Is anyone else actually watching

[coxy1979]

I mean seriously.......

I used to love Big Brother - I used to cancel everything to watch it. Even during the last few years, when the show featured some deeply unpleasant so and sos.

But this year I'm not actually bothered. At all. In the slightest. I feel like a new man.

I went on holiday at the beginning of August - I came back after a week and turned on only to see them sitting around with cheese hats on. I haven't really bothered since

I flick over if i'm in on Friday to see who goes and to shout abuse at Davina, but that's about it.

Is anyone else actually watching daily?

[jetsetwilly]

Not at all. Previously I wasn't watching out of sheer apathy - I kept meaning to watch, and never got round to it.

Now I've reached the stage where I'm actively avoiding it because (a) they introduced another load of housemates when they should be whittling it down (b) the twists are doing my head in and (c) Gerry's been voted out, and he was the only half-attractive one in there.

It's much more fun reading about it on here and through Charlie Brooker and Grace Dent.

[David Hunter]

I was thinking about this the other night, but couldn't actually be bothered to start a post on it! That's how bad it is.

Actually yes, I'm still watching. There isn't much on at the moment so I probably tune in every night. Yet I really don't care about it. And if I miss it I don't even notice.
In previous years I'd have made sure I watched Dermot and BBBM as well, but they don't even cross my mind this year.

It proves how bad it's become in that although I watch it, I rarely posts about it. Nor does anyone else.

[Sarah]

I’m still watching it cause I ain’t no quitter.

Last night I watched while flicking through a magazine, giving myself a manicure and a pedicure, and talking on the phone because it was so boring. I actually found BB4 better than this. That year might have been full of boring people but at least most of them were able to manage a sentence and complete a thought. This year we mostly have idiots talking rubbish, people pretending to be idiots talking rubbish, and people struggling to say anything.

But I figure that I’ve come this far I might as well see it through to the bitter end.

[Greg]

I stopped after Charley left and they put the 'surprise' new housemates in. I keep looking in, and I'm following who's still in from the C4 indents, but it's just got unwatchable.

[audrey notwhatsheusedtobe]

I haven't seen a single one, so my apathy can't entirely be attributed to the people who went in this year. I'm just fed up with the whole format, it's a boring mess. I also think that Russell Brand doing BBBM is what drew me in for the last couple of years - he would always make it seem like watching BB was fun. Does anyone know what the actual ratings situation is? I hardly know anyone who is watching it.

[thelovelykate]

I mainly know what's going on through here, Grace Dent and the Times blog - all of which are more entertaining than the actual show. I watch it for about 10 minutes every morning before I have to catch my bus and if I'm in on a Friday and that's it. Now that Gerry's gone I'm not sure I'll even bother with that.

[Muinimula]

I'm in a quandary about this.

A) Last week I said that if Gerry was next to go, I would give up on the show, as he was my favourite, and I don't want any of the remaining housemates to win.

B) There's only two weeks left, and I've stuck with it so far, so I may as well watch til the end.

I think that, despite myself, option B might triumph.

[zaffra]

No.

I resorted to watching a re-run of property ladder, in fact it was the fourth time I had seen that particular episode but it was a cracker. The one with the rather gay staight man who goes into a Sauna with Phil and then ends up buying an 8 bed house in Ramsgate and an ex council flat in Clapham.

[FeelsLikeKellyCrabtree]

I haven't seen it for about two weeks and miss absolutely nothing about it. I can't imagine myself saying that two or three years ago. Even Friday Night Project haven't bothered with it the past few weeks and I always which says it all

[Chris]

I'm still watching, just because I'm somewhat interested in who's going to win (Brian or Samanda) and which of Ziggy, Carole or Tracey get booed as they come out. If it were a 1 horse race like in years past I think I'd have dropped it by now.

[al]

It's weird, this.

Remember how Big Brother 4 was just plain dull? You were actually conscious of what made it boring - bland housemates with no chemistry, no worthwhile twists, dreary tasks.

This series, however, has lots of big characters and likeable people, some fairly original ideas as far as tasks and twists go, and has provided quite a few watercooler moments. And yet, it's just such an effort to watch.

Maybe it's just the fact they're dragging it on for so damn long? If they only ran it for eight weeks, they'd probably have a much better show. But then, they wouldn't be getting as much of their wonderful Virgin Media sponsorship revenue, which we all know is their top priority...

[skillex]

This is the only series I haven't watched. I did watch a bit of BB4 then give up, but even then I loosely followed it to see where Cameron Stout's voyage of "lovable homophobia" would take him next.

[Adrian]

It boggled me today to think that this is the same series as racist, indie bint Emily. It seems like eons ago.

Suffice to say, I'm not watching. I've not seen any of it, in fact. There was no Queen Aisleyne like last year, nobody we I could get behind in a She's Fierce, She's Fab! way.

[smellslikesomeghost]

audreyhorne said:

I haven't seen a single one, so my apathy can't entirely be attributed to the people who went in this year. I'm just fed up with the whole format, it's a boring mess. I also think that Russell Brand doing BBBM is what drew me in for the last couple of years - he would always make it seem like watching BB was fun.

Agree totally. In the last couple of years I watched BBBM more than BB itself, and Brand was why. I have seen a couple of BBBM's this year, and found it unwatchable. I usually quite enjoy my summer rubbish telly fix, but I have dipped in and out and really couldn't care less. When I do have BB on I'm on my pc or reading at the same time, there's nothing compelling at all.

[Rad]

I'm watching, although not BBBM and only BBLB if I'm in and nothing else is on.

I prefer it to last year, and I prefer the HMs to the cretins in BB6. But it jumped the shark a long time ago.

[Muinimula]

I've never been in the situation where I haven't been rooting for someone at this stage. The only housemate(s) who I wouldn't mind winning would be Samanda, and even that would be meh.

Amandsam: likeable & bubbly, if not terribly interesting
Brian: acts dumber than he is, but the majority do not hate him for this
Carole: controlling moaner
Jonty: oddball, but only occasionally amusing
Kara-Louise: er...
Liam: 'lad', has done nothing of note apart from getting £100k already
Tracey: often irritable, tired catchphrases, one-dimensional
Ziggy: hasn't had his comeuppance for the whole Chanelle thing, overpronounces words when he tries to make a point with nothing to back himself up, smug

A marvellous selection to be left with, I think you'll agree.

[Lisa]

I'm not watching it at all, I just couldn't get into it this year. I was watching BBLB for a bit but even Dermot's lost his appeal as I have no idea who any of the housemates are. I've even started looking forward to it finishing so we can get The War at Home back on E4, at least that's vaguely entertaining!

[Sarah]

muinimula said:

I've never been in the situation where I haven't been rooting for someone at this stage. The only housemate(s) who I wouldn't mind winning would be Samanda, and even that would be meh.

Amandsam: likeable & bubbly, if not terribly interesting
Brian: acts dumber than he is, but the majority do not hate him for this
Carole: controlling moaner
Jonty: oddball, but only occasionally amusing
Kara-Louise: er...
Liam: 'lad', has done nothing of note apart from getting £100k already
Tracey: often irritable, tired catchphrases, one-dimensional
Ziggy: hasn't had his comeuppance for the whole Chanelle thing, overpronounces words when he tries to make a point with nothing to back himself up, smug

A marvellous selection to be left with, I think you'll agree.

I suppose we could describe Kara-Louise (seriously, it’s an effort to just type her name) as lacking self-awareness after last night’s show. But apart from that she is a complete non-entity. What boxes did she tick on her form to get in the house?

I like Samanda and Jonty, but the only thing I really care about at this point is Brian not winning.

[Chris]

Anybody not watching would have missed the genius of Richard & Judy's kids presenting Big Brother's Big Mouth and the eerie sensation of looking into a magic time machine mirror. They're exactly like Richard & Judy must have been at 20. Jack has no clue but talks quite loudly. and Chloe wibbles around trying to be confident but just looks scared. It's like seeing the seeds that those two mighty oaks grew from.

I don't want to think of the incest implications there though...

[David Hunter]

monkseal said:

Anybody not watching would have missed the genius of Richard & Judy's kids presenting Big Brother's Big Mouth and the eerie sensation of looking into a magic time machine mirror. They're exactly like Richard & Judy must have been at 20. Jack has no clue but talks quite loudly. and Chloe wibbles around trying to be confident but just looks scared. It's like seeing the seeds that those two mighty oaks grew from.

I don't want to think of the incest implications there though...

We're talking about them in the 'Purge your guilty secrets and mean doings' thread as the BB threads seem somehow empty.

[Robbing the Dead]

Is it wrong to fancy the Madley son?

[Chris]

Is it wrong that fancying the Madeley son makes you reconsider whether you might actually fancy the Madeley father after all?

[David Hunter]

monkseal said:

Is it wrong that fancying the Madeley son makes you reconsider whether you might actually fancy the Madeley father after all?

You have to think of what Richard looked like at that age...

[Cherubic]

He looked like he needed a sandwich.