Apathy Attacks

While punters outside the house have been lashing the mortgage money onto the Dragon, Ray has not been so fortunate at the roulette table. I would have been tempted to have put the lot on black, a view shared by Jon Tickle apparently. It would have come off too. Ray?s gamble could have won the group over three hundred smackers. I suppose two quid will suffice. Ray decision to buy just a single toilet roll may wipe the smile of their faces in the long run.

Lisa is apparently the hottest favourite to be evicted in Big Brother history, an accolade that was held by Tania a mere two evictions ago. Gos was massively odds on to go last week and the majority of the evictees with the exception of Anouska in week one and Jon Tickle in exceptional circumstances, have been hot favourites as well.

Part of the problem then is that the voting has been a bit like a General Election. We all think we know who?s going to the top the poll before it all starts so for many of us, apathy seeps in and we don?t bother to vote. In previous series there has been a lot more uncertainty about the result of the eviction poll and indeed surprise at some of the results and it?s this that led to the phenomenal numbers of votes cast.

If we all assume that Lisa's going, how many of us will bother to phone in?

Although I can?t abide Lisa and genuinely hope she goes on Friday, I think the Keep Lisa In and Get Cameron Out campaigns should be very much encouraged. It is true to say that the Orcadian?s departure would really unsettle those left in a way that hasn?t been seen yet this year. The confusion caused by one of the clique being turfed out in favour of the outsider would certainly turn their heads to mush. I?d love to the expression on master tactician Scott?s face were this to be the turn of events.

I don?t think Cameron will go but Tickle fans are surprisingly still smarting over the editing on the night their man was ousted and a fair amount of that vitriol has been directed towards the gentle islander. They might not make it a close run thing but they will at least make it a contest.

Steph must be safe.

Ray?s nomination reasons were sound enough, which makes a change in this series. I?m not sure why Big Brother pressed him on his reasons for putting Steph up for the vote, as I would have thought that her insensitivity on hearing the last vote result was reason enough. The point about that was Steph seems to have no idea she was being insensitive and neither Ray nor Nush had the balls to confront her about it. There are far too many social niceties going on for this stage of the game. We need a few blazing rows, if only to get rid of the underlying tension.

I?m not entirely sure what, if anything, the Dragon has brought the house during her two-week stay. Is she entirely stable? The whole single white female thing was very scary and at all times she has seems false to me, not to mention brittle. If there?s been a vocal minefield to step on she?s found it and body language has shown her to be defensive. She should smile more and not just when telling one her ?stories?.

In an effort to boost their paltry ratings, the gang at RI: SE continue to go large on the Big Brother theme and it dominates every show, with even non-BB interviews beginning with the statutory ?Are you watching Big Brother?? Pretty soon there will be more housemates in the RI: SE studio then there are in the house as evictees seem to turn up on being turfed out and then never leave. Perhaps producers should reflect that filling the studio with the likes of Justine and Fed might not be a ratings grabber. We voted them out because we didn?t like them.

Big Brother continues to cast its shadow across the globe. BB Africa hasn?t proved to be as big a pull without the departed Cameron. This may be due to the confusing way in which the shows were screened on E4. If they just screen the latest footage we?d know where we were. Similarly coverage of the USA version won?t begin until our show has finished and will then be a confusing day behind. Why not dedicate one of the useless highlight feeds on the interactive service to cover the opening weeks of the show. I have to say I?m still not keen on the X-Factor format but I?ll keep a weather eye on it and see how it begins to pan out.