Big Brother Nigeria has been so incredible to me that I've got a kind of self-imposed torture thing going on with it. I have to change channels to see if maybe, just maybe they've acknowledged how gobsmackingly terrible it is and decided to try to fix it.
The ultimate torture happens when there is no surprise and it's all exactly the same as it was months ago - except unbelievably even worse as the housemates are settled in for the long haul and hardly move a muscle.
There are no words to adequately describe just how bad every aspect of the production is. From the shows shoddy launch on the first Sunday when nothing was rehearsed or even planned to the lack of care and thought that's gone into the structure, drama and weeks of filming it I'd say it's the worst show that's ever been on TV in the history of the world.
I did think it was only the worst Reality show ever made but seeing that nobody's tried to fix what could so easily be organised - it's takes the prize for the worst TV show
ever.
The bit I watched the other night was just too much to cope with. There was one camera on the housemates that was the furthest away from them it could possibly be with no close-ups on any of them whatsoever. Clearly there was no cameraperson behind it and the housemates had just been left to "be entertaining" from a distance.
The entire atmosphere that surrounded them was that there was no-one around who gave a stuff about either us or them existing, let alone trying to ensure that we were all having a good time.
The fact that the sound is still muffled and inaudible is so pathetic it's impossible to believe it's true. All the arguments about the housemates accents being responsible are rubbish.
Their accents were perfectly clear in the mics outside the house before they went in and also, if it's known that their accent is tricky to hear then DO something about it. Raise the levels of mics, have one person focusing on ensuring that whoever's speaking has their mic volume raised to above the others or even chat to the housemates and tell them to be ultra aware of their mics and the impact their accents are having.
But noo - it was all way too much effort for the creators who, when you consider the production problems in combination with the boring, predictable tasks and Big Brother's non-existent relationship with the housemates clearly aren’t interested in entertainment at all.
What upsets me most about it is how incredibly mean spirited it is. The way it sees the audience as being good enough to phone in votes and hand over their hard-earned cash but not good enough to be respected as an audience is really nasty.
I keep thinking of all the Big Brother fans sitting waiting that first evening it started, dying for it to happen, being given a show that must have taken an hour max to shove together and the disappointment everyone felt as a result.
They all persevered though, hoping it would improve and yet it just got worse, more disappointing and eventually it was unwatchable, making it the ultimate slap in the face for TV lovers.
I imagine the MTN sponsorship that runs across the screen doesn't have any kind of clause in it that says it has to be of a certain quality and because no-one was in the mood to do their best they thought they'd just take the cash, leave the show and trust the housemates sitting around would be fine.
It's very sad and also what I don't get is how Endemol could create the successful Big Brothers they did in South Africa and deliver this without some kind of apology at least.
Why is the quality so different between the South African and Nigerian version if it's the same production company that's made it, how is it acceptable to them and why hasn't it been pulled?
I can't help feeling that the situation is that South Africa's regarded as being more important to respect and care about - if it wasn't the case, BB Nigeria would be better than all previous ones considering it's years after Big Brother Africa.
I was gonna rate the show 0 because there's nothing to give it more for but I've rated it 14 - 1 for each housemate (including the two extras who joined later) for them being brave enough to get involved. Please add your opinion by
rating it too.
Whoever wins the million bucks is seriously gonna deserve it.
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