We Need To Shake It Up A Bit

And so Kris has gone. No surprise. From the moment that BB engineered him to be up for eviction, there was little doubt that it would be the curly haired tosspot waving goodbye this week. I was delighted to see the back of him. Not particularly because of the fake romance with Sophie - though I think it's a bit more genuine on her side. I've seen nothing from Kris to convince me that he's in this one for the long haul. Give him a week of having girls chasing him (why they would want to do that is beyond me, take away the hair and there's not much else to him). What I really disliked about him was his almost bullyish treatment of Halfwit; it showed a nasty little streak to the guy, and made uncomfortable viewing from time to time. It'll be interesting to see how Team Cool behave now he's gone. If nothing else, it might have planted a little doubt in their heads, as it begins to dawn on them that perhaps they're not the most popular with the Great British viewing public.

I've spent the last couple of weeks hoping that BB would start shaking it up a bit, but was beginning to doubt we were ever going to get some new housemates. So overall it's good news to hear that a whole new crop of HMs will be entering the house next Friday. While it'll be interesting, as always, to see how the new folks fit in (or not), I do feel it's a bit too late for new people to enter. I would have preferred this 'twist' to happen 2-3 weeks ago; it could have really made an impact. Now, with half the series already gone, I just feel too little too late.

However, maybe the 10th anniversary stunts planned for this week will shake things up in the meantime. Personally, I don't think the visits by ex-housemates from previous years will necessarily cause discord in the house, but I do think it will be fun. I'm really looking forward to seeing Nikki, Nasty Nick, Michelle Bass, Rex et al returning. A bit disappointed that some of my own favourites won't be making an appearance, but nonetheless I'm looking forward to an entertaining week. Let's hope I won't be disappointed.....

Marcus Speaks...and the producers cringe

Well here I was sitting down to revel in Sree's departure tonight, only to find it totally upstaged by Marcus's phenomenal diary room "conversation" following his argument with Sree over the shopping budget. I started to cheer when he spoke back and challenged Big Brother over its blatant hypocrisy and PC behaviour. It's the first time a housemate has actually called BB, and I could picture the producers squirming up in the control room as Marcus refused to play ball and tell them they were right.

BB had the cheek to suggest that Marcus was being racist by imitating Sree's Indian accent. This is laughable, considering Halfwit's accent is imitated by a number of housemates (the Kris gang etc) regularly, and not a word is said. And as Marcus rightly pointed out, if he had mimicked Noirin's Irish accent or any of the other housemates accents, he wouldn't have been spoken to at all. I'm totally with Marcus, and it's about time someone called the show out on this. In a way, it's now a bit of a shame (only a very little bit, mind) that Sree won't be in the house next week.

Now, no doubt opinion will be split on this topic. For everyone who applauds Marcus, there'll be someone else who disagrees completely. And of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion. For me, I'm happy to see a housemate finally stand up to Big Brother. Let's hope it continues.

Come on Big Brother, toughen up!

I'm getting a bit annoyed at Big Brother producers; they're being far too soft on this year's housemates. Why were they allowed to eat all the ice cream from the Italian task? Surely the point of the HM's losing last week's shopping task was to make them last the week with low food rations. Time to toughen up, that's when all the major arguments start, so come on Big Brother!

Just Go Now

Sree during this week's Italian task has been one of the most infuriating TV experiences I've had in quite a while. First off, he declares himself to have an excellent memory - even as I, along with the housemates and most of the viewing public (I'd imagine) watched in doubt, and then inevitably went on to show just how bad a memory he actually has. Every time he answered the phone to take Big Brother's icecream order, I watched through my fingers as he messed it up. This wouldn't be so bad if he didn't then procalim himself to be performing excellently in the diary room. Deluded, deluded, deluded. Honestly, I'm so excited about tonight's eviction, firstly because he will definitely go, and secondly because he honestly believes there's no chance this will happen. I look forward to seeing the shocked look on his face when reality dawns.

Sree Must Surely Go

I can't believe it's taken this long, but Sree is finally up for eviction, and I, for one, am counting down the hours until the smug smile is wiped off his face as he's kicked out of the house. It's baffled me how he's managed to elude nominations this long. I find him intensely annoying, fake as hell, with a deluded sense of his own importance.

Coupled with my dislike for Sree is my increasing pity for Halfwit. OK, so the guy can be a bit annoying, and possibly comes across as a bit patronising, but overall I think he's a decent enough bloke, who's unfortunately stuck in a house with a bunch of idiots (my favourite Siavash aside). As the weeks go on and the public keep him in, it's becoming uncomfortable viewing, watching as the other housemates (Lisa, the loathsome Kris, Karly etc) get more and more nasty towards him. At this stage, I feel they are bullying him, and it's not nice viewing. I found myself squirming as I watched how they treated him during the Italian task. It wasn't his fault that they messed up the song, and it was disappointing that no-one in the house stood up for him. While I am positive he'll stay this Friday, I know it means another 7 days of nastiness for him. I'm hoping that he'll begin to get stronger and argue back more - after all, it doesn't really make any difference. They'll all nominate him no matter what he does, so go on Halfwit, stir it up!

Big Brother Rules!

I've decided I'm quite enjoying BB10. I know the viewership figures are down - apparently the decision to axe the live feed hasn't gone down too well - but I think it's a bit of a shame. I think this year's series is one of the best of the past few years.

So here, in no particular order, are some of the reasons why I think BB10 rules!

Big Brother Bites Back: Big Brother has become much more sarky this year. Recognising that the housemates are generally tabloid obsessed fame seekers, Big Brother has decided to get in on the act. I've loved the ban on fake romances in the house, and the much more tongue-in-cheek tone being taken. It's added a nice element of humour to the show.

Housemates "being themselves": For so long we've grown used to seeing housemates playing up to the cameras, exaggerating their behaviour, but this year I feel there are a few of the gang who are actually "being themselves", to use that overused phrase trotted out by countless ex-housemates over the years. For all his creepy behaviour, Sree's reaction to Noirin's knockback has come across as being very genuine. I know there's been a bit of a debate around Angel and her hunger strike, but again I honestly think her behaviour has been straight up. And of course, my personal favourite housemate, Siavash, is coming across as a genuine guy. Now I may be very naive (sadly, even after 10 years of the show I still have the capacity to read people appallingly badly), but I feel these guys....and maybe add Freddy to that list....are being themselves, though I guess time will tell.

No thugs: Now don't get me wrong, there are a good few argumentative, occasionally obnoxious and irritating characters in the Big Brother house. However, it's nice to see that Endemol resisted the urge to put an extreme person into the house, like the nasty Alex and Charley from previous seasons. While those two certainly stirred things up in the house, they just were not nice people. I don't think there's anyone in the house that would rank up there with those two, and for that I think it'll make for a nicer (and entertaining) house.

I'll end by saying to those BB doubters out there: give it a chance this year, it might just be worth it.

So why all the hate for Halfwit?

Freddy, aka Halfwit, is up for eviction for the second week running. This time round, he faces off against Cairon, who I reckon will be the one to go. I think Cairon's suffered from being the youngest in the house. A bit too young for the girls, he appears to have taken to sleeping in protest...a lot.

But back to Freddy. I kind of feel a bit sorry for this guy. I'm sure he's probably a bit irritating to live with, but I'm a bit baffled as to how he could be so bad as to attract 9 nominations, while the intensely annoying and increasingly creepy Sree got away with a mere 2 noms. I was sure he was a definite for this week, very surprised he got away.

I was checking out Digital Spy's BB forum today, where Noirin was getting quite a bit of stick about herself and Sree. I'm surprised about that. At the end of the day, I think she's stuck in a very awkward situation. She clearly doesn't fancy the guy at all, but doesn't want to upset him. I don't think she's doing this just to be nice for the cameras; maybe it's my naive side coming through, but I do think she's being genuine (and I am feeling a good bit of sympathy for her having to STILL draw those stupid glasses on her face - seriously, time to stop this, it's just tedious).

I wouldn't be surprised if Sree pushes it a step too far over the next couple of days. Watch this space.....