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Big Brother brings on the sisters

Posted in Media, Branwell Johnson June 1st, 2007 by Branwell Johnson

Big Brother bounces back with a respectable 6.2 million average viewers for the first night, less than the show garnered last year but the channel parades arguments such as that it was up against The Apprentice. First off I’d suggest there is not really an overlapping demographic with Alan Sugar’s show…judging by office and public transport chat I’d say that the crossover is quite small – apart from people in media-land and ad-land of course.

More seriously, is interest fading in BB or can Channel 4 rejuvenate the series without pursuing further the idea that “outrageous” and “controversial” is equivalent to entertainment? I think it’s off to a decent start with the notion of an all girl household generating more interest than the expected parade of extroverts. At least it’s an idea and a talking point and I was heartened to see cheers from the crowd - but not for the obvious Zoo and Nuts fodder. Maybe the public has got bored with pouting pin ups and is willing to root for characters that are interesting and can provide a good “story.”

It will be very interesting to see how the show develops over the summer and whether the public will buy into a less confrontational, more upbeat show, which seems to be the remit. Or are we all just potential rubber-neckers looking for a car crash?