Does anyone remember what the advertising was like upto BB1?
 

Like how was the show billed to the audience, what were the audition processes like, etc? I'm really interested to know more about the show and its origins, considering how far departed from it it's now become.

I know the viewing figures didn't quite peak until BB3-7, and I know there was the general "social experiment" angle about it all, but what was the general feeling of viewers/critics in the build up to the show?

I have the Big Brother 1 official book that was released and it mentions things like adverts being shown for a "social experiment" etc. It was basically billed as a social experiment between people and seeing how they live together and interact.

I'll take a proper look at the book when the show has finished. There's a full chapter about how the show came to be.

Yeah BB1 was just advertisements and maybe some open auditions where before hand you sent a video off. BB2-3 were something similar as I remember them showing their BB3 auditions tapes on launch night and week before on E4 they showed the ones that didn't get through.