Every time the producers of Big Brother do something so disastrously bad to the show – which seems to be an almost weekly occurrence now – all of the BBBA staffers post into our private staff forum “what could they possibly do to make this any worse”… and every single time they manage to top themselves.
So Kyle Sandilands is going on the show this weekend. Let me just disclose my prejudices about him first off: the man is an absolute tool. The public are very split on what they think of him but its safe to say a large group consider him an obnoxious self indulged creep. The only reason he has gotten anywhere in the media world is because he is a shameless self promoter and purposely stirs the pot.
Not to sound hypocritical but what I just described is perfect material for Big Brother – but not in this specific context. You can see a mile away that this whole thing is one giant sponsored plug. 2DayFM and Kyle himself want a piece of this Big Brother pie and the guys above Kris Noble and Tim Toni’s heads are hammering for Idol to be cross promoted.
This “twist” is a defining example of how the current producers, Channel 10 and Endemol Southern Star have completely written off Big Brother as a form of whole hearted entertainment or something with a consistent solid fanbase. Crippled by their own lack of originality and apprehensiveness to break from the worn out Australian FTA ratings models the show has now been turned into a vehicle for selling out. Commercial TV has always had money making tie-ins, but Big Brother is setting a whole new bar for raking in the cash. Just look at Big Brother Uplate… it’s 80% phone in competitions. Big Brother has been needlessly run into the ground, but its being kept alive by greedy people flogging the dead cow for every last drop of milk.
Why I, and lots of other users of this site get so worked up about this, is its unnecessary, and a spit in the face of audiences who have stayed loyal to the program. And most importantly it’s just lazy production – if the show was kept fresh with original ideas and was presented to audiences in a half intelligent manner advertisers would be far more willing to pump money into the show. Even the most naive watchers are starting to recognize the same ideas are just recycled over and over again.
And the most universal example I use for this is Big Brother UK. People get sick of me mentioning it, but then they watch it for themselves and change their tune. BBUK is in it’s 8th season and is still a highly enjoyable show and most importantly they haven’t sacrificed the premise of the BB format to jumpstart ratings and revenue. Hell – a large portion of money raised through BBUK voting goes to charity!
The people angry about BBAU’s incredibly careless choices are the ones who love the Big Brother concept, ideas and format as a television show, and we’re seeing something we love being exploited and literally ripped apart in the pursuit for money and ratings. This weekend the entire premise of Big Brother being an arena of isolation will finally be destroyed.
And yes I blame the current producers. Tim Toni and more specifically Kris Noble surely don’t consider Big Brother to be “their baby” anymore. It’s just a money maker and nothing more. A money maker isn’t making as much as possible if you have to spend money back on it.. so they put the most minimal amount of effort back into the show. And really it isn’t about budgets its about IDEAS. Big Brother AU hasn’t had a solid good idea or actual twist in a good while. When they do come up with something decent they manage to screw up the execution, so it doesn’t count anyway.
Let me ask you this – do you think this latest Kyle plug would have EVER been considered in the first three seasons of Big Brother? (Yes, when Kris Noble wasn’t producing)… or even in the fourth season? I highly doubt it. Run the thing into the ground Mr Noble and then crash in ding ding ding $$$. I can’t accept he takes any particular pride in running Big Brother anymore… it may be a lot of work but the show isn’t exactly bringing anything new to the table anymore. So I say Kris Noble, if you want to be a second rate producer and only care about your salary then fine… I have invested a total of about $2 in this season, and with the banner ads on Behindbigbrother being clicked on by your audience that $2 is easily negated….
Kris Noble (and Tim Toni).. if you actually care about being a decent producer, bringing something new and fresh to the Australian public.. then do something about it. I know you’re not 100% incompetent, and I know you read this website.. so actually use your ears, eyes and your brains and listen to what people say on our forums, and the official site forums, and anywhere else you can get feedback. You can sell out but don’t fuck things up at the same time.
.. And I wonder if Jackie O feels burned she’s not going in the house.