Watching a little UK Big Brother.
It and Australia are/were same format - watching people lounge around, no twists or competitions. Boring! Tasks for food budget is a yawner. Do like that they nominate evictions and the public decides who goes. The bad is it's very cliquey like high school drama. The very, very bad for (my) TV viewing pleasure I've seen edited this season is it's 80% about pronouns, 10% showmance crying, and 10% about politics (more like anti-one character's Trump-like extreme view of the world. He really does need to be less black/white and see the greys of the world. And the others need to be more open to personal responsibility). They really need more diversity... in topics shown.
I would fail miserably on this show.
US and Canada were similar format.
Do miss BB CAN as my favorite. It had better production, house theme design, and more twists. A little overboard on some of the 'personality' contestants as it was forced a lot of the time - obvious influencer wannabes. Some would say the product placement as too much too but it helped pay the bills. Too bad it cost way too much to compete for a small population nation to support.
UK BB season is over - first time watching and it was average. Can't say I would re-watch.
Reminder: The UK public does the eviction voting, not the players. The players nominate (most of the time, public does other times).
Don't remember all the tropes, err stereotypes, err personalities, but a rundown:
- The Overly Political Guy was too black/white on his stances favoring Trump-like policies in a house full of idealists that everything is not their fault/responsibility and it can just be hugged away. Volunteer civic leader striving for office. Memorable due to his appearance - the lovechild of Carrot Top and Conan O'Brien (red headed, parted in the middle, and wears old guy suits with bowties and he's in his early 20s). Wanted to see his character last much longer, but nope.
- First month had the interesting Transgender storyline. He (now) could not be easily identified as a previous she. Looked like a hispanic male (goatee and whatnot) that was a gym buff as they were physically fit / stronger than the rest of the house. Still had the swivel hips, straighter shoulders, and some other characteristics though. The person talking through the various phases and things they had to do were educational. Not a drama seeker and not a 'look at me' persona. But past that, there wasn't much substance of a character or as a person so they got sent home.
- Stereotypical flamboyant one got voted out in a mock eviction to be brought back. Very overplayed dude twerking. Dumb. And then once his crush, the trans, got evicted. His storyline was over as well. Blatant Influencer wannabe.
- The Villain played the part well for entertainment and knew her role. Kept it interesting for quite awhile. Just too much pick, and pick, and pick, and pick at people was a bit too much of an irritation. Played the game well to ensure she couldn't be evicted for a long time. Gave her too much confidence to pick on people since she couldn't be voted out. Likely the most memorable player of the season.
- The Princess somehow came in second place. All the tiny barbie did was cry, sleep, and hang all over the showmance Engineer. Only slightly interesting as the weirdo that sees demons, slept with one, believes in unicorns, easter bunny, and mermaids. But rarely spoke otherwise.
- The designated Hottie was just there to look good. Revealed before the boot that she really missed people fawning over her and telling her she is pretty all the time. No depth of character, but can twerk. Weird editing for sure. Had the most house votes in UK BB history - 26 before she departed.
- The Engineer was mostly an NPC other than as the showmance. They do plan on getting married shortly after the show. And he did some pranks.
- The Scot was there since he was the house cook. Spats over the shopping budget since he cooked the meals. Lasted longer than expected. He and the Engineer were non-existant other than the pranks they played on each other.
- The Irish was loud, over-talkative, and there as a minor combatant with the other 20-something females. Pretty sure she was the one that just wanted to win the money to go on a girl's holiday - yeah, the public are really going to vote for that.
- The Indian was a 'bring back' from a previous season. Just there for 15 more minutes of fame before evicted. Shake it up a little before buh-bye.
- The Alopecia one was running the house, but became the only real 'blindside' by the public. Assuming the public wanted to mix things up instead of a ho-hum outcome.
- The Farmer surprisingly didn't win. The heavyset cast member, unsure how he works the field all day and not have a single muscle under the big boy frame. Nice guy and always asks people questions to get them to talk. There for the money to save the family farm - got the house vote to get an early pass to the finale. Comically, the producers always had him blowing or picking his nose every episode.
- The Day 1 Evictee was brought back. Blah blah blah about wanting to be a future Prime Minister. Easily confused with the Irish one, but with a lot less expletives in the vocabulary.
- The Youngster got better as the season went on. Too young to understand that her 1 year of post school life experience isn't anything when she's talking down to the 60 year old about life experience. Might have been right that her best days of her life were when she was in school and it all goes downhill from there. Talks intelligently though.
- Winner was the Old Gentleman. Oldest person to win the UK show. Most of the time, the old people are booted pretty quick. The villain made him the unwilling hero as the target of most of her acts, antics, and comments. He was able to respectfully respond with kindness that just made her madder. Never shown to lose his cool though berated daily. Basically the role model they needed on screen.
But the money won was mostly due to the villain. Without her, he had little chance of entertaining the public.