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BBAU Rewatch

Enjoying BB03 a lot so far. Probably more than I would as I am coming out of BB02. I forgot how instant Reggie's popularity was from the get go, she was compared to Kath and Kim (which was new at the time?) on the Insider show so I'd guess with that it's a no brainer why she was so popular as well as just her simple likeable persona. Two biggest storylines by week 4 include Joanne and flirting as well as Ben being a shit stirrer for the reason being bored? The cast is very strong with the only people not being shown are Patrick and Claire. It's funny because I used to love the Blair/Saxon archetype, but now that I am passed their age if not around it I know too well what kind of guys they are and what they're like and I find it cringe. I still find it so fascinating that Chrissie Swan was on Big Brother as I have always known her to be a media personality.

I can see why this season is loved by many, at time of it airing having a two house twist was probably a WTF thing. I did like also how the housemates were denied access on launch night, went in across the first week and as well as the use of Tamara as a decoy (although like I said in my BB02 write up I hate when housemates could have have gone in but don't, but this can slide) as it causes everyone to drop expectations. To then have to nominate to stay and them not knowing whether or not their house will have an eviction plus the intruder twist throws them into complete psychological disarray. 2002 was a repeat of 2001 and suffers a lot from it, but 2003 really says fuck you to assumptions and essentially pioneers the annual fan question of "what has Big Brother got in store for the housemates this year".

I am assuming what I will say next is an unpopular opinion but I honestly feel that even as twisted as this season is for a 2003 standard, it would probably be considered boring in today's age. A bit like 2002 it is a bit flat at times but the cast is really strong that most of it can be overlooked. The tasks so far are pretty dull, skipping and a get to know you task in week 4? A bit lazy thinking tbh. I remember from the first time I watched this almost a decade ago I found all the entertaining people went one by one which leads to some pretty boring end weeks but it does end on a high with the three best housemates IMO making it to the final 3. I will see if those opinions hold up once I get there or if I change my mind. I don't think I will. Although I would have liked Irena, Carlo and even Leah all to last longer. Belinda would have to be probably the first housemate I've watched be genuinely hated by others. People like Gordon and Anita struggled to get along with the main groups but not the degree Belinda did and were not hated to the point of being ignored when someone was being evicted. '

That summarises my thoughts at this point. I can't believe how fast I've watched these. It's only been 4ish weeks and I'm almost halfway through BB3. I probably need a life.
 
03 was a great season. It was very well cast IMO and although there were twists a lot of what was fascinating occurred organically.

I honestly really enjoyed the storyline of Jo being a flirt. It was interesting to see her entire self worth being linked to being sexually desirable and she took it well beyond innocent flirting.

I also remember talk of a secret room or something on opening night, but from memory it was never mentioned again?
 
jessy_girl said:
I also remember talk of a secret room or something on opening night, but from memory it was never mentioned again?
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It was probably the Bathroom (between the bedroom wings) and Kitchen areas which were hidden inside the big dividing 'Wall' for those first few weeks. (They originally had to shower outside in those little stalls and had outdoor BBQ or something for cooking didn't they).

Also the pool, which was funny there was a throwaway segment on one of the shows I rewatched recently where they were talking about 'Oh I bet they (Square House) have a pool, I can smell the chlorine' it was underneath the wall.

The pool and Kitchen (separated across the yard from the main house) were situated about the same area for the 2004 house, and the Disco Floor in 2004 carried over into the 2005 house with a Stripper pole.
 
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Afflllate said:
It was probably the Bathroom (between the bedroom wings) and Kitchen areas which were hidden inside the big dividing 'Wall' for those first few weeks. (They originally had to shower outside in those little stalls and had outdoor BBQ or something for cooking didn't they).

Also the pool, which was funny there was a throwaway segment on one of the shows I rewatched recently where they were talking about 'Oh I bet they (Square House) have a pool, I can smell the chlorine' it was underneath the wall.

The pool and Kitchen (separated across the yard from the main house) were situated about the same area for the 2004 house, and the Disco Floor in 2004 carried over into the 2005 house with a Stripper pole.
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I do remember that part of the house but I don’t think that’s what I’m thinking of, I feel like Gretel had to point upwards to show us where it was. But now I’m thinking this is a huge false memorh and I’ll have to rewatch the 03 launch.
 
jessy_girl said:
I do remember that part of the house but I don’t think that’s what I’m thinking of, I feel like Gretel had to point upwards to show us where it was. But now I’m thinking this is a huge false memorh and I’ll have to rewatch the 03 launch.
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Oh yes I remember that there were rumours of the ‘Skylounge’ that year, like a second story area. With two houses revealed, it seemed highly plausible but nothing ever came about.

The closest we’ve got to something like an upper level would be I think maybe in 2014 with the treehouse and upstairs diary room, and we all know the ‘Attic’ and ‘elevator’ of the 2021 seasons were probably just on the same level lol.
 
So today I got up to the S1 live games episode where Gretel went in to give away $100k. She said it was a world Big Brother first for a host to go into a house. Can I get a fact check on that?

Yes I am progressing slower than ever, still at F4 stage.
 
jessy_girl said:
I do remember that part of the house but I don’t think that’s what I’m thinking of, I feel like Gretel had to point upwards to show us where it was. But now I’m thinking this is a huge false memorh and I’ll have to rewatch the 03 launch.
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Skylounge? Which is what the off-topic area of the forum was originally called and I believe it was named after a rumoured secret room. 2003 was the year I started lurking and I have vague memories of reading about this rumour about a blue door on an upper level of the backyard.
 
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jessy_girl said:
I do remember that part of the house but I don’t think that’s what I’m thinking of, I feel like Gretel had to point upwards to show us where it was. But now I’m thinking this is a huge false memorh and I’ll have to rewatch the 03 launch.
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Not a false memory - it happened.

Skip to 5m51 if it doesn't automagically skip.
 
Ok glad I didn’t imagine it. But now I want to know more about it and what it was like and why it was never utilised and possibly never mentioned again. I need a 2003 executive to fill me in on that plus the real story with Tamara.
 
I never really thought much into the upstairs room, to me it came cross as just Gretel not knowing what it was. I just assumed to to be like an upstairs camera run or like Kingston said a way for production to get aerial shots.

Just watched probably the most iconic Big Brother AU string of eps as so far with the Ben vs Chrissie argument and Belinda walking. The whole Ben situation is just strange. He seems bored and just decided to say things about others for his own amusement. I remember this being a bigger thing that it was, but like I've mentioned since I've watched these seasons reality TV has still continued to develop so what was considered big in 2003 would probably pass as regular for the 2020 standard.

I love watching Chrissie stand up to Ben, iconic shit. Belinda I guess was just a very awkward person and seemed hard to get along with. I don't blame her for wanting to leave, why continue to endure being hated for weeks and weeks. Although it may have been worth to wait for the eviction to see if Ben goes, but obviously she couldn't physically cop. The threats of violence from Belinda and why she actually chose to leave confused me initially, but after reading some posts on the whirlpool forum there was some light shed on it. There is so much going on compared to 2001 and 2002. Pretty phenomenally cast.
 
Just watched Ben's eviction interview which is where Gretel is blatantly showing dislike to an evictee for the first time. She wasn't ass aggressive as she later becomes but she was very clearly trying to lead Ben to a specific answers but did not receive the answers she wanted. Not that I completely disagree with her, but it was clear she didn't like his responses. One thing that I remember clearly watching with my family for the first time all those years ago was when Ben said his chosen charity for his legacy item was Cystic Fibrosis Australia. Now to the normal fan this wouldn't sound like anything worth mentioning, obviously to me and my family it's something we clearly say attention to, but what a strange coincidence that he was close with Reggie and nor he or her would know that years later she would birth a child diagnosed with CF when he also had two cousins with the disease.
 
Apropos of nothing this from BBAU8 on Wikipedia made me lol.

Rima, ofc, departed with a broken leg.

1639906343951.png

EDIT: This just caused me to wonder what happened to her and there's an interview with her from earlier this month. I haven't listened to it yet but I will.

www.abc.net.au

The unusual life of Rima Hadchiti - ABC listen

At 100cm tall, Rima is one of the smallest people in the world. But throughout her life, she's demanded to be heard (R)
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au
 
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Zcsund1234 said:
Just watched Ben's eviction interview which is where Gretel is blatantly showing dislike to an evictee for the first time. She wasn't ass aggressive as she later becomes but she was very clearly trying to lead Ben to a specific answers but did not receive the answers she wanted. Not that I completely disagree with her, but it was clear she didn't like his responses. One thing that I remember clearly watching with my family for the first time all those years ago was when Ben said his chosen charity for his legacy item was Cystic Fibrosis Australia. Now to the normal fan this wouldn't sound like anything worth mentioning, obviously to me and my family it's something we clearly say attention to, but what a strange coincidence that he was close with Reggie and nor he or her would know that years later she would birth a child diagnosed with CF when he also had two cousins with the disease.
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Gretel had a lot of critics back in the day. I think it's easy to forget that because her presence is clearly missed by fans now especially considering the huge disappointments her successors turned out to be.

She definitely showed bias in some of her interviews and took control of interviews/situations. But in retrospect I think it made for a much more interesting show than if she had been more of a passive host.
 
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