Veliki Brat 2011 (commonly known as Veliki Brat 4 or VB4 for short) was the fourth season of the Serbian production of the Big Brother reality television series Veliki Brat. This season was notable for being the first to feature houseguests from Croatia, and in doing so it holds the record for largest number of unique nations represented with five. Along with Serbia and Croatia, the other three nations represented were Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia. The program is known as Big Brother in Croatia due to a former Croatian Big Brother series that aired for five seasons which was not affiliated with Veliki Brat.
The season began airing on 13 March 2011, marking the first time that the regular season was broadcast on Pink TV.
Production
Trailer and subtitles For the first time, a trailer was produced for the show. It features housemates from previous seasons, dressed in uniforms, attending VB - Škola za poznate (Big Brother's school of fame). Hosts of the show are also featured as teachers, and Boki 13, from season 4 of the celebrity version, appears at the end of the video. The trailer premiered on YouTube.
Despite most of the press dubbing the season "School of fame", the official slogan was "Ljubi bližnjeg svog" (Love thy neighbor). A second teaser trailer was released a few weeks before the show; this one featuring falling flowers, spelling out "Ljubi bližnjeg svog" (similar to the one used in British Big Brother 11).
Auditions Auditions took place from December 2010 to January 2011. Applications were submitted via SMS, telephone or online formhosted by Emotion. In Croatia, auditions were open for everyone, with no previous application needed.
The first casting was held in Podgorica on 24 December 2010. The day after, auditions were held simultaneously in Sarajevo and Skopje. The first round of auditions concluded in Banja Luka.
The second round of auditions were held in Croatia, with over 5,500 people applying. They lasted six days in three cities: Zagreb, Rijeka and Split. The final round of casting was held in Serbia, with auditions in Čačak, Užice, Niš, Novi Sad, Kragujevac and Belgrade, between 14 January 2011 and 23 January 2011.
Censorship Previously, each of the regular seasons were broadcast on B92 (a Serbian television broadcaster), while some of the celebrity editions were shown on Pink TV. This was the first time that Pink aired a regular season.
There was much speculation about who would host the show; many celebrities were tipped, including Nataša Bekvalac and Severina Vučković. Eventually, the producers announced Antonija Blaće as the host of the show, as well as Marijana Mićić who was confirmed only a few days before the launch.
At the end of February 2011, Pink was criticized for having too many reality programs, with participants becoming more inappropriate than the previous ones. The Serbian Broadcasting Agency warned both the broadcasters and the producers that there would be zero tolerance on violence, racism and hate speech, stating that they would be kept under supervision.
The production company Emotion said that they would minimize content that could be considered harmful and that live streaming would be delayed by a few minutes. For the first time, the show was marked as unsuitable for viewers under 18, but the age limit was later lowered to 15.
Big Brother's relationship with the housemates Big Brother could talk to the housemates in two ways:
Through the speakers Big Brother could talk to the housemates through the speakers to: announce the start or end of tasks, inform about punishments, or call a housemate to the diary room.
In the Diary room Big Brother's relationship with the housemates while in the Diary room was more intimate. He would ask different questions and be more emotive.
Big Brother's voice Although more than one voice actor played Big Brother, their voices were filtered to sound robotic and inhuman. Due to the robotic voice, housemates had the impression that Big Brother was one person watching them constantly.
Broadcasting Companion shows Big Brother's Colosseum
For the first time, Big Brother's Big Brain was not broadcast. In previous years, various companion shows were broadcast with Big Brain remaining a constant fixture.
That year a new show was produced: Big Brother's Colosseum, a game show in which the winning housemate got to be the House Captain. The House Captain was immune to nominations, and the nominations that housemates place were worth double. The show was hosted by Marijana Mićić and Maca.
The show was canceled halfway through the season, as two housemates (Dražen and Soraja) were injured during one of the games. Dražen was hospitalized and had to leave the show.
Call on Big Brother
Pozovite Velikog brata (English: Call on Big Brother) was a new show, hosted by Irina Radović (a former host of Big Brother's Big Brain). It was a phone-in morning show, wherein Irina and a guest would receive calls from viewers who commented on what happened in the house recently. Some guests were family members of the housemates, while others included psychologists, an astrologist, and some of the evicted housemates.
Halfway through the season, Irina signed a contract with Prva Srpska Televizija and had to leave Pink TV, so Marijana took her place.
Eye and the house Producers changed the design of the eye logo. This season used the British Big Brother 2010 logoan eye composed of flowers and petals, with a slight color difference. The opening credits were changed as well; the music stayed the same, but the intro was also taken from the 2010 British seriew, although slightly altered.
The house itself remained the same, consisting of the kitchen and dining room, living room, bedroom, toilet, and garden. There were a few changes though: the walls of the showers were transparent, the swimming pool was now placed inside the house. Notably, all 16 beds were merged, with the mattresses and pillows sewn together. Also, there was just one large bed cover. For the first time, there was a smoking booth which housemates could enter one at a time.
Next to the house, the Dumps, a secret area, was built.
The following celebrity season Veliki Brat VIP 5 used the same logo and titles.
The twists
Prize Fund The prize fund for this season increased from €100,000 to €150,000. However, a penalty system was introduced, wherein any infraction of the Big Brother rules resulted in money from the prize fund being taken away. Moreover, the weekly shopping budget would also be decreased. Ultimately, the winner was rewarded €104,000.
The Dumps The Dumps, a yard full of garbage, was a secret place in which some housemates lived. Housemates lived in an old bus and had an old car acting as a Diary Room. In the second week, a so-called "ninja" (Radašin) entered the Dumps. His task was to obey housemates and to bring them things they wanted from the main house, being careful not to reveal the secret place.
Poisonous arrow Housemates could be hit with a "poisonous arrow". Big Brother would decide to do something to the housemate who was hit. For instance, in week 1, Ema was hit with a poisonous arrow by Duško (who was evicted from the main house to the Dumps). Big Brother then decided to take all of Ema's personal belongings. In the second week, Bojana was hit by an arrow from Soraja and had to do all of the house chores by herself.
The Lioness On day 49, the Lioness conquered Big Brother, who became her servant and kidnapped the male housemates (Duško, Horvat, Lester, Nemeš, Nikola, Nirmal and Radiša) and placed them in her cave, known as the Lioness' Cave. She would train the boys with the aim to increase their attractiveness. The Lioness told the female housemates (Bojana, Ema, Marijana and Soraja) that they would have the chance to save some of the men. For every one saved, they would receive €81 for their weekly budget.
Indecent proposal During week 9's eviction, Big Brother offered housemates the chance for one evicted housemate to return in exchange for €35,000 from the prize fund. They had to unanimously decide whether to accept or reject the proposal. Though Duško, Brandon, and Antonia initially rejected the indecent proposal, they eventually agreed to the offer. Upon accepting the deal, housemates then entered the Diary Room, one by one, to vote for the housemate they wanted back in the house. Having received the most votes to re-enter, Ema was returned to the Big Brother House.
Housemates HousemateAge on entryOccupation Residence Day entered Day exitedReasonMarijana Čvrljak27HousewifeŠibenik, Croatia1106Duško Bogdanović55FarmerGalibabinac1106Horvat Čagalj33BabysitterDugi Rat, Croatia1106Branislav "Brandon" Radonić 24PerformerČenta851065085Soraja - Sara Vučelić24ModelBar, Montenegro1106Nikola "Nemeš" Nemešević 22Opera singerBelgrade1104Nirmal Kukić25StudentŽivinice, Bosnia and Herzegovina1104Nikola "Lester" Nasteski20Model/StripperSkopje, North Macedonia1104Nikola Maurović21StudentZaprešić, Croatia1104Bojana Stojković25Volleyball playerUžice199Antonia Jovanović25Party girlOpatija, Croatia5092Ema Šuker20Professional athleteZagreb, Croatia6471157Vladimir Tomović28StudentBar, Montenegro5066Dražen Bogdan46FirefighterSveti Ivan Zelina, Croatia166Radiša Miljković50FarmerAleksinac864Tamara Đorđević23PromoterBelgrade850Slavica Đulejić42Taxi driverSmederevo143Dragana Strahinjić27BeauticianPožarevac136George Rkman39Taxi driverNewcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom129Mila Tokić21PromoterZagreb, Croatia122Milan Grahovac31PropagandistSombor115
Weekly summary Week 1 Entrances George, Bojana, Horvat, Marijana, Nemeš, Duško, Soraja, Mila, Dragana, Nikola, Slavica, Nirmal, Milan, Ema, Dražen and Lester entered the house during the launch night. Tasks The Big Cleaning – On the second day, housemates found a sticky note on the fridge saying "Sorry for the mess! Love, Big Brother.", and found that the garden was full of trash from the party Big Brother organized for himself but had not invited the housemates, who had to clean up the mess within an hour and a half. The same situation repeated the following days, with more stuff to be cleaned, and more and more confetti scattered across the garden. Housemates in the Dumps had a task as well; they had to sort out the garbage that came down the shoot from the house. There were two daily tasks: Taxi Duel (the prize was a party) and synchronized swimming (in order to win treats – tiramisu). Poisonous arrow During the second day housemates were informed that one of them would be struck with a "poisonous arrow". Housemates were confused at first, but later found out that Duško, after he was evicted, had to choose who would lose their clothes - he chose Ema. At the end of the week, Ema played a game similar to Wheel of Fortune and won back some of her clothes. Exits On the launch night Big Brother told the housemates that he did not like the number 13, and he that one of the housemates would be evicted the next day (13 housemates were inside the house, and 3 more in the Dumps). Housemates voted out Duško, but Big Brother chose to move him into the Dumps instead of evicting him. At the end of the week, after the nominations, housemates in the dumps chose who would join them, and chose Soraja. Week 2 Entrances Tamara and Radašin – Tamara entered the house regularly, but Radašin came in as a ninja. They had a secret task, to provide housemates in the dumps with anything they might need, and not get caught by other housemates. Tasks Cirque du burlesque – Some housemates had to learn circus acts, and some of them had to learn how to perform a burlesque show.