Ian Terry's reason for not liking modern Big Brother is a problem with all reality TV

Ian Terry gave an interview to EW, in which he talked about his dislike for the modern era of reality TV. His reasoning? The diary rooms are too canned and scripted. As he said:

"I'll be honest: I'm not a fan of modern Big Brother, and a lot of that has to do with the Diary Room sessions. Nothing beats that organic feeling of the Diary Room sessions from the earliest of seasons. Personally, I am very long-winded, so capturing my thoughts in a quick, easy-to-digest soundbite is never going to result in anything getting explained fully. This leaves viewers to connect the dots on their own, often incorrectly."

I do think this is a problem with a lot of reality TV shows today — it's become more about ensuring the production is stellar than making sure we're seeing something authentic and interesting. It's true that early 2000s reality TV often veered into boredom territory (Newlyweds, for example, is mostly a show about people unpacking boxes), but it really allowed innovation in the genre. When you let humans be humans, interesting things are borne out of the viewing experience — if you try to script EVERYTHING, there's very little room for creativity and to, as Big Brother promises, expect the unexpected.