Skip to main content

BBAU Rewatch

Indeed in those days did they carry over the votes from the Sunday to Monday night, or was it a new vote again for the final 2 - where you'd vote for one by evicting the other.
The vote was new for the final 2. From the information released online the eventual winner actually recieved the second most votes to evict in the final 3 eviction for BB1 and BB2. The live eviction shows didn't show the voting tally but I assume they were released on either the TEN website or newspapers?
 

14:07

okay ew I have never been pissed off so much at a daily show episode until now. Fitzy joked about Ashalea eating more toast than the others and proceeded to make weight comments. Not only did he do that but grilled her about why she says she won't eat carbs and then later does it. I don't understand the need for him to probe her for an answer because it's behaviour like that that prompts eating disorders like Bree says. And then Monica at first is defending him and then later is supporting Ashalea? As someone whose dealt with food issues before this whole episode is really insensitive to the issue. Fitzy's character hasn't aged very well and the sad thing is today he'd probably still be popular behaving like this thanks to all the blokey blokes out there watching.
 
Wesley going in the recount, probably the better outcome as he did contribute the least. He was a really attractive guy but not really entertaining. Again, how you lose 5% of the vote is such a questionable thing, but do I really believe this be a haux? I'm gonna just say no it was an honest mistake. Maybe I'm naive though. Then losing Ashalea in the double was really bad for the pacing of the final 2 weeks. And for the end result in my opinion.

Had Bree not been accidentally evicted and received sympathy I think this would have been where she leaves and Ashalea would have lasted longer. Whether or not she leaves in week 11 instead of Catherine I guess is up for debate. So it is a shame that Bree's incident had resulted in Ashalea potentially leaving prematurely, the votes were incredibly close between what I assume to be the three women anyway.

Reading whirlpool threads and seeing a lot about the MLS issue. With this mixed in with Gretel's constant brainwashing of voting to evict UTR housemates, it is no surprise how the boot list doesn't make total sense throughout and why the percentages are so close compared to previous seasons. Did Dreamworld really sell the shirts knowing where the money was going? If so then the entire theme for this season is voting manipulation.
 
About to watch the finale of 2004. Will draft my write up of the series and housemates, will post either later in the night or tomorrow morning. I have no idea if its going to be a long one or a short one. We'll see, but overall my opinion has in general decreased of this season.
 
The person wasn't even given a chance to audition. They were literally pulled out of line and told no simply because they could trace him back to the site.
The person would have filled out the pre-audition form that included the NDA.

ETA: I'm also pretty sure the story was that the person took part in the first round of Day 1 auditions and was pulled aside after that to get the letter informing them they had been disqualified from the process, but I'd have to go back and confirm that.

Even more creepy was the fact that they made those who progressed through the audition stage hand over their social media credentials. Meaning a producer could and likely did go through your entire account and read all your messages etc.
I don't know if this was the case for other years, but certainly wasn't the case the year I auditioned. We were asked to friend request a producer-run facebook account, I'm assuming so they could keep an eye on social media postings but also to access photos that could be used as part of the selection process (no doubt passing it onto execs at Nine for 'TV material' screening, but also to have some photos to see what sort of lifestyle you lived). If there weren't enough clear photos on your facebook (which was the case for me) they asked us to send on extra photos for their records.
 
So I've finished BB4 so time for my thoughts on the series and housemates. Anytime before now if you had asked me what my favourite season of BBAU was I would have answered this one. Whether it be due to bias of it being my first exposure to Big Brother, whether it be because I visited the house when I was a child or because it's my mums favourite, I am not sure. But after a rewatch I am left unsure on what the answer to the question is. On one hand BB4 is still IMO the most watchable of the first 4 seasons due to it simply not having as slow a finish, but on the other hand it is a bit slower in starting off as well as having very poor production decisions. Overall as a finished television product it is probably the best to watch as it ages but from a complex analysis of it being a Big Brother series I am undecided on how I feel.

The parts of the series I did enjoy are that all of the housemates are entertaining at one point in the season. Everyone does have a moment where they have either an altercation, a complex moment or are simply interesting to watch. I don't think there is anyone on the cast who isn't involved in a storyline at all and I do appreciate that. But, they are a very one dimensional and simplistic group. The boys all stick together as a boys club and the girls all tend to get upset at the boys after being upset by them, and by them I mean Fitzy.

During the early days of the series the majority of cast members don't get along and thats clear, particularly with those who are evicted early. Aphrodite, Igor, Krystal and Terri all ruffled feathers in the house and were obviously not the easiest people to live with or get along with. It is when Terri goes that a lot of the confrontation does die down and instead is handed over to Fitzy, who finds himself constantly making the women upset and needing to apologise. Paul is also a major character especially in the middle of the season only for his narrative to really disappear once the people he antagonises all leave. The intruders do add some spice into the narrative which I didn't remember but it's also very short lived. Once the double happens and Ashalea leaves there is one fight between Bree and Fitzy and then the last fortnight is 1. a slow wait to Trevor being handed $1,000,000 unsurprisingly, and 2. a competition to see who can say they're board the most. Everything else just stops in its tracks.

Storylines of the season peak in the very middle when Paul has emerged as this manipulative stirrer who admittedly annoys the others for the fact that he is there for an experience and nothing more. Ashalea is the dopey young girl who the boys all annoy, Merlin is emotional, Terri annoys everyone in the house, Trevor and Fitzy are the house jokesters and Bree is the alpha female who says it how it is. It provided short term entertainment but really it's the same thing again and again and again. By the end of the season I am left really not caring about the result. The final 3 of Trevor, Bree and Paul felt a bit strange and incomplete and I argue this is mainly due to Bree receiving sympathy as well as Gretel's forceful reminding to "vote out the ones you feel nothing for".

Speaking of which that sentence is literally the moto of the season. Every single live show without fail Gretel needs to remind everyone that they don't like seeing people evicted who dominate the daily shows. Never once in BB1-3 did anyone care about this happening before the prize money was more than what you've previously given away in total, so its funny how you suddenly care about who wins now. The MLS situation I can really only comment on what I've read about, and if this is true that the shirts were sold at dreamworld then to me thats vote tampering. There are times that housemates were evicted, where IMO had the audience not been forced into voting certain ways, they wouldn't have been. In any other given series I don't think people like Elle, Wesley or Kane really would have left at those times. Maybe they would have but I am shocked at how long Terri and Paul lasted. As the power of the casual audience is too strong for some of these entertaining characters every year.

A lot of big characters this season but for the most part most of the cast is overshadowed by production favourites Ashalea, Paul, Ryan and Bree in the later stages. Production of this series is pretty poor in comparison to the first three. They only show BB scolding poor nominations when it's a housemate that they like being nominated, most of the time being Ashalea. The whole situation regarding BB being angry at their nominations was so poorly faked its not even funny. Kris Noble just admit you didn't want one of the precious three to go and be done with it. The tasks were better than BB3 but still poor overall. Showing Violeta the housemates evicting her was unnecessary. And probably not a huge issue but instead of having the final 4 eviction on the Friday just have a final 3? The finale was soooo long anyway, they could have just evicted third and opened the phone lines again for a winner. The final week was so hard to binge where you've got the uncut awards 90 minute special, eviction, nominations, Friday eviction, Sunday eviction and the finale. Thats HOURS to watch. But obviously live viewing is different to binging. I'd love all these special to air on the current show but binging them far out was hard.

I will say though Gretel was not as aggressive towards housemates this season as much as she was in the past. She was more aggressive towards the crowd if anything, at worst she scolded the boys for nominating girls but really thats it. Several times she was thrown into situations where she had to sort of improve or make up what she was saying. Merlin's protest and the eviction blackout showed me she really is skilled at her job. She's pretty fantastic with kids on stage as well (good on that Olivia girl for winning the best dressed fan award twice, she'd be like 28 now I wonder what she's up to?). But for the most part Gretel has gone down the Jeff Probst route very early on where it seems she has a lot of passion and input towards the show. I'm not mad at it, just something I noticed. By the end anyway I liked pretty much everyone left to a degree, so it's fine how it ended.

That summaries my thoughts of the season. I'll add anything I've forgotten to the specific housemate when I do my thoughts for them like I always do. Will take me a few hours as it seems I have more to say than expected.
 
It's always interesting when people come in to later seasons of an established show and are hooked in by the first season they see as obviously familarlity does breed contempt - and in many ways BB04 was a "first season" after the Peter Abbott era and though it didn't offer much format wise it certainly lay the foundations for them to push it a bit further in future seasons.

Of course though there is also the factor of watching the season in isolation, whether at the time or years later. Although I don't think it matched up to BB03 at the time for all audiences for those who had begun to explore the show internationally, as folk on here were beginning to do at the time, it just couldn't match up to a completely revamped BBUK which was airing at the time, and towards the end BBUSA came in with the big twin twist and secret relatives too. But then a year earlier BBUK and BBUSA weren't matching up to the two house twist on BBAus either - and at the time most of us were probably limited to watching clips and following on the website rather than watching full episodes as became easier to do in later series - so in many ways we saw the good of other series, rather than the bad.


I just think this series was probably missing a hook - it doesn't have the big format point most other series do or for that matter the individual housemate who really is must see TV - I'm quited surprised the BB2022 producers even remembered Trevor, never mind casted him! But it's a solid effort and shows the show had evolved over the first three years, without the producers overstepping the mark as they began to do in the years ahead.
 
in many ways BB04 was a "first season" after the Peter Abbott era and though it didn't offer much format wise it certainly lay the foundations for them to push it a bit further in future seasons.
I think this is a pretty excellent way at describing the season. It feels very much like it wanted to enter a new era of the show and the feel of everything changes.
I just think this series was probably missing a hook - it doesn't have the big format point most other series do or for that matter the individual housemate who really is must see TV - I'm quited surprised the BB2022 producers even remembered Trevor, never mind casted him! But it's a solid effort and shows the show had evolved over the first three years, without the producers overstepping the mark as they began to do in the years ahead.
Thats how I feel about it. BB1 has the luxury of being the first season, BB2 had the intruder house twist, BB3 had the two house twist and even BB5 onwards all have their own thing. But BB4 relied on the prize money being its big hook, and funnily enough the two bigger moments of the show that are the most memorable weren't even supposed to happen.

But yes the season lacks a distinctive figure who was a must watch. For me there are two main criteria to being a stand out housemate, 1. you need to be just as average as any every day Aussie that allows you to be relatable whilst 2. being so unique and extraordinary that everyone feels the need to watch this. Sara-Marie and Reggie are both pretty definitive examples of this. Both are people you'd likely run into at a shopping centre, yet both have such unique personalities they stuck out amongst their respective casts.
 
Jesus my housemates thoughts for 2004 has taken me all day to write and is incredibly long. I have almost 1,000 words for Bree alone. I need to start doing these as people get evicted to save me time LMAO. And wow only 4 seasons in and 26 pages through, this thread is gonna be pretty massive by the end of my watch and I'm barely a third through. Get ready for some spam because my thoughts on these housemates is LONG.
 
Here is my finished thoughts on each of the housemates. This took me way too long, I need to start doing these after each eviction show. Lucky I enjoy doing this. If only I put this much effort into my uni work. Nah fuck that.

Aphrodite: I remember loving her on my first watch and I have forever been annoyed she went so early and have always considered her to be one of my favourites first evictees. On this rewatch I found her to be annoying, inconsiderate of people’s feelings and just too much. I can appreciate loud characters but I don’t find someone laughing at others opening up about their insecurities and then mocking them very funny. There were times where if I wasn’t looking, I would hear her speak and be sure it was a man talking. In the grand scheme of things, I think she would have made the series better had she stayed longer but I can’t say I’m too high on her.

Igor: I don’t dislike Igor as much as I did the first time. I remember him being way more disgusting than what was actually shown, that may be due to everyone just constantly saying he farted a lot. As a character he gave me no direct reason to root for him, and really, I don’t worry much about disliking him as his archetype had him doomed with not much for him to do about it. He complained about wanting to leave and seemed to just agree with Paul to impress him. He had potential to be an explosive character but ultimately didn’t eventuate too much. How his eviction % wasn’t above 60 leaves me puzzled.

Krystal: Bree 1.0 is what she really was. She came in all guns blazing and really cemented herself as the dominant character very early on. She was extremely bitchy which I found really entertaining, especially when it came to her interactions with Aphrodite, Igor, Paul or Terri. I didn’t see much reason as to why she got so personally offended by Igor wanting to leave, but her rivalry with Terri was fun to watch. Her mocking Elle’s reaction to being nominated did her no favours and then her whole final week where she is incredibly bitchy especially towards Terri leaves me not in any shock that she got evicted so early. I think her leaving early did Bree more favours than it would have if she remained there longer. Although I did enjoy Krystal mostly and I think she’d probably do better if she was on a different series. I think BB6 suits her more.

Elle: I have always remembered her as the most boring of the females. Whilst she wasn’t exactly that, she just got really unlucky being in a cast of strong females. She was a bit more on the serious side compared to others and a lot of her scenes were her being emotional. It’s not that I was exactly happy to see her go but if you asked me which one of her, Paul or Terri I would have preferred to go, I think the answer is clear don’t you think? She was the first victim of “vote who you don’t care about” as that week was so close in voting between the three of them. From what I’ve read Elle is actually embarrassed about her time on Big Brother? Jeez I wonder what she thinks of the others these days.

Merlin: Here we have someone who I will honestly say confuses me. Not that he himself confuses me but I am so confused on how I actually feel about him and why the public felt the way they did about him at the time. He was an emotional guy who was not afraid to speak honestly and open about his thoughts and feelings. And if that meant crying then he would cry, if that meant yelling, he would yell or if it meant being whatever it was then he’d do exactly that. I couldn’t quite figure out if he was someone who gets along with women more than men or if he was just the odd shaped crayon in the box of men in the house. It really did feel weird seeing him try to fit in with the boys of the cast because to me it just felt like he was different to all of them and it came across as quite cringe.

The whole eviction incident is another whole thing on its own. He had the chance to make a stand before millions and did so, good on him but unless it actually did lead to something being done about the issue it’s otherwise just a bad look on him. It made for good viewing I will say and he will forever live in Big Brother infamy. I did appreciate that we had housemates this season between him and Paul who differed politically, but they also differ so much in personality. I don’t get why Merlin was evicted by such a large margin, I get he was emotional but I think that was clearly justified? Terri fans must have been persistent, but at the same time I guess Paul’s army probably went HAM on Merlin votes.

Whether or not it is true about him being on BB2022 I am semi looking forward to it? I have been told by two reliable sources he is on the cast but I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t end up being true. It would be interesting to see him speak on the incident 17 years later and have the opportunity to better his image to the long-term BB fans. I don’t think he will bring much to it other than that. Unless he’s an unexpected strategist? I don’t see him being shown more than just addressing his incident, but again this is all if it’s actually true.
 
Terri: Being nominated for six consecutive evictions says a lot about how hard you are to live with. But really, I think Terri just got dumped in a shit cast for herself. A very young cast which didn’t offer many people her age, and the people her age were mainly male who didn’t seem to have much in common with her. She brough some fun drama into the show and she did it so unintentionally. Her rivalry with Aphrodite that even lasted post eviction was hilarious and just spoke volumes of the immaturity of the cast. Then comes her friendship with Paul which was humorous for its short duration but when she takes his stirring personally, I was like okay it’s your time. She benefits a lot from Gretel’s intentional campaigning but really at that point in week 7 she was fucked whenever she was nominated again. I don’t see a scenario where she survives an audience vote at that point unless she lasts to the intruders. Kinda sad for her that her and Tahan are the only people I believe in BBAU to face six public votes in a row and that no one really remembers her. She was good for uncut, fun for the majority of her stay and I’d say she’s one of the better characters of the series.

Kane: I thought he was a dweeb at first and I still think he’s a dweeb. To me he contributes the least to the whole season. He was no more than a young boy trying to fit it with the big dogs and it just got cringier and cringier every single week. He rapped and that’s about it. Thank you, Gretel, for forcing fans to vote out the irrelevant ones, because in this instance it worked out for the better. Let’s move on shall we.

Violeta: Now I remember her being nothing at all but boy oh boy was I wrong. She came in not giving any fucks and didn’t care if she pissed off the others, WHICH SHE DID. She got under Ashalea and Bree’s skin so bad it was pretty entertaining. She was much needed for some drama now that Terri had left. But here I have a flaw in the old school intruder format. When you introduce an intruder whose explosive and willing to cause chaos, they are being set up for failure. They will either be evicted by the housemates in the intruder vote, or they will just be nominated and evicted straight away. Violeta was never going to last longer than two weeks even if she survived the eviction vote. Intruders like her will just be nominated and then evicted ESPECIALLY IF A DOUBLE IS COMING. And considering the modern format of the show intruders really have even less of a chance of doing well. The whole intruder idea is pretty flawed without the vote to save mechanic in play. But Violeta was pretty ruthless and I was here for it.

Wesley: I’m embarrassed to say he was my favourite when I watched this for the first time. As a 13-year-old going through puberty and exploring sexual awakenings I don’t think I can be blamed though. He was pretty stock standard good looking, and to me is probably the hottest guy on BB until Drew (maybe Billy from BB7). Personality wise he’s fine. He wasn’t a huge asset to the daily shows but was more prominent than I recall. He is the literal golden boy who in the beginning could do no wrong only for him later to unintentionally be undermining the girls and being the least playful of the men. A lack of storyline, mixed with having a girlfriend as well as Gretel’s anti pot plant campaign results in a rather unceremonious exit. He got to live an extra four days thanks to the Bree incident. And funnily enough had the entire house not been nominated he well could have survived past the double eviction. He like others probably left prematurely than what he naturally would have thanks to a lot of behind the camera mishaps, but narratively It works out better. As good looking as I found him his personality didn’t shine quite enough on the small screen. He wins more seasons than not IMO and would do pretty well on the modern version. He’s physically fit, charming and likeable as well as having a decently intelligent mind. One thing he said that stuck with me forever is “we have two ears and one mouth so it pays to listen rather than speak” as well as “you can be assertive without being aggressive”. He knows how to charm people and fit in well with a group. He’d thrive in many other seasons of reality TV, just not when a million-dollar prize is mixed with an audience vote and Gretel Killeen is moving the chess pieces back and forth.

Monica: Here we have an intruder that honestly served no purpose for me. She flirts with Fryzie, so what? Her and Bree don’t like each other, so what? She disrupted the seasons main storylines which actually leads to Bree being the main character of the last month. Monica was never going to last longer than the normal two-week intruder stay just like Violeta. These two intruders were nothing but a detour in the end stretch, but in a way did the show a favour as we only had two weeks of boring content in the end rather than three or four so that is a bonus. She was a really nice woman with a heart and could be likeable if she didn’t base her whole personality on liking younger men. The men were way too manly men and the women were too young so she was never going to fit in anyway. Thankfully she takes up one spot in the double eviction, but really other than ruining Fitzy’s chances of winning what good did she really serve for the season as a whole? Her and Violeta really had no chance and were only going to provide the show something for the fortnight they had the chance to stay for. They were just unnecessary roadblocks that weren’t going to stop the inevitable path to a male win.

Ashalea: And now for my favourite, the lovely, the young, the naïve Ashalea. She is the orginal for an archetype that would soon become a staple in not only Big Brother, but reality TV in general. From the likes of Tilly from last series and Skye from BB2014, Ashalea ran so they could walk. I love Ashalea, I really do. Many seemed to find her annoying and emotional but her innocence and ditziness had me intrigued all season. “I love that movie” is without doubt my favourite line of BB ever, of course excluding anytime Sara-Marie said the word doodle. The thing with Ashalea is she is the type of character that would be popular on any show at any time. Many find this type of person to be annoying but it wins me over every single season of any show.

She had me laughing, she had me crying and she had me wanting her to stay longer and longer. Anytime she felt hurt by the boys or left out by the girls I wanted to give her a hug. I’m a sucker for ditzy women on TV I can’t help it. Her saying “are you serious” made me laugh and her funny guessing at twists like “maybe Gretel is coming in as an intruder” had me smiling at just how absurd it all was. She knew her worth though and knew how to stand up for herself and how to make sure she was heard out. I laugh at her laziness and how the housemates let her get away with it. I find it absolutely hilarious, that takes some serious social prowess for everyone to just let her get away with anything, and Monica got annoyed by it, LOL. I was devastated at her eviction, it was only two weeks’ worth of episodes without her but I wanted MORE. After she leaves the series stops in its tracks and there’s almost no enjoyment left in it.

I could go on and on about her more and more but I already have over 2,300 words stacked up so I need to wrap up on Ashalea. Would I have wanted her to win? Maybe. We did just have Reggie win so it does make sense to make room for a different type of winner. The fact of there being no BB All-stars back then is a travesty, we were robbed for Ashalea 2.0 and I will die on a hill debating she could kill the modern season. Gretel is right, she is a genius and she’d kill it. She knows the audience would like her, just look how shocked she was when she was evicted. Her eviction was so close but like many others she goes a bit earlier thanks to Bree being spared in the double due to sympathy. In fairness Ashalea probably goes next anyway. But how Ashalea isn’t as remembered as others is disgusting. She is a BB legend to me <3.
 
Catherine: I do love Catherine a lot despite her not really being the greatest TV character ever. I think BB did need a mother figure on the show for something different. The only thing is with parents on these shows they tend to always talk about their kids and I don’t really want to listen to that for 100+ episodes. She was never going to win let’s be real, but she did pretty well in there. She had fun and didn’t not engage in activities to spare her image. I did laugh when she threw (I can’t remember if it was Fryzie or Trevor’s?) things in the pool when her photos were taken. She did engage in uncut conversations so I won’t join in on the whirlpoolers opinion that she was boring. I don’t think she was ever in danger of ever being evicted early anyway, but how she survived the double shocks me still. I remember being absolutely sure she was going after Monica (at the time of viewing I knew the final 4 so it was just a matter of who was 6th and who was 5th) and I was in complete shock to see Ashalea leave before her. Maybe if the lines didn’t reopen maybe she would have? Who knows? She’s not winner worthy I must admit, but I did like her presence and I don’t think she was as boring as people claim her to be.

Ryan: Okay, don’t’ get me wrong, I do like Fitzy today. I did still find him funny on this season as well at times, it’s just a lot of his actions and what he says haven’t aged well. He did tend to say some sexist, homophobic and transphobic things and that’s not great. It does kind of lead to an intent vs impact kind of thing, where I am sure he didn’t intend to come across as the way he did, but the things he said did have that impact regardless. Yeah, sure he is funny, I’m not going to argue it because it’s true. As the series progresses his offending of the women increases quite a bit. I think that does come down to not being used to living with women so I’m not gonna sit here and say I hate Fitzy because that is not true. I don’t like the character that was portrayed on the daily shows some of the time, but I do believe this experience did him good and that he probably grew and has learnt from it over time. Watching him walk in on day one in thongs instantly made me go okay he was obviously popular from the word go. There is no way in hell anyone like him is not popular with an Australian TV audience. And I get it I do, I can’t help but laugh at it as well, I can just do without the other parts of him. I don’t think I need to say anything that isn’t already obvious, we all know he was popular and was always going to make it far regardless of the MLS situation. By the end he was shown rather negatively with the whole Monica stuff and him offending Bree, so really no surprise he went out 4th.

He is amongst a elite group of people like Skye, Michael and Farmer Dave (and maybe Vesna?) who were all crowd favourites that could have won if they just kept their mouths shut but all fumbled at the final hurdle. I am glad he didn’t win as that would have been the most predictable and uneventful result ever. It’s just I find it hard to really root for these footy type guys unless they give me reason to. I do at least appreciate that he did engage in fun with both the boys and the girls and he was a fun presence on the show and without him I don’t think it would have been as funny as it was, so I do still have nice things to say about him. And too bad if I really didn’t like him because now, he’s on Friday Night Live which I am really looking forward to watching again (older fans probably dislike it but for people my age if you ask any of us what we remember of BB we will all answer “FNL).

Paul: From BB1-3 I had no real major change in opinions other than disliking Blair and liking Marty more. But holy shit I have done a complete 180 on Paul. I can remember all those years ago watching this with my mum and seeing him refuse to do the watermelon task and I thought what a fucking wanker. I LOATHED Paul and wanted him gone every single week. I found his stirring to be childish and coming from just seeing Tim on BB I really just thought Paul was a poor man’s version of Tim. I take back every single thought I had on him because Paul is TV GOLD. People like to say anyone who says they’re not there for the money is a liar but I honestly have never agreed with that. I do believe there are people who go in purely for the experience and here we have one of them. He knew this was a game, he knew this would be a mental game and he knew they’d be bored. He knew exactly what he wanted out of this and that was reactions. He had a clear understanding of what the show was about and what made for good TV. He was exactly what was needed at this point in the show and his ability of getting into people’s heads even when they swore, they wouldn’t let him is unprecedented. In all honesty I don’t even think Tim did it as well as Paul did.

I will say unfortunately after he loses Terri, he really has no one to antagonise as Bree was his biggest obstacle. Once he finds out about the $1,000,000, he does go rather quiet. Unsure if that’s due to the editors attempting to spare him getting evicted or if he thought fuck maybe I should try to win this. I conclude that maybe he just did genuinely like the final bunch he was left with and there was no point stirring? Either way he is an iconic housemate and the fact he isn’t on BB2022 is pretty fucking stupid. He changes the way pot stirring is done and if anything pioneers it as let’s face it, Ben from 2003’s attempt at it was piss poor. There’s stirring people and then there’s being a bully. Paul wasn’t a bully, he just knew how to get a rise from people whilst being true to himself.

I spent a long-time thinking low of him for his response to Merlin, but really after thinking about it he was making a point that was true, he just doesn’t want to take emotional feelings into account about it. Whether Merlin liked it or not Paul was right in saying Merlin wasn’t legally Australian, but Merlin is also right to say he grew up here and feels Australian so he is thereby Australian. He is a logic-based man who is true to his guns and in fairness, I think Paul would do the same thing to anyone of the other 15 housemates, not just Merlin. Paul didn’t have one target in sight, he was there on the prowl and everyone needed to watch out for him. He probably is the rightful winner, and despite being arguably saved by production, Paul survived seven evictions and lasted to the final three, clearly the voting audience felt the same I did.

One quick thing I do want to add is that I loved the support he got from his wife Jenni. I don’t normally care about the lovey dovey family moments but seeing her on eviction night again and again reminds me of how big this show was and that part of this show was learning about these housemates’ lives. Seeing the recognisable family members each week reminds you that these people have lives and this is more than a show. It is a small unnecessary part of the show yes but it was a part that humanises the housemates and stops them from being sitcom characters.
 
Bree: There are three stages of Bree within this season. And they appear to occur in each of the three months of the show. In the first month she is Krystal’s #2 and I would say is likened Gretchen Wieners to Krystal’s Regina George. The two girls back and forth to each other and gossip about Terri and get into altercations and are both joint at the hip and on the other’s defence. Krystal is more of the main character and cops the most flack for what occurs. Then comes the second month, Krystal is evicted and more and more of Bree’s friends continue to leave. Bree soon finds herself in a position of mother duck where the women view her as their leader. Bree has cemented bonds with the boys and has a cringe forced flirtmance (is that what we’re gonna call it?) with Ryan as they are literally the only two eligible people to be involved in a fling. Here she is not really a main character as Paul is taking up most of the screen time, but she is asserting herself as a barrier to Paul’s pot stirring and she isn’t afraid to admit to bitching about others or being pissed off. It was only a matter of time until she’d be repeatedly nominated, and dare I say she probably came close to leaving in the weeks she survived. Day 64 comes along and she is unsurprisingly evicted leaving the ducks without their mother. Then we discover Bree is not to be evicted and re-enters the house. And here we have the final stage of Bree, a new character has emerged who actually shows emotion and an in-depth side to her about how she feels in the house. We also see some denied jealousy in regards to Monica flirting with Ryan and we see Bree really express her true opinions and she seems to feel quite comfortable in expressing her annoyance towards other housemates directly to the group. And that is the story of how Bree Amer went from being a forgotten late-stage evictee, to accidental Runner-Up and reality TV legend.

I’ve been team Bree for a long time, and after this I probably still am. I admire her for being strong willed and secure enough in herself to cope in the Big Brother environment. I will say as an almost 22-year-old I am in disbelief that the character I watched is the same age as I am. I don’t know anyone my age who is that able to stand ground and handle high pressured situations as well as she could. If someone heard her bitching and called her out, she’d say yeah, I am and what are you gonna do about it. She owned what she said and did and was even a humble loser at the end of it. She would do well in the modern format in my opinion, personally I think this cast in general would. If I was to pick one cast to play the modern game, I would choose either this group or 2013.

I think Bree does come across as older as she is (although I have noticed this with many reality TV shows I’ve watched from the early 2000s, do people just look younger these days or was Bree genuinely mature for her age?) and she exudes confidence that I don’t even think she knew she had. It goes without saying, she benefits highly from the false eviction. I will argue until I die that she was close to leaving that week Wesley did and had he just left on Day 64 like it was intended she would have followed Monica in that double no questions asked. Her feeling of guilt and not belonging in the house allowed her to gain enough popularity to escape that double at Ashalea’s expense. Now whilst I say this, I am just stating what I think would have happened rather than what I wanted to. Bree was too much of a controversial figure to survive eviction naturally on her own with how Big Brother works.

Had the show ran naturally it would have been an all-male finale again. And dare I even say she may not have been asked to host Friday Night Live? The false eviction is the best thing that could have happened her to her unless someone can enlighten me as to why I should think differently. I would have voted her over Trevor to win, she contributed more to the show and I think her story arc is the most developed of all of them. Good on her for lasting as long as she did when the odds were stacked against her. I am looking forward to seeing her on FNL and may I also add her absence on BB2022 will be noticed.

Trevor: Much like Ben from BB1 I always looked at Trevor to be a rather boring and dull winner. As much as that opinion has slightly changed, I don’t have as much to say about Trevor as I do Ashalea, Ryan, Paul and Bree. Trevor is a really likeable guy, and I say that as I believe he still truly would be to this day. Is he riveting television that would create headlines and polarizing conversation? No, he’s not, much like all of the people that end up winning these shows anyway so what difference is it? He was funny and did have pretty likeable vibes when shown on the daily show. I don’t think his lack of airtime has anything to do with him being boring, I just think he isn’t a dominating personality that needs to argue his case or over speak others. He is just plain and simply a really nice person who is easy to get along with.

To never be nominated by your fellow housemates is a pretty impressive achievement and to be one of only two in the history of BBAU (please someone fact check me as I am going off the top of my head) is a really incredible feat. I think he deserves the million dollars and even so I think he deserves to win. If it couldn’t be Paul or Ashalea I am glad it is him. I am happier a production pet just because it’s funny to think they were annoyed about the result after a whole 86 days of not wanting an “accidental” winner. That teaches you to pick and choose when to care about the result.

Whilst he isn’t a hugely dynamic figure on the show his win is pretty satisfying just because of how likeable he is. He played pranks on people and made me laugh and did manage to change my opinion on him. If I was to guess why the % wasn’t shown it would be because Trevor probably won with like 75% of the vote and Big Brother didn’t want Reggie to be knocked off her biggest winner margin crown. Fair enough, I guess. I look forward to seeing him on BB2022, I think it will be fun to see how the million dollars shaped the rest of his life.

And that concludes my coverage of BB4. After realising how much I had to say about each of the housemates I am left thinking maybe this IS my favourite season still. Despite the fact I said this group is very one dimensional I have so much to say about them. However, the fact that they come across as one dimensional may be why there is so much to say but I can’t really figure out which is why.

And so here we have the first season to really have my opinion of it decrease, but that was due to happen anyway and I expect the rest of the Kris Noble seasons to experience the same. That is bound to happen watching the show from an analytical point of view rather than watching it for the first time for entertainment purposes. As time goes on, I may still think highly of this season as I do think it’s easier to watch than the first three.

Wish me luck everyone for 2005, I am very excited to see Vesna grace my television again. I expect from here my write ups will be very long, so apologies if you can’t handle it! I have much going on in my brain that needs to be dotted down. Also thanks to @timmy for the great idea of looking at Whirlpool whilst I watch. It does help with understanding the audience thinking and I plan to do the same for the rest of my rewatch.
 
In my rewatch of 2005 a couple of years ago I found it aged like a fine wine. Highlight of the season is Glenn's eviction where he gets absolutely torched.
 
I love your analysis a lot and I love that you are already half way through channel 10.
That actually makes me quite sad. I realised that I'm only 3 seasons away from no more Gretel and I am dreading having to deal with Kyle Sandilands. But in fairness 2008 has no uncut and no live nominations so binging it should take me barely anytime at al, and even so I remember thinking it was a very underrated series.

The channel 9 era will be fun though as thats the version I watched properly when I was in high school. It will be strange watching it on a binge like I am the other seasons. The more I watch each season the more I realise that watching Big Brother is so much more than just the simple daily shows, in fact it's more than just watching any part of the show at all. It's the whole aspect of gossip and discussion with other fans, contemplating what we think will happen or what Big Brother will do next and just simply enjoying the fact that theres housemates inside the house right now with millions watching them, discussing them and campaigning them just a couple hundred meters away.

Now that I'm up to 2005 the nostalgia is hitting very hard. I remember this opening theme and I remember at this point Big Brother was a real big thing. Seeing how people dressed, acted and just appeared to be is so reminiscent of my primary school days. I also like that BB5 decided to embrace it's bogan/trashy perception and just played on that by casting a lot of trashy singles. It was much needed after not much happened in BB4. It's not just about flirting but people tended to hold back to spare their partner the embarrassment. With no partners people will be more comfortable to engage in fun activity's and won't hold back aspects of their personality for the sake of it being on film.

Some quick thoughts from the BB5 launch:
-Why does Gretel get blonder and blonder each year. It is strange because initially I watched these in random order so to me Gretel just always had different hair. But now watching it progress she's just going lighter and I don't know why because that very light blonde hair doesn't suit. And who tf dressed her?
-I like the house design of BB5, it is more of what I know a BB house to look like and like I said they really did embrace the trashy side of the show this year and I'm for it.
-The twin twist was already a flop when meeting the Logans as they aren't even identical. David had a chubbier face than Greg and also had a more bogan sounding voice. Greg was more attractive, had a better body and had a different personality. At least in BBUS5 Adria and Natalia were borderline undistinguishable. And here we begin the long path of BBAU copying other versions.
-Housemates were drunk already on night one which was fun to see.
-Something rather humorous was when Glenn entered the stage and Gretel asks if he was excited and he said "pinging" and she told him to ping his way to the house and I don't think she had any idea what that meant lmao.

Looking forward to my watch of this. I think it's very likely this will overtake 04 as my favourite season, only crap thing is it takes 4 weeks until Vesna comes in.
 
Yeah I think Fitzy just had no Filter/Tact in some of those interactions, it being 2004, a 27 (?) year old that hadn't really 'lived with women' before aside.

At the time I was a little miffed at losing seeing more Wesley only due to the manipulation of the nominations, he wouldn't have even been up otherwise, but also it was getting to the pointy end dropping the furniture from the cast and you had the all house up, double eviction directly the following week too so there was a high chance he'd just go then anyway, Bree Incident or not.
Speaking of eye candy, I will say for when you get to 2008 though, Remember Cherry anyone? I was quite happy he lasted till final 6 and the last intruder left standing for.. reasons. ;)

and yeah a reminder that they protracted that final week, by having an Eviction on the Friday (Ryan). They came out of the season well even though it was more a 'back to basics' no frills except the prize money series, that there were several unplanned moments and the casting also played off each other.

Yeah Violeta was unanimously voted out by the Housemates, I wonder if this factored in to the rest of the Ten era where they started doing Staggered intruder waves (and whether the 'Liars Eviction' in 2005 was really planned from the get go or not remember Rachael and Vesna were termed as 'Replacements'). OTOH there was also a trend of some of them (not all) talking themselves right up in their packages then being a bit deer in the headlights in the actual house.
 
Speaking of eye candy, I will say for when you get to 2008 though, Remember Cherry anyone? I was quite happy he lasted till final 6 and the last intruder left standing for.. reasons. ;)
How could I forget. He's the only thing thats exciting me for 2008
 
At the time I was a little miffed at losing seeing more Wesley only due to the manipulation of the nominations, he wouldn't have even been up otherwise, but also it was getting to the pointy end dropping the furniture from the cast and you had the all house up, double eviction directly the following week too so there was a high chance he'd just go then anyway, Bree Incident or not.
It all depends on whether or not Bree has a bad week in the week of the double. It was 100% out of the two of them with Monica taking the first spot regardless. What saddens me more is Ashalea was robbed of lasting another week.
 
Back
Top