Big Brother 2008 has been an inglorious farce. It seems there will be no Big Brother 2009. Reports in other media that the show has been cancelled by Channel Ten appear to be confirmed by posts on the show’s forum site.
Update: Glenn Dyer in Crikey:
There’s more to the demise of Big Brother than meets the eye. It’s a final and emphatic rejection by Australian TV viewers, especially younger ones, of a nasty, confrontational approach to culture.
Ten’s core audiences, the 16 to 39 and 18 to 49 viewers have said ‘not interested any more’. It’s a message for all Australian TV. The positive, affirming debut of So You Think You Can Dance Australia started in spectacular fashion in February and finished its first season strongly.
Just in: “Lefty” Tim Brunero mourns the demise of BB. Well, he would, wouldn’t he?
Headline: Rubbish TV show dies in the arse.
But bring on the reincarnated It’s A Knockout! (”Wipeout” I think it’s called).
That, dear ecumenical omnipotent omniscient God, or the reported remake of the A-Team with Ice-T in the role of BA Baracus.
But who’ll staff the 2am loser quiz shows?
The BB household looked absolutely scintillating next to most current programming so the best memorial we may erect to its memory could be a virtual Big Brother ‘house’ for anybody in any position of power. Greater Blogistan may turn the tables on the real Big Brothers yeti.
Ah, the way the mind works…
Liam, your comment put me in mind of the MacDonald sisters, Jacki and Fiona.
According to Wikipedia, however, Jacki MacDonald’s little sister didn’t host It’s A Knockout, but is is an Olympic gold medallist at Curling.
[According to Wikipedia, however, Jacki MacDonald’s little sister didn’t host It’s A Knockout, but is is an Olympic gold medallist at Curling.]
Methinks you’ll find the Fiona Mc listed at Wikipedia is a lot younger than the Quincelander one, nor is she the same as the former Headless Chickens Lead Singer either.
[link]
Sister, Jacki’s entry is here. [link]
It’s A Knockout, that’s the name of the game!
Oh man, I watched Wipeout last week for precisely that It’s A Knockout (sweet square-dancing jesus I loved that show as a kid) vibe.
It was awesome! Splashes, snarky commentary, more pratfalls. Awesome. Unfortunately I have gotten into the habit of calling it “SplashDown”, which is a euphemism my family and friends use for a (hopefully) more regular and intimate, but less pleasant event.
Apparently we are going to get an Australian version of the Japanese game ‘Human Tetris’ [youtube link]. What a hoot.
Juts a speculative theory (and I should acknowledge that I never watched Boring Bogan): but my view from seeing the ads is that it probably couldn’t survive the Howard era -viz, the narcissistic, inward-looking, non-challenging combo of self-interest, (yabbering about yourself US-style), and the celebration of popular “mainstream” ordinariness that the politics implied.
OMG, and I’ve already had to go back to watching re-runs of old movies late at nigh on the ABC because they ditched BB Up late. What will I do?
I suppose I could go out clubbing.
Lefty E, I think your speculation is spot on.
Since, as I learnt around here, BB was holding up a mirror to the evils John Howard personally foisted on all of us, it is only natural that in the Second Year of Rudd it should have folded.
Awww man, I come here to parody leftie obsession with Howard and rightie obsession with Rudd.
And someone beat me to it. But “for serious”.
Im not sure my long-running BB = Boganism theme qualifies as entirely serious, actually JC.
Nonetheless, I do suspect the climate is changing on certain cultural forms.
Glenn Dyer in Crikey:
A miracle. Who said the popes visit would be a waste of money.
Good that it’s going yet it’s been a fascinating television (some said social) experiment. Channel Ten was facing the wall prior to first obtaining it, and tossed its future solely on the first season, which evidently worked and turned its fortunes around. Back then, the show was something of a phenomena - amazing how things change - with an audience including other than the 16 - 39 age group it re-pitched itself at. Columns were written attempting to dissect it and it was all the gossipy rage.
Checking on it this year it was astounding how poor were the selections. What ever were they thinking? Yet the writing may have been on the wall since the time, like, Jamie or whatever his name is was never heard of again after winning. Producers must have hated the Australian public for voting for that, effectively killing a continuum and forcing another look.
But other factors are interesting about its demise. The younger age group have since grown to have their very own reality tv shows, through mobile phones and the internet (Myspace and YouTube for starters), what’s more of their own creating. And it would be interesting to better understand how young people relate today; snippets and soundbites through texts, comments video messages and the like seem to run contrary to an ongoing building and breaking of relationships via BB narrative.
Originally, the power of an unknown, faceless public somehow connected through the ability to ostracise an individual from a group was, while not bound to the show, a compelling public development. This cuts to the core of some pretty awesome psychology. But it was crap, and in the end, regardless of any other factors, that’s what was left of it.
The television experiment’s been done. Surely it leaves a gaping hole for free-to-air to fill with quality, with now an abundance of quickfix opportunistic pseudo ‘human relationship/game playing/voyeuristic cum entertainment’ channels elsewhere.
pfft Glen Dyer get your hand off it. So no other ‘nasty, confrontational’ television shows are popular in Australia? (Gordon f*cking Ramsay, anyone? Today Tonight?) We’re all waiting on the return of “The Wonderful World of Disney”?? (Well I am, but that’s beside the point).
How about this: Big Brother ceased to be entertaining, mainly because it lost its’ variety and ‘reality’.
So You Think You Can Dance, by contrast, is entertaining, precisely because of that variety (and, you know, dancing).
That all said, come to talk me in SYTCD Season 8 Glenn, and tell me what Australians are rejecting when they can that one (Idol and plummeting ratings, anyone?)
Maybe some more high quality Australian drama?
Yeah, I know, wishful thinking.
Well, I was a big fan in the past but this year it’s all Gladiators (especially Amazon) and Battle of the Choirs for us.
In the early days BB was interesting as it was new but as the years rolled on the participants were very aware of the cameras and seemed to be acting up a bit. For BB to tell someone they were too quiet is off. Lets hope another channel takes it over and revamps it into something interesting, and …. can’t think of anything else…good luck to them.
Just in: “Lefty” Tim Brunero mourns the demise of BB. Well, he would, wouldn’t he?
If that link is anything to go by, Tim Brunero doesn’t appear to understand what narrative actually is.
Well, he doesn’t really understand what being a lefty is either!
Hi,
Eye/Aaron (slowly morphing back!)
Just wanted to say a big thanks for plugging the site, for the past couple of months, very much appreciated!
Aaron, I really enjoyed your commentary!