Well so far this year my pre-season thoughts have been dominated by one thing - so I promise I won’t mention it in this blog.
Instead I’ll be concentrating on what else I think needs to be done with Big Brother 10 - many of which are quite simple changes which just require a little bit of extra thought from the production team.
The Look
The famous eye logo has proven it’s been able to give the show a unique look each year simply by changing the pattern. However, nine years on it’s not exactly “new” to just use the same template with a different pattern. Therefore this year I’d like to see the logo used in a completely different way, both in print, in the promos and in the shows’ identity itself.
And on a similar note it’s about time the theme tune got a remix. Apart from the odd beat here and there, it’s been virtually the same now for a few years - and indeed there isn’t a huge difference between the theme now and what it was back in 2000. I don’t think the theme should be replaced, but I do think it should be noticeably different this year and bought right up to date.
The Hook
We all know the routine by now - eye flashes, countdown ads and then glimpses of the house. At the shows peak it may have been enough to get people excited about the launch show, but now people need more of a reason to watch. The promos need a hook to get the viewers in, just as “Big Brother Gets Evil” did for BB5.
In addition, throughout the series viewers should frequently be given reasons to stay tuned to Big Brother, both in snippets from Davina during the live shows, promotions across C4 and also at the end of each highlights show, with a quick clip to give us an idea of what we can expect in the next show.
The Housemates
Actually I think they pretty much got it right with Big Brother 9, although like the couple of years before hand there was simply too many housemates. Unfortunately walk-outs and ejections are now common place, but cutting the number in the final week to at most 5 and scrapping that first week eviction begins to cut the housemate count immediately - and there is no reason why even a 13-week series can’t function with around 16-18 housemates in total, including the inevitable influx of new housemates a few weeks into the series.
The House
Although the house is probably one of the first things people consider when listing their desires for the series ahead, essentially if the series is good the house is nothing more than a stage for it to play out on. The only thing I ask is the house is used to it’s full potential - so if you include special features, use them.
The Format
One thing I’ve been saying a lot in the run up to this series is that whatever the producers do this year, they have to do well - and be 100% confident in. If the producers have confidence in the format that translates well on screen - but if they don’t, the viewers won’t have confidence in the show either.
Although a major overhaul is my personal preference, if they do go the back to basics route they just have to do it well. It’s important the producers establish the format early on, along with any twists which can be continued throughout the series - and then have the courage to stick with them. On a similar note though, if something clearly doesn’t work, have the courage to admit that too - but don’t panic and undo everything in one go. A plan-B should have also been constructed prior to the series starting.
The Shows
This is the one area which really needs improving IMO as the production of both the live shows and highlights has been embarrassingly poor in recent years.
The launch show is actually the best produced of the lot, but a few tweaks here and there could improve things, notably introducing the housemates to the crowd before their VTs are played, rather than after. Nobody likes seeing the housemates being booed on their way in - and most of the time it just isn’t deserved. It’s no fun watching housemates analyse their reaction from the crowd over and over again while they’re in the house.
As for the other live shows - the eviction shows need to be all about the evictions once again, with the highlights trimmed down and a few eviction show features bought back, especially a quick profile of the nominees and a chat with their friends and family. The scheduling also needs to be changed - it clearly didn’t work last year. Either have a 90-minute show at 9pm, or cut the show back down to an hour and air either at 9pm or 10pm.
On to the highlights, and although it’s easy to cast Marcus Bentley as the scapegoat, all he needs to do is shut up. Marcus should only narrate when his explanation adds to the show. It’s not necessary for him to name check every housemate in every scene, or indeed any at all once the viewers are aware who they are. We don’t need him recapping events which aired just minutes earlier, or telling us how many minutes it is since something happened. And finally, we must see every single nomination - not Marcus telling us who the housemates nominated followed by a filler scene which is of far less importance than what is actually happening in the diary room.
The Little Brother
I like George Lamb, and once Zezi had been kicked into touch the show was more watchable last year than it had been for Dermots’ last couple of years. However, it needs to remember it’s a show for the Big Brother fan - so concentrate less on getting the views of Z-list celebs and tacky games and instead bring us more footage from behind the scenes, more psychological analysis, more insights into the housemates lives from their friends and family - and crucially, more interaction from the viewer.
The Cost-Cutting
As with everything at the moment, unfortunately costs do have to be cut - and at the risk of breaking my promise the victims this year have been Big Mouth and the red button streaming - two cost-cuts I don’t agree with.
I do think money can be saved from the budget, but it’s got to be in areas where the money saved isn’t outweighed by the cost to the brand. Diary Room Uncut would be my first target, and then the Saturday highlights show. It’s never rated very well, and I think it’s important C4 - and indeed the viewer - have a night off each week from Big Brother. I also wouldn’t be afraid to cut 15 minutes off the weeknight highlights shows, and though I’d keep Jack Whitehall, I’d scrap Big Mouth on eviction nights and cut it down to three nights a week instead - probably Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. BBLB would remain at six nights, but be less reliant on guests and instead make more use of the evictees.
The Website
One area where cost-cutting could be most effective though is online. Yes, I’d bring back the 24/7 streaming, charging for it if necessary - but apart from that I’d be scaling back the website to concentrate on what it’s users really want - news from the house.
In Celebrity Big Brother especially, and BB9 last year, the website seemed to have less actual news from the house and more opinion from the guests on BBLB - 90% of which I certainly ignored. Similarly the pledge for more videos during CBB6 actually turned out to be a lot of videos of people talking about CBB6, and not footage from CBB6. The only video blogs I’d keep are those of the hosts.
I would also reverse C4’s decision to block YouTube videos - because letting viewers upload their favourite clips saves the folk at C4 a job, and whether they’ll admit it or not only serves to publicise the show - with any financial losses from people watching on YouTube rather than through official sources more than outweighed by the people who visit the official website and watch the show as a result. At the very least if C4 don’t want the videos on YouTube I would enable fans to upload their own favourite moments to the official site.
The Final
And finally, a note about the final. It should be one of the TV highlights of the year, but recently it’s just felt like they were trying to get the housemates out of the house as quickly as possible and get the whole thing done and dusted.
Make it feel like the event it used to be - cutting the number of finalists is the first step to doing that, while like with evictions including more features will also make it much easier for the viewers to digest. Finally, ensuring the final is broadcast live, after 9pm, means voting only has to close briefly when the evictees are announced, with at least 10-15 minutes available in between evictions to continue voting - not just 60 seconds as we saw as some points during the BB9 final.
And that is my wish list for BB10.
It may seem lengthy, but actually I’m not asking for a lot - and nothing really that hasn’t been mentioned by myself and other fans before. All I want is for the producers to care as much about the show as the viewers do - and that way everybody should be happy.
Whether you agree or disagree, please share your thoughts and comment below.
