What do you guys think of this?
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Stern warning for ‘Big Brother’
First posted 08:06pm (Mla time) Aug 27, 2005
By Marinel Cruz
Inquirer News Service
ONLY in its first week of airing, ABS-CBN’s new reality show, “Pinoy Big Brother” has already received a stern warning from the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board for airing “objectionable dialogue” and footage of female contestants in “skimpy” outfits.
MTRCB Chair Marissa Laguardia told Inquirer Entertainment that she met with ABS-CBN executives on Friday to discuss how “to make [the show] more wholesome.”
Incident report
The warning and discussion were prompted by an incident report submitted on Aug. 24 by two MTRCB special agents who reviewed the first two episodes on Aug. 22 and 23.
According to the report, one segment in the pilot show was a group conversation about female contraceptives. One male contestant said: “Di pa ako nakakakita ng condom sa girls (sic)… ano ba ang itsura?” (I have yet to see condom for women.)
A female contestant replied: “’Yung bilog… isusuot sa loob para ikaw (male) hindi na magsusuot.” (It’s round… it’s place inside so the male partner won’t have to wear it.)
Using a condom was described as “Pangit... parang eating banana na may balat.” (Like eating an unpeeled banana.)
On Aug. 23, the housemates shared stories of their first sexual intercourse. The report continued: “One of the males said he was 8 when it happened, with a maid.”
The agents insisted that such dialogue was not suitable for TV.
In “Pinoy Big Brother,” 12 young men and women live together in a house for 100 days, with 26 cameras following them around as they develop relationships.
Laguardia said the Board earlier received similar complaints from a group called Code M, citing “too intimate” footage, for instance, female contestants taking a bath or changing their underwear.
She said the Board also found objectionable the airing of one particular scene featuring a male and two female housemates during a body-painting session. The guy wore tight-fitting shorts and some parts of his body were blurred, Laguardia said, but viewers could still see that the girls were painting the crotch area.
But she said the network was “receptive” to the Board’s suggestions. “They said it was a new show and they were still adjusting. They promised an ‘improved’ show next week, something more acceptable to [both] parents and kids.”
Preview episodes
In the coming weeks, ABS-CBN would also submit taped episodes for preview, said Laguardia. “Meanwhile, we’ll continue with post-reviews. If we find any more objectionable parts, we could suspend its airing.”
Present in Friday’s meeting were censors Ed Sicam and Erik Mallonga, and ABS-CBN execs Cory Vidanes and Linggit Tan, lawyer Mario Santos and “Big Brother” director Lauren Dyogi.
