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?)

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.

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.

Nonetheless, I do suspect the climate is changing on certain cultural forms.

And someone beat me to it. But “for serious”.

I suppose I could go out clubbing.

Lefty E, I think your speculation is spot on.

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.