Big Brother 2004 on official YouTube channel (Live streamed Aug 29 -30 + Sept 6-7)

[the Theorist]

Running list of replaced episodes so far, due to damaged or missing master tapes*:

2003 - Finale (Day 86)​

2004 - Daily Show 1 (Day 1)​

2004 - Daily Show 6 (Day 8)​

2004 - Daily Show 7 (Day 9)​

2004 - Daily Show 8 (Day 10)​

2004 - Daily Show 9 (Day 11)​

2004 - Daily Show 10 (Day 12)​

2004 - Daily Show 11 (Day 15)​

2004 - Daily Show 12 (Day 16)​

2004 - Daily Show 13 (Day 17)​

2004 - Daily Show 14 (Day 18)​

2004 - Daily Show 15 (Day 19)​

2004 - Daily Show 16 (Day 22)​

2004 - Daily Show 17 (Day 23)​

2004 - Daily Show 18 (Day 24)​

2004 - Daily Show 19 (Day 25)​

2004 - Daily Show 20 (Day 26)​

2004 - Daily Show 21 (Day 29)​

*This doesn’t include the majority of 2002 episodes, which all experience very significant tape glitches but were still uploaded online anyway.

It should be noted again the BB social team did mention they have teams “chasing down plenty of leads to see who still has DVD screeners or backup tapes” of the 2003 and 2004 seasons to retrieve the lost and/or damaged episodes. They are aware of “a few people in media ops (with) personal DVDs, but a lot of them got lost as they were never intended to be a true backup, only (used for) for screenings”. So fingers crossed.

I suspect Rod Morris might be one of the people contacted. He is known to have a lot of original tapes, and did upload a HQ version of ‘Reggie Rules’ to Facebook a couple years…

In my opinion, at the very least, I reckon a copy of the 2003 Finale will be found somewhere. Surely Rod, of all people, will have this. However the Daily Shows from 2004 seem more unlikely, but to be honest the upscaled quality isn’t as noticeable for these as though were for the original LQ capture of 2003.

 

[dasnico]

Love the female BB voice. I think it was season 5 that had a super sexy sounding one. I remember her announcing that "it's time to feed the animals"

 

[Will McDougle]

Love the female BB voice. I think it was season 5 that had a super sexy sounding one. I remember her announcing that "it's time to feed the animals"

I think it was more 2007 (season 7)

 

[BB12]

I suspect Rod Morris might be one of the people contacted. He is known to have a lot of original tapes, and did upload a HQ version of ‘Reggie Rules’ to Facebook a couple years…

In my opinion, at the very least, I reckon a copy of the 2003 Finale will be found somewhere. Surely Rod, of all people, will have this. However the Daily Shows from 2004 seem more unlikely, but to be honest the upscaled quality isn’t as noticeable for these as though were for the original LQ capture of 2003.

I sincerely hope that Rod saves the day. It would be crazy to see how much content he actually has. Being in charge of all the stuff that appeared on the stage plasma screens, makes me confident he'd have a lot.

 

[Kingston]

If I had two things that production should take note of from this rewatch experiment is that the show needs to feel like a television event again and that the show should be grounded in a back to basics existence. You can build a luxurious looking house but over all one that doesn’t have all the creature comforts. I think in the age of air fryers, instant coffee makers, being chronically online, the internet in your pocket, pitching the show as a full societal detox where they actually have to work to get things done (ie. baking bread, washing clothes by hand, earn money for shopping etc) is actually a novel concept again. If not more relevant than it was originally.

 

[James T]

Genuinely floored they’re actually playing the Miriam episodes and aren’t burying them.

 

[Zcsund1234]

Took work off today and thought I’d just chuck it on for background noise, amazingly they’re up to the most iconic eviction of the season. I chose a good day to take off!

 

[timmy]

Took work off today and thought I’d just chuck it on for background noise, amazingly they’re up to the most iconic eviction of the season. I chose a good day to take off!

By pure chance I tuned back in just in time for this eviction. Fantastic.

 

[timmy]

This episode brought to you by @BigKevin - the saviour of Big Brother.

 

[the Theorist]

Running list of replaced episodes so far, due to damaged or missing master tapes*:

2003 - Finale (Day 86)​

2004 - Daily Show 1 (Day 1)​

2004 - Daily Show 6 (Day 8)​

2004 - Daily Show 7 (Day 9)​

2004 - Daily Show 8 (Day 10)​

2004 - Daily Show 9 (Day 11)​

2004 - Daily Show 10 (Day 12)​

2004 - Daily Show 11 (Day 15)​

2004 - Daily Show 12 (Day 16)​

2004 - Daily Show 13 (Day 17)​

2004 - Daily Show 14 (Day 18)​

2004 - Daily Show 15 (Day 19)​

2004 - Daily Show 16 (Day 22)​

2004 - Daily Show 17 (Day 23)​

2004 - Daily Show 18 (Day 24)​

2004 - Daily Show 19 (Day 25)​

2004 - Daily Show 20 (Day 26)​

2004 - Daily Show 21 (Day 29)​

*This doesn’t include the majority of 2002 episodes, which all experience very significant tape glitches but were still uploaded online anyway.

It should be noted again the BB social team did mention they have teams “chasing down plenty of leads to see who still has DVD screeners or backup tapes” of the 2003 and 2004 seasons to retrieve the lost and/or damaged episodes. They are aware of “a few people in media ops (with) personal DVDs, but a lot of them got lost as they were never intended to be a true backup, only (used for) for screenings”. So fingers crossed.

I suspect Rod Morris might be one of the people contacted. He is known to have a lot of original tapes, and did upload a HQ version of ‘Reggie Rules’ to Facebook a couple years…

In my opinion, at the very least, I reckon a copy of the 2003 Finale will be found somewhere. Surely Rod, of all people, will have this. However the Daily Shows from 2004 seem more unlikely, but to be honest the upscaled quality isn’t as noticeable for these as though were for the original LQ capture of 2003.

Adding: Daily Show 31 (aired on Day 43 before Merlin’s eviction) to the list.

 

[James T]

Oh Reggie..

 

[timmy]

*This doesn’t include the majority of 2002 episodes

Back in the day there was a guy using the nick "TVGuy" who used to rip all the eps in widescreen, and they were distributed by Usenet and IRC, which was the style at the time. Whoever and wherever he is, I would bet money he still has all his original caps.

I did, however, find a 90 minute VHS rip from someone else, complete with ads, of an ep from S5, weighing in at more than 4GB.

 

[the Theorist]

Back in the day there was a guy using the nick "TVGuy" who used to rip all the eps in widescreen, and they were distributed by Usenet and IRC, which was the style at the time. Whoever and wherever he is, I would bet money he still has all his original caps.

He only captured from 2004 onward, which is why these upscaled versions look as good as they do.

 

[timmy]

He only captured from 2004 onward, which is why these upscaled versions look as good as they do.

Ahh ok, I couldn't remember how far back he was doing it. Cheers.

 

[the Theorist]

The conversation between Gretel and Merlin on the Nominations show the night after his eviction protest was so profound. I almost wish this got shown just as much as his protest has over the years. Both of them so eloquent and well-spoken, and diplomatic in discussing what happened.

 

[Zcsund1234]

The conversation between Gretel and Merlin on the Nominations show the night after his eviction protest was so profound. I almost wish this got shown just as much as his protest has over the years. Both of them so eloquent and well-spoken, and diplomatic in discussing what happened.

I agree, I always think back on that actually when I think of Merlin. I left feeling positive after watching it the first time as well. I think Gretel truly showed the nation she is a star on screen.

When comparing her to Sonia its clear... Sonia was a presenter first and herself second whilst Gretel was herself first and a presenter second. Or at least thats just how I feel. Gretel was not only natural but was also quite intuitive and watching her think quick on the fly whilst under all that pressure is applaudable.

 

[the Theorist]

I wrote this in the stream chat (Reggie even agreed with me ) and I’ll say it again. But I will forever standby my opinion that no other TV presenter, past or present, could have handled that situation as well as Gretel.

This whole rewatch of the first few seasons proves what a lot of us have always known - she is the best and most capable live TV host this country has ever had.

 

[Zcsund1234]

she is the best and most capable live TV host this country has ever had.

This!

It is such a shame that her lore within the show ends the way that it does. She was essential for the show's survival and had she never left the show probably could have turned things around. There is so much underrated talent in this country out there with the massive potential to shine. It just sometimes feels like a lot of them get shafted.

 

[the Theorist]

In hindsight, I think 2004 was the first year they started to lose control a bit and the saying it’s “live TV and anything can happen” was proven. There were many instances in this year in particular that really put Gretel, and the production teams, to the test in a way they hadn’t fully dealt with previously.

From Merlin’s protest, the blackout at Paul’s eviction, Bree’s wrongful eviction and consequential fallout, as well as the live crowds getting more and more loose. All handled masterfully and on the fly, but I don’t think anything to that degree had happened before this year so it’s interesting to watch it unfold.

Little did they know, those sorts of events would only continue to increase from here on out. lol

 

[James T]

In hindsight, I think 2004 was the first year they started to lose control a bit and the saying it’s “live TV and anything can happen” was proven. There were many instances in this year in particular that really put Gretel, and the production teams, to the test in a way they hadn’t fully dealt with previously.

I think Kris Noble was not have been personally equipped to handle a production that was in the process of scaling up like Big Brother was in 2004, it was a really crucial time for the series, it was coming off the back off the highest ratings the show has ever seen, one of the best houses, the best housemates, tasks, timing, etc, and Kris Noble ultimately was not experienced enough to manage that transition. He had only worked on smaller-scale drama programming before from what I can see on his Linkedin, I don't understand how those skills translate to real-time 24-hour turnaround Reality TV.