Big Brother (Australian TV series) season 4
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.
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.
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
;NotesNominations table
Color key:;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.Controversy and incidents
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". 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. Wesley was evicted in a special show on the following Thursday.
Criticism of transgender portrayal
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 | WEEKLY RANK |
| 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 |