BB4 was widely slated as being too boring, for various reasons. On the forums, the show was criticised within the first few weeks of it being aired. In those first few weeks the growing dissent was largely swept aside by those in charge of the show; their initial response to the feedback was to make repeated woolly statements that the housemates had been selected for their “slow burn” potential. In the end, of course, the series just got worse and worse. Ever more bizarre tactics were tried to inject some life into what was essentially a dead show – double evictions, artificially installing a new housemate, providing an all-day pub to encourage drinking, voting a housemate back in to the house, etc, etc. In the end none of these gimmicks worked, and I think all concerned were quite glad when the series finally came to an end. Even Davina herself eventually concluded (in a magazine article post-series) that the real problem had been that the “right mix” of housemates had not been selected.

It’s understandable in the climate created by BB4’s failure that the approach to BB5 would see a radical shift in policy from Endemol. My fear at the time BB4 was being widely recognised as a failure was that the housemate selection method, which last year I felt was a very sound process (a process which it’s worth bearing in mind has produced 3 very watchable series, and only one bad one), would suffer in a knee-jerk reaction. As many people on here know, I applied for the show last year, but decided to stay away this time round; both because of the new format, and because I’m happy with the personal closure I feel about last year’s process. My own view is that even a cursory consideration of the approach being used in this year’s auditions leads to the conclusion that it will result the discovery of people who are at best interesting for 5 minutes, but who are ultimately one dimensional. An ideal housemate for me is one who makes me think about how they tick. Someone who will make me change my mind about them despite my first impressions, and then back again. Someone who will make me challenge my own opinions and beliefs. The process of selection by initial impression, on the other hand, is likely to result in housemates so obsessed with celebrity that they are prepared to embarrass themselves in public in order to get on TV. The very nature of the instructions on the C4 website this year encourages false behaviour “you’ll need to make sure that you stand out from the crowd and make an impact in order to be chosen from the queue and invited to attend the auditions”. When you’re looking for people who will draw an audience for the full 10 weeks or so that the series will run, you need more than a couple of ten a penny show offs. You need people with depth and a diverse range of opinions, sexualities, creeds, colours and ages. When you’ve chosen the right mix, let the magic of human interaction take it’s course and watch your ratings soar.

I sincerely hope that BB’s producers listen to the initial feedback this year, and don’t wait until it’s too late before finally admitting they’ve made another blunder. At the very least, this new less-appealing process should be modified so that everyone who turns up gets their 1 minute to say their piece to the producers. Otherwise, I fear we may end up with a programme which even the txting teens can’t be bothered to lift a ‘phone and vote on.
Last edited by Real_Pyrrhic : 15-02-2004 at 11:27

Excellent analysis Real_Pyrrhic. And of course the events at the first BB5 auditions in Scotland completely confirm your views above. Good heavens those press reports are seriously scarey.

Look here.

A five minute initial selection process can tell you nothing more about a person than what they look like. And look at what took place ..... anyone taking off their clothes was dragged in. No way to find those ideal HMs that you so masterfully describe above.

Basically the original selection process was good enough and attracted far more applicants. The fact that Endemol got it wrong last year has far less to do with the quality of the applicants and far more to do with Channel 4's desire to play BB4 safe following on from BB3's scarey moments.

Or, to put it simply, the curse of Jade had a lot to do with BB4's failure. Channel 4 just got scared following on from Jade's mum's legal threats.

This new selection process is unlikely to deliver the quality of HM that we saw in the first three BBs. It is not a better process, far from it. For Endemol to find quality contestants, Channel 4 must first rid itself of its BB3 ghosts and then ask Endemol to open up the selection process to postal applicants for the reasons given in this thread's opening post.

Anyone have a copy of the application form?

Here is the BB5 USA Contestant Application (PDF Format) to see how the selection process compares.

Agree with all that. They need to look for people who will fit into a concept for the house. The videos gave a better idea of what people were like or could do than a quick look over . A five minute impression is a recipe for getting a house of people who just stand out and its going to be far harder to refer each candidate to the concept if lots of different people are doing auditions in different places.

You wonder if they were really stung last year and either were mislead by their old auditioning structure or found that after selecting from the videos hey were left with the wrong people in the pool to choose the final HMs from. it may just be they distrust videos after last years HMs turned out to be different people to the ones on tape. The danger is they have just decided to grab some lively looking people so they don't repeat BB4 and have missed the point that they need people to interact and a house structured for them to interact within. It may of course be something to do with timing - it wouldn't be surprising if there ws a pretty big review of BB4 and that may have just made everything late. Hopefully they have been working hard on the concept too .

Based on what I saw last year (as described here) the audition process wasn’t unsuccessful – I genuinely believe that most of the people who turned up at the invitational auditions were interesting in an individual way. It’s easy to forget that those who were invited to audition weren’t asked to do so based solely on their tape, but on a tape plus an extensive application form (including a self portrait!). It would be hard to present and sustain an interesting false personality throughout the type of process used last year, and anyone who tried it was easily spotted at the first stage of face to face meetings.

I was convinced from what I saw prior to the programme airing that BB4 was going to be a success, and was as surprised as anyone when it turned out to be incredibly dull. I think the real problem is that whoever made the final decision about the HMs intentionally chose the same types of people, as successfully identified through the audition process. An example of this would be Cameron – I personally thought he made far better viewing in the BB Africa house than in the UK house. Cam’s personality hadn’t changed, just the people he had to bounce off of.

Another factor which contributed to the failure of BB4 lands squarely at the door of the audience. The pressure we heap upon the housemates each year is enormous. Don’t get me wrong, I was one of those sheep who were gloating when Adele ‘got her comeuppance’ upon eviction from BB3. However, in retrospect, the ungentlemanly jeering and whistling which has accompanied the departure of certain housemates during every series thus far is entirely uncalled for and unacceptable. It’s easy to forget that the HMs are real people with feelings, not characters in a soap opera. Given that kind of pressure, wouldn’t you reign in your behaviour a tad to try and appease the monster behind the camera?

I think last year they went for Jade free, subtle tension which proved to be catatonic tension instead. People who stand out in a crowd might prove to be people who viewers might want to win - on the other hand they might suddenly reveal themselves as Moonies....... You don't get competition or a story though if you can't find competitive people and those who will interact interstingly - you just can't tell that in 5 minutes.

I am beginning to wonder if your point about the dangers of doing anything on BB is something they can recover from. If people have to be completely protected from the media and the worst of BB's downside, you can't have Elizabeth or Dean let alone Adele or Jade. The upside is also becoming less obvious. Jonny and Allison are not very visible successes. Brian is heard but not seen. Kate's future is still under wraps and she remains the test of whether anyone from BB can succeed in the face of the anti-BB press and an industry which has difficulty with the idea that popular people might actually be more successful on TV than those who come through "normal" cloning channels, Few could emulate Jadee or would enjoy Jade's notoriety. Last year's HM have practically vanished and there was little sign of press or magazines paying them substantial sums like Jade, Kate, Alex, Sophie and Spencer enjoyed. Next year - unless C4 brings in a breakfast BB special - there won't even be RISE to pay appearance and hotel fees for a few weeks - i week of BBLB and that will be it. Little reward and substantial risk ought to put an awful lot of people off.

I was gonna go for it this year. I had a really cool idea for a video aswell. I'd say I was an interesting character, quite entertaining , accidently most of the time , lol!, and there are many sides to me (not showing off, lol) but I'm not one of these people that stand out of the crowd in the street, and take my clothes off, that isn't me.

So I guess I'll leave it.

The problem I think is, so many people have been exposed to big brother now that they all go into the auditions with pre-conceived conceptions and attitudes towards the show. Very hard to deal with.

Maybe they should get people to audition for something totally different, then call up their family and ask if they would see a major problem with their loved on not returning home for xx weeks.. then throw them all in the BB house without them knowing what they are going into... would make for a fun first night.