[Kaz]

Found this little snippet in today's 'Shelleyvision' section of the Mirror online:

KNOCK 'N' ROLL

SINCE Christmas, Pop Idol has, sadly, not only copied Big Brother's format but replicated its fatal weakness - namely, that the more the unfavoured and flawed contestants are voted out, the more boring the show becomes.

Saturday's show had more padding than a Rik Waller lookalike contest, while next week's showdown sees Gareth Gates and Darius taking on Will "The Winner" Young - a freak of nature so fresh-faced, he appears to have a Greg Rusedski smilemask stuck on his face.

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I didn't think that Big Brother became more boring just because Stuart, Penny, Naz, etc. were voted out. We had the budding romance between Paul & Helen, and the unpredictability of Brian & Josh's relationship with each other to keep us amused after all.

Similarly, I don't think Pop Idol has become more boring either. The tension at the end of the programme is now unbearable, as the final few contestants are so good that it's impossible to predict who's going to leave. I also enjoy seeing behind the scenes, and what they have been getting up to between programmes.

[Romantic Old Bird]

I agree, but it's obviously a slow news day and they had to think of something.

Big brother was much more abrupt, and got rid of 5 people in a week. Pity we didn't get to do all the voting on that, because smug old Elizabeth would have bit the dust sooner, and the fireworks would have gone off a few days earlier over the den...

The Pop idol process is becoming something of a monster. They are dragging the whole thing out relentlessly, It's obvious they must know who is going to win, and I doubt if the top two or even five have changed much over the past three weeks. We all have our alliances by now, and excuse an off week here and there.

They should finish it this week, 3rd, 2nd and winner, thankyou and goodnight!

Then next week, they can start the auditions for Kym's replacement on hearsay.....................

[Feefs]

I don't think either BB or PI have become more boring, but I have been thinking for a while now that PI has taken on board some of the things that made BB the phenomonon it was. This interests me because Nigel Lithgo is Executive Producer, as he was on Survivor. During Survivor he went on about how boring BB was by comparison. I think he's learnt his lesson because

1. Public voting. A bit obvious and not unique to PI, but having a double show with a build up to a live announcement with friends and families waiting for someone to leave is familiar.

2. Continuing the coverage live on ITV2 and mid-week updates is very BB. Throughout Saturday evening when tensions are highest, the contestants are under constant scrutiny while they wait for their fate to be sealed.

3. The program is obviously collaborating with the tabloids and gossip mags such as heat. They're controlling a steady stream of gossip friendly anecdotes.

4. They're all living in the same house

5. The tabloids are getting nasty and rivalries are developing between fans.

6. Dec loves hugging the contestants as much as Davina

7. Evicted, oops, I meant eliminated contestants are doing a tour of tv and radio shows and newspaper deals.

8. Whatever they say, the producers are playing up to possible conflict. Arguements between judges are (probably) encouraged. Nigel's public ticking off of Simon and Pete was a farce.

9. Ant and Dec chat to their mums, who talk about how proud they are.

10. When you get evicted they do a montage of your finest moments with you looking nostalgic in a box in the corner.

11. Those close-ups of Gareth crying at Zoe leaving were very reminiscent of Helen after Paul left. Fantastic emotional tv, but not strictly necessary for a talent contest.

I'm sure I'd thought of some other reasons, but that's quite enough for now.

[Honey]

Amazing similarities to be sure Feefs, and some really interesting comparisons, thanks for that!

[Feefs]

As if to prove that's what they had in mind all along, this is from an interview with Ant and Dec on the PI site ...

Pop Idol has been the perfect vehicle for you two, hasn't it?
Ant: Absolutely. We were fans of Popstars and Big Brother and the way Pop Idol was sold to us was that they wanted us to have fun with it. Obviously there'd be a lot of tears as it's a contest, but we could do something lighter. So it took us about two seconds to say yes.
Dec: We were only supposed to come on board in the later stages but we went down to a few of the auditions and had so much fun with the contestants that we kept going back.

[Janette]

Surely the only comparison between the two shows is that they are both reality tv!

You can't say the phone votes compare them or you'd have to include "Stars in their Eyes" or "The Eurovision Song Contest"

Maybe the true comparison is that they are both hugely entertaining programmes that have got the whole country talking! And with all the s*** going on in the world right now, what's the harm in that!

More power to reality tv I say