[LEE]

When Channel Four posted up on their website a couple of days ago that they wanted our help in setting the task for Saturday I decided to send them an email, partly to give a few task suggestions, but mainly because I thought it was a good opporutnity to let them know some of our views on the show this year. I couldn't get the email address that they gave to work, so I decided to send my suggestions and comments direct to Helen Hawken, series editor of BB, and this morning I got a response back from her that I thought you might be interested in reading.

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My Email to Helen Hawken and the Task Team

The first bit of the email relates to my task suggestions - a bit pathetic I know but I then go on to comment on the lack of tasks in this years BB etc...


Hi

My name is Lesley Edwards and I admin http://www.thisisbigbrother.com/forum

It is difficult to think of a physical task that you will be able to set up
with so little notice and that can be prepared and achieved by the
housemates in the Saturday evening Half Hour Live Show.

Suggestions

1. Some sort of simple assault course set up in the garden. This couldn't
be too compicated as they would have little or no time to practice.

2. Physical Exercises. Something along the lines of the housemates having
to do a certain number of situps or push ups. You could have ranges and
depending on the number performed is the percentage of their full food
budget they get.

3. Give the housemates a volleyball, split them into two teams. They must
not let the ball touch the ground for an alloted amount of time. Each
person who fails to keep the ball in the air incurs 10 penalty points for
his/her team. The winning team gets full rations, the losing team reduced
rations for the week. The shopping budget is to include a specific
allocation for luxury items and the losing team are not allowed a share of
these during the following week. Anyone caught breaking the rule will get
an automatic strike.

4. A task involving building or making a model of something - I'm sorry but
I am running out of ideas here.

5. A treasure hunt, following a series of clues set by BB - the further
they get in the alloted time the bigger shopping budget they get. If they
follow all clues they get an extra luxury prize. Again you could split the
into two teams for this and have them competing.

Anyway those are a few ideas for the task this week. I must say that I don't
like the idea of having the main task given out and performed live every
Saturday. One of the main highlights of the weeks viewing for the past two
years has been seeing the housemates preparing for the weeks task. This
gave them something to do and us something more interesting to watch. This
year there has been so little to do that the housemates and the viewers have
be bored. They are building no sense of teamwork and ar not bonding. Maybe
this is what you want - maybe you want them to stay as individuals and not
become friendly in the same way that they did in BB2, but it is making for
very boring TV.

By only showing the task on a Saturday you are reducing it to the status of
a mini task and giving the housemates nothing to work together on. This
wouldn't be too bad if you gave them more mini tasks during the week, but
the only one so far has been painting the dining room chairs and that was
hardly riveting TV.

If you visit our forum by following the link above you will see I am not
alone in thinking this. The general concensus on our site (and several
others that I have looked at) is that BB3 is nowhere near as good as BB2 and
one of the main reasons for this is that the housemates have nothing to do
so they spend their time sitting on the sofa and chatting all day, or
bitching about each other behind each others backs.

I lived BB last year and was a huge fan. I am finding it very hard work to
get into this year and honestly think that if I didn't help run a very
popular fansite I might have stopped watching by now. And for me to say that
there must be something seriously wrong!

PLEASE do something to win the likes of me back. I am not on my own, you
only have to read the comments on thisisbigbrother.com and on other forums
such as talkbigbrother, BBfans or reality-tv.net to see this.

I know viewing numbers are up this year, but there was a lot more media
coverage in the run up to BB3 and this was bound to spark peoples interests
off earlier. I honestly think that unless you do something to make this
years show more interesting than it is proving to be at the moment you run a
very high risk of losing viewers as the show progresses over the nine weeks.

I hope you have taken the time to read my comments and that you will think
about them. I am a huge BB fan and loved last years show. Please help me
like this years.



Lesley Edwards

LEE: http://www.thisisbigbrother.com

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Helen Hawken's response.

Dear Lesley

Thank you very much for your email which I will pass on to the task team for you.

We're always interested to hear people's comments and ideas for the programme. Of course each year creates different dynamics. Part of the reason that this year the tasks don't take as long is because audience and focus group research strongly suggested that most people last year found them boring. The housemates themselves felt that they were pointless and didn't have enough jeapardy. Another thing that people commented on last year was the fact that none of the housemates spoke freely and openly in the diary room, particularly at nomination time. I think, and I hope you agree, that they're using the diary room much more freely this time, coming in voluntarily, which they hardly ever did last year, and giving very frank reasons for their nominations. Remember that by this time last year Penny was still in the house, it is still very early days.

I hope that you'll keep watching and enjoy the rest of the series.

best wishes

helen hawken

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What do you think of her comments? I for one am surprised that they got feedback last year that audiences found the tasks boring. Not one person I have spoken to expressed this view. I can see the point that there was not enough jeopardy in them, but surely they could make the penalties for losing the task greater while still allowing them to prepare for them during the week.

Post your comments on here and I'll send this thread on to Helen to look at. Now's the chance to air your views.

[Sticks]

Were these focus groups from New Labour, as they seem to have an abundance of them

[dizzy bint]

I couldn't disagree more. Seeing people sitting around all day with nothing to do at all shows in their eyes, they are bored and we are bored of watching them. The tasks last year were good, aside from the dog one but everyone can make mistakes. I am sure the housemates from last year would rather have the tasks they had than nothing which is what they have this year.

I agree with the above comments why should I keep watching this programme?

As for the comments about the diary room. I heard that even this year they had to be prompted to say anything at all. Not all the nominations were unforthcoming last year.

Perhaps its just that they are not entertaining people.

[Maggie]

I think they have made a big mistake this year with the way they are doing the tasks, hoping to get more viewers with this Saturday show. No wonder they are all bored, come on you have enough people to think up a better way of doing things.
As for the interactive on E4 why have you changed it ?, It seems like you will only let us watch what you want us to watch by changing the 2 hour and 4 hour streems, that should be our choice, you have totally spoilt my viewing with this. Please consider returning it to it's former format, as it is boring to see the same clip over an over again

[Mo]

I agree that some of the tasks have been hilarious. Who can forget Helen stuffing cream crackers in her gob. Bubbles tumble on the dance task *evil laugh* and even the year before, my fave BB moment ever, Nick and the assault course.

[WILDCHILD]

Yeah Mo - the assault course was one of the funniest!!!

Everyone thought he had been in the army and you get him falling off the monkey frames!!
HILARIOUS!!!

[LEE]

That's exactly the point. On the last two BB's the tasks provided the focal point for the week. It gave the housemates something to work towards and us something to watch. Without the task there is no structure to the week, it just meanders aimlessly from one moment of boredom to the next.

[Mo]

One other thing, I am very rarely in on a Saturday night (believe it or not I do actually have a life).

Saturdays shows used to be the roundup of the week didn't they, so I was never too bothered if I missed it or not. But now, it seems I'm going to either sacrifice my night out or miss all the tasks. (video not working, long story as to why I've not bought a new one, won't bore you with it).

[Janette]

Just today, I've heard Jonny and Adele both complain that the Saturday evening task is not enough, the housemates are desperately bored!

Lee said today that he feels like he's in prison, having been banged up for 2 weeks with nothing to do!

I can't believe that the consensus of opinion last year was that the tasks were boring and not good TV!

Surely watching 11 people go slowly out of their minds with total boredom does not make for good TV! We need to see these people do something! If not a weekly task, then surely mini-tasks which could keep their minds and bodies occupied!

I'm an avid fan, and being off work ill right now I thought I could really get into the show, but sadly I find myself watching reruns of "Just Good Friends" on BBC1 because it at least brings a smile to my face!

[Sticks]

But it is what the focus groups said, so they must be right.

Why else would our great glorious leader St Tony Blair (whose name shall be sung for ever) use them

We mere viewers are but lowley plebians, Who are we to say other wise

[Janette]

WHAT?????

Speak English man, we might understand you then!!!!!

[Gardencroft]

The Tasks used to occupy the HG all week to a final test - so we had something to watch during the week. If what C4 are saying is that we found them boring then how do they expect us to watch it now when there is nothing?? This BB looks more like the clips from the european BB where they don't appear to do any tasks but lounge around all day arguing or trying to get off with each other. If BB want sex on the show they won't be able to show it and the thought of Spencer & Kate humping away under the covers in a darkened bedroom bores me to death.
Though it may appeal to the teenage audience without the attention span that find the tasks boring

[Kaz]

..most people last year found them boring

Sorry, I couldn't disagree more. Some of the funniest, most entertaining moments of last year's BB came when the housemates were practising for or carrying out their tasks .................. Helen attempting to eat the cream crackers - - Brian falling off the space hopper - - Dean's face when he had to dress in pink trousers - - Paul and Helen's interaction when she was trying to hula-hoop - - all classic moments from BB2.

none of the housemates spoke freely and openly in the diary room, particularly at nomination time

Sorry? I thought Paul in particular always gave very clear and individual reasons as to why he was nominating a particular person. And he admitted after the series ended that Big Brother in the diary room was like an 11th housemate to him - somewhere he could go and talk whenever he wanted to.

This year's housemates are bored rigid - almost two weeks in and they've had to paint a chair and answer 10 questions which took all of 2 minutes. They've no music, nothing to read, and even the weather is lousy.

PLEASE give them more to do. The attempt on the main task could still be shown live on the Saturday night, but they could at least be given a few days to practice for it in order to keep them (and us the viewers!) entertained and occupied in between.

I appreciate it is still early days but, like the housemates, how long are we expected to sit around until something happens?

Originally posted by Sticks
But it is what the focus groups said, so they must be right.

Why else would our great glorious leader St Tony Blair (whose name shall be sung for ever) use them

We mere viewers are but lowley plebians, Who are we to say other wise

Janette, what Sticks means is that instead of giving us what we want by listening to us, the programme makers get groups of middle class twats to sit around tables getting vast amounts of money to think of dazzling new ideas.

They take the money, run, then we have to watch their crap.

In having a go at Tony Blair, he is pointing out that the country is also run that way! He's right, of course, but it could take a while to explain, just open your eyes...

[splodge0]

I will try and keep this brief.

The last two years BB seemed to be run as Big Brother. This year media executives seem to have had more of a say. And that has brought a sense of "Trying too hard" for ratings chasing. Consentrate on the essence of the original concept.

To a large extent it wasn't broken so don't try so hard to fix it.

The fire watching task hooked me as I ended up watching it for nearly 24 hours. Somehow it made me feel involved......the essence again................

Oh, and "Focus Groups" = "A horse designed by a committee"...A camel....

[James]

I have to say I would have agreed with the focus groups on this one!

The impression I got was that the tasks were included just to give the producers something to show if not much else was happening in the house.
Although maybe that was because I was so engrossed in other aspects of the show.

The only main task that I really liked, last year, was the playground games one. That provided some classic moments.

Everyone was saying, before the series started, that the attraction of a show like Big Brother was watching the interaction of the housemates; not the artificial and meaningless tasks.
So maybe we got that wrong, I don't know.

In my opinion, the live task was an interesting concept, badly executed.
If the £400 budget had been, at least a little, in jeopardy it could have made for quite tense television.

And I think the housemates could still be given time to practise a task in the lead up to the live show.
The playground games task would have probably fitted in to half an hour.

[susieq]

To say that people found the tasks boring is a nonsense. It's a damn sight more boring for us, and the housemates, to have absolutely nothing to do all day. There is no structure to the day, nothing to work towards, nothing to collaborate on, nothing to build up a sense of community, nothing even to bitch and gripe about (apart from Alex obviously!).

The housemates are going stir crazy and I feel BB is being particularly cruel this year in leaving them to fester and mope about. It's supposed to be entertainment not a prison sentence - (even in prison you get structured recreation and exercise periods!).

Think of all the things they could be doing:

1. Some kind of ball game - volleyball, tennis, football, basketball - boys against girls, mixed teams, whatever. If it was basketball you could have a prize for reaching a certain number of baskets - I think they did something similar in BB1?

2. Obstacle course, assault course or something on those lines. To be completed within a certain time for a reward.

3. A 'make something' task - make your body out of papier mache, sculpture, make an outfit for someone - things that have been tried before but maybe with a bit of a twist (don't know what but I'm not getting paid £xxxx.xx to think these things up!)

4. Design and make a whole new game - could be a board game - think of the title, make the rules, make the 'counters', make it work!

Loads of things could be thought of - never mind focus groups deciding tasks were boring, use focus groups constructively to come up with some good ideas of how to occupy these people before they all go mad and the viewers go ever so slowly mad with them.