BB

I predicted it would happen. Even if it wasn’t this year, it was bound to occur, sooner or later.

Big Brother is coming back.

It doesn’t have a major cash prize (well, compared to some shows). It doesn’t offer much exposure once the show ends. And it doesn’t provide a forum for participants to show their talent such as X Factor (although you’ll always get someone who tries, and fails). And yet, it attracts an audience of millions that are thoroughly entertained by the barmy antics of the housemates.

Or so it seemed.

When BB launched in the UK in 2000, the talking point was the Nasty Nick saga which earned front page coverage on national newspapers. You don’t get that from Come Dine With Me.

It was also a novelty at the time to have such a show. Most programmes involving an element of competition were either quiz shows, game shows (there is a difference) or sports events. There were probably others, but I’m just emphasising that there were very few reality shows.

Big Brother changed that: the concept of regular people living with each other for weeks on end, in front of ever-present cameras, grabbed the attention of many viewers. So much so that it is partly responsible for most reality shows that have come along since. Today, the majority of TV programmes have a reality-based element to them, from I’m A Celebrity to, er, Show Me The Funny.

From 2000 to 2002, BB entertained many, but then in 2003 the first drop came. The housemates cast were considered “too boring”; there were very few notable events. Translated: there weren’t many arguments. Everything from an inter-show deal with the South African Big Brother to a secret room were implemented (don’t worry, I’m using the Internet to research much of this) and yet, viewers didn’t seem to care.

BB5 was definitely more eventful than BB4, with the “peak” being the first ever proper fight between housemates that saw one evicted. However, it seemed desperate that those in charge had to resort to situations that were likely to cause major antagonism to get people watching. (And, if bosses were “so sorry” to police that the situation happened, why try and relive it in 2006?)

The personalities of the housemates were also a hindrance: some seemed to have been picked for the sole purpose of causing trouble. This was due to a clash of extreme personalities. The same could be said of any team who uses El Hadji Diouf, but that’s another story. And some of them were a bit, well, strange. Big Brother, in 2000, used people that viewers could relate to. In 2004, this wasn’t entirely the case.

Over the next few years, the housemates got odder, as did the names of those who participated. Kinga? Science? Sunshine? I doubt I’d end up calling one of my kids by any of those names, assuming I ever have any. (Incidentally, if you are ever bored, try and come up with a list of some fantasy names for Big Brother housemates; it’s surprisingly humorous).

Anyway, by 2008 the novelty of weirdos living with each other on live TV had wavered. It’s telling that, from this point on, rumours began about BB’s cancellation. It didn’t matter what the challenges were, how long it lasted, or what hilarious music was used to awaken housemates; the novelty had finally worn off. Big Brother may be watching, but many were no longer watching Big Brother.

In 2010, it was finally cancelled. Whereas in 2002 it was Channel 4’s biggest show of the year, by 2010 people were glad to see it go. Except, I had a feeling that it would return. After all, look at its appeal.

Exactly.

What is the appeal of Big Brother? I admit, I used to enjoy sitting on a couch watching people sitting on a couch (as Billy Connolly put it). It didn’t matter that many episodes concerned trivial issues such as who buttered the toast; it was entertaining to see.

But was it? Not much was really going on. There were few laugh-out-loud moments, and not many housemates possessed a hidden talent. Really, to many, BB was at its most entertaining when the housemates were embroiled in arguments and/or fights.

I wouldn’t entirely turn my face away from the TV if the housemates started moaning at each other, but at the same time it says a lot about Britain as a nation, in terms of its viewing demands – or at least, in the minds of TV producers. After all, what is the highlight of the X Factor live finals each week? Is it the acts themselves, or the bickering between judges? (I’ll go into X Factor more in an upcoming blog.)

Not everyone is like this, of course. But a lot of people do enjoy arguments and/or disturbances. The fact that shows like Shameless and Geordie Shore are very popular with young people is an example of this, and could also explain why many youngsters enjoy the odd pint, even if they’re too young to be legally drinking. Would it be too controversial to say that they also could explain why we may currently live in a “Broken Britain”?

Er, where was I? Oh yes, Big Brother. So, BB finished, and that was that – except Channel 5 bosses exploited the same notion that I’ve just mentioned: many people like seeing arguments and disturbances.

As a result, Big Brother returns in a matter of days. And, once the novelty of its comeback wears off, I dread to think how the channel that once had Rebecca Loos (She was a celebrity? Really?) and a pig on The Farm would try and spice things up.

I wonder why people bother entering BB any more. I can understand X Factor, and other shows where people actually have something besides money that is worth winning. But Big Brother seems intended to promote only those who don’t mind completely humiliating themselves in exchange for some fame and press coverage. Type in George Galloway on Google and you’ll know what I mean.

In fairness to the celebrities, they are going in to either revive a doomed career, or are new faces trying to boost their profile, or are simply cash-strapped. Strangely, I sympathise more with those who are already famous (well, their Mum knows them, anyway) than those who aspire for fame. I understood why in the early years; but in 2011, most people realise that only the vast minority of housemates remain famous, post-Big Brother. For the sake of a few weeks of publicity, combined with the post-eviction Sunday scoop, it seems that some people are willing to do anything just to get a bit of fame. The fact that people in 2011 are only discussing Imogen Thomas because of a fling with a footballer says it all.

Whatever your opinion of Big Brother, whether you believe it makes stars out of nobodies, revives the careers of old celebrities (although it didn’t work for Leo Sayer), or is the low point of television, it is coming back. In the hands of Channel 5, it may reach new heights, it may sink in record time, or it may have a few years before being cancelled again. At which point, Sky One or Living will probably take it. But you never know.

Whether you love it or hate it, though, the majority of TV shows today are based on elements of reality. For that, you largely have Big Brother to thank/blame. And that, above the arguments, the Diary Room and Jon Tickle on Brainiac, is Big Brother’s true legacy, and one that cannot be taken away. Even if Channel 5 bring in Rebecca Loos as a surprise housemate.