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BB/CBB UK - Rewatch discussions

Fuck me. Past housemates are about to go in and I haven't seen the older seasons (spoilers!) :cry:
 
How dare they not think about people watching the seasons in reverse.

Just a reminder though of how desperate they were that year.
 
Haha I only remember vague details that i've seen or read about in the past so some stuff has still been a kinda surprise for me, others not so much but still entertaining.
I'll continue to try and watch as I go fairly fresh and not look up too much, but If I happen to come across any spoilers (for a Reality TV season that aired 22 years ago that im watching right now) or someone offhand blabs about it here or some thread I've tentatively scrolled through before Ive finished the season, it's a good enough effort if I havent heard/recalled/seen at least some things about it (like seeing the Winner mentioned). So I'm not playing it overly spoiler averse for it kinda thing.

Theres still value in watching through to see how exactly some placings and stuff come about, or finer details like if they pass that weeks task or not etc.

2001 will be interesting because I think apart from the winner I don't recall what else at this moment I know about it at all.
I've already pieced together the final 4 order for BB1 by deducing a comment I came across in a general BB1 post I saw the other week about a particular housemate, and I saw the winners name mentioned similarly which reminded me who it was, But still will be interesting to see how it goes down (and if they will pass Week 8's task!).
 
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I do think it's worth remembering that apart from the live elements that thanks to the live feed, 24/7 news cycle and forums like this place with the older series of Big Brother it was very rare to go into the episodes spoiler free.
 
Day 53: The Housemates have started getting the hang of staying on the Unicycle for the Circus task. They might actually pull this off you know (although have only bet 20%).

Final Nominations, Only Anna Is safe in the Final 3. I also wanted to mention last week with Darren getting somewhat exposed as 'Wussy' with changing his noms after being heard, We did get a glimpse of BB trying to push them for actual reason with Claire.

Only it wasnt because of a 'Oh well it'll be good for them to get out and see the fam' which has become Darren's go to, or this week from Craig, 'Mel hasnt ever beeen up so lets give her the authentic BB experience', it was just because Claire had literally no reason - and the rules say she must have one for her nomination.

They've just completed a 2 hour impersonate each other challenge - winning a movie night by comedian 'Bobby Davro' which they are not all that fussed with and asking BB if theres any alternative options to pick from. I looked him up - looks like he will pop up in one of the C5 CBB seasons? Haha.
 
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Onto the Final week of BBUK1 now.
They didnt pass the Week 8 task, but they seem all sorted for food so no dramas. Good effort though. The guessing the news mini task (which will be carried on by the Final 3, prize is a film 'of their choice' which means something other than bloody Bobby Davro! lol.

Melanie's eviction interview was one of the kookiest yet - the new headlines (replaying that one With Nick and Brad Pitt, Caroline and Nichola also being messy on some dancefloor?) and bringing out Thomas (what was that photoshoot? Was there a Zoo Mag equivalent for the guys or he just happened to be looking like a model pose shirtless for the paper?) haha.

69% of the vote, and was that some slight booing I was hearing in the crowd? Security looked to be having a bit of a handful with some of the friends and fam in the front line too on this one. Interesting if the outcome would have been the same had Melanie been up any earlier in the show, this being the first opportunity for her to be evicted, or whether if she had been part of the mix last week whether she might have even gone over Claire.

Anyway should be an interesting Week 9. I also see theres a few specials after the Finale on the episode titles.
 
Not sure in Australia but that's one thing I liked in the early series - they had full control of their budget and unused food was carried over from one week to the next. In later series they just cleared the cupboards if they failed then gave them rations, which really was a complete waste of food.
 
BBUK S16 (2015) - Day 39

Wow, the four new intruders and then the three "legends" really saved this show, felt like what I'd come to expect from BBUK. The original crew were just way too comfortable and boring. When Mark was fake evicted, I really thought his reaction solidified his win... but his pairing with the girl (sorry genuinely don;t remember her name but she was the winner) screwed his entire game. The only people I can see winning now are Joel or Nick (sadly)...

But Jade gone? Sigh. I hate the UK voting public, the evictions are so shit almost every year. They can't stand strong woman.
 
So I finished off Week 9 and the Finale of BBUK1 (2000) yesterday.

Only gotta skim through the 'Final Days' recap to see if any new scenes and check out the BTS special and 'The World Is Watching' (of how other versions at the time did - I remember just before Australian Idol Premiered here in 2003 we had a similar special showing bits from Pop and American Idol etc iirc to show us what the show was all about).
I also remember the pre launch episode for BBAU 2002 where they went through the Audition call and home audition video process.

The last task with each doing one part of the 'Mind Body and Soul' portion of the task per day was funny, especially withe the 'Baby Juanita' a task which has since become kindof a classic, looking after one of those electronic dolls.

A lot of Commercial music in this series, from Craig discussing and singing a lyrical breakdown of Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight' The Final 3 getting a song of their choice played into the house, and Anna choosing Madonna's Immaculate Collection as the soundtrack to the final Spanish-themed house party. We also had the cheesy songs like Carpenters Close To You and something by Lionel Richie? for Melanie and Darren's 'all the boys'/'chickens montages at the Evictions.

The Finale itself was well put together - although it got very messy by the end and Davina did well to keep it on track. 'Oh were going on a quick tour of the house, -oop no were not lets cross to Craig's fanclub' Then 'cmon Craig we gotta get you to the studio, up on the platform, down off the platform, oh no actually, lets get back here' Bring all the Housemates out to congratulate him - then she literally had to go and grab Craig by the face 'Look at Moiyyye' style to get out Nick's 'Redemption moment' of pressing the Money Transfer button to end the show. Crazy.

Also the three in Chicken suits following Darren over the bridge looked comical, and Anna's girlfriend (we got an explanation for the dated t-shirt Anna was wearing the last few days too) accompanying her the whole way back that Davina ended up leading her along by the hand into the studio and Anna along with her. Nice fake out by the video message from Darren's kids then 'no wait theyre actually here!'

It's very interesting reading some of the what happened after and where are they now? Some of the big points are Sada and Nichola apparently dated, and Tom married and split with Claire and they had a baby! Craig and Anna in particular look to have continued to have had a bit of an ongoing TV career as well as a couple others have done a few things after.

I may in a little bit also do a brief season overview recap + individual Housemate short impressions (little bit Zscund style) before moving on to CBBUK1 and BBUK2 (2001).
 
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Really enjoyed your recaps of the first series - it takes me back 22 years.

Baby Juanita of course was ripped off by Love Island and is now used towards the end of every series they do. I don't think it was something BBUK repeated.

As for commercial music - so greatful UK TV has deals in place which ensure commercial music is fairly easy to use in such shows (the BBC has a blanket deal, not sure if it's the same for other broadcasters). BBUS had a comp the other week which was basically musical chairs and the music they used was absolutely dire.
 
Really enjoyed your recaps of the first series - it takes me back 22 years.

Baby Juanita of course was ripped off by Love Island and is now used towards the end of every series they do. I don't think it was something BBUK repeated.

As for commercial music - so greatful UK TV has deals in place which ensure commercial music is fairly easy to use in such shows (the BBC has a blanket deal, not sure if it's the same for other broadcasters). BBUS had a comp the other week which was basically musical chairs and the music they used was absolutely dire.
BBUS production are just cheap and can’t be bothered to ask CBS for a deal. CBS were willing to splash the additional costs for Love Island which only brought in approximately a third of BB’s ratings.
 
Finished the Behind The Scenes Special and ‘The World Is Watching’ Special. Both gave a little bit more insight into the Season as well - like how production were thinking Nick might be up to something in the blind spots of the cameras but didn’t want to call him out on it at the same time, so It was really Thomas who brought it all unstuck, and How they looked at the first seasons of Netherlands, BBUS etc at the time as well.

There was also some of the audition process. The Season as a whole, It was very interesting to see a few minor differences even to our first version just a year later in terms of Evictions, Nominations process. Otherwise the house itself was that very early on basic basics as far as house design goes.

Dynamic wise as noted in the special the settling in process was a little bizarre, then there was a bit of friction, as well as some housemates journey benefited /hindered by certain events, certain people leaving, or elements of the game as it went which was interesting to watch.

A bit more depth in the brief Housemates recap so Here Goes:

Sada: I thought she was really well spoken, her singing that mountain song or whatever was funny. I think she may have followed Carolines trajectory had she stayed though, sticking within the girls group or with Nichola and easy noms fodder for the Boys + Melanie possibly leaving when Caroline originally did, if not the week Andrew did. But who knows, she may have gotten strength in surviving the first eviction and continued to grow as Anna did after falling into a Lull.

Andrew: I thought he had an air of immaturity about him, although he did have some other moments in discussions. If he stayed he might've went on to become like Blair in the Aus first season perhaps. It may have even changed Melanie and Thomas’ whole game if their fling developed further.

Caroline: I thought she regained her entertainment value once she got over the sad mopey period of being nominated. The tiff with Craig probably sealed the nomination in the week she was booted, but it was good to see them make up and she was kindof back into the swing of things.

Nick: Was probably a bit too ahead of his time with the way the game was played at the time (although he didnt need to outright cheat - there were ways of playing strategically within the rules of this format without colluding or open manipulation) His lies and manipulation just snowballed and got the better of him, whereas if he had just been authentic from the start he mightve stood a better chance and not become so nervous, awkward and paranoid about how he was being percieved. It was only a matter of time even without the cheating though, He may have ended up with a Melanie exit, evicted as soon as he fell into the nominations lineup with the way the public turned on him on the outside (Although there were some ‘Put Nick back in!’ posters after he was ousted, so a’ bit keep the ones you want to watch around for a bit’ indeed hey?

Nichola: She had some fun moments too, but I think she struggled with losing Sada and Caroline, then she had a few fiery and argumentative moments. A Bit like Caroline, she made up with Darren but got booted the direct following eviction.
 
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Thomas: I thought he had one of the biggest journey arcs of the season. He wasnt given much of an edit in the early days IMO and came across a bit introverted and quiet, but as the weeks went on, he started seeming to come out of his shell a bit more (possibly helped along by the friendship with Melanie after Andrew left) and opening up about his home life and desire to change things up, which I thought was setting up a potential winners edit. Another what if with one of the closest eviction margins of the season, could he have made Final 3 or even won? Craig got a lot of traction off the back of confronting Nick head on, however it was Thomas who lit that fire and brought it all into the open.

Claire: I thought she was a bit of a fun breath of fresh air to the season too. This is where Melanie started to fade more into the background in terms of stronger female edits and Anna and Claire were brought out more. It wouldve been really interesting to see if Darren wasnt overheard could she have survived that week’s eviction.

Melanie: At the beginning I thought she was one of the most level headed about things in the house (as I mentioned). It was funny when they were discussing the Spice Girls cause in addition to her name, her style kinda was giving me a little Mel B vibes. As I mentioned it was probably around Claire’s introduction and the loss of her second ‘almost’ fling with Thomas that she started to not really be at the forefront in the girls’ storylines or her own narrative and the ‘Alpha Female’ of the house that the psychologists were observing.
 
Darren: He had a fun side after initially not coping well with missing his kids in the initial week. I think having the Chickens there really boosted his storyline and became very centralised tied into it, I wonder what his time in the house wouldve been like without them present and overcoming that phobia and becoming the ‘Chicken Whisperer’ (or it had been a Goat as originally idealized by the producers in the BTS special). I think he was actually the youngest housemate this season too (along with Andrew) at about 23. It’ll be interesting if in later seasons they put some 18-21 year olds in there.

Anna: Kinda similar to Thomas, I think she benefited a bit more in screentime by the other girls leaving and coming more to the forefront. She had that dry wit and humour right the way through pretty much, but By the time it was just her and Mel as the last 2 girls before Claire came in, She started to shine more. She also had a bit of a growth arc in that she was thinking of Walking but then stayed. I think she might have been casted a little for the backstory she had of being a lesbian ex-nun and maybe that could play into moments in the house (the George Michael discussion rings a bell) but otoh she presented a very down to earth persona that wasnt any caricature or stereotype that that backstory might seem on paper.

Craig: There were moments early on where I was on and off on Craig, a bit like Andrew I think he was probably one of the boys with a bit more of a juvenile side, then there was that week he was sleeping a lot (which caused the friction with Caroline initially for seeming lazy) but then him and Caroline turning over a new leaf, the confrontation with nick happened, and Claire brought out his fun side back a bit too, and he had some entertaining moments apart from being the ‘everyday bloke’ archetype and being a little under the radar. There was also the selfless act of donating his entire winnings to his friend, That story would’ve been milked to death nowadays, but like Davina said on the finale, people may not even know, was that really the case or was it somewhat known or mentioned via live streams / community news if you were paying attention? He had a funny sean connery kinda accent too, a couple of them had interesting accents this season.

If I had to pick a top 3 I really enjoyed following/watching their arc on the first Season, I’d probably at this moment say Anna, Thomas, and Caroline, couple of close followers like Melanie.

So there it is, some of these thoughts a bit scattered but Think I’ve put some of the gist across for now.

Onto CBBUK1! its only 8 episodes (since it ran for only 8 days or something).
 
Really interesting reading your thoughts on the housemates and especially on how some only begin to shine as the numbers dwindle. I've always said that is the case and it's frustrating that wasn't the case in the latter years with the producers favourites + extras and with far too many in the final weeks to give the "extras" a chance to take centre stage.
 
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So I just watched his BBUK season a few months ago having no idea who he is but now the whole world seemingly knows and is talking about Andrew Tate? lol

I'm still out of the loop on what kind of figure he is now or what he's doing but so weird lol
 
So I just watched his BBUK season a few months ago having no idea who he is but now the whole world seemingly knows and is talking about Andrew Tate? lol

I'm still out of the loop on what kind of figure he is now or what he's doing but so weird lol
Apparently dubbed 'Internets Scariest Man' for all the misogynistic views he puts out. Abbie Chatfield recently talking about copping sh!t from some tweeny boys, followers of his through Tik Tok etc. See below.

 
So I just watched his BBUK season a few months ago having no idea who he is but now the whole world seemingly knows and is talking about Andrew Tate? lol

I'm still out of the loop on what kind of figure he is now or what he's doing but so weird lol
Yes came up in a video I was watching the other day about alt-right podcasters. He’s all sorts of crazy.
 
CBBUK1 Day 1

Interesting bunch, I thought at first with Keith oh is that the B*witched Twins' brother thats in Boyzone (No, That would be Shane Lynch, who I see does end up appearing on CBB much later). The intro packages were a bit kooky, Chris' one especially. Oh and thats Lee Evans in the pre-launch bit too.

House has only been mildly spruced up since 2000. They tried to move some of the Beds around but BB said no. I'd say that might be more to do with the optimum camera angles they had set up at the time.

And Yes! Anthea knows whats up with a hack to easily put on a Doona/Duvet cover (I Do it that way too). Put your arms into it inside out, find the far corners, pinch the corners of the duvet and wha-la! throw it over and down.
 
Up to CBBUK1 Day 3. This show is a bit bonkers in the 2nd episode lol.

First of all they had a go at live nominations, Davina had an Abacus out, some very leeway reasons given but its the Celeb Version so it slides a bit.

What even are some of these discussion topics between Chris and Vanessa. Something about Jewish people and being very 'dramatic'? Eviction and noms from here to finale look to be just contained within the daily show, maybe they'll just all come back when Davina does for the Finale.
The underwear fashion show, Jack's design for Vanessa with the Egg box at the front 'very maternal'. Haha.

And then WTF? Jack just wanders out the back door and isnt found by security for like an hour at 2AM and wanders back in a dit dirty in the face. I agree with Keith's nomination reasoning for Jack, I dunno he comes off a bit blase just as far as weve seen in the very brief edit so far and seems clear he's had enough and wants to go already, or is that supposed to be somewhat part of his style of comedy perhaps? I'm not familiar with so not sure, but that was a bizarre moment.

Also Claire 'I'm nominating Jack cause I wanna be the cook'. Well at least thats a reason beyond 'I nominated her last night and its a game' Haha.
 
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