Big Brother US vs. Big Brother UK

[jamess1988]

I really love Big Brother USA so far. It's the first time I've ever seen it and I've been hooked since the first episode. It's no where near as good as Big Brother UK in my opinion, but it'll give me my fix until BB9. Some things I think about it:

- There doesn't seem to be enough footage aired. We only really get to see them do the challenges/competitions and other major events. We hardly see any of their interactions with each other like we do in BB UK because of the lack of air time. This left me confused when people referred to other house mates as their "best friends" yet we'd never even seen them talk to each other before. Again, due to the lack of air time the sense of time is really broken. There is no great distinction between daily activity and the highlights often suddenly switch from - for example, Day 3 to Day 7 which is confusing and quite annoying. For me, I enjoy seeing some of the more minor things such as little dialogues between people over the dinner table, seeing how the house mate's relationships develop with each other - which we don't really get to see as much of in BB USA.

- As a few other people have pointed out, the house mates seem to be being evicted thick and fast and if this season's supposed to last for 3 months are they not going to evict anyone else now for a few weeks? With the house mates evicted as couples the're going to be going even quicker!

- I know it's the format but there is NO 'Big Brother' as such. There is no discussion shown with 'Big Brother' there is no 'Big Brother' calling them to the diary room or chatting to them. This is something else which I find quite annoying and it baffles me how this element can be missing when it's called 'Big Brother'. It really does feel like there is something missing because of this. This is definitely a feature of BB UK that really makes it great.

- The dialogue often seems scripted when a housemate is addressing his fellow house mates - for example at the nomination ceremony. I don't know if it is but the way their words flow so fluidly seemingly without them thinking. They never seem to stutter their words or take time to think about them. It just seems very un-natural, though this may be the way it's edited?

- I HATE how the other house mates decide who'd evicted. It means the most interesting house mates could be evicted first. I know this is just the difference in format but I want the people I like to stay until the end.

- The 'Till Death Do Us Part twist is not ideal. Pairing them up has created tension and arguments which is good, and it may cause relationships which is again good - but it's annoying how they're evicted together. This really links with the above point of people you like/interesting house mates being evicted early. Just because a great house mate is paired with an annoying house mate could mean they are evicted which is terribly annoying [such as Parker being evicted :sad:]. It'd be much better if they just slept together,did tasks together and nominated together.

These are just a few things I noticed while watching it. Does anyone agree with this? Has anyone had the same thoughts while watching?

I really do still enjoy it. The game play aspect is quite interesting and refreshing (though I wouldn't want it implemented into our Big Brother UK). I would definitely prefer the series if they showed more of it. We hardly get to see anything when we see 3 hours of footage a week!

[Matt]

Fantastic post. Really highlights the differences between the two shows.

Originally posted by jamess1988

- The dialogue often seems scripted when a housemate is addressing his fellow house mates - for example at the nomination ceremony. I don't know if it is but the way their words flow so fluidly seemingly without them thinking. They never seem to stutter their words or take time to think about them. It just seems very un-natural, though this may be the way it's edited?

Regarding this point, I think BB does guide houseguests along when they're hosting events. I read somewhere that BB will get them to read speeches a few times if needbe so that they have a perfect cut for airing.

[jamess1988]

Originally posted by Matt
Fantastic post. Really highlights the differences between the two shows.

Originally posted by jamess1988

- The dialogue often seems scripted when a housemate is addressing his fellow house mates - for example at the nomination ceremony. I don't know if it is but the way their words flow so fluidly seemingly without them thinking. They never seem to stutter their words or take time to think about them. It just seems very un-natural, though this may be the way it's edited?

Regarding this point, I think BB does guide houseguests along when they're hosting events. I read somewhere that BB will get them to read speeches a few times if needbe so that they have a perfect cut for airing.

Thanks for the reply. Glad you enjoyed reading through it. That's very interesting! Why do they bother making it so scripted. It comes across in the final product. This is supposed to be reality TV show! With the house mate's scripted talks and Chen "Bot"'s presenting it seems more like watching the news at times.

[Captain.Remy]

Message original : jamess1988
I really love Big Brother USA so far. It's the first time I've ever seen it and I've been hooked since the first episode. It's no where near as good as Big Brother UK in my opinion, but it'll give me my fix until BB9. Some things I think about it:

- There doesn't seem to be enough footage aired. We only really get to see them do the challenges/competitions and other major events. We hardly see any of their interactions with each other like we do in BB UK because of the lack of air time. This left me confused when people referred to other house mates as their "best friends" yet we'd never even seen them talk to each other before. Again, due to the lack of air time the sense of time is really broken. There is no great distinction between daily activity and the highlights often suddenly switch from - for example, Day 3 to Day 7 which is confusing and quite annoying. For me, I enjoy seeing some of the more minor things such as little dialogues between people over the dinner table, seeing how the house mate's relationships develop with each other - which we don't really get to see as much of in BB USA.

- As a few other people have pointed out, the house mates seem to be being evicted thick and fast and if this season's supposed to last for 3 months are they not going to evict anyone else now for a few weeks? With the house mates evicted as couples the're going to be going even quicker!

- I know it's the format but there is NO 'Big Brother' as such. There is no discussion shown with 'Big Brother' there is no 'Big Brother' calling them to the diary room or chatting to them. This is something else which I find quite annoying and it baffles me how this element can be missing when it's called 'Big Brother'. It really does feel like there is something missing because of this. This is definitely a feature of BB UK that really makes it great.

- The dialogue often seems scripted when a housemate is addressing his fellow house mates - for example at the nomination ceremony. I don't know if it is but the way their words flow so fluidly seemingly without them thinking. They never seem to stutter their words or take time to think about them. It just seems very un-natural, though this may be the way it's edited?

- I HATE how the other house mates decide who'd evicted. It means the most interesting house mates could be evicted first. I know this is just the difference in format but I want the people I like to stay until the end.

- The 'Till Death Do Us Part twist is not ideal. Pairing them up has created tension and arguments which is good, and it may cause relationships which is again good - but it's annoying how they're evicted together. This really links with the above point of people you like/interesting house mates being evicted early. Just because a great house mate is paired with an annoying house mate could mean they are evicted which is terribly annoying [such as Parker being evicted :sad:]. It'd be much better if they just slept together,did tasks together and nominated together.

These are just a few things I noticed while watching it. Does anyone agree with this? Has anyone had the same thoughts while watching?

I really do still enjoy it. The game play aspect is quite interesting and refreshing (though I wouldn't want it implemented into our Big Brother UK). I would definitely prefer the series if they showed more of it. We hardly get to see anything when we see 3 hours of footage a week!

Amazing post, you describe very well. I watch BBUSA since series 5 and it hasn't changed a lot actually, that's what I don't like in it. For me, I wouldn't consider it as "Big Brother" because as you said, there is no "Big Brother", the housemates do everything, and a major thing is not included: the public vote for evictions.
And I feel like you too, it seems it's all scripted and it's all staged like they don't live 24/7 in the house, it seems fake sometimes.
I think the format needs to change a little bit because it's kinda boring sometimes.

[jamess1988]

Thanks again for the praise. I'm glad people seem to be agreeing with me - it shows that it's not just me not liking the format but potentially a flaw in the way the program is run/produced.

To me, though as I said it is annoying, the format represents American culture. They love their games shows and they love everything to be more extreme. The way it seems scripted and is so polished to me represents the market the program is geared towards. This is probably why the people who watch BB:UK dislike these aspects of the show. We are so used to having "proper reality TV shows" warts and all. If someone messes up, it's not a problem (after all it is reality TV" and I think it's this scripted feel which makes BB:USA feel more distant from an actual Reality TV Show.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the show - it's something new for me, though I don't like it as much as BB:UK, it just really does feel more like a soap opera set inside a house. The best way I can explain it is that it seems extremely two dimensional. Because we only get to see very very small segments of interaction between friends and general conversation (other than bitching and fighting), the characters in the house feel very 2 dimensional, and we don't get a feel of how they actually are outside the "game playing machine"

[Redmond]

Yeah the live feed is where the real show is at. You get to watch them actually interacting and you hear BB call them to the DR etc and "Please put on your microphone" etc that we are use to on our series. :D

I'm not really into the current series that much but the previous series have been really really good. And I love the game play aspect and definitely think it could be adapted into our series in a unique way, we all know our current format is really stale. We should still keep public votes though.

The only thing I disagree with though is that you said with the housemates evicting each other means the big characters could go early...but that really isn't true. The bigger characters tend to go earlier in our series because of the public vote.

In every previous US series I can't remember any of the major characters leaving in the first few weeks. The main characters tend to be the best game players so they stay in for a long while. Like Dick last year was a big character and he won it.

Dr Will, Janelle, Allison etc all the big characters in their seasons, stayed to the last weeks, Dr Will winning his season and Allison coming second in her season, Janelle coming third in her season.

Plus the only reason BBUSA changed its rules to the game play format and lost the public vote (BBUSA Season 1 had the same format as ours) was because the US public wasn't use to voting reality shows at that time and Survivor had just started and become a huge success. So Season 2 of BBUSA took a more gameplay style like Survivor.

But nowadays I think if BB was just starting, it would've been more successful in America, seeing as voting reality shows like American Idol get around 30 million viewers!

[jamess1988]

Yeah I read up on my stuff and noticed Big Brother 1 had a system much like ours. I said the big characters could be evicted first. Even if they were the most liked by the public they could theoretically be amongst the first to leave. At least with the voting we have some sort of safe guard. If a character is really popular we at least have the power to keep them in.

[Barbie]

loving this post :laugh:
i dont like the idea of not hearing BB talkin to housemates i think this makes it seem more scripted and looses a touch that im used to in the UK version its a shame they cut that out really

As for the pairing up i think BB saw that one comming it means one person cant go complaining without the other being at risk making it tricky as each housemate must watch their back and another housemates as well as keeping them out of trouble which doesnt always work
but with this i dont like the idea of someone getting evicted just because their partner was bad.

with the public vote thing maybe with american idol now they should reintroduce it- only for the final just to see if it is successful and then do a full season with the vote in.

overall i think BBUK is far better

[tinkerbell]

BB USA is waaay better !!!! its great !!!

[Laylamommy]

Originally posted by jamess1988
Thanks again for the praise. I'm glad people seem to be agreeing with me - it shows that it's not just me not liking the format but potentially a flaw in the way the program is run/produced.

To me, though as I said it is annoying, the format represents American culture. They love their games shows and they love everything to be more extreme. The way it seems scripted and is so polished to me represents the market the program is geared towards. This is probably why the people who watch BB:UK dislike these aspects of the show. We are so used to having "proper reality TV shows" warts and all. If someone messes up, it's not a problem (after all it is reality TV" and I think it's this scripted feel which makes BB:USA feel more distant from an actual Reality TV Show.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the show - it's something new for me, though I don't like it as much as BB:UK, it just really does feel more like a soap opera set inside a house. The best way I can explain it is that it seems extremely two dimensional. Because we only get to see very very small segments of interaction between friends and general conversation (other than bitching and fighting), the characters in the house feel very 2 dimensional, and we don't get a feel of how they actually are outside the "game playing machine"

That's sadly true. The producers are ruining the show actually because it's all about ratings...not what true fans of the show would like to see.

What most fans in America really want is a more diverse cast (instead of all 20-something white actor/actress wannabe's with a token minority or 2). Since season 4 every cast gets faker.

Oh, and your right....the editing is horrible. The fact is...if you don't watch the feeds, you really wont get to know any of these people. The CBS show leaves out a LOT of stuff that goes on in the house. They give some players the "friendly edit" and leave out anything that makes them look bad...and they make some of them villains by showing everything they possibly can to make them look bad.

BB gave Evel Dick the "friendly edit" last year, believe it or not. They left out the rants that had nothing to do with the game...they left out the times where he was just flat out being cruel. When they did show him going off they put that triumphant rock music in the background...as if he was some kind of cool rebel, instead of just an old man being a jerk.

They sometimes spoon feed them their lines in the diary room...and or ask them very leading questions. They encourage them to campaign to stay in the house...they basically don't let them forget that they are making a tv show here.

On the live feeds they block out competitions, diary room sessions, and most interaction with "big brother".

All we get to hear of BB is "houseguests no singing, put on your microphone, please do not discuss diary room sessions with other house guests, or come to the dr. Occasionally they will call out a HG's name and say "knock it off.." or they will be very snappy or sarcastic.

I've never seen BBUK...would love to see how different it is.

[Redmond]

Seems BBUSA has a lot of the same problems. Our show is extremely manipulated as well now, even though the public have the vote...or so you would think!

Housemates are favoured, giving favourable edits with bad stuff they do on the live feed been left out of the main shows. It's all very simple nowadays, back in the first few series you use to get a good range of personality and dimensions to each housemate but now as soon as they are in some are cast as the "nice guys" and others the "villians", the nice guys can do no wrong and the villians can do no nice. It's all very predictable.

Also rules are changed if it favours who they want to stay in the house, if people speak about nominations (which they aren't allowed to do in our series) they get punished but not consistently...one week it may be a ban from nominating, the next week it might mean that everyone is nominated apart from that one person who broke the rules! It's all very fishy.

The thing I like about the US series is even if they are coached somewhat in the Diary Room (even though most housemates deny this on leaving), it still isn't as predicatble as our show. There's no real way in the US series you can guarantee a winner from the get-go because the housemates vote each other out...I mean if it really was manipulated that much then surely in Season 6 they would've made it so Janelle won or in All-Stars they would've made it so Will and Janelle made it as the final two etc.

But with our series you knew Pete was going to win BB7 from Week 1, you knew Nadia was going to win BB5 from about Week 3 onwards etc.

[Laylamommy]

I think they should try to modify the format slightly.

They tried to give America a vote with "America's Player"...but everyone hated him and it was a very stupid idea.

What they SHOULD do (for bbUSA) is give each house guest a vote...AND give America a vote to tally in with their votes. It would change the way they play the game a little because as it is we already know who's going home days before the show...and so do they. So that gets a little boring.

They also need to STOP with their crappy twists. Bringing in people who already know each other is NOT a twist...it's not new, it's not fair, and it shouldn't be a part of the game since the whole show is based on the concept of 12 STRANGERS living in a house vie for .5 mil.

I like twist that screw with the house as a whole...Big Brother should be the one with the secrets...they are supposed to expect the unexpected...from BB! It would also be nice if Big Brother made more of a presence in the house...since the show is BB. That's what I miss from seas 1.