As Big Brother disappears from Channel 5 and we remember some of its classic moments – Nasty Nick’s notes, George Galloway the cat, Nikki’s meltdowns, Jade’s verruca, Chantelle the fake celebrity, “fight night” – it’s also worth remembering how this ground-breaking format from the Netherlands changed the face of television. Some might dismiss it as the show that dragged TV into the gutter, a sign of our degraded society – but the truth is far more complex.
Big Brother was born at a moment of explosive innovation, at the very time the internet was taking shape, and it was the first programme to truly embrace online streaming; you might remember gathering round office computers watching Nasty Nick get his comeuppance at the hands of Craig the builder – the nation’s first full-scale, ultra-hysterical online shame-on-you moment. As we fast-forward into the social media age, we can see the seeds of our modern screen-based feeding frenzies taking root in that moment. When Big Brother 2 came along we went one step further, streaming the show 24 hours a day on E4 and allowing audiences different platforms through which to consume it. Now we stream everything. All the time. For ever.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2Dnvigr
via
0 Comments