Big Brother, Channel 4 | reviews, news & interviews
Big Brother, Channel 4
Big Brother, Channel 4
Did we take the big mother of all reality shows for granted?
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
The eye had it, and will be sadly missed by our unapologetic critic
There is a lot of talk about the contestants' experience of Big Brother but little about the viewer’s experience. During its decade on air there was a drop-off of both the red tops' shock-horror coverage and the intellectualised justifications put forward by the quality press, and inevitably this resulted in viewing figures also declining with each passing year. But I confess I remained an avid viewer. It’s not what you watch, it’s how you watch it, I would say to baffled friends to justify my addiction.
There is a lot of talk about the contestants' experience of Big Brother but little about the viewer’s experience. During its decade on air there was a drop-off of both the red tops' shock-horror coverage and the intellectualised justifications put forward by the quality press, and inevitably this resulted in viewing figures also declining with each passing year. But I confess I remained an avid viewer. It’s not what you watch, it’s how you watch it, I would say to baffled friends to justify my addiction.
The seasoned BB fan knows that only students, perverts and the brain-dead watch the live feed
Explore topics
Share this article
more TV
Endeavour: The Final Episode, ITV1 review - the final bow for Oxford's finest
The curtain falls on a milestone in TV detection
MH370: The Plane That Disappeared, Netflix review - a field day for conspiracy theorists
Will we ever know what really happened to the vanished Malaysian airliner?
The Great British Bake Off Musical, Noel Coward Theatre review - blue-chip cast lift daft confection
It's more adult panto than mature musical, with the sauce liberally ladled on
Daisy Jones & The 6, Amazon Prime review - hit rock'n'roll novel doesn't make great TV
Fictional band can't match the legend of Fleetwood Mac
Liaison, Apple TV+ review - tangly Franglais thriller presses some hot buttons
Great with a stiff drink and your brain parked in neutral
Fleishman Is in Trouble, Disney+ review - mid-life crises in Manhattan
Taffy Brodesser-Akner adapts her hit novel about high-flyers losing their bearings
Drive to Survive, Season 5, Netflix review - fly-on-the wall F1 show may need a reboot
The Mercedes versus Red Bull battle just keeps getting uglier
The Gold, BBC One review - gripping dramatisation of the 1983 Brink's-Mat bullion robbery
You can't always tell the difference between the police and the thieves
DVD: Babylon Berlin, Season Four
Golden threads through a labyrinth of Weimar Republic corruption
Fauda, Season 4, Netflix review - Israeli terrorism thriller gets darker and dirtier
Fourth time around, the human cost is becoming too much to bear
Women at War, Netflix review - contrasting stories entwine during the chaos of World War One
Passion, intrigue and heartbreak behind the front lines
Stewart, Sky Documentaries review - touching and insightful portrait of Scottish race ace
Fascinating documentary explores the triumphs and tragedies of motor racing
Add comment