I think I'm only now realising quite how much Ch5/Endemol have changed this show. I resigned myself a couple of years ago to it being completely different and decided that it was going to be a personal decision whether or not I wanted to watch a splice between BB as we knew it and TOWIE. That's what Ch5 are selling.

This year, though, it's all turned excessively awful. They brought back Nikki, a young woman who admitted in one of her first televised conversations that she is more or less unemployable; because she'd been in BB and has no qualifications and there's really nothing for you after the show except for the odd trash mag crumb. A clearly unhealthy young woman being used - again - for ratings. They brought back Helen - a very negative, aggressive winner who turned viewers into seething bundles of . I fell for it last year, I was one of those seeking bundles. And so they bring her back this year to engender a bit more seething .

Take a look at the first pages of the first few threads on the board. Everything from calling her satan to 'it' is acceptable and applauded. She's the worst 'thing' on the planet; apparently. Not just a pantomime figure that TV executives got such a kick out of parading for the jeering Romans last year that they decided, lazily and contemptuously of the viewer, to repeat the spectacle this year. It's exploitative of her and it's exploitative of us.

Then there's Brian, who was undoubtedly brought in to be the anti-Helen and 'stand up to the evil bully'. He tried his best to play the role and undoubtedly upset and distressed himself (and us) in the process. The problem was that he wasn't up to the mark; so they decided to bring in Aisleyne too.

The last I heard of Aisleyne, posters on here were salivating in their scorn at pictures of her waiting outside Amy Winehouse's house after her tragic death was announced. The things she was called for doing that. The sanctimonious revelling in how pathetic her hanger-on place in the world is post-BB.

This is not a 'flounce' before the usual suspects pile in without the ability to formulate a reasoned response; it's an attempt to start a discussion about whether or not BB has passed the point of no return in terms of manipulation purely for the sake of engendering nastiness - nastiness that far outstrips anything actually happening in the house; ironically enough.

I've stopped watching and won't watch until the past hms have gone. I might start watching again then, or I might not. I might watch next year and I might not. Apart from a few episodes around the Conor incident; it's the only time since the first episode of the first series that I've stopped.

I feel your pain Patsy,the show is all about manipulation of egos showing the worst of people,
The same people who declare themselves a good person, the irony is unbelievable most would not recognise a good person if they seen one.
As you say its just a towie show now and totaly meaningless to the viewer who is being spoonfed what the producers want.
It has been a real disappointment to true BB fans.

It's a shame because it was shaping up to be an interesting series until that horrid 4 in 4 out twist. The series really rapidly declined from that point onwards as demonstrated by the gradual decline in viewing figures.

This was shaping up to be a classic series but they threw it all away to apease an irrelevant irish TV station and a skanky whore who has some unexplained hold over the whole production team. It must be big if they are willing to risk their jobs to indulge it.

My OH has just turned on the catch up on last night. Why didn't they just do a reality show with old hms slugging it out, if that's what they wanted? And yes, the irony is quite blinding as people trip over each other on here to satisfy the programme makers desire for vicious animosity.

I don't necessarily mind the 4 in 4 out; at least they were all first time BB candidates and we were coming to them new. It's the ex-hms that have really ruined it. It's not BB at all; I don't what it is.


The Irish TV station line is just nonsense; BB has always been available in ireland on Ch5 and hardly anyone watches it here anyway. And the name you used for Helen just proves my point. Thanks for that.

Funny way to attempt a discussion. IMO.

How eloquently put ...............

Regards

Yeah like channel 5 would need to appease a tiny irish tv station. *Roll eyes*

Just that one line or the entire post.

Funny way to ATTEMPT to start an argument, IMO.

You say you want dialogue and then tell people they aren't smart enough.
Just pointing out the irony of your statements being next to each other.

Why insult people if you wanted a discussion?

Great post, I wish they had stuck with the originals HMs and let things develop as they would have done.
Instead we have had the Helen show for the second year running along with the cretin that is Marc.
I hope he now takes his place as a proper housemate, with no more "favours".

Just popping in to say, wow patsylimerick, what a lovely articulate and carefully explained post, I wish I had the patience to go into such detail, I love when people like you come along and type out all the stuff thats in my head, I agree 100% with everything you've said, except I still seem to be hanging in hoping that BB producers will back off and allow the rest of the season to organically happen, the only way I do this, is to now record the show and watch later, allowing me the freedom to fast forward to anything that is just idiotically below the line ( in my opinion ).

before replying I read down thru some of the first few replies and they all seemed to concur with you, until someone came on and blamed the 'irrelevant irish tv channel' excuse me, but our national tv station has nothing to do with the utter tripe that BB producers think you the UK audience want. Our TV channel is airing the shows..we have no voting rights so BBUK have no interest in us, except maybe in our viewing figures, only revenue they get from Ireland is the viewing rights, so they have no interest in trying to get us Irish to spend our money and vote, so that OP comment is null and void

Yes I agree there is more manipulation than anything else but I'm sorry it's way too fishy for me that Ben Frow is mates with Marq and that they have a relationship that goes back years. It doesn't even make sense for Marq to be in a regular BB. His CV is fuller than a lot of the people they put into CBB. I don't care for the guy one bit but he's done tv before he's well known in his country and yet he's been put into a normal BB. (Eileen too, her cv is way longer than a lot that are put into a CBB).

No I did not and you and I both know that you know I didn't. I'll spell it out for everyone else's sake, shall I?

I said (among quite a few others things that you conveniently ignored: "This is not a 'flounce' before the usual suspects pile in without the ability to formulate a reasoned response."

A 'flounce' is when someone announces they are departing the forum or stopping watching the show - as you well know. So I was making it clear that I'm not categorically saying I'm doing either.

When people do say that, they are unanimously met with 'bye then', 'don't let the door hit you on the way out' etc. by a number of regular posters who won't here it criticised - they are so enjoying the negativity of the spectacle.

But you know all that already Vesna.

Agree on all counts. There has been absolutely nothing organic about this series. It's been an utterly contrived showcase for former fms to stir up hatred amongst the originals and with the viewers. And it's, sadly, working.

Thank you! I know - the Irish TV channel stuff is really laughable. BB has a non-existent Irish audience and it's being shown on TV3 as well as Ch5 here makes no difference to that, as far as I can see. The same posters waffling about Marc's connections had very little to say about Vic and Danny's friendship; or Simon and Ashley's associations. The show is rife with z-list inter-connections but, strangely, it's only the Irish element that's a problem.

Agree with the OP, this series is totally and utterly crap.

Pretty much how I feel ^^^.

BIB I'm reassured to know I'm not the only one.

Exactly.

It seems odd that you agree with the OP who was actually denouncing some of the name calling of Helen and yet you feel totally comfortable in calling Marc a cretin

The C5 version of BB is all about bringing the worst out of the HMs and the viewers by constantly prodding us all with a big pointy stick. It works too, if I've had a drink or two I always get sucked into the shite. I've never had a problem switching off when it's become too much for me to bear, the challenge is not to watch a series from the start... but I really think I've had enough now, this series has been a farcical mess, the 4 out 4 in being a watershed moment. Now the precedent has been set, it can only get worse.

Tonight I'll be watching the Arthur Ashe documentary instead of BB - far more uplifting and inspirational.

Those who abhor Helen's behaviour strangely found Nikki's acceptable too.

I'm with you. We've got Spongebob Squarepants on now and rather than go elsewhere with BB and a bottle of beer to make myself hungover and pished off, I'm gonna have a nice coffee and toddle off to bed with 'Making History' a great little Stephen Fry sci-fi that I fancy re-reading. I'll probably check in later to see who was evicted though; can't help myself.

yeah... BB5 and BB6 were all C5's fault too...