Oh Brother: Eddie Wins It

September 29, 2000 -- The suspense-free proceedings on CBS' Big Brother wrapped up its 88-day run predictably enough in a live show Friday night

As expected, cancer survivor Eddie McGee was chosen by viewers — yes there really were some — of summer's reality TV dud.

For being the last to leave the Big Brother house, the New York native is taking home the top prize of $500,000.

McGee thought that Josh Souza would be the winner, but the sporty Colorado native instead ended up with second place and $100,000. Attorney Curtis Kin settled for third place and $50,000.

Fans, Fellow Contestants Favored EddieEddie, who at 21 was the youngest housemate, was the sympathetic favorite, both for having lost one leg to cancer and because he needed the money to help out his family. At show's end, he exited the house on crutches as a crowd chanted his name.

"I am awestruck. I did not expect to win," Eddie told host Julie Chen. "It's wild. My heart is pumping like you wouldn't believe. I have to remind myself to breathe," he answered. The blunt-talking contestant won with 59 percent of the viewers' vote.

Nearly all the banished Big Brother players, who were gathered for even more naval-gazing prior to the unveiling of the winner, predicted Eddie would be the last to leave the house.

"Big Boring"Durin the finale, outspoken banished brother No. 1, Will Mega summed up the series' lack of appeal by referring to it as "Big Boring."

Proving Mega right, on the show's final episode such mind-numbing statistics as the numbers of hours of tape shot (500,000) and the number of cans of dog food consumed by Big Brother's pug Chiquita (72) were revealed. A Second Big Brother?Undaunted, CBS is now taking submissions for a possible second installation of the show, no doubt hoping to tap the same success the concept enjoyed in other countries. And an unscripted show that doesn't need actors just might come in handy if strikes by actors and writers come to pass next year.

The series was always a bigger hit online, where unedited feeds were often more interesting than both the live episodes and the edited TV segments. According to AOL, the site's webcast had the largest audience in Internet history.

"We're pleased with the ratings the show has delivered and we do see tremendous potential in the concept," CBS spokesman Chris Ender told the Associated Press. "But there's no official word regarding another edition."