[andyman]

.... Does Big Brother need it? New tasks are ok but would we like it if the show was changed too much? What would you change to bring back the viewers?

[Rory]

No. The biggest example of a failed revamp was BBAU, which obviously didn't go well with the viewers.

[andyman]

Originally posted by Rory
No. The biggest example of a failed revamp was BBAU, which obviously didn't go well with the viewers.

Never seen it.. True yeah, maybe good twists and good mix of housemates is all it needs. I have watched bb since 2000 and there has been a small revamp but thats with the house... I'm not keen on how the US do it, the presenting etc.
Off topic, jan 15th american idol season 8 starts on itv2, how far behind will the uk be?

[Matt]

A BB5-style revamp is needed. Endemol need to come up with some new ideas.

Some points that need to be addressed for Big Brother 10:

- Advertising. They need to up the ante here - they've had the same basic ad campaign for at least four years now. It doesn't tell viewers that the show has changed or give them a reason to tune in. Press ads and radio ads need to return - they did them for BBCH, so they should be able to do them now - as well as billboard ads. Also, it wouldn't harm them to pay to show an advert during one of ITV's big programmes - if they can do it for Britain's Got The Pop Factor and The Devil's *****, why can't they do it for Big Brother?

- Interactive services. There is absolutely no excuse for the lack of online feeds and reduced hours on E4 that have been in place since Hijack. They need to bring that back and extend the E4 hours again. There once was a time where you could access multiple feeds via the red button - why can't you today? They should bring back text voting - if they could process the votes quick enough before BB8, then I'm sure they can do so now.

- Programming. BBLB and BBBM need complete revamps. George Lamb should be ditched, though I'm hoping they keep Jack Whitehall for BBBM. BBBM certainly needs a permanent presenter. A fixed timeslot for the main Channel 4 show should be found. I'd also like to see a return of Nominations Uncut, since they don't show nominations in full during the highlights show. I'd rather have one episode of Diary Room Uncut and one episode of Nominations Uncut per week instead of two episodes of DRU.

- Attitude to the show. Channel 4 constantly claim that they are proud of Big Brother, it's one of their best shows etc., but they don't show it. They can start by classing it as Entertainment rather than Factual Entertainment in their programming line-ups - the social experiment angle has been gone since BB5, it IS a gameshow now.

[LemonJam]

They need 10-14 of the strongest characters they can find and bring back evil! No nicey nicey housemates please.

[BBkid]

I think what really needs to happen for BB10 is:
-Major advertising (3-4 weeks in advance of the launch - on ITV as well sometimes) with adverts that'll make the viewers want to watch.
-Live feed on E4 and scrap BBBM but make it part of a section on BBLB which should be on C4 weekdays for 30 mins and for 1 hour episodes on Saturday and Sunday.
-Get an excellent house (something completely different to what we've had before) with a wacky paint job and some cool features.
-An brilliant and fiery bunch of HM's is needed, absolutely NO nice people at all (like in BB9 all the nasty people were out by the halfway mark and there wasn't much to watch).
-A launch night twist is necessary and it has to be major, something that will effect the entire series so that it will keep the viewers glued to their screens.
-No repeated tasks (heaven and hell divide in BB3 and BB9).
-No prize fund because they HM's should have to earn it - with a possible jackpot of Ł200,000 (Ł100,000 isn't enough) which can be earned by doing the weekly tasks to Big Brother's satisfaction.
-12 HM's in on launch with 2 latecomers over a 10 week period (4 in the final).
-A couple of major twists (not too many though - like in BB8) which should effect a large amount of the series or even all of it.

[Tom]

Originally posted by Matt

- Interactive services. There is absolutely no excuse for the lack of online feeds and reduced hours on E4 that have been in place since Hijack. They need to bring that back and extend the E4 hours again. There once was a time where you could access multiple feeds via the red button - why can't you today? They should bring back text voting - if they could process the votes quick enough before BB8, then I'm sure they can do so now.

There is a reason- its not profitable enough. Channel 4 survive on commercial profits, if something isn't profitable enough then they aren't going to continue with it especially with the state the Channel 4 funds are in at the minute. Text voting has been axed because of all the problems in 2007, nothing to do with processing the votes. They just don't want to be caught up in yet another voting scandal.

Attitude to the show. Channel 4 constantly claim that they are proud of Big Brother, it's one of their best shows etc., but they don't show it. They can start by classing it as Entertainment rather than Factual Entertainment in their programming line-ups - the social experiment angle has been gone since BB5, it IS a gameshow now.

They're not going to class an entertainment show as factual entertainment when it isn't . It hasn't been factual entertainment for years.

Anyway I don't want to see the show overhauled, I'd rather it was just tweaked but more to make them want to stay and turn it into even more of a gameshow rather than changes the viewer directly notices. My ideas would be:

- Head of House decided with an endurance challenge like in America. The HOH then gets to pick 1 person to definitely face eviction and is immune themselves
- Bring in a vote to save/vote to evict for more unpredictable results
- 14 housemates on launch night with a maximum of three entering throughout the series (not including replacements)
- Up the prize fund to Ł1,000,000. Give second place Ł100,000 and third place Ł50,000 to add an extra incentive for making the final but those are maximums and are subjective according to how well they do in tasks (ie they earn it)
- Give them a luxury budget based on rule breaks- if they break a lot of rules then its a basic budget, if they don't then its a luxury budget
- Give personal banks which they earn their own money for tasks which is deducted for rule breaks etc (maximum Ł10,000)
- Bring it down to 11 weeks- if they're bothered about losing profits from the 2 weeks then extend CBB

Most of all they need to grow a pair of balls again, go back to controversy and don't run scared of the Ofcom brigade

Theres just a few ideas off the top of my head which could change the dynamics from "I want to go home" and "I don't care about rule breaks" and make people want to stay more ...

[Spike]

I think for another series to be succesfull they would need todo the following:
- Revamp the format: maybe look at BBUS and do our own adaption of it which would effect the game.
- Advertising: Do a major campaign which informs the public what this change to the format is and make it sound like unmissable TV
- Prize Fund, Make it really high something to get some press coverage on the run up to the series. Also maybe have a slice of the prize fund for each finalist which could encourage game playing to get into the final. Make the object of the game to get in the final and win some money not to get on page 3 in the Daily Star.
- Reduce the weeks, Big Brother can't sustain 13 weeks anymore. It needs to be 10/11 weeks maximum.
- 3 housemates minimum face eviction every week with a vote to save, this gives unpredictable evictions while keeping the series entertaining.
- The most important thing to any BB series is controversy, it always brings the ratings in. Don't keep calling housemates to the diary room every time it gets a little heated, let the action play out the viewers roll in.

[Matt]

Originally posted by Tom

There is a reason- its not profitable enough. Channel 4 survive on commercial profits, if something isn't profitable enough then they aren't going to continue with it especially with the state the Channel 4 funds are in at the minute. Text voting has been axed because of all the problems in 2007, nothing to do with processing the votes. They just don't want to be caught up in yet another voting scandal.

Fair enough on the profitability. I don't see the problem with text-based voting though - surely premium rate phone lines are just as dangerous?

Originally posted by Tom

They're not going to class an entertainment show as factual entertainment when it isn't . It hasn't been factual entertainment for years.

They do. It's listed as factual entertainment in press packs.

http://www.channel4.com/pressandpublicity/factual-entertainment/celebrity-big-brother.html

[BBkid]

I forgot to add that a vote to save is the only way we will ever get a good series again because all of the controversial HM's are out of the house by about Week 8.

[Sam1994]

Originally posted by BBkid
I forgot to add that a vote to save is the only way we will ever get a good series again because all of the controversial HM's are out of the house by about Week 8.

That can be good or bad. It was good this year because everyone had different personalities in the end to still keep it fun, like Sara, Lisa, Rex and Kat. But it didn't work last year after Charley went because there wasn't enough good people left.

[Tom]

Originally posted by BBkid
I forgot to add that a vote to save is the only way we will ever get a good series again because all of the controversial HM's are out of the house by about Week 8.

It didn't exactly help during CBB3

[pinkmichk]

firstly vote to save would be silly or it would be a eoghan/diana type repeat

what i think needs doing is

bring back live feed
put bblb back on channel 4 instead of E4 that was a huge mistake moving it there
get rid of george lamb
get 1 or 2 permanant hosts for bbbm
screen contestants a bit better so the nut jobs dont get through (you know the ones who give up in the first week such a waste)
take it back to the early bb days so not as many wanabees and more about the social experiement that bb is
give the tasks a complete overhaul come up with new original ideas not copying past series or other bb from round the world
get rid of the shopping budget cos they give them food whatever
if they gonna be evil they need to follow it through rather than the half arsed efforts of this yr with the jail etc
not as many new housemates choose a decent mix with maybe max of 1 or 2 late comers
scrap first week eviction

[Tom]

I've seen this idea thrown about in quite a few places- add a clause to the contract saying housemates can't get magazine deals and appear on TV shows etc other then Channel 4 shows for about a year after they are evicted. Then we'll see how many wannabes we get

[pinkmichk]

Originally posted by Tom
I've seen this idea thrown about in quite a few places- add a clause to the contract saying housemates can't get magazine deals and appear on TV shows etc other then Channel 4 shows for about a year after they are evicted. Then we'll see how many wannabes we get

thats a super idea kinda like the x factor and the yr of working exclusively for them

[Noel]

I think they should make it more dramatic, and make it seem unmissable. If you notice with The X Factor, everything is hyped up so much, and this makes people want to watch even more. So if they advertised evictions/twists etc. during the week and make them seem like the best show ever, people will think they have to watch it. The dramatic effect could also be included in the actual shows, with things like the phone lines closing and evictions. It would definitely interest people, IMO.

[Brekkie]

A major revamp is long over due - it should have come with BB8, if not BB7, which was one chapter of evil too much.

Obviously the core values should remain, but it doesn't mean things like nominations have to be done the same way. Frankly if the HMs nominating once each means we get to see them all nominate, then I'm all for it. Also any twists need to be to the format as a whole - something that affects the show week in, week out, not just for a few days.

Crucially though it's the shows themselves which need a bit of TLC. The main C4 shows are shockingly edited and embarrassingly over narrated by Marcus Bentley - production wise standards have really slipped over the last few years. Oh, and time to give the theme tune a revamp too - not a new theme, but a remixed one.

I'd happily keep both George and Jack for the spin-offs, but they both need revamping.

As for two common arguments made - I don't think they need to cut the length of the series, but they need to approach the series with the length in mind, rather than treating it like a 10-week series and piling in extra HMs to make up the numbers. It's crucial too that no more than 5 make the last week, with the final being reinstated to the event it once was - not just lets get them all out ASAP and lock the doors!

And secondly, Big Brother is all about the evicting - VOTE TO EVICT must remain. It's BB's unique selling point and despite all the copy cat formats which we've seen in the last decade, Big Brother is still the only show where we evict people, not save them. It's much more satisfying and although it may have it's flaws, so does every other type of voting system. We may lose some big characters on the way, but generally speaking it's good for the show to remove the dominating characters and let the others shine in their absence.