[Stu]

Depends what you mean by back to basics. I'd take the middle road. Twists are good ... but should be a once a month, permanently game changing deal. The housemates shouldn't be the fifteen minutes of fame ones they intentionally go out and cast but that shouldn't stop them from being total bellends and weirdos either. Anyone who wants a nice little house full of nomal people having a 'fun summer' should be brought out to the pastures and shot.

Look at BB5 as a model example. If you viewed pictures of them they all looked normal. Bar Nadia they had no real 'freak' element you could condense down to one tabloid line. Yet they were a racuous bunch and emotionally unstable.

BB5 and 6 weren't really freak shows at all like everyone says ... they were just dicks. The cast of those shows lived in any inner city suburb. Dicks are good. Freaks are people like Steve etc. People brought in for pure visual shock and to grab headlines but who don't always turn out to be entertaining housemates. They are the ones they need to stay away from.

Years 5-7 were the best. Just follow the example of those years piece by piece, interject a massive new advertising campaign and a few worthwhile format changes that don't change the show too much. And keep away from the garbage production last year or so of the show had. People going in to the house who didn't need to be there, music and montages, people coming out and going back in as part of tasks. What the hell? The whole draw of the series is that they are totally isolated. Not in a holiday home. And the production on the highlight shows themselves was beautifully simplistic. Just camera shots and a narrators voice. That's it. It was like watching a wildlife show with humans.

[bananarama]

I doubt few people would agree as to what "basics" really is!!!!!!! For me going back to basics is not about abandoning "twists" They are essential to keep the format alive.

Basics for me is making rules for the housemates and then enforcing them.......Basic rule that any new entrants are done with new housemates that know as little as possible about the present housemates. Back to basics is enforcing nominations or auto evict those that refuse to nominate for their own strategic reasons.

The only time I would consider being lenient about nominations is at the very very end when close friendships have occured. Even then a refusal should count as an automatic self nomination.

Back to basics is no silly adventures outside the house. Back to basics is not contriving to put housemates at conflict with each other. Expert selection of housemates should ensure natural personality clashes occur without provacation from BB producers.

Back to basics is BB exploiting situations as and when it makes sense to do so. Example the Helen and Paul relationship in BB2.......BB exploited the story line just the right amount to produce a first class series..........

The public also need to go back to basics and manipulate the show for maximum story line content instead of abrubptly ending story line potential with premature evictions of housemates displaying personality overdrive.....