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Big Brother UK Housemate Maxwell Ward speaks his mind in the Diary Room. |
As North American audiences eagerly await another Big Brother season in the United States, Britain has already been enjoying the trials and tribulations of their new Housemates for almost a month.
With such colourful and conflicting personalities as Derek, the razor-tongued political speech writer who quotes poetry at the drop of a hat and Maxwell, the outspoken and mischievous engineer who once deleted valuable items off the Houseguests' weekly shopping list so he could have more booze to guzzle, this year's Big Brother UK is an outrageous mix of unrelenting drama, cruel twists, juvenile humour and fiery outbursts. As Maxwell himself is fond of saying, the series is indeed "off the hook".
"I think this year's Big Brother is shaping up to be a fantastic one. We have some really great, yet peculiar personalities in the house this year and Big Brother's twists continue to keep me (and plenty of viewers) on their toes," Joe McDermott, the editor of the most popular and recognized Big Brother UK fan site - www.bigbrotherwebsite.net - , told Jam! Showbiz.
McDermott, who has just completed his college exams in Media Studies and Communication Studies, launched his site back in 2000 when the first Big Brother UK series hit the airwaves. A fervent fan of the Big Brother concept, he has watched different editions from all over the globe and marvelled how each has put their unique spin on the concept. In Britain, the U.S. version of Big Brother 4 did air once the series had completed its run in North America. According to McDermott, the U.S. version was a big hit for fanatics suffering from "withdrawal symptoms" after the end of the UK series.
For the uninitiated, Big Brother UK mirrors the first season of Big Brother USA in almost every way, except that the UK instalment doesn't censor the offensive language or nudity. Fans can also watch the 24/7 happenings in the Big Brother house on digital cable as well as over the Internet. The UK Houseguests nominate themselves for eviction and much like American/Canadian Idol; the viewers decide who goes and who stays each week by calling in or text messaging their votes. The Houseguests' success at weekly tasks determines their food budgets and under no circumstances are they permitted to discuss their nominations with the other players. These may be bizarre concepts to many North American viewers who revel in the scheming and alliance building that has dominated Big Brother USA since season two when the current producers changed the rules of the game.
Taking in the American version was an odd experience for McDermott when he discovered the public had very little input into the U.S. series.
"When I watched the U.S. series, I couldn't help but feel frustrated at the lack of interactivity that viewers had," he said. "Interactivity is a key element in the UK series. They encourage fans to get involved in the show with the eviction votes, live audiences at the evictions each Friday and in previous years there have also been live weekly Saturday night reward challenges."
One major change the producers instituted immediately upon taking over Big Brother USA was that the viewing public would no longer have any say in who was evicted each week or who the eventual winner would be. Accusations of viewers flooding the virtual ballot box and the American/Canadian viewers immediately voting out the most controversial Houseguests forced the producers' hands in that regard. Still, McDermott wishes viewers had a voice in the U.S. series.
"I have to confess, I find it very hard to imagine Big Brother without the public's influence. Using the public to help decide the evictions helps to guarantee a successful and entertaining show," he said. "With characters emerging that the public are beginning to dislike, it gives the nation the final say, and if they would prefer to watch Big Brother without these characters - they can do something about it, by picking up the phone and voting."
Although he thinks the challenges in the U.S. edition are quite fantastic in their scope and execution, McDermott sees all the scheming in the U.S. edition as a drama killer. Much of the nomination and eviction surprises are stifled when alliances dominate the game whereas in the UK series, nominations and evictions have everyone on pins and needles throughout the entire process.
"I think that Big Brother needs to maintain control in the house and make the game fair and equal for all participants so I prefer it when Housemates are not allowed to discuss their nominations. They should be private and not influenced by any other Housemate. It increases the element of surprise within the house. Housemates never know what their fellow contestants are thinking. It is only in the Diary Room when their real feelings are revealed and the backstabbing takes place," said McDermott, who confesses to spending three hours a day updating his site.
Another dramatic difference is that the Houseguests themselves through their Diary Room conversations narrate Big Brother U.S. The UK edition has its own faceless narrator - Marcus Bentley - who sets up the scenes and provides some context as to what the viewers are about to see. Across the pond, Big Brother is positioned as the main character and the Houseguests are his pawns. McDermott believes the U.S. series could benefit greatly from such a switch.
"I'd advise the American producers to take a leaf out of the books of their international counterparts, and to always be one step ahead of the Housemates," he stated. "Instead of using the Housemates as the main characters in the show, consider bringing Big Brother's character to the forefront of the show, and bring out Big Brother's mischievous side because at the end of the day, if anyone can get away with confusing, deceiving and tricking the housemates – it’s Big Brother."
With rumours swirling that the upcoming season of Big Brother USA will air in Britain, McDermott is looking forward to checking out the American edition despite its differences.
"The basic idea of Big Brother – watching a bunch of people with various personalities interacting in a house with cameras – is a format that is universally successful worldwide, and when it comes down to the definitive reason that people watch Big Brother, that is it. It’s that guilty age-old pleasure of being a nosy neighbour and a fly-on-the-wall, and getting away with it,” he said.
