Yes I remember that, you could flick from screen to screen depending on what was happening. Remember when we had choices of what we could watch! ROLLEYES

They were so sweet to watch, it was all so natural & not contrived like nowadays where we also have the producers promoting 'romance', when clearly there's none there & never will be!

There haven't been any more genuine 'romances' since then. It was so innocent & not driven by 'magazine deals'!

Some FM's on here used to list what they'd bought in (scoobie snack wise) for the eviction nights & several people at times actually cancelled attending wedding receptions etc., in favour of staying home & watching BB.


Ouch, he really damaged his knee then, if that happened nowadays they'd be sent home - like Keeley in BB11 was.

It's such a pity that the fantastic concept of BB has become a contrived disaster.

I actually remember being in Majorca when BB3 was on & my first port of call wasn't finding the perfect sunbathing spot, child friendly restaurant etc. It was to find a Bar that had satellite TV so I could tune in.

Those days have most definitely gone.

Yes, a BB holiday, sad isn't it I bet we all did it then?

I do hope so, surely I can't be the only sad person who found a way to watch BB while on holiday!

i do remember if people couldn't find satellite tv but could get an internet connection they'd drop by the WHATM threads for updates everyone was always obliging on giving people a quick précis of what had been going on!

Phew! I feel so much better now.

Defo BB5 yea. They even seemed to really enjoy having rivalries.

Big Brother also played up to it, eg: the burning of Chicken Stus cowboy hat

More great moments through the years. Thanks for the links and laughs, Blue Eyed Lady!

I loved it when BB had relatively normal people as HMs who weren't really contrived and were themselves, and the show was more about the social experiment side of things, with BB leaving the HMs to it and not interfering by doing whatever it took to create tension and arguments, and quite clearly favouring certain HMs over others. I loved tuning in every night and it was always so exciting and gripping to watch. I remember feeling so excited in the weeks and days leading up to the start of the series and it was always a pleasure to see the HMs on the whole, genuinely having a good time. I still watch the show today because of how much I enjoyed watching it before.

BB3 had a slightly different format, but to me, it still felt like the two series that preceded it. BB4's format was more like BB1-BB2 and although it gets called boring, I didn't find it boring and I honestly really enjoyed watching it. I rewatched it a couple of years ago and after being so accustomed to the contrived, tedious nastiness that we've had over the past several series, I can't tell you just how refreshing I found it. I could just sit back and watch the HMs interacting normally and I would much rather a series like BB4 compared to any of the C5 series we've had. And also, BBLB was really enjoyable too. I'd almost forgotten just how good that was compared to its latter years and to BOTS.

I don't think there was any need to completely change the format from BB5 onwards. I don't know what the chances are of it happening, but I would love BB to go back to how it used to be from BB1-BB4. I honestly think that given some effort, it could work. Look at some shows like I'm A Celebrity, for example. Give or take a few updates here and there, the show is more or less exactly the same now as it was back in its first series 12 and a half years ago, and it hasn't suffered with the ratings at all.

There was nothing wrong with the way BB was like before. Instead of casting HMs who they felt would get on and seeing how they would interact with each other and the house, they deliberately cast people who they knew would clash with each other. That much was clear almost since the start of BB5 when Marco, the first HM to enter and who was gay, said that he disliked asylum seekers, and who did we have as the next HM? Ahmed, an asylum seeker who didn't like gay people. It had turned from a reality show into a freak show.

I know there are some viewers out there who like this sort of confrontation in BB and who like seeing arguments develop all the time and that's fair enough, but the thing is, BB was so scared that BB5 would get called boring after BB4 did, so they did whatever it took to make the show as different as possible so they could say, "with the controversy and arguments there are, you can't say it's boring now". BB4 went back to basics after BB3 slightly changed the format, and I honestly believe that had BB4 immediately followed BB2 instead, then it wouldn't have been given its "boring" tag by so many people.

I think BB2 had the best fun loving housemates and it is my favourite series. I also really liked BB4, I know it gets a hard time but from what I remember I thought it was good.

I think BB4 was a big reason things started to go the way they did, with more and more outrageous housemates. It was accused of being boring so the producers gave people what they wanted. It kind of reminds me of what happened to Come dine with me. It used to be a show where people were genuinely into food and cooking and they usually all got on. I used to love it. Now it has all the worse kind of reality show contestants who barely know what a kitchen is and are just there to start fights.

True.

I loved the gentleness of BB4 - it was a very therapeutic watch. Mostly nice peoplw too as I recall.

I remember being on holiday in Greece and desperate to know who got evicted out of Paul and Bubble. Back then, there wasn't wifi on small Greek islands and so we had to wait until about 4pm when yesterdays newspapers were delivered. I remember flicking through the paper to find the result (embarrassed to say it was The Sun as it was the one back then that featured BB) and being shouted at by an irate Greek man and being told 'you no read you buy' and grabbing it from my hands until I gave him a ludicrous amount of Drachma

I agree with everything you say except I was one who hated BB4. Though my view was possibly clouded because I could not bear Cameron or Steph and find them impossible to watch. I personally think that, had Cameron not been there, we may have had a better series and it would have been less dull for many.

I think the fact BB4 was so badly received was the reason they went out of their way with BB5 to ensure that wouldn't happen again and so made sure they got exposive characters and complete opposites in the first real attempt to manufacture conflict.
Then because BB5 was so well received, they decided to continue down that path and got to the stage where they felt they had to top the drama year after year.
I think C4 realised that which is one of the reasons it got out when it did.

C5 era BB isn't for me. I find constant arguing as boring as watching paint dry and I hate the fact it's become so contrived, so manipulated and the HMs are nearly all desperate TOWIE wannabes.
I'm not naive enough to think there wasn't manipulation back in the day or that many of the HMs were not after a career but it was much less so and far more subtle. Now, you'll be shocked if there isn't a pathetic twist every week and normal, private DR noms are a thing of the past, which has kind of spoilt the point imo

It was cruel but I must admit I laughed my head off.

I do admit to having a soft spot for BB4, it was very easy viewing. Wasn't Jon Tickle in BB4, I liked him and wanted him to win

I liked BB4 too, I enjoyed just staying up late at night listening to the HM's have normal conversations, a lot of the HM's were likeable too.

BB5 was my favourite, I think they got the balance right, while everyone was a strong character, they still seemed like normal everyday people at the same time (a lot of them reminded me of people that I have known in the past), while there was a lot of confrontation and arguing which was enjoyable to watch, they also seemed to come together and have a good time a lot as well, most of them didn't really seem to genuinely hate each other. I also found them all very likeable, again I enjoyed watching the late night chats and I really liked the design of the house too, it was interesting and cool, whilst not being so in your face which kind of detracts from the HM's.

Ever since BB5 it's never really been the same or that enjoyable. The design of the house is always too in your face which distracts from the HM's, most of the HM's aren't that likeable (to me anyway), too much conflict all the time, too much interfering and twists instead of letting things develop naturally, no live feed, so all we have is the edited hilghlights, no more diary room uncut, even BBLB is no where near as good as it used to be.

I've actually been re-watching all of BB5, and it is sooooo much better than any BB that came out after it. I've laughed, been on the edge of my seat, and been thoroughly entertained.

I'm not even sure if I'll bother watching this years.

".

I think you've hit the nail on the head, the trouble with so much controversy in one series, viewers, imo, get bored with endless rows. I like to watch an argument or two but I also like to see/hear normal, adult conversations, when the HMs are constantly at each others throats we don't get to see their full personality & I find that so frustrating.


And I'd bet my life you wouldn't spend a ludicrous amount of Drachma to find out who'd been evicted now.


I think Jon Tickle was a marmite HM but have to say he was one of my favourites in BB4.


I'm with you, I was a diehard BB fan but last year it was a case of, if I saw it, I saw it, no big deal if I didn't.

Even if I found an old worthless one in the back of my underwear drawer, that would be an overpayment. I really couldn't give a rats backside who wins these days, let alone the order they leave in.

I reckon if the eviction night was in my back garden, I'd probably open the blinds but I doubt I'd bother venturing outside

ROFL

Oh yes I really enjoyed it and certainly missed Steph and Cameron having porridge every morning when it finished ( I used to eat my breakfast with them lol)

And so was Helen - personally think she should have won - but BB2 was the best of the lot for more.

I never got the Tickle adoration - I personally found him really boring & pompous, when they brought him back into the house his 'chats' to the camera were toe curling in the extreme!

I didn't watch the final last year, I couldn't bear to watch nastiness being rewarded once again. Wood should never ever have won IMO, it was a complete travesty!

A lot of series do. BB9 HLs were very negative heavy but watching the feed was hilarious. Same can be said for BB14. The clips online were a lot of fun but they almost never showed that.