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(NEW) Article about JACK: "Big Big Brother Is Watching"


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Old 13-10-2003, 03:42
KnowledgeSeeker
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Source: daily local.com

BIG BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING
By Jill Nawrocki , Staff Writer

For former West Chester resident and retired FBI agent Jack Owens, spending three months keeping someone under constant surveillance isn’t necessarily out of character.

But this year, the tables were turned.

All summer he was on the other side of the microscope, so to speak, participating in the hit CBS television series, "Big Brother." And even after spending nearly three decades working the streets with the FBI, Owens said, "Big Brother" proved an assignment unlike any other.

The program, now preparing for its fifth season, placed 13 individuals into seclusion in a common house -- with no television, radio, newspapers or contact with the outside world.

Housemates were filmed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and participated in competitions three times a week to obtain "Head of House" privileges, veto rights, food rations and ultimately, a $500,000 prize.

"The competitions were a lot of stress, both physically and psychologically," Owens said."But I knew the history of ‘Big Brother’ and I knew what I was getting into."

Owens, who graduated in 1962 from what is now B. Reed Henderson High School, still has personal ties to what he calls his hometown. He fell in love with the streets, the historic houses and especially with the people, when he moved to the borough in 1956.

"I went from a very small place in West Virginia to what I thought then, was a big city outside of Philly," he said.

After spending six years in the borough, Owens left to attend school at Concord College and later studied law at American University. Three months after graduation, he enlisted in the FBI and after one year on assignment in Denver, moved to his current home in Alabama.

Owens, who has spent the past 29 years in Birmingham, Ala., returned recently from what he calls the experience of a lifetime. He said he had the most unique job in America, working as a special agent in the FBI, and now has competed on the most unique reality TV show.

On June 27, a crew of cameramen arrived at Owens’ Alabama home and gave him 45 minutes to pack for his three months of seclusion before they whisked him off to CBS studios in Los Angeles.

More than 5,000 people applied for the fourth season of the TV program, and although Owen said this year’s cast was composed of mostly young, attractive and well-educated individuals, he was able to pique the interest of casting directors in his two-minute audition tape despite his age.

"I mentioned I was a retired agent and I think that made me stand out," he said. "I was confident I was going to make it.I just sold myself as the old geezer."

Owens, 58, said the selection process was intense and included personal interviews, often taped and reviewed to examine his reaction under surveillance and scrutiny.

Although he passed initial inspections, Owens found the actual experience more trying than he had anticipated. His age, he discovered, was a major obstacle for both him and his housemates in getting to know one another, and while he tried to relate, it was sometimes difficult.

In a game where blending in and remaining neutral is practically essential, Owens’ age and past profession made him a standout. He told producers and cameramen that at times, he felt as though he’d been dropped into a kindergarten class or was forced back into his high school prom.

While Owens attempted to fit in with his competition, he referred to the set as a fraternity house with women.

"I participated in everything within the house like I was in my 20s again," Owens said.

Sexual escapades and childish pranks were a regular part of the "Big Brother" experience, particularly this season, as producers scoured the country to find exes to participate.

Of the 13 housemates, 10 were previously dating, and all were unaware that their exes would be competing on the show as well.Most of the relationships had not ended on good terms, and, Owens said, producers knew that.

"People in the house were behaving very bad," he said. "I knew my family was watching and I didn’t want to embarrass the FBI, so I tried to stay above the bad things, but still stay on the show."

People who know Owens have told him he was more like himself than the other participants who appeared.

Even while avoiding sexual hijinks, Owens was able to relate to his housemates.His years of FBI experience, dealing with various personalities and tackling suspects from opposite angles proved beneficial to his forming alliances and winning weekly competitions.

He was voted off in the eighth week after spending 54 days in the house. Even though he did not win the $500,000 prize, Owens said he left with a feeling of accomplishment.

"I survived for that long with people half my age," he said."They were a whole generation younger than me and I still adapted."

Owens was sequestered to a house in Mexico to meet, without cameras, many of his housemates that had previously been voted off.Later, in the show’s final episode, they were called back to act as the jury and decide upon the winner.

It was hard, he said, to go so long with so little contact from his family.

He knew his wife and six children were logging on to the Internet to watch the continual live feed, but even that, paired with the occasional screened phone call, was not enough.

Part of the psychological stress of the game was missing loved ones.

"We were in a beautiful location," Owens said, "but that didn’t make up for being away from our families."

For Owens, "Big Brother" was always just a game, and while alliances were made and then broken, he never took it personally, and said he was there strictly for a good time and positive experience.

"It was an adventure," he said."And although we were all very different, I think everyone in the house could agree on that."
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Old 13-10-2003, 20:44
EddyBee
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Thanks KS. Jack was one of my favourites. One of the more interesting Reality TV contestants that I have come across.
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