Big Brother Is Back

[cyberjoek]

ok, it's summer, it's past the year 2k, so it must be Big Brother time.  This years twist is the \"eX-factor\" (that is the way they want press to capitolize it), where 5 ex -boyfriends and -girlfriends were introduced into the house at the end of the first episode.  My question is did anyone here watch besides me?  If so what did you think?
-Joe Kavanagh

[Brandon Brooks]

[quote name=\'cyberjoek\' date=\'Jul 10 2003, 07:32 PM\'] ok, it's summer, it's past the year 2k, so it must be Big Brother time.  This years twist is the "eX-factor" (that is the way they want press to capitolize it), where 5 ex -boyfriends and -girlfriends were introduced into the house at the end of the first episode.  My question is did anyone here watch besides me?  If so what did you think?
-Joe Kavanagh [/quote]
 I haven't watched it past the first show the first season.  Why won't this beast die?

Brandon Brooks

[PeterMarshallFan]

[quote name=\'Brandon Brooks\' date=\'Jul 10 2003, 07:45 PM\'] [quote name=\'cyberjoek\' date=\'Jul 10 2003, 07:32 PM\'] ok, it's summer, it's past the year 2k, so it must be Big Brother time.  This years twist is the "eX-factor" (that is the way they want press to capitolize it), where 5 ex -boyfriends and -girlfriends were introduced into the house at the end of the first episode.  My question is did anyone here watch besides me?  If so what did you think?
-Joe Kavanagh [/quote]
I haven't watched it past the first show the first season.  Why won't this beast die?

Brandon Brooks [/quote]
 Moonves is immortal.



..oh, you meant BB? Sorry.

And no, I don't watch it. Never have, never will.

[TheInquisitiveOne]

Is this show still on? That is a shock to me. Watching this crap is as fun as having your wisdom teeth pulled...and I know how that feels.

It is shows like these that make me wish that whoever devised this type of \"reality TV\" be dragged out into the street and shot.

The Inquisitive One

[Peter Sarrett]

I'm watching.  I find it compelling for the same reason I like Survivor-- the psychology is fascinating.  In the case of Big Brother, as the season progresses the manipulation and maneuvering becomes increasingly intense and dynamic.  It's pure game.

The \"X-factor\" this year bothers me, because it pollutes the game.  The great thing about past Big Brothers is that no contestants knew each other beforehand-- they all started with a clean slate.  So we get to see the relationships and incidents which influence players' game plans.  But with all the pre-existing baggage in the house this season, there's going to be a lot going on that has nothing to do with what's happened in the house.  As a viewer, I find that far less interesting.

I expect to be blogging about Big Brother throughout the season at Static Zombie.  My thoughts on the first episode can be found here.

  - Peter

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Peter Sarrett\' date=\'Jul 10 2003, 06:26 PM\'] I'm watching.  I find it compelling for the same reason I like Survivor-- the psychology is fascinating.  In the case of Big Brother, as the season progresses the manipulation and maneuvering becomes increasingly intense and dynamic.  It's pure game.
 [/quote]
 Gotta agree. I haven't watched the last couple of series because of conflicts with other programming and such, but I've watched both episodes this time out so far, and I set a season pass on the Tivo. It'll fill the time adequately until the regular shows get through summer hiatus.

The ex- thing is interesting, because the scheming is sprouting early BECAUSE people automatically know and like/dislike each other. It will be interesting to see if the First Eight manage to hold together and eject the Other Five. I would imagine that will depend on them maintaining HOH as long as that takes.

(And no, BB is not a game show.)

[Jim]

I am watching.  It seems like there will be some fun conflicts among this group.  Let's be honest, we like nasty people wo are willing to scheme to get ahead.  This group has some real tight asses who are ready to sell grandma into slavery if it will get them that private bedroom.

[starcade]

Why won't this die???  This is the answer I gave Steve to a similar question he asked on his site:  People literally want to see people getting it on -- and if you want to use that in both sexual and fight terms, that's fine -- both apply.  This thing needed to die when the idiot played with a knife with another contestant and got DQed in series 2.

[cmjb13]

I was told by a very good source at CBS that these shows (especially Survivor) will keep on airing until it doesn't sell anymore.

Of course, that's pretty obvious

[Matt Ottinger]

The \"X-factor\" this year bothers me, because it pollutes the game.

I haven't seen the new one yet, but from the sounds of things I agree with you completely.  There was something simple and almost innocent about the original structure of the game.  Since then, probably more than any other reality show (even Survivor), they just seem to change the rules as they go along in order to create more of....whatever it is they seem to think they need more of.  

By comparison, The Amazing Race keeps rolling along with essentially the same structure they've had from the beginning.  Drama, excitement, tension, cute boys and girls embarrassing themselves on TV and the whole, big wide colorful world as their \"set\", not to mention an actual competition instead of a cliquish popularity contest.  The fact that this show struggles while other much worse shows click is one thing that disappoints me greatly about American viewing habits.

[Peter Sarrett]

The Amazing Race struggles because it's not compelling television.  I watch it, but I'm always struck by how much better-produced Survivor is.  The activities in The Amazing Race are rarely very interesting for viewers to watch.  Do we really want to watch contestants wash bundles of dirty clothes at a public laundry, or ride an elephant?  The competitions in Survivor are generally very well-constructed and interesting to watch.  We see the entire competition (or, in the case of endurance challenges, all the meaningful parts), not a fragmentary jump-cut montage as in The Amazing Race.  And the challenges in The Amazing Race are mundane and uninspired-- deliver X to Y; search through X for your clue; etc.  If the challenges were mini-competitions and puzzles, as opposed to tasks they just have to complete, I think the show would be much more fun.

The two shows also have a different approach to letting us get to know the contestants.  One of Survivor's strengths is it's terrific use of interview/confessional segments, where the players talk about what's been going on, their strategy, how they're feeling, etc.  The Amazing Race uses almost none of that, preferring to let us glean what we can from the interaction of the partners and teams with only a smattering of interviews.  The result is that we really don't know these players as well as we do the Survivor folks, and consequently we care less about them.

Plus, after the first season The Amazing Race has been structured as 13 mini-races rather than one continuous race.  The players are invariably bunched up at the start of each leg as they wait for flights or a particular activity to open up.  That means each episode is up for grabs, but it also rendered the whole \"strategy\" of when to use the Fast Forward moot.  You can't get meaningfully ahead in the long term anymore.

I've always felt that The Amazing Race has potential that's largely unrealized.  Its very structure weakens it.  The most interesting parts, I think, are when the teams interact.  But the nature of the game is that it's a race that keeps the teams apart.

  - Peter

[davemackey]

I am not getting involved this year. They can have their alcohol-soaked frat party presided over by Miss Clueless. I just am not going.

[Skynet74]

I think season one will always be the best. The house guests, the  games and even the theme music was my favorite.  I've watched it this past week and I think the X (EX) factor is cool. it will definately stir things up in the house and that will make for some good Television. I pretty much skipped over seasons 2 and 3 with the exception of a few episodes here and there. I just couln't get into it. But I've made an attempt at season 4 and I think I'll keep tuning in this summer to see what happens with the Ex's. I anticipate some good fights



John

[beatlefreak84]

Well, I've been watching the show ever since season 2, and, to me, it's still compelling TV (then again, there ain't much else on during the summer).

I may be one of the only people that doesn't like the \"X\" factor, though; the original formula for the show was fine as is, and, trust me, there were plenty of fights, romances, friendships, whatever to go around with just the 12 total strangers!

Also, where do they find all these whiney people?  I thought it was hilarious when they were complaining after losing meat in a food competition; my mom turned to me and said, \"They should go on 'Survivor;' then, they'll know what it's really like to be without food!\"  Not only that, but that girl Allison is getting on my nerves:  boyfriend this, boyfriend that, my life sucks, I want to be faithful to my boyfriend who'll break up with me but I'll still flirt with my ex anyway.

However, that getting-on-the-nerves part is part of what I think keeps the show compelling; you want to watch just to see if that person you hate finally gets what's coming to them!  The same goes for \"Survivor\" and all reality shows:  negative attention is just as effective, if not more so, than positive.

As far as keeping the show on the air goes, it'll be around for a while:  it's airing in a prime spot (summertime) and still pulls in pretty decent ratings.  A lot of people say that three eps. a week is overkill, but, considering the show airs three months a year, I think it's far from!

I think CBS did a good job with retooling the show for BB2, taking some elements that obviously worked with \"Survivor.\"  Trust me, folks, this is one of a lot of people's guilty pleasures (at least, among people I know), so I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon!

Anthony

[Fedya]

Peter Sarrett wrote:

The Amazing Race struggles because it's not compelling television. I watch it, but I'm always struck by how much better-produced Survivor is. The activities in The Amazing Race are rarely very interesting for viewers to watch. Do we really want to watch contestants wash bundles of dirty clothes at a public laundry, or ride an elephant? The competitions in Survivor are generally very well-constructed and interesting to watch. We see the entire competition (or, in the case of endurance challenges, all the meaningful parts), not a fragmentary jump-cut montage as in The Amazing Race. And the challenges in The Amazing Race are mundane and uninspired-- deliver X to Y; search through X for your clue; etc. If the challenges were mini-competitions and puzzles, as opposed to tasks they just have to complete, I think the show would be much more fun.

But what about The Mole?  I'd argue that it has the same production advantages you attribute to Survivor -- we get to see the major portions of all the games, they're (usually) well-thought-out, we get to see the contestants in the \"confessional\" room, and there's an objective element of elimination as opposed to the popularity contest that is Survivor.  Yet The Mole hasn't succeeded in the ratings, and Survivor keeps chugging along with exceptional ratings for the genre.

Indeed, I don't watch Survivor at all; one episode was enough to turn me off in utter disgust.  The feigned \"reality\" of it all, and the horrible elimination format which allows weaker players to gang up on the stronger (a la \"Weakest Link\") bother me to no end.  (Ditto \"Big Brother\".)  On The Mole, they're quite clear that the fixing of the games is the whole point of the show.

I'm inclined to agree with Matt on this one.  I see the Amazing Race as \"Beat the Clock\" meets \"Ultra Quiz\", with quite a bit of fun in the process.  Now if only Jon and Kelly could get eliminated....