We’re now five days in to Big Brother 10 - so it seems like an apt time for me to post my opinions on it so far…
I’m firmly strapped in now for another thirteen weeks of Big Brother coverage, but I’ve got some very mixed opinions on what we’ve seen of it so far. There are some things I really like about it, and others I’m not so sure about.
So, here’s a run down of my thoughts so far split in to three sections - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
The Good
The twist - It was a good idea on paper - certainly better than just having the housemates earn furniture, even if it was slightly similar to BB7’s Big Brotherhood. The tasks let it down though - see below.
The lounge - I love love love love the lounge. They’ve got it so right this year - the last two ’sofa areas’ have been alright at best, but the new lounge is visually attractive and looks very comfortable. I’m also glad to see the sofas in their own room again - it makes the area seem a lot more cosier. It was unveiled for the first time today - if you haven’t seen it yet you can here.
The outdoor stage - It’s nice that the outdoor stage has been slightly extended this year, though it looks a bit half-done. They should have embedded some lights in the top as they did with the oval part of it.
The Eviction and BBLB studios - Whilst it’s not my favourite eviction studio ever (that’s another title which goes to BB7 for me), this year’s set is very unique and is a lot more attractive than last year’s. However, they got the BBLB set almost spot on this year - it’s very good looking and certainly light years ahead of the ugly orange studio from last year. If I was being picky I’d say it’s a bit too similar to BB8’s, but my bigger concern is that the eviction set is visible on the left hand side - they should have hidden it with a black wall.
Lucozade’s sponsorship idents - Okay, so they’re not the best (I personally miss the ‘lets-film-people-making-shapes-from-overhead’ TalkTalk ads), but the Dreams ones sent me to sleep (how very apt!)
Davina - She’s just brilliant, isn’t she? I can’t help but love Big Mutha - long may she present BB!
The Bad
Live Feed - I won’t elaborate too much to spare the sanity of some of our users, but it looks like Channel 4 might backtrack on their decision to axe it. Fingers crossed.
Spoilers - I accept that Channel 4’s press department face a tougher and tougher challenge in publicising the show, but I miss the days of yore when launch night twists and the Diary Room design were kept secret until Day 1.
The twist’s tasks - With the exception of the ‘walking over glass’ task, the challenges Big Brother set for housemates to gain their status weren’t great. Halfwit and Dogface’s new names might be funny for a couple of days, but the real insult was when Lisa got her place by picking up the phone. So much for challenging their pride and fears.
The rest of the house - While the lounge looks amazing, I can’t say the same about the rest of the house. The entrance hall looks like something out of BBUSA (think how much better it would be with some lovely neon lighting going up the sides), the bedroom looks like it’s been leftover from Celebrity Hijack, the main area is too sci-fi for my liking, and the chipboard in the kitchen makes it seem lazy and unfinished.
The bathroom isn’t too bad, and nor is the garden, but there’s room for improvement in both areas. I also don’t like how it’s not as open plan as previous houses - the kitchen particularly feels too shut-off.
The Big Mouth studio - The straight-out-the-bedroom splats and the straight-out-the-entrance-hall pink columns make the Big Mouth studio look awful.
The Eviction bus - I did like how it linked in with the Bus Stop in the garden, but it wasn’t that great an idea.
George - Please let us vote to evict him. And please let us vote to bring in Caroline Flack to replace him.
The Ugly
The Graphics - This year’s graphics are clearly the worst in years. The titles are okay - I love the pixelly interference theme, but the 3D cameras are weird and the reused 3D eye shots from the advertising campaign smack of laziness. However, they’re nowhere near as bad as the rest of the on-screen graphics (with the exception of the full screen closing credits).
Goodness they’re ugly. Whenever they come up on screen I think someone’s projectile vomited on to the camera lens. The graphics looked so polished and professional for BB6, 7, 8 and even 9. In fact, it’s really hard to believe that the same people behind the graphics in those series are responsible for this year’s. What the hell were they thinking?
The Diary Room chair - Talking of things that looked better in previous series, this year’s Diary Room chair is terrible. It’s painful to think about the lovely slick modern chairs of yesteryear and then look at the monstrosity they’ve chosen for the next three months.
So, that’s almost everything covered. The only things I’ve missed (I think) are the housemates - my first opinions on them will follow in my next post.
As always, I want to know what you think about the issues I’ve raised - post your own thoughts in the comments section below.
It’s good to be back!
