Today housemates were given the (some might say) paradoxical task of having to complete IQ tests.
Gerry of course looked upon this whole challenge the most eagerly, again keen to prove to everyone that his is indeed the most intelligent housemate ever. I feel for Gerry sometimes. He is smug, arrogant and pretentious, but people have realised this. Liam, Brian and Ziggy all invariably like mocking his delusions of grandeur; and today Brian claimed early on in the show that Big Brother had told him that he had come top in the tests.
“It’s fine, it’s fine, well done, I’m glad,” Gerry said, in a style imitable of a housemate who has just been evicted. To confirm this feeling of fine-ness, Gerry pointed out that he had previously said Brian was cleverer than he is often perceived anyway. “I said last week he is very intelligent otherwise he wouldn’t be here.” Now Gerry, I may be wrong, but I don’t ever remember a time when intelligence has ever been a pre-requisite for entry into the Big Brother house.
Of course Gerry, psycho-analyst and philosopher Gerry, probably meant that to get on Big Brother you had to have certain unique qualities which constitute intelligence. In theory I agree, and I respect Gerry for not conforming to traditional notions of academia equalling intelligence. However, by subscribing to the “we are unique souls chosen for our special characters and personalities,” he is ignoring the fact that Big Brother has, in recent years, become nothing more than a freak show. It is not a talent show spotting individuals who have something special and interesting to give to the public. It is a mix of stereotypes and, well, freaks.
This is the problem with Big Brother. The makers assume we all want more. More sex! More fights! More romances! More dramas! Is this really the case though?. Sure, the Charleys and Shanessas will get people talking, but they won’t keep people switched on. We need sympathetic characters, such as Glynn or Pete from BB7. People who you tune in to see how they’re doing. Watching people like Charley is strangely compulsive, yet is not enough of a draw to keep people hooked. Look back to the earlier series for inspiration, where you did not have to rely on mentally unstable individuals and fancy dress tasks everyday. Restore some normality to proceedings, keep things simple, learn from the past.
Now, what did they do with that time machine?