Monday, June 18, 2007

Big Brother

I don't watch Big Brother. It's not because I think it's cooler not to watch it or anything, it's just that I find it quite boring. Each year the housemates they put in are even more outrageous than the year before, even more annoying and quite simply caricatures of different factions of British Society.

Don't get me wrong, I love to people watch. I could quite happily sit at a café window for hours watching people go by. I like research and finding out the motivations behind human behaviour (hence I studied psychology for a number of years). And, in general, I like the concept behind the show. That's why I watched the first few series. Normal people in an unnatural situation, watching the bonds they make, the arguments they have and the activities they carry out while 'trapped' within the confines of a not-so-big house and garden. But for me, it lost its charm over the years and began to just get ridiculous and ever more manipulative as they tried to stop the programme from being boring.

But, my biggest problem with the format recently has been the actual contestants they put in. I don't need to say anything more than Jade Goody, and she was just the start of it. I have no interest in watching a bunch of 18-24 year olds (with the odd older contestant thrown in) talking about a load of rubbish with hardly an ounce of intelligence among them. Not that I'm saying that no-one with a lower IQ should be put in the house, but let's not make a whole houseful of them.

So, it was with surprise that I read on Brand Republic that Jonathan Durden, the founding partner at media agency PDH, entered the house along with three other contestants on Friday. Having made millions selling the company he founded, having been in the media industry for 30 years and also having sidelines in music management and restaurant industry as well as having written a novel, he's certainly a break from the usual Big Brother contestants.

I have to wonder if it's a purely personal crusade or whether there is, at least in part, a business reason behind it. In reality, it's probably a mixture of both, as it is for most contestants. Only difference is, Durden is not some wannabe trying to be famous, he's already made it.

I doubt I'll become a convert to the program, but I might actually tune in to the program the odd time now. I'm interested to see what he'll make of it, how long he'll last and what use he'll make of the experience afterwards. Rather him than me, but nevertheless, an intriguing move from Durden. I'll watch this space.

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1 Comments:

At 12:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree. I used to watch it avidly but stopped a couple of years ago. Lord knows what Durden is doing in there but a bit intrigued to find out...

 

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