Viewers beware — 'Big Brother' is back

Big Brother" returns tonight for its 11th season — yes, 11th season — and I still don't get it.

Oh, there are plenty of shows that aren't exactly my taste that become popular. And, despite my disdain for them, I can understand how other people can find them entertaining.

Not so much with "Big Brother" (7 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2).

Well, unless you find people acting badly toward one another entertaining. And if I want to see that, I can watch the news.

It's not just that the format of "Big Brother" calls for people to intentionally lie, cheat and backstab — after all, "Survivor" remains oddly entertaining. It's that the game itself is just dumb.

And this year's twist doesn't sound particularly promising:

"Twelve strangers will move into the 'Big Brother' house and learn that they will be 'kickin' it old school' this summer — high school to be exact," according to CBS. "The house guests will be shocked to learn that they will be playing the game in one of four familiar high school cliques — popular, athletes, brainiacs and off-beats. They will compete for food, safety from eviction and luxury prizes as part of their clique."

Yeah, well, high school is sort of entertaining when you're in it, but I've always felt sorry for people who wanted to go back and relive those days.

The other problem with "Big Brother" is that there's just so darn much of it. It's scheduled to air three nights a week — Thursdays at 7 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m. and Tuesdays at 8 p.m.

Yikes. That's a lot of time to invest in a show that's not particularly entertaining to begin with.

And there are people who subscribe to the 24-hour live feed from the "Big Brother" house.

I'm worried about those people. Really worried about those people.

Hey, I once watched part of a "Big Brother After Dark" on Showtime 2. It's three hours of unedited footage from inside the house — nightly from 1-4 a.m. — and it's astonishingly dull.

Honestly, I don't have the words to express how boring it was. It was nothing short of shocking to realize that any channel would air something that dull, even in the middle of the night.

And people actually pay money to watch this sort of thing on the Internet? Weird.