Big Brother Canada Doesn’t Suck, Even Though It Should

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I take my TV time very seriously. I don’t watch just anything. I never “channel surf” unless I’m frighteningly bored, which is never. I plan when and if I am going to watch my shows. So, this Big Brother Canada post is not a mistake. I love the Big Brother franchise (except the UK one because I’m too busy for that nonsense). I’ve seen every single season of the American one and some of them even twice. Maybe…maybe I spent last summer re-watching seasons 7-13?14? I lost count. Are you still reading this? Should I seek help?

Anyways, being Canadian, we’re predisposed to the Canadian version of American things sucking. There are many, many examples, but the biggest one is Canadian Idol. Does the name Kalen Porter ring a bell? No, then you’re definitely American. But enough about our dark past, because Slice has presented us with a very bright future.

Big Brother Canada not sucking is very big deal. It’s on Slice, it’s Canadian, it’s sponsored by The Brick (did you know it was sponsored by The Brick? Because if not, now you know that it is), I mean, it has all the ingredients of major Suck Sauce but, my God, it does not. This first season of Big Brother Canada might be better than most of the recent seasons of the American version. Why? What’s so good about this Canadian version? Big Brother Canada has brought Big Brother back to it’s roots. The show started off as a social experiment before it slowly evolved into just another reality-competition show. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s very much a reality-competition show, but in the beginning of the original Big Brother, we got to see this really weird, really inventive and exciting type of reality show. It was The Real World but with competitions. I’ve missed that part of the show so much.

Reality TV isn’t exciting anymore because everyone wants to be Snooki or Lauren Conrad because they know they can. Now, granted, the Big Brother franchise has never really produced a reality-celebrity (which I love about it) but the contestants of the newer seasons are much more aware than those of the first season (seriously, go on YouTube and watch the very first season of Big Brother if you’re a fan. It’s so raw and so weird and amazing and omfg Julie Chen’s original face). The contestants on Big Brother Canada are very aware and very ready for the opportunities that can and will follow (Gary WILL get his own show on Slice. Know that. It’s happening) but they’re a lot less rehearsed. Take the latest episode with the slop challenge. Emmett’s whole milk ordeal? Peter’s aversion towards salad? When was the last time you saw two moments as honest as that on the American series? Neither were rehearsed or set up by the producers. Actually: they were clearly set up by the producers as the producers knew Emmett would be affected by too much milk (as any normal person would) and Peter’s unusual diet, but the reactions were so, so honest. This is what I’m loving about this version.

Now, the show has a lot of issues it has to fix. Mainly: Arisa Cox. When it was announced that we would be getting our very own version of Big Brother (100 years later, mind you…) the major issue was who would host? I always wanted Ben Mulroney to do it. He doesn’t need it, but I think he would’ve done a great job. Even Cheryl Hickey would’ve been great. I’m sure Arisa is a very nice person and she’s very pretty but her hosting is just not happening at all. From her limp wrist to her awkward questions to everything else, it’s obvious she’s no Chenbot (but then again, who is really?). If you’re a fan of Big Brother, it means you love Julie Chen. Julie Chen LOVES Big Brother. You just don’t get that from Arisa, but hopefully she grows.

Other issues? It’s still very Canadian. We get it, Big Brother Canada, you’re sponsored by The Brick. Everyone gets it. Sometimes, in Canada, we let our Canadianess take over because we feel the need to apologize for being Canadian OR to remind everyone we’re Canadian. I hope this goes away soon.

But other than that, I have no problems with this show. It’s proved to be JUST, if not more entertaining than the original series (which will always be my first love, of course). What’s impressed me the most is the inventiveness of some of the competitions. The American version has been very repetitive in these recent seasons, and I worried we’d just copy every competition they did. Now, of course, we’ve kept the general idea of most of the expected competitions but it’s stuff like the originality of Sunday’s food comp that’s giving this franchise a new lease on life. I also loved the Evil Dead-inspired Veto comp. Also: Gary. I miss Gary…

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We all hated him at first, and then, out of NO WHERE, we all wanted him to win. His life, it’s no longer not gourmet (seriously, like, top 10 reality show quotes of all-time, right?).

No one in the house right now is my favourite. I can’t stand Talla or Andrew. Peter was a favourite at the beginning, but he has yet to prove himself as a player. Alec is playing way too hard. Topaz is Topaz. Emmett remains the worst. Jillian is my only “favourite” at the moment. She’s an all around very strong player and a smart social player. She can win the game, she just needs to keep her head in it and not in Jemmet (barf).

Canada, we have our first gourmet reality series. It’s all happening for us.

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