Volume CXXXI, Number 20 April 5, 2002 f

BCN's Bubble a blast
KERRY ELSON
STAFF WRITER

The Bowdoin Cable Network's annual twenty-four hour reality television show, "The Bowdoin Bubble," appropriates the term students lovingly use to refer to this rural college. Is it possible to depict "reality" on a campus that is notorious for its lack of connection with the real world?

Eric Morin '02 won the second annual Bowdoin Bubble competition last Saturday. (Courtesy Bowdoin Cable Network)

According to BCN staffers, such a feat is possible. Co-General Manager Matt Volk and Film Director Brendan Smith-Elion chose to create another episode this year because of the popularity last year's show, which the BCN broadcast October 13 and 14, 2000. Volk cites an example of the show's popularity last year: "I remember...[that at] a party at Helmreich [House], half of the students were dancing and the other half were watching the Bubble." Smith-Elion reports that there were over 4,000 hits on the Bubble website last year, from students wanting to contribute to the online forum or to watch the show live online.

Last year's broadcast, an experiment according to Volk, laid the foundations for this year's Bubble broadcast. The show is stressful to produce because it requires technical skill. There are also a lot of participants to manage; nineteen students competed and twelve students worked behind the scenes. Despite the preparation and organization that broadcasting the show requires, the staff enjoys producing it. Volk says, "It's a fun event and I hope the campus enjoys it. It's worth our time."

This year's Bubble placed nineteen students in the basement of MacMillan House to compete for $250, which came from the BCN's budget. Over eighty students applied to be on the Bubble, but only twenty could participate (one student dropped out due to illness). Show producers selected certain students in order to have a good mix of personalities.

Volk, the show's host, led three teams of five and one team of four through various tests of physical prowess, endurance, wit and and bravery. Such tests included trivia contests, a hidden talent exhibition, a dance contest and a game of Monopoly. Says Volk, "The events became progressively more challenging [as the night wore on] because people were fried." Teams either gained or lost points according to how they fared in the events; at the end of each event, viewers could vote off players via the internet. Students whom the audience voted off later convened to vote off other participants. By 3:30 Saturday morning, there were eight students left in the game.

At 3:30 Saturday afternoon, Eric Morin triumphed over finalists Alan Barr and Shaina Zamaitis to win the grand prize. Reflecting on his Bubble experience, Morin says he enjoyed bonding with the cast: "It's really cool to see all these people around now and say 'hi' and know that we all...have something in common." Despite her loss, Zamaitis says "It was very fun. I would recommend doing it."

What will Morin do with his $250 dollars? "I will probably throw a massive Barbeque...and of course everyone [from the Bubble cast] is invited, and I also wouldn't mind going out to China Rose once or twice...buying a couple of new whiffle balls...[and] perhaps taking some girl out to dinner."

According to Volk, this year's show ran smoothly and viewers were very engaged in the show. "It was a tremendous success," Volk says, "due in large part to Brendan [Smith-Elion] and BCN staff members putting in hours."