George Orwell's Hangover

I feel so sorry for George Orwell whose warning of a horrifying possible future ruled by the all controlling Big Brother seems now to be contorted into the money making machine that is the TV show Big Brother. These guys continue to make money hand over fist at the expense of the contestants and the intelligence of the public (or at least those that watch it) and all seem to be oblivious. I just wish I had thought of it.

I could write a book on my opinion of this show, but at the same time would have to admit I have been known to be a bit of a hypocrite in the past. I hear you scream "NO!" but it is true. In the past, when my reality program addicted partner is watching the show, I too, like a deer in the headlights, seem to be transfixed to the screen while we watch someone make a cup of coffee, sleep, lay on a couch or brush their teeth...me all the while whinging and complaining about how terrible it is to watch a show like this, she all the while telling me to shut up and stop being a hypocrite considering I am in fact watching it. I hate it when that happens.

Anyway, point is, last week we had to draw a line when the show went just too far. We have now banned it from our house and this is why; apparently, the task for last week (they all get a task each week designed to keep the audience interested and the contestants bewildered and the ratings up) was for each of them to have to look after one of those computerised babies. You know the ones, they are supposed to be just like a real baby but you can actually leave these ones in the car while you go and play the pokies... Anyway I digress, turns out that one of the contestants just 18 months ago had lost a baby after carrying it full term. So rightly, she gets upset and says she wants to leave the house if she has to continue with this task. End result; Big Brother says she doesn't have to leave and then takes all the babies back telling the contestants that the task has been halted and left the upset contestant to explain why. VERY emotional stuff follows, huge publicity, ratings go nuts etc.

Here's the kicker... Turns out the producers knew all along that this contestant had recently lost the baby (I read it in the paper so of course this must be true). Their excuse? Contestant had told them that she had dealt with it (which I'm sure she had, except for the highly unlikely circumstance of having to care for a fake baby...yeah???). Of course taking the contestants word for it is good enough surely? Why bother with professional advice on something this sensitive if the contestant said they're okay? Why not throw it in her face and reap the ratings reward...all publicity is good publicity yeah?

I call bullshit. It seems sadistic to me...and most of the sane world I would expect, for a TV show to burn someone so blatantly. Even my lovely partner, who is normally a defender of this show, threw her hands up in disgust and changed the channel, which I highly recommend all of you also do. Big Brother was a fun idea for the first 2 seasons...after that, they have had to scrape the bottom of the barrel in order to come up with even more ways to keep the show interesting and in turn keep the pennies coming in. It's just too much now...simple as that. So folks, the only way to stop it is to not watch it...don't spend your money on voting for it, don't get suckered by their advertising and don't dumb yourself down any longer. Change the channel. It's that simple.

End rant.