Oprah's Big Give
| Oprah's Big Give | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Created by | Oprah Winfrey |
| Developed by | Harpo Productions |
| Presented by | Nate Berkus |
| Starring | Tony Gonzalez Jamie Oliver Malaak Compton-Rock |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Bertram van Munster Elise Doganieri Ellen Rakieten Harriet Seitler Jonathan Sinclair |
| Production locations | Los Angeles Denver Houston Miami Atlanta New York City Chicago Contestants' Home Towns |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | March 2, 2008 – present |
Oprah's Big Give (also referred to as The Big Give) is a reality television series that airs Sunday nights at 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central on ABC, and is hosted by Nate Berkus. The Big Give is produced by Harpo Productions, and created and produced by Oprah Winfrey, and also produced by Emmy-winning producers Bert Van Munster and Elise Doganieri.[1] Outside the United States, the series will be distributed through FremantleMedia[2].
Format
The show is the first primetime reality series by Harpo Productions, and focuses on 10 contestants as they travel across the country with a large sum of money, and try and help people in unique ways, and participate in a series of challenges in order to become America's greatest unknown philanthropist.[1]
In each episode, contestants travel to a different U.S. city and are given some amount of money and an assignment. Sometimes the contestants are paired or grouped, and sometimes they may act as individuals. In some cities, contestants are assigned to help a particular individual or organization, while in others they are simply told to find people in need. The contestants then have the opportunity to raise additional money in order to reach their goals. At the end of each episode, the panel of judges selects one person to go home.
At the end of the season, it will be revealed to the winner that they have won $1 million.
Contestants
Angelo
Angelo Adams is a former army captain born in Philadelphia who graduated from West Point. Angelo has two children and is currently in his second year at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.[3]
Brandi
Brandi Milloy is a four-time Miss America title holder who graduated from the University of Arizona. Brandi was diagnosed with scoliosis as a teenager.[4]
Cameron
Cameron Johnson is a businessman who was a self-made millionaire in his teenage years. His first company was producing greeting cards for friends and family.[5]
Carlana
Carlana Stone is a graduate from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Slavic language. Carlana became a paraplegic after an automobile accident in which she was a passenger in a drunk driver's car.[6]
Eric
Eric Klein is a model and actor who lives in California. Eric also is the founder and CEO of Can-Do, a nonprofit organization that enables people who make charitable donations to actually see how their money is being spent.[7]
Kim
Kim Prentiss is a sports marketing executive who lives in Nashville. Kim described herself as selfish, and wants to turn her life around.[8]
Marlene
Marlene Snipes is a Amtrak service attendant from Chicago. Marlene also is a motivational speaker and an aerobics instructor for her local church.[9]
Olusegun
Olusegun "Sheg" Aranmolate is a researcher at a University in Nashville and plans to attend medical school. Sheg has a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and molecular biology and a master's degree in applied molecular biology. Sheg also moved from Nigeria to the United States at the age of 18.[10]
Rachael
Rachael Hollingsworth is a singer who currently lives in Hollywood, California. She was a victim of gang violence and sexual and physical abuse. [11]
Stephen
Stephen Paletta is the CEO of Renaissance Integrated Solutions, a technology based company in the pipeline industry. Stephen graduated from Cornell University, where he was an All-American lacrosse player and a civil engineering major.[12]
Chronology
The following table shows the contestants, along with the partner they had or team they participated on, as well as when they were eliminated.
- Contestant eliminated
- Contestant at risk (a contestant who opened their envelope at the same time as a contestant who was ultimately eliminated)
- Contestant immune (was informed before the envelopes were handed out, thus not receiving an envelope at all)
- No Teams - Contestants competed as individuals
- All Together - Contestants played as one team
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Denver | Houston | Miami | Atlanta | New York City | Home Towns | |||
| Brandi | Cameron | See Note 1 | Forgotten Christmas | No Teams | No Teams | All Together | No Teams | ||
| Cameron | Brandi | See Note 1 | Forgotten Christmas | No Teams | No Teams | All Together | No Teams | ||
| Stephen | Eric | See Note 1 | Forgotten Christmas | No Teams | No Teams | All Together | No Teams | ||
| Rachael | Angelo | See Note 1 | Field of Dreams | No Teams | No Teams | All Together | |||
| Olusegun | Carlana | See Note 1 | Field of Dreams | No Teams | No Teams | ||||
| Eric | Stephen | See Note 1 | Forgotten Christmas | No Teams | |||||
| Kim | Marlene | See Note 1 | Field of Dreams | No Teams | |||||
| Carlana | Olusegun | See Note 1 | Field of Dreams | ||||||
| Angelo | Rachael | See Note 1 | |||||||
| Marlene | Kim | ||||||||
- Note 1: In Week 2, contestants were not divided into teams, nor were they prohibited from forming teams. Eric, Stephen, and Cameron chose to work as a team, while the remaining contestants all worked individually.
- Note 2: In Week 7, contestants flew to their hometowns and worked with family and friends to perform their give. It was revealed that no one would be eliminated.
Ratings
| # | Air Date | Rating | Share | 18-49 | Viewers (m) | Weekly Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 2, 2008 | 9.4 | 14 | 5.3/12 | 15.55 | #4 |
| 2 | March 9, 2008 | 7.4 | 11 | 4.0/10 | 11.8 | #10 |
| 3 | March 16, 2008 | 6.0 | 9 | 3.6/9 | 9.71 | #18 |
| 4 | March 23, 2008 | 6.1 | 10 | 3.5/9 | 9.92 | #19 |
| 5 | March 30, 2008 | 7.1 | 11 | 3.9/9 | 11.35 | #13 |
| 6 | April 6, 2008 | 5.9 | 9 | 3.2/8 | 9.42 | |
| 7 | April 13, 2008 | 5.6 | 9 | 2.9/9 | 8.88 | |
| 8 | April 20, 2008 |
Response
In Fort Wayne, Indiana, $10,000 was donated to ABC affiliate WPTA, which was given to local trail organizations. A community celebration was held April 12, 2008 when it was revealed that the total donations had topped $1 million.[13]
In Orlando, Florida, over $50,000 has been donated to a mentoring program for at-risk youth, in conjunction with a charitable program from ABC affiliate WFTV, that was inspired by Oprah's Big Give.[14]
The program has also been criticized. Hollywood Reporter described it as a phony and self-aggrandizing promotional vehicle for Oprah.[15] Tom Shales of the Washington Post described the show as having an "unsavory aura of exploitation" and as being trite and predictable. [16] Rick Kushman of the Daily Herald found the show boring, and worried that it could serve to make viewers feel "cynical about charity," which would in turn make them feel guilty. [17] Variety's Brian Lowry called the show "a reality-TV Frankenstein, birthed from parts of other programs"[18] and its judges "arbitrary,"[18] and generally found that the philanthropic theme of the show was inconsistent with the competitive reality genre. However, Lowry also recognized the show's "emotional appeal"[18] and conceded that the show's heart is "in the right place."[18]
References
- ^ a b Richmond, Ray (2008-02-27). "Oprah's Amazing Partnership". Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ From Variety (March 17, 2008)
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Angelo Adams". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Brandi Milloy". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Cameron Johnson". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Carlana Stone". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Eric Klein". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Kim Prentiss". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Marlene Snipes". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Olusegun 'Sheg' Aranmolate". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Rachael Hollingsworth". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Oprah's Big Give - Bios - Stephen Paletta". ABC.com. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
- ^ "Big Give: Trails top $1 million". Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Boedeker, Hal (2008-03-06). "Oprah's Big Give sparks donations to kids program in Orlando". Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ Richmond, Ray (2008-02-28). "The Hollywood Reporter - Oprah's Big Give". Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ Shales, Tom (2008-03-01). "That "Big Give" Feeling: Warm, Fuzzy & Familiar". Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ Kushman, Rick (2008-03-06). ""Oprah's Big Give" keeps on giving zzz's". Retrieved 2008-03-09.
- ^ a b c d Lowry, Brian (2008-02-27). "Oprah's Big Give Review". Retrieved 2008-03-09.