Television executives aren’t stupid. Oftentimes, they may seem like it. But, trust me, they’re not. This does not mean that they don’t make a lot of horrible, horrible decisions. Because they do, all the time. TV is a high-stakes business, where millions of dollars are often pumped into series that turn out to be abject failures. It’s a business where shows that seem like absolute slam dunks crash and burn and after-thoughts meant to be schedule fillers set the world on fire. You can’t ever predict what will catch on with the general public. Likewise, you never know how changes to long-running shows will be digested by that show’s fans. Big Brother has evolved over the years. Changes have been made pretty much every season, sometimes significant ones, and the results, predictably, have been mixed. Nonetheless, shows can always improve, and I’ve got some ideas how on Big Brother could better itself next year when Big Brother 11 (in all likelihood) premieres.
Also, check out What CBS Should Learn from ‘Big Brother 10’
No More Slop
Enjoyment can be taken from the misery of others, especially if they willingly entered the Big Brother house. But, slop is not the way to do it. It’s a punishment that is a vacuum of entertainment. Look at it logically: Big Brother, a show that relies on the everyday interactions of the houseguests, actively finds a way to make some of the contestants lethargic and dumb. People need to eat to function normally. Why would Big Brother turn some of their players into zombies? How much more exciting would the show be if everyone was functioning at normal operating levels at all times? Hell, go back to PB and Jelly. At least the houseguests will eat it.
Better Utilize the Jury House
The jury house has so much untapped potential. There are infinite ways to utilize it. Put live feeds in there. Make the jury members play a separate game for some sort of consolation prize. Make it a loser’s bracket, and make it possible for one or two of the evicted houseguests to make it back into the actual house. Make every evicted houseguest, from the first week on, go into the jury house. Maybe give them access to the live feeds – make them a part of the game in some way. CBS would have to increase the budget for the series, but it can’t be that expensive. Big Brother, as it stands now, always airs a ton of filler during episodes – what better way to pad the minutes than with constant jury house updates?
Keep Spoilers Off the Internet
I might get vilified by some of you for this suggestion, but hear me out. Anyways, there’s about a .0001% chance this ever happens. Don’t lose the live feeds, that’s not what I’m suggesting, though this would require some sacrifice from the live feed watchers. Here’s how it would work. The nomination episode is always on Sunday, right? So, hold the nomination ceremony on Sunday afternoon, then black out the live feeds until the episode airs. You could do this for every episode. That way, even the live feed watchers and online spoiler hawks will still have a reason to watch the actual episodes on CBS. It would require some quick editing by the Big Brother production staff, I know, but I think it would make for a better and more exciting viewing experience for everyone.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of BigBrotherCaps.com)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
