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BB/CBB UK - Rewatch discussions

And I'm on week 2, and she's left with her husband! Nooo. I think sometimes they forget that the voting format changed this season (Vote to Save) - Imran didn't leave because he was most hated, he just had the least votes, which can also happen easily when he's one part of a pair that's competing as two HMs (split fanbase).

I'm in the final week now, and they're doing the attic twist, and I just realised this is probably what inspired BBAU 2022's mainframe fake evictions!

Except, this one was so much better! So they already had a DOUBLE eviction that the public decided, and on the same night, had housemates evict face to face another two housemates to be fake evicted. This meant the real evictions still remained, and the people who were fake evicted were just extras - so it didn't feel like producer meddling.

And instead of just having Drew sit in there doing literally nothing, the two housemates had a lot of control over the other HMs and it was fun and interesting!!!
 
I'm in the final week now, and they're doing the attic twist, and I just realised this is probably what inspired BBAU 2022's mainframe fake evictions!

Except, this one was so much better! So they already had a DOUBLE eviction that the public decided, and on the same night, had housemates evict face to face another two housemates to be fake evicted. This meant the real evictions still remained, and the people who were fake evicted were just extras - so it didn't feel like producer meddling.

And instead of just having Drew sit in there doing literally nothing, the two housemates had a lot of control over the other HMs and it was fun and interesting!!!

Wow, a blonde female with a bad tan won (and I'm happy with it)!!! Usually the UK voting audience can be very misogynistic from what I've ascertained, so this is big surprise to me and I'm curious on what the narrative was with the audiences at the time to propel her to a win as I feel like she kind of stayed quiet in the final few months. As much as I love that she won, I also think Raph deserved the win too... but after being significantly disappointed with last season (2016)'s winner, I'm happy with this final.
 
So ive started BBUK1/2000 episode 1

Its got that kitschy no frills/behing the scenes production quality behind it compared to the spectacle of the later years, think like Popstars and The Mole Australia in those early seasons.
I think theres only a couple clips diuring the week and a weekly catch up episode when I saw a glimpse at the playlist titles? I Think ive looked up the wikpedia page before but its been a while, so not recalling much as for boot order/big events in this moment apart from the 'Nasty Nick' thing.

LOL at some of the stuff already, Melanie in the garden 'It's (Hose) getting me wet'. one of the guys: 'Oh I dunno if I needed to know that'.
The nuding up and clay imprints on the walls, the Clay penis outside the door, some of the guys all shaving their heads, Running out of Toilet paper (what a 20 years later retroactive funny) and trying to figure out how the public are gonna vote, and all this by Day 3.

Also this seems to have been airing post 10PM from the get go, some uncut level casual discussions about melanie's nipples, some nudity etc already.

Caroline seems good value, I lol'ed in one of the first Snippet updates her package is reduced to a couple seconds of that Flipper the Dolphin -esque laugh.
 
It started out in an 11pm slot most nights, though the hour long Monday episode was at 8pm and the first eviction show at 8.30pm (with the second at 11.05pm). It wasn't until it really took off with the Nasty Nick stuff that it moved to 10pm.

Yes, that first week was an hour long launch show then 5 minute updates, with a half hour round up at the end of the week. Ironically you got more of a glimpse of what the housemates were like in those 5 minute shows than you get in the 100 minute shows on Seven.
 
So I'm up to Day 12 BBUK2000 They also included some of the first week 'Media special' (I think it was what would later become BBLB just thowing to a replay of the launch ep/week updates?) with Dermott and another bit from a show where they interviewed the website director and talking about the traffic and live feed situation.

Interesting how BB has gone soft already it seems and Darren gets a Video Message from his kids Bday party on DAY 10. Conquering his fear of the Chickens though, Look at this Aleisha BBAU2022! Haha.

Theres a bit of a Girl/Boy divide happening, and Sada has become a bit of a target. First noms both her and Caroline are doing the sulky thing and we have had a threat to walk already. Getting a bit of an immature vibe from some of the guys, Thomas comes across pretty introverted/quiet, and Darren is missing his kids but seems to be gradually getting into the swing of it.

I'm enjoying Melanie and Anna atm, they seem to be 2 of the most chill about the BB experience at this point (even though this was unprecedented in the UK at this point). Its fun to see a few throws to the Psychologists too in the first 50 minute daily show, back when it was more about the social experiment aspect.

Also excited to get to the first Eviction show to see how they ease us into how it works, up until that media special there wasnt much 'hosting' going on which I was surprised by, we didnt even get much of a live 'Launch'. Did Davina just come in at the first Eviction or something randomly?
 
Up to Week 3 now (finished the 1st Eviction and the new scenes in the Week 2 recap Daily show).
Interesting that they had the Eviction announcement at like 9PM, then Sada had like 2 hours to get ready for the actual Eviction and interview at 11PM. I wonder when that changed.

The Set looks cool, also the crowd is along the walkway and theres a short bridge between it and the house.
Also I noticed that they were starting to be really loose with discussing nominations and getting close to out and out strategizing/collusion, So it looks like they cracked down on it in the new scenes in the Week 2 review.

I also wonder when the 3 minimum nominee slots started, if it was set at 2 initially because of the expected length of the series + only 10 Housemates, potentially having half the house up first in the event of a tie might have different drama potential than having 2 housemates feeling a bit rattled about their position in the house (as we clearly saw with Caroline and Sada after first noms).
 
So many questions... should be able to answer them though.

Firstly the "media special" would be from T4, the Sunday morning strand of teen shows which Dermot (who later fronted BBLB) hosted. They repeated the weekly recap editions and would usually have a few BB related segments around that and evictees on the show too.

Davina - yes, she just turned up on eviction night for the first time. It was never promoted as her show - the presenter initially was almost an afterthought, though some of the biggest names at the time (Zoe Ball, Graham Norton, Denise Van Outen) were said to be in the running. Davina had made her name on MTV and done Streetmate (a dating show) for C4 which was quite successful and a couple of entertainment formats for ITV. She's also hosted The Brits earlier in the year.


As for eviction shows - yes, the split eviction shows continued for all of C4's run, though the time between them shrunk over the years to eventually be just half an hour. Those first couple of years though where they had around two hours to get ready, pack etc. in between as well as stress about what might be on the other side of the doors really added a much more human aspect to the eviction process, as indeed did the format of the show in the early years with friends and family of housemates really involved too, and indeed Davina spoke to people in the crowd directly too. I've always said when they moved the entire show out in front of the crowds from BB5 onwards the crowd actually became less involved, other than their tiresome chanting and booing.

The classic set up at Bow for BB1/2 though was the best the show ever looked - they never really managed to recreate that at Elstree (BB4 probably came closest, or CBB2 which had a smaller intimate set up). I really hope any revival by ITV looks to recapture that atmosphere rather than the Elstree mob of later years.

Three nominees didn't start till the C5 years (and they varied the rule as they saw fit rather than having a clear nominations criteria) - during the C4 years it was always two up for eviction which saw some great head to head evictions over the years, especially in BB2. I do think 2-3 nominees works best so they are the focus of attention and it's not a case of half the house being nominated, so it's nothing to worry about. Similarly three or four in the final week was always better than the 6-7 later years often had - much more of an achievement to make it to the last week when only a few do and it gave them all a decent amount of airtime at the finale.
 
Day 17 lol Darren and Nick are discussing the crowd cheering and Nick says he might try and make them boo the rest of the house if he goes first.
Darren goes: "I reckon they love you, youre Mr Bond, there'll be women out there that want to have your baby" Im thinking that assessment dosent age well.

Also they dont have a concept of a potential Double Eviction yet 'We cant go together, what, you go and I walk?' (unless its 'eight, nine, ten' = finale)' unless thats also something thats coloured my perception as a curveball of the game from the Aussie version (and here its wasnt done until like 2/3rds through the 2nd season) and it hadn't happened much in BBUK (if they are sticking to two nominees mininum for the C4 era and not much opportunity for multiple nominees in a a Tie/special circumstance).
 
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I'm mid way through Day 20 Daily show now. Were starting to get a bit of Drama. Darren's getting a bit tired of Nick asking questions and analysing people, Nichola is starting to arc up (they've run out of cigarettes also, no nicabate this season! did No Smoking rule come in at some point after this in the UK Series?), they changed the idea for the play extra task overnight without discussing it, and now Caroline is pulling up Craig at the house meeting about his knee and the bike task/contributing to the house.

Sooo much Sexual Tension going on between Andrew and Melanie as well, He's clearly smitten with her, but is it one sided, and, is anything gonna happen? maybe drag this out now he knows hes nominated so viewers might want want to see if they'll just kiss or something already jeez. Lots of handsy.
 
They were certainly allowed to smoke throughout the C4 era (though changes in the law saw them restricted to a dedicated smoking area a few seasons in). Not sure if C5 banned it in later series - doubt it considering most the celebs smoked like a train.
 
Into Week 4 now. So we had a part 2 to the Caroline/Craig argument, and Caroline Survives eviction yet again by a large margin for Andrew out. Aaaaand there it is They finally kissed, but he was already on the way out with 68% of the vote. What this mucking around with Mel and Thomas coming into the picture but is it just platonic or flirty and we could see Mel move on?

And the benefits of having the Eviction Show split off 'after dark', What even is this interview? LOL Davina "the press have called you "Randy Andy... Why are you so Horny?". The tide has clearly turned on the outside with the Nick Anti-fan squad holding 'Out on your Nichol-Arse' posters.

Week 4 and theyre starting to collude again and Nick is starting to target Anna sowing seeds into discussions. Let's see what comes in this week.
 
They were certainly allowed to smoke throughout the C4 era (though changes in the law saw them restricted to a dedicated smoking area a few seasons in). Not sure if C5 banned it in later series - doubt it considering most the celebs smoked like a train.
HG could smoke in every series of BBUK. Smoking was banned indoors starting with BB8.
 
I just watched BBUS17, that was not bad - I tried to watch BBUS 16, I ditched it, just couldn't find anyone I liked enough to want to see how they progressed. & I was surprised when I watched international BB's to see them light up, the US ones seem to be able to smoke anywhere...
 
See - I love BB16 USA and think it's one of their best casts but it's not a popular one with fans at all. Couldn't get into BB17 personally.

BB6 USA is similar too - I hated it but many US fans really rate it. That's the beauty of Big Brother though - would be boring if we all agreed on everything.
 
Up to Day 26 - Anna has had a will I Walk or Stay episode and decided to stay, She's been having some wild dreams lately, from snogging one of the members of All Saints to just now hosting Top of the Pops. lol.

Nick has come clean and confided in Mel and Thomas about that story he told in the the first loves house topic about his secret wife being killed in a car accident in the NT was embellished; he's becoming very self conscious about his perception to the outside. Also adding onto that they've just had an interesting discussion last ep about how the edit makes them look nominating others.

Craig and Caroline have made up and are getting along after their little tiff last weekend,(and they are also paired for this weeks flag signals task conveniently enough) while Mel and Darren remain sus on Nick. Nicola is starting to cop some nominations. Thomas being up is interesting this week too - hes starting to get a bit of a 'I don't want to go back to my old life, I want to go and explore the world' edit.

But what about Darren's Noms reasons - 'oh he'll be able to watch his Brother on Saturday' 'oh he's got a business, it'll be good for him to get out and go visit on Saturday' LOL Will BB get tough on their reasons at some point like our version did. 'THen why are you nominatiing threm? Get to the point'. Haha.
 
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BB6 USA is similar too - I hated it but many US fans really rate it. That's the beauty of Big Brother though - would be boring if we all agreed on everything.
Despite the Sov6 alliance being some of the most popular players of all time, BB6 was pretty much universally hated at the time it aired. It gained more of a cult following amongst newer fans watching it after the fact. Although looking back it does hold up better than any modern series does.
 
Finished Week 4
Also to mention there was a Drone attempt to get flyers about Nick into the house this week, and there was a security sweep based on media rumours he had smuggled a mobile phone into the house. Which is laughable when you consider it would be a 2000 era phone, would be pretty difficult to use without being spotted by production. like when you had to do T9 typing the same key multiple times for different letters remember that? lol.

Thomas really coming out of his shell in some moments now and becoming a bit of a character. A pretty decisive exit for Caroline also 62% of the vote. Some more expose showing what Nick is really like and playing the game being two faced to Caroline on the eviction show. The public opinon is overwhelmingly negative at this point. He is gooooone for sure if he were nominated next (although hasnt copped any noms at all to date). Another weekend argument - this time between Darren and Nicola.

Into Week 5!
 
By the way some of these 'Discussion topic nights' and even just general conversations are fascinating to look back on too, like the one about their views on the relevance of the Royal Family, and the one about George Michael's then recent public bathroom scandal, where they are quite quick to educate Nick not to equate homosexuality and paedophilia after his offhand 'what if he were to proposition a child' comment.

GM even wrote into the show in praise of the way the Housemates handled that topic! Remember when Big Brother had a side to it with a look into societal attitudes and world topics of the time.
 
I agree but sadly I just don't think they would work now - is clearly less tolerance amongst viewers for letting housemates challenge each others opinions where they are outdated and questionable and instead an expectation producers and the regulators would take direct action themselves rather than trust the format.
 
I agree but sadly I just don't think they would work now - is clearly less tolerance amongst viewers for letting housemates challenge each others opinions where they are outdated and questionable and instead an expectation producers and the regulators would take direct action themselves rather than trust the format.
You also have to take in to account that in 2022 is unlikely you’d have people finding common ground and taking the time to consider other points of view.
 
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