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
Passenger, ITV review - who are they trying to kid?
Andrew Buchan's screenwriting debut leads us nowhere
3 Body Problem, Netflix review - life, the universe and everything (and a bit more)
Mind-blowing adaptation of Liu Cixin's novel from the makers of 'Game of Thrones'
Manhunt, Apple TV+ review - all the President's men
Tobias Menzies and Anthony Boyle go head to head in historical crime drama
The Gentlemen, Netflix review - Guy Ritchie's further adventures in Geezerworld
Riotous assembly of toffs, gangsters, travellers, rogues and misfits
Oscars 2024: politics aplenty but few surprises as 'Oppenheimer' dominates
Christopher Nolan biopic wins big in a ceremony defined by a pink-clad Ryan Gosling and Donald Trump seeing red
Prisoner, BBC Four review - jailhouse rocked by drugs, violence and racism
Sofie Gråbøl joins a powerful cast in bruising Danish drama
Drive to Survive, Season 6, Netflix review - F1 documentary overtaken by events
Real-life dramas in the paddock were too late to make the cut
The Way, BBC One review - steeltown blues
Michael Sheen's ode to Port Talbot stretches credulity
Kin, Series 2, BBC One review - when crime dynasties collide
Dublin becomes a war zone in Peter McKenna's addictive drama
The New Look, AppleTV+ review - lavish period drama with more width than depth
Ben Mendelsohn's tender performance as Dior anchors the spectacle in emotional truth
Griselda, Netflix review - Sofía Vergara excels as the Godmother of cocaine trafficking
How Colombia's Griselda Blanco brought vice to Miami
The Traitors, Series 2, BBC One review - back to the mind-labyrinth
Spoiler-free paean to keeping the murder mystery game fresh
Add comment