Archive through September 10, 2003
TV ClubHouse: Archive: Ok who saw BRAVO & now thinks evry show is rigged ???:
Archive through September 10, 2003
Auntie | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 06:58 am     don't forget bb1 and Jamie - who constantly voiced concern about her "storyline." she was a lot smarter than any of the hgs in subsequent seasons - she KNEW they were going to use her. |
Bohawkins | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 07:46 am     Most interesting was the mention of the provisions of the law which Congress enacted after the game show debacles. It was significant that such jusrisdiction and restrictions regarding "fixing" evidently only relates to contests of an intellectual nature. In other words, if it is a physical contest, then fixing the outcome is ok. This, as someone pointed out on the show, has been further interpreted to mean that if they combine any sort of physical contest with intellectual, if they make the intellectual part so simple it requires no true intellectual skill, then the restrictions to "fixing" also do not apply (illustrated with the reshooting scenes of the manhunt show with a more clearly defined map). This falls in line with many of the TVCH board's observers who have commented that the physical contests on Big Brother often appear to lend themselves to outside manipulation and seem to have outcomes designed to fit the producer's plans. |
Curtisahahahaha | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 08:00 am     Anyone who has ever toured Universal Studios HAS to walk away knowing that everything we see on TV is fake. |
Gina8642 | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 09:03 am     A couple of comments. -Dani talked a little about the DR in post game interviews. After the first one or two HGs were evicted she made the cocky comment "1 down X to go" "2 down, X to go". From then on the DR requested that phrase after each eviction. She said she grew very uncomfortable saying it, but they kept asking. So, the DR definately had a hand in making her look cocky. IMO - this did NOT affect the final outcome, because I've always maintained it was her nasty unnecessary ripping of fellow HGs outside the DR that did her in. -The DR also asks positive/negative questions like tell me something really annoying about Alison? Or tell me which houseguest angered you the most during the dinner from hell. The response will be some really mean sounding stuff. When really the HG could have been making glowing remarks about everyone for 45 minutes and fianlly aquiessed to repeated requests for a negative statement and then the negative statement will be the only thing to air. Then we see a thread here about how nasty and mean so and so is, just look at her mean DRs. -Of course the DR gives stuff away. I maintain that they usually try NOT to do it, but they do anyway. These HGs are master manipulators and readers of human nature. They can read between the lines better than many of these producers who ask the questions. Jun's comments a few nights ago were very telling. She said to Alison the DR used to ask her all sorts of questions about trusting Ali. Recently they've stopped. Jun took this to mean that Ali was true to her and the issue of trust between the two was now a non-issue.(this is of course, still to be seen). A HG can tell what's up, by listening to what questions are asked, how they are asked, and which topics never come up. The DR people are also human and sometimes let things slip, even unintendedly. They told Amy last year that she had to win the HOH when she re-entered. -Of course the DR manipulates emotion and paranoia as well. Irene from Real World Seattle left the show because she just couldn't stand the producers manipulations any more. They kept trying to make her paranoid about how people felt about her. She left, and the show made it look like she freaked out because of lyme disease. Very dishonest of the Real World. But they couldn't admit that they screwed up sooo bad that a cast member walked. BB and other shows are doing the EXACT same thing in their version of the confessional interviews - except most cast members want so bad to be on the show (for fame or prize money) that they don't leave. |
Bbfanatic | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 10:39 am     at the end of the reality of reality on bravo, i think they said it would be on tonight also. is it a rerun of last nights or a different one. i still like survivor but i do not get into it as much as i did at first. i realize the first year was fresh and new. they have a really great group of survivors like Rudy. what kind of ruined it for me is when they started showing behind the scenes footage of the filming of survivor on Entertainment tonight and other entertainment shows. i didnt want to see that part. i wish they didnt show the survivors until the show starts. but i realize they do that to get interest and to get people talking. i also enjoyed how the hgs of bb drove up in different vehicles in bb1. it made it more exciting. i also loved the live audience on eviction night. but then again, that is when we got to vote them suckers out. i realize they have to make a good show, but my idea of a good bb would be letting it play out without manipulations. |
Justshirley | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 10:54 am     Bbfanatic -- it's a 5-part series -- a new episode every night this week, each episode focusing on a different angle. I think someone also said that all 5 parts are being run back-to-back on Saturday. |
Eeyoreslament | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 11:23 am     I have a few comments too. First, I think BB is a crazy situation, in that is REALLY psychologically affects people's socialization skills. Major agents in socialization are the family, religion, work/school, and the mass media. If you take all of those away from a person, what happens to their social abilities? They become warped. I honestly think that this specific game show is worse than all of the others, in that it deprives people of these important agents for WAY too long to be mentally healthy. Part of me even thinks that if I wanted to do a real psychological experiment set up like BB, I think it would be kiboshed under ethical guidelines regarding the mental safety of the subjects. I remember in BB1, they had the HG's take a day to decompress before hitting the outside world. To make it worse, they have taken all mental activities away from the HG's (like the week long challenges), which most likely is further detrimental to a person's sanity. These people have NOTHING to do but tan, and sleep. Their minds must be frying themselves! Secondly, I think that even though BB presses people for negative comments, a person's character can overcome that cue. Jason was SUCH a nice guy last year, and he was not NEARLY as horrible in the diary room as everyone else was. Now, to play devil's advocate, perhaps they were playing up the fact that Jason was so nice and a "good Christian boy" so they maybe poked him to say lots of NICE things. Who knows. Thirdly, I think BB is WAY worse this year for giving away info to the HG's. When Jun was HOH, they said something to her in the HOH room interview about how she felt about the fact that she and Ali were the two floaters of the house. While we viewers may all know that, doesn't it kind of screw up Ali's strategy to tell Jun that? I think that BB shouldn't have been confirming or denying anyone else's strategy in that interview. OK, that's my feedback for now. Please forgive any typos. |
Bastable | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 12:04 pm     But are you entertained? |
Demsome | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 12:31 pm     Lol Exactly Bastable. I for one usually am and that is the point of these shows.Its kind of a fictionalized reality. We wouldn't watch if it was too much like the reality of most peoples rather dull days. |
Bracken | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 01:07 pm     Alrighty folks, I try to follow the rules and posted information on this show in the "Outside The House" thread as the moderators ask us to do. lol. I also posted it under "Other Reality Shows" since it really doesn't fall into the BB category anyway, but put it in the Outside thread because I felt BB fans would be more interested in this indepth analysis than other reality fans might be; and also because Will Kirby would be on it also. So, It is run every night this week at 8-9 PM - CST and then again at midnight-1 AM. Beginning tonight it looks as though they will rerun last nights episode from 7-8 and then the first run from 8-9 and Midnight-1 AM. They continue this pairing of previous night show, new episode 7-9 PM - CST every night through Friday, airing the prior nights segment just prior to the new episode. Check your local listings to see if Bravo switches times around like PBS channels, I'm not sure if they are consistent except for time zones. Saturday, all five parts will air consecutively starting at 11 AM - 4 PM - CST. |
Angelsluv | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 01:10 pm     This all reminds me of the new show on "Spike/TNN" channel. If you haven't seen "Joe Schmo", you should check it out. It's pretty funny. The description and such are here: Joe Schmo |
Gina8642 | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 01:17 pm     I thought the distinction between intellectual and physical contests was interesting as well. I think Fear Factor is a 'physical' competition - so that means the producers can fix this show anyway they wish to - no leagal ramifications what-so-ever. I was not surprised at all to hear that 'clip' shows are mostly staged. That fact has been pretty clear to me since the earliest America's Funniest Home Videos. |
Angelsluv | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 01:18 pm     The full schedule of "Reality of Reality" is here: Reality of Reality
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Eeyoreslament | Tuesday, September 09, 2003 - 11:29 pm     OK someone needs to be brilliant and record these shows onto the computer, and we Canadians can download them. I'd love to see these shows. |
Mich | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 03:00 am     ugh! i'm in Canada also and am po'd that we didn't get that here. thanks for feedback on it for us Canadians everyone I am keeping an eye on the bravo site for its airing in Canada. For those Canadians that want to do the same, i came across the bravo canada site - go to: http://www.bravo.ca |
Freddy | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 04:10 am     You Canadians have it really bad when it comes to your selection of TV programming. I saw a thing the other day saying how Satalite TV Rcvrs are illegal in Canada. You can only watch what your government says yo can watch. No Fox news for you. Fox News is balanced and fair. Can't have that seeping into people minds. :-) |
Jolly_Penguin | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 06:07 am     LOL! Fox News is balanced and fair? Fox News is a tabloid, plain and simple. Satalite TV Receivers are NOT illegal in Canada. Whatever gave you that impression was wrong. I know many people here (In Ontario) who have satelite receivers. Satelite dishes are all over the place, of all kinds. The government doesn't care, and doesn't inspect homes or anything like that. |
Bastable | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 07:20 am     "Reality of Reality" isn't really telling a thinking viewer what they don't already know. Of course there are cameras, microphones, crew members, and producers who are trying to nudge the show to be more exciting! I thought that any thinking person would realize they are watching a TV project and they are not a fly on the wall. I would think that if someone had a brain, they could see when these players are hamming it up for the cameras, which is most of the time. I find it sort of breathtaking to think that this could possibly be news to anyone who watches these shows. If so, the critical thinking skills of the people in this country are on life support. Let's not just slam the producers, by the way. The players--that is, the people on these shows--definitely alter their own behavior, by choice, simply because there are cameras on them. They get more outrageous, more emotional, etc. They try to make good TV just as much as the producers do. I've always called these shows "reality game shows" instead of "reality TV." It seems to set up a much more realistic expectation of what's going on. They're game shows, essentially. The Price is Right on a higher plateau. Even though I despise the oily ethics of most TV people I have met in my life, I will say that as far as Big Brother 4 goes, the producers have rescued this season. Everyone keeps commenting on how boring the feeds are, and yet the CBS version of the show is somewhat interesting. You can thank the producers for that. They nudged and edited and shaped the boring stuff we've tried to watch and turned it into soapy TV. In the case of Big Brother 4, we should all be singing hallelujah for producers that muck around in the show. Otherwise, this season would have been a total write-off. |
Bonzacat | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 08:34 am     And just to add to Bastable's last paragraph (I agree that the CBS version is a well-constructed show this year, better than past years in that regard), we need to thank the producers all the way to BB5. If the ratings had weakened this year we would not have seen a 3-year renewal of the show, and this might have been the last BB. What they do with casting next year remains to be seen, but this year's ratings have brought us another season. We'll all be back! |
Buggles | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 09:55 am     I agree Bastable & Bonzacat. The producers really deserve kudos for the way they create drama with the editing, the music, etc. It's still a fun show if you haven't bored yourself silly with the feeds. My mom & I watch it together and always get a lot of giggles. Considering what a boring group this was at the outset, we're pleasantly surprised Remember too that the producers have to cater to two different audiences... the '24/7' audience & the 'show only' audience... which puts them in a tough place. I wonder if perhaps the people who are getting extremely bored tried watching the show ONLY (no feeds, no boards) & did not know in advance what happened, if they would find it more captivating that way. I know, I know... this board is more fun than the show ... but hearing & discussing everything in advance undeniably lessens the suspense & drama. It's a tradeoff The producers do a fine job anyway imo. I hope they know this so they don't muck it up  |
Tweety | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 10:13 am     Would it be possible for someone to do a "Spoiler" on this show (similar to what is done on other shows by East coast viewers for West coast viewers). That way, us Canadians can know what's happening instead of waiting the 1-3 years before they show it here! |
Ezgoing | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 10:21 am     Ditto what Bastable said. Excellent post, IMO. |
Bastable | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 10:22 am     True, Buggles, and the current BB producers reportedly despise having to do Live Feeds because they undercut the TV show's drama. But I always say that the drama is undercut for only a few fans--the die-hards--who are going to watch the TV show anyway. In terms of Nielsen ratings, having Live Feeds don't make a difference. I also firmly believe that the Live Feeds are what make Big Brother the show it is. It's part of the beast. It's the heart of the experience. Personally, I don't find the drama of the game (competitions, POV, etc) to be the most interesting aspect of BB, and I never had. I have always felt that watching these human beings in this strange situation is the most intersting part of BB. Watching everyday conversations and behavior on the Feeds is the most fascinating, rewarding part of the show. That can't be faked by any producer, and it's what I love most about this show. If you lost the Feeds, the show's underlying appeal would die. |
Maris | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 10:46 am     I watched that show and came away with the view that Yes, I liked Dr. Will. When he was talking about how he deliberately and consciously drove Nicole crazy, I was laughing all over again. Even the producers of Big Brother said,they couldnt even tell if he was playing them all the time too. Mike Boogie is just as sleazy as always. |
Buggles | Wednesday, September 10, 2003 - 10:49 am     Agreed Bastable (for the most part)... you nicely articulated why I reluctantly got sucked into the feeds & this board at the expense of suspense I know I would still enjoy the show sans feeds though myself because I did last year. My mom only watches the show & seeing her excitement is fun for me in itself, and quite refreshing actually compared to some of the boredom expressed here. I don't fault people for complaining of boredom tho when they're accustomed to spying on a more interesting group (& paying for it ) Like you said too, it's the psychology of the personalities that makes the show most interesting. |
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