miriam, entered as a houseguest near the end. The two Intruders were some of the least liked in all the four seasons, with Violeta being chosen for eviction by every single housemate, and then Monica, who already had a boyfriend outside, immediately started falling for Ryan, and she and Bree developed rivalry towards each other. When Monica was finally up for eviction, she was evicted with a large percentage of the votes. Mid-season, the housemates were able to see the unofficial premiere of The Day After Tomorrow. The final contestants in 2004 were Bree Amer and Trevor Butler. Trevor won, and then proposed to his girlfriend on stage. The winner announced of the finale was watched by 2.864 million Australian viewers, making it the second most-watched television program in Australia that year.
Opening sequence The opening sequence was similar to the 2003 opening sequence with some minor sound changes. The background colour is more gradient than the previous season. A scene of a green backyard appears between the diary room and kitchen scenes. The diary room chair is orange instead of red, and the evicted housemate in the titles was changed to blue. Lastly the 84 days was changed to the series 86 days. The theme also was slightly remixed with the introduction of a guitar component.
Housemates Name Age Day entered Day exited Result Trevor Butler 30 0 86 Bree Amer 21 0 86 Paul Dyer 31 0 85 Ryan Fitzgerald 27 0 83 Catherine Tremolada 33 0 78 Ashalea McWalters 19 0 71 Monica de Balso 32 55 71 Wesley Dening 20 0 68 Violeta Black 20 55 59 Kane Dignum 20 0 57 Terri Mann 31 0 50 Merlin Luck 23 0 43 Elle Quartermaine 22 0 36 Krystal Ince 20 0 29 Igor Vurmeski 27 0 22 Aphrodite Vuitton 25 0 15 Notes
Nominations table Color key:
Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5Week 6Week 7Week 8Week 9Week 10Week 11Week 12NominationspointsreceivedNominationsIntruderEvictionTo SaveFinale Trevor 2–Igor1–Terri 2–Igor1–Paul 2–Paul1–Ashalea 2–Paul1–Ashalea 2–Merlin1–Paul 2–Terri1–Ashalea 2–Wesley1–Ashalea 2–Paul1–Ashalea Violeta RyanWesely 2–Paul1–Catherine 2–Paul1–BreeNonominationsWinner(Day 86)10 Bree 2–Terri1–Igor 2–Terri1–Igor 2–Terri1–Kane 2–Terri1–Paul 2–Terri1–Paul 2–Wesley1–Ryan 2–Kane1–Paul 2–Paul1–Wesley Violeta (Day 64) 2–Paul1–Ryan 2–Paul1–Ryan Nonominations(Day 86)24 Paul 1–Igor 2–Elle1–Merlin 2–Merlin1–Krystal 2–Elle 2–Merlin1–Catherine 2–Ashalea 2–Trevor1–Bree 2–Trevor1–Bree Violeta RyanWesely 2–Trevor1–Ryan NonominationsEvicted(Day 85)37 Ryan 2–Igor1–Aphrodite 2–Igor1–Terri 2–Krystal1–Terri 2–Terri 1–Terri 2–Bree1–Terri 2–Ashalea1–Bree 2–Ashalea1–Paul Violeta TrevorPaul 1–Bree 2–Bree1–PaulEvicted(Day 83)17 Catherine 2–Ashalea1–Igor 2–Igor1–Terri 2–Paul1–Ashalea 2–Paul1–Terri 2–Merlin1–Trevor 2–Terri1–Ryan 2–Kane1–Ryan 2–Paul1–Ashalea Violeta TrevorAshalea 2–Ryan1–BreeEvicted(Day 78)15 Ashalea 2–Igor1–Paul 2–Elle1–Merlin 2–Elle1–Trevor 2–Elle1–Kane 2–Merlin1–Kane 1–Kane 1–Ryan 2–Ryan1–Catherine Violeta TrevorPaulEvicted(Day 71)40 MonicaNot inHouse2–Ashalea1–BreeNominated CatherineRyanEvicted(Day 71)N/A Wesley 2–Aphrodite1–Krystal 1–Krystal 1–Bree 2–Elle1–Ashalea 2–Bree1–Catherine 2–Bree1–Catherine 2–Ashalea 2–Ryan1–Catherine Violeta PaulCatherineEvicted(Day 68)9 VioletaNot inHouse2–AshaleaBreeNominatedEvicted(Day 59)N/A Kane 2–Elle1–Catherine 2–Krystal1–Elle 2–Krystal1–Terri 2–Elle1–Terri 1–Catherine Terri 2–Bree1–AshaleaEvicted(Day 57)11 Terri 2–Igor 2–Igor1–Bree 2–Merlin1–Krystal 2–Bree1–Ryan 2–Bree1–Ashalea 2–Ashalea1–KaneEvicted(Day 50)37 Merlin 2–Igor1–Terri 2–Igor1–Terri 2–Paul1–Terri 2–Paul1–Terri 2–Paul1–TerriEvicted(Day 43)15 Elle 2–Igor1–Kane 2–Igor1–Terri 1–Krystal 2–AshaleaRyanEvicted(Day 36)19 Krystal 2–Igor1–Aphrodite 2–Igor1–Terri 2–Terri1–MerlinEvicted(Day 29)13 Igor 2–Krystal1–Ashalea 2–Elle1–KaneEvicted(Day 22)32 Aphrodite 2–Terri1–PaulEvicted(Day 15)6 Notesnone , none Nominated Aphrodite,Igor,Terri Elle,Igor,Terri Ashalea,Krystal,Paul,Terri Elle,Paul,Terri Bree,Catherine,Merlin,Paul,Terri Ashalea,Bree,Terri,Wesley Ashalea,Bree,Kane,Wesley All Unimmune Housemates Monica,Violeta All Housemates Catherine,Paul,Ryan Bree,Paul,Ryan All Housemates All HousematesEvictedAphrodite45%to evictIgor47%to evictKrystal41%to evictElle36%to evictMerlin46%to evictTerri41%to evictKane36%to evictBreefalsely evictedVioleta7 of 7 votesto evictMonica43%(out of 7)to evictCatherine41%to evictRyan37%to evictPaulMost votesto evictBreeMost votesto evictWesley23.3%to evictAshalea24%(out of 6)to evict Saved Igor35%Terri20% Terri35%Elle18% Paul32%Terri21%Ashalea6% Terri34%Paul30% ???19%???18%???13%???4% ???24%???21%???14% ???28%???19%???17% Bree18.4%???17.4%???15.4%???14.2%???7.4%???3.9% Monica0 of 7 votes ???22%???21%???16%???14%???3% ???33%???26% ???35%???28% BreeTrevorTrevorFewest votesto evict Notes
Special episodes A number of special episodes aired during the original run of the season. These included: The Secret Revealed 'The Secret Revealed' was the show's launch night, in which the new housemates were introduced, and the Million Dollar Secret was revealed to the nation.
Housemate Secrets 'Housemate Secrets' was aired on the first Sunday of the season, in which the housemates were told to give out statements about themselves, two of which were lies, and one was the truth.
Meeting Miriam A special episode introducing Miriam Rivera, the transgender star of the show There's Something About Miriam.
The Secret's Out This episode saw housemates play a series of games to decide who would be the first amongst the housemates to learn of Big Brother's secret.
The Intruders This episode introduced the season's Intruders.
Intruder Eviction Aired on Day 59, this episode saw the housemates decide who they wanted to evict.
The Recount Aired following the eviction of the wrong housemate, and Bree's subsequent return, a special eviction show aired to confirm the correct evictee.
The Countdown Begins Surprise Eviction
Controversy and incidents Paul was criticised for his treatment of fellow housemate Merlin during an argument over his Australian citizenship status, with the confrontation nearly escalating into a physical fight before Big Brother intervened. Paul was also criticised for persisting in the confrontation after Merlin began sobbing, during which Paul reportedly told him, “Crying won’t get you out of this one,” and followed him as he attempted to walk away. The two were involved in one of the most heated and confrontational arguments in Big Brother history. Past seasons have shown that audiences may tolerate playful or mischievous behaviour, but tend to react negatively when it crosses a line. Housemate Merlin Luck staged a protest at his live eviction show. Upon entering the arena, he revealed a makeshift banner which read "Free Th Refugees". The letter E had fallen off and it was intended to read "Free The Refugees" in reference to Australian Government policy of mandatory detention of asylum seekers. Merlin placed gaffer tape over his mouth and refused to speak during the live show. The following night, when he returned to appear as a guest on the Nomination show, he apologised to Killeen for putting her on the spot and making her job difficult by refusing to speak during the eviction show. On this show Merlin spoke about his actions in the highest rating show of the timeslot for that night. The producers were criticised for making a deal with housemate Ryan Fitzgerald who was permitted to wear a T-shirt that was branded with "MLS" (acronym for Massive Loser Squad). The T-shirts were being sold while the show was running and Ryan's friends admitted that a proportion of the profits was going towards votes to keep him in the house, thus giving him what was perceived to be an unfair advantage. However the producer pointed-out that many housemates had companies or local communities rally support for them, which was a little different, and that there was nothing stopping any other housemate's supporters doing a similar thing to Ryan's friends. Ryan has instead insisted on his radio program that his friends were not using the money to buy votes and instead spending it on alcohol. Housemate Bree Amer was incorrectly evicted instead of Wesley due to a vote counting error. The error was discovered after the Sunday night eviction show. Bree had already met up with friends and family. She was returned to the house the following night (Monday). Wesley was evicted in a special show on the following Thursday. Miriam Rivera's introductory video, including host Gretel Killeen’s remark, “This isn’t about deception, it’s about the reception,” and the ensuing interview segment, was later described by critics as awkward and degrading, with the public narrative surrounding the program widely regarded as being at Rivera's expense. Rather than centering on her as an individual, the show relied on a familiar "gotcha" trope, framing the premise around contestants being "tricked" into expressing romantic interest in a model without knowing she was transgender. Following Rivera's entry into the house, the narrative continued to focus heavily on speculation surrounding her gender identity. Producers highlighted moments of suspicion by housemates, including an instance in which housemate Ryan suggested Rivera was "a bloke," framing it as a dramatic revelation. While such discussions were presented as entertainment for audiences at the time, they were later criticised for contributing to Rivera's public humiliation.
Reception
Australian TV ratings MONDAY - FRIDAY DAILY SHOW WEEK Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth TOTAL WEEKLYRANK 01 356,000 343,000 256,000 137,000 152,000 1,243,000 46 02 299,000 281,000 222,000 115,000 145,000 1,062,000 58 03 312,000 268,000 199,000 110,000 148,000 1,037,000 70 04 , 000 , 000 , 000 , 000 , 000 , 000 05 311,000 296,000 208,000 121,000 146,000 1,082,000 65 06 325,000 278,000 195,000 116,000 148,000 1,063,000 66 07 341,000 294,000 221,000 132,000 131,000 1,119,000 49 08 289,000 272,000 233,000 126,000 133,000 1,052,000 65 09 302,000 287,000 242,000 135,000 133,000 1,100,000 57 10 309,000 322,000 234,000 141,000 132,000 1,138,000 45 11 328,000 302,000 231,000 143,000 121,000 1,124,000 53 12 357,000 307,000 249,000 100,000 124,000 2,191,000' 46
References