Big Brother 2000 - 2010 R.I.P

So this is it, the end of Big Brother in the UK. Or, more likely, the end of Big Brother on Channel 4.

I've watched most of the series over the years and I even applied once (in 2002) and now my summers are to be bereft of the show which went from gameshow in the guise of social experiment to an out and out spectacle.

By turns funny, outrageous and controversial, Big Brother changed the face of UK television reality shows, a subject I've blogged on previously.

This year the producers pulled out all the stops to make Big Brother 11 a suiting finale to the show. They upped the production values, made subtle and not-so-subtle references to previous years and tasks and still managed to introduce new features. In some ways they rejuvenated the show and, ironically, saw audiences rise from last year's lows.

But Big Brother 11 was merely a warm up to the show's final final hurrah - Ultimate Big Brother. Unashamedly self-indulgent, Ultimate Big Brother has crammed in old tasks, brought back as many old housemates as were available (and that's a lot!) and even re-instated the infamous Bedsit from Big Brother 5. Davina has gone in, Marcus Bentley (the show's narrator) has gone in) and a mock funeral has been held, complete with wake.

Of course, Big Brother may live on. Channel 5 look set to buy the rights. But one has to think that any resurrected show will be different in look and feel to the existing format. One of the biggest lessons that Channel 4 learnt is that the show needed regular twists - not least as contestants became increasingly able to second guess the intentions of the producers. A new channel will provide an opportunity to bring something fresh to the viewer and surprise the contestants.

But that's all potentially in the future. For Channel 4, and for now, tonight is the end. It'll be a sad occasion, not least for Davina who has fronted all 11 series and for which the show has been her life. There'll not be a dry eye in the house by the time the final curtain comes down. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, charge your glasses and join with me in a toast: To Big Brother.

Andrew

To read my post from the start of this series, click here.

A first - and last* - word on Big Brother

A week today the last series of Big Brother will begin on British television. And I, for one, will be glued to my TV set.

Few shows have divided opinion as much as Big Brother, but whatever you think of it, there's no denying that it made an impact on British Television in the 2000's.

Before BB, reality shows were in the mould of Driving School and Airport. Serial documentaries with a handful of characters grabbing the limelight. Big Brother opened the door to a world where these characters had to compete for attention in an environment where they weren't, even nominally, in control.

No longer was it enough to be a wheel-clamper who could make bitchy remarks to the camera. Now you had to compete for the affection of the public while keeping enough of your fellow contestants onside in order to avoid nomination. And the cameras didn't get turned off at the end of your shift - they stayed on all through the night.

And so a new generation of reality shows was born, from Castaway to Survivor to Shipwrecked, ordinary members of the public could, if they were lucky, launch a career in television. A sub-genre, of which I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here is the most notable was also spawned, in which forgotten stars of yesterday could relaunch their careers.

Although I've always been a fan, although I've not watched every series - in particular Big Brothers 6 and 7 passed me by. I personally enjoyed the first couple of series when the contestants weren't there specifically to launch careers, although both of the first two winners did, of course. These early shows were part gameshow, part social experiment.

These were followed by a stage in which contestants were, for the most part, fame-seekers. Subseqently, there was a phase in which housemates were chosen for weirdness and conflict. The beauty of Big Brother has always been it's ability to re-invent itself year after year - and the golden rule: Big Brother reserves the right to change the rules at any moment.

So I'm looking forward to this year and seeing what's in store. As ever there is a lot of rumour but not a lot of confirmed fact. One thing is for sure, though: the producers will be determined to make the most of it and let the show go out with a bang.

Andrew

P.S. Where next for reality shows? Well, I suspect the template for this decade may have been laid down by the recent Pineapple Dance Studios on Sky 1. Ostensibly an old-fashioned reality show, it featured regular set-pieces and deliberate interventions by members of the "cast" and production crew. And, in a stroke of genius, had Michael Buerk delivering the voice over in a wonderful dead pan style. Not easy when describing the auditions for Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert as "separating the men from the ladyboys"

*It may not be the last but I do promise not to blog endlessly about it!