Big Bother

It is better to be locked up in a house with a lawyer than be stranded on a desert island, the evidence from the reality television hits 'Big Brother' and 'Survivor' have shown in the US.

In the US version of 'Big Brother', Washington DC lawyer Curtis has survived several weeks (at three months' duration, the US version is longer and more lucrative too, with the winner pocketing $500,000).

He made it through one eviction vote against a stripper, although, along with five of the seven remaining housemates, is once again up for eviction.

Salon.com, an acerbic entertainment Web site which has been following the twists and turns in the house, has not taken to Curtis, noting his 'reptilian Colgate smile', saying that another housemate's avowed intention 'to kick Curtis's ass' would 'improve the show immeasurably' and opining that 'sometimes oxygen seems to be something that's wasted on Curtis'.

However, he has fared better than fellow lawyer Stacey, who was a participant in 'Survivor', which plonked 16 people on a desert island and filmed their efforts to subsist.

She was the third person voted out by her fellow islanders, which she attributed to being mentally strong when her fellow contestants valued physical strength.

'I think I probably came off as shy,' she said, 'which is rare for me.'