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Rewatching BB Australia 2013 (while waiting for new season)

Last night's show of Big Brother US gave an example of why I love BBAus so much more. The veto competition involved a punishment where someone had to kick 2400 soccer goals in 24 hours. They had a ball and a net to do it with.

Now, did the U.S. contestants do any more than at best sit at the side and cheer her on ( at most 4 or 5)? No, they did not. No one even went down to the goal to roll the ball back to her.

Now I'm remembering how excited the BB Australia group would play and create games with any stuff they were given.. I can think of loads of competitions last year's housemates might have come up with if they had access to a ball and a soccer goal. They could have used the ball between her tries, tried to help her figure out the best way to kick, they could have all been there doing something.

And, that, is the difference. The U.S. players don't create anything much out of their environment. They are insanely passive and just seem to wait for the next item to be given to them. There is none of the energy and creativity that I saw last year on BB Australia.
 
I think that has to do with the format of each version. In BBAU your fate is decided by the public and therefore you just can't sit on your arse for weeks at a time doing nothing but bitch, you need to be creative and do things that will entertain the audience. Also BBUSA they get a pool table and chess set, I guess those 2 activity's would help pass the time without having too come up with games yourself.
 
This is true. But I don't see the BB US people doing anything to entertain themselves. I would go crazy. I think the show would be much better if they did have to try to create entertaining tv.

I would like BB US to have the meal game where if you win a prize in the diary room (or wherever) you get to host a meal for the group with good food. Nothing like that happens on BB US.
 
the Theorist said:
I wholeheartedly disagree.

Before I continue though I do have to apologize in advance for the massive reply that's about to follow. :p This isn't an attack on you or your comment - far from it actually - but I just want to voice my own thoughts on the topic and to further this discussion. I am the first to admit that not a lot of people "get" why others even would be interested in re-watching a show like Big Brother again and I agree that your remark is a valid one, but I'd also like to share my thoughts on why I, like many others here, do enjoy re-watching it. :)

As others have already stated, I don't think re-watching Big Brother is about already knowing who gets evicted and when or already knowing what happens next. If anything, it makes it more fun.

As somebody who has watched BBAU ever since the first episode in 2001 and as a 22 year-old fan of the show who has more-or-less grown up with Big Brother being a staple in our media for more than half my lifetime, I can honestly say that I have always been intrigued, fascinated and taken by the show itself, as well as its concept.

Watching every year of Big Brother as it aired and in an age when YouTube and online downloading were virtually non-existent, I, along with something like 1.5 million other Australians at the time, relished in every new episode of the show each night on TV. For most of us, however, that's all it was - the episode would air and then you'd move on. But what made Big Brother so different to other TV shows on at the time was that this was an extraordinary reality series that constantly threw out extremities, which, for the most part, relied heavily on its unplanned moments becoming the key to its success. It was constantly unpredictable - and it made people talk. The thing is, there was no YouTube, catch-up TV or TiVO where you could go back and watch an episode again if you wanted to or if you had missed it.

As a fan, there came a time for me when even I started to wish that I could go back and re-watch previous episodes of days gone by - whether it be to re-live an old favourite HM's time in the house or to see a funny moment or argument all over again. Especially after 2006 when the general viewership of the show started to decrease, there was a longing (at least for me) to be able to re-live the "glory days" that seemed to quickly dissolve, especially when rumours of the show being cancelled were in overdrive. At the same time, I wanted to somehow keep my own record of the show in case it did get taken off-air, so by 2007 I was literally recording every single episode of the show on video tapes myself, just as an archive of the show. I did this for the 2008 season too.

In the years that followed though, and with the emergence of online downloading, etc, I spent a long time hunting down the rest of the series to download. Years passed before I was finally able to obtain all 9 seasons (including CBB) prior to the show restarting on Channel 9. So I got rid of all my hastily VHS recorded copies and I now keep my entire Big Brother Australia archive, with every season so far, on a dedicated external hard-drive that I keep attached to the back of my TV.

When it comes to re-watching the show, as a fan I enjoy having the ability to go back to any part of Big Brother's lengthy history and re-watch any moment again. As I've already mentioned, I'm still in the middle of a complete series re-watch at the moment. Obviously I don't sit there all day doing nothing but watch endless episodes of Big Brother, but every now and then I do manage to find some time between work and other stuff to watch a couple more week's worth of BB episodes here and there, gradually progressing through the series. I started my current re-watch with the 2001 season almost two years ago now and I'm only just hitting the halfway mark of the 2005 season as we speak, so believe me, I don't expect anyone to feel like they should re-watch it if they don't want to. It's not like you're watching a casual season of How I Met Your Mother or Gossip Girl on DVD. Watching Big Brother in large doses is not an easy task. There are many hundreds of hours involved, but for those of us who are keen enough and most importantly enjoy doing it then I certainly don't think it's time spent wasted either.

(My post is continued in next post...the new forum only allows 10,000 characters per post. D'oh!)
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There's nothing in your posts that can convince non-hardcore BB fans to rewatch past BB series again. Like I said your motivation (hardcore BB fan) for watching BB is totally different to people such as myself that view it as a guilty amusing disposable pleasure. Watching people make fool (for the most part) of themselves on TV is fun whilst it is on air (to me) but I cease to care the minute it finishes being broadcast.

It doesn't help that none of my favourites have ever come close to winning (some barele lasting a few weeks which is a bummer) and unfortunately too many of the villains (stinking up the house) hang around for waaaay too long.

I obviously don't get out of BB as much as you do and that's okay, the world would be a boring place if everybody was a robot who thought and acted identically.
 
Connoisseur said:
There's nothing in your posts that can convince non-hardcore BB fans to rewatch past BB series again. Like I said your motivation (hardcore BB fan) for watching BB is totally different to people such as myself that view it as a guilty amusing disposable pleasure. Watching people make fool (for the most part) of themselves on TV is fun whilst it is on air (to me) but I cease to care the minute it finishes being broadcast.

It doesn't help that none of my favourites have ever come close to winning (some barele lasting a few weeks which is a bummer) and unfortunately too many of the villains (stinking up the house) hang around for waaaay too long.

I obviously don't get out of BB as much as you do and that's okay, the world would be a boring place if everybody was a robot who thought and acted identically.
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your posts are interesting because i've never really taken the time to sit down and think about the different ways people can approach big brother. the only distinction i've really made in my head is that the younger audience (kids) will like all the gimmicky stuff, FNL and showdown-type games, twists etc, moreso than older viewers.

actually i remember a discussion with my friend earlier this year about bb where he said lots of people watch bb for the reason you pointed out i.e. to watch people making a fool of themselves, and that it makes them feel better about themselves because they aren't as stupid as the HMs (not saying you think that way, it's what he said), or that it's just fun to laugh at them. i remember just not believing him, because BB is a million percent a different show for me, it's about "meeting" new people, getting to know them and just sitting back and watching how they interact with each other (like playing the Sims!), and i always get TOTALLY invested in BB and get obsessed with following the HMs' every move (oh how I yearn for live feed). it's always a BIG deal to me if something happens in the house that i consider unjust and i'm the first to go guns blazing after whomever i consider bullies/fakes/etc in the house from behind my computer screen. and i definitely don't forget the HMs once the show ends, e.g. i still think about how unfair estelle losing to ben and layla was QUITE often, nearly 2 years after the bb9 finale.

it's strangely hard to fathom that BB can be such a disposable show for some people! i don't even consider it a TV show really, but more an ongoing raw event waiting to be dissected and analyzed... of course the last 2 seasons have indeed been just a TV show unfortunately.

PS: i promise i have a life outside of BB :wideyed::laugh:
 
Connoisseur said:
There's nothing in your posts that can convince non-hardcore BB fans to rewatch past BB series again. Like I said your motivation (hardcore BB fan) for watching BB is totally different to people such as myself that view it as a guilty amusing disposable pleasure. Watching people make fool (for the most part) of themselves on TV is fun whilst it is on air (to me) but I cease to care the minute it finishes being broadcast.
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That's okay, too. :) I never said I was trying to convince you why you should re-watch, I was merely adding my feelings and two-cents to the topic.

Although I admit it was more like twenty-two dollars, not two-cents. ;) hahaha
 
I have to say that there is NO possible way to compare the BBUS version with the BBAU version of the show. On a scale of 1 to 10, the US version at best may reach a 4 while every season of BBAU (except for season 08) has been at least an 8. The entire premise of the Big Brother show was formed in the first show ( I believe it was in the Netherlands).

Put people in a house with no outside contact and let the public vote out those that don't meet the public's expectations.

The first season of the US show did this and was extremely popular but the public took the voting process to the extreme. Flying banners behind planes over the house showing support (BB made everyone go into the house) and some towns actually had fund raisers to pay for phone-in voting. One wealthy person actually admitted that he paid numerous people to vote!! Because of this, Endemol in the US switched to the present system of the housemates voting people out each week with no feedback from the public making its way into the house. In fact, up until the last few seasons, there wasn't even an audience in the studio until the finale. Just the camera and Julie Chen, the shows hostess (and the wife of one of CBS's executives). And only three shows a week, each one hour long, only one of which is live. The winner is chosen by a jury of the last 7 housemates voted out who have been secluded in a jury house and kept away from all outside contact.

The entire premise of the US version is the creation and maintenance of conflict between the housemates, either singly or in groups. And the more aggressive the conflict the better CBS likes it, as long as no actual physical aggression is engaged. And this has happened several times over the seasons. Several housemates have been ejected from the house because they got too aggressive. You see groups formed and sides drawn the first night of the show and the sides will change throughout the season. Another form of conflict is, food is free and available to all, unless your group lost the weekly food competition. If you lost, you are on SLOP all week. SLOP is a mixture that is made up of oats and nutritional supplements that meets the basic nutritional requirements while tasting like it namesake. Then they have to watch the winners of the food competition make pigs of themselves with all of the good food that they desire all week. The US version is always having competitions for this or that. (Another way to foster more conflict in the house).

With BBAU, the public has a great input to what happens in the house and who stays in and who gets voted out. In addition, the producers have always seemed to try to find housemates who will get along with each other but still show some ability in working with the other housemates to form a communal society which in the history of the show has always entertained us. The tasks which BB gives the house each week, works to form a bond between the housemates which if they succeed gives the house money to buy food and necessities. Even the Friday night showdowns are a team making season which lets the housemates work together which competing for a desirable prize, two nights in the presidential suite.

US housemates openly admit that they are in the house to win the $500,000 prize. BBAU housemates usually say very openly that they are there for the experience and if they win, great but the adventure is the ultimate prize.

I have watched every season of the US show since it started. Several times I have given up and stopped part way through the season because the mess they were creating was to disgusting. Never have I been tempted to record the show.

I first found the BBAU show in 2005 and have watched every show since. I have downloaded every episode of every season except for 2008 even though I forced myself to watch every show of that season. The way that they treated Nobbi in the VW van made me sick at my stomach. I have re-watched every episode of every season (except 2008) numerous times and will do so again in the future.

As I said, there is NO comparison between the two versions of the show. Even though I was born in the US and still live there, when it comes to Big Brother I am an Aussie at heart and always will be!!
 
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paranvoi said:
it's strangely hard to fathom that BB can be such a disposable show for some people! i don't even consider it a TV show really, but more an ongoing raw event waiting to be dissected and analyzed... of course the last 2 seasons have indeed been just a TV show unfortunately.
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^ I love this bit from your post. Well said.
 
paranvoi said:
your posts are interesting because i've never really taken the time to sit down and think about the different ways people can approach big brother. the only distinction i've really made in my head is that the younger audience (kids) will like all the gimmicky stuff, FNL and showdown-type games, twists etc, moreso than older viewers.

actually i remember a discussion with my friend earlier this year about bb where he said lots of people watch bb for the reason you pointed out i.e. to watch people making a fool of themselves, and that it makes them feel better about themselves because they aren't as stupid as the HMs (not saying you think that way, it's what he said), or that it's just fun to laugh at them. i remember just not believing him, because BB is a million percent a different show for me, it's about "meeting" new people, getting to know them and just sitting back and watching how they interact with each other (like playing the Sims!), and i always get TOTALLY invested in BB and get obsessed with following the HMs' every move (oh how I yearn for live feed). it's always a BIG deal to me if something happens in the house that i consider unjust and i'm the first to go guns blazing after whomever i consider bullies/fakes/etc in the house from behind my computer screen. and i definitely don't forget the HMs once the show ends, e.g. i still think about how unfair estelle losing to ben and layla was QUITE often, nearly 2 years after the bb9 finale.

it's strangely hard to fathom that BB can be such a disposable show for some people! i don't even consider it a TV show really, but more an ongoing raw event waiting to be dissected and analyzed... of course the last 2 seasons have indeed been just a TV show unfortunately.

PS: i promise i have a life outside of BB :wideyed::laugh:
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to watch people making a fool of themselves, and that it makes them feel better about themselves because they aren't as stupid as the HMs (not saying you think that way, it's what he said),
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No, not at all I'm not wired that way. Looking down on people certainly has never made me feel better about myself under any circumstance and I can't really say that I relate to those that do. To me BB is akin to those Candid Camera type of shows where you get to laugh at people's reactions to situations they find themselves in, artificially set up by the producers of the show of course.

So in a sense BB is 'Candid Camera' on steroids, they know they've been filmed but after a couple of days the self-censorship wall gradually starts to come down and you eventually get to see their true selves in a very bizarre surreal scenario of their own choosing no less! :D

Through the years there have been a few handful of housemates that I've found intriguing and curious to know more about them through the show but the vast majority of housemates have not interested me to any great extent tbh. I just see BB as a Human Zoo there to provide some light hearted amusement to me every night it is on. :p
 
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I just finished re-watching the 2012 season in full which I only caught a few episodes of in 2012 and has prompted me to watch the 2013 series (which I was heavily invested in) for a third time (once when it aired in AUS, once when it aired in NZ, and now) It's weird. I know whats coming but I still enjoy it a lot.

Of course you find yourself skipping parts and episodes after the first time but I don't really find Big Brother a *disposable* reality TV show at all. I guess that's the format of the AU Big Brother though. Entertainment.
 
hanklee said:
I have to say that there is NO possible way to compare the BBUS version with the BBAU version of the show. On a scale of 1 to 10, the US version at best...
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must say i love your post! i've never watched bb us but have watched the first season of bb canada which is apparently identical to BB US in every single way, the only difference apparently being ONE LINE they say during the nomination process haha. (the fact that the HMs have lines at all says enough really).

i'm also born and raised in the US though i now live permanently in europe and i must say americans are really competitive people, and with americans there is NO LINE between confidence and arrogance. saying "i'm better than everyone else, i'm definitely going to win" would get you evicted sooooooooooo fast in BBAU (and really almost all other BB's; look at how fast Wolfy's popularity plummeted in last year's BBUK when she started saying she'll definitely be in the final). but americans like that kind of attitude, it's seen as confidence and determination. america is a hugely capitalist country where the basic idea is "if you work hard enough you can achieve anything; if you haven't achieved what you want, you haven't worked hard enough and deserve to have nothing". so the survivor-type format really does work over there. i actually find it hard to believe the original popularity contest-format could take off in the US even though the first season did quite well apparently (i've got to watch this season sometime).

i actually feel sorry for americans, canadians and brazilians (as far as i know the US-format is used in only those 3 countries), because i feel they really don't know what they're missing lol! :p
 
It is true in the U.S. the only point to the game is winning. Saying you are there for a social experiment would at best seem disingenuous. It is much closer to survivor in that lying and manipulation is accepted as part of the game.

This season the show design is a little different in that the food competition isn't part of the show. Instead they have two heads of houses and a competition among the people up for eviction called battle of the block. I don't know how long that twist will last.
 
So I 're watched the episode with the cricket, which was funny because I had no idea of the rules or what the ashes were. I didn't understand the fireman/ stove bit at all.

If you want an entertaining look at how confusing cricket is to Americans, look on YouTube for the giant bomb review of Don Bradman cricket 14. It is funny because the controls are complicated along with one player not knowing the rules at all. Very funny.
 
Rose711 said:
Last night's show of Big Brother US gave an example of why I love BBAus so much more. The veto competition involved a punishment where someone had to kick 2400 soccer goals in 24 hours. They had a ball and a net to do it with.

Now, did the U.S. contestants do any more than at best sit at the side and cheer her on ( at most 4 or 5)? No, they did not. No one even went down to the goal to roll the ball back to her.

Now I'm remembering how excited the BB Australia group would play and create games with any stuff they were given.. I can think of loads of competitions last year's housemates might have come up with if they had access to a ball and a soccer goal. They could have used the ball between her tries, tried to help her figure out the best way to kick, they could have all been there doing something.
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#defendingbbusalert

Firstly as they didn't roll the ball back suspect it was explicitly stated in the rules she was responsible for doing that themselves. Secondly the challenge was so tough their wasn't time for other HGs to be playing with it themselves. BBUS HMs have invented many games of their own over the years to pass the time, plus get a chess set and pool table to help pass the time too. Thirdly it might not have been apparent on the broadcast show but she was very well supported throughout the challenge by almost all of the houseguests - even those who knew she would be going home whatever this week.

This years group of US HGs has been their best in years - and certainly better than the last couple of Aussie casts as a whole, though BB Aus has stronger individual characters.
 
Brekkie said:
#defendingbbusalert

Firstly as they didn't roll the ball back suspect it was explicitly stated in the rules she was responsible for doing that themselves. Secondly the challenge was so tough their wasn't time for other HGs to be playing with it themselves. BBUS HMs have invented many games of their own over the years to pass the time, plus get a chess set and pool table to help pass the time too. Thirdly it might not have been apparent on the broadcast show but she was very well supported throughout the challenge by almost all of the houseguests - even those who knew she would be going home whatever this week.

This years group of US HGs has been their best in years - and certainly better than the last couple of Aussie casts as a whole, though BB Aus has stronger individual characters.
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I guess my feeling with BB US this season is that at least half the players, and most of the girls, don't know the game, haven't watched or just want to be on TV. I don't mind that so much, but if that is your reasoning, at least be interesting, or be memorable. None of the players voted out have done that, with the exception of Devin, who was an idiot. Yes they have pool and chess, but they just aren't creative with finding things to do.

This season has already be written about in mainstream media as sexist toward the women. I won't get into that, but it is true that Caleb was allowed to embarrass Amber, and the others piled on.

What I think I'm miss from BB Australia are the fun group evenings when everyone is together. Or even if everyone is outside.

Maybe I'm not being clear. The Australian idea seems to be generally that people should be supportive of each other, while in U.S., people are generally really horrible to each other. Yes, the girls bullied Tahan, but nothing close to what has been done to people in the U.S. The racist remarks on BB Australia were bad, but I don't recall any being directed to a particular person. Mikkaylas put herself down, but I never saw anyone belittling Mikkayla (who I've always thought is very beautiful) for being Asian. The U.S. show is meaner and, to me, that makes it harder to watch.
 
On rewatching, I do wonder what isn't being shown. The live feeds tell such a different story about the U.S. housemates than the show portrays. As mentioned before, I wonder how much Tim was edited, because he got so out of control with Boog and we've seen him do ridiculous things out of the house. We know he's extremely selfish, but I was shocked at how far he went to damage Boogs things. I bet he could be a nightmare to live with, but I still admire how entertaining he was, I loved his routine, figuring out how to water the plants, feeding the birds and the possum. I still have good feelings about Tim.

Tully definitely seems much worse on a rewatch. I was a huge fan, but I think I was overly sympathetic because of feeling terrible about her mom. (My aunt had Alzheimer's, not early onset, and after she was hospitalized,my uncle would never let us see her, because he wanted us to remember how she was). I feel that losing her mom to Alzheimer's has deeply affected Tully, as it would anyone.

But, rewatching, I can't believe how spoiled and self- centered, even bratty, she comes across. Matt was right, she is only happy if everything goes her way. Her inability to control her emotions is just a little embarrassing to watch.

I'm still surprised ,as I mentioned, that Matt left, maybe he was too overbearing with the girls. It just would have been so much more interesting if he stayed over Ed. Matt would have had no trouble confronting Tim. And Jade would have been much better without just drooling over Ed the entire time. So, I feel the second third of the season would have been much better.
 
Rose711 said:
I guess my feeling with BB US this season is that at least half the players, and most of the girls, don't know the game, haven't watched or just want to be on TV. I don't mind that so much, but if that is your reasoning, at least be interesting, or be memorable. None of the players voted out have done that, with the exception of Devin, who was an idiot. Yes they have pool and chess, but they just aren't creative with finding things to do.

This season has already be written about in mainstream media as sexist toward the women. I won't get into that, but it is true that Caleb was allowed to embarrass Amber, and the others piled on.
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Way off topic but the girls only have themselves to blame for that this year because as ever in BB, whatever format is used, the girls don't work together. The reason why in almost all versions the girls go early is essentially women are bitches and while the men protect each other initially the women just go after each other, hence why almost always the girls are first out.

And considering how bad Tully was on first viewing I dread to think how it is when she appears even worse. Agree that Matt was a surprise early boot really, while Jade wasn't really as interesting as she was made out to be. Tim was good value but the show suffered from him dominating it. Would rather have sene Tahan or Drew win.

Absolutely agree about the lack of live feeds though - it's quite easy to manipulate footage to tell the story you want when you only have 20-40 minutes of it going to air.
 
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