Wow I am shocked! What a crazy double eviction! I don’t even remember another one that was so surprising. I thought Natalie was a front runner to win the whole series. She was entertaining and a big character from the start. Michael criticized Natalie because she was a diplomat…I liked Natalie because she was a diplomat. She didn’t try to stop the fights, she tried to understand them and help the others work through their issues. Natalie was the only one who went to Michael in a respectable way when he was starting to get out of line. She didn’t berate him; she just tried to figure out where he was coming from. When it looked like a lost cause, she wanted no part of it. I guess I can kind of relate to Natalie in that way. She’s a much better negotiator than I am but I guess I don’t like to make an opinion on an event until I’ve heard both sides of things. If I find that both people are ridiculous I’m don’t want any part of it. The launch night secret task was her ticket to the end. I can’t believe that didn’t pan out. I’m so disappointed. She was one of my favorites this year.

On the other hand I’m glad Kirk is gone. That was a nice surprise. I thought he was a huge dick to Georgia and the twins. He’s looking at the situation all wrong. The twins might think they are better than him but that’s not the reason why they nominated him. They nominated Kirk because he was obnoxious. His persistent flirting really drove them crazy. The same thing goes with Georgia. She found Kirk annoying and didn’t want to deal with him.

Michael is really starting to lose it in there. I still like him as a character but he is starting to get on my nerves. He just doesn’t listen. He thinks people are getting into fights with him when they aren’t at all. He crossed line when Georgia was talking to Karissa. The two were just minding their own business and Michael starts making fun of Georgia’s profession and her beauty. It didn’t even make any sense. The same thing happened with Denise outside at the smoking bench. Denise may have been irritating and nagging but Michael blew up for no reason at all. I think that’s the crux of the problem with Michael and Denise. Denise thinks she is being friendly and Michael takes it the wrong way. Michael also should’ve done a bit more research on the show. It’s not fun when people quit tasks because they think they are too good for them. It’s all a big joke. It’s suppose to be a little humiliating. I want Michael to stick it out to the end but he better cheer up a bit or it’s going to be a long week.

Gareth might be a great person but he is a horrible reality contestant. I hate the peacemaker character. There seems to always be someone in the house who is trying to stop fights and wants everyone to be nice to each other. Gareth really pissed me off when he basically told everyone to nominate and then get over it during the live nominations. No Gareth, I don’t want to see them all get over it. I want to see the housemates get upset. That’s the show. Gareth keeps telling everyone not to fight because that’s what the producers want. No kidding? Gareth would be such a lame winner. I know he is a good guy and “an angel” but he is a pretty terrible housemate. I really hope he doesn’t win because it will drive me insane. He doesn’t deserve it.

I love Karissa and Kristina’s private conversations. Their “game talk” after the live nominations was very interesting. They basically said that the whole show was child’s play and that a lot of the other housemates should be embarrassed, especially Denise. Yea I’m not a big fan of their over the top self confidence but I find them fascinating. Nobody has played the game quite like them. They have this weird strategy and mindset. I’m not sure why they thought Georgia was safe. I’m also not sure why they thought they could beat Michael in a head to head vote. But it’s interesting watching them trying to figure the game.

I’m so sick of Nicola. She’s been crying non-stop. She was very selfish over the letters and just very irritating all around. I’m just not a fan. If Romeo wasn’t so boring Nicola would be my least favorite. Seriously I would’ve said something to Nicola about the letters. She couldn’t wait more than one second before hitting the buzzer? What kind of person does that? I know that she has kids but Gareth, Denise, Frankie, Kristina and Karissa have family members that they would’ve loved to hear from. I know it’s different but her impulsive nature in the situation really irritated me.

I’m told that this finale week has one of the best episodes of the entire Big Brother UK series. I hear it is a brilliant last week! I cannot wait to find out what happens!

This series just keeps getting better and better. I know I said it in my last article that this has been one of the best series in awhile. Well I’m about to up the ante and say that this is one of the  best series period. There is just something about this cast. Everyone is playing their part and they have all been very entertaining. There are some duds. Georgia, Gareth, and Romeo haven’t exactly been the most amazing housemates but they do their part. Everyone else is just perfect. They speak their mind, they are opinionated, and most of them are ready to take part in whatever task Big Brother throws at them.

A few years ago, it looked like the program had run its course. There was only so much Channel 4 could get out of the aging reality show. They thought it was best to just lay it to rest. It kind of seemed that way as well. While I found entertaining moments in the later series, I wasn’t as impressed by them as I was when Big Brother UK 7 and Celebrity Big Brother UK 5 aired. It was still interesting and I loved the format but it wasn’t anything new. I still wasn’t so sure if it was a wise decision for Channel 5 to buy the rights at first. Celebrity Big Brother UK 8 and Big Brother UK 12 were not the most entertaining series. The producers tried to force couples onto the public and it felt kind of lame. This series they’ve abandoned that. They just want fireworks and fights and it has been much more interesting to watch. Put in twelve A-Type personalities and just let the house simmer. Throw in a few crazy twists and devilish tasks and you’ve got a show. This time, they also let them discuss nominations which have made for some interesting tactical voting. At first I was against it. I thought it would kill the format, but it has only improved this series.

I know I sound a little like a hypocrite, considering what I wrote about her in my first article….but I’m sad to see Georgia go. I know she was boring but she is a really nice person. She’s grown on me over the past few days. I really loved her friendship with the twins. I think she is a genuinely nice person who just had a hard time adapting to the house. She definitely should’ve been evicted over Michael but she was still very likable. They tortured her during the shopping task this week. It was so evil forcing her to spend all of that time with Kirk. Speaking of Kirk I thought he was kind of out of line there in the boat. He can nominate the twins and Georgia? But it’s out of line for them to nominate him? Kirk has said some pretty negative things about the three…I don’t get it.

The task was brilliant. It was just so random and ridiculous. I’m glad Michael is starting to see how humiliating this show is…it wasn’t a great career choice. But that only makes Michael more entertaining. The task could’ve been even more harsh it was still really good. All of the tasks this week were great. I loved Frankie’s horrible dates with the twins. I loved the Big Brother US honey task the show adopted. It was brilliant watching Denise and Romeo sleep in a single bed together while listening to Michael’s snoring. I’m sure that was torture. Karissa and Kristina’s fake fight was also really great…even if slightly unbelievable. I think Natalie or Michael could’ve done a better job.

Denise has really gotten on my nerves the past few days. I don’t know what her deal is with Michael. Does she not know how aggravating she is? When the guy tells her repeatedly to leave him alone, why does she keep pestering him? I’m sure she’s been goaded on a bit by the others but she is doing herself no favors. Denise looks like a crazy person. Stop trying to make him happy because you’re trying way to hard. She looked like a fool with her breasts out on Frankie’s birthday. It was actually kind of sad. I’m not saying that Michael is a great person. He’s viciously attacked Denise a few times. He’s told her some awful things. But Michael knows his age and has at least a little bit of class. Denise is just spiraling out of control.

Speaking of people getting crazy drunk…Nicola looked so trashy in the hot tub. Her family should be really embarrassed. What is with these women getting drunk and messing with Frankie?

My favorites right now are the twins, Michael, and Natalie. They are the most dynamic and interesting characters in the house. They also don’t completely get on my nerves. I kind of want Romeo to go next because he hasn’t done a whole lot. But I’m ok with Kirk or Frankie leaving sometime soon as well. I’m very curious about the double eviction and I hope that my favorites make it through. Do yourself a favor and watch the live nominations they are just so amazing and emotional. That is what Big Brother UK is all about.

I don’t think I’ll be picking up the fourth season of The Amazing Race anytime soon. While I’ve complained about recent seasons of the show, I felt like it was a chore to get through the fourth season. The cast was very dislikable and I felt like the second half of the season really dragged on. I don’t think The Amazing Race is as viewer friendly the second time around as Survivor is. The Amazing Race is more straight-forward and there really isn’t a lot of character development. I had forgotten a lot about this season, so it was nice to see some of the stand out moments again but they were few and far between.

When this season original aired I was a big fan of Monica and Sheree. I’m not entirely sure why but I’m sure it had something to with the fact that they were from Georgia, my home state at the time. It’s not exactly surprising. I went through a weird phase at the onset of my reality tv obsession rooting for people from my state. I guess I felt a connection with them. I really liked Teresa from Survivor: Africa and Paschal from Survivor: Marquesas. I still really like them but it definitely helps that they are from Georgia. That’s not really the case anymore and I couldn’t care less where contestants are from today. It’s all about their personality. But after watching this season again…it’s hard not to like Monica and Sheree. After they were eliminated I lost a lot of enthusiasm and had a hard time finishing. They are still my favorite team this season. Monica and Sheree weren’t that exciting and they don’t have any stand out moments but they were really likable. I tried to like Jon and Kelly and I thought I liked Millie and Chuck but both teams have a lot of negative qualities.

That’s the biggest problem with this cast.  There was no one to root for. While I enjoyed Jon and Kelly’s humor and comments they were really unfriendly and very mean spirited. It seems that the rest of the teams just barely tolerated them while Jon and Kelly thought they were the best ones out there. It was funny and all but they were kind of bullies. Their breakdowns weren’t that much fun to watch and Kelly was a poor-man’s version of Flo. However I’m surprised these two were never brought back. They would’ve been a lot of fun in the All Stars season. The two are definitely stand out contestants even if they weren’t that likable. The same goes with Reichen and Chip. They were even more horrible the second time around. It was hard to watch this knowing that Reichen ditches Chip and becomes a disgusting media whore. I really just don’t like them. They both seem like horrible people and I think deserved the treatment they got from the other teams. They were vicious and willing to do just about anything to get ahead. I know that is part of the game but these two really didn’t have a lot of class and they seemed to complain quite a bit. I don’t think they’d be edited like that if they were on The Amazing Race today. I think a lot of their bad moments would be edited out, especially being winners. They got a nice balanced edit here but they just don’t seem like good people. Don’t get me wrong I can root for the bad guy but not these two.

I’m surprised at how many of these teams were forgettable. Amanda and Chris, David and Jeff, Russell and Cindy, and Steve and Josh were all pretty much wallpaper. They all had a moment or two but nothing that really stands out…I mean even my favorites Monica and Sheree were pretty one note. I wish Debra and Steve had made it farther but they were easily cannon fodder the minute they were cast. I think my favorite storyline was Steve and Dave (there were a lot of Steve’s this season) inexplicably getting by round after round. They would just sort of bumble along and would somehow beat a team. This strategy would later be perfected by Team Alabama in season ten.

Jon and Al were fairly middle of the road for me. I liked them and they were entertaining but again they didn’t do much besides their clown stuff. Millie and Chuck were interesting. I’m sure they went their separate ways after the show. The two worked really well together early on but we slowly watched their relationship fall apart. I think Millie had ulterior motives. I think she thought that if they won the race that she would definitely know that they were a solid couple. I’m pretty sure they got married after the race but I’m not sure if they are still together today. If anyone can find that out, that would be great. I think while the two were committed they were scared to take the next step and I think that really held them back. I enjoyed Millie and Chuck early on but the two become pretty wretched and miserable as the season progresses.

One of the great things about this season is that it felt like an actual race. It felt like classic Amazing Race. There were clue boxes, airport drama, no twists, and if you screwed up it was really your fault. I also miss Fast Forwards on every leg. They might as well not even have them now because there is no strategy to them. It didn’t feel as manufactured and there was something raw about the whole thing. I think it is definitely slower but I felt like I was actually there on the race and had some idea about the conditions they were facing. It seemed a lot tougher. In newer seasons teams suddenly just appear in new countries and we don’t even see them arrive at the airport. Sometimes we don’t even see them leave the pit stop. I know High Definition has something to do with it but the race has definitely lost its gritty realistic feeling. I know airport drama has kind of gone out of style with the show but it played a big part this season. The course this season was okay. The India leg was great as were the two Malaysia legs. I think they spent too much time in Europe and they sadly skipped over South America and Africa completely.

If I recall, I didn’t fall in love with The Amazing Race until the fifth series. While I was a casual viewer over the shows first four seasons it was the fifth one that cemented my fandom. I’m not entirely sure why, and when I eventually go through the fifth series I will remember. It definitely has something to do with the team dynamics. So I’m definitely looking forward to that. I mean the fifth series has Colin and Christie, Charla and Mirna, Chip and Kim, Linda and Karen, and Alison from Big Brother. The fifth series cast is definitely a more memorable bunch. The fifth season is still considered to be one of the best of the series, and I’m excited to put this one behind me.

That’s fine and dandy but it’s hard to really care about it when you can’t really connect with the characters. It would’ve been one thing if Chris has been doing impressions all season, but when it is just a device for this episode it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Reagan is kind of competitive but we didn’t know she was into these games until this episode. The whole thing just sort of feels empty. The show hasn’t established who these people are yet so it doesn’t work.

Despite Maya Rudolph’s over the top performance, Ava’s personality has been established. Her issues with Kevin make sense to me. We know that Ava has had issues with boyfriends in the past. She has gone through some horrible break ups. So no wonder why she was reluctant to show the world who she was dating. She is sick of being made fun of. Kevin not feeling noticed enough didn’t make as much sense. But I’m kind of hoping Jason Lee exits the show soon so I don’t really care. Ava was spying on Kevin in the previous episode…I think she’s pretty into him.

The strongest part of the episode was Missy. I think she is going to be the breakout character of the show. She has the best lines and the funniest delivery. It was just too funny that someone as anxious and quirky as her couldn’t deal with this perfect man. She was just so annoyed by him that she had to leave. I’m glad the show has started to focus more on her than Nick Cannon or any of the other peripheral characters.

I just need a reason to care for Chris and Reagan. Give me that and I’ll really start to appreciate the show a bit more. It’ll be funnier once I understand who these two people are and what their deal is. Until then it will just seem like an empty vehicle for Will Arnett and Christina Applegate.

Oh Jesus, I think I might lose some credibility on this. It was kind of hard for me to dislike this episode of The Office. I know many people have had issues with the show this season, including myself, but I can’t completely hate it. I still like the characters even if the writers don’t know what to do with them. I don’t think Andy is a great boss. I still think that was a huge mistake. At times he still doesn’t seem like the boss. It’s almost like Michael is just on an extended vacation and is going to return any minute. Speaking of that, I still think it is odd that he is never mentioned. It’s as if they are pretending he didn’t exist. Also I found it hilarious that NBC had to release a press release, just to let people know that he wasn’t one of the Queerenstein Bears. It was just some random extra that people thought was Steve Carrel. The extra looked more like a mini Robin Williams if you ask me.

But I didn’t hate the episode. It is a far cry from season 2 but it’s the best we are going to get this season. There was a clear storyline and the show felt more focused than usual. It didn’t drag on for half an hour. Also it answered some of the questions I had about Gabe and Robert California.

The big issue this season has obviosuly been Andy Bernard. The writers kind of forced him into the lead role and it doesn’t work. Andy is a much better supporting character and I think the same can be said for Ed Helms. He isn’t leading man material. He’s a much better character actor. This isn’t a bad thing at all. I actually prefer character actors to the leads. They are much more versatile and get to act in a lot of different and fun roles. Ed Helms only works as a leading man when it is more of an ensemble, like in The Hangover. So he’s still not really a leading man anyway… I recently watched Cedar Rapids and Ed Helms just doesn’t do it for me. It just doesn’t work. He isn’t the right type and seems to struggle the whole time. If anything, The Office should’ve made Robert California the new manager. That’s probably not a popular opinion but I would’ve rather have seen that show.

This episode works for me because Andy was part of the ensemble. Yea he had a few scenes at the beginning setting up the plotline about being short $800. But he was just sort of part of the group at the trivia contest. Everyone else really got to shine as well. I personally think the best episodes of the show feature the entire cast. While it was pretty predictable that the stupid team was going to succeed it was fun and entertaining. I wish more episodes were like this that kind of focused on everyone as a group instead of Andy.

Can we spend more time at the Florida office? One of my favorite aspects of the earlier seasons was Corporate. Michael, Jim, and Dwight would drive up to New York and visit with Jan or David Wallace. The scope of the show seemed a lot bigger than it has been for the past few seasons. Things have felt really cramped ever since Dunder Mifflin folded and the Scranton branch was bought by Sabre. Jo and then Robert just sort of appeared and then went off somewhere. The Office didn’t seem as real as the earlier seasons. Especially since Robert and Jo did so much work in the conference room…it wasn’t believable. So I’m glad that we got to see where Robert always went to and got to meet a few new characters. We also now know where Gabe is half the time. It kind of explains why he left, came back, disappeared, and came back again and again. The Dwight B-Story was kind of weak and the wrestling joke was lame…but I liked the story just because we got to see this other location.

“Trivia” was sadly one of the highlights of the season. I still think it is interesting watching this show go through this process. Things aren’t really working but I’ve never been this interested in watching a show fall apart.

With Community waiting in the wings, Parks and Recreation has become the new highlight for NBC Thursday nights. Not to say this season has been weak (this season has been amazing), but it is now clearly the best show in the line up. Parks and Recreation is just firing on all cylinders and everything is just falling into place. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before but it makes perfect sense that Ben would become Leslie’s new campaign manager after he resigned. I’m just amazed at this season’s rhythm and clear plan. Everything just seems so well thought out. Where were these writers during the final few seasons of 24? They could’ve given them some pointers on how to craft a season long story arc.

The whole comeback event was absolutely hilarious. Things didn’t look so bad at first. It just seemed like Leslie’s new committee was having some bad luck. They couldn’t get all of the lumber delivered for the stage, Pistol Pete wouldn’t a basket, and the basketball court they were going to use had been converted into an ice rink. But when everything was put together the entire event was a complete disaster. One thing led to another and Leslie looked completely ridiculous. The ice rink shuffle was brilliant. I love that Leslie could barely get on the platform and I love that her note cards were all mixed up. Just when you thought Pistol Pete was going to save the day, he slips and really hurts himself. It was just so incredibly bad which made it so funny. The episode didn’t seem that spectacular until the campaign rally when it all came together. I don’t want to say it was perfect…but I mean that’s as close to perfection as a show can get. While other sitcoms start struggling in their fourth season, Parks and Recreation has shown how resilient and creative a show can be with the right writers and actors.

I really don’t have anything to complain about. I just loved it so much. I just want to gush about everything. I loved Champion, the three legged dog. I loved “Get On Your Feet” repeating endlessly while the entire cast slipped on the ice. Jerry’s Hawaiian shirt was great and I loved Tom’s red carpeted shoes. Ben’s stop-motion film was brilliant. The whole thing was just so good.

Parks and Recreation has just been fantastic this season. I’m just so impressed with the show. It really deserves some accolades. Amy Poehler really deserves an Emmy for her role on the show. This has just sort of been a love fest here and not really a critical review but what can I say? It’s hard to discuss something when it’s so good. All you can say is how good it is. Up All Night, 30 Rock, and The Office take note. This is how you do it.

30 Rock will never be as good as its earlier seasons. It just isn’t going to happen. It’s disappointing but it’s not something I’m going to harp on article after article. I’ve made my peace that it isn’t going to get better and I’m just going to deal with it. I can enjoy a sub-par show. That being said I didn’t think the premiere was that bad and I enjoyed having the show back. I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder because I forgot about my complaints from the past few seasons. The same can kind of be said about Parks and Recreation last year. Not that Parks and Recreation has ever had a bad season but I enjoyed its premiere a year ago because I really missed it. Now I ended up having a difficult time with the rest of the season (for whatever reasons) but I remember really enjoying its first few episodes. I think the same thing is going to happen with 30 Rock. I’m going to really enjoy these first few episodes and then very quickly I remember all of the problems with the show. So I’m sure this review won’t be as critical as it should be.

For most of the series, Jack has been Liz’s mentor. He’s her advisor. Basically he tells Liz when she is weird or a huge loser. Liz has become this junk food eating, anxiety ridden, lonely mess. Jack wants her to become a successful and happy person.  He is always one step ahead of her and finds her pretty predictable. So when Liz returns to work in a great mood he’s a little perplexed. After some research, with the help of Tracey, he believes he has discovered the source of her happiness. The WNBA dance team, which Liz has now become a part of. But Liz has another surprise for Jack and for viewer when she reveals that she has a boyfriend. I love seeing Liz Lemon happy. She is usually really anxious and has to deal with too many problems. Her life is a huge mess and she never really gets what she wants. But she continues to plod on. So it’s always a nice change of pace to see her happy and content.  I thought the WNBA dance team joke was kind of ridiculous but Liz Lemon would totally get involved in something like that. Her closing scene was a nice surprise and it’s nice to know that not even Jack can predict everything.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Kenneth’s plot. It was the lazy and the weakest part of the episode. It was also nothing new and surprising. We already know that Kenneth is sheltered and believes in his hokey version of Stone Mountain Christianity. It’s as if the writers didn’t know what to do with Kenneth and remembered Harold Camping’s prediction from last May. He spent most of the episode checking off things on his bucket list. Since it was Kenneth they were all really lame things, like scraping a sticker off the ceiling. Kenneth is used for cheap laughs but I think they could do more with Jack McBrayer’s character than just his usual dumb hick with routine. Again it’s the character but it doesn’t have to be so predictable.

Jenna’s story wasn’t anything that surprising either. She was inexplicably hired as the mean judge for a kid’s singing show, America’s Kidz Got Singing!. Jack feels sorry for the kids, thinking of his own daughter, and asks her to tone it down a little bit. But the ratings start to dip so Jack backs off and Jenna continues being absolutely brutal. If anything it was a nice criticism on reality talent shows, pointing out that even they follow a familiar formula to get viewers. I was able to attend a taping of The Sing Off and was slightly surprised at how manufactured the whole thing was. They didn’t go as far as do multiple takes for the judge’s critiques but they might as well have. So 30 Rock wasn’t that far off. Jenna’s story also gave us the best running joke of the episode, the public domain children’s songs the contestants sang. The over-emotional rendition of “Camp Town Races” was perfect for the episode ending montage.

So it wasn’t great television but it did its job. I think I can enjoy the show if I don’t expect too much. I’ll always really enjoy the first three seasons…but I hope to just kind of enjoy these new ones. Sound good?

Ok I really like Big Brother UK. Even when it goes through a rough patch I still enjoy it because I love the format. I just find it clever and interesting. It’s a mini little soap opera. But sometimes it doesn’t work that well. It can feel a little repetitive and boring if it isn’t done right. That can’t be said about this series. It has been absolutely brilliant. Celebrity Big Brother UK 9 has been one of my favorites in a long time. They got it right with the cast this time. This show is all about casting. You put in too many boring people or too many freaks and it falls apart. There needs to be a balance. We need interesting and over the top people. We need quiet people. Everyone needs to play their part and they got it right this time around. I know it’s only been two episodes since my last review but they were both really good and really entertaining.

I’m sad to see Natasha go. She is so much more enjoyable than the insufferable Nicola. I get it that Natasha did a horrible thing. I get it. I could never have an affair for eight years. I could never do that to a spouse. What she did was truly horrible. I think she feels bad about it. I think she wants to be forgiven. She should be. Natasha should get a second chance and should be able to move on from it. Natasha just had a great personality. She seemed fun and vibrant. She has an interesting voice. You want to hear her talk about anything. No wonder why she is such a flirt. She is just so enticing. It’s really too bad. It looked like she was having a great time in the house.

Nicola on the other hand is a piece of work. She is a huge bitch and just generally a negative and gossipy person. She brings more to the house than Natasha but she is pretty horrible. I don’t like her personality. I think she thinks she is better than most people and entitled. I get that she doesn’t care that a 25-year-old doesn’t like her. But she should. I would care if I had a personality clash with someone. Don’t put Georgia down because she is younger than you. She has a lot more class than Nicola. Nicola just hates that Georgia is confident enough in herself that she doesn’t feel like she has to be this loud and over the top person.  I hope Natalie steers clear of her in the future because Nicola is going to bring her down.

I also don’t really understand why Georgia is getting such a bad reputation. We’ve barely seen anything from Gareth and Romeo. For all we know they could be even more boring than her. I just don’t get it.

What’s up with Denise? I don’t really understand her issue with Michael. I guess she wants Michael to pay more attention to her. She wants him to be more engaged when talking to her. It reminds me of Cleo Rocos and Dirk Benedict in Celebrity Big Brother UK 5. Cleo was great until she started getting in Dirk’s face and trying to figure him out. Just give Michael some space.

Surprisingly enough, my favorites right now are Karissa and Kristina. I can’t believe it myself. I was dreading their appearance when they were rumored before the series started. On launch night I thought they looked really stupid and dumb. But I like their personality and I think they are pretty funny. They don’t take a lot of shit from any of the others and I love their confidence. Karissa and Kristina would put Jedward in their place. Karissa’s cow urine porridge reaction will go down in Big Brother UK history. It is one of the most memorable highlights the show has had in a long time. I think I’ve seen it five or six times now. It is too funny. I can’t wait to see the twins dates that they were teasing on Big Brother’s Bit on the Side.

It has been an amazing two days and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

The fourth series of Big Brother UK is notoriously remembered as the boring series. When I first started to go through the older series, I was widely advised to skip over this one and forget about it. Fans said it was a waste of my time and wished me good luck getting through it. This series is also picked on by Big Brother’s own producers and presenters. Just look at Ultimate Big Brother. Nikki Grahame and Brian Dowling were making fun of the series contestants joking about Sissy walking through the door and joining the lineup. While Marcus Bentley, the show’s narrator said during a mock funeral that the show in general “…was never boring… well, except for Big Brother 4.” It gets a pretty bad rap. While it makes sense to a degree, Big Brother UK 4 is still better than the original season of US Big Brother and has a lot of high points. But I can definitely see where it gets its reputation. While it may not being remembered fondly, it still had better ratings than the last few years of Big Brother UK.

I think the biggest problem with this season is its cast. They really wanted to get along and there was almost no conflict. The end of the series had a few arguments but everyone made up fairly quickly. They were a very conservative bunch and never really confronted anyone with their issues. Most of them were just there for the experience and very few of them actually have a career in the entertainment industry today. It’s refreshing seeing a bunch of good nice people who just wanted to be on television for a little bit, but it doesn’t exactly make for good television.  There were stand out contestants and big characters but the series screwed itself over with its twists that I think ultimately doomed Big Brother UK 4 in general.

The housemates were asked to nominate someone for eviction an hour after they entered the house. If someone’s named was mentioned they were automatically put up for the public vote. So if you gave a bad first impression, you were pretty much screwed and that is what happened to Anouska. Anouska was probably one of the more entertaining and outlandish housemates. She was young and vivacious; she drank a lot, and was pretty loud and vocal. Perhaps it is someone who is hard to get along with but it is what you look for in a reality tv contestant. Anouska came into the house and was probably a little nervous. She drank a bit too much and would not stop talking. Half of the housemates nominated her and her fate was pretty much sealed. She was up there with three of the guys and guys never go home first on Big Brother UK. So her fate was sealed an hour after entering the house. Honestly it is one of the worst twists the show has ever done. I don’t think the producers thought this through.  It was an interesting first impressions experiment but doomed outlandish and over the top housemates. People’s impressions change so quickly in that house. I know there are contestants I like the first night of the show who I ultimately hate after watching them for a few weeks. The show lost an excellent housemate.

After Anouska left Jon and Federico became the focal points of the show. Jon was opinionated, socially awkward, and a big geek. At one point or another every single person (besides Sissy) nominated him to go. But he became the star of the series because he gave excellent diary room entries. He said what was on his mind and didn’t exactly care what others thought. He was just giving his opinion. Federico was also pretty loud and slightly abrasive. He wanted to have a lot of fun and offended a few people (including one of the voices of Big Brother). But Federico stood out because he single handedly screwed up the first two shopping tasks. Well the producers decided to shake things up and have the show’s first ever double eviction, after the third week. Jon, Federico, and eventual winner and surprisingly popular contestant Cameron were all nominated. There was no way that Jon and Federico were going to survive and the show lost its two big characters in one night.

Then things completely fell apart. The producers tried desperately to make the show exciting. Cameron and a Big Brother Africa housemate named Gaetano swapped places for a week. While it was fun watching Cameron come out of his shell in the exciting Big Brother Africa house, it showed just how slow this series of Big Brother UK house was. Gaetano was bored and I thought it was fairly obvious that he couldn’t wait to get back to his housemates. It should’ve been really exciting, but it was probably the worst week the show has ever had. Gaetano got Tania upset but that was pretty much it…and then Tania was later evicted.

At this point it was pretty obvious to me why everyone hates this season. All of the big characters had been evicted. Tania was pretty much the last hope. We were left with quiet and boring housemates. Scott and Gos have got to be some of the most boring housemates the show has ever had. Cameron was interesting but he was too much of a nice guy. He was also extremely puritanical and was still a virgin at the age of 32. Ray, Nush, and Steph weren’t so bad but they were pretty quiet for the most part.

Luckily the producers had a few more twists in store which carried the show to its finale. They brought in Lisa, who ended up being one of the more entertaining housemates. She was a bit older than everyone and pretty opinionated. She had watched the series so she knew who everyone was. She also gave a classic Big Brother UK line telling Ray that she could kill someone with her two fingers. Unfortunately Lisa never really meshed well with the original housemates. She was ostracized and spent a lot of time on her own. But at least it got everyone talking. Maybe Lisa wasn’t a long term housemate but it gave them all something to think about and gave viewers an interesting story arc for two weeks….yea just two weeks. The producers decided to throw in yet another twist giving Ray the sole power to nominate during week 7 and Lisa was put up and quickly evicted.

So the producers decided on one last twist. Why not vote an evicted housemate back into the house? They wouldn’t be able to win but they could cause some controversy. The producers also knew that Jon was extremely popular and with out a doubt he would go back in. So Jon Tickle was voted back into the house and promised to shake things up…but after a few days he just kind of faded into the background and really didn’t shake up the house at all.

See Big Brother UK 4 is just failed twist after failed twist. Nothing played out the way the producers wanted and there wasn’t much they could do with the housemates. It just dragged on and on and I’m not surprised Big Brother UK changed dramatically after this year. I honestly don’t hate this series; I actually like it more than the second series. While the twists failed they at least changed the group dynamics every week. After Jon and Federico were eliminated the group was changing every few weeks. One week had Gaetano, one week had a new and improved Cameron, one week had Lisa, and finally Jon returned. It was a more likable group than usual and it was interesting watching the producers slowly start to tweak the program for the first time. I also really liked the live tasks and the rewards room. That was a fun treat every week and it is something I wish the producers brought back in newer series. It was a lot like the Australian Big Brother’s Friday Night Games except not as bloated and long. Also some of the drunken arguments in the second half of the series were extremely entertaining. I loved the Irish night where Lisa told everyone what she thought of them. Ray and Steph’s fight after Ray revealed that Steph had been upset earlier in the week was also great. While I didn’t really like Nush I loved seeing her have no control and no limits when it came to drinking. She was an extremely sloppy drunk. It may not be the best series of Big Brother UK but I think it is a little underrated.

I wouldn’t say that American Dad is more sophisticated than Family Guy or The Cleveland Show. But it can definitely handle more sophisticated plots. The characters are more complex. They have a much more dynamic relationship with one another. The plot is more straightforward and the show is more like a traditional sitcom than either Family Guy or The Cleveland Show. Now I know I just spent a whole article writing how much I like Family Guy’s cutaways and hate it when they don’t use a lot of them. Well the opposite is true for American Dad. I like the show because it uses situational humor and doesn’t usually cut away to something ridiculous. But again it is a different show tonally and it can do that. American Dad could do a great bottle episode. Family Guy cannot. The Cleveland Show can’t really do anything so it doesn’t really have a place in this article. It can sometimes be funny. Ok there you go.

It’s been a running theme on American Dad. Steve can never be the boy who Stan wants him to be. He’s just too big of a geek, he isn’t manly enough. When Francine announces that she might be pregnant, Stan thinks this is his second shot at raising a boy. This of course makes Steve feel terrible. So he and Roger, who looked amazing on his throne by the way, come up with a scheme as way for Steve to impress his father. The plan is for Steve to dress up as a super hero so Roger can record him doing something heroic. But after Roger gives the video to the local news he takes credit for the whole thing. Stan is enamored with Roger and still kind hates Steve. Well Francine tells Steve to grow up and quit trying to impress his dad and live his own life. When Steve finally does that he ends up saving a baby and looking heroic anyway. This in turn impresses Stan.

It’s certainly not Modern Family or Parks and Recreation but it’s sophisticated in its own American Dad way. Family Guy’s characters aren’t developed or nuanced enough to do this story. In a way, I think Seth MacFarlane wishes Family Guy could do a story like this. That is why it has its serious episodes. But it never works and feels off on that show. If American Dad decided to do a really serious episode I think it could work. I don’t want it to, but I could see it happen in a couple of years. This episode felt really complete. It was funny (Maybe Baby) and had a genuine nice ending with Steve impressing his father. The show may have had a rocky season so far but this episode was solid.