I just checked out some websites and prices start at £25.

Many of us have noticed that the tasks in previous BBs have been absolutely pathetic (A game of darts, a quiz, writing your own play, watching a fire) and it looks like this year we can expect more of the same,

What will it be next week, apple-bobbing? arm-wrestling? Whatever it is I can guarantee that it will be NOT involve a great deal of expenditure.

I think the reason for this is that the whole thing is just one big money-making enterprise and the tight b@stards are determined to spend as little as possible on the tasks - based on the assumption that people will watch any old crap.

I don't think we'll see anything like a secret bar with a celebrity barman because something like that would cost money and Channel 4 seem to think they can run their flagship program on a shoestring and still top the ratings - very cynical

Does anyone else agree/disagree?

They do indeed do things on the cheap... although its TV to make money after all.

I just wish the tasks were way more hard and diverse,,, something that uses their brains. It'd be nice to see how thick some of them really are.
How about a few memory tasks ?

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actually i like the pedalo task, its quite okay, although maybe they should have had 2 of them at the same time...
sleep deprivation. ohh yeah !

I must agree that lately some of the tasks have become nothing more than parlour games, as you say, darts, memory quizes anything that can create tension and/or a pathetic loss of dignity, I mean girls playing keepey uppy. They never asked the boys to do anything 'girly' I know that sounds sexist but BB did create the asumption that girls don't play football

I have come to the conclusion that Endemol know this cash cow is waining and they are going to screw the public for as much as they can, while they still have the public's general interest.

well wot about the assult course? that must of cost a good few bob? and that sea sidey thing?

remember this year it's 'back to basic's!' lol

I think the tasks are quite good actually- they all force the individuals to interact with each other.

And as for a celebrity bar- that sounds like the shitiest idea I've heard so far.

Yes, but my point is that they are CHEAP, Big Brother has given Chennel 4 its highest ratings ever, yet these all important tasks (which are often broadcast live) would seem more appropriate to a daytime children's programme.

It just leads me to the conclusion that they're interested only in making a proit and don't give a damn about quality.

I'm sure the pedalo and the counter & stuff to mount it safely on the floor cost loads more than £25.

I'm not saying the producers aren't cost conscious but I can't see any evidence that they are compromising the tasks for budgetary purposes. Some of the tasks are bound to be 'cheaper' than others. Last year's skating rink is an example of a higher-budget task.

The simple / cheap ones are often the most effective anyway. The pedalo is an excellent task in so many ways - they have to do it in 2s so bonding opportunities, we get to see the effects of sleep deprivation, aerobic exercise to stop them getting lethargic & lazy or overeating / drinking. The only way to win it is by concerted team effort.

Kayess

I hazard a guess that the pedalo will go for quite a lot if/when it's auctioned off at the end. Wonder if the Serpentine in Hyde Park will put in a bid?

The contestants seemed to like the idea..a couple of them congratulated Big Bro on it......the sorry suck ups...

I reckon it probably wouldn't work on Water, it would appear that the wheel bit that normally spins around in the water has been blocked off to stop them getting their feet chewed off. Plus it wouldn't do the counter much good.

They should have put the pedalo in the pool, to make it extra hard! Afterall, there is such a difference between peddaling on dry land to pedalling on water, plus you would have the added entertainment of them sitting there in the pouring rain, peddaling away.

I like the task it means if you turn on in the morning you are not just getting the green screen with someones face, very much like the first task on BB2 with the log fire. It is not all about mental skills this one is team work etc.

Another year and another rant about Channel 4 making money. Oh how dare they!!!! They are a business after all and business is there to make money. If you do not want to help build the coffers then do not vote, do not buy anything you see advertised and STOP moaning about a company making money.

Thank you rant over. and breath deeply........

Perhaps it you should have done this before the rant.

I'm trying to raise a valid point about the producers not really being interested in the quality of their programme and cutting the budget to the bone to maximise profits.

That's what the text thing is all about.
Max profit for minimum effort.
Sod the viewers.

BB has got to be channel4's biggest money-spinner, by miles.
They can afford to spend a few bob, yet they continue this cheapskate policy.

Then don't watch. QED.

Well, of course its gonna be tp make money, Ch4 are a company that must make profit just like any other company.

I think they do go too far, for example, you do pay for e4 in your multi channel package, yet they insist on filling nearly a third of the screen with cheap money making sms messages. The streams that you pay 4.99 a month for are loaded with realone messages and adverts.

Btw, you can get rid of the stupid ads and messages and watch both internet streams at the same time by downloading UCBBViewer.zip for free from http://www.bbviewer.co.uk

Personally Id on't want the bar, it'll be a silly idea.

Anyway, some tasks from the last 2 American Big Brother shows.

Day 1 of BB2 saw an SUV type car in the back garden and bags and bags of shopping (in the US the housemates can win pre-determined shopping rather than money to select their own)

The task was to get all the shopping bags and all 12 housemates inside the car and stay in for 60 seconds. The did it successfuly...once the sixty second was up Big Brother announced that the last person out the car got to keep it when the show was over.

Day 1 of Big Brother 3 found 6 'nests' ip trees in back garden with shopping bags on the ground. The task was to get the bags and the housemates into the nests, 2 housemates to a nest. Once they were all up Big Brother announced that the last 2 to stay up would then compete for the first head of household spot.

Another task found all the housemates gathered in one room and when they came out they were told that CD boxes had been spread through the house, they had 5 minutes to find them all and put them together to form the name of a singer or band. They completed it and made the words "Sheryl Crow" and were then told to go out to the garden where they found buckets of alocoholic drinks and a large stage had been erected for a private gig for the 6 housemates by none other than Sheryl Crow herself.

Another task was a rather elaborate asault course set up outside which had several infared beams across aspects of it and they had to get across the assult course in a certain combined time and they had time added on for breaking a beam and had a spray to spray in front of them which lit up the beams....I think they passed that task with very few seconds to go. It was very good...

I think they should have thrown in a few extras to do whilst on the pedalo. Like they have to change clothes, whisk an egg, make dinner, read a book and then say it out aloud.

The first task for last year when the sides were split was great, but it got boring after because you knew what was going to happen.

Lets get some harder ones. IQ test like tasks, brain versus brawn kind of thing.

Those tasks sound great compaired to ours!

Yeah they do spend a lot more money on BB in the USA - i think the eviction format is different too - maybe the others can save their housemate from going or something like that ? Been a long time since i saw it.

The pedalo like most stuff in BB is probably hired but it costs a lot more than £25. When i saw this thread i thought the person wanted a pedalo - i expect all this pedalo publicity has done sales good !

I do agree they need some much more creative people to sort their tasks out - this one is just there to a) tire the contestants and b) make sure something is happening through the night on E4 !

(off to buy shares in the Pedalo biz)

Gonzo

yeah thats correct. I don't know if they had it in BB2 but they had it in BB3 (with BB1 being the same format as our first contest)

Basically how it works is, they can talk about nominations freely, they can talk about strategy and things as much as they want. Every week they have a contest and the winner becomes head of household. That person nominates the two people for eviction and then the remaning housemates vote which of the two to evict. Such tactics as the head of the house nominating someone they don't like along with the most popular person in the house have been tried before with one of the girls accidently causing her boyfriend to get voted out.

They also have a 'veto' contest where the person can win the right to veto a nomination. Say Jon was head of house and nominated Gos and Sissy and Cameron has won the veto. Cameron could use his veto to save Gos and instead nominate Fed.

I think in the whole series the veto was only used once last year.

Another thing they did in week 5 was do a poll to bring back one of the 4 housemates who had already been evicted. One of the girls ended up having a deciding vote and instead of choosing her 'boyfriend' she chose a girl, Amy. Amy came back in and ended up coming 3rd or 4th.

Yeah it's slowly coming back to me now - interesting. So how do the company make their money ? No public phoning and texting going on ?

I like the way we vote out the evictee in this country but i also like the whole 'veto' idea and the idea of bringing back a past housemate.

It's a shame they used the bars idea last year, the whole rich house/poor house concept would have been far better used on this lot.

They did phone votes in year one and didn't get enough to make it worth while.

American Idol's phone votes have free phone numbers so they don't make money from that.

Big Brother in the states did phone votes to give select housemates a special meal or a video from home or an extra book and when it was someone's birthday they'd give a choice of 4 presents and folk would phone vote as to which one they got...

It just shows that C4 can't win, There were comments after last year that they needed to go back to long running tasks that keep them up talking all night. Now they have brought back the excersise bike task in a bigger, better format they get accused of being cheap.

It just shows you can't please everyone!

I'm enjoying the task. As someone who stays up through the night with the contestants I really enjoyed the Fire Task in BB2. The pedalo talk is good too but the sound cut off's this year are just getting ridiculous. Taking far too long and happening too often

I'd rather pay for a seperate subscription channel which is mainly uncensored or beeped rather than watch the e4 feeds as they are just now. There's been more sounds dips this afternoon than there has acctual conversation