Calrissian.com : Big Brother 6 : Big Brother Summer

Big Brother Summer

Here we go again, its already April and rumours of the next series of Big Brother are already starting to fly around the net at the speed of light. It has been 8 whole months since Nadia Almada won BB5 - seems like a lot longer (to me anyway), and I think its time to pick up where we left off...way back in August'04.

Distant Times - summer 2004 winner: Nadia

Were you surprised that Nadia won? Looking back, very few (myself included) gave her a significant chance of winning when we first encountered her at day'1. How could Nadia win BB5, would the public ever support a transsexual above any of the other 'ordinary' housemates? I suppose you could look to the infamous 1998 Israeli Eurovision song contest winner 'Dana International' for some indication that attitudes have progressed (or regressed, depending on your viewpoint), in the past few decades. So maybe we all overlooked Nadia too hastily at day'1. It wasn't until week'6 though that Nadia started to pick up a noticeable public following, and with each subsequent week her public support grew.

BB5 rocked though, just about anyone who caught even a little of the show will have been captivated by some of the crazy clowns that the production team had carefully sifted and discovered. All of last years housemates had something great to contribute - although as ever, the 13'th housemate of Becki proved to be something of a let down. Why didn't she do more? Oh well, she got the media exposure she wanted, although as some might remember her community/family turned against her - I've no idea if any of them are back to speaking terms with her since last August.

BB5: Emma and Michelle, the bed-sit idea won't be in BB6

Big Brother and 'token winners'.

Who might win this summer? What sort of winner is C4/Endemol already planning for? Of course, some will say that nothing much is planned, and that the production team merely react to the behaviour of the housemates rather than vice versa. I've never bought that view. BB is carefully planned, scripted, and there are surely an array of strategic plans all laid out for just about every possible behaviour. If this is not the case I'd be shocked, considering that the show is basically one giant laboratory cage full of large rats.

Anyway, lets first take a brief look back at the distant past....some 5 years worth of winners.

BB1	BB2	BB3	BB4	BB5	BB6

Craig Phillips	Brian Dowling	Kate Lawler	Cameron Stout	Nadia Almada	Clown'2006

So, who will win Summer 2005' BB6?

Last year I predicted that 'The winner of BB5 will NOT be a man'. I suppose you could argue that was a simple 50/50 chance, for which I got lucky, but anyway....lets consider the past 5 winners...

Past 'tokens'
BB1 winner : token 'ordinary' working class white English male
BB2 winner : token Irish 'happy/bouncy' gay male
BB3 winner : token straight English female.
BB4 winner : token straight-laced virginal religious male from a distant Scottish island community.
BB5 winner : token transsexual, European/Mediterranean background

With Craig winning the first innovative BB, we then got the bouncy 'tigger' of Brian, the relatively moody (but sociable) Kate of BB3, progressing to the islander Cameron (drink... its not big, and its not clever) Stout, and finally to Nadia 'Wat cha gonna do?' Almada.

What does this mean for BB6? Should we expect a guy to win this year? Err, no. Despite Nadia's win for the female community, it would still seem likely that the UK public will go for a third female winner. Someone older perhaps ? No, the UK voters will forever be unlikely to select someone over 35 as their chosen winner. Just consider how the public reacted to Jacky Stallone in Celebrity BB, anyone who is even remotely quirky over the age of 40 will get vilified as a total freak. BB winners will always be <35.

Calrissian prediction 2005- Female winner. We can be sure once again that the BB6 winner shall be female, there is little doubt of this. The media will certainly be happier with a glamour/pin up girl winner, than some guy - who might not be particularly good eye candy. Despite the fact that there is an inherent 'anti-beauty' attitude from some, the BB6 winner will probably be a 27-31 yr old attractive female. I shall add that I believe the new token winner may well be Asian. Will C4/Endemol target some sort of 'goddess' as their chosen one? I believe so, and we shall see soon enough if I'm even remotely correct.

BB5's last shot....with the new house about ready to open its doors.

The style of BB6 - certainly less 'confined'

What sort of show will BB6 be? By now the house should have been fully renovated and just a few minor things need patching up. The style of the show will have been decided, what can we expect? A show of sunshine, the garden, endless food and booze...keeping the housemates happy and 'active'. Think back to the days of Brian and Helen in BB2, add a twist of BB4's difficult tasks, and the very smallest pinch of BB5's tough big brother. All in all, it should work out pretty well.

BB6 will probably not be as entertaining as BB5 (how could anything top that level of insanity?), but certainly not as dire as what BB4 turned into, unless they pick a poor set of housemates, please no....arghhhhhhhh! There should be a hell of a lot of room compared to 'evil' BB5, there is the remote hope of a multi-level house -which would really help for more 1-2-1 friendships/relationships to develop.

The attitude of 'Big Brother' will be more easy going, although threats of eviction for rule breaking will be there as usual. Indeed, any housemate can be certain that baring whacking another housemate, they won't get booted. Even then, everyone knows Nadia slapped Jason (should I say Allegedly?, bah!), and yet she was allowed to stay (whilst Emma got das boot for no good reason)...and Nadia then went on to beat the very same person she had earlier assaulted. Ohh the irony !

Will they send a housemate to another Big Brother across the world, as they did with Cameron? I'm not aware of what is happening with other Big Brother shows across the world, but it wouldn't surprise me if they tried this again. However it really screws up the group dynamic, and I'm dead against sending housemates away for a even a few days.

BB6: no jungle cats this summer

Name the housemate

I can't resist but have another vain attempt to pre-empt the release (or leaking) of this year's housemate names. For BB5 I got 1 person right - Emma. 1 out of 12 pretty much sucks, although its still somewhat better than chance. So...here we go...

Anita: 29, Asian goddess, the 'chosen one' perhaps? (Sunita Mark'2, except she won't bail out at day'7)
Laura: 23, club 18/30 type (bi, she'll be token sexpot of the show)
Sarah: 22, flowery, home counties flaky, (Shell MK.2)
Sam: 19, student type (a less aggressive form of Emma)
Steph: 32, the serious type (a new BB1 Anna?)
Tracey: 26, office girl, from Essex (ha, does it get anymore stereotypical?)

Adam: 24 computer whiz, smart, and a true BB 'game player'
Andy: 37, Mr average
David: 21, office guy, token 'Black' guy, very professional.
Matt: 34, salesman (a bit slimy), the token 'overweight' one?
Raj: 28 , - tall dark, Indian guy from the home counties, - the one ALL women will love
Steve: 23, Blonde body builder from the south coast, Mr fitness, (Jason Mk.2, except not a feline)

Praying that BB6 does not suck, BB5's Dan

Potential housemates for BB6

Any of the 'final 50' people who hope to get into the house should be well aware of the rules/style of Big Brother. With any sense, they will have been browsing the net for ideas, and may even be a reader of this very site (you never know). Actually there will doubtless be a few people who get into the house who don't know much about the show (where do these people come from?). Yes, during week'1 there will be a few housemates who seem pretty ignorant about the show they are a part of - presently C4's flagship show. Everyone who applies wants to win, but what sort of tactics should they employ?

Basic winning strategies

-be as inoffensive as possible (to both housemates and the viewers), especially in week'1
-try to maintain a neutral/middle ground attitude in the group.
-be a team player, comply with all the needs of every task!
-be talkative and friendly, be 'friends with the enemy'
-try to assume some sort of role in the house, whether it be cleaner, cook, team leader, confidant
-join one of the cliques, but try to be somewhat distant (the Dan/Shell strategy)
-in latter weeks of the show, be more forceful, and start picking off your primary targets -Nadia (vs. Jason, Victor)

Losing behaviour

-rule breaking. No one in conformist Britain likes anyone who breaks the rules - I cite Kitten
-overly sexual/flirty, the UK public don't like it, : Michelle
-moody, - cite Sandy, Jonny, (BB4)
-uber bitchy - Vanessa, Jade, Adele
-flakey - Shell, Steph, Nush
-housemates that talk overtly about 'winning BB'
-social class/attitude, try to be 'middle of the road', neither common, nor fancy - Timbo (BB4)
-quirky, be yourself, but not too 'weird/unusual'.
-empty/bland. You must show a dynamic side to win. Scott BB4, Nush BB4, Gos BB3 all failed

Don't be a moody housemate....you won't win!

Any housemate who can avoid most of the 'losing' issues is sure to make the final night. A winning housemate will show a strong personality, but not one that grates with viewers on anything critical - such as constant rule breaking, moodiness, or overly sexual. The UK voters love a 'personality', but it will be a 'safe' choice, it sure won't be anyone crazy or too bouncy like a 'Marco'.

A final note on this issue. With Big Brother now in its sixth season, there are very few contestants who don't know the nature of the game. With each year BB faces an increasing problem in that the contestants know all too well how to play the game. Can BB survive past BB10 ? Its possible, but the producers are going to need to focus less on 'twists' - for which they've almost run out of ideas, and instead on simply portraying Big Brother as a 'relationship' show. After all, that is what BB is about, the developing relationships between a group of people.

The clock is ticking

Just 46 days to go until Friday May 27'th. As usual it'll probably all begin at 8.30pm on a warm summers evening, so start stocking up on chocolate, drink, or whatever snack takes your fancy. Davina, Dermot, various other weird people, and not forgetting Avid 'thankyou please' Merrion will soon be back on our screens. Big Brother is almost back with us...wooooooo hoooooooo !

yours...

Calrissian : Yet to be booted ;)