LOS ANGELES — CBS' "Big Brother," which proved that reality television could be simultaneously offensive and dull, wants to make amends for its past.
The new players who will be stuck in the "Big Brother 2" house for three months amid prying cameras are aggressive, uninhibited and determined to win the $500,000 prize, the show's producer says.
Official contestant profiles hint at potential fireworks when the show debuts at 7 p.m. on Ch. 2 Thursday. (The show will once again be hosted by Julie Chen of "The Early Show." ) For instance, Hardy, a 31-year-old Philadelphia account executive, lists orange as his favorite color.
What color is most detested by Bunky, a 36-year-old technical writer from Harrisburg, N.C.? Orange! What if Hardy insists on flaunting an offensively bright T-shirt around Bunky? What if Bunky retaliates by putting up strategic displays of his own favored hue, purple?
Imagine other players banding together in pro- or anti-color cadres, and the furor that might ensue. Call the riot police — or maybe just get the hook.
When "Big Brother" debuted last summer as part of a reality TV craze imported from Europe, the idea of putting strangers in a house filled with unblinking cameras drew strong reaction.
Some condemned it as a cheap exercise in voyeurism, a bid to match the sexual titillation that European viewers got as their reward for enduring the show's essential tedium.
When the American group proved to be more reserved and when the most intriguing person — who called himself Will Mega and voiced opinions on American race relations — was voted out, controversy was replaced by sheer boredom.
Trying to make repairs as the show aired was just one of the problems with the original, according to Arnold Shapiro, a veteran producer brought in by CBS to shape "Big Brother 2."
"It's a new show that happens to be called 'Big Brother,' " Shapiro said in an interview. "We're giving it our best shot. The question is whether the audience is going to give it another chance."
Changes will be immediately apparent, he said. Last year, the first episode dragged out the contestants' entrance into the house built on a studio parking lot north of Los Angeles.
In "Big Brother 2," players will be tucked inside the house within the first 15 minutes Thursday and will immediately face the first of many challenges: Earning their food. (Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will be made available to avoid televised starvation.)
Voting procedures have changed, with contestants instead of viewers giving players the boot. And the series has been cut from six to three times a week, airing Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
But the most serious flaw, as Shapiro saw it, was uninteresting casting. The 3,500 applicants for his "Big Brother" were culled to pick the liveliest combination, he said.
The six men and six women range in age from 26 to 46 and come from 10 states.
There is a whiff of chemistry in the air. Hardy lists Madonna as his favorite singer. Autumn, a 28-year-old Texan, picks the celebrity as her hero.
Shapiro said psychological screenings showed the contestants are able to handle the experience of being recorded by 38 cameras and 62 microphones — and to make the most of it.
In other words, this group might not be as prudish as the last.
"We're not setting out to make it salacious," Shapiro said. "We're setting out to make it as real as possible by casting people who are uninhibited — and I mean that in every sense of the word — and who are not afraid to speak their mind or express their sexual or romantic interest in another houseguest if they feel it."
Not that Shapiro is plotting a housebound version of "Temptation Island." The producer, whose credits include the Oscar-winning documentary "Scared Straight!" about teen-agers and crime, says he finds some of the reality pool tainted.
"Reality shows run the gamut from fascinating social studies to ones that I think are trashy," he said. "I wouldn't have taken on those no matter how much money they paid me."
Endemol has come under fire for programs that boast a mean streak, including the new NBC series "Fear Factor" and "Spy TV." Shapiro says "Big Brother" will reflect his sensibility, not Endemol's.
And he makes no apologies for dabbling in a hot TV genre.
"I thought I was entitled to have a little fun at this point and to do something that wasn't going to help save the world or change the world. I almost feel I earned the right to do something that's really entertaining."