The return of Jon Tickle has been Big Brother's third and most audacious attempt to stir up trouble in the House by bringing in an unexpected outsider. How has it fared?
The first injection was champion-humper Gaetano, who humiliated Tania; the second was boasting Lisa, who humiliated herself; and the third is I-am-an-alien Tickle, who appears to be failing to humiliate anyone, despite his bold promises.
Jon's decision to return to the House was curiously out of character. The only explanation is his head was so swollen by finding himself a cult figure, that his usually well-balanced judgement was capsized.
What he had failed to perceive is that the public took to him originally because he was that much loved British icon - the eccentric professor, capable of boring you to death at a hundred paces with his obsessive know-how.
But because of the restrictive conditions of his return (no outside gossip, no nominations, no winning) he has shrunk in stature from being the nation's favourite know-all to becoming little more than an irrelevant hanger-on, who turns out to be rather a kindly soul once you get to know him.
Why have all three of this year's novelty-injections failed to bring the hoped-for chaos?
Week by week the public misguidedly voted out any fledgling misfit who showed any signs of stirring things up, leaving an increasingly pleasant group of friends who have bonded strongly despite being rivals, have plainly hated voting for one another, and have even reached that very special friendship stage of cheerfully swapping 'friendly insults.'
Only true friends can risk being appallingly rude to one another and laughing about it.
When Ray told Scott to f*** off, the response he got was not a snarl or a sulk but, to his horror, a kiss.
When Steph and Ray had what appeared to be a major bust-up, they were happily dancing together in a matter of hours.
When Jon tried to make mischief, they said "Dear old Jon, he's only trying to wind us up."
But they weren't supposed to know this, they were supposed to BE wound up.
For some viewers, the lack of fireworks this year has been a disappointment. For others, BB's last-minute attempts to inject discord has broken too many of the basic BB rules and, in the process, has destroyed the traditional claustrophobia of the BB environment.
These critics feel that, had there been no injections from outside, the original inmates would have developed more and more intense relationships that would have been fascinating enough, in their own right, to hold our attention.
Whatever these critics may say, the fact is this year's BB has been full of intriguing nuances.
Very little screaming and shouting, it is true, but many subtle mood-shifts and other tiny details of behaviour that have made it as watchable as ever.
As a bonus, there is now the intriguing question of who will be the ultimate winner from the final four.
There is no clear leader.
The bookies have had Scott slightly in front for a long time, but Cameron has now overtaken him and Ray is still 'thereabouts' (as they say in racing).
Scott's determination to raise inactivity to the level of an art-form has started to backfire on him, and his behaviour in the love-nest with Nush was so disappointingly inhibited the race must now surely be much more open.
With Cameron hiding his well-thumbed Bible and Ray becoming increasingly endearing, it will be a close call...
