WHO WE ARE: How Big made Us Better

Wednesday May 9, 2007 04:08 PM

Who We Are

To discuss whether Batman could beat Indiana Jones, go to The Tribal Mind.
For regular updates on Australian attitudes, bookmark blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

A weekly column about Australia by David Dale, published 20/7/2008
The media pundits reacted with unseemly glee to Channel Ten's decision to axe Big Brother. In emphasising its turkey-slapping, penis-exposing and dwarf-bouncing moments, they failed to credit its greatest contribution to Australian culture: Big Brother, more than any other entertainment of the early Noughties, changed us from passive consumers to active players.

It transformed television from sit-back-and-veg-out technology (like the movies) to sit-forward-and-engage technology (like the computer). And that simple notion -- that individuals can and should make a difference -- expanded into a mindset that made John Howard's 2007 message "Trust me, I know what's best for you" not just useless but actually counterproductive.

Back when the catchcry "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any more" was popularised by Peter Finch, who played the mad newsreader in the 1970s movie Network, the only way viewers could participate in the process was by switching off the box. The networks could spoonfeed us any old junk because we'd grown up with the assumption that television was a passive medium. Your only role as a couch potato was to let it all wash over you. The comedies even came with cues on when to laugh.

And Channel Nine's attitude to viewers was echoed by the Government's attitude to voters. As the signs in Sydney buses used to say: "Do not speak to the driver whilst vehicle is in motion". Big Brother arrived in 2001 and said "You don't have to take it any more. You can get on your mobile and manipulate this show to evict the characters who annoy you". Viewers responded so eagerly that soon every new program was demanding audience involvement.

These were Australia's most watched series in 2000, the year before BB arrived: Friends, E.R, Better Homes and Gardens, RPA, Renovation Rescue, Blue Heelers, Seachange, Burke's Backyard, 60 Minutes, Who Wants to be a Millionaire. These were Australia's most watched series in 2007: Kath and Kim, Thank God You're Here, Border Security, Dancing With The Stars, RSPCA Animal Rescue, It Takes Two, City Homicide, Australia's Got Talent, The Biggest Loser, Big Brother.

Half the hits of the late Noughties are predicated on audience involvement - that's the legacy of Gretel Killeen and her gang.

Of course, BB created the seeds of its own destruction. Younger viewers became addicted to participation, and mainstream television was unable to satisfy the addiction. The under 40s moved on to DVDs, video games and the internet, creating their own forms of infotainment which they and their friends can manipulate every hour. These days they rarely give a second glance to the three commercial networks, who now resemble a brontosaurus, a T. Rex and a velociraptor battling for the honour of reaching extinction first.

So thankyou Big Brother. You may have been crude and silly and exploitative, but you were a force for liberation. You may actually have helped to make Australia a smarter place.

To discuss this proposition, go to Comments

David Dale is the author of Who We Are -- A snapshot of Australia today (Allen and Unwin). To discuss Australian attitudes, go to http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare.

COMMENTS

Me thinks you may be putting too much emphasis on BB as a vehicle for cultural change. I suspect that, as always, money making was the driving factor for the change in how this show was presented.
BB simply provided the vehicle whereby they could get people to ring in to express their emotional support for a person and in doing so make a few dollars on the side.
I would think there are plenty of other shows/movies where you become emotionally involved with the character. The only difference is we didn't have a phone number in which to express this.
To then put all this social change back down to one show, may be pushing it a bit too far David.
However I do agree that we are seeking more from TV than being passive consumers.
I know my pet hate is shows like Q and A on the ABC. We get to throw a few questions at politicians and then sit back to let them rabbit on for 10 minutes, without progressing the issue any further.
I think there is a program out there for those egg heads who want participate in trying to understand and solve the range of problems that face society. I think with changing technology we could do such a show. Now that could be a vehicle for social change!

by Neil on July 20, 2008 at 07:17 AM

As much as I thought that Vyle and his sidekick were going to be TV suicide for Channel Shirl, the almighty voting dollar was always going to be the factor that kept the show going.
Also, as you often tell us, it's also the advertising the show can generate.
So doesn't it seem coincidental the same week that Pammy and her assets were out picketing KFC stores whilst also appearing on the show that the show has been pulled?
I wonder if KFC management, after seeing that the BB gibbons, who obviously didn't think through having a celebrity houseguest who was the mortal enemy of one of their major sponsors, pulled next years advertising?
And now, off to play Star Wars Lego II on the PS2. Because that's more likely what the youth of today are doing.

by Bereft Skerrick on July 20, 2008 at 08:29 AM

this show was ABSOLUTE worthless rubbish, that stained the crt's/lcd's/plasma tubes of the nation being watched by small minded cretins. good riddance to bad rubbish...

by davo on July 20, 2008 at 09:15 PM

Thanking Big Brother? Dear god I think I'm going to be ill...
The sad reality is that big brother has made us dumber, not smarter, by essentially popularising people's unhealthy need to eavesdrop on and judge one another. It also provided a cheap and effective way for Channel 10 to read their local content requirement without actually giving young talented Australian writers and actors any opportunities to explore something actually interesting. It's never been anything more than cheap trash without any thought needed to be put into it. Involvement? Give me a break... Voting via your phone that you think one of the mindless morons farting about the house should piss off is not a major step forward in entertainment. That is not interaction. If that's the case then talkback radio has also apparently raised our IQ levels several points - something I'm sure you'd agree has been emphatically disproved by the likes of Jones and the like. The most interactive form of modern entertainment is video games (which has been a popular medium since long before the likes of BB came along), but this is a far more maligned form of entertainment than even BB, with all sorts of groups complaining that it robs kids of outdoors time and can potentially encourage acts of violence. Still, I'd argue that you're still using your brain a heck of a lot more by shooting a bunch of Aliens/zombies etc than by voicing your opinion via text that you think someone sucks :/ .
Good riddance BB, I may actually considering watching channel 10 if they decide to do something productive with that extra local content time they have now.

by Dan on July 21, 2008 at 12:46 AM

To say that a third rate tv reality show allowed Australians to start participating in this country of ours and realize that we can make a difference is utterly ridiculous and demeaning of our intelligence. I think there were many people that thought that participating in worthy causes were important before BB came into existence.
Further, I suspect that there is little evidence to suggest reality television has had that impact. However, I suspect that there is more evidence to support higher rates of tertiary level participation and other cultural changes (driven by first your "sit back and veg out" documentaries e.g. super size me and an inconvenient truth and then television media) influencing that statistic.
Also to suggest that television is not influential in our day to day lives and continue doing so in the future is again ridiculous. Ask any work mate where he heard the score for the footy, today's weather forecast and/or why we should purchase proactiv, and this will be your top 3 response; television (free to air), the net or radio.
Seriously, be sensible and less sensational and you might come across as more credible.

by Ken Cheung on July 21, 2008 at 02:03 AM

Sorry, BB only proved that the lowest common denominator was much lower tan even the biggest pessimists would have predicted. The financial rewards for a TV network to turn cameras on a bunch of anonomous extroverts, whose only "skills" were to carry out their banal existence in front of cameras, were obviously too attractive to pas up.
I am ashamed and embarrassed that so many Australians got sucked in, and I fear for the future of our society if this kind of rubbish is what the public really want..
I would like to think that there are some people out there who are past puberty who agree with me....

by Tony Stott on July 21, 2008 at 03:05 AM

You can't be serious
The show was an insult to anyone who had only half a brain!!!

by elizabeth on July 21, 2008 at 04:52 AM

Oh for God's sake. The programme gave nothing. It was there only to sell: itself and its willing victims. When it stiopped selling, it went. Good.

by Groucho on July 21, 2008 at 05:05 AM

I liked BB but never managed my life around it. I am a 42yr old female with a University education and a high paying, highly responsible job. So sue me. I admit I prefer previous series (such as that with Reggie and Chrissie) where the housemates were more diverse and interesting (and perhaps not surprisingly...old enough to have had some life experience worth sharing). But at the end of the day...its a TV show. Its entertsinment. It says nothing about society. It isnt going to make or break us. People need to lighten up. Just as the Beatles or Elvis didnt corrupt society (as predicted by the Wowsers of that generation), nor will BB (or any other TV show) ever be anything other than a bit of lighthearted entertainment.

by Andy-Lee on July 21, 2008 at 05:31 AM

I never watched it once - did I miss anything?

by Deanna on July 21, 2008 at 05:36 AM

I suspect that to say that BB raised it's viewers intelligence says more about the level of your own.

by bwillis on July 21, 2008 at 05:39 AM

I never met anyone who watched Big Brother that had an IQ higher than a garden snail.

by M on July 21, 2008 at 05:39 AM

I think you are crediting BB with waaaay too much unless you're crediting it with TV's downfall or further evidence of the decline and fall of western civilisation.
Rather than 'empowering' viewers to influence content, it was a form of pay tv by stealth, why on earth should we fund their execrable content/line their pockets?
BB should be credited with proving Marshall Mcluhan's credo "the medium is the message" whereby people become famous for BEING famous.....shed not a tear for the horrible BB but quake in fear at what unspeakable tripe will be served up next...

by Alan Smithee on July 21, 2008 at 05:48 AM

...made Australia a smarter place?
No, it was a 'dumbed down' introspection of crass Australiana. Light entertainment maybe, but always based on the advertising dollar of sponsors and phone companies.

by AJ on July 21, 2008 at 06:41 AM

I couldn't detect any sarcasm in your article, so I assume you are actually being serious.
Big brother did nothing more than thrive on the increasing decadence and degradation in our society (luckily this has been more true overseas-- one or two series being popular for novelty value is OK, but a permanent level of popularity (like Jerry Springer, Cheaters and those kind of shows in America-- not so OK).
It's your kind of logic that has caused Americans to have to put up with society having to be dragged down so a lowest common denominator can be achieved, rather than push everyone to new heights.
I truly hope we are not moving in that direction.
What is really sad is your statement implying that Australians for the first time felt they had a real opportunity to make a difference (about something so meaningless no less). That's something you hear in third world countries or even large countries like America with a big wealth class difference, but if you are saying this is true in Australia, then we better start panicking.
Having lived in a number of countries around the world, it's (still) one country where most people have a great opportunity to succeed if they can put their mind and efforts to it. I hope we can keep it that way.

by TN on July 21, 2008 at 06:42 AM

I didn't watch Big brother-you don't have to smell crap to know that it stinks.But it did have one thing going for it. It provided a sort of limus test.If you suspected someone was stupid and they watched it,they were stupid.

by Wal on July 21, 2008 at 06:45 AM

This article is crazy. How can you seriously postulate the assertions you put forward? Big Brother was a load of rubbish and a greedy grab for cash. To be a participant on Big Brother a person how to be so vapid that they were able to put their life on hold for three months. You cite the most watched shows before and after and try to make a conclusion that the inclusion of four so-called reality shows is proof Big Brother is influential; perhaps one could look at that list and instead claim that it shows (say) Australians became less interested in current affairs and preferred Australian comedies. Or any of a multitude of other made-up conclusions. Thank goodness Big Brother is going off the air; it was total claptrap and I know to avoid your book if this is the quality of the logic within it.

by David M. Williams on July 21, 2008 at 06:49 AM

Good riddance! It only encouraged the bogans of this country. I can't believe an intelligent person thinking any differently. Channel 10 provides shows of the lowest common denominator to satisfy local content requirements. It was a sick show!

by Louise on July 21, 2008 at 06:52 AM

Oh my, dear Mr Dale. And by your rationale, Today Tonight has no doubt lifted the collective IQ due to its relentless pursuit of "the truth". If BB has made you "better" for it (proclaiming "us" is a a tad presumptious) then I can only assume you were climbing from a very low base. If hitting a red button or dialing a 1902 revenue-generator is making is what "changed us from passive consumers to active players" then I think you should watch the thousands of hours of archived television since inception that has educated and engaged its viewers by asking them to challenge their thoughts and beliefs and ultimately behaviour. To suggest BB has saved us is laughable at best and frankly you scare me to suggest otherwise! Happy viewing and voting, mate.

by Adam on July 21, 2008 at 07:03 AM

I watched a few series of BB. Can't say it made me smarter, but it sure did entertain me. Lighten up!

by Widget on July 21, 2008 at 07:05 AM

Big Brother has gone....ding dong...I am sure that some will miss it..that is the poorly educated knuckles dragging along the ground Gen Y. I watched the first series and enjoyed it...the 2nd series was ok after that it all went down hill. The jokes got stale and puerile the contestants were in my view after season 2 scrapping the bottom of the barrel and well no matter what was done the idea got tired. The loss of the naughty bits of BB after the concerns of the Neo Cons is a demonstration as to how far the cultural wars of the previous narrow minded government had pushed its ideas on morality on to the rest of society. After that was gone well there was nothing left but toilet humor and humiliation. Why not go out with a bang and do a Superstar BB with the previous winners competing for say $2 million. I am sure the the season 1 & 2 winners would not participate and even if they did they would wipe the flaw with the others.
It is a sad indictment on Australia when we have to import Carson, Pamela and Mirium to try and prop up a show that should not have returned after season two as a result of the constraints placed on it by the neo cons.

by Joshua Walmsley on July 21, 2008 at 07:12 AM

The axing of this show is a win for TV. Finally the vapid population of kids and young adults can stop watching this rubbish and potentially take some interest in their own lives. If people want reality they should look in the mirror. Can't get much more real than that. Or at least watch something where people are trying to achieve something (Biggest Loser, So you think you can dance etc)

by AJ on July 21, 2008 at 07:15 AM

BB was made by, for and about bogans. The only negative thing to come out of its demise is that Channel 10 will find something at least as bad to fill up 168 hours a week.

by Nickj on July 21, 2008 at 07:18 AM

David....did someone pay you to say this or have you been drinking?
From Day 1, before it hit our shores, BB, was pure dollar gouging by the networks and only gave us a very small anthropological look at the type of people interested in parading themselves in front of a camera...for a piece of that pie.
Goodbye and farewell!

by Paul on July 21, 2008 at 07:19 AM

For people who profess not to watch BB because it was "rubbish" and so on, they seem to know a great deal about it. There are plenty of TV channels, no one stands in your living room with a gun to your head and makes you watch things you don't like.
For me, I am going to miss it, and hope that CH9 will pick it up. In the mean time, those who love the show can still watch it from many different countries on the internet (BBUSA has just started again).
As for all the wowsers and whingers from our nanny state, many of whom has already posted, Big Brother was never touted as an educational program, it was just a reality game show. Lighten up you sad people. What are you going to complain about now? (probably something else you have never watched)

by SB on July 21, 2008 at 07:23 AM

For those out there and who have commented and cannot understand and realise that BB has acted as a viewable reflection of social structure, life and human interaction - you should all be the ones locked up inside a house! Only this time with no cameras and nobody watching as it seems you would have little to offer but a narrow-minded opinion on the world around you. It does not take 'half a brain' to draw direct correlation between actions and events inside the BB house and those on a broader scale and the people of Australia who can actively distinguish those connections are better for it. Thanks BB.

by Byron on July 21, 2008 at 07:30 AM

The fact that shows which in your view answered the demand for participation make up half the 'hits' is more a case of commercial TV station exploiting a successful business model to the hilt than satisfying a demand. Drop all those participation schemes and wait for somebody to complain. I am certain you'd reap deafening silence. It's cheap and nasty telly, marginally above showing a static test picture in terms of production value. Every sucker calling a TV station when prompted actually pays the station (and Telstra) for the so-called 'free-to-air' experience. These are the same people who complain about taxes and petrol prices. That shows it hasn't made us smarter, it just brought the stupidity inherent in this society to the fore. When you refer to comedies having cues on when to laugh, this is of course an anglophile specialty - more advanced society, in the perpetual race to the bottom, only mimicked this unfortunate practice in recent times. There, television from the outset did in fact have a much higher capacity to educate than purely to entertain. Here, it is increasingly used to dumb down and misinform. And there might be the beginning of an explanation why people seek other forms of entertainment.

by Brenda Loots on July 21, 2008 at 07:31 AM

Big Brother made a huge percentage of the population 'appear smarter' yes, but that is what happens when you put the shallow end of the gene pool up on display.

by Mat on July 21, 2008 at 07:35 AM

Like the Footy Show, Big Brother is a celebration of stupidity -- confirming to its slack-jawed fans that ignorance is not just acceptable but something of which to be proud. All Australians deserve something better.

by Riccardo on July 21, 2008 at 07:50 AM

I'm sorry, what? Big brother has made us smarter? Huh? So how come the participants got dumber and dumber every year? I didn't know that mere participation was an indicator of intelligence. The Romans put to death thousands of people while thousands 'participated' with a boo or a cheer, can we say their intelligence was truly enriched by those experiences? For god'sake that BB drivel was a game show, nothing more, and as for audience participation, viewers had been given scope to participate in game show outcome for years before BB came along.

by Jason B on July 21, 2008 at 07:52 AM

I can't understand some of the comments here. David Dale is spot on that it got people thinking and made them discriminate more. It is always interesting watching people interreact and having them in the house made for a fascinating insight into human behaviour, I was formerly a communications teacher and I thought that there were many lessons to be learned and I will miss it.

by Mike Zuk on July 21, 2008 at 07:54 AM

Neil is right, while it's easy to paint BB as a vehicle for cultural change it's significantly easier to paint it as a new revenue stream for networks. The voting thing is cute, but if they get 60,000 votes per week at 50c a vote I think they are earning enough to pay a channel ten admin staffer's annual salary more than providing a vehicle for democratic television. Further, while I doubt the whole voting concept is 'rigged' I'd be underwhelmed to find out that the network execs have several thousand tiebreaker votes in the event that a housemate (who's seen to be driving ratings) is in danger of being shunted. Calling reality television a revolution just serves to delay actual advances in interactive media, give me an actual way of interacting and I'll watch. I think all I was given here was fifteen amateur actors in a house for a season and a network rubbing it's hands in glee that it only needed to pay an annual salary to the winner.

by Geordie on July 21, 2008 at 08:01 AM

Big Brother and reality shows, making us "smarter" nation?! A "force for liberation". Are you serious!?!

Don't include me in your generalised statements that reality shows has made me a "smarter" person!

by JJ on July 21, 2008 at 08:02 AM

No worse or better than Kath & Kim in my opinion, in fact BB in my eyes was better than that show. At least on BB we get to laugh at and criticise the real people in order to make ouselves feel more valued. Shows like Kath and Kim have the comedians earning a mint for taking the piss out of people who are different to them - not clever comedy at all - simply a play on a reality TV show - making a buck out of one thinking they are better than someone else.
Whether the show is dumb or not it certainly has been useful as a tool for education or for community discussion about what values are healthy or not. Watching Kath and Kim allows people to 'dumbly' laugh at others without questioning why they are doing this - 'its only comedy'.
It is interesting that most of the above blog entries make some kind of comment that implies the author has far more intelligence than anyone who would go on BB. BB has allowed these people to have a feeling of 'intelligence' so it appears to have fulfilled a need of theirs perfectly.

by annabel on July 21, 2008 at 08:04 AM

Just read Ben Elton's Blind Faith for a glimpse of a possibility of where instant voting by the people could lead. Democracy is supposedly good, but could lead to a downfall if everyone thinks that their point of view or ideas is the most valid, and not stop to think of how well researched it is, and will it in fact help the community/country/world as a whole in the long term. Our society is constantly looking for instant change and we don't stop to consider the long term consequences. Time will tell if our selection of Rudd was the most current example of mindless popularity voting brought on by media paradigms like BB and other mindless TV trash. Just stop watching it people!

by stoo on July 21, 2008 at 08:09 AM

I had to watch BB 3 or 4 for work from the first episiode - I couldn't believe how sucked in I got. It was like a human experiment and totally fascinating.

I watched it ever after, totally understanding why my friends couldn't understand my enjoyment of it - because they had never really understood what it was, because they just watched a show here and there rather than the whole thing which evolves so incredibly as personalities of the HMs emerge.

This year, the riduclous first night eviction cast a pall over the whole thing - it was so manipulative and "nasty" as though the BB producers themselves didn't understand that they didn't need to stoop so low to make the show fascinating.

Personally I hope another network picks it up, even though I was one who DIDN'T watch much of this last series.

by Yazzle Bee on July 21, 2008 at 08:18 AM

I didn't mind watching BB, though I agree the format was looking tired this year and it was time to call it quits. I wouldn't agee that the show changes society or had a profound impact of any kind, but for the emergence of other reality programs. I find it interesting that I am accused of having the IQ of a snail for watching the program. I am a lawyer and after a long day of mental effort I simply found it relaxing to watch a program such as BB. Surely theres no shame it that? Usually my preference is to docos on the ABC, ABC2 and SBS but a bit of variety never hurt anyone.

by Richard on July 21, 2008 at 08:22 AM

Mr Dale, I have erstwhile though very highly of your perceptive comments. But, BB touted as having some/any worthwhile status? Guffaw! Cheap-to-make, trite, advertising-venal dross like this masquerading as entertainment per se? Uh-uh. Self absorbed wannabes in a house, big deal. Yes, the very first one had some mild and prurient appeal, which quickly faded, as the in following years the obnoxious (not a synonym for zany kooky 'individuals) 'housemates' saw it as vehicle to some gainful employment in the media (and, rightfully, largely failed; as they have no formal qualifications nor training to do so). The assertion that it may have in some way made us smarter escapes me, I'm afraid.

by graeme storer on July 21, 2008 at 08:24 AM

It is deeply saddening to me to see a generation as privileged as gen Y, with so much potential - they really had an opportunity to turn this world around after all our cultural misgivings of the past millenia - and to see them being reduced to this as their outputm the fruit of their growth and education. Voting bogans off a tv show.
Ridiculous. Big Brother and Paris Hilton. These are the things GenY will be defined by. Embarrassing.

by Plife30 on July 21, 2008 at 08:25 AM

It is so sad that someone actually thinks BB can make anything smarter. Is US so dumb or is it the writer?

by roberto reyes on July 21, 2008 at 08:28 AM

Big Brother is like McDonalds, it might be popular but doesn't mean it's any good!!!

by scott on July 21, 2008 at 08:33 AM

if it made Australia smarter, why did the contestants get DUMBER every year?

by james on July 21, 2008 at 08:48 AM

If you think all the people on bb are idiots. Then you think everyone in the community are idiots, whilst this might be true it is unlikley.
I would rather watch a few good looking australians banging on about nothing, than an american crime show. At least the cast and crew are australian keeping the coin in australia.
bb is also great to have a punt on, very enjoyable betting on the public's thoughts, it lets you know how in tune you are to the demographic that is watching.
If it is gone for now, it will be back.
bbb

by bbb on July 21, 2008 at 08:52 AM

To those who are happy that the show has been axed from Chanel 10. What kind of show do you want to replace it?

What we will get is more repeats of Friends, Simpsons, Seinfeld, Raymond or maybe a double season of Idol, So you think you can dance or Biggest Loser. Then we will get the US versions of these reality shows as well!

Yes maybe the show has run its lifespan for now but the dross on TV will still continue.

by Richard on July 21, 2008 at 08:53 AM

Unfortunately the only time I "caught it" was when I wanted to watch the following program. One thing you can credit BB for was for ensuring that all networks now follow the the new tradition of always letting the programs run over, in a vain attempt that we may want to watch it next time.

The problem with BB was that sitting through the last ten minutes waiting for the whatever followed to start, I could feel myself getting dumber.

With the advent of Foxtel IQ (and for non Foxtel viewers with Tivo), I set the recording to add another 10 minutes to the nd of the show and recorded the show following Big Brother, then fast forwarded at a rate 30X through the finla minutes of BB.

Now I hear Nine wants to take up the option.....Great way to kill off your only fans Nine, viewers over 70.

I can see Roberta Williams entering the house......

by David on July 21, 2008 at 08:55 AM

No one seems to get the fact that the show its self was just a distraction. The real issue was the relationship between Telco's and channel 10. The text messages people! Like Lemmings you continued to send them over 8 years. Many millions of $$ grossed from text all whilst the great majority of buffoons watching have no idea. We are not any smarter, they just found a new way to put their hand in your pocket you fools. Keep your eye on the ball.

by Rick on July 21, 2008 at 09:01 AM

The last gasps of a dying medium.

Who needs TV? I don't like ads, so I download all the shows I want to watch, or buy the DVDs. I watch the F1, because it's not available online, and the Tour de France because it's pretty (like a country drive through France).

Not one single program free-to-air or pay, intrests me any more, as I can download it all without ads.

Goodbye TV stations, it was a nice 50 years or so, but you ruined it by giving us pap and ads. Good riddance.

by Adrian Esdaile on July 21, 2008 at 09:04 AM

Oh Big Bother...are you kidding me? Big Brother has done little more than excite a bunch of teenagers to boost the mobile phone use with SMSing...oh and the adult population who still considers themselves teenagers too. Lets let this thing die a painful death.

As for the 'insights' into human behaviour, gotta say that seems slightly over-exaggerated. Is it reality television? OR is it television pretending to be reality when really, there is a script...and Big Bother knew it.

I agree with the previous commentator, this thing made Australia dumber, more ignorant of real issues, and essentially more like American tv....

by Nick Osbaldiston on July 21, 2008 at 09:09 AM

Once again, insightful and illuminating analysis. With so much focus on the various vulgarities emerging from the show, it is easy to forget that BB did offer more than boobies. Yes the show did descend into farce over the years, but that does not undermine the fact that BB was really the trailblazer for a new genre of popular, successful TV (in an era where TV in general is in decline).

by Chris on July 21, 2008 at 09:15 AM

What a load of rubbish. BB was puerile and tasteless and certainly contributed to the dumbing down of our society. They should replace it with something intelligent and entertaining like Rome or The Tudors, both brilliant programs on Foxtel's Showtime channel. At least they are educational and well written.

by Sara on July 21, 2008 at 09:20 AM

how much education I have forsaken by not watching BB and all those other shows on commercial tv.Thank God we have now the internet,payTV,and still have ABC, SBS radio and TV,dvds,games even books and newspapers.To hell with the like of 7,9 &particurlarly 10.

by don on July 21, 2008 at 09:22 AM

The only reason it made us smarter was because after season 2 we turned the TV off and went and read a book.

by Onie on July 21, 2008 at 09:25 AM

I totally disagree with David. Your little dialogue on BB is wrong on so many levels. But the statement, that BB 'may have made Australia a smarter place' is complete nonsense. You point it out yourself when you run through the most watched shows of 2007. Apart from the exceptions of City Homicide, Kath & Kim and Thank God You're Here, those other shows are watched by, and written for the braindead. Shows like that push quality television to the witching hour. If we are so smart, why were shows like the West Wing and the Sopranos pushed to timeslots beyond 10:45?! They are among the best written television shows ever created - yet they barely made it on our television sets.
Whats worse is that shows of similar quality are still being written around the world, but our prime time is still full of tripe like Big Brother.
David Dale, you are simply a BB fan who doesn't mind a bit of crap tele - and that's fine. But dont try to tell us we are a smarter country because of it.

by Daniel on July 21, 2008 at 10:10 AM

Great article and pretty much sums it up for me. TV is about entertainment and it's a rare feat for any show - especially Australian produced to last for 8 years.
People who complain about it being mindless - have you watched commercial tv?? Gameshows are about picking suitcases, news is now newstainment, Today Tonight is the top rating show and we have women being shown disrespect of the footy show. Where is the outrage there?

by John Lowe on July 21, 2008 at 11:35 AM

wow, I really can't believe how many people love deriding BB as "puerile", while at the same time professing never to have watched it.
I think TM is exactly right - perhaps many of you can't remember what tv was like before BB, but good or bad, it has certainly helped to dramatically change the television landscape. Reality TV became really popular with Survivor in early 2000, and led to an explosion of the genre, but BB pushed the envelope by allowing the audience to control (to an extent) the outcome. Of course this is a thinly disguised money raising vehicle, but it obviously works because now you can sms vote just about everything on tv. And while it may not be the only thing that has made Australians realise they can "make a difference", it certainly has been the first time they have realised that in an entertainment context.
As for me, I am a university educated, professional 35 yr old and I have always enjoyed watching BB - it's mindless fun, voyeristic, and as much fun to hate as to love - everything entertainment should be. Sure it's not for everyone, but it sure did (does) get people talking.

by LR on July 22, 2008 at 10:45 AM

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