The Circle - Series 2

Would would you prefer on Aussie TV next year?

  • The Circle Australia

    Votes: 8 42.1%

  • Big Brother Australia

    Votes: 11 57.9%
  • Total voters
    19
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Freddie is much more palatable as the series progresses and even more so since he left The Circle. He's on Alex's IG all the time and the two of them together are HILARIOUS.
 
I personally found Freddie hilarious on season 1, I think he made the show and was the real star.
 
Shame about the final result: the last person I wanted to win won!

Absolutely loved the entire series though. It's definitely become my favourite reality TV show right now.
 
iJake said:
Shame about the final result: the last person I wanted to win won!

Absolutely loved the entire series though. It's definitely become my favourite reality TV show right now.
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It felt very anticlimactic... Also a huge disappointment that five went to the final. It would have been much harder to argue Paddy deserved a spot in the final four than it would have been getting rid of one of the final originals.
 
Kingston said:
It felt very anticlimactic... Also a huge disappointment that five went to the final. It would have been much harder to argue Paddy deserved a spot in the final four than it would have been getting rid of one of the final originals.
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Yeah, totally anticlimactic. I mean, I wasn't too concerned about the outcome, but it was definitely the worst outcome it could've been. As much as Paddy tried to show otherwise he was fairly one dimensional and all things considered pretty generic!

I'm not a fan of people winning shows based on their outside lives either. Sammie/James voting Paddy number one because he's 'been through a lot' or whatever had me rolling my eyes.
 
Brekkie said:
Fair comment on an assumption being made producers wouldn't let people lie about a disability, but I also don't think for most catfishing is why people vote for people. In a way the show is about getting to know the people behind the profile - Sammie lost because he became a bit of a twat in the final days (not for creating the alliance but for not managing his relationships with others) rather than being a suspect catfish.

Also worth noting UK reality TV is leagues ahead of Australia and from what I've seen America when it comes to representing disability on screen. C4 took notable steps since acquiring the Paralympics in 2012, but even before that contestants with disabilities had featured in at least three series of Big Brother whilst Deal or No Deal, which began in 2005, was one of the first quiz shows to noteably and frequently have disabled players. Now it's pretty much the norm for a disabled contestants to feature in reality TV. I'd also say Chrones is more of a chronic illness than a disability and though the disability was a factor with Paddy when he moved in and initially withheld it I think it's very much been secondary with Georgina. Indeed with both of them apart from a handful of conversations over the series it's not been a determining factor at all IMO.
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Well you could certainly argue that Tim didn't manage his relationships very well. I thought that was very obvious, and was to several in there, despite the narrator telling us that all the audience loves him. His remark at the final was funny when he said he was upset that he wasn't thought to have shown enough attention to everyone. He called Sammie a monster just because he challenged him. And the audience hate engendered by the pantomime approach of the producers is unfortunately reminiscent of Big Brother. The audience want to think they know people in there by a few hours in a gameshow, and they don't.

Catfish hunting was made a huge deal of it in the edit. Paddy intimated the producers guide what will be talked about, and I definitely think they wished to push particular approaches. Really to fit into the pantomime, the deceiving villain and the heroes find them out. I always thought that reality show experiments were as much on the audience as on those in the game itself.

Georgina very much bracketed herself and Paddy together at the end. The exact definition isn't that important I suppose. I did think it was made a big deal of, although initially the main thing with Paddy was his tedious sex talk. Rather than make the personal details matter of fact, the producers very obviously wanted to sugar it up with music meant to move us, to make it a dramatic moment.
 
Kingston said:
It felt very anticlimactic... Also a huge disappointment that five went to the final. It would have been much harder to argue Paddy deserved a spot in the final four than it would have been getting rid of one of the final originals.
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I do think it's a shame 5 went to the final and I think they only did that as they feared losing Sammie beforehand and their moment at the round table. That said had they had another blocking based on the votes of the finale Paddy would have actually been an influencer along with Georgina, and I suspect they'd have taken out Woody rather than Tim. Talking of Woody although ultimately insignificant we never got to see the others finding out he was the Secret Influencer.


Anyway, on to 2020 and rumour has it from next year C4 will air two series of The Circle a year, which I think at a 3-4 week run it can sustain and IMO is preferable to having one series extended to 5-6 weeks. Also fits in with the building being a permanent base for the series.
 
Brekkie said:
I do think it's a shame 5 went to the final and I think they only did that as they feared losing Sammie beforehand and their moment at the round table. That said had they had another blocking based on the votes of the finale Paddy would have actually been an influencer along with Georgina, and I suspect they'd have taken out Woody rather than Tim. Talking of Woody although ultimately insignificant we never got to see the others finding out he was the Secret Influencer.


Anyway, on to 2020 and rumour has it from next year C4 will air two series of The Circle a year, which I think at a 3-4 week run it can sustain and IMO is preferable to having one series extended to 5-6 weeks. Also fits in with the building being a permanent base for the series.
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The way things in my mind should have played out was the format used from the previous double blocking with the lowest rated having been eliminated and the next blocking decided between the final influencers.

I’m not sure how I feel about multiple series per year. I can see the format growing old very fast considering the show is only pulling in average ratings to begin with.
 
True, but I think we're more likely to get 4 series over 2 years than 4 series over 4 years. The way I see it is The Circle is just holding the fort until Big Brother returns home, which will happen twice as quick if The Circle aired twice a year.
 
I watched series 1 in June anyway, so 2 series a year would just feel normal to me just the same. Waiting a full 12 months would feel so long. And 2 series of the circle I’d feel would be ideal as it’s only like a 20 episode run, twice a what would be like 40-50 episodes per year which is what a lot of reality shows pull in a one off season sometimes.
 
Brekkie said:
Anyway, on to 2020 and rumour has it from next year C4 will air two series of The Circle a year, which I think at a 3-4 week run it can sustain and IMO is preferable to having one series extended to 5-6 weeks. Also fits in with the building being a permanent base for the series.
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It wouldn't be cheap renting an entire apartment block on a permanent basis for a show with such a short run so it makes sense they are maximising it by using it for foreign productions and possibly a second season per year.
 
Brekkie said:
Also worth noting UK reality TV is leagues ahead of Australia and from what I've seen America when it comes to representing disability on screen.
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This sentence could end after the word 'America' and still be 100% true, in my opinion.
 
It was strange they didn't mention the secret influencer, maybe he revealed it at the meeting. And I've seen people say that they should have shown more of the meeting, and they probably did show more last year. The interviews in general this series were average at best, I wish they could ask more probing questions, it can feel like the producers just want to push whatever agenda they have to keep up their storyline. I liked that they got rid of the zelebs and they kept the eliminated contestants around, but still need a more independent and probing presenter. Emma Willis was obviously brought on board because of the Big Brother audience.

Two series a year doesn't have to be bad, but they need to broaden the kinds of deception and be braver, and win the audience over to gameplay. The catfish hunting theme the producers obviously wanted this year was a bit too easy after last year. Let things develop more organically rather than push particular planned themes. It can feel like the producers are allowed to interfere too much, and that contributed to bringing down Big Brother.

Paddy did an interview which explains that the producers are involved in planning and shaping all the conversations.
www.mirror.co.uk

The Circle's Paddy explains how show is really filmed and his prize money plans

EXCLUSIVE: The Circle winner Paddy revealed the real truth about how the show is filmed, and talked about being forced to face his demons
www.mirror.co.uk www.mirror.co.uk
 
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Yes, the interviews didn't add much I feel. However what I did really like were the ex-contestants continuing to feature throughout the series. Often with a week out of there they could offer a bit more insight than when they'd come straight out of lockdown.
 
Been working my way through series 1 slowly but surely - a great watch, and really not much different in format to the second season with the casting just as strong. Someone said earlier Freddie gets less annoying as the season goes on - that is kind of true, and he has a couple of moments of self awareness which make him more likeable. I'm about 4 episodes from the end now and if I didn't know the outcome it certainly wouldn't be the outcome I'd be predicting.
 
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